Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

The breathless man obviously had it all together. He was young and vastly wealthy. He’s concerned about his salvation, so it seems that he’s wise. The fact that he came running to Jesus to ask the question tells us that here is a zealous man who wants to follow the Lord. He looks like an excellent prospect. This is the kind of guy who’s got his act together. He’s the kind of guy who would volunteer to serve on committees and get a lot of work done. He’s the kind of guy who would be an asset for whatever sort of plan or strategy that would need to be launched. The disciples must be breathing a sigh of relief, for it’s been a rough several weeks. First there was the fiasco after the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, when many disciples left the group. Then Jesus has been saying recently that He’s going to be crucified. But here’s a nice change: A young, rich, intelligent guy has appeared, who wants to be a disciple. This man is a slam dunk sure thing for joining any church.

But the conversation doesn’t seem to go well. The disciples don’t get their number one draft pick to join them. Who would ever imagine that this potential super-disciple would walk away sorrowful the next minute?

What happened? Listen to the exchange:

“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” And here the problem has already begun, because the question he asks has a flaw, a wrong assumption. What he is asking Jesus is this: “How much more of God’s Law do I have to keep in order to earn my way into eternal life? What do I have to do?” Although the man is sincere, he is far from having divine faith: He doesn’t want Jesus to save him from sin. Instead, he wants the Lord to approve of who he is and the good that he has done.

Since the man asks a question about keeping the commandments, Jesus gives him an answer about keeping the commandments: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.'” The man asked, “What shall I do?”, Jesus says, “You shall keep God’s commandments,” and then gives him some of the Ten.

But this only leaves the man in self-satisfaction: Is this all there is to it? Or perhaps he thinks it’s too good to be true—there must be something more, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth!

Then the bomb drops. Jesus, who loves this man, preaches one more bit of God’s Law: “One thing you lack,” says the Lord. “Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

This time, the man sees how God’s Law accuses him, and it crushes him. Jesus has just pointed out to him his sin. But what sin is that, exactly?

Wealth is not precisely the issue in this Gospel; Jesus does not condemn people for being rich. We must make this clear so that we can understand the true sin and the marvelous Gospel Word. Bible stories like this one have been misused to declare that wealth is innately sinful; the monks in Martin Luther’s time considered it a great work to sell all they had and make a vow of poverty, for poverty was considered to be more pleasing to God. But this is not what the Lord is saying. Granted, wealth has its dangers, as the Lord will go on to say: Those who have riches are tempted to trust in those riches instead of the Lord.

So, is this young man greedy? There is greed here, yes. Notice that the list of commandments that Jesus recited to him stopped just short of including, “Do not covet.” The man has much in the way of riches, and he would rather hoard his temporary wealth than love his neighbor and give his surplus to the poor. So, yes, the light of God’s Law illuminates some greed here, but that greed is not the major problem: There is a far more dangerous sin.

The man thinks that he can save himself by how well he works at keeping God’s commands. He believes that he can work his way into heaven by being good enough. When Jesus lists commands, He is saying in effect, “If you are so virtuous that you can keep all of God’s commandments as you say, then you shouldn’t be in love with your money; you’d be able to give it all away. Prove what you claim about yourself.”

Once it was considered Godly to be poor; in today’s world it’s the very opposite. It seems now that you are not blessed, you are not walking with the Lord, so to speak, if you aren’t successful or if you don’t have an abundance of earthly goods. God wants you to be happy, as many would say to entice you. If you truly believe, and if your moral life follows God’s plan for your life, then you’ll have nothing to worry about. But isn’t that exactly what Jesus points out in this rich young man? Isn’t this why the Lord says to the guy who has it all: one thing you lack? That one stumbling block for him may be trouble for you, too. Aren’t you tempted to think at times that God is pleased with you because of the good things you do, or on account of how many people you help, or how many lives you touch?

Now, the Lord showed the man that, since he was suffering from a form of greed, he wasn’t keeping all of God’s commands and couldn’t earn eternal life. The same is true for you. Yet, you trust in Jesus Christ, you believe that He saved you by His death and resurrection, and absolution is yours. But as long as that man, or anyone for that matter, believes that he can save himself, he does not trust in Jesus to save him; without true God-given faith, there can be no forgiveness. Any plan of self- salvation will utterly fail. If you trust in that route to peace with God, then anyone who is less than perfect will necessarily walk away sad, depressed, or worse.

However, that need not be the end of the story. Jesus says the same to you: “You can’t save yourself. But I can save you. I will save you by going to the cross and dying for your sin. Do not trust in your own efforts, but in mine.”

Thus the Lord declares to this man the Gospel, telling him that He will bear the cross for him. But it’s too much to take. He arrived expecting the Lord’s blessing as a reward for his own keeping of the law-and perhaps for his well-run life and wealth; instead, he’s told to throw it all away and trust in the cross instead. This is not the way he wants salvation, and this is not the way he wants the Savior to be. Therefore, he walks away. The would-be disciple, the one who was excellent, the guy who had everything going his way, sadly walks away.

Jesus lets him go. Imagine, that Jesus would drive away such a shining prospect with His teaching. He loves the man, so He will not force the man to be repentant. He will, however, go to the cross and die for the sins of the rich young man; if, later on, the man repents of his sin, the benefits of the cross will be there for him.

The man walks away, and the disciples don’t understand. Because when Jesus says, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples are astonished. If a great man like that can’t get into heaven, who can? Now, I must include for you the next few verses after today’s Gospel reading cut off. You have probably heard some of it before. Without this context, the lesson might lose its meaning.

Jesus expands, saying: “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Disciples aren’t taking this as good news yet.

The Lord explains: “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Simply put, the Law says: You can’t. You can’t save yourself. The Gospel says: God can. He can save you because He sent His Son to the cross. He will pay the price with His own blood, then rise victoriously from the grave on the third day.

So, how many good works must you do in order to inherit eternal life? Can you do enough good things? The answer is: No. You can’t. Can you build your faith and maintain your salvation by your works? No. You can’t. “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

There is an answer and there is salvation, but it’s an answer to a different question. The question is not “What would Jesus do, so I can copy Him?” The question is, “What has the Lord done to give me eternal life?” And Jesus’ answer is Good News in abundance.

Think of all those commandments that the Good Teacher listed for the rich young man, He kept them. Perfectly. Did Jesus give all that He had to the poor? Yes: He gave up all His heavenly riches for all of us who were poor in spirit. He offered His back to those who scourged Him, His scalp to those who crowned Him with thorns. He allowed His hands, feet and side to be pierced for this sinful world. Did He give all? Yes, in a depth that we cannot even begin to contemplate. Unlike the rich young man, did He take up the cross? Yes. He took up the cross. And on that cross He died for the sins of the world. That is what the Lord has done.

But He is not finished. The Good Teacher now offers that cross to you. There are good works for you to do, but your Father is already pleased with you before you do them. He is pleased with you, because He is pleased with Jesus. He still warns and accuses of sin-not so that you would walk away sorrowful, but so that you might repent and turn away from that which would destroy you. And by His holy Gospel, He gives you His cross. He takes away your sins-you need not suffer and die for them because He already has. He gives you His righteousness, giving you the credit and benefits of all He did. He makes you His family, members of His household. He marks you with His cross in Holy Baptism, you are joined to His death. He gives you His body and blood in Holy Communion, that He might join you to His life.

You can’t, but He can; and He does. Faithfully, again and again granting you forgiveness for your sins. All things truly are possible with God.

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

Readings:
Amos 5:6–7, 10–15 Hate evil, love good; Establish justice
Ps. 90:12–17 teach us to number our days
Heb. 3:12–19 exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”
Mark 10:17–22 what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

What do you think would be the best marriage advice, the words that would do the most good for a couple who is about to get married? What would help them best overcome the pitfalls and barriers to a healthy marriage? What one gem of truth, if they could hold on to it right from the very start, would see them through to a long and blessed life together? Believe me, every time that I meet with an engaged couple to prepare for marriage, I ask myself those very questions. Marriage has always suffered many stresses, and has undergone countless attacks. There is no exception in our day and age. People get lots of attention if they can credibly claim that they have the secret to a divorce-proof relationship.

Divorce is something we have been forced to deal with more and more. Families who never had experienced a hint of this tragedy before can often be sent into a tailspin with one marriage after another suddenly falling like dominoes. Now, instead of saying that 50% or so of marriages end in divorce, experts have been trying to say things like, the average marriage only lasts a certain number of years, and I’ve heard as low a number as seven years. That’s almost like taking divorce as a given; as if marriage eventually dies like anything else that takes its natural life course. Everything that was once so close, so connected, so much in agreement, just drifts apart and nobody can stop it. We’re not in love anymore, or I can’t change your annoying habits, or I don’t like how you handle money, or the kids are all gone and we were just staying together as long as they were living with us. Attitudes like these are far from the life-long exclusive commitment that God had intended for marriage to be from the very beginning.

Yet as important as God’s Word is for marriage, there is even more that He says, something even deeper that He would not want us to neglect. For as the bond of marriage is crucial for the health of our society, that it must at all costs remain defined correctly in our government as a life-long public and legal bond of one man and one woman, so is the Word of our salvation absolutely necessary for our life everlasting. The Book of Hebrews may not have in it the hottest marriage advice that would draw an audience to an afternoon TV talk show, but our Epistle does lay out for us plainly how important it is not to drift away from our Lord’s great commitment to us, His Church.

Instead of exchanging vows back and forth with us, our Savior Jesus Christ came all on His own among us and lived in our own human flesh. He who was already perfect and the Son of the Everlasting Father, was made perfect through suffering in that flesh, since we always need to remember that without flesh it would not have been possible for Him to suffer in our place. He was made like His brothers, appearing as though He were of a lower status than the angels, sharing in the same things we suffered, especially sharing in the curse of our sin even though He had none and taking its heavy burden away from us. Jesus tasted death for everyone, drinking down to the bottom the cup of God’s holy wrath, so that we would be spared from tasting its bitter dregs. You can see how similar to a marriage this faith relationship is with our Lord, yet it is so much greater and farther-reaching. You were joined to Him, not when you decided to commit your life to Him for better or for worse, but rather you became an inheritor with Him when you heard the Word attested to you by those who heard Him directly and wrote it down by the Holy Spirit. The Apostles and Prophets spoke and wrote, but it was all God’s Word. God Himself bore witness to this relationship that He set up with you, not with rings and promises, but with the signs and wonders of Jesus’ miracles, His suffering and death for you on the cross, and the visible Word of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, distributed as His precious gifts among you here according to His will.

How great a gift this salvation is, and yet we neglect it! You may be quick to give all this wonderful advice to young newlyweds, but you fail from time to time to follow that same advice yourself. The qualities you absolutely despise in other people end up creeping out of your very own life and conduct. You get distracted from prayer, drift away from God’s Word, break off your relationships in a false sense of righteous anger when you get hurt, you redefine what you want to get out of your life as a Christian. Everything that is attacking marriage in our society is also in some way threatening your bond of faith with God your heavenly Father. Even if your marriage isn’t on the rocks or you actually aren’t a detriment to society, there still have been ways in which you rejected God, you ignored His Commandments and despised some part of His calling in life that He gave you.

Because of your sinful nature inside you, you were born into death and held under its power. The devil, who has attacked everyone on earth beginning with the very first married couple, had as his sworn goal your lifelong slavery to his evil devices. I know this all sounds abstract and story-like, like it’s hard to believe—we seem to have bigger problems to worry about. One would even wonder whether we should focus on our nation and the big decisions that we have to make in a few weeks with the election. However, those issues only seem to be greater because their consequences are more immediate. You can feel the effects. But with salvation, on the other hand, it’s all hidden and the eternal life or eternal punishment—that’s all way off in the future to our minds. Dealing with spiritual matters like sin and forgiveness just seems like a waste of time right now. Yet Hebrews jars you with the reality: you thought that neglecting the law brought bad consequences, well, neglecting the Gospel would be disastrous, because then you would be saying no to forgiveness.

Last week you heard that God has sent His mighty angels to guard and keep you, most especially to lead you to believe with all your heart that your name is written in the Lord’s Book of Life in heaven. Jesus came to this earth not to help angels (as great as angels are) but to reach out to you and raise you up above the angels with Him. This in fact could be another clue as to why angels don’t want us to worship them—the truth is, you and I have been exalted in Christ above even the angels! The lesser always praises the greater. The angels may appear greater and be more powerful, but they know that you have been washed with the Blood of Jesus and granted the place of privilege over everything else that the Lord has made, including the mighty angels.

So also this week, as Christ our Lord protects and extols marriage in His teaching, and as He welcomes children into His gracious presence, giving them the hands of His blessing, know that He does all of this to proclaim to you the message of your salvation. Sure, He wants marriages to be strong, our country to be morally grounded, our world to be more peaceful. But more than all of those put together, He wants you to pay close attention to the Gospel Word of forgiveness that you hear. Don’t crowd that Word out with your own ideas, wants and self-centered desires. That’s what leads to hardness of heart. Believe that the welcome that Jesus gave to the little children and infants, is the same open arms of blessing that He extends to you today. He does not want you to drift away. He wants to strengthen His relationship of faith with you because He is forever committed to you.

I know it’s hard to take the Bible’s Word for what it is, and not just because you and I have our sinful natures. It’s difficult to believe because we don’t see good things happening. Hebrews nails it: “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him.” We don’t see around us the love of our neighbor or the sense of accountability to God that has made our nation great since it began. We get discouraged when we are called upon to bear heavy crosses and burdens with seemingly no end in sight. But soon, we will see everything in subjection to Christ, we will behold all things as they really are. Like the disciples of Jesus who momentarily saw demons fleeing left and right as they were preaching in His name. The end that is sure to come will bring to us a crown of glory and honor that would far outshine the radiance of any bride on her wedding day.

So as you think of the advice that would save and preserve someone’s marriage, apply that advice also to yourself, as it deals with your soul. Pay close attention to the Gospel, His Word that removes your sins and strengthens you in the difficulties of life with His peace. Do not neglect what you have heard, because His vow, His promise to you will never fail. He is not giving you requirements for living up to your end of the deal, but He is handing out to you your very life and forgiveness, your release from everything that oppresses and stresses you. He has made you children of Abraham, sons of those who believe in Jesus and that faith is counted as though you did everything right. And whether He stems the spread of cultural rot in our land, or the bad just keeps getting worse, you still know you have a merciful and faithful high priest in Jesus Christ who has suffered everything for you, and eternal life in His kingdom is yours now, and yours to see very soon.

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

Readings
Gen. 2:18–25 It is not good that man should be alone
Ps. 128 Yes, may you see your children’s children.
Heb. 2:1–18 we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard
Mark 10:2–16 what God has joined together, let not man separate.

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

The festival day of St. Michael and all Angels was yesterday the 29th. In our church calendar, through which we took a tour a couple months ago, there is a noticeable shift at this point of the year. The harvest is approaching, fall is in the air, but the Christian is reminded during this time of year of another coming, the coming of heaven upon the triumphant return of Jesus Christ, followed by a fresh celebration of Advent and Christmas. And so, to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord, we must remain aware that He is always with us, giving us the protection of His holy angels.

Now, when it comes to talking about angels, one of two basic problems quickly come forward. On the one hand, there seems to be a lot that comes from the imagination. Movies about angels are so plentiful that they could be in a whole category by themselves. We hope to explain to ourselves the existence and activity of an entirely unseen world that somehow overlaps with the world that we can see. There is something genuinely fascinating to our human minds that there could be an angel standing above you or sitting next to you, and protecting you wherever you go. Our curiosity then gets the better of us and we let our own thoughts and feelings become the experts and we believe all sorts of things about those mysterious spiritual beings.

On the other hand, all of this mysterious and other-worldly language could discourage someone from thinking any further about angels and what they do. It seems angels and spirits are on everyone’s mind just because it is the latest fad. Our minds are still programmed with that idea of “What you see is what you get.” There needs to be enough proof laid out before our very eyes or else we will not become convinced. Of course you could believe in angels, but just as long as it doesn’t mean that your life in the so-called real world will be any different because of them.

It is so easy to make-believe in this whole other spiritual realm, just like you’re telling a story, but if someone starts getting really serious about it, then skeptical questions arise. Questions like: “If God sends angels to protect us, then why are there still accidents and terrorists and destruction? Where are the guardian angels when these things happen?” So when it seems possible that there could be more than meets the eye, we tend to abandon what our faith says in favor of what our senses tell us instead.

There was a time when Jesus had sent seventy-two preachers out to the various surrounding villages. They were to proclaim that God’s kingdom is here. The long-awaited Savior, the God in whom all the faithful put their hope—He is walking around even now healing people and preaching the good news of salvation. That was the message of these preachers; that was what they said. What they saw—rather, what God allowed their eyes to see—was something truly spectacular. The demons, those evil angels who serve not the Lord but the devil, they were fleeing like mad before these mere mortals! But then, when the disciples tell Jesus, it seems like He just shoots them down. He said this: “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20) As amazing as it was that they were witnessing a spirit-world struggle, our Lord reminds them not to be fixed on what their eyes were telling them.

The fact is, this whole other world actually exists, even though it is unseen. It not only exists, but this unseen world is the way things really are in God’s kingdom of heaven. It is the realm in which St. Michael the archangel and all the angel armies defeated Satan and cast him down like a bolt of lightning from the presence of Almighty God. It is the realm in which those miserable demons flee at the mere speaking of God’s Word. In the spiritual realm, there are angels right here among us and protecting us even now. In the realm that we can see, all that appears is a dead man hanging on a cross; in the spiritual realm, the devil’s head is crushed, he is thrown out of heaven and sin and death are completely wiped out.

Brothers and sisters, do not be ignorant of the way things really are. You may understand and believe with all your heart that your sins are taken away and that one day you will be in heaven. But it is still possible to believe that and still imagine that you are your own person, that you don’t need God’s help in your day-to-day life. God’s grace could easily become for you just a safety net for you to fall back on when you can’t help yourself out of your own mess. You have a deep-seated desire within you to be self-reliant, to be independent of God. It’s a temptation raised to your attention by the devil himself. For he wants you to believe that you can get by in life without God’s help, so that then you become easy prey to fall into the hands of the evil one. Even though he has been defeated forever and cast out of heaven, he can still bring you down to hell with him, and he knows his time of opportunity is short.

There is a whole other dimension to God’s grace. Above and beyond giving you the free forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven, our Lord has given you more. He always gives you more. He has entrusted your safety to his most powerful servants even while you are still on this earth. He promises that He will send His angels to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and cobra and trample them underfoot. Even though the devil like a roaring lion prowls about, waiting to devour you, he will not come near you, because God has given you Michael and all the heavenly armies to watch over you. Every day that you are alive is a gift with which God richly blesses you, and that gift is especially yours thanks to the work of His holy angels.

But, again, don’t get carried away. As much as the angels do for you, they are still God’s humble servants. They deserve no worship, thanks or praise for their work—they themselves would tell you that all glory goes to God alone who made them and who gave them their power. For it is that power that can be so fascinating. Those 72 preachers whom Jesus sent were for a moment allowed to see the heavenly realm and God’s powerful wrath unleashed against evil.

Do you want that power? Do you want to call down fire and brimstone against a backstabbing friend or the driver who cut you off on the freeway? Are you so sick and tired of the devil’s attacks and temptations that you wish you could just say the word and they would all be gone? Wouldn’t your life be easier if you could just make the angels do what you want them to do?

Fortunately for you, God does not want to show you His power. God’s power is none other than His punishment—and we already know that He punishes all those who hate Him. If you wish to see God’s power, then you wouldn’t be living long, because His punishment condemns all of us sinners. God’s power was instead unleashed against His only Son Jesus as He was hanging on the cross. He stood condemned before God the Father’s holy anger, not because of anything He had done, but He had your sin and mine clinging to His Body. In Christ hanging on the cross there truly is God’s power—but that power remains hidden within God’s love that He had—and still has—for you. That is a love that causes all the hosts of angels to rejoice over one sinner who admits his sin and asks for forgiveness.

God’s love is more amazing and even more awesome than His power. His love is seen in Jesus your Savior, who gave up all He had and became obedient to death, even death on a cross—and all for your sake. God knows that you are a sinner and that you deserve punishment, but with Jesus standing in your place, He no longer looks upon you with punishment and condemnation. Instead He abundantly showers His love on you for the sake of Jesus, who kept the law and suffered its punishment for you. Jesus gives you His very own Body and Blood, which was the price He paid for your sins, in order that you may join with Him and the angels of heaven in receiving salvation even now, both for your body and for your soul. In Holy Communion, God gives you a powerful assurance that your name is certainly written in heaven.

It is truly a mystery—as deep as a bottomless well—when it comes to thinking about God’s love. Even the angels themselves wonder in amazement at how great the love of God is for you, His precious creation. His special messengers gladly bring us Good News of God’s love, just like they did to the shepherds at Christmas, and to the women and the disciples on the first Easter. We then join with them in their heavenly song so that with angels and archangels we laud and magnify God’s glorious name.

And so the true reason why there are angels is so that you may believe and finally realize that your name is written in heaven. That is what our Lord Jesus said to His joyful missionaries, and that is what He says to you today. Anything more or less than this simply misses the point. Whether you focus too much on the angels or deny that they have any bearing on your life, then doubt and unbelief have the chance to creep in and destroy your faith. Remember first of all that you are saved and that your name is written in heaven and that no one can take that from you. Depend on Him for everything, and not on yourself. Then give thanks to God for sending His angels to remind you of that blessed truth and to protect you on every side from the attacks of the devil. All this He does because He loves you. So as Martin Luther once directed to do twice a day, along with all your fellow saints on earth, pray to the Lord, “Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.”

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

Readings:
Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3 those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake
Revelation 12:7-12 they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb…
Matthew 18:1-11 unless you turn and become like children

October, 2017

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

The end seemed to be on the horizon for those disciples. Jesus, who has been their leader for some time now, He was starting to talk a lot about being delivered into the hands of sinful men and being killed. Secretly, they must have all hoped that the government would be overthrown and the Roman scourge would finally leave their Holy Land. But the way Jesus was talking, it didn’t sound like that would be the way it would turn out. The followers were faced with the inevitable fact that their leader would no longer be with them. Though they were told He was the Son of God and that He would rise from the grave three days after being killed, it just didn’t sink in for them. They were slow of heart to believe, they had doubts, their faith was weak.

And so, when some of the disciples were faced with the reality that Jesus was going to leave them, they began to struggle and argue and position themselves to take over as the new leader of their movement. They fell for the very temptations that James spoke about in his warnings to fellow pastors and preachers of God’s Word. They were in love with the world, and in danger of being at enmity with God. The questions that matter most to the world were the questions that swirled in their heads: Who of them was going to be the greatest? Who would receive the mantle of leadership and take over for the Christ?

But hold on a minute– what kind of honor would that be anyway? Already they were going about from place to place hoping for a meal and a place to sleep. Jesus Himself said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Even the greatest among the disciples was still going to be no better off than a beggar. And yet they argued over it as if some lucrative political position were up for grabs. Imagine: the creator of heaven and earth, living in human flesh, was walking with them on the road teaching them, saying He will give His very life for them, and they were preoccupied about who would be at the top of their little totem pole!

This was one of the disciples’ lowest moments. Not long ago three of them experienced the mountaintop experience of Jesus’ transfiguration. They got to see their Teacher lit up like a flash of lightning, talking to Moses and Elijah in a glimpse of heaven on earth. It seemed like they had all the proof they would need to believe that this Jesus truly is the Son of God and they would take Him at His Word. He would be killed, and then He would rise on the third day. Instead, they did not understand, and more than that, they turned their back on the way of humility and lowliness, and immediately they rubbed Jesus out of the picture and fought with one another about who would take over as the greatest.

And so, fears, doubts and trials in your life leave you dumbfounded just like they were. Perhaps for a little while you had the great, grand experience where you felt the Lord had really reached out to you. It was great during that time to be a Christian and fervently on fire for the Lord. And then, probably something happened that you didn’t expect. A sudden change in your income may have set you back, or maybe it was increasing tension in your family, or a close friend could have betrayed you. Now what would happen? Where was God when you needed Him the most? It was something you couldn’t understand, and yet you were afraid to admit it.

It’s easy to listen to the words of Jesus here and then turn around and beat yourself with them. You could take what He says as an impossible standard that you have failed to meet over and over again. You think, So many times I have dropped the ball–no, I’m not always acting like the servant of everyone I deal with on a daily basis. I could be more helpful to my neighbor than I am. I am in greater friendship with this sinful world than I am with my merciful Savior who has rescued me precisely from this world. I tend to argue with my loved ones and try to make myself to be the greatest. And to tell the truth, your conscience that condemns you with these things would be absolutely right in doing so. For you are a sinner, and you have a habit of doing the things sinners do.

But you would have also missed the point of Jesus’ Word here for you today. Your Lord Christ is not here just to remind you of your shortcomings and then turn His back on you. In fact, His talk about being a servant isn’t really about you at all. Jesus is giving you Himself in what He says. It was He who made Himself the least, the Almighty God who became a lowly servant, so that you could have the greatest honor of life forever in the arms of your heavenly Father.

You see, this was the very message that Christ was giving to His followers and they wouldn’t understand it. You wouldn’t understand it either if you preoccupy yourself solely in making this present life better or more comfortable for you. Your Lord has a reason for talking so much about His own death and resurrection. This is the source of true life for you; it is yours as a gift. This is the source of true greatness in God’s eyes. For Jesus became the least not merely when He was born into a poor carpenter’s home and walked about Galilee without a place to call home. He truly became the least for you when He took the load of sins from your back and laid it on His own. He served you in all humility when He was nailed to the cross and when He died for you in order for your sins and shortcomings to be wiped out.

Then He was raised in all glory to the greatest position in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus humbled Himself to the utmost and then He was exalted to the highest place. And since you are baptized into Christ and forever connected with Him, you as a sinner were also killed with Him, dead and buried; and you as a new creation are raised to life as well along with Him. He rules and reigns to all eternity, and because you belong to Him, you reign forever with Him. Christ the least has become Christ the greatest and the benefits are all yours. You have the privilege to eat and drink this Godly greatness when you kneel before this altar. For the body and blood of Jesus who was made the least for you is the very food that gives you the true life. This gift of forgiveness and life from God conquers all the worldly distractions that cause you concern every day.

Once you are filled with Jesus and His Holy Spirit, all those things that this world considers as great become worthless in comparison to Him. Providing for yourself and your family moves from your responsibility to God’s responsibility, where it belongs. Arguing with your neighbor and scraping against others to get earthly greatness seems absolutely silly in comparison to the wonderful gift your Lord is handing out to you. Worrying about the future of the church is displaced with confidence that God will reap His harvest as He pleases. Receive your Lord Jesus and the Father who sent Him. Be forgiven, washed clean by your lowly servant and highly exalted King, Jesus. He can remove the doubts and fears that shake your faith. He won’t remove the cross nor the trials from you, but He will strengthen you to withstand them and lay hold of His victory. He has promised never to leave you. Finally, at your last hour of death, your Lord has promised that He will take you into His arms as His little child. And you, who have been considered last in the eyes of this sinful world, will be first as you enjoy the presence of God in His heavenly kingdom.

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

Readings:
Jer. 11:18–20 Oh LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart
Ps. 54 Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.
James 3:13—4:10 the wisdom that is from above is first pure… Submit to God, resist the devil
Mark 9:30–37 Whoever receives one of these little children in My name…

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Welcome aboard! For centuries, the Church has been described in terms of a boat or ship. So much so, that you even hear nautical terms being used from time to time. The area in which you are seated is called the nave, from the Latin for ship. The pulpit was the point where the navigator steered the ship with the wheel. Speaking of the Church in this way was first of all inspired by the writers of the Bible themselves. In chapter three of the Epistle of James, the brother of our Lord Jesus speaks to his fellow teachers of doctrine, that is, to fellow pastors. Of course, the words James writes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit specifically for the vocation of his brothers in the ministry can also be applied in a general way by all Christians as they pursue their various callings in life. Now, the part of the ship that James is concerned with here is not something large and obvious like the mast or mainsail, nor even something that would look important like the captain or the charts and compass. No, for this miniature parable, we need to go below the water’s surface, sweep away all the muck and algae, and focus attention on the rudder.

Such a small instrument, notes James, that can turn such a massive vessel. In the same way that bit and bridle, small as they are, can exert control upon a powerful horse. In terms of something more common today, thanks to electronics and hydraulics, a little tap of the foot on the brake pedal stops a whole car! We just expect it work that way, but it is still impressive. Well, the small, yet mighty instrument that moves the ship of the Church is the tongue of the preacher that proclaims God’s Word for all in the nave to hear it. And to speak rightly without stumbling, that preacher is to be completely trained. Here in the Epistle, the phrase “perfect man” should not be taken to mean “one without sin,” but rather a “fully prepared preacher.” The course must be set on the one hand with the righteous Law of God, given to us in summary form in the Ten Commandments. This Law directs us in our life, but it also always accuses and condemns our sin and leaves us no option but to plead to Christ for help. On the other hand, proper steering of the ship comes from the preaching tongue’s proclamation of the Gospel, namely, the gracious works of God for our sake leading to and including the holy death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

While the tongue of the preacher is the small, yet mighty rudder that directs the course of the Church according to God’s Word, your own tongues in a similar way have important roles. Whatever callings that your heavenly Father has bestowed upon you, He who was the first ever to speak, has also given you your tongue to proclaim and teach His Word in the context that is appropriate for you. What you say is immensely important, perhaps more now than ever. They don’t call this the “information age” for nothing. Messages can go to millions of people, all around the world, in seconds. Communication must be preserved pure and pristine, or else business would falter, relationships would crumble, and nations would erupt into chaos. Quick, convenient information can really help us, yet now, we can’t afford not to be careful over what other people may know about us.

Whatever can do a world of good, can also in this fallen world of ours be implemented to wreak a staggering blow of evil. The Apostle takes great pains to warn the Church of the evil capability of the tongue. Perhaps your life has suffered damage at one time or another, thanks to the raging fire set ablaze by the tongue. Your own tongue could easily have hurt another, even when you had no idea you were doing it. Sticks and stones, contrary to what the rhyme may say, have nothing on how hurtful the words of the tongue can be. And what makes the whole thing a lot worse is that the fire of the tongue is a chief instrument of the devil’s terror regime. The Holy Spirit warns us that our sinful tongues are set on fire by hell. That means Satan wants brothers and sisters in Christ setting off verbal grenades against each other. Nothing would bring a more swift demise to a congregation and sink the ship completely.

The fire is especially dangerous when it is kindled by the tongue of a pastor who takes away the clear teaching of the Word of God and substitutes his own opinion or simply spews out meaningless garbage. Doesn’t a ship run aground when it sails in shallow water? Doctrine that does not measure up to the Truth of the Bible is false doctrine, no matter how good it may sound. And when a church is burning due to falsehood proclaimed from the pulpit, the first things to be destroyed are the forgiveness of sins, the comfort of the Gospel and the certainty of heaven. In midst of the ashes arises a hideous, man-made phoenix of trust not in the Lord and what He has done, but trust in yourself. Have I done enough good? Have I made enough promises or had a clear purpose to drive my life? You might recover the Bible from all the damage, but under the influence of an evil tongue, the Bible is turned into a mere book of rules; Jesus turns from gracious Savior into the impossible example that you could never follow perfectly.

James gives us a chilling dose of reality. No one can tame the tongue. We all stumble in many ways. The winds of fad and worldly desire blow us to and fro and, by ourselves, we cannot reset the proper bearing. Our sins will cast us into the whirlpool abyss of eternal punishment. The storms we face continually threaten to capsize the entire ship. So we need our Captain, Jesus Christ, to be aboard. We need His calming word of peace for our tempest-tossed souls. His death, the shedding of His blood, and His glorious resurrection from the dead are exactly the thing that bring the clear skies of forgiveness for our sins. You have heard this Gospel comfort from my tongue already; you will receive more words of grace from our Captain Himself before our time of worship together is complete. The galley, if you will, is set for the perfect Supper of our voyage, namely His holy Body and Blood given and shed for you.

Oftentimes passengers of a ship are “tendered” to shore for a short visit. But while they are on land, these people always keep in the back of their minds that they need to return to their ship so that the voyage may continue. I remember on the one cruise my whole family took together, we had lots of fun racing from one site to the other, but I was constantly looking at my watch so that I made sure the last tender to the ship wouldn’t leave without us! We’ve gotta get back to the ship! Likewise, your vocation, your various callings in your life “tender” you, so to speak, to the land of this world. And as St. John reminds you, we are in this world, but not of it. Indeed, while you are on land, there are works which God prepared in advance for you to do to help one another and to help your neighbor as His holy instrument. Prayer is needed both on the ship in church and on land in your daily life and work. But the land of this world is not home for you. For your spiritual strength and sustenance, you’ve gotta get back to the ship, here in the nave, back to your Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the other passengers you know who don’t think they need to get on board, that it would be abundantly beneficial for them to hear the Word of the Lord from the rudder-tongue who is called and ordained to proclaim that Word.

You may have been burned by the hellish fire of an evil tongue. Perhaps you have used your own tongue to devastate an entire forest of your own. The winds and currents may buffet you in your life, in your family, at work or school. A great fire of false teachings may from time to time set ablaze the Church gathered in one place or another. Do not fear when you come across these terrible pitfalls in your voyage.

You already know from other readings in the Bible that a boat that has Jesus in it will be just fine, no matter what the storm does. That’s exactly what you have here, in this nave, this ship of Christ’s holy Church. Our heavenly port of call awaits! And the Captain has promised to ensure safe passage straight to the Father’s waiting arms.

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

Readings:
Is. 50:4–10 I gave My back to those who struck me … I have set My face like a flint.
Ps. 116:1–9 I found trouble and sorrow Then I called upon name of the LORD…
James 3:1–12 let not many of you become teachers … the tongue is a fire
Mark 9:14–29 LOrd, I believe; help my unbelief

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

It may at first sound strange when you think of it. You have just last weekend celebrated the gift and fruits of work and labor, by taking a day off from working and laboring. God Himself thought of that idea, for when His days of creative labor were completed, He “sabbathed,” that is, stopped what He was doing and rested, admiring the work that was done and pronounced it, “indeed very good.” So it really isn’t that strange when a day is set aside to commemorate work by not working, even though that day may have lost its intended meaning, at least according to the average person you may ask. If Memorial Day and all it stands for gets drowned out by the opening of pools and the beginning of summer vacations, then Labor Day doesn’t seem to have a chance at all when it typically comes to a screeching halt. One time I was out with the police, and they caught some kids up to no good, and when they were asked why they had the itch to be destructive to the property of a complete stranger, all they could come up with was a shrug and, “I guess because it was Labor Day and there was nothing to do.”

Lest we forget, labor, that is, our diverse God-given vocations through which He provides for ourselves and our families, is itself a gift that is showered upon us by our heavenly Father. Times of increased unemployment seem to make such a gift seem a bit more precious due to its scarcity, but like all gifts, the more it’s in abundance, the more that it tends to get ignored. We come across this problem around Thanksgiving time, too. Perhaps you’re familiar with an attitude like: For what should I be thankful? I have what I have due to my own hard work. This attitude can even claim the support of the Bible verse, “He who will not work, will not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) And although King Solomon found himself in despair of anything here on this earth “under the sun” having any meaning at all, at least he could say amid all the pessimism that you find in the book of Ecclesiastes, this observation that he writes about one’s particular labor is definitely more cheerful: “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.” (Ecclesiastes 5:18)

Yet even this can leave us focused on what we have done, on the results and fruits of our own labor. Even in our thanksgiving to God for His gift of labor, we can become self-centered. Daily we all come under the Apostle James’ chastisement which is none other than God’s law condemning us, for we neglect that brother or sister who is in a true physical need and we merely say, “Go in peace,” and, “Hope you have a good life. I just can’t help you right now.” Indeed, you or I could boast about keeping the whole law, yet we would fail in one point, and we would be no better off than any other sinner. I couldn’t presume myself in my heart to be any purer than those juvenile delinquents I met, even if I could reason with myself saying I would never do such a thing, and they deserve whatever punishment they got. No matter how hard you try, your own labor is going to fall short. The work you do will be tainted with the self-serving sinful nature that you inherited from Adam at birth. To be sure, it will not always look sinful to you or to others, but that’s part of the deception. Even the things you do that earn high praise from your fellow men, the Lord still knows your heart, and considering it all on its own, He is not pleased. There is nothing in God’s law to fall back on. Your work, your labor that is done from a heart dead and opposed to its Creator, is worthless and laboring for nothing.

You’re not alone, and that’s part of the good news. For there are two individuals who also were dead to God and opposed to Him, yet they were blessed. Here in the Gospel coming from Mark 7, there is not the woman who pleaded to Jesus, but rather her daughter who had the demon, and the deaf man, who didn’t come himself, who couldn’t even speak for himself, and was brought by others to Jesus for healing. Who did the work? Who exerted the labor? The woman who prayed? The friends who begged? No, on all counts! It was all Jesus. It was Jesus from beginning to end, Jesus the source of healing, Jesus the sole Savior and Helper. Meditate on these words from the Gospel, each one of them, this week: “He has done all things well.” I repeat, All things! That’s the rest of the Good News!

It was by His labor, which took Him the bitter way all the way to the cross, that the sins our labor caused were all forgiven. By His work, and His work alone, the trash heap that is your work and mine is converted into a glorious, laudable accomplishment over which the Father will say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Enter in the joy I have prepared for you!” He has done all things well. Just as by His perfect and powerful Word He created the world, gave His blessing, then rested, so also by His Word that carries with it the power of the Resurrection, He declares you, no more a sinner, but a saint washed in the blood of Christ, and blessed with the promise of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

Though your ears were stopped to His Word, His personal touch and “Ephphatha” opened them along with your lips, so that your mouth could declare His praise. Though the demons of this world attacked you and led you astray to follow your own desires, He dismissed them, perhaps even upon the prayer and pleading of others asking in your place. He has done all things well. His labor is what counts because His labor alone is perfect. He once did a miracle here and there and could hardly find a place to hide Himself. Now He hides Himself in the Word of Scripture, the Water of Baptism, and the Bread and Wine of Communion, and in those hiding places He’s doing even greater work than before, yet He’s often ignored even worse than the true meaning of any particular holiday.

But ignored or not, your Lord Jesus Christ continues to do all things well. He continues to give you the fruits of His labor. By humble faith, you are now content to be a dog under the table eating crumbs, yet by magnificent grace, you are invited as a precious child to be fed richly from the Father’s own hand. You don’t have any work to do to gain that privilege, because it is already yours. Yet it pleased the Lord nevertheless to give you work to do while it is day, to labor while your life lasts on this earth “under the sun.” This too is not a contradiction, because even though the heavy yoke of your sin has been taken off, Jesus still says, Take My yoke and learn of me, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” He has taken on Himself the task of salvation, and has given you other, much smaller tasks, but nonetheless still important ones that He works through you.

Your first task is to pray. You’ve been given access to the Father, now exercise that privilege and use that access and bring your needs, and bring those others who need Him, just like the foreign woman brought her daughter in prayer, and the friends who literally brought the deaf man. That’s your most important labor for others, because you are still leaving it in the hands of Jesus to do the actual work. In praying for others, there’s the least likelihood for your sinful nature to creep in and screw it up. And just like the woman didn’t know if her prayers did any good until after she went back home, your prayers and the people for whom you pray are left in the hands of the Lord, who has done what is best already before you ask. Remember, He has done all things well.

And finally, along with your prayers, remember to enjoy first the fruits of your Savior’s labor, relish His abundant forgiveness for you and your fellow sinners, and then to take delight in the labor He has given you to do for the sake of your family and others. Faith without works is dead, and because of Jesus, you have been given both faith and works together as His gift to you. Everything you do for others becomes by faith a holy task, a Christian labor of love that you could not do on your own, but rather that your Lord does through you. Do not remain left in despair and meaningless vanity, even when you’ve had, as we all have had, “one of those days.” He has already healed you of the illnesses of sin, selfishness, partiality and idleness. The law’s condemnation and the terrors of your past cannot touch you. He has done all things well. And because He has done all things well, you may rejoice this day, this “sabbath day” of rest and for the rest of your life, thanking God for the gift of Christian labor.

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

Readings:
Is. 35:4–7a then the eyes of the blind shall be opened
Ps. 146 Do not put your trust in princes
James 2:1–10, 14–18 but if you show partiality … I will show you my faith by my works.
Mark 7:24–37 Syro-Phoenician woman; healing of the deaf man

Watch out for “Emergents”!

If, after the hot, dry summer that we have had, you are still persuaded to keep taking care of your lawn, then you are probably very familiar with the term, “emergent.” When you apply a “pre-emergent” fertilizer and weed killer, you are making a pre-emptive strike against those nasty weeds before they sprout up and start causing a real problem on your prized, green turf!

The Emergent Church is a phenomenon, especially occurring in America, that seems to have some similarity to weeds in a garden. This is not a new church body or denomination. The Emergent Church is more of a way of thinking that is influencing large church bodies and in some cases, taking over the whole “yard” of religious expression. You could try to write it off as a passing fad (and it might end up to be just a fad) but people who espouse the Emergent philosophy are causing confusion in an already theologically weak society.

While the Emergent Church does not claim to have a leader, there are several authorities who have written books that have been very influential, even among some District Presidents of the Missouri Synod. While there are varieties and differences among these theologians, and in spite of the fact that they shy away from an expressed statement of belief, there are still some common themes that identify Emergents.

It is claimed that the Christian Church in our world today needs to change. The Internet, cell phones, 24-hour news channels, and post-modern thought are all cited as threats to the traditional concept of going to church, listening to a sermon, believing all the same thing, and learning from the same, old Bible of long ago. People today are more prone to pick and choose what they believe. Someone else may have a different way of getting to know God than I do, so I can’t tell them that they are wrong if they don’t agree with me. Churches are discouraged from taking a stand on moral issues like homosexuality or assisted suicide because that just makes people upset and they go somewhere else to worship.

If something challenges what Church was all about in the past, then that is what the Emergent Church wants to embrace with open arms. What makes Lutheran leaders fall for them is that their principles seem to be taking over in the popular “leadership conferences” that promise boosted church attendance and giving, especially if they emphasize not just “joining a church” but “becoming disciples,” which tends to overemphasize the Law against the Gospel. Absolutes like “heaven” and “hell” are replaced with terminology that touts a sort of “faith journey” in which someone discovers for themselves what God feels like to them. The concept of God the Father punishing Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins (as clearly described in Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 27:46; 1 John 2:2 and Romans 3:25) is denounced as “divine child abuse”! What is so deceptive about the Emergent Church is that to untrained ears, their message sounds so affirming and welcoming, easy to incorporate with open-minded contemporary thought, without any ancient doctrinal details to bog one down.

When Emergent theology first broke on the scene in the 1990s, the Bible took a back seat to a believer’s personal experience and discipleship, because these subjective sources of truth were held as more important than an authoritative text. This is what an Emergent theologian named Rob Bell wrote in the book, Velvet Elvis: “The Bible is a very holy and sacred book… one can make the Bible say anything she or he wants it to. …An accurate guideline to assist you in your interpretation is to ask yourself for the meaning. …When people say that all we need is the Bible, it is simply not true.” (Note the intentional reversal in the phrase, “she or he”- it’s another favorite practice of these teachers.)

Yet as the movement takes hold of a greater percentage of church thought, the Bible itself has become a means by which Emergent leaders promote their thinking. They have rewritten the Bible so that it matches the pattern of their theology and renamed it, The Voice. It was not based on a translation of the Greek and Hebrew, but rather a recipe of chopped up Scripture with interpretive comments mixed in. They are taking away key words like “Christ” and “forgiveness” and replacing them with what they say are easy-to-grasp terms like “Liberator” and “acceptance.” Their advertising says that The Voice is “the easiest Bible in print to understand.” The problem is, though, it is no longer the Bible!

Just like the weeds in the lawn, the Emergent Church needs our attention, so that its way of thinking does not lead us astray from our God who has revealed Himself in Jesus as we know Him from the ancient, historical Scriptures, rather than from our personal feelings. People need to know the truth, especially because if you look into your own heart, you will not find God but your own sinful nature instead. Even in our ever-changing world, the unchangeable doctrine of the Gospel of forgiveness is exactly what poor, miserable sinners like you and I need.

Yours, in Christ’s service,

Pastor Stirdivant

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

You have probably heard, Seeing is believing. In practice, I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard the phrase more often employed using the negative, as in: if you don’t see it, then you shouldn’t believe it. Granted, it is essential for us even in everyday life to seek out diligently for ourselves what is actually true, before we can count on it. When a bill comes in the mail and you are overcharged, then you have that immediate instinct and urge to get on the phone and demand that they give you proof that you absolutely have no choice but to pay the increase. Until you receive a sufficient demonstration of fact, merely taking someone’s word for it simply will not convince you. You need to see it before you’ll believe it. I lived about a third of my life in the Show-Me State, Missouri—and the people there come by their state motto honestly.

You aren’t alone in thinking that way. Elijah found it hard to believe in God’s mission for him. This mighty prophet of the Lord scored a major victory over the prophets of the false god that Israel worshiped. But he also earned permanent status as evil Queen Jezebel’s public enemy #1. She would stop at nothing to search for Elijah and destroy him immediately. He would then, just after today’s Old Testament reading leaves off, complain to the Lord that he alone was the only believer left in the whole land, at least that’s what he felt. God answered him, though, with the shocking fact that He personally knew of seven thousand people in Israel who had never worshiped anyone but the Lord God Almighty. That’s what you would call a “sleeping giant,” which, by the way, I think we still have something similar in our country. Such a multitude of faithful believers would never have occurred to Elijah, because he simply didn’t see them for himself.

You may remember also that Thomas said, “Unless I see and touch the wounds of the resurrected Lord, I will never believe.” Now, of course, since Thomas was called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ, it was essential for him especially to see Jesus risen from the dead. Otherwise, he would not have been qualified for that particular vocation in the Church. However our Lord wanted to make it clear for you and me and all believers that the true blessing is found in hearing the Gospel Word of forgiveness, paid for by His precious blood, rather than in demanding proof and seeing it in order to believe it.

In our Gospel for today, just after He fed the 5000 and walked on the stormy Sea of Galilee, Jesus here takes an unexpected turn from the idea of seeing is believing and He says instead: believing is eating and drinking! This portion of the Gospel of John needs a few moments of our reflection because there are two basic ideas, two streams you could say, flowing side by side, and soon they are about to converge together into one thought.

The first one is about seeing. Our Lord is eager to have you think differently about what it means to look upon Him, and therefore believe in Him. As I said before, our idea of seeing Jesus involves obtaining some proof that will satisfy the occasional weaknesses in our faith. That would be seeing Him, and yet not believing in Him-same problem Thomas had. Perhaps you think you’ll finally “see” Him when all that the Bible teaches starts making perfect sense in your mind and all your questions are answered. You also hope for the time when you can completely and convincingly share your faith with others and they will have nothing to reply that will make you feel embarrassed. We are right there with that one disciple who later asked Jesus, Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us. You have a Show Me state? Here’s your Show-Me disciple!

But when Jesus talks about seeing, or looking upon Him, there’s something different going on. When you look to your Savior as he describes to the crowds here in John 6, you are actually trusting in Him as your Savior. You look to your Lord, because you have become convinced that all other lords, including the lord you make of yourself, will miserably fail and you will be worse off instead of better. The psalmist had this spiritual seeing in mind when he wrote, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” You lift up your eyes, not in an imaginary way, like some people assume this verse means, but in order to see, fully see with great confidence in your heart, that the Maker of heaven and earth, the One who long ago sent ravens to feed Elijah in the desert, is the very same God who came to you, the Father who through the work of the Holy Spirit draws you to Christ His Son. Jesus is not a mere thought, nor a clever churchly concept of love just to mimic Him and try your best. He is a God who at one time in world history came to be seen, touched, heard. And even though now your eyes cannot physically see Jesus and demonstrate with proof for yourself right here in front of you, nevertheless you may still, even today, look to Him, believe and be raised up from death on the last day.

Here is where we join this together with a new meaning of eating and drinking, our Savior’s second stream of thought. Keep in mind the recent miracle of multiplied bread and fish, and note how the crowd of 5000 so enthusiastically follows Jesus, but all they are looking for is someone to feed them some more food. You may have met some little guy I know who is all about getting more and more to eat. It might seem, at first, that most of the crowd got it wrong. They were not following Jesus for the right reasons. And while that’s true, you still need to take a deeper look at it. There is something here actually that they didn’t get wrong, something that Jesus wants to encourage in them and fan into greater flame for their eternal good.

For the whole reason why Jesus desires to call Himself the bread that gives life to the world, is so that believers may diligently, maybe even desperately, search Him out and seek their complete nourishment from Him. You have to commend this multitude for so quickly catching up to Jesus and the disciples. It took a very long time for everyone to get into boats and sail directly across to the other side of the lake. But there they are, back in the city of Capernaum, and no longer out in the vast, open, grassy hillsides where they ate their miraculous meal. For these few days, this crowd has set everything in their lives aside and wrapped their entire attention around this one Man who is teaching them these words.

That’s what Jesus is talking about when He says our faith is eating and drinking. When the Holy Spirit plants faith in our hearts through Baptism, that same desperate hunger emerges within us, longing for Jesus to fill us up. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? Yes! That’s not only about constantly wanting to do good things for others, but first and foremost our hunger and thirst is for Jesus, who gives us His righteousness. That’s what the Bible calls a status of perfection and full acceptance to God as a replacement for our sins that had kept us away from Him. We were far away in rebellion; now we’ve been brought near. And we know only Jesus can give those great gifts to us. That’s what makes it the same as looking to Him to provide for me forgiveness, all my earthly daily bread needs, and peaceful reconciliation with my neighbor who sinned against me.

Seeing is eating and drinking! And both of these, as Jesus talks about them in this Gospel, mean your faith as it was planted in you in Baptism. When you look to Jesus and see Him as the one and only Savior in whom you may trust for ultimate resurrection and victory, then at the very same time, you are eating and drinking Him into yourself, along with the promise He will not lose you, nor leave you behind when the final day arrives. Though your eyes themselves now do not see Him in the way you had hoped, there will come the time when He will appear and you will see Him face-to-face, faith will give way completely to renewed and perfected sight, and all questions, if there are still any, will be fully answered. Until that time, you believe in Him, which is to say you look to Him, which is also to say you eat and drink Him, and thus live forever.

Not the thought of Jesus, not even the example of Jesus, but the flesh of Jesus, His real, true God and Man in one person, flesh is our bread that gives us this life. Totally for free. The real flesh-and-blood Jesus is the One to whom we look, the One true bread and drink for whom we continually hunger and thirst. In this new way, a spiritual way that only Christ can grant you as you are drawn in by the Father, you are eating His flesh and drinking His blood whenever you hear or read His Word, whenever you pray or lead your life in the calling that He has given you. And to seal that eating and drinking of His flesh as a guarantee of life within you, Jesus adds yet another way for you, this time a Sacramental way, in which He miraculously puts His Body and Blood in blest reality, under bread and wine, into your mouth, and that is at Holy Communion. Yes, eating His flesh and blood is the same as looking to Him in faith at all times, but here at this Altar you also come at our Lord’s invitation for yet another opportunity to have His resurrection and life life joined to your body, and yours to His Body the Church.

Seeing is believing? That may be needed for the things of this dead world that are sure to fail you. But with Jesus, it can be better said, for those who believe, seeing is eating and drinking—Him.

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

Readings:
1 Kings 19:1–8 Elijah’s flight into the wilderness
Ps. 34:1–8 The Angel of the LORD encamps
Eph. 4:17—5:2 be renewed in the spirit of your mind
John 6:35–51 the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes…

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

You heard the Israelites grumble about two things they so dearly missed: meat and bread. Barely a month and a half had passed, according to Moses’ record, since the Passover night when they escaped Egypt. What a miracle that was that night when over two million men, women, children and animals picked up and walked toward the desert. Then on another evening that multitude walked across the Red Sea floor as though it were dry ground, with towering walls of water standing up on either side in the moonlight. The best chariot cavalry of Egypt? God drowned them when He made the waters of the sea flow back to normal. Then the Hebrews ran out of water, and the water they found was undrinkable, only then God commanded Moses to throw a tree into the spring to make the water wholesome and even sweet tasting. But all those miracles weren’t good enough for the children of Israel.

Instead they grumble, they murmur; it’s fairly obvious that they have thrown out all faith in the one, true and living God. They groan after meat and bread, pots of flesh, all you can eat while they were living in servitude to their Egyptian overlords. Never mind that while they were in Egypt, they all complained about being in slavery, too. Evidently, freedom wasn’t all it was cracked up to be for these tribes of Israel, because now all they can think about is to go straight back to their pagan taskmasters. Of course, they must have wanted freedom, even though they wanted it their own way. Only at this point, out there in the wilderness with their stomachs growling, freedom or no freedom, we just need our meat and bread, meat and bread. Moses and Aaron, give us our meat and bread!

That’s hardly the model prayer for us to emulate, would you think? Making demands and driving the appointed servants of the Lord to the brink of exasperation. But it sounds just as demanding when we pray the words “give us this day our daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer. Now that’s simply because Jesus gave us these words to pray so that we would sound like the desperate beggars that we really are. We already know from personal experience that not everything seems to happen on earth the way it does in heaven, at least not until Christ comes. Why is that? In reality, Evil is all around us and we urgently pray every day so that we would be delivered from it. Therefore we need this bread right away, emphasis on this day, or else we would wither away and die.

So what’s the bread that we need? What is so urgent for our sustenance that we are forced to plead for it and demand an immediate response? The Israelites thought it was meat and bread that they desperately needed. The multitude of 5000 who received meat and bread in one of Jesus’ most spectacular of miracles wanted more. What’s on your mind right now that you would need so badly that your very existence is threatened if you don’t have it? Is it that job or that raise? A little extra to pay off that debt? Is it another couple of weeks’ breathing time before you have to go back to school? Could it be that you desperately crave peace in your home and family or at the work place or at church?

Martin Luther started a list in the catechism that seems to go on and on explaining what could be meant by daily bread. But even he noticed that there is more to it than the material blessings that he could think of.

For Jesus Himself encourages you to think past all those worldly things, even if all you’re doing is giving thanks to God for His providence. But don’t excessively dwell on blessings by themselves, just as you are not to concentrate on your problems. Listen to how Jesus says it: Do not labor for the bread that perishes. It would help you understand this if you right away thought about the manna in the wilderness for those Israelites. It was considered work and labor for them to gather that gift bread each morning. But when the Sabbath came around each week, God gave double on Friday so that they could still enjoy the day of rest and observe it as the Lord commanded. And you know there’s at least one rebel in any group, and someone in that huge crowd in the desert tried to gather more to last into the next day, but it didn’t work. Do you remember what happened to the extra manna? It spoiled and stank and was creeping with bugs. That bread perished because of the faithless response of disobedience to the commandment.

Do not labor for the bread that perishes. That is a command from Jesus that puts faith in your heart and makes it strong. For when you hear these very words from Jesus, just like you are doing right now, your Savior is assuring you that He has already given the worldly blessings to you, according to what you need. You will not need to labor, that is, bear an impossible burden, for that temporary bread. Why? Because those blessings come free from the hand of your heavenly Father, even if they look to you as if they were wages due. And as you receive these gifts, remind yourself constantly that they will not last forever. Remember that above and beyond all of this, there is something more important, something that will last forever.

That something is Jesus. “The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world,” writes John the Evangelist, quoting Christ. He is the full and final answer to your prayer that asks for daily bread. What do you do to receive this bread? Do you perform some feat worthy of the Peace Prize? Do you pray a “sinner’s prayer” that asks Him to come into your heart? Do you clean up your act and promise never to smack your brother ever again? No, these things don’t give you Jesus the bread of life. Not even your act of coming to church faithfully, strictly speaking that is still something you do, and it never is good enough. Rather, you get this heavenly bread because by God’s grace He enabled your stone cold and unbelieving heart to believe in Him, and so all He has to give will come to you as well. This explains the strange and seemingly contradictory words in John where Jesus says, “[Labor instead] for the food that endures to eternal life,” and then immediately adds, “[this food] the Son of Man will give to you.” This means the labor you are to do for God is, “believe in Him whom He has sent.”

More important than feeding the hungry, more important than telling the good news, way beyond any priorities that the world around you may impose, most important above all is to have faith in Christ. Now, all other good and loving works, like feeding the hungry, telling the good news and giving offerings, proceed from faith. That means, once you believe, God creates you anew in the image of His Son and He has placed the desire in your heart to serve Him by providing help to your neighbor and enabling you in your individual calling to follow faithfully what He commands. You couldn’t do this by yourself, but now you have the Holy Spirit doing such good things through you. Jesus gave Himself to you to the point of utter sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of all your sins. You see that plain as day pictured for you on the crucifix. It is that tree of sacrifice that makes sweet the water of salvation that refreshes your soul. You now get the opportunity to sacrifice yourself, whether it’s in the realm of time that you spend, or money, or anything else that would be of help and service to your neighbor.

Jesus gives Himself to you in the Word of God that you hear and read. He first joined Himself to you at your baptism, then He offered His body and blood that (often) stands here on the altar ready and waiting to strengthen you in body and in soul to life everlasting. He is the bread of life sent straight to you and for you directly from heaven. Since you have received Him in faith, all the words about daily bread come into clear focus. For once you have Jesus, then you also have all the blessings that He brings, including forgiveness and eternal life, as well as worldly and temporary blessings. And you will see all these gifts in their proper perspective, just as Matthew records Jesus saying the ever-popular proverb: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Mt. 6:33)

You may have done your share of grumbling recently, perhaps though not specifically for meat and bread. Like God’s people of old, you will still have your sinful flesh that doesn’t appreciate the blessings of God, or at times rejects them outright. Don’t kid yourself into believing that you don’t face these temptations or as if you can control them when they do come. Difficult times will certainly come every once in a while that test the firmness of our trust in Jesus. It will sometimes be hard to determine that you have all you need. But whether you think you have your daily material needs adequately supplied or not, know this for certain, that by faith you most assuredly have daily bread already, for you have Christ the bread of life. You shall not hunger, nor shall you thirst for anything else.

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

Readings:
Ex. 16:2–15 What is it? The manna in the wilderness
Ps. 145:10–21 All your works shall praise you, O LORD
Eph. 4:1–16 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all
John 6:22–35 I am the bread of life.