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Author Archives: Pastor Jim Driskell, Lutheran Church
Morning Prayer 9.28.15, Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton & Margery Kempe, English Medieval Mystics
The Day after Labor Day, the most depressing day of the year.
My annual whine about why I really miss summer and DO NOT like fall
I really loathe this time of year, I mean reallllllllyyyy, loathe. God definitely did summer right, summer in New England is such an amazing time to just go out and live. Nice and warm, long sunny days in stark contrast to what we are rapidly sliding into. Oh yeah, summer days are long, sunny, humid. We’d play basketball on Fridays at the YMCA, there were times when I could literally wring my t-shirt out. But it was a time when you could really live, be out in God’s creation and just go on and on. Winters in New England are days that end, that’s right, come to an abrupt stop at about 4:30pm. Daytime in the summer could go until 9:30pm and then just quietly slide into darkness. Taking summer nighttime patrols on a Coast Guard boat are so peaceful in the darkness, flat calm seas, clear star-filled skies, the…
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El pensamiento del mundo está equivocado, no de la Iglesia Marcos 9: 30-37 First St Johns 20 de septiembre 2015
Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo y todos los que están más preocupados con el pensamiento de Jesús y de su Iglesia, entonces el mundo dijo … AMEN!
Ha sido una semana difícil para mí, francamente, los últimos meses han sido muy difíciles. En la última semana he tenido que atender a los sobrevivientes de cinco muertes diferentes. Esto nunca es una parte fácil de ser ministro / capellán, usted tiene que mirar a la gente en el ojo; cónyuges, hijos, hermanos, y diles que sí, esto es una tragedia, pero Dios está con ellos para consolarlos. Como ministro tengo que ser que la piel y los huesos, representante físico de Cristo delante de ellos, ya que tengo que cuando nos reunimos para adorar. Por supuesto, el más difícil fue el fallecimiento de nuestro hermano Juan Klahod, que en el poco tiempo que regresó a Primera Saint Johns ha dejado su huella. Él y Barb han asistido regularmente a estudio de la Biblia, Barb ayuda tanto como recepcionista y con el visitante de la parroquia y de la Cofradía del Altar. John se desempeñó como vicepresidente de la iglesia. Ellos han sido un gran apoyo y alentar a través de todos los cambios que Dios nos ha guiado a través como una congregación en los últimos años.
Jesús no era política en su pensamiento, a pesar de las creencias populares, Jesús no estaba demasiado preocupado por lo que Él ofendido o molesto. Hace apenas unas semanas leemos donde Jesús dijo a la gente hacia arriba, usted tiene que comer Mi Cuerpo y Sangre. Hay mucha gente que recogieron y dejaron allí. Apostaría usted, Judas o tal vez uno de los discípulos más pragmáticos llevó a Jesús aparte, “¿Qué estás haciendo? No podemos darnos el lujo de tener gente a pie de esa manera! Hay que ser más política, más tacto. “Cuando él predicó en su ciudad natal de Nazaret, la gente se ofendió por su predicación. ¿Quién es este chico, le preguntaron? Lo conocimos cuando él era un niño pequeño, sabemos Su madre y su padre, sus hermanos y hermanas siguen viviendo aquí. Y oye sabemos cómo nació … Vamos, María y José no eran aún casado cuando nació. Ah, sí, ¿quién es este chico para decirnos que Él ha cumplido la profecía de Isaías de la venida del Mesías? Él no es nada especial.
Jesús no era político o diplomático, no es que él no le importaba, le importaba desesperadamente. Pero Él no era, y no se está ejecutando una empresa de relaciones públicas. Él fue y está tratando de conseguir que confiemos en Él, para ajustarse a su imagen, no la nuestra, no de los mundos. Dios, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo son muy diferentes que el resto del mundo, los polos opuestos. La razón por la que la iglesia ha llegado a donde está es porque se ha intentado en los últimos cien años para adaptarse a la visión del mundo. Eso no es lo que estamos aquí. Ciertamente, esa es la forma en que los discípulos están actuando. Jesús sigue adelante, de vuelta a Capernaum. Él tiene un sentido de urgencia! ¿Por qué? Se nos dice que al principio de este perícopa: “El Hijo del hombre va a ser entregado en manos de hombres, y le matarán. Y cuando él es asesinado, después de tres días resucitará. “Su ministerio en Galilea está terminando, Jesús está ahora en camino a Jerusalén ya la Cruz. No hay tiempo para jugar, las cosas importantes están sucediendo. Los acontecimientos mundiales cambiantes están a punto de suceder, los acontecimientos que afectan profundamente a todo hombre conocían y confiaban hasta ese momento. Las vidas de estos hombres y muchos otros en el mundo ya través de la historia están a punto de ser cambiado profundamente. Nosotros, como discípulos cristianos deberíamos tener ese sentido de urgencia acerca de nosotros. Hablamos mucho acerca de las decisiones de la Corte Suprema y el Congreso, las cosas parecen estar fuera de control. Pero lo hacemos muy poco y vivimos con el temor de que si con valentía proclamamos a Jesús y su iglesia que vamos a ofender. Entonces los discípulos estamos ladrando acerca de quién será el más grande! No tienen idea de lo que va a pasar con ellos. Ellos están tan seguros de que serán cubiertos en la gloria mundana. Oh, es mejor creer que todos ellos “saben” cómo se va a jugar. Peter tiene pronunciada planas quién es Jesús. “Usted es el Prometido, tú eres el Hijo de Dios.” Pedro sabía que el Padre había puesto que, en el corazón de Pedro y dada Pedro el privilegio de declarar que Jesús era el que le entregue el mundo. Pero Él tenía experiencias de primera mano para reforzar sus pronunciamientos. Acababa de ver a Jesús transfigurado y el Padre declara quién es Jesús. Él había estado con Jesús cuando Él había sanado al menos cientos de personas, levantó las personas de los miles, alimentados muertos, enseñar a los más profundos entendimientos que nadie había oído nunca, que nadie en la historia del mundo había enseñado nunca. Pero usted puede apostar Pedro participó en quién sería el mayor.
Nuestro Salvador, el Hijo de Dios que Jesús ha hecho y sigue haciendo mucho por su pueblo. Él no hace que sea popular, Él no lo hace para la gloria y el poder. Él es glorificado en el Cielo. Nosotros profesamos cada semana que está sentado a la diestra de Dios Padre, desde la perspectiva más poderoso del universo, toda la creación. Pero Él no lo hace con el fin de ser popular, el tipo que está ahí para ser amigo de todos. Él nos dice verdades duras y Él no da marcha atrás de ellos. Tengo que decirte, si alguien como el joven rico se presentó para el culto, diciéndome lo que es un chico grande y piadosa que es, podría sufrir un poco de pensamiento del mundo, sobre cómo podría ayudar a esta iglesia hacer grandes cosas. Jesús no se dejó impresionar. ¿En serio? Estás a todo eso y una bolsa de papas fritas? Bueno, esto es lo que hay que hacer. Toda esa gran riqueza e influencia que tiene, que acaba de ir por ahí y da que a todas aquellas personas que están verdaderamente necesitados, vuelves aquí y luego hablaremos. Bueno, ya sabes lo que ha pasado, el joven rico, empacó sus cosas y se fue fuera de la ciudad, probablemente pensando; “No hay manera de que estoy dando todo mi riqueza, que hace ese tipo cree que es?”. Oh, usted puede apostar que se sintió ofendido. Me puedo imaginar qué tipo de retroalimentación que conseguiría como pastor si me enfrenté a alguien así que se presentaron para el culto. Pablo lo expresa mejor en nuestra lectura epístola: “¿No sabéis que la amistad del mundo es enemistad contra Dios?” Enemistad parece una palabra benigna, pero que significa, el odio, la hostilidad, animadversión. Nos preocupamos mucho de ser popular y no molesto, a costa de defender a Cristo y su Iglesia.
No es ofensivo para dar testimonio de Jesús y de su Iglesia. Lo que es verdaderamente ofensiva es lo que dices y haces que ignora Jesús. Los discípulos eran tan obsesionado con la gloria mundana y justo después de que Jesús les había dicho: “Yo voy a ser traicionado y asesinado!” Ofende a Jesús cuando las cosas que dices y haces lo ignora y están para su gloria en el mundo, a personas que ni siquiera conocen a Jesús.
Los discípulos siguen todos atrapados en la visión tradicional del Mesías y lo que creen que Él va a hacer para restaurar el reino mundano. Si nos fijamos en el gráfico incluido en su boletín, estamos atrapados en lo que el mundo piensa de Jesús debe ser, no lo que realmente es. Jesús ha venido mostrando ellos y decirles cuál es la verdad, que el Reino de los Cielos es lo que importa para nuestra vida eterna. Él sólo les dijo que será entregado y asesinado. Los discípulos parecen estar pensando: “Oh no queremos oír eso! Eso es muy molesto, que ignora mi visión del mundo y yo no voy a pensar en Jesús siendo asesinado. Voy a vivir en el mundo en el que todo esto Jesús me hará poderoso y popular. Ellos descubrirán que lo que ocurre con los discípulos de Jesús no da lugar a su popularidad y poder terrenal. Sus discípulos descubren que son rechazados, rechazados y asesinados por el mundo. El mundo, como los discípulos en esta perícopa, eligió ser ofendido por la realidad de la Palabra de Cristo y optó por vivir en su propio mundo, que jamás se harán realidad, y realmente puede dar lugar a que se cortan de Jesús y la verdadera, la vida eterna en la resurrección.
Tome una mirada a su testigo, ¿estás más preocupado por la opinión de quienes le rodean, o su testimonio de la dura realidad de la vida como un discípulo de Jesús?
La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.
The World’s thinking is wrong, not the Church’s Mark 9: 30-37 First St Johns September 20, 2015
[For the audio version of this sermon please click on the above link]
We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all who are more concerned with the thinking of Jesus and His Church then the world’s said … AMEN!
It has been a challenging week for me, frankly the last few months have been very challenging. In the last week I’ve had to minister to the survivors of five different deaths. This is never an easy part of being a minister/chaplain, you have to look people in the eye; spouses, children, siblings, and tell them yes, this is a tragedy, but God is with them to comfort them. As a minister I have to be that skin and bones, physical representative of Christ in front of them, as I have to when we gather to worship. Of course the most difficult was the passing of our brother John Klahod, who in the short time that he returned to First Saint Johns has made his mark. He and Barb have regularly attended Bible study, Barb helps so much as a greeter and with the parish visitor and on the Altar Guild. John served as the church vice president. They have been very supportive and encouraging through all the changes that God has guided us through as a congregation in the last few years.
Jesus wasn’t political in His thinking, despite popular beliefs, Jesus wasn’t too concerned about who He offended or upset. Just a few weeks ago we read where Jesus told people straight up, you have to eat My Body and Blood. Lots of people picked up and left right there. I’d bet you, Judas or maybe one of the more pragmatic disciples took Jesus aside, “What are you doing? We can’t afford to have people walk out like that! You have to be more political, more tactful.” When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth, people took offense at his preaching. Who is this guy, they asked? We knew Him when He was a little boy, we know His mother and father, his brothers and sisters still live here. And hey we know how He was born … Come on, Mary and Joseph weren’t even married when He was born. Oh yeah, who is this guy to tell us that He has fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah? He’s not anything special.
Jesus wasn’t political or tactful, it’s not that He didn’t care, He cared desperately. But He wasn’t, and isn’t running a public relations firm. He was and is trying to get us to trust in Him, to conform to His image, not ours, not the worlds. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are vastly different than the rest of the world, polar opposites. The reason the church has gotten to where it’s at is because it has tried over the last hundred years to conform to the world’s view. That’s not what we’re here for. Certainly that’s the way the disciples are acting. Jesus is pushing ahead, back to Capernaum. He has a sense of urgency! Why? We’re told earlier in this pericope: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” His ministry in Galilee is ending, Jesus is now on His way to Jerusalem and to the Cross. There is no time to play, important things are happening. World changing events are about to happen, events profoundly effecting everything man knew and trusted up to that point. The lives of these men and a lot of others in the world and through history are about to be profoundly changed. We as Christian disciples should have that sense of urgency about us. We talk a lot about Supreme Court decisions and Congress, how things seem to be spinning out of control. But we do very little and live in fear that if we boldly proclaim Jesus and His church that we will offend. Then we the disciples are yapping about who will be the greatest! They have no idea what will happen to them. They are so sure that they will be covered in worldly glory. Oh, you better believe that they all “know” how this is going to play out. Peter has flat out pronounced who Jesus is. “You are the promised One, you are the Son of God.” Peter knew that, the Father had put that in Peter’s heart and given Peter the privilege of declaring that Jesus was the One who would deliver the world. But He had first hand experiences to bolster his pronouncements. He had just seen Jesus transfigured and the Father declaring who Jesus is. He had been with Jesus when He had healed at least hundreds of people, raised people from the dead, fed thousands, teach the most profound understandings that anyone had ever heard, that no one in the history of the world had ever taught. But you can bet Peter was involved in who would be the greatest.
Our Savior, God the Son Jesus has done and continues to do so much for His people. He doesn’t do it to be popular, He doesn’t do it for glory and power. He is glorified in Heaven. We profess every week that He sits at the right hand of God the Father, from the most powerful perspective in the universe, all creation. But He doesn’t do it in order to be popular, the guy who is there to be everyone’s buddy. He tells us hard truths and He doesn’t back down from them. Have to tell you, if someone like the rich young ruler showed up for worship, telling me what a great and pious guy he is, I might suffer a little of the world’s thinking, about how he could help this church do great things. Jesus wasn’t impressed. Really? You’re just all that and a bag of chips? Well this is what you need to do. All that great wealth and influence you have, you just go out there and give that to all those people who are truly in need, come back here and then we’ll talk. Well you know what happened, the rich young ruler, packed up his stuff and rode out of town, probably thinking; “there’s no way I’m giving up all my wealth, who does that guy think He is?”. Oh you can bet he was offended. I can imagine what kind of feedback I’d get as a pastor if I confronted someone like that who showed up for worship. Paul puts it best in our epistle reading: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” Enmity seems like a benign word, but it means, hatred, hostility, animosity. We worry so much about being popular and not upsetting, at the cost of standing up for Christ and His Church.
It is not offensive to witness to Jesus and His Church. What is truly offensive is what you say and do that ignores Jesus. The disciples were just so obsessed about worldly glory and right after Jesus had told them, “I’m going to be betrayed and killed!” It offends Jesus when the things you say and do ignores Him and are for your glory in the world, to people who don’t even know Jesus.
The disciples are still all caught up in the traditional view of the Messiah and what they think He will do to restore the worldly kingdom. If you look at the chart included in your bulletin, we’re caught up in what the world thinks Jesus should be, not what He truly is. Jesus has been showing them and telling them what the truth is, that the Kingdom of Heaven is what matters to our eternal life. He’s just told them He will be delivered up and killed. The disciples seem to be thinking: “Oh we don’t want to hear that! That’s too upsetting, that ignores my world view and I’m just not going to think about Jesus being killed. I’m going to live in the world where this whole Jesus thing will make me powerful and popular. They will discover that what happens to Jesus’ disciples doesn’t result in earthly popularity and power. His disciples find that they are shunned, rejected and killed by the world. The world, like the disciples in this pericope, chose to be offended by the reality of Christ’s Word and chose to live in their own world, that will never come true and can actually result in them being cut off from Jesus and true, eternal life in the resurrection.
Take a hard look at your witness, are you more concerned with the opinion of those around you, or your witness to the hard reality of life as a disciple of Jesus?
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.
The Bible’s authenticity
In his book Walking The Bible, (published 2001 by William Morrow) Bruce Feiler writes about taking a trip, by various modes, through the lands of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible). These books describe Moses’ journey through , essentially, the Sinai, Jordan and Israel. Over 400 pages of Feiler going to some of the most challenging sites described in the Bible; walking, all terrain vehicles, jeeps, camel, donkey. It is definitely an interesting read, in which he also includes a lot of the contemporary political situation in the area. As much as I can remember Feiler doesn’t write about any of his personal religious beliefs. Furthermore he regularly contributes to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and also writes for the New York Times, Conde Nast and Gourmet. None of which makes one think of “Christianity Today”, in other words, if he is a Christian or Jewish, he doesn’t make it apparent in 400+ pages.
There is doubt, there are questions, reservations, disagreements, but through it all he interacts with Arabs, Bedouins, Christians all of various stripes and he seems to maintain a respect even admiration for vastly different people. He seems to maintain a good level of professional objectivity (which is becoming very rare in this day and age), and let’s the facts and guidance of various people take him where it seems most reasonable to go. So yes, overall, definitely a worthwhile read.
This leads me to one of his closing observations: “Put tautologically: The Bible lives because it never dies. As a rabbi friend of mine said, it’s like a fungus that can live underground for long periods then pop up and thrive whenever it appears.”
“Though my friend quickly regretted his remark, he actually made a significant point. Easily the most impressive thing I learned during my trip was that the Bible’s ability to be relevant to contemporary life was by no means guaranteed. If anything, over the last two hundred years it has undergone the most concentrated and ruthless academic scrutiny that any written book has ever faced. This scientific interrogation, from every conceivable corner – archaeology, history, physics, metaphysics, linguistics, anthropology – was designed, in many cases to undermine the Bible, to destroy its credibility. But in every case (at least the ones involving historical events, after the primeval stories of Creation), the Bible not only withstood the inquisition but came out stronger, with its integrity intact, and its nuances more on display. The doesn’t mean that the stories are true, but it does mean that they’re true to their era. The bible lives today not because it’s untouchable but precisely because it has been touched – it has been challenged – and it remains undefeated.” ( Bruce Feiler Walking The Bible pp 408-9, 2001).
The Bible, Jesus, have been the most highly scrutinized book and person in history, by far. Does kind of make you wonder why this agenda to so relentlessly and aggressively try to undermine the Bible. If, as most sceptics like to point out, the Bible is a book of fables and myths, why is there this zealous need to take it down. And then ironically, not weaken it, but strengthen the Bible’s scholarly authenticity, in addition to the fact that it is the inspired word of God. So it does stand to reason the more God’s word is scrutinized, the more it would validated, whether that was the intent of the scrutinizer or not.
Dignity and respect, let’s try to live that at the appropriate times in our relationship with Jesus.
I’ve been meaning to write this for awhile, it’s been over a year since the events I will describe happened, so ya, it’s been bugging me for awhile.
I went to the bedside of a man who was dying. He was a member of my congregation, but not really. Ya kinda one of these deals. He had pretty much just walked away a few years before I got there, and while I had visited him at home, he frankly kind of abused that too and I called a stop to the home visits. But now he was dying and didn’t have another pastor and I couldn’t turn my back, regardless of his questionable decisions.
I am doing my best to get this man focused on Christ as my parishioner goes through his last moments on earth. While I am with him, the man in the next bed is also in his last few hours. In romps his 20-something pastor, suitably attired in shorts, baseball shirt and wearing his baseball hat, backwards. It used to be customary for a man to at least remove his hat in a hospital, certainly in the presence of a dying parishioner. It was pretty obvious that this guy wasn’t really concerned, didn’t want to be there, didn’t appreciate the gravity of the situation. He certainly wasn’t the least bit concerned with the dignity of the pastoral office, or the dignity of the dying. He was doing what he had to do and then to get on to what was really important, the softball game he was on his way to.
Oh yea, I can hear those oh so open minded souls out there clucking their tongue at me: “It doesn’t matter what he’s wearing, it doesn’t matter what his attitude is, you’re just an old fuddy-duddy”, although I’m sure they would probably call me something much more colorful. Nevertheless Ms Free Spirit, how would your attitude change if it was your faithful, much loved grandmother/father, on that bed, expecting to be faithfully served by their pastor? Oh yeah, your tune would change in a trice. Just a truly classless, move on the pastor’s part, but frankly that’s where our culture is well on its way to. We’re really not concerned with the dying, they’re just kind of a nuisance, a chore to handle, not a person in pain and fear. I often do feel a little at a loss when I’m in the presence of the dying (I’ve had a lot of experience, 29 years active and reserve in the U.S. Coast Guard, five years of ministry, averaging 5 funerals a year). And for most of the big box churches, death just doesn’t fit into their message. Afterall, if that person had more faith, he wouldn’t be dying????
Speaking of baseball, apparently the parishioner was a regular attendee at the local college baseball team’s games. OK, good for him, I’m a baseball fan, I should try to get to more of the local teams baseball games myself. Lutheran worship is not about eulogies. It is about the person faithful in Jesus, and His church and how Jesus has saved Him and also intended to be a message to those in attendance. You need to really pray that God is merciful and will save you too. I very bluntly told people who asked, that any eulogies would be after the funeral service.
This may sound a little harsh, but good call on my part. The eulogies lasted longer than the funeral service. They were all about how this man showed up at every game to score the game. OK, nice, certainly worthy of mention. But it was essentially the topic of every eulogy for about a half hour. (At least the interment went on in a dignified manner, there really weren’t that many people there.)
There was little mention of his work, and essentially none of his life in Christ, just college baseball. Hey fine, we all want to be remembered for our unique life, but I, want to be remembered for that unique life as a servant of Christ. It’s not that any life is more or less worthy, as long as it’s in Jesus.
As a Coast Guard Petty Officer I was both a United State Law Enforcement Officer and also a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. In both capacities the uniform conveyed important messages. As a police officer to assert control, protect anyone from harm and to neutralize anyone that constituted a threat. The more I asserted power and authority through my uniform and weapons, the more seriously I would be taken and the less likely other people, me included, would be hurt. If I looked less than professional, than I would not be as capable of asserting control, I would not be taken seriously and other people might be more in jeopardy. The same principal as a pastor. The more I appear as a serious representative of Christ, what I say about Jesus, the more I symbolize Jesus and His promises (the black shirt, suit, the white collar, the prominent cross/crucifix) all assert things about my relationship with Jesus, how I represent Him to others. This is taken seriously and the intent is to comfort those who are going through trauma, up to and including death. Anything less than that trivializes you, trivializes Jesus, trivializes the comfort that you are trying to provide to those who are going through their final moments and to those who will be left behind to mourn his/her loss.
There’s a time and a place for casual clothes and conduct, playing, games, jump around singing. But we have to make time for the dignity of a human life, to honor and respect the person who is dying or dead. We have become such a frivolous world, “hey, don’t want nothing to harsh my buzz. Need to make this as easy as I can, I don’t want to be uptight.”
Sure remember happier times of their lives. But please if you can’t think of more than one limited capacity that person was in, don’t camp on it over and over. It takes it from an interesting aspect of one’s life, to overdoing it to the point of being a tragic waste of life. Death is a time to remember what Jesus does in our life, in our death and in the eternal life of the resurrection and to remind others that it is about what Jesus has done for us. Let’s not trivialize it.
Angry God Leviticus 18-20
One of the main shots at God is that the Old Testament God is so cruel. How could Yahweh send His people into Canaan, the Promised Land and tell them to kill the people who were already there?
The answer is, yes, in Scripture, But hey, we don’t want to read through those first five books. Yea, Genesis, Exodus (thanks to Cecil B DeMille) Exodus is OK, there’s entertainment value there! But Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy? Boring. Telling us all those thing we can’t do, or we have to do.
Despite the perception, there is interesting history in those books and, come on, if God’s telling us something, it’s not “boring”! But hey, we want to be entertained, “ESV 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” (BibleWorks)
The attitude is; If I have to read the bible then at least amuse me, you like how you entertain me at church, referring of course to Sunday morning service, what’s supposed to be worship. But the rest of the world sees as “amuse me”.
God intended His people, the Jews, to be His people, a nation of priests. They were supposed to be dedicated to Him, His chosen people and not be influenced by the people who were in Canaan, who were, according to God “detestable” (Lev 20:23).
As it happened despite all His attempts, His people did not follow His directions (of course none of us do, we all being sinners). The Israelites did leave Canaanites alive because it was to their advantage to keep them alive. But they paid the price.
Through its history, Israel turned to these evil ‘gods’, begin to ignore Yahweh, Yahweh would send an enemy as punishment for Israel turning from Yahweh, they would be conquered, suffer, regret what they did to be punished, and the fact they were ruled by an evil people. They would repent, God would restore Israel, things would go well for awhile and then rinse, repeat. From their escape from Egypt until the time that the Rome destroyed the temple, about 2,000 years. Now we can wag our finger but the same thing happens to us. We are certainly becoming more and more evil as a society, more and more it’s about me and very little about God.
You can’t blame God for not telling us. The Books of the Law, the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) certainly give us straight forward ground rules, but hey, it’s about us, remember?
Yahweh lists out some of the more heinous things that we don’t do. Leviticus 18-20 are pretty specific, if not a little graphic (have your attention now?): “ESV Leviticus 18:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.” (English Standard Version, BibleWorks)
Right out of the gate, before they’re allowed into the Promised Land, Yahweh is making it very clear, He is not leading them to Canaan to be Canaanites. He has lead them there to be His Chosen People and not to get swept up in the Canaanites sick, twisted depravity. “God detailed the sexual practices He abhors, in order that the Israelites might live before Him in purity, unlike the Egyptians and Canaanites. Because of their sexual practices, Canaan, the land promised to the Israelites, is defiled and their people will soon be ‘vomited out’ of the land as God leads the Israelites in (v 25).” (Lutheran Study Bible p 191)
This is where God lists out the prohibitions against incest, and yea, does go into detail. Let’s face it, if we’re not explicitly told, someone’s going to look for the loophole and decide that somehow he can’t be saddled with the same woman or be denied his “fun”. When I say the laws against incest, every, heterosexual, possibility. Why did God describe every possible situation? Because the Canaanites were doing every possible incestuous situation. Nice, huh? Next, how about a threesome? “ESV Leviticus 18:17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity.” Sweet, huh, again, the Canaanites were doing it. How about this: “ESV Leviticus 18:18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.” Nice people, huh? “OK, babe, think I’m going to set up a little competition, let’s see between you and her who can … oh, perform better?” But these are the people that so many “nice” people are outraged at God for killing them off.
Let’s cut away from sex awhile: “ESV Leviticus 18:21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” It was a regular practice of these nice Canaanite people to sacrifice their first born son to Molech.
The baby would be put in the idol’s arms which were pitched so that the baby would roll down into the furnace in the idol. Yea, nice people. Oh yeah, not specifically delineated, but let’s not forget temple prostitution. The practice where the men, married or not, would have sex with temple “priestesses”, like the baby sacrifice, all so that Molech would bless them with rain, fertility both in terms of crops, animals and babies. Yeah, nice people, they’d make great neighbors, huh? Yahweh restates His position: “ESV Leviticus 20:2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.” Not pulling any punches there are we? But really how could anyone roll their baby son into a furnace? And yet those poor put-upon people were.
Here’s the big one: “ESV Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Hey God’s words, not mine. And again: “ESV Leviticus 20:13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” One has to think if God restates it, He must really mean it.
This next one is classic: “ESV Leviticus 18:23 And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.” Yup, those nice Canaanites. And just to make sure we know what we’re talking about: “ESV Leviticus 18:24 “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, ESV Leviticus 18:25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.” The Canaanites did all these things and now, God is telling you, do not do them and make sure there are none left in the Promised Land who have been a part of this culture and will be left to corrupt you. You may not like it, of course there will those who will think that this is all so “unfair”, but that’s too bad. It’s not your world, God created it, it is His, and if He will no longer tolerate such decadence then it’s His call. Like it or not He can do what He wants to. Whether you think it’s fair or not, matters not a whit and I think it’s kind of bizarre that your opinion really carries any weight in this to begin with.
Why do Christians have a problem with all the things these Canaanites did? “ESV Leviticus 18:26 But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you ESV Leviticus 18:27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), ESV Leviticus 18:28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.”
Yea, Christians will be taken and protected by the Father, we have that hope and promise, in Jesus it’s a done deal. But for those who have to tell everyone how unfair it is, how we should be “free”, everyone do their own thing. It’s just not going to be that way and we don’t want to see those we love and care for be swept away. You can live in any delusion you like, but that’s not going to change who God is, what He has done, and what He will do. Whether you think it’s compassionate or not, it is compassionate. Just as you might like taking the medicine to cure you, let your boss tell you what to do, the reality is, that God has said, He has shown that He has meant it and for those who do have the truth, we do have a responsibility to be compassionate and that compassion is shown in how we tell the truth about Christ.
Here’s another one: “ESV Leviticus 19:9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. ESV Leviticus 19:10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” What this means is that the Canaanites did not perform acts of charity. Israel was told in this verse, that the least you can do is not pick up everything when you harvest crops and leave it for those who don’t have anything else. Yea those nice picked on Canaanites wouldn’t even leave a little food for those who were genuinely starving. Needless to say they didn’t do anything else to provide for the poor, it was all about them and what made them happy, hmmm, sound familiar?
Yahweh lists out pretty much the Ten Commandments, meaning? Yes, the Canaanites violated them all, lying, stealing, cheating ya, regular practice.
How about this? “ESV Leviticus 19:13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.” People would fail to pay those who performed work for them. They would also not pay them at the end of the day. In this society, there was no refrigeration, it was hot, dirty. When you received your pay at the end of every day, you went out, bought food and ate. If you didn’t have any money, after an entire day of working, you went to bed hungry. But those nice Canaanites, would literally take the bread right of their brother’s mouths after they did a whole day’s worth of work for them. If they couldn’t pay them, why would they hire them at the beginning of the day?
How about government corruption? “ESV Leviticus 19:15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” If you were poor, you got no justice, the highest bidder got their way. Public Defenders? Haaaaa! Ya right!
Verse 19:20, own a slave woman? Canaanite men could do whatever they wanted to do with them. Israelite men? No way! Slaves in general and women slaves in particular, had to be treated humanely. Nice people, huh? All you high-minded people who think that God was so unfair having them wiped out.
“ESV Leviticus 19:29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.” Prostitute your daughter? Hey, ya gotta do, what ya gotta do.
“ESV Leviticus 19:31 “Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” Ya, I know, today, Ghost Hunters, palm readers, astrologers etc. What’s the harm? God said stay away from it, and I have no doubt there is serious harm involved. In this post-modern era we are seeing more messing with the demonic, and you would have to be clueless to claim otherwise. Yahweh restates His position on mediums and wizards on Lev 20: 6. And in verse 27 adds that a medium or wizard should be put to death.
“ESV Leviticus 19:36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” These were measurements used in commerce, in this context. They were ripping each other off in the marketplace, ya how nice.
“ESV Leviticus 20:9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.” Ya, I know, not a big deal in our highly enlightened contemporary world.
Just to make sure there’s no misunderstanding Yahweh restates His opinion of the Canaanites: “ESV Leviticus 20:23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.” Having God detest you is not where you want to be. And He tells Israel: “ESV Leviticus 20:26 You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”
You can keep living in your state of denial and think it’s all about you and not about God, but in the end God will make the calls. For those who’ve played their whole lives, will be called to account and there will “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, Jesus’s words, six different times in Matthew. For those who are holy to the Father in Jesus, there is salvation, there is the resurrection. God doesn’t tolerate the absolutely detestable life-style of the Canaanites and neither should you. But that is exactly where we are headed to as a culture, frankly we’re pretty much there. You really expect a completely just, completely holy, completely pure and all- powerful God to just sit back? That’s just not reality.
¡Si puedes! ¿En serio? ¡Traelo! Marcos 9 First St Johns September 13, 2015
[para escuchar la versión de audio de este sermón, haga clic en el enlace de arriba]
Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos aquellos que saben que Jesús puede dijimos … AMEN!
A menudo leemos las Escrituras en clase de términos soso / vainilla. En la lectura del Evangelio de hoy tenemos un padre cuyo hijo ha sido atormentado, torturado, usado, abusado, totalmente abatido. No hay duda de que el padre es absolutamente fuera de sí de miedo y, desesperanza completa. Mi madre ha tenido problemas con la epilepsia. Los síntomas han estado bajo control durante muchos años, pero recuerdo como un niño que tenía convulsiones severas. Se puede imaginar como un niño estos episodios fueron muy doloroso para mí y sin duda experiencia muy molesto para mi madre. Sólo había mucho que pudiera hacer como un niño. Pero en esta perícopa Estoy seguro que el padre se sintió abatimiento severo. Los papás se supone que deben tomar el control, arreglar las cosas y usted puede imaginar lo impotente y sin esperanza sintió el padre. Síntomas de mi madre eran graves, pero la descripción que vemos de los síntomas del hijo eran aún más grave. Algunos eran síntomas clásicos de convulsiones, pero había problemas mucho más graves con el hijo. Él estaba siendo literalmente recogido y arrojado, jugué fútbol en mi juventud, el ala cerrada, el baloncesto, el entrenamiento militar básico y un poco de artes marciales, lo sé muy bien lo que se siente que alguien me puso en el suelo. Pero eran generalmente bastante iguales y yo a menudo tenía relleno y fue acondicionado para ello, me dolía, pero no fue continuo, o alguien tratando de herir gravemente o matarme. No creo que eran. La palabra griega que se usa para describir el hijo es paidi, sobre lo que significa no sólo un niño, pero un niño pequeño. Probablemente se nos ocurrió que no más de diez / once años de edad. Así que esto probablemente físicamente pequeño niño está, literalmente, conseguir rebotó en las paredes y el demonio incluso intenta echarlo al fuego a él o al agua quemar ahogarlo. Además de ser mudo. Este niño estaba siendo tratado hellaciously y papá estaba constantemente testigo de esto, sin duda tratando de luchar a su hijo alejado de este poder sobrenatural, no fallar duda la mayor parte del tiempo y probablemente se lastimó en el proceso. Podemos imaginar el dolor que el niño está atravesando, muy posiblemente en la medida de huesos rotos, puntadas, tal vez incluso más grave y los padres tratando de proteger y restaurar la salud.
Ciertamente debemos empatizar con el padre, que estaba en una situación muy difícil, que él dice que había estado sucediendo desde que el niño era un niño, el griego no es específico aquí, pero tal vez desde que era un niño pequeño. De cualquier manera, tendríamos que suponer que había estado sucediendo durante años, probablemente. Así que sin duda podemos entender que el padre está en su extremo de los ingenios. Jesús acaba de bajar de la Transfiguración, este acontecimiento trascendental que celebramos cada año. Está llegando hasta el final del ministerio de encarnación de Jesús, Él se centra en la cruz, así que tal vez de una manera Él es un poco distraído, pero también afirmó y glorificado por Dios Padre. El padre del niño parece saber quién es Jesús, Él le dice a Jesús directamente que él ha traído a su hijo a él en busca de curación. Así que sin duda el padre es consciente de lo que Jesús ha hecho. Según Marcos, Jesús ha enseñado nuevas enseñanzas, que sólo Dios podría introducir. Jesús y Dios Padre han dejado en claro quién es Jesús. Mark ha relatado cómo Jesús ha liberado a otros de Satanás y sus demonios. Jesús se ha calmado la tormenta, Él ha resucitado muertos, sanó a muchos, alimentado durante 5000, caminó sobre el agua, sanó a los leprosos, la fe dada a muchos, perdonados los pecados de muchos, sanado ciegos y sordos, Peter ha confesado que Jesús es y ahora este padre lleva a su hijo y le dice: “Pero si usted puede hacer cualquier cosa y tener compasión de nosotros y ayúdanos.” Jesús debe haber sido un poco desilusionados a cabo y su respuesta parece indicar un poco de irritación: “Si es posible “Jesús no está pidiendo una pregunta, Él está haciendo lo que parece ser una declaración de incredulidad. En la traducción Driskell que estoy viendo a Jesús diciendo: “¿En serio? ¡Si puedo! Sé que usted es cansado y desesperado y ha pasado por una situación terrible, pero es obvio que he escuchado todas las otras cosas. Usted no podría venir a mí y decir; ‘Sé que usted puede sanar a mi hijo que ha pasado por tanta aflicción, Usted me ha dado la fe tengo que llevar a mi hijo a Usted y yo estoy confiando en que de acuerdo a Tu hará lo que sea necesario en relación con mi hijo. “Y sin duda el padre responde, que no tienen fe, que trajo a su hijo, “pero por favor me ayude a tener y mantener la fe en ti y en tu voluntad.” Pero seamos sinceros, demasiado a menudo nosotros ponemos límites en lo que Dios puede hacer en nuestras vidas. Tenemos que recordar que siempre es de acuerdo a su voluntad.
¿Significa la fe de que Dios siempre va a actuar de acuerdo a nuestra voluntad, que Él siempre va a sanar, o que Él va a proporcionar para nosotros de acuerdo a nuestra agenda? La fe es confiar en Su voluntad, la fe está buscando lo que su plan es de acuerdo a lo que está sucediendo. Un guía de pesca Wisconsin señala: “La única cosa que hace dudar de los milagros de Jesús es que todos fueron presenciados por los pescadores.” Eso no es cierto. Tenemos la Palabra inspirada de Dios en el Evangelio, Él inspiró a los hombres a escribir sobre los milagros que hizo Jesús y sabemos a través de nuestra fe en que Jesús continúa para sanar, no siempre el cuerpo, pero para aquellos que dirige Él sana el alma y nos la da la fe tenemos que confiar y ser guiado por Él, para tener la esperanza y la promesa de que sólo Él nos da. Claro nuestra debilidad humana se interpone en el camino. Cuando eso suceda vamos a mirar hacia atrás en el ejemplo del padre atribulado y rezar: “Creo; ayuda mi incredulidad “San Agustín observa:”. Si uno puede rezar de modo que uno puede echar fuera a otro demonio, ¿cuánto más debe uno orar propios demonios de que uno será echado fuera “Jesús dijo a sus discípulos que tenían que rezar a emitir. fuera el demonio que aflige a este muchacho, sin duda Él nosotros, sus discípulos, le está diciendo a orar, en la fe, que Él echar fuera los demonios que afligen a nosotros mismos y siempre a orar por la sanación para los demás. Jesús puede! Él murió para salvarnos para la salvación eterna, Él murió para nosotros que somos pecadores y el pecado en nuestra propia voluntad y que se llevó a pecar por seres malvados guardar. Él puede y salvarnos y sanarnos, a través de su gracia, su pueblo que Él da fe para creer y confiar en Su voluntad.
La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.
If you can! Really? Bring it! Mark 9 First Saint Johns September 13, 2015
[To hear the audio version of this sermon click on the above link]
We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know that Jesus can said … AMEN!
We often read Scripture in sort of bland/vanilla terms. In today’s Gospel reading we have a father whose son has been tormented, tortured, used, abused, just completely beaten down. No doubt the father is absolutely beside himself with fear and, complete hopelessness. My mother has had issues with epilepsy. The symptoms have been under control for many years, but I remember as a child that she had severe seizures. You can imagine as a child these episodes were very distressing for me and certainly very upsetting experience for my mother. There was only so much I could do as a child. But in this pericope I’m sure the father felt severe dejection. Dads are supposed to take control, fix things and you can imagine how helpless and hopeless the father felt. My mother’s symptoms were serious, but the description that we see of the son’s symptoms were even more serious. Some were classical symptoms of seizures, but there were far more serious issues with the son. He was being literally picked up and thrown down, I played football in my youth, tight end, basketball, basic military training and a little martial arts, I know full well how it feels for someone to put me to the ground. But we were usually fairly equal and I often had padding and was conditioned for it, it hurt, but it wasn’t continuous, or someone trying to seriously injure or kill me. I don’t think they were. The Greek word used to describe the son is paidi,on which means not just a child, but a young child. We’d probably guess no more than ten/eleven years old. So this probably physically small child is literally getting bounced off the walls and the demon even tries to throw him into the fire to burn him or into the water to drown him. In addition to being mute. This little boy was being treated hellaciously and dad was constantly a witness to this, no doubt trying to wrestle his son away from this supernatural power, do doubt failing most of the time and probably being hurt himself in the process. We can imagine the pain the child is going through, quite possibly to the extent of broken bones, stitches, maybe even more serious and the parents trying to protect and restore to health.
We should certainly empathize with the father, he was in a very difficult situation, which he says had been going on since the boy was a child, the Greek isn’t specific here, but perhaps since he was a toddler. Either way we would have to suppose that it had been going on for probably years. So we can certainly understand that the father is at his wits end. Jesus has just come down from the Transfiguration, this momentous event that we celebrate every year. It is coming down to the end of Jesus’ incarnational ministry, He is focused on the Cross, so perhaps in a way He is a little distracted, but also affirmed and glorified by God the Father. The boy’s father seems to know who Jesus is, He tells Jesus straight out that he has brought his son to Him for healing. So certainly the father is aware of what Jesus has done. According to Mark, Jesus has taught new teachings, that only God could introduce. Jesus and God the Father have made it clear who Jesus is. Mark has recounted how Jesus has freed others from Satan and his demons. Jesus has calmed the storm, He has raised the dead, healed many, fed over 5,000, walked on the water, healed the lepers, given faith to many, forgiven the sins of many, healed blind and deaf men, Peter has confessed who Jesus is and now this father brings his son and says: “But if you can do anything and have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus must have been a little put out and his response seems to indicate a little irritation: “If you can!” Jesus’ isn’t asking a question, He’s making what seems to be an incredulous declaration. In the Driskell translation I’m seeing Jesus saying: “Really? If I can! I know that you are weary and desperate and have gone through a terrible situation, but obviously you’ve heard all the other things. You couldn’t come to me and say; ‘I know you can heal my son who has gone through so much affliction, You have given me the faith I need to bring my son to You and I am trusting that according to Your will do what is necessary relating to my son.” And certainly the father does respond, that he does have faith, he did bring his son, “but please help me to have and keep faith in You and in Your will.” But let’s face it, too often we do put limits on what God can do in our lives. We need to remember that it is always according to His will.
Does faith mean that God is always going to act according to our will, that He is always going to heal, or that He is going to provide for us according to our agenda? Faith is trusting in His will, faith is looking for what His plan is according to what is happening. A Wisconsin fishing guide points out: “The only thing that casts doubt on the miracles of Jesus is that they were all witnessed by fishermen.”[1] That’s not true. We have God’s inspired Word in the Gospel, He inspired men to write about the miracles that Jesus did and we know through our faith that Jesus continues to heal, not always the body, but for those He leads He heals the soul and gives us the faith we need to trust and be led by Him, to have the hope and promise that only He gives us. Sure our human weakness gets in the way. When that happens let’s look back at the beleaguered father’s example and pray: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” St Augustine observes: “If one can pray so that one may cast out another demon, how much more should one pray that one’s own demons be cast out.”[2] Jesus told His disciples they needed to pray to cast out the demon afflicting this boy, certainly He is telling us, His disciples, to pray, in faith, that He will cast out the demons that afflict ourselves and always to pray for healing for others. Jesus can! He died to save us to everlasting salvation, He died to save us who are sinners and sin in our own will and who are led to sin by evil beings. He can and does save us and heal us, through His grace, His people who He does give faith to believe and to trust in His will.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.
[1] Rowell and Steffen “Humor for Preaching and Teaching” p 57
[2] Simonetti, Manlio quoting St Augustine “Ancient Christian Commentary NT 1b” p 59
Pastor Jim Driskell 