Christ’s Promising Word

Transfiguration
February 14, 2010
Listen to Jesus!
Luke 9:28-36

What is Love?

What is Love?

Today is both Valentine’s Day and the day devoted to the Transfiguration of our Lord. And isn’t that a glorious conjunction? For the one illuminates the other.

The Transfiguration of Jesus tells us something about the very heart of God. And the heart of God is reflected in the Transfiguration of Jesus.

At one of our Advent dinners in December I was sitting with the young “men” of this congregation. Our teenage men. And one of the young men asked me, “Pastor, what is love?” Well, you’re the pastor. How would you answer that question? What is love?

I asked the same thing in the Adult Bible Class last week. And Richard Baker immediately piped up (he knows a lot about love): “Love is commitment. Love is total devotion. Love is being so totally for the other person that you would do anything for them to help them no matter what the cost.”

How Jesus Loved Us

And then we began talking about Jesus and being “subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” And we recalled the way that Jesus loves us. Jesus does not love us by “lording over us” but rather by lifting up and helping us.

What was it that Jesus said? “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And to demonstrate his point the night before his death, Jesus takes off his outer robe and he wraps a towel around his waist and he begins to wash his disciples’ feet.

And when he gets done, Jesus says, “I am your Lord and Teacher. And if I, the Lord and Teacher, wash your feet, how much more should you wash one another’s feet. A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” That is love. Loving others like Jesus did.

His Face is a Mirror of God’s Heart

Come now to the Transfiguration of our Lord and it is the very same thing. Jesus had just predicted his death and resurrection once again eight days earlier. Jesus had just said, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be killed and on the third day rise.”

That is where his love for us would take him. To the cross and through the cross to a death and resurrection.

And Jesus said that if any want to become his disciples they must take up their cross daily and follow him. But, of course, the disciples (much like us) were a little dull and slow to catch on to what Jesus was saying.

And so Jesus took three of his disciples (Peter, John and James) and went up on a mountain to pray. And while Jesus was praying the appearance of his “face” was changed and his clothes became a dazzling white.

And I just love what one commentator says about this. His name is Joel Green. And what Joel says is that in the bible one’s face “is a mirror of one’s heart and a manifestation of one’s relationship to God.”

And so, it isn’t so much that Jesus is changed from the outside (some outside glory imposed on him) as it is that Jesus is changed from the inside. This glorious, radiant “face” of Jesus is a reflection of his inner heart and the heart of God.

Another Great Exodus

For Jesus IS God! Jesus is God himself. Jesus is not just another prophet like Moses or Elijah, although Moses and the prophets (what we call the Old Testament) point to him. Jesus is the Son of God. God himself in human skin to be our help and savior.

And what Jesus is about is our deliverance: Release of the captives. That is the way that Jesus put it in his first sermon, remember. Release of the captives.

And now today the bible talks about it as his “departure.” His “exodus.” The death and resurrection of Jesus will effect a great “exodus,” a way out, a means of escape for us just like the deaths of the firstborn did back in Egypt in the days of Moses. Jesus frees us from everything that weighs us down and makes us so dull and sleepy.

Listen to What He is Saying about the Cross

Peter, John and James still don’t catch on. They won’t until after our Lord’s death and resurrection. Who could begin to understand such a thing until after it actually happened? Why, we still hardly understand it now.

Instead Peter blurts out the first thing that comes to his head. Let’s preserve this moment. Let’s build three booths. Three tents. Three dwelling places. One for you, Jesus. One for Moses. And one for Elijah. Let’s put it on YouTube and “freeze frame” this.

But while he was saying this, stumbling, stammering, hardly knowing what to say, God comes in a great cloud and envelopes them, and God says, “This is my Son, my Chosen one. Listen to him! Listen to him!”

“Listen to what he is telling you about the cross. Listen to him about what he is saying about washing feet. Listen to him and what he is telling you about loving others the way that I have loved you. Jesus is the one who speaks for me.” No wonder when the cloud went away, what they saw was Jesus and Jesus only.

God Is Love

What is love? God is love. And God’s love is revealed to us in this way: through his son Jesus Christ. In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us and sent his Son to be the one who lifts up our heavy burdens on a cross and suffers them away.

And we become loving like God is loving when we follow Jesus and love others the way he did. And take it from Richard Baker. Christ-like love has a lot more with being a constant and devoted help to someone else than it does with chemistry and  hormones.

What is love? God is love. And where we see it best is in the heart and face of Jesus Christ. “Love is commitment. Love is total devotion. Love is being so totally for the other person that you would do anything for them to help them no matter what the cost.”

That’s what we learn from Jesus through his own Transfiguration this Saint Valentine’s Day.

© 2010 Pastor Paul Jaster

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 7, 2010
What’s the Catch?
Luke 5:1-11

The Job of Catching People

The weeks after Christmas and New Year’s (this time that we call “Epiphany”) are devoted to a whole bunch of firsts: the baby steps Jesus takes at the beginning of his ministry as an adult around the age of 30.

First Jesus was baptized. And then we had his first miracle and his first sermon. And now today we come to his first disciples.

And isn’t that worthy of our close attention? Hardly does Jesus begin his ministry, then he calls people like you and me to join him in his mission. He encounters people on the job—in the workplace—in the very middle of their daily occupations. What is it that you do? Shout your job out.

Jesus takes your job whatever that job is. And Jesus turns it into the job of “catching people.” And all of this began the day that Jesus taught some fishermen how to fish.

First Catch: Faith

Once when Jesus was standing by the Lake of Galilee and preaching the word of God, Jesus had to get into a boat in order to be heard. He bounced his voice off the water. And after he finished preaching, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

And by the time the story’s over there is not one catch, but two! Neither of which have anything to do with fish.

The first thing that Peter caught was “faith.” This is not a fish story. This is a faith story. “If you say so, I will let down the nets.” That is the first “catch” in this story. The catch of faith.

Peter, James and John were professional fishermen. They had no reason to take orders from an amateur. They had no reason to expect a big success if they obeyed the Lord’s direction. The weather wasn’t right. The winds were in the wrong direction. The time of day was off. Every fisherman knows there is a time when it just isn’t worth it anymore. Right? Any fishermen here.

And yet, despite it all, Peter, James and John did precisely what Jesus told them to do, “If you say so, we will let down the nets.” This is the obedience of faith. A faith that leaps over every obstacle and objection and simply “trusts the Lord” even when there is no evidence to justify that faith. The word of Jesus can never be verified, except in faith—by “acting” on it.

The Results are Amazing!

Amazing Results

And the result is amazing! It is wonderful. Miraculous. Sooo many fish that their nets began to break and they had to summon another boat to come and give them all a hand.

This catch is symbolic of the amazingly successful mission that Peter and other Christians would ultimately conduct. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people would respond just in their own lifetime to say nothing about the two billion people that are Christian in the world today. All from this one mission. The mission of Jesus.

Second Catch: People

Which brings us to the other catch, the catch of people.

Peter is the first to recognize that Jesus had some other fish to fry than simply giving three commercial fishermen the catch of their career. This was God…this was God calling THEM to mission and ministry.

And Peter was the first to respond the way that all of us must respond to the call of God—with a sense of our inadequacy. “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

And I am sure that one of your first reactions today (as I now tell you that Jesus is calling YOU to be a fisher of people) is to say,

“Who me? You talk’n to me? Who am I to share the good news of Jesus Christ? Why, my word, I can barely hold my life together. I am tired and exhausted. I’ve been working every day. Who am I to be Jesus to someone else?”

An awareness of our faults and failings, our inadequacy, always comes when we are called to take on a task like that. “Go away from me, Lord for I am a sinful man!” That is what Isaiah said in our First Reading…and Moses…and Jeremiah, Peter, Paul. Almost every spokesperson for God recorded in the Bible had an overwhelming sense of their inadequacy.

Jesus Empowers Us

But that did not stop God from calling, empowering and sending folks like you and me. “Do not be afraid, Peter; from now on you will be catching people.”

A Jesus who can produce an amazing catch of fish out of fishermen who worked all night and brought nothing home can certainly overcome our sense of fear and hesitancy and inadequacy in order to make more productive fishers of people out of us.

For God does not come in Jesus to scold or embarrass or shame us. God comes in Jesus to empower and enable us.

It is not the power and persuasiveness of our words that catches people for Jesus and snags them by the gills and hauls them over the side of the boat into the swarming company of the church. It is the power of Christ’s own word that catches people.

Practice the Risk of Faith

But how can that word get heard by anyone at all, unless our fears are overcome and we take the risk to speak of Jesus to someone else?

That takes “faith.” A faith which says, “If you say so, I will let down the nets.” And so the one catch leads to the other.

The first catch is faith. Those who are hooked on Jesus Christ are sent out to hook others on Jesus, too. Jesus wants us to cast our nets deep and wide until the nets begin to break and we fill the church to overflowing. The second catch is people.

So, let’s give it a little practice. Turn to a person near you. Any person near you. And in one minute I want you to share what Jesus means to you. Just one minute. One minute each. Take turns. I will tell you when to switch. Ready, set, go!

That didn’t hurt, now did it? Remember what Jesus said, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

© 2010 Pastor Paul Jaster

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
January 31,2010
No Home Advantage
Luke 4:21-30

Nothing Like Home Court Advantage

In sports there is nothing like having the “home court advantage.” It is like having an extra person on the team. Take for example my beloved Minnesota Vikings.

Two weeks ago the Vikings took on the Dallas Cowboys at the Minneapolis Humphrey Dome. One of those Teflon-domed stadiums which my father still insists is held up by all of Hubert Humphrey’s hot air.

Minnesota had the “home advantage” and they creamed them. Minnesota won 34 to 3.

And then last week it was the other way around. Minnesota played the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome and the Saints had the “home court advantage.” And despite a valiant effort, Minnesota lost in overtime: 31 to 28.

The noise was deafening. Brett Favre even had special blue earplugs for himself and his offensive line. “The noise just wears on you,” he said. “You cannot hear the snap count.” And it makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Had that game been played in Minnesota would the score be the other way around?

Jesus’ First Sermon

Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of last week’s gospel reading. We pick up on the very same verse were we left off. Jesus is at his hometown of Nazareth. And being a good Jewish boy he goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And there he is asked to read the lesson and give the sermon.

And so, Jesus opens up the scroll to the prophet Isaiah chapter 62. And he reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, release for the captive, recovery of sight for the blind…, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Healing. God’s healing for the entire world.

And then, Jesus rolled the scroll back up and gave it to the attendant. And Jesus sat down and all eyes turned on him. And Jesus said the first line of his sermon, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And then Jesus went on to spell out exactly what he meant. And wouldn’t you just love to be there to hear the rest of that sermon? I know I would. That was last week.

The Crowd’s Reaction

And now this week we hear the rest of it. The crowd’s reaction. At first, the people are pumped up. And all spoke well of him and were amazed at the powerful gracious words that came from his mouth.

But then it hit them. This was Joseph son. And if truly was God’s anointed one, God’s prophet, God’s messenger…well, he should prove it. Miracles. Miracles. Do us some miracles.

And where he should start is in his own hometown. They should have the “home court advantage” over everybody else. “Doctor, cure yourself!” Do your healing miracles for the hometown crowd first. They should be the #1 beneficiaries of his miracles. They should be the winners, if he truly was God’s Messiah.

No Home Advantage in God’s Kingdom

And Jesus said to them “No way!” God’s grace is for everyone. There is no “home court advantage” in the kingdom of God. Men aren’t before women. And Jews are not before Gentiles. And my tribe, my folks, my people are not before anybody else. The healing power of God does not work that way.

In fact, Jesus says, look back at the early prophets. Go back in the Hebrew Scriptures. There were many widows in Israel during the time of a great famine. And yet the prophet Elijah was not sent to any of them except for a gentile woman in at a border town in Sidon. To us that would be northwest Canada.

And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha and none of them were healed except Naaman the Syrian. Another northerner. A Canadian. You want a private doctor, Jesus said. You want a personal physician. You do not want the Savior of the world. You are only thinking of your own personal advantage.

And people became so enraged that they tried to drive him out of town and throw him off a cliff. But Jesus passed through their midst and went on his way.

What Makes Us Angry & Resentful?

What is there about us that gets angry and resentful when God’s grace and mercy gets shown to someone else? What is there about us that makes us angry and enraged when God takes somebody different from us and makes of that one our equal?

Jesus’ ministry is to all. Especially to those who have no claim to special favors before God—the last, the least, the little and the lost. There is no home court advantage in the kingdom of God.

The people on the top are no more important than the people on the bottom. The people are closest to Jesus in the tribe (say us church folk) are no more precious than those who are far away (those who do not go to church). God’s grace is meant for everyone.

Dad, what were you?

I had a very good friend in seminary who was a second generation Norwegian. As tall and blonde as you will ever see. His dad came over from Norway and finally settled in Florida. My roommate, Bruce, he came from Florida.

And once while I was in Florida, Bruce’s dad started ranting and railing about all of the immigrants in Florida. The Mexicans and the Cubans.

And Bruce just stated at his dad in total disbelief and finally said, “My word, dad, what were you? You were an immigrant. You were an immigrant too, when you first came to this country. Why do you begrudge the same opportunity for someone else just because they come from the south rather than like you did from the north?”

Enough Sand for All of God’s Children

Two young children were once on an ocean beach with two pails and two shovels fighting over the same patch sand. They were arguing and fighting. Hitting, punching, kicking, scratching.

And finally their mother came over, picked them up and turned them right around and said, “Stop fighting. Look around you. Look here. There is enough sand on this beach for all of God’s children.

And so it is with the grace of God. There is no home court advantage in the kingdom of God. But that is no worry and no problem. For when it comes to grace, there is enough. There is always more than enough for all of God’s children in the world.

© 2010 Pastor Paul Jaster

Third Sunday after Epiphany
January 24, 2010
Jesus Jubilee
Luke 4:14-21

Another First

Today we experience another first.

Two weeks ago it was the Baptism of Jesus when Jesus first began his public ministry of teaching, healing and preaching. And then, last week it was his first miracle when Jesus changed the water into wine. And now today it is his first sermon given in his hometown church.

And I love this story about Jesus in Luke 4. Because it gives us a little insight into worship life back in the days of Jesus.

Back in the days of Jesus, the men would gather in a synagogue like we do now to sing songs, pray prayers, read a set of lessons from the bible and then have someone expound on it. In fact, the entire first half of a Christian service (what our worship book call “The Word”) is taken from the Jewish synagogue.

Here Jesus attended worship in his own home town. As far as we can tell, Jesus went to worship every Sabbath. He was a good Jewish boy. And he was invited by the leader of the synagogue to come up and read a lesson and then expound on it.

And isn’t that interesting? Any Jewish male could be called upon on the spot to read the bible and then expound on it. Could you do it? Outside of Dave Sprague or Bill Bursley, could you do it?

And what Jesus does is he takes the scroll, the scroll of Isaiah. And he rolls it to a place in Isaiah: Isaiah 62. And he begins to read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of God’s favor”—that is God’s Jubilee.

And then, Jesus sat down. And he began to give his sermon. His inaugural address. His very first sermon and he said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Wow! What an amazing thing was happening. God’s promise. The power of God’s future was breaking into their everyday.

Part of that Same Healing

Today we have another Service of Healing. In just a few moments we will be inviting you to come forward like we have done in the past…. It can be for any need—physical, mental, spiritual. And we will lay our hands on you and say a prayer and then anoint your head with oil.

And let me say again what this is not. It is not a piece of magic or “faith healing” the way that some do it on TV. Just because we lay our hands on you and pray doesn’t mean that your ailment will instantly go away.

But it’s not an empty ritual either. It is not lacking in significance or power. One of the promises of God IS physical healing—“the recovery of the sight of the blind.” And Jesus is part of that physical healing as Jesus displayed in so many of his miracles. And either that wholeness, health and healing comes in THIS life. Or else it arrives in the life to come.

A Personal Example

Let me give you one very personal example. Very personal. My first wife of four years came down with cancer. Priscilla was her name. She was diagnosed with stage four malignant melanoma. We discovered it in February. She died in November.

And over the summer, my family gathered to do in my parent’s home the very Service of Healing we are doing today. One by one we gathered around to lay our hands on her, anoint her with oil and pray for her. She died a few months later.

Does that mean she had no faith and that she ticked off God and that our prayers failed? I certainly do not think so. She died very much at peace, whole and content. Amazing healing did take place over those months even though her body was clearly going downhill.

And at the age of 33, she said things like, “Gee, Jesus died at the age of 33. I’ve already lived a full life. Would I like to live more? Of course. But not that long ago a lot of people did not live past the age of 30.”

And she said, “And I’ve had four years of very happy marriage. And a lot of people married even longer don’t have that.” She had the feeling that her life had already had a fullness and completeness to it. She wished she had kids. But it didn’t look like that was going to happen anyhow. And that’s a different story.

But what I like best is what she said to her mother. Her mother was really stressed out by her illness and her impending death. And her mother said to her the way that mothers do, “I wish it was me and not you. I wish I could give my life for you.”

And Priscilla said, “You don’t need to, mom. You don’t need to give your life for me. Someone else already has. Jesus has. Jesus gave his life for me. So please don’t worry and be sad.”

Some illnesses Cured Through Dead and Resurrection

Not all healing is physical. And there is more to wholeness than just reversing illness and postponing death. Sometimes the only way an illness can be healed is through a death and resurrection. It is an entire package. An entire package of God’s promises.

And what Jesus is saying in his first sermon is that the power of God’s future is breaking in “now” to our everyday. And those promises are coming true in the arrival, the person and in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

So, please rise and join me in the hymn of the day. Hymn 612 – “Healer of Our Every Ill.” Great title isn’t it? And great lyrics. And then, we will invite you to come forward.

© 2010 Pastor Paul Jaster

Second Sunday after the Epiphay
January 17, 2010
Jesus Steals the Show
John 2:1-11

The Party is Saved

On the Second Sunday of Epiphany we move from water to wine. From the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan to his first miracle at a wedding feast.

And we have been to enough weddings to appreciate the problem. The guests drank more wine than was expected. The wine supply was totally depleted.

And the wedding was headed to disaster. There is no quicker way to ruin a good party than to shut down the bar.

And so, Mary called her son aside and laid on him the problem, “They have no wine.”

And despite an off-putting response, “Woman, what concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come,” Jesus comes through anyhow.

The party is saved. And 120 gallons of water are turned into vintage wine.

Wouldn’t It Be Great If…

And wouldn’t it be great if Jesus were around like that today to solve all our problems for us?

Just think how handy he would be to have at parties to get us out of a fix when we underestimate the food and drink.

Or, better still what he could do to solve the problems of world hunger and the terrible shortages of food and drink around the globe. Jesus would be pretty handy to have in Haiti right now.

And look what Jesus could do for all the contaminated waters of the planet Earth including our own Lake Erie. Why, he could turn them into Chardonnay and Cabernet, of course! Except for in Milwaukee and Saint Louis where he would turn them into a tasty brew.

And imagine how many marriages would be saved is Jesus were around to zap away the problems which drive married folks apart.

The First of the Signs

But more is going on at Cana than Jesus getting a newly wedded couple out of an embarrassing fix.

This is the first of the signs that Jesus did to manifest his glory. The first. And the disciples believed in him. It was the first public step that led Jesus to his “hour”: his being lifted up upon the cross that was to become his throne of glory.

Jesus is not interested in band-aid solutions or magic tricks. Jesus is not a fix-it man who comes calling at our door at our command.

He is the Savior of the world whose coming has an “hour” and a purpose—to get to the root causes of sin and death which plague us all.

This Miracle Would Ring Some Bells

One has to be immersed in the Old Testament to understand what is going on. The miraculous appearance of abundant vintage wine would have rung some bells for the disciples—some wedding bells.

For that is precisely what the prophets said would happen in the days of fulfillment.

God would appear. God would take his people as a husband takes a bride. God would love them. Care for them. Provide for them.

And there would be a wedding feast—a joyous party!—with gourmet food and an abundant supply of the finest wine. You can read of it in Isaiah 25 and in Isaiah 62, which is our First Reading for today.

And it is exactly what Jesus says elsewhere in so many of his parables: “The kingdom of heaven is like a marriage feast.”

And here it was happening at Cana…at this wedding…an abundant supply of the finest wine. A sign of God’s wedding. A sign of God’s coming to repair a marriage which had been broken.
For do not let us forget, this is part of our history, too!

A Broken Marriage

God had married his people through the Ten Commandments and through the solemn vows spoken at Mount Sinai.

But the marriage soon went sour and the luscious wine of marriage immediately ran out. God’s people rebelled…and disobeyed.

And for many pious Jews the occupation of their land by Rome was a painful sign of Israel’s unfaithfulness and of just how many of the Jewish people longed for the “time of wine” to flow.”

And many engaged in Jewish rites of purification to keep themselves ready for the coming of their God.

A Marriage Saved through Jesus Christ

But here it was happening at this wedding. Wine, the very best wine.

It rang a bell for those who saw and who believed. A close, loving relationship with God is restored, not through the Jewish rites of purification, but through the saving work of Jesus Christ.

No doubt they understood it better when his “hour” finally came. No doubt they understood it better when Jesus died the death that brings us back to God and mends the fracture lines of a broken marriage.

No doubt they understood it better when Jesus took a cup of wine and said just hours before his death, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

But here it was. Happening already. Christ’s saving power breaking through into this wedding, this plain ordinary wedding, saving this marriage from disaster.

And that is the whole point of it. God’s saving power of the future has come down to earth through the ministry of Jesus Christ to break into our everyday.

Mary did not know “how” it would happen. She did not tell her son how to do his business—like we do in so many of our prayers.

She did not even grow discouraged where her son icily put her off. She simply laid the problem on his heart. And told the hired help to do whatever he commanded.

And in the very end, her faith in him was not in vain.

The Lesson to Be Learned

I don’t know what lesson you want to draw from this story for today.

To early Jewish Christians it probably explained why the Jewish rites of purification were no longer needed or necessary, but that certainly doesn’t mean much to us anymore today. We never engaged in those water rites of purification.

Personally, I think this story is telling us that we should drink more wine and less water (including those watered-down American beers!).

And that we Christians should only drink the finest wines because that is what we will drink with Christ in heaven. Life is just too short to drink bad wine.

But if you need a more “religious” lesson, perhaps it is this—that the saving work of Jesus Christ breaks through into our everyday and into our disasters big and small.

And that perhaps we can see that best when we are regular participants at this meal and gather around this cup of wine and have our eyes focused on the marriage feast to come.

From water to wine. From baptism to the Holy Communion and the Eucharistic Meal. From the washing of our sins in Holy Baptism to God’s great heavenly feast. That is the movement of Christian ministry and mission…and of the Christian life.

© 2010 Pastor Paul Jaster

Baptism of our Lord
January 10, 2010
Behold, the Beloved
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

What Does God See in Jesus?

Back in seminary I had a prof named Bob Bertram who loved to teach by asking questions. You can discover many wonderful gospel “good news” things, Bob said, if only you ask the right questions.

And so, we come to a day like today—the Baptism of our Lord—and Bob would sit down before the class and ask a question like this: “What does God see in Jesus? Not just what do we see in him? Or even: What do we see of God in him? That is not the question—at least, not yet. But first this: What does God see in Jesus?”

And after we students stumbled around a little bit with wild stabs and guesses, then Bob would go on to answer his own question.

The thing about Jesus which made such a difference to God. The thing that made the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descend upon him like a dove. The thing about Jesus which made God burst all his buttons with pride and say like a proud dad, “You my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

The thing about Jesus which made a difference to God is that it was “we sinners” made a difference to Jesus. Jesus loved us. Sinners mattered to him. Jesus did not write sinners off. We were his…his “beloved ones.”

And anyone who meant so much to Jesus as we sinners did, Jesus was entitled and authorized by God himself to bring home with him to his Father’s house, his Father’s home, his Father’s party.

This is what made God look Jesus in the eye and say, “Aha! I see myself in him. He is a chip off the old block. He is my Son, the Beloved One.”

It is the same glimmer that I see in the eye of almost every dad in this parish as they look at their own kids and they see a bit of their own self in them. And with pride they say, “This is my beloved one. My beloved son or daughter. He or she reminds me of me.”

Puzzle: Why Did Jesus Undergo a Baptism of Repentance?

It is something of a puzzle, isn’t it? Why should Jesus come to John the Baptist and under go “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”? Why? Why? Why?

Jesus was the sinless, faithful, obedient Son of God. Why in the world should Jesus come to John the Baptist to be baptized by him?

It should really be the other way around, shouldn’t it? John should be baptized by him. Wasn’t Jesus the stronger one? Wasn’t Jesus the one who was more powerful than John…the one who would baptize not just with water, but also with the Holy Spirit and with fire?”

And even John the Baptist caught the horror of it. And he tried to prevent this “anomaly” from happening. “Do you come to me?” John said, “I need to be baptized by you.”

But Jesus insisted that this was the way to fulfill all righteousness. This was the way to complete the promise made to Abraham: that through Israel would come “a kid,” in fact, a whole bunch of kids who would be a blessing to all the world.

Jesus Steps into Our Stead

And there you have it. Jesus steps into our place. Jesus steps into our stead. Jesus undergoes a baptism. A dying and a rising that was meant for us. And Jesus did it, not because he had to, but because he chose to.

Call it grace. Call it mercy. Call it love. Call it a foolish stupidity that only a love-struck sucker could understand. Call it anything you want.

But this…this is what made God look Jesus in the eye and say, “Aha! This is my kid. This is my son. My grown-up son. Who looks like me. And acts like me. And loves like me. This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.

And We Become Boots on the Ground

And when we are baptized with Christ and cling to him in trusting faith that title spills over past Jesus and on to us as well. The heavens again open. And the Holy Spirit descends on us in bodily form. And the very voice of God says to us: “You are my beloved one! You are my beloved sons and daughters. With you I am well pleased.”

We become God’s demonstration people. We become what the children of Abraham were always meant to be—boots on the ground. Faith and faithful ones active in love. The ones through whom God works to bring a great blessing to the world. God’s work. Our hands.

God’s Work. Our Hands

Today we install another church council for the coming year. These are the ones who lead us in this mission and this ministry—to be the baptized, to be God’s beloved ones, to be the ones who bring blessing to the world. To be the ones who love others the way that God has loved us. Love begetting love. “Lead,” I say. “Lead.” It is not their job to do all the work alone.

And so, in just a few moments we will say to them: “You are to see that the words and deeds of this household of faith reflect him in whose name we gather.”

And we will say to them, “You are to work together with other members of this assembly to see that the worship and work of Christ are done in this congregation, and that God’s will is done in this community and in the whole world.”

“Are you ready to accept and faithfully carry out these duties?” we will say to them. “Yes,” they will say, “Yes, by the help of God.”
And then we will say to you, “Will you follow their lead and share in this mutual ministry that Christ has given to all you who are baptized?” And you will say, “Yes, by the help of God.” At least, I hope you will. I hope that you will say it. And I hope that you will mean it.

God Bursting With Pride

And if you listen carefully at that moment—at that very moment—you may even hear the heavens open and God burst with pride and say: “Yes, yes, these are my beloved sons and daughters with you I am well pleased.”

The thing about Jesus that made such a difference to God was that it was “we sinners” who mattered so much to Jesus. We were his. We were his “beloved ones.”

And anyone who meant so much to Jesus as we sinners did, Jesus was entitled and authorized by God himself to bring home with him to his Father’s house, his Father’s home, his Father’s party.

And where the party begins is here. With his baptism and with his mission and his ministry.

This is what makes God’s buttons burst with pride and makes him say of us as well, “You are my beloved sons and daughters. With you I am well pleased.”

© 2010 Pastor Paul Jaster

February 22, 2009
Transfiguration of our Lord
Seeing the Light
2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Paul Was “in the Dark”

Today we see the Transfiguration of Jesus through the eyes and ears of a man who wasn’t there originally.

Saint Paul wasn’t there where Peter, James and John first saw Jesus transfigured in all his glory. It didn’t happen to the Apostle Paul until he had a face-to-face with the Risen Lord three or four years after Christ’s death and resurrection.

But it changed Paul. It changed and it transfigured him, even more than it did those first three disciples.

Looking back at his former life as a “religious nut,” a Pharisee, Paul would say that his eyes were totally blind and that he was “in the dark.” And so is anybody else that looks for God “in the wrong place.”

He was looking for God in the Ten Commandments, in the laws of Moses and the Prophets. “Moses and Elijah” would be another way of putting it.

Blinded by the “god” of this World

But Paul later saw that that was nothing more than a bit of “self-promotion.” It put him on a little pedestal—high above all others.

It made him “religiously” superior. For in the laws of Moses, he thought he saw so clearly—God’s way for “right living.”

But, looking back years later, he saw he was “blinded.” Blinded by the “god of this world.”

Little “g” god. Did you notice that in the worship folder as I read the Gospel lesson? That it was a little “g” god. Not the big “G” God.

And all too often that “little god of this world” is ourselves. We make a “god” of our own self. And we “proclaim” and we “promote” ourselves. Good PR for us…for our person and agendas.

We want “our” way. We want the “glory way.” We do not want the cross. We do not want the cross way. We want the glory. We do not want the cross. It is too weak & wimpy.

Those Cut Off from the Cross of Christ are Perishing

But those who cut themselves off from the cross of Christ are perishing. That is the point that Paul would like to make.

If you cut yourself off from the cross of Christ, then you are cutting yourself off from the way that God really works in this world of ours. And so, you are cutting yourself off from God’s Light and Life.

And it’s like a veil or a piece of cloth being draped over a plant. You leave it there long enough and that plant with whither and die. But, take that cloth off. And let that “plant” bask in the full sunshine of God & that plant will grow and thrive.

Confronted by the Risen Christ

That’s what Paul came to see in his own personal one-on-one encounter with Jesus Christ. For all of us there is a moment when we come to see Jesus face-to-face.

For every one of us, there is a moment in our lives when it is just me and Jesus. It’s me, Jesus and a cross and resurrection. We are confronted with the Lord. Christ our Lord and God, big “G” now, crucified and raised.

For Paul it happened as he traveled from Jerusalem to Damascus to arrest some Christians. To us it happens whenever we hear the Gospel word. But, it happens.

We are confronted with the Risen Lord, the glorified Lord. The one who died and rose for us. And it is just Jesus and us. Face-to-face.

And Jesus looks us in the eyes and says to us, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” And Jesus knocks us off our “high horse.” And Jesus throws us to the ground. But, then he lifts us up. And invites us to call him “Lord.” “God,” with the big “G.”

“I am Rescuing You”

And he turns our life around 180°. And he sends us out to serve others. “I am rescuing you,” Jesus says to Saul who now becomes Paul. “I am rescuing you.”

“And I am sending you to others to open their eyes…so that they may turn from darkness to light…and from the power of Satan to the power of God…and so that they may receive the forgiveness of sins…and have a place, among my people of the Light.

And suddenly, we see what God is up to in Jesus Christ. God is ruling the world through the cross. God is not lording it over us, like the self-promoters do.

God is not blasting us with righteous indignation. God is not coming with the handcuffs to arrest us and imprison us for usurping God’s role and neglecting our duties.

We See the Light

We look at Jesus and his cross. And a veil is lifted. And we see “the Light.”

That is Jesus on the cross “for me.” That is my sins that he is dying for. That is God’s mercy to me. I am the one who was persecuting him through my self-promoting ways.

But he died and rose again to knock me down from my “high horse” and to lift me again to his own purpose for my life.

The same power that God used to create the heavens and the earth when God first said, “Let there be light.” And the same power that God used to free Israel from its dark exile, when God said, “Rise, shine for your light has come.”

That is the very same creative and life-giving power that God gives to us to go out and to be “a light to the nations” so that we might shine the Light of Christ into the hearts of others.

God’s Servant People

If Jesus is the “Lord,” the “God of this world” (God with a big “G” not a little one) then that position is taken. And there is only one job left for us. And that is to be God’s servant-people.

We give up our PR, our self-promotion. No longer do we proclaim ourselves. Rather, we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as servants to others for Jesus sake.

And is good. That is so very good. For not only is Jesus much better at being God than we are, but he is also gentler and much kinder. And so are we, we are gentler and we are kinder when we see the Light, and reach out in love to those who are our neighbors.

Through our mission and our ministry to the world we become the face of Jesus, the image of God, so that others may also have their own personal encounter with the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, face-to-face.

For in the end, Jesus is the image of God. Jesus is what God is up to in this world of ours. Jesus is the way. He is the Light.

© 2009 Pastor Paul Jaster

February 15, 2009
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Self Control
1 Corinthians 9:24-27

The Discipline of Athletes

One feature I enjoy in sports coverage, especially at the time of the Olympics, is the background stories on the athletes—the inside look at how they got to where they are today.

And what always amazes me is their discipline. Their discipline in diet, in exercise, in practice and in rest. They reach their goal through discipline. Iron-willed self-control.

Jimmy Connors, a tennis player (my childhood hero), once said he practiced certain shots hundreds of time even though he would use them no more than once or twice in any match. Each shot was that important. Jimmy played to win.

Run! Obtain the Prize!

This matter about self-control, self-discipline, is raised for us this morning by the Apostle Paul in a little pep talk he gives to the Corinthians at the end of chapter 9. “Run!” he tells us, “Run!! Obtain the prize!”

But, let us be a little thoughtful before we jump to quick conclusions.

This is not a command to go out and “Jog for Jesus.” Nor, is it the “great commission” that many think they have to follow sports religiously, especially on the Sabbath Day.

This is not an excuse to play hooky on Sunday morning because we’re out doing a sport, like playing golf. Basketball and bowling are not the kind of activities Paul has in mind when he tell the church to run. Paul is talking about the Christian life.

We Beat Ourselves

“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.” Listen to athletes after a loss and you will usually hear a similar refrain: “We beat ourselves,” they will say. I heard some of the Arizona Cardinals say that right after the Super Bowl. “We beat ourselves.”

And much the same happens on the playing field of faith. There is a sinful self who is opposed to Christ. The “flesh,” Saint Paul called it. Our sinful “flesh.” And we all know its weakness.

Christ has died to offer us the free gift of his forgiveness. And yet, the “flesh” would like to seize that gift and make it something it merits and deserves, a chunk of its entitlement.

Christ fought with sin and death to win a Resurrection victory. But, the “flesh” only blames God for its losses, while thinking that it fights all by itself in the center ring.

Christ coaches us in faithful service. Drills us in a life of praise. While the “flesh” rebels against this kind of exercise.

Christ has made brothers and sisters out of our neighbors. But the “flesh” can only make of them competitors and is out to score points against them at their expense.

Start as Christ’s Disciple

That is why for anyone to be disciplined, they must start first as Christ’s disciple. Jesus has freed us from our sinful “flesh.” We may always beat ourselves, but the victory is won by Christ.

And through his ministry he identifies with all the losers of the world, us folk who are our own worst enemy, and then he offers up his life, so that we might walk away winners, the winners of his grace.

We are free from everything that makes us opposed to God. Our selfish will and self-determination. Our urge for empire…to conquer and destroy. Our desire to be number one. Our want for name and fame.

Christ has freed us from our self-defeating self. We are his disciples now. And our training is for Life, God’s own eternal life. That is our goal. And disciples are always disciplined.

Disciples are Disciplined

Just look at any athlete. They possess a whole host of freedoms that they never use. A pro football player can run in any direction that he chooses. Yet, a running back’s concern is only with the yards, the feet, the inches that take him to the goal.

A boxer is free to swing his fists and beat the air, but he conserves his energy to make contact with the punch that counts.

A race car driver is free to ride the outside track. But if you ever asked him, he only wants the lead position on that narrow path that’s called “the groove.”

And that is true of the Christian life as well. The conduct which best trains for eternal life is that behavior which does not roam all over the field, but presses forward on the most efficient track of what is beneficial, the narrow path, the “groove.”

Christians are free to do almost anything. But it doesn’t count much unless they are headed towards the goal.

A Steady Diet of Word & Sacrament

For example, we Lutherans have great freedom in attending worship. We do not have days of obligation like the Catholics do. And yet, just because we have this freedom, doesn’t mean that any use of it is beneficial.

No athlete would ever start the day without a solid breakfast. And no Christian can expect to exercise faith on an empty spirit. And I can tell in time of crisis, who has had a steady diet of Word & Sacrament and who has been coasting on an empty stomach.

A champion weight-lifter once described his breakfast as 4 eggs, 2 steaks, 6 pancakes, 2 slices of toast, milk & orange juice. How can we expect to bear a heavy-weight burden on a diet of Word & Sacrament that’s anything less than that?

And supplement that diet now with a discipline like prayer and bible study. We are not Muslims who require specific prayers five times a day, but what a difference it can make when we get down into that “groove” of frequent prayer and bible readings.

And we are not Jews for whom tithing, financial giving, is not an option, but a requirement. For a Jew, tithing is a “mitzvah.” A command. A requirement…from God himself. It is not optional. And the community can hold him or her accountable.

But what a beneficial blessing it is for us and others, when we discipline our spending and our debt load. And we get those dollars where they can work in Christian ministry.

Which is exactly what I am seeing here in this congregation, by the way. Despite tough economic times, you folks are funding the ministry of Jesus that you see to be so critical and vital. And what a blessing that is, when disciples, like you, have that kind of self-control and discipline!

No Greater Prize

We could go on and on. The point is this. We are in training for Life. Jesus has given us a great and precious freedom. The freedom to be shaped as Christ’s disciple. And there is no greater prize than that.

© 2009 Pastor Paul Jaster

February 8, 2009
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
All Things to All People
1 Corinthains 9:16-23

Our A New Baby

Last Sunday it was my great joy to join the people of Rejoice! Lutheran Church for the dedication of their new church building. Everybody there had a happy face on.

Rejoice! is the new mission start of ours (the Northeastern Ohio Synod) in Hudson, Ohio. And I wish I could have bottled up and brought home to you their energy and spirit.

After ten years of struggle, two pastors and three moves to three different temporary quarters, they are finally in their own building. And was just like the excitement that young parents have after the birth of a child

Yes, the labor was long and hard. Yes, there were aches and pains and frustrations along the way. But who cares?

The baby is here now. And all those aches and pains go away and it is worth it. Boy, is it worth it! You can tell by all the beaming smiles on the faces.

We are a Church for Others

And one common “mantra” they kept saying along the way was “We are a church for others because without others we would not be here.”

Twenty-six different congregations of the NEOS partnered up with them to give birth to this new baby. Support from the synod at large. In other words, our mission dollars. The Mission Investment Fund of which we are a part. Mission Builders—retired folk who travel up from the south and west over the summer to do much of the framing and carpentry work.

“We are a church for others because without others we would not be here.” That is true. That is literally true.

And so, for the offering last Sunday (the offering for their dedication), they took it not for themselves, but for Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church which is the new mission start (our latest one) in North Ridgeville.

And every third Sunday of the month, they take their loose plate offering and give it away to some designated benevolence on top of their ELCA Mission Support…because they are a church for others for without others they would not exist. They know it. They know it. They know in their bones.

And it hit me as I was sitting there: this is exactly the way our founders must have felt back in 1929 when they established this church and in 1931 when finally this building was dedicated. They must have had that same kind of passion and vision for mission and for ministry and for outreach.

And Harold Sayles, the first pastor, must have stood up here (well, actually over there) and said, “We are a church for others because without others we would not exist.”

Paul’s Mission Method

We are in chapter 9 of Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians this day where he lays out his “mission method.” And what he says is that he is always in tune…he is attentive…to the other person.

He doesn’t impose his own personal preferences and traditions and lifestyle on them. Rather he pays attention to them and he becomes like they are.

“To the Jews,” he said, “I became as a Jew.” And to the god-fearers (that is, to non-Jews who were attracted to Judaism) he became like those god-fearers. And to the gentiles, he became like the gentiles.

And the reason that he did it was “for the sake of the gospel” so that he might win some. “I have become all things to all people,” he says. “I have become all things to all people, so that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share with others in its blessings.”

And there you have it from the Apostle Paul himself: “We are a church for others because without others we would not exist.” Especially that one “other,” that one special “other,” Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Jesus Gives Birth to Us for the Sake of Others

It is so simple. We are the body of Christ. Without Jesus we would not exist. Jesus is the one who gave “birth” to us through the hard labor of his death and resurrection.

And he did it, not so that we might be a baby wrapped up in ourselves, but rather so that we may share his blessing with the various communities and the different kinds of people immediately around us to the ends of the earth.

And so like the Apostle Paul we are entrusted with this charge. We are given this commission. We have no choice but to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. And to do so as powerfully…and as spiritedly…and as winsomely…and persuasively as we can.

Revisioning For the Sake of the Gospel

In two more weeks our Strategic Planning Ministry will be leading an Adult Retreat. And the question before us is: How can we best be a church, not for ourselves, but rather a church “for others?”

How can we recapture the vision and the passion that our own founders once had—those folks in 1929?

How can we be more like Jesus and more like Paul who went and become like others—and who did not impose on gentiles the “ethnic” traditions of their backgrounds—but who rather  created a whole “new thing,” a whole “new baby?”

What are the barriers that must come down? What reluctance and resistances do we have in welcoming other people in who are different from us? What can we do to open our doors, not just so that folks can come in to us, but also, so that we can go out to meet them where they are, like Jesus did?

This is the kind of re-visioning that people in every congregation must do every three to five years or so, if they are to remain a living and vital congregation. And it is time for us to do it again. We invite you to be a part of this process.

And the reason that we do it is because of what Christ has done to us. “We are a church for others because without that One Other, Jesus Christ, we would not exist.”

We do it for the sake of the gospel, so that we may share with others in its blessings.

© 2009 Pastor Paul Jaster

February 1, 2009
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Love Builds Up
1 Corinthians 8:1-8

Big Heads Still Around

Meat offered to idols is hardly a “hot-button” issue in churches anymore these days. I’ve never been at a church meeting where the #1 issue was “meat offered to idols.”

But I have been to meetings where there are “big heads” and “hot heads.” People who think “they-know-it-all.” And I have been at church meetings where a “strong” majority has been insensitive to a “weak” minority. That  I have seen.

We are still at the church of Corinth on the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord. And one of the “hot-button” issues at Corinth was “meat offered to idols.”

There was a certain segment in the congregation, the “strong” Saint Paul calls them (who were probably richer and better educated than most of the others), who correctly thought that eating meat offered to idols would not hurt them.

They took Jesus at his word that it was not what went “into” their mouth that defiled a person, but rather what came out. It wasn’t what they ate that made them good or bad. Idols were not real “gods” who could hurt or harm you.

And so they wanted to use their advanced spiritual learning and their “freedom in the Gospel” to go to social gatherings at Greek temples to celebrate birthdays, healings, weddings and the like—where it would have been a terrible insult to refuse the food and meat offered by one’s host.

But there were others in the congregation (poorer, less educated folk) who were “offended” and “confused” by this practice. For didn’t their new baptismal life in Christ call them to give up their pagan ways? Weren’t they supposed to stay away from idols? And so, someone in Corinth wrote to Paul to mediate this issue.

Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Builds Up

And his answer might surprise you. “Yes,” Paul says, “Yes, everybody knows that idols are nothing. The ‘strong’ are right. Eating food offered to idols will not defile you. I agree with you 100%.

BUT…you still shouldn’t do it if that becomes a stumbling stone to your poorer, weaker, less-educated brothers and sisters because it might cause them to fall back into their non-Christian ways.

And not only would that be a “sin against the whole community.” A breakdown of the church. But it would be a “sin against Christ.” “My God,” he says, “Christ died for them. And you can’t even change your diet? I would give up meat entirely. I would go vegan, if that is what it takes to keep my brother or sister from falling.”

“You may know a lot,” Paul says, “about food and gods and idols. But, hey pal, you don’t know nothing about love. Knowledge puffs up. Knowledge makes you proud…and arrogant…and rude. But love builds up.”

We Exist for Jesus

And there you have it. Paul’s ethics in a nutshell. We do not belong to ourselves. We come from God and we go to God. We exist for Jesus, our God and Lord. We do not exist for our own purposes.

And so, it is not about “me, me, me.” It is not about what “I” want, what “I” like, what “I” prefer. It is about what “builds up” the body of Christ in “love” for the sake of the world.

In order to draw a pagan world away from its deadly idolatry and towards the Christ, who is the only Lord and God there really is. “Though whom all things are. And through whom we exist.” Not only as the original creation, but also a new creation.

Listen to “Weak” Voices

On February 21 our Strategic Planning Ministry will be holding a Retreat to invite your participation in mapping out our future. And I urge you to go. We want you to reflect on our situation and add your voice to the shaping of our future.

But I also urge you to listen to other two voices that will “not present.” To listen to the voices of our “youth” and of the “community around us.”

As part of our ReVision survey, we surveyed our youth. And we surveyed the community, the context, into which God has placed us and planted us for the sake of his Gospel.

And our kids (our youth) are telling us that there is a strong, adult majority (I am guilty, I am part of it, too)that dominate life in this congregation and they would like some “space,” too.

We Want a Place in the Church, too

They want space “physically.” A room, a place to call their own. A place they can paint and decorate. Their eyes are on the stage.

And they want space in our “worship.” They want to hear the Gospel in their words, in their movements , in their motions, in their music. They do not want to remove the traditional. They like traditional. But they want to add to the traditional a stamp that is their own.

And they want a space in “acts of service.” They want to do service projects. They like doing things. They like helping others. They want mentors, organizers and guides who can help them do what they are eager and longing to do.

And come to the Adult Retreat. And tell me what you think. I almost hear the community around us saying some of the same things our youth are telling us.

And if we are to grow as wise, spiritual Christians, if we are to grow as a congregation, we must listen not only to those who are here, but also to those whom we wish were here.

If we want our youth to remain connected, we need to listen to them, even though they may only have a “weak” voice currently in congregational decision.

And if we want to draw to Jesus more of the unchurched around us, we need to listen to their voices, too, through every means at our disposal.

Christ Died for Them and You can’t even…

Otherwise, that Paul said to Corinth gets aimed at us, too: “Christ died for them. Christ died for our youth. Christ died for the community. And you can’t even create a space in worship or move some furniture around?”

It is not about us. We come from God and we go to God. It is about reflecting the love that God has shown to us.

And where there is love, there is always growth and hope, and not a knocking down of others, but a building up.

For love always builds. Knowledge puffs up. Knowledge makes us proud and arrogant and rude. But love does just the opposite. Love builds up.

© 2009 Pastor Paul Jaster