Living Generously

An Advent note to my congregation ...

"When they have really learned to love their neighbours as themselves, they will be allowed to love themselves as their neighbours." ~ C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

We continue this week with our Living Generously sermon series (session 3 of 5). I hope that through this cinematic experience and biblical teaching on this subject matter, it has helped you to see the great generosity of our heavenly Father. 

This becomes a very busy time of year and it can be easy to be caught in the cultural wave of crass materialism (and that isn't just about money and goods!) in an effort to "get Christmas just right." The truth is that God has already got Christmas just right. St. Paul writes this in his letter to the Galatians: 

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:4-7)

God's timing is always perfect and He calls you and me to live in His timing. I want to encourage you to live in this season of Advent & Christmas and don't let it live on you. Enjoy this moment that God has given you because, in Christ, you are on His time. We don't get to choose how much time we have but we can choose what to do with it. So, the question is, how am I using my time to love my neighbor?

I want to encourage you also to think and pray on just what are the natural talents and spiritual gifts that God has given you. How might this speak to what God wants you to do with them. This isn't about being at the church each and every time the doors are open. Instead, it is encouragement to get and be connected to God's family here at Redeemer as He calls us to live in community. (There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian!) Later in Paul's letter to the Galatians the Lord says:

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ... And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap,if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:2, 9-10)

How am I using my knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) and God's supernatural spiritual gifts to love my neighbor?

I want to encourage you to also think of your gift-giving a little differently. The person with the most toys ... still dies! More often than not, your time and presence for someone goes much farther than some material good that will be here today and gone tomorrow. For me, I am greatly encouraged when I see each of you on Sunday mornings. (And not because I'm looking to build a mega-church or because I just need more folks hearing my sermons!) I am encouraged because as one of God's saints who struggles against sin, seeing you gathering together reminds me of God's love for me and you, especially in this season of anticipation and joy. Seeing and hearing how God is working in your life is a precious treasure in and of itself. Seeing God's generosity working through you is priceless. Paul, in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians says:

"God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Am I being generous with the material goods of which God has blessed me for the good of my neighbor? Am I trusting that God does provide for all my needs and so I can share abundantly with others?

Confession time: I confess, I am not always a good custodian of the time, talent, and treasure gifted to me from God. I do not always Live Generously. In short, too often I stink at loving my neighbor - (ask my wife!). Too often I am turned in on myself and live in great parsimony ... not generosity. 

The Good News: Christmas is Coming! It is God who is the one who is Living Generously. His superabundant love came in the person of Jesus, born of a woman at just the right time. The manger is under the shadow of the cross so that you and I might live in the light of the resurrection! He makes grace abound that I might Live Generously. 

I pray that in this season of anticipation and joy, you'd find His generosity fueling yours!

God's Generosity ... our generosity ...

          "God is superabundantly generous in His grace ..."

"[T]he Gospel ... does not give us counsel and aid against sin in only one way. God is superabundantly generous in His grace: First, through the spoken Word, by which the forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world [Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.' (Luke 24:45–47)]. This is the particular office of the Gospel. Second, through Baptism. Third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourth, through the Power of the Keys. Also through the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren, 'For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.' (Matthew 18:20) and other such verses [especially: '... that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith ...' (Romans 1:12)]. Smalcald Articles: III, art. iii, par. 45

     What a list of gifts God has given His people! The spoken Word ... Baptism ... Holy Communion ... the Power of the Keys ... Mutual  conversation and consolation between brothers and sisters in Christ ... 

     In the aftermath of Thanksgiving, "Black Friday" and the ensuing culture's living out the current zeitgeist of nihilistic hedonism by purchasing things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people who couldn't give a snot, how do God's people act and react? 

     Do you see that list of gifts and think, "God is superabundantly generous in His grace!" or "meh, whatever"?

     ... or maybe something in-between ...

     The thing is, God does give us what we actually need. We may troll the mall or the internet for what we think we want (and think we need) but, God gives us what we actually need ["Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)] 

     In a sense, God's people 'react' in two ways - in their being and doing. God delivers His justification to His people through His means of grace ... remember that superabundant grace listed above? This is who we are - justified - saints - God's people. (Even if this world, our flesh, and the devil continually tell us that's not what we look like.) In this identity we look to God for our salvation and entrust our daily lives to His loving care. We do this by faithfully using the gifts (the aforementioned list!) by which the Holy Spirit leads us to repent of our sins and to trust Jesus for forgiveness. Resting in that salvation ... abiding in it, we commit our day-to-day living into the caring hands of our heavenly Father. 

     Note that our being, in Christ, comes before our doing. Any 'doing' outside of Christ is futile (cf. Isaiah 64:6). It is in God's generosity that we live generously. In Christ we are liberated from the condemnation and coercion of the Law. And so, according to our new nature in Christ, we are now free to love and obey God's Law. 

     And so our sanctification  is not necessarily the absence of moral blemish (what an impossibility!), but it is being and living by the freedom gained and given to us by Christ to do good works and to assist and help our neighbor - to live generously. 

     Thus, St. Paul can write, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8) And, that "You will be enriched in every way ..." as we are encouraged to "be generous in everything." (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:11-13) God is encouraging us to be generous as He is and that it is an opportunity for us to show His generosity so that people can praise Him. 

      As we ride the wave of the anticipation in this season of Advent, may we look into the manger, holding the savior of the world who came in the flesh, through the lens of the shadow of the cross by which He finished His saving work and showed the superabundant generosity of God for His people "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through Him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 1:20)

What of It?!

“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!” 

(Letters of Spiritual Counsel, Letter to Jerome Weller, 1530)

Thanksgiving (2013 A.D.) ... A note to the congregation I serve ...

As our consumer culture pushes the Christmas (really Advent) season on us earlier each year, it seems that the holiday (Holy Day!) of Thanksgiving gets swept aside. And more, it becomes itself less an exercise in gratitude toward God - the One who made us, redeems us, and calls us His own. Instead, it can become at time for MERELY friends, family, football, and food. None of these things are evil; but let's put them in the context they deserve, blessings from the God who sustains us. Let us as His children celebrate Thanksgiving just a little differently than as just another commercial enterprise.

To that end I want to quote St. Paul: "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing." (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

I am truly thankful for this family of Redeemer which God has called me to serve. I am thankful to see, as Paul describes above, "the love every one of you for one another" increase. I am thankful for connections and re-connections provided by time together in the Word, I am thankful that we can come together around Word and Sacrament and experience the presence of God, in Christ, right here at Redeemer. I am thankful for the gifts and talents of God's people here and our continued work together as we are joined to Christ's mission to 'seek and to save what was lost.' (cf. Luke 19:10) Please continue to pray for Redeemer and for what God would have us do and be.

I am thankful for forgiveness as I can and do err and sin too often. And so, I truly appreciate the quote cited above by Martin Luther. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to mock the devil as it is the very attitude and act of thanksgiving, regardless of our circumstances, that sets the devil to running.

And yes, I am thankful for family, friends, food, and football ... and forgiveness.

May your Thanksgiving Holiday be filled with joy, and gratitude for the gifts God so graciously gives.

I Am the Resurrection

I Am the Resurrection ... A Brief Funeral Homily

"The Communion of Saints has something to do with the fact that the burdens we bear

because of someone else, we can also bear for someone else." 

(Flannery O'Connor, Letter of October 6, 1956)         

Today I was given the opportunity to deliver a brief message at the funeral of the mother of one of the members of my parish. The daughter and her husband spent the better part of a year dealing with the steady decline of this wonderful, wife, mother, and friend. They bore this burden with elegance ... even if they didn't feel it was elegant. What a joy to celebrate the life of a saint and know that as Flannery O'Connor said in the quote above, "the burdens we bear because of someone else, we can also bear for someone else."

Marti, Kevin, Charles, family and friends … may God’s grace and peace be with you in Christ.

Marti, thank you for giving me the honor of participating in the celebration of your mother’s life; and, the celebration of her call to be home with her Lord, Jesus.

            To that end, I have this short picture which Marti gave me that, I think, shows this journey which has taken place over this past year as June headed toward her final destination. Marti, I can picture you and your family standing next to June as she leaves port.

“I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

            Then someone at my side says: ‘There, she is gone!’

           

‘Gone where?’

           

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

            Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: ‘There, she is gone!’ there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: ‘Here she comes!’

            And that is dying.”

            I could not help but be reminded of another family who lost a beloved brother. Maybe you are familiar with it; the story of Mary and Martha and Lazarus.

            “Now when Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’ (John 11:17-27)

            Friends and family came to console and in some way share in the suffering that Mary and Martha were experiencing over the loss of their brother Lazarus. Jesus came to bring life. Jesus came to suffer that we might have life - that our suffering, on days like this, on this mortal coil, would be trumped by faith and hope.

            Let’s be honest, it is hard to look in that casket at our loved one and think about faith and hope. But, in the end that is what today is about – that is what it is all about.

            So, I want to encourage you Marti and Kevin and Charles, family and friends that you might think of Marti’s story of that ship maybe just a little differently. It said, “A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.” Those sails are spread by faith and hope, hope and faith in the One who is the Author of beauty and strength, of suffering and of love, and of saving. Without that faith and hope, those sails do not open. The truth is June could not make it to the other side on her own; she made it because of faith and hope in the One who is the resurrection and the life – the One who made her and redeemed her; the One who called her to repentance because He is able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port; the One who called her to repentance that she would experience the joy she is experiencing right now.

            Beloved that call is for you and me today as well. In our repentance we experience God’s willingness to find the wayward sinner. God does not abandon us to our foolishness or even to our death, but seeks us out, calling us to repentance and to faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love the way that picture that Marti gave me ends: “And just at the moment when someone at my side says: ‘There, she is gone!’ there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: ‘Here she comes!’”

            It sounds like the Gospel of Luke when Jesus says: “I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

And that is living! Amen.

Baptism Saves

"The boy cries out for baptism! Precious in the sight of the Lord even an idiot!" Old Tarwater [The Violent Bear it Away, Flannery O'Connor (33)]

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ ..." ( Peter 3:18-21)

Peter, who learned at the feet of Jesus, wrote to Gentile believers who were scattered throughout much of Asia Minor. In this letter he exhorts them to be steadfast in their faith and to endure through all kinds of suffering for the sake of righteousness. 

In the passage above he shows that The Flood is a figure of Baptism. Water was the element God used to cleanse and save then, it is the element of which He uses to cleanse and save now. I am grateful for this baptism which cleanses and brings to new life. I am grateful for my parents who brought me to the fount when I was unable that God would do this saving work for me.

Since in justification we are purely passive, purely receptive it is as Dr. Luther wrote in The Large Catechism: "To be baptized in God's name is to be baptized not by men, but by God Himself. Therefore, although it is performed by human hands, it is still truly God's own act." (LC Part IV par. 10)

When the reformers put together the Augsburg Confession, Article IX was on this subject of Baptism. They wanted to ensure that they conveyed the truth that the Bible teaches that Baptism is a gift of God's grace by which He gives to us the benefits of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. All are born in sin (cf. Romans 3), thus all need salvation. So, baptism is necessary (Mark 16:16), it offeres God's grace (Titus 3:4-7) and children are to be baptized (Acts 2:38-39).

Thus, infant baptism is perhaps the best picture of justification by faith as faith is not a matter of intellectual mastery, nor is it a decision. (John 1:12-13) Faith is trust - a trust that shows utter dependence on Christ. In baptism, the infant (or whoever is being baptized) passively recieves God's grace, is joined to Christ, and is recreated. 

"We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:4) 

So, for my baptized brothers and sisters in Christ, make the sign of the cross as you remember your baptism and give thanks to God for such a great gift! Amen.