For God so Loved the World?

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The text was John 3:1-21 which includes John 3:16. The scene set up is Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night and a conversation happens. Nicodemus drops out of the conversation exasperated. And then it turns into a one sided conversation.

This sermon reads that one sided conversation of Jesus as starting out with a barbed question that He can’t believe Nicodemus doesn’t know these things, goes through the question How can you understand heavenly things, and ends with a realization that the only way to believe is through the cross. It reads Jesus’ words as a record of Jesus’ own self understanding. According to His human nature, we know that Jesus grew. Luke puts its that He grew in wisdom, stature and favor. Did that growth stop?

The story immediately before Nicodemus is Jesus clearing the temple. A righteous and good act, but one that could easily be placed in with the OT acts of the Snakes in the desert that Jesus refers to in this text, or the call for the sacrifice of Isaac which is recalled in any giving of an only son, or the summary of the 10 commandments. Is that was God sent his son into the word for? To add one more judgement or law or method of death and condemnation?

Jesus comes to the conclusion in an emphatic no, not judgement but salvation, not enthonement but being lifted up. He comes to this conclusion based on his knowledge of who the Father is – for God so loved the world. Before the cross, that Loving Father might not have been so evident, or it had to be taken even more on faith. Faith that Hebrews ascribes to Abraham at that very sacrifice. The cross stands as the witness to just how much God loved this world.

Becuase of that cross we are no longer in the dark. We can walk in the light. Just believe the testimony of the one and only Son – God loves his creation this much. We can refuse and bring judgement upon our selves. That is the choice of the cross. Believe the testimony, or don’t. Our reaction doesn’t change the facts or the reality. Our reaction only moves us into the light, or confirms the darkness of our souls.

Ritual – Mark 14:22-26

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Wow, it was a busy week. This text was the core of my lenten devotion last week. Prepping for Mauday Thursday as well. It was Mark’s account of the Last Supper. In these lenten devotions, we’ve been walking through the Markan account of Holy Week. I’ve also been using a phrase to look at the events. It’s about Jesus, and He has a mission.

The cloud of biblical images around the last supper supports that bi-polar sentence better than many. The OT cloud is the passover. In the Last Supper Jesus redefines every element as pointing to him. A 1500 year old ritual is redefined in startling ways. Not the least of which is it becomes forward looking instead of a remembrance meal. The passover remembered when God acted. The Last Supper/Lord’s Supper recalls/longs for the day Jesus drinks again in the Kingdom. The NT cloud is all about mission and it is in parables. The wedding banquet at the end of time. In those parables the Kings says go bring everyone in. The city dwellers and the country folk, the crippled, the blind and the poor. That missional imperative is something we definitely know. We would often rather argue about theological points or fine shadings. We don’t know much of that for certain. What we do know – It is about Jesus, and He’s got a mission…and he wants us on that mission.

In finance there is a term – safe harbour. What it means is that there are gray areas of tax law and accounting rules. You can explore those grey areas, usually through the tax courts. If you lose, you will owe penalties. There is usually a safe harbour, behavior spelled out at appropriate. The tax courts may eventually rule the behavior wrong and change the regulations, but if you were in that safe harbour there will be no penalty. Theologically speaking there is a safe harbour – personally, believe and be baptized; as a church, be about mission.

Theology of the Cross – 1 Cor 1:18-31

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The story of Jacob wrestling God all night is a little like each sermon prep. Sometimes you are exhausted, but have feel like you have extracted something worth sharing. Some weeks you feel like the Rock just slammed you from the top rope about 10 mins into the match.

The technical word is the theology of the cross. Giving a sermon on it, for a hyper-rational person like me, is a what-were-you-thinking idea. The cross ultimately falls under the Louis Armstrong quote, “Man, if you gotta ask.” Ultimately the architecture of our congregation (thanks Ethel Louise for the idea) speaks more. When we gather for communion, we are all placed kneeling at the foot of the cross. All of our wisdom and intellect and strength reduced by a sacrament with bread and wine where all all welcome. That image says more than 1500 words. Those perishing have all kinds of questions about what is going on. Those being saved – don’t need to ask.

Lent 3 – Two types of good, and a time to Break the Jar – Mark 14:3-9

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The text is Mak 14:3-9. The story is a woman’s annointing of Jesus with a year’s wages worth of perfume. Jesus praises her and he tells the disciples to stop picking on her. He does not denounce their version of good – counting the cost and helping the poor. Instead he denounces their lack of awareness of the time. There is a time to break the jar and pour everything out. The following is from the full text…

“…When the time was right, God broke the jar. He incarnated himself in Jesus and he did not turn back. He poured himself out upon this earth. The one through whom all things were made became a helpless baby. The commander of armies of angels, called twelve Jewish misfits who would desert and betray him. The author of life would taste death on the cross and be placed in a grave without burial preparation. At the right time God was a spendthrift. At the right time God so loved the world that he gave his only son. And that Son, Jesus Christ, revealed and incarnated the Father to us.

As disciples we are called to a similar spendthrift task. To incarnate the love of Jesus for the lost in this world. And that requires both types of good. It requires the hard flinty type to be intentional about sharing the gospel. It requires the good helping the poor. It requires the good of being leaders in the community. It requires the good of prayer and study for discernment and looking for that task that we as a people or as individuals have been given. And it requires the good of being willing to break the jar when we see that opportunity that God has given us to bring Christ to our community…”

A Cross Shaped Door – Mark 8:27-38

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There is an entryway question – who do you say that I am? Jesus asks that of the disciples. There is really only one answer that starts the journey, Peter’s answer. You are the Christ! But what does that mean? Jesus defines it in terms of A Cross Shaped Door. There are two ages. This fallen and corrupt age that is passing away, and the age to come which has already been revealed in Jesus Christ. The only way out of this age of death is the cross shaped door. The prophets point at that door, but the Christ opened that door. Because of that, the authorities of this age, who have authority over death, have no authority over life. This age is passing away, and through that cross shaped door we have been granted life. Make no mistake, the door is cross shaped, but it is the only way to life.

Two Poles – It’s about Jesus and The Lord has a Mission

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Continuing the mid-week series started Ash Wednesday we are working our way through the Holy Week account in the gospel according to Mark. Below is the compressed devotion coming out of the fuller text. Please join us looking at The Mission of Holy Week.

Text: Mark 14:1-2 (“But not during the feast…”)

We like to think that we are in control. The Chief Priests and the teachers of the law wanted to kill Jesus, but they wanted to do it on their terms and in their time. “Not during the feast, or the people may riot.” How did that work out? We like to think that we are in control, but we are only in control as much as we are following the will of God. It was God’s will to endure the cross for our sins. It is God’s will that we should make disciples. He gives us his Word. He places us in situations. He wants us to walk in the good works he has planned out in advance for us to do. We can refuse. We can book passage to Tarshish. But big whales often get in the way of those trips. We can rebel. We can look for ways to kill the Spirit that lives within us. Unfortunately, that often works. Our hearts become hard. We no longer hear the Word. The better path is one of prayer and study and trial. We pray and we study to be able to discern the path God wants us to walk. We intentionally look for those God wants us to disciple. Discipleship can be a trial. It does not always work out. Our disciples can refuse and rebel just like we can. But do we want to find ourselves in the feet of the chief priests working against God?

A Lutheran tries to Preach on James – Trials, Temptations, Perseverance and Absolution

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Martin Luther once called James the “epistle of straw”. He thought is was a bunch of law and not much gospel. His antagonists in Rome also had a knack for using it to point out inconvienent scripture to Brother Martin. James deserves his voice and in the modern church he might be the more necessary epistle if for no other reason than he is just so darn practical. James does not get tied down in fancy theological arguments. He has no time for speculative thoughts and navel gazing. Don’t deceive yourself, we are sinners. Don’t blame God, we are sinful by nature. That sinful nature drags us along. We don’t need any push from God to sin. Be on your guard for those times and feelings and situation. But the good news is that God chose us. He saved us in Jesus (the word of truth) and made us to be the firstfruits – God’s rightful and chosen portion of creation. Don’t follow the path of sin, instead hold on to that election.

Ash Wednesday Sermon – Mark 13:24-31

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Text: Mark 13:24-31

Wants, needs and our one real need – Jesus Christ. The text always intringued me. It is not just the bad stuff or just the fallen world that passes away. The best stuff also passes – heaven passes away. It is all headed for the ashes. Everything except the Word of God Jesus Christ. Good news – in baptism you have become the body of Christ. You are made a new creation. The Ashes of Ash Wednesday are redeemed in the resurrection of the dead. Baptism is your guarantee. So, if you receive the ashes, remember that baptism.

Sermon – Mark 9:1-10 – Under the Gospel there is no fear

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Transfiguration sunday. Exactly what we do with this picture of the Glory of God in Jesus is tough to talk about. Fundamentally, the image is too bright for our mortal eyes. What we can look at is the reactions of the disciples in contrast to the reactions of other people who have glimpsed the glory, primarily those healed like the leper or the deaf man in Mark’s gospel. Those two can’t keep the joy and the word in. Jesus tells them to be quiet, but they run and tell everyone, and there is no crackdown.

The Disciples don’t do that. They do three things. 1) They equate Jesus the messiah with Elijah and Moses – just another teacher, and they want to build an institution around them. Let’s build three tents. When God works in his glory we often want to domesticate it. We are scared of God working so we try and put Him in a box. The world and the church is full of sad empty boxes where God used to work. 2) They react out of fear. The text says they were terrified. The leper and the deaf man come to Jesus, unafraid or at least uncommented. Jesus drags the disciples up the mountian, and they cower. This view of the glory before calvary was for their reassurance, but run in fear. Fear is the power of the law. In Jesus God is doing a new thing. Fear is not called for. 3) They keep the word to themselves. They have just glimpsed the glory of God. Would this not have been something to share? If they had been healed like the leper, if they had been under the gospel, they would have told everyone.

Don’t build institutions, but follow Jesus where the Spirit wills. Don’t cower in fear. The law has no claim on you in Jesus Christ. And please, pass the Word on to those still in cowering. Under the Gospel we are freed from fear. The little kids know it best. Jesus loves me this I know. Hide it under a bushel – no! I gonna let it shine!

Sermon – Mark 1:40-45 – The clean get the mission

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Allen Bauchle asked a great question/observation in bible class after worship about something called the ‘messianic secret’. That is a technical term for those times when somebody is telling who Jesus is (the messiah/the son of God), but he tells them to be silent. The demons obey. The humans do not. Strangely, the disciples do. Many words have been spilled on this theme, and while it is present to some degree in Mathew and Luke it is primarily something in Mark, the gospel for this year.

The truth of the matter is that I have received view, one that I’ve been told and strikes me a very close to truth, but I have not given enough pray and study to hold a view of my own. The only piece that I’ve done some work on is catagorizing the who and why.

The text of this sermon has one of the secret events. Jesus tells the leper to be quiet. The leper goes and tells – in loaded terms the former leper – “proclaims/preaches the word”. I don’t know why our more “literal” translations give us things like “talk freely about it and spread the news.” The New Living Traslation gets very “literal”…”the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone.” The juxtaposition of proclaiming the word by the man made clean and the command to be silent seem to be core. The leper is doing more than just talking about an event.

Part of my answer has to include the why’s of the people told. The demons, who have no interest in spreading the gospel, shut up at the command. The leper breaks the command, the law, for the sake of the speading the gospel. That is a slippery slope. Which laws can be broken? When are you breaking them for the sake of the gospel? Martin Luther’s quip about ‘sin boldly’ would seem to be appropriate.

Ultimately, it is those who have been cleaned by Jesus Christ that are given the mission to save others. Jesus can’t go into the towns, but everybody is looking for him. They are coming out to the desert places. It is the cleansed, the healthy, that can give directions where to find him.