Sermon: Pentecost 9, Luke 11:1-13

                                                                            Pentecost 9: Luke 11:1-13

We are approaching the middle of summer and things have, in the lives, of many, slowed down. Vacations are taken, more time is afforded for relaxation, and necessary revitalization. Summer has traditionally been a time to take much needed rest; for we live in what seems to be an increasingly busy world. Work and careers occupy a significant amount of attention. It has been commented by some sociologists that for  the average twenty-first century North American  working adult, career has become the primary mode of identification. In other words, a person has become less likely to identify themselves as a mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife as they are a physician, lawyer, teacher, realtor or computer programmer. As we have become increasingly identified with what we do, other important aspects of our lives have been defined by busyness and activity. How many families are defined increasingly by enrollment in programs. How much family life has been defined by schedules? How many single people find themselves moving from activity to activity to avoid loneliness and to stay active. To do what we are doing her today is becoming increasingly counter-cultural.

            To honour the  Sabbath, and to come together to worship God as a community is to cut against the grain of what this culture and society is telling us, which is to stay busy.  But in all of this business how easy it is for the Christian to lose sight of the fundamental truth, she or he holds to. In all of this business how easy it is for the Christian to forget who is ultimately in charge. How easy  and tempting it is to forget prayer. Prayer is absolutely fundamental to the life of a Christian, yet how often  prayer is neglected? How often Christians view prayer as something to get over with, or something that has to be done—alongside mowing the lawn, taking out the garbage, or walking the dog? How sad it is that Christians view prayer as a work which we undertake to keep God happy, kind of like doing your homework just to make sure your parents don’t get angry. How very sad. But this sad reality, is, when we are truly honest with ourselves, a reality for most Christians during their walk of faith.

We must remember that while the Christian is justified before the eyes of God--that is made right in the eyes of God--the Christian is also a sinner who rebels against God. And in the mind of a sinner, prayer, is, at best, a way of keeping God placated —a way of making sure God isn’t angry.  But this has nothing to do with reverence. This is all about appeasement. When the angry God is kept away, the sinner can be in charge, and get on with things. At worst  the sinner conceives of prayer as a  silly waste of time, which gets in the way of other important activities.

But to the saint,  who is justified in the eyes of God, prayer is  a lifeline, prayer is food for the soul, prayer is foundational, and is not simply the business of pastors, as some would like and wish to think. All Christians stand equally before a good and gracious God, and no priestly mediator is required. All Christians are priests and fit to speak to God directly, and to hear God directly. But some don’t feel this way. Some feel unworthy  and too sinful to come to God in prayer.  Martin Luther spoke extensively on this topic; for before the Gospel had been revealed to him, Luther himself felt this way, much of the time.  Luther’s pastoral advice is clear: “If you want to be cured of sin, you must not run away from God, but you must run to Him and pray more confidently than you would if bodily need had overtaken you. God is not hostile to sinners but only to unbelievers, that is, to those who do not recognize and lament their sin and seek help against it from God but in their own presumption want to purify themselves, do not want to be in need of His grace, and do not want to let Him be a God who gives to everyone and takes nothing in return.” 

Another problem some encounter with prayer is the feeling that only prayers of adoration and praise are acceptable to God—and that anything else is dishonorable and disrespectful. But if we scan through our Bibles, especially, the Psalms, we see that laments, or prayers of complaint, are perfectly acceptable forms.   We have heard that in the passion narrative. Jesus quoted Psalm 22 on the cross with the words  with which may of you are familiar: “ Father, why have you forsaken me?”

Sometimes we have to ask the tough questions of God over and over and over, before we are given a clear answer. Persistence, like complaint, is not something we should shy away from; for to truly love God is to be totally honest with God. In today’s Old Testament reading we hear about Abraham literally bargaining with God, how bold and audacious is that? He actually managed to get God to change His mind.  But Jesus tells us, “ Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.: Sometimes we have to knock with some persistence, bang, as a matter of fact, for that door to be open.

Deep in our hearts we all hunger for the door to be open, to be connected to God at fundamental level. The impulse to pray comes from deep within our souls, deep within hungry souls which need to be fed with the food of God. The disciples of Jesus were a hungry bunch who encountered in Jesus, a person the likes of which they had never encountered before.. They would never have encountered someone whose life was so utterly dedicated to obeying the heavenly will of the Father. And a central part of that obedience was a life of prayer. Today’s gospel lesson begins with Jesus praying, and in the prayer life of Jesus the disciples would have witnessed the close and intimate encounter between Jesus and his Father. Seeing that encounter would  have stirred the hunger which filled their hearts—their hunger for God.  Then they asked him, asked him how to be feed some of that soul nourishing food. They asked Jesus to show them how to pray. And  that is exactly what he did—he taught them the prayer and gave them the food. The prayer he taught those disciples has come down to us. It is known as the Lord’s prayer. We say it every Sunday. Most of us have memorized it. Unfortunately some only recite it, without a sense for its greatness.

Martin Luther never tired of speaking about the Lord’s prayer “ The Lord’s Prayer,” he said, “ is a prayer above all prayers, the greatest of all prayers, which has been taught by the greatest master of all, in which all spiritual and bodily trouble is comprehended and which is the strongest consolation in all temptations, tribulations, and in the last hour.”  In this hurry up, and busy world, the Lord’s prayer brings us into communion with God in a very special way; for it is the way which God himself intended. And God intended us to come to him with our deepest needs—not as shy, humble, applicants—but as bold door knockers. When we acknowledge that God is our holy heavenly father whose name is hallowed, and bid that his kingdom come in its fullness, we can  state, “ Give us today our daily bread,” without even saying please. No please is required for the deliverance  from temptation and evil, either. How bold is that?  It may seem bold, but this is what God has commanded us to do, to pray to him with bold confidence, because that is the kind of relationship God wants to have with us-- one in which we can approach him, without being afraid and without doubt. Martin Luther was big on prayer, especially spontaneous prayer. However, he valued the Lord’s Prayer above all prayers we ourselves can offer. Luther writes, “ He puts into our mouths the very manner and matter of the prayer which He wants to offer, that we may see how heartily He is concerned about our need and may never doubt that this prayer is pleasing to Him and will certainly be answered. This is surely a great advantage the Lord’s prayer has over all other prayers which we may compose ourselves. For in them, the conscience might ever be in doubt and say: I have prayed, but who knows How it pleases Him or whether I have hit upon the proper proportions and manner? Therefore no nobler prayer can be found on earth than the Lord’s prayer, which we pray daily; for it is clear testimony that God loves to hear. We should not surrender it for the riches of the world.”

Indeed, not for the riches of the world should one word of the Lord’s prayer be surrendered; for in it we find evidence of God’s love for us. God wants the best for us. When  we sincerely ask God for what we need, we will not be disappointed. Our Lord tells us today, that when we ask for a fish, we will not be given a snake. When the world, which is filled with evil people, knows how to give good gifts, how much greater will the gifts of a good God be?

Some people have a hard time with prayer, because they feel unworthy, or that God must be too busy for them. Believing that prayer is just for holy people, they shy away from prayer, pray minimally, or don’t pray at all. The idea that you are not good enough to pray is a Satanic lie intended to keep you away from this life giving relationship—a relationship built on bold trust.  A few years ago the Canadian government, recognizing the poor physical condition many Canadians found themselves in developed a program to encourage physical exercise. It was called Participaction.  The motto of  Participaction was  “ Don’t just think about it, do it, do it, do it.” I think this motto also applies very well to prayer life. Get those prayer muscles limber and working.  Let us do as Jesus has taught us to do—take our needs to our heavenly Father in bold trust and confidence. When we pray in bold trust and confidence, God receives us as God has made us—as His precious children. Now may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon: Pentecost 8, Luke 10:1-11

Perhaps nowhere in scripture are we given such a clear and comprehensive summary of the work of Jesus Christ than we are given in today’s epistle reading.  To the question “ Who is Jesus?” Paul gives the unequivocal answer: Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all creation. He is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead. In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Through Jesus Christ, our sins have been forgiven. Through Jesus Christ, we, who were once estranged, have been reconciled to God. Through Jesus Christ, the Gospel, the good news, has been proclaimed to every creature.  Through Jesus Christ, God has transformed our weeping into a joy and has promised us eternal life. Jesus Christ is the foundation of our lives, and the hope upon which every hope rests. We hear this  truth proclaimed to us each week though the Word. We taste this promise proclaimed to us through the sacrament of Holy Communion. We read this promise spoken to us in our devotional reading.

Yet still, we are distracted—distracted by things which really ought not claim are attention the way they do. Keeping the better part front and centre has never, nor will it ever, be easy. The sinner within us is easily pulled off track and distracted. The sinner is so easily pulled off track because the sinner wants to be anywhere but on track, at least on the track of Jesus. The sinner has a self interested agenda of self-fulfillment, and finding it his or her own way, on his or her own terms.  There are all kinds of interesting philosophies out there which seem to hold promise, but really, in the final analysis promise only to distract us from true promise of the right path—the path of faith in Jesus Christ. There is a whole multitude of people who once professed faith in Jesus Christ who have turned away to explore other enticing options. Yes, there is a tremendous spiritual hunger in the western world, and in this city. There  countless books bought and read concerning the latest New Age philosophy.  But underlying this desire for deeper meaning is a predominant “anywhere but Jesus” attitude—at least the Jesus of Christianity. Some of you who peruse the local coffee shops along Dunbar may have noticed a poster advertising  instructions in Gnosticism. It’s a heresy, and it’s teachings are a vary serious distraction from the Gospel. But distractions don’t have to be that serious to become a problem.

In today’s gospel lesson we encounter the sisters Mary and Martha during a visit by Jesus. Martha is very busy, very busy taking care of a lot of different things. In fact, she is doing a lot of the work—in her mind all of the work. It is not difficult to picture her is it? Many can relate to her experience, relate to those times when many guests were over, and there just were not enough hands to do the work. Many can relate to those times when a very important guest was over and things had to be just so, just perfect—up to the standards of a modern Martha, Martha Stewart. How many times have we sought to make everything perfect, just so that we look good in the eyes of another—just so we can escape the bad ratings of judgmental people. Just imagine how Martha felt with Jesus there. The son of God himself, was sitting in her living room, and pleasing him must have seemed the most important thing in the world. But  in her desire to make that perfect meal—to please Jesus—she actually lost sight of him, was ignoring him, was shutting him out.  Her agenda really  wasn’t about pleasing Jesus at all. It was about looking good. She lost sight of what true devotion to Jesus meant. How easy that is to do. How easy is it to lose sight of Jesus. How easy it is for a church which has pledged devotion to Jesus, to forget about the mission of Jesus, and get caught up in a whole lot of detail and worry. So much precious time has been taken up in the contemporary church  by so much worry—so much distraction.

Last week, this congregation lost one of its pillars Betty Gjertsen. Betty  may be departed from our midst, but she leaved behind a powerful witness, a witness of devotion,  an understanding that Jesus is all we need. Betty understood the better part, and the better part is the naked promise of the empty cross, and the faith into which Christians are baptized. The Gospel is God’s Word made Flesh, the Good News, which penetrates the dark veil of past and contemporary reality. This better part speaks to you in the here and now, just as it spoke to Mary two thousand years ago. The better part makes everything right. No bad news can tear down this good news—the promise made to us through Jesus Christ. So regardless of the difficulties and challenges you may have faced, regardless of the tragedies which you may have endured, and the obstacles which might be in front of you, the promise made to you is everlasting, and cannot be revoked. So when the waters get rough, cling to the promise, when the earth moves and shakes, grab hold of  the promise. When the waters rise, hold your head high and keep your eyes fixed, fixed on that empty cross which stands in the distance. When we find ourselves distracted, we need to go back. We need to repent,  turn away from our self-defined agendas, and fix our vision on Jesus—for it is only through him that hope exists, and true love is made possible. Now, may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

DUNBAR LUTHERAN LOSES LONG-TIME MEMBER

It is with sadness that we announce that Betty Gjertsen, long time member of Dunbar Lutheran Church, died on Tuesday. Betty has been a member and enthusiastically involved with this congregation for more than fifty years. She loved her Lord dearly, and now rests peacefully in His arms. We will miss her greatly; yet,  we will cherish the great gift of faith which blossomed in her heart and which she shared so abundantly. Dunbar Lutheran will be hosting her memorial at Granville Chapel, located at 43rd and Granville, on Tuesday, July 20th. Pastor Thomas will be presiding.

Pentecost 6 Sermon

Pentecost 6: Luke 10:1-11

It has been commented by more than a few people that now is not an easy time to be the church in Canada. Dwindling numbers, divisive arguments, the dominance of a secular humanist ethic in western society have  dealt serious blows to an institution which once stood at the centre of society. Over the course of the last fifty years, the Christian church has slowly but surely been pushed to the periphery. For some, the drop in numbers, and the seeming irrelevance to popular culture is a cause for despair. For some in the mainline denominations it is an occasion for panic, a call to restructuring, and  a desperate search for a new and better method for drawing people back into the pew, of putting the Christian Church back at the centre of Canadian society. But I would invite those who are panicking and desperately searching to reconsider, to view things from a different perspective—the perspective of God’s mission, the perspective embodied in today’s gospel lesson. For it is in these words we hear God’s Word of reassurance. In these words we find direction.

            Notice, first of all, what these words do not say. They do not say anything about church growth. They say nothing about financial strength or weakness. They say nothing about how to be relevant to  the dominant culture or how to be more popular to draw more people in. They say nothing about compromising or conceding to the surrounding society.

            Yes the specific words spoken by Jesus were directed to a specific people in a specific time and place, but the heart of those words is directed to us. What these words do give us, what they provide for us is a direction for mission-- Christ’s mission. And Christ’s mission will be a costly mission, because to follow Christ is to follow the path of costly discipleship, and a path of costly discipleship will, by its very definition, neither be easy or popular.  Jesus tells us this plainly. He tells us that the  “laborers are few”; he also tells us that he is sending his disciples as lambs into the midst of wolves”. Jesus gives his disciples a hard and realistic view of what discipleship entails, and nowhere in this does he mention  entertainment.

Many people today want that. They want  just to be entertained. So they move from church to church seeking a brand which will entertain them more.  Some congregations work hard at keeping people entertained because they know that when the product is no longer entertaining, people might leave—might go elsewhere.  Congregations focus on what will keep people amused, get and keep people in the building, and hope that somewhere in the process God’s Word will come across. But sisters and brothers. this is not the kind of discipleship to which Jesus calls us. Discipleship is  about proclaiming the Word of God in action, not conceding more and more to the “mc-culture” world we find ourselves in.  The Word of God is  Jesus Christ. We are called to proclaim that Word through who we are. We are called to do that in this time and place. We are called to do that individually and collectively. Whether you realize it or not, you have been sent. All Christians have been sent, sent to proclaim.

            And as we do that what we say will not be popular. The God we confess, the values we hold to will be attacked or belittled.  Out of fear of being labeled as a religious fanatic, we will be tempted to back off, and simply not say anything. Religion, some argue, is strictly a private matter, and ought not to be spoken about in polite company. So we are tempted to remain quiet. But silence speaks volumes as quietism prevails. Yes, how we speak is very important, how we proclaim is essential.  Self-righteous arrogance should never be a part of  our witness. A good piece of advice in this area was spoken by a famous theologian who said: “ Preach the Gospel wherever you go, if necessary use words.” In other words walk the walk when you talk the talk. But let us always and everywhere be prepared to confess out Lord.

How sad and pathetic it is that some Christians can more easily put on a sports Jersey and proclaim their loyalty to a professional sports team than proclaim Christ.  How tragic it is that Christians, historically have placed national and cultural loyalty above loyalty to Christ.  How truly  incomprehensible it is that Christians have worshipped money. How unbelievable it is that Christians look to secular teaching and ideologies for moral guidance rather than the plain teaching of scripture. But Paul tells us today—warns us, as a matter of fact, that God is not mocked. If we sow to our own flesh we will reap corruption from the flesh. In other words, if we invest our faith in the worldly—that which fades, diminishes and dies—it stands to reason that our souls will follow.

            Yes, the church is on the periphery, on the outside of this society—we cannot deny this anymore. But this is not a bad place. In fact it is a very good place, a very good place because when the church is relatively unpopular, it doesn’t have to worry about pleasing people.  When the church doesn’t have to worry about people pleasing, it can focus on God pleasing. When it is focused on God-pleasing it is focused on Christ’s mission. History proves this. When the church is at the centre. When the church  is accepted by the vast majority. When the church ceases to offend. When the church concedes and becomes indistinguishable from the surrounding culture, the church is in trouble—maybe not financially, maybe not in terms of popularity, but in the most important way of all---in the eyes of God.  Consider the following example, and its one I have referred to a few times. In Nazi Germany, the vast majority of protestant churchmen supported Adolf Hitler, either passively or actively. Bishops believed him to be a great conservative force in German life and society. Some thought otherwise. The Confessing church refused to go along, and its members suffered. But as we look back we realize that they were the ones who were standing up for Christ, and witnessing to the love of God in Word and Deed. But how tempting it must have been to go along with popular opinion at the time.  How tempting it is now—how tempting it is to water down the confession which has been passed down  us from the Aspotles.  How tempting it is to raise worldly goals above Christ’s missional call.

            But mission is not something we do. Mission is who we are. In this time and in this place we, as a congregation, are called into mission. So let us never cease in asking this question as a community and as individuals: What is our mission now? What is God calling us to in this community and in the world? Jesus tells us that the harvest is plentiful. The harvest of need in this community is plentiful. It may not seem that way but it is. We are, as you know, a small congregation, and small congregations can worry, worry about survival, worry about growth. But there is no need to worry; for Jesus tells us that our names are written in heaven. So let us not worry about all of those things the world tells us that we should be worrying about. Let us instead focus on what Jesus has told us to do. Because, in the final analysis, there is no choice. This congregation must do as it has been commanded to do, which is to proclaim the Kingdom of God in Word and deed, and do sot faithfully. Simply surviving for the sake of survival cannot be an option. Jesus provides no room for that.

            On Pentecost Sunday, over two thousand years ago, Jesus, the risen and ascended Lord established his church on earth. To this Church he gave his gifts of Word and Sacraments, so that sins might be forgiven, eternal life given, so that lives have been transformed. You, sisters and brothers have been given that gift by Grace, and it comes to you through faith. Jesus  has given you such a  precious gift, but it is a gift which is meant to be shared through bold proclamation. Jesus has sent us out to do this, so let us do this, trusting in the Lord who has sent us. Now , may the peace which surpases all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.