19th Sunday after Pentecost
October 11, 2009
Mark 10:17-31
You know the story well in today’s Gospel which I just read: Jesus and his disciples are walking along a road heading to Jerusalem. And you also know very well what awaits Jesus there: betrayal, trial, suffering, crucifixion ~ a horrible death.
And on the way to the forum, so to speak:
A fellow Jew, a prosperous young man, apparently after hearing Jesus express that soon only God would be ruling over them (meaning the Romans would be gone) and that the kingdom of God was coming and God’s kingdom would be brought in by the hoped-for Messiah, approaches Jesus and asks for Jesus' opinion.
"My good man," the young man said, "what do you think that I should do so that I may receive God's gift of eternal life?"
Jesus is quick to respond to his query: "Why do you address me as your 'good man'"? "No one is truly good except God alone! But in answer to your question: You know the commandments: 'Do not murder anyone, nor commit adultery, nor steal nor defraud anyone. Honor your father and your mother.'"
And the young man proudly proclaims to Jesus, "Sir, I have carefully observed all of these commandments from the time that I was young." Ahh! That’s quite some claim.
And then Mark says something that is not mentioned in any other account of this episode: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”
Very interesting phrase: Perhaps Jesus sees that, despite all of the young man’s virtues, he lacks just one thing, and that is what he demands the young man deal with first. There is just one impediment, one thing blocking his becoming a full-fledged, fully focused follower.
Or perhaps Jesus thinks that the young man is not all that sincere in his request of him and so is therefore attempting to test the young man’s sincerity. We don’t know for sure. All we know is that what Jesus says to him he says out of love.
That’s when Jesus shocks this eager young man down to his toes with these words: “Go sell what you own and give the proceeds to the poor; then you will have treasure in heaven. Then, after that, come, follow men!”
Wow! That’s a bomb shell the young man was certainly not expecting, no, not at all! With that, the young man slowly turned away and “went away grieving.”
Note that what we have here is a call story. Someone is being called by Jesus to follow him along the way. Jesus is not interested at this first moment how this man feels or how smart he is or even if he’ll remain faithful. He just wants to know if he is up to following him right now. He looks at him and sees the one thing needful, that which is required for discipleship, and loves him enough to lay it front and center.
Now - If you were the one coming before Jesus that day, what would he demand of you? What would be that one thing that perhaps keeps you from wholehearted, focused, intense discipleship? Long ago, a wise man, a Danish theologian, named Soren Kierkegaard made this observation:
“Christ has many admirers but few followers.” Very Interesting!
Thus, today’s Gospel lesson ends with Jesus’ disciples saying that they have left everything (businesses, homes, family, perhaps wives & girlfriends, even a good bed to sleep on to say nothing of a roof over their heads!) and followed Jesus. They feel they’ve made quite a sacrifice. So Jesus reassures them that there is nothing that they have given up to follow him that will not be restored to them a hundred times greater in the future. What they have given up pales in comparison to the benefits of following him, of being his disciple. Yes, there are indeed benefits to following Jesus, but, Jesus forcefully reminds us: costs as well. And Jesus loves us enough to be upfront about the cost.
Christianity is all about loving Jesus the Christ enough to be a servant, and it is all about loving Jesus in the same manner that Jesus loves us as a servant. The acid test for our love is sometimes how much we have been willing to give up for Jesus in order to realize the gift that he offers us.
Discipleship – following Jesus – is really very difficult for a number of reasons. When we take our Christianity serious, we have to note that Jesus is really quite demanding and sometimes his demands cut against some of our most cherished values. Sometimes his demands challenge our dearest idols. For those of us in the affluent West, our greatest hindrance is money and what money can buy for us.
I think Jesus really has problems with our commitment to money. He’d much rather we were committed to him FIRST, really FIRST! Many in our society, including many of us, I would say, are infected with AFFLUENZA - you get it, don’t you? It’s a combination of affluence and influenza! We in America who make up less than 6% of the world’s population use up 40% of the world’s resources. It’s like a disease; it invades your mind, body and spirit insidiously without our even being aware of it. Think about it! Affluenza!
In some form or other Jesus says the same to us as to the young man:
“Go, my rich young friend, go sell all that you have and give it to the poor, then come, follow me.”
Ouch! That must have hurt really deep.
For with that radical command to redistribute his wealth, the man slumped down and got totally depressed, muttering to himself, “And I thought Jesus was a nice guy.” He climbs into his Porsche and departs. Which leads Jesus to mutter loud enough for all his disciples to hear, “You just can’t save the rich people!”
Jesus playfully replies to his disciples query then about who in the world can be saved, that with God all things “are possible.” It can indeed happen. Like it or not: you and I are included in that “rich people” bunch when you compare us and our standards of living with the vast majority of our world’s population!
Listen folks: The future of Christ’s kingdom, of Christ’s church, of Christ’s mission here in this place that goes by the name of Grace Lutheran is possible only because of the relentless desire of a loving God to get what God wants. And he’ll keep on calling you, pestering you and me until we let go of whatever it may be that stands between us and him. What is it in your life? What is it in mine? I hope it’s nothing, but it could be; perhaps only known to you and God!
Yet, as you and I are honest before God, if there is something between us and God, we’ll have to put it front and center, lay it on the table, and decide if we’re willing to be a fully committed, whole-hearted servants of the Christ.
Give that some serious thought this week! Is there anything - anything at all - in my relationship with God in Jesus Christ that stands in the way of that relationship being as full and rich that it can be.
Remember Jesus said: “I have come that you might have life ~ eternal life ~ and have it abundantly.”
That’s his promise. A M E N
Dr. Bob Rademacher, Vis. Pr.
Grace Lutheran Church
Lincoln, NE
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Journey
Mark 8:27-38
September 13, 2009
It is very interesting that today’s gospel writer, Mark, uses the picture language of a journey as a way of organizing his story of Jesus. In Mark’s gospel when Jesus invites people to come and follow him, he invites them to join him on a journey.
In Mark’s Gospel, it seems Jesus is always on the way to somewhere else. Mark tells the story of Jesus with a breathless tempo. He says that Jesus did this and then immediately does the next thing and then he is off to someplace else.
Jesus is always on the move.
For example: When you get to the very end of Mark, Mark says that the women came to the tomb on Easter morning. But by the time they get there, they are greeted by a "young man in white" who tells them, "You're looking for Jesus? Sorry. Just missed him. By this time of the morning, he is already well on the way to Galilee. Now run along and tell his disciples."
Isn't that typical of Jesus? Just about the time we are about to get the point, almost ready to catch up with him, he is on the way somewhere else!
The picture you get of Jesus' followers, his disciples, in Mark's account, is of a group of people who are always breathlessly trying to catch up, always just one step behind Jesus as he moves on to somewhere else.
Today's gospel is such a moment, a snapshot if you will, along the way of the journey with Jesus. Jesus pauses to ask his disciples, seemingly out of the clear blue: "By the way, who do people say that I am?"
And after hearing what other people have to say about him, Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is!
Ahh! It’s a test. And as usual in Mark's Gospel, it is a test that the disciples flunk. Peter answers that question for the group of disciples by saying that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the anointed one of Israel.
But strangely after Peter said this, a couple of odd things happen:
1. Jesus first of all tells them to be quiet about his being the Messiah; don’t tell anybody. Shhh! Keep it a secret about my being the Messiah.
2. And secondly, Jesus proceeds to inform the bewildered disciples that the next thing on his personal agenda is to suffer, die and be raised alive! Um, what on earth do you suppose that all about?
When Peter hears what Jesus is planning, he protests Jesus' expectation of his upcoming suffering and death (strange! because who would expect a Messiah to suffer and die?); In response, Jesus scolds Peter in the harshest of terms, calling him "Satan," or “you devil; get out of my way!”
This episode is an example of the way in which Jesus' identity gradually unfolds for the disciples. The disciples in Mark must learn, in their everyday experience of Jesus, listening to his words, observing his actions, who Jesus is. Alas, in this gospel, the disciples don't seem to learn much! They are forever giving the wrong answer, as Peter does here. They seem unbelievably thick-headed.
We contemporary disciples might take heart from Mark's rather unflattering depiction of the first disciples. After all, we struggle to get the point of Jesus, but sometimes we just don't. We are on a lifetime journey with Jesus in which his meaning for us unfolds gradually as we journey.
There are those who act as if their "acceptance of the Christ," or who "have been saved," or "have decided to become a Christian," or even when they were baptized, that that was the end of their journey with Jesus, they have reached the goal, they have arrived.
No, not at all. That journey to which Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, calls us to, begins with his call to us to walk with him, but that is only the beginning, not the end of the story of discipleship.
Faithfulness to Jesus requires a willingness to learn from the Master, and to expect that there will always be twists and turns and surprises along the way. It was true for his first disciples. It shall certainly be true for us as well.
Traveling with Jesus is a journey that is definitely an adventure. In fact, one of the things that makes a journey an adventure is when we don't know the destination. We have a word for that, coming from the name of a ship (The Serendip) in a story about a group of adventurers. The word we take from that story is serendipity. It simply means making a surprising discovery while on a journey to somewhere else, a completely unexpected bonus in your adventure.
And if you have been journeying with Jesus very long, you know how serendipitous that journey is; you learn that it is quite typical to keep making surprising discoveries with Jesus, even when you are on the way somewhere else.
Now here, at this point in our text today, is where the whole thing really turns serendipitous, becomes a true adventure.
Things become ominous and really hard to understand:
Jesus drops this bomb shell on us; he calls us to “take up our crosses and follow him,” in effect, he calls his followers to “come and die!” How do you like them apples? Ummm! Strange, don’t you think? Let me read what Jesus said here from a different translation:
37Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, [it’s] my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose {yourself}, [you] the real you? What[ever] could you ever trade your {life} [soul] for?
Now that’s pretty heady stuff! In plain English, THE SAVIOR BIDS YOU COME AND DIE! Yes, DIE! Take up your cross, he says! Does that sound like a party? Does that sound like ease and luxury? Does that sound like a “walk in the park”? Not in my ears, it doesn’t!
So if you are thinking about faithful discipleship, don't think of it in terms about getting your heads straight on a long list of fundamental beliefs or preconceived ideas. Don't think about discipleship as memorizing a whole string of Bible verses. Think about discipleship as a journey, a journey with Jesus.
When you were baptized, NOW GET THIS: when you were baptized, the Christ called you to “come and die,” to live your life on his behalf even when it includes suffering in your walk as a Christian and suffering and standing along side others in their grief and sorrow.
And in the Christ, we find that dying is not the end of the world, but in the Christ, it is the greatest of new beginnings! Really, only when we realize that are we truly free to live, to give ourselves away on behalf of others in service of the Christ. Having a pain or troubles in life and bearing them with a smile has absolutely, positively nothing in the world to do with bearing your cross in Christ’s name!
Welcome, friends, to the topsy-turvey world, the upside down world of Jesus where losing is winning and winning is losing, living is dying and dying is living. It truly is God’s world, a world worth giving your life for.
Jesus stands among us today and says, Come, follow me, come with me on a serendipitous, adventurous journey! When you’re traveling with me, you never know what will be required of you! It is through hearing and responding to that call to risk everything for Jesus, on behalf of the world. The gift of salvation IS the call to follow; the gift IS the call!
German theologian and Lutheran pastor of World War II vintage, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, once said, “When Christ Jesus calls a person, he bids that person come and die.” Yes, folks, that’s every bit as bad as it sounds, yet better than you and I can imagine!
This is the story that each of us is finishing for ourselves. Each of us is busy tagging along behind Jesus, being surprised by Jesus, trying to figure out what he said at the last stop, being amazed at the places that he leads us on this adventure…the adventure that leads to new and abundant life, the reason for which Jesus came.
See you, fellow traveler with the Christ, on the journey! A M E N
Dr. Bob Rademacher
Grace Lutheran Church
Lincoln, Nebraska
September 13, 2009
September 13, 2009
It is very interesting that today’s gospel writer, Mark, uses the picture language of a journey as a way of organizing his story of Jesus. In Mark’s gospel when Jesus invites people to come and follow him, he invites them to join him on a journey.
In Mark’s Gospel, it seems Jesus is always on the way to somewhere else. Mark tells the story of Jesus with a breathless tempo. He says that Jesus did this and then immediately does the next thing and then he is off to someplace else.
Jesus is always on the move.
For example: When you get to the very end of Mark, Mark says that the women came to the tomb on Easter morning. But by the time they get there, they are greeted by a "young man in white" who tells them, "You're looking for Jesus? Sorry. Just missed him. By this time of the morning, he is already well on the way to Galilee. Now run along and tell his disciples."
Isn't that typical of Jesus? Just about the time we are about to get the point, almost ready to catch up with him, he is on the way somewhere else!
The picture you get of Jesus' followers, his disciples, in Mark's account, is of a group of people who are always breathlessly trying to catch up, always just one step behind Jesus as he moves on to somewhere else.
Today's gospel is such a moment, a snapshot if you will, along the way of the journey with Jesus. Jesus pauses to ask his disciples, seemingly out of the clear blue: "By the way, who do people say that I am?"
And after hearing what other people have to say about him, Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is!
Ahh! It’s a test. And as usual in Mark's Gospel, it is a test that the disciples flunk. Peter answers that question for the group of disciples by saying that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the anointed one of Israel.
But strangely after Peter said this, a couple of odd things happen:
1. Jesus first of all tells them to be quiet about his being the Messiah; don’t tell anybody. Shhh! Keep it a secret about my being the Messiah.
2. And secondly, Jesus proceeds to inform the bewildered disciples that the next thing on his personal agenda is to suffer, die and be raised alive! Um, what on earth do you suppose that all about?
When Peter hears what Jesus is planning, he protests Jesus' expectation of his upcoming suffering and death (strange! because who would expect a Messiah to suffer and die?); In response, Jesus scolds Peter in the harshest of terms, calling him "Satan," or “you devil; get out of my way!”
This episode is an example of the way in which Jesus' identity gradually unfolds for the disciples. The disciples in Mark must learn, in their everyday experience of Jesus, listening to his words, observing his actions, who Jesus is. Alas, in this gospel, the disciples don't seem to learn much! They are forever giving the wrong answer, as Peter does here. They seem unbelievably thick-headed.
We contemporary disciples might take heart from Mark's rather unflattering depiction of the first disciples. After all, we struggle to get the point of Jesus, but sometimes we just don't. We are on a lifetime journey with Jesus in which his meaning for us unfolds gradually as we journey.
There are those who act as if their "acceptance of the Christ," or who "have been saved," or "have decided to become a Christian," or even when they were baptized, that that was the end of their journey with Jesus, they have reached the goal, they have arrived.
No, not at all. That journey to which Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, calls us to, begins with his call to us to walk with him, but that is only the beginning, not the end of the story of discipleship.
Faithfulness to Jesus requires a willingness to learn from the Master, and to expect that there will always be twists and turns and surprises along the way. It was true for his first disciples. It shall certainly be true for us as well.
Traveling with Jesus is a journey that is definitely an adventure. In fact, one of the things that makes a journey an adventure is when we don't know the destination. We have a word for that, coming from the name of a ship (The Serendip) in a story about a group of adventurers. The word we take from that story is serendipity. It simply means making a surprising discovery while on a journey to somewhere else, a completely unexpected bonus in your adventure.
And if you have been journeying with Jesus very long, you know how serendipitous that journey is; you learn that it is quite typical to keep making surprising discoveries with Jesus, even when you are on the way somewhere else.
Now here, at this point in our text today, is where the whole thing really turns serendipitous, becomes a true adventure.
Things become ominous and really hard to understand:
Jesus drops this bomb shell on us; he calls us to “take up our crosses and follow him,” in effect, he calls his followers to “come and die!” How do you like them apples? Ummm! Strange, don’t you think? Let me read what Jesus said here from a different translation:
37Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, [it’s] my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose {yourself}, [you] the real you? What[ever] could you ever trade your {life} [soul] for?
Now that’s pretty heady stuff! In plain English, THE SAVIOR BIDS YOU COME AND DIE! Yes, DIE! Take up your cross, he says! Does that sound like a party? Does that sound like ease and luxury? Does that sound like a “walk in the park”? Not in my ears, it doesn’t!
So if you are thinking about faithful discipleship, don't think of it in terms about getting your heads straight on a long list of fundamental beliefs or preconceived ideas. Don't think about discipleship as memorizing a whole string of Bible verses. Think about discipleship as a journey, a journey with Jesus.
When you were baptized, NOW GET THIS: when you were baptized, the Christ called you to “come and die,” to live your life on his behalf even when it includes suffering in your walk as a Christian and suffering and standing along side others in their grief and sorrow.
And in the Christ, we find that dying is not the end of the world, but in the Christ, it is the greatest of new beginnings! Really, only when we realize that are we truly free to live, to give ourselves away on behalf of others in service of the Christ. Having a pain or troubles in life and bearing them with a smile has absolutely, positively nothing in the world to do with bearing your cross in Christ’s name!
Welcome, friends, to the topsy-turvey world, the upside down world of Jesus where losing is winning and winning is losing, living is dying and dying is living. It truly is God’s world, a world worth giving your life for.
Jesus stands among us today and says, Come, follow me, come with me on a serendipitous, adventurous journey! When you’re traveling with me, you never know what will be required of you! It is through hearing and responding to that call to risk everything for Jesus, on behalf of the world. The gift of salvation IS the call to follow; the gift IS the call!
German theologian and Lutheran pastor of World War II vintage, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, once said, “When Christ Jesus calls a person, he bids that person come and die.” Yes, folks, that’s every bit as bad as it sounds, yet better than you and I can imagine!
This is the story that each of us is finishing for ourselves. Each of us is busy tagging along behind Jesus, being surprised by Jesus, trying to figure out what he said at the last stop, being amazed at the places that he leads us on this adventure…the adventure that leads to new and abundant life, the reason for which Jesus came.
See you, fellow traveler with the Christ, on the journey! A M E N
Dr. Bob Rademacher
Grace Lutheran Church
Lincoln, Nebraska
September 13, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Paying Attention
John 6:56-69
16 August 2009
Do you ever catch yourself not paying attention - like right now, maybe?
It is very easy in our fast-paced, multi-sensory, intrusive, noisy, distracting world to lose our focus. With everything happening instantly followed quickly by something else in our busy world, it is easy to flit from one focus to another without doing anything much justice.
Some days I find it very easy to lose my focus when someone is talking to me and miss completely what they are saying: is it boredom, is it too many sights and sounds bombarding my limited brain, or is it just plain rudeness on my part or what?
Paying attention to what is important is sometimes very tough. Ask any teacher who has to constantly tell his or her class, “Now class, pay close attention to this; it’s something you just have to know! It’ll be on your next test!”
In Chapter 6 of John’s gospel which has been our attempted focus for the last several weeks, Jesus has been trying to get our attention and considering how confusing and complex his conversation has been, it is very hard to stay focused on what he is saying, what with his saying he is “bread come down from heaven,” and that we should eat and drink him, and that in so doing one will live forever and so on, it’s no wonder some not only said, “this is difficult, this is hard to accept,” but some just threw up their hands and left. It made no sense, besides some of what Jesus said was offensive; they’d had enough.
Small wonder, too, that Jesus asks his disciples if they, too, are offended at what he has been saying and if they too are going away like many others.
Even if we miss much of what Jesus is trying to tell us in this complex chapter of John 6 which has been our focus for the past five Sundays, even if much goes right over our heads, still there are some things in that chapter that call out loudly for our attention, for paying attention to God, especially to God’s presence with us in Jesus the Christ.
That phrase “pay attention” is interesting in itself: “Pay” - why not “give attention” or “offer attention” or even “lend attention” (like in “lend me your ears”)? Does it “cost” something to “pay” attention?
Yes, it does: it costs us our individual, undivided attention and focus which in turn shuts out other distractions; it narrows our vision to focus on one thing; it takes attention off ourselves and focuses it on something else. It’s much like looking through a microscope and focusing on one thing, the rest of the things in the room or on your desk are shut out for the moment.
For example: it costs something to pay attention to God, to worship God alone, to serve only the true and living God. That means other opportunities, other gods, other rivals are shut out. Our choices are limited to one! And that costs - and for some, that might be much too expensive!
Yet that choice is often rewarded. As we have focused on this difficult chapter of John 6 we may have missed a great deal of what could be mined there, but perhaps we have found a few choice nuggets.
Here is a parable that may help:
A farmer in South Carolina scratched out a meager living off some terrible farm land for many years. He had the worst time growing crops on his land before he finally, after a particularly sad harvest, gave up, sold his land and went to work in town.
The man who bought his land noticed the poor vegetation on the property, therefore, he didn’t offer or pay much for the acreage. One day the new owner while walking over his newly acquired property noticed a strange outcropping of white rock.
He had always been interested in geology, so he chipped off some of the rock and took it to a geologist friend for analysis.
To make a long story short, he eventually sold the property for millions. His land contained a huge deposit of a mineral used in the processing of aluminum and other metals.
One man was on the land and didn’t notice or recognize its value, he didn’t pay attention to what was right under his feet; for to him, it was just some more rocky soil. Another man’s background and curiosity and close attention led him to discover something extremely valuable.
Reminds you of a similar parable Jesus told, doesn’t it? I’m speaking of the treasure a farmer found and sold everything in order to own that treasure. (Matt 13:44) Often what you get, what you find, depends on how closely you pay attention.
So, looking at this difficult chapter of John, we hear Jesus saying, “eat my flesh and drink my blood,” a horribly offensive statement taken all by itself, especially to Jewish ears? But you know from your background, from your experience at the Lord’s Table what it is all about because all through your life, you have been paying close attention to bread and wine.
We gather each week ~
~ to focus on and pay attention to what is written in an ancient book ~ and thereby learn and mine from it nuggets of God’s life-giving word.
~ to focus on and pay attention to a loaf of bread and a cup of wine ~ and in this seemingly insignificant action participate in the life of Christ and the worldwide community.
~ to focus on and pay attention to a man from ancient Nazareth - and find in him the very presence of God that brings all of life into focus.
And in all of that we see and experience the presence of the Living God among us. We see God here among his church, his called ones and know that even though we may not understand everything we hear and see in this place, God is here with us.
And that paying close attention is not only called for, is not only our duty as followers of Jesus the Christ, but especially by the Spirit’s leading, gives us eternal life, the very thing Jesus talks about in this chapter and which his disciples proclaim:
“Master, to whom would we go? You are the one who has the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves to you, confident that you are the Holy One of God.
That, my friends, is the kind of confidence and assurance in faith that you get for paying close attention! A M E N
By Dr. Robert Rademacher
Grace Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
16 August 2009
Do you ever catch yourself not paying attention - like right now, maybe?
It is very easy in our fast-paced, multi-sensory, intrusive, noisy, distracting world to lose our focus. With everything happening instantly followed quickly by something else in our busy world, it is easy to flit from one focus to another without doing anything much justice.
Some days I find it very easy to lose my focus when someone is talking to me and miss completely what they are saying: is it boredom, is it too many sights and sounds bombarding my limited brain, or is it just plain rudeness on my part or what?
Paying attention to what is important is sometimes very tough. Ask any teacher who has to constantly tell his or her class, “Now class, pay close attention to this; it’s something you just have to know! It’ll be on your next test!”
In Chapter 6 of John’s gospel which has been our attempted focus for the last several weeks, Jesus has been trying to get our attention and considering how confusing and complex his conversation has been, it is very hard to stay focused on what he is saying, what with his saying he is “bread come down from heaven,” and that we should eat and drink him, and that in so doing one will live forever and so on, it’s no wonder some not only said, “this is difficult, this is hard to accept,” but some just threw up their hands and left. It made no sense, besides some of what Jesus said was offensive; they’d had enough.
Small wonder, too, that Jesus asks his disciples if they, too, are offended at what he has been saying and if they too are going away like many others.
Even if we miss much of what Jesus is trying to tell us in this complex chapter of John 6 which has been our focus for the past five Sundays, even if much goes right over our heads, still there are some things in that chapter that call out loudly for our attention, for paying attention to God, especially to God’s presence with us in Jesus the Christ.
That phrase “pay attention” is interesting in itself: “Pay” - why not “give attention” or “offer attention” or even “lend attention” (like in “lend me your ears”)? Does it “cost” something to “pay” attention?
Yes, it does: it costs us our individual, undivided attention and focus which in turn shuts out other distractions; it narrows our vision to focus on one thing; it takes attention off ourselves and focuses it on something else. It’s much like looking through a microscope and focusing on one thing, the rest of the things in the room or on your desk are shut out for the moment.
For example: it costs something to pay attention to God, to worship God alone, to serve only the true and living God. That means other opportunities, other gods, other rivals are shut out. Our choices are limited to one! And that costs - and for some, that might be much too expensive!
Yet that choice is often rewarded. As we have focused on this difficult chapter of John 6 we may have missed a great deal of what could be mined there, but perhaps we have found a few choice nuggets.
Here is a parable that may help:
A farmer in South Carolina scratched out a meager living off some terrible farm land for many years. He had the worst time growing crops on his land before he finally, after a particularly sad harvest, gave up, sold his land and went to work in town.
The man who bought his land noticed the poor vegetation on the property, therefore, he didn’t offer or pay much for the acreage. One day the new owner while walking over his newly acquired property noticed a strange outcropping of white rock.
He had always been interested in geology, so he chipped off some of the rock and took it to a geologist friend for analysis.
To make a long story short, he eventually sold the property for millions. His land contained a huge deposit of a mineral used in the processing of aluminum and other metals.
One man was on the land and didn’t notice or recognize its value, he didn’t pay attention to what was right under his feet; for to him, it was just some more rocky soil. Another man’s background and curiosity and close attention led him to discover something extremely valuable.
Reminds you of a similar parable Jesus told, doesn’t it? I’m speaking of the treasure a farmer found and sold everything in order to own that treasure. (Matt 13:44) Often what you get, what you find, depends on how closely you pay attention.
So, looking at this difficult chapter of John, we hear Jesus saying, “eat my flesh and drink my blood,” a horribly offensive statement taken all by itself, especially to Jewish ears? But you know from your background, from your experience at the Lord’s Table what it is all about because all through your life, you have been paying close attention to bread and wine.
We gather each week ~
~ to focus on and pay attention to what is written in an ancient book ~ and thereby learn and mine from it nuggets of God’s life-giving word.
~ to focus on and pay attention to a loaf of bread and a cup of wine ~ and in this seemingly insignificant action participate in the life of Christ and the worldwide community.
~ to focus on and pay attention to a man from ancient Nazareth - and find in him the very presence of God that brings all of life into focus.
And in all of that we see and experience the presence of the Living God among us. We see God here among his church, his called ones and know that even though we may not understand everything we hear and see in this place, God is here with us.
And that paying close attention is not only called for, is not only our duty as followers of Jesus the Christ, but especially by the Spirit’s leading, gives us eternal life, the very thing Jesus talks about in this chapter and which his disciples proclaim:
“Master, to whom would we go? You are the one who has the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves to you, confident that you are the Holy One of God.
That, my friends, is the kind of confidence and assurance in faith that you get for paying close attention! A M E N
By Dr. Robert Rademacher
Grace Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Perils of Power
6th Sunday after Pentecost, July 12, 2009
Mark 6:14-29
You have all probably heard this quotation, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Power, whether it is absolute or not, can be a very strong corrupting influence.
What is there about power that so often corrupts the one who has it? From a Christian point of view we might say that power gives us a wee, itty-bitty taste of what it might be like to be like God. After all, don’t we like to define God in terms of omnipotence – absolute power ~ especially since God seems to have it all? ~ and we don’t!
There are definite limits on what we can and can not do. For example, we all know that there are much faster and more powerful animals than we humans. We can’t predict the future, undo and do over the past or even control the present.
On a higher level, for instance, 1) Jesus says that we cannot, just by our own power, add an inch to our stature. Another example: 2) Paul famously remarked that, “The good that I would do, I cannot.” 3) And then there’s Luther who reminds us in the meaning of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe that I can not by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him.” And there are countless other examples of our limited power.
Yet through science, technology, mass production, and progressive enlightenment we do have incredible power over the world’s resources and over human life, ours and others.
Having power whether it’s economic, communications, military, political, parental, judicial or whatever, is the great promise of the modern world. The promise of the serpent you will be like God tauntingly paraded out to Adam and Eve back in the garden seems to be partly fulfilled among us in the modern world.
Now finally, to the text: I have all this thinking about power on my mind because today’s Gospel (Mk 6:14-29) tells of a horribly, tragic event that happened early in Jesus’ ministry. All of the Gospels begin with John the Baptist – you remember him - the forerunner of Jesus, the prophetic figure who preaches in the wilderness, preparing the way for the advent of the messiah. John baptizes Jesus according to the three synoptic gospels, and thus Jesus’ ministry was inaugurated. John and Jesus must have been very close, some say they were first cousins.
Early on in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus hears the devastating news of the brutal capital punishment of John the Baptist. John’s was a powerful voice. From the wilderness he preached strong, fierce sermons proclaiming the coming kingdom of God. And now that voice is silenced by a more politically powerful voice. The voice of King Herod is indeed more powerful than the voice of John the Baptist. But in actual fact, it wasn’t at first the voice of Herod which led to John’s execution – it was the whim of a dancing girl and her mother, and Herod, coward that he was, succumbed to her desires to have John’s head on a platter as a “thank you” for her dancing!
Herod Antipas, son of the Herod the Great who was king when Jesus was born, had an affair with a near relative, and John the Baptist dared to call King Herod Antipas to account. It took a lot of guts for a little preacher to stand up and call this king and politician on the carpet for his adulterous life. How much fortitude it took ~ we are learning here: It cost John the Baptist his head, literally!
John the Baptist, a man driven by the power of the word of God, is silenced by Herod Antipas, a man who wields the power of the sovereign Roman State.
Once again, governmental violence has triumphed. The king has silenced the preacher.
Once again, a good person has been annihilated by power of the state used in an evil manner. You don’t have to come to church and listen to the Bible to hear a story like that. When it comes to power the one with the largest guns or the biggest bomb or the sharpest stick wins. We hear about that on the news every day.
And yet, if we read a bit deeper in our text, we may discover an even more interesting message. The message may not be simply that the powerless suffer because of the powerful, but the message also might be that there are different forms of power.
King Herod Antipas is powerful enough to simply speak and a prophet’s head is presented on a platter. That’s power ~ at least one kind of power! And in his suffering and dying, John the Baptist reveals, another kind of power which highlights the weakness that lurks in Herod’s brand of power.
There is a great irony behind this violent story of the abuses of power. Herod executed John the Baptist in order to shut him up. But here we are today, still talking about John the Baptist, still remembering his prophetic words, still admiring his courage. We wouldn’t even be talking about King Herod Antipas (most of you probably never heard of him until I mentioned him in this sermon!) except he plays a bit part in the story of Jesus.
Herod Antipas couldn’t shut down the gospel just by executing one of its preachers. The word goes on. This story is being told even in the 21st century. New contemporary disciples are being instructed and encouraged by this story. It’s enough to make you ask, “Who has real power, anyway? Where does true power come from, power that doesn’t end when a ruler no longer rules, real power that continues to undermine the old world and bring forth a new world?”
So if you thought courage died with John the Baptist, think again. John’s disciples show their powerful courage, their love for him in their stepping up to give their revered mentor, John the Baptist, a respectful burial. See what Mark is doing? That seemingly small detail is very telling. The courage continues. Herod thought that he had once and for all put an end to this nuisance prophet, to this troublesome, outspoken preacher. But his followers don’t let the message die with their beloved messenger. And King Herod Antipas is powerless to stop the message: The preaching continues. The gospel sharing continues. The courage continues.
Right here in this congregation, the courage and sharing continues. Looking out on you this morning, I don’t see many people whom the world would regard as highly influential and powerful people and yet, it is a promise of the gospel that Jesus is powerfully busy doing a powerfully new thing in each of us as He powerfully calls us to service, generosity, peace, justice and love in actions like these:
~ Every time you speak up for love in the face of hate,
~ Every time you tell the truth about injustice and reach out and attempt to subvert inequality, unfairness and prejudice.
~ Every time you value truth over discrimination,
~ Every time you reach out to the poor and destitute,
~ Every time you use your resources to feed the hungry or clothe the poor,
~ Every time you comfort the dying, visit and pray for the sick,
~ Every time you set an example of godly love in even the smallest act in the face of all odds against you,
~ And this is the most important one:
~ Every time you respond to and obey Jesus’ most radical and unique command, “love your enemies,”
… in all these powerful things and more, you are showing power, true power, the power of God in Jesus the Christ.
And what makes it so tremendous is this: The grand promise that gathers us, in these weeks after Pentecost, is that nothing, no power on earth, will be able to defeat those who are “in Christ!”
You’ve got the REAL power!
Use it wisely and use it generously!
AMEN
~~~ Dr. Bob Rademacher, Visitation Pastor
Mark 6:14-29
You have all probably heard this quotation, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Power, whether it is absolute or not, can be a very strong corrupting influence.
What is there about power that so often corrupts the one who has it? From a Christian point of view we might say that power gives us a wee, itty-bitty taste of what it might be like to be like God. After all, don’t we like to define God in terms of omnipotence – absolute power ~ especially since God seems to have it all? ~ and we don’t!
There are definite limits on what we can and can not do. For example, we all know that there are much faster and more powerful animals than we humans. We can’t predict the future, undo and do over the past or even control the present.
On a higher level, for instance, 1) Jesus says that we cannot, just by our own power, add an inch to our stature. Another example: 2) Paul famously remarked that, “The good that I would do, I cannot.” 3) And then there’s Luther who reminds us in the meaning of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe that I can not by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him.” And there are countless other examples of our limited power.
Yet through science, technology, mass production, and progressive enlightenment we do have incredible power over the world’s resources and over human life, ours and others.
Having power whether it’s economic, communications, military, political, parental, judicial or whatever, is the great promise of the modern world. The promise of the serpent you will be like God tauntingly paraded out to Adam and Eve back in the garden seems to be partly fulfilled among us in the modern world.
Now finally, to the text: I have all this thinking about power on my mind because today’s Gospel (Mk 6:14-29) tells of a horribly, tragic event that happened early in Jesus’ ministry. All of the Gospels begin with John the Baptist – you remember him - the forerunner of Jesus, the prophetic figure who preaches in the wilderness, preparing the way for the advent of the messiah. John baptizes Jesus according to the three synoptic gospels, and thus Jesus’ ministry was inaugurated. John and Jesus must have been very close, some say they were first cousins.
Early on in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus hears the devastating news of the brutal capital punishment of John the Baptist. John’s was a powerful voice. From the wilderness he preached strong, fierce sermons proclaiming the coming kingdom of God. And now that voice is silenced by a more politically powerful voice. The voice of King Herod is indeed more powerful than the voice of John the Baptist. But in actual fact, it wasn’t at first the voice of Herod which led to John’s execution – it was the whim of a dancing girl and her mother, and Herod, coward that he was, succumbed to her desires to have John’s head on a platter as a “thank you” for her dancing!
Herod Antipas, son of the Herod the Great who was king when Jesus was born, had an affair with a near relative, and John the Baptist dared to call King Herod Antipas to account. It took a lot of guts for a little preacher to stand up and call this king and politician on the carpet for his adulterous life. How much fortitude it took ~ we are learning here: It cost John the Baptist his head, literally!
John the Baptist, a man driven by the power of the word of God, is silenced by Herod Antipas, a man who wields the power of the sovereign Roman State.
Once again, governmental violence has triumphed. The king has silenced the preacher.
Once again, a good person has been annihilated by power of the state used in an evil manner. You don’t have to come to church and listen to the Bible to hear a story like that. When it comes to power the one with the largest guns or the biggest bomb or the sharpest stick wins. We hear about that on the news every day.
And yet, if we read a bit deeper in our text, we may discover an even more interesting message. The message may not be simply that the powerless suffer because of the powerful, but the message also might be that there are different forms of power.
King Herod Antipas is powerful enough to simply speak and a prophet’s head is presented on a platter. That’s power ~ at least one kind of power! And in his suffering and dying, John the Baptist reveals, another kind of power which highlights the weakness that lurks in Herod’s brand of power.
There is a great irony behind this violent story of the abuses of power. Herod executed John the Baptist in order to shut him up. But here we are today, still talking about John the Baptist, still remembering his prophetic words, still admiring his courage. We wouldn’t even be talking about King Herod Antipas (most of you probably never heard of him until I mentioned him in this sermon!) except he plays a bit part in the story of Jesus.
Herod Antipas couldn’t shut down the gospel just by executing one of its preachers. The word goes on. This story is being told even in the 21st century. New contemporary disciples are being instructed and encouraged by this story. It’s enough to make you ask, “Who has real power, anyway? Where does true power come from, power that doesn’t end when a ruler no longer rules, real power that continues to undermine the old world and bring forth a new world?”
So if you thought courage died with John the Baptist, think again. John’s disciples show their powerful courage, their love for him in their stepping up to give their revered mentor, John the Baptist, a respectful burial. See what Mark is doing? That seemingly small detail is very telling. The courage continues. Herod thought that he had once and for all put an end to this nuisance prophet, to this troublesome, outspoken preacher. But his followers don’t let the message die with their beloved messenger. And King Herod Antipas is powerless to stop the message: The preaching continues. The gospel sharing continues. The courage continues.
Right here in this congregation, the courage and sharing continues. Looking out on you this morning, I don’t see many people whom the world would regard as highly influential and powerful people and yet, it is a promise of the gospel that Jesus is powerfully busy doing a powerfully new thing in each of us as He powerfully calls us to service, generosity, peace, justice and love in actions like these:
~ Every time you speak up for love in the face of hate,
~ Every time you tell the truth about injustice and reach out and attempt to subvert inequality, unfairness and prejudice.
~ Every time you value truth over discrimination,
~ Every time you reach out to the poor and destitute,
~ Every time you use your resources to feed the hungry or clothe the poor,
~ Every time you comfort the dying, visit and pray for the sick,
~ Every time you set an example of godly love in even the smallest act in the face of all odds against you,
~ And this is the most important one:
~ Every time you respond to and obey Jesus’ most radical and unique command, “love your enemies,”
… in all these powerful things and more, you are showing power, true power, the power of God in Jesus the Christ.
And what makes it so tremendous is this: The grand promise that gathers us, in these weeks after Pentecost, is that nothing, no power on earth, will be able to defeat those who are “in Christ!”
You’ve got the REAL power!
Use it wisely and use it generously!
AMEN
~~~ Dr. Bob Rademacher, Visitation Pastor
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Stewardship Letter from Pr. Shaner
Here is the text of a letter from our last issue of the Grace Greeter, in which Pr. Shaner talks about some basics of stewardship.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I want to visit with you about something that is very near and dear to my heart and has been my entire ministry STEWARDSHIP!!!
Stewardship in reality is about who we are and how we live our lives. Stewardship is about all of life! Some of the things I will write, you have probably already heard many times and other things you have probably never thought about! Stewardship is about what God has given to us and how we use those gifts and blessings! There are many in the congregation who will say that we talk about our possessions and talents too much. I would suggest we do not talk about them enough. If we read scripture carefully and especially the New Testament, Jesus teaches us a lot about our possessions and how we use them through His parables and teachings. In fact about two thirds of Jesus teachings deal with this subject.
All that we have or even hope to have comes to us from the hands of a loving God! It is He who gives us the talents and the ability to earn a living and to take care of our families. We have received many blessings from His hands -- more than we will ever deserve!! How we use these blessings given to us freely is what Stewardship is all about. The Bible also talks a lot about tithing! Giving of the first fruits to the work of the church and living on the rest. A tithe is 10% of all that we earn. I am always asked the question whether this means giving from our gross or net income. To me it does not make any difference; either way is fine!!
My wife and I learned from the very beginning of our marriage that when we give to the church from the top of our income all else falls into place. When we sit down to write the checks to pay the bills, the first check is always written to the church for 10% of our income. There is no question about it or even any discussion! Yes, it has been difficult at times and we often wondered how we were going to pay the bills but through it all the Lord has provided and our lives are richer. I would challenge each member of Grace Lutheran Church to consider tithing or increasing your giving to the church by one percent until you get to the point that you are tithing. I can hear many of you now oh pastor, increasing our giving to the church is impossible because special circumstances in our lives. Why not give it a try and see how the Lord will provide AND HE WILL!!
For example, lets say you have given $10 a week to the church for many years and not increased your giving. I am sure you have received increases in pay over those years. If this is true in your case, you have actually DECREASED your giving to the church. That $10 will not buy as much today as it did ten years ago because of inflation and other factors. In order for the church to carry out its mission and be true to Gospel, it takes faithful stewards to accomplish. We give out of thankfulness for what God has done for us! He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. We give out of our abundance so that others may live out their dreams. In doing so, we spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the community and to the world. We live out our baptism!!
Again, I ask you to consider increasing your gifts to the congregation in the coming months. Especially during these summer months because even though we may take those hard earned vacations, the churchs financial obligations continue. YOU WILL BE BLESSED AND THE CHURCH WILL BE BLESSED!!! May God continue to bless the people of Grace Lutheran, as it seeks to carry out its mission in this place and in this time. Please feel free to visit with me about anything I have said in this article!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Bill Shaner, Interim Senior Pastor
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I want to visit with you about something that is very near and dear to my heart and has been my entire ministry STEWARDSHIP!!!
Stewardship in reality is about who we are and how we live our lives. Stewardship is about all of life! Some of the things I will write, you have probably already heard many times and other things you have probably never thought about! Stewardship is about what God has given to us and how we use those gifts and blessings! There are many in the congregation who will say that we talk about our possessions and talents too much. I would suggest we do not talk about them enough. If we read scripture carefully and especially the New Testament, Jesus teaches us a lot about our possessions and how we use them through His parables and teachings. In fact about two thirds of Jesus teachings deal with this subject.
All that we have or even hope to have comes to us from the hands of a loving God! It is He who gives us the talents and the ability to earn a living and to take care of our families. We have received many blessings from His hands -- more than we will ever deserve!! How we use these blessings given to us freely is what Stewardship is all about. The Bible also talks a lot about tithing! Giving of the first fruits to the work of the church and living on the rest. A tithe is 10% of all that we earn. I am always asked the question whether this means giving from our gross or net income. To me it does not make any difference; either way is fine!!
My wife and I learned from the very beginning of our marriage that when we give to the church from the top of our income all else falls into place. When we sit down to write the checks to pay the bills, the first check is always written to the church for 10% of our income. There is no question about it or even any discussion! Yes, it has been difficult at times and we often wondered how we were going to pay the bills but through it all the Lord has provided and our lives are richer. I would challenge each member of Grace Lutheran Church to consider tithing or increasing your giving to the church by one percent until you get to the point that you are tithing. I can hear many of you now oh pastor, increasing our giving to the church is impossible because special circumstances in our lives. Why not give it a try and see how the Lord will provide AND HE WILL!!
For example, lets say you have given $10 a week to the church for many years and not increased your giving. I am sure you have received increases in pay over those years. If this is true in your case, you have actually DECREASED your giving to the church. That $10 will not buy as much today as it did ten years ago because of inflation and other factors. In order for the church to carry out its mission and be true to Gospel, it takes faithful stewards to accomplish. We give out of thankfulness for what God has done for us! He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. We give out of our abundance so that others may live out their dreams. In doing so, we spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the community and to the world. We live out our baptism!!
Again, I ask you to consider increasing your gifts to the congregation in the coming months. Especially during these summer months because even though we may take those hard earned vacations, the churchs financial obligations continue. YOU WILL BE BLESSED AND THE CHURCH WILL BE BLESSED!!! May God continue to bless the people of Grace Lutheran, as it seeks to carry out its mission in this place and in this time. Please feel free to visit with me about anything I have said in this article!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Bill Shaner, Interim Senior Pastor
Friday, April 24, 2009
April 19, 2009: Second Sunday of Easter
People of the Presence
John 20:19-31
In Mark and Matthew’s account of Easter, the angel or young man at the tomb tells the women that Jesus is not there and that he is going “ahead of you to Galilee.”
Here’s a post-Easter question for you to ponder: Why Galilee?
Galilee was in some ways a forlorn, out-of-the way sort of place in Jesus’ time. It’s the province where Jesus came from, but that’s about its only claim to fame. Jesus spent most of his ministry in Galilee, the “outback” of Judea, so to speak, getting ready to go to Jerusalem. All of Jesus’ disciples seem to have hailed from Galilee. Jesus spent most of his time in Galilee getting his disciples prepared to leave Galilee and go to the capitol city with him. Then, there, in Jerusalem, he winds up getting himself crucified and there he is buried. But the moment he arose from the dead, says today’s Gospel, he headed back to Galilee. Why?
One might have thought that Jesus would appear before the movers and the shakers, the influential, and the newsmakers, those who had some power and prestige. Can you just imagine Jesus appearing to Pilate at his breakfast table? WOW! That would have been some scene to behold!
No, the risen Christ didn’t go to the palace or to the temple, not even to the market place or his friends’ home in Bethany. No, he went back to Galilee. Nobody special lived in Galilee, nobody except the followers of Jesus. You know, people like us, perhaps!
The resurrected Christ goes back to, and appears before the very same rag-tag group of people who so disappointed him, who so often misunderstood him, who when the chips were down, forsook him, and fled into the darkness and left him all alone to face his accusers and torturers, Still, he returns to his betrayers, his fearful little flock. He returns to us.
That first Easter, nobody actually saw Jesus rise from the dead. People didn’t appear to him. He appeared to them. As well, he appears to us. In the Bible, the “proof” of the resurrection is not the absence of Jesus’ body from the tomb; the proof of the resurrection is the presence of Jesus to his followers.
And for us, too; though we were as good as dead, Jesus returned to us. The risen Christ became and continually becomes present to us. If it is difficult to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, as it apparently was for Thomas and likely would have been for us, too, it is almost impossible to believe that he was raised and returned to us.
The result of or the proof of Easter, of the resurrection of Christ, is the church – that is, the community of people through the centuries with nothing more to convene us, to bring us together, than that the risen Christ who came back to us. That’s our only claim, that’s our only hope.
That’s what you see in today’s Gospel from John: the followers of Jesus, are hunkered down alone, cowering behind locked doors, but then the risen Christ comes to them. They are full of fear and doubt. They don’t come to him. He comes to them. This is the dynamic that is at the heart of the Easter experience and it’s at the heart of being a Christian. Jesus comes back to us. Yes, to Us!
Have you noticed, scripture is not a story about how we kept seeking God? It’s a marvelous, continuing story about how God keeps seeking us!
“Show us what God looks like!” we demanded of Jesus. And Jesus tells us that God is the Good Shepherd who doesn’t just sit back in shepherd’s tent and wait for the lost sheep to finally head back home; God goes out, risks everything, beats the bushes night and day, and finds that lost sheep!
God is the Father who does not simply fold his hands and sit back in his rocking chair and wait for the wayward son to wise up and then to come home; God is the heavenly father who leaves heaven and reaches down into the mire of the pig pen and pulls out the prodigal son so that he may be at home with the father forever!
We thought, what with the betrayal and the blood and gore of Good Friday, that this was the end. What else could we think? We thought that it was over between us and God. At last, we figured, we had gone too far away, crossed the line of no return, or so it seemed, for we had stooped to the torture and death of God’s own Son.
But then on Easter, he came back. Back to the very ones who had forsaken, betrayed, and crucified him. He came back to us.
Christians are the people who don’t simply know something the world does not yet know, or believe something that non-Christians don’t yet believe. We are the people who have had something happen to us that the world appears not to have yet experienced. The risen Christ has come back to us. Jesus is present to us, despite our often running hard the other way.
What are implications of all this ? When we walk through the valleys of disappointment, despair, grief and even death, time and again we look up and realize that we’re not walking by ourselves. When we come to a dead end in life, we look over the brink, into the dark abyss and, to our surprise and delight, there he is, awaiting us. We give up, we give in, we come to despair only to find him still near to us, beckoning us forward.
That’s what a risen Savior does. He comes back – again and again – to the very ones who so betray and disappoint him. He appears to us, seeks us, finds us, grabs us, embraces us, and holds us tight!
The risen Christ was real. I cannot say that too emphatically. He was not resuscitated, he was resurrected. He was changed.
Resurrection can not be explained or narrated so we have to use our inadequate human language. Resurrection can only be experienced and proclaimed. Death can not contain him. Christ lives!
In life, in death, in life beyond death, this is our hope. Our faith rests upon an experience, upon countless experiences, of Christ’s presence in, among and with Christ’s people, the church. The risen Christ came back to us! We ARE People of the Presence - the presence of the risen Christ! With Paul at the end of the great resurrection chapter in I Cor. 15, we shout with him, “Thanks be to God!”
Amen
Dr. Bob Rademacher
April 19, 2009
John 20:19-31
In Mark and Matthew’s account of Easter, the angel or young man at the tomb tells the women that Jesus is not there and that he is going “ahead of you to Galilee.”
Here’s a post-Easter question for you to ponder: Why Galilee?
Galilee was in some ways a forlorn, out-of-the way sort of place in Jesus’ time. It’s the province where Jesus came from, but that’s about its only claim to fame. Jesus spent most of his ministry in Galilee, the “outback” of Judea, so to speak, getting ready to go to Jerusalem. All of Jesus’ disciples seem to have hailed from Galilee. Jesus spent most of his time in Galilee getting his disciples prepared to leave Galilee and go to the capitol city with him. Then, there, in Jerusalem, he winds up getting himself crucified and there he is buried. But the moment he arose from the dead, says today’s Gospel, he headed back to Galilee. Why?
One might have thought that Jesus would appear before the movers and the shakers, the influential, and the newsmakers, those who had some power and prestige. Can you just imagine Jesus appearing to Pilate at his breakfast table? WOW! That would have been some scene to behold!
No, the risen Christ didn’t go to the palace or to the temple, not even to the market place or his friends’ home in Bethany. No, he went back to Galilee. Nobody special lived in Galilee, nobody except the followers of Jesus. You know, people like us, perhaps!
The resurrected Christ goes back to, and appears before the very same rag-tag group of people who so disappointed him, who so often misunderstood him, who when the chips were down, forsook him, and fled into the darkness and left him all alone to face his accusers and torturers, Still, he returns to his betrayers, his fearful little flock. He returns to us.
That first Easter, nobody actually saw Jesus rise from the dead. People didn’t appear to him. He appeared to them. As well, he appears to us. In the Bible, the “proof” of the resurrection is not the absence of Jesus’ body from the tomb; the proof of the resurrection is the presence of Jesus to his followers.
And for us, too; though we were as good as dead, Jesus returned to us. The risen Christ became and continually becomes present to us. If it is difficult to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, as it apparently was for Thomas and likely would have been for us, too, it is almost impossible to believe that he was raised and returned to us.
The result of or the proof of Easter, of the resurrection of Christ, is the church – that is, the community of people through the centuries with nothing more to convene us, to bring us together, than that the risen Christ who came back to us. That’s our only claim, that’s our only hope.
That’s what you see in today’s Gospel from John: the followers of Jesus, are hunkered down alone, cowering behind locked doors, but then the risen Christ comes to them. They are full of fear and doubt. They don’t come to him. He comes to them. This is the dynamic that is at the heart of the Easter experience and it’s at the heart of being a Christian. Jesus comes back to us. Yes, to Us!
Have you noticed, scripture is not a story about how we kept seeking God? It’s a marvelous, continuing story about how God keeps seeking us!
“Show us what God looks like!” we demanded of Jesus. And Jesus tells us that God is the Good Shepherd who doesn’t just sit back in shepherd’s tent and wait for the lost sheep to finally head back home; God goes out, risks everything, beats the bushes night and day, and finds that lost sheep!
God is the Father who does not simply fold his hands and sit back in his rocking chair and wait for the wayward son to wise up and then to come home; God is the heavenly father who leaves heaven and reaches down into the mire of the pig pen and pulls out the prodigal son so that he may be at home with the father forever!
We thought, what with the betrayal and the blood and gore of Good Friday, that this was the end. What else could we think? We thought that it was over between us and God. At last, we figured, we had gone too far away, crossed the line of no return, or so it seemed, for we had stooped to the torture and death of God’s own Son.
But then on Easter, he came back. Back to the very ones who had forsaken, betrayed, and crucified him. He came back to us.
Christians are the people who don’t simply know something the world does not yet know, or believe something that non-Christians don’t yet believe. We are the people who have had something happen to us that the world appears not to have yet experienced. The risen Christ has come back to us. Jesus is present to us, despite our often running hard the other way.
What are implications of all this ? When we walk through the valleys of disappointment, despair, grief and even death, time and again we look up and realize that we’re not walking by ourselves. When we come to a dead end in life, we look over the brink, into the dark abyss and, to our surprise and delight, there he is, awaiting us. We give up, we give in, we come to despair only to find him still near to us, beckoning us forward.
That’s what a risen Savior does. He comes back – again and again – to the very ones who so betray and disappoint him. He appears to us, seeks us, finds us, grabs us, embraces us, and holds us tight!
The risen Christ was real. I cannot say that too emphatically. He was not resuscitated, he was resurrected. He was changed.
Resurrection can not be explained or narrated so we have to use our inadequate human language. Resurrection can only be experienced and proclaimed. Death can not contain him. Christ lives!
In life, in death, in life beyond death, this is our hope. Our faith rests upon an experience, upon countless experiences, of Christ’s presence in, among and with Christ’s people, the church. The risen Christ came back to us! We ARE People of the Presence - the presence of the risen Christ! With Paul at the end of the great resurrection chapter in I Cor. 15, we shout with him, “Thanks be to God!”
Amen
Dr. Bob Rademacher
April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Catechism Series ~ Part V of V
“Staying Close: Life Together”
Tonight’s sermon is the fifth and last in the catechism series. I hope that these sermons have been of some use to you in focusing on the central themes
of the Christian faith and have also re-emphasized the importance of Luther’s Small Catechism for us Lutherans.
In a lot of ways, we humans really don’t do a stellar job of living Life Together on this planet of ours, be it on the family level (just look at the high divorce rate, 71% in one Midwestern state) or the crime rate of abuse and personal attacks, or globally the world of terrorism and war
In spite of all the negative things, though, that might come to mind about family life and our society, the majority of people DO get along and respect other people’s rights and property and person. Often the motive for living in peace is love and respect; other times, it is merely out of self-interest or just plain every-day compliance with laws ~ the laws of the state or the laws of religion.
Every religion - Judaism and Christianity included - has laws, regulations and rules that are designed to make “life together” safe, respectful, helpful and joyful. Unfortunately many of them are stated in the negative: “You shall not do thus and so OR ELSE!”
I suppose the first place one would turn in the Catechism for these kinds of rules would be the Ten Commandments (page 4ff). These rules for living come out of our Jewish religious heritage and thus are a part of our Christian tradition. . . although one can find their roots in a lot of other places and cultures. We look upon the Ten Commandments as binding because we believe they are first of all given by God and secondly because they govern human behavior so that life together, staying close, is possible.
The first three commandments talk about our staying close to God by respecting him as the only God, as one whose name is holy and is to be held in high regard and reverence and not to be used in vulgar ways and as a God who is worthy of our worship.
The next seven commandments all have to do with our life together, our staying close - a guide for living that respects and supports the family, human life, property, sexuality and reputation. God is concerned that as we stay close to one another our society knows how to honor, love and respect each other.
When one looks at Luther’s meanings of all the Ten Commandments, it becomes very obvious that they are not individualistic, not just about me, but are concerned about and focused on life in community that demands and encourages a society based on respect, trust and service.
The Ten Commandments also imply what they don’t clearly state about God’s intentions for his human creation by looking at the opposite of what is forbidden - namely that humans love, honor, trust and respect one another and in so doing, we love, honor, trust and respect our God.
Life as a Christian is always shown throughout the catechism to be indeed personal, but always, in every situation, to be life together with one another. Life as Christians always assumes the community and our living in that society in peace.
The entire Small Catechism also focuses on how close God comes to us in our life together. The best place to see that is first of all in the Sacraments: how God comes to me and chooses me (and you, too, of course) to be his child in Holy Baptism and then constantly invites us to be guests at his table along with our fellow Christians throughout the world.
The community of the baptized, as it eats and drinks at the communion rail, should always see and think of itself as a small portion of that world-wide communion rail that extends right through the walls of our church and extends and joins communion rails around the world and includes millions of Christians everywhere who gather at the Table of the Lord.
Christianity is never and no where a Lone Ranger state of affairs, never I, Me and Myself, individualistic sort of thing. It’s always, as I said in another of these sermons, at least triangular shaped: God, my neighbor and me. As a memory aid, one might call that the divine/human trinity in comparison with the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and in stark contrast to Luther’s unholy trinity of sin, death and the power of the devil.
We should also not leave this subject without mentioning the Holy Catholic Christian Church, Article III and its meaning of The Apostles’ Creed (see pages 16 & 17). God’s community of the redeemed is known as The Church, the gathering and scattering of God’s people. It is not of human origin but rather created by God’s Holy Spirit as Luther so carefully details in the meaning of the Third Article:
[1] It is within this Christian church that people are called and invited to be part of God’s Family, to live life together, to hear forgiveness announced, sins forgiven and the hope of eternal life proclaimed.
[2] It is within the Holy Christian Church that God’s people live and work and serve in Jesus’ Name.
[3] It is within the Holy Christian Church - as well as in daily life everywhere - that prayer, praise and thanksgiving are offered to our God with a holy and gracious name.
There is so much more in Luther’s Small Catechism than we could possibly cover in five sermons. This series has, as said at the outset, only scratched the surface and pointed out some of the more prominent themes.
It is my hope that I have given you a renewed sense of the importance of this little booklet and that it will become much more important in your Christian walk than it probably has been in the past.
We are so fortunate to have such a clear, concise and succinct explanation of the Christian faith which will help us give a clear account of what we believe and why and to be able to tell others the answer to that typically Lutheran question, “What Does This Mean?” and then proclaim with joy and confidence, “This is Most Certainly True.”
Dr. Robert Rademacher, April 2009
Tonight’s sermon is the fifth and last in the catechism series. I hope that these sermons have been of some use to you in focusing on the central themes
of the Christian faith and have also re-emphasized the importance of Luther’s Small Catechism for us Lutherans.
In a lot of ways, we humans really don’t do a stellar job of living Life Together on this planet of ours, be it on the family level (just look at the high divorce rate, 71% in one Midwestern state) or the crime rate of abuse and personal attacks, or globally the world of terrorism and war
In spite of all the negative things, though, that might come to mind about family life and our society, the majority of people DO get along and respect other people’s rights and property and person. Often the motive for living in peace is love and respect; other times, it is merely out of self-interest or just plain every-day compliance with laws ~ the laws of the state or the laws of religion.
Every religion - Judaism and Christianity included - has laws, regulations and rules that are designed to make “life together” safe, respectful, helpful and joyful. Unfortunately many of them are stated in the negative: “You shall not do thus and so OR ELSE!”
I suppose the first place one would turn in the Catechism for these kinds of rules would be the Ten Commandments (page 4ff). These rules for living come out of our Jewish religious heritage and thus are a part of our Christian tradition. . . although one can find their roots in a lot of other places and cultures. We look upon the Ten Commandments as binding because we believe they are first of all given by God and secondly because they govern human behavior so that life together, staying close, is possible.
The first three commandments talk about our staying close to God by respecting him as the only God, as one whose name is holy and is to be held in high regard and reverence and not to be used in vulgar ways and as a God who is worthy of our worship.
The next seven commandments all have to do with our life together, our staying close - a guide for living that respects and supports the family, human life, property, sexuality and reputation. God is concerned that as we stay close to one another our society knows how to honor, love and respect each other.
When one looks at Luther’s meanings of all the Ten Commandments, it becomes very obvious that they are not individualistic, not just about me, but are concerned about and focused on life in community that demands and encourages a society based on respect, trust and service.
The Ten Commandments also imply what they don’t clearly state about God’s intentions for his human creation by looking at the opposite of what is forbidden - namely that humans love, honor, trust and respect one another and in so doing, we love, honor, trust and respect our God.
Life as a Christian is always shown throughout the catechism to be indeed personal, but always, in every situation, to be life together with one another. Life as Christians always assumes the community and our living in that society in peace.
The entire Small Catechism also focuses on how close God comes to us in our life together. The best place to see that is first of all in the Sacraments: how God comes to me and chooses me (and you, too, of course) to be his child in Holy Baptism and then constantly invites us to be guests at his table along with our fellow Christians throughout the world.
The community of the baptized, as it eats and drinks at the communion rail, should always see and think of itself as a small portion of that world-wide communion rail that extends right through the walls of our church and extends and joins communion rails around the world and includes millions of Christians everywhere who gather at the Table of the Lord.
Christianity is never and no where a Lone Ranger state of affairs, never I, Me and Myself, individualistic sort of thing. It’s always, as I said in another of these sermons, at least triangular shaped: God, my neighbor and me. As a memory aid, one might call that the divine/human trinity in comparison with the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and in stark contrast to Luther’s unholy trinity of sin, death and the power of the devil.
We should also not leave this subject without mentioning the Holy Catholic Christian Church, Article III and its meaning of The Apostles’ Creed (see pages 16 & 17). God’s community of the redeemed is known as The Church, the gathering and scattering of God’s people. It is not of human origin but rather created by God’s Holy Spirit as Luther so carefully details in the meaning of the Third Article:
[1] It is within this Christian church that people are called and invited to be part of God’s Family, to live life together, to hear forgiveness announced, sins forgiven and the hope of eternal life proclaimed.
[2] It is within the Holy Christian Church that God’s people live and work and serve in Jesus’ Name.
[3] It is within the Holy Christian Church - as well as in daily life everywhere - that prayer, praise and thanksgiving are offered to our God with a holy and gracious name.
There is so much more in Luther’s Small Catechism than we could possibly cover in five sermons. This series has, as said at the outset, only scratched the surface and pointed out some of the more prominent themes.
It is my hope that I have given you a renewed sense of the importance of this little booklet and that it will become much more important in your Christian walk than it probably has been in the past.
We are so fortunate to have such a clear, concise and succinct explanation of the Christian faith which will help us give a clear account of what we believe and why and to be able to tell others the answer to that typically Lutheran question, “What Does This Mean?” and then proclaim with joy and confidence, “This is Most Certainly True.”
Dr. Robert Rademacher, April 2009
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