Preached at St. John's Lutheran Church in Orange, CA 28 February 2016
Rom. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
wcwirla
In Nomine Iesu
“Lead us not into temptation” we pray. Jesus taught us to pray this way, and we do every time we say the Lord’s Prayer. Guard and protect us from every temptation of the devil, the world, and our own sinful selves. Yet today, in this morning’s reading, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, fresh from His baptism in the Jordan, was led by the Spirit (“driven” Mark says!) into the wilderness to be tempted. Jesus was led into temptation so that you might not be led into temptation.
Preached at St. John Lutheran Church - Orange. 10 January 2016. Bach Choral Vespers.
Wise men came from the East to worship Him. His first worshippers were Bethlehem’s shepherds. Now it is Babylon’s astrologers who have come to see and worship. Jesus is Lord and Savior of all. A light to give light the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel.
“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
With that thesis, the first of 95, a 34 year old Augustinian friar, priest, professor of theology at Wittenberg University named Martin Luther sparked what came to be called the Reformation of the western catholic church, one of the most significant moments in the history of the church. The issue at hand was indulgences, papal letters granting parole from purgatory at a price, backed by the saints’ treasury of merit. It was a brilliant fund raiser. It literally built St. Peter’s in Rome and lined the treasure of the papacy. And it was also an insult and affront to Christ and His blood shed for the world.
Well, this Sunday we have the liberals versus the conservatives on the issue of marriage. Nothing new here, is there? And whose side is Jesus on?
Preached at Friday Matins, Te Deum Conference, Higher Things, Seward-NB
“My soul magnifies the Lord. My life makes the Lord very great. Don’t look at me, look at Him. He is mighty and merciful and holy. He puts down the proud, He lifts up the humble. He fills the hungry, He hungers the full. He keeps His promises. My soul magnifies the Lord.”
The Te Deum life not a selfie.
Several weeks ago, I commented that the supreme court and its decision regarding the legal status of gay marriage were not going to deflect us from hearing God’s Word and the assigned readings for that Sunday. One thing about life in the church is that we are not tyrannized by what the world deems “important” and the news media calls “urgent.” Late-breaking news does not define our family conversation. Our focus is on things eternal not things temporal.
How can this man give us his flesh to eat? The folks in Capernaum didn’t understand what Jesus was saying. And who really could blame them? “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Has Jesus taken leave of His senses? Or is He just speaking “metaphorically,” a little over the top shock and awe to get the attention of dull ears just to see if they’re listening?
More Jesus, more bread of life. Like the loaves in the wilderness, this text keeps on giving more, pushing things further and deeper. With Jesus, one can never say, “Enough already!” Faith is always hungry, always thirsty for more, and Jesus is the bread that never runs out.
Free food always draws a crowd. It never fails. You want people to come out in droves? Offer free food. They’ll flock to it every time. There is nothing better than bread you don’t work for. No sweat of the brow involved here. All you can eat bread and fish from Jesus. Such a deal! The crowds flocked after Jesus. They even chased after Him in boats. Free food. Who can resist it? We elect politicians on the promise of a chicken in every pot, or at least today’s equivalent. Imagine it. The end to world hunger and welfare. No one goes hungry when Jesus doles out the bread and the fish. They just keep on multiplying endlessly. No more food banks, no more food stamps, no more work. Give us this day our daily bread, and poof! There it is.