Readings:
Psalm 30
Deuteronomy 5:1-22
2 Corinthians 4:1-12
Luke 16:10-17
Sermon:
“And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.”
Deuteronomy 5:1-4
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen
I sometimes wonder…
I picture Moses standing there before the children of Israel, in his hand the Law handed to him by God at the heights of Sinai, and just find myself wondering. What must have he had been thinking?
Even now he had to be a million miles away from where he had thought he would be in his life, a million miles away from anything he had thought possible or planned for the days of his life. He stood before a people he was called to deliver, a people he had just lead from the land of Egypt, from the only place they had known, a land where their fathers and their fathers had been slaves, for generations abiding in the brutal captivity of the Pharaoh’s whip. It was the only life any of them had ever known, the only life they seen for themselves and their children. Now though he took them into the desert, he had parted the seas by the hand of God and stood at the front of the ranks of the now nomadic tribes.
Then to stand in the presence of the Lord as he handed down His laws and His commandments, to be chosen to deliver them unto His people…
No, in a thousand lifetimes Moses couldn’t have pictured that for his life as he lived as a Prince of Egypt or as a Shepherd of Median, given to another life altogether..
What must have he been thinking? What thoughts must have raced through his mind? Ever since that moment when he was first called by the Lord as the bush, engulfed by flames, would not be consumed by the fire, he had never quite viewed himself as worthy of the task he was called to, nor capable of the work the Lord laid out before him. Did those thoughts now linger in his mind? Those same feelings of inadequacy that had guided his first protests for the Lord to send another?
Yet like that burning bush, though set ablaze by the world and the trials of it, God would not let Moses be consumed by the fire.
Now… now he had looked upon the face of His God, and was given the covenant by which the people were to live by, to speak to them as the emissary of their God, as the Prophet of His Word. How could those feelings not linger in the depth of his mind or in the hidden places of his heart?
Still, even in the most unlikely of circumstances, even with the most unlikely of people God does chose to fulfill His will and His desire, providing unto them all that is needed, all that is required that they may be used as instruments of His Holy Plan..
“They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” (John 7:52)
The child of a poor girl and a carpenter, born of meager estate, raised in Galilee, to look upon the Son of God the Pharisees would not see anything special in the Christ. He could not be the long awaited Messiah or the appointed Prophet of the Lord, after all, why would God use such unworthy people to bring such a glorious life into this world? It was the same question that Mary, humbled in the presence of the Lord, would ask of God when it was first revealed that the Spirit would come upon her and she would bear the life of the Savior in her womb.
Yet God would still use her, and the Messiah would come from her house even as the Pharisees would proclaim that no Prophet has ever arisen from Galilee.
It’s the same over and over again, Samuel, hearing the calling of the Lord, Jonah, fleeing the call of the Lord, Saul of Tarsus, as the earth shook on the road to Damascus, the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of circumstances used for the divine purpose of the Lord, provided that which is needed to fulfill His plan for their lives.
Our own calling from the Lord may not be as dramatic as the burning bush, nor may it be as awe inspiring as the angel of the lord appearing before Mary, it may not be as frightening as the lightening crashing to the ground and the voice of God shattering through calling out to us. It may not come to us in the quiet of the night, calling our name as we lay asleep or in the form of a whale swallowing us to spit us out where we are suppose to be. But for every life the Lord has a purpose and His call does come, ours must be to listen for it and hear it when it does.
We may not feel as if we are adequate for the tasks that the Lord has laid out for us or we may be fearful of the price we may have to pay or the cost it will have on us, we may not even understand exactly why it is that we are the one that the Lord has picked for it. Yet perfect in His wisdom, transcending in His knowledge, He knows, and He provides unto us all things that we need, that even amidst our own weakness, even in our own faults and failings, we shall be given strength that His will, that His plan will be made perfect in us.
Though we do not understand, God does and He has a perfect plan in the design that He has laid out. Though it may seem overwhelming, God never gives us more than we can handle and, having created us with His hand, He is fully aware of what it is that we are capable of.
There, in His purpose, He will make all things possible that we will be able to withstand the challenges and the trials, the hardships and the tribulations to make manifest His Word through the power of His Spirit. Always faithful to His children, He will pour forth His grace in abundance to those true to His calling for them.
In all things therefore be open to the tasks that the Lord has laid out for you, knowing that He shall be there beside you, giving you His strength and wisdom, putting upon you His whole armor, that you may be used as vessels and instruments of His Will. Be open to His call and trust in His name knowing that He shall walk beside you in righteousness that you will be made whole and complete according to His plan and design. His mercy and His compassion for His children are all encompassing, abiding in our spirit if we come forth to live according to His design in His Spirit, according to the testimony and the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus.
Trust in Him in all things and know that you have a firm foundation in the life He has set forth for you, a rock of ages to which you can anchor your hopes and faith to, casting your fears amidst the sea that surrounds, knowing they will be drowned and cast far from you.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord, that peace that transcends all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Episode 50: 6/17/09
Readings:
Psalm 119:25-48
Deuteronomy 4:32-40
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17
Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
Sermon:
When the movie Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, came out on DVD, my youngest son was repeatedly warned that he was not allowed to watch it, that it was too scary for him and he would have nightmares. He promised he wouldn’t, not even if my older kids rented it and saw it. But sure enough, one night when they rented the DVD and were watching Sweeney Todd turn his victims into meatpies, my son was hiding behind the couch, watching every gory detail. And sure enough, he had nightmares for weeks, and my older children would tease him by sneaking up behind him and shouting "Meatpies!" at him. When I took him to get a haircut before Christmas that year, he ran screaming out of the salon, crying that he didn't want to be made into a meatpie. Needless to say, he has never lived that down, and every time he goes in for a haircut now, the stylist laughs and reminds him of that incident, that was funny for her but embarrassing for him.
This is a relatively small incident, but then my son is only 7 years old, and faces a long lifetime in which he will make his share of poor choices and suffer regrets, hopefully none more serious than this, but almost certainly they will happen. And no matter how far he will think that he has put them behind him, they will have a way of sneaking up on him and coming back to haunt him, just as they do for all of us.
In tonight’s Gospel we read of another younger son, one who makes such a mess of his life that we remember it to this day, more than 2000 years after Our Lord used his story as both a warning and an encouragement. For here we see a young man whose bad choices bring him to the brink of destruction but whose forgiveness and restoration give us a glimpse of our Heavenly Father’s deep abiding love and mercy.
We see the Prodigal Son demand his inheritance from his father and then proceed to blow it on fast living and loose women, eventually leaving him penniless and friendless when he can no longer afford to be the life of the party. We see him reduced to fighting with pigs for scraps of food, destitute and desolate, longing for the family he left behind but not daring to believe that he would ever see them again. But he does at last wind up his courage to return home, offering himself to his father not as a son but as a servant. His father, however, is overwhelmed with joy to see his lost son return and runs out to meet him and hug and kiss him and welcome him back.
Not everyone is so happy to see him, however. His older brother, the good son who never gave his father a moment of worry, shows that all is not well behind his well-behaved façade. His angry outburst at his father’s joy was probably not the product of a momentary irritation, but of deep resentment built during the period when his brother was missing, when his father must have seemed to mourn the lost boy more than he appreciated the one who stayed home. While he might have been content to see his brother punished and degraded on his return home, he could not stand the sight of him being fully restored to his place in the family, as if nothing had ever happened.
Scripture doesn’t tell us what happened next, but I often wonder what it was like for the Prodigal Son after that happy homecoming. Did he have nightmares of those bad days that were now behind him, but undoubtedly remained deep in his memory? Did the neighbors point and stare at him, whispering behind his back? Did his brother sneak up behind him and oink like a pig when he wasn’t expecting it?
These are all possible, but the one thing I am sure of is that his father never brought his past misdeeds up again, never threw it in his face to shame him or to threaten him if he ever messed up again. No matter how much the world might mock him and his memories haunt him, he could find peace and comfort in his father’s love and grace.
Jesus uses this parable to teach us some deep truths about human nature and our own lives. While many of us can identify with the good brother, believing we have lived righteousness and blameless lives, and that God owes us a fatted calf, or at least a little goat and a party, in God’s eyes we are all prodigals, as lost as can be, on the brink of death until that moment when His Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and brings us face to face with our impending doom, then guides us to repentance and our way back to the Father. While we may fear that our sin is so great that it could never be forgiven, Our Lord rushes out to meet us and welcome us home, wrapping us in His loving arms and embracing us in His grace and mercy.
But not everyone is happy to see this miraculous reunion. Our enemy, Satan, is going to do everything is his power to see that we do not enjoy our new lives as redeemed sons of the Father. He may hold us up to mockery and scorn, and he will use our memories to haunt us and make us doubt that we are truly forgiven. Especially after periods of peace or of spiritual growth, he will sneak up on us and whisper our misdeeds in our ears, making us burn with shame and feel sick with guilt, reliving the past that we can never quite leave behind us.
We may even feel that this is from God, that He has forsaken us and that all hope is now gone. But these are the despicable tricks of the Deceiver, of the Enemy who is furious that he cannot have our souls in the next life and so determines to make us miserable in this one. This is never from our loving Father, who desires to bring us to repentance but never to despair. Once we are forgiven, we are forgiven forever, our sins removed as far from us as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
In today’s Epistle St. Paul reminds us to forgive and comfort each other so that Satan may not defeat us with his schemes. No matter how well-behaved we may be on the outside, we all have our sorrows and regrets that can sneak up on us in unguarded moments and can threaten to overwhelm us with grief. We need to remind ourselves and each other that we are loved and cherished sons and daughters of a great and merciful Father, and that none of Satan’s slings and arrows and meatpies need ever distress us again.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Psalm 119:25-48
Deuteronomy 4:32-40
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17
Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
Sermon:
When the movie Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, came out on DVD, my youngest son was repeatedly warned that he was not allowed to watch it, that it was too scary for him and he would have nightmares. He promised he wouldn’t, not even if my older kids rented it and saw it. But sure enough, one night when they rented the DVD and were watching Sweeney Todd turn his victims into meatpies, my son was hiding behind the couch, watching every gory detail. And sure enough, he had nightmares for weeks, and my older children would tease him by sneaking up behind him and shouting "Meatpies!" at him. When I took him to get a haircut before Christmas that year, he ran screaming out of the salon, crying that he didn't want to be made into a meatpie. Needless to say, he has never lived that down, and every time he goes in for a haircut now, the stylist laughs and reminds him of that incident, that was funny for her but embarrassing for him.
This is a relatively small incident, but then my son is only 7 years old, and faces a long lifetime in which he will make his share of poor choices and suffer regrets, hopefully none more serious than this, but almost certainly they will happen. And no matter how far he will think that he has put them behind him, they will have a way of sneaking up on him and coming back to haunt him, just as they do for all of us.
In tonight’s Gospel we read of another younger son, one who makes such a mess of his life that we remember it to this day, more than 2000 years after Our Lord used his story as both a warning and an encouragement. For here we see a young man whose bad choices bring him to the brink of destruction but whose forgiveness and restoration give us a glimpse of our Heavenly Father’s deep abiding love and mercy.
We see the Prodigal Son demand his inheritance from his father and then proceed to blow it on fast living and loose women, eventually leaving him penniless and friendless when he can no longer afford to be the life of the party. We see him reduced to fighting with pigs for scraps of food, destitute and desolate, longing for the family he left behind but not daring to believe that he would ever see them again. But he does at last wind up his courage to return home, offering himself to his father not as a son but as a servant. His father, however, is overwhelmed with joy to see his lost son return and runs out to meet him and hug and kiss him and welcome him back.
Not everyone is so happy to see him, however. His older brother, the good son who never gave his father a moment of worry, shows that all is not well behind his well-behaved façade. His angry outburst at his father’s joy was probably not the product of a momentary irritation, but of deep resentment built during the period when his brother was missing, when his father must have seemed to mourn the lost boy more than he appreciated the one who stayed home. While he might have been content to see his brother punished and degraded on his return home, he could not stand the sight of him being fully restored to his place in the family, as if nothing had ever happened.
Scripture doesn’t tell us what happened next, but I often wonder what it was like for the Prodigal Son after that happy homecoming. Did he have nightmares of those bad days that were now behind him, but undoubtedly remained deep in his memory? Did the neighbors point and stare at him, whispering behind his back? Did his brother sneak up behind him and oink like a pig when he wasn’t expecting it?
These are all possible, but the one thing I am sure of is that his father never brought his past misdeeds up again, never threw it in his face to shame him or to threaten him if he ever messed up again. No matter how much the world might mock him and his memories haunt him, he could find peace and comfort in his father’s love and grace.
Jesus uses this parable to teach us some deep truths about human nature and our own lives. While many of us can identify with the good brother, believing we have lived righteousness and blameless lives, and that God owes us a fatted calf, or at least a little goat and a party, in God’s eyes we are all prodigals, as lost as can be, on the brink of death until that moment when His Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and brings us face to face with our impending doom, then guides us to repentance and our way back to the Father. While we may fear that our sin is so great that it could never be forgiven, Our Lord rushes out to meet us and welcome us home, wrapping us in His loving arms and embracing us in His grace and mercy.
But not everyone is happy to see this miraculous reunion. Our enemy, Satan, is going to do everything is his power to see that we do not enjoy our new lives as redeemed sons of the Father. He may hold us up to mockery and scorn, and he will use our memories to haunt us and make us doubt that we are truly forgiven. Especially after periods of peace or of spiritual growth, he will sneak up on us and whisper our misdeeds in our ears, making us burn with shame and feel sick with guilt, reliving the past that we can never quite leave behind us.
We may even feel that this is from God, that He has forsaken us and that all hope is now gone. But these are the despicable tricks of the Deceiver, of the Enemy who is furious that he cannot have our souls in the next life and so determines to make us miserable in this one. This is never from our loving Father, who desires to bring us to repentance but never to despair. Once we are forgiven, we are forgiven forever, our sins removed as far from us as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
In today’s Epistle St. Paul reminds us to forgive and comfort each other so that Satan may not defeat us with his schemes. No matter how well-behaved we may be on the outside, we all have our sorrows and regrets that can sneak up on us in unguarded moments and can threaten to overwhelm us with grief. We need to remind ourselves and each other that we are loved and cherished sons and daughters of a great and merciful Father, and that none of Satan’s slings and arrows and meatpies need ever distress us again.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Episode 49: 6/15/09
Readings:
Psalm 114
Deuteronomy 4:9-14
2 Corinthians 1:1-11
Luke 14:25-35
Sermon:
“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”
Luke 14:25-30
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
It is a high cost… it is a heavy price and a deep burden…
Having seen the signs and the wonders performed in the miracles of the Lord the people, they followed Christ, longing to touch a corner of his robe or to have his eyes look upon them and see them. Many of them lost and confused, hurt and afflicted, suffering amidst pain and sorrow, the searched for a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives.
Then would come this rabbi, this son of a carpenter from Galilee, born of meager estate in Bethlehem. They would watch as he would heal the sick, as he would feed the masses with nothing more than a few loaves of bread and some fish, as he raised the dead as they laid waiting to be taken to their grave, the tears of sorrow filling the eyes of those who loved them. Never had they seen anything quite like this before, never had their eyes beheld such wondrous things as this young man did. Nor could perhaps understand why he, despite the miracles he performed, would not seek honor and glory for himself.
Had he been a Pharisee or a Sadducee he surely would have uplifted his great deeds to say, look upon my works, they are a reward from God for the great righteousness that I have shown, and exalted himself above all others.
But he did not. Instead he did his work in private, performing his miracles in ways that would not gain him fame or fortune or even recognition, telling unto those who watched that all glory, it belonged not to him but to his Father, the Lord God Almighty.
Now… now there were many who were ready to follow him, wishing to be his disciples. How, they pressed, can we?
To them he would answer, “if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
It seemed like a harsh, hard requirement, one that seemed to contradict the word of the Lord. After all, in the commandments they were taught not to hate but to honor their mothers and their fathers and in the teachings of the Messiah himself they were told the second greatest commandment was to love, not to hate, their fellow man.
What then does this mean?
Service to the Lord, abiding in the Great Commission, these aren’t just passing fancies or things that should be taken upon ourselves lightly. No, we cannot look to them as tasks we give ourselves over to easily or simply, without thought or consideration as to what they actually mean. We cannot truly and rightly understand them unless we understand them fully and with thought rendered to the task and the road that lay before us.
The early Saints and Apostles and Disciples, those faithful followers of Christ, they would suffer affliction and sorrow. Crucified as Christ was or stoned as Stephen, that first Christian Martyr, they would die poor and in meager, destitute estate with feel there to see and comprehend the full nature of the hurt and the pain that encompassed them. They would live in poverty, many of them tent makers to spread the word of the Lord amidst the people while still being able to eat that they might not disappear to famine and hunger.
We may not know the same hardship that they knew, the road may not be wrought with the same challenges or difficulties, they may not offering the same suffering and affliction, yet it is still filled with stumbling blocks and adversity.
Those who truly and rightly seek to serve the Lord and to follow Christ as a disciple then you must be willing to set aside all the things in this world and of this world when the voice of Jesus calls unto you. You must be willing to be as Samuel was when he heard the voice of the Lord speak forth his name, saying “Here I am Lord”, you must be willing to be as Isaiah, who, when his ears beheld the cry of the Lord asking “Who shall I send”, replied in a clear and determined voice “Here I am Lord, send me.”
We cannot… we cannot and we must not be as the Prophet Jonah was as he heard the voice of God speaking unto him with his tasks now before him, jolting him from his quiet complacency with a new job now for him. If we truly seek to be sincere and genuine, earnest and honest in our faith, if that is our most firm of desires in following our Heavenly Father and His plan for us, then we cannot just be willing to follow the calling given unto us by the Lord but only when the road was easy and the task was simple, but fleeing from it as soon as a challenge comes before us, unwilling to give up our creature comforts or our safety for it.
The Word of the Lord, the Gospel message of Christ, the harvest of the soul, they are too precious, they are too important to do half heartedly or without fierce determination. It is a calling that is ready and prepared to give up all that is around you in order to show forth, to shine forth the love and compassion, the grace and the mercy of the Lord, regardless of the trials and the tribulations, the ridicule and the scorn that you may have to endure. It is a calling that is willing to sacrifice, just as Christ sacrificed all for us for the sake of our salvation, even when what is sacrificed seems too great or too large, knowing that God will give you strength and perseverance throughout all of the ordeals.
Christ tells us that we must, to be disciples, be willing to give up all of the comforts and all the peace in this world that we may know that we may abide forever in the peace and the comfort of the Lord. Perhaps, in our calling, we may never be asked to endure this, yet we must search deep in ourselves and prepare ourselves that we may be able to if the time ever does come or that day ever does break that we know we are true and faithful to his word.
Trust in the Lord and in His plan that you may be disciples in Christ and of Christ, given in a life of service to His Holy Name and His divine righteousness. Trust in the Lord and be ready in all things, if the voice of the Lord calls out to you, to say “Here I am Lord, send me.” Trust always in His plan knowing it is greater than anything in this world or of this world and that true peace, it abides when we follow His will completely, regardless of what we may face or what we may see.
But most of all, listen… Listen for the voice of Jesus calling, the voice of the Lord crying out. It may not come like the shaking of the earth that knocks us off of our feet and the bolt of lightning that blinds us on the road to Damascus, as it was for Saul of Tarsus, but it does come and it cannot be ignored. Discern… Discern and listen for it, willing to do the work of the Kingdom when it does come, regardless of what it may ask of you.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord, that peace that transcends all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting. Amen.
Psalm 114
Deuteronomy 4:9-14
2 Corinthians 1:1-11
Luke 14:25-35
Sermon:
“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”
Luke 14:25-30
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
It is a high cost… it is a heavy price and a deep burden…
Having seen the signs and the wonders performed in the miracles of the Lord the people, they followed Christ, longing to touch a corner of his robe or to have his eyes look upon them and see them. Many of them lost and confused, hurt and afflicted, suffering amidst pain and sorrow, the searched for a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives.
Then would come this rabbi, this son of a carpenter from Galilee, born of meager estate in Bethlehem. They would watch as he would heal the sick, as he would feed the masses with nothing more than a few loaves of bread and some fish, as he raised the dead as they laid waiting to be taken to their grave, the tears of sorrow filling the eyes of those who loved them. Never had they seen anything quite like this before, never had their eyes beheld such wondrous things as this young man did. Nor could perhaps understand why he, despite the miracles he performed, would not seek honor and glory for himself.
Had he been a Pharisee or a Sadducee he surely would have uplifted his great deeds to say, look upon my works, they are a reward from God for the great righteousness that I have shown, and exalted himself above all others.
But he did not. Instead he did his work in private, performing his miracles in ways that would not gain him fame or fortune or even recognition, telling unto those who watched that all glory, it belonged not to him but to his Father, the Lord God Almighty.
Now… now there were many who were ready to follow him, wishing to be his disciples. How, they pressed, can we?
To them he would answer, “if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
It seemed like a harsh, hard requirement, one that seemed to contradict the word of the Lord. After all, in the commandments they were taught not to hate but to honor their mothers and their fathers and in the teachings of the Messiah himself they were told the second greatest commandment was to love, not to hate, their fellow man.
What then does this mean?
Service to the Lord, abiding in the Great Commission, these aren’t just passing fancies or things that should be taken upon ourselves lightly. No, we cannot look to them as tasks we give ourselves over to easily or simply, without thought or consideration as to what they actually mean. We cannot truly and rightly understand them unless we understand them fully and with thought rendered to the task and the road that lay before us.
The early Saints and Apostles and Disciples, those faithful followers of Christ, they would suffer affliction and sorrow. Crucified as Christ was or stoned as Stephen, that first Christian Martyr, they would die poor and in meager, destitute estate with feel there to see and comprehend the full nature of the hurt and the pain that encompassed them. They would live in poverty, many of them tent makers to spread the word of the Lord amidst the people while still being able to eat that they might not disappear to famine and hunger.
We may not know the same hardship that they knew, the road may not be wrought with the same challenges or difficulties, they may not offering the same suffering and affliction, yet it is still filled with stumbling blocks and adversity.
Those who truly and rightly seek to serve the Lord and to follow Christ as a disciple then you must be willing to set aside all the things in this world and of this world when the voice of Jesus calls unto you. You must be willing to be as Samuel was when he heard the voice of the Lord speak forth his name, saying “Here I am Lord”, you must be willing to be as Isaiah, who, when his ears beheld the cry of the Lord asking “Who shall I send”, replied in a clear and determined voice “Here I am Lord, send me.”
We cannot… we cannot and we must not be as the Prophet Jonah was as he heard the voice of God speaking unto him with his tasks now before him, jolting him from his quiet complacency with a new job now for him. If we truly seek to be sincere and genuine, earnest and honest in our faith, if that is our most firm of desires in following our Heavenly Father and His plan for us, then we cannot just be willing to follow the calling given unto us by the Lord but only when the road was easy and the task was simple, but fleeing from it as soon as a challenge comes before us, unwilling to give up our creature comforts or our safety for it.
The Word of the Lord, the Gospel message of Christ, the harvest of the soul, they are too precious, they are too important to do half heartedly or without fierce determination. It is a calling that is ready and prepared to give up all that is around you in order to show forth, to shine forth the love and compassion, the grace and the mercy of the Lord, regardless of the trials and the tribulations, the ridicule and the scorn that you may have to endure. It is a calling that is willing to sacrifice, just as Christ sacrificed all for us for the sake of our salvation, even when what is sacrificed seems too great or too large, knowing that God will give you strength and perseverance throughout all of the ordeals.
Christ tells us that we must, to be disciples, be willing to give up all of the comforts and all the peace in this world that we may know that we may abide forever in the peace and the comfort of the Lord. Perhaps, in our calling, we may never be asked to endure this, yet we must search deep in ourselves and prepare ourselves that we may be able to if the time ever does come or that day ever does break that we know we are true and faithful to his word.
Trust in the Lord and in His plan that you may be disciples in Christ and of Christ, given in a life of service to His Holy Name and His divine righteousness. Trust in the Lord and be ready in all things, if the voice of the Lord calls out to you, to say “Here I am Lord, send me.” Trust always in His plan knowing it is greater than anything in this world or of this world and that true peace, it abides when we follow His will completely, regardless of what we may face or what we may see.
But most of all, listen… Listen for the voice of Jesus calling, the voice of the Lord crying out. It may not come like the shaking of the earth that knocks us off of our feet and the bolt of lightning that blinds us on the road to Damascus, as it was for Saul of Tarsus, but it does come and it cannot be ignored. Discern… Discern and listen for it, willing to do the work of the Kingdom when it does come, regardless of what it may ask of you.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord, that peace that transcends all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting. Amen.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Episode 48: 6/12/09
Readings:
Psalm 22
Ruth 4:1-17
1 Timothy 5:17-25
Luke 14:1-11
Sermon:
When we last saw Naomi and Ruth, the two women were at the low point of their lives: Naomi’s husband and sons were dead and she was left destitute in a foreign land; Ruth’s husband, one of Naomi’s sons, had left her a widow without a child to carry on the family name. Left with nothing but their love for each other to sustain them, Naomi and Ruth travel back to Israel where they will have to depend on the kindness of their neighbors to keep them from starvation.
Tonight, however, we get to see the happy ending to this story, but before we can do that, we must endure some suspense. In chapters 2 and 3 of Ruth, an important character enters the scene: Boaz, a rich relative of Naomi’s late husband. Boaz shows his kindness to the two women by letting Ruth glean in his fields during harvest time, so that she might be able to provide for herself and Naomi. Gradually this sense of compassion grows into something more, and as tonight’s reading begins, Boaz is ready to marry Ruth, not only out of a sense of duty as her kinsman-redeemer, but out of a deep and abiding love.
An obstacle stands in the way of their happiness however: an even-closer relative who has the right to claim Ruth for his own. This man is willing to take her property, but when informed that he must marry Ruth and raise her first born son as the heir of her dead husband, he backs down, unwilling to jeopardize his inheritance. Breathing a sigh of relief and thanking God for His blessing in this matter, Boaz marries his beloved Ruth, gives her the son she has been longing for, and provides Naomi with a home and family where she can end her days in honor and respect.
This is a lovely story and probably the only book of the Old Testament to finish with a completely happy ending, but why is it included in Scripture? What are we meant to learn from it, other than the obvious lessons of true love and compassion for the downtrodden?
The key to this story is Boaz’s role as the kinsman-redeemer, the one who rescues his family members from suffering and death.
In the Law of Moses, there were two paths open to an Israelite who fell into dire circumstances as Naomi had: one, they could sell themselves into slavery or indentured servitude if they could no longer provide for themselves or pay their debts; or two, a kinsman-redeemer could step in to settle their accounts for them and free them from any more threats against them.
But not just anybody could be a kinsman-redeemer. First, as the title suggests, they had to be a close relative, a kinsman. Second, they had to be able to fulfill what they promised to do: it would not be valid for them to take on the debts of another if they themselves were burdened with debts of their own that they were unable to pay. Third, they had to be willing to take on the responsibility, they could not be forced to obligate themselves for another although it was considered shameful to refuse; and finally, they had to be willing to pay the complete debt, no discounts, no partial payments, only the full price, down to the last penny. And in the case of childless widows like Ruth, they must be willing to take her into the family and treat her as a respected bride, not a lowly concubine.
In Boaz we see the one man who can fulfill all those requirements and redeem Ruth and make her his bride. Their son, the joyous result of this blessed union, grows up to be the grandfather of Israel’s great King David, and ultimately of the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God born through the line of David.
It is in Jesus that we see the perfection of the role of kinsman-redeemer, as He saves us all from slavery and death. First, He is our close relative, our true kinsman: as St. Paul reminds us, we who are born again in the Holy Spirit become the children of God, co-heirs with Christ our Brother. Next, Christ alone is able to do the task required, able to take on all of our debts and sins because He alone was not burdened with any of His own. Third, He was completely willing to take on the responsibility, even at the price of His own life. And finally, He paid the complete price, settling our accounts with God for all time, so that no enemy can ever claim us as his own.
And like Boaz, Jesus does this for us not just out of a sense of duty, but out of a deep and abiding love for us. He welcomes us into His family as a beloved brother or sister, not as a despised poor relation or as a slave or indentured servant; as a cherished bride, not a lowly concubine.
And if Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer through our adoption into the family of God, then it stands to reason that we are all close relations of each other and stand as kinsmen-redeemers to each of our brothers and sisters. We cannot save them from their sins, only Christ can do that, but we can act in His love to help the poor and the oppressed, to love the lonely and unloved, to encourage the hopeless and despairing, to protect the helpless and threatened. Let us do this not out of a sense of burden, but of deep and abiding love, and of thankfulness for the great blessings God has given us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Psalm 22
Ruth 4:1-17
1 Timothy 5:17-25
Luke 14:1-11
Sermon:
When we last saw Naomi and Ruth, the two women were at the low point of their lives: Naomi’s husband and sons were dead and she was left destitute in a foreign land; Ruth’s husband, one of Naomi’s sons, had left her a widow without a child to carry on the family name. Left with nothing but their love for each other to sustain them, Naomi and Ruth travel back to Israel where they will have to depend on the kindness of their neighbors to keep them from starvation.
Tonight, however, we get to see the happy ending to this story, but before we can do that, we must endure some suspense. In chapters 2 and 3 of Ruth, an important character enters the scene: Boaz, a rich relative of Naomi’s late husband. Boaz shows his kindness to the two women by letting Ruth glean in his fields during harvest time, so that she might be able to provide for herself and Naomi. Gradually this sense of compassion grows into something more, and as tonight’s reading begins, Boaz is ready to marry Ruth, not only out of a sense of duty as her kinsman-redeemer, but out of a deep and abiding love.
An obstacle stands in the way of their happiness however: an even-closer relative who has the right to claim Ruth for his own. This man is willing to take her property, but when informed that he must marry Ruth and raise her first born son as the heir of her dead husband, he backs down, unwilling to jeopardize his inheritance. Breathing a sigh of relief and thanking God for His blessing in this matter, Boaz marries his beloved Ruth, gives her the son she has been longing for, and provides Naomi with a home and family where she can end her days in honor and respect.
This is a lovely story and probably the only book of the Old Testament to finish with a completely happy ending, but why is it included in Scripture? What are we meant to learn from it, other than the obvious lessons of true love and compassion for the downtrodden?
The key to this story is Boaz’s role as the kinsman-redeemer, the one who rescues his family members from suffering and death.
In the Law of Moses, there were two paths open to an Israelite who fell into dire circumstances as Naomi had: one, they could sell themselves into slavery or indentured servitude if they could no longer provide for themselves or pay their debts; or two, a kinsman-redeemer could step in to settle their accounts for them and free them from any more threats against them.
But not just anybody could be a kinsman-redeemer. First, as the title suggests, they had to be a close relative, a kinsman. Second, they had to be able to fulfill what they promised to do: it would not be valid for them to take on the debts of another if they themselves were burdened with debts of their own that they were unable to pay. Third, they had to be willing to take on the responsibility, they could not be forced to obligate themselves for another although it was considered shameful to refuse; and finally, they had to be willing to pay the complete debt, no discounts, no partial payments, only the full price, down to the last penny. And in the case of childless widows like Ruth, they must be willing to take her into the family and treat her as a respected bride, not a lowly concubine.
In Boaz we see the one man who can fulfill all those requirements and redeem Ruth and make her his bride. Their son, the joyous result of this blessed union, grows up to be the grandfather of Israel’s great King David, and ultimately of the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God born through the line of David.
It is in Jesus that we see the perfection of the role of kinsman-redeemer, as He saves us all from slavery and death. First, He is our close relative, our true kinsman: as St. Paul reminds us, we who are born again in the Holy Spirit become the children of God, co-heirs with Christ our Brother. Next, Christ alone is able to do the task required, able to take on all of our debts and sins because He alone was not burdened with any of His own. Third, He was completely willing to take on the responsibility, even at the price of His own life. And finally, He paid the complete price, settling our accounts with God for all time, so that no enemy can ever claim us as his own.
And like Boaz, Jesus does this for us not just out of a sense of duty, but out of a deep and abiding love for us. He welcomes us into His family as a beloved brother or sister, not as a despised poor relation or as a slave or indentured servant; as a cherished bride, not a lowly concubine.
And if Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer through our adoption into the family of God, then it stands to reason that we are all close relations of each other and stand as kinsmen-redeemers to each of our brothers and sisters. We cannot save them from their sins, only Christ can do that, but we can act in His love to help the poor and the oppressed, to love the lonely and unloved, to encourage the hopeless and despairing, to protect the helpless and threatened. Let us do this not out of a sense of burden, but of deep and abiding love, and of thankfulness for the great blessings God has given us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Episode 47: 6/10/09
Readings:
Psalm 13
Ruth 2:14-23
1 Timothy 3:1-16
Luke 13:18-30
Sermon:
“And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
Luke 13:22-24
Grace, mercy, and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
He would come to save all of fallen humanity. He would suffer humiliation, affliction, torture and torment, living and dying for the sake of all of our sins, all of our transgressions and iniquities, making us pure and holy, redeemed and righteous in the eyes of the Lord God Almighty. After all “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Yet, despite the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, despite his all encompassing sacrifice, despite the fact that he would come for the salvation of all, not all will stand before the throne in the last days and be judged as clean, washed in the precious blood of the lamb. It is, as we read in our Gospel text today, a narrow door, a strait gate, to which, in those final days of that resurrection, many will try to enter into and not all will be able to.
Why though? Why, if God is a God of love and compassion and mercy, and Christ, a savior for all of humanity, would some not pass through that door or enter in through that gate to the Holy City of Heaven, forever present in the sight of our Lord?
And here we find the truth of the Lord, it is only by compassion, by love, and by mercy that we are saved. In the story that Christ tells we hear of those who know his name, those who he has dined with and ate with and yet, who he does not recognize, those he looks upon like he is seeing them for the first time. Why? Simply put because, despite the fact that they know his name, they did not abide in grace or in faith.
In St. Paul’s letter to the believers in Ephesus he tells unto the faithful “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8 and 9)
It is solely by the grace of God that we are saved through faith, it is a gift that is bestowed upon us by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To know the name of Christ or to believe that there is a God in heaven, just simply isn’t enough, after all “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)
No, it is true and faithful to understand that to be one of those recognized by God, as a redeemed Child of our Heavenly Father, is to not only know the name of Christ but to dwell in it, and to be encompassed by the power of the Holy Spirit, living according to God’s will and God’s desire in our lives. To be recognized by the Lord in those final days is to recognize the Lord in all the days of your life and to hear his calling for you, to abide in it and to know it through all things. It is to produce the fruits of the Spirit, joy, peace, love, compassion, longsuffering, patience, and kindness and to use these gifts to edify, nourish and nurture the body of believers that God’s great love may shine through your life and through your testimony.
We are taught in the Word of the Lord that, as we are saved, we are grafted to the tree of life. On that tree we produce the fruit of the vine. Yet amidst that image we are also given a somber and a sober look as well, “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” (Romans 11:16-18)
Faith… our faith in God, our faith that teaches us to be imitators of Christ, our faith that produces the richest fruits of the Spirit… it must live in all of us, hearing the call of our Savior to love our fellow man, to magnify the compassion that was shown unto us, to do the work of the Lord amidst the fields of this earth that we may sow the seeds of faith to make ready the harvest of the Holy Spirit. We must live in the commands of the Lord, abiding not as the hypocrites do, in bitterness, anger and judgment towards our fellow man, but instead using all that we have, all that we have been given and all that we are to uplift and to sanctify our brothers and sisters that they may see the light of faith and be guided down the road to redemption to those gates of salvation, passing through the door into the Kingdom of God.
Our light and our lives must be given in testimony to the greatest of sacrifices, to the greatest of loves, that we are not just a candle whose flame flickers in the wind but rather so that we are beacon of hope and courage given strength by the power of the Lord to guide amidst the murky waters and the rocky shores of this world that all may be guided to the safety of our Heavenly Father’s loving breast, held tight there. Our light and our lives must be given to that Great Commission given unto us by the Savior before his ascension that we may “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19 and 20) That all may know that they are saved by the power of Christ.
It is then that we know that we will have eaten well of the feast of the Lord and drank well from that Spring of Living Water, knowing that it has given life to our spirit and rejuvenated our souls. It is there that when we enter through the gates of the Kingdom to the mansion of our Heavenly Father we know that we will be recognized among the ranks of the saints that have come and gone before us, robed in clothes of white, made pure and holy in the presence of the Lord, singing our praises to His Holy Name throughout all ages, in all places, according to His great love for all of us.
Live in service… live in service to God and in service to your fellow man, as Christ first showed us, letting your faith guide your way through all things and in all things. Live your life according to God’s will and His plan for you. Show a deep and abiding love to your fellow man, pray for the needy, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, be the strength of the weak, and offer yourself to the sick, struggle for the captivity of the slave and the hostage, and be of good courage throughout all of the trials and the challenges in this world, magnifying the love of Christ in your life, and submitting yourself to the tender precepts of the Lord, turning your ambition to him that, by the power of the Spirit, all things great and small for the betterment of lost humanity will be possible in the new man born in your spirit. It is a trust that will never fail you or forsake, a trust for the faithful whose eyes shall behold the Lord in all of His glory in those final days when all of his beloved children are drawn close to Him, made whole in the righteousness of our Savior.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting. Amen.
Psalm 13
Ruth 2:14-23
1 Timothy 3:1-16
Luke 13:18-30
Sermon:
“And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
Luke 13:22-24
Grace, mercy, and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
He would come to save all of fallen humanity. He would suffer humiliation, affliction, torture and torment, living and dying for the sake of all of our sins, all of our transgressions and iniquities, making us pure and holy, redeemed and righteous in the eyes of the Lord God Almighty. After all “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Yet, despite the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, despite his all encompassing sacrifice, despite the fact that he would come for the salvation of all, not all will stand before the throne in the last days and be judged as clean, washed in the precious blood of the lamb. It is, as we read in our Gospel text today, a narrow door, a strait gate, to which, in those final days of that resurrection, many will try to enter into and not all will be able to.
Why though? Why, if God is a God of love and compassion and mercy, and Christ, a savior for all of humanity, would some not pass through that door or enter in through that gate to the Holy City of Heaven, forever present in the sight of our Lord?
And here we find the truth of the Lord, it is only by compassion, by love, and by mercy that we are saved. In the story that Christ tells we hear of those who know his name, those who he has dined with and ate with and yet, who he does not recognize, those he looks upon like he is seeing them for the first time. Why? Simply put because, despite the fact that they know his name, they did not abide in grace or in faith.
In St. Paul’s letter to the believers in Ephesus he tells unto the faithful “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8 and 9)
It is solely by the grace of God that we are saved through faith, it is a gift that is bestowed upon us by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To know the name of Christ or to believe that there is a God in heaven, just simply isn’t enough, after all “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)
No, it is true and faithful to understand that to be one of those recognized by God, as a redeemed Child of our Heavenly Father, is to not only know the name of Christ but to dwell in it, and to be encompassed by the power of the Holy Spirit, living according to God’s will and God’s desire in our lives. To be recognized by the Lord in those final days is to recognize the Lord in all the days of your life and to hear his calling for you, to abide in it and to know it through all things. It is to produce the fruits of the Spirit, joy, peace, love, compassion, longsuffering, patience, and kindness and to use these gifts to edify, nourish and nurture the body of believers that God’s great love may shine through your life and through your testimony.
We are taught in the Word of the Lord that, as we are saved, we are grafted to the tree of life. On that tree we produce the fruit of the vine. Yet amidst that image we are also given a somber and a sober look as well, “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” (Romans 11:16-18)
Faith… our faith in God, our faith that teaches us to be imitators of Christ, our faith that produces the richest fruits of the Spirit… it must live in all of us, hearing the call of our Savior to love our fellow man, to magnify the compassion that was shown unto us, to do the work of the Lord amidst the fields of this earth that we may sow the seeds of faith to make ready the harvest of the Holy Spirit. We must live in the commands of the Lord, abiding not as the hypocrites do, in bitterness, anger and judgment towards our fellow man, but instead using all that we have, all that we have been given and all that we are to uplift and to sanctify our brothers and sisters that they may see the light of faith and be guided down the road to redemption to those gates of salvation, passing through the door into the Kingdom of God.
Our light and our lives must be given in testimony to the greatest of sacrifices, to the greatest of loves, that we are not just a candle whose flame flickers in the wind but rather so that we are beacon of hope and courage given strength by the power of the Lord to guide amidst the murky waters and the rocky shores of this world that all may be guided to the safety of our Heavenly Father’s loving breast, held tight there. Our light and our lives must be given to that Great Commission given unto us by the Savior before his ascension that we may “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19 and 20) That all may know that they are saved by the power of Christ.
It is then that we know that we will have eaten well of the feast of the Lord and drank well from that Spring of Living Water, knowing that it has given life to our spirit and rejuvenated our souls. It is there that when we enter through the gates of the Kingdom to the mansion of our Heavenly Father we know that we will be recognized among the ranks of the saints that have come and gone before us, robed in clothes of white, made pure and holy in the presence of the Lord, singing our praises to His Holy Name throughout all ages, in all places, according to His great love for all of us.
Live in service… live in service to God and in service to your fellow man, as Christ first showed us, letting your faith guide your way through all things and in all things. Live your life according to God’s will and His plan for you. Show a deep and abiding love to your fellow man, pray for the needy, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, be the strength of the weak, and offer yourself to the sick, struggle for the captivity of the slave and the hostage, and be of good courage throughout all of the trials and the challenges in this world, magnifying the love of Christ in your life, and submitting yourself to the tender precepts of the Lord, turning your ambition to him that, by the power of the Spirit, all things great and small for the betterment of lost humanity will be possible in the new man born in your spirit. It is a trust that will never fail you or forsake, a trust for the faithful whose eyes shall behold the Lord in all of His glory in those final days when all of his beloved children are drawn close to Him, made whole in the righteousness of our Savior.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting. Amen.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Episode 46: 6/08/09
Readings:
Psalm 4
Ruth 1:1-18
1 Timothy 1:1-17
Luke 13:1-9
Sermon:
Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.*
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1
For Naomi, it must have seemed as if God had completely abandoned her: her husband dead, her sons dead with no children of their own, and their two young wives to provide for. Besides the personal grief of seeing her family devastated, she now faced an unenviable future as a penniless widow in a strange land, reduced to begging or starvation.
But as bad as this was, it was a fate that was common enough for women of her day, and which at her age she probably wouldn’t have to endure long before she joined her family in death. What particularly grieved her was the fate of her two daughters-in-law, young widows who had lost not only their beloved husbands but all chances for future happiness. Under the law of Moses, if they remarried, their first son would be considered the child of their dead husband, so that his name would not forgotten nor his line become extinct. Few men would be willing to marry them under these circumstances even if they were wealthy heiresses; as destitute beggers, their chances of finding a new husband were virtually zero.
And so we see Naomi sacrificing the last remaining comfort in her life, the company of her daughters-in-law, women who have become true daughters and dear friends to her, as she heads home to Bethlehem to face an uncertain reception by her old neighbors, on whose charity she will now have to depend.
After much protesting, one daughter-in-law, Orpah, is persuaded to return home to her family and to start over, released from her obligations to Naomi’s family. But Ruth will not be sent away so easily. During her brief married life and her recent widowhood, she undoubtedly learned to love and trust not only Naomi, but the God Naomi worshipped and trusted in, even throughout all her difficulties. Now she could no more abandon Him than she could her dear mother-in-law.
Ruth declares her undying loyalty and love in one of the most beloved verses of Scripture: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." This passage is used today during wedding ceremonies to demonstrate the love between a husband and wife, a love that can only be broken by death.
And here we see the even greater love of God working in the lives of these two women. Though their future looks grim, He is at work preparing for them greater blessings than they can even imagine. But then, this shouldn’t surprise us. This is the same God who brought His people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea on dry land, through 40 years of wandering through the desert before bringing them at last to the Promised Land.
God can do these great things for His people, but He doesn’t limit Himself to grand deeds on a large scale. He promises to be with all those who call on His Name in any trouble, no matter how small it may seem. The lives of those two women, walking back to Bethlehem bound together in their love for each other and for God, were just as important to Him as the fate of kings and nations.
And indeed the fate of kings and nations does depend on these women. Although they cannot know what the future holds, the Lord will fill their hearts with a great joy, as He finds a husband for Ruth and blesses Naomi with a new family and a restored place in her community. The child that Ruth bears will restore not only her husband’s name in the line of Israel, but will be the grandfather of Israel’s greatest king, David. And Ruth, the foreign girl who left her family and gods behind to follow the true God, will be honored as the ancestor not only of a great king, but of the Messiah Himself, the King of Kings.
Trust in the Lord and call on Him for help, even in the darkest of times and most hopeless of situations. We may feel abandoned or forgotten, but with God, not even death can separate us from His love. He will bring us comfort in our times of trouble and bring us at last to a joy that is greater than anything we can even imagine.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Psalm 4
Ruth 1:1-18
1 Timothy 1:1-17
Luke 13:1-9
Sermon:
Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.*
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1
For Naomi, it must have seemed as if God had completely abandoned her: her husband dead, her sons dead with no children of their own, and their two young wives to provide for. Besides the personal grief of seeing her family devastated, she now faced an unenviable future as a penniless widow in a strange land, reduced to begging or starvation.
But as bad as this was, it was a fate that was common enough for women of her day, and which at her age she probably wouldn’t have to endure long before she joined her family in death. What particularly grieved her was the fate of her two daughters-in-law, young widows who had lost not only their beloved husbands but all chances for future happiness. Under the law of Moses, if they remarried, their first son would be considered the child of their dead husband, so that his name would not forgotten nor his line become extinct. Few men would be willing to marry them under these circumstances even if they were wealthy heiresses; as destitute beggers, their chances of finding a new husband were virtually zero.
And so we see Naomi sacrificing the last remaining comfort in her life, the company of her daughters-in-law, women who have become true daughters and dear friends to her, as she heads home to Bethlehem to face an uncertain reception by her old neighbors, on whose charity she will now have to depend.
After much protesting, one daughter-in-law, Orpah, is persuaded to return home to her family and to start over, released from her obligations to Naomi’s family. But Ruth will not be sent away so easily. During her brief married life and her recent widowhood, she undoubtedly learned to love and trust not only Naomi, but the God Naomi worshipped and trusted in, even throughout all her difficulties. Now she could no more abandon Him than she could her dear mother-in-law.
Ruth declares her undying loyalty and love in one of the most beloved verses of Scripture: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." This passage is used today during wedding ceremonies to demonstrate the love between a husband and wife, a love that can only be broken by death.
And here we see the even greater love of God working in the lives of these two women. Though their future looks grim, He is at work preparing for them greater blessings than they can even imagine. But then, this shouldn’t surprise us. This is the same God who brought His people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea on dry land, through 40 years of wandering through the desert before bringing them at last to the Promised Land.
God can do these great things for His people, but He doesn’t limit Himself to grand deeds on a large scale. He promises to be with all those who call on His Name in any trouble, no matter how small it may seem. The lives of those two women, walking back to Bethlehem bound together in their love for each other and for God, were just as important to Him as the fate of kings and nations.
And indeed the fate of kings and nations does depend on these women. Although they cannot know what the future holds, the Lord will fill their hearts with a great joy, as He finds a husband for Ruth and blesses Naomi with a new family and a restored place in her community. The child that Ruth bears will restore not only her husband’s name in the line of Israel, but will be the grandfather of Israel’s greatest king, David. And Ruth, the foreign girl who left her family and gods behind to follow the true God, will be honored as the ancestor not only of a great king, but of the Messiah Himself, the King of Kings.
Trust in the Lord and call on Him for help, even in the darkest of times and most hopeless of situations. We may feel abandoned or forgotten, but with God, not even death can separate us from His love. He will bring us comfort in our times of trouble and bring us at last to a joy that is greater than anything we can even imagine.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Episode 45: 6-05-09
Readings:
Psalm 141
Isaiah 66:1-6
2 Timothy 4:1-8
Luke 12:32-48
Sermon:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 25:1-13
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Waiting…
Longing and waiting…
In the earliest days of the church the difficulty wasn’t the martyrdom, it wasn’t the suffering that could be inflicted by men or by the forces of this world. For these things too should pass. Though, as the stones hit against St. Stephen, there was little doubt that pain gripped his body; though, as the wooden nails ran through the hands and the feet of St. Peter and St. Phillip, there was little doubt that pain shot through every inch of their flesh; though, as the bare steel of the sword ran through St. Paul’s body, he could feel the life drain from his body; it wasn’t death that they feared. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21).
On that day of their death, though the work they could have done amidst the world for the glory and the sanctification of the Lord in praise for His great mercy and love, as they spread the gospel message of Christ Jesus, was done, they would be once more in the presence of the Lord, amidst the Saints and the Apostles, the Prophets and the Disciples that went before them. On that day they would join the Savior standing before the throne of God in Paradise.
No, the true difficulty laid in the waiting and the longing for that day of Christ’s glorious return.
Throughout the Epistles we hear of it. In Thessalonica Paul looks to the church there and to the believers, hearing the stories of those amidst that community who refused to work, believing that second coming would happen any day. They would live off the compassion and the generosity of others, believing there was little point because it would all amount to nothing when the Savior did come once more upon them.
To these men the Apostles admonition would be stern, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
In the Parable of the Ten Virgins we see though not an Apostle or a Disciple speaking of the second coming, but Christ himself, as he teaches us of how we must prepare for it. Here you have the story of ten who are waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. Five wise prepared their lamps that they might remain lit for his coming, five foolish did not. Here they expected that the coming would be soon or that they could just live off the generosity of others without, even in the least of ways, preparing themselves.
But that return of the Bridegroom to his Bride would not come soon or when they had expected, and it would not be long before their light would be extinguished, with nothing left to light it once more. There, they sought desperately to find more oil to light once more their lamps and return before the coming of the Bridegroom, but by the time they had found themselves at the gates prepared now for his return, the time had passed and the gates had been locked.
As is so often the case, the story we are taught by the Savior holds significant meaning for each of us.... for each of us in our lives and our everyday lives.
We are to be those virgins, waiting for the return of the Bridegroom, Christ Jesus, that he may sanctify once again his Holy Union with his bride, the Church Triumphant and Universal. The lamp that we have lit is the light of the Lord, the Holy Spirit of our God, shining forth the path of righteousness for the Bridegroom.
As much as we long and wait for the return of the Bridegroom we cannot, we must not grow complacent or be unprepared for the return, assuming that it will come at any day now and there is no reason to labor or to be ready for it in a shallow belief that there is nothing we can do to prepare for it. We are to abide in the love of God and the works of the Spirit that we may do all things that are commanded of us for our lives for the harvest of souls that is to come, laboring to prepare not just ourselves for the return of the Lord but our fellow man as well that all may come to know the salvation of Christ that they may be deemed righteous through the power of his sacrifice. We must do the works we are called to do by the power of the Holy Spirit that our lamp may remain lit, lighting the way down the road of redemption calling all people to blessed marriage of Christ to his Church.
None shall know the time of his return, none shall know the day or the hour of it, none shall be able to tell when it is going to be for sure, so thus we must be ever vigilant, ever prepared for the coming regardless of anything else in the world or the longing that we have in our soul that it may come soon.
It is then that we know that we shall be standing present for the return of the bridegroom, remaining within his presence according to his love and we shall see the glorious day of that second coming. It will be then that all of the waiting and the longing shall make sense and we shall find the peace and the comfort of the Lord swell within us, granting us an abiding sense of joy that can only come from being once more returned to the presence of our Heavenly Father.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord, that peace that transcends all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, Amen.
Psalm 141
Isaiah 66:1-6
2 Timothy 4:1-8
Luke 12:32-48
Sermon:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 25:1-13
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Waiting…
Longing and waiting…
In the earliest days of the church the difficulty wasn’t the martyrdom, it wasn’t the suffering that could be inflicted by men or by the forces of this world. For these things too should pass. Though, as the stones hit against St. Stephen, there was little doubt that pain gripped his body; though, as the wooden nails ran through the hands and the feet of St. Peter and St. Phillip, there was little doubt that pain shot through every inch of their flesh; though, as the bare steel of the sword ran through St. Paul’s body, he could feel the life drain from his body; it wasn’t death that they feared. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21).
On that day of their death, though the work they could have done amidst the world for the glory and the sanctification of the Lord in praise for His great mercy and love, as they spread the gospel message of Christ Jesus, was done, they would be once more in the presence of the Lord, amidst the Saints and the Apostles, the Prophets and the Disciples that went before them. On that day they would join the Savior standing before the throne of God in Paradise.
No, the true difficulty laid in the waiting and the longing for that day of Christ’s glorious return.
Throughout the Epistles we hear of it. In Thessalonica Paul looks to the church there and to the believers, hearing the stories of those amidst that community who refused to work, believing that second coming would happen any day. They would live off the compassion and the generosity of others, believing there was little point because it would all amount to nothing when the Savior did come once more upon them.
To these men the Apostles admonition would be stern, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
In the Parable of the Ten Virgins we see though not an Apostle or a Disciple speaking of the second coming, but Christ himself, as he teaches us of how we must prepare for it. Here you have the story of ten who are waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. Five wise prepared their lamps that they might remain lit for his coming, five foolish did not. Here they expected that the coming would be soon or that they could just live off the generosity of others without, even in the least of ways, preparing themselves.
But that return of the Bridegroom to his Bride would not come soon or when they had expected, and it would not be long before their light would be extinguished, with nothing left to light it once more. There, they sought desperately to find more oil to light once more their lamps and return before the coming of the Bridegroom, but by the time they had found themselves at the gates prepared now for his return, the time had passed and the gates had been locked.
As is so often the case, the story we are taught by the Savior holds significant meaning for each of us.... for each of us in our lives and our everyday lives.
We are to be those virgins, waiting for the return of the Bridegroom, Christ Jesus, that he may sanctify once again his Holy Union with his bride, the Church Triumphant and Universal. The lamp that we have lit is the light of the Lord, the Holy Spirit of our God, shining forth the path of righteousness for the Bridegroom.
As much as we long and wait for the return of the Bridegroom we cannot, we must not grow complacent or be unprepared for the return, assuming that it will come at any day now and there is no reason to labor or to be ready for it in a shallow belief that there is nothing we can do to prepare for it. We are to abide in the love of God and the works of the Spirit that we may do all things that are commanded of us for our lives for the harvest of souls that is to come, laboring to prepare not just ourselves for the return of the Lord but our fellow man as well that all may come to know the salvation of Christ that they may be deemed righteous through the power of his sacrifice. We must do the works we are called to do by the power of the Holy Spirit that our lamp may remain lit, lighting the way down the road of redemption calling all people to blessed marriage of Christ to his Church.
None shall know the time of his return, none shall know the day or the hour of it, none shall be able to tell when it is going to be for sure, so thus we must be ever vigilant, ever prepared for the coming regardless of anything else in the world or the longing that we have in our soul that it may come soon.
It is then that we know that we shall be standing present for the return of the bridegroom, remaining within his presence according to his love and we shall see the glorious day of that second coming. It will be then that all of the waiting and the longing shall make sense and we shall find the peace and the comfort of the Lord swell within us, granting us an abiding sense of joy that can only come from being once more returned to the presence of our Heavenly Father.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord, that peace that transcends all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, Amen.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Episode 44: 6/3/09
Readings:
Psalm 130
Daniel 3:1-18
2 Timothy 2:14-26
Luke 11:53-12:12
Sermon:
"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Luke 12:4-5
For most of those present, it must have been an easy decision: fall down and worship the statue or be thrown into the fiery furnace. It’s not surprising then, that as we read in the book of Daniel, that “as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” (Daniel 3:7)
All except three faithful Jews brought to Babylon as prisoners but now raised to positions of authority in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused the King’s order and were brought before him to face their doom.
Nebuchadnezzar could not understand why they would throw away everything they had, everything they were, over such a simple request. They need only bow before the golden statue and all would be forgiven, all would be well. They could continue their lives amidst positions of honor and privilege, worshipping as they pleased in private. All they needed to do was bow.
But for those three faithful men, that was an impossible demand. They could not, they would not separate their public and private lives, mocking in public the God they worshipped in private, the Holy God of Israel who had brought His people out of captivity in Egypt. Even now in exile, facing a fiery death, they trusted in Him to deliver them from this latest trial. Putting their faith in His saving power, they boldly answered the wicked King, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:17-18)
But in fact, God did save them, walking through the fire with them and delivering them unscorched, to the amazement of the wicked King who just moments before, in his rage, had ordered the furnace heated up seven times hotter than normal. Now that King was forced to praise the true God who is able to rescue His people even from certain death.
But still . . . what if? What if God had not rescued Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Would their faith have been in vain, would God’s promises have been proven false?
Here the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading remind us that our lives do not end at death, that after death we enter into eternity, which we will either spend in the blessed company of Our Lord and the saints who have gone before; or far away from Him, where we will have an eternity to regret our pride and stubbornness that pushed us away from His saving grace.
It is a simple fact that all of us at some point in time will die. We hope that it will be a quiet, peaceful death, but for many people throughout the ages and throughout the world it will be painful and violent. We are horrified when we see the violence that is done to our fellow man, we may despair when we consider the power that a wicked King like Nebuchadnezzer or any of his modern day counterparts may bring to bear against ordinary people. But Our Lord tells us not to despair, not to worry, not to fear those who can kill us.
Though the power of evil is great in this fallen world, it is not omnipotent, as much as those who practice such wickedness would like to think it is. The power of the most evil king or tyrant or terrorist stops at the gates of death. Once they have killed us, they no longer have any power over us, they can do us no more harm. And we, if we trust in God’s saving power, will enter into an eternity where every tear will be wiped away and we will suffer no more.
This promise of Our Lord’s has been a great encouragement to believers throughout the ages who have faced perils and dangers fearlessly, trusting in Almighty God to walk with them through whatever trials they face, whether He delivers them from the fiery furnace or takes them through the gates of death into Paradise where they will enjoy His fellowship for all eternity. And it should encourage us, most of whom will never face persecution and death for our faith, as so many have done and continue to do throughout the world.
Let us be fearless then in proclaiming the love of God, the true God who saves His people and delivers them from death. Let us lift up our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and oppressed, that they will find the strength to stand firm when they are tested and remain true to the One who has the power not only of death, but of eternal life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Psalm 130
Daniel 3:1-18
2 Timothy 2:14-26
Luke 11:53-12:12
Sermon:
"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Luke 12:4-5
For most of those present, it must have been an easy decision: fall down and worship the statue or be thrown into the fiery furnace. It’s not surprising then, that as we read in the book of Daniel, that “as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” (Daniel 3:7)
All except three faithful Jews brought to Babylon as prisoners but now raised to positions of authority in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused the King’s order and were brought before him to face their doom.
Nebuchadnezzar could not understand why they would throw away everything they had, everything they were, over such a simple request. They need only bow before the golden statue and all would be forgiven, all would be well. They could continue their lives amidst positions of honor and privilege, worshipping as they pleased in private. All they needed to do was bow.
But for those three faithful men, that was an impossible demand. They could not, they would not separate their public and private lives, mocking in public the God they worshipped in private, the Holy God of Israel who had brought His people out of captivity in Egypt. Even now in exile, facing a fiery death, they trusted in Him to deliver them from this latest trial. Putting their faith in His saving power, they boldly answered the wicked King, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:17-18)
But in fact, God did save them, walking through the fire with them and delivering them unscorched, to the amazement of the wicked King who just moments before, in his rage, had ordered the furnace heated up seven times hotter than normal. Now that King was forced to praise the true God who is able to rescue His people even from certain death.
But still . . . what if? What if God had not rescued Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Would their faith have been in vain, would God’s promises have been proven false?
Here the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading remind us that our lives do not end at death, that after death we enter into eternity, which we will either spend in the blessed company of Our Lord and the saints who have gone before; or far away from Him, where we will have an eternity to regret our pride and stubbornness that pushed us away from His saving grace.
It is a simple fact that all of us at some point in time will die. We hope that it will be a quiet, peaceful death, but for many people throughout the ages and throughout the world it will be painful and violent. We are horrified when we see the violence that is done to our fellow man, we may despair when we consider the power that a wicked King like Nebuchadnezzer or any of his modern day counterparts may bring to bear against ordinary people. But Our Lord tells us not to despair, not to worry, not to fear those who can kill us.
Though the power of evil is great in this fallen world, it is not omnipotent, as much as those who practice such wickedness would like to think it is. The power of the most evil king or tyrant or terrorist stops at the gates of death. Once they have killed us, they no longer have any power over us, they can do us no more harm. And we, if we trust in God’s saving power, will enter into an eternity where every tear will be wiped away and we will suffer no more.
This promise of Our Lord’s has been a great encouragement to believers throughout the ages who have faced perils and dangers fearlessly, trusting in Almighty God to walk with them through whatever trials they face, whether He delivers them from the fiery furnace or takes them through the gates of death into Paradise where they will enjoy His fellowship for all eternity. And it should encourage us, most of whom will never face persecution and death for our faith, as so many have done and continue to do throughout the world.
Let us be fearless then in proclaiming the love of God, the true God who saves His people and delivers them from death. Let us lift up our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and oppressed, that they will find the strength to stand firm when they are tested and remain true to the One who has the power not only of death, but of eternal life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Episode 43: 6/1/09
Readings:
Psalm 107:1-32
Ezekiel 34:17-31
Hebrews 8:1-13
Luke 10:38-42
Sermon:
“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”
Psalm 107:1-8
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Life, amidst this world, is hardly an easy experience at times…
For the children of Israel this was no exception. They wandered… nomadic, with no home to call their own, they wandered through the desert, the tent their shelter, their possessions whatever they could carry with them. Even when they had found for themselves a land that seemed to welcome them in, it was not long before the generations passed and the lives of their fathers were forgotten. Under the task masters' whip they found themselves, beaten and wounded, used as slaves to build the cities for the honor of Pharaoh.
Finally delivered from the hands of that cruel fate, once more they would find themselves wandering. Forty years in the desert, the wind and the sand beating against them, the fear of hunger and starvation, thirst and dehydration weighing on them.
Why? “Why Moses would God lead us to the desert to die? Were there not enough graves in Egypt?” They would ask of the Prophet as all the troubles they could imagine gripped their souls and they found themselves more than willing to trade their bodies and their spirits to their Egyptian masters for water in a vase and a roof over their head, forgetting the whip and believing no fate could be crueler than the one they found themselves now amidst.
Yet each story… each journey embarked upon, it represents a journey into God’s great love for His children. For even though they found themselves amidst pain and sorrow, trial and challenge, even though they dwelt amidst distress and despair there the Lord was with them, offering unto them deliverance, guiding them and protect them each and every step of the way. Though they felt they had nothing and though they struggled with everything God would not fail them, He would not abandon them or forsake them. His mercy, His compassion, His love would shelter them, lighting a fire that would guide them throughout the paths of this world, redeeming them, rescuing them, liberating them from the forces in this world and of this world that would seek to bind them.
Though they would not always understand the road ahead it would not stop God from leading them throughout the rocky path of this world to those places of rest and comfort that they so yearned for. Ever present His hand would move in mysterious ways that perhaps they could not comprehend but that offered unto them salvation and redemption.
Throughout our world today, there is little doubt that we still need God’s deliverance….
We see wickedness and transgressions all around us, we see evil men working their evil ways to oppress and subjugate their fellow man, we see the iniquity of the unjust as they seek to rob their neighbor of peace and comfort, ripping them from their homes and their families. Hostages are taken, human flesh is trafficked, slaves are bought and sold as if they were nothing more than cattle, as flesh is bartered and traded for.
At home we see the poor and the disenfranchised, the hurt and the suffering, who want to believe in the greater promises of this land but somehow feel as if they were left behind by the inevitable march of progress. Unemployment rises, poverty rises and human dignity decreases as we see the working mother who has to decide between dinner and shelter, or the family living out of its car trying to find work, or the old veteran who sacrificed his youth and his innocence fighting for our freedom now sleeping on the street corner.
We know people who suffer with mental illness, with sickness and disease as they feel the pain and the distress encompass their lives, as the hurt and the longing for peace seems to creep from their souls to their eyes. Anguish and sorrow, agony and torment rob them of the solace and the comfort that they so seek as peace seems so elusive to them.
And here… here… we are hit with that same inevitable truth that every generation through the course of human history is hit with, we need a God of Deliverance.
Yet, in trust, in faith, we have it. We have a God who understands the needs of His children and who works to heal the broken, wounded places in their soul, a God who gives unto the world mercy and compassion, understanding and wisdom. He works through us, by the power of His Holy Spirit that our hearts may be open to helping the poor and the downtrodden, the sick and the needy, He works through the forces in this world to bring justice to the oppressed and slave. Ever present, ever vigilant He stands by His Children, lifting them, carrying them, offering His peace through it all, strengthening their spirits by His Holy name.
Just because we cannot always see God’s hand at work does not mean it is not there. The Children of Israel would abandon God, believing He was far from them, to their false idols and graven images as soon as the road became tough or the challenges seemed too great. Yet He was always there, He was always beside them, leading them and guiding them, delivering them when they needed Him the most, even when their eyes were so turned from Him that they could no longer see Him there with them.
So too is it with us. He lights His flaming pillar to guide us through the deserts of this world to the promised land of our salvation, though we wander He guides us each and every step of the way in each and every step that we take if we just open our eyes to see His divine plan and His perfect ways.
Trust therefore in the Lord and search for His wisdom knowing that He is a God of deliverance, turn your life to Him that He may use you as an instrument of His divine will to help your fellow man, to be a blessing unto him or her in all of their troubles and needs, and seek the Lord in all the challenges that you face, knowing that He is forever with you throughout the trials of this world.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord that transcends all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, Amen.
Psalm 107:1-32
Ezekiel 34:17-31
Hebrews 8:1-13
Luke 10:38-42
Sermon:
“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”
Psalm 107:1-8
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Life, amidst this world, is hardly an easy experience at times…
For the children of Israel this was no exception. They wandered… nomadic, with no home to call their own, they wandered through the desert, the tent their shelter, their possessions whatever they could carry with them. Even when they had found for themselves a land that seemed to welcome them in, it was not long before the generations passed and the lives of their fathers were forgotten. Under the task masters' whip they found themselves, beaten and wounded, used as slaves to build the cities for the honor of Pharaoh.
Finally delivered from the hands of that cruel fate, once more they would find themselves wandering. Forty years in the desert, the wind and the sand beating against them, the fear of hunger and starvation, thirst and dehydration weighing on them.
Why? “Why Moses would God lead us to the desert to die? Were there not enough graves in Egypt?” They would ask of the Prophet as all the troubles they could imagine gripped their souls and they found themselves more than willing to trade their bodies and their spirits to their Egyptian masters for water in a vase and a roof over their head, forgetting the whip and believing no fate could be crueler than the one they found themselves now amidst.
Yet each story… each journey embarked upon, it represents a journey into God’s great love for His children. For even though they found themselves amidst pain and sorrow, trial and challenge, even though they dwelt amidst distress and despair there the Lord was with them, offering unto them deliverance, guiding them and protect them each and every step of the way. Though they felt they had nothing and though they struggled with everything God would not fail them, He would not abandon them or forsake them. His mercy, His compassion, His love would shelter them, lighting a fire that would guide them throughout the paths of this world, redeeming them, rescuing them, liberating them from the forces in this world and of this world that would seek to bind them.
Though they would not always understand the road ahead it would not stop God from leading them throughout the rocky path of this world to those places of rest and comfort that they so yearned for. Ever present His hand would move in mysterious ways that perhaps they could not comprehend but that offered unto them salvation and redemption.
Throughout our world today, there is little doubt that we still need God’s deliverance….
We see wickedness and transgressions all around us, we see evil men working their evil ways to oppress and subjugate their fellow man, we see the iniquity of the unjust as they seek to rob their neighbor of peace and comfort, ripping them from their homes and their families. Hostages are taken, human flesh is trafficked, slaves are bought and sold as if they were nothing more than cattle, as flesh is bartered and traded for.
At home we see the poor and the disenfranchised, the hurt and the suffering, who want to believe in the greater promises of this land but somehow feel as if they were left behind by the inevitable march of progress. Unemployment rises, poverty rises and human dignity decreases as we see the working mother who has to decide between dinner and shelter, or the family living out of its car trying to find work, or the old veteran who sacrificed his youth and his innocence fighting for our freedom now sleeping on the street corner.
We know people who suffer with mental illness, with sickness and disease as they feel the pain and the distress encompass their lives, as the hurt and the longing for peace seems to creep from their souls to their eyes. Anguish and sorrow, agony and torment rob them of the solace and the comfort that they so seek as peace seems so elusive to them.
And here… here… we are hit with that same inevitable truth that every generation through the course of human history is hit with, we need a God of Deliverance.
Yet, in trust, in faith, we have it. We have a God who understands the needs of His children and who works to heal the broken, wounded places in their soul, a God who gives unto the world mercy and compassion, understanding and wisdom. He works through us, by the power of His Holy Spirit that our hearts may be open to helping the poor and the downtrodden, the sick and the needy, He works through the forces in this world to bring justice to the oppressed and slave. Ever present, ever vigilant He stands by His Children, lifting them, carrying them, offering His peace through it all, strengthening their spirits by His Holy name.
Just because we cannot always see God’s hand at work does not mean it is not there. The Children of Israel would abandon God, believing He was far from them, to their false idols and graven images as soon as the road became tough or the challenges seemed too great. Yet He was always there, He was always beside them, leading them and guiding them, delivering them when they needed Him the most, even when their eyes were so turned from Him that they could no longer see Him there with them.
So too is it with us. He lights His flaming pillar to guide us through the deserts of this world to the promised land of our salvation, though we wander He guides us each and every step of the way in each and every step that we take if we just open our eyes to see His divine plan and His perfect ways.
Trust therefore in the Lord and search for His wisdom knowing that He is a God of deliverance, turn your life to Him that He may use you as an instrument of His divine will to help your fellow man, to be a blessing unto him or her in all of their troubles and needs, and seek the Lord in all the challenges that you face, knowing that He is forever with you throughout the trials of this world.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord that transcends all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, Amen.
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