Serving One Another

Serving One Another

Galatians 5:13b

    The summer months have flown by and now it is just about time to start another school year.  When you think about it that way it can either be exhilarating if you just can’t wait to get started or it can be kind of a downer if you wish that you could wait a bit longer before you have to get started.  I guess it just depends on your perspective.  Usually it’s the younger students who just can’t wait to find out all the new things that are going to be happening.  The older students have learned by now that although there is the promise of some new things, the reality is that it is still school and there will be schedules and early mornings and homework and tests and all the other things that make school what it is.  It’s the same for teachers.  Getting back to a routine has its benefits.  Getting to know a new group of students can be fun.  But soon the reality sets in that there will be lessons to plan, papers to grade, and the challenge of getting students back into the routine and order of a school day.  It is exciting.  When you get to be my age, you start thinking back about the good old days.  I started adding up all the years that I have spent in Lutheran Schools as a student, teacher, parent and pastor and I came up with the fact that this is my 54^th school year in and around Lutheran Schools.  And you want to know a secret.  The beginning of a new school year is still exciting for me.

      One of the things that makes a new school year exciting is the possibility of learning new things.  You would think that after all those years, I wouldn’t have much left to learn but the truth is that I have a lot to learn.  It seems like the more you learn the more you realize that you don’t know.  One of the things that makes a new year interesting is the theme for the year.  A theme is usually chosen because it makes us think about something very important, something we can all learn.  The theme for this school year at Our Shepherd Lutheran School is “Serving One Another” taken from Galatians 5:13.  It talks about an action.  It’s an action that everyone involved with the school needs to take toward everyone else.  This theme can be understood in many ways.  We could think about serving one another as it relates to students serving other students.  That is a daily lesson that needs to be taught because the natural tendency of human beings is to want to be served.  Our human nature is selfish and we often expect others to do what we want them to do.  We need constant reminders about how sinful our human nature can be.  When you have a Scriptural admonition like the theme for the school year, you will be reminded often of the God-pleasing way to treat one another.  The same can be said when we think of students serving their teacher.  There are many opportunities each day for students to serve the needs of their teacher in the classroom.  At the same time we can also think of how teachers can serve their students.  You might say that something like that happens all the time.  It is the nature of the profession.  But there are times when caring teachers will go beyond the demands of the curriculum to serve the needs of the students.  What a wonderful example that becomes for the students when they see their teacher doing some of those little extra things that make the school experience special. 

     We can also understand this idea of serving one another when we think about the relationship between teachers.  You are all working together for the good of the students and the school.  You are all individuals with your own set of demands on your time and needs in and out of the classroom, but you are also one in Christ.  You will have many opportunities to serve one another in love as you pick one another up at the end of a difficult day, as you encourage one another as the school year goes on and as you laugh together and even cry with one another at times.

     The same could be said as you consider the important relationships that develop between parents and teachers.  Often conflicts can arise when you fail to realize that parents and teachers are all working toward the same goal.  The theme reminds you that you are here to serve one another.  It goes both ways, parents to teachers and teachers to parents. 

     At this point you might be thinking that it would be great if it only worked out that way in real life.  If you try to do it on your own, by your own strength, it would be impossible.  Your human nature would take over and you would simply look out for yourself and expect everyone to serve you.  But you have a wonderful example in Jesus who not only came into the world to be an example of service but also gave His life for all your sins, sins of selfishness and greed, sins of jealousy and pride, sins of disobedience and hatred.  He came to show us the grace of God that loves us in spite of our sins.  Through His suffering, death and resurrection, we are set free from the bonds of sin and set free to love and serve one another. 

     Our service to our Triune God becomes then our response to God’s great love.  As we see ourselves in ministry together, our over-arching goal is to serve the Lord and His purposes here on earth.  That shows itself in our service to one another in love.  By the power of the Holy Spirit that comes to us through the Word and the Sacraments, we can follow St. Paul’s admonition to the Galatian Christians when He said,
“through love serve one another.” 

     As the school year progresses, it will be our prayer that demonstrations of that service to others become part of the daily routine.  We pray that they become such a part of our daily life together that we can see God’s love growing in us and that it makes a difference in our classrooms, our school, our families and in our congregations.  Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Zion Lutheran Church

Opening Service of the 2013-14 School Year

Our Shepherd Lutheran School

August 25, 2013 

Speak My Word Faithfully

Speak My Word Faithfully

Jeremiah 23:23-29

     During the first full week in August, I had the privilege of attending two very important events.  The first was an extension class from the St. Louis Seminary titled, “Being Lutheran in a Non-Denominational Situation.”  The professor wanted us to wrestle with the question of what it means to be Lutheran and does being Lutheran matter in our world were there are so many different churches and where there are also churches that do not want to be identified with a particular denomination.  Of course the answer was ultimately that it does matter that the Lutheran Church continues to be dedicated to preaching the Word of God in its truth and purity and administering the Sacraments according to God’s command.  The Word and the Sacraments, of course, are the Means of Grace that God has given us to bring us to faith and keep us in saving faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Those important teachings are not always high priorities in many churches where the teaching has become more man-centered and less Christ-centered.  That doesn’t even take into consideration the people who have very little to do with the church at all.  Their world view is totally secular and God is not even in the picture.

      The second important event was the Regional Outreach Conference that was sponsored by Lutheran Hour Ministries.  Once again the importance of a clear message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ was the priority.  As Lutheran Christians we have a wonderful gift that we have been commissioned to share with the world around us.  Jesus, Himself, has given us the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations.  He started with a group of eleven apostles who were sent out after Easter and the Ascension and look at what they accomplished.  After many generations, the commission has been given to us.  It is not easy because the devil, the world and your own sinful nature are constantly trying to work against you to distract you from what should be your primary goal.  But that should not deter you from reaching out with the Good News of Jesus to all people, beginning right here in our own community and branching out finally to the ends of the earth. 

     Both of those special events, the seminary class and the Outreach Conference, had essentially the same theme.  It seems rather appropriate then that in the wake of those two events, the Old Testament lesson for today centers on God’s command to speak His word faithfully.  As we consider what that means for us today, may you be strengthened in your appreciation of the true Word of God and may you be moved by the Spirit to find ways in which you can share the Good News with those around you.

     In our Old Testament lesson for today, we hear the Lord speaking through the prophet Jeremiah.  That is how God communicated with His people at the time when He was establishing His covenant with them.  They did not have all of the collected Scriptures that we have today.  A prophet was one who spoke for God.  As we read the words of the book of Jeremiah, or from any of the other prophets for that matter, it is important that we remember that these are not their own words but these are the words of God.  That was one of the issues that God was addressing in these verses before us today.  He spoke about false prophets who lie and who prophesy the deceit of their own minds.  God said that their purpose is to try and get the people to forget God.  It happened many times in the past and He even mentions the times when the people of Israel turned to Baal worship.

     As long as the devil continues to tempt people with his lies and as long as there is a sinful, selfish nature in people, there will be those who try and deceive others with false prophecies that lure people away from the truth.  That is why it is so important that those who have the true word of God proclaim it faithfully.  The devil will try to get his followers to push people farther and farther from the truth.  What is happening now could be explained in verse 27 of our text, where the Lord speaks of the false prophets, “who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal?”  Instead of Baal, we could insert prosperity, self-fulfillment, or any number of other philosophies that seek to draw people away from God. 

     God has warned us about those who teach from the deceit of their own hearts.  He has put us on the alert.  At the same time, He encourages us to speak His Word faithfully and then He also gives us three word pictures to tell us why and how His Word is to be proclaimed.  The first word picture comes in the form of a question.  “What has straw in common with wheat?”  Here the dreams and deceit of the false prophets are compared to straw and the Word of the Lord is the grain.  It is the grain that is of the most benefit to us.  The grain is harvested for food.  The grain is what nourishes and sustains us not the straw.  So it is with God’s Word that nourishes and sustains our faith.  The Word of God has substance that comes from a heavenly source.  It is not merely the ramblings of human minds prompted by the devil who wants to destroy your soul.   It is from the God who loves you and sent His Son into the world to reconcile you to Himself.  It comes from the God who wants what is best for you and wants you to be with Him forever in heaven.

      The second word picture that the Lord used to describe His Word also comes in the form of a question.  “Is not My Word like a fire?”  There are many applications that you can find in this little question.  Think of what fire can do.  It can consume.  When faced with the truth of God’s Word, all of the false dreams and deceit can not stand.  They will ultimately be unmasked for what they really are and will be destroyed.  At the same time, fire can be used to refine.  When gold or silver is melted down by the heat of a fire, the impurities are separated out and rise to the top and the precious metal is purified.  Under the fire of God’s Word, the pure truth remains and the dross of dreams and deceit can be eliminated.

     I learned another lesson about what fire can do when I was in Junior High shop class.  For a quarter of the year we had metal shop and the first thing we got to make was a hammer.  We had to cut a piece of metal in the right shape and file it down and drill a hole for the handle and put threads in the hole so the handle could be screwed in.  Then the hammer head was put in an oven and exposed to tremendous heat in a process called tempering.  The hammer head that came out of the oven was different than when it went it.  It was now very hard.  The metal was strengthened by the heat.  That is how the Word of God works in you.  It strengthens you.  It strengthens your faith so that you are able to stand firm when you are attacked by those around you who would try and get you to forget about God.

     The next word picture that is presented continues the question that began with the fire and the Lord says, “Is not my word like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”  That kind of hammer would be much bigger than the one I made in shop class.  This one is big and has real power behind it.  A minister once sent a number of old books away to be rebound.  Among them was a copy of the New Testament.  When he got them back he was surprised to find that on the spine of the New Testament the book binder had only enough room to put the letters “TNT” for The New Testament.  When he thought about it, he realized that it wasn’t such a bad idea.  The New Testament and all of God’s Word are real spiritual dynamite.  It has great power.  The hammer of God’s Word keeps banging away and breaking down your defenses and excuses.  The Law shows you your sins and brings you to repentance.  But it is also there time after time to bring you the Gospel of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  You are reminded that in spite of your sins, God loves you and through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, your sins are forgiven and you are reconciled to God.  You are brought back into His loving arms where you are strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit who works in you through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments.

     That is the Word of the Lord that is to be proclaimed faithfully.  It has been given to you through those prophets and apostles whom God has chosen as His spokesmen.  It is the Word that continues to be proclaimed by faithful pastors and teachers today.  It is the Word that you need to continue to hear all throughout your life until the time when you will hear the voice of the Lord with your own ears in heaven.  Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Zion Lutheran Church

Painesville, Ohio

Wisdom, Knowledge and Joy--What More Could We Want?

Wisdom, Knowledge and Joy—What More Could We Want?” 

Ecclesiastes 2:18-26
 

     As much as the world tries to paint for us a world that is happy where no one has any real problems that can’t be overcome with the right car, the right self-help program, the right medication for all that ails you, the reality is that there are many more people who are unhappy, fearful and frustrated than there are people who know real joy.  The unhappiness is most often the result of unfulfilled expectations.  You have this ideal world in your mind of the way things ought to be but when you look at the real world you only see frustration because things aren’t the way you want them to be and there doesn’t seem to be any prospect for them to get any better and certainly not any closer to your unrealistic expectations.  That frustration could come from your job, your family, or the fear of an uncertain future.  The real cause of this unhappiness is misplaced priorities.  You are looking in the wrong place for real fulfillment and real happiness and as a result, you never find what you are looking for. 

     The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, the son of David, recognized this same kind of frustration and unhappiness in his own life and in the people of his time.  When your priorities and expectations for success and happiness are only concerned with earthly things, you are going to be disappointed.  I have to think that life in the days of Solomon, around 931 BC, was certainly not as fast paced and complicated as it is for us today.  However, there was still a frustration in the minds of people when they thought about the purpose of life.  This frustration is captured in the book of Ecclesiastes when Solomon describes most of life’s pursuits as vanity.  It is a useless show of earthly accomplishments that in the end don’t mean much at all.  It’s all vanity.  To give you an idea of what he meant, he talks about working all your life only to pass on what you accomplished to someone else.  What good is that?  What benefit is that you?  You worry about what you will accumulate to the point that you can’t even sleep at night.  All is vanity.  Such a person is only concerned with the things of this world and getting more of them.

     But even today in our busy world, the pursuit of earthly things consumes us.  The dreams of having more and more earthly things keep the lottery and now the casinos in business.  The drive for increasing profits cause businesses to find new locations with cheaper labor regardless of what it means for loyal workers.  Advertising tries to convince us that we need things so that companies can profit from our vanity.  Solomon would say, “Vanity of vanities.  All is vanity.” 

     But it’s not just out there in the world.  If you are honest with yourself, you know that it is in you as well.  Your sinful nature strives after the things of this world.  The words from the Declaration of Independence, “the pursuit of happiness” have been taken to the extreme and you hear the statement made by many people, “I don’t care what they do as long as it makes them happy.”  That kind of thinking has become the excuse for ignoring the clear word and will of God in the way that many people live their lives.  If you are only concerned with the things of this world, then that kind of thinking might seem reasonable.  If you only live for the here and now, who cares what the consequences will be of your sinful, selfish attitudes and actions!

     Again, Solomon would say, “All is vanity and striving after wind.”  For those of you who are around my age, you probably remember a song that was popular in the sixties by British singer-song writer Donovan called “Catch the Wind.”  In his frustration over a love that was beyond his reach, he wrote, “Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.”  Perhaps he was drawing his inspiration from Solomon in these passages from Ecclesiastes.  Trying to find fulfillment, true happiness and peace from earthly things is like trying to catch the wind.  You can’t do it.  It only leads to more frustration.  You keep trying but it always seems out of reach.

     But that’s not all that Solomon has to say about this.  Remember that this is Solomon, the King, the son of King David, who is writing this.  This is the same Solomon who was given the choice by God to have anything that he wanted and he chose wisdom so that he could rule his people well.  That wisdom was then shared with God’s people in the books of Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes that we have before us today.  That wisdom, as we have heard so far, teaches that striving after earthly things is vanity and a striving after wind.  On the other hand, in his wisdom, Solomon also teaches us that there are great blessings when we live to please God and do His will.  In the closing verse of this section we hear about those blessings.  “For the one who pleases Him, God has given wisdom, knowledge and joy.”  Those are wonderful gifts.  Certainly Solomon could appreciate the blessing of wisdom that God had given to him so that he could be a good king and provide peace and security to his people.  Wisdom could be described as the ability to understand and apply Godly principles to the situations that are faced throughout life but especially in critical situations.  Wisdom is able to consider all the consequences and chose the best course of action. 

     Knowledge is being in touch with the will of God.  God, who is all knowing, imparts knowledge to His people through His Word.  When you hear and study His Word, that knowledge is given to you to show you God’s will.  That knowledge also helps you to make good decisions in your life that are pleasing to God.  Combine that with the wisdom that comes from God and you not only know what God’s will is, you also are able to apply that knowledge in practical situations. 

     The third gift that Solomon mentioned is joy.  This is not to be confused with the fleeting joy that comes from earthly happiness.  This is a joy that comes from the Lord that finds it fullness in heaven.  It is a joy that can only be known when you are at peace with God.  For Solomon and the faithful people of Israel, that joy was found in the promise of the Messiah   They awaited the coming of the One who would bring peace with God. 

     To us who live in the New Testament era when the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior has been made known in Jesus Christ, this all takes on a more clear meaning.  God’s love for sinful mankind was demonstrated when Jesus was sent from heaven to earth to become one of us.  He kept the Law perfectly when we could not.  Not even Solomon in all his wisdom and splendor and success as a king could keep God’s Law perfectly.  But Jesus took the place of sinful mankind, He took your place under the Law, and then went to the cross as the punishment for your sins.  Just as Solomon’s idolatry with the gods of his many wives caused the downfall of the kingdom of Israel, so your sins of idolatry that lead to all kinds of other sins against God’s commands would have caused your downfall if it had not been for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  Not only did Jesus suffer and die for you, He rose again to show that the Father was pleased with His sacrifice and because He lives, you shall live also.  The Holy Spirit was then sent to give you the faith to believe and trust in Jesus alone for your eternal salvation.

      You have been reconciled to God and as a result you are given the gifts that Solomon mentions as those things that God gives to the one who pleases Him.  You are given wisdom, knowledge and joy.  Think of what that means for you now.  You have wisdom from God.  With that wisdom you can see through the deceit of the devil and his tricks.  You can see through the enticements to worldly pursuits that are laid before you all the time.  You can see how they try to pull you away from God.  By the power of the Holy Spirit you can also see how you can defend yourself against the temptations of earthly pleasures using the power that the Holy Spirit gives in the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments. 

     The Lord also gives us the knowledge of His will in His Word.  With the wisdom that He also gives, you can see how important it is to make good use of the Word through regular hearing and study of the Word throughout your life so that  you do don’t become complacent and finally ignore that knowledge altogether. 

     Finally He gives the gift of joy.  This joy comes from knowing the height and depth and breadth of God’s love.  That joy is made known in Jesus and is finally made complete for us in heaven.  That joy and the anticipation of its eternal fullness will be evident in the way you live your life and give witness to God’s great love.

     Wisdom, knowledge and joy!  What more could we want?  Amen.

 

Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
August 4, 2013