Rejoice in the Lord Always

Rejoice in the Lord Always

Philippians 4:4-7

     One of the great things about the Advent and Christmas season is the music.  Probably more music has been written that has something to do with Christmas than any other single subject.  While much of it doesn’t really say much about the real meaning of Christmas, there are still many songs and larger musical works that proclaim the coming of the Christ Child.  A word that is often used in the songs that are sung is “Rejoice.”  For the people of God there is good reason to rejoice.  You have received the gift of a Savior, a Savior who was promised by God to the first people after they had sinned.  The Savior is truly a gift of God’s love because nothing you could have done could make it possible for you to earn this great blessing.  Through Jesus your Savior, your sins are forgiven and you have the gift of eternal life.

     We sing and we celebrate.  We celebrate with special music.  Some of you may have seen the presentation of the Boar’s Head Christmas Festival at Zion last week or the annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah that takes place in a number of communities at this time of the year.  That is one of my particular favorites, not just because of the grand music but also because it proclaims Jesus to be the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Savior.  We celebrate with family get-togethers, dinners with friends and co-workers and with the giving of gifts.  Through it all we have the opportunity to give witness to the world of the Good News of Jesus.  We celebrate His coming but we can’t forget why He came into the world.  We also remember His suffering, death and resurrection that brought us back to the Father with our sins covered over by His righteousness.

     Just think about it for a minute.  At what other time of the year does the rest of the world get into a frame of mind where they at least tolerate the proclamation of the Gospel?  As much as the world tries to suppress the Gospel during the rest of the year, during Christmas time they are actually singing and using the words that Christians use.  What an opportunity for us to witness to the truth about Christmas.

     Our text however says to us, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  When the presents are opened and the wrapping paper is gone, when the parties are over for another year and when the sound of Christmas carols no longer fill the air, are you still rejoicing?  “Rejoice in the Lord always”, Paul says.  What is interesting about this passage is that it is part of a letter that Paul sent to the people of Philippi, people who were facing persecution because of their faith.  They were having a difficult time being open about their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.  Paul himself was a prisoner at the time for his work of proclaiming the Gospel.  In the midst of all those troubles, he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  Think of the lesson there is in that message for you.  Certainly you can rejoice at Christmas time but you have reason to rejoice at all times.  You can rejoice when things aren’t exactly going the way that you would like them to go.  When the flat tires and broken windows of life cause you to get down in the dumps you don’t feel much like rejoicing in the Lord.  In fact, you might be looking for someone to blame and the first candidate might just be God.  When illness or losses of various kinds plague your life you are more likely to be angry than joyful. 

     Paul was not just giving you some good words of advice when he said “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  These were words inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore you need to take them seriously.  There is good reason for you to rejoice in the Lord always.  The difficulties that you face should not surprise you.  Jesus warned His disciples that they would experience difficulties but that in all things they were to trust in the Lord.  You don’t know all of the reasons why You may have to suffer in this life but you also have the Lord’s promise that all things work together for your good.  You also have the promise that nothing can separate you from the love of God that is yours in Christ Jesus your Lord.  As you trust in the Lord’s promises, you can rejoice in the Lord always.  You know that even in your troubles, the Lord is with you.  Paul also wrote in these verses that the Lord is near.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace that passes all understanding will guard your heats and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  God is near.  He hears your prayers.  He guards your hearts and minds.  Rejoice in the Lord always.

     Before I mentioned that the Christmas season is a wonderful time for us to witness to your faith.  When you are experiencing troubles in your life, you also have the opportunity to witness to your faith, a faith in God that will strengthen and uphold you in any circumstance.  As you have opportunity, rejoice in the Lord always.  What a powerful witness that can be as people see you keeping a consistently joyful attitude toward God.  That is what Paul meant when he said, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.”  Another version uses the word “reasonableness” here.  It means that in the good times and in the challenging times of your life, you can keep an attitude of joyful gratitude to the Lord for all of His blessings.  That joyful attitude will be evident to those who know you and it will be a powerful witness of the love of God that is alive in the hearts of those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who live that life of love everyday. 

     It is that kind of witness that can touch the heart of someone who is not sure or who may have never heard about the love of God through Jesus.  You might be thinking to yourself that you have never been the kind of person who is comfortable sharing your faith with someone else.  You might be reluctant to talk about the blessings that you have through Jesus.  That kind of feeling is pretty common among Christians.  It is evidence of how the devil works to get you to clam up when the opportunity presents itself to witness to your faith.  But as I mentioned earlier, this is a great time of the year to take advantage of the fact that world is celebrating the birth of Jesus and many of them don’t even know it.  The other night on television I heard a woman say that when she was growing up she heard all of the Christmas music but really didn’t understand what it was all about. When she came to know Jesus, the songs suddenly made sense to her and the words that she had heard many times before now had a new meaning.  How many people out in the world are in the same position as that woman?  The harvest is truly ripe.  The words are being sung all the time.  The music is in air.  It is your opportunity to bring new meaning to people around you in the things you say and do.

     Obviously you can’t do this on your own.  You need the help that the Holy Spirit provides for you. God, in His wisdom, knew that human wisdom would never be enough to change people’s minds and hearts and bring them to saving faith.  He provided you with some very special gifts, not just at Christmas time but throughout the year and throughout your life.  He has given you the Holy Spirit, who works in you through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments, so that you can overcome the attacks of the devil, the world and your sinful nature, who want to drag you down and  discourage you from sharing any kind of joy in the gift of salvation that Jesus came to bring.  By that same power of the Holy Spirit, you can rejoice in the Lord always.  You can praise and thank Him for the great gift of salvation through His Son and you can give witness to the Good News of Jesus by your consistent rejoicing at all times in all circumstances.  Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say rejoice.  Amen

Rev. Gerald D. Matzke

December 13, 2015

Peace Lutheran Church

Chardon, Ohio

 

 

Which Part of the Building Are You?

Which Part of the Building Are You?

 Ephesians 2:19-22

     Have you ever paid much attention to the things that stand out when you enter someone’s house for the first time?  At this time of the year you might notice if they have air-conditioning.  I feels so nice when you first walk in on a hot day.  You might notice the color of the walls.  You might notice the furniture.  You might notice if the rooms are bright and inviting or dark and forbidding.  Think of how you would describe that house to someone.  The writers of the Bible were directed by God to use some interesting word pictures to help describe the Kingdom of God in ways that people could understand.  Jesus was the master of the parable but there are other fascinating word pictures  in other books of the Bible besides the Gospels.  Our text for today speaks of the church, the people of God, as a building.  The earlier part of our Epistle lesson addresses the fact that the church of God is made up of all kinds of people.  Originally the chosen people of God were the descendants of Abraham.  Even though God told them to welcome the stranger, in later years there were sharp divisions made between the Jews and the non-Jews or Gentiles. Is was incomprehensible to some people that God could ever include Gentiles among those who thought of themselves as the people of God.  Yet God called the Apostle Paul to be a messenger of the Gospel to Gentiles.  He rejoiced that all people could hear the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and come to faith and the hope of eternal life.

     In his letters to Gentile churches, Paul wanted to make them feel that they were just as much a part of the true church of God as were those who had been in a close relationship with God all of their lives.  That’s why he said in verse 19, “So then you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the  household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,  Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone.”  He uses the word picture of a building to describe the whole church, the people of God.  It is a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.  That word picture has some interesting implications.

     If we are all part of that building that rises up and becomes a holy temple in the Lord, as Paul said, then which part of that building are you?  Where do you fit in to this picture? A building has many parts.  Some are essential.  Some are very functional.  Some are mainly there for decoration.  As we think about this today, may you be honest with yourself and assess your place in the building that is the church, the people of God.  May you be honest about your short-comings, confess your sins to God and be assured of your forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  May you take hold of the power of the Holy Spirit so that you can grow in your faith and your understanding of the ways in which you can function in God’s household.

     As you look around a house, you will find a number of spaces.  Some rooms are meant to be attractive and welcoming, especially to guests.  Some rooms are meant to be private and comfortable where you can be alone to get way from the stress of daily life.  Let’s take an imaginary tour of a house and see what parts might have some interest for us people of God.  Hopefully you can begin to answer the question, “Which part of the building are you?”

     The first part of a house that is built is the foundation.  A house wouldn’t stand very long without a solid foundation.  Paul spoke of this dwelling place of God being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.  That of course is a reference to the teachings and proclamations of the apostles and prophets.  We have those teachings passed down to us in the pages of Holy Scripture.  The Bible is certainly the foundation of the teachings of the church because it is God’s Word.  The church needs that solid foundation to be able to stand against all the false teachings and worldly philosophes that we face today.  Without the solid foundation, the rest of the house would crumble and fall.  As we think about ourselves now, none of us could presume to be as important as the apostles and prophets who wrote the Bible.  Rather than thinking about the walls of a basement, let’s consider the space in the basement.  Unless you are careful, a basement can become cold and damp.  That’s an ideal environment for mold to grow.  That is the way some people in the world see the church.  They have gotten the impression that the church is cold and moldy because of the reception that they have received from some church people.  When a guest in the church is treated as a stranger and an outsider and is ignored by everyone, it can seem pretty cold. You have to ask yourself if you have been guilty of being cold and moldy like an old basement.  If you find that you have, perhaps you need a spiritual dehumidifier.  By the power of the Holy Spirit you can warm up and clean up some of the cobwebs from the corners of your heart.

     Another fascinating place in house is the attic. An attic can be filled with all sorts of wonderful treasures.  When I was young, I used to love to explore in my grandparent’s attic.  The only problem with the attic is that it could get pretty hot and stuffy up there.  That image can lead to another one of our considerations of the church.  Sometimes you find yourself being hot and stuffy. When you get that way, you don’t have a lot of patience for anyone or anything that gets in your way.  You tend to be angry and critical about everything.  Basement and attic people in the church really don’t help the church to carry out its mission.  The truth is though that all of us have spent some time as either an attic or basement person in the church.  It is for those times that you need to come to the Lord and repent of your sins and seek the spiritual strength to get out of those cold and moldy or hot and stuffy places. 

     Another important part of any house are the walls.  Walls can serve two different purposes.  They can be walls that support the building or they can be walls that divide the building into its different rooms. How do you see yourself as a wall in this dwelling of the Lord?  Are you a divider or a supporter?   Often when you want to make sure that you get your own way, you may be more of a divider than a supporter.  You try to force people to take sides.  You gather around you those who agree with your point of view and you seek ways of dividing the church instead looking for ways to support the whole church.  For those times when you have acted as a divider, you need to come to the Lord and seek His forgiveness.

     We can also think of the rooms in the house. When you think about it, though, a room is nothing but an empty space until it is filled with things that make it functional.  We are all that way to start with.  You are empty spaces that need to be filled with power of the Holy Spirit.  Through your Baptism and the teaching of the Word, you are filled with all that you need to be useful parts of the dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.  Just like the various rooms of the house may have different functions, so the people who make up God’s household have different functions.  Every room can be used for something. Every person in the church has a function in carrying out the mission of making disciples. 

     Houses also have windows.  Windows allow people to look out but at the same time they can also allow people to look in.  People who function as windows in the church are those whose lives allow others to see what it means to be a Christian.  They are witnesses for the Lord and His love and mercy.  Windows are open to sharing the love of God through Jesus Christ in what they say and what they do.  Through the windows, the church carries out its mission of making disciples in the community.

     Another important part of the house is the door.  People come into the house through the door.  Those who are doors in the dwelling place of God are those who bring people into the church through their intentional and personal invitations.  They invite others to share in the blessings that are found in the Word and the Sacraments.  They welcome all who come to the church and do all they can to make them feel at home and comfortable.  The doors are certainly an important part of the whole building that is joined together and grows to become a holy temple, a dwelling place of God. 

     The church is made up of many different people, just as a building has many parts.  Not everyone is a door or a window.  Hopefully there aren’t too many attics or basements.  Hopefully there aren’t too many who are merely decorations.  When you find yourself acting cold and moldy or hot and stuffy or just an empty space, you can come to the Lord and confess your sins and be assured of the forgiveness that is yours through the blood of Jesus Christ.  You can then be strengthened by the Word and the Sacraments to be able to function in a way that builds up the church and helps it to grow.  Which part of the building are you. Amen.

 Rev. Gerald D. Matzke

Filling in at St. Mark Lutheran Church

Chesterland, Ohio

July 19, 2015