Jesus

There are 136 posts tagged Jesus (this is page 14 of 46).

Advent 1 2012 – Jeremiah 23:5-8

02. December 2012
Ad Te Levavi
Jeremiah 23:5-8

In the beginning, God created man in his image. He had all the characteristics of God. He was upright, truthful, sincere, honest. He lived in accordance with God’s design. He did not backbite with his tongue, nor did evil to his neighbor, nor would he take up a reproach against his friend. (Psalm 15:3) Man was right with God. And so, God’s righteousness was man’s righteousness.

When sin entered the world, so unrighteousness, and consequently death. Every child born of woman breathes this poisoned air and drinks from the polluted well of this world. Children, yes even they, act according to their selfish, envious, and prideful heart. We see moments of greatness and even a pale kind of rightness—men with greatness and women with virtue. Still, the infection has permeated everyone. The works of the flesh are evident: all manner of evil, rebellion, and finally mortality. Thus we have God’s righteousness presented in stark contrast to our lack of righteousness.

This lack of righteousness is catastrophic. When we stand at the last days in judgment, how will we be judged? “Behold! The days are coming, says the Lord when I will send a righteous branch to execute justice. How will the righteous branch judge you, oh Jerusalem? You recognize that your peril is not in this world but the next. Your fear of judgment is not of what you have done in this world but what you have failed to do for the next.

Faced with this reality you have a few choices. You could make excuses. The woman made me do it. I couldn’t resist. You made me this way (a sinner). You could try to change the standard. Faced with God’s perfect rule, you want to find some way to fudge the math, fix the system, cheat the Powerball, and win. You could despair, to throw up your hands and exclaim, “To hell with me, I’m damned anyway.”

All attempts to reconcile yourself to God’s holy ideal fail. Excuses won’t cut it. Despair is a start but still leads to death. The not-so-little secret of our faith is that the bet is rigged, the system overruled, the math fuzzy. The promise made to Abraham, that lopsided covenant, is in your favor. The Seed was promised to our mother redeems, rescues, and saves mankind. Every faithful parent of old—Seth, Noah, Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob, Judah, David, and Joseph—trusted that God would reconcile us to Himself.

No excuses are needed, only forgiveness received. There is no despair for we wait in hope. The covenant is fulfilled and your end of the deal is to believe: God has reconciled you to himself as a free gift. In this midst of these dark and latter days, Christ comes to keep the Lord’s promise, to save rebellious Judah and give security to Jerusalem. Christ Jesus is the light than banishes all fear! Christ comes to offer comfort, security, rest, and peace. The true salvation of Judah and the true safety for Jerusalem. By this one man’s obedience, even to death on the cross, you are made righteous.

We have been hearing for the last three weeks of Christ’s judgment. As this new church year begins, we take the expected turn towards the Nativity, Christmas. Before we arrive at the manger, this season takes us through prophecy and the Passion. Even today, we heard our Lord ride on in majesty, riding into the old Jerusalem to die. Lost in the pre-Christmas shuffle, the many manger scenes, the cheery seasonal jingles, is the reality that Jesus comes to us to save us. He comes in judgment of sin but this is his foreign work. He comes chiefly to execute righteousness. God promised to Eve a seed who would crush the serpent. Jeremiah tells the promised coming of a branch. The seed promised to Eve will grow from David into a branch, a righteous branch. He comes to pronounce his people righteous.

A dark cloud hangs over the manger scene, the long shadow cast by our Lord’s passion. Righteousness comes by His Christmas incarnation and by His body agony, His innocent suffering and death, His three-day rest in the tomb, His glorious resurrection, and His ascension into heaven. Christmas points to the cross, where the God-made-man dies our death to make us righteous.

In Christ’s suffering, our unrighteous relationship to God is healed and we are recreated, made right before God. In the resurrected flesh of Jesus, peace is made between God and man over our sin. God himself came in flesh to make all flesh right! God was born as man to recreate man… to restore his creation! He comes not so that you may call him righteous but so that you, his new Jerusalem and rescued Judah may be named “the Lord our righteousness!”

Now all baptized believers have our advocate and surrogate in the divine court. When Christ comes to execute his judgement, he will not see our fallen faces but his own reflection. We were named his in baptism and put on Christ as our garment. Before the judgement seat, our appearance has none of the self-righteous, self-made appearance. No, before Christ we are now a reflection of His own image. The character of God is made right with the character of Man.

We need not fear this coming judgement. “Our righteousness” is for the body of believers. This righteousness unites, equalizes, and levels the playing field. In Christ we stand together before God, as one body of believers. We have one faith… expressed in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. In Christ, our innate desire to elevate ourselves above others is put to death. Now we are all brought up by Christ to His standard… the standard of the Law…. the standard of His righteousness. His righteousness is our righteousness.

For the last few weeks under the “end of the church year” our theme has been Christ returning in judgment. Now as we enter advent and the beginning of the church year, our eyes look at judgment through the babe in the manger and through the cross towards the judgment. God’s promise is made manifest, delivered to you just as He said. Through his gracious will, you have eternal rest of Christ. In him, you are safe. In Him, you are secure. In Him, you are named His own. His righteousness is your righteousness. Christ is our Emmanuel. He ransoms captive Israel, saving you from the depths of hell. He gives you victory over the grave. You see God’s gracious action—His promised son sent for you—so that His righteousness is your righteousness.

In Name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
Grace Lutheran Church
Dyer, Indiana

Last Sunday in the Church Year – St. Matthew 25:1-13

25. November 2012
Last Sunday in the Church Year
St. Matthew 25:1-13

Recently two books were released that sought to answer the question of what happens after judgment day. In one book a little boy recalled his near death experience. His father named the book “Heaven is Real.” I understand it had all the typical features: a light at the end of the tunnel, a feeling of calm, white clothing, and such. In another book “Love Wins” author Rob Bell agreed with the little boy about heaven but rejected hell. While Bell has much to say about heaven and God’s love he couldn’t abide by the idea of a place of weeping and gnashing, fire and brimstone.

Both authors implicitly reject the precise thing that Jesus affirms. You also affirm this ting when you confess: “from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.” The little boy “died” and went straightway to heaven. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. And Rob Bell denies the final judgment but giving only one possible verdict—heaven. What happened to the universal confession of the church and the explicit teaching of Jesus about the final judgment? St. Matthew spends chapters recalling Christ’s Word on the topic.

Why the fear of judgment? Why the skepticism about Jesus’ teaching of heaven and hell? It seems to the wise of this world utterly foolish. Why would God create life and then judge that life to an eternity of hell? If God loves the world—indeed, us—so much, why would he damn anyone. The young boy who claims to have met death didn’t talk about judgment because he likely never heard about it. Rob Bell doesn’t talk about judgment because he can’t handle a God who doesn’t meet his expectations.

The parable of the wise and foolish virgins sets the wisdom of the world in stark contrast to the wisdom of God. There is reality and there is unreality. The gift of faith allows you to see what is truly real. Rejecting this gift means you continue to live in the unreal. This world would tell you to judge yourself by a flexible scale. Everything is about being the best we can be, doing well enough, trying hard, and striving for excellence. Such gauges of performance are unreal. They lack any kind of absolute standard.

The reality is this: there is an absolute standard established by God and it is unattainable by prudence. For many Christians their life is about getting all the Jesus ducks in a row. Baptized? Check. Sunday School? Check. Confirmed? Check. Fairly regular attendance? Check. Money in the plate? Check. Christian funeral? Check. And when the marriage feast comes around they think they’ve got it all together. Seems like they’ve taken care of the whole list of Christian duties, marked off the list just like Jesus wants it to be.

These figurative five are wise according to the religion of this world. They’ve risen to the challenge, received their share of good and ill, showed up to the party prepared. Some friends came too, another five outrageous. For some inexplicable reason they come with extra jugs of oil “just in case.” Just in case of what? Everybody knows the party is tonight. Why have so much extra oil? What could go wrong, they ask? Whatever. Let’s party and wait for the bridegroom.

The whatever is the point of the parable. Whatever could go wrong does. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” This world is never so predicable. The unexpected happens. The bridegroom is late. Funny that? God late to His own party? There’s God’s wisdom at work and its utter foolishness to us. The eternal God can’t even show up on time. Why are we surprised? You yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

There is another problem. Whose fault is it that only half of the virgins are prepared? Ancients tried to answer this question. It was called theodicy, the perennial why-some-and-not-others. It’s the bridegroom who can’t even show up on time. The foolish virgins were completely prepared with enough oil to burn until the  party. They did it all just right but the bridegroom had to muck it up.

All through the Scriptures we wise people end up in a mess: Job, Peter, Judas. Whose fault is it that Job suffered or Peter denied or even Judas betrayed? It is God’s. They were chosen and God even sent suffering their way. Ouch. That’s not the God we want but He’s the God we’ve got. And He’s stuck with us. In the final analysis, it’s the way God is doing things. We suffer. We deny. We betray. And we answer with Job in the midst of his suffering: Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15).

When its all said and done there’s no point in using the wisdom of this world to figure out the ways of God. We’ll look at God choosing foolish means of a pastor, or water, or bread and wine, or even just simple words and scoff. Ha! Ha! That could never be enough. I’ve got to fill my lamps, follow the orders, do the right thing, and then—and only then— will I be ready.

It turns out that all our self-wrought preparation will be wasted when the time comes. Whether wise or foolish, we’ll be sound asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” The cry will ring out. Those questions about when Jesus will come, what is happening in the meantime, and even what we must do are immaterial to the feast. The question we ought to be concerned with is faith.

The Father has reconciled us to Himself in Jesus. He did it, not us. This means we’re restored to a trusting relationship. We don’t have to figure God out but only know that’s He’s got it figured out. We don’t need to know when He’s coming back but only that He is coming. We don’t need to know why we suffer but only that He sends suffering for our good. That’s faith—to trust in the Holy Trinity explicitly even in the face of things we cannot understand. Faith, after all, comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith does not come by experiencing or simply knowing, but by believing and trusting.

This is the God we’ve got and we’re stuck with Him. He will deliver on His promise to draw all to Himself. We are reconciled to God no matter what our sins. The doubter, the denier, and even the betrayer all received the call to faith. It’s a gift, no questions asked, given without answering our questions. God’s way of doing things is silly and outrageous. It’s also worth celebrating—and we will during Advent. Come, Lord Jesus! O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

There’s no denying the judgment outlined in today’s parable and the rest of Scripture. Heaven and hell are real. We don’t have to like it or even agree with it. It is God’s way of doing things. Some will deny the reality in the midst of this unreal world. Some will waste their whole life trying to prepare themselves for the day. Many will try to jump through all the right religion hoops. In the end, at the final judgment, it’s not really up to those who wait but up to God. He’ll be late, things won’t go as they’ve planned, and only the faithful will be able to say: “Oh, well.” That’s God’s way and it’s wise.

God has fudged everything in His favor. We’re not in the dark. Now is the long dark teatime for our soul. We belong to the light. We wait and celebrate the divine blessedness of His way of saving. Despite the world, despite his delay, even despite our suffering, we trust we are not destined for wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us. Yeah, its messy business. Dying and rising isn’t so pretty. Such it is for a God who works in history. He’s delivering the package and he’s given the trust, a lamp and more worth. Look, He comes on clouds descending—eventually. And at midnight—the cry!

In holy name of + Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
Grace Lutheran Church
Dyer, Indiana

Thanksgiving 2012

21. November 2012
Thanksgiving Eve

Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 12:13-21

Thanksgiving. Thanks and giving put together. Word order matters. It should be Givingthanks. First you are given and then you receive with thanks. That’s how it works. You say thanks only after receipt. We teach this to our children. First say please, then receive, and then say thanks.

Thanksgiving presumes we have received something and something worth giving thanks for. Everyone takes time before their big buffet tomorrow to say thanks to someone for their food. We say thanks to Mom or Grandma for slaving over the hot stove. Dad cooked the turkey and he gets a thanks. Our friends or family arrive and we say thanks for coming. These are good gifts—food, friends, and family. No doubt they are worth their thanks.

These are gifts given by God. God gives us homes, family, friends, food, and everything we have because He loves us in Christ. Thanksgiving is really about giving. God’s giving. Gift. Free. Generous. Bountiful. Loving. You’re here to receive. You’re here for the blessings. Free, underserved, and generous as God gives. God the Father gives you Jesus Christ. He forgives you, washes you clean, feeds you holy food, cares for your body and souls through bread in the ears. You receive everything needed from God.

No one wants to be dependent on another. Only reluctantly will someone resort on food stamps. Only out of complete desperation will they ask family, friend, or stranger for cash. To be a beggar is to be inhuman or so we were raised to think. Not with God. There is no more taking credit for your life. You know better. You are beggars and this is good. God made everything. The earth is full of His creatures. He makes the grass grow for the livestock and plants to grow for man to harvest. God gives us food from the earth and wine to gladden our hearts. (Psalm 104)

The pagans worship the god of their stomach and Football. They give thanks to the gods of hard work, fortune, and luck. They have been blessed by God but something is missing. The gifts of the Spirit—forgiveness, life, and salvation in His holy church—are notably absent. They feed their body and their eyes but pay no attention to their souls and their future death.

The pagans get the God part wrong. They also give the thanks part wrong. Throughout the Holy Scriptures, Jesus teaches us that thanksgiving is not a merely word but it is a giving. Word order matters. God gives and we return thanks by giving. It’s the divine “pay it forward” scheme. Thus, when you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground… and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there… You shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God.

There it is. Thanksgiving. Giving an offering of the first of the fruit in thanks. An offering is given not out of obligation, or duty, or even necessity, but in thanks. How many of us can lay our offerings before the LORD and then rejoice in all the good that the Lord [our] God has given to [us] and to [our] house[s]?  Too few. We hold the purse strings too tight. We love our wealth too much. Jesus says: take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.

You are completely dependent on your God. He gives even without your asking. He gives you daily bread and gives you faith to realize this is from Him. There’s the rub. God gives and faith receives. Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Giver is ignored or dismissed. You’re here today not for turkey, smashed potatoes, or sweets. You’re here to receive bread from heaven, the Word that gives faith. And in receiving you realize God’s blessing and receive everything with thanksgiving. You receive and give thanks to the Giver of every good gift.

The thanks only come after the giving. If there is no gift, then there is no thanks. Christian worship is all about the gift: Word preached, absolution declared, water and word washed, body and blood of Jesus fed, blessing given. Such great gifts received and what happens? Anything? Wake up! The glory of God is revealed in His gifts. The Lord rejoices to give and gives that you receive. Receiving God’s gifts changes you. He gives you blessings that make you whole again through forgiveness of wrong. They are seals of a promise to be with you until the end of time. They give the inheritance of heaven from His last will and testament.

To the one who keeps the Lord’s treasures for himself, God calls a fool. It is foolish for you to receive and never give. It is foolish reap bountifully and then store in barns. It is foolish to give thanks and withhold charity.  It is foolish to receive the Lord’s gifts of Word and Sacrament only to horde this bounty for yourself. God gives, we receive, and we give thanks, not merely in word but in deed and truth. Lord, grant us the humility to receive with thankfulness and share with those in need.

In Name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
Grace Lutheran Church
Dyer, Indiana