Christ's Promising Word

Time after Pentecost (Lectionary 26)
September 27, 2009
Anoint the Sick
James 3:13-20

Step by Step, Prayer by Prayer

Back in 1996 my wife, Laurie, was diagnosed with cancer.

“I have good news and bad news,” the doctor said. “It is a slow-growing cancer. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We can knock it back. We can slow it down. But we cannot cure it. You will probably have a relapse within the next couple of years. And then, we will knock it back again.”

But, here it is 13 years later. And (“Alleluia! Thank you, Jesus!”) there is no sign of it. No sign of it at all. As far as the doctors are concerned, the cancer is gone. Completely gone. And they have no explanation for it.

Ask me and I will tell you that Laurie was in such excellent physical shape that the doctors could be extra aggressive with her. They doubled up on some treatments they would not have done to someone who was older or weaker.

But ask Laurie … and she will tell you it was the prayers. All the prayers offered on her behalf by so many of the faithful. In fact, there is a little card that someone sent her. And it’s message became her motto and her mantra that she said to herself everyday. She put it above the kitchen sink. And that card is still there.

And that card said, “Step by step, prayer by prayer, the Lord will always get you there.”

Service of Healing

Lutherans have always valued the power of prayer. In fact, I would dare to say that a very tender and important moment happens in worship every week when we lift up by name those who are near and dear to us who are in need of healing during the “Prayers of the Faithful.”

We bang the doors of heaven on behalf of those who are near and dear to us. And many of those very people report back to me that they can tell for sure that those prayers are heard.

But one nice addition to our new red book of worship, the ELW—Evangelical Lutheran Worship—is that it now includes a “Service of Healing” which is intended to be used within a moment of corporate worship. Say, a service of Holy Communion.

This Service of Healing picks up on what James says in our first reading for today:

“Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”

What this is NOT

Let me say some things about what this service is NOT. This service is not an act of magic. Just because you come forward and have someone lay your hands on you and anoint you with oil doesn’t mean that all your health issues will immediately go away. Sometimes prayer does result in physical healing and sometimes it doesn’t.

And just because it doesn’t, doesn’t mean that God does not love you. Or that you are bad. Or, that your faith is not good or strong enough. Saint Paul himself had a painful “thorn in the flesh” that he prayed again and again for God to remove, but God never did. Instead he got the answer, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Sometimes God has another cure than the one we have in mind.

And this service is not what the Roman Catholics used to call “Extreme Unction” or “Last Rites,” the anointing of people who are so sick that they are about to die.

When I started out in ministry, the only hospital in town was a Roman Catholic one and so most people from the church that I served went there.

And the staff and the Roman Catholic patients would shutter as I walked into the door. Here was the priest, they thought, coming to administer “Last Rites.” Back in those days, the only time a priest would come into a hospital was to administer “Last Rites.” To see a priest in hospital meant someone was going to die.

That no longer is Roman practice. Nor has it ever been ours. The expectation of this anointing is that a person will be healed.

Jesus Heals

In his ministry Jesus performed many acts of healing. He forgave sins. Those sins that can make our heads ache and our stomach churn. A lot of physical ailments can be traced to that guilty conscience that is still bugging us.

And Jesus cast out demons—those bad and evil spirits that can deflate us and oppress us. And Jesus cured physical illnesses of every kind. And Jesus raised the dead. A kind of healing, wasn’t it, of the greatest illness of them all.

And in his healing, Jesus used many different methods, such as lifting his hands and eyes and praying to the God who was his Father. And laying his hands on people—even the lepers—and touching the affected part. Or, speaking a healing word from a great distance even though he could not be there in person.

An Extension of that Same Ministry

This Service of Healing is an extension of that ministry of Jesus. That very same ministry. The laying on of hands, the prayers of the faithful, the anointing with oil are all signs that Jesus is the source of power for any healing that is affected. And that the prayers of the faithful are effective and powerful.

And that those who have committed sins are forgiven—personally, fully and completely. They were all forgiven the day that Jesus died. And that Jesus will heal all who are sick one way or another. Either by a healing now or (as Jesus did for my father) in a life to come.

And so, after the Hymn of the Day, we will switch over to the Service of Healing on page 276 in the ELW and we invite those of you who wish to come forward.

Those who are cheerful – They shall sing.

For a final word, I remind you of Laurie’s little mantra: “Step by step, prayer by prayer, the Lord will always get you there.”

© Pastor Paul Jaster

Time after Pentecost (Lectionary 25)
September 20, 2009
Show a Good Life
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Why do we Fight?

Last Sunday I asked the Adult Bible Class, “What do you want to talk about this year?”

And immediately a hand shot up. And a person said, “Maybe this is showing my ignorance, but I would like to know more about Muslims, Christians and Jews. We all come from Abraham, don’t we? Then why are we fighting one another in the name of God?”

And I empathize with that remark. It doesn’t make much sense, does it, that people with the same God and people who come from the same human family should end up fighting with each other to the point of murder.

Maybe that happens in the world of politics. Or among the mobs and mafias. But it certainly should not happen in the church of Jesus Christ.

Violent Zeal in the Church

We are in the book of James this day. The James who most likely was not a disciple of Jesus, one of the twelve (as in “James and John the son of Zebedee”), but who rather was a brother of Jesus (a biological brother) who later became THE leader in the church of Jerusalem, the number one leader.

And if this is the case, then that puts James smack dab in the very middle of those tumultuous years in Jerusalem right before the Jewish revolt in 70 A.D. In other words, there were different Jewish factions who were fighting with each other over how to rid themselves of their Roman overlords.

And among them were a bunch of Zealots. Pious people who were so “zealous” for the Law of Moses that they were willing to use force if necessary to drive the Romans out and use the sword and daggers to kill other Jews if they aided and abetted Romans—like a zealous priest named Phinehas did back in the days of Moses.

Or like Judas Maccabeus did 160 years before Jesus. Judas Maccabeus. Now there’s a name for you. Judas “the hammer.” That’s what Maccabeus means. “The hammer.” What a title for a priest! It sounds more like a name for a World Wide Wrestler. Those were their role models: Phinehas and Judas Maccabeus.

And quite possibly this “zealous” attitude spilled over into the church. That there were conflicts and disputes among Christians (including disputes over how to get rid of Roman overlords) that led to violence and bloodshed.

A Sign of a Sick Heart

And so, James had to lay down the law. “These conflicts and disputes among you,” he says, “where do they come from? They come from the bitter envy and the selfish ambition in your hearts. You want something. And you do not have it. So you commit murder to get it.”

And that pretty well sums it up, now doesn’t it? All the violence we see around the world today. You want something. And you do not have it. And so you hurt someone else to get it.

Maybe that’s the way Serena thinks she can win in Wimbledon when her own foot gets in the way. Or maybe that’s the way the radical right think that they can win the pro-life debate. Let’s see. Let’s stop abortion by killing the abortion doctors. That makes a lot of sense, now doesn’t it? For a pro-lifer to stop abortions by killing a doctor.

That happened in a Lutheran congregation back in May, you might remember. Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed on a Sunday while he was ushering at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas, one of our congregations.

Maybe that is an earthly wisdom, unspiritual and devilish. But it is certainly not God’s wisdom. That is not God’s way. “God’s judgment is merciless to those who show no mercy.” That’s what we heard James say two weeks ago in chapter one.

God’s Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

And yet, in the very next breath we heard Saint James say, “God’s mercy triumphs over judgment.” God sent his son to die upon the cross to endure God’s own merciless judgment on those who show no mercy.

And in the very process God holds before our eyes another model. Not the “Zealot model” of a Phinehas or a Judas Maccabeus or a Serena or a Joe Wilson, but rather the “cruciformed model” of the Christ, who is everything that we are not. Saint James’s sevenfold list. Saint James “perfect” sevenfold list: “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.”

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. It’s like the seeds are harvested from his death and resurrection. And by the Holy Spirit those same seeds—the things that Jesus are—are planted in us. And God is “jealous.” God is “zealous” for us to have the Spirit of Christ to dwell in us.

God Effects a Change of Heart

And so God calls us to repentance and to a total change of heart. “Submit yourself to the Lord. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God. Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Peace in this world of ours does not come as the result of fighting and killing. Killing did not free anyone from Roman rule. The Jewish people quickly discovered that in 70 A.D. Their killing only led to their own misery and defeat.

Rather peace comes from above…from God…and it is given as a special promise to those who surrender to God’s wisdom from above.

To welcome such a God is to be both humbled and exalted. It humbles us because it gives us no coercive power over others. And yet, it exalts us. Because it gives us no need to put down anybody else, but rather causes us to glory in Christ’s rule.

Peace for the Polarized

We live in a polarized world where people are getting pushed farther and farther apart. Just think of the difference it would make, if rather than the shouting, the fighting and arguing, the bitter and frustrating competition, there was a community of people who dared to take the risk of making peace.

And practiced kindness. And was open-minded to opinions different than their own, showing mercy. And did not claw over others for their own advantage. Or discriminate. Or hide in hypocrisy. Wouldn’t that be “good news” for the world?

This is the “good life.” This is the “good life,” Saint James says. Done with gentleness. Born of wisdom. A wisdom that can only come from God.

© 2009 Pastor Paul jastter

Time after Pentecost (Lectionary 24)
September 13, 2009
Watch Your Language
James 3:1-12

Old Joe Sittler

In Lutheran circles there is a man by the name of Joe Sittler.

He is a legend. A sainted legend. Every Lutheran pastor knows of him. He was the wisest of the wise. A teacher. A theologian. Seminary prof. Prophet.  And poet. All rolled up into one.

He said in a few punchy words what it took others entire books to say. And he always said it first. He was always ahead of his time.

Or, as he himself once put it, he “popped a few corks of the stuff on which others got high.”

And once Joe Sittler was asked what advice would he give to change and reform the church. And he shot back with just three words—just three words: “Watch your language.” [Context, December 2005, Part A]

Joe knew the power of words to heal, especially that gospel word of Jesus Christ.

And Joe also knew the power of words to hurt—the painful stabs of gripes and gossip, criticism, vulgar abusive language, or even the unvarnished, untempered truth.

And so, his wisdom to Christian folk like you and me is “Watch your language.”

The Tongue is a Restless Evil

And now we hear the very same from James 3 today. “Watch your language!”

The human tongue can be an instrument of tremendous good. Just watch a mom or a dad soothing an upset child.

And yet, the human tongue can also be “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” And like a bridle on a horse or a rudder on a ship, it has an influence far, far greater than its size.

The children of our parish. The ones who now this fall return to school. I bet you this. I bet their knees will get scraped and their fingers pinched, but their feelings will get hurt more often by “words” than by anything else. Children often say some very cruel things to one another.

And I bet you this as well. Look back across your own emotional scars and wounds. And I bet more of them were also inflicted by a cruel word than by anything else. I’m sure you’ve felt that snake bite, too. The tongue is “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

The Tongue Reflects a Divided Heart

And worse yet, an evil tongue not only “inflicts” damage on the outside but it also “reflects” damage on the inside. It reflects a divided heart. A heart that does not belong solely to God.

“It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person,” Jesus said. “It is what comes out of a mouth that defiles a person. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come.”

And how can we do it? How can we with our tongue bless God as the source of every good, as we do each week in worship. And yet, with the same tongue also curse another human being, the one who’s done us wrong, even though that person is also made in the likeness of God, just like we are. It makes no sense at all.

And worst of all, we are held accountable by God for the evil words we speak. Especially teachers. “Not many of you should be teachers,” Saint James says, “for you know that we who teach will be judged with a greater strictness.” What a thing to say on the very day that we bless and commission teachers!!!

And Saint James has us nailed, now doesn’t he? “No one can tame the tongue,” he says. No one! No one at all. And yet, God holds us all into account for the way we speak to others. And that’s the awful bind we are in.

We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. An evil tongue lights a blaze of judgment that like a California wildfire goes beyond our power to control. And ultimately it leads us to the fire of hell. That’s how sharply Saint James puts it.

But God Has the Final Say

But praise God, there is a way out. Our tongue…our language may get us into trouble just like Saint James says. But, we don’t have the final say. We don’t have the last word. God and Jesus do. They have the last word. Our Lord and Father.

And through the mouth and ministry of Jesus. Through his “body” language. His cross, his death and resurrection. God has spoken a “new word” that declares that all our errant ways are forgiven, including sins of tongue, as disproportionate as they may be.

And that the sinful stain of our salty language is washed away by our baptism into the sweet water of God’s grace. And that our fiery, poisonous words have their antidote in the death and resurrection of Christ.

Our Future is Made New

Our future is made new, because God says so. God says so loudly on the cross. And Jesus gives us something important to say—the Gospel Word. A message that says that through the loving act of Jesus our hearts are changed.

And so, we “watch our language.” We very closely “watch our language.”

We use our words, our precious words, not to curse, swear, lie or deceive. But rather to call upon God in every trouble and to pray, praise and give thanks.

And we pay close attention to what we say about or to others so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in any way. Or damage their reputations. But rather defend them, speak well of them and to put the best construction on everything.

And most of all, we tell the story of Jesus. The Gospel Word. That word from God that drives all evil out and enable us to use our tongues for the very purpose of praise for which they were intended. To be a blessing and not a curse.

Words have the Power to Help, Heal & Cure

Words have the power to hurt, to wound, to kill. We all know that. The human tongue has a power to inflict damage well, well beyond its size.

But, that also means that the words have the power to help, to heal, and to cure. Especially when they give tongue to the saving and forgiving word of Jesus Christ.

So listen to old Joe. The wisest of the wise. Teacher. Prophet. Poet. “Watch your language!” And you will discover that he has popped yet another cork of the stuff on which others get high.

© 2009 Pastor Paul Jaster

Time after Pentecost (Lectionary 23)
September 6, 2009
Remember the Poor
James 2:1-17

An All Too Familiar Scene

Last Sunday we entered the bible book of James. James, that brother of Jesus who tells us to be “doers” of the word and not “hearers” only.

And what is the first thing that Saint James, the brother of Jesus, tells us to “do”? Why it is to “remember the poor,” of course. Throughout the entire book, “how we treat the poor” is a central theme.

Right after the opening words we heard last week, Saint James starts painting an all-too-familiar-scene in stark and vibrant colors. A rich person (with fine clothes and golden rings and a nice family) enters this assembly.

And suddenly we are fawning all over him. Ushering him to the best seat. Agreeing with everything he says. Inviting him to be a church member. The richer the better.

And if Bill Gates walks into this room, I want you to walk him right down front and be very nice to him. Boy, would I like to get a tithe of his income.

But let a poor person come in (with dirty clothes and a bit of B.O). And immediately our eyes turn away in our disgust. And we hope that that one does not come to sit down next to me. And we hope he goes away as soon as possible.

Neglect of the Poor Contradicts the Gospel

“My dear brothers and sisters,” Saint James says, “with your acts of favoritism do you BELIEVE…do you really BELIEVE…in our GLORIOUS Lord Jesus Christ?

And do you see what James just did with that little question? He upped the ante for us Christians. Social snobbery, cold prejudice and disrespect for the poor not only runs up against the very character of God (“Who shows no partiality”) and is a sin against God’s greatest commandment (the “royal law,” Saint James calls it) “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

That would be bad enough. That we have broken the greatest of God’s commandments. And you break that one and you break them all!

But even more than that, social snobbery and neglect of the poor is a contradiction of the gospel and reveals a total lack of faith in Jesus Christ.

Oh maybe we “think” we’ve heard and believe in the gospel. Maybe we “think” we are so religious and have Jesus in our hearts. But if we fail to see the face of Jesus in the poor and act on it, then we fail to see the glorious Lord himself who threw off his golden rings and robes of majesty to identify with the least, last, the little and the lost.

Faith Without Deeds is Dead

Preferential treatment of the rich, the growing gap between the rich and poor, is not just a “social” issue. It is a “faith” issue.

It reveals a divided heart. A heart that tries to serve two masters—God and money. God and mammon. It means we are “poor believers.”

A faith without deeds is a “dead” faith, Saint James says. Dead. Dead. Dead. It is not a “saving faith,” that one particular faith in Christ that saves. A faith without deeds is no more a living faith than is a dead body without breath is a living body.

And that puts us all in jeopardy when God comes again on a day of judgment to settle scores. God’s judgment is “merciless” to those who show no mercy.

How can anyone state the law’s threat and accusation any plainer? God’s judgment is “merciless” to those who show no mercy. That is the “bad news.”

God’s Mercy Triumphs over Judgment

But then we hear the “good news.” God’s mercy triumphs over judgment.

There is hope and mercy even for persistently “poor believers” like you and me. And sometimes, the better off we are, the worse we are at believing. Because we think that our financial stability is the result of our accomplishments and achievements.

Sometimes those of us who are well-to-do and middle class are “poorer” than those who are poor monetarily because we have a “poverty of Spirit,” which is the deadliest poverty of them all.

But there is a Jesus Christ, a “GLORIOUS Lord,” Saint James calls him. [The only time this adjective is used of Jesus in the entire bible]. Who climbs down from his royal throne of splendor in order to be nailed upon a shameful cross to take God’s judgment on our lack of mercy upon himself to show that God’s mercy triumphs over judgment. Even for us “poor believers.”

And if we will not see Jesus in the poor, then maybe we will see the poor in Jesus. In other words, we will look at Jesus and his love for the poor, including all religious types who have that “poverty of Spirit.” And our hearts will be changed by the gift of faith and the sending of his Holy life-giving, love-giving Spirit.

Jesus does for us what no “royal law” could do by itself alone. For by themselves, commands condemns us.

But Jesus changes that situation. He gifts us with a living faith that takes away our fear of being “left out” in the end. And sets us free from our social snobbery and prejudices, which oppress us just as much as they oppress others. And gives us the power to be instruments of God’s compassion to the world.

God’s Work. Our Hands.

Last week, I told you that the new tag line for the ELCA is “God’s work. Our hands.” And that many congregations like this one have put together one-minute videos that show this theme at work. I’ve put links to several on our web site. Or, if you want to see them all go to godsworkourhands.org (all one word—isn’t that theologically appropriate—all one word).

Look at them and you will be amazed and inspired. And you will see God’s work through many different hands, in many different places.

Hospitality for all, including the poor. The church of Christ speaking out for the voiceless and those who have no standing in the court of public opinion. Care for orphans and widows. Fair wages. Tangible hands-on help for the “needy neighbor,” which in the vocabulary of faith means any person in distress.

And oddly enough, Bill Gates is coming to us. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UN have approached Methodists and Lutherans to be their agents on the ground in their attempt to eradiate malaria from Africa, because we have a track record of delivering the goods where they are needed rather than getting them into the hands of the war lords.

Do This One You Keep Them All

Helping and serving one’s neighbor is tantamount to doing all that the law demands. You do this one and you keep them all. For to anyone who lives in Christ, serving one’s neighbor is the richest form of freedom & it is the fulfillment of what God ultimately desires.

Listen to Saint James and be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. For those who hear AND act are blessed. Yes, they are so blessed. They are blessed in their doing.

© 2009 Pastor Paul Jaster