How to Make Enemies: Speak the Truth

How to Make Enemies: Speak the Truth   

John 8:48-59

     Bookstores and libraries are filled with self-help books and the market for them is growing all the time.  Actually the first best-selling self-help book was How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie in 1936.  Millions of people have read this book or have taken courses based on the book.  There are a lot of helpful strategies in the book that can be useful in business, sales, and many areas of life.  While the book is not necessarily religious, many of the principles that the author proposes could stand along side clear Christian principles of dealing with people.  In the past weeks we have heard the words of Jesus as He talked about the new commandment, love one another as I have loved you.  However, there are some areas where I don’t think that Jesus would agree with Carnegie.  As you read the Gospel lesson for today, you have to notice that Jesus wasn’t making too many friends by what He was saying.  In fact, you could title this section, “How to Make Enemies: Speak the Truth.”  As we consider what Jesus had to say and the challenges we have as Christians in our world today, may we realize that, in the long run, speaking the truth in love is truly the God-pleasing way to influence people.

     This reading starts right off with a rather shocking statement by the Jews.  “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”  In their minds this was about the most insulting thing that they could have said to Jesus.  In the verses that come before this, Jesus had been speaking the truth to them about their attitude toward Him.  They were claiming their place in the Kingdom of God based on the fact that they were children of Abraham.  Jesus responded to that by saying that if they were truly children of Abraham they would believe in Him.  Because they didn’t acknowledge that He was from God and was the Messiah, they were really children of the devil.  That didn’t win Him any points.  He was telling the truth.  They didn’t like to hear the truth.  Jesus then added these important words, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God.  The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

     It’s then that they came out with the insults about Jesus being a Samaritan and having a demon.  This whole ugly scene ended with them picking up stones to throw them at Him, a punishment for someone who blasphemed God.  Jesus showed a bit of His divine power by hiding Himself somehow and leaving the temple area.  No stones hurt Him but He still left an angry crowd behind.  This was a good lesson for the real followers of Jesus.  He told them that they would face persecution.  Proclaiming the truth of the Law and the Gospel was not always going to be the popular thing to do.  When you read the Book of the Acts of the Apostles you will find many examples of the persecutions that they faced from the leaders of the Jews.  They were put in prison.  They were beaten.  Stephen was stoned.  James was executed.  It was all because they spoke the truth, a truth that the people of the world did not want to hear.  If you want to make enemies, speak the truth.

     Down through the history of the Christian Church the situation has not changed.  The early Christians faced persecution first from the Jewish leaders and later from the Romans who considered their emperor to be a god.  Allegiance to any other was punishable by death.  Later on when the church drifted from the truth, those who spoke out lost their lives.  The crusades, as misguided as they were, sought to preserve the truth against those who denied the Word of God and salvation through Jesus Christ.  That same kind of persecution continues in parts of the world today.  In our own country, the truth is silenced in the name of political correctness and tolerance.  Those who proclaim God’s truth are criticized and insulted in much the same way that Jesus was insulted for telling the truth.  If they can’t respond to the truth they stoop to name-calling.  That is simply a product of our sinful, selfish human nature.  Jesus was right.  If you do not believe the truth, you are not of God.  If you are not children of God you are children of the devil.  It’s that simple.

     The big question for us though now is, how will we respond to the pressure to forsake the truth?  When the world around us seeks to follow the philosophy of don’t criticize anyone, don’t confront someone with their sin, don’t even use the word sin because that’s too negative, what is a Christian to do?  You want to get along with people.  You don’t want to cause offense to anyone.  Do you follow the easy path and simply say, “Oh well, live and let live?.”  Do you just want to be everyone’s friend?  Then you will just keep your mouth shut and say nothing.  You will buy into the lies and you will end up just as Jesus said to those who criticized Him, “You are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father’s desires.”  That paints a pretty depressing picture doesn’t it.  The truth can sometimes be depressing when it convicts us of sin.  But you need that.  You need it often because you are constantly being tempted to follow the ways of the world and you often give in to that temptation.  If you aren’t confronted with the truth of your sinful nature and the sinful acts that flow from it, you can easily convince yourself that you are OK and that your way of thinking makes a lot of sense.  When that happens, you will find yourself slipping farther and farther away from the truth of God’s Word.  It is then that the truth of the Law needs to be heard and it needs to touch your heart and help you to see the reality of your sinfulness and your need for rescue. 

     On this Trinity Sunday, you can rejoice because you have the opportunity to reflect on the work of the Triune God on your behalf.  God the Father in His infinite love, saw your hopeless condition and sent His only begotten Son from His throne in heaven into the world to become a human being so that He could face temptation just like you do and stand up to the devil’s tricks and remain without sin in your place.  He then took all your sins to the cross and gave up His life as the sacrifice to make atonement for your sins.  He then sent the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments, to bring you to saving faith in Jesus and strengthen and keep you in the faith.  Through your Baptism, you became a Child of the heavenly Father.  You received the gift of the forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil and the faith that leads to eternal life. Through the Lord’s Supper you also receive that power of the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins and the power to resist temptation and live a God-pleasing life.  The Three-in-One, our Triune God, has done all that is necessary to bring us from the depths of despair because of our sin into the joy of new life now and the eternal blessings of heaven.

    You have been brought to the truth and through the power of the Holy Spirit, you have believed the truth.  That faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior gives you the victory that has been won for you.  You have a wonderful message of truth to proclaim to all those around you.  Just remember that when you tell the truth, you will face opposition.  Just as Jesus had to deal with those who would not let go of their man-made traditions, you will have to deal with people who have rejected the truth in favor of their own brand of man-made religion.  In spite of that opposition you can be confident that you have the truth and that God’s will is being proclaimed.  Through the love and mercy of God, the Father, you are loved and cared for, through the Son, your sins are forgiven and you are reconciled to the Father, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, you are brought to faith and sustained in that faith through the Means of Grace.  May the Church give thanks to the Trinity and proclaim the truth, even it is means making enemies, until Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, comes again.  Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
May 26, 2013

I Will Continue to Make It Known

I Will Continue To Make It Known”  

John 17:20-26

     On this Mother’s Day, I would like you to think about what you consider to be the most important thing that a mother should do for her children.  I’m sure you could come up with a number of things that would be very important.  Certainly you would want to love them with an unconditional love that models the kind of love that you have received from God.  Certainly you would also want to provide for their basic needs of food and clothing and shelter. You might also want to consider teaching your children some important life skills like cooking and cleaning and being good stewards of all the blessings that God has given to them.  Teaching good manners would also be somewhere on that list.  As you work your way through the list of important things that a mother should do for her children you come to the realization that it is a big job being a parent.  Your work is never done.  The responsibilities of parenting can be overwhelming.  Fortunately all these things that have been mentioned and more do not have to be taught all at once.  Some lessons can start very early and others can wait until the children are ready to handle some of the more complex skills and attitudes that are a part of growing up. 

     I recently read a short book by entertainer Dolly Parton.  It was an extended version of a commencement speech she gave at the University of Tennessee.  In it she spoke about what she considered to be one of the most important things her mother taught her.  She taught her a love of reading by reading her the Bible.  Interestingly enough, by doing that, her mother was carrying on what Jesus talked about in our Gospel lesson for today.  As we look more closely at what Jesus had to say, may you recognize the role that you play in Jesus’ work of being our Prophet, Priest and King. 

     The Gospel lesson for today is part of what has been called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer.  It takes up all of chapter 17 of John’s Gospel.  This took place just before Jesus and His disciples left the upper room where they took part in the Passover Meal.  He prayed to His heavenly Father about the events that were soon to take place.  He prayed for His disciples that they would continue to be guarded in the truth.  He prayed that they would be sanctified, made holy.  In the section where our reading for today picks up, Jesus prayed not only for them but also for those who will believe in Him through their word.  Do you realize who is included there?  You and I are a part of that group of people who have believed through their word.  Through the teaching and writing of the Apostles, the Gospel has been passed down from generation to generation right up until the present day.  Pastors, teachers, and parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters have been part of the process of making the Good News of salvation by God’s grace through faith known to the next generations.  In the last verse of the prayer Jesus said the words that I read before, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

     I mentioned before that Jesus was carrying out His work as our Prophet, Priest and King.  As our Priest He offered Himself as the Sacrifice for our sins.  A priest would also pray for the people.  This is what Jesus was doing as He came to His Heavenly Father in prayer on behalf of His disciples and those who would believe through their teaching.  He was also carrying out His office as our Prophet.  A prophet was to speak for God.  Since Jesus was Himself God, when He spoke it was God who was speaking,  He did this during His earthly ministry as He told His hearers all about the kingdom of heaven often through parables and at times simply telling them plainly about God’s will.  You have an example of that in John 16 where Jesus spoke plainly about what was going to happen.  The disciples even commented in verses 29 and 30, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech.  Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”  He continues to carry out that work of speaking for God through the people who are sent today to speak His word in churches and classrooms and in homes. 

     Here we begin to see the answer to the question about what is really important for a mother to pass on to her children.  Jesus said that He would continue to make the Father’s name known.  When he talks about the Father’s name, He is referring to everything there is about the Father and His relationship to His special creation.  He is talking about the Father’s love in promising a Savior when mankind fell into sin.  He is talking about how God provided for His chosen people when they were rescued from their slavery in Egypt and as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years before He led them into the promised land.  The message continues as the Father sent His only Son into the world to live a perfect life in the place of fallen mankind and then caused Him to sacrifice His life as the punishment for your sins.  He overcame the power of sin, death and the devil when He rose again and then ascended into heaven to rule over all things.  There He carries out His role as our King.  One day He will come again to judge the world and lead His faithful in victory to their heavenly home.  That is the message that Jesus will continue to make known. 

      One of the ways that He makes that message known is through our families.  The first teacher that a child has is its mother.  No one is closer and no one has more influence in those early years than a mother.  Did you ever consider that part of your task as a mother was to be a part of Jesus’ promise to continue to make the Father’s name known?  What an awesome blessing to be a part of that process! 

     Jesus adds then, “that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”  That is the love that assures you of the forgiveness of your sins, forgiveness for the times when you have neglected to apply God’s love to the situations in your life when your patience was tried to the breaking point; forgiveness for the times when you allowed the devil, the world and your sinful nature to rule your life and as a result you made bad decisions that had a negative effect on your children; forgiveness for the times when your example was not consistent with all that is wrapped up in God’s name.  We are all sinners.  We are not perfect.  But God’s message of love and forgiveness in Christ picks us up and gives us the freedom and courage to continue on and be a part of the process of making the Father’s name known to your children and your children’s children.  You can teach and model God’s love in Jesus to your children because you have experienced that love yourself. 

     The teaching starts early as you care for that helpless infant that God has placed in your care.  The blessings of Baptism soon follow through the power of the Holy Spirit. It continues by teaching prayers and reading to your child about the love of God as we find it in His Word.  Bible story books can become favorite stories at bed time.  Teaching children to be Christ-like in all they do helps them to learn attitudes of humble service to others and a love for others, especially those who need to know about the love of God in Christ Jesus.

     It all comes down to another part of the prayer that Jesus prayed.  I’m sure it is a prayer that every mother, every Christian parent, would pray for their child.  In verse 24 we hear, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”  Jesus wanted His disciples to be able to see his glory in heaven.  Isn’t that what you want for your children as well, for them to see Jesus in all His glory in heaven?  What a blessing to be part of Jesus’ plan to continue to make the name of the Lord known!  He does that today through you as you pass on the Good News to the next generation.   Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke
Mother's Day  2013
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio

He Opened Their Minds

He Opened Their Minds   

Luke 24:44-53

    Greetings in the name of our risen and ascended Lord Jesus.  A service like this where people from the congregations of our circuit gather together for worship brings back a lot of memories for me.  When I was young and impressionable, I can recall attending services with my family when a circuit or even a larger group of Lutherans would gather for a special occasion.  My biggest thrill that I can still remember was being old enough to sing in the combined adult choir.  As I mentioned, I was at an impressionable age.  Those occasions instilled in me an appreciation for the church-at-large.  In other words, I came to realize the importance of the fact that there were other Lutherans out there who believed the same things I did, who worshiped the same way I did, and who worked together to carry out God’s purposes for His Church here on earth.  We really do need each other in order to do the work that God has planned ahead of time for us to do.  That’s why I put a high priority for myself and encourage my congregation to attend services like this.  Sadly, the response is not what it used to be.  Most of our congregations can say the same thing when it comes to membership and attendance.  But the reality is that we live in a different world than the one when I grew up in the fifties and sixties.  That makes it more important for us as people of God to observe the Ascension of Jesus and what it means for us.  As we look at what Jesus said to His disciples on that day, may we be moved by the Holy Spirit to use His power to open the minds of those around us.

     I have always been fascinated by the passages in the Gospels that tell us that Jesus opened the minds of the disciples.  It happened twice after Jesus rose from the grave on Easter.  The first was with the disciples on the road to Emmaus on Easter evening.  Earlier in Luke 24 we hear how Jesus interpreted in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Later after He vanished from their sight they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?”  I don’t know about you but I have always wished that I could have been one of those disciples to have that “holy heartburn.”

     Now in our Gospel lesson for this Ascension, we hear that Jesus opened the minds of His disciples to understand the Scriptures.  I’m sure you have seen cartoons that show a character who has finally figured something out and he has a light bulb going on over his head.  Since they didn’t have light bulbs back then we have to imagine perhaps an oil lamp being lit over their heads.  Jesus opened their minds so that they could see the connection between the writings of the prophets of old and the fulfillment of those prophecies in His life and ministry. 

     What a blessing that would be for them in the months and years to come.  The information that Jesus taught them on that occasion would be the foundation of what they would believe and teach when the Holy Spirit would come on them as Jesus had promised.   With authority they would proclaim Jesus to be the Christ, the Savior of the world in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  Not only would they teach and preach but some of them would also write the accounts of Jesus life and be able to show how His life, death, resurrection were just as it had been foretold by the prophets.  They would have the understanding that they were to call people to repentance and through Christ be assured of the forgiveness of their sins and the promise of eternal life in heaven for all who believe.  It is that written Word that would communicate the saving message of the Gospel to people throughout the world and throughout the ages.

      This is where you enter the picture.  In a real sense, your minds have been opened by the power of the Holy Spirit through the inspired writing of the Apostles and Evangelists.  Following Jesus’ example, the New Testament writers pointed out how the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were God’s plan of salvation from the beginning.  From the first promise to Adam and Eve right on through the proclamations of John the Baptist, the hearts of the people of God were prepared for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior.  The Gospel writers told you all that you need to know about the way to heaven.  St. Paul and the others who wrote the Epistles opened your mind to understand the Scriptures so that you could apply them to your life as a child of God.  In the letter to the Romans, for example, St. Paul lays out the essential teachings of Law and Gospel.  He talks about the Christian life that joyfully responds to the undeserved love of God demonstrated in Jesus Christ.

     Through the Word of God and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, collectively known as the Means of Grace, the Holy Spirit continues to work in your heart to strengthen your faith and equip you to fight against the temptations of the devil, the world and your sinful nature.  At the same time you are also equipped to carry out God’s purposes for His people here on earth.  Jesus made it clear to the disciples before He ascended into heaven what that purpose is.  Repentance and forgiveness should be proclaimed in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.  Then He told them, “You are witnesses of these things.”  If you are called as a witness you are expected to tell what you know.  You are not to keep the information you have to yourself.  Yet in our world today it has become more difficult to give witness to the faith that we share.  In a spirit of tolerance it has become against the rules in many places to share your faith. 

     What is a Christian to do?  You can think back to the disciples who were put in prison in the time after Pentecost because they were proclaiming Jesus.  The leaders of the Temple commanded them to stop teaching people that Jesus was the Christ and that He rose from the dead.  Their answer actually provided them with another opportunity to carry out Jesus command.  Recall what they said. “We must obey God rather than men.  The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree.  God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”   Of course that didn’t go over well with the religious leaders.  They beat the apostles and told them again to stop teaching in the name of Jesus.  We are all here today because they didn’t follow human orders. 

       You now have the opportunity to carry on the example of the apostles and use the power of the Holy Spirit to open the minds of people around you.  By faith you have been able to witness the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Today you are celebrating His ascension to the right hand of the Father.  You have some Good News to share with a world that, in many cases, does not understand the purpose of Christ’s coming into the world.  They may claim to have some knowledge of God and Jesus but the real meaning of Jesus’ coming is a mystery.  You know the truth.  Surprising to many Christians, there are still many in our community who don’t know much about Jesus at all.  They operate under a kind of “do good and you get rewarded” understanding of religion.  You know the real way to heaven.  You are witnesses.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, you have had the blessing of having your mind opened so that you can see God’s whole plan of salvation played out in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  You have answered the call to repentance and you have received God’s forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice of His body and blood on the cross.  You have rejoiced at His resurrection and you now live under Him in His kingdom.

    What a wonderful story you have to tell.  What a joy it will be see hearts and lives changed by that same power of the Holy Spirit in the Word when they have their minds opened to understand the Scriptures, when they believe in the One who ascended into heaven to rule all things by His mighty power in love, when they follow in your footsteps and begin witnessing to the love you shared with them.  Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Circuit Ascension Service

May 9, 2013

Faith Lutheran Church, Mentor, Ohio

Love One Another

Love One Another 

John 13:31-35

     What do you suppose the answer would be if we ask the general public the question, “What is unique about Christians?”  You would probably get a variety of answers, depending on people’s experiences with Christians.  Some who really understand the Christian faith may say that the most unique thing about Christians is their trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven.  That’s the answer I would hope to hear from all who call themselves Christians.  In reality, I would probably be disappointed with the answers that many who call themselves Christians would give.  Too often today the understanding of the Christian faith has become tainted by the influence of the world.  It’s been watered down and dumbed down so much that Jesus and His first disciples would hardly recognize much of what is being taught by many of today’s Christian Churches.  Human logic has become the guiding principle in determining what is taught.   If it doesn’t match up with human experience, it must not be true. 

     Perhaps that is what Jesus was anticipating when He spoke to His disciples on the night when they gathered for that final Passover meal together, the night when He would be betrayed, arrested, and put on trial before He would be crucified.  That is when Jesus spoke about many things to His disciples to prepare them for what would be ahead.   He was going away from them.  It was going to be difficult for Him and it would be difficult for the disciples as well.  He told them that He would only be with them for a little while.  Imagine the concern in their hearts as they thought about life without their teacher, their Lord.  What were they to do?  Who would they follow when He was gone?  Why couldn’t they go with Him?  Some of the words of Peter in our Gospel lesson show us what they were thinking.  Jesus’ words to them on that night are important words for us as Christians in our world today.  We are facing increasing opposition to our Christian principles from the world around us and we need reminders like the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples on that night.  As we think about what He said, may we be strengthened for the struggles that we will have as we seek to become an influence in the world around us for Christ.

     When you look at what Jesus had to say in these verses, His main message comes through loud and clear, “Love one another.”  That seems like a rather simple thing to do.  Love one another and everything will be great.  Let love be your guide in everything you do and you will be successful and the Word of the Lord will be passed on from one generation to the next and the church will grow and you will be able to carry out the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations.  Just love one another.

     Actually what Jesus said was, “A new commandment I give to you, love one another as I have loved you.”  For those who know the Scriptures, you have to ask, “Is that really a new commandment?”  After all in the Old Testament the people of God were told to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  In His teaching in Matthew 22, Jesus called this the first great commandment.  The second great commandment was love your neighbor as yourself.  Now Jesus was saying that He was giving them a new commandment.  “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Did you notice the difference between the old commandments and the new commandment?  Jesus added the words, “as I have loved you.”  That makes all the difference.  Now the standard has changed.  Before it was love your neighbor as yourself.  That is fairly easy to understand.  How do you want people to treat you?  That’s how you should treat one another.  In the new commandment, Jesus urges His disciples, “Love one another as I have loved you.” 

     This gets a bit more complicated.  This is not going to be easy.  Following any command of God is difficult because your sinful nature always seems to get in the way.  In our sinfulness, even the command to love your neighbor as yourself can be taken in a very selfish way.  I’ll be nice to them so that they will be nice to me.  That’s not what God intended by that but it is the way that we put a spin on it. In fact, the temptations of the devil, the world and our sinful nature make it difficult for you even to go that far in keeping that command. 

     When we look at Jesus’ new commandment, as He called it, there is more than just a command there.  He reminds us of His love.  We are to love as He has loved us.  When we think of how He has loved us, that is the essence of the Gospel message.  That Gospel message has power, the power of the Holy Spirit who makes things happen in our lives.  Jesus demonstrated His love for us when he left His throne in heaven to come down to earth to become a human being.  We can think of the words of the Creeds that tell us that He came down from heaven and was incarnate, in other words, took on human flesh and blood by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary  and was made man.  He knew why He came to earth.  He knew why He had to become a human being.  He knew that He would have to suffer and die.  He gave up His life so that we could be brought back into a restored relationship with God, a relationship that was shattered by sin.  Through His resurrection He brought new life for those who believe.  You have new life now that is empowered by the Holy Spirit so that you can love others as Jesus has loved you.  You also have the promise of life forever with Him in heaven because you have been rescued from the sin that separates you from God.  His love for you has a purpose.  That purpose was to bring you back to the loving arms of your heavenly Father.  That action was motivated by love. It is a love that is undeserved. You didn’t earn it by your good deeds or good intentions.  He loved you in spite of your sin.  That is what grace is all about.  It is undeserved love.  It is a love that never ends. 

     That is the Good News.  The Holy Spirit works through that Good News to strengthen you to do what might seem to be the impossible, to love others as Jesus loves you.  His love is a giving love.  He gave Himself for you.  His love is a never ending love.  His love is undeserved.  His love has a purpose: that you would be reconciled, brought back, to God. Now He says to us, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” 

     Just as His love has a purpose, so your love for others also has a similar purpose.  Although you are not being asked to suffer and die in order to bring others back to God, you are being asked to love them so that they can be brought to faith and be built up in their faith through the power of the Holy Spirit that comes through the Means of Grace, which includes the message of God’s love demonstrated through Jesus Christ.  You are called to love as Jesus loved you, love that is undeserved, unquestioning, purposeful, and enduring. 

     He also added another statement that touches on this purposeful love.  In the last verse of our reading, Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” By living out His love in your life, you are identifying yourself as His follower.  You will not only be touching certain individuals with His love directly but you will have an influence on all who observe the kind of unique demonstrations of love that are part of the life of a follower of Jesus.  That can have an impact on people you didn’t even know about.  Can you imagine the blessings that can overflow when you follow the new command that Jesus gave His disciples on that night when He was anticipating His death?  He knew what was going to happen soon but He also knew what would happen when His future disciples would follow His new commandment, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”   Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

April 28, 2013

A Chosen Instrument

A Chosen Instrument

Acts 9:1-22

     The Bible is full of great heroes of the faith, people who trusted in God and were able to do great things.  You can think of Joseph as one example.  He was the favored son of Jacob and because of that his brothers hated him so much that they sold him to slave traders on their way to Egypt.  Joseph trusted in the Lord and through a series of events that seemed to drag him down even further, he eventually became an important government official in Egypt and was reunited with his family.  God used him as an instrument to save the lives of many people. 

     David was another example of someone who was taken from being a shepherd of his father’s flock to become a hero who defeated Goliath, became a military leader and eventually became king.  He trusted in the Lord and the Lord used him as His instrument to help his people grow in their faith.  Even yet today, the Psalms of David are cherished by God’s people as expressions of our trust, our prayers and our praise of the Lord as we use them in worship and in our own devotional lives.

     In our first lesson for today we hear about another person whom God used as His instrument to spread the Gospel of Jesus to people of all times and all places.  That man was Saul, who would later be known as Paul.  His letters to the churches in the New Testament and the stories of his missionary journeys in the book of Acts have served the church for centuries as motivation and direction for our own outreach activities for the church at large, our congregations and our personal lives as believers in Jesus.  His inspired insights into the will of God and our faith in Jesus and our lives as followers of Christ make him a true hero of the faith. 

     When we first hear about Saul in the book of Acts, he is the farthest thing from a hero of the faith though.  In fact he is just the opposite.  He is presented as a persecutor of the faith.  We first hear his name in Acts 7 as he watched the outer garments of those who stoned Stephen, the first martyr.  In the next chapter we are told that he was active in going from house to house and dragging off men and women who  acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah and put them into prison.  As a well-educated Pharisee, he was convinced that he was doing God’s will by protecting the integrity of the faith handed down by rabbis and teachers of the Law.  He was dedicated to putting an end to this new and dangerous movement that followed the trouble-maker Jesus of Nazareth.  Even though Jesus had been put to death, His followers still proclaimed Him as the Messiah and even claimed that He had risen from the dead.  To Saul that was a preposterous claim.  Those who believed that and were spreading the Word needed to be stopped. 

     At this point it doesn’t seem that he would ever be considered as a hero of the faith.  He was doing everything he could to put out the fire of faith that had been started on Pentecost.  He even had authorization to travel to Damascus and round up people there who were professing faith in Jesus and bring them back to prison in Jerusalem.  He was fired up to do a job that he thought was serving God until he was confronted by Jesus Himself on the road to Damascus.  That changed everything for Saul.  He saw Jesus, the one he believed to be a false Messiah, and he was struck blind and given instructions to continue to Damascus where he would be told what to do. 

     Imagine being so convinced that your path in life was the right one until you were confronted with the truth from an irrefutable source, Jesus Himself.  Even those who saw and heard Saul at first didn’t know what to make of his transformation.  The first person who had to deal with this was Ananias, a believer in Damascus.  He was directed by the Lord to go to Saul.  His first response was essentially, “Are you sure, Lord?  I’ve heard about this man and what he is up to and this just doesn’t sound like a good thing to do.”  The Lord’s answer to Ananias is very important for us to consider as we look at our own lives.  Listen again to the Lord’s response to the fears of Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”  Wow!  That certainly puts things into a different perspective.  Ananias couldn’t argue with that.  He went to Saul, laid his hands on him so that he could regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Saul received his sight, was baptized and his life was truly changed.  He went from being a persecutor of the church to being one of its greatest builders and defenders.  He immediately began to speak about Jesus to the believers in Damascus.  They didn’t quite know what to think about him at first.  They knew his reputation and why he had come to Damascus but now he was proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God.  As you read on, beyond our text you find out that when the Jews found out about what Saul was now doing, they were angry with him and made plans to kill him.  He had to escape at night by being lowered out of an opening in the wall in a basket. 

     At this point we have to look again at the Lord’s answer to Ananias.  When Ananias was understandably reluctant to go to Saul, the Lord told him, “Go, he my chosen instrument to bring my name to the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”  The Lord had very definite plans for Saul of Tarsus in spite of the fact that Saul had been a violent persecutor of believers in Jesus.  It should cause you to stop and think, “If God could use someone like Saul to carry out His work, then do you suppose that God has some plan for me to do His work?”  There are many people in the church who have discovered what it means to be God’s chosen instrument.  They are the people who are using their special gifts and talents to carry the Good News of Jesus to people.  Some teach, some show hospitality, some show mercy, some lead, some sing, some care for the physical facilities, but all are being used by God as His chosen instrument to carry out His purposes. 

      Studies done in churches all over show that only about twenty percent of the people in a congregation recognize that they are being used as God’s chosen instrument.  For many others, an opportunity to carry out God’s plan presents itself and the resistance begins.  “Oh, I could never do something like that.  I’m not a good enough person to do that kind of thing.”  Oh really?  Did you ever hear about Saul?  Did he earn the privilege of being God’s chosen instrument?  Hardly!  Or you might say, “I’m really not gifted for that kind of task.  I wouldn’t know what to do.”  Do you think that God would ask you to do something that you couldn’t do?  He knows better than that. 

     Look back again at the reading.  Saul received power to be God’s chosen instrument in the same way that you receive power to be his chosen instrument.  He first heard the Word of God.  Jesus, Himself, the Word made flesh, spoke to Him.  Through Ananias, Saul also received the blessing of Holy Baptism.  Just like you, in Holy Baptism  Saul received the forgiveness of His sins and the power of the Holy Spirit to believe and trust in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior.  Not only did Saul believe but His also proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God wherever He went.  You have that same power of the Holy Spirit through your Baptism and through the hearing of the Word.  Your faith is strengthened and you are given the power to carry out your role as a chosen instrument of God.  If you still think that God could not use you, you only need to be reminded of the miracle of Easter when Jesus was raised to life.  He won the victory for you over sin, death and the power of the devil.  You are raised with Him to new life.  God’s purpose for you is made clear in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in the second chapter, verses 8-10,  “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”  That sums it up.  We are saved by God’s grace and we are His workmanship, created to serve Him as we do the work that he has planned for us.  May the Holy Spirit touch your heart in such a way that you recognize and take up your calling as His chosen instrument.   Amen.  

Rev. Gerald Matzke

3rd Sunday of Easter

April 14, 2013 

I Have Seen the Lord

“I Have Seen the Lord”  

John 20:18

  

   Imagine the excitement in the voice of Mary Magdalene when she went back to the disciples with those words.  The way that the passage is written, I don’t think the emotion of the moment comes through in the words, “she went and announced to the disciples.”  For a second time she probably ran all the way back to where the disciples were and with a real excitement in her voice, maybe a little out of breath, let them know what she had seen and heard.  If you put yourself in her position, you probably would have done the same thing.  This was big news.  They had seen Jesus’ dead body late Friday afternoon.  It was placed in the tomb before sundown.  The purpose of going to the tomb now on Sunday morning was to anoint the body according to the custom of the day.  The women who went to the tomb were not expecting the body to be gone.  They certainly didn’t expect to see Jesus alive.  Mary got to see Him face to face.  The account that you heard in the Easter Gospel describes a mixture of sadness and confusion and finally overwhelming joy when she realized that the man speaking to her was truly her Teacher, Jesus.  She was filled with joy when she was able to report to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.”

     To be able to see the Lord was a great privilege.  Until Jesus came down to earth there were only a few people who could say that they had seen the Lord.  When the Lord did appear to someone, it marked a very significant time in the history of God’s relationship to His people.  As we think back into the Old Testament, we can think of Adam and Eve as not only the first people but as the first ones to see the Lord.  Sadly, the time that is recorded for us in detail is after they had disobeyed God and brought sin and judgment on all mankind.  In addition to the judgment of death, the Lord also promised that the seed of the woman would defeat the seed of Satan.  That was the first promise of a Savior.  I would say that this was a very significant event in the history of God’s relationship with His special creation. 

     Moses saw the Lord on Mt. Sinai.  When he received from the Lord the two tablets of stone which contained the Law, the Lord established with His people a Covenant based on obedience and sacrifice.  This pointed the people ahead to the time when the Savior would come to fulfill the Old Covenant and establish the New Covenant that was by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  That too was certainly an important event in the history of God’s people.

     Mary and Joseph were the first people then to see the Lord as that New Covenant was unfolding.  The little baby that was born to Mary was the Promised One.  They saw the Lord in His human form.  Others, of course would see Him but they wouldn’t fully understand who He was or His purpose in coming until much later, but His coming into the world was definitely an important moment in our relationship with the Lord.

     While others saw a man named Jesus, it was John the Baptist who saw Him at the Jordan River and identified Him as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  That description connected Jesus to the Old Covenant Passover Lamb and the New Covenant sealed with Jesus’ own blood.  That appearance brought attention to Jesus as He was about to begin His earthly ministry.  The disciples who followed Him got to see glimpses of His glory as Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead and taught with divine wisdom about the Kingdom of God.  Even though those disciples got to see Jesus everyday for the better part of three years, some of them were not sure what to make of Him and what His teaching and His life were all about. 

     There was one man who saw Jesus close up if only for a short time who made a remarkable statement at the foot of the cross.  It was the Roman centurion after he witnessed all that took place as Jesus was dying on the cross that moved him to say, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”  He understood what many of His day did not.  The religious leaders of the people didn’t get it.  Many of the people were looking for a revolutionary leader to free them from the Romans.  Jesus didn’t fit their idea of a Messiah.  Even some of the disciples didn’t understand the bigger purpose of His coming to earth. 

     When people started seeing Him alive after his very public death on the cross, then they began to understand that His words were true.  When Mary told the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” they certainly started thinking back to some of the things that He had told them about dying and rising again on the third day.  “Oh, so that is what He meant.”  “He really meant it when He said that He would be alive again.”  But then those old fears and doubts started to creep back into their heads.  Do you suppose she really saw Jesus or was she just making that up?  They should have known that what Jesus said was the truth.  He told them that too.  Remember His words, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  His resurrection affirmed that all of His teaching was the truth.  He said that He would be raised from the dead and sure enough, that is what happened.  If that was the truth then you could be sure that everything else that He taught was also the truth.  He is the Christ, the Anointed One.  He is the Son of God.  He and the Father are one.  Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.  He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would give us the power to believe and the power to serve the Lord.  He will come again.  All His teaching is the truth.  His resurrection affirms that for His disciples then and for all who would believe in Him through the power of the Holy Spirit in the years to come.  That includes all of us.

     By the power of the Holy Spirit, working in you through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments, you can believe His teaching, you can believe that He lived a perfect life for you and He died on the cross for you.  You can believe that He rose from the grave and that He lives and reigns over all things now and forever.  In a real sense, you can say, “I have seen the Lord.”  You have seen Him through eyes of faith.  In the Word, in the water of Holy Baptism, in the Bread and wine, the Body and Blood of Holy Communion, you have seen the living Lord.  He died and rose again for you.  He won the victory over sin, death and the power of the devil for you.  Your sins of doubt and fear, your sins of disobedience and rebellion against God, your sins of selfishness and greed are forgiven because Jesus took those sins to the cross and paid the price that was required.  He gave up His life.  To show that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father, He rose again to life. 

     Like Mary Magdalene and the others who saw Jesus alive on that first Easter day, our hearts are filled with joy.  Like Mary, you can go and tell others that you have seen the Lord.  You know Him and the blessings that He has for you, the blessings of the forgiveness of your sins and the promise of life forever with Him in the glory of heaven.  Your joy can express itself in words as you tell the Good News as well as in your actions as you respond to God’s blessings with a life of worship and service.  You have seen the Lord.  You have the privilege of joining the countless others down through the ages who have seen the Lord through eyes of faith and have responded with shouts of joy and a never-ending songs of “Alleluia.”    Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke
Easter 2013
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio

Easter Vigil "Thanks Be To God, He Gives Us The Victory"

“Thanks Be To God, He Gives Us the Victory”  

 I Corinthians 15:57

     To really appreciate the meaning of this Easter vigil, you have to use your imagination a bit.  You have to take yourself back to that day after Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb.  You have to put yourself in the place of those followers of Jesus who were mourning the death of their teacher and friend.  They were men and women who had followed Jesus from Nazareth to Jerusalem, thinking that they were simply going to celebrate the Passover.  Some of them remembered some things that Jesus had said along the way that they didn’t really understand fully.  He talked about going to Jerusalem, being arrested, beaten and crucified but on the third day being raised from the dead.  What could that mean?  Peter had told Him to stop talking like that.  Nothing like that would happen to Him, not if they had anything to say about it.  But then in the last twenty-four hours it happened just as He said it would.  He was arrested.  They all ran away.  He was beaten by the Romans.  He was crucified and he died.  They laid His life-less body in the tomb that Joseph of Arimathea provided.  Now what was going to happen to them?  Where would they go?  Would they be safe showing their faces in Jerusalem?  Would the temple guard hunt them down too?  Could they make it back to the relative safety of Galilee?  What would happen to the many people who looked to Jesus, who cried out to Him, “Hosanna, save us now?” 

    If you are like most people, you are the most nervous and fearful when you don’t know that is going to happen to you next.  That may have been the overriding emotion of the disciples of Jesus on that Saturday.  By this hour of the night the Sabbath had passed and they were probably lying awake wondering and worrying about what they would do on the next day.  The women had prepared ointments and spices that would be used to anoint the body of their Lord the next morning.  Worry, fear mixed with sadness must have filled their hearts as they prepared for the grim tasks ahead of them. 

     Perhaps in the back of their minds there was that statement that Jesus made that on the third day He would be raised from the dead.  But that sort of thing just doesn’t happen.  Yet He did raise Lazarus in Bethany just before they arrived in Jerusalem.  But that was someone else.  Could He raise Himself?  That just doesn’t seem possible.  Add to the other emotions the confusion over things that Jesus said about being raised from the dead and you probably would find yourself with a very restless night. 

     That may have been the way it was for the disciples of Jesus on that night, but things are different for you.  You journeyed with them to Jerusalem last Sunday.  You sat with them in the upper room on Thursday and received the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Sacrament that He instituted that night.  You observed the Crucifixion in all it’s horror on Friday and now you look forward to the great news that “He is risen!”  You know that He rose on the third day.  You know that He is alive.  You rejoice with all Christians everywhere that Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave.  An evening like this gives you an opportunity to experience the range of emotions from sorrow over your sins that caused Jesus to have to come into the world to be your substitute under the Law and on the cross to the joy of knowing that because He lives you shall live also.  His victory over the sin, death and power of the devil is your victory as well. 

     When you stop and think about everything that took place over those days, you have to be moved to love and worship the Lord for His great love for you.  What Jesus did for you is something that you could never do for yourself.  It truly is a victory.   His victory is your victory.  St. Paul wrote, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?’  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Victory!  When there is a victory it is time for us to celebrate.  You can celebrate with your heart, your voice and your whole being.  The victory over sin, death and the power of the devil has been won for you.  Christ’s victory is truly your victory. 

     This is a victory that the church celebrates all year long.  Each week as you confess your sins, as the pastor announces the forgiveness of sins, as you remember your baptism, as you receive the Lord’s Supper, as you hear the Law and the Gospel proclaimed, you are celebrating that victory. With Paul we can say everyday, “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

And the peace which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Easter Vigil

March 30, 2013