Why do you do what you do? And why do you not do what you should?
What is it that drives you and motivates you? What is it that you’re after? What do you love?
Where do you invest yourself and hope to find your life?
Your true and lasting life, your future and your hope, are not found with man on earth but only with God in heaven.
You have life with Him forever, not by your own reason and strength, not by your own works and efforts, but by the grace of God in Christ.
So what does that mean for you, and what does it look like? How shall you not receive this grace of God in vain?
He’s after your heart; that’s what He wants, what He demands. He doesn’t need your stuff; it's really His. He doesn’t need your help, for all that you are and have comes from Him and depends upon Him. No, He’s after your heart — that you should fear, love and trust in Him.
But when He has your heart — and you thus have divine, eternal life in Him — then He also has your body and soul, your reason and all your senses, your time, treasures and talents, your home and family, and all your stuff besides (which all belong to Him by right, but He entrusts them to you in love).
When He has your heart, then your entire body and life are offered to Him as a living sacrifice in loving service to your neighbor. Then you practice your righteousness (by faith) before Him alone at all times, while outwardly you pour yourself out in love for your neighbor — family, friends and foes alike — with forgiveness of their trespasses against you, and with no expectation of thanks or reward.
This is how you live by faith: You entrust yourself entirely to God, and trust Him truly for everything that you need; and so you give generously to others without counting the cost or considering what’s in it for you.
In this way do you live with your heart already with God in heaven, and your body and soul shall hereafter follow forever and ever.
If, on the other hand, your heart, soul, mind and strength are spent upon this world, invested in this life on earth, and motivated by the kingdoms and treasures of man, then your body and soul will perish finally and forever along with all of these false gods you prize so highly.
You may stockpile a real treasure trove here and now, but it will not last or survive — it will not save you — it will not remain yours — you won’t take it with you.
Let go your heart of that which is not God.
Give up your adulterous affair with the idols of this world.
Repent of all your misplaced love and affection, and return to the Lord your God.
Stop stuffing your mouth and your stomach with that which ultimately ends up in the sewer, and stop pampering your body with creature comforts as frail and finite as you are.
Do not look for life and love anywhere else but the Lord Jesus Christ. Here He is with you and speaks to you by His Ministry of the Gospel.
He has reconciled Himself and His Father to you and all the world by His Cross: by His fulfillment of the Law in perfect faith and love, and by His suffering of the punishment that you (and all) have deserved.
He has reconciled the world to Himself. You, then, be reconciled to Him. Hear and trust His Word. Rely upon His gifts.
It is by His prayer, by His faith and His fasting, by His agony and bloody sweat, by His Cross and Passion, by His divine charity toward you, that you are presented to the Father in righteousness for peace and rest and life everlasting.
And behold, He has left behind a grain offering and a drink offering for you: bread and wine, which are His Body and His Blood — the acceptable sacrifice that He has offered to the Father on your behalf — with which He now feeds you for the forgiveness of all your sins, for the nourishment of faith and life.
Eat, therefore; and drink. Here is your treasure. Here is the heart of Christ for you. Here is your foretaste of heaven.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
05 March 2014
02 March 2014
The Light Shining in this Dark Place
What does such Transfiguration with Light mean? What does it signify or indicate? It is a return to the Baptism of Our Lord, and a reassertion of the Father’s Word concerning His beloved Son. It is therefore also a proclamation of His Righteousness in the coming Cross and Resurrection of our Lord, whereby He atones for the sins of the world and makes all things brand new.
It means that He who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, will enter into Glory, with His own flesh and blood, through the narrow passage of His Passion, by His innocent suffering and death.
It means that He who comes down from heaven into the dust of the earth and the depths of Sheol will also emerge and arise and go up again to the Right Hand of the Father in the heavenly places.
And it means that He will do so, for you and for all, in His own flesh and blood as the true Man.
We have celebrated, and shall evermore continue to celebrate the Incarnation of the Word, that is, the becoming flesh of the Son of God. In the Transfiguration of this same Lord Jesus Christ, we are given to behold, through the eyes of Peter, James & John, the Deification, or “Verbification,” of our human flesh in the Person of the incarnate Son. For His own flesh, which He shares with us by His conception and birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the very flesh of the Word of God.
Henceforth, if you would hear and have the Word of God, then you must hear and heed this Man of flesh and blood. For it is in and with and through His Body that the Glory of God is realized.
This Divine Glory in the Flesh of Christ is the Word of God to you, which is the Light of the Lord shining for you in this dark place. It is a Lamp unto your feet, a Light upon your path. The Father speaks to you by His Son, and He inscribes His Voice forever and ever in the flesh of this same Lord Jesus Christ; His Holy Spirit writes with the Blood of this Man upon the vellum of His skin.
So it is, that, by this Word-Flesh of Jesus, you are given confidence and sure and certain hope in this dark place; in the midst of sin and death; in circumstances of hardship and hurt; in a context of doubt and fear; in the face of stark adversity and precarious uncertainty. Sufficient for each day is the trouble thereof; and you know well enough your own concerns and challenges. There are some who would say, to a young couple like Nathaniel and Sarah, “Why are you adding to your burdens by having children?” And, “Should any of us bring children into this cold hard world?”
The darkness not only surrounds you and presses upon you from the outside; it is also within you, filling you with fear and sadness, unbelief and anger. It is a darkness of heart and mind, the root of sin and death in you. It permeates your flesh and blood. It infiltrates your words and actions.
Such darkness cannot persist in the presence of God, nor can it survive the appearance of His radiant Glory. When His Light shines in the darkness, the darkness can neither comprehend nor overcome it. No, the darkness is instantly consumed, or it is scattered, by the Lighting of the Lord.
That is a problem, then, for you who are up to your eyeballs in deep darkness, within and without. How shall you persist or survive? How shall you live? Not without the Lord your God, who alone is the Author and Giver of Life. That is certain! You have no hope nor any help apart from Him. But how can you live with Him, either? How shall you abide His glorious presence?
That was the dilemma for Israel, too, at Mt. Sinai and beyond. The Glory of God upon the Holy Mountain was a consuming fire, thunder and lightning, and a billowing Cloud of fierce power. The people could not approach or touch that mountain, except at the invitation of the Lord, lest they die; and they pleaded with Moses that the Lord should not speak to them directly anymore.
There was no solution to be found in the people then. Neither is there any solution to be found in you now. In you there is the darkness of death; not holiness, but profanity and perversity. You are sinful and unclean, and it is surely true that what you deserve is nothing else but punishment.
Yet, the Lord, the Lord, He is gracious and merciful, compassionate and patient with His children; He is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast Love. Therefore, what He did for His people then, in His grace and mercy toward them at Mt. Sinai, was to establish His Holy Covenant with them by the flesh and blood of sacrifice; and then to prescribe the Tabernacle and the Priesthood, the Liturgy of the Covenant, whereby He would dwell among them, and they would abide with Him.
Within that glorious Cloud that covered Mt. Sinai, Moses received from the Lord the heavenly pattern for the earthly tabernacle that he would build with Israel, in accord with God’s command. That same Cloud, which is the Glory of God, then filled that tabernacle when it was finished; not for the destruction of the people, but as the gracious presence of God for their life and salvation.
Now, beloved, the very One who is, Himself, the heavenly Pattern of that Old Covenant Liturgy, He has come, in the flesh; and He has accomplished and fulfilled this great Salvation for you and for all people, which is the Glory of God revealed and perfected in His crucified and risen Body.
This one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Mary’s Son, is the fulfillment of the Law and of all the Prophets who came before Him in days of old. He is the Priest, the Sacrifice, the Tabernacle and the Temple, the Holy of Holies, and the gracious Presence of God in Person, in the Flesh.
He comes from God the Father, and He returns to the Father by the way of His Cross and Passion, in His Resurrection and Ascension, all for the sake of His Love, for the purpose of gathering you up in Himself and bringing you to His God and Father as a beloved child in His own Sonship. He comes down, so as to bring you up the Holy Mountain to see God, to eat and drink in His presence.
The trouble is, that, what you see and feel and experience, for now, in this poor life of labor, is not only the darkness of sin and death, inside and out, but also the darkness of the Cross itself, which is a deep dark Cloud of Glory in its own right. It is hard to understand, and difficult to bear. Not only for the Christ, who has no “easy” job awaiting Him at the bottom of the Holy Mountain, in the valley of the shadow of death. But, as it was for Peter and the other Apostles in their day, so is the Cross of Christ a deadly divine Glory for you to share and carry as a disciple after Him.
In order to prepare and strengthen the Apostles for their witness to His Cross and Resurrection, and for their administration of His Gospel in the Days of His Ascension, He reveals the majesty of His Glory to three of them, who will afterwards strengthen their brothers; and, through their witness, they strengthen the whole Church on earth in all times and places, even to the close of the age.
Not that they are able to comprehend what they behold at the time. It really can’t be understood until the Cross and Resurrection have been accomplished. Yet, they are able see and perceive that it is good; for it is a vision of the New Creation, perfected in the flesh of Christ. And, in retrospect, it all comes together and makes perfect sense, leastwise to those who, by faith, are His disciples.
The Glory of God is manifest in the flesh of the incarnate Son, precisely because He is crucified for our sins, and because He is raised for our justification. In His Cross and Resurrection, and in His crucified and risen Body, the Word and promises of God are established and certain forever. Not with the blood of bulls and goats, but, in and with His own Blood, the Lord has signed and sealed His new and everlasting Covenant with His Church, even under the Cross that she bears.
It is in His Church that His preaching and teaching sound forth, and that His Holy Sacraments are administered in His Name; such as you hear and see and witness for yourself, here this morning.
Wherever the Word of Jesus Christ is spoken and heard in His Name, and His Body and Blood are given and received in remembrance of Him, there is the Tabernacle of God among men. By these ways and means of grace, the Majestic Glory dwells with you, and you with Him; though in such a way that is yet hidden from your eyes in a dark Cloud.
Listen to Him, and pay attention. Hear and heed His Word to you. Give attention to His Law for your life, which is patterned after His Life for you; and walk in obedience to that Word of the Lord.
So also, listen to the utterance of His Gospel: His gracious Word and promises to you; His free and full forgiveness of your sins; and His blessing upon you. For as the Father spoke to Christ at His Baptism, and as He has spoken to Gwendolyn this morning by the same Son, Jesus Christ, so has He spoken to all of you who are baptized into Him, into His Cross and Resurrection, in His Name:
You are beloved of God and well-pleasing to Him. Yes, even you. You are His own dear child, His son or daughter in Christ. You are clothed in the radiance of His righteousness and holiness.
And so shall you, also, in the resurrection of your body, also shine like the sun, and like the stars forever and ever, reflecting the Glory of Christ that you share by His grace through the Gospel.
Listen, too, and hear how He invites you not to be afraid, but to rise from the dust and the dirt, and to live by faith in His mercy toward you. He stretches out His hand — not against you, to hurt or punish you — but in gentleness and tender kindness, to raise you up in peace, and to feed you.
In the hearing of His Gospel, by faith, this Morning Star now rises in your heart, in your body and your life: He scatters the darkness and shatters the gloom that have beclouded your vision and shrouded your thoughts. Now you are able to see, here and now, by faith, in humble bread and simple wine, the Body and Blood of God Himself for you: The God who is with you, in whose flesh is the Majestic Glory of the Holy, Holy, Holy One.
Here, then, at His Altar, is the Holy Mountain of the Lord your God: He is the Lord, the Almighty, the Merciful One, who keeps His Covenant in faithfulness, whose steadfast love endures forever.
Oh, come, let us worship Him; let us kneel and bow down before the Lord, our Maker. Let us fall down in reverence before His Footstool on earth, and worship the Holy One upon His Holy Hill.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It means that He who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, will enter into Glory, with His own flesh and blood, through the narrow passage of His Passion, by His innocent suffering and death.
It means that He who comes down from heaven into the dust of the earth and the depths of Sheol will also emerge and arise and go up again to the Right Hand of the Father in the heavenly places.
And it means that He will do so, for you and for all, in His own flesh and blood as the true Man.
We have celebrated, and shall evermore continue to celebrate the Incarnation of the Word, that is, the becoming flesh of the Son of God. In the Transfiguration of this same Lord Jesus Christ, we are given to behold, through the eyes of Peter, James & John, the Deification, or “Verbification,” of our human flesh in the Person of the incarnate Son. For His own flesh, which He shares with us by His conception and birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the very flesh of the Word of God.
Henceforth, if you would hear and have the Word of God, then you must hear and heed this Man of flesh and blood. For it is in and with and through His Body that the Glory of God is realized.
This Divine Glory in the Flesh of Christ is the Word of God to you, which is the Light of the Lord shining for you in this dark place. It is a Lamp unto your feet, a Light upon your path. The Father speaks to you by His Son, and He inscribes His Voice forever and ever in the flesh of this same Lord Jesus Christ; His Holy Spirit writes with the Blood of this Man upon the vellum of His skin.
So it is, that, by this Word-Flesh of Jesus, you are given confidence and sure and certain hope in this dark place; in the midst of sin and death; in circumstances of hardship and hurt; in a context of doubt and fear; in the face of stark adversity and precarious uncertainty. Sufficient for each day is the trouble thereof; and you know well enough your own concerns and challenges. There are some who would say, to a young couple like Nathaniel and Sarah, “Why are you adding to your burdens by having children?” And, “Should any of us bring children into this cold hard world?”
The darkness not only surrounds you and presses upon you from the outside; it is also within you, filling you with fear and sadness, unbelief and anger. It is a darkness of heart and mind, the root of sin and death in you. It permeates your flesh and blood. It infiltrates your words and actions.
Such darkness cannot persist in the presence of God, nor can it survive the appearance of His radiant Glory. When His Light shines in the darkness, the darkness can neither comprehend nor overcome it. No, the darkness is instantly consumed, or it is scattered, by the Lighting of the Lord.
That is a problem, then, for you who are up to your eyeballs in deep darkness, within and without. How shall you persist or survive? How shall you live? Not without the Lord your God, who alone is the Author and Giver of Life. That is certain! You have no hope nor any help apart from Him. But how can you live with Him, either? How shall you abide His glorious presence?
That was the dilemma for Israel, too, at Mt. Sinai and beyond. The Glory of God upon the Holy Mountain was a consuming fire, thunder and lightning, and a billowing Cloud of fierce power. The people could not approach or touch that mountain, except at the invitation of the Lord, lest they die; and they pleaded with Moses that the Lord should not speak to them directly anymore.
There was no solution to be found in the people then. Neither is there any solution to be found in you now. In you there is the darkness of death; not holiness, but profanity and perversity. You are sinful and unclean, and it is surely true that what you deserve is nothing else but punishment.
Yet, the Lord, the Lord, He is gracious and merciful, compassionate and patient with His children; He is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast Love. Therefore, what He did for His people then, in His grace and mercy toward them at Mt. Sinai, was to establish His Holy Covenant with them by the flesh and blood of sacrifice; and then to prescribe the Tabernacle and the Priesthood, the Liturgy of the Covenant, whereby He would dwell among them, and they would abide with Him.
Within that glorious Cloud that covered Mt. Sinai, Moses received from the Lord the heavenly pattern for the earthly tabernacle that he would build with Israel, in accord with God’s command. That same Cloud, which is the Glory of God, then filled that tabernacle when it was finished; not for the destruction of the people, but as the gracious presence of God for their life and salvation.
Now, beloved, the very One who is, Himself, the heavenly Pattern of that Old Covenant Liturgy, He has come, in the flesh; and He has accomplished and fulfilled this great Salvation for you and for all people, which is the Glory of God revealed and perfected in His crucified and risen Body.
This one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Mary’s Son, is the fulfillment of the Law and of all the Prophets who came before Him in days of old. He is the Priest, the Sacrifice, the Tabernacle and the Temple, the Holy of Holies, and the gracious Presence of God in Person, in the Flesh.
He comes from God the Father, and He returns to the Father by the way of His Cross and Passion, in His Resurrection and Ascension, all for the sake of His Love, for the purpose of gathering you up in Himself and bringing you to His God and Father as a beloved child in His own Sonship. He comes down, so as to bring you up the Holy Mountain to see God, to eat and drink in His presence.
The trouble is, that, what you see and feel and experience, for now, in this poor life of labor, is not only the darkness of sin and death, inside and out, but also the darkness of the Cross itself, which is a deep dark Cloud of Glory in its own right. It is hard to understand, and difficult to bear. Not only for the Christ, who has no “easy” job awaiting Him at the bottom of the Holy Mountain, in the valley of the shadow of death. But, as it was for Peter and the other Apostles in their day, so is the Cross of Christ a deadly divine Glory for you to share and carry as a disciple after Him.
In order to prepare and strengthen the Apostles for their witness to His Cross and Resurrection, and for their administration of His Gospel in the Days of His Ascension, He reveals the majesty of His Glory to three of them, who will afterwards strengthen their brothers; and, through their witness, they strengthen the whole Church on earth in all times and places, even to the close of the age.
Not that they are able to comprehend what they behold at the time. It really can’t be understood until the Cross and Resurrection have been accomplished. Yet, they are able see and perceive that it is good; for it is a vision of the New Creation, perfected in the flesh of Christ. And, in retrospect, it all comes together and makes perfect sense, leastwise to those who, by faith, are His disciples.
The Glory of God is manifest in the flesh of the incarnate Son, precisely because He is crucified for our sins, and because He is raised for our justification. In His Cross and Resurrection, and in His crucified and risen Body, the Word and promises of God are established and certain forever. Not with the blood of bulls and goats, but, in and with His own Blood, the Lord has signed and sealed His new and everlasting Covenant with His Church, even under the Cross that she bears.
It is in His Church that His preaching and teaching sound forth, and that His Holy Sacraments are administered in His Name; such as you hear and see and witness for yourself, here this morning.
Wherever the Word of Jesus Christ is spoken and heard in His Name, and His Body and Blood are given and received in remembrance of Him, there is the Tabernacle of God among men. By these ways and means of grace, the Majestic Glory dwells with you, and you with Him; though in such a way that is yet hidden from your eyes in a dark Cloud.
Listen to Him, and pay attention. Hear and heed His Word to you. Give attention to His Law for your life, which is patterned after His Life for you; and walk in obedience to that Word of the Lord.
So also, listen to the utterance of His Gospel: His gracious Word and promises to you; His free and full forgiveness of your sins; and His blessing upon you. For as the Father spoke to Christ at His Baptism, and as He has spoken to Gwendolyn this morning by the same Son, Jesus Christ, so has He spoken to all of you who are baptized into Him, into His Cross and Resurrection, in His Name:
You are beloved of God and well-pleasing to Him. Yes, even you. You are His own dear child, His son or daughter in Christ. You are clothed in the radiance of His righteousness and holiness.
And so shall you, also, in the resurrection of your body, also shine like the sun, and like the stars forever and ever, reflecting the Glory of Christ that you share by His grace through the Gospel.
Listen, too, and hear how He invites you not to be afraid, but to rise from the dust and the dirt, and to live by faith in His mercy toward you. He stretches out His hand — not against you, to hurt or punish you — but in gentleness and tender kindness, to raise you up in peace, and to feed you.
In the hearing of His Gospel, by faith, this Morning Star now rises in your heart, in your body and your life: He scatters the darkness and shatters the gloom that have beclouded your vision and shrouded your thoughts. Now you are able to see, here and now, by faith, in humble bread and simple wine, the Body and Blood of God Himself for you: The God who is with you, in whose flesh is the Majestic Glory of the Holy, Holy, Holy One.
Here, then, at His Altar, is the Holy Mountain of the Lord your God: He is the Lord, the Almighty, the Merciful One, who keeps His Covenant in faithfulness, whose steadfast love endures forever.
Oh, come, let us worship Him; let us kneel and bow down before the Lord, our Maker. Let us fall down in reverence before His Footstool on earth, and worship the Holy One upon His Holy Hill.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
16 February 2014
Choose Life
It’s a matter of learning to look at yourself, at your place in the world, at the world around you, and at each and all of your neighbors, in the way that God, the Lord, looks at you and all of these.
It ought to make a difference, for example, to consider that the person you just laughed at, or lost your temper with, or left behind in the dust, is a person created by the Lord your God and loved by Him. That is true, whether the person is a fellow Christian, an atheist or pagan. But how much more should it make a difference if the person is a brother or sister in Christ, a beloved child of your own God and Father. In such a case, in particular, your harsh words, hardness of heart, and vindictive judgments fall, not only on your neighbor, but on the Lord.
To laugh at your brother, to spurn your sister, to neglect the needs of your fellow believer in Christ, is to criticize your Father in heaven and to condemn and reject His family. It should not be so.
It is not only your neighbor whom the Lord has created in love for Life with Himself. You also are made by Him with such love and for such Life. You exist, and you remain, for the sake of His divine and holy Love, in order to live with Him in His Kingdom, in body and soul, here in time on earth, and hereafter for eternity in heaven.
The one true God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Yahweh, the Creator of all things, has sworn an oath by Himself to be with you, to bless you and keep you, and to bring you into a good Land. All of this He has done for you, and still does, and will continue to do and accomplish, through Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son. For not only has the Lord created you for life; He has redeemed you for Himself in Christ, who gives you Life abundantly and sanctifies you by His Holy Spirit.
First of all as a creature of God, and all the more so as a Christian, a member of His Church, the Body of Christ, your whole life is lived in His presence. Your body and soul, your heart and mind, your thoughts, words, and actions, each and all of these are always before Him. If you flee into the depths of Sheol, or attempt to scale the heights of heaven, He is there, and you are ever in His sight. What you look at with your eyes, He beholds. What you grasp with your hand, He also perceives. Whatever occupies your mind and captures your heart, the Lord knows that, too. There are no secrets from Him. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your sins and weaknesses, your failings and your fears. He knows you inside out, and yet, He still loves you.
His constant presence, at all times and in all places, is a deadly threat to the passions of your sinful flesh. Indeed, your flesh is dying, and you will die, because of your sin with its appetites and attitudes. The presence of the true God threatens your flesh, because He smashes the idolatry of all false gods, exposing them for the lie they are. Your flesh can only perish without Him; but it cannot abide in His presence, nor will it survive before Him, so long as you exalt yourself, rely upon yourself and your own powers, and strive to feed yourself according to your own desires.
The threats and punishments of the Lord — who not only observes your actions and negligence, but also searches your heart and mind — His threats and punishments are aimed at rescuing your body and soul from death and bringing you safely into the promised Land of the Resurrection and the Life everlasting. Because the false gods and passions of your flesh are not only sinful and wrong, but self-destructive. They do not give you the life they promise, but rob you of genuine Life with God. They cut you off from Him and ruin your relationships with others. And though they drive you to consume everything you set your eyes and hand and heart upon, it is actually you that such hunger finally devours.
Your desperate attempts at self-preservation and self-promotion are of the evil one, and, left unchecked, unbroken, they will lead to your condemnation and eternal punishment. It cannot be otherwise when you despise and reject the Lord your God. Not as though He were mean-spirited, but because He is the true and only God, and apart from Him there is no life or salvation, but only death and damnation.
When you depend upon yourself instead of Him, and when you are determined to serve yourself and to feed your own appetites, this is the cesspool out of which your covetous lust, your selfish greed, your jealousy and envy emerge. You do not see your neighbor as someone to love and care for, but as a competitor, an adversary or enemy, or as a means to some end. Which puts you at odds even with your brother, with your spouse. When you are thinking that way, then, not only God, but everyone around you is a threat to your security and success.
So you get scared, and your fear either drives you to despair or to hot anger. You may bottle up your anger inside, but you don’t really control it, not until you put it to death with repentance; otherwise, it controls and masters you. Sin is always crouching at your door, and Satan hungers to consume you, even as you hunger for more and more of everything that doesn’t satisfy. Your anger boils over into harsh and hurtful words, or it curls up your fists to hit and to hurt your neighbor in his body. You unleash the drill sergeant on your own children, or you lash out at your wife, or speak ill of your husband behind his back. And in doing so, you condemn yourself, for these dear people are your own flesh and blood. What is more, in going after them, you set your burning anger against the Lord Himself. But you will not survive that contest.
Despairing in the face of your insatiable desires, dissatisfied with your lot in life and the place where God has stationed you, your eye begins to scan the horizon for alternatives, and your crafty imagination devises a scenario in which you make your own rules and call the shots for yourself and others. You dream of getting even with those who have hurt you, and of taking for yourself whatever it is you want. So it is that, in your heart and mind, you murder your brother, and you abandon your spouse for adultery. And whether your hand and body ever follow your eye and your heart into such wickedness, your relationships whither and die, and you along with them. Instead of contentment, you find only disaster.
You cannot save yourself from that downward spiral of death. You won’t be able to pull yourself out of that pit by your own boot straps; nor can you fix what you have broken.
You do not control tomorrow, and even the hairs of your own head are numbered, not by you, but by the Lord. The heavens and the earth are His, not yours. You will not succeed in trying to take them by force, by hook or by crook, by barter or bargain. Nor can you entice the Lord to serve and support your self-idolatry by offering Him your sacrifices, especially when your heart and mind remain at odds with Him. Neither can you make things right with Him while you remain at odds with your neighbor. Left to yourself, you are a lost cause.
But let us return to the Lord our God, and to His Love for you, and to the Life He has promised. For you are not left to yourself and your own devices. You’re not a free agent, nor an independent contractor. God has created you in love for Life with Him. You are His workmanship, and you are precious to Him. He has called you by name to be His own, by grace, through Jesus Christ your Savior. He has brought you through the waters of Holy Baptism, through the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, into His Family, the Church — into His Kingdom.
He disciplines you, as a father disciplines his son, because He has made you His own dear child, His beloved son or daughter in Christ. Thereby He teaches you and trains you in the way of life, in the way of faith and love, which is the Way of Christ, crucified and risen for you.
In Christ, the presence of the Lord is not only a threat to your mortal flesh with its sinful passions, but the salvation of your body and soul and the promise of eternal Life through His forgiveness of your sins. He comes to crucify your flesh, that is true, but He does so in order to raise you up, a new creation. And to this end, He has subjected His own flesh and blood to crucifixion, in order to heal your flesh in His Resurrection. He has offered Himself, the Son to His Father, as a sweet-smelling Sacrifice and pleasing Aroma, in order to reconcile you and all the world to God. And with His Word of grace, He fills you with His Spirit, in order to give you Life. He satisfies your hungry heart with Peace. He feeds your body and soul with Himself, so that you may rest in Him.
Instead of putting you to death with fierce anger for your sins, He has laid down His own Life to atone for all your sins. He has taken all your debts and obligations upon Himself, and, with His holy and precious blood, He has paid them up to the last cent. He has sought you out and wooed you to Himself, to be His beloved and beautiful Bride — adorned with His own righteousness and holiness. And rather than divorcing you and sending you away for your adulterous idolatry, He has forgiven you, cleansed you and restored you. He remains for ever and always faithful to you. He only has eyes for you.
As He is your merciful and great High Priest, who has given Himself for you and ever lives to make intercession for you, so does He speak to you with tenderness and love. He meets all your needs and answers all your prayers with the resounding “Yes!” and “Amen!” of His Resurrection from the dead. As heaven is His throne and earth His footstool, so does He raise you up and seat you with Himself at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places. There you are safe and secure in Him, even now, because He is the great King who reigns in love within His Church, on earth as it is in heaven. Here His Gospel is the last Word.
In that sure and certain confidence of Christ, beloved of the Lord, let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Do not give yourself over to pride or despair, but live before God in the righteousness of faith and love. In the humility of repentance, call upon His Name in hope, relying on His Word, rejoicing in His mercy, and giving thanks and praise for the marvelous grace of His Gospel.
Do not be afraid, but do fear God, and so choose Life instead of death. Not that you can save yourself, but that the Lord has become your Life and your Salvation. Flee to Him by hearing and heeding His Word to you, and by praying and confessing what He has spoken. Flee to Him, and away from the devil, by disciplining your flesh and turning away from temptation; instead of fueling the fires of your passions, avert your eyes and withhold your hand from that which God has not given you. Fill your ears, your head, and your mouth with the Word of Christ, in order to crowd out and defend against the covetous ideas and lustful images of your mortal flesh.
And where you have fallen short, wherever you have sinned, repent. Where you have hurt your neighbor with your words and actions, or by neglecting his needs and your duties, make amends, and begin, now, to do better: to do what is good and right. And as your whole life is lived before God, confess your sins and seek His Word of the Gospel, His Word of Absolution. For as great as the demands of His Law are, so much greater is the forgiveness of His Gospel.
His threats of dire punishment are rightly fierce, that you should fear His wrath and quickly flee from every transgression. So much the sweeter are His promises of grace, mercy, and peace, that you should live by His Word and Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus.
Come, then. As God has reconciled you to Himself in Christ, you also be reconciled to Him and with your neighbor. Be at peace with all men, in so far as it depends on you, for the sake of the Cross. If anyone has sinned against you, do not dwell on that transgression, but let it be covered by the same blood and righteousness of Christ that cover you. And entering that glorious Land of milk and honey, which the Lord has promised you, here at His Altar in His House, eat and drink the Feast with which He freely and richly feeds you, and rest in His Peace.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It ought to make a difference, for example, to consider that the person you just laughed at, or lost your temper with, or left behind in the dust, is a person created by the Lord your God and loved by Him. That is true, whether the person is a fellow Christian, an atheist or pagan. But how much more should it make a difference if the person is a brother or sister in Christ, a beloved child of your own God and Father. In such a case, in particular, your harsh words, hardness of heart, and vindictive judgments fall, not only on your neighbor, but on the Lord.
To laugh at your brother, to spurn your sister, to neglect the needs of your fellow believer in Christ, is to criticize your Father in heaven and to condemn and reject His family. It should not be so.
It is not only your neighbor whom the Lord has created in love for Life with Himself. You also are made by Him with such love and for such Life. You exist, and you remain, for the sake of His divine and holy Love, in order to live with Him in His Kingdom, in body and soul, here in time on earth, and hereafter for eternity in heaven.
The one true God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Yahweh, the Creator of all things, has sworn an oath by Himself to be with you, to bless you and keep you, and to bring you into a good Land. All of this He has done for you, and still does, and will continue to do and accomplish, through Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son. For not only has the Lord created you for life; He has redeemed you for Himself in Christ, who gives you Life abundantly and sanctifies you by His Holy Spirit.
First of all as a creature of God, and all the more so as a Christian, a member of His Church, the Body of Christ, your whole life is lived in His presence. Your body and soul, your heart and mind, your thoughts, words, and actions, each and all of these are always before Him. If you flee into the depths of Sheol, or attempt to scale the heights of heaven, He is there, and you are ever in His sight. What you look at with your eyes, He beholds. What you grasp with your hand, He also perceives. Whatever occupies your mind and captures your heart, the Lord knows that, too. There are no secrets from Him. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your sins and weaknesses, your failings and your fears. He knows you inside out, and yet, He still loves you.
His constant presence, at all times and in all places, is a deadly threat to the passions of your sinful flesh. Indeed, your flesh is dying, and you will die, because of your sin with its appetites and attitudes. The presence of the true God threatens your flesh, because He smashes the idolatry of all false gods, exposing them for the lie they are. Your flesh can only perish without Him; but it cannot abide in His presence, nor will it survive before Him, so long as you exalt yourself, rely upon yourself and your own powers, and strive to feed yourself according to your own desires.
The threats and punishments of the Lord — who not only observes your actions and negligence, but also searches your heart and mind — His threats and punishments are aimed at rescuing your body and soul from death and bringing you safely into the promised Land of the Resurrection and the Life everlasting. Because the false gods and passions of your flesh are not only sinful and wrong, but self-destructive. They do not give you the life they promise, but rob you of genuine Life with God. They cut you off from Him and ruin your relationships with others. And though they drive you to consume everything you set your eyes and hand and heart upon, it is actually you that such hunger finally devours.
Your desperate attempts at self-preservation and self-promotion are of the evil one, and, left unchecked, unbroken, they will lead to your condemnation and eternal punishment. It cannot be otherwise when you despise and reject the Lord your God. Not as though He were mean-spirited, but because He is the true and only God, and apart from Him there is no life or salvation, but only death and damnation.
When you depend upon yourself instead of Him, and when you are determined to serve yourself and to feed your own appetites, this is the cesspool out of which your covetous lust, your selfish greed, your jealousy and envy emerge. You do not see your neighbor as someone to love and care for, but as a competitor, an adversary or enemy, or as a means to some end. Which puts you at odds even with your brother, with your spouse. When you are thinking that way, then, not only God, but everyone around you is a threat to your security and success.
So you get scared, and your fear either drives you to despair or to hot anger. You may bottle up your anger inside, but you don’t really control it, not until you put it to death with repentance; otherwise, it controls and masters you. Sin is always crouching at your door, and Satan hungers to consume you, even as you hunger for more and more of everything that doesn’t satisfy. Your anger boils over into harsh and hurtful words, or it curls up your fists to hit and to hurt your neighbor in his body. You unleash the drill sergeant on your own children, or you lash out at your wife, or speak ill of your husband behind his back. And in doing so, you condemn yourself, for these dear people are your own flesh and blood. What is more, in going after them, you set your burning anger against the Lord Himself. But you will not survive that contest.
Despairing in the face of your insatiable desires, dissatisfied with your lot in life and the place where God has stationed you, your eye begins to scan the horizon for alternatives, and your crafty imagination devises a scenario in which you make your own rules and call the shots for yourself and others. You dream of getting even with those who have hurt you, and of taking for yourself whatever it is you want. So it is that, in your heart and mind, you murder your brother, and you abandon your spouse for adultery. And whether your hand and body ever follow your eye and your heart into such wickedness, your relationships whither and die, and you along with them. Instead of contentment, you find only disaster.
You cannot save yourself from that downward spiral of death. You won’t be able to pull yourself out of that pit by your own boot straps; nor can you fix what you have broken.
You do not control tomorrow, and even the hairs of your own head are numbered, not by you, but by the Lord. The heavens and the earth are His, not yours. You will not succeed in trying to take them by force, by hook or by crook, by barter or bargain. Nor can you entice the Lord to serve and support your self-idolatry by offering Him your sacrifices, especially when your heart and mind remain at odds with Him. Neither can you make things right with Him while you remain at odds with your neighbor. Left to yourself, you are a lost cause.
But let us return to the Lord our God, and to His Love for you, and to the Life He has promised. For you are not left to yourself and your own devices. You’re not a free agent, nor an independent contractor. God has created you in love for Life with Him. You are His workmanship, and you are precious to Him. He has called you by name to be His own, by grace, through Jesus Christ your Savior. He has brought you through the waters of Holy Baptism, through the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, into His Family, the Church — into His Kingdom.
He disciplines you, as a father disciplines his son, because He has made you His own dear child, His beloved son or daughter in Christ. Thereby He teaches you and trains you in the way of life, in the way of faith and love, which is the Way of Christ, crucified and risen for you.
In Christ, the presence of the Lord is not only a threat to your mortal flesh with its sinful passions, but the salvation of your body and soul and the promise of eternal Life through His forgiveness of your sins. He comes to crucify your flesh, that is true, but He does so in order to raise you up, a new creation. And to this end, He has subjected His own flesh and blood to crucifixion, in order to heal your flesh in His Resurrection. He has offered Himself, the Son to His Father, as a sweet-smelling Sacrifice and pleasing Aroma, in order to reconcile you and all the world to God. And with His Word of grace, He fills you with His Spirit, in order to give you Life. He satisfies your hungry heart with Peace. He feeds your body and soul with Himself, so that you may rest in Him.
Instead of putting you to death with fierce anger for your sins, He has laid down His own Life to atone for all your sins. He has taken all your debts and obligations upon Himself, and, with His holy and precious blood, He has paid them up to the last cent. He has sought you out and wooed you to Himself, to be His beloved and beautiful Bride — adorned with His own righteousness and holiness. And rather than divorcing you and sending you away for your adulterous idolatry, He has forgiven you, cleansed you and restored you. He remains for ever and always faithful to you. He only has eyes for you.
As He is your merciful and great High Priest, who has given Himself for you and ever lives to make intercession for you, so does He speak to you with tenderness and love. He meets all your needs and answers all your prayers with the resounding “Yes!” and “Amen!” of His Resurrection from the dead. As heaven is His throne and earth His footstool, so does He raise you up and seat you with Himself at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places. There you are safe and secure in Him, even now, because He is the great King who reigns in love within His Church, on earth as it is in heaven. Here His Gospel is the last Word.
In that sure and certain confidence of Christ, beloved of the Lord, let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Do not give yourself over to pride or despair, but live before God in the righteousness of faith and love. In the humility of repentance, call upon His Name in hope, relying on His Word, rejoicing in His mercy, and giving thanks and praise for the marvelous grace of His Gospel.
Do not be afraid, but do fear God, and so choose Life instead of death. Not that you can save yourself, but that the Lord has become your Life and your Salvation. Flee to Him by hearing and heeding His Word to you, and by praying and confessing what He has spoken. Flee to Him, and away from the devil, by disciplining your flesh and turning away from temptation; instead of fueling the fires of your passions, avert your eyes and withhold your hand from that which God has not given you. Fill your ears, your head, and your mouth with the Word of Christ, in order to crowd out and defend against the covetous ideas and lustful images of your mortal flesh.
And where you have fallen short, wherever you have sinned, repent. Where you have hurt your neighbor with your words and actions, or by neglecting his needs and your duties, make amends, and begin, now, to do better: to do what is good and right. And as your whole life is lived before God, confess your sins and seek His Word of the Gospel, His Word of Absolution. For as great as the demands of His Law are, so much greater is the forgiveness of His Gospel.
His threats of dire punishment are rightly fierce, that you should fear His wrath and quickly flee from every transgression. So much the sweeter are His promises of grace, mercy, and peace, that you should live by His Word and Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus.
Come, then. As God has reconciled you to Himself in Christ, you also be reconciled to Him and with your neighbor. Be at peace with all men, in so far as it depends on you, for the sake of the Cross. If anyone has sinned against you, do not dwell on that transgression, but let it be covered by the same blood and righteousness of Christ that cover you. And entering that glorious Land of milk and honey, which the Lord has promised you, here at His Altar in His House, eat and drink the Feast with which He freely and richly feeds you, and rest in His Peace.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
02 February 2014
Blessed Are You Because of Christ
The Kingdom of heaven has drawn near to you in Christ, in His Word and in His Flesh; and now, by His preaching, He draws you to Himself, to bring you to the Father in Peace.
He has seen you from afar, and beheld you with compassion, and has come down from heaven to lay hold of you in love. And He has gone up the Mountain of God, in order to gather you up and bear you in His Body into the Kingdom of heaven.
He has come down, in order to raise you up. So it is that His Baptism — in and out of the water, in and out of His death — has begun the fulfillment of all righteousness; which is to speak of the relationship of sons with the Father in heaven, sons who are beloved and well-pleasing in Christ.
In His dying is your atonement and the forgiveness of all your sins, whereby He repairs what was broken and rectifies what was out of sync between you and God. And in His rising from the dead, in His Ascension to the right hand of the Father, is your righteousness and sanctification. For you follow after Him, through death into life, to live and abide in the presence of the Holy Trinity.
It is for this great salvation, this beatific vision of God in Christ, that the Lord Jesus preaches to you, and the Holy Spirit calls you by this Gospel to come to Jesus, to be with Him where He is, now and forever. You are with Him, even now, because He is here with you in mercy. And you shall be with Him hereafter in eternity, in the Resurrection.
He calls you, then, to bear the Cross after Him: In the humility of repentance, to be turned away from your sins and toward your Creator. In the confidence of faith, to give attention to His Word, and to rely upon His promises in the face of death. And in the love and mercy of Christ Jesus, to do justice for others, to love and practice kindness, and to walk quietly and patiently with God.
He calls you to find your life and your salvation in Him: To rejoice and be glad in His Cross, and in suffering for the sake of His Cross, in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection. To hunger and thirst for His righteousness, above and beyond the daily bread that your mortal body needs. And, so also, to be satisfied with what He feeds you. For, in His Body and His Blood, you are fed by God Himself; not simply the Food of Paradise from the hand of God, but the Lord Himself has become your Meat and Drink, your Bread and Wine, your true Food for both body and soul.
This way of faith and life in Christ the Crucified, in the New Creation of His Resurrection, and in His Blessed Sacrament, is already the contrast between the Kingdom of heaven, which is at hand, and this old fallen world, which is perishing and passing away.
Yet, His Kingdom has come even here, into the midst of sin and death and deep darkness. And here it is given to you by grace, by the Word and Spirit of Christ Jesus, in whom you see God; for He has become flesh and tabernacles among us, the Light of the Revelation of the Glory of God.
In Him, In His Body of flesh and blood, your eyes behold His great salvation, because, in this Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, you are reconciled to God in true Peace and Joy. No longer are you at enmity with God; nor are you a slave any longer, shackled and chained by the Law’s demands and the devil’s accusations. But you are called, and so you are, a blessed son of God in Christ, born again by your Baptism into His Cross and Resurrection. The world cannot rob you of that, because it is given to you by Christ. He has opened His mouth and spoken: It is so.
So, then, do you live and love like Christ in relation to God and man, on earth as it is in heaven. You are comforted in the face of sin and death by His forgiveness and His righteousness. Thus, you are merciful, as He is merciful toward you; gentle, kind, and pure of heart; slow to anger, and abounding in love. As the Lord your God has made peace with you and all the world by the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus, so are you at peace with God and with all people, for His sake.
You live righteously, which is to say, that you live by faith in Christ, in whom God is your true Father, and you are His true child. Even though you die, yet shall you live. Though you are poor and miserable, yet the heavens and the earth are your inheritance. The One who feeds you here and now with the Fruits of His Cross, will feed you forever with Himself in the Resurrection, and you shall be satisfied. So shall you see God and live.
Blessed are you, indeed, who bear the Cross of Christ and the Name and Spirit of God; who are baptized into Him. For in Him all things are yours forever, since He has gone up the Mountain for you, and has sat down at the Right Hand of the Father, and by His grace you follow after Him.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
He has seen you from afar, and beheld you with compassion, and has come down from heaven to lay hold of you in love. And He has gone up the Mountain of God, in order to gather you up and bear you in His Body into the Kingdom of heaven.
He has come down, in order to raise you up. So it is that His Baptism — in and out of the water, in and out of His death — has begun the fulfillment of all righteousness; which is to speak of the relationship of sons with the Father in heaven, sons who are beloved and well-pleasing in Christ.
In His dying is your atonement and the forgiveness of all your sins, whereby He repairs what was broken and rectifies what was out of sync between you and God. And in His rising from the dead, in His Ascension to the right hand of the Father, is your righteousness and sanctification. For you follow after Him, through death into life, to live and abide in the presence of the Holy Trinity.
It is for this great salvation, this beatific vision of God in Christ, that the Lord Jesus preaches to you, and the Holy Spirit calls you by this Gospel to come to Jesus, to be with Him where He is, now and forever. You are with Him, even now, because He is here with you in mercy. And you shall be with Him hereafter in eternity, in the Resurrection.
He calls you, then, to bear the Cross after Him: In the humility of repentance, to be turned away from your sins and toward your Creator. In the confidence of faith, to give attention to His Word, and to rely upon His promises in the face of death. And in the love and mercy of Christ Jesus, to do justice for others, to love and practice kindness, and to walk quietly and patiently with God.
He calls you to find your life and your salvation in Him: To rejoice and be glad in His Cross, and in suffering for the sake of His Cross, in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection. To hunger and thirst for His righteousness, above and beyond the daily bread that your mortal body needs. And, so also, to be satisfied with what He feeds you. For, in His Body and His Blood, you are fed by God Himself; not simply the Food of Paradise from the hand of God, but the Lord Himself has become your Meat and Drink, your Bread and Wine, your true Food for both body and soul.
This way of faith and life in Christ the Crucified, in the New Creation of His Resurrection, and in His Blessed Sacrament, is already the contrast between the Kingdom of heaven, which is at hand, and this old fallen world, which is perishing and passing away.
Yet, His Kingdom has come even here, into the midst of sin and death and deep darkness. And here it is given to you by grace, by the Word and Spirit of Christ Jesus, in whom you see God; for He has become flesh and tabernacles among us, the Light of the Revelation of the Glory of God.
In Him, In His Body of flesh and blood, your eyes behold His great salvation, because, in this Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, you are reconciled to God in true Peace and Joy. No longer are you at enmity with God; nor are you a slave any longer, shackled and chained by the Law’s demands and the devil’s accusations. But you are called, and so you are, a blessed son of God in Christ, born again by your Baptism into His Cross and Resurrection. The world cannot rob you of that, because it is given to you by Christ. He has opened His mouth and spoken: It is so.
So, then, do you live and love like Christ in relation to God and man, on earth as it is in heaven. You are comforted in the face of sin and death by His forgiveness and His righteousness. Thus, you are merciful, as He is merciful toward you; gentle, kind, and pure of heart; slow to anger, and abounding in love. As the Lord your God has made peace with you and all the world by the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus, so are you at peace with God and with all people, for His sake.
You live righteously, which is to say, that you live by faith in Christ, in whom God is your true Father, and you are His true child. Even though you die, yet shall you live. Though you are poor and miserable, yet the heavens and the earth are your inheritance. The One who feeds you here and now with the Fruits of His Cross, will feed you forever with Himself in the Resurrection, and you shall be satisfied. So shall you see God and live.
Blessed are you, indeed, who bear the Cross of Christ and the Name and Spirit of God; who are baptized into Him. For in Him all things are yours forever, since He has gone up the Mountain for you, and has sat down at the Right Hand of the Father, and by His grace you follow after Him.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
31 January 2014
The 2012-13 Grampies
It's been two years since I posted a listing of my favorite albums, so these Grampies cover both 2012 and 2013 together. I went cold-turkey on following music for quite awhile, actually, but have my friend and colleague, the Reverend Erich Fickel, to thank for putting the bug back into my ear, so to speak. Along with that, the fact that my five oldest children all enjoy listening to music, and the awesomeness of Spotify, which makes it so easy to enjoy good music, encouraged me to begin listening more carefully and paying attention again. My tastes still cover a gamut of genres and styles, and, frankly, I find it difficult sometimes to know where to draw the lines, or whether drawing lines even makes much sense. In my own way of thinking, the category or "genre" of "Alternative" is actually defined by that very ambiguity, which blurs the lines between country, folk, pop, rock, blues, rap, and soul, and who knows what else. I enjoy that diversity of sound.
So, anyway, over the past month or so, I've been considering contenders and compiling a list of my favorite albums from 2012 and 2013. I opted to include sixteen (16) albums in each category: 4 x 4 in honor of my four babies grand (Sarena, Emma, Jude, and Cherianne). In the case of my overall favorites, I did make an effort to keep it fairly balanced between the two years, but, otherwise, I didn't make any distinction between 2012 and 2013 as I was revisiting my enjoyment of the albums. It's interesting, in retrospect, to see how that all shook itself out within each of the categories: Country, Pop Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Hard Rock & Metal, Ambiguous Alternatives, and Guitarists. Sharp observers will discover that a handful of artists managed to land multiple spots across the landscape. I realize that others may quibble with my classifications, even as I wrestled and debated within myself in many of these cases. That's part of the fun.
Well, then, without any further ado: In honor of my babies grand. . . .
The 2012-13 Grampies
1. Train - California 37 (2012)
2. Shinedown - Amaryllis (2012)
3. Lifehouse - Almeria (2012)
4. Uncle Kracker - Midnight Special (2012)
5. Tim McGraw - Two Lanes of Freedom (2013)
6. Bon Jovi - What About Now (2013)
7. Daughtry - Baptized (2013)
8. Luke Bryan - Crash My Party (2013)
9. Slash - Apocalyptic Love (2012)
10. Gavin DeGraw - Make a Move (2013)
11. Matchbox Twenty - North (2012)
12. Alter Bridge - Fortress (2013)
13. Lee Brice - Hard 2 Love (2012)
14. Imagine Dragons - Night Visions (2013)
15. Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight (2012)
16. Kenny Chesney - Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012)
Country
1. Tim McGraw - Two Lanes of Freedom (2013)
2. Luke Bryan - Crash My Party (2013)
3. Thompson Square - Just Feels Good (2013)
4. Lee Brice - Hard 2 Love (2012)
5. Chris Young - A.M. (2013)
6. Lady Antebellum - Golden (2013)
7. Darius Rucker - True Believers (2013)
8. Blake Shelton - Based on a True Story (2013)
9. Kenny Chesney - Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012)
10. Carrie Underwood - Blown Away (2012)
11. Bucky Covington - Good Guys (2012)
12. Easton Corbin - All Over the Road (2012)
13. Zac Brown Band - Uncaged (2012)
14. The Band Perry - Pioneer (2013)
15. Chris Cagle - Back in the Saddle (2012)
16. Tracy Lawrence - Headlights, Taillights and Radios (2013)
Pop Rock
1. Train - California 37 (2012)
2. Uncle Kracker - Midnight Special (2012)
3. Daughtry - Baptized (2013)
4. Gavin DeGraw - Make a Move (2013)
5. Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest (2013)
6. Jason Mraz - Love Is a Four Letter Word (2012)
7. Ingrid Michaelson - Human Again (2012)
8. Five for Fighting - Bookmarks (2013)
9. Parachute - Overnight (2013)
10. Taylor Swift - Red (2012)
11. John Mayer - Born and Raised (2012)
12. Elton John - The Diving Board (2013)
13. Boys Like Girls - Crazy World (2012)
14. Courtney Jaye - Love and Forgiveness (2013)
15. Crystal Bowersox - All That for This (2013)
16. Barenaked Ladies - Grinning Streak (2013)
Rock ‘n’ Roll
1. Shinedown - Amaryllis (2012)
2. Bon Jovi - What About Now (2013)
3. The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten (2012)
4. Black Country Communion - Afterglow (2012)
5. Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies (2013)
6. The Winery Dogs - The Winery Dogs (2013)
7. Place Vendome - Thunder in the Distance (2013)
8. Fergie Frederiksen - Any Given Moment (2013)
9. Shakra - Powerplay (2013)
10. Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull (2013)
11. Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (2012)
12. Kid Rock - Rebel Soul (2012)
13. W.E.T. - Rise Up (2013)
14. Ten - Heresy and Creed (2012)
15. Pink Cream 69 - Ceremonial (2013)
16. Alice in Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)
Hard Rock & Metal
1. Alter Bridge - Fortress (2013)
2. Amaranthe - The Nexus (2013)
3. Dream Theater - Dream Theater (2013)
4. Jorn - Bring Heavy Rock to the Land (2012)
5. Primal Fear - Unbreakable (2012)
6. Coldspell - Frozen Paradise (2013)
7. Dragonforce - The Power Within (2012)
8. Voodoo Circle - More Than One Way Home (2013)
9. James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance (2013)
10. Blessed by a Broken Heart - Feel the Power (2012)
11. Eden’s Curse - Symphony of Sin (2013)
12. Pretty Maids - Motherland (2013)
13. Trivium - Vengeance Falls (2013)
14. Love.Might.Kill - 2 Big 2 Fail (2012)
15. Megadeth - Super Collider (2013)
16. Black Sabbath - 13 (2013)
Ambiguous Alternatives: What You Hear Is What You Get
1. Lifehouse - Almeria (2012)
2. Matchbox Twenty - North (2012)
3. Imagine Dragons - Night Visions (2013)
4. Mumford & Sons - Babel (2012)
5. The Goo Goo Dolls - Magnetic (2013)
6. Redlight King - Irons in the Fire (2013)
7. SafetySuit - These Times (2012)
8. The Fray - Scars & Stories (2012)
9. Dawes - Stories Don’t End (2013)
10. Reckless Kelly - Long Night Moon (2013)
11. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods (2012)
12. Matt Nathanson - Last of the Great Pretenders (2013)
13. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - The Lion The Beast The Beat (2012)
14. The Lumineers - The Lumineers (2012)
15. Randy Rogers Band - Trouble (2013)
16. The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter (2012)
Guitarists
1. Slash - Apocalyptic Love (2012)
2. Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight (2012)
3. Joe Robinson - Let Me Introduce You (2012)
4. Joe Satriani - Unstoppable Momentum (2013)
5. John 5 - God Told Me To (2012)
6. John Mayer - Paradise Valley (2013)
7. Keith Urban - Fuse (2013)
8. Tremonti - All I Was (2012)
9. Jeff Loomis - Plains of Oblivion (2012)
10. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Made Up Mind (2013)
11. Orianthi - Heaven in This Hell (2013)
12. Paul Gilbert - Vibrato (2012)
13. Steve Lukather - Transition (2013)
14. Steve Vai - The Story of Light (2013)
15. Brad Paisley - Wheelhouse (2013)
16. Jack White - Blunderbuss (2012)
So, anyway, over the past month or so, I've been considering contenders and compiling a list of my favorite albums from 2012 and 2013. I opted to include sixteen (16) albums in each category: 4 x 4 in honor of my four babies grand (Sarena, Emma, Jude, and Cherianne). In the case of my overall favorites, I did make an effort to keep it fairly balanced between the two years, but, otherwise, I didn't make any distinction between 2012 and 2013 as I was revisiting my enjoyment of the albums. It's interesting, in retrospect, to see how that all shook itself out within each of the categories: Country, Pop Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Hard Rock & Metal, Ambiguous Alternatives, and Guitarists. Sharp observers will discover that a handful of artists managed to land multiple spots across the landscape. I realize that others may quibble with my classifications, even as I wrestled and debated within myself in many of these cases. That's part of the fun.
Well, then, without any further ado: In honor of my babies grand. . . .
The 2012-13 Grampies
1. Train - California 37 (2012)
2. Shinedown - Amaryllis (2012)
3. Lifehouse - Almeria (2012)
4. Uncle Kracker - Midnight Special (2012)
5. Tim McGraw - Two Lanes of Freedom (2013)
6. Bon Jovi - What About Now (2013)
7. Daughtry - Baptized (2013)
8. Luke Bryan - Crash My Party (2013)
9. Slash - Apocalyptic Love (2012)
10. Gavin DeGraw - Make a Move (2013)
11. Matchbox Twenty - North (2012)
12. Alter Bridge - Fortress (2013)
13. Lee Brice - Hard 2 Love (2012)
14. Imagine Dragons - Night Visions (2013)
15. Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight (2012)
16. Kenny Chesney - Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012)
Country
1. Tim McGraw - Two Lanes of Freedom (2013)
2. Luke Bryan - Crash My Party (2013)
3. Thompson Square - Just Feels Good (2013)
4. Lee Brice - Hard 2 Love (2012)
5. Chris Young - A.M. (2013)
6. Lady Antebellum - Golden (2013)
7. Darius Rucker - True Believers (2013)
8. Blake Shelton - Based on a True Story (2013)
9. Kenny Chesney - Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012)
10. Carrie Underwood - Blown Away (2012)
11. Bucky Covington - Good Guys (2012)
12. Easton Corbin - All Over the Road (2012)
13. Zac Brown Band - Uncaged (2012)
14. The Band Perry - Pioneer (2013)
15. Chris Cagle - Back in the Saddle (2012)
16. Tracy Lawrence - Headlights, Taillights and Radios (2013)
Pop Rock
1. Train - California 37 (2012)
2. Uncle Kracker - Midnight Special (2012)
3. Daughtry - Baptized (2013)
4. Gavin DeGraw - Make a Move (2013)
5. Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest (2013)
6. Jason Mraz - Love Is a Four Letter Word (2012)
7. Ingrid Michaelson - Human Again (2012)
8. Five for Fighting - Bookmarks (2013)
9. Parachute - Overnight (2013)
10. Taylor Swift - Red (2012)
11. John Mayer - Born and Raised (2012)
12. Elton John - The Diving Board (2013)
13. Boys Like Girls - Crazy World (2012)
14. Courtney Jaye - Love and Forgiveness (2013)
15. Crystal Bowersox - All That for This (2013)
16. Barenaked Ladies - Grinning Streak (2013)
Rock ‘n’ Roll
1. Shinedown - Amaryllis (2012)
2. Bon Jovi - What About Now (2013)
3. The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten (2012)
4. Black Country Communion - Afterglow (2012)
5. Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies (2013)
6. The Winery Dogs - The Winery Dogs (2013)
7. Place Vendome - Thunder in the Distance (2013)
8. Fergie Frederiksen - Any Given Moment (2013)
9. Shakra - Powerplay (2013)
10. Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull (2013)
11. Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (2012)
12. Kid Rock - Rebel Soul (2012)
13. W.E.T. - Rise Up (2013)
14. Ten - Heresy and Creed (2012)
15. Pink Cream 69 - Ceremonial (2013)
16. Alice in Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)
Hard Rock & Metal
1. Alter Bridge - Fortress (2013)
2. Amaranthe - The Nexus (2013)
3. Dream Theater - Dream Theater (2013)
4. Jorn - Bring Heavy Rock to the Land (2012)
5. Primal Fear - Unbreakable (2012)
6. Coldspell - Frozen Paradise (2013)
7. Dragonforce - The Power Within (2012)
8. Voodoo Circle - More Than One Way Home (2013)
9. James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance (2013)
10. Blessed by a Broken Heart - Feel the Power (2012)
11. Eden’s Curse - Symphony of Sin (2013)
12. Pretty Maids - Motherland (2013)
13. Trivium - Vengeance Falls (2013)
14. Love.Might.Kill - 2 Big 2 Fail (2012)
15. Megadeth - Super Collider (2013)
16. Black Sabbath - 13 (2013)
Ambiguous Alternatives: What You Hear Is What You Get
1. Lifehouse - Almeria (2012)
2. Matchbox Twenty - North (2012)
3. Imagine Dragons - Night Visions (2013)
4. Mumford & Sons - Babel (2012)
5. The Goo Goo Dolls - Magnetic (2013)
6. Redlight King - Irons in the Fire (2013)
7. SafetySuit - These Times (2012)
8. The Fray - Scars & Stories (2012)
9. Dawes - Stories Don’t End (2013)
10. Reckless Kelly - Long Night Moon (2013)
11. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods (2012)
12. Matt Nathanson - Last of the Great Pretenders (2013)
13. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - The Lion The Beast The Beat (2012)
14. The Lumineers - The Lumineers (2012)
15. Randy Rogers Band - Trouble (2013)
16. The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter (2012)
Guitarists
1. Slash - Apocalyptic Love (2012)
2. Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight (2012)
3. Joe Robinson - Let Me Introduce You (2012)
4. Joe Satriani - Unstoppable Momentum (2013)
5. John 5 - God Told Me To (2012)
6. John Mayer - Paradise Valley (2013)
7. Keith Urban - Fuse (2013)
8. Tremonti - All I Was (2012)
9. Jeff Loomis - Plains of Oblivion (2012)
10. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Made Up Mind (2013)
11. Orianthi - Heaven in This Hell (2013)
12. Paul Gilbert - Vibrato (2012)
13. Steve Lukather - Transition (2013)
14. Steve Vai - The Story of Light (2013)
15. Brad Paisley - Wheelhouse (2013)
16. Jack White - Blunderbuss (2012)
26 January 2014
He Is God's Kingdom Come
As the Forerunner is handed over to imprisonment and suffering, and finally to death, so is the Mighty One, the Christ our Lord, who follows after John, handed over to His Cross and Passion. Already the shadow of the Cross is upon Him, even as He preaches the Gospel, and teaches the Word of God, and heals all manner of infirmity, sickness, and hurt. But of course, it is by the Cross that He obtains this very healing, which He now administers in view of His Resurrection.
Although the Cross itself is darkness and death — and make no mistake about it — yet, the Cross of Christ is, paradoxically, the Light that shines in the darkness. For He Who is the Light has entered the darkness and submitted Himself to death, in order to save you and all who dwelt in the deep darkness of sin and death.
He comes to you and brings, not only information, but Atonement and Reconciliation with God. He gathers and embraces all the brokenness of this fallen world into Himself, in order to repair what was broken, to heal the deadly wound, and to bind and unite God and Man, heaven and earth, in His own Body. All of this He does and accomplishes from the inside-out, from within the pitch-black darkness of your sin, and of your fatal sickness of heart and mind, body and soul.
So it is that, in His death and resurrection, there is Life and Light and Salvation, which are for you and for all people. He has taken the place of sinners, of all sinners, as though He were the only Sinner; and He has suffered and died the suffering and death of all men. Therefore, likewise, His Resurrection is also for all men, women, and children, of all times and places.
Now, then, in the preaching of this crucified and risen Christ, and in His crucified and risen Body of flesh and blood, “the Kingdom of heaven” is at hand. It is here for you, as He is here with you and for you, so that you might live under Him in His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. For He is your Lord and King, and it is in Him that our God reigns. He does so in love, with mercy and forgiveness.
This coming of God’s Kingdom, this heaven on earth in Christ Jesus, calls you to repentance, which is to say, to your own dying and rising. As the Christ follows the Forerunner into suffering and death, so does He call you to follow Him: to carry the Cross after Him, and to be crucified, dead, and buried with Him. Not to atone for your sins, nor for anyone else’s, but to escape the death-grip of sin upon your heart and mind, body and soul.
As in your Baptism, and so also throughout your days on earth, repentance means dying to all your false gods; renouncing Satan, all his works, and all his ways; and being turned toward the Holy Triune God in the Person of the incarnate Son, to rise from death to newness of life by His Spirit.
Repent of all your sins, therefore. Not only your vices and perverse habits and addictions, which everyone knows are destructive and wrong. But, repent also of your glittering and impressive idolatries, which you proudly display and the world both admires and envies.
What does it mean, after all, to have something or someone as your god? It is whatever you fear, love, and trust. Whatever you rely upon, respect, and regard as your highest and best good. Whatever it is that makes you happy when you have it, and which threatens to undo you if it were to be taken from you or lost. That is your god. And, whether it be good or bad in itself, if it is not the Holy Trinity whom you fear, love, and trust above all else, then it is a false god, a pagan idol.
So, then, where you have made an idol of your job, your income, your work ethic, or your pension – Repent. Where you have made a god of your possessions, your house and home, your vehicles, your heirlooms, or your toys – Repent. And where you have idolized your family, your parents, your spouse, your children, your fiancé/e, or the idealized marriage and family you dream about for yourself and covet in your neighbor – Repent.
So dark is the sin that reigns in your flesh apart from Christ and His Spirit, that it is often God’s greatest good gifts that you are most tempted and prone to make into a false god: whether it be your body and sexuality, or food and drink, other people, freedom and opportunity, or life itself. All of these are good, but none of them is God. Whatever idolatrous grip they have upon your heart must be undone. The Light must shine upon this darkness, in order to expose it for the death it is, and then also to show you the more excellent Way of Life, which is found only in following Jesus Christ, formerly of Nazareth.
Come, leave your nets, your boat, and your father, and follow Christ alone. That is what Andrew and Simon Peter, and James and John the sons of Zebedee did. But what does this mean for you? What does it require of you, when Jesus calls you to come and follow? What does that look like?
It is certainly not about abandoning the vocations and responsibilities to which He has already called you. To forsake your spouse and children, for example, would be sinful and wrong, and that is not at all the way to follow Christ the Lord. But repentance and discipleship are about having Christ Jesus as your one true God, and living by faith in Him, and loving and serving and working in His Name. It is a matter of turning to Him for Life in your body and soul, for now and for ever.
It is not unlike a man leaving his father and mother in order to take a wife and cleave to her; or a woman being given into marriage by her father, and being given a new name by her husband and head. So, too, your identity and all of your relationships are redefined and fundamentally changed by your allegiance to Christ and union with Him.
Come, then, to Him; and cleave to Him who cleaves to you in love; and brings others with you. Call upon the Name of the Lord in prayer, praise, petition, and thanksgiving, as He has called you by His own Name in your Holy Baptism, and as He continues to call you by His preaching and the catechesis of His Word. Come, and hear, and then speak as He has spoken to you in His mercy.
And bring to Him, also, all your sickness, weakness, sadness, and hurt, and all the diseases and the dark despair of your heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit. For this dear Lord Jesus Christ, who is here with you and for you, heals you by His Gospel. He surely does. With His forgiveness of your sins — by and with His Word and preaching — He shines His Light into your darkness; He raises you from death to Life, to be a new creation; and He removes the yoke and burden from your back.
The Law of God does not condemn you in Christ, but rather illuminates the Way of Life that you now live in Him.
And that Life of God in you is nourished, nurtured, and sustained by the divine and heavenly Food with which He feeds you here within His Church on earth. Indeed, with His own Body of flesh and blood, crucified and risen from the dead, He bestows healing and strength and life to your body, also. Not only in this life, but unto the Resurrection of your body and the life everlasting.
So, too, the dying and rising of repentance, unto the forgiveness of sins, anticipates and prepares you for that Resurrection and eternal Life with God. Which is how and why you now live a new life in Christ Jesus, a heavenly life here on earth, as you follow after Him, a Christian disciple of this Lord who is your true King, your Savior, and your God.
There is, then, this newness to your identity and everything you do within your ongoing stations in life. All things are made new in Christ, including all your old routines, your chores and duties, your studies and your job, your family and your friends. Nothing is the same as it was before.
For some of you, this newness of life in Christ may also yet mean the sacrifice of other ambitions for the sake of service in the Church; which could require a radical change in your present plans, and a new path to pursue toward tomorrow: To become a pastor, perhaps; or a Lutheran school teacher; or maybe a deaconess, like Mrs. Rhein. Or, what might seem like a particularly heavy Cross, to live a chaste and celibate life dedicated entirely to the household and family of God and the care of your neighbors in the community, instead of having a spouse and family of your own.
Some of you may be called to cast the nets in the preaching office; others to mend and care for the nets by serving as officers and leaders within the congregation and the Church at large; and still others may remain with father Zebedee in the boat, in order to rear children in the fear and faith of Christ, and to serve and support His Church and Ministry with your offerings and gifts of love.
The freedom to live in any of these ways, in faith and love, in joy and peace, is here for you in Christ Jesus Himself, in His Word, and in His Body and His Blood. For He is the Lord your God, who is here with you and reigns over you in love. He is your Righteousness and Holiness, your Substance and Sufficiency, your Life and your Salvation. You are able to live and to serve in His Name, because He is here to love and serve you, to the Glory of His Holy Name. So does He forgive you all your sins and heal all your diseases; He drives out all your demons and fills you with the Spirit of His God and Father forevermore.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Although the Cross itself is darkness and death — and make no mistake about it — yet, the Cross of Christ is, paradoxically, the Light that shines in the darkness. For He Who is the Light has entered the darkness and submitted Himself to death, in order to save you and all who dwelt in the deep darkness of sin and death.
He comes to you and brings, not only information, but Atonement and Reconciliation with God. He gathers and embraces all the brokenness of this fallen world into Himself, in order to repair what was broken, to heal the deadly wound, and to bind and unite God and Man, heaven and earth, in His own Body. All of this He does and accomplishes from the inside-out, from within the pitch-black darkness of your sin, and of your fatal sickness of heart and mind, body and soul.
So it is that, in His death and resurrection, there is Life and Light and Salvation, which are for you and for all people. He has taken the place of sinners, of all sinners, as though He were the only Sinner; and He has suffered and died the suffering and death of all men. Therefore, likewise, His Resurrection is also for all men, women, and children, of all times and places.
Now, then, in the preaching of this crucified and risen Christ, and in His crucified and risen Body of flesh and blood, “the Kingdom of heaven” is at hand. It is here for you, as He is here with you and for you, so that you might live under Him in His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. For He is your Lord and King, and it is in Him that our God reigns. He does so in love, with mercy and forgiveness.
This coming of God’s Kingdom, this heaven on earth in Christ Jesus, calls you to repentance, which is to say, to your own dying and rising. As the Christ follows the Forerunner into suffering and death, so does He call you to follow Him: to carry the Cross after Him, and to be crucified, dead, and buried with Him. Not to atone for your sins, nor for anyone else’s, but to escape the death-grip of sin upon your heart and mind, body and soul.
As in your Baptism, and so also throughout your days on earth, repentance means dying to all your false gods; renouncing Satan, all his works, and all his ways; and being turned toward the Holy Triune God in the Person of the incarnate Son, to rise from death to newness of life by His Spirit.
Repent of all your sins, therefore. Not only your vices and perverse habits and addictions, which everyone knows are destructive and wrong. But, repent also of your glittering and impressive idolatries, which you proudly display and the world both admires and envies.
What does it mean, after all, to have something or someone as your god? It is whatever you fear, love, and trust. Whatever you rely upon, respect, and regard as your highest and best good. Whatever it is that makes you happy when you have it, and which threatens to undo you if it were to be taken from you or lost. That is your god. And, whether it be good or bad in itself, if it is not the Holy Trinity whom you fear, love, and trust above all else, then it is a false god, a pagan idol.
So, then, where you have made an idol of your job, your income, your work ethic, or your pension – Repent. Where you have made a god of your possessions, your house and home, your vehicles, your heirlooms, or your toys – Repent. And where you have idolized your family, your parents, your spouse, your children, your fiancé/e, or the idealized marriage and family you dream about for yourself and covet in your neighbor – Repent.
So dark is the sin that reigns in your flesh apart from Christ and His Spirit, that it is often God’s greatest good gifts that you are most tempted and prone to make into a false god: whether it be your body and sexuality, or food and drink, other people, freedom and opportunity, or life itself. All of these are good, but none of them is God. Whatever idolatrous grip they have upon your heart must be undone. The Light must shine upon this darkness, in order to expose it for the death it is, and then also to show you the more excellent Way of Life, which is found only in following Jesus Christ, formerly of Nazareth.
Come, leave your nets, your boat, and your father, and follow Christ alone. That is what Andrew and Simon Peter, and James and John the sons of Zebedee did. But what does this mean for you? What does it require of you, when Jesus calls you to come and follow? What does that look like?
It is certainly not about abandoning the vocations and responsibilities to which He has already called you. To forsake your spouse and children, for example, would be sinful and wrong, and that is not at all the way to follow Christ the Lord. But repentance and discipleship are about having Christ Jesus as your one true God, and living by faith in Him, and loving and serving and working in His Name. It is a matter of turning to Him for Life in your body and soul, for now and for ever.
It is not unlike a man leaving his father and mother in order to take a wife and cleave to her; or a woman being given into marriage by her father, and being given a new name by her husband and head. So, too, your identity and all of your relationships are redefined and fundamentally changed by your allegiance to Christ and union with Him.
Come, then, to Him; and cleave to Him who cleaves to you in love; and brings others with you. Call upon the Name of the Lord in prayer, praise, petition, and thanksgiving, as He has called you by His own Name in your Holy Baptism, and as He continues to call you by His preaching and the catechesis of His Word. Come, and hear, and then speak as He has spoken to you in His mercy.
And bring to Him, also, all your sickness, weakness, sadness, and hurt, and all the diseases and the dark despair of your heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit. For this dear Lord Jesus Christ, who is here with you and for you, heals you by His Gospel. He surely does. With His forgiveness of your sins — by and with His Word and preaching — He shines His Light into your darkness; He raises you from death to Life, to be a new creation; and He removes the yoke and burden from your back.
The Law of God does not condemn you in Christ, but rather illuminates the Way of Life that you now live in Him.
And that Life of God in you is nourished, nurtured, and sustained by the divine and heavenly Food with which He feeds you here within His Church on earth. Indeed, with His own Body of flesh and blood, crucified and risen from the dead, He bestows healing and strength and life to your body, also. Not only in this life, but unto the Resurrection of your body and the life everlasting.
So, too, the dying and rising of repentance, unto the forgiveness of sins, anticipates and prepares you for that Resurrection and eternal Life with God. Which is how and why you now live a new life in Christ Jesus, a heavenly life here on earth, as you follow after Him, a Christian disciple of this Lord who is your true King, your Savior, and your God.
There is, then, this newness to your identity and everything you do within your ongoing stations in life. All things are made new in Christ, including all your old routines, your chores and duties, your studies and your job, your family and your friends. Nothing is the same as it was before.
For some of you, this newness of life in Christ may also yet mean the sacrifice of other ambitions for the sake of service in the Church; which could require a radical change in your present plans, and a new path to pursue toward tomorrow: To become a pastor, perhaps; or a Lutheran school teacher; or maybe a deaconess, like Mrs. Rhein. Or, what might seem like a particularly heavy Cross, to live a chaste and celibate life dedicated entirely to the household and family of God and the care of your neighbors in the community, instead of having a spouse and family of your own.
Some of you may be called to cast the nets in the preaching office; others to mend and care for the nets by serving as officers and leaders within the congregation and the Church at large; and still others may remain with father Zebedee in the boat, in order to rear children in the fear and faith of Christ, and to serve and support His Church and Ministry with your offerings and gifts of love.
The freedom to live in any of these ways, in faith and love, in joy and peace, is here for you in Christ Jesus Himself, in His Word, and in His Body and His Blood. For He is the Lord your God, who is here with you and reigns over you in love. He is your Righteousness and Holiness, your Substance and Sufficiency, your Life and your Salvation. You are able to live and to serve in His Name, because He is here to love and serve you, to the Glory of His Holy Name. So does He forgive you all your sins and heal all your diseases; He drives out all your demons and fills you with the Spirit of His God and Father forevermore.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
19 January 2014
Come and See
It is the Holy Spirit who gives life, whereas the flesh of fallen man returns to the dust in death. Still, your own mortal flesh does not even know what it needs, what it longs for, and what you should seek, until the Lord God reveals and gives Himself to you.
He has put eternity in your heart, as He has fashioned you and formed you for Himself in both body and soul; so that you should not be content with what perishes and passes away, but that you should finally find your resting place, your home, and peace and life, in Him.
You shall, in fact, be restless, until you rest in Him. Everything else that you chase after and set your hand upon shall fall short and fail you, if it does not actually hasten your own demise. If you would be raised from the dust of the earth to live — really to live: the life which remains — and that your living should have meaning and purpose, joy and gladness, contentment and peace — then what you need, and what you seek, is the Spirit of God, the Author and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father in the Son.
The Persons of the Holy Trinity are a great Mystery, indeed, to you who are not God. But the Holy Spirit is not simply an attitude or mind set, a point of view or feeling of the Father for His Son. He is all of that, to be sure, but He is more. He is not an “it,” an abstract quality or concept, but one of the co-equal and eternal Persons of the one true God: the personal and permanent Bond of Love between the Father and the Son, who was, and is, and ever shall be. As the Spirit of the Living God, He not only lives, but He is Life in Himself, the One who gives life to all of creation; even as He is the One who sanctifies all things with the holiness of the Holy One of Israel.
You do not know the Father or His Son, except by this Holy Spirit. But neither do you know or receive the Spirit, except from the Father in His Son. And you cannot find your own way into that divine Life, but the Lord God comes to you, and reveals Himself to you, and gives Himself to you, in order that you might come and see, and stay with Him, and live and abide with the Father and His Son, by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. Thus do you become and remain a beloved and well-pleasing son of God the Father in Christ Jesus.
Come, then, to the water and the Word, and you shall see and receive the Spirit of God in the flesh and blood of the Christ. For though His Body is made of meat like yours, and He has made Himself mortal for your sake, His flesh and blood are spiritual, divine, and life-giving. That is to say, in the Body of Christ Jesus, God the Father gives Himself to you in the Person of His Son, and He pours out the Person of the Holy Spirit upon you, so that you have eternal Life in and with Him. Thus do you have fellowship with God, by faith, in His own flesh; and by His Spirit, you share in His own divine Sonship. Such is Life.
Come, and you shall see. The Lord your God has sent His messenger to preach and point to Christ Jesus, and to baptize in water with His Word, so that He might be manifested to His Church on earth. So that you may behold the Lamb of God, and see God in Him who forgives you, and live.
There is this one Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and it is by this one Baptism that even John the Baptist has recognized the Son of God and learned to know Him rightly. He has been taught by God, as you are, in the washing of the water with the Word and Holy Spirit.
What, then, does it mean for the Christ to be the Son of God? From the days of Father Abraham, at least, God has taught the connection and identification of the beloved firstborn Son with the sacrificial Lamb. In the place of beloved Isaac, God provided for Himself the Ram. So, too, in the Passover, the Lamb was given and sacrificed, His blood shed and His flesh eaten, for the life of the firstborn sons, and for the rescue and redemption of His Israel.
It was also then the case, that, every day, every morning and at sundown, the male Lamb was sacrificed, in order that God might remove the sins of His people and draw near to abide in their midst, not for destruction but with mercy; and that His people might draw near to Him with the incense of their prayers, petitions, and praise, and so abide in peace as His sons.
And now, in the Baptism of our Lord, St. John has perceived the fulfillment of this entire Old Testament in the Person of Christ Jesus. For He is both the beloved Son and the sacrificial Lamb, who is given and poured out for all the sons of Israel. In fact, He bears in His own Body, not only the sins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their children, but the sins of the whole world, in order to atone for all the sons and daughters of Adam.
It is through this forgiveness of sins, which He obtains and bestows in His flesh and by His blood, that He establishes the fellowship of God and Man forever. That is the fellowship of sonship, of faith and the fear of the Lord, and of the Spirit of God, who proceeds from the Father in the Son.
It is in Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son, that God and Man are perfectly united and remain together in harmony and peace; even though He has also taken the place of sinners and taken the sins of the world upon Himself. It is sin that has separated man from God, and so brought death upon all the children of man, from the fall of Adam to the end of the world. Yet, Christ has borne the sins of all the people in His own Body, even to the point of His sacrificial death upon the Cross, while remaining at all times steadfast and faithful in His relationship with His God and Father.
So does the Spirit rest and remain upon Him, upon His Body of flesh and blood, as He carries the entire burden of sin and death within Himself from the waters of His Baptism to the bloodshed of His Cross. He perseveres in faith and love, bearing both the sins of the world and the Spirit of God, in order to remove the sins and their crushing weight from you and from all, and, instead, to bestow the Spirit and the Life of God upon you and all people.
It is in His sacrificial death upon the Cross that He bestows the Spirit upon His Church, and in the Resurrection of His Body that He breathes the Spirit into you through the Absolution of your sins. And, as He is first of all baptized into that very death and resurrection, so it is in His Baptism, which is also now your Baptism, that He is revealed and recognized to be the Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is given and received. For He is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, and thereby gives Life in place of death.
He has been manifested to you in the waters of your Baptism, and in the preaching and catechesis of His Word. Listen to Him, and learn from Him, and so follow Him as a disciple of this Lamb, as a sheep of this Good Shepherd. See, now, that He is set before you in this preaching, in the Church’s visual confession and depiction of His Crucifixion, and in the administration of His Sacrament, as the true Paschal Lamb: He has taken your place under the curse of death; His blood cleanses you from sin and covers you with His righteousness and holiness; and His flesh feeds you and fills your body and soul with His own divine Life.
As the Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel, and brought you to Christ, and taught you to follow Him by faith, and has enlightened you by His grace, now stay with Christ Jesus, and live with Him, who has come to abide with you here. Find your Sabbath Rest in Him, by hearing and heeding His Word; and eat and drink the Supper with which He feeds you here in His House. For the Church is the Body of Christ, upon whom the Spirit remains, as surely as the flesh and blood of Christ are the Tabernacle of God among men. This is the place where He is staying!
Do you recognize the Life that is here for you in the Word and Spirit of Christ, the Son of God? Then follow the example of John, who pointed his disciples to the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. And follow the example of Andrew, who found first his own brother Simon and brought him to this Lamb of God. You, also, bring your siblings, your spouse, your parents and children, your neighbors and coworkers, your classmates and peers. Bring them to the Christ, by inviting them and bringing them to church along with you. Testify to what you have seen and heard in this place. Do not be embarrassed by it.
Here is the Holy Ark of the Christian Church, to which the Dove has now returned and finds His resting place. You have heard the witness of St. John, that the Spirit has descended and remained upon Christ Jesus. It is therefore in His Body that the Holy Spirit is given and received: In the Ministry of the Gospel, in the means of grace, in the flesh and blood of the crucified and risen One. This is where the Lamb who was slain — and yet, behold, He lives! — is given and poured out as the Feast of your Salvation. His Flesh is your true Spiritual Meat, and His Blood is your true Spiritual Drink, in which you have fellowship with God and sanctification in His own holiness.
Here is the Christ, the Messiah, who has found you, and chosen you, and called you, and gathered you to Himself, so that you may stay with Him, and live with Him in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. And here is the Truth: In His Body you also have the Spirit of His God and Father, so that you also are a son of God in Christ Jesus, and you have Life in His Name.
This Life that you have is nothing less than the divine eternal Life of the Holy Triune God, who has given Himself to you and made you His own. He is your Life and your Righteousness, as He has become your Rescue and Redemption and your very great Reward. So is He your Strength and your Song, even in the face of sin and death, and in the valley of dark despair, because He has become your Salvation. Neither injustice, nor unfairness; nor suffering; nor the sickness of your mortal flesh; nor even the grave, shall be able to undo you or to separate you from God.
For as you are crucified, dead, and buried with Christ Jesus, by your Baptism into His death, so are you raised up, justified, and glorified in the Body of Christ Jesus forevermore. As Jesus’ little lamb, you die and rise with Him, the great Good Shepherd who has gone willingly as the sacrificial Lamb to the slaughter, to lay down His Life for the sheep, and to take it up again. For His Father does not allow His Holy One to see corruption or suffer decay, but raises Him from the dead and pours out His Spirit upon Him. And so does He pour out the same Holy Spirit upon you through the Gospel of this Lamb who is the Lord.
As you hear His Word, and as you follow after Him by faith in His Word, in order to see where He is staying, you follow Him through death and the grave into the Resurrection of the Body and the Life everlasting. And you do remain with Him, where He is, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, safe and secure in the sacred fellowship of the true and only God, world without end.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
He has put eternity in your heart, as He has fashioned you and formed you for Himself in both body and soul; so that you should not be content with what perishes and passes away, but that you should finally find your resting place, your home, and peace and life, in Him.
You shall, in fact, be restless, until you rest in Him. Everything else that you chase after and set your hand upon shall fall short and fail you, if it does not actually hasten your own demise. If you would be raised from the dust of the earth to live — really to live: the life which remains — and that your living should have meaning and purpose, joy and gladness, contentment and peace — then what you need, and what you seek, is the Spirit of God, the Author and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father in the Son.
The Persons of the Holy Trinity are a great Mystery, indeed, to you who are not God. But the Holy Spirit is not simply an attitude or mind set, a point of view or feeling of the Father for His Son. He is all of that, to be sure, but He is more. He is not an “it,” an abstract quality or concept, but one of the co-equal and eternal Persons of the one true God: the personal and permanent Bond of Love between the Father and the Son, who was, and is, and ever shall be. As the Spirit of the Living God, He not only lives, but He is Life in Himself, the One who gives life to all of creation; even as He is the One who sanctifies all things with the holiness of the Holy One of Israel.
You do not know the Father or His Son, except by this Holy Spirit. But neither do you know or receive the Spirit, except from the Father in His Son. And you cannot find your own way into that divine Life, but the Lord God comes to you, and reveals Himself to you, and gives Himself to you, in order that you might come and see, and stay with Him, and live and abide with the Father and His Son, by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. Thus do you become and remain a beloved and well-pleasing son of God the Father in Christ Jesus.
Come, then, to the water and the Word, and you shall see and receive the Spirit of God in the flesh and blood of the Christ. For though His Body is made of meat like yours, and He has made Himself mortal for your sake, His flesh and blood are spiritual, divine, and life-giving. That is to say, in the Body of Christ Jesus, God the Father gives Himself to you in the Person of His Son, and He pours out the Person of the Holy Spirit upon you, so that you have eternal Life in and with Him. Thus do you have fellowship with God, by faith, in His own flesh; and by His Spirit, you share in His own divine Sonship. Such is Life.
Come, and you shall see. The Lord your God has sent His messenger to preach and point to Christ Jesus, and to baptize in water with His Word, so that He might be manifested to His Church on earth. So that you may behold the Lamb of God, and see God in Him who forgives you, and live.
There is this one Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and it is by this one Baptism that even John the Baptist has recognized the Son of God and learned to know Him rightly. He has been taught by God, as you are, in the washing of the water with the Word and Holy Spirit.
What, then, does it mean for the Christ to be the Son of God? From the days of Father Abraham, at least, God has taught the connection and identification of the beloved firstborn Son with the sacrificial Lamb. In the place of beloved Isaac, God provided for Himself the Ram. So, too, in the Passover, the Lamb was given and sacrificed, His blood shed and His flesh eaten, for the life of the firstborn sons, and for the rescue and redemption of His Israel.
It was also then the case, that, every day, every morning and at sundown, the male Lamb was sacrificed, in order that God might remove the sins of His people and draw near to abide in their midst, not for destruction but with mercy; and that His people might draw near to Him with the incense of their prayers, petitions, and praise, and so abide in peace as His sons.
And now, in the Baptism of our Lord, St. John has perceived the fulfillment of this entire Old Testament in the Person of Christ Jesus. For He is both the beloved Son and the sacrificial Lamb, who is given and poured out for all the sons of Israel. In fact, He bears in His own Body, not only the sins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their children, but the sins of the whole world, in order to atone for all the sons and daughters of Adam.
It is through this forgiveness of sins, which He obtains and bestows in His flesh and by His blood, that He establishes the fellowship of God and Man forever. That is the fellowship of sonship, of faith and the fear of the Lord, and of the Spirit of God, who proceeds from the Father in the Son.
It is in Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son, that God and Man are perfectly united and remain together in harmony and peace; even though He has also taken the place of sinners and taken the sins of the world upon Himself. It is sin that has separated man from God, and so brought death upon all the children of man, from the fall of Adam to the end of the world. Yet, Christ has borne the sins of all the people in His own Body, even to the point of His sacrificial death upon the Cross, while remaining at all times steadfast and faithful in His relationship with His God and Father.
So does the Spirit rest and remain upon Him, upon His Body of flesh and blood, as He carries the entire burden of sin and death within Himself from the waters of His Baptism to the bloodshed of His Cross. He perseveres in faith and love, bearing both the sins of the world and the Spirit of God, in order to remove the sins and their crushing weight from you and from all, and, instead, to bestow the Spirit and the Life of God upon you and all people.
It is in His sacrificial death upon the Cross that He bestows the Spirit upon His Church, and in the Resurrection of His Body that He breathes the Spirit into you through the Absolution of your sins. And, as He is first of all baptized into that very death and resurrection, so it is in His Baptism, which is also now your Baptism, that He is revealed and recognized to be the Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is given and received. For He is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, and thereby gives Life in place of death.
He has been manifested to you in the waters of your Baptism, and in the preaching and catechesis of His Word. Listen to Him, and learn from Him, and so follow Him as a disciple of this Lamb, as a sheep of this Good Shepherd. See, now, that He is set before you in this preaching, in the Church’s visual confession and depiction of His Crucifixion, and in the administration of His Sacrament, as the true Paschal Lamb: He has taken your place under the curse of death; His blood cleanses you from sin and covers you with His righteousness and holiness; and His flesh feeds you and fills your body and soul with His own divine Life.
As the Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel, and brought you to Christ, and taught you to follow Him by faith, and has enlightened you by His grace, now stay with Christ Jesus, and live with Him, who has come to abide with you here. Find your Sabbath Rest in Him, by hearing and heeding His Word; and eat and drink the Supper with which He feeds you here in His House. For the Church is the Body of Christ, upon whom the Spirit remains, as surely as the flesh and blood of Christ are the Tabernacle of God among men. This is the place where He is staying!
Do you recognize the Life that is here for you in the Word and Spirit of Christ, the Son of God? Then follow the example of John, who pointed his disciples to the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. And follow the example of Andrew, who found first his own brother Simon and brought him to this Lamb of God. You, also, bring your siblings, your spouse, your parents and children, your neighbors and coworkers, your classmates and peers. Bring them to the Christ, by inviting them and bringing them to church along with you. Testify to what you have seen and heard in this place. Do not be embarrassed by it.
Here is the Holy Ark of the Christian Church, to which the Dove has now returned and finds His resting place. You have heard the witness of St. John, that the Spirit has descended and remained upon Christ Jesus. It is therefore in His Body that the Holy Spirit is given and received: In the Ministry of the Gospel, in the means of grace, in the flesh and blood of the crucified and risen One. This is where the Lamb who was slain — and yet, behold, He lives! — is given and poured out as the Feast of your Salvation. His Flesh is your true Spiritual Meat, and His Blood is your true Spiritual Drink, in which you have fellowship with God and sanctification in His own holiness.
Here is the Christ, the Messiah, who has found you, and chosen you, and called you, and gathered you to Himself, so that you may stay with Him, and live with Him in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. And here is the Truth: In His Body you also have the Spirit of His God and Father, so that you also are a son of God in Christ Jesus, and you have Life in His Name.
This Life that you have is nothing less than the divine eternal Life of the Holy Triune God, who has given Himself to you and made you His own. He is your Life and your Righteousness, as He has become your Rescue and Redemption and your very great Reward. So is He your Strength and your Song, even in the face of sin and death, and in the valley of dark despair, because He has become your Salvation. Neither injustice, nor unfairness; nor suffering; nor the sickness of your mortal flesh; nor even the grave, shall be able to undo you or to separate you from God.
For as you are crucified, dead, and buried with Christ Jesus, by your Baptism into His death, so are you raised up, justified, and glorified in the Body of Christ Jesus forevermore. As Jesus’ little lamb, you die and rise with Him, the great Good Shepherd who has gone willingly as the sacrificial Lamb to the slaughter, to lay down His Life for the sheep, and to take it up again. For His Father does not allow His Holy One to see corruption or suffer decay, but raises Him from the dead and pours out His Spirit upon Him. And so does He pour out the same Holy Spirit upon you through the Gospel of this Lamb who is the Lord.
As you hear His Word, and as you follow after Him by faith in His Word, in order to see where He is staying, you follow Him through death and the grave into the Resurrection of the Body and the Life everlasting. And you do remain with Him, where He is, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, safe and secure in the sacred fellowship of the true and only God, world without end.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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