Advent 3: Matthew 11:2-11

John the Baptist was a courageous man, undoubtedly one of the most courageous figures in the biblical narrative. John was the voice in the wilderness who proclaimed the coming of the messiah. John was the voice in the wilderness who denounced sin and corruption. John was the voice in the wilderness who called all to repentance—back to truth faith, back to true obedience to the God of  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As you might imagine, John’s bold proclamation and uncompromising denunciation got him into some trouble. A target of his campaign was one of the biggest targets you could think of—King Herod himself, a man whom John charged with the sin of sexual immorality. John was imprisoned as a consequence, locked up, and shut away. Now John was  brave, he was courageous, but he wasn’t superman, much less was he divine. He was a prophet, but he was a man, a man with a heart for God, but still a man. And as a man he would have been afraid, alone, and doubtful. As he sat in prison John had evidently heard that Jesus was active, active and drawing attention. John had proclaimed the Messiah’s coming. Now he questioned, “ was this really the Messiah?” “ Was Jesus the anointed one?” The promised one who would save Israel and all of humanity?” Was Jesus really the one or was there a other on its way.  Historians tell us that there were around this time  many men who claimed to be the Messiah. There were many who came, and many who dissapiinted.  John wondered if Jesus was yet another one of these. He undoubtedly stood by his proclamation that the Messiah was coming, but was it jesus? Or was the true Messiah still to come? Was Jesus the real deal or a pretender? Was Jesus the prophesized one, or a well meaning, but deluded, impersonator? Was Jesus Christ truly Immanuel “ God With us”, or a hopeful projection of the imaginations of those around him?

            These would have been the questions which filled John’s heart. So he sent his disciples to conduct an investigation to see if Jesus was truly the Messiah.

            While we are separated by John’s experience by more than two thousand years, that question still remains. Was Jesus the Messiah? Some even ask if Jesus really existed? Did Jesus do what the scriptures record him having done? Was Jesus truly resurrected? Or is this the product of human imagination? Is Jesus truly present in the world and in my life, or is this all a made-up story? Is Jesus really coming again, or should we be investing our hope, and our faith in something else something different, some new idea.

            Many people in this part of the world have chosen that path. Having been raised in the church, having professed faith in Jesus they have turned to other sources, have followed other paths. Secular humanism has emerged as the growing and dominant religion in North America.  Gathering to hear the words of Judeo-Christian scripture is for many people these days a strange, and archaic practice, best suited to an earlier, less enlightened age.

            Christian apologetics offers a compelling case for the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy in Jesus. External historical sources like Josephus, the Jewish historian, validate that there was in fact a man named Jesus who had a substantial following. I would encourage you to read Lee Strobel’s work, A Case for Christ. Strobel was an agnostict who set out to disprove the claims of scripture, and like CS Lewis, so many years before, ended up converted to Christianity. Strobel, a man of logic, concluded, that the probability that Jesus was any one other than the Messiah foretold by Old Testament prophecy was infinitesimally low.  In other words, Jesus fulfilled so many Old Testament prophecy that any reasonable, logical, person could not conclude that he was any one other than who scripture proclaims him to be.  Strobel found the answer to his most scientific question.

            John the Baptist, sitting in that dark prison cell, asked the same question, but it wasn’t a scientific one. It was a direct question, a question posed to the man himself, to Jesus himself: “ Are you the one who is to come, or are we to await for another?”

            This wasn’t an academic question. John was in prison. He had invested his whole being in the proclamation of the coming messiah. And now he needed to know, hungered to know right down to the very depth of his soul “ Was this the one?”

            Jesus, knew the hearts of men, knew what they hungered for in the bellies of their souls. He knew what John needed to know. John needed to know that the prophecy had been fulfilled. This knowledge would not be given to him in the form of a thick binder, an extensive report, detailing the many and various ways which Jesus had fulfilled the requirements of Messiaship. Jesus passed along one sentence: “ Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the leapers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”  Jesus referred the disciples of John back to their own witness. This begs the question: “Couldn’t they have told John themselves? Did Jesus really have to tell them?”

            The answer to this question is “yes”. Jesus was a healer. This was something John’s disciples would have seen for themselves. But what they may not have seen, realized, and appreciated was what this healing meant. It meant the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy which we have heard today. God’s kingdom was going to be established. The Messiah had arrived to bring in God’s kingdom of love, compassion, and healing. John, upon hearing the words of Jesus, would no longer have had any doubts. He would have known that Jesus was the real deal, that the Glory of the Lord had taken on flesh.

            But many still ask and question: Is Jesus really the one? And as was the case with John the Baptist, this isn’t a scientific question—it’s a question which burns deep within the human heart. Deep within the human heart there is a hunger for that place of peace, that place of healing, that place where death and suffering is no longer a reality. How do we know that this comes through Jesus?

            The answer we are given is the same one that John’s disciple was given: ”Tell what you have seen and hear”. The healing work of Jesus was not hidden from those disciples of John then, and the healing work of Jesus is not hidden now, if only we see it through the eyes of faith. Yes. There is much pain and difficulty in the world. But there is also much healing, healing which stands as a testimony to God’s work in the world. And when we experience or see a healing—and I speak here not necessarily even what we might consider a miraculous healing—we can  draw one of two conclusions. We can conclude that it was the result of natural processes, and the skill and ability of a medical practitioner. Or we can say that there was an intention behind it, something, beyond scientific understanding. That intention is the intention of the ultimate being. It is a sign of God for us. It is testimony of Christ’s work in the world. But there is a deeper level of healing  even than the physical—a kind of healing which escapes scientific explanation and dismissal. This is spiritual healing—spiritual healing effected  by the forgiveness of sin, and the bestowal of eternal life, and ultimate hope. This kind of spiritual healing is witnessed to, attested to, by many, many people—even by people who are not physically healed, even by people whose lives are drawing to a close. I have witnessed this many times in the course of ministry—that inexplicable peace which comes at what the world says is the darkest moment. This is the light which shines in the darkness and cannot be extinguished. Jesus Christ is God for us—the God who gives, sustains, and restores life, so that life may be had in abundance. This is God’s will for all people, and not just those who come to church on Sunday. Wherever there is healing and love, there is Christ—there is evidence of the presence of God, evidence of God’s loving will for the world. God has done something for all people, and he has done it through Jesus Christ.  This is the good news of the gospel. This is what we celebrate today.

            God has promised a new reality, the highway which leads to it is the Holy Way. It may not come tomorrow or the day after, or even in the next few years. But it is coming. When John the Baptist knew that Jesus was the Messiah, imagine what he had felt, imagine the comfort he would have received—even as he sat within a prison cell. He could not change the physical reality, but the spiritual reality was quite a different matter, because John could rest in the assurance that what he said meant something. His proclamation meant something. Our proclamation means something, even at times when we doubt that it is being heard—heard by a world which is so preoccupied.  The Apostle James offers counsel to first century Christians who were probably assailed with many doubts, and who were anxious to say that great promised day arrive. Patience, he tells them. The day is coming, the kingdom will arrive in its fullness. But be patient, just as the prophets were patient. Just as John was patient. John could be patient because he heard the good news. You have heard the good news. We as a community can celebrate the good news, and  are called to share it with the whole world. Now may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Historical Resurrection of Christ? NT Wright responds (HD)

Sermon: Advent 2

Matthew 3:1-12

Over the course of  the last couple of weeks, the eyes of the world have been fixed on  the two Koreas. Fifty years ago, the people, divided by ideology, and supported by opposing super-powers went to war. That war saw no decisive victor, but saw a people divided. South Korea  moved along a path of industrial development and capitalism. North Korea has remained sternly, and uncompromisingly communist. North Korea is supported by China, but is very much isolated from the rest of the world. Two weeks ago, North Korea’s threatening potential manifested as hostile action—action which is doubly ominous when talk about nuclear potential abounds. When we hear this, we know that the threat which hung over the world for more than forty years, and defined the Cold War, has not disappeared. In some ways, the fear is greater, because there has been a lot of talk about terrorist organizations and rogue states like North Korea and Iran harnessing nuclear potential.  The threat of war remains.

            But then again, the threat of war has always been around. Peace between people has been transient.  And this fact has led at least one philosopher to comment that war is humanity’s normal state of being, and that peace is the exception.

            Peace has been a rare, exceptional commodity for the world. But the world is not at peace. Human hearts are not at peace. Somewhere there is war. Somewhere there is violence. Somewhere a threat looms over the innocent.

            Where is lasting peace to be found? It is to be found in one place—in the promise  which God has made to humanity.

            The story told by the Bible, the biblical narrative, is a story of God’s promise to humanity. God’s promise is not some vague word of hope—some fanciful idea. God’s promise is a concrete Word, which has played out through history, which is rooted in the unfolding of time.  It involves God making unlikely and unexpected choices.

The story began in a land we now call the near east, or middle east, in a country we now call Iraq, many many generations ago, there lived a desert nomad.  His name was Abraham.  There was nothing exceptional or heroic about Abraham.   But Abraham would be a very special person because God made him a promise, an everlasting covenant. God made a promise that He would be Abraham’s God, and the God of Abraham’s descendents, and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his descendents. What does that mean?  What does it mean for nations to live in a state of blessedness? Well, it means exactly what you think it would mean.It means the end of  warfare; it means the end of sin; it means the end of death; it means the end of separation between God and humanity. 

This universal promise would play out in the particular. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, gave birth to a son named Isaac, Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, gave birth to Jacob and Essau, and through Leah and Racheal, Jacob would father twelve sons.  Ten of Jacob’s sons,  and two of his grandsons, would be the patriarchs of  twelve  tribes.  Collectively, these tribes would be known as Israel. Israel were the people who were called to carry out God’s promise to the world. Israel was held in captivity, in bondage, in Egypt, but would be delivered by God who appointed Moses to liberate God’s chosen people. They would be delivered, and would settle in the land of Canaan. And it would not be long before they settled in the people began to cry out for a king. And they were given a king.  Saul was the first King of Israel, and not a very good one. But it would not be from his line that the true King of Israel would emerge. The true King didn’t come from a royal line, but from a humble ordinary man, named Jesse. The King’s name was David.  David was a great King, but there was much trouble in his house brought on by his own sinfulness.  God’s great promise to humanity  made through Abraham would not be fulfilled by David—nor by his successor, Solomon. Solomon was great king, constructed a great temple, but his was also a flawed kingship. Idolatry reared its ugly head, and peace would not be realized. Soon the kingdom of Israel was divided. Ten tribes would constitute the northern kingdom, and two tribes, Judah, and Benjamin, the southern kingdom. In 700 B.C, the  Assyrians attacked and conquered the Northern Kingdom, and the ten tribes would never be heard from again.

            Within a few generations the southern kingdom would also be attacked by the Babylonians, and its people brought into captivity.

            It was in this time that the great prophet Isaiah, spoke. He spoke to a people, a people in captivity, whose hearts ached and questioned: Where is the promise? Where will God be present for us? Where is peace to be found? For it would not have seemed to any of them living in exile that God’s promise had or ever would be fulfilled. And so it is to many people today. Looking out across the landscape, it doesn’t seem likely that there will ever be lasting peace, that violence and inequality will always be a part of our reality.

 But in those difficult and dark days when the Jewish people sat in captivity, Isaiah spoke. He spoke God’s word of promise. From the dead stump of Jesse, David’s Royal line, the deliverer would come. This would be the Messiah who would make all things new. Through the Messiah a New Age would dawn in which even the violence and death which defines the natural order will be  transformed into the peaceable kingdom. All nations will be blessed in a new order of things in which suffering and oppression will be things of the past. Through this king, God’s promise to Abraham would be fulfilled and all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

            This was the Messianic promise, and in the years to come the Jewish people would hold this promise tight in their hearts. The Babylonian captivity ended and they returned to their homeland. But a few hundred years later they would be occupied by another imperial force—the Romans. The Romans held the Jewish people captivity and imposed upon them a king of Rome’s choosing—Herod. Many Jews hungered and longed for the Messiah to arrive.

            In today’s Gospel lesson we read of a man who not only anticipated the arrival of the Messiah, but boldly declared that his arrival was immanent.  John the Baptist was the voice crying out of the wilderness: “ Prepare the Way of the Lord”. The Messiah was coming and it was time to be ready.  This was a sudden, startling, assertion. The Jewish people had for a long time gone without hearing the voice of a prophet. Now the voice of the prophet  split the air, and shattered the complacency which had settled in to Jewish life and culture. But like the voice of the prophets which had come before him, John’s message was not a sugar-coated cliché that made heats feel warm and fuzzy. John denounced evil wherever it set in, and he did so without hesitation. No one or any institution was immune form his bold denunciation—not the everyday person, not the king, not the religious elite. John proclaimed a coming wrath that would be like a purifying fire which would sweep across the desert landscape. And the creatures who heard this word were sent scurrying for the shelter of Baptismal water. This included members of the religious elite—the Pharisees and Sadducces—who had arrogantly assumed that because Abraham was their ancestor, they would be spared the wrath to come. The Lord was coming, and things were going to change. The Lord was coming to rescue the poor and crush the oppressor. The Lord was coming to create reality anew. John was a true prophet because his prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus Christ came into the world, and he has established his kingdom—a kingdom which, by faith, you are made a part. The peaceable kingdom of Christ stands in the world today as testimony of God’s promise, God’s promise made to Abraham and fulfilled in Jesus. But we await the final act. It is easy to look upon the events of the world through the eyes of despair. But Christ will come again, will come again to rule for eternity. Let us be ready for that. Let us not be complacent, but ready. Let us be ready for that great day when God’s kingdom in all its fullness will be established on earth, and God’s promise, the promise he had first made to Abraham, that humble desert nomad, will be fulfilled. Now, may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Christ Be Our Light

Sermon First Sunday in Advent: 2010

Matthew 24:36-44

In the secular world, the holiday season has begun in earnest.  Shopping frenzy, Christmas Adds, seasonal music pumped through store speakers, and the round of Holiday parties will soon be in full swing. It won’t be long before  many partake in an annual office, or work, Christmas party. Many people really love work Christmas parties, and for good reason. It’s an opportunity to decompress, let your hair-down and engage in some good-old fashioned merriment amidst the green, red, and white decorations which have transformed the hum-drum of everyday work-space into  a little slice of winter wonderland.

            But in the last few years, it has come to the attention of many that while office parties can be a time for celebration, they can also be a time for trouble. Employers have traditionally sponsored office parties to give employees an opportunity to celebrate, to relax, to enjoy food and drink. But some have taken the office party as an opportunity to take things too far.  Instead of having a jolly drink or two, they get inebriated. Instead of engaging in friendly banter, they get obnoxious and insulting, and even aggressive. Instead of having a polite dance, they make inappropriate and unwanted advances to colleagues. They have taken things too far because they operate under a false impression. The false impression is that because the employer has sponsored the party, anything goes. That because the company has given its employees a few hours to make merry, it is time to take advantage of that time for selfish purposes. The false impression can lead to costly consequences—it can lead to serious embarrassment, discipline, and has even led to termination.  In recent years some employers have issued warnings in advance of the party, just to let people know that they are still at work, that the boss is still watching, that company standards still apply, that people are still accountable for their actions. And it is important that employees anticipate potential consequences.

            Now, while the secular world is beginning to enjoy the secular celebrations of Christmas with activities like office parties, the church places special emphasis on Advent as the season of anticipation. Advent celebrates two kinds of anticipation. The first is that it  remembers and celebrates Israel’s historical anticipation of the Messiah come into the world. Through our hymns and liturgy, including the lighting of the Advent wreath, we move through the space of that anticipation, leading to the Messiah’s arrival on Christmas in the form of the baby Jesus. From the perspective of that understanding, we anticipate what has already happened. But the second kind of anticipation speaks to what is going to happen, what has not yet occurred—this is the second arrival of Christ into the World. This is the anticipated event about which today’s lessons speak. These lessons contain both a marvelous vision, and an ominous warning. The marvelous vision is of reality created anew, an age of unending and everlasting peace. “They shall,” writes the prophet Isaiah, “beat their swords into plowshires, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”  The house of the Lord will be established and will be clearly visible. There will be no more death, or dying, or suffering. Christ shall reign for eternity. Jesus will preside at an unending feast when all will  be fed with God’s unending love.

            But the pathway to that new reality will not be an easy one. Scripture tells us that there will be much tribulation, and the people of God will be put through many trials. And in the midst of those trials, the people will be called on to trust in God’s promise that the new day, beyond the pain  will arrive. And God will continue to feed His people with the Word of promise. God will be faithful and steadfast. In that great and long in between-time, between the passing of the Old Age, characterized by sin and death, and suffering, and the emergence of the New Age ruled over by Christ, God will feed his people, will feed his people with food from the great eternal feast of love. During that great and long in between time, those who trust in Christ will live in the light of his promised return.

            We live in that time, brothers and sisters—the time between Christ’s great victory over Sin and Death, and his coming arrival.  Through God’s Word proclaimed, we have been fed with this promise. We have been given the gift of eternal life, and the promise of victory, even when it seems that death is triumphant. This is the greatest cause of celebration ever. This is the source of Christian freedom and confidence and joy. By forgiving our sins, God has made us part of this kingdom which will last for eternity.  This is the marvelous vision all Christians are called to proclaim.

            But what about the ominous warning? What is that all about?  In today’s Gospel Reading Jesus describes what will be a great age of complacency, and self-satisfaction, days much like those before the great flood which swept away all but Noah and his family. The complacency of the present will also be swept away. Jesus is coming to establish his rule, and this will catch many people unexpected. Just like the folks who don’t expect the boss to step in and exercise discipline at the out-of-control office party, most will be caught by surprise.  Jesus warns his followers not to be caught by surprise—not to live as if the world as it now exists will always be this way. When Christ arrives to establish his kingdom in fullness, things will not be the same. When Christ arrives the second time, he is not arriving to go to the cross. He is coming to run things according to God’s total and complete will—and there will be no room for anything which opposes God’s will. There will be no more room for the old ways of being. In today’s epistle reading Paul issues a stern “wake-up call” to the Christian community in Rome. As we read this, we have to realize that Paul does not know exact dates or times. As our Lord tells us—this knowledge is held by the Father only. But Paul knows that it is going to happen. He also knows that while each and every Christian has been internally renewed by faith, sin still has power in their lives. Sin, though ultimately defeated on the cross, still has the power to draw believers into trouble, draw believers into the worship of self, where self-satisfaction is the highest good, and where the grace of god becomes perversely characterized as a licence to sin, where God’s deep love and concern for the poor and outcast is ignored. Some of the Roman Christians were evidently having trouble understanding this, and needed a wake up call. We read what Paul said to them and we read what Paul says to us.

            We are to be ready. For Christ’s return could be at any time.  The text tells us it will be a sudden, almost intrusive entry into our reality.  And the world will be changed forever. It is quite easy to believe the idea that things will always be as they are—that the badness, the pain, the difficulty, will always be around. It is easy to get used to that idea and to live as if  the power of sin and death are ultimate—“eat drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” But this is not true. We have been shown the truth. The light of God’s victory has been shone on us, and we are called to live in that light, and to reflect that light, radiate, that light to others. We do that by putting on Christ. How do we do that? We do that by living out our baptisms. Yes, we are baptized once, but the baptismal process is a matter of a lifetime. Daily, we are called to die to ourselves, and live for Christ. Daily, we are called to put to death our selfish parts, and live anew. Daily, we are called to repent, and move away, from those ways that pull us in the direction of selfishness, and instead live according to our calling as saints. A New Age is coming, and it will arrive. But we are not disconnected from it. God is here sustaining us until that New Age arrives in its fullness. God has not left us alone. No matter how dark, how painful, how lonely: God has not left you alone. God feeds us with His Word and his spiritual food. In a moment this family of faith will participate in Holy Communion, which is the great foretaste of the Feast to come.   This meal transcends time, cuts across space. It celebrates what God has done, what God is doing, and what God is going to do. When we feast at this meal of forgiveness we are feasting in the New Age even while the Old age remains. A New day is coming, all things have been made new, Jesus will arrive. Until that day arrives, remain steadfast in faith, put on Christ, and always remember that He is with you always. Now, may the peace, which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon: 25th Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 21:5-19

In the ancient world, a world marked by architectural wonders none could rival the majesty of the temple built in Jerusalem. The temple built by Herod was awe inspiring. It was cultural and religious centerpiece of Jerusalem. But more than that; it was a Holy Place. It was a Holy place because God dwelt there. God dwelt in the inner sanctum, into which a priest could enter only once a year, on Yom Kappur, to offer a special sacrifice for the collective sins of the community. Yes, the temple was a Holy place, and that temple was held in very high esteem by the Jewish community. But as important as that temple was; the temple was not God, and the temple did not contain God, like some kind of a box.

St Stephen, the first Christian Martyr, stated this boldly, when he witnessed before the Sanhedrin, who would pronounce a death sentence upon him. He said: “The most high does not dwell in houses made with human hands.”  This statement drew anger and outrage from men who had developed an idolatrous attachment to the temple, and this statement helped bring a death sentence down upon Stephen. The temple was a human construct in which God had chosen to dwell. And as a human construct it was not immune from destruction. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus prophesizes the destruction of the temple, and this is precisely what happened. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the temple, raised it to the ground. What remains of it, is what is now referred to as the West Wall, or wailing wall. The remnant stands, and is important to the Jewish community. But it is not what it was, and does not hold the place of importance to the life of the community that the fully functioning temple did two thousand years ago.

            Who would have thought, two thousand years ago, that this architectural masterpiece could ever be destroyed? How many listening to Jesus took his prediction seriously?

            But Jesus said what he meant and he meant what he said. This was going to happen. And just as he predicted the destruction of the temple, he predicted catastrophies and disasters the likes of which the world has never seen.  All of this is to take place before Jesus Christ returns to earth to establish his kingdom for all eternity.

            The followers of Jesus naturally wanted to know when this will all take place, when the end will arrive. He did not give them a date, but instead described the  sequence of events that will follow. There will be false teachers, whose aim it is to lead the flock astray. There will be wars, rumours of wars, nation will rise against nation. There will be earthquakes and famines and plagues. Jesus made it clear that the end will not follow immediately, but history must unfold in its cataclysmic sequence.

            As we read this text the natural question which comes to mind is: When is this going to occur? When is this prophecy going to unfold?

            Texts like this are certainly open to a number of interpretations. But it is very very very, difficult to argue that this text does not encompass events which have and are currently unfolding. “Nation will rise against Nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom”. We hardly even need to point out the historical validity of this prophecy. From the time Jesus first spoke these words until now, millions and millions, and millions of human beings have died in war. Most of the death toll is a consequence of twentieth century warfare, in the two most destructive conflicts in human history. Plagues and famine continue to be realities. Secular interpreters will  see all of that as essentially random, but biblical prophecy speaks of the major events in history as moving toward something,--and that something is called the end time, or to use theological language, the eschaton. You may have also  heard the eschaton described as the day of judgment, when the  nations will stand before the righteous judgment seat of God. The Old Testament prophet, Malachi , speaks of this day in today’s first scripture reading. On that day the evil doers and the arrogant will not stand, but will stumble, and God will recreate reality anew. There will be no more doubt, no more uncertainty, no more evil, no more sin to separate humanity from God.

            God has given us a glorious vision of this future in the book of Revelation, which speaks of a New Heaven and New Earth, and a New Jerusalem—A New Jerusalem which will be different from the old one. The New One will have no temple. For there will be no need of one. God will be the temple. God will dwell amongst the people. And the people will not be subjected to pain, to death, to suffering. Every tear will be wiped from every eye.

            But before that, there will be much turmoil, and Christians will be called to witness to the truth through very difficult, painful, times. Through the difficult trials Christians will be called to stand fast to the truth which has been revealed to them. But through these difficult times Jesus has promised that his followers will not be left alone. He himself will provide the words and the wisdom. He will be the Word, which is the word of truth and of life.

            But the word of truth and life will be mocked and scorned. Those who follow Jesus will be ridiculed. The Word will not be popular, and the Christian will face tremendous pressure to renounce this Word. But against this  ultimate pressure, Christians will be called on to testify to the ultimate truth. When Christians testify, truly testify, they find out the cost of discipleship. Yes, some Christians will have to face persecution, and give an answer before formal authority. But for most of us in the west, our testimony happens in a different kind of court ; for the court in which the testimony takes place is not necessarily a formal court of law, but the court of everyday life. Our testimony as Christians  is made through what we say, but also, and mainly, through what we do, how we live our lives. And what Christians do, if they are truly following Jesus, will be hated. It will be hated because what they do cuts against the grain—cuts against the grain of a social Darwinist economic ethic of survival of the fittest, cuts against the grain of greed and exploitation and idolatry and brutality, cuts against the grain of greed and selfishness, and a “me first” way of doing things.

            As time progresses, Christians will appear more and more as the odd balls, and will attract more and more negative attention.

But do not lose hope.  The important point Jesus emphasizes is that Christians will face persecution and rejection—rejection even in their own households. The followers of Jesus will be betrayed and they will be hated. They will be hated, but they will not be left alone. Jesus will be there with them, Jesus will give them the words with which none of their opponents will be able to contradict or withstand.

Like the disciples of Jesus two thousand years ago, we would naturally want to know exact dates, exact times. But Jesus does not give that, and we are not to know that. Despite the rigorous attempts by some interpreters to figure out the exact date of the end times, this knowledge has been withheld from us—and for good reason. Clock-watching and working don’t go well together. The people Paul refers to today, the idle busibodies, had stopped working because they believed Christ’s second coming was imminent.  But God had not told them to put down their shovels because he was on his way. So let us not get focused on the question of when. But rather on the questions of where, who, and how. Where am I to do God’s work in the world? To whom I am going to proclaim the good news in word and action? And how am I going to proclaim the good news.  Clearly,  the work God has given us is the spreading of the gospel in word and action. And we must do so with God’s ultimate vision in mind. As St Paul tells us in today’s epistle reading, we must never grow weary of doing what is right—as a community and as individuals. There is no room for idleness. We must never lose sight of our true mission to the world. We must never conform ourselves to the world, at the expense of the Truth which has been given to us.  We must never allow ourselves to be led astray by false teachers who tickle our ears with the words we want to hear, but are words which contradict the Word of God, and lead us down a path of disobedience. We must never become so attached to our temples that they become God for us. Yes, this is a beautiful building, and its stained glass windows are a beautiful new addition. And many people have a fond attachment to this special place. But this building can never be an end in itself. It is a tool, a means to an end, and that end is the spreading of the Gospel and the love of neighbour. If it is not an effective tool toward that end, then, it is an idol. Know the truth, and the truth is this: No building constructed by human hands will ultimately stand—not even the greatest, grandest temple. But what will stand is the Word of God.

And that very Word is being proclaimed to us here today—in this gathered community. It is a Word of judgment, which pronounces the death of sin. It is a Word of justice which pronounces destruction on all   which opposes life and love. It is a Word of liberation, to all those oppressed by systems and tyrannys of this World. It is a Word of freedom to those held in bondage to sin. It is a Word of healing to those who are ill in mind, body, or spirit. It is the Word of life to those weighed down by the power of death.  It is the Word of empowerment, which moves the community of saints forward until that great day when God, who has done such marvelous things, will do the ultimate thing. Cling to this precious gift, and do not lose heart—for Jesus Christ is with us, Jesus Christ will feed us with his Word, Jesus will feed us with His wisdom. And his wisdom tells us that nothing or anything can separate us from the love He gives us—the love He feeds us with. God has indeed done--and is going to do--marvelous things, beyond all human imagining. So let us always and everywhere give God praise, trusting God’s Promise, and living out God’s mission to the world. Now, may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Reformation Day Sermon: 2010, John 8:31-36

 Today churches around  the globe commemorate that fateful day in history—that day when a young Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther did something which is so extraordinarily difficult to do.

Can you hear the hammer?

Listen for it?

What does that nailing signify?

That hammer signifies a stand. Martin Luther took a stand. He took a stand against the established church authority of his day, and drew his own line in the sand. But he didn’t do it to be a rebel; he didn’t do it just to be different. The stand he took when he  took a hammer and nailed 95 thesis, or 95 arguments to the Castle Church door in Wittenburg was not a matter of choice it was a matter of compulsion. Luther was compelled to do what he did on that fateful day, and was compelled to take the stand that he did in the face of church authority, and under the threat of bodily harm. What was this stand? Why was it important then? Why is it important to us here today? What compels a man to put himself at such risk?

The first and important thing we have to know about Martin Luther is that he was a sinner. He was not meek and mild. He could be crude—he could be extraordinarily rude. He was capable of dismantling his opponents with words and insults. The story of Martin Luther is very much an “in spite of  him“ story rather than “because of him” story. We tend to hear many “because of “ stories when we hear about heroic deeds. Heroes do things because of heroic character and bravery, and courage. Not so with Luther. The great work of Luther came about “in spite” of his great character flaws—and he was the first to say so.  From the perspective of faith, the story of the Lutheran Reformation, is not the story of what Martin Luther did or did not do; it was the story of what God did and is doing.

You see, God did something to Martin Luther. Like many people, Martin Luther was a driven person. When he entered holy orders as an Augustinian monk, he did so with great purpose. He was driven by a deep desire for inner peace. You see, he had not experienced much peace as a young man. His parents were very strict, very punitive. His mother lacked affection, and his father held high expectations. So Martin moved forward in life with much fear of punishment, high expectations of himself, and a desire to please others. It was like he was walking on a high-wire, and one wrong step would bring him crashing down to his death. He was constantly plagued by anxiety and depression.  That anxiety which burned within was ready to bubble over on one fateful night as the young man, then a student of law, was traveling  and got caught in a thunderstorm. To Luther, this meant only one thing—that God was angry, angry at him. To Luther, God was always angry, angry and fierce, poised to kill, and eager to punish young Luther. His life mission was, in that instant, transformed. His mission was now to please God, to be the best monk he could be. He would do that through prayer, confession, work, pilgrimage. But what Luther found that, the harder he worked, the worse he felt, the deeper his despair. And the reason for this despair lay in one question which haunted him day in and day out: How much is enough? Have I done enough to appease this angry judge who threatens to destroy my body and soul in hellfire?

Luther’s superiors were compassionate men who saw this suffering, this spiritual torment. His mentor, Johannes Von Staupitz, thought Luther might find an answer to his woes in the pages of scripture. And this is exactly what happened. It was in the pages of today’s epistle reading,  through the words of St Paul, where Luther heard it for the first time, where Luther for the first time heard the gospel—the good news. For years, Luther struggled to justify himself before God, the perfectly righteous judge.  In this passage of scripture, he was given the reason. St Paul writes that no human being will be justified in the sight of God, and that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Here for the for the first time, Luther heard that there was nothing he could do to save himself—that by his own works and effort, he was a lost and condemned sinner. Here Luther read that God’s law had pronounced a universal death sentence upon the sinner. From this passage, Luther proclaimed that we are in bondage to sin and can not free ourselves. This was the end of Luther’s effort to please God, to make God happy, to justify himself, because he saw that had no hope of doing so. He had no choice but to let go, and let himself fall fro that tightrope he had been walking on all these years.

But fall into what? He read on, and what he read was simply astounding, amazing, ground shaking, and mind altering. Luther read that he did not have to justify himself. There was only one person who ever lived a sinless life. Only that one person could ever be justified in God’s eyes—and that person is Jesus Christ. He is the only human being who ever justified himself in God’s court. To believe in him is to be freed of the death  sentence. When we believe in Him, we are justified in the sight of God. When we believe in Him, God does not look upon our sin, but the goodness of his son. Through Him, we are made heirs of the promise, and children of God. Through Christ, we are no longer enemies of God, but  beloved children and friends. This salvation, this wholeness of spirit, Luther came to realize, is the free gift of God. Works cannot earn us this love; it is God’s doing, not ours. This is the good news. This is the Gospel.  This is the only and ultimate source of liberation for humanity. As we read in today’s Gospel lesson, we read Jesus say. “ If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed”.

            This Word of life and hope is what motivated Luther to carry on the spiritual battle because when he looked around he saw—he saw people in chains, in spiritual chains, in bondage to works righteousness theology, just as he had been. And when he saw that he could not keep this good news to himself. The Gospel was the power of liberation for all of humanity, and this Word of Life needed to be proclaimed.  For Luther, this meant going to war—to  spiritual war against powers and authorities  which loved the old way of doing things. This was an intimidating prospect, but there would be no backing down, no turning away. Luther’s actions led to his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Before he had heard the gospel, Luther would have dreaded this fate as the ultimate disaster. He would have received it as the rejection of God himself. Now, he could care less. He could care less because he had heard the truth of the gospel. The Son of God had made him free and he was free indeed. With the pounding hammer, resonated the sound of liberation.

            And that sound of liberation still reaches us today. Event  though we are set apart from the Middle ages by five hundred years, that hammer, that chain breaking hammer, still has an impact. It still has an impact, because chains still need to be broken.—chains of works righteousness, chains of addiction, chains of oppression—all the chains which prevent human beings from being who they were made to be. The lessons of Luther must remain in our consciousness, because that temptation to works-righteousness, to the idea that we are saved by our own efforts, is a constant temptation. Works righteousness infects our faith-life whenever we believe that we must do this thing or that thing to earn God’s favour. Works righteousness is present in any spiritual system which prescribes a path of enlightenment and demands that it be followed—any stairway to heaven which must be climbed, or system which must be mastered.

Some might say that this reformation business is just a religious issue and doesn’t have relevance to our everyday lives. Think again. Do you ever define yourself by what you do or don’t do? Do you  ever dwell on failures—professional, personal, financial? Do you worry about the judgment of others? Do you ever despair at failing to measure up to some external standard? Does your happiness hinge on the ability to please others? Do you bemoan the fact that you aren’t the person you think you ought to be? If so, and I think it is safe to say we all can answer yes to at least one of these questions at some point in our lives, it means that we have, at one point, or another entered the same struggle as Luther—the struggle of proving ourselves worthy of being and dreading rejection. We have walked the same tight-rope.

The good news is that we need not prove anything. If we believe that God has come down to earth to free us from the power of bondage and death, we don’t have to prove anything. The Gospel has, just as it has for Luther, freed us. And when the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

But a voice whispered in Luther’s ear, and it is a voice which whispers in ours—the voice of doubt, the voice which doubts that God really has made this great and tremendous decision about us. The voice of the enemy calls us to doubt this wondrous thing God has done for us.  Luther heard the voice speak: You’re not good enough, God wouldn’t bother saving you. You have to do something to earn your salvation; this isn’t a free ride you know. There’s a lot to learn to master before you can get there. Because of all the things that have happened to you, God doesn’t care. Maybe he’s forgotten His promise. Christianity is for the holy people, you’re just too bad.

When that voice whispered in Martin Luther’s ear, he responded with some very sharp words—words I wouldn’t feel comfortable using from the pulpit. But, with these words, Luther told the devil where he could go and what he could do. Luther did so not on the basis of his own power, but by the power of the gospel. By the power of the gospel, Luther awoke each morningmade the sign of the cross upon his forehead and said, “ I am baptized”—God has given me a sign of His love, God has given me His faith.

Such faith got Luther through some very difficult times. Don’t forget, he lived in the late middle ages. Life was short and difficult. Luther was attacked spiritually, he was beset by personal tragedy, the death of children, he suffered physical ailments –yet none of that could hide the light of the gospel. In fact, that light shone brighter the darker his world became.

But humans, in their sinfulness, want to hide, smother, and extinguish the light of the Gospel, want to be in control and responsible for their own destinies. This is why the Gospel must be proclaimed again, again, and again, and be heard afresh in this time and place.  But the Gospel cannot be suppressed, and the hammer must sound whenever humans attempt to do so. The message of Liberty through Christ, and only through Christ, must be proclaimed because it is only the Son who frees humanity, to live as it was intended by its Creator.  The truth of the Gospel, is the truth which states that God is a God for you—who created you, who died for you, and has gifted you to be in relationship with God. This God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. This God is a mighty fortress. Now, may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.