Fifth Midweek in Lent - And lead us not into temptation ... But deliver us from evil

SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2012 | LENT

FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT

YEAR B

             Old Testament       Jeremiah 31:31–34

             Psalm       Psalm 119:9–16

             Epistle       Hebrews 5:1–10

             Gospel       (Mark 10:32–34) 35–45

GOSPEL

Mark 10:35–45

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,4 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave5 of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

Lead Us Not Into Temptation...

Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God our Father and Savior Jesus Christ, His Son our Lord.  AMEN

Our Focus is the Gospel Text and the Sixth and Seventh Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, Lead us Not into Temptation but Deliver us from Evil.

Human beings are motivated for a number of reasons, but Chief among them seem to be Power, Wealth, and Glory.  Take a look at any story that involves a bad guy, and you will see a person seeking at least one of these, if not all three together.  Power indicates that we are in charge of our own destinies.  Wealth means that we do not need to fear not having enough of anything.  And Glory is what we get from other people, respect, admiration, and fame and honor.  Control, possessions, and being remembered are powerful motivators in life.  The problem is though, that when we allow ourselves to be motivated by power, wealth, and Glory, we are attempting to take what truly belongs to God.  We are being tempted, like Adam and Eve were tempted.  But the Son of God came as a servant, not seeking Power, Wealth or Glory.  For Christ, came into the World, to establish a new covenant through giving his life as a ransom for many. 

In today’s text we see James and John approaching Jesus for a favor.  The favor that they ask for is not a small favor, but a very big favor, one that would set them in an incredible position had Jesus granted them this Favor.  They wanted to sit by him one on his Right side and one on his Left.  Now this request goes well beyond simple seating arrangements for supper, but supper arrangements may help us understand why it matters. 

When we arrange a supper party, we take into a number things into account.  One is to mix up the people so that a number of conversations will hopefully go on, involving much of the table.  Another is to separate people that don’t get along very well.  And the most important, is to set people next to ourselves that we want to talk to, and that we like.  Now if you are a political or business leader, those people have your ear, they can get their own agendas listened to by the guy in charge.  It is a way to have power, when you aren’t the person in charge.  Being seated at the right hand of someone, specifically the host of an event back then was a great honor, it means that you were highly valued, very important, and loved.

So James and John were seeking the best spots for themselves.  They wanted to be the most important disciples.  That is why the other disciples became indignant, not because they were upset at the audacity to ask Jesus for the seats of honor, but because by asking Jesus, they were saying that they were better than the rest of the disciples.

It is tempting to want the best spot for ourselves, to lift us up in the social hierarchy.  In our daily lives we are constantly trying to climb the “Corporate Ladder”, because it shows how important we are to the world.  The important people go up, and the less important people do the menial tasks.   The very first sin of humanity though was giving into the temptation to be like God.  Adam and Eve wanted to be more than they were, they wanted to be like God.  And because of them, they fell, instead of going upwards, they went down, out of the garden and out of perfection. 

What things are you tempted to do?  Maybe it is a simple thing, like have another piece of dessert even though you don’t need more.  Maybe it is a little more complicated, like telling a little white lie, so that you don’t have to deal with the consequences of your decision. “I promise I only had one piece of pie” when in reality the piece was the size of half the pie.  Or perhaps the temptations are more demand, temptations of power, wealth, and glory, that lead to greater and greater sins, in the name of progress.

That’s what makes temptation so terrible.  It promises that your life is going to be better if you do these things, but in general, life does not improve, it just goes downward.  There is always one more thing to do.  For one thing may look like it has improved, but other more important things have been sacrificed to get there.  That why Jesus Taught us in his Prayer to pray, “And lead us not into Temptation.”  God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.

We do not stop though with, “Lead us not into Temptation” but instead we continue with, “But deliver us from evil.”  And We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.  We need to be deliverd from the source of all temptations, the powers of the evil one, and we cannot do it on our own, instead the one who stood up to temptations himself had to stand in our place as a ransom for us all.  For before his ministry began, he face the temptations of earthly possections with turn this stone into bread.  He faced the temptations for Glory, when  he was asked to cast himself down from the temple for all to see.  And he faced the temptations for Power when the devil offered to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  Each of these temptations did Jesus Face, and each of these temptations did he turn away from. 

For when seeking to be first, he came as a servant and as a slave of all.  The King of hosts did not come down with trumpets sounding surrounded by wealth, but he came as a servant, a teacher, who would drink of the cup of wrath for all people.  He took it upon himself to face the greatest evil, death. For the son of man came and faced all the temptations of the world and the evil one, and did not give in.  His death upon the cross would be the defeat of death, the devil, and the world for all humanity.  This was not done in the search of Power, wealth or Glory, for those things already belonged to him as the son of God.  He lowered himself, giving up all things for us and for our salvation. 

We as humans still face temptations in our daily lives, but we do not need to fear them.  For the power of the devil has been defeated by Jesus Christ, the perfect Prophet Priest and King.  He faced the temptations that we faced, and did not give in, and by him and through him we can say no to all temptations.  We can rejoice that Christ, came into the World, to establish a new covenant in his blood  as a ransom for all who believe.  To him be Kingdom, the power, and the Glory, forever and Ever. AMEN  

Fourth Midweek in Lent - And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012 | LENT

FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT

YEAR B

             Old Testament       Numbers 21:4–9

             Psalm       Psalm 107:1–9

             Epistle       Ephesians 2:1–10

             Gospel       John 3:14–21

GOSPEL

John 3:14–21

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.8
16 “For God so loved the world,9 that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Goal: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Malady: We are broken sinners, and we like holding on to the sins of others.

Means: Christ came into the world to die on the cross so that he could forgive us our sins.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God our Father and Savior Jesus Christ, His Son our Lord.  AMEN

Our Focus for tonight is upon our Gospel lesson and the Fifth Petition in the Lord’s Prayer

Out of the 4 gospel accounts of Jesus from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we are presented with the last words of Jesus, 7 of them.  Now out of those seven words, we hear words of Forgiveness and promise.  The Clearest word of Forgiveness  comes after the Roman soldiers had nailed Jesus upon the Cross Crucifying him with a criminal on his left and a criminal upon his right and a sign above his head, King of the Jews.  He spoke not in anger but words of forgiveness, Father forgiveness for they know not what they do.  Here Jesus had the perfect reason to renounce all of the men and women that surrounded him killing the son of God for their sins against God.  But he did not.  Would we have forgiven so easily?   Humans beings like being able to hold a grudge, because we do not let go of the sins of others easily.  But Christ came into the world to die upon the cross, not only for my sins but for the sins of all believers. For God truly did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

Is there someone out there that you cannot stand because of what he or she did to you?  Someone who was rude to you, that beat you up, did horrible things.  Maybe it was someone that deserved to be punished for the things they did.  Maybe it was because of a fight that you had a long time ago, or even a short time ago.  Is there someone out there that you are harboring anger against? 

As much as we feel like someone deserves what they get, holding a grudge against them is contrary to what God has done for us, unlimited forgiveness.  We like the three strikes and you’re out clause, but when Peter asked Jesus, How many times must I forgive my  brother, seven times?  Jesus responded I tell you not 7 time, but 70 time 7 times.  And when we look at ourselves and our own track records, If we were held even to a 7 times and you’re out clause, we would be in deep trouble. 

Here again there is great need to call upon God and pray: “Dear Father, forgive us our debts.” Not that he does not forgive sins even apart from and before our praying; for before we prayed for it or even thought about it, he gave us the gospel, in which there is nothing but forgiveness. But the point here is for us to recognize and accept this forgiveness. For the flesh in which we daily live is of such a nature that it does not trust and believe God and is constantly aroused by evil desires and devices, so that we sin daily in word and deed, in acts of commission and omission. Thus our conscience becomes restless; it fears God’s wrath and displeasure, and so it loses the comfort and confidence of the gospel. Therefore it is necessary constantly to run to this petition and get the comfort that will restore our conscience.

There is, however, attached to this petition a necessary and even comforting addition, “as we forgive our debtors.” He has promised us assurance that everything is forgiven and pardoned, as a result that we then forgive our neighbor. For if we were to withhold forgiveness, we would be no better than the servant who was spared from debtors prison by the king from a great debt, and then immediately went out and beat up a man who owed him a little, refusing to forgive a little.  What arrogance to be forgive of all, but refuse to forgive another of a little.  For just as we sin greatly against God every day and yet he forgives it all through grace, so we also must always forgive our neighbor who does us harm, violence, and injustice, bears malice toward us, etc. If you do not forgive, do not think that God forgives you. But if you forgive, you have the comfort and assurance that you are forgiven in heaven—not on account of your forgiving (for he does it altogether freely, out of pure grace, because he has promised it, as the gospel teaches) but instead because he has set this up for our strengthening and assurance as a sign along with the promise that matches this petition in Luke 6[:37*], “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Therefore Christ repeats it immediately after the Lord’s Prayer, saying in Matthew 6[:14*], “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. . . .”

The forgiveness that we speak towards our neighbor does not come from ourselves, instead It comes through the Power of Jesus Christ.  Christ spoke words of Forgiveness upon the cross, when we deserved only condemnation.  He did not cry out, “Father cast them down into the pits of fire and hell for they did not listen to me,” Instead he cried out Father forgive them.  Even the criminal at his side who was being justly punished for his crimes, his earthly sins was not without the grace of God.  When all others mocked Jesus and called out to him to save himself, this thief recognized that he was there Justly, but Jesus was there without sin.  His only plea was “Lord Remember me, when you come into your kingdom.” Here was a man that had no more hope of earthly redemption, and yet the words spoken by Jesus were, Today you will be with me in Paradise.   It is a clear enactment of John 3:16 and 17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.   The man was already condemned by earthly authority, was guilty in his crimes, but he repented and believed in Jesus Christ, and Jesus responded in his full heavenly power, you shall have eternal life.  Sin death and the devil has been conquer through the cross even for the worst of sinners.

Even though we do not deserve forgiveness, we do not need to fear for our forgiveness, for God gives it to us through his free grace, through the Holy Spirit who causes us to believe.  Because of this full and abundant grace, we forgive others because he has forgiven us of everything, and we should not withhold the grace that God gives freely to us.  To Go be the glory forever and ever.  AMEN

Third Midweek in Lent - Give us this Day our Daily Bread

SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2012 | LENT

THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT

YEAR B

             Old Testament       Exodus 20:1–17

             Psalm       Psalm 19

             Epistle       1 Corinthians 1:18–31

             Gospel       John 2:13–22 (23–25)

GOSPEL

John 2:13–22 (23–25)

13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Give us this day, our daily bread

Grace Mercy and Peace be unto form God our Father and Savior Jesus Christ his son our Lord. AMEN

Our Focus for this morning is the Gospel Text and the Fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Give us this day our daily Bread.

I’m sure there is someone wondering why are we talking about our daily bread when in today’s text we are hearing about the cleansing of the temple?  The cleansing of the temple is certainly an exciting story of Jesus’ zeal for his father’s house.  And at face value we could talk about not selling things in church.  The thing is I can only think of a couple of churches that could very well use a fire and brimstone speech about not using the church as a house of trade.  The reason why we are talking about daily bread is because it gets to the root of why the oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers were in the temple courts to begin with and why Jesus was so upset to see them trading. The people were supposed to bring their sacrifices to God, and the traders were just making it easier for the people.  The problem came about when people tried to rewrite things in an effort to make it “easier” for the people. 

Sacrifices to God

Most people spend the majority of their lives concerned with being able to have the what they see as the basic necessities of life.  It is the essential reason for why we work, for we are attempting to be able to provide for our families and for ourselves.  It is what man has been doing since Adam and eve were cast out of the garden and were told that they would have to struggle with the ground to grow what they needed.  IN essence we are struggling for our daily bread.  Luther further defines daily bread in his small catechism as What is meant by daily bread? Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.  He goes well beyond our modern ideas of necessity of food and shelter, into everything that surrounds us in our lives.  As sinful human beings we often want to accept the credit for having all of these things.  But we recognize as Christians that these things come to us through God and his blessings which he gives to believer and unbeliever alike.   When give to God, we are only giving back to him the blessings that he has already given to us.

When God lead his people out of the promised land, he made it abundantly clear that it was through his hand.  And he gave to Moses His Law for the people to live peacefully with each other, and also the ways in which they were to worship him.  Even his 10 commandments demonstrates the emphasis of living toward God, as the second table are short statements, whereas the first table is explained in detail.  In these laws is included the sacrifices to God, out of the abundance which he had given to them.  This is not a give until it hurts situation, the Sacrifice wasn’t meant to be a hardship for the people, instead the tithe- or Ten percent that was to be given to God was trusting that God had given them everything, even enough to make it through their lives without a portion of their harvest. 

Supposed to be the First Fruits

So those who gave to the lord their sacrifices were giving back to him in thanksgiving the things that he had already given to him.  Now when you give thanks to someone, do you give them your trash as a present to thank them.  Obviously not.  Instead you give them something new, like a thank you card or the like.  When giving to God, the Israelites were commanded to give their best of the best.  If they were shepherds- perfect lambs, if they were rich-oxen, if they were poor doves.  From wherever they lived they were to bring their sacrifice to the temple at least once a year.

Making it easier – Finding loopholes

One small problem though, they didn’t have trucks to bring all these animals to the temple, and if they got hurt on the way they would no longer be perfect for the sacrifice.  Well luckly there were pseople who thought ahead and just had flocks to be sold that way you didn’t have to bring in those animals from so far away.  And for those of you bringing money, we will change out that nasty foreign money with images of Ceaser on it with money that does not have the false images on it.   And we’ll do all this for just a small convenience fee.

Making profits in the loopholes

About here is when most of us should be squirming in our seats.  It sounds good, on the one hand until you look at what is really happening, people are trying to profit off of other’s desire to give back to God!  Yeah sure you can give back to god, I’ll just take my cut before you do.  This is where Christ’s anger comes from -  trying to create Loopholes around God’s Blessings and changing the focus off of what really matters, that God has blessed us with what we need to eat and drink. 

We can do the same thing in our lives.  We can stand in the way of God’s Word because our actions draw away from the true focus.  We can do this by placing our thoughts and desires before God and the universal church.  By doing so we say that we are responsible for taking our daily bread, not just receiving our daily bread.

Christ’s daily bread

But on our own we have nothing.  Lent began with Jesus in the desert absent of daily bread, suffering from temptation and hunger he had no bread to eat.  , go from their to the "Bread of Life" discourse in John

And in John Jesus confesses,  “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

And then in the upper room, He took bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples.  And then, of course to the cross, where He thirsted, again with no bread or water.

God himself gave to the world in the very way that he asked his people to give to his temple.  He sent his one and only son, the first fruit of all creation into the world for us.  HE didn’t just look good, but he walked the walk and talked the talk.  Our sacrifices were to be a representation of our sinfulness and need for God’s blessings, his sacrifice TOOK our sinfulness upon him and brought with him God’s blessings for all of humanity.  He died upon the Cross so that we could have new life, and he gave it freely.  He does not require us to pay for his sacrifice, because he has paid the ultimate price, defeating sin death and the devil.

We need our daily bread, and God gives it to us freely, to the believer and unbeliever in order that we may know his great and abundant mercy and blessings.  We pray that we may recognize this in our lives and give thanks to him forever.  AMEN

Second Midweek in Lent - Thy Will be Done, On Earth as it is in Heaven

SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012 | LENT

SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT

YEAR B

             Old Testament       Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16

             Psalm       Psalm 22:23–31

             Epistle       Romans 5:1–11

             Gospel       Mark 8:27–38

GOSPEL

Mark 8:27–38

27 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?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life4 will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Grace Mercy and Peace be unto for God our Father and Savior Jesus Christ His Son our Lord.  AMEN

The Focus for this evening is the Third Petition of the Lord's Prayer.

As children grow up they are often asked to do things that are good for them, but they do not want to do.  Things like eat your vegetables, or clean up your room, are activities that are good but children try to refuse them because they are strong willed.  I definitely has seen this as a scout leader, a camp counselor, and as a father.  Even before they can say I don’t want to, children can be very stubborn, even if it is for their own good.  And as people get older, can remain very stubborn.  Its part of the reason why meetings with other people can be so frustrating sometimes, because people's desires don’t always line up and we want to see our hopes and dreams realized.  Being stubborn or strong willed can help us achieve great things, and be a good thing. Or it can prevent us from realizing destructive actions and then it is a bad thing. it just depends on where our wills are taking us.  For tonight, when a will is mentioned, it is the thoughts and desires that demonstrates our self-control and motivates our deliberate actions.  Tonight we look at what it means to follow our Will, when in the third petition, Christ invites us to pray, "Thy Will be done".  God calls us to follow in his will, because through him, we receive his blessings.  The only problem is that we are a sinful, and extremely stubborn, and because of it, we do not like bending our wills to anyone.  This is part of the reason why we go through the penitential season of lent, to reflect on that rejection. But we can rejoice that Christ has followed his father’s will, because through him, God will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

We pray in the Third Petition, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.

God has told us his will for us(what he wants us to do), He is not keeping it secret from us.  He has given it to us in the Law of Moses, the prophets to the People of Israel, The epistles of the apostles, and the Gospels written by the evangelists.  We can summarize it simply as If you Love me keep my Commandments which are in their simplest forms, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

It all sounds pretty simple.  Unfortunately, we have a small problem, We have rejected his will.  We are the children telling our father that we do not want to eat our vegetables. We rejected his will, because we think that our plans, our desires, and our wants make more sense than God’s and so we act according to our will instead of our own.  It is the reason for the fall of Adam and eve. It is the reason why we will never be perfect.  Just like asking a child to eat his vegetables, God’s will for us is good and beneficial, but Our will is short sighted and often if not always contrary to the word of God.  The difficulty come from the fact that we are stubborn in our opposition to Gods will.  We think that our way of living is easier, that it is the smooth road, but instead our sinfulness only leads us into the rocky hills.  Instead of wanting to take up the cross, we want to skip strait to the glory of eternal life.

Even the apostles were not immune to these desires.  Our Gospel for tonight contains the confession of St Peter that Jesus is the Christ.  Were that the entire reading, Peter would come out of this reading looking pretty good, but he didn’t stop there. After Peter’s confession 30 And Jesus strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Here Christ is laying out in plain words what the will of God is for himself, how he is going to suffer, but then rise again, foretelling the Gospel.  But when  Peter heard these things, he took Jesus aside and began to tell him No way. Here peter has just heard the plan for the salvation of humanity, and he’s telling the message bearer, your lying.  Whether he did not believe in the power of Jesus or simply wanted an earthly ruler the result is the same, opposition to the will of God.  And Jesus calls him out rebuking Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”


It is kind of understandable why peter wanted to avoid these predictions.  The Christ can be an earthly ruler too, one who would reign with justice and authority.  There would be peace on earth, at least for a little while.  And for those alive at that time, it would have been an easy thing to live through.  But earthly peace is always temporary.  Jesus recognized that what he was about to do was not the easy road, instead it would be the most difficult path imaginable.  That is why on Maundy Thursday after the supper he went into the Garden to pray.  41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  
The way to Calvary wasn't easy or one, but Jesus chose it nonetheless  - for us.  He did not need to come down and die for his own sake, for he could have remained with his father and never experience suffering.  Following in the will of God was not the easy path, but unlike Peter and ourselves, he was not setting his mind of the things of man, but upon the things of his father in heaven.  The father’s will is that not one man suffer and fall away from his glory, and so he sent his son to die in one of the worst possible manners, with the sinless conviction, so that on the cross he would bear the weight of all our sins and desires that are contrary to Gods word.

God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come.

Because of his son, we can experience his will, because  He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die.  He did not stay dead, but instead rose again, just as he said, so that death the devil, and our sinful will would be defeated.   He sent us his holy spirit through the waters of baptism, so that his will that all men would be saved would happen is us as well. Through Christ who strengthens us we are able to live in his will, and receive forgiveness when our own will gets in the way.  This is His good and gracious will.  AMEN

First Midweek in Lent - Thy Kingdom Come

FIRST WEEK IN LENT

YEAR B

             Old Testament       Genesis 22:1–18

             Psalm       Psalm 25:1–10

             Epistle       James 1:12–18

             Gospel       Mark 1:9–15

GOSPEL

Mark 1:9–15

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Goal: All people are called to the kingdom of God, not through their works, But through God’s call.

Malady: We cannot by our own reason or strength enter the kingdom of heaven.

Means: God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

Thy Kingdom Come

Grace Mercy and Peace be unto from God our Father and Savior Jesus Christ his Son our Lord Amen

The focus for our sermon is the final verse, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

I must admit, my first thought when I think about Kingdoms, and kings tends to be out of the medieval times, with kings and queens, knights and court jesters.  Men like King Arthur and Robin Hood come to life when think of a kingdom, because in many ways kingdoms don’t really exist anymore, only countries.  Sure there is the United Kingdom, but while they have royalty, they are figurehead of power, and parliament does most of the governing of their country.  The idea that any one person or family having ultimate rule is the story of tyrants and despots in this day and age, so how can we identify with a kingdom of any sort, much less the kingdom of God? Yet we still pray in the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Thy Kingdom Come.  We cannot by our own reason or strength enter the kingdom of heaven or even understand it, but God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. All people are called to the kingdom of God, not through their works, but through God’s call.

Why do we pray for a kingdom at all?

It seems a little funny to me that we pray for thy kingdom come each and every day when we pray the Lord's Prayer, when we as a people have rejected the idea of having kings and queens almost altogether. Sure we like the idea of Kings and queens, as long as it fits into our story book ideals of kingdoms, but when face with the reality of it we often rebel against such notions.  Old kingdoms are well and good, but new governments must be more modern and less central authority figure oriented.

Can the idea be changed into modern view? Perhaps we should pray instead for God's representative government through democratic election like the United States of Heaven.  The bible would be the outline for our heavenly government.  And we can call Jesus the President of Heaven.

This really sounds like something else entirely. It sounds like we have completely changed what it means to pray for THY Kingdom come into OUR kingdom come.  Now I will admit, I was going a little over the top attempting to bring the language of the Lord’s Prayer into our language, but there was a reason for it.  It is because when we are praying, we are praying for something completely different than our own earthly preconceptions of governments and with republics and monarchies allow.  Because when most Americans think about government, it is how we control government.  We allow people to become citizens either by birth or showing how they can contribute.  But the kingdom of God is all about God’s will for all people, how he created us and all creatures, how when living as members of his kingdom, we live and serve him.  God calls us to him, not because of what we can do, but simply asks for our repentance.  He is the king and he rules wisely and fairly. 

We cant understand an invitation like this because in our earthly governments, every single participant is a sinner.   And because of that, every person wants to be represented so that their own wants, needs and desires are brought before the counsels of this earth.  We are afraid because all politicians seem corrupt and governments do evil things due to their own sinfulness and greed. Martin Luther called this the Kingdom of the left.  God rules the earthly or left-hand kingdom through secular and (earthly) church government, by means of law (i.e., the sword or compulsion).    There is faulty logic at work if you think that God does not have a hand in the earthly kingdoms, for even the body of the church represents one arm of his kingdom.  The earthly governments can work against the kingdom of God though, through attempting to appease themselves and not God.  Even church governance has the chance to be corrupt, because its leadership are sinful human beings. 

When Jesus came, there were many that thought that he was coming to rule in this earthly kingdom.   He came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;” When Jesus was brought before Pilate, the crime laid at the feet of Jesus was “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Jesus answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.   And it was under these charges that when the crowds yelled, “Crucify him.” Pilate had the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”  The king of heaven and earth was killed because of the fear of earthly authority.

As you may know, or at very least have guess, if there is a Kingdom of the Left hand, there must be a kingdom of the right hand.  It is the kingdom of the right hand, the heavenly kingdom.  And unlike earthly governments that rule with the sword, with fear and compulsion, the Kingdom of God comes through the gospel.  Yes the perfect king, the perfect kingdom came because of the fears and greed of earthly kings and kingdoms.  It is because of our sinfulness that Christ the Lord came down to this earth so that through living according to all of the laws of God for those in the kingdom of the left, we could experience the grace of the gospel through his death and resurrection.  He died as the king of the jews, but he arose as king over life and death, King of Heaven and of Earth.  He can rule victoriously because he is without sin or greed.  We can trust in him, because he and the father are one, and all people are called to be in his kingdom.

How does God’s kingdom come for us? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.   We are brought into the kingdom through God’s riches at Christ’s expense, his death on the cross.   Because of his great and abundant mercy, we pray to the father, bring us into your heavenly kingdom.  And we also pray, while we live here on this earth, guide us and all people so that your Kingdom here on earth may answer your call and live in your word as well.  We are called to repent, and we confess that we are lost and a condemned person without your word, but with you there is forgiveness in the Gospel of your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord forever.  AMEN

Ash Wednesday - Our Father, Who art in Heaven ... Hallowed by Thy Name

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2012 | LENT

ASH WEDNESDAY

             Old Testament       Joel 2:12–19

             Psalm       Psalm 51:1–13 (14–19)

             Epistle       2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10

             Gospel       Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

GOSPEL

Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust5 destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Our Father, Who art in Heaven ... Hallowed by Thy Name

Grace Mercy and Peace

Dear Brothers and sisters how are we to practice our faith? This is the question that is being asked not only by believing Christians, but also by the media, the government, and nonbelievers. This is being asked because the beliefs of Christians have the potential to affect other people, in ways that they may not want to, and there are those that are offended by such an idea. They do not want to be told what they can or cannot do, and they do not want their rights trampled on by anyone else. And above all else, they do not want to have someone else’s faith waived in their faces. Questions like, should a politician’s religion matter, or is it ok to pray in the public square have been hotly debated in public opinion and by political junkies. The question really boils down to how can I be in the world, and not of the world?

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, begins to discuss this very issue. How are we to practice our faith? He warns against the misusing of faith, as an attention seeker, or grandstanding, because this does not benefit you with God, instead it is only man that is being pleased. Instead God comes to you in the quiet places, so that we may receive the gifts that he has laid out for us. For we do not serve God for earthly gain, but instead it is because we are merely doing what he has taught us to do.

Christ gives us three great examples of how we are to practice our faith, and live in righteousness. Give to the needy, praying, and fasting are all great practices for Christians to practice. In our church giving to the needy is a common occurrence, giving to Christian friendliness, helping with mission dinners, and if that is not enough, whenever there is perception of someone needing help this congregation pours out its blessings upon that person. Prayer is common as well, lifting up prayers for those who are struggling, those who need healing, and those who need peace and comfort. Yes the first two examples are common occurrences. I will admit fasting probably is not as common as the other two examples. And when the bible speaks about fasting, it is not dieting, because weight loss is not the goal. No, fasting in the religious sense is about giving up something for the body to help us focus on the things above. This focus is part of the reason why for many generations, the church saw fasting as a beneficial act for Lent, the penitential season, because the act of restriction can be a physical aspect to our introspection of our earthly lives. That is what giving something up for lent is really all about, giving up something that we depend upon to prove that God is greater than those things.

So we have three examples of practices to live out our faith. Now that we have a what, now do we have a where? At first glance, it looks as if Jesus is telling us that the practice of our faith is meant to be done in a locked room with the light off, so that no one may ever see us do anything related to our righteousness. It may appear that the practicing of our faith is meant to be done only within the confines of our own homes and that we should keep our practice of the faith a secret. And in one sense, this is exactly what he is telling us to do. “when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets “ and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners,” and “And then you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.” Instead may it be in secret, “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Jesus is fairly clear, don’t do these things for the public limelight, because God can see when you do these things even if you are in private.

But the focus isn’t even really about where you do it, rather how and what motivation you have to do these things. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.(Matthew 6:1 ESV)” And he gives examples of living out the practice of the faith in the context of giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting. Christ is not telling his listeners do not do these things, nor is he even truly saying to do them in a locked room, instead he is saying don’t do these things for the sake of being seen by others. Christ is telling his listeners, be cautious, because if you are doing the things of your faith in the public square in order to be seen, then you have already received the reward that you have been hoping for notoriety, don’t expect anything else.

Should we pray in the public square and should it matter how faithful a politician is in his religion? Yes and no. Because we as Christians cannot help but pray for the whole world and for the faithfulness of politicians according to the word of God, but our motivation must be considered. If the emphasis is upon how we can be seen, then we should not. Even giving to the church can be dangerous, if our desire is to show how faithful we are to our fellow human beings. That’s part of the reason we don’t name our churches after the biggest donor in the building fund, because the focus must be upon God and his holy and perfect work, not upon our limited and sinful works. But it does not mean that our actions are never seen in the public realm, just that they and not to draw attention to ourselves, but to our father who is in heaven.

It is in the middle of our reading that we have Matthew’s account of the giving of the Lord’s Prayer. The reading for ash Wednesday does not include it, but it tells us how we can pray to the father who gives us everything.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be your name.1

10  your kingdom come,

Your will be done, 2

On earth as it is in heaven.

11  give us this day our daily bread, 3

12  and forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors.

13  And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.4

14 for if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

It is in the introduction and the first petition that we see the positive end how to live out our faith. And everyone who has gone through confirmation knows the joy that Luther found in this prayer. 

With the introduction: Our Father who art in heaven. What does this mean?

With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. That is exactly how we are to pray, bold and confident that the Father will care for us. That is why Jesus is saying don’t pray for public visibility, because you are missing the point.

And the first petition is like the intro, Hallowed be Thy name. What does this mean? God’s name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also. How is God’s name kept holy? It isn’t kept holy by proclaiming, hey look at all the wonderful things I have done, come praise me. Instead God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!

And our heavenly father has done many and abundant things for us. He sent us a savior to come down who gave perfectly of himself. He healed the sick, gave food to the hungry, prayed to his father who is in heaven, and fasted in the wilderness to prepare for his earthly ministry. He did all these things not to his own glory, for in many of these cases he specifically told those who were involved “don’t say anything about what you have seen or what I have done.” Instead he did all these things for the glory of his father in heaven, and for the salvation of a people who could not do it for themselves, us. And he would face the ultimate of public trials in which the sins of the whole world were placed upon the shoulders of the only sinless man. He laid aside all things earthly, so that he could prepare a place for us where no moth or rust could destroy in heaven with his Holy Heavenly father.

How then do we live out our faith? It is with fasting, prayer, and giving to the poor. We do these things not because we grow in our sanctification because of them, or so that other people can see what great things we can do, but because of the Father’s infinite and abundant blessings through his Son who died on the cross for our sins, and gives us life eternal with him. AMEN

Pasted from <file:///C:\Users\Bill%20Shupe\Documents\Ash%20Wednesday.docx>