Author: TechCommittee

February 28, 2024 – Lent Text:  Matthew 26:57-75

Dear Friends in Christ,

“After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.’”  His accent gave him away as a follower of Christ.  Peter was from the north, Bethsaida by the sea of Galilee, the trial is in the south, Jerusalem.  You understand that, up north it is “Minnesota.”  Down south they ask, “How y’all doin?”  Even in Illinois.  In college I knew the kids from Chicagoland by their speech.

What Christian accent would give you away as a follower of Christ?  Your speech?  The words you use?  How you react in stressful situations?  The cross you wear around your neck?  Like Peter you cannot hide.  The necktie at the hospital might give me away, but the clerical collar surely will.  I’m not there to perform surgery.  I come representing Christ.  Do you see your vocation the same way?

Tonight, in our “God on Trial” series there are two men getting grilled.  One outside.  One inside.  Let’s listen in to their . . . .

“TESTIMONY”

Let’s start with the man inside.  A parade of liars all take their turns on the stand but give nothing but false testimony.  Jesus refuses to be dragged into the foolishness.  He says nothing, but His silence speaks loudly.  Then He gets the big question, “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?”  He confesses the truth, “I am.”  It is such shattering testimony that the chief priest tears his robes.  A little dramatic, don’t you think?  Here is the drama, “He deserves death.”

Meanwhile, we go to the man outside.  The fisherman from Galilee had been warned this moment was coming.  The pressure starts, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”  Jesus born in the south, but raised in the north.  Pressure builds.  “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”  Is he going to hold out?  The drama builds.  Then the verbal joust to the midsection, “You are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”  He crumbles and swears, “I do not know the man.”  The rooster crows.  His heart aches.  

Ever been cornered by a question like that?  “Boy, you aren’t from around here, are you?  I’ve seen you get up early on Sunday morning and drive somewhere.  You going to church, boy?”  It is time for your testimony.  What do you say?

Sometimes the pressure can be real, depending on your family, your friends, your workplace environment.  In a moment of pressure, we might think we are better off not being counted as a disciple of Jesus.

Matthew doesn’t record it, but Luke does.  When the rooster crowed, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” (Luke 22:61)  Ouch.  Have you see a face like that?  When you buckled under the pressure and lied?  The face of a parent or a teacher.  And it hurts.  Then the truth comes out, and that same face gave love and forgiveness . . . and maybe a hug.

Look at the face of Jesus.  He is calling you back to Him.  Even when you fail to claim Him, He still wants to claim you.  He shows you His bruises and his blood not to shame but to reveal how much He loves you.  What abuse He absorbs for you.  This is the Son of God, who answers to no one yet stands trial and suffers to save you.

Listen to his testimony.  He says He is the Messiah.  He is God’s anointed One, the one chosen to take your place.  You have been connected to Him through baptism.  When your testimony is weak or non-existent, He steps in and confesses as though He were you.  Consider it a gift to be put on the witness stand and be associated with Jesus.

It is an opportunity.  Peter learned this.  Jesus’ look called him to repentance.  After the resurrection from the dead, Jesus restored Peter and called him to feed his sheep.  Years later, Peter wrote a letter to some of those sheep.  They were Christian citizens who stood out in society – they honored their government, wives who submitted to their husbands, husbands who were considerate of their wives, believers who were willing to suffer for doing good.  People would ask them, “What makes you different?’  And Peter encouraged them to be ready to give a reason for their hope in Jesus.

Friends, I hope your Christian accent gives you away.  I hope people notice that as disciples of Jesus you speak and act differently.   May we be blessed if people accuse us of being with Jesus.  It will give us a chance to tell them about a man who was the Son of God and Son of Man, the Messiah, who came for us and will come again.  That is our testimony.

Amen.       

February 25, 2024 Text:  Mark 8:27-30

Dear Friends in Christ,

During the Super Bowl two weeks ago, there was an ad about Jesus with the tag line, “He gets us.”  It is kind of hard to describe the ad, but one of the takeaways is that people are always trying to define who Jesus is.  Michael Cooper, author and missiologist said this about the commercial, “I began to wonder, is this the Jesus I know.  This wasn’t just a great teacher or preacher who was incarnated.  This was God himself.”  In my reading one of the weaknesses pointed out is that the ad shows Jesus’ humanity but not his divinity.  The one thing I have told people who have asked is that it is getting people to talk about Jesus but what road are they going down?  It is a great time to have this Gospel lesson . . .

“WHO IS JESUS?”

The text begins, “And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi.  And on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’  And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’” (v. 27-28)

The all-knowing Lord didn’t ask the question because He was having some sort of identity crisis.  He asked the question for the disciples’ sake.  R.C.H. Lenski writes, “He wants the disciples to state the wrong opinions of men in order to set over against them their own correct conviction.”

God does that in Scripture, doesn’t He?  He asked Adam, “Where are you?” (Ge. 3:9)  It wasn’t that God didn’t know.  It was asked so Adam would know.  He was lost.  The answers given in our text are not unreasonable:  John the Baptist and Elijah.  Remember when Jesus had a purple robe and crown of thorns before Pilate and Pilate said, “Here is the man!”  (John 19:5). Behold the man.  A man.  That is all.  Just a man.

It is still the same.  Just a man.  Just another guru.  Just a man with a great following.  Just a great philosopher but nothing more.  That is what bothers people about “He gets us.”  It is not terrible, but it does not go far enough in describing Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 

Now it is time to get personal.  “And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’  Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’  And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.” (v. 29-30)

It is a defining moment for them and the world.  The Christ.  They confess it.  He upholds it.  The Christ.  It slaps down all the human speculation about Jesus.  He has no equals.  Jesus alone says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Christ says it, “I’m it.  There is no other way.”  He testifies to himself.  This is what you want on your death bed.  He is God’s anointed who bore your sins and the sins of the world.  He secured our eternal pardon so that Heaven is our home.

During the Presidency of Andrew Jackson, around 1830, a man named George Wilson killed a government employee.  Wilson was sentenced to hang.  President Jackson stepped in and sent Wilson a pardon, but Wilson did something strange, he rejected it.  No one knew what to do so the case went to the Supreme Court.  Chief Justice Marshall wrote the court’s opinion, “A pardon is a slip of paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned.  If it is refused, it is no pardon.  George Wilson must be hanged.”  And he was.

It does not matter what people think of Jesus.  We know this, Jesus is the only pardon from sin.  “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Those who reject that pardon will be eternally punished.  It does not matter how sweet and wonderful they may be.  Scripture says, “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18)

Do you remember the author Philip Roth?  He wrote a book EveryMan which was a heads up to all readers that death comes to everyone.  He said this in a New York Times article, “This book came out of what was all around me, which was something I never expected – that my friends would die.  If you’re lucky, your grandparents will die when you’re, say, in college.  Your parents, if you’re lucky will live until you are in your fifties or sixties.  You won’t ever die, and your children certainly, will never die before you.  That’s the deal.  That’s the contract.  But in this contract, nothing is written about your friends, so when they start dying, it’s a gigantic shock.”

Isn’t that how many see it?  Somehow, it isn’t going to happen to me.  But it does, no matter who you are.  Philip Roth died six years ago, an atheist, who had no time for Jesus.

The scenario is all too common.  We all stare at our mortality.  The sunny days, and blue skies and scenes and activities of life come to a close.  Staring at mortality and seeing Jesus – the Bringer of Life and Salvation – and the person just walks away.  Forever sad.

Who is Jesus?  He is our Lord and Savior.  He is the Lover of our souls.  He has overcome sin and death for us.  He is Jesus.  He is our life and salvation.  He guides our life.  He is Christ.  He is our eternity when the earthly ends.  He is our light when the darkness finally arrives.  He is God who has come to grant us pardon and eternal life.  This is Jesus Christ.

Amen.    

February 21, 2024 – Lent Text:  Luke 22:47-53

Dear Friends in Christ,

Family was gathering at the Lutheran Church for the funeral of a young man who was shot and spent months on life support.  Before the funeral could begin the mother was yelling at family for taking her son off of life support.  She ran to the front of the church, fell on the casket and started hitting the funeral directors who were trying to restrain her.  She ran outside to the hearse still screaming.  It was then that an attendee who didn’t even know the mom walked up and gave her a hug.  She whispered, “It was an honor to know your son.  He was a good kid.”  The mom’s demeanor completely changed.  She became quiet.  Another woman approached and did the same.  There was grace.  There was Christian love and restraint.  This little show of support said more than all the screaming before it.

Tonight the “God on Trial” takes place on the Mount of Olives.  We will see both sides of the issue.  One who couldn’t control himself and One who had to.

“RESTRAINT”

The crowd comes in the cover of darkness.  Why the mob?  Why the soldiers?  What has this man Jesus done?  Killed?  Robbed?  Blasphemed?  This night needs no charge.  This was mob justice and it was unfair.

The disciple Peter thought so.  He is not named here but is in another part of the Bible.  Even the servant who has his ear cut off is named elsewhere – Malchus.  Right after the question is asked, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” Peter acts.  Raises his sword and cuts off the ear of Malchus.  There is no restraint.  Just reaction.  He doesn’t think.  He does.

What is restraint?  The ability to hold back.  Self-control.  What do we first think if we are criticized or people aren’t listening to us or they say or write something that bothers us?  Restraint is not usually the first thought.  We think, “Why did they hurt me?  What did I do to deserve this?”  We have got dignity.  We have got a sense of justice.  We feel like we are on trial.  We get defensive.

So, the pressure builds along with the heart rate and blood pressure.  We are not going to take this.  We have to do something, right?  We don’t swing a sword, but we take a swipe at them with an angry text or e-mail.  We find our support system and bad mouth them.  We give a glare.  We fight back.  We can’t be expected to show restraint, can we? 

Jesus says, “No more of this.”  Then He heals.  He wasn’t thinking about himself.  Who should have been mad here?  Jesus, right?  He is the one being betrayed and accused.  But he heals this man who has a name – Malchus – Roman soldier and he is not a friend of Jesus.  Jesus is not thinking about Himself.  He was thinking of you.  The path to your salvation began with his surrender to this unholy mob.

Restraint is a theme in Jesus’ passion.  He showed restraint tonight.  He will show restraint before Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate, and their factions.  As he was taunted and struck and ridiculed – Jesus never lashed out or lost his temper or called down curses from heaven.

We need this Jesus as our Savior.  We need his quiet and purposeful obedience to his Father’s will.  We need his perfection, his holiness, and his righteousness to be able to stand before our Father, and that’s exactly what Jesus came to give us by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.  We need his help too.

We live in a world where the quick comeback and zinger response are rewarded.  News channels give inflammatory reports to keep their loyal audience.  Social media algorithms target our sense of indignation to get us to engage.  This all rubs off on us.  The other person is faceless as long as we are heard.  What if we did something different like the ladies at the funeral?

Imagine the impact you can have if you show some restraint.  You know Jesus.  You know the one who showed love and restraint all the way to his sacrificial death on the cross for sinners like us.  We can use words that help and heal instead of inflame and destroy.  We can respond graciously and not impulsively when we are provoked by those around us.  

This behavior, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance can be a strength and not a weakness.  Jesus’ restraint tonight can be our restraint.  What do you think Malchus thought of Jesus from that moment on?

Instead of fighting back, you can swing the sword of the Spirit – the Gospel of Jesus.  And maybe as others see this opposite of the world behavior and the message behind it, they will come to know Jesus’ love.

Amen.       

February 14, 2024 – Ash Wednesday       Text:  Job 40:1-2, 42:1-6

Dear Friends in Christ,

Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do?  Painful, isn’t it?  Accusations can ruin family relationships, marriages, jobs and a reputation.  Old Testament Job knew all about accusations.

His suffering is legendary.  Let’s review.  Animals and servants dead – 10,000 casualties.  Wealth and income goodbye.  Roof collapses at the dinner table, seven sons and three daughters lie lifeless.  What would you do?  What would you say?  Somehow, Job uttered these famous words of faith, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)  The man was devastated but he did not charge God with wrongdoing.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end.  He was consumed with chronic pain.  Been there, done that.  Miserable, right?  His wife wanted him to curse God.  But he didn’t.

What have you suffered?  Finances in arears?  Those close to you in eternity?  A relationship that weighs on the mind?  Friends can help, right?  Job’s friends did come visit him.  They sat in silence, which is sometimes the best thing a friend can do.  But then they open their mouths.  Not smart.  They try to explain.  They try to rationalize.  They even think Job might deserve this.  A good lesson for us in there.

The friends push him in a direction that has him saying to God,  “Why have you made me your target?  Have I become a burden to you?”  Job is putting God on Trial.

Over these next several weeks, we will see how people put God on Trial for reasons far less justifiable than Job’s.  We will hear how Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate, and the angry crowds all accused the Son of God in the flesh.  But before we do, on this Ash Wednesday we must consider how we have done the same – how we too have put God on Trial.

“ACCUSATIONS”

Maybe we don’t say it out loud, but is it ever in there?  “Lord, why did my spouse have to die?”  “I miss my parent, I could have used their advice today.”  “Why must this tension between my boss and I churn in my gut?”  “Lord, this pain is becoming a pain!”

The accusations are there.  The impatience and frustration simmer on the surface.  The complaining and criticism get verbalized.  God, would you please take the stand to explain yourself.

He speaks.  What does He have to say?  He says to Job, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?  He who argues with God, let him answer it.” (40:2)  Not the guy you want to argue with.  He reminds little human being Job how He made the universe.  Put in the boundaries.  Hung the stars.  Controls the weather.  Job sniffs the smelling salts and says, “I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (42:6)  God does put Job in his place and that is a good thing.  It was a place of repentance.

If we accuse God, we get this whole human life things backwards.  We are the ones that should be put on trial by God.  “Please raise your right hand . . .”  How many of us would jump down from there and go running down the courthouse corridor?  

Please, come back, but come back in repentance.  Maybe God has used Christian friends, parents, teachers, coaches, preachers and His Word to waken you with some smelling salts.  God doesn’t want you or I to lose our faith and subsequently our salvation.  Tonight, hear the call, through the words of Job, repent in dust and ashes.

Job accused God, but he never lost faith in God.  In the very middle of the book, Job cried out words that become etched in the poetry of our Easter celebration:   “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:25-26)  We know that Redeemer’s name:  Jesus.

This Lent we will see our Redeemer up close as he stands trial.  He will be betrayed.  Arrested by a mob.  Charged with blasphemy.  False witnesses brought forward.  He will be spit on and have fists slammed into his face.  They will give him a wardrobe change and then laugh at him.  He will just stand there and take it.  He won’t complain that he is not a sinner.  He will take the accusations.  He will undo the accusations of Satan.  He will carry them all to the cross of Calvary.  Justice will be served.

Remember this when you suffer.  The Lord gave Satan permission to afflict Job.  God was in complete control.  He didn’t let Satan take Job’s life and he didn’t let him take his faith.  In fact, God brought blessings to Job – and to us who read about them.

There is no need to accuse.  We don’t need to understand because God does.  He is Our Redeemer.  He lives and He is right there beside you.  See you in the courtroom next week.

Amen.  

February 11, 2024 – Transfiguration Text:  2 Corinthians 3:12-13; 4:1-6

Dear Friends in Christ,

Somebody is “in their glory” when they are at their best.  When do you think your mother was/is most in her glory?  When she is all dolled up, looking pretty, ready to go out for a nice dinner?  Or when mom came to you in the middle of the night with hair all mussed to take care of you when you were sick?  On a personal level most of us would say when she gave comfort at 2 a.m.  She showed her love.  She was in her glory. 

When is Jesus in His glory?  Is it today at the Transfiguration?  After all, he is radiant, and His Father says He loves Him.  But the greater glory was the bloodied and beaten body of Jesus on the cross.  That is where He most clearly shows His love.  He comforts us in our sin and forgives us.  Oh, what glory.

This is the Gospel message.  We don’t hide or veil ourselves behind our sin.  Drop the charade.  You and I are sinners, and we know it.  Step out so the glory can shine on you.

“THE VEIL IS TAKEN AWAY”

The first veil is the veil Moses put over his face.  This is the old covenant.  “Moses…would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.” (v. 13). This is the teaching that the Law cannot save us.  Israel was being taught that without the shedding of blood, there could be no atonement.  On their “Day of Atonement” they would sacrifice a “scapegoat.”  They were learning how God would redeem the world, by transferring our sins to another.  With every Passover, they were to look to “the Lamb of God” who would once and for all take away the sins of the world.  Jesus would be the fulfillment of that covenant, once the veil is taken away.

It is too bad that some do not see beyond the old covenant; the veil essentially remains.  The Scriptures remain a closed book, and we miss seeing the one behind the veil:  Christ . . . on every page!

Our Gospel from Mark is the Transfiguration event.  We see in Mark, the three disciples were “terrified.”  They are afraid even before the clouds and voice appear.

We know about clouds overshadowing us.  How many times have you been driving in fog the last couple of weeks?  Not a comfortable feeling.  The car coming towards you is hidden and then there it is.  It has literally come out of the veil of fog.

What veils do we hide behind?  Do we ever hide behind our glory?  The feel-good moments.  The compliments.  The accomplishments.  “I’m a better driver than that person who  won’t put their lights on in this fog.”  “I would never lie like that guy on television.”  “How can people do that?”  We veil our sinful condition in subtle ways that we hardly notice.  We are in a fog, and we need an escape.  It is this same veil that kept many in Israel from receiving him.  John writes in his Gospel, “he came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13)

When Jesus said from the cross “It is finished,” the veil was being lifted.  The veil was also torn in two from top to bottom in the temple.  The fog has lifted, the veil is taken away, we can see the Lord clearly.  We see Him as He truly is – our Savior from sin, death, and the power of the Law.  In fact, we, by God’s grace, with “unveiled faces,” also begin to reflect the glory of Christ as the Gospel has its way with us.  The Law cannot produce such a change.  The Gospel can, because it’s all about Christ and what He accomplishes for us on the cross.

God continues transforming and transfiguring us as we hear the Word of God and frequently use the Sacraments.  This is a lifetime event, until we make our “exodus” to eternity.

Paul would continue his apostolic ministry.  He didn’t lose heart because it wasn’t about Moses or Elijah.  It is only about Jesus.  Paul is free.  We are free.  Free to confess Christ.

St. Paul doesn’t resort to “disgraceful, underhanded ways.” (4:2)  He doesn’t have to sugarcoat the Word of God to make it more appealing.  Paul had it in his day, we have it in ours.  We simply confess Christ as Lord and Savior when and where God gives the opportunity.  As our text says some are going to be “blinded” but we don’t lose the courage or moxie, because the result isn’t our responsibility.  That always and only rests in the hands of God.

God has shone in our hearts.  He has given us the knowledge.  The veil has been taken away.  Be bold confessors of the new covenant – “Jesus Christ as Lord.” (4:5)

Amen.

January 28, 2024               Text:  1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Dear Friends in Christ,

Let’s start with a little background about the city of Corinth, so we can better understand the subject matter in our text.  Corinth had temples to pagan gods.  Corinth had a temple with 1,000 priestesses who were sacred prostitutes.  To live “like a Corinthian” meant immorality and debauchery.

In these temples the worshippers would offer sacrifices.  You would bring in your animal, the priest would kill and clean it and then it would be burned.  A plume of smoke would ascend to the heavens to influence the gods.  Only a small part of the meat was incinerated, the rest was roasted.  Everyone knew if you wanted a good cheap meal, you could pick one up at your neighborhood temple.  It was the fast food of the day.

Some of the Christians were eating the meat as a matter of Christian freedom.  Since the idols were nothing to them it didn’t bother them that the meat had been offered to idols.  On the other hand, there were Christians in Corinth who had weak consciences because of their former association with idols.  This became a stumbling block and faith was destroyed.

How do we use our Christian freedom?  What are some of the issues of our day that can relate to the text?  Do we lift up or hurt our weak brothers and sisters?  Paul warns,

“DON’T BE A STUMBLING BLOCK”

What is going on in 21^st century where-you-are-ville?  No one these days is writing e-mails to their Pastor or our Synod’s Theology Review Board concerning “food offered to idols.”  But what issues do we face that might cause us to be a stumbling to a weaker brother or sister?

The first one would be alcohol.  Again, this falls under Christian freedom.  Should we have a cocktail in front of someone who is struggling with alcoholism?  Probably not because this might lead them down a path, we don’t want to see them go.

Another one is a more recent phenomenon.  It is the idea that anyone can get a license to marry someone.  Our family attended a wedding like this, and the ceremony was God-awful.  The only way I survived was through prayer and putting my head down for the whole half-hour.  Because marriage was ordained by God and has usually been the duty of the Church and the Pastor it is a bad look.  It cheapens my ordination and the ordination and education of my brother Pastor’s.  It does not build the faith, but it sure does put up a stumbling block to husband and wife under the auspices of their Creator.  Yes, again we have Christian freedom but is it the right way to use it?

For Paul and the Holy Spirit my right to exercise some of these freedoms stops when a brother or sister is tripped up.  We don’t live in a closed system.  We live in a family of brothers and sisters.  These are brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.

We get stuck on ourselves and our rights.  Stop looking at your belly buttons – innies, outies, things get stuck in there.  Nasty.  We need something else to look at.  

Look to the beautiful.  Look to the forgiving.  Look to the forever.  This something is a someone, and his name is Jesus.  From all eternity he has been concerned about you.  Two thousand years ago he was concerned about living and dying for you and rising for you.  

Today he was concerned about making sure you woke up on time to get here.  See, he wants to be sure you know that you are forgiven.  He wants you to know that if you have been a stumbling block, you can repent and start anew with better judgment and an uplifting attitude.  Today he wants to feed you his body and blood as a member of his family.  

The relationship between God and us is always one of grace, pure and undeserved love.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”  In Christ, we have been freed from the Law, “but take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” (v. 9). We are saved by grace alone, for Christ’s sake, through faith, and our love is a love that builds up our Christian brother and sister.  

Let’s use our freedom wisely, for Christ’s sake.

Amen.