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Pastor Toms Sermon From August 29th, 21 Pentecost 14
Where is evil? Take a look, it’s all around us. It seems like everywhere we look things are going wrong. Sin, death, and disease are rampant all around the globe. Things seem to be in crisis on many fronts. And crisis tends to bring out the best and worst in humanity. We see all kinds of divisions between people. Many are finding it hard to have civil conversations. Anger, yelling, hatred, threats, fights. Evil is nothing new. It’s been around since Adam and Eve. And it seems to be erupting all around us. The world seems to have gone crazy. Compared to all that, Jesus’ disciples’ failure to wash their hands doesn’t seem like such a big deal. And yet the scribes and the pharisees get after Jesus for his disciples’ behavior. They asked him 5 “Why don’t your disciples wash their hands according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” Jesus perceives their hearts and points out that they’re so caught up in own manmade traditions that they have let go of the commands of God. Jesus calls the crowd to him and tells them it’s not what goes into you – it’s not eating grain with defiled hands – that defiles you – that makes you unclean and unholy. It’s not what goes into you, it’s what comes out of you that defiles you. Later, his disciples ask Jesus to explain. He tells them it’s not what goes into their bellies that defiles them – it’s what comes out of their heart that does so. Jesus goes on to say - out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. 23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.” I tend to do the same with this list of sins and evils that I do with the ten commandments. I tend to run through them like a checklist and give myself a pretty good grade. Let’s see – I don’t use God’s name in vain …. . Check I rest a little and spend time in God’s word – that’s kind of like taking a Sabbath – sort of – check I haven’t murdered anyone – check Then there’s this list from Jesus No theft – check. No murder – check. And with the ones that are harder to check off – envy, slander, pride and folly - I like to grade myself on a curve. Sure, I may not speak of others in the best possible light but that’s not really slander – is it?– at least I’m not as bad as they are. Evil ideas – well my thoughts are not that bad – not that often – not as bad as that person or those people. Even when Jesus is telling me my heart is evil – I fight against him. I try to deny it and persist in saying it’s not in me - evil is out there. It’s in the world. Sure, I’m human. I'm not perfect but I’m trying. I’m not as bad as they are. Who have I been talking about? me myself and i. And what have I been doing for myself and i? Trying to justify myself - trying to make the case for my own righteousness. Even though I know that I cannot make myself righteous - even though I proclaim the gospel message that Jesus died for my sins and rose to give me new life. That sinful part of me - the evil in my heart - will not die – it will not surrender. we read in Romans 3 where it says “There is no one righteous, not even one and a little later in ch 3 we read - all [s]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and yet our natural tendency is to try and wriggle out from under the Word as it is convicting us of sin. The Word says everyone’s a sinner – including you. We often respond - sure I’m not perfect, but I’m basically a good person. I mean look at that person over there – now they’re bad. But as we try to talk our way - and wriggle our way - out from under the God’s Word - Jesus pins us back by the ears and says – your heart is defiled – you are not holy – you are not righteous – and nothing you can think, say or do can make you even a little bit holy. Just like the Pharisees and teachers of the law could not make themselves holy by their own traditions – we cannot make ourselves holy by our own religious practices and traditions. As we realize that we cannot wriggle out from under God’s convicting Word - Jesus comes and takes us by the hand and leads us into a new kind of life. He says - your heart is unholy but here I’ll give you my holiness. Jesus says stop pretending to be righteous - you are not. but I’ll give you my righteousness. God, by way of his word and his Spirit, continues to put to death the sin and the sinner in us. God’s work is not a paint job – making the outside look better. It’s not even a home improvement project – rearranging things so they look better. It’s a death and resurrection every single day that we are on this earth. But one day – one day – soon and very soon we can leave that unholy – that defiled - heart behind. Soon and very soon we are going to see the King. King Jesus - Lord of heaven and earth. Amen - Pr.Tom Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 29, 2021 Lessons From Sola Publishing - Used in worship on Sunday the 29th Prayer of the Day - “O Lord, fully continue to purify and defend your Church. Since she cannot stand firmly without your power, govern her always by your grace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” First Reading - Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 The Deuteronomistic principle is: keep God's commands and be blessed, do not keep them, and be cursed. Here, the blessing is taking possession of the land. That is a command that his chosen people kept with varying degrees of commitment and success. As soon as the people began to look on the land itself, instead of the Lord who gave them the land, they began to forget what God had done for them. This is why Moses implored them, “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget... (Deut 4:9) Psalm - Psalm 119:129-136 The psalmist provides us with a picture of the person who not only wants to hear God's word but wants God to teach it to him. He wants to keep God's commandments, so he wants God to reveal it like light unveils things kept in the darkness. He distrusts his own abilities and asks God to steady his steps in the way. He cares not only for himself but for all who do not keep God's law. Second Reading - Ephesians 6:10-20 Perhaps Paul alludes to the exhortation to Joshua: “Only be strong and very courageous.” (Josh 1:7) If so, he adds a twist. The apostle tells us to be strong in the Lord—in the strength of his might instead of our own strength and courage. Using well-worn metaphorical language that he has used elsewhere (Rom 13:14), he tells us to put on the armor of God. Was Paul thinking of young David, trying on the king's armor but finally going to face the giant in the armor of God, in the strength of his might? Gospel - Mark 7:14-23 Jesus turns religious ritual on its head—and the ritually religious as well. Just as the food they put in their stomachs would never defile the heart, their bodily rituals would never cleanse their hearts. Human nature, along with the litany of “evil things” Jesus mentioned, will never be addressed by religious rituals and human traditions. The human heart is never cleansed except by the work of God. What are the seven of the most well-known words in church?
Tim Zingale points out that about 500 years before Jesus was born, a group of people emerged whose interest was the letter of the law. As time passed, they developed 613 rules that regulated Jewish life down to the smallest details. They redefined God’s decrees according to their own way of thinking and demanded that everybody live accordingly. They Let’s see if they sound familiar to you. WE’VE NEVER DONE IT THAT WAY BEFORE. Tradition is a good thing. The liturgy that we use for our Sunday worship service has been used for hundreds of years. It utilizes many passages from scripture. Last week we heard that many followers were turning away from Jesus, and he asked the twelve if they were going to leave as well. Peter responded – Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Do these words from John 6 sound familiar? Yes, we sing them every week. And that’s just one example. The whole service is designed and focused so that we can receive the good news of the gospel – in which Christ comes to us and distributes his gifts of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. As we are blessed with those gifts we are renewed and strengthened in our faith and equipped to live out our faith in our daily lives. We begin our services with confession and forgiveness so that we might receive the good news with a clear conscience. The Old Testament, psalm and New Testament lessons were all selected to highlight the theme of the gospel message. The hymns are selected to do the same. The whole service points to Jesus and what He has done and is doing for you and me. Forgiveness – for you, salvation – for you, eternal life - for you. All because of God’s love – for you This tradition is designed to be in service of God’s mission in the world. These traditions – along with traditions of our own making - can be carried out as giving lip service to God when our hearts are far from him. The question to ask is who do our actions glorify? Who do they point to? When we do things are we drawing attention to ourselves - pointing to ourselves or to God. Are we seeking love, approval, and applause – do we want a gold star because we did such a fine job or are we serving our neighbor and pointing to God? The pharisees and scribes had come to town to check out Jesus. Some of them were known to use traditions to point to themselves – to glorify themselves – and to judge others. replied - Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites. Their 613 rules originally might have been designed to honor God and to point people to God. But now they were being used to point to themselves and stand in judgment of others. Jesus went on to point out how they were paying more attention to their own tradition than they were to God’s word – telling people to take what they would use to honor and care for their father and mother and to give it as an offering to God. I imagine we can all think of people who’ve used church traditions to lord it over others and to point to themselves. Church kitchen wars and carpet wars are famous. Two different churches reported fights over the type of coffee. In one of the churches, they moved from Folgers to a stronger Starbucks brand. In the other church, they simply moved to a stronger blend. The argument got so heated that members left. Really, leaving your church family, your brothers and sisters in Christ over coffee. We need to do it this way - we can’t do it any differently because – WE’VE NEVER DONE IT THAT WAY BEFORE. I heard a story recently about a grandpa who really slept soundly during his afternoon nap. As he was snoring away his grandkids carefully rubbed limburger cheese into his moustache. How they managed that without waking him I’ll never know. Anyway, he woke up from his nap and said holy mackerel this room stinks. Then he went into the kitchen and said this room stinks too. He went into practically every room in the house and in each room he said this room really stinks. But the problem wasn’t the odor in the room, he was the one who stunk. The point is that we can smell unrighteousness all around us but just like every other sin it’s difficult to smell it on ourselves. Yes, we all know folks who are really pharisees. And it’s easy to stand in judgment of them. But if truth be told there are times when most of us – maybe all of us think the way we’ve always done things is the right way. Maybe it has to do with church, maybe with the way we drive. In all the ways we do practically anything, there are opportunities for self-righteousness. We may be looking at others in search for self-righteousness when it’s right here under our noses. There are varying degrees of self-righteousness in all of us. But there’s one who covers all our self-righteousness with his own true righteousness. But there’s one whose blood covers all our judging and condemnation of others. Jesus loves you and me so much that he poured out his blood on a cross for all our pointing to ourselves. Many times, our striving for acceptance, approval, applause – our desire for that gold star - is searching for love and approval that has never been spoken to us. And so, this morning I want to speak truth to you. Not my truth God’s truth. God loves you God accepts you God approves of you. God created you just the way He wanted. God wanted you and chose you to be part of His family. Jesus bled and died to make YOU part of His church. Jesus takes all our self-righteousness all our judgment and in return gives us all his great wonderful gifts - forgiveness, salvation, eternal life. Once again, this morning by way of the Holy Spirit and God’s Holy Word, Jesus gives you not only his gifts but his very self. Amen ...accused anybody who didn’t follow these rules of not honoring God. They utilized their traditions to glorify themselves and to judge others. Washing your hands before you eat is always a good idea. This last year we’ve washed and disinfected our hands like never before. But they developed a very elaborate hand-washing law. Before they ate, 1½ egg-shells of water had to be poured over the hands. But this couldn’t happen in just any manner. It had to be done just so. The hands were held with the finger-tips upwards. The 1½ eggshells of water was then poured over them until it ran down the wrists. Each palm was then cleansed with the fist of the other. Then, the hands were held with the fingertips pointing downwards. Water was poured on them from the wrists downwards so that ran off at the fingertips. This was not a good scrub for cleanliness this was a ritual. It had to be done even if a person’s hands were spotless. You see, to them it was needed in order to please God. Not to do it exactly this way was sin. (Adapted from a sermon by Tim Zingale, SermonCentral.com). So when the Pharisees and Scribes saw that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands before they sat down to eat, they went nuts. Jesus! “You are not teaching your disciples to honor God like our ancestors did.” Jesus looked right into their hearts and ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 7 And in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” First Reading - Isaiah 29:11-19 It is possible for people to be deeply religious, yet have little or no heart for God. We hate to admit it, but this is the way of some in our congregations, is sometimes our own situations, and was the case with Israel when Isaiah was a prophet. The religious things meant nothing, for it brought them no nearer to the Lord, his word, or his ways. Proof of this is not doing God's will and thinking God is none the wiser. Nevertheless, God promises to thwart the so-called wisdom of people, even if they are his chosen people. Psalm - Psalm 14:1-7 The psalmist warns people against the foolishness of unbelief. Atheism has been around for a long time and is still with us today. Sometimes this fool is not the one who says aloud that there is no God, but the one who says it in his heart. The Lord looks among us to see if there is anyone who believes, anyone who seeks his will. When the psalmist sang, the faithful were few and far between. The Lord still brings salvation for the poor in spirit, for those who confess their need of God's Savior. Second Reading - Ephesians 5:22-33 Throughout Paul's talk of the submission and love appropriate to wives and husbands, the apostle uses religious terminology. The husband is the head and the wife the body, just as Christ is the head of the church, his body. Somehow the sacrificial love of a husband for his wife is like the sanctifying act of Christ for his beloved church. Marriage is a vivid illustration of the mystery of God's relationship with his people. Gospel - Mark 7:1-13 It is a sad irony that Jesus' disciples were eating with the Son of God, but that all the Pharisees could appreciate was the disciples had failed to wash their hands before eating. Certainly, the Pharisees had ceremonially cleansed their own hands first—and wanted to be sure Rabbi Jesus had noticed their pure religious practice. This is the way of religion: Look at me! Look at me! The way of faith looks to God. Sermon from Pr. Tom 8-22-21 and readings & Gospil From Sola PUBLISHING Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Sermon 8.15.21 John 6 :51 Pr. Tom Summerfield Have you ever heard the expression you are what you eat? Sometimes you can even tell what people eat. We were living in a place with lots of mosquitoes and I heard that eating garlic helped keep mosquitoes away and so I’d eat two or three cloves of garlic a day. Pretty soon people around me started to notice that I had a distinct odor. People who eat a lot more rice and fish can have a different fragrance than those who eat a lot of red meat and potatoes. In a similar way - sometimes you can tell the difference between those that have been feasting on Christ regularly and those that haven’t. There is a different fragrance about them. God comes to us by way of His word and sacraments. The Word of God and the Word combined with bread and the wine in communion renews us. And little by little God does His work in us. We are what we eat. And this applies to our spiritual diet as well. Reading the Bible might not be as entertaining as watching tv but it’s part of our spiritual diet. According to the Nielsen Wire report, on average Americans watch about 310 min of tv a day, or 153.27 hours per month. In the typical home parents spend 3.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their children. Whereas the average child watches 1,400 minutes per week watching television. A majority of 4–6-year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, preferred television The average American youth spends 900 hours per year in school and 1200 hours per year watching television. Now, we don’t talk about just TV time – in addition to TV we spend time on our mobile devices - phones, iPads, laptop computers - talking sending messages checking Facebook. Many times, phones help us to stay connected and work or attend class from home – which is a good thing. On average we spend close to 4 hours/ day on our mobile devices in addition to the nearly 3.5 hours TV watching. The study counted an hour of TV AND an hour of phone time if the person was using their phone while watching TV. All that is to say we spend a lot of time in front of screens. Franklin Huling tells about a 7 year old boy who took the Bible one day from the library table in his home and asked, "Is this God's Book, Mother?" "Certainly, It is," was her reply. "Well," continued the boy, "don't you think we might as well send It back to God? We don't use It. People in general are reading less. Young adults read on average 7 minutes a day. And that is also true when it comes to reading the Bible.Women (42%) are more likely than are men (32%) to have read the Bible in the past week. (2001) Among Bible readers, the average amount of time spent reading the Bible during an entire week is 52 minutes. (1997) Even Bible readers read just a little over 7 min a day as compared to 310 min a day watching tv. You might be thinking – oh no here goes the pastor getting on my case for watching tv and spending time on my phone. I must tell you that I enjoy a video and watching tv and I use my phone throughout the day. There are some enjoyable shows on the television. But what is our diet? Even for those that do read the Bible they end up spending at least 45 times as much time watching tv as they do reading the Bible. But the idea is not to brow beat and condemn anyone for watching TV. The idea is to reveal our habits and invite us and encourage us to spend time listening to the Lord’s voice. If you are not reading the Bible start with reading a few verses a day – the psalms or one of the Gospels. Or maybe start your day with a short devotional such as Max Lucados – Grace for the Moment. Or Faith Alone which a collection of Martin Luther’s writings. Many of you use the Upper Room devotional. There are other good ones such as Portals of Prayer. If you are reading the Bible each day, I want to encourage you and cheer you on and if you’re not I want to invite you and encourage you to find joy in God’s Word. Or maybe use your phone or computer to read or listen to God’s Word. We are what we eat. Do we as Christians look or “smell” any different than non-Christians? Are we a sweet aroma to the culture around us? 85 percent of the people in the United States call themselves Christians. Here is what research tells us about people in North America who call themselves Christians: • Those who call themselves Christians are no more likely to give assistance to a homeless person on the street than non-Christians. • Those who call themselves Christians are no more likely than non-Christians to speak up when a cashier gives them too much change. 50 percent of Christian churches didn’t help lead one single person to Jesus. In fact, when the Barna Research Group did a survey involving 152 separate items comparing the general population with those who called themselves Christians, they found virtually no difference between the two groups. They found no difference in the attitudes of Christians and non-Christians, and they found no difference in the actions of Christians and non-Christians. Does the fact that we don’t smell or look any different from non-Christians have anything to do with our spiritual diet? Well, you might think that 85% includes a lot of nominal Christians. What about serious Christians like those studying to be pastors? They gave seminary students a test on the Good Samaritan passage that they had to finish in a certain amount of time and then they had to turn the test in in another building across the campus. Between the buildings they had placed someone who pretended to be injured and needed help. None of the students were Good Samaritans. None of them stopped to help the person in need. God has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. By all that he was saying and doing Jesus was in effect saying “hear I am hear I am. I am the Messiah I am the Son of God in your midst.” Last week we talked about how God the Father has hauled us - practically dragged us to Jesus. Remember no one comes to Jesus unless they are drawn by the Father. Now that we have been drawn to Jesus, Jesus lets us know that he will abide in us and we will abide in Him. And he says this in a very strange way – he tells us “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. And then again 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Eating flesh and drinking blood sounds strange to practically everyone in the world, but these things are strictly forbidden in the Jewish law. Even when preparing kosher foods for Jews today packing plants go to great lengths to drain all the blood out of the animal. And, of course, Jewish law prohibits eating the flesh of any human. This is God’s way – he takes evil things and turns them around to use for His good purposes. He takes the cross - an evil means of putting people to death – and uses it to save mankind. Similarly, God takes the terrible notion of eating flesh and drinking blood and turns it into a way that He uses to come to His people and renew them. This whole idea of eating flesh and drinking blood was a hard thing for Jesus’ followers and many turned away from him at this time. But for those that remained as well as for us - Jesus comes to us - and look at all the things God promises as we read through today’s passage. It’s a continuation of all the promises we heard about last week. vs 54 Jesus promises eternal life –, and then in vs 56 he promises that we will abide in Jesus, and Jesus will abide in us – and in vs 58 Jesus promises we will live forever. These are promises that we are to enjoy in the here and now – not just in the future. We are what we eat. As we come to the Lord’s table, Jesus comes to us in the bread and in the wine. He renews us as He gives us forgiveness and eternal life. May he abide in us and we in him to the Glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - Amen Prayer of the Day Almighty, eternal God, increase in us your gifts of faith, hope and love; and in order that love may abide in us, help us to celebrate what your love has done for us. Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. 2aAnd Joshua said to all the people, 14“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” Psalm 34:12-22 12Who among | you loves life* and desires long life to en- | joy prosperity? 13Keep your tongue from | evil speaking* and your lips from | lying words. 14Turn from evil | and do good;* seek peace | and pursue it. 15The eyes of the Lord are up- | on the righteous,* and his ears are open | to their cry. 16The face of the Lord is against those | who do evil,* to root out the remembrance of them | from the earth. 17The righteous cry, and | the Lord hears them* and delivers them from | all their troubles. 18The Lord is near to the | brokenhearted* and will save those whose spir- | its are crushed. 19Many are the troubles | of the righteous,* but the Lord will deliver him out | of them all. 20He will keep safe | all his bones;* not one of them | shall be broken. 21Evil shall | slay the wicked,* and those who hate the righteous | will be punished. 22The Lord ransoms the life | of his servants,* and none will be punished who | trust in him. Second Reading: Ephesians 5:6-21 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not become partners with them; 8for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Gospel: John 6:51-69 51{Jesus said to the Jews grumbling about him,} “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. 60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you Prayer of the Day Almighty, eternal God, increase in us your gifts of faith, hope and love; and in order that love may abide in us, help us to celebrate what your love has done for us. Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. 2aAnd Joshua said to all the people, 14“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” Psalm 34:12-22 12Who among | you loves life* and desires long life to en- | joy prosperity? 13Keep your tongue from | evil speaking* and your lips from | lying words. 14Turn from evil | and do good;* seek peace | and pursue it. 15The eyes of the Lord are up- | on the righteous,* and his ears are open | to their cry. 16The face of the Lord is against those | who do evil,* to root out the remembrance of them | from the earth. 17The righteous cry, and | the Lord hears them* and delivers them from | all their troubles. 18The Lord is near to the | brokenhearted* and will save those whose spir- | its are crushed. 19Many are the troubles | of the righteous,* but the Lord will deliver him out | of them all. 20He will keep safe | all his bones;* not one of them | shall be broken. 21Evil shall | slay the wicked,* and those who hate the righteous | will be punished. 22The Lord ransoms the life | of his servants,* and none will be punished who | trust in him. Second Reading: Ephesians 5:6-21 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not become partners with them; 8for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Gospel: John 6:51-69 51{Jesus said to the Jews grumbling about him,} “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. 60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life 69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Written By Chaplain Chris Belfield
You usually hear them before you see them. No, I’m not talking about mosquitos. A low rumble that progressively gets louder can indicate if there is one, a few, or many. A common sound and sight on the North Shore this time of year are bikers. When the term bikers is used, many may have visions created by movies and television of James Dean, Marlon Brando, Hells Angels, or Sons of Anarchy just to name a few. The reality is that the vast majority of riders are ordinary people who enjoy the unique experience that motorcycle riding offers. In a past life, I was one of those. On this particular evening, there was a group of about forty men in women in the motorcycle group. There were not on the road at this time but were enjoying themselves in the lounge and dining area of the American Legion, dressed in the expected motorcycle attire of leather vests and boots with markings to identify their group. What was different about this group was that most were over 50 years old and were all there for the same purpose that unified them in their mission. They were the American Legion Riders group and they were about to kick off the Annual Legacy Scholarship Run around the northern region of Minnesota. The Legacy Scholarship Run was created as a result of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terror, which left many children of active-duty military in single-parent households. The funds raised are to help provide higher education for these children. In 2019, Minnesota raised over $200,000. On this night in our local Post dining area over $15,000 was donated before the run even began. Next time you see a group of riders going up the road, you might be surprised. Another interesting sight was from our front window, which looks out over Lake Superior and the eastern half of Encampment Island. Sometimes I have to do a double-take to make sure I am seeing what I think I am seeing. There, just east of Encampment Island was a large cargo vessel, parked as though waiting for a take-out order to be delivered from a local eatery. The G3 Marquis is registered in Canada and was waiting to pick up pellets in Silver Bay. It waited over eight hours at anchor and in that we observed the ship go a full 180 degrees on its anchorage because of the winds that day. Just as interesting was when it left, it came closer to the shore than I had ever seen a ship come before. Interesting the things you see up here on the North Shore. Also to see here on the shore is the weather. Never a dull moment, is there? Monday brought humidity and a cold front. This equates to fog, and lots of it. Due to the unique landscape of the shoreline, diligence is always required when driving. From Two Harbors to the house is only about 10 miles; probably five or six as the crow flies. The trip however saw intermittent periods of bright sunshine and dense fog. It could be just over the hill, or around the next bend. You just never really know until you get there. This, and Alaska, have been the only areas where the fog can roll in like a cloud at ground level. Did I mention I love living here? Sometimes what we think we see is something else entirely. Other times what we see is a one-of-a-kind experience to be cherished and remembered. And finally, it can be what we don't see that causes us the greatest concern and results in greater levels of caution. All of this is a good reminder that God sees everything. I try to make an effort to see things and people as he does and to reflect on how people see me. I’ll have to see. Our encouragement verse for this week is: Habakkuk 1:5 (NIV) “Look at the nations and watch — and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” May you be blessed by God's word. Chris Have you heard these words before?
I Promise to love and cherish you, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, forsaking all others, til death do us part. These are promises that we have made or heard at marriage services – and it’s a joy to see many people live up to those promises through thick and thin – some share many, many years together. Some delight in one another and some fight like cats and dogs and yet grit their teeth and keep their promises. What’s the challenge with these marriage promises? What’s our challenge with promises – not just marriage promises - all our promises? We’re sinful human beings living in a sinful world. We pray and ask God to bless our marriages and to help us with the promises we make. Having a sinful human nature and living in a sinful world doesn’t give us permission to break promises – nor does it give us an excuse to sin. But the problem with our promises is us. How many of you have heard of Promise Keepers? It was a Christian ministry to men that featured big stadium events. I attended several of these stadium events 25 – 30 years ago. They were a significant move of God all across our country. They had a profound impact on me along with several of my buddies at church. It encouraged many men in their faith and encouraged them to be accountable to other men with regards to the promises we sought to keep. I’m so grateful to God for the ministry of Promise Keepers and yet I believe the focus was a little off. As Christians we are not so much Promise Keepers as Promise receivers. God is the one making the promises and God is the faithful promise keeper. Did you catch all the promises in our Gospel passage today? We pick up John chapter six with the same verse we ended with last week. (The letter P stands for a promise from Jesus) 35 Jesus said to them, “ I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. P 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. P For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. p 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. P For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, P and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” P I figure 6 or 7 promises in these first 5 verses alone. Remember we read our Bibles with an eye to Law and Gospel. Where Law is what we are to do. It’s what God tells us to do or not do as in the Ten Commandments. Gospel is what God has done, is doing or will do for us. It’s a word of promise. After Jesus dishes up all these promises His listeners grumble and say a few words. Jesus answers them and gets right back to making another six promises. Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. P It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. P Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. P I am the bread of life. 49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, So that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; P and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh P This is gospel, gospel and more gospel and promise after promise. And what do all these promises have to do with? Your election, your salvation, and your eternal life. The Father has given you to Jesus and Jesus has you. Think about that for a minute. Jesus is a gift to us that we celebrate most often at Christmas. But you are a gift too. You are a gift from God the Father to Jesus. And you are a gift that Jesus treasures. Jesus has promised not to toss you out. He’s not going to lose you. Jesus has a hold of you and He’s not letting go. As it says in Romans 8 “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You might think from verse 44 that the Father invites you to Jesus or that he lures you or entices you to come to Jesus. And that somehow you can decide to come to Jesus or not. For it says No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me DRAWS him; This word for draw in the original language is more like drag or haul. It is the same word used later on in John when the disciples are hauling in a huge catch of fish. It’s kind of like the trailer on a semi-truck. God the Father is the tractor part of the semi and you’re the trailer. The trailer is going where the tractor hauls you. And the Father’s hauling you to Jesus. Election is a mystery that runs through the whole Bible. And Jesus makes it explicit later in John chapter 15 when He says, “you did not choose Me but I chose you.” God has chosen you to be His treasured possession and He’s promised you eternal life. Jesus promises that you will live forever. Did you notice that in verse 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes HAS eternal life. Jesus is saying that eternal life is not just some pie in the sky when you die. He’s saying that eternal life is a current reality your eternal life is now. And Jesus has promised that He’s going to raise you on the last day. On that great and glorious day when Christ returns, He’s going to raise your body to meet him in the sky. Promises are great – some of the best words we share. And we do our best to keep our word. But nothing compares to the promises Christ Jesus makes to us. Jesus has Promised to love and cherish you, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and his promise doesn’t end at death. He’s promised to never leave you or forsake you. He’s promised to love you forever. Amen First Reading - 1 Kings 19:1-8 Elijah had stood up to King Ahab and all of his prophets and prophetesses. But now Queen Jezebel threatened his life, vowing to kill the prophet since he had slaughtered all of her prophets. This not only shows how the stakes are increased when one's life is threatened, it illustrates the weariness and loneliness that comes in ministry when one does not rely upon the Lord in faith. Yet, God is merciful. He provides for his weary servants, drawing them back to faith, often with the simple means of basic sustenance. Even though Elijah ran into a sparse wilderness, God met his needs. Psalm - Psalm 34:1-8 Though our very lives are threatened, we may exclaim with the psalmist, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” If run away to desolate places, even there we may proclaim that God delivers us from all of our fears. We must taste of his goodness to comprehend the refuge he provides through his patient mercies. Though this day is long and trying, God's mercies are refreshed in the morning. His steadfast love will sustain us forever. (Lam 3:23) Second Reading - Ephesians 4:17-5:2 The old self is callous and corrupt, full of deceit and desire. Even though that old person in us was buried by God in the waters of baptism, it threatens to resurface and take control again. We are exhorted to put away and be finished with this former way of life. By daily repentance and confession, we put on the new self and are renewed in the spirit of our minds. The old way of life is gone. The new has come! (2 Cor 5:17) We now live as imitators of God in Christ. Gospel - John 6:35-51 There are two equally bad choices that we might make. One is to look at the world, either with its temptations or its threats. The other is to look to oneself as the answer to these fears. Social media is rife with illustrations of Christians who put too much stock in the threats of the world. We need only look within to see the plethora of temptations. If we focus upon either the fear or our power to overcome them, we have lost the clarity of a Christlike mind. In short order, we will begin to grumble like the Hebrews in the wilderness and the Jews in Capernaum. Our focal point must remain in Christ alone. We must see him in the midst of trials and temptations—and continue to believe and trust. Everyone who looks on the Son and believes will be sustained eternally by him who is the Bread of Life. |
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