A Voice is Heard

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. The voice of the angels proclaiming the Savior's birth. The voice of the shepherds telling the whole town of the strange and glad tidings they heard and saw. Voices of joy and mirth. Voices of praise and thanksgiving.

And then the voice of Rachel, crying in Ramah. The voices of the mothers of Bethlehem, weeping and wailing over their slain baby boys. The voices of the subjects of Herod crying out against the violence and bloodshed committed in fear and anger.

This Little Babe

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

This little babe so few days old,
is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake,
though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise

the gates of hell he will surprise.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The very Word of God, the Light of the World, the Creator of the Universe, on this day, has become flesh and took up residence among us men. The God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, took on human flesh and blood and was born a baby in a stable in Bethlehem.

Think of a newborn baby. So soft, so warm, so innocent, so vulnerable. So cute and huggable and nice. A newborn baby is worlds away from what God should be, according to the minds of this world. What god would appear as a baby, so easily hurt, so easily killed? What god would expose himself to that sort of weakness and vulnerability?

"On This Day Earth Shall Ring"

On this day angels sing; 
        with their song earth shall ring, 
        praising Christ, heaven's King, 
        born on earth to save us; 
        peace and love he gave us.

On this night, we wait in anxious expectation of the One who comes to save us from our sins. On this night, we wait for the birth of the very Son of God come in the flesh. On this night, we anticipate the blessed Incarnation of our Lord and Savior. On this night, we hear the fulfillment of the ancient prophesies. On this night, we eagerly await the coming of the One who will rend the heavens and come down, the savior of the nations, the consolation of Israel and the joy of the world.

Love, Doubt, and Angels

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The history of St. Joseph is a familiar one to us, albeit short. He is betrothed to Mary, finds out she is pregnant, the angel appears to him, he takes Mary to Bethlehem for the census, Jesus is born, they run off to Egypt, and that's about all we hear of Joseph.

We tend to think of Joseph as a hero of the faith. He is the husband of the Virgin Mary, the guardian of our Lord, the first defender of the Faith. He is the model of obedience to the Lord's command. But suppose we consider the situation more closely. They live in a small town, in a hyper-religious community. I know you know how fast news travels in a small town, especially news about scandal. Mary is found to be with child, and Joseph knows it is not his. He was probably heartbroken, and not a little embarrassed.

"Are You the Coming One?"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Are you the coming one, or shall we look for another?” This was the question which John the Baptist, languishing in Herod's prison, asked Jesus. Was Jesus the one foretold in sacred Scripture, or was John mistaken? Would Jesus free the people from their oppression? Would the reign of God commence forthright?

One can only imagine John in that dungeon, wondering if the man he thought was the Messiah would rescue him, and the rest of the people, from the hands of their enemies. After all, there was no great upheaval in Judah. The Romans were still in power. Herod still afflicted the land from his paternal throne. The prophet unlike any other was in prison. The people were still poor and needy and suffering.

+ RIP Eloise A Gesell +

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Eloise Gesell was many things in her life. She was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great- and great-great-grandmother. She was a member of the community and a member of this parish. She was a skilled homemaker and gardener.

None of these things could have been accomplished without loss, in some measure. To be a child means acknowledging that you cannot provide for yourself, that you are reliant upon your parents to nurture you in body and soul. To be a sibling means that you must give up any exclusive claim upon the affections of your parents; you must learn to share. To be a husband or wife means that you must give up a measure of your independence and live not for yourself but for the one to whom our Lord has bound you. To be a parent means that you must look not only to your own needs and wants, but to those of the children God has given to you; you must be responsible for them and their well-being. Even to be a successful gardener requires sacrifice – you must submit the toil of your hands and the sweat of your brow to the ground, and pray for the bounty of the earth to spring forth.

"The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This was the message John the Baptist was called to proclaim to the crowds who thronged to see and hear him in the Judean wilderness. This is a two-edged message which cut everyone in the crowd.

The vast crowds came from every walk of life to hear the one whom Isaiah had foretold, “the voice crying in the wilderness”. There were flocks of average, believing Jews who came to hear the latest and greatest prophet. Maybe they liked hearing him condemn the priests and scribes. Maybe they liked hearing him give the Herods what-for for their idolatrous and lustful dalliances. But no one was safe from the preaching of this prophet.

Savior of the Nations, Come!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.” O God, do not be angry with us because of our sins! If You kept a record of wrongs, O Lord, who could stand? Remember not our iniquity forever! On account of our sins, we rightly deserve only Your righteous condemnation and all-consuming wrath. Because You are the God of all the living, do not look upon us in judgment!

+ RIP Warren Aaron Ewy +

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today we stand at the foot of a mountain. Our whole lives are spent in circling this mountain, in paths through a strange and wild land. However, today, we praise the Lord God that He has called Warren Ewy from his path of wandering up onto the high mountain, into the House of the Lord.

Throughout these many years, Warren wandered a wide and varied path. As he moved often in his younger years, he probably felt some of the same trials as the Israelites wandering in the desert. Who are we? Where are we going? When will we settle in one place? Even as he settled on the farm in his adult years, there was never stillness about him. Even up to the end, Warren was a man of diligence and hard work. There is no rest along the path of life. Days progress. Seasons change. The land yields its bounty only through hard work and the sweat of the brow. The lawn is not going to mow itself.

"Behold, Your King Is Coming to You"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Who is this?” That is the question that lit up Jerusalem when our Lord entered there at the start of the Passover week. Who was this man who stirred up the crowds so, simply by riding a donkey into town? Who could cause an impromptu hero's parade and have the people shouting his accolades?

Indeed, who is this king who comes riding on a donkey? This is the question the world would love to have answered. And so many have offered their own answers to the question.

"You Shall Bless the Lord Your God"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers.” This admonition Moses spoke to the people of Israel as they gathered on the edge of the Promised Land, anxiously waiting to enter the land which the Lord had sworn to give to their forefathers. And our text speaks just as powerfully to us.

The Lord has indeed promised a land to our forefathers. The land promised to us is a great and wonderful land. Its streets are paved with gold, and its gates are precious stones. Mighty trees line a beautiful river. Their fruit brings life everlasting, and the water satisfies the deepest thirst. There is no need for lamp or sun, and there is no sorrow or dying or sickness or darkness. The Lamb is in the midst of this land, and His people are gathered around Him in one great multitude from every nation and tribe and tongue.

Things Are Not Always As They Seem

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you have ever read or seen Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, you no doubt understand the saying, “things are not always as they seem”. Alice encounters one thing after another, in increasingly odd and peculiar situations. Cats come and go with a wink. Oysters and walruses are fond friends, for a time. Flamingoes are croquet mallets, and playing cards form a royal court. Flowers sing and caterpillars smoke hookahs. Nothing is as it ought to be.

How often do our lives feel like we have slipped down the rabbit hole! Those sworn to protect our Constitution are finding ways to end-run around it or nullify it. The rich are defrauding the poor by appearing as beggars. Marriage is divorced from God's plan, and so it seems to be whatever one wants it to be. Parents allow children to run their lives, and so ours has become a nation of overgrown children.

"By Your Endurance You Will Gain Your Lives"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Then he said to them, 'Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.'” Horrors and terrors abound all around us. It seems that every day you open the paper or turn on the TV and the news is filled with accounts of disasters natural and man-made. The smoldering volcano in Indonesia. The stranded cruiseliner off Mexico. The storms battering the Caribbean. Deaths of soldiers and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. The gulf oil spill. The earthquake in Haiti. AIDS and malaria in Africa. Cancer in our midst. And the list goes on and on.

As long as this globe continues turning, there will be disasters of every imaginable variety, severity, and source. Try as we might, the best engineering will never remove the effects of sin upon this world. We will be faced with loss and destruction every moment of our lives. If you are not convinced, check the dust on the doorframes of your house.

The Ones Coming out of the Great Tribulation

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us hear from the account of the martyrdom of St. Polycarp:

The church of God that sojourns at Smyrna to the church of God that sojourns at Philomelium, and to all those of the holy and catholic Church who sojourn in every place: may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 We write you, brethren, the things concerning those who suffered martyrdom, especially the blessed Polycarp, who put an end to the persecution by sealing it, so to speak, through his own witness. For almost everything that led up to it happened in order that the Lord might show once again a martyrdom conformable to the gospel. The Passion of Christ is the pattern of that of his martyrs. ²For he waited to be betrayed, just as the Lord did, to the end that we also might be imitators of him, "not looking only to that which concerns ourselves, but also to that which concerns our neighbors.” For it is a mark of true and steadfast love for one not only to desire to be saved oneself, but all the brethren also.

"An Eternal Gospel to Proclaim"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.'”

St. John saw the angelic messenger of the Lord flying in the mid-heavens, proclaiming the eternal Gospel to all the people who dwell on earth. The angel's message is that of all Scriptures and every preacher of the Gospel: “Fear God and give Him glory.” That is, believe the Word of God, and honor Him in repentance and faith.

But that is not the message that so many preachers of this world proclaim. There are so many “gospels” out there, each claiming to save us from our enemy, each naming a different ill of our age as your obstacle to true happiness. If you look long enough and hard enough, you will find something that soothes your itching ears.

"O God, Be Propitiated Unto Me!"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Both Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God. Both the Pharisee and the tax collector offered prayers to God. Yet, God honored the offerings of Abel and the tax collector, but not those of Cain or the Pharisee. Why is that? Both Cain and Abel brought the firstfruits of their labors. Both the Pharisee and the tax collector prayed in the temple at the appropriate times in the appropriate ways. Why did God honor one sacrifice and not the other?

Persistence in Faith

Rev. Ryan McDermott

St. Peter Lutheran Church

Elma, IA

Proper 24C – 17 October 2010

Text: Luke 18:1-8

Persistence in Faith

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob wrestled with God, and he refused to give up the fight, except that God bless him. And so, for his persistence in faith, God blessed him. Likewise, in the parable we hear today, the widow receives justice from the unrighteous judge because of her persistence.

Anyone who has children understands the predicament of the unrighteous judge. Think of a time when you took your child into a store, and he just had to have something, whether it was a candy or a stuffed animal or a comic book. You have no intention of buying something he does not need, and so he proceeds to throw a fit. He wants that candy, and he wants it now! Screaming and crying, and maybe even hitting or stomping, ensue. You just know that every eye in the store is on you and your miscreant child. And so, you scoop him up and get him a candy or toy, only so he will stop screaming. You acted not on account of his need, but in view of public opinion of you as a parent. After all, no one wants to be known as the parent whose kids always act up in the grocery store.

Like any good parent, our heavenly Father invites us, even commands us to come to Him and ask for what we need. Not that He needs to hear our prayers – our Father knows what we need before we even form the thought to ask. But He does like to be asked. After all, the act of asking involves a certain humbling on our part. We must, even implicitly, confess that we are not masters of our own domain and destiny. We must confess that we are not in control of our lifes. We must confess that we are incapable of satisfying our own needs, however contrary that may appear to the world's appeal. Our heavenly Father provides for us all that we need to support this body and life, and all that we need to bring us safely and joyfully into the next.

But how much would we like to forget this! This world would have you think that you can get what you need all under your own powers and abilities. If you just work hard enough, you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and be all you can be. If you just work a little harder, you can have that glamourous house and that shiny new car. If you just work a few more weekends and doubles, you can have that big TV and that Caribbean cruise.

Oh, sure, you might have to give up things, but it's all worth it in the end, right? What's a few sleepless nights now? The family will understand when they see the pile of Christmas presents. What's a few rounds of birth-control now? Our children will be much better off if we have them when we are more prepared. What's a few more payments on the credit card? That new TV will look great for the big game.

Then something happens that upsets the apple-cart. Perhaps the injustice perpetrated against the widow in the parable was the murder of her husband? What would happen if you were to fall down tomorrow morning, and never be able to work again? What would happen if your brother were to rise against you, or your family abandon you?

Of course, the proper thing to do would be to run to God in prayer. Our heavenly Father commands that we pray to Him and ask Him for what we need. And when we are in dire need, we are only too happy to do so. We are most willing to fill God's ear with all our sob stories and failed ambitions. We tell Him all our dreams and hopes that have come grinding to a halt. Like a child with a broken toy, we come to our Father and ask Him to fix it. And He will.

Our Father is no tyrant. He is no whimsical dragon-god, whose good-will depends on the time of day or the weather. Unlike the idol of the Muslims, our Father in heaven is near and dear to us, and He delights in His children and always wants what is best for us. He rejoices to hear our prayers and is pleased to fix our problems. He loves to be asked for help, and does not hesitate to give it. He has promised to give us what we need, when we need it.

And of course, there is the rub. When we are in dire straits, we want our fix right then and there, and we want it to look the way we imagine things. But our Father does not always see things our way; in fact, He seldom does. On the contrary, He sees things as they are, and as they should be, and therefore He acts to make our situation just as it ought to be. Sometimes that means that we must wait upon His gracious will. God always answers prayer, but sometimes He answers with a “Not Yet”. God is not a tyrant, but neither is he Santa Claus. He will give us just what we need, but that may not be what we particularly want. But rest assured, our Father has promised that He will care for us better than we could have hoped for.

And His best gift has already been given to us. In the fullness of time, yet when no one was expecting Him, the fullness of the Godhead became man in the person of Jesus Christ. Our Lord was born of a virgin, suffered, and died, that we might become sons and daughters of God. In Jesus, all who believe and are baptized have been crucified and rise again in newness of life. Upon the cross, the will of God was enacted upon Jesus for our salvation. Our pleas for mercy were answered in the most unexpected but powerful way possible. The veil of sin and death was rent asunder. The chasm between God and Man was bridged.

This morning, we have witnessed our heavenly Father claim another dear son as His own. This morning, in a most ordinary and unpresuming act, Grayson was drowned and died with all sins and evil desires, and was raised again into newness of life. He, and each of us with him, now calls God his Father. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is with us each step of each day, to guide and to bless us. And we must never let that go.

In Holy Baptism, the Name of the Triune God is placed upon you. That name marks you as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified. That sign of the Cross on your head and your heart entitles you to call out “Abba, Father!” And you must cry out to Him! He has promised to be faithful to you, even when you are unfaithful to Him. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Even this day, He invites you to His House, to His Table, where before your eyes He spreads a banquet of the choicest food – the very precious Body and Blood of His Son Jesus, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins and the preservation of your faith.

So cry out to God in every situation. Confess your sins. “Entrust your days and burdens to God's most loving hand.” Petition Him for His gifts. Thank and praise Him for His blessings. But never fail to pray, because He never fails to answer.

Leave all to His direction;

His wisdom rules for you

In ways to rouse your wonder

At all His love can do.

Soon He, His promise keeping,

With wonder-working pow'rs

Will banish from your spirit

What gave you troubled hours.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

"Your Faith Has Made You Well"

Rev. Ryan McDermott

St. Peter Lutheran Church

Elma, IA

Proper 24C – 10 October 2010

Text: Luke 17:11-19

“Your Faith Has Made You Well”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As Jesus was traveling toward Jerusalem, ten lepers met Him. Standing afar off as prescribed by the Law, they called out to Him “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” And Jesus had mercy on them. He sent them to the priests to be pronounced clean. As they went, they became cleansed. But only one, a Samaritan, saw and returned to thank Jesus for His miraculous gift. Seeing his faith, Jesus said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

All ten men were cleansed. All received the same blessing of healing. All could have been satisfied by simply going to the priests and being pronounced ritually clean, and then going back to their homes and families. But the one returned to Jesus, fell down on his face, and praised God, giving thanks to Jesus. And this one was a Samaritan.

"We Are Unworthy Servants"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What is the job of a servant? To serve. The job of a servant is to do what his master commands him to do, without complaint and without thought of reward. Today's gospel lesson speaks about the proper attitude of a servant, and what one may expect of his master.

The Fourth Commandment tells us what attitude we are to have toward our masters. “Honor your father and mother” commands our Lord. Luther expands this in his explanation, saying, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.” We are to render unto our masters the same love and obedience due our parents, because they, like our parents, have been placed in authority over us. We do well to obey them, that it go well with us.

But how often do we fail to do this! We chafe under the watchful eye of the manager. We wish the boss would go on vacation so we could slack off. We get the chores done “good enough”, rather than properly. We hit the snooze button one too many times, and walk into work a few minutes late, hoping no one will notice. We complain about what we are instructed to do, and look for a pat on the back for doing something we should be doing anyway. We are just plain lazy and wasteful with someone else's time and money. And yet, we want to be thought of well. We want to be thought of as good, honest, hard workers.

Repent!

Likewise, how much have we failed to serve our heavenly Master faithfully! We have despised His commands. We have not feared, loved, or trusted in God above all else. We have sat by and watched the creation entrusted to us go to ruin. We have misused, abused, and disused our Master's possessions. We have turned His gifts into unrecognizable nonsense, fashioned after our own devising. We have oiled the water, clouded the air, and stripped the earth. We have made children a product instead of a gift. We have made procreation a mere side-effect of sex, to be prevented until we think ourselves ready, or dispensed with altogether if it suits us. We have made marriage a quasi-long-term joining of two people who each think the other is neat. We have made youth a far-too-early goal. We have made old age synonymous with frailty and senility, and an excuse for the young to disregard and disrespect the aged. And yet, we expect to hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Repent!

Your Master ought not commend you for your treatment of His gifts, but rather condemn you to hell along with the rich man and his unbelieving brethren. Your Master ought to wipe you from the face of the earth. Your master ought to turn His back and leave you to face the end your ways would bring.

But what has our Master done? He, the blameless one, has taken up the form of a servant. Our Lord Jesus Christ, “though He was int eh form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” In likeness as a servant, the Very Son of God bore our sins and iniquities upon the cross. In likeness as a servant, the Son of Man perfectly fulfilled the Father's will, doing what we could and would not do.

To Him all the riches of heaven belong, but upon Him all the curses of humanity hung and died. Through Him all things live and move and have their being, and in Him we find our life and light and hope. To Him it was said, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Through Him we become that son, beloved of the Father. No longer are we unworthy servants, waiting for our master's good pleasure. Now we are sons and daughters of the King of Kings, reclining at table in the House of the Lord. No more are we the prodigal son, eating the slop of pigs. Now we are the rich man, bedecked in royal wedding garments, feasting sumptuously upon our Lord Himself.

So, go out and serve your Master faithfully. Eat and drink deeply and often from His Table, then go and expend your labor to further His Kingdom. Do good works for your neighbor. Wear the mask of God and show Christ to the nations, beginning with your own household. Let the Light of Christ flow through you as your works are evident to all. Your work is not in vain. Though you may not see it, your work has value and purpose for God.

And while you work, know this – the grace of God has been poured into your hearts and hands. So whether you sew or knit, whether you cook or clean, whether you read or write, whether you plant or harvest, you are serving your Lord according to His bidding. And it is pleasing in His sight. Unworthy servants though we may be, we have received Christ as our reward, and we shall receive our full commendation when the angels come to bear us safely home at our last hour.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Resting in the Bosom of Mercy

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“If we considered it more carefully, we should have to declare that our whole life is enclosed and established in the bosom of the mercy of God.” (AE 12:320). In his comments on Psalm 51, Martin Luther taught that the whole Christian life is one of begging for God's mercy. He says also, “It is a real theological virtue to cover our sin with prayer this way, and when we feel our weakness, to take refuge in this song: 'Have mercy on me, O God.'”

In today's gospel lesson, we heard about two men, a beggar named Lazarus and an unnamed rich man. The rich man feasted sumptuously everyday and was bedecked with the finest clothing money could buy. Meanwhile, Lazarus lay at his gate and begged for scraps, even to the desperation of hoping for the bits only fit for dogs. He was covered in sores, and only the dogs came to his aid. In the end, both men died and reached their final ends. Lazarus was carried by the angels into heaven, where he rested at the bosom of Abraham. On the other hand, the rich man was buried, and he came into eternal torment.

The Unjust Steward

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today's Gospel lesson tells us about a manager who totally mismanaged his master's household. He was charged with wasting his master's possessions, and was about to be fired. This manager was too weak to to manual labor, and too proud or ashamed to beg, so he came up with a scheme to make allies among his master's business associates, so that when his master fired him, he would have a place to turn for help. He called in each person who owed his master money or goods, and he reduced their debt substantially. This already unjust manager defrauded his master even more in his attempt to save his own skin! However, the master commended him for his shrewdness and foresight.

The Sheep and the Coin

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” According to Luke's gospel, this is the mission of Jesus. The parables in today's lesson teach us more about Jesus' work of seeking and saving the lost.

The first parable tells of a shepherd who has a hundred sheep. One gets lost, and the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes in search of the one lost one. When he finds it, he hoists it up on his shoulders and brings it back to the flock. Then he calls for rejoicing because the lost one is found. Likewise, Jesus says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

"There are Two Ways"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways.” The early Christian writing called the Didache begins with this statement. In this way, the whole human life is summarized. Will you take the way of life, or will you take the way of death? The Lord gives us the same choice in today's lessons: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.” So, then, which will you choose?

The way of life is clear, but not simple. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” This is the way of life; do this, and you will live.

There are some who would make the way of life seem as simple as any other choice in life. Will you choose black or brown pants today? Toast or cereal? Coffee or tea? Brown-bag or lunch out? Crest or Colgate? Charmin or Northern? Marry Leah or Rachel? The way of life or the way of death? Just pick one.

Or not.

Your way has been chosen for you, without any input from you whatsoever. By nature, because of the sin of Adam and Eve that infects each and every one of us, you were born into the way of death. Your selfish ambition, your covetousness and jealousy, your unwillingness to suffer for the sake of another – all these are the result of the sin born in you from your forefathers. And because of this sin, you were cast upon the way of death. You were blinded from ever even knowing about the way of life, much less following it. You were compelled to make your way through this earthly existence in darkness and death, trudging along by yourself. You were made to drag your burden of sin and guilt and shame everywhere you went. That load would keep building and building, until finally it broke upon you and crushed you beneath its awful weight. Then it would sink you into the depths of hell, into the abyss and outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is the choice inflicted upon you.

But you were not abandoned to that misery of an existence. Upon that dark and dismal way broke forth the light of heaven. Upon that road, in the midst of your trudge through death toward death, the Light of the World shone. In the dark night, the Lord of Life was born into this realm of death. He entered our forsaken path, and walked upon it with us. He, who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might receive life. He trudged through this dark and dangerous wilderness. He carried our sorrows and bore our griefs. Jesus Christ, the Lord of Hosts, took up our cross and carried it to the bitter end. Upon our cross He was nailed. Upon our cross He shed His blood, that we might have the forgiveness of sins. Upon our cross He died, that we might receive His eternal life. And that one glorious death has destroyed death forevermore!

Furthermore, that event is not limited to the past happenings on that day in Israel long ago. The Holy Spirit comes to each of us in our own darkness and calls from death to life. He breaks into our dead hearts of stone and gives us beating hearts of flesh, full of the life of Christ. He calls us forth out of the shadows and shines the radiant light of life upon the path. He lifts up our heads, that we may see the road ahead. He lifts up our hearts, that we may rejoice in Christ's gifts. He lifts up our eyes, that we may see whence comes our help and strength and life. He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies us in the one true faith, together with all the Church on earth and all the saints in heaven.

So you have been set upon the way of life. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, you have been equipped for the journey ahead. In the light of Christ, you see the light on the path. You know what awaits you at the end of your path.

Come now, you wounded and weary. Come and receive food for the journey. Come and eat at the feast of salvation. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Receive in your mouth the food that will cleanse your sin and guilt away and strengthen and sustain you along the way of life. Then go forth with joy and break forth into singing! Your Light has shined, your Day has dawned!

Therefore, leave your father and mother, your family and friends, your toys and goodies. Pick up your cross and follow Jesus. Follow where our captain leads. Follow through the fight that lies ahead. Follow through the dark nights that will come upon you. Because you know that your path is sure, and your destination is paradise. Let the light of Christ so shine on and in you, that you may never stray from the way of life.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

"Wir Alle Sind Bettler"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“We are all beggars. This is true.” These were Martin Luther's last words. And as true as they were for Luther, they still ring true for us today.

From the very moment our lives begin until our final moments, we are beggars. In the womb, we come into being by no force or wish of our own. We are fed, nourished, and sheltered by that powerful outsider known as our mother. We must beg her body for the privilege of continuing there during gestation. We must beg our nourishment from her, and silently entreat her not to cause harm to us by her actions or intake. When the hour comes for us to be brought forth from the womb, we must beg for passage into the world, and we begin begging for our food anew.

The Struggles of a Christian

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

Many people want to enter the Kingdom of God. And many people think they have found a way in. But is it the right way?

Some people think that they can get in because of who they are or because of a group to which they belong. This is an age-old problem. Every civilization, with very few exceptions, has asserted its gods and its cult of worship over and against those of its neighbors and enemies. The Philistines thought their god Dagon was more powerful than the LORD, until the presence of the Ark caused the idol of Dagon to fall and shatter. The Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians all tried to assert their gods over the LORD, but to no avail.

Of course, this was not lost on the Jews. They, after all, were the chosen people. They were the beloved children of the Holy One of Israel. Because they were the children of Abraham, assuredly they were going to heaven. Or so they thought, and so do Jews still think.

Fire of the Word

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

We do not like division. We spend a lot of time trying to prevent or repair divisions that occur in our lives. We tell our children to get along with one another, to play nicely. Corporations have seminars to teach employees conflict-resolution techniques. People go to college and study business relations or international relations, so they learn how to prevent and resolve conflicts. If you walk through a bookstore, even a Christian bookstore, there is a whole section devoted to the topic of conflict resolution and interpersonal harmony.

+ RIP Stella Mable Gesell +

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

In our gospel lesson for this day, Jesus invites us, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” What a glorious promise and comfort this is! For we all labor and are heavy laden with the cares of this world and life.

We labor under great burdens every day. The stresses of family, work, finances, and politics place great demands upon our time and energy. It sometimes takes all we have to keep going, one foot in front of another. There always seems to be one more project to finish, one more load of laundry, one more sports practice, one more bill to pay.

What Do You Fear?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

What do you fear? Maybe it is spiders or snakes. Maybe you are afraid of heights or extreme depths. Maybe you are afraid of flying.

These things are the stuff of which movies are made. Hollywood spends a lot of time and money making you afraid of big, ugly bugs and snakes so that you go to the movies to root for the sexy hero and his alluring female companion. There are endless variations on the basic horror-movie plot line, really just the same thing recast with different actors and various kinds of creepy-crawlies. TV shows poke fun at these kinds of fears, making it fodder for endless sitcom scenarios.

Perhaps you consider yourself more grown-up and mature, and you are above those kinds of fears. So then, what do you fear? Maybe it is terrorist attacks. Maybe it is severe weather destroying your home and livelihood. Maybe it is economic meltdown depleting your savings. Maybe it is accident or illness taking your life or that of your loved ones.

Why Should We Work?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Do you ever think about why you work? Why do you do the job you do every day? What makes you continue to farm or sell groceries or deliver mail or teach? Would you rather not do what you do?

Long ago, King Solomon considered these questions in his search for knowledge and wisdom. And we heard his conclusions in today's Old Testament lesson: “I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is a vanity.”

Do You Want What He Has to Give?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Have you ever been to a “white elephant” gift exchange? You know, where people bring wrapped gifts, generally of relatively low value, that they proceed to exchange, usually via some some sort of lottery or raffle. Of course, part of the fun of a white elephant exchange is to find amusing things to give to your friends. I remember, as a child, tagging along with my mother to our church's LWML Christmas party, where the ladies would always come up with odd or amusing things to exchange, often items re-gifted from other sources. One time, one prize that floated around was a plush cat, limp and flat, with almost no stuffing, and a tag that said “roadkill”. Such items, and such exchanges are amusing for a moment, but they hold no lasting blessing or value.

Or perhaps you have received a well-intentioned gift from a loved one, for which you struggled to show gratitude as you thought, “What in the world am I going to do with this?” It may have been obvious that the person genuinely meant well, and wished to give you something that would be of value and maybe have meaning, but had neither for you.

How often do we receive gifts that we would rather not accept? Or, perhaps more common, how often do we receive gifts but fail to realize the source and worth of them?

Good Housekeeping?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Imagine for a moment two houses. The first house, when you go in for a visit, is immaculately clean. I mean not just tidy and well-kept, but museum-quality spotless. The kind of place where dust would not dare to fall. This house is beautiful, practically sparkling. The kind of place they put in Good Housekeeping magazines and in ads for maid services. So, you enter this house, and how do you feel? Probably, you feel uncomfortable. It is so clean and neat that you are afraid to touch anything or to sit too heavily on the furniture. Your host asks you in, and you see a beautiful, Martha Stewart-quality banquet set, and you know that the host and hostess have worked all day on it. However, you sit down to table, and you feel like eyes are watching your every move. Conversation is polite, but formal.

Now, imagine another house. This house is quite a bit less formal and fancy than the other. It is smaller in size, but more filled with furniture, toys, and decorations. This house is picked up, but certainly would not win a Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Your host here asks you in, and you settle into a large, well-used sofa in front of an impressive home entertainment center. A dog runs around at your feet. When you arrive, they send out for pizza, then settle in for honest, friendly conversation, while kids play in the other room. How do you feel in this house? Probably much more at home than in the first house. This house, while much less clean and tidy, feels like more of a home, like the people here actually live here, rather than just maintain the space.

This contrast in hospitality is a bit like the difference between Martha and Mary in today's gospel lesson. St. Luke records, “And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving.” We see a snapshot of two sisters with very different responses to Jesus' visit.

Martha was the one to welcome Jesus into their home, according to Luke. But she was distracted – literally, dragged off – by the duties of preparing the house and probably a meal for Jesus. She was very anxious to make things just right. Now, this is not in itself a bad thing. Martha was better than the Samaritans who had refused to entertain the Lord at all. She willingly invited Him in, and was preparing a meal for Him. She was doing what was expected of a good hostess. Her hospitality would have been commended by her peers.

On the other hand, we have no mention of whether Mary welcomed Jesus into the home, or how she reacted to His arrival. But she sat down at His feet and listened continuously to His teaching. She was so enrapt by His teaching that she could not tear herself away to help Martha prepare the meal. She was dumping all her responsibility on her sister. So who had the right reaction?

Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha was so wrapped up in “doing the right thing” that she failed to recognize why she was doing what she was doing. Yes, her hospitality was commendable, on the surface, but she failed to realize that the better work was to listen to Jesus' words. She was so busy serving her Lord, that she neglected the gifts He came to give.

On the other hand, Mary chose the better portion. She recognized the wonderful gifts that Jesus has to give, and she sat at His feet and received all that He had to give to her. And in so doing, she demonstrated a lively and robust faith in Jesus and His Word.

“Faith is the divine service (latreia) that receives the benefits offered by God. The righteousness of the Law is the divine service (latreia) that offers to God our merits. God wants to be worshipped through faith so that we receive from Him those things He promises and offers.” (Ap IV.49 Reader's Edition).

Now, what are those things which our Lord promises and offers? He offers to us none other than Himself. Jesus offers to us His life, sacrificed upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. He has taken upon Himself the sins of the whole world, of every man, woman, and child who ever was, is, or will be. Upon the cross, Jesus completed the joyous exchange of all our sin and death for all His righteousness and life. He died so that our death might be destroyed. He rose so that we too might rise in His new life. He offers to us the Word that says to each guilty and condemned heart “You are declared not guilty for My sake. Your sins are no more.” He promises to us that we have the Holy Spirit now, enlivening us for love toward God and service to our neighbor. He promises us that on the Last Day, He will call us by name into the Holy City, to forever worship around the throne of God and the Lamb.

So what happens when you hear Jesus' Word being spoken to you? Jesus says in Luke 8, “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.” You have this greatest treasure and promise – the message of the forgiveness of your sins and life with God in heaven. Listen to the Word of God and receive His Gifts, and you will not cease to have abundantly all that is His to give. As St. Paul instructs, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly... with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Faith is the highest and best worship of God.

Come, sit at Jesus' feet. Come, hear Jesus' voice as He tenderly speaks to you. Come, receive Jesus' gifts as He seeks to give you all good things. Come, ye faithful, raise the strain Of triumphant gladness!

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Ryan McDermott

St. Peter Lutheran Church

Elma, IA

Proper 11C – 18 July 2010

Who Really Needs Mercy?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today we hear about the lawyer who wanted to test Jesus. He stood up and questioned Jesus about what a person must do to inherit eternal life. So Jesus asked the lawyer a seemingly simple question: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” A good question to pose to a lawyer – what does the Law say?

Of course, the lawyer knows exactly what the Law says, and he rattles it off almost without thinking, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” That is the right answer, the classic textbook distillation of the whole Law of Moses, found in Deuteronomy, chapter 6. The lawyer knew this is the way to eternal life, and so did Jesus. But as Jesus would show, this is not the end of the matter.

Jesus tells the young lawyer, “Do this, and you will live.” Here is the raw rub – who of us actually does this? Who can really say that he loves the Lord God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind, and loves his neighbor as himself? Seeking to justify himself in the word of the Law, the lawyer had trapped himself in his own words, just as we do when we attempt to justify our own lives.

Just look at your own life. Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Oh, sure, it is easy to say yes when your neighbor is nice and respectable. It is easy to say yes when your neighbor is like you, at least enough to stay in your comfort zone. It is easy to say yes when your neighbor is doing relatively well and leaves you alone unless you need him.

But what about those who are not like you? What about the abused child in the home down the block? What about the nephew with the drinking problem? What about the wife whose husband cheats on her? Do you love these people as much as yourself?

What about the poor and starving children in places like Nigeria or Guatemala? What about the homeless orphans left alone by the quake in Haiti? What about the children stranded in refugee camps in Asia? Do you love these as much as yourself?

What about the physically or mentally disabled? What about the deaf and the blind? What about the unborn at risk from their own mothers? What about those tortured in the confines of their own minds? Do you love these as much as yourself?

We all know the answer to these questions. No matter what we might do, the answer will always be a resounding “No”. I can never do enough for others to balance out my inborn selfishness. You can never give enough to balance out what you hang onto, in your heart and in your bank account. And all this selfishness is but a symptom of the fact that neither you nor I is even capable of loving God wholly and perfectly, as the Law demands.

But the lawyer in our gospel account wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” To this, Jesus replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man was beaten by robbers and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite passed by on the other side of the road, not even condescending to touch him or even send help. But a Samaritan saw him and nursed his wounds, bound him up, took him to an inn, and made provision for his convalescence. Now where are you in this story?

You are the man beaten and battered, robbed and left for dead. The forces of sin and Satan have torn you end from end and left you for dead. Satan wants nothing more than to see you dead in your sins and trespasses. And by all accounts, you ought to have been left for dead. There was nothing in you or me that would endear God to us.

And this is where the great miracle of Jesus' work takes place. He entered our broken, dying human sphere and took all our failings and frailties upon Himself, and took them to the cross. Upon the cross, Jesus received the punishment from the Father for all that we have failed to love and to do. In His death, Jesus showed His glory. In His resurrection, He displays for all the overwhelming triumph wrought by the love of God over the forces of sin, death, and Satan. The love of God was powerfully displayed for the unlovable.

And here and now, Jesus comes along your road and picks you up out of your misery and despair. He gives you forgiveness, life, and salvation. He breathes His life-giving Spirit upon you and gives you His very life. He picks you up out of the ditch and binds up your wounds. He pours oil on your head and cleans your wounds with His holy waters of Baptism. He pours the wine of His precious blood into your mouth to cleanse and purify you and give you strength. He bears you out of the valley of the shadow of death and into the safety of His holy ark, the Church, where he lays up provisions for you to be fed and nursed to health. He leaves His Word to strengthen you and His Holy Sacraments to feed and nourish you. And he promises to give you everything you lack when He comes back again. When He returns on the Last Day, He will call you to Himself to join in the feast that shall never end – the marriage feast of the Bridegroom in His kingdom forever and ever.

So, do you love God with your whole being? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Now the answer is a joyful, resounding “Yes!” You truly love God because His love has been poured out for you and poured into you. And that love of God bubbles up and overflows throughout your life, so that you cannot help but show love and mercy to your neighbor. And like a light shining on a hill, your neighbor sees the love and mercy of God in your face and in the works of your hands.

Let us recall that in our midst

Dwells Christ, His only Son;

As members of His body joined

We are in Him made one.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Ryan McDermott

St. Peter Lutheran Church

Elma, IA

11 July 2010

Peace be to This House!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!'” In our gospel lesson, Jesus gives this instruction. But what is peace?

We hear a lot about peace in the media and from various cultural sources. There was the “peace and love” ideal of the last century, which meant doing whatever I want, as long as I don't infringe on your right to do whatever you want. So-called “peace and love” caused many illegitimate children, and infected many with disease and drug addictions. In the name of peace, people marched in the streets and burned things. In the name of peace, how many were killed in Asia? Is this peace?

Set Your Face toward the Goal

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is a lot of talk these days about the perils of distracted driving. Talking on the phone, eating, texting, fiddling with many and various gadgets. These are ever-increasing problems, and can cause serious, even fatal, accidents. But they are just today's variation on a problem that has plagued man since time past memory.

Before the cell phone, there was the introduction of the radio and the tape deck into cars. Before that was the age-old problem that has plagued drivers ever since there were things to drive – noisy kids and car-mates. Even alone in a quiet car, there can be distractions, emanating from our own minds, as we cruise along alone with our thoughts, and soon we become engrossed in our own little world.

Ordination Sermon: To Be and to Have a Pastor

Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Being a pastor in Christ’s Church is not child’s play. It is a serious task; one with eternal implications both for the man in the office and for the people under his care. For the job of a pastor is to be the caretaker and physician of people’s souls. And the pastor is held accountable by God for those souls under his care, as to whether or not he did what he was sent to do for them.

We see just such an accounting today in the Word of the Lord given to Ezekiel to speak against the priests of the Old Testament Church. The prophet writes: “And the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.’” The priests had failed to do what God had sent them to do. Instead of feeding the flock of Israel, God’s chosen people; they fed themselves, not with the things God had given them, but with that which they demanded and took from the people. Instead of using their position to serve God and be a blessing to His people, they took advantage of it, seeking only to serve themselves.

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