Jesus

There are 136 posts tagged Jesus (this is page 39 of 46).

St. Mary, Mother of God 2011 – Luke 1:39-55

15. August 2011
St. Mary, Mother of God
Luke 1:39-55

Last year was probably the first occasion that most of you celebrated this festive day. You may recall that this day (as well as the Beheading of St. John the Baptist) fell on Sunday. Thus, it was fitting for us to consider the proper remembrance of the saints.

St. Mary is due honor as one of the saints of God. As a matter of fact, Lutherans honor all their departed each year on the Festival of All Saints Day, November 1st. I suppose that its easy to honor the dearly departed if they are blood relatives. Many Christians who rest from their labors hold special places in our heart. I remember fondly grandparents for their Christian witness who now sleep and will rejoice with all the saints and angels in heaven. I remember high school classmates who died tragically and yet now live in bliss with Jesus.

St. Mary ought be no different. She shared in the same faith, the same Lord, the same forgiveness that every Christian receives. The son of her womb died for her sins and for the sins of the whole world. Her son made bloody atonement for her as much as for us. Her son elected her unto salvation as much as he has us and all the those who from their labors rest.

St. Mary is different. She was chosen for a special duty, a noble calling. Like women before and women since, she carried a child in her womb. She sheltered a child from the assaults of the world and of Satan while he yet grew. She nourished him, umbillically sharing in all that was needed for his body. Even after his miraculous birth, she and Joseph protected the infant God from Herod’s death sentence and wickedness. She nourished him from her breast, carried him in her arms, teaching him to walk and talk.

St. Mary is different. She ought to hold a special place in our heart, much like all the saints of our lives. The Holy Spirit has quickened our hearts with the knowledge of salvation. We know that our redemption from sin was in the flesh of the child she bore. We know that our God gestated in the sanctuary of her flesh. THe Holy Spirit fills us, so that we proclaim with St. Elizabeth, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

St. Mary is different than other women. She holds a special place. Not because she was holy in and of herself. Despite pious traditions to the contrary, we know nothing of an immaculate conception of Mary. For all we know, she was conceived, born, lived, and died just like you and me. For all we know, she was a sinner, same as us.

St. Mary is still different. For unlike all other women, who conceive and bear children according to God’s good and gracious will, St. Mary was blessed to conceive not by knowing a man but by the immediate gift of the Holy Spirit. She received the Spirit, conceived by the Spirit, her voice quickened St. John and inspired Elizabeth by the Spirit, and by this Spirit she sang.

This Spirit is none other than the Spirit of the Father and the Son. St. Mary received the gift of God, Spirit and Son in her very own body. This blessing and no other made her womb suitable to carry her Lord. The only-begotten of the Father is given to her out of sheer grace. She neither merited nor deserved such a wonderful blessing.

That’s how blessings go. You received them, then you rejoice in them. First, you are blessed and then you are considered blessed. This wasn’t the first time St. Mary had been blessed. Apart from all the first article gifts, St. Mary had already received the blessing of faith. St. Elizabeth tells us “blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Even before Jesus took up residence in her body, St. Mary believed the Word spoken by the angel Gabriel. That Word of God, “behold you will conceive” caused the very thing it predicted to be. She heard and believed. That’s why her song began like this: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” The Lord visited her not because she was more noble, more special, or even more holy. He visits her simply because she has been made receptive through the Word.

St. Mary, like every pious messianic woman, was waiting for their savior. They knew from Isaiah chapter six that he would be born of a virgin and they knew he would be born of the house and lineage of David. St. Mary was prepared for this Word, as unbelievable as it may seem. In all things, she submitted herself in humility to serving the Lord in His Word.

The angel speaks to her simply and in pious reverence she listened. The blessing is the Word, now conceived of flesh in her womb. “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.” The gift of the child is special but the gift of the savior is great. The Father has begotten his Son for St. Mary, through her ear, and into her womb. Not just for St. Mary but for everyone who believes.

The child of St. Mary is the Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. We call Mary blessed because the Father blessed her with the Son who would save her. It is said that women will be saved through childbirth (1 Timothy 2:15). The bearing of children is a blessing, one to be received in faith and devotion. St. Mary exemplifies such receptivity despite the scandal of her virgin birth.  Even more so, this child is both blessing to her and a blessing to everyone who calls on his holy name.

We are all saved through childbirth, if we mean the birth of Jesus. “And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.” St. Mary is rightfully called the theotokos, the mother of God. The holy one who appeared before patriarchs and saints of old now has taken on flesh, joining together the impossible. God and Man are united in Jesus, who sits enthroned first in St. Mary’s womb. His throne is not so mighty, nor his strength great. The tiny King dwells in St. Mary, who is the beginning of the new Israel, the holy catholic church.

In this holy church, we each began like little Jesus. This sanctuary is a womb made holy by the Word of God. In this fertile seedbed, the heavenly Father grants new life to sinners. Through the saving flood of these uterine waters, the Father conceives new children in Holy Baptism. When we burst forth in new life, the blessings continue. We nurse on the pure Spiritual milk. We are grow in the knowledge of God and His holy Word. Our faith and life of love flourishes.

Blessed is St. Mary among women, who believed the fulfillment of the hope of Israel was the tiny blessing of the fruit of her womb. Blessed are all the true offspring of Abraham, the new Israel, who are reborn in Him, redeemed by His blood, sanctified by His Word, and nourished by His holy Sacrament. Blessed are you!

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

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

Trinity 7 2011 – Mark 8:1-9

7. August 2011
Trinity 7
Mark 8:1-9

Jesus draws great crowds to Him by His teaching, preaching, and mercy. Not too long ago, Jesus walked on water. He healed the sick in Gennesaret. He rebuked the Pharisees. He taught us that “what comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, comes evil thoughts [and deeds]. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” He has healed the Syrophenician woman’s daughter and commended her faith. Finally, he has healed the deaf man by spitting on His fingers, placing them in the man’s ears, and calling out “Ephphatha,” that is, “be opened!”

Jesus doesn’t merely walk about the earth, waiting for the time to ripen for His death and resurrection. He is actively involved in the lives of the people, first – teaching and preaching and second – providing for their needs of body and soul. Jesus establishes this two-fold pattern through the narrative of his ministry. He cares first for the spiritual needs of the people and then the physical needs.

His method shows great wisdom. Providing us with with food, drink, house, and home does not give us faith. Without faith, we just as easily attach these blessings to ourselves. We says silly things like, “I deserve this new car” or “I’ve earned a comfortable life.” Jesus, in His divine wisdom, first provides for the spiritual needs of the people. He teaches us about sin, which comes from within, and mercy, which comes only from Him. It is a truly great gift that we are not expected to save ourselves but rather are taught to acknowledge our great weakness of flesh. We daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment.

On first glance, this doesn’t seem empowering but actually destroying. But as St. Paul teaches us in the Epistle, this is quite true. He uses the analogy of slavery to help us understand. In sin, we are slaves to impurity and lawlessness. To many, this is freedom. To live, enjoying all the pleasures of the flesh. By this is is truly slavery, for it binds us to the eternal fate of hell.

On the other hand, the Christian is made a slave to God. To many, slavery or bondage is negative. But slavery to our Lord’s righteousness, we are given a sanctified life, lived according to His commands, and  leading to eternal freedom with Him in heaven.  This free gift of God is eternal life, says Paul. Sounds a lot better than wages of sin, I’d say?

Jesus begins by teaching us about our nature. We think freedom is means we can do as we please. But true freedom that leads to everlasting life is nothing something we do, but something we receive as a free gift. A good gift is something that benefits the person. Our Lord truly cares for what kind of spiritual food we receive, as He demonstrates in His own life. He nourishes his people not with freedom to sin but instead slavery to Him and his good and righteous will. We subject ourselves to his lordship, calling his the Most High, recognizing that he is the great king over all the earth.

In his humility, the Father sent His son to die for us. Our sin was nailed to the tree with Him and His death was our death. The unreasonable gift was exactly the thing we needed. Without His intervention, the world would continue to lay in bondage to sin, doomed to death. He preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins, so that we might come to His saving waters and be redeemed from the cursed life. Jesus also healed the deaf, mute, the sick, and the lame. By His healing, He taught us that He had all power over our sinful flesh and could remove its dreadful curse from us. He is Lord of all creation, able to make dead bones walk.

But after he preached by voice and action, he provided for the people in the most fundamental of ways. He gave them food. Already he performed a great miracle, feeding 5000 men plus their wives and children at the shore of a desolate place. Then, where no food could be found, Jesus provided for the great crowds that followed after Him. Despite Jesus’ desire to mourn for the death of His friend and prophet John, he had compassion upon the people and from five fish and two loaves, he fed them all. Amazing!

You will recall the disciples reaction then. They said, “send them into the villages and countryside to buy themselves something to eat.” The disciples were falling into the same trap, forgetting that Christ, the Son of the Living God, is the Lord of all creation. All authority in heaven and earth had been given to Him. If anyone can feed the multitude, its Jesus. They should first trust that He will provide for the people.

But just as before, the disciples have forgotten that He is the true source of every need, both in soul and body. Again they ask, “how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” To our ears, its such a naive question. How could these disciples not know that their rabbi, their teacher, who had revealed His power over water, flesh, and demon, would not also have the power to provide for the needs of the many.

A short time thereafter in the Gospel appointed for today, Jesus finds himself in the same position. A great crowd has joined Him. They have listened attentively to His Word. Just as before, the Lord knows the hunger not just for the pure spiritual milk but also require sustenance for their bodies. He looks upon them and has compassion. Literally, he pours himself out upon them. He gives them all that they need. Here too they have bread and fish which He miraculously distributes to the 4000 men plus their wives and children.

These words are here written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Just like the disciples, we easily refuse the gift of faith. We refuse to believe in all the Jesus is and has promised to be. We are just like the disciples and need to hear. When we hear the Gospel account of the feeding of the 4000, we are hearing of our own weakness to see that God will take care us in every time of need. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. These promises are underscored by His daily granting us our daily bread as we pray when we wake and when we go to bed.

There is a lesson to be learned from Christ’s own pattern of life. He is concerned for providing the staples  needed for the people to continue to hear His Word and to return to their homes in safety. But His priority is that they first hear His Word and believe it. Daily bread keeps them alive in this earth but not to life in the next. He comes with His own body, the Bread of Life which nurtures and sustains for everlasting life.

We are all newborn babes who crave the pure Spiritual milk, His Word and His blessed Sacraments. Our Lord feeds us with Himself… the best gift our soul can possibly receive. It needs no attempts to richen or sweeten. Its chef is none other than the Father Himself, the author and creator of all. Just as our Lord taught the Law with all its sternness and the Gospel with all its sweetness, so we too pass this same preaching on to our children, because in them, is life.

From Christ’s example we learn that primary task of the father and mother is the spiritual nurture of their children. The first priority of every one of us and especially the spiritual father of the household is the proper nourishment of the soul. We rightfully critique everything that our children eat in order that their faith my be strengthened and not weakened. We desire first for their salvation, then for their well-being of body.

Not every gift is good. The 4000 would not have been properly fed if our Lord had given them a hors d’oeuvres of sardines on saltines. Instead they needed a full meal of fish and chips. But even more so He first fed them with the pure Word of His Law and Gospel. Without this gift which grants faith, we would not recognize Him as the giver of all things on earth.

Let us not worry about the things of this earth but let our Lord provide them to us as he sees fit. Better to be a beggar in heaven than well-fed and in hell. Let us keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Let us who feed those who are in need of hope, life, and salvation the pure Word of God, without alternation and modification to fit the whims and fancies of sinful man. Let us not preach the artificial sweetener of works-righteousness but rather the pure sweetness of our Lord’s body and blood, given and shed for all of you for the forgiveness of sins.

“The greatest, most God-pleasing work of faith a person can do, is to follow the example of Christ by helping people’s souls, so they don’t end up going to the devil.” (M. Luther) “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” (Matthew 6:25,34 ESV)

Instead, let us be anxious for our salvation and for those who have not received our Lord’s abundant blessing, especially as be breaks bread at altars of Christendom for the forgiveness of sins. Let us pray that those who need his Spiritual food would come to recognize that He comes to them here, at this altar, and that would would receive His good gift with thanksgiving.

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

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

Trinity 4 2011 – Luke 6:36-42

17. July 2011
Trinity 4
Luke 6:36-42

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” Our heavenly Father gives us all things, earthly and spiritual, temporal and eternal, superabundantly. We are captives to death and he gives us life. We are children of hell and he gives us heaven. We are poor, naked, hungry, and thirsty, and He satisfies us with all good things.

The Father’s mercy is unreasonable.  Reasonable would be loving those who are beautiful, giving to those who can repay, redeeming those who can best serve Him. But true compassion does not judge. The Father gives to those who do not deserve it. He gives to the ugly, the wasteful, the greedy, and the gluttonous. His eyes judge not friend or foe, worthy and unworthy. He gives mercy without distinction. The love of Father does not seek the lovable, the likable or the one who will love him back. Instead He embraces and kisses His disobedient children, heal their wounds, feeds them, clothes their nakedness, and opens his pierces hands to lift them to his bosom.

The Father’s mercy is Gospel. It is a free gift, to everyone without expectation of return. Our Father has shown great mercy to each and everyone of us. He did not judge our potential for faith but showered us richly with saving waters. He does not condemn us to hellfire but continually rescues from the snares of Satan. He does not hold our terrible sins against us, but forgives them, forgetting them to eternity. He gives to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, spilling into our lap… every need of body and soul.

God’s grace transforms the sinner from a creature of wrath to a creature of mercy and love. Witness the example of Joseph. His brothers come to him knowing full well that they deserve to be punished for selling their brother into slavery. They expect he will pay them back for their evil. But Joseph, expecting nothing in return, forgave them. He did not condemn them, nor judge them. Instead he gave to them and to their children of his surplus. This is showing mercy, giving without expecting return. Looking past their treacherous deeds and deceitful hearts. Forgiving without being asked or deserved.

Witness the example of Zacchaeus, who after hearing the saving message of the Gospel uttered by Jesus himself, went and gave half of all that he owned to the poor. Witness Saul, the violent persecutor of Christians. After hearing the word of God on the Damascus Road, he was given not just in simple faith but transformed into the apostle Paul with faith lived out in mercy, in grace and love.

The gift of faith does not leave the believer to his old ways of greed and lust and self interest. The faith granted, the forgiveness proclaimed, transforms the hearts of the hearers to faithful service to God and his  neighbor.  Works are the spontaneous fruits and proofs of the indwelling of our Lord. Mercy is manifest in the Christian due to the Father’s mercy on him. He is thankful for being spared and grants the Father’s mercy himself to those in need. The Father makes known to us his presence when his faith blossoms forth in service to others.

“If you love those who love you, what a benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36)

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” God uses man as a conduit for his mercy. We are to forgive just as God has forgiven us, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. We forgive not seven, seventy, but seventy times seven times. (Mt 18:22).

As with any command, especially this command to mercy, we rightly shake in our boots. It is impossible for us to shake off our selfishness and show the kind of mercy God demands. We have failed to forgive as we have been forgiven. We have neglected the needy. Sinful service seeks glory. False mercy seeks a tax break.

If you saw a beggar by the door of the church, what would you do? How would you show him mercy? Perhaps you’d give him money or food. But maybe you’d call the authorities, ignore him, among other things. Unmerciful, that’s what we’d be.

Mercy is deeper than looking past the motives of the heart and helping our neighbor in his physical need anyway. Mercy is looking past our own judgment of the neighbor. Forget about judging your chances of success, the likelihood of faith. How would one do that, anyway? If someone is tattooed and pierced, or long-haired and unkept, or clean and well-dressed, how does that in any way indicate their divine election? How does that give you any idea if they will receive the Gospel to their salvation?

Repent. We have all failed to withhold judgment from the neighbor. We have all neglected to share the saving Gospel with the stranger in need, condemning them to doom. We have used our logjam-blinded eyes to judge our neighbor, all the while ignoring our own condition.

If you saw that beggar outside our door, maybe you wouldn’t help him. Yet, even worse, would you invite him into church? Would you bring him into the sanctuary where he is fed with the spiritual food of Christ? Or would you consider him unworthy of our Lord’s forgiveness, too smelly, too dirty, or two raw for good company? Would you ignore the heed of the Gospel and judge him and condemn him by your inaction? This hypothetical situation shows how hard it truly is for us to show mercy. We might give him alms but from one hand but judge and condemn him with the other.

So how can the believer ever expect to fulfill this command? Not by our own power but by the power of God which is within us. The Holy Spirit first grants faith to our hearts. Faith grants sanctified hearts that believe God is a gracious and merciful Father.  Without faith, we fail to see the Father’s mercy at work in us. From the faith, flows mercy for the neighbor.

When we teach others, do we teach ourselves? (Romans 2:17-23) Lord, teach us to recognize our own error. Remove the plank in our eyes that we may guide others in your truth. Without You, we are the blind leading the blind. Teach us to judge not the hearts of men. Teach us to forgive so that others to may learn to forgive. Teach us to give of the great bounty you have provided us.

The Gospel commends all Christians to be like Joseph. Take care of your neighbor’s physical needs. That’s mercy. Forgive those who do you wrong. Mercy. Care for the spiritual welfare of those outside or weak in faith. Mercy. Do not judge the heart. Mercy. This is a testament of the faith given to you.

The Father’s mercy is not merely for selfish pleasure. The Father’s mercy is not to comfort for comfort sake. He intends His goodness to flow through us towards those in need. As we gather today around His table to commune as one body with many members, let us not forget to show mercy especially to those in our own fellowship of believers. “But God composes the body… that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Cor. 12:25-26)

Many are currently suffering. May the Lord teach us to “be merciful, even as our Father is merciful.” Many are in need of the Father’s mercy. Let us not hesitate to show mercy upon all in need, not not judging nor condemning, but forgiving and giving. May his grace which saved us from our trespasses and rescued us from death be proclaimed and may he have mercy upon us so that we may have mercy on others.

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

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