All Saints Homily 2009

“You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.” I remember watching that show as a child. I especially remember when Charlie Brown finds the chewed-up red pencil, dropped by the little red-head girl, the object of his affection. He is so excited and runs to tell his friends. Then the entire crew breaks into the song, “Happiness is….”  For Charlie Brown: Happiness is a red pencil. For Snoopy: Happiness is pizza with sausage. Linus, Schroeder, and Sally each join in as they sing about the things that make them happy.

In elementary school, I remember our teacher giving us “Happiness is…” exercises. We would take our Big Chief tablet and pencil and write down the things that made us happy. We would write, “Happiness is mommy and daddy,” or “Happiness is a puppy,” or “Happiness is chocolate ice cream,” or “Happiness is the Phillies beating the Yankees.”

Happiness is desired by everyone. From ancient philosophers like Aristotle and Plato to modern psychotherapists like Freud there is agreement: all human beings seek happiness. Augustine wrote, “We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.” This raises the obvious question: What is true happiness?

Reformation Sermon

Here is the Reformation Sermon I preached two years ago. Pastor Tiews has preached the last two. I must confess it is my least favorite Sunday of the year. Of course I love the hymns and red paraments and such, but celebrating the fracturing of the Western Catholic Church is like celebrating a divorce. Perhaps we should change the paraments to purple as a call to repentance?

Anyway, we consecrated our new (antique gothic) pulpit and lectern on that Sunday in 2007.

Today we hear the voice of that great reformer, David Bowie, “Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes, turn and face the strain.” Changes, turn and face the strain. As you entered the Lord’s house this morning, your eyes were greeted with the dramatic change of this pulpit and that lectern. For some, this may be a strain. Now I’m not talking about the physical strain on your neck as you have to look up a little higher to see the pastor. And I’m not referring to the emotional strain inflicted on those who sit in the far back pews because I am now able to see them during the sermon. But I am referring to the strain that change itself places on many of us. Change forces us to adjust and reevaluate; to consider and reconsider. Even a change that is an improvement both architecturally and theologically can place a strain on us. But with the passage of time, we grow accustomed and it becomes ordinary, commonplace, and even comfortable. Before you know it, you will not be able to imagine a time when this sacred space was not graced with such glorious and fitting works of art.

It is fitting that we introduce this change on Reformation Day. After all, Reformation Day is traditionally celebrated in commemoration of a dramatic change to the Western church. For many Protestants and Lutherans (there is a difference, you know), it is occasion to celebrate the birth of a new church. We look back to October 31, 1517 when Luther dramatically nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg and, not so dramatically, sent a letter of concern to the Archbishop of Mainz. Through these initial acts of protest, Luther started the events that are known as the Reformation, thus securing the proclamation of the Gospel, which had been lost in those dark Middle Ages. With such an interpretation, Reformation Day becomes a day of triumph and victory. And all of the signs of celebration are present here today: the red paraments and processions signal festival. But we must be careful. If our view of the Reformation is one of necessary, dramatic, cataclysmic change to birth a new church, then we threaten to do violence to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Kingdom of God over hundreds of years. And we threaten to lose our own Lutheran identity established in the same.

Ghost to Most

On Sunday evening Lisa and I will join some friends at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, the home of Bob Wills, for a concert by James McMurtry and the Drive-By Truckers. Since I am on a music kick for the moment, here is a video from DBT.

Avett Brothers

Fr. Greg Alms at Incarnatus Est posted a video from the Avett Brothers. I know he has a good taste in music because he likes Springsteen…. Now I had heard their name, but never heard their music. I was impressed by that particular video and went to their website where I found this offering. Good stuff. It is worth the time. I hope you enjoy.

Festival of St. Luke 2009

By all appearances, it was not going well for Paul. It was AD 68 and he is imprisoned in Rome. He just lost his first legal hearing and knows the end of his life is at hand. He is going to be martyred. Paul knew that the time of his departure had come, but he was not in despair. He had fought the good fight and finished the race. Paul had kept the faith handed over to him by Jesus Christ. So he looked forward to the “crown of righteousness,” which the Lord would award to him by grace. So he writes to Timothy, his beloved child, and encourages him to “follow the pattern of the sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13) he had learned from Paul in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. In his second letter to him, Paul exhorts Timothy to remain faithful and work diligently in the proclamation of the Gospel. He also warns Timothy that in these last days “there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:1-6). As such, Timothy must be prepared to preach the Word of God, to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2), even though the people will “not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Paul knew what he was talking about.

Three of his closest associates have deserted him. Demas, in love with this present world, has abandoned Paul. It seems that Demas found it inconvenient to stay with the prisoner Paul and preferred to be somewhere else. So he leaves Paul in the midst of his trial. Crescens and Titus have also left Rome. Even worse, Alexander the Coppersmith did great harm to Paul, strongly opposing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Still, it appears Alexander remained in the Church and so Timothy should be careful. Paul’s warnings to Timothy about people falling away are born out of truth and experience. Even those who appeared to be devoted followers of Christ, the Way, fled Paul when persecution and hardship came to bear. Just as our Lord was abandoned at the hour of his suffering, so was Paul. Well, almost. Luke remained with him.

Today the Church honors St. Luke, the Evangelist. Early Christian testimony introduces Luke as “a native of Antioch, by profession a physician. He had become a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his [Paul's] martyrdom. Having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at the age of 84 years” (Anti-Marcionite Prologue to Luke). From the book of Acts, we know that Luke was frequently Paul’s companion on his missionary journeys and faced many and great dangers. St. Paul also mentions Luke in his letters of Philemon and Colossians. St. Luke was faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and faithful to the Apostle Paul, even to the very end. While St. Paul waited in a Roman prison for his beheading, St. Luke alone was there. It is most likely that in that prison, St. Paul continued to instruct Luke in the teachings of Jesus Christ; in the fulfillment of the prophecies in Jesus Christ; and in the mystery of Christ’s Church. Based on all accounts of their ministry together, I am sure they shared in the daily offices of prayer together as well as the Breaking of Bread, the Holy Communion. Perhaps St. Luke was even there to witness the martyrdom of St. Paul, the moment his head was severed by a Roman sword and received that crown of righteousness reserved for him by Christ His savior. Perhaps.

St. Cyril on Eucharist

I came across the following quote while reading an excellent article, “The Eucharist As Source of St. Cyril of Alexandria’s Christology” by Ellen Concannon in the latest edition of Pro Ecclesia. Her exposition of the essential relationship between Christology and Eucharist in St. Cyril’s theology is engaging. For Cyril, the life-giving Word in the Eucharist vivifies the Christian person. To separate the Word from the flesh of Christ (Nestorius) or the Eucharist destroys the grace of Christ.

“We proclaim the fleshly death of God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, we confess his return to life from the dead and his ascension into heaven when we perform in church the unbloody service, when we approach the sacramental gifts and are hallowed participants in the holy flesh and precious blood of Christ, saviour of us all.” Third Letter of Cyril to Nestorious

Trinity 18 Homily 2009

“It is for your own good.” We don’t like to hear those words because they usually mean we have to do something we don’t want to do. Our mother used those words when telling us to take our medicine or eat our vegetables. Our father used those words when we were getting punished. How is any of that for my good? Someone tells us it is for “our own good” and we become suspicious, even doubtful. How do they know what is good for me? Our free selves simply don’t like to be directed by others, even if they may know what is best. We like to make decisions for ourselves. We like to be the judge of what is good for us. We like to be in control. We don’t want someone telling us what is for our good, even when that someone is God Himself.

In our OT lesson, the question about God’s requirements for His people had just been raised. They had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years at this point, the punishment for their idolatry and disobedience at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It had been a long, difficult path, but now they were at the banks of the Jordan River, ready to inherit the land of milk and honey God had promised. They stood there with one foot in the wilderness and the other in the Promised Land, and they wanted to know God’s expectations for them. God responded with five commands for His people, all for their own good. (1)They were to fear the Lord their God, which meant to show God the highest reverence and worship. (2)They were to “walk in all His ways,” living with utmost devotion to God and acting justly. (3)They were to “love Him” or set their affections toward Him alone. (4)They were to “serve Him” with all their heart and soul, living for God in all of their daily duties and in their worship. (5)They were to “observe the Lord’s commandments,” meaning they were to keep them, obey them, fix them in their hearts and minds, and teach them constantly. All of this was for their own good. A life of total allegiance to God would benefit them. After all, the Lord God who owns the farthest reaches of the “heavens, the earth and everything in it” had set His affection and love on them. The Lord had graciously chosen their descendants and even them. Certainly, if God had graciously poured His love out to them, rescued them from Egypt, preserved them in the wilderness, and brought them to the edge of the Promised Land, then He would know what was best for them. If the Lord their God was over the highest heavens and the lowest parts of the earth, then He would know what was for their own good. Wouldn’t He be acting in their best interests?

Easy Religion

Interesting video from YouTube. Of course there are any number of churches who agree with her, as evidenced by their marketing approach, therapeutic sermons, programs, and simple, easy approach to Christian faith. In the words of Hazel Motes, “If you want to get anywheres in religion, you got to keep it sweet.” And don’t we ever try to keep it sweet for the sake of success. The video provides an excellent contrast between the religious consumer wants of the disoriented, insane modern person with the difficult path of Christian faith and discipleship.

Transforming Congregations…

Nicholas Cabasilas, a fourteenth-century Greek theologian, confessed the sacramental presence of the Lord’s Supper as ‘the most holy Body of the Lord, which really suffered the outrages, insults and blows; which was crucified and slain, which under Pontius Pilate bore such splendid witness; that Body which was mocked, scourged, spat upon, and which tasted gall. In like manner the wine has become the blood which flowed from that Body. It is that Body and Blood formed by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, which was buried, which rose again on the third day, which ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father.” Although this is from a Greek theologian, this is also a Lutheran understanding of what we receive in Holy Communion. The very Body and Blood of Christ transforming us by His grace through faith. Nicholas Cabasilas, A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy, 70 as quoted by John Stephenson, The Lord’s Supper, 43 n. 11.

St. Michael and All Angels

Today we honor St. Michael and all the angels. Only two angels are named in the canonical books of Holy Scripture: Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel, which means, “Man of God,” announced the incarnation of the Son of God to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Michael, which means, “Who is like God?” leads the continuing cosmic battle against Satan and the demonic. St. Michael’s name could not be more appropriate. “Who is like God?”

The right and true answer, of course, is no one. Yet this does not stop creatures from attempting to be like God. Satan, originally a created angel, wanted to be like God. The prophet Isaiah reports about Satan, “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Is. 14:3-4). Satan attempted to exalt himself to the place of God. So he was cast out of the heavenly presence of the Triune God. Christ then defeated him by the victory of the cross. On the Day of the Lord, Michael and the angels will defeat him once for all. Satan’s prideful attempt to “be like God” will end in his destruction.

Satan was not the only one, however, who believed he could be like God. Adam and Eve succumbed to the same temptation. Eat of the forbidden fruit, Satan whispered, and you will be like God. This sounded good to Adam and Eve, although it was against the Word of God, and so they too fell. They were cast East of Eden, out of the presence of God. Their sin brought death and judgment. Who is like God? Nobody. Still, as descendants of Adam and Eve, we often attempt to be like God. Remember, we live our lives East of Eden. We are sinners, and our sin is nothing less than making ourselves out to be like God. Whenever we place anything above God and His Word, then we make ourselves out to be like God. Whenever we selfishly love ourselves more than our neighbor, we make ourselves out to be like God. Our idolatrous hearts reveal that we are no better than Adam and Eve, or Satan. And our sin threatens to destroy us. Who is like God? Certainly not us.

Jesus Christ, of course, is not merely “like God,” but He is God. He is Immanuel, “God with us,” as announced by the Angel Gabriel. At His birth, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to me on whom his favor rests.” We just sang this song in our Divine Liturgy, giving thanks and praise to Christ for His grace, mercy and salvation. For our sin and death, Immanuel suffered death. He was destroyed for our sin so our sin would not destroy us eternally. The grave could not hold God, and Christ rose on the third day. Ascended on high, He now speaks to us, His pilgrim people East of Eden, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Rev 1:17b-18). Christ will deliver us from sin and death. He has won the victory. He has defeated Satan. In Christ, there is no destruction, but life.

So we wait with faith and hope for the Day of the Lord, when Satan will be defeated once for all. In the meantime, we must be mindful that Satan, the prince of the power of the air, prowls like a roaring lion seeking to devour. While Satan has been defeated by Christ, he still does his evil, and will do so until that Last Day. So we must be aware. We must be aware that our Lord has won the battle and still fights for us. We must be aware that our Lord Jesus Christ rules over all things and his heavenly host is on our side. He sends His angels as ministering spirits to serve us, His people. This is a great mystery, and yet a great comfort. We do not speculate or pry into the heavenly, invisible realms, however. St. Gregory said this will just make us dizzy. Yet we only know there is more than meets the eye. So we cling to Christ and His gifts in faith. For in Him we know there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can separate us from the love of God. And in the mystery of Christ’s gift of the Eucharist, we confess the heavenly realms invade our space. We join the choir of St. Michael and St. Gabriel and the myriads of the angels at the altar where Christ is in our midst, His body and His blood forgiving, nourishing, and strengthening us for the battle against our flesh and Satan. In the great mystery of the Holy Communion, we sing with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” And we look forward to the day when St. Michael and his angels, at the end of the age, will defeat the dragon, Satan, and his angels. The prideful rebellion that began before the Creation and resulted in sin, death, and chaos will on that great and terrible Day of the Lord be squashed, once for all. And on that day, solely by His grace, Christ will have made us to be like God, holy and righteous for eternity. So rejoice that your name is written in the book of life.