Sermon Texts: 2 Samuel 11 Exodus 20:1-17 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
As we consider the meaning tonight of the Ten Commandments in the Small Catechism, I wish to begin by reflecting upon a story. It’s a story that seems to be the plot of bad reality TV. It’s the Bible story that is our lesson for tonight in David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. King David was one day walking on the roof of his palace. David saw a beautiful woman off in the distance bathing named Bathsheba. Bathsheba was the most beautiful thing that David had ever seen with his eyes. David was going to get with Bathsheba by any means necessary. Bathsheba wasn’t going to be able to say “no” to the king. Bathsheba then becomes pregnant. David knew that if this got out it would damage his rep. David wanted to do anything to get this child problem to go away. Bathsheba had a husband named Uriah. Uriah was a soldier in King David’s army off fighting battle. David decides as a way of putting an end to the scandal to demand Uriah comes home from the battle to lay with his wife. David didn’t want to lose a soldier, yet if he didn’t it would soon get out that Uriah wasn’t the baby daddy. Uriah though was a much better man than David. Uriah refused to leave his fellow soldiers behind in the midst of a battle. Uriah was the ultimate teammate. Uriah was the guy on the end of the bench still encouraging his teammates when losing by thirty points. David wished that his whole army was like Uriah. David knew that his Uriah and Bathsheba problem would need resolution. So David then decides to notify his commander to place Uriah at the front-line of battle, and have his fellow soldiers abandon him in the midst of a fight. Uriah would soon lose his life. David then quickly marries Bathsheba after Uriah’s death. King David in this story is every negative trait that you could every assign to a guy: he’s a creeper, a sleazeball, a jerk. David only got the girl because he was the King. What I want to talk about tonight is why King David’s story matters. King David’s story ties into one of the biggest separations that took place during Luther’s life between himself and the church he left. The Church of Rome believes there are two types of sin in this world. Venial sins that are sins that merit temporary punishment say a few Hail Mary’s, sprinkle some holy water and make some penance then you can be forgiven. Catholics would contrast venial sins with mortal sins or sins that merit eternal punishment and cannot be forgiven. It’s hard to classify what the Roman church considers a mortal sin since according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church one’s you must consider one’s intentions when differentiating between venial and mortal sins[1]. No different than the legal system treats the reckless driver who kills a person differently than someone who commits an act of premeditated murder. The Catechism of the Catholic Church [2]for this reason cites violence against your parents being a graver sin than violence against a stranger because there is a much more deliberate thought process involved in hurting your parents (Hence the commandment: Honor your Father and Mother). So are there certain sins that can’t be forgiven. Back to the story of King David, King David’s intentions were rotten from the very start. King David’s sins were not momentary weaknesses, but rather deliberately hatched schemes. Look at all of the Ten Commandments that King David broke “Thou shall not commit adultery” “Thou shall not kill” “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife”. Bosses have banished employees from their presence and teachers have thrown students out of the classroom for way, way less than King David committed with Bathsheba and Uriah. So how does God respond to King David’s crime? God sees to it that King David is the greatest king that the nation of Israel shall ever possess. For what the story of King David illustrates to me is that there is no such thing as an unforgivable or unpardonable sin. What about the sins that can be forgiven? Do we need to make amends? Do we lose jewels off our crowns in heaven? Must we spend time in purgatory to pay for everything that we’ve done wrong? Must we spend time in a place between Heaven and Hell for all that we’ve done in this life? Questions like this cause me to consider one of Jesus’ famous most famous encounters in the Christian Gospels with the Thief hanging alongside him on the cross as he echoed his famous words “Today you will be with me in paradise[3]?” This Thief is an interesting character. Like King David, he was probably a jerk, he was underhanded, and he was deceptive. Purgatory would seem to exist for people like this thief. Jesus promises unto him “The Kingdom on the day of his Resurrection”. Just think this guy violated the commandment “Thou Shall Not Steal.” The Thief broke this comment so frequently that he even had the nickname of “The Thief.” So what good are the Ten Commandments then if they don’t keep out the very people they ultimately should. The one thing that our Confirmation students know is the Ten Commandments. They know that all sin is a violation of the First Commandment “You shall have no other gods before me.” They know the Commandments can be broken down into two tables. The first table has to do with our relationship with God “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain” “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”; these are the first three commandments. The second table has to do with our relationship with our neighbor and the world around us in talking about “Parents, murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness and coveting.” These commandments exist because we are a fallen people, which God continually needs to reign in. These commandments shed guidance for the Christian Life because we can all relate on a personal level to seeing the world break before our very eyes. We know the Eight Commandment. We have heard people say false and nasty things about us. We have gone home with our feelings hurt. We have been bothered by how little people seem to care how we feel. “Sticks and Stones might break our bones, but words do hurt us.” We know the Ninth and Tenth Commandments as we figure that our life would be so much better if we just had a prettier girlfriend, a nicer phone, or more money to spend. What these commandments do is not only remind us of our calling to the world around us, but they also point us towards our need for God’s grace. Within the Gospels, Jesus encounters a woman who married five times and was now shacking up with another guy. Jesus does not condemn her; Jesus instead gives unto her a word of forgiveness. As Jesus proclaims forgiveness, his point was not that the past is irrelevant. The past was very relevant. Every broken relationship came with a significant degree of pain and hurt. What Jesus’ word of forgiveness illustrates is that the Ten Commandments were given not to save, but rather to reduce harm in a fallen world. If the Ten Commandments don’t save us, I close tonight with a reflection on the question of “How does salvation happen?” “Does salvation happen over the course of a lifetime?” or “Does salvation happen within the course of a moment?” When I was seminary, I had a professor named Walter Sundberg. A student asks Sundberg if he had heard of the death bed conversion of Jeffrey Dahmer. For those of you too young to know Jeffrey Dahmer, let’s just say he was a sicko. Dahmer would lure young men into his apartment: rape them, kill them, and dismember their body. Dahmer would then pleasure himself to his victim’s remains, before consuming their flesh. The courts charge Jeffrey Dahmer with fifteen counts of murder. Could God actually save such a disgusting individual? To Which Sundberg answered that if God had saved all sorts of terrible people before, just like King David and the Thief. How salvation happens was the central question at the heart of all of Luther’s life teaching in justification by faith alone. When does salvation occur? If salvation occurs over the course of a lifetime, then Jeffrey Dahmer as one of the most deranged individuals ever to live would be in big trouble. The question about salvation and Jeffrey Dahmer brings us to the most important of our faith questions. Roman Theology believed in Infused Justification[4]. Infused Justification means that Salvation is a process that occurs over time. Salvation is like weight loss (slow and gradual). Where the differences lie is that Luther believed that salvation was not a process, salvation took place in an instant. It would have taken place at the moment that the Thief upon the Cross came to believe, it would have taken place the moment that Saul was blinded on the Road to Damascus, and it would have taken place on the day of your Baptism. Lutherans believe that salvation comes to us like a tornado, we cannot prepare for it; it happens then we are left to sort out the consequences. Truly, the one thing that Luther believed someone contributed to their salvation was their sin in need of saving. When Luther wrote the Small Catechism to German families, this was the spiritual truth that he wanted them to grasp. Christ was not the new “Moses”; Christ was not the new “law-giver”. Christ did not come to place a series of religious demands on top of your school demands, and on top of your family demands. Christ came because we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and by what we have left undone. The Commandments remind us of this, but what the Cross reminds us of is God’s last word on the matter. Amen [1] The Catechism of the Catholic Church.(CCC) The definitions of sin are lines 1852-1853, where as the difference between mortal and venial sins are lines 1854 to 1864. [2] [3] Luke 23:43 [4] CCC- 1987 TO 1995. First Lesson: Genesis 9: 8-17 Responsive Reading: Psalm 25: 1-10 Second Lesson: 1 Peter 3: 18-22 Gospel Lesson: Mark 1: 9-15 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
“This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”- 1 Peter 3:21 Baptism now saves you. There are arguably no more controversial words in the entire scriptures for their meaning then this verse from 1st Peter 3. To understand the meaning of the 1st Peter, you need to know the story behind 1st Peter. I want to tell you its story today. I want to tell you the story of two characters. I want to tell you the story of a man that we will call Billy Baptism. Billy got baptized as a baby because Mom and Dad had been baptized as infants. Billy’s Baptism was going to be an excuse for Grandma and Grandpa to come see little Billy. So Billy grows in years, Billy attends Sunday School then Confirmation. In Confirmation, Billy is forced to wear what he thought was an ugly acolyte gown against his wishes. Billy finally gets confirmed. Billy looked at his Confirmation like a kid looks at the end of high school, he’s going to celebrate because he is not going back again. Billy went off to college, where he met and married a girl that wasn’t real religious either. Billy figured his kids should be baptized, yet when they didn’t want to be bored in Confirmation, Billy was fine with this. Billy eventually becomes an old man who occasionally attended a Christmas or Easter service. Billy dies. Billy’s preacher didn’t know Billy at all, so he had to think of what to say at the funeral. Billy’s preacher gets up at the funeral saying “Billy was saved because of his Baptism.” Billy’s Baptist cousin is furious! Billy was baptized eighty-some years ago. Billy’s life showed all sorts of evidence that he didn’t take the meaning of his Baptism all that seriously. Billy’s Baptist cousin started to complain about the Lutheran preacher to anyone who would listen. Everyone in this room knows Billy Baptism. Now I want to tell you the story of another man named John Pilgrim. John Pilgrim was the type of person to whom the book of 1st Peter was written. John Pilgrim grew up in a devout Jewish home. Shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, John Pilgrim encounters one of Jesus’ followers who convinces John Pilgrim that Jesus was the Messiah. John Pilgrim’s family was not happy with him. John Pilgrim was disowned by his family. Things were getting hot for Christians during John Pilgrim’s life. Many of them were forced to flee the lands where their family lived for generations to go into exile. John Pilgrim’s life was going to be hard because of his faith. John Pilgrim was not going to be able to maintain much in the way of social relationships outside the Church community. Think of confessing that you were a proud and open communist in the midst of the Cold War, this was the type of social ostracism that John Pilgrim would face. People often didn’t just think of John Pilgrim as wrong, they thought of him as “evil”. John Pilgrim was “maligned” (2:12), and “reviled” (4:14). He lived in constant fear (1:17) of criminal charges being brought before him on account of possessing insufficient loyalty to the emperor. (3:15) Where in the land where Billy Baptism lived, persecution of Christians might be people thinking you were some sort of religious weirdo. In John Pilgrim’s land, Christian faith could often be the difference between life and death. Billy Baptism would have no understanding of what John Pilgrim would have gone through on account of his faith. It seems foolish that Baptism as salvation applies equally to everyone involved here. Let me tell you why John Pilgrim’s story matters as we consider the meaning of 1st Peter. John Pilgrim’s underground church would have probably received a letter like this through a messenger who traveled under the cover of darkness. When we think of the famous words from 2 Timothy “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith[1].” These words would apply to a man like John Pilgrim like no other man that we know. The thing about 1st Peter is its promises of Baptismal salvation are meant to apply to Billy Baptism just as much as John Pilgrim, and this is what I want to talk about this morning. Let me begin by telling a story, as I’ve talked about before when I was misbehaving at fourteen years old, my parents sent me to the local Baptist high school to get corrected. When I first started attending school there, I encountered an entirely different type of kid than I had encountered at the public school. There were kids that competed in Bible memorization contests (I didn’t know before there were such things), whereas my friends could only quote inappropriate Snoopy Doggy Dogg lyrics. At the public school, you were considered an odd duck if you weren’t watching R-rated movies at 12. At the Baptist school, you were regarded as a rebel if you ever watched an “R” rated movie. Kids would not attend dances, I knew a kid that got expelled for smoking a cigarette in the school parking lot. These kids knew the scriptures backward and forwards. I remember hearing the line again and again “It’s not enough to be baptized as an Infant”. I heard all sorts of dramatic testimonies of salvation from previously failed Christians. I struggled with the question of Infant Baptism until I got to Concordia. At Concordia, I wanted to put qualifiers on Baptism to make my position acceptable to my Evangelical Free friends. It wasn’t until I got to Luther Seminary, where I fully grasped the Lutheran beliefs on Baptism. What changed me was seeing over and again, how messed up were the lives of even the best Christians. Whenever someone claims Baptism is not enough, it is based on a misunderstanding of Baptism. A few points about the scriptures and Baptism always need to be repeated. 1. The Scriptures never describe Baptism as one’s personal confession of faith. When people say that no infants are baptized in the Bible (this is true), but this is missing the point rather the key point is that God is the actor, we are the audience[2]. God is giving to us, and acting for us, not we to him[3]. Within Baptism, the direction is always Heaven to Earth, never Earth to Heaven. So in theory, God could baptize a rock to eternal life, no differently then he made a bush burn. Do not the scriptures say “"if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”- Luke 19:40 2. Baptism does save because it delivers Christ. Lutheranism gives all credit to God and no credit to man when it comes to salvation[4]. For this reason, we place importance on things like Baptism and Communion like no other church does. Lutherans believe that Baptism bring Christ unto us. Baptism is the means by which God gives unto others his grace. Perhaps the key words in the entire scriptures dealing with Baptism take place in Romans 6 where the Apostle Paul connects Baptism to one’s own death and subsequent rebirth and resurrection. Remember the scriptures describe Baptism as an act of “rebirth” of which we are as active of participants as our natural birth[5]. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his[6][7]. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned,”-Mark 16:16 Often I’ll people say that it’s not enough to be “baptized” that you need to believe instead. Baptism though cannot be separated from belief. Baptism is the means by which receive Christ. People will wonder what about the guy that his faith, yet is never baptized. When we say Baptism creates faith, we don’t believe that Baptism is the only means by which faith is created. We are a church of Word and Sacrament. The Gospel preached could be just as effective as the Gospel received. Whereas God reaches some through the spoken word, he also reach people from the physical element. Educators will often talk about different types of learning styles how they learn either by seeing, doing or hearing. You talk to any long time teacher; they will not dispute this truth for a second. Different learning styles explain why some people thrive in shop, yet struggle in history. It’s not a question of brains but rather how they process information. Yet many people can’t understand that grasping Faith can come to us in different means. What we must remember is that God reaches us through ways outside Baptism. No, differently than kids learn different ways. Now we get back to the story of Billy Baptism and what are we to make of his salvation. What are we to make of the kid that grows up Lutheran, and comes home for family Christmas declaring himself to be an Atheist. Do we believe that if someone is saved in Baptism that therefore they are always saved? Do we believe this, even if they publically profess against the faith of the church at a later date? I don’t have a position on the question of “Once saved, always saved.” “If God wants to be more generous than I would be, this is God’s business, not mine.” When I was in Seminary, my preaching professor Micheal Rogness said something about funerals that’s always stuck with me that we never make a judgment as to a person’s salvation at their funeral. Pastor Jason Peterson cites an excellent example. Peterson mentions how that “sweet church lady with the huge offering statement might be a prideful, callous unbeliever at heart”[8]. “At the same time that drug-addicted pervert just might remember the Gospel from his Confirmation instruction during the seven seconds when his motorcycle collides with the semi and his heart stops beating”[9]. We should not begin to attempt to answer these questions. We really don’t know what exactly Billy Baptism believes in the depths of his soul. Today’s lesson from the Book of 1st Peter ties in baptismal salvation with an issue a story that we do know. It’s the story of Noah. The story of a world that had grown so wicked, and so thirsty that God needed to overwhelm the whole world with water in the midst of a dessert. The flood served as a reminder that God was not going to sit idly by in the face of destruction. God was going to come into the world and overwhelm once again through his death and Resurrection. Baptism is the completion of God’s salvation brought down from heaven brought unto the people left behind. As we reflect upon the stories of John Pilgrim (the faithful 1st Century Christian) who risked his life nearly every single day for his faith. John Pilgrim was the type of man our Baptismal promise from 1st Peter was given. We also reflect on Billy Baptism the man who never found a preacher good enough to bring him to church. We remember the words about the meaning of Baptism found in Ephesians 4 that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism[10]. The same baptism is given to two men that although very different, stood at the pearly gates with the same one hope given through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen [1] 2 Timothy 4:7 [2] Titus 3:5-7. [3] Peterson, Pastor Jason. “Does Baptism Save? Lutheran Reformission Blog. 9. Sept.2010. Web. Feb.15.2015. [4] Peterson, Pastor Jason. “Does Baptism Save?” [5] John 3:1-8 [7] Romans 6:3-5 [8] Peterson, Pastor Jason. “Does Baptism Save?” [9] Peterson, Pastor Jason. “Does Baptism Save?” [10] Ephesians 4:5 Evening Lesson: Genesis 3: 17-20 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Tonight, we begin a six-part Lenten sermon series based on the teaching of Luther’s “Catechism”. Tonight, we start with the topic of “confession”. I want to begin by asking you to picture a particular time in your life. Picture a time that you got in trouble. A time when you did something that you know you shouldn’t have done, and people weren’t going to let you hear the end of it. I want you to keep that moment in your head. Let me tell a story from my life. When I was about four years old, my Dad bought a new VCR. VCR’s were the latest hip technology at this time. This VCR cost a few hundred bucks. Mom and Dad gave four-year-old me, very concrete instructions, not to go near the VCR. Although as everyone knows when you tell a four-year-old not to do something, this only motivates them to do the exact opposite. So one day after eating a popsicle, I needed to do a little exploring of the VCR. I decided to use the popsicle stick like a Doctor might use a scalpel. The popsicle stick falls in, and no one could fix the VCR. Now my dad was mad!!! Dad is a yeller. Out of fear of punishment, I kept saying “sorry” over and again. Now when I was four years old, I would have done anything or said anything to put an end to my punishment. Fear of confession was a major issue during Luther’s life. People thought the way that four-year-old me thought during Luther’s day. People weren’t sure how to rightly confess their sins before God. People believed that when you confessed your sin that you needed to confess every single detail or else God couldn't forgive you. The perfect memory standard means remembering every mean and angry thought towards your neighbor; this means remembering every word that you really shouldn’t have said. The burden of confession was thought to be impossible. For the reason the Roman church required such detail in their confession is because the way that you would make amends for your sins would be to do some type of work (such as saying Hail Marys of writing Bart Simpson like sentences on a chalkboard) as a way of avoiding punishment for your sin. For correcting this understanding of confession was the basis for Luther’s most famous work, his 95 Theses. Luther realized that remembering every sin a person committed throughout the day or week was impossible. Especially, if you have an understanding of sin as Jesus spoke about throughout the Gospels. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire”.- Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”-Matthew 5:27-28 For Luther recognized that confessing every individual sin was impossible for any mere human being to complete. If the standard at the pearly gate was confessing every particular sin to receive God’s forgiveness then “No one could be forgiven”. Luther’s issue was that confession had become misunderstood. People feared confession when they should have drawn comfort from it. Confession is a two part act in the Word of Law or judgment followed by the Word of Gospel or forgiveness. Luther wanted people to understand confession as a reminder that no matter how much of a jerk someone might be that no one is outside the possibility of God’s grace. So in looking at some of Luther’s beliefs about confession we turn to Ash Wednesday tonight. Ash Wednesday is the day of confession within the church. People often wonder “Why do we use Ashes?” The reasons are both Biblical and Historic for our Ash Wednesday practice. The first reference to ashes within the Bible occurs from our lesson tonight right after the Fall of Adam and Eve in the third chapter of Genesis[1]. In words that we speak at every funeral, we are reminded of the curse of death. “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.[2]” For just as the Lord created Adam out of the ground, the Lord would see to it that Adam’s sin brought him back into the ground. So ashes serve as a reminder that we shall all face death because of our sin. The second significant mention of Ashes from within the scriptures come from the New Testament where Jesus encourages the city of Bethsaida to confess in sackcloth and ashes as a way of expressing sorrow for their sins[3]. Within Church History, the first mention of ashes being used in the history of the Church occurs in the third century. When those who were viewed as really bad sinners and had been kicked out of the Church, such as murderers and adulterers would put ashes on their forehead to state their sorrow for their sin, and hope to be let back into the Church. But during the Middle Ages, the most common time for public sinners to try to get back into the Church was during the season of Lent. So ashes on the forehead soon took on a different meaning. In the 12th century, Ash Wednesday became the beginning of the Lenten season. By placing the ashes on the forehead, we give a confession of our sins, and one’s need for forgiveness by the Cross of Christ. When we place Ashes on our forehead tonight, the statement is simple “I Am A Sinner.” Nothing more, nothing less. So we’re as we might face sorrow for our sins (I still feel bad about the VCR!). We need not leave tonight in a state of despair because a message of hope and forgiveness comes with it. This world is not the end for us. Because it was on the Cross, Christ experienced our death, so that one day we shall be raised to life eternal. Whereas we sin, Christ endured the Cross so that we may be forgiven of all our sins. So that as we leave tonight we can look to our confession with ashes like Luther looked upon confession as a joyous event that frees us. While assuring us of the victory over sin and death won by Lord and Savior on the Cross. To close with the words of Luther from the Catechism, “This is most certainly true”. Amen [1] Genesis 3:17-20 is the evening lesson. [2] A section of Genesis 3:19 [3] Matthew 11:20-24 First Lesson: 2 Kings 2: 1-12 Responsive Reading: Psalm 50: 1-6 Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 4: 3-6 Gospel Lesson: Mark 9: 2-9 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
I want you this morning to picture a moment in your life? The moment that I want you to picture is the moment that you would deem to be the most special or unique. The moment could be the time in high school, when you hit the shot at the buzzer to win the game. The day, when you looked down at the scale to see a particular goal weight achieved. It could be a major life accomplishment in the day that you received the significant award or got offered the new job. For many people, this moment might be the moment that you saw your bride getting ready to come down the aisle, or the time that you held your child for the first time. Chances are these moments define your life. I want to tell you the story about one such moment for three men today in Peter, James, and John[1]. Peter, James, and John had been traveling with Jesus for about two years throughout all of Israel. They had heard Jesus give plenty of sermons. They had seen him walk on water[2], heal the sick, and even feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish[3]. For Peter, James, and John their minds could not fathom what they were about to see next. For one day, Jesus took Peter, James, and John on a hike. They could not quite figure what the purpose was for this hike, yet it would soon become apparent. Once they reached, the top of the mountain, they saw a fireworks show like one could not imagine. Jesus’ appearance changed right before them “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them[4].” Peter, James, and John knew the famous Old Testament story of God appearing before Moses in a Burning Bush and Moses’ life changing forever as he encountered the living God[5]. After overcoming the initial shock, of Jesus’ change in appearance, Peter, James, and John mind were further blown as appearing before them was Moses of said Burning Bush fame and Elijah the only man to ever ascend to Heaven in a whirlwind[6]. There were not two more important figures in the history of Israel than Moses and Elijah. The whole Old Testament was summed up in these two men the Law and the Prophets. These men were Israel’s George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Here they were back to life, after, not having been seen for hundreds of years. Think if you could invite any three people living or dead to dinner who would you invite? This question had just become a reality for Peter, James, and John upon the Mount of Transfiguration. So Peter’s reaction to this most incredible of scenes is expected. Peter wants the moment to last forever. Peter wanted to camp out at the Mount of Transfiguration for as long as possible. Peter figured this was the payoff to his faith. The scene to which they were witnesses was the completion of the years of getting ready for that one shining moment. Jesus quickly had to correct Peter’s imagination as soon as this moment came to end. What are we to make of this story of Transfiguration today? As many of you know, I’ve hiked the North Shore as much as anyone possibly could. You ask me about a hiking trail from Duluth to the Border, I could give you a description of nearly every trail’s difficulty, its scenery, and its logistics. My favorite hike on the North Shore is Mount Josephine up in Grand Portage. Most of you have been to Palisade Head, many of you have been to Shovel Point, but what makes Mount Josephine, so spectacular is its climb. Mount Josephine is an ascent of 600 feet in about 6/10 of a mile. You will huff, and puff to get up to the top of Mount Josephine regardless of your fitness level. But the difficulty of the climb is what makes Mount Josephine so spectacular. The steep angle gives you an incredible view of Lake Superior where you can see out even as far as Isle Royale. Once you get to the top of Mount Josephine, you feel a sense of accomplishment as your breath gets taken away by the view. You vow to stay at the top of Mount Josephine for maybe a half-hour staring a site like you will never see again. Something happens though during your time on the top, the view from Mount Josephine becomes more ordinary. Eventually right before that one last look, you now know that it is time to descend the mountain. Misunderstanding the moment is the problem with Peter’s mindset in our Gospel lesson for today. What people seemingly can’t grasp about life is the life is mostly spent down in the valley, not upon the mountain. For like Peter seeing Jesus transfiguration before his very eyes, this experience was going to be fleeting. When I was in seventh grade, I had a science teacher named Mr. Collins. The benefit of being around science people is they tend to see the world not in terms of emotions and feelings, but rather how pieces fit together. Now Mr. Collins wasn’t much to look at he was short, he was bald, and he had put on a few pounds since high school. Mr. Collins though knew seventh graders quite well. He knew they were at the age where every single person was judged on the basis of physical appearance or “how hot they were?” Mr. Collins one day addresses the class, where he points out that looks are a terrible reason to choose to marry. Mr. Collins reminded us that he didn’t think of his wife in the morning for how she looked, but rather he thought of her as his wife. The one to whom he was going to spend the rest of his life, long after both their looks had faded. The problem that Mr. Collins was addressing is that basing a marriage on its initial excitement or romance leads to the moment fading and the marriage not lasting. You can not create the same thrill on day in and day out basis. For as Jesus seeks to illustrate to Peter, mountaintop experiences don’t last. Our question for today is ultimately “Where do we find God in the world?” Peter, James, and John in the rush of initial excitement believed that they had discovered God upon the Mount of Transfiguration. They believed there would never be any bigger moment in their lives than seeing Moses, Elijah, and Jesus standing together. Often, I’ll hear people talk about grand spiritual life-changing experiences. When I was fourteen years old, I spend the week at Bible camp in South Dakota in the Black Hills. I made some new friends, had some cool counselors, had my faith challenged. This initial surge of the moment led me to believe that this was proof of God’s presence. I vowed that I was going to be a changed man from this day forward. I remember going home and apologizing to my parents for being such a brat in the months prior. Something happened after I got back from South Dakota called everyday life. I kept encountering the same friends, I got back into the same routines, and as the initial surge of South Dakota wore off, I reverted to being just as big an attention starved brat as ever. Just like as soon as Peter, James, and John traveled down from the Mount of Transfiguration, they were forced to encounter a boy begging to be healed of Epilepsy[7]. The snap back to reality is often difficult for us to grasp. We want certain moments to last forever, only for us to be disappointed when they don’t. Disappointment can confuse us as to the realness of God’s presence. What we must remember this morning is that God’s presence is not found merely in mountaintop experiences, we find God’s presence in the everyday world. When we say that we live by faith, what this means is that we live by promise. We live with the belief that even though we might not see Jesus at this moment, this doesn’t mean that he is not present in our lives. Often, I’ll hear people say “I wish God’s presence could be clearer.” As we begin Lent in a few days, we look towards the hope of Easter. We look towards the God, who at the world’s creation said, “Let there be light[8]”, and we see this light in the light of the world who shone amongst us in Christ Jesus[9]. When I was working down in Lamberton, I took a Sunday off to go to California with my aunt and my grandma. I had a guy I knew from seminary pinch hit named Mark Lund. Mark was just getting a comfort level for speaking in front of others. Mark this Sunday is giving a Children’s sermon. The thing about Children’s sermons is that kids will blurt out just about anything at the most inopportune moments. So, after being asked a question that Mark was unsure how to answer, Mark just told the kid “Remember the correct answer is always Jesus.” So when I return to teach Confirmation, when the kids didn’t know an answer they just kept answering like Mark had taught them. The right answer is all spiritual questions, all spiritual doubt and despair is “Always Jesus”. We will all have plenty of events and experiences in life that we won’t know their meaning. This much is true. What I also know is that Christ comes to us on this day in two ordinary forms (Word and Sacrament), the promises of our Gospel given to us in Bread and Wine. Plenty of us can clamor that we wish that God would deal with us a bit differently than he does. The reason, that God deals with us as he does, is because we need to encounter God within humble means. If I was to call down fire from heaven, like Elijah this morning. People would go home amazed with me, or the fact that they were worthy enough to be part of this congregation, rather than to look towards the cross the reality of God’s work in the world. In closing, one of the big news stories of the last few months has been the Charlie Hedbo massacres that took place in France where three armed gunmen stormed a newspaper office killing twelve people within the building. The reason for the attacks is the Muslim Gunmen were deeply offended by a series of satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that had been published a few years previously. One of the central tenants of Islam is that Muhammad cannot show any weakness, Muhammad cannot be humiliated. So the Gunmen inevitability react like they did. What separates Christianity from Islam is that Christianity is a religion of weakness rather than strength. Christianity grew through martyrdom rather than warfare. The whole central premise of Christianity is that God became weak. God entered into our sinful flesh. God suffered humiliation upon a cross to bring us salvation. What Peter, James, and John were reminded on the mountain about the Transfiguration is that we as Christians are never defining God in the present, rather we are always looking ahead. We’re always looking towards Easter. We are always looking towards the Resurrection. Amen [1] Let the record show that the Gospel text for this sermon is Mark’s account of the Transfiguration found in Mark 9:2-9. [2] Matthew 14:22-33 [3] Matthew 14:13-21 [4] Mark 9:3 [5] Exodus 3 [6] 2 Kings 1:1-18 [7] Matthew 17:14-20 [8] Genesis 1:3 [9] John 1 First Lesson: Isaiah 40: 21-31 Responsive Reading: Psalm 147: 1-11,20c Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 9: 16-23 Gospel Lesson: Mark 1: 29-39 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
I want you this morning to picture the type of person that you all know. Imagine the kind of person that can never say no to anyone. Visualize the type of person who wants everyone to like them. Think of the kind of person that is afraid to offend others with their opinions. You know the type of person who is willing to bend their principals as far as possible to avoid any potential conflict. Their names are probably on the tip of our tongues. We would call this type of a person a “people-pleaser”. The people pleasers you know bring us to our lesson for today from 1st Corinthians 9. Our lesson centers on one man, the Apostle Paul. Paul wasn’t your typical people-pleaser. Paul had spent the first few decades of his life as anything but a people-pleaser. Paul was gruff, Paul was quick to anger, and Paul didn’t care whether certain people liked or disliked him. Persons in a former life knew Paul as Saul. Saul was the harshest critic and persecutor of 1st century Christians. Then one day, Saul’s whole life changes as he is blinded on the Road to Damascus[1]. Paul’s experience on the road was truly life-changing. Paul was now the 500 LB guy running marathons. Paul was the guy set free from prison; wanting to tell everyone how awesome it was being outside. Paul went from killing Christians to seeking to convert new Christians. Paul traveled all over the world starting new churches. One of the places where Paul started a new church was in a town called Corinth. Corinth was an important city. Corinth would have been one of the main centers of trade between Asia and Europe in the days that Paul lived. Corinth attracted people and ideas from all over the world, for this reason. A church had started a few years before in Corinth. The church in Corinth was a mess. The Corinthians had numerous divisions within their midst. The Corinthians division was between the old guard loyal to Paul (the church’s founder) and the new guard loyal to the young, charismatic Apollos[2]. The Corinthians argued about food, they argued about whether they could meat sacrificed to other gods; they argued about whether they had to eat certain diets to be followers of Jesus[3]. The Corinthians argued about spiritual gifts and authority amongst their members; they argued whether God had given a select few the gift of tongues[4]. The Corinthians argued over women’s roles within the church[5]. The Corinthians argued over what it meant to live as a Christian. The Corinthians even had a reputation as a bit of a rowdy church. The Corinthians had members who wanted to sleep with everything under the sun[6]. When the Corinthians got together for the Lord’s Supper chaos would reign, as certain members would attempt to drink all the wine before other members could get some[7]. The Corinthian’s were even suing each other[8]. Any church horror story that a person has maybe heard ties into the story of the Corinthian’s. So Paul writes a letter to the Corinthian church with the hope of trying to sort out their myriad of problems. Within this letter comes the following passage from within the 9th chapter. “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To the Gentile, I became like the Gentile. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some[9]. “ Let me put Paul’s words in modern terms to understand them. What Paul is saying is that if he walked into a room full of Republicans, he would talk and act like a Republican. But if Paul were to walk into a room full of Democrats twenty minutes later, he would talk and act like a Democrat. If Paul were to walk into a room full of Lutherans, he would talk about his faith like a Lutheran talking about his baptism. Whereas, if Paul were to walk into a room full of Baptists, he would speak of the day that he was saved. If Paul were to walk into a room full of Vikings fans, he would wear the Helga horns on his head. If Paul walked into a room full of Packer fans, he would wear a giant block of cheese upon his head. Paul is saying these words as a way of reminding the Corinthians of the point of his letter “that there be no divisions amongst them”-1st Corinthians 1:10 People might hear Paul’s words and be unsure of his motives. They might assume Paul lacks principle. Paul being a flip-flopper though was not the point of this passage. Paul was not like the insecure Junior High Student, who if their friends like a particular type of music, they will like a certain kind of music. If their friends like a particular type of activity, then they will like a certain type of activity. If their friends like to eat worms, well you can guess the rest. Our passage for today we can only understand in the context of the rest of Paul’s life and Ministry. Paul did not go through life a popular guy. Paul was run out of towns, Paul was beaten by mobs, Paul was called all sorts of nasty names, Paul was thrown into jail, and Paul failed to reach all kinds of people[10]. Paul writes his letter to the Corinthians so he could let them know a little bit about his understanding of the church. Paul didn’t necessarily see the church inside the doors of it. Let me tell a story, I have a friend whose name is Matt. Matt is a hospice chaplain in Las Vegas. One time Matt is assigned to go visit a patient. We know the type of gentleman, lonely, old angry bachelor who had just been given months to live. Matt tries to engage in a variety of subjects: his cancer, his family, his fear of death. Matt quickly discovers that he’s not going to get two words from this guy. The Guy soon finds out that Matt grew up in Cleveland and a Cleveland Indian fan. This guy had one request for Matt during his visits to come see him during Cleveland Indians games, so they could watch them together. This guy wanted nothing more in his dying days then just having someone to talk Baseball. Matt knew that this wasn’t what his bosses wanted him to do, yet Matt then began to consider “What exactly is ministry?” Once Matt got into the door with this guy, once this guy realized that Matt was on the level only then could the ministry begin. Paul realizes that his personal calling is not to claim power for himself; rather Paul’s calling is to try to reach all kinds of people. Paul comes to realize that having knowledge of people’s lives doesn’t give him power, it rather gives him opportunity. Let me tell a personal story. When I first entered the ministry, my Mom wanted me to start wearing clergy collar shirts. She was even going to pay for them! Mom saw these shirts as people in the days gone by see them as a sign of respect and authority within a community. So I buy a black shirt and a gray shirt. I would wear them occasionally. One time, I wore them for a Hospital visit at the Mayo Clinic and got free parking, so I thought this was a pretty good deal. Where the problem arose is when I would do stuff out of town, I would usually have to run other errands. Let’s just say walking through Walmart, you could get some weird looks wearing a clergy collar. Clergy collars in a generation past were thought to make a person approachable, yet prying eyes seemed to indicate that I was anything but approachable. People often rightly or wrongly think a guy that wears a Vikings jersey on Sundays is often more understanding of their day to day struggles than the man who wears the weird collar. My goal within the Ministry has never been to attain a certain amount of power or respect, but rather build a particular type of relationship for the sake of the Gospel[11]. Building relationships with all kinds of people was Paul’s goal for the church in Corinth. So what is Paul saying to us today? Paul is approaching the situation in Corinth like any good politician would. One Bible commentary that I was reading this week describe Paul’s words to the Corinthians well when it says “What we see here is Paul walking a tightrope, “blending sacrifice with reward, freedom with constraint, boasting with humility, law with love in order to optimize the Gospel[12]”. I had a roommate in college named Gabe. Gabe was a particularly colorful character. Gabe was a good guy, but Gabe didn’t care what others were going to think of him. Gabe would walk around campus eating rolls of cookie dough, which was funny since he weighed about 115 lbs. I asked Gabe one time why he wasn’t in class. Gabe said he needed to check his Fantasy Baseball lineup. Gabe would stay awake all night and sleep all day. People wouldn’t always know how to respond to Gabe. Paul is telling the Corinthians that Gabe will be sitting next to you in church. Gabe’s way of doing things isn’t going to be your way of doing things. What the Corinthians needed to abandon was the mindset that too many modern people within the church have that God prefers the churched to unchurched, the rich to the poor, the faithful to the faithless. The thing about being a community of faith that means anything is that it's not always going to be comfortable. People are going to wear obnoxious colognes, people are going to ramble on with their stories, and people are going to have all sorts of ideas that you can poke holes. These are the types of imperfect people that make up a church and the community that it's trying to reach. Paul is attempting to get the Corinthians to reflect on what they stand for as a community of faith, what are their makes or breaks. For Paul realizes something that plagues the modern church- most people’s makes and breaks are trivial. What ultimately defines us is how the Gospel says that every single individual matters to God and this church. Right beliefs are essential, yet right beliefs only matter to the extent that we proclaim them to those around us. Paul was a people-pleaser. Paul was a people-pleaser though with a purpose. Paul’s purpose was different than a lot of the other Corinthians purpose; Paul’s purpose was making the cross known. Paul’s purpose was reaching people from all walks of life, with a promise of forgiveness given directly to their ears. Amen [1] Acts 9 [2] 1st Corinthians 1:12 [3] 1st Corinthians 8:1-13 [4] 1st Corinthians 12:1-11, 1st Corinthians 14:1-25 [5] 1st Corinthians 11:1-16 [6] 1st Corinthians 6:12-20 [7] 1st Corinthians 11:17-34 [8] 1st Corinthians 6:1-11 [9] The following is a paraphrase of verses 20-22 [10] Crouch, Frank. L. “1st Corinthians 9:16-23”. Working Preacher. 2. Feb.2015. Web. Feb.4.2015 [11] This was inspired by a really good reflection entitled “Clergy Colllars: What Not to Wear” written by Sarah Condon over at Mockingbird (MBIRD) 29. Jan. 2015. Web. Feb.4.2015 [12] Mast. Paul. “Epiphany 5B: Lectionary Epistle” Center for Excellence in Preaching. Calvin Theological Seminary. 2. Feb. 2015. Web. Feb.5.2015 First Lesson: Deuteronomy 18: 15-20 Responsive Reading: Psalm 111 Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 8: 1-13 Gospel Lesson: Mark 1: 21-28 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
I want to talk this morning about one of the few Bible topics that everyone can identify with the topic of “food”; think of how much food dictates our lives. Imagine that you hear that later tonight for dinner, your favorite meal will be served. Chances are that you would spend that whole day eagerly anticipating the first few bites of that delicious meal. Another thing worth noting about food is that food can cause disagreements amongst people. This year at Christmas, my sister Anne was coming up. Anne’s in her third year of law school and a yoga instructor. Anne chooses not to eat meat partly for health reasons and partly ethical reasons. Whereas everyone who knows me well knows my favorite Christmas dish is Swedish meatballs made with 80/20 (because Zup’s doesn’t sell anything fattier!), half and half, and butter. So it’s safe to say I needed to help find Anne some alternative options to enjoy the Holiday season. These are the types of considerations that you want to make as a member of a family, regardless if you think the other family member is right or wrong. This story sets up our second lesson for today that is dealing with the topic of food within the Bible[1]. The Bible says quite a bit about food especially in the Old Testament. Leviticus 11 gives a huge laundry list of food that followers of the God of Israel should or shouldn’t eat. When it comes to birds don’t eat Eagle, Falcon, Ostrich, Owl, or Pelican, but you can eat clean birds such as Chicken or Turkey. When it comes to insects, most insects are no good for you, but Locusts and Grasshoppers are o.k. Fish are ok, but not Shellfish. When it comes to Mammals: do not eat Dog, Cat, Rabbit, Pigs (Pork), or Rats because they are unclean animals. Animals such as Ox, Sheep, Cattle, and Goats are good to eat. In case you were wondering, eating Snakes isn’t considered a good idea either[2]. The reason God gave a lot of these restrictions had to do with a certain animal’s diet and whether it made them safe for human consumption. In an age without food safety, and refrigeration God placed limits on what people should and shouldn’t eat. The Jewish people lived by these laws without much controversy for a number of generations[3]. Fast forward from the time of Moses to the time of Paul, a period of over 1500 years, in Israel’s history. There was a town named Corinth. Corinth was a sea port city in what is now Greece. Due to its location, Corinth attracted people and religions from all over the world. Corinth was the type of place that the Apostle Paul made a priority to start a church in the years after Christ’s resurrection. The church in Corinth consists of two kinds of people. The first kind of persons was former Jews, the type who had strictly adhered to a particular diet since birth. The guys who knew what they believed and weren’t going to waver much. When you’ve held a belief for a long time, it’s not easily abandoned. The second type of person within the church in Corinth was the new believers, those who previously held all sorts of strange religious beliefs before becoming Christians. There was going to be some tension between these people. One of the significant issues of division was going to be food. One of the most prominent debates within the Early Church on this very subject took place between Saint Peter and Saint Paul[4]. I should tell you something about meat within Corinth. Remember the key to the story is the lack of refrigeration in 1st century Greece. In these days, one of the ways, that meat would become readily available, is when non-Christians would have their religious festivals. Non-Christians would sacrifice a small portion of an animal to their own God, and then the rest would have to be sold at market quickly. Think of this as a special on steaks or ground beef or whatever you favorite meat at Zup’s after pagan sacrifices had been performed. Buying this meat used in non-Christian ceremonies created a problem. Corinth was the pagan, worldly town of the high seas. Living in Corinth without seeing meat sacrificed to Idols would have been like living in Las Vegas without seeing any gambling. You can stick your head in the sand, but the issue will always be there. So Paul is addressing the question of how to deal with this tainted meat, this is such an important issue to Paul that he spends three whole chapters 8-10 in 1st Corinthians discussing the matter. How Paul addresses the argument is note-worthy. Paul proclaims that whether the meat has been blessed at an altar of a non-Christian God is irrelevant. Paul first of all figures that a piece of meat is a piece of meat. What you eat affects only your body; it doesn’t affect your relationship with God. On the other hand, Paul realizes that not everyone is going to see this meat issue quite like he does. Paul recognizes this meat issue goes way beyond “I’m right” and “you’re wrong”. Paul personally believes that eating such questionably sacrificed meat is fine. Paul even thinks that Christians may eat previously banned foods like Pork and Shellfish. Paul realizes though that many former Jews they just haven’t come as far in understanding the Freedom of the Gospel. Whereas former Pagans might be uncomfortable with looking their old way of life in the face[5]. The issues that Paul talks about might sound silly or non-applicable to people living in Silver Bay in 2015. Paul's letter to the Corinthians has some very practical applications for our lives. I want to share some of these applications this morning. A while back, I wrote an article for The Scroll on whether we should use “grape juice” or “wine” during Communion. Being an egghead, I only looked at the practice through the lens of how churches have traditionally understood the Lord’s Supper. I wrote about how grape juice wasn’t invented until the 19th Century due to fermentation issues. So we stopped offering a non-alcohol option on Sunday mornings. I then get sent a message from someone with alcohol recovery concerns asking if there could be a non-alcoholic option to use. I came to realize that I was wrong about this issue. I wasn’t wrong in my beliefs, where I was wrong was in their application. I was seeking to pastor by book work rather than by asking “What is good for my neighbor?” Second story, my best friend from college is named Cody. Cody works as an associate editor of Model Railroader magazine. I was the best man in Cody’s wedding. I talk to Cody about every week on the phone. What you need to know about Cody and his wife Dorothy is that they are Wisconsin Synod. I’ve attended services at their church, and spoken with their pastor. I’ve got nothing but positives to say about these experiences. One time, though I attended a communion service. Within the Wisconsin Synod, the rule of thumb is that non-members don’t receive communion. The Wisconsin Synod has no gray area on this issue. For many people this would be a huge stumbling block, it would cause them to go around saying a bunch of nasty things about the Wisconsin Synod. As I attended Cody and Dorothy’s church service, this doesn’t bother me. Cody and Dorothy are fine people who live by a different set of values and understanding of Communion than I do. I’m confident enough in the promises of salvation given to me in Baptism that this doesn’t bother me. For as long as there shall be a Christian church, there will be differences amongst believers. Our lesson for today isn’t so much about food, but rather how we handle all sorts of disagreements within our midst. In just a few weeks, we will face the modern day issue that the Corinthian’s were facing at the beginning of Lent. Many Christians especially our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters choose to give something up for Lent. I know Lutheran pastors who enjoy this practice as a way of remembering Christ’s suffering on our behalf. I’m personally not a fan of this practice. My reasons for opposition are multi-faceted: A. The scriptures never require such a practice. The lack of scriptural support doesn’t mean such a practice is wrong only we must acknowledge that it is neither required nor forbidden. B. It seems to take the focus away from Christ and place it unto ourselves and our ability to endure for a number of weeks. I believe it’s a much healthier spiritual attitude just to admit that we can never begin to pay back or understand The Cross; rather we believe it as shear act of grace. C. Perhaps, the biggest reason that I’m against the practice is that promotes a misunderstanding of the Christian life by making it about what we do rather than about what we do for our neighbors. So I will not be giving up red meat or chocolate during Lent. I don’t feel the least bit guilty about making this confession before you like Paul felt free to eat meat sacrificed to idols. What I wish to acknowledge is that not everybody feels the same way that I do. I do not judge or look down upon others who give something up for Lent. I believe Luther would have been fine with Lenten disciplines, as long as one doesn’t require his or her fellow Christians to do the same. The Christian calling in this situation is one of respect towards the neighbor. I’m free to eat steak on Fridays during Lent, yet I shouldn’t go to the parking lot at Saint Mary’s to flaunt it before those who choose not to engage in such a practice. If I invite a Catholic out to dinner on a Friday night, I should find a place that serves Fish regardless of my personal feelings. Paul’s calling to the Church in Corinth is to respect the Christian Freedom of others different from you. In just a few minutes, we will together as communities of faith receive our most sacred of meals in the Lord’s Supper. We will never approach the table together as a consensus amongst our community. For the inevitable nature of the Church is there will be issues of tension. We can enter into name-calling contests with our opponents; this ultimately does nothing to build up the Body of Christ. For if every person acted according to their desires all the time, the community of faith that we have would soon be no more[6]. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again so that I will not cause him to fall."-1st Corinthians 8:13 What happens over time is things that we see as earth-shattering end up, not being as big a deal, just like the food controversy that plagued the Corinthians. If a community is too guided by any one individual’s power or presence then the whole community inevitability collapses unto itself. The Gospel sets us free from demands before God, yet the Gospel doesn’t set us free from our callings unto our neighbor. There will be those strong, and weak gathered together within our midst. We are called to build up rather than tear down, for this reason. So our point for this morning is even if you think a vegetarian might be wrong, you should probably feed them a soy burger no matter how awful you might think it to be. Amen [1] 1st Corinthians 8:1-13 [2] Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 [3] The Law was given for the protection of God’s people in the time in which they lived. Gerhard Forde and Martin Luther wrote about the need to re-write “the law” to fit our own times. Paul in Romans 6 makes the case that Christians are no longer under Old Testament because of Christ (Romans 6:14) [4] Galatians 2:11-21 lays out the roots of the disagreement between Paul and Peter over food. It should also be noted that Acts 10:9-33 consists of Peter receiving a vision to not only welcome the Gentiles, but make all foods permissible to eat. [5] Excellent commentary provided by Rick Morley entitled “Where’s the Beef” found at rickmorley.com written on January 17th, 2012. [6] This point was well made by Dr. David E. Leninger in a sermon entitled “It’s Not What You Know” found at Lectionary.org that I found on January 27th, 2015. |
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