Advent 3 A - Matthew 11:2-11

Matthew 11:2-11

John is confused by what Jesus is doing, or more accurately, by what Jesus is not doing. One can imagine the questions that led to “Are you the one who is to come…?” Where is the baptizing with fire and the Holy Spirit? Why is the threshing floor still occupied by Pharisee & Sadducee chaff? And the most perplexing question might have been, “Why am I in prison if you are the Messiah? I’m your cousin, for God’s sake! ” But Jesus came to be what John had proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has come near.” And John was right, it was more powerful and with or without untying sandals, no one was worthy of it. It was not to be “kingdom come” by smiting enemies within and without, wresting the temple from the dirty hands of the High Priest and kicking Roman butt from Jerusalem to Britannica. It shouldn't surprise us that John asked the question. In some ways the early church suffering at the hands of those from within and without asked the same question. It also shouldn't surprise us that the vision of Jesus’ return was imaged as violent and vengeful. Maybe this time the Messiah will get it right. This time we want a superman not a suffering servant. Listen, John the Baptist had plenty of scriptures to support the Messiah he was looking for and truth to be told that was the Messiah he wanted. When Jesus says “blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” he is telling John and us, for that matter, that he will come in whatever way he wants to come and our images will have conform to his. Granted that may mean he’s coming back angry and ready to put a hurt on the world that would make John the Baptist shake like a reed in the wind. But my guess is that Jesus is still outside our box, scriptural or not, and that the Messiah who the first time around pointed to the blind seeing, the lame walking, the lepers cleansed, the dead raised and the poor hearing good news as proof of the pudding might surprise us the second time round as well. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 

Advent 3 A - James 5:7-10

James 5:7-10

We've been patiently waiting for almost two thousand years. Of course every now and then people find a way to profit from predictions of gloom and doom but then the point of patience is left behind. There is nothing you can do to hasten the day, or delay it for that matter, but you can make the wait weary for yourself and others by grumbling, judging, or connecting coincidences and claiming to know the time and place the Lord himself said is none of your business. No. We are called to wait as those who James calls “Beloved” three times in four verses which means we wait with a lover’s longing. And not only for ourselves but for the sake of those the Lord loves, which I’m guessing includes those we don’t. After all, the Judge who stands at the door is the same One who spoke “Father, forgive them” upon those whose fear and envy and self righteousness nailed him to the mercy seat in the first place. That’s a judge worth the wait. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Advent 3 A - Isaiah 1:39-55

Luke 1:39-56

This is the song of Zion, the song sung at the Christ’s conception, the song Jesus would sing with his life, the song that would condemn him to death. “It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” is how the high priest Caiaphas justified the murder of the One who raised Lazarus from the dead. Power does not care for protest songs and will take any measure to silence them. But Mary’s song will not be silenced. The humble are lifted up. The rulers are brought down. The hungry are fed with good things. The rich are sent empty away. Sung by a peasant girl impregnated by the Holy Spirit come upon her she risks her life to carry the light of the world to term. Sooner or later some busy body in Nazareth will notice that Mary is “beginning to look a lot like Christmas” and no one will be around to confess the virgin birth as an alibi. And yet she sings. She rejoices in God’s favor. She sings of the Savior mindful of her humble state who has blessed her for every generation. She sings rejoicing for her people because the Mighty One has remembered to be merciful. She sings the life within her before Bethlehem, before Golgotha, because Mary believes already that in the conception of the Christ the future forever promise has come true. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 

Advent 3 A - Isaiah 35:1-10

Isaiah 35

Isaiah 35 was written to the children of Israel in exile, weeping by the river of Babylon, tormented by their captors who demanded they sing happy songs of Zion. It is a vision of a better day, a promise for those worn down by adversity, weakened by suffering, feeble and fearful of heart, without help, without hope. In the vision cast by the waters of Babylon a new song of Zion is composed where the wilderness rejoices in the glory of the Lord revealed and a way is made through the burning sand and the haunt of jackals so that even those who don’t have a lick of sense will not get lost on the holy highway. Of course a good portion of those whose hands were strengthened and knees steadied by the hope of the promise died by the river where they wept. But for their children born in Babylon the promise did come true and they returned to Zion singing the songs their parents taught them, which would have been forgotten forever if their captors tormenting them had not demanded they sing them. As it was for them, so it is for us; a promise for unsteady hands and knees that give way, hope for all held captive to doubt and fear, trial and trouble, a promise that inspires holy imagination where sorrow flees from the promise of everlasting joy. So sing the songs of Zion, songs of hope and happiness, joy and peace, even if you are weeping by the waters of your own Babylon, for the children are listening and learning. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus

Advent 2 A - Matthew 3:1-12

Matthew 3:1-12

It appears to me the Pharisees and Sadducees should at least get points for trying. Instead John verbally attacks them for being all repentance and no fruit. (All hat and no cattle) But to what end? To their credit the Pharisees and Sadducees, teachers of the law and keepers of the temple, come out together overcoming their natural animosity towards each other. And they give up their respective positions of power to be subject to the poor people’s prophet even if it’s just a weekend excursion for them. The diet of locusts and honey and camel’s hair clothes with leather belt identify John as one who has forsaken the world for the wilderness which is always the place of preparation for Israel. So when the city slickers come slumming he calls them on it. Who warned you to flee? Confession by itself is not worth the words used to say “I’m sorry” unless it is accompanied by a change of heart and hand. That is John’s point. You can’t come out to do a wilderness weekend of weeping and wailing and then go back to the city of business as usual. To bear fruit worthy of repentance is to live into the conclusion of confession which is the amendment of the sinful life. The One who is coming after will do something more than John and though he will burn the same Pharisees and Sadducees with words like blind guides and brood of vipers and white washed tombs he will gather them in with “Father, forgive them…” And so it is for us. Our confession needs a word of judgment before welcoming words of absolution so that we will not be satisfied with an “I’m sorry” that does not in some measure lead to “I can do better.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 

Advent 2 A - Romans 15:4-13

Romans 15:4-13

The instruction and encouragement of the scriptures were meant to reveal the God of hope so that inspired by the living word we might abound in what the God of hope is all about… which is hope, of course; but what kind of hope? If the incarnation of God in the Christ is any indication of what the God of hope is all about then there is nothing God will not do, nowhere God will not go, to be reconciled to us so that reconciled to God we would be reconciled to each other. Or in other words, “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another…” And again, “whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20) For this reason Christ became the servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth and at the same time became the mercy and hope of the Gentiles so that with one voice Jew and Gentile would glorify God. Or as Paul will write to the law bound Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female...” (Galatians 3:28) So if in Christ God has erased the dividing lines of race, status, and gender might it be a safe bet that God’s brightest and best hope is that we would do the same? Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Advent 2 A - Psalm 72

Psalm 72
Psalm 72 concludes the prayers of David, son of Jesse and is a prayer for his son Solomon. In many ways David, the man after God’s own heart (who broke God’s heart time and again) is a tragic figure. Guilty of adultery and murder and intrigue the sword never left his house and while he was not “cast away from God’s presence” he experienced the penalty of his sin in heartbreaking loss, no more so than in the rebellion and subsequent murder of his son Absalom. “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!” His cry of grief for Absalom stands in stark contrast to his prayer for Solomon. Born out of the disappointments and difficulties of his reign David prays that Solomon would be a better king than he was. Make my son a just and righteous king who remembers the poor and delivers the needy from the oppressor, whose rule like rain on mown grass will bring peace and prosperity to your people. “Teach your children well, their father’s hell did slowly go by, and feed them on your dreams the one they picked, the one you’ll know by” (CSNY) David dreamed of a dwelling place for God in the midst of the city named Peace, a temple he was not permitted to build. But the son for whom he prayed would make the dream come true. David’s prayer that Solomon would do better than he is the prayer of every parent learning from the whole of life, wishing, hoping, praying their child will make fewer mistakes and know all the joy and then some and only half of the pain and that well taught lessons and dreams picked will help the prayer come true. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Advent 2 A - Isaiah 11:1-10

Isaiah 11:1-10

It is one of my favorite visions of the future and I marvel at the mind of the prophet who brought it to life by putting it to pen. The One who delights in the Lord will pair wolves with lambs, leopards with goats, calves with lions, bears with cows, infants with adders. It’s a recipe for carnage, but in the imagination of the prophet the predator lies down with the prey for a nap and not for lunch. The accepted order of the natural world is radically transformed by the One upon whom the Spirit of the Lord finds a resting place so that hurting and destroying will have no place on the holy mountain because hurting and destroying have no place in the Lord. In some small way I lived the hope of Isaiah’s vision when our Belgium sheep dog Gretchen did her best to kill our lamb Leah. Both were named. Both were loved. If I could have imagined and created a world where that would never happen I would have. But then I’d like to say hurting and destroying have no place in me but that would not be true. In a world where the innocent are preyed upon by the wicked I know that at some level my desire for justice satisfies a need for retribution and that even a self-proclaimed pacifist has a tipping point. But that knowledge does not diminish the desire for the peaceable kingdom. Rather it heightens it. The One upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rests will create a world, a new reality, to do what we can never do. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Advent 1 A - Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36-44

I don’t mean to burst anyone’s Martin Luther bubble but recent scholarship can find no evidence that he ever said “If I believed the world was to end tomorrow, I would still plant a tree today.” It’s too bad because it’s a great quote and if it wasn’t already well known I might claim it as my own. Of course I don’t think whoever said it meant the last day is a good day to plant a tree but that the last day should not change the way one lives every day given that one should live each day as if it was one's last day even if the rest of the world was going to keep going on forever. But instead of tree planting as the proper way to be ready people get goofy on this end time stuff coming up with all kinds of theories as to the day and hour that Jesus himself says only the Father knows. They should plant some trees for all the paper wasted on books better left behind. The way to be ready for the second coming is to live in the love and grace of the first appearing. I doubt very much that the God who so loved the world the first time round has decided it was a mistake and what the world really needs is a good thrashing. Therefore with every tree planted we pray, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Advent 1 A - Romans 13:11-14

Romans 13:11-14

It’s been one long night since the apostle roused the Romans from sleep. Of course we can all agree that salvation is nearer to us now than it was yesterday and it will be one day closer tomorrow but that doesn’t have quite the sense of immediacy that Paul uses to exhort believers to lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Given the long delay of the second coming we might be tempted to hit the snooze on holy living and roll over for forty winks of debauchery, though sooner or later the sun comes up on a life of licentiousness bringing a hangover of hurt. That being said the motivation for living honorably as in the day is not for fear of punishment or that the end is near but because the outstanding debt of love demands it. The debt of love that one owes the other is also owed to self and a life free from quarreling and jealousy is a life worth living for its own sake. So put on the Lord Jesus no matter how long the night lasts for fulfilling the law of love does no wrong to self or neighbor. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Advent 1 A - Psalm 122

Psalm 122

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. In Hebrew Jerusalem means the City of Peace. In Arabic it means Holiness and in Greek the Holy City. Claimed by Jew, Moslem and Christian as the capital of their respective faiths the holy city of peace has seen more than its fair share of violence and bloodshed. But while the psalmist would pray for the peace of Jerusalem for the sake of relatives and friends the holy peace that befits the Lord’s house is peace for the world. That kind of peace cannot be established by walls and towers. That kind of peace will not be established by military might. The peace that prospers and makes one glad will come when the human family recognizes that we all belong to each other and our destinies are inextricably linked. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Advent 1 A - Isaiah 2:1-5

Isaiah 2:1-5

“Gonna lay down my sword and shield, down by the riverside, gonna study war no more.” Down by the Riverside predates the War Between the States and sings the desire of all who have on the job training in the study of war. We are a warring species, sometimes for necessary and just causes, sometimes in self defense, sometimes to protect economic self interest, and sometimes, God help us, just because. But I cannot believe that given the opportunity by means of a just peace, or a trustworthy security, or some other mechanism to make war obsolete anyone would not willingly, joyfully, lay down sword and shield. That day has eluded the human race even though some have tried their best to live “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” It is because the only peace that has a chance is the promised peace of God’s path. Whenever we walk in the light of the Lord we give peace a chance to happen in our lives and the lives of those around us in anticipation of the final peace treaty of the forever future where swords and spears beaten into plowshares and pruning hooks will signal the end of the nations warring madness once and for all. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Christ the King Year C - Luke

Luke 23:33-43

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." The guilty one anticipates the kingdom of the innocent one. Without hesitating Jesus answers the prayer that is a plea with the promise of paradise, today. Of all the stories told about Jesus; walking on water, feeding five thousand, healing the blind, lame, and deaf, exorcising demons and yes, even raising a dead friend, this story at the end of Jesus’ life defines the royal character of Christ the King. “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them… but I am among you as one who serves.” The one Jesus called Abba said it this way “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” In light of God’s own stated preference how can one continue to hold onto the idea that the righteous rage of Abba could only be appeased by the blood sacrifice of the innocent Son dearly loved? No. In the promise of paradise to a criminal justly condemned, in forgiving those who sure as hell knew what they were doing, the character of God is revealed and by descending to the place of the dead we are guaranteed there will be no where God is not. Jesus. Remember me. 

Christ the King Year C - Colossians 1:11-20

Colossians 1:11-20

The strength to endure everything patiently while at the same time joyfully giving thanks comes from investing our inheritance before fully inheriting it, which means we spend the profit of the future on the deficit of the present. This is where the last will and testament is challenged for while we have no objection to God in Christ being reconciled to us we question the “all things on earth” part for there are plenty on earth we’d rather not include in the reconciled to God inheritance. And therein lies the rub. If through the blood of the cross God is reconciled to all things, then we as one of the all things on earth must be reconciled to the other all things, whether we like it or not. So enduring patiently might mean enduring our own limited vision as much as the difficulties presented by the other “all things on earth” not that happy about our being included in the inheritance. I imagine the only one laughing at the reading of the last will and testament of the One in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell will be God upon seeing the faces of the all things on earth surprised by who is included in the all things in heaven.

The Feast of Christ the King Year C - Psalm 46

Psalm 46

As a child I remember waters flooding our basement in Columbus, Ohio and the river that ran down our street did not make anyone glad. Of course that is a silly comparison with the earth changing, mountains shaking, seas rising that swept away lives in the Philippines or the collateral human damage when nations like Syria totter and are in uproar. But then the “we will not fear” of Psalm 46 is a defiant declaration of faith in the constancy of God despite unstable ground, rising tides and tottering human institutions. It may be that your ground shaking, waters roaring, tottering nation is more personal and closer to home but the sentiment is the same. “Be still and know that I am God” looks at what is and declares what will be. “There is a river that makes glad” is lined by twelve trees whose leaves are for the healing of the nations so that in that place of perfect peace swords are plowshares and spears are pruning hooks and predators are at peace with prey. (Revelation 22:2; Isaiah 11:6) Therefore we will not fear in the midst of our personal uprisings for we trust that the "we shall not be moved" God of the forever future is with us as our refuge and strength in the earth shaking present.

The Feast of Christ the King Year C - Jeremiah 23:1-6

Jeremiah 23:1-6

I don’t know about the shepherds of Jeremiah’s time but the ones I know work like dogs to shepherd their people. But with the large population of aging sheep or sheep leaving small pastures for larger ones or sheep who've stopped grazing altogether, or worse, lambs who have never been brought to the pasture at all, shepherds find themselves the ones scattered and sometimes even destroyed. We hear this is the new normal of the post Christian era and that our decline is a done deal and nothing short of the second coming will restore the church to its former position of prominence. But then maybe this is just the time that is surely coming, when a post Christian age allows shepherds and sheep to see Christ raised again to the only prominent position that counts. “We preach Christ crucified,” is how the apostle Paul said it. Martin Luther offering advice to a fellow shepherd said it this way. My dear Friar, learn Christ and him crucified. Learn to praise him and, despairing of yourself, say, 'Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, just as I am your sin." Christ the King crucified, the shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, is the righteous Branch who executes justice and righteousness by virtue of his suffering and death on the cross in every age, no matter what we call it. Perhaps the word that Jeremiah had for the sheep of his day might be the word needed for shepherds of today. Do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed. I am your Shepherd. Take a day off.

Pentecost 26 C - Luke 21:5-19

Luke 21:5-19

I am grateful for the attention National Public Radio and others have given Kyrie or the “Church in a Pub” that is supported by Calvary Lutheran and Trinity Lutheran but I think the headline “To Stave Off Decline, Churches Attract New Members With Beer” is misleading. First of all decline is nothing new to Christianity as times of decline and subsequent revival are the reality for both the individual and the collective experience of the faith. Secondly using beer to connect people with Bible will not stave off anything as humans tend to have short attention spans for all things secular and spiritual. And lastly none of it matters when one considers these words of Jesus. The temple was the center of the universe, the footstool of God, so that “not one stone left upon another” was beyond the ability of his disciples to understand or accept. What if our physical expression of the faith, seemingly as solid as the ancient temple, is just as temporary? Don’t get me wrong. The institution of church, like the temple, has done marvelous things and I would not be where I am without the gift of Lutheran church and school and seminary. More importantly the message of Christianity mobilized into mission continues to live out the vision of God to make the present look more like the forever future. But if we think the present structures are permanent we have missed the point.

Pentecost 26 C - 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Ouch! Paul is not pulling any punches. Get to work you busybodies otherwise you are going on the idleness diet and you’ll lose more than a few pounds, I promise you. It should be of some comfort to the church of our time that the church of Paul’s time, which included at least a few charter members of the resurrection, had to deal with conflicts. And not just doctrinal disputes but practical matters which in many ways are more difficult to deal with. The good news is that the idleness conflict did not destroy the Thessalonians which is the reason the church of today is still around to deal with its own version of "brothers and sisters let us not grow weary in doing what is right."

Pentecost 26 C - Psalm 98

Psalm 98
Seas roaring and floods clapping are not such joyful images in light of Typhoon Haiyan which might also cause one to question how the steadfast love and faithfulness of the Lord to ancient Israel is understood in the Philippines today. Of course psalms are poetic songs and take liberties with literal images. Even so roaring seas and clapping floods are best experienced from a safe distance. But then David wants his song to celebrate the awesome power of the Almighty and hills singing (i.e. earthquakes) and seas roaring and floods clapping are the best way he can describe the unrestrained might of the Almighty. But this is where the image falls short because the sea doesn't give a damn who it sweeps away into oblivion leaving sorrow and suffering in its wake. There is no equity in the random nature of natural destructive forces as the innocent are just as likely to die as the deserving. And David could not understand God’s faithfulness and steadfast love for Israel apart from David’s victory over Israel’s enemies and in that sense David didn't give a damn for anyone outside of his own kingdom. But in the end it was God who was swept away by the flood as the seas roared crucify and the hills clapped at the sight of his suffering even though their celebration was short lived for when Jesus rose above the storm of death a new song was sung. And the way we sing the new song is to help those who suffer and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) ELCA Disaster Response

Pentecost 26 C - Malachi 4:1-2a

Malachi 4:1-2

Ouch! These are not the sort of scriptures I like to read and while as a Lutheran I think I can apply the balm of Paul to the burn of Malachi the truth is there is a limit to God’s grace. Before you brand me a Baptist (I apologize for that reference but I couldn't resist the three b’s in that sentence) let me hasten to add that the limit to God’s grace is our free will which in a weird way is the ultimate expression of God’s grace. That means God is gracious only so far as we will allow God to be so. The arrogance of evil doers is that they create a world in their own image and even the “saved by grace” apostle Paul observes “as you sow so shall you reap”. (Galatians 6:7) You can’t plant weeds and expect to harvest wheat. The trouble is those who revere God’s name live in the same field as the wicked who consistently sow woe. The promise of healing wings is a shield from consuming fire for those who are troubled in the world of the wicked. In the meantime we who revere the name of the Lord are called to work against the ways of arrogance or at the very least not participate in them because you cannot revere the name of the One who did not consider equality with God something to exploit (Philippians 2:6) while you are trying to sit on God’s throne.

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