March 20, 2022                              Text:  Ezekiel 33:7-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Ok.  You can’t fool me.  I know you didn’t maintain pure thoughts this week.  You’ve got a few fantasies floating around up there right now that we won’t mention.  By the way…did you take account of those harsh words you used this week to a family member or fellow driver or some talking head on your TV screen.  And what about that promise to God to stop doing . . . what you keep doing . . . but don’t want to do?  When are you going to do what’s right?

    You can’t fool me because I know you.  I know you because I know myself.  Despite our differences we are all the same before a holy God.  We can’t fool each other because God says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:23)

    We are born in sin.  We are born without trust in our Lord.  We daily need to be repenting.  We also need to be concerned about one another.  We need to have love for one another.  Are you ready to be a watchman?

“WATCHING OUT FOR EACH OTHER”

    As many of you know I was the oldest sibling in my family.  I was also the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family.  It all starts to make sense why I am the way I am, right?  Anyway, being the oldest always put me in a position of responsibility.  “Watch your sister tonight, we have a PTA meeting.”  “You are going to watch your cousins because the adults are going out for dinner.”  In sports I was always getting voted a captain because they trusted that I would watch out for teammates and get the best out of them.

    This was great preparation for being a Pastor.  I have been the watchman over souls from Texas to Kansas to Illinois.  But God has not just called me to watch out for others, he has placed this wondrous work at your feet as well.  People around us our dying.  Family we love and cherish.  Lifelong friends.  Co-workers.  Teammates.  The issue is eternity.  Jesus said, “My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12,13)  So the question:  Are we – you and I – willing to lay down everything for the sake of someone’s soul? 

    What was Ezekiel suppose to do in our text?  Warn the house of Israel.  To speak to them about their iniquity.  To warn them to turn from their wicked ways.  And if he didn’t then the Lord would require his blood.  The Lord appointed him to watch over these souls.

    Those are some heavy, heavy words for us.  Not just words for Pastors but words for the Priesthood of believers.  I know many of you have that burden on your heart this day.  You are watching out for someone that just doesn’t seem to be listening.  Don’t give up.  You have a responsibility.  Listen to this.

    Back on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean.  The blame was on faulty O-rings that failed at cold temperatures.  The night before the launch, Allen McDonald, director of the project for Morton Thiokol, refused to sign off on the launch because the temperature dipped below freezing.  They went ahead with disastrous results.  For telling the truth, McDonald was demoted.  Later, he was vindicated by a presidential commission and given his job back.  He led the redesign of the boosters.  After 110 successful flights, the astronauts believe the solid rocket boosters to be the safest part of the shuttle.

    God calls you.  God calls me to issue that kind of warning for the eternal safety of those we know.  It may pain us.  We may get blowback.  We may even get demoted in the eyes of those we warn.  But our sharing of God’s Word saves lives through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Can’t you say someone watched over you?  A parent?  A Pastor?  A Sunday School teacher?  Grandma?  Grandpa?  Good friend?  Maybe the Lord even used a casual acquaintance.  

    Why do it?  Out of love.  Paul writes, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.  But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:1, 2)

    Gently…gently.  C.S. Lewis once pointed out, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.”  I draw your attention to Romans 5:8:  “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  He didn’t die for me after I made improvements.  He died for you and me in our sin.  As enemies of the cross, God sent Jesus to forgive and love and restore us.  He is always watching out for us.

    You know how we offend our Lord in thought, word, and deed?  Here’s the best part:  Christ is always there to love and restore.  He pronounces love and assurance in absolution.  In Baptism we are buried with Christ and clothed in His righteousness.  He feeds me forgiveness in Holy Communion – given and shed for you. 

    This forgiveness is every day.  The Lord’s interest is to grant me eternal salvation.  He loves this wretch standing before you that much.  And He loves the wretches sitting in front of me the same way.  We couldn’t love each other or others differently.  Watching out for each other because Jesus is watching out for us.  Amen. 

March 16, 2022 – Lent                        Text:  John 18:1-11

    On January 17, 2004, a sixty-ton sperm whale died and was beached in Taiwan.  Two weeks later, authorities decided to truck the whale to a lab to perform an autopsy.  People gathered in the streets to watch the whale carcass being driven through their town.  Then it happened . . . as the truck crawled through the city, with crowds watching . . . the whale exploded.  The insides of this whale splattered cars and people and shops.  Traffic stopped for hours.  The smell was unbearable.  I think we can safely say no one saw that coming.

    Isn’t that our life?  Cruising the road of life and a whale explodes.  We are left hurt and a confused and a mess.  We ask why?  Why did she leave me?  Why did my son get arrested?  Why a cancer diagnosis?  Why did we lose so much?  Why?  Why?

    Our sermon series on the Witnesses of Christ continues tonight with John 18 and we meet Malchus.  He was just doing his job, minding his business and boom – a whale explodes.  A fisherman from Galilee cuts off his right ear.  No one saw that coming.  But that night and today daily in our lives . . . 

“JESUS ENTERS OUR MESS”

    Let’s set the scene.  Judas had with him a band of soldiers with lanterns and torches and weapons.  They have come to arrest Jesus.  These same soldiers the next day will mock Jesus, flog Jesus, and crucify Jesus.

    Who is leading this Jewish posse with so much firepower?  Judas.  What is Judas up to?  Betrayal.  You hear it every time we celebrate Holy Communion, “Our Lord Jesus Christ on the night when he was betrayed.”  This is the night.

    Then the chaos begins.  After some brief chatter . . . a whale explodes.  Peter draws a sword and cuts of the right ear of Malchus.  Ouch!

    You’ve had something similar, haven’t you?  A burn.  Ouch!  A turned ankle.  Ouch!  Bumping your head and having it bleed.  Ouch?  More than physical pain, you have had emotional pain.  A daughter that just can’t seem to get out of her own way.  A death that pervades your thoughts.  A conflict where you see no ending.  What are you doing about it?  Consulting an attorney.  Going to a counselor.  Crying at night.

You are trying to control it the best you know how.

    In our text it appears Judas is running things.  But is that true?  No.  Christ is really in control.  How so?  Verse 4, “Jesus, knowing all that would happen, came forward.”  The control is clear.  The enemies come and Jesus goes to meet them.  Jesus doesn’t run.  When the sword strike happens he tells Peter to put his sword away.  Jesus says in John 10:18:  “No one takes my life from Me, I lay it down of my own accord.”

    During World War II, psychologists compared ground troops with fighter pilots.  They determined that after 60 days of fighting, the anxiety of the ground troops was astronomical.  After those same 60 days, an incredible 93% of fighter pilots were happy and at peace.  Why the difference?  The fighter pilots had control.  Ground troops felt helpless, like they were targets in a shooting gallery.  The point?  Popular wisdom tells us, “Always seek control.”

    We don’t need war to tell us that.  Just sit in traffic on an interstate.  Or board an airplane.  So what’s the plan when the whale explodes?  An alternate route, please.  Or have a parachute on the plane.  We face the exploding whale by taking control.

    The problem is, it doesn’t work?  You can’t just hop off the interstate.  Security will never let you on with a parachute.  What does work?  Relinquish control.  Give it up.  Let go.  Resign as CEO of the universe.  Give your entire mess to Jesus.  His control is clear.

    Let’s read verse 9, “This was to fulfill the word that He had spoken:  ‘Of those whom You gave Me I have lost not one.’”  Christ is calm.  His calm is contagious.  He trusts the Scriptures. 

    “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Christ is in control of sin and He takes it all away.  “I am the light of the world.”  Christ is in control of darkness.  He takes yours away through the light of His grace and mercy.

    Ever sign one of those pieces of paper for your child that you are the responsible party?  Christ signed His name for us – and He wrote it in His own blood.  When we were baptized, Jesus took full responsibility for us.  When the whale explodes, Jesus is the responsible party.  Not us.  It is His job to see us through the mess.  Christ the Shepherd, we the sheep.  Christ the Bridegroom, we the Bride.  Christ the Rabbi, we the disciples.

    One of these three is happening right now.  We are heading for a mess.  We are in a mess.  We just went through a mess.  No matter, we don’t become hopeless or anxious or faithless.  We can stay calm.  Why?  When whales explode, Jesus delivers perfect peace.  He reaches out his hand and heals.  Just ask a man named Malchus whom Jesus healed.               Amen.