Called to Give our Best

end times 1 (CLOC year three – true riches)

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

1Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly. (NIV)

She’s the woman of your dreams, so you want to make sure tonight, the night you ask her to be your wife, is memorable.  You both arrive at your place.  As you open the door for her, a wretched smell causes her face to wrinkle with disgust.  But she quickly forgets about the smell when she sees your roommate and his disgusting buddies lounging around and spread out all over a filthy living room, playing video games.  You proceed to the kitchen, where you eagerly pull out a Styrofoam container with some leftovers that you know she will love, and you throw them on a plate and toss it in the microwave.  While that is reheating you grab a cheap bottle of wine that was given to you years ago and pour it into two glasses.  The microwave dings, and dinner is served.  Before she’s hardly had a chance to dig into her delectable second-hand meal, you’re down on one knee, amidst the loud cheers of recent video game success in the other room, and you peel back the lid of a tiny black box to reveal… the most affordable cubic zirconia placed in a such a chincy, cheap setting that it looks like it would bend or break at even the slightest hint of pressure.  And then you ask her to be our bride.  How could she say no?  How could she refuse when you have so clearly shown her how much you treasure her by giving her your absolute best?

Now obviously that’s not giving your best.  In fact, that better not be anyone giving his best!  No, you would strive for something on a much grander scale if this was the woman you were going to spend the rest of your days with – you’d pull out all the stops and put your best foot forward in addressing every last detail of this special occasion.  You wouldn’t settle for mediocrity or anything that’s simply “good enough” in that case, and the same holds true when it comes to our relationship with God.  He deserves our absolute best – no shortcuts and no excuses will do – only the best for the one who has given us the best in Jesus.  He has given us true riches, and the only appropriate response is for us to give him our best.

King David recognized an opportunity to give his best to the Lord.   His life was coming to an end and David longed to build a temple worthy of the Lord, sparing no expense to construct a dwelling that would be set apart from any dwelling of man.  He could not stand to live in a luxurious palace while the Ark of the Covenant was stored in a tent (and the parking lot was in shambles, the lawn was dotted with circular patches of dead brown, the roof leaked, the windows needed replacing, etc…).  And even when God had revealed that his son and not he would be the one to build a temple for the Lord, David made the most of the opportunity to give his best to the Lord.  David was well aware of how richly God had blessed him throughout his life and his reign, and he wanted to express his thanks to God by building him a temple. But the Lord made it clear that it would not be him, but his son Solomon who would build the temple.  Not to be discouraged, David got everything prepared for the new king, his son Solomon, and collected the supplies for the project so all would be ready when Solomon assumed the throne.

A building project today is no small thing; imagine what all was involved in David’s day.  Building a temple was a serious undertaking, and one which David was eager to take on, even if it meant that his role was acquiring the necessary materials so that someone else would be responsible for the finished product. “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.  Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:  three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,  for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen” (v.2-5).  David provided funds from the state treasury, but then added his own offering over and above the treasury, out of his own pockets.  How much?  The most expensive building in the world today is the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas, costing over $2.5 billion.  David gave enough to build almost two of them.  David gave his best.  As far as David was concerned, a cheap bottle of wine and reheated left-overs weren’t good enough for God.

This is the third of a four year stewardship focus under the theme, “Christ’s Love, Our Calling.”  The first year emphasized the management of our time as children called by Christ’s love.  The second year emphasized the management of our unique gifts and talents as children called by Christ’s love.  This year we emphasize the management of our financial blessings as children called by Christ’s love.  Whether it be time, talents, or treasure, Christ’s love calls for our best in each and every case.

I’ll leave it to you to answer: when we flip to month eleven out of twelve on the calendar and not so much as a penny has been recorded in our offerings to the Lord, is that giving our best?  Or is that a cheap bottle of wine and reheated left-overs?  Is it really worth anyone’s time to talk about tithing – giving 10% – when the sad reality is that Christian giving in this country doesn’t even scratch the surface of 3%?  Is that giving our best, or is that a cheap bottle of wine and reheated left-overs? 

When we talk about our giving, we rightly discuss it within the context of giving with a cheerful heart.  But have you ever stopped to consider that a person’s heart can give cheerfully for two completely different reasons?  One can thankfully give a generous amount to the Lord and be cheerful that God has blessed him to give so much.  But another could also be giving cheerfully because he knows that in his giving so little to the Lord, he’s got plenty in the bank to satisfy his out of control spending.  Both hearts are cheerful, but only one is pleasing to the Lord, while he despises the other.  Which kind of “cheerful” heart is truly giving God his best? 

And, while we do well to speak about giving in terms of percentages, it might be helpful to consider which amount of money strikes you as being “a lot” when it comes to giving: $20 a week? $50? $75? $100? Over $150?  Now do those same amounts still strike you as being “a lot” if they’re going toward your texting and data plan for your smart phone, or for cable, or NFL Sunday ticket, etc. – you get the point.  Does the amount of my offering reflect the best I can give to God, or am I keeping the best and giving him the rest?  Is my best going to the God of my salvation, or the god of spending? 

As Christians, part of the reason that materialism and greed are so important to talk about and warn against is that greed is a unique temptation in that it blinds people. What do I mean by that? Well, it’s fairly difficult to commit adultery and not know you’re an adulterer. It’s hard to steal and not know you’re a thief. But how many people legitimately consider themselves truly greedy? Bottom line, there’s never been a group of people as wealthy as we are here in the U.S., and yet we continuously pursue more. Do you know what is the number one determining factor for an undergraduate to declare a major in the U.S.?  The anticipated salary upon graduation.  And yet, you would be hard pressed to find too many people who categorize themselves as “greedy.” We relativize it. As long as we can find one person in our lives with a more lavish lifestyle, we are blind to our own luxury, and we want more.  We can’t see our sinful and damning greed, even though it’s right under our nose. 

Is that why our offerings are such a private thing to us?   Are we ashamed that others might clearly see what we refuse to, that our meager giving can sometimes be the result of greedy hearts not making God a top priority?  Notice that David did not hide his offering from anyone, claiming it was a private matter.  He let his offering be known before the entire assembly, not to boast in himself, but to lead by example. He then called on the other leaders to do the same.  It wasn’t a command or threat, but an opportunity for them to take ownership of the temple in a way that showed their love for the Lord.

The people responded by matching their king’s offering, and then some.  “Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.  David the king also rejoiced greatly.” (v.6, 9)  Like David, they recognized what the Lord had done.  Grace had brought this people from the prison of slavery to possession of the Promised Land.  God’s mercy gave them peace with their neighbors.  God’s undeserved love promised a Savior would come through their nation.  God’s forgiveness freely given for when they failed to give him their best or make him a priority allowed them to stand before him now and for eternity.  In response to him, they gave him their best. 

We find ourselves in much the same situation as the people of Israel.  Like them, we have been freed from slavery of sin and given possession of the Promised Land of heaven.  Our sin tormented us incessantly, owning us.  Even though we have robbed God of our best, he still offered up his best.   For every time he has fallen from our top priority and we’ve given him less than our best, Jesus came to be punished.  For the times we offer what we have deemed as “good enough,” Jesus came to be better than “good enough.” He came to be perfect in our place.  The debt of gratitude we owe for the love he has shown is immeasurable.  Suffice it to say, it calls for our best.  Giving our best starts with giving him our whole hearts in response for giving us pure hearts.  It’s possible to give your money away without giving yourself, but it’s impossible to give away yourself without giving away your money. God’s primary concern is where your heart is.  He knows that if your heart is his, everything else will reflect that, including offerings.  Hearts that belong to God long to give him the best, because his grace moves us to it.

Hearts redeemed by Jesus give with an open hand, not a clenched fist.  A clenched fist is unwilling to part with money, but an open hand is open both to give freely, but also to receive freely the blessings that God pours out abundantly.  The clenched fist, the miserly heart, is not ready to receive more from God.  How can God place more blessings into a clenched fist?  Instead, look at what happened when Jesus opened his hands and spread his arms wide to give you blessing, the blessing of forgiveness and peace with God, which in turn opened up the storehouses of heaven, where God lavishes on you true riches. Open your hands and let go to see what God accomplishes through your open fists as well as what God puts into your hands.

God doesn’t need your money, but he loves it when we find joy in saying thank you to him.  He loves it when we prioritize our lives around him by returning a portion – the first and the best – back to him.  The key to Israel’s offering was that it was freely and joyfully given in response to God’s goodness and grace to his people.  What a joy it is for the Church when God’s people respond to the encouragement to keep him their priority!  Let’s keep the cheap wine and leftovers at home, and give God our best. Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

Reformation and Pottery

Reformation sunday

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Jeremiah 18:1-11

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. ⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. ⁷ If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, ⁸ and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. ⁹ And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, ¹⁰ and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. ¹¹ “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ (NIV)

If you are anything like me, then probably the closest you’ve come to any experience with sculpting or shaping pottery is playing with Play-Doh.  But it really is quite impressive to see a potter throwing pottery at a potter’s wheel.  Those of you who have actually tried your hand at it might be even more impressed, knowing from experience how difficult it can be (and all of those clay “ashtrays” in the back of the closet at home are evidence of how hard it is to make anything that resembles a useful item out of pottery).  Yet, what makes the art of pottery appealing is that it can be quite forgiving.  If the potter makes a mistake, he can pound his creation back into a lump of clay and start all over again.  He can reshape and reform it.

In that sense, pottery really has quite a bit to do with our observance this morning of the Reformation, which, at its core was really about reshaping and reforming.  In fact, that was really all that Martin Luther was interested in bringing about: reform.  Luther, the man after whom our church body is named, was schooled in Germany to become a lawyer, then joined a monastery, and eventually became a priest, a professor, and an academic (some might say was a bit of a theologian as wellJ).  He was a very learned man, but his intent was never to put the Roman Catholic Church in its place or radically branch out and found his own church, so that jokes and anecdotes about Catholics and Lutherans would be told for centuries to come.  No, his purpose was to reform. 

Like the potter who recognizes that his piece is ever-so-slightly uneven or misshapen, Luther started to identify such imperfections in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.  And, the more he read and studied the Scriptures, the more readily apparent the discrepancies became.  If a potter is trying to imitate or copy a particular vase or pot, he’ll look at the original to see how it compares.  In doing so, he can see where his replica needs work.  The more Luther looked at the original teachings in the Bible, the more visible the problem areas in the Roman Catholic Church became.  He identified a number of these concerns in his 95 Thesis, seeking to correct the problem areas in Roman Catholic teaching and bring about reform.  Of all those concerns, the greatest was his realization that the Roman Catholic Church was not teaching what he discovered to be the essential truth of Scripture, that man is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, revealed in Scripture alone.  Jesus, not works, was the way to heaven.  God’s grace and mercy, not man’s efforts and good intentions, were the only hope for salvation.  These were the central truths that came out of the Reformation.  Yet as much as the Reformation is arguably the most identifiable reform movement in history (for it alone is referred to as “The” Reformation), and terribly needed, it certainly wasn’t the first one necessary.

In fact, the prophet Jeremiah might today be considered just as notable a reformer as Luther, except for one significant difference: his call for reform fell on deaf ears.  Making his calling from the Lord even more of a challenge was the realization from day one that Jeremiah’s message wouldn’t stand to make him Mr. Popularity among his people.  The Golden Age of the United Kingdom had come and passed. The land flowing with milk and honey had become a house divided, the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom; Israel and Judah.  At the time of Jeremiah’s ministry, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had already been crushed.  Now only Judah remained, and she was a small bit player in the grand scheme of things, although she served as a geographical buffer between two world powers of the day, Egypt and Babylonia.     

Reform was needed during the time of Jeremiah, as God’s people had yet again fallen into the trap of doing what they knew so well how to do, which essentially amounted to anything that God told them not to.  God had always made it clear to his people that they were his special, chosen nation.  He loved them dearly and wanted them to be unique, to be set apart from all other nations.  The problem?  They didn’t want what God wanted.  Rather than being unique and set apart, they wanted to fit in.  Like a rebellious, insecure teenager who views mom & dad as out of touch and behind the times, so the people to whom Jeremiah was sent considered God’s call to turn away from worldly ways a reflection of an out of touch, behind the times God.   Because surely if adultery and idolatry were commonplace everywhere else, then they should be commonplace among God’s people as well. 

Now you and I know that in reality it was God’s people at the time who were out of touch and behind the times.  Jeremiah knew it, too.  The problem was that God’s people seemed to be the only ones who didn’t know it.  So what did God try to do?  He tried to straighten out and reform his people.  And as Jeremiah’s luck might have it, he was the one God appointed to call his people to reform.  What’s more, when they brushed off God’s call for reformation, Jeremiah was that man again and again and again.  His ministry was as thankless as they came.  When he spoke a message of God’s word to God’s people, they shrugged it off as coming from the no-good Jeremiah and of no real value.  Rather than trying to imagine how heart-wrenching Jeremiah’s ministry must have been, do yourself a favor and read through his take on it in his book of the Bible.  You will quickly wee why Jeremiah has been called the “Weeping Prophet.”  He loved his people and he loved his God, so it tore him to pieces when his own people failed to show that same love to God.

But God is persistent in trying to bring about reform in his people.  So he gave Jeremiah another set of instructions.  “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”  So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.  But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  Then the word of the Lord came to me.  He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel” (v.2-6).  God was establishing that he was free to do with his people what he wanted, as a potter is free to shape and mold a lump of clay.  If Israel would refuse to reform its ways, finally God had every right to reject them and start all over again.

God still has every right to do just that with his church today as well.  Will he need to?  If we’re not careful, we can miss how easily the church today can start to resemble God’s people at the time of Jeremiah.  We can start to want it both ways.  We certainly want to retain our identity as Christians, but we kinda sorta also want to retain it alongside our identity as people of this world.  Inevitably this will result in a compromise when it comes to doctrine and practice.  For example, God’s Word is clear on what it says about divorce – don’t do it.  But we see it everywhere we look in the world around us, and we attempt to justify the breaking of marriage vows simply because that is the common practice in the world.  Or consider our Sunday morning habits.  Christians know full well where God wants them to be each and every Sunday morning – hearing God’s Word in God’s house.  But influence from our friends and coworkers in the world around us slowly softens our stance on keeping Sundays sacred, so that we feel more and more OK with not being in church more and more often.

Now these may seem like little things, trivial things, really.  But there’s no such thing as far as God is concerned.  If you look at the churches that have sold out and truly gone off the deep end, blatantly denying the clear doctrines of Scripture without apology, chances are, they started with the little things.  Eventually the little things blew up into the big things, and then the very foundation of the Christian faith was called into question.  Yes, just as in the days of Jeremiah and Luther, there is as much a need for reform today, so that we don’t risk undermining the very essence of the Christian faith.

When God calls for reform, whether it be at the time of Jeremiah, Luther, or today, he essentially holds out two choices: 1) repent, and God will relent, or 2) don’t, and God won’t.  God spoke to Jeremiah, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.  If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned”   (6b-8).  God in his abundant grace has ways of warning his people when they go astray.  In doing so he is providing an opportunity for reformation.  He is also extending his grace, grace which assures that repentance is met with forgiveness.  The Lord can make such a promise because of all that Christ Jesus did on our behalf.  In Jesus life was lived in perfect obedience.  In Jesus the death sentence was served in our place.  In Jesus is God’s righteous demand met and offered to all by faith, not by earning it. In and through Jesus alone does God promise to relent against those who repent. 

There are, however, consequences for those who don’t repent, who don’t see any need of being reformed.  God said to Jeremiah, “And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it” (v.9,10).  Again, repent and God will relent; don’t and he won’t.  If, when God calls a people to repentance or promises them blessings, they refuse to repent, then like a marred pot at the potter’s wheel, God will ruin the pot that was being made and mash the clay back into a lump to start over again.

Jeremiah’s call for reform fell on deaf ears.  Luther’s call for reform, while refused by the Roman Catholic Church, was nonetheless effective in freeing others from the slavery of salvation by works and restoring the gospel to its rightful place of prominence in the Scriptures.

How effective will God’s call for reform be among us today?  Will it go unheeded, as it did among Jeremiah’s people?  Or, will it take root, as it did at Luther’s time?  May it take root in such away that with humble and penitent hearts, we – the clay – allow God – the potter – to shape us with his grace and forgiveness into beautiful vessels to be used by him in this world and to bring him great glory.  Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

Good Gifts Come from Above

The twentieth sunday after pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

James 1:17-27

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (NIV)

Do you remember how badly you wanted it?  It was the only thing you could think about.  In your mind you had this working list made up of all the practical reasons that you “needed” it.  You invested time in researching it to make sure it was the best.  You saved up enough money and finally you were able to buy it.

That was then.  This is now.  Now, it doesn’t begin to compare to the newer models.  Now, you look at it and all you can think of are all of the things it doesn’t do.  You see everyone else with a shiny new one and you pout because yours isn’t good enough.  It seems like you’re “the only one” who doesn’t have anything recent and you “always” have to settle for older models.  You are so much worse off because you never get anything fun and new like everyone else.

Funny as it might sound, it’s very easy for us to feel that way, isn’t it?  We have been programmed into thinking that if we don’t have the latest or the newest, then we don’t have anything.  Ironically, you could take truckloads of stuff out of our houses, and the truth is, we’d still have abundantly more than the overwhelming majority of people in the world. I point this out, not to bring about feelings of guilt, but because we need an occasional reality check once in a while.  We are so much more inclined to ungratefully dwell on all that we don’t have, instead of the rich supply of what we do have.  Face it, far more people in this world than we care to admit would be thrilled just to live off of what we throw away in a year.  In many ways you have more than your parents did, and much more than your grandparents ever did.  And all this even in the middle of the “harshest” of economic times.  You get the point – we’ve got lots.

But that’s not really the point, actually.  As James reminds us this morning, it’s not so much about what you have as it is who gave it to you.  What’s worse than not being truly appreciative of how much we have?  It’s forgetting where it came from in the first place.  James reminded us in our Second Lesson this morning: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (v.17).  Yes, you may have put it on your check card.  The check written to pay it off may have come from your check book.  It might have been your cash used to purchase it.  But make no mistake, you have it only because God gave it to you.

And whether it is acknowledged by others or not, God is the giver all things good.  So even the good that the unbeliever enjoys is good that comes from God.  Like the sun that shines everywhere, from the highest alpine meadow to the lowest tucked away valley, and everywhere between, so God is the giver of every good thing this world has ever known.  That has always been the case and it always will be the case.  It will never change, as James illustrated with the words, “who does not change like shifting shadows.”  As the sun shifts, a shadow may change slightly over the course of the day.  But the sun doesn’t change.  It still shines.  Our good gifts may change, but the giver of them does not.  He is God.  His gifts will always be good.

Of these good gifts, there is a gift that God gives that far surpasses the rest of them.  One gift that by comparison completely overshadows the rest.  Without this gift, no other good gift matters.  One can live his appointed years on this earth enjoying all the other good gifts God gives, but without this one essential gift, he cannot live beyond that in heaven with Jesus.  That gift is the gift of faith, and just like every other good gift, it comes only from God, only because God chooses to give it, as James reminded us.  “[God] chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created” (v.18).  The birth that he refers to here is the spiritual rebirth of being born again into God’s family.  We were given physical life when our mothers brought us into this world.  We were given spiritual life when God called us to faith through his Word, whether that first involved the application of water with the Word in baptism, or whether that Word stood alone and the good news of life and salvation in Jesus so permeated the heart that the blindness of unbelief could no longer oppose it and a child of God was born.

You have countless good gifts from God, but none greater than this.  Not a one.  Not even close.  Your faith in Jesus as your Savior from sin is priceless, though it came at a cost.  Though it cost you nothing, it cost God the Father his Son.  How much does a Father love someone for whom he’s willing to give up his own Son?  Enough to also to go another step and give you his Word, which lays out in such an incredibly detailed manner the historical record of his loving actions on your behalf.  History is plastered with record after record of God’s gracious deeds on your behalf and yet, as compelling as they all are, they were only the shadow of what was to come.  The reality, the greatest gift of all, came in the person of your Savior, Jesus Christ.

James reminds us that that great gift, and all other good gifts, are from God. When we receive good gifts, when we have things that we enjoy, we have ways of showing that we appreciate them, don’t we? We do that naturally without even thinking about it.  People can tell what we truly treasure by observing certain things.  Your schedule for example will reflect what is important to you by making time for certain things.  If working out is important, you set aside time for it.  If watching your kids play sports is important, you schedule time for it.  If you have a hobby or a show or some event that you treasure, you make time for it.  You also handle things differently if they are important to you.  The china that has been passed down to you is one of those “look, but don’t touch” items for little hands, whereas a hand-me-down T-shirt doesn’t enjoy the same protection.  If we treasure something, usually others know about it, because we find ourselves talking about it often.  These are just a few of the ways that we show we appreciate certain gifts and other things that are important to us.

James spends a number of verses giving numerous examples of how we can demonstrate with our lives how thankful we are to God for all his gracious gifts, especially the gift of our faith, and it’s object, Jesus.  One of the ways by which we show how much we treasure the gifts of our good and gracious Father is in how we speak.  And also in how we don’t speak.  In fact, often times that is where we tend to struggle.  It’s not in what we say, but sometimes learning not so say anything.  James said it this way: “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” (v.22).  We often have it turned completely around.  We’re quick to speak and much too slow just to listen.  We could learn from the example of the loquacious young man who approached the philosopher Socrates, hoping to learn from him the art of speaking.  Socrates explained that he would have to charge the young man double, as he needed to teach him not just one, but two skills: how to speak, yes; but also how to hold his tongue. We are thankful for God’s gracious gifts, especially his gift of faith.  Let us reflect it by being quick to listen and slow to speak.

That skill, the ability to hold one’s tongue and just listen, tends to be very much related to one’s success in controlling anger.  James reminds us, “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (v20).  That’s probably not a big shocker to most of us, that letting our anger get out of control doesn’t generally result in conducting ourselves in the righteous manner that God expects.  In fact, it’s almost just a little bit condescending, isn’t it?  As if we know better, but we do it anyway.  Obviously uncontrolled anger and righteousness have nothing to do with each other!  Indeed, we might be inclined to think, “well duh!” when reading this, except that such a response would only highlight all the more how shameful it is that we know well enough, but that our behavior still doesn’t reflect the practice of James’ blatantly obvious point.  We are thankful for God’s gracious gifts, especially his gift of faith.  Let us reflect it by controlling our anger.

As we seek to control our anger, one of the ways we can do it is by “get[ting] rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept[ing] the word planted in you, which can save you” (v.21).  It’s much easier to control our anger if we avoid the garbage that sets us off and dwell more in the Word which saves us.  But James goes on to make a crucial point about that Word: it is of little value if it merely goes in one ear and out the other.  He points out that another way in which we can show our thanks to God for his generosity is in how we treat his Word. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (v.22).  Applying what is heard in God’s Word is essential.  Yes, the Word works, but not like some simple voice recognition technology, where the listener of the Bible merely acknowledges that he is in fact hearing the Bible.  Rather, the words heard must hit the heart. 

For example, consider the man who hears the fire alarm go off in his office building, but remains in his cubicle even after the chaotic exit of all his fellow employees has taken place.  He dies in the burning building.  Why?  Not because he didn’t hear the fire alarm, but because he didn’t take to heart what it meant and apply it’s emergency warning and evacuate the building.  Or what would you think of the convicted criminal sitting in his jail cell who doesn’t move an inch from his bed even after the deputy unlocks his cell, informs him that he’s been pardoned, and holds open the doors to freedom?  He heard that he was freed, that he was pardoned, but he chose to remain in prison.

So it is with those who hear God’s law, but do not bother to heed it’s warning.  So it is with those who hear God’s gospel, his good and gracious gift of pardon and forgiveness in Jesus, but refuse it and instead choose to remain in sin and its prison.  Don’t merely think that hearing the Word is sufficient and fool yourself.  Apply it.  Do what it says.  When it calls for repentance, repent.  When it guarantees forgiveness, believe it.  Let it sink into your heart, transform it, and make you new and whole again.  Right now you are showing your thanks to God for his gracious gifts by hearing his Word.  When you leave this morning, show that you treasure that Word not just by hearing, but by doing, by applying it and by putting your gift of faith into practice in the many ways James points out.  Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

Rejoice in the Gospel

The nineteenth sunday after pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Philippians 1:12-18a

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. ¹⁵ It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶ The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸ But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. (NIV)

Motivation matters.  It’s why a loss to a college football player may be a devastating blow, whereas a loss to an NFL player may not affect him nearly as much.  The college player will leave it all out on the field and do everything he can to get a win, because he’s motivated to make it to the next level.  But the NFL player has already made it.  He gets paid the big bucks whether he wins or loses, so he may not be as motivated as the college player is to give it his all.  The finished product in art class for the high school student trying to get into the Art Institute is probably going to be of a little higher quality than the student just handing something in because he wants to pass the class.  The one student is motivated to put together an impressive portfolio in hopes of her art being recognized, while the other just wants to graduate.  The employee who is motivated to eventually take on an upper management position within the company is more likely to do the extra little things above and beyond what is expected than the employee who is happy just to punch in & out each day and receive a paycheck for showing up.

The same applies to us as Christians.  Motivation matters as we live out our Christian faith.  It matters, not as far as our salvation is concerned; rather, it matters because motivation separates the good that we do now from the “good” that we did before coming to faith.  The unbelieving, unconverted heart was prompted to do good out of obligation, slavery, or self-serving motives.  But now the new heart in each of us is characterized by a peace-filled cheerfulness that delights in doing good.  I give because Christ invites me to, not because he demands it.  I serve because I want to, not because I have to be coerced or strong-armed into it.  I put others before self, not because I hope they’ll return the favor sometime, but because Christ put me first.  God longs to see good deeds that spring from a gospel-motivated spirit, not a law-leaning attitude, so yes, motivation matters.

Except for when motivation doesn’t matter.  If you listen again to what Paul wrote to the Philippians, see if it doesn’t sound just a little bit like that is what he’s saying, that motivation doesn’t matter.  “The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (v.17,18a).  “But what does it matter” Paul writes, “the important thing is that…Christ is preached.”  So it doesn’t matter where a person’s heart is?  It doesn’t matter that his reasons for proclaiming Christ may not at all be gospel-motivated?  And, Paul doesn’t just say that he tolerates such misguided preaching, but that he rejoices in it! Paul says it doesn’t matter why a person preaches Christ, so long as Christ is preached.  When that happens, no matter why it happens, Paul rejoices.

Now let’s assume that Paul hasn’t lost it or that he isn’t speaking out of his mind for just a minute.  Let’s try to understand where he’s coming from when he’s writing these words.  Philippians is one of those letters we refer to as a “prison epistle.”  In other words, as Paul was writing this letter from Rome, he wasn’t writing it as a free man.  He knew that the members of the mission congregations he had started and served were concerned about him.  They had heard about his trial and wondered how things were progressing.  Based on the degree of optimism that is clearly evident throughout the entire book of Philippians, one would assume Paul’s trial was going quite well.  And while that was the case, it is very clear that Paul’s optimism had less to do with his personal situation in regard to the false charges brought against him, and much more to do with the joy that stemmed from gospel ministry.

Even as a prisoner, Paul gives reasons to rejoice.  He wrote, “Now I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (v.12-24).  Prison didn’t depress Paul, because he was overwhelmingly convinced that his status as a prisoner was directly related to God’s greater goal of advancing the gospel, the good news about Jesus.  It wasn’t just Paul the prisoner who went to Rome, but the gospel that went to Rome.  That was how Paul saw it, and that joy overshadowed the otherwise gloomy reality of being a prisoner.  Paul saw reason to rejoice in his chains, because for him they were symbolic of the gospel spreading and advancing throughout the world.

Not only that, but Paul’s prison situation spurred on others to carry the baton of gospel ministry and speak even more boldly about the news of deliverance from death and forgiveness for life and salvation in Jesus.  The enemies of the cross have always underestimated how God uses persecution against his church to light a fire in the belly of his followers.  Imprisoning a highly respected and beloved pastor like Paul did not silence the church, but stirred it up and prompted it to passionately proclaim Christ all the more.  Timidity gave way to a new boldness.  Fear was replaced with lion-like courage.  Yes, the gospel was at work in the hearts of believers, and gospel motivation begat gospel proclamation.  There was reason to rejoice!

But now we return to that matter of motivation, because as much as the gospel was being proclaimed, it wasn’t always for the right reasons.  The motivation of some was disingenuous.  Sometimes, in some places, preachers and teachers had an agenda.  They had selfish motives and reasons for proclaiming the gospel.  Some had seen what effect it had on people when Paul preached it, and sought to take advantage of the persuasive power of the gospel in some way or another.  Others recognized that with Paul in chains, now was a chance to make a name for themselves.  Still others simply saw it as an opportunity to make money.  No matter what the reasons, at least in certain situations, they weren’t pure.

Should we think that everyone today who claims to speak authoritatively on the Word of God is driven by the proper motivation?  When we see preachers imprisoned and the reputations of certain televangelists tarnished by multiple accusations of impropriety of one sort or another, we wonder about the motives behind their ministry.  We see the face of the latest preaching personality plastered everywhere, and it doesn’t seem to fall in line with the humility to which Jesus calls us.  We may not be able to see into hearts to determine who’s in it for the “right reasons,” but the sad reality is that sometimes that isn’t even necessary because the misguided motivation is all too evident for many to see.

And even when we may not see it in others, we don’t have to look very far, for it’s also right there in each of us from time to time.  Parents help their children learn memory work for our school, not because God’s Word is living and active, and the single best thing we can share with our children, but because it’s another assignment that needs to get done for a good grade.  We find ourselves debating with another person about what God’s Word says, not because we’re concerned with upholding the truth and contending for that person’s soul, but because we want to show the other person how wrong he is.  Our motives can be every bit as crooked as those of the individuals Paul was writing about.  In some cases our hearts reflect a worldly motivation similar to that of the Jesus-peddling pretenders of Paul’s day.  We can be every bit as guilty of the exact same sin. 

But still Paul would rejoice.  How?  Why?  Because it’s not about the Motivation; it’s about the Means.  That is to say, the motivation of the one mouthing the Word of God does not make the Word of God effective or ineffective.  So whether it is a televangelist who is trying to preach his way into your pocketbook (and by thy way, not all televangelists are evil people!) or a simple-minded pastor who cares deeply about your soul, if both proclaim the death and Resurrection of Jesus as the only way of salvation, then the ears of those in either audience have just heard the life-changing message of the gospel!  The Holy Spirit can work through the message of the deceitful charlatan or the dedicated shepherd.  It’s not about the motivation; it’s about the means.

That’s the beauty of the means of grace in Word and Sacrament.  God gives us the tools to use, but he’s the one who accomplishes the work through them.  He simply calls his church to make sure the tools aren’t lying by idly on the workbench.  Whether those tools are in the hands of an apprentice or an expert, they can still get the job done, because the Holy Spirit is the One doing all the work.  Paul knew that about the gospel, and that’s why he was rejoicing.  Even in chains.  Even as others tried to imitate his work of preaching for completely selfish and impure reasons.  He rejoiced because the tools, the means, were being used.  And he knew the Lord would still work through them. 

We can rejoice in the gospel today for the same reason.  God’s grace to us in Christ Jesus isn’t rendered null and void just because the messenger didn’t have pure intentions when he spoke.  God’s assurance of forgiveness does not become invalid even if the person speaking that forgiveness doesn’t truly believe it.  The Word always works, regardless of why that Word is being passed along.  It’s not about the motivation; it’s about the means.  And God’s Means of Grace do not disappoint.  May we again be reminded of that as we have the blessed privilege of receiving his forgiveness in his body and blood this morning in the Lord’s Supper.  May we rejoice in that gospel, and may we confidently speak it to one another and to those whose ears have not yet heard it. Amen.

 

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

"Fortifying the Family" Series, Week Five: Family First

The eighteenth sunday after pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Mark 9:30-37

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. 33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (NIV)

We hear on the news that ongoing drought is going to mean less corn production, and with less corn being produced, then all the products that utilize corn in any way are going to go up in price, which means we’re going to be hit in the pocketbook.  Oh, and I suppose it also means that farmers stand to lose money on this year’s crop, and that with less corn being produced – a basic food source all over the world – more people are likely to die of starvation as a result in certain parts of the world.  But the farmers and those starving aren’t first on our minds; we are, and how this will inconvenience us.  A jumper on one of the overpasses on the highway has caused that section of the highway to be closed down.  Because that was going to be exactly where I needed to drive, now I have to take a longer way to get where I was going.  The thought that someone is considering taking his life – well, that isn’t as pressing a concern.  My car is going to be in the shop another day because the mechanic who was supposed to finish it up didn’t come in to work today.  I’m thinking about how that means another day of shifting my schedule and depending on others for rides, but I never stopped to consider think about whether or not all is OK for the mechanic who didn’t show up, because I didn’t know that his little girl had to have a life-saving procedure done at the hospital. We have a pretty egocentric view on life, don’t we?  We tend to put self first, and well, everyone else can just fall into line behind us.

It even happens within our families, doesn’t it?  Even there we can have a tendency to be very self-serving.  A child helps with chores, so long as there is some sort of reward in it for him; but when no reward is involved, such help is hard to come by.  There’s one more piece of pizza in the fridge, so we grab it before someone else gets it.  Siblings go to great lengths to make sure that everything is fair when it comes to food/snack portions, not because they care about brother or sister getting enough, but because they want to make sure that they don’t get short-changed.  Husbands and wives, we do it too, when we willingly give approval to an activity that the spouse wants to do, because we know that it means we’ll get to what we want to do another time.  Let’s face it: human nature cares about self first and foremost, and that reality is just as likely to show up in the home as it is anywhere else.

This morning Jesus seeks to address that issue of selfishness, an issue that really is at the core of so much of what’s wrong in each of us and in the world and in our families.  Our own selfishness can have just as negative an impact on the family as any number of external influences from the secular world.  As we wrap up our “Fortifying the Family” series, we see how essential it is to put family first.  If we are going to strengthen our families, then they need to become a bigger priority in our lives than even our own self.  By default then, putting family first means a willingness to put self second, or third, or fourth, and so on. May God guide us with his grace this morning as we seek to put Family First.

You aren’t the first to have issues with putting yourself first.  Jesus’ disciples were concerned with the very same thing.  We don’t know exactly what sparked the conversation, but at some point along the journey to Capernaum, there was some discussion about who among the Twelve was the greatest.  With the recent mountain top experience of the Transfiguration for the inner circle of three, some may have been inquiring about pecking order.

There is sufficient evidence that the disciples were aware that they shouldn’t have been arguing about such a thing as who was the greatest among them.  Feigning ignorance, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” (v.33).  Mark tells us that they kept quiet (v.34).  They didn’t answer Jesus.  Why not?  Couldn’t Jesus have settled the debate right then and there about who among them was the greatest?   So why wouldn’t they just tell him what they had been discussing?  More than likely, it’s because they knew deep down inside that they shouldn’t have been discussing it.  They may very well have been ashamed that they were talking about such a childish thing.  Or, it may be that they had some sort of an inkling that Jesus’ idea of greatness didn’t match their own perception of what greatness truly was.

Supporting this might be their reaction to Jesus’ recently repeated revelation about what was going to happen to him.  Jesus said, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise” (v.31).  Pretty heavy stuff.  Yet note their response: “But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (v.32).  Why the fear?  Why not ask Jesus to explain things further?  Maybe they didn’t want to look foolish, thinking Jesus would expect them to get it by this point.  Or maybe they were afraid they wouldn’t like Jesus’ answer if they asked him to further explain the details about what was going to happen, including the part about one of them betraying Jesus.  Or, maybe the topic of betrayal, suffering, and death didn’t really fit their paradigm of greatness.  If that was the case, it might also explain their silence when Jesus asked them what they were debating on the road.

Finally, their reasons for discussing such a topic and then avoiding it when Jesus brought it up again are not as important as how Jesus responded next.  What was his response?  He said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (v.35).  Realize how backwards Jesus’ words must have sounded.  In about a month we’ll have a presidential election, but we don’t expect the man with the fewest votes to get elected.  We don’t crown that last-place team as champion.  We don’t assume that the janitor cleaning the rest room is the CEO of the company.  No, last isn’t first, and the servant isn’t the greatest – not by our way of thinking, at least. 

However, if we set our way of thinking aside for just a moment and consider Jesus’ life in connection with the words he spoke here, the true picture of greatness starts to take shape.  Jesus is first in every sense of the word.  He was here first, before any of us, before anything was brought into existence at Creation.  As far as might, rule, authority, honor, glory, wisdom, understanding, and on and on and on, Jesus is first.  In fact he is both the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega.

But for a time he set it all aside and willingly became last.  The Master became the Servant.  The Greatest became the Least.  And here is what sets Christianity apart from every religion devised by men: no man-made religion could conceive of a God who became least of all.  Why?  Because no religion of men could ever conceive of grace.  For grace compelled God to make himself the very last for you in Christ, so that you could be first.  All that he is and was he set aside for a time, to become last and servant of all, that he might suffer in your place; that he might bear your sin of selfishness; that he might bear your guilt, and that he might finally die in your place to clear your record of sin and pay for it completely.  And by his Resurrection we have the assurance that the Father fully accepted the Son’s sacrifice, and that his determination to become last so that we might become first was not in vain.

The First became the Last.  The Master became the Servant.  Look to Jesus and there you see what you will not see anywhere else you look; there you will see Godly greatness.  It is indeed a rarity that anyone would be willing to be last or to become a servant for others, but even more so that God himself would do it.  Our Sovereign Lord, who deserves only to be served, became the servant.  The Ruler of the heavens and the earth, before whom no one else has a right to stand, humbly placed himself lower than all others, becoming last so that we might benefit first from his sacrifice.

Do we want to fortify our families?  Then look to Christ, who has made them strong by putting them first and making himself last.  And see in his sacrifice not only reason to give thanks, but reason to show thanks, by imitating that greatness and becoming last and servant to your family.  Look at your spouse, your children, your parents, not only as blessings that God has given to take care of you and to work together with as a family, but as individuals whom God has placed into your life for you to serve.  Appreciate the varied ways God allows you to demonstrate your love to him and to them by putting them first and joyfully serving.  Dads, serve them first and foremost with the Word of God, for nothing is more important, but serve them with your hands as well, and with your time.  Mothers, you deserve the greatest of praise, since you are more naturally inclined toward serving your family in so many ways.  Find joy in that privilege that God has given you in helping to manage the household and daily activities.  Children, serve your parents without having to be asked.  Do so in love and obedience, and live in harmony with your siblings, for God has given them specially to you as your brother, as your sister.  Love them and serve them as God’s gift to you.

And if you want to strengthen your family at home, do the same thing for your family at church.  Aren’t the two related?  Aren’t they connected – your family that dwells under the same roof and your family that gathers in God’s house?  One is bound by flesh and blood; the other finds its family ties in faith and in spirit.  Both are opportunities to place ourselves last by serving others first.  Respect and honor your church leaders.  Serve them by speaking well of them, but also by assisting them when needed and by praying for them and encouraging them and supporting them.  Show thanks to those who serve on Boards, not just verbally, but by asking how you might help.  Thank an usher.  Send a card to our organists.  Surprise a teacher with a gift.  Sign up to serve refreshments or clean the church.  Remember that we are not here just to Seek the Lost, but also to Serve the Found, and that means serving your church family.

See those that share the same roof at home with you and those that gather in the same sanctuary with you as the blessed family God has brought into your life.  Then, just as Jesus graciously did for each of us, become last by serving them first.  May God bless our efforts at Fortifying our Families as we put them first. Amen.

                                                             

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)