Tag Archives: sacrifice

Serious ministry in a serious urban setting Pastor Charles Wildner

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I’m a pastor of an inner-city church. In this day and age of suburban “campus” type churches, the old, truly magnificent, awe-inspiring churches located in the inner city are often considered to be an anachronism. Inner-city ministry is seen more in terms of a social service agency, and an inner city church is either a career ender in ministry or a stop on to the wealthier, more active, with a much larger membership suburban church.

Yea, well, we know that most popular perceptions are bupkus, based more on the same perception that made someone the cool kid in school and less on what the real substance is. I am proud to be the pastor of one of those awe-inspiring inner-city churches, every time I walk into the sanctuary I can’t help but think, “wow, I get to be the pastor of this church”. I can see the steeple about three blocks away from where I drive in the morning. It never fails to inspire me and is inspiration that the average suburban church pastor will never get to feel. I go out of my way to show anyone, who is willing (ok, sometimes not so willing), the sanctuary and it makes my day to hear them kind of whoosh and then let out a soft, reverential “wow”, when they step into the sanctuary. Frankly I find it hard to understand why on earth anyone would want to go to any other kind of church. the people of First St Johns have done a magnificent job of maintaining this inspiring place of worship to the glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for almost 145 years. Please don’t assume that I think it’s all about the building, it is not. It is about those people who make up the Body of Christ. You can have great Christian disciples who meet in a bowling alley, and you have a great church. I just happen to be fortunate to have both, a great group of people who are true disciples of Christ and who maintain a great building that truly honors God and evokes true reverence from those who serve the Lord there.

This isn’t about just a tribute to a great old church and people who are such great servants of the Lord. It’s also to recognize that these kinds of churches are where ministry really and regularly happens. There is hardly a day that goes by when I don’t encounter someone who is dealing with some serious issue in their life. Often it’s some kind of substance abuse, too often the problems of the people I encounter are self-inflicted.  Frankly it’s tough to deal with those people, all they really want is for you to hand over money, we’re about 100 yards up the street from the city bus station and the first “institution” people going to or from the bus station encounter. You can imagine the possibilities, I get a lot of people who need money for a “bus pass”. Hey I take the opportunity to talk to them about their life and Jesus, the usual reaction is not spoken, but is clearly “I’m not interested in that, just hand over some money so I can buy booze or drugs.” When that doesn’t happen I usually get a sneer of disgust suggesting that I just don’t get it.

Well there is one pastor that gets it better than me and has been getting it for over thirty years. York, Pa. is a small city, it has typical urban problems, but on the scale of a small city. Rev Charles Wildner is the pastor of St Thomas’ Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Md. I say that so you don’t confuse it with St Thomas’ in the Carribean, I assure you after one visit you won’t be confused. I was raised in and we raised our children in a pretty tough city outside of Boston, Ma. I think that I’m fairly hard to impress but when we took a field trip from First St Johns to St Thomas’ earlier this year, I was impressed, not in a positive way. While First St Johns contrasts sharply with it’s downtown neighborhood, can’t really say the same about St Thomas’. It is a very degenerated neighborhood and while the church definitely stands out from the rest of the neighborhood, you can tell that it is a struggle to maintain the structure. The article I have from Lutherans Engage the World ( Erik Lunsford May-June 2014 pp 4-6) observes’ “trash blows across the street while prostitutes huddle on the corner. As he walks inside, Wlidner sighs and shakes his head; Someone has stolen the couch cushions again.” I didn’t notice the prostitutes when we were there, but there were definitely guys who I can only assume were soliciting business for their drug distribution enterprise.

While most city churches like his are a thing of the past and he told of many local churches that have closed during his pastorate, leaving him and the store front “ministries” as the only groups left ministering to those in the inner-city. One thing I tell people is that if they want to do real Christian ministry, do real Christian discipling, there is no place like an inner-city church. Pastor Wildner certainly lives that, I have my challenges to deal with, but I tip my hat to Pastor Wildner, I would describe him as a Lutheran Mother Theresa. Yea more than a little hyperbolic, but wow the man does some serious ministry in a serious area, he’s done it for thirty years and still has a congregation that can reach out and serve those around him.

I’m in the same district as Wildner, York is only 50 miles north of Baltimore, but the first time I heard of him was at an urban ministry conference at the seminary in Fort Wayne, In. I had to go all the way to Fort Wayne to meet this guy. When I heard his presentation I was hooked. Wow this guy pastors a church in this setting doing what he does with what he has to work with, you sir are my hero! Well I followed him around like a puppy dog for a couple of days to pick up his words of wisdom. He takes worship seriously, he takes his role as pastor seriously, I haven’t seen him without a Roman collar and sometimes even a cassock. Remember the scene in The Graduate when the man leans over to Dustin Hoffman and whispers “plastics”. In the same sense Pastor Wildner says to me Setting Three. This is the most liturgical, formal of the five recognized worship settings in our hymnal. He pastors in an area where the regular color of life is, at best, gray. Day in and day out is all the same, there is little excitement, little charm in the gritty inner city. He makes church special for those whose lives have very little “special”. He makes Jesus special to people who really don’t have anyone to think of as special, lots of people who might not even really have any family, they have a family in Christ at St Thomas’.

It’s not just worship, he regularly has people from the congregation at his home which is close by to the church. Let’s just say that for most of these people, dinner at the pastor’s house, is a big event. They somehow manage to maintain a halfway house. it sure ain’t much but for at least one of the guys who lives there (he talked to us during his visit) it is a roof, food and a chance to also rebuild his life by helping to run this house. There is a Food Bank, there is a ministry to the blind, there is a clothing locker. People in the neighborhood might not have much, but at St Thomas’ they can find something to wear and something to eat. My takeaway? Get serious about worship, about the liturgy, why we worship that way and how to impress those reasons on those in worship. Try to find ways to better serve those truly in need. Don’t misunderstand the folks at First St Johns do a lot of servant ministry; a really good foodbank, an unemployment support group, supports a family group, Spanish-speaking outreach, NA and AA groups, martial arts, Grief Share, police chaplaincy, prayer outreaches and others. But if a resource starved church in the middle of one of Baltimore’s toughest area can support a ministry like a half-way house, or providing transportation, well it inspires me to keep looking to step up our outreaches. It also inspires me to raise the level of my personal image, making more of an attempt to appear pastoral and serious about it. To raise worship to a more serious, profound level, in order for people who often do deal with real life and death, to have worship that really transports them into the presence Lord.

If anyone is so inclined, I would encourage you to provide whatever support you can to St Thomas’, I will be more than happy to provide address, phone, contact, Pastor Wildner’s ministry is worthy to be supported. I certainly will keep them in my prayers and would ask you to do so also and in the meantime, I am in awe and admiration of those, like Pastor Wildner, who are such devoted servants of our Lord Jesus Christ and who give me a role-model to strive to emulate.

Fear and awe of Him who wants what is best for us, He loves us very much.

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This is from Henry Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day “Those who perceive God as a benevolent and gentle grandfather will treat their sin superficially. They will worship halfheartedly. They will live life on their own terms rather than God’s.”

That really is the way we are in this day and age, it’s all about me, I know best, everyone/ everything is here for my convenience, my pleasure. Come on, you know what Blackaby is talking about. We think of God today as an indulgent, enabling, kind of senile, out of it old man. We reject the Old Testament, because “oh my that has to be a different God…” Really? How do you figure? We paint Jesus to be a sort of milquetoast, meek and mild. This is the same guy who said, ““Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matt 10:34 ESV, Bible Hub) Cleansing the temple, confronting the Pharisees. In the Old Testament, Yahweh directed Israel to destroy the people in Palestine. These people were profoundly evil, sacrificing their babies, temple prostitution worshipping false “god’s” by trying to pacify evil “gods”. Yahweh wanted His people, Israel, to go into a land where they would not be influenced by evil of these people. To give them a chance to be isolated from the pagan evil around them. They didn’t, the Old Testament is all about Israel/us playing around with evil, getting in trouble, being saved by God, rinse, repeat.

God is perfectly just, He does not tolerate sin. Hey I’m as guilty as anyone, justifying sin as a “mistake”, an isolated incident, misjudgment, whatever gratuitous phrase we like to use. I don’t see anywhere that God has suspended the Ten Commandments, yet we all break them without so much as a “how do you do.” Yes we are all sinners and we do offend God, but for those who are in Christ they are forgiven. They do fear God, fear in the sense of respect, awe, treating Him in the manner that we should treat the Creator, Sustainer and Judge of everything. I really think that deserves profound respect, instead of the casual nod we usually give.

“One of the great condemnations of our day may be that we have lost the fear of God. We promote Him as a ‘best friend’ who saves us and ‘lives in our hearts’, but we do not fear Him.” For many of us, our human dads were stern, they could be fearsome. Often they would act angrily and lash out. Hey, dads are human too, I’m one, I know. But come on, our dads wanted what was best for us, they wanted to send mature, responsible, decent people into the world. To do that, yea sometimes their wrath would be manifested (like that little turn of phrase?). We should want to grow closer to God, to His nature. We can’t achieve that, but that’s where we should be moving. Instead we move towards self-idolatry, living in our self-absored adolescence, convinced that it’s all about us and we don’t owe anyone, no less God anything.

  The world is a dangerous place, no less spiritually then physically. Frankly spiritually it’s far more dangerous. Physically most of us will be fairly safe and die from some break down in our body. Spiritually? Heck check out television, all the people around us, what government is moving towards compelling us to do, what it already does impose. The world is continually trying to position us to compromise our relationship with God. Too often we go along with it expecting that God is supposed to just give us a wave. That’s not the lesson of the Old Testament, heck ever read Revelation, New Testament? 

Blackaby closes by saying “If you find that you have become complacent with God’s commands and have become comfortable in your sin, you are completely isolated from God’s holiness. Take time to meditate upon the awesome holiness of God and allow the Holy Spirit to instill into your life a proper reverence for almighty God.” There can be no question that God loves you, if you are in Christ you are His adopted child. As His child He expects to be treated as the great and awesome God that He is. He wants what is best for you, He is God, He knows what is best for you. If we understand that, why wouldn’t we want God’s way in our lives and put aside our adolescent understanding?

Memorial Day is also praying for peace, but there is only peace in Jesus

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Peace, never in the world, always in Jesus
First St Johns May 24, 2014
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 the peace of Christ said …AMEN
Peace, when we think of Memorial Day, we really don’t think in terms of peace, we think in terms of loss, of death, of valiant sacrifice for a cause. Simran Khurana is quoted as saying: “On Memorial Day, pay a tribute to the sentinels of peace. Sing praises of the brave soldiers who marched forth on unfriendly terrain, come rain or snow, so that we could sleep peacefully knowing that our country is safe.” To be sure we should think of our American soldiers as those “sentinels of peace”. With a couple of disquieting examples America has been the sentinel of peace, at least peace in the worldly sense. Our fellow Americans have been sent abroad in the hope that their efforts would bring world peace. World War II would be the brightest example of those efforts. As a result many countries had been helped to recover from economic depression and the devastation of war to establish societies that have grown in peace and prosperity. Through history countries have conducted war thinking that they will be able to neutralize threats to the peace and establish a peaceful climate. Gordon MacDonald notes: “In its largest sense, it [peace] describes any system in which there is order, justice and security. The Romans talked about peace (Pax Romana), but their system was sustained through violence and intimidation. The Jews of Jerusalem had their own concepts of peace: a kingdom that mirrored the ancient reign of David. [which was founded and maintained by military force]” So we take from these examples of countries that set their ideas of peace on, “so long as you do what you’re told you won’t get hurt. Step out of line and you will be violently slapped down. Otherwise have a nice day.” The One we call the Prince of Peace was crucified in order to maintain control. Remember the chief priest’s word, “this man must die in order for the nation to survive.” That plan really didn’t work out as Jerusalem was reduced to rubble 40 years later, by the Romans in order to maintain “peace”.
Believe it or not, I am sensitive to the fact that people want to hear the pastor say all sorts of gratuitous nice things, tell everyone that it’s ok, that things will work out according to their plans. Frankly in a worldly sense, I’d feel like Kevin Bacon at the end of Animal House in the midst of a frantic, fleeing crowd, he’s standing there in his official ROTC uniform screaming: “Remain calm, all is well, remain calm.” In a worldly sense that entire scene is total fiction, all is not well. Of course we have to remain calm, but to proclaim that all is well in any sense, regardless of the economy, politics, education all is not well and never will be.
We talk about peace, but for too many of us Christians we have bought into the world’s idea of peace, which will never happen, or we cherry pick Jesus’ quotes and convince ourselves that there will ultimately be some kind of world wide utopia. In the world’s sense it will never happen. What does Jesus say about the end times, in the Gospels and in Revelation? They will be enormously violent times:“ESV Revelation 6:4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.” The Holy Spirit has maintained “peace” in the world. When that peace is removed in Revelation 6:4, those who are still in the world will see violence on a scale never before seen, even in the most violent episodes of history. The evil of man will truly show itself and all those who have been in denial of Christ and His peace, those who thought they were somehow entitled to any and all kind of peace and prosperity, on their own terms, will be left in the middle of terror and poverty. While they ignored Jesus and relied on their own means, they will find that what they trusted on earth, does them no good when God removes His protecting hand. There is no peace with man, in the entire 5,000 year history of the world, there has only been about 100 years of genuine peace. Man does not understand peace, he will never be able to bring the earth to peace and when God removes His hand at the end of time, the entire concept of peace will fall under the horrors of man’s inhumanity to man.
Many of you here have seen that inhumanity. Those in the world like to point out the times when Christians forgot Christ and took things into their own hands. The crusades, the Inquisition, the Salem witch trials. They conveniently seem to ignore the twentieth century, a time when government shoved God out of the center stage and the result? The bloodiest century in the entire history of man, bloodier then all the previous centuries combined. For a lot of you here today you have seen some form of imperialism, some form of fascism, most of us have seen communism and we are witnessing “Islamo-Fascism” in many countries of the world today. When we saw the Berlin Wall come down, too many thought that this was the beginning of world peace, about a decade later a jetliner smashing into the World Trade Center sparked a war, in at least two countries, that has lasted almost fifteen years. I’m not being a pessimist, I am being very much a realist in Christ.
MacDonald notes: “Jesus said his peace was not compatible with the “world’s” view of peace (John 14:27) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” MacDonald also notes that “Paul referred to this as ‘the peace of Christ.” There should be no doubt in your mind that as in everything else, the peace of Christ is far different from what the world sees as “peace”.
I do love you, all of you, you are brothers and sisters in Christ, that is a really good thing. There is no better way to love another then in Christ, because in the eternal resurrection, it will be all about how we love another in Jesus. Too many like to equate it to “I’m a member of the Loyal Order of Buffalo and I love our fellow members.” Being a Christian isn’t a club or fraternity or some benevolent society. When I tell you I love you in Christ, as part of the Body of Christ, in the Fatherhood of God, that is a peace, a love that is forever, deeper than any corruptible, earthly emotion. It does not mean the superficiality of the world, it is a promise of Christ for true peace: “My peace I give you … don’t let your hearts be troubled,” There is nothing, no one, no where, on earth that gives you this true assurance of peace. There is a whole lost world out there, it blames everything and everyone, except themselves, for the lack of peace. The evil of humanity will never be overcome in the world. If anything it will become more evil and more violent.
In the violence and greed of the world we have to remember Paul’s words: “ESV Philippians 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
There is only one peace for the world, that peace is, has been in Jesus. We call Him the “Prince of Peace” and so He is, the peace that will be eternal, a semblance of peace we have in the world now. But Jesus knew that there was no peace on earth and never would be and told us straight out: “ESV Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The world rebels against Christ and like the Pax Romana believes that peace will prevail in our own way. The world can’t get Jesus right, it certainly doesn’t get “peace” right. You and I, we do have peace, we have it right here, right now. This is a peace that you cannot give to someone else, even in the middle of the violence, the greed and poverty, the hysteria of the world, I can quote Kevin Bacon and you can know calm and peace in the middle of all the hysteria. I can say: “Remain calm, all is well, remain calm.” Because in Christ we do know peace in any and every circumstance. All is well in Him.
At this Memorial Day I want to remember Petty Officer Nathan Bruckenthal, the only Coast Guardsman killed in the War on Terror. Please keep his wife Pattie and his daughter Harper in your continued prayers.
No doubt as Christians we are to continue to pray for peace, but with the expectation that true peace will only be realized in Christ and in His return. We who are in Him know true peace and we want to let others know that true peace is in Him. Share that reality with all you those you know.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

A “draft for the ages”? Certainly eternal consequences.

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I’m sure you’ve heard the “big news” by now, the first openly homosexual man to be drafted by an NFL team was drafted by the St Louis Rams. I was watching the NFL channel coverage of the draft and you would think a cure for cancer, or getting rid of ref’s entirely and having entire games called by video had just happened. There are about 1,700 players in the NFL at any one time. The NFL has been around since the 1920’s, (albeit with far fewer teams), so conservatively somewhere around 100,000 men have played in the NFL and one of them is finally homosexual. Listening to the coverage you’d think that because Michael Sam is homosexual that this is somehow as Sporting News called it, “A Draft for the ages”. Huh? Not too hyperbolic?

A little context and a lot of this is coming out of the Boston sports station that I’ve listened to for years and no, these guys are actually pretty liberal. But they did have some context. The guy was drafted 249th, way down. By a team that is in desperate need of any kind of notoriety, the St Louis Rams. It seems clear there were better players, but hey, despite the fact that there have been tens of thousands in the NFL, and no doubt some were homosexual, does tend to undermine the argument of the number of homosexual men in the population, significantly less then the guesstimated 10% that the liberal media likes to throw around. One of the guys commented that this guy will probably be playing arena football in a couple of years and it will be an “oh yeah, he was the guy back in the 2014 draft.” They also made an interesting comparison to the Tim Tebow drama of a couple of seasons ago. This is a guy who turned around the Denver Broncos and got them into the playoffs. What happened to a guy who has done so much good humanitarian service in the Name of the Savior? The Patriots gave him a shot. A team with the best winning percentage of this century, three Super Bowls, a team with integrity. A coach Bill Belicheck who uses that lame red flag as sparingly as any coach in the league. (May his tribe increase, I want to watch football, not a bunch of legalists fussing about the latest rule changes and video checks. Play football, get on with it and quit whining) Well frankly the NFL is by far the whiningest sport in professional sports. Anyway a team stacked with talent, always in the hunt, but always looking for guys with integrity. They couldn’t keep Tebow, but the whole scenario is, I don’t know, odd?

Interestingly enough in my devotional reading today Henry Blackaby writes on this very subject. Do we coddle people in their sins? No! Do we love them? Do we care for them, do we keep trying to reach them for real life in Christ? Absolutely! Hey, we are all sinners, we all have our issues, but as Blackaby writes: “You are not acting in true friendship if you condone disobedience or even if you look the other way.” Amen brother! Now of course I will probably end up taking heat for this, but for the life of me, help me, explain why it is somehow commendable that we are supposed to be dancing in the streets because a guy who will probably never be on an NFL roster and sleeps with another guy who was drafted 249th. Have we really gotten this messed up as a society?

We have no business telling someone that their sin is just skippity do da and you just go ahead and do whatever you want. Sam is 24 years old, actually a little aged for a NFL draftee, but still, let’s face it a kid. Someone who has a long way to go in life. Where do we adults come off encouraging this guy in his lifestyle? “Jesus never gave relief to people who were under conviction… Jesus brought no comfort to him [Zaccheus] as he dealt with his sin (Luke 19: 1-10)… Neither did Jesus excuse disbelief. We never find Jesus saying, ‘Well, that’s all right. I know I’m asking you to believe a lot and that’s not easy.” This nonsense that Jesus was the Great Enabler, is just that nonsense! Did Jesus give love and compassion? Absolutely! He is always helping us in our sin, we are always sinning. But when our lifestyle is just basically “I don’t care what God wants or doesn’t want, I only care what I want and that’s what I going to do!” This bizarre idea that Jesus is supposed to tell someone “that’s ok, it’s not your fault, you’re a victim or subject to your genetics, blah, blah and whatever you need to do, well that’s just ok (Oprah style)” is just not faithful to Scripture and is just not what we want for a society. Haven’t we seen enough in a society that says I don’t care what’s good, bad or indifferent to anyone else, I’m going to do what I want to do and how it damages anyone else (including me) well too bad. These are the same people that are going to expect a government agency (read the taxpayer) and yes, even more bizarrely, the church to swoop in and pick up the pieces after the inevitable crash and burn.

“Don’t ever try to ease the discomfort of someone whom the Holy Spirit is making uncomfortable! Be careful not to communicate to your friends that you find their lack of faith acceptable … or being comfortable with sin.” That just makes so much sense, the Holy Spirit is pushing on someone to really look at their life as a whole, outside of Jesus, and their sin. Trying to get someone to really realize how far they are lost in their sin and some nice gooey “Christian” in true Oprah style tells them: “…don’t you worry baby, it will be alright, you’re not a bad person, don’t let people tell you, you do what makes you happy…” Ok, that might help their self-esteem, but it’s the same old idolatry. Our feeling good about ourself is more important than what the Holy Spirit is trying to do. “God, what I want, is more important than what you want!” How do you think that will play out in eternity?

Peter King of Sports Illustrated in his blog says that the Michael Sam selection is his pick as the highlight of the draft. He glorifies ESPN’s decision to run uninterrupted and unedited the saga up to and including when Sam kissed his, oh I don’t know, companion, SO,… Really??? So much for unbiased journalism. How on earth does this rate anymore then a shake of the head? If this is what this guy wants to do, if this is what the NFL wants to do, hey you’re grownups, you make your own decisions. But somehow lionizing this moment, trying to make it comparable to some major points in American history? Give me a break and as I wrote before, a 249th pick, someone who will probably never wear an NFL uniform in a regular season game, in a league that has numerous issues with players dealing with legal issues, questions involving gambling and who can forget the great “wardrobe malfunction”, drug abuse, a league that is often derisively referred to as the “National Felon’s League”. There’s no doubt in my mind that the majority of people in the NFL are people of integrity and good judgment. But more and more those in the NFL who just push for the buck, cheap publicity, a general disregard for common decency are dominating professional football. How do you think that will work out for football, for fans of a league that is becoming more debased?

When do those in the NFL who long for a sport of decency, integrity, sportsmanship, an inspiring product, start to push back against the element in the NFL that seems to want to drag the league down to the lowest common denominator? A league that disposes of a Christian who wins (Tim Tebow) and then two years later lionizes a 249th pick solely on the basis of the fact that he sleeps with another guy?

I will admit it, I will probably stay a Patriots fan, because, despite their own situation with former tight end Aaron Hernandez. To their credit, they immediately cut all ties, they did not play around with the situation. It’s an organization that is generally recognized to be high quality in many respects. But it’s teams and people like the Patriots who are going to have to start to restore the credibility of a league that is becoming more of a symbol of questionable virtue.

Yeah, all will be held accountable by God, even those of the great and powerful NFL. The NFL may be an American icon today, but what does that really matter when the final judgment comes. In the meantime, as Blackaby so aptly points out, we don’t do anyone a favor by patting them on the head, telling them not to worry about what God says and send them on their way.

Please do me one more favor, for all you amateur theologians who love to do the “judge not…” that’s not what it means, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, do yourself a favor, stop making yourself look ridiculous and either learn or just be honest and say, “We don’t care what God says, we are going to sin, our blood is on our hands.” Hey so be it. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 4: 1-3: “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,…” This is Paul giving directions to a pastor that he is mentoring. Likewise directions to me a Christian pastor. I’m really tired of the world trying to make a virtue out of obvious sin, admit it, quit trying to justify it, be honest. The world is steeped in sin and trying to justify it with utter nonsense. Christian teachers, the Bible, tell me what is God’s will, that’s what I’m responsible for, that’s what I will teach, convince, rebuke and exhort. At the end of time I can stand before the throne, and yes I will have my own sins to deal with, but in the end I look forward to hearing those words from the Father “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
That’s my responsibility, the Holy Spirit put me where I am, and I can only be responsible to Him and not to a world that loves to rationalize, justify, cavalierly flout was is virtuous and what is good. If the NFL and the media treated this as a note, fine and move on. But the hyperbole surrounding this has been absurd. Don’t tell the rest of the world that this is a “draft for the ages”, it’s a footnote, if you think it’s otherwise, you really do not live in the real world.

Success, Growth, Service, urgency, in life and for Christ

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Bo Burlingham of Inc Magazine (October 2013) visited West Point, the US Army Military Academy, and made some interesting observations about military training, thatt I never really heard articulated. I have seen a reasonable facsimile of a team environment in the corporate world, but for the most part too many environments, including the church, just do not seem to be able to grasp the following concepts.

I can hear you say, “the military’s a different environment, different mission, different conditions,” Yeah, but. For way too many in the rest of the world, it’s the pursuit of the “buck”, and it’s all about the individual, I have to do anything and everything that is good for me. Frankly I’ve seen too many who didn’t even really understand what is actually good for them.

Burlingham makes this observation: “Every cadet also is extremely busy. Yet these cadets were taking time away from their studies and other duties to help their friends get through the course.” Well yeah, because you need to. There simply cannot be a “weak link” in the unit, whether it’s the class, the squad, boat crew, air crew, on and on. It is the unit that is successful, if it’s not, then no one in the unit is. If anything comes close to that it’s sports teams, but even in that environment, it’s the individual who’s torn between getting the championship ring and the new contract for next year.

I did not go to a military academy, but even in the shortened version of that, in boot camp and “A” school, you certainly get a sense of the four year environment. And I can really relate to  Burlingham’s next observation: “,..not only were the cadets more collegial, but they seemed to be happier – much happier- than students at civilian universities…” I’ve done college and I’ve done the military. Oh yes, college can be stressful, but puhlease, getting yanked out of bed at midnight to get screamed at and run around and in kind of physical, I don’t know, abuse. Sorry but most college students I know/known, would be sobbing, quivering masses. In the world’s  “it’s all about me environment”, they just can not internalize the concept that “if we’re all getting beat on together, it’s not personal, it’s intended to make us stronger and pull together.” But today you can’t seem to look at most people without them taking it personally. There’s way too many people out there who would do themselves a big favor and listen more and talk a lot less and get over themselves.

Burlingham says: “A cadet’s life is anything but fun. And yet these young people seem to get something out of their lives that is missing from the lives of many of their contemporaries.” Amen, preach it brother. Just to give you some context, I’m not some sort of “I remember the big one…” I only retired 9 years ago. I started when I was 17 years old. I served 29 years and I saw many changes, but for the most part, things were still the same principles and I can very much relate to this article. Things haven’t changed that much in the last nine years and with a real actual shooting war going on for, in or about, 13 years, all the more sense of urgency, mission and team. People could be readily killed and were. No one wants to send anyone into a shooting mission or a mission of any kind of danger without doing everything possible to make sure they come home alive. I’ve never had to deal with it, but I can imagine the sick feeling a senior person must feel when they hear about someone they trained being killed in action or some other operation. I think one of the things that Burlingham sees is the sense that cadets are, to an extent, living on the edge, meeting challenges that the vast majority of their peers wouldn’t and couldn’t begin to step up to, the sense that they are making a real difference, they are serving and also the sense that they will be meeting challenges very soon that could mean lives, including theirs.

One observation he makes that I think is unique and yet if you’re not feeling this, regardless of the environment you’re in, you are not really stepping up, you are frankly coasting. He asks “Does anyone get through West Point without feeling that sense of inadequacy?” The response from the cadets was, “No”. Their isn’t any nonsense about “self-esteem”, hurting someone’s feelings, no one cares, you should feel inadequacy and on a regular basis. How else are you going to push yourself, step-up, achieve more then you ever thought? Get over yourself, if you’re not failing, if you’re not being challenged and losing once in awhile, you are simply not living, you’re existing: “…repeated failure was built into West Point’s culture. Yet that didn’t seem to faze the cadets in the least. They came across as irrepressibly positive and devoid of the alienation that infected other campuses … there was the phenomenon he had observed in the gym: cadets going out of their way to help one another, even as they were competing intensely to outdo one another.” Interesting paradox, I have to win, but I cannot let you fail. And if I win and make you successful, well heck, I’m doubly successful and you are too. You also manage to avoid the inevitable “you got me this time, but now it’s personal and I’m going to do whatever I can to mess you up the next time.” I have seen this toxic, immature environment constantly, and in the end, everyone ends up messing themselves up. Why do we have the world we have today? Because everyone is stomping on everyone to grab everything they can get, only to get subsequently stomped on (and with prejudice), by someone else.

Too bad more people don’t have the following attitude: “‘It’s better to fail here and have other people help you get it right than to fail in Afghanistan, where the consequences could be catastrophic,’ said … cadet, Christer Hosrtman.” Great observation young man.

A man named Jim Collins who, among other things, has written business books, made this observation: “Collins took out a piece of paper and drew a triangle. One point he labeled success, another growth and the other service. Those three corners of the triangle, he sensed, held an answer to the paradox he had observed in the culture of West Point.”

I really don’t see it as a paradox. In military life, in Christian life and yes even in your day to day workaday life. You have to have these elements, you also have to have a sense of urgency, you have to have a sense that this matters and not just in a “just one more transaction, one more customer tedium” but in a way that you are serving a greater cause.

I would also like to pay tribute to so many I have served with that have exemplified these qualities of the military that protects you. My big brother Chief Jerry DeModena, my rebel southern cousin Lt Colonel Roger Niblet. Lt Commander Dave Wajda, Lieutenant Eric Bernstein, really all the men and women I served with in Harbor Defense Command Naval Coastal Warfare. All my brothers four of them and we covered the span of services; Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Marines, my father Air Force, my son Army and my nephew Air Force. Joe and Kathy Mokris both Annapolis graduates and Marine officers. God has blessed me greatly with great military brothers and sisters,  and Christian brothers and sisters. But this caveat, those Christian brothers and sisters, in whatever walk of life, need to  learn this lifestyle and it was a lifestyle that Jesus and the disciples exemplified. They had constant success because the Holy Spirit used them to turn those they were led to, to lives  in Jesus. They knew failure too and and trusted God in the successes and “failures”. They knew growth, growing through those they discipled and through the trials God put them through and they certainly knew service. Not just in terms of providing for bodily needs, but in eternal service, what really matters in Christ.

I know all rah, rah, but this is where it’s at. True faith, true service, true sacrifice, on and on in whatever you do. You may not feel the need to be so “Semper” in your position, but I can tell you that I have been truly blessed by people in what many would see in humble positions. Serving others, serving Christ with a sense of urgency, with a sense of, yes, making myself better, but challenging and helping those around me to be better too. When you have that kind of synergy, the Holy Spirit will use that to do amazing things to benefit you and to bless so many others. Do it, and let’s talk about it on Wednesday 10am corner of W King St and Beaver St, you are welcome to park behind the church and for those who are new I will buy you coffee.

Anger management

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http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in-depth/anger-management/art-20045434?pg=1&footprints=mine

The link is to an article on the Mayo Clinic website about anger management. This is a rather readable and helpful link. I would have just copied and pasted, but there were a bunch of fussy requirements, just didn’t want to get into it.
A few comments though, one of the suggestions, “think before you speak”, man there are a lot of people out there who would do themselves and everyone else too, a big favor if they’d just do that. Hey I’ve said things and realized, shortly thereafter, wow, that was dumb. Lose the juvenile attitude, just because you “have the right” doesn’t always mean you should exercise it.
There is a right way and a wrong way, give it a little time, think it out and then rationally, “this upset me and this is why”. No one’s asking you to be a doormat, by the same token, again, a right way/a wrong way.
Get some exercise! Too often it seems that person has too much energy to burn and chooses to burn it with outbursts. I have two heavy bags, a speed bag and pads upstairs at church and a bag at home. You need to work something out, come on down, I will personally hook you up. Then you can come downstairs to my office and we will talk.
And yea, little humor could go a long way. I grew up with my buddy in the Coast Guard, he’s the older brother I never had. He could handle situations like that so well. He would get this “puckish” expression on his face and then make a “puckish” remark, and everyone would immediately unclench. I try to “channel” my big brother any time I get into that (not always successfully). (Oh yea, if you don’t know what “puckish” means, drop me a line) (One other note, he was a “Gold Gloves Boxer”, who put me in a hold once, I had to beg to get out of. He could also shoot the eye out of gnat at 100 yards. You have to learn control especially when there are firearms available and especially when you’re carrying one as a law-enforcement officer. He was and he’s great.)
Quit holding grudges, nothing good comes of it, get over your pride and deal with it. There is too much to do for the Kingdom! You got that much energy and passion? I got a million things you could do here at church.
When we look to the Lord and see what He went through, for us, really how can we be otherwise? And don’t think I’m being Pollyannish here either, believe me, I will readily admit I can go off. But I’ve also found that it just doesn’t pay to do so. Often that person really does need a little compassion. I’m not saying you should be abused and if you really can’t deal with it, walk off, refer him/her to me. But just don’t get into it, think about what Jesus had to deal with, that we are called to be a servant and sometimes we serve best by just taking it in prayer. If Jesus can hang on the Cross and say “forgive them Father…”, can’t we find a way to forgive and then a better way to deal with it?

The Keys please

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To hear the audio of this sermon click on the above link  or copy and paste it into your web browser

The keys to heaven and hell
First St Johns Apr 27, 2014
He has risen, He has risen indeed! Hallelujah!
Father, You know our struggle. In all different forms, we are told that we have failed, fallen short. That our sins separate us from You. Satan and his demons are our constant accusers. “You aren’t worthy, you can’t be saved, look at all the things that you’ve done that are sins against God.” We often get to the point where we simply give up, our faith is destroyed, we know there’s nothing we can do and we feel rejected. That we can never measure up to Jesus’ expectations and we believe what the world tells us, what the great deceiver Satan tempts us with and we let ourselves sink into the muck and despair of the world. But we know that Your church has the keys to heaven, that there is forgiveness and salvation in your church. Help us Lord to keep that foremost in our minds and reject what the world tells us. Help us to remember to return to Your church weekly so that we know forgiveness and life in Christ and not the death, despair and sinfulness of the world. 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 trust in Jesus, in His church and in the keys of heaven said …AMEN.
He has risen. He has risen indeed.
I posted on Face Book, that I would make time available to hear confession, I heard back from this one guy, who in this very self-righteous/pompous attitude, “I don’t confess to any man, I confess to God.” Sort of like Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles “harrumph, harrumph, hey I didn’t get an harrumph from that man”. Seems there are a lot out there who let their personal theology get in the way of what the Bible tells us and seems to feel that everyone should join in with him harrumphing, hmm I don’t need anyone else.
Yea, well, not exactly Biblical. When we lay our sins before God, that is called repentance. God knows our sins, we aren’t telling Him anything He doesn’t know. When we lift up our sins to Him, it should be in the attitude of repentance. “I know, that You know that I’ve sinned and I’m lifting them up in repentance, I am asking You for forgiveness of these things Father. And you should do this, I would never ask you to ignore taking your sins before the throne in repentance. But despite what our self-righteous friend thinks, we are told: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16, ESV) When I conduct healing services, yes something else no one does, but… Part of that healing service quotes James, that a great deal of our sickness and disability is caused by our sin and quite often could be the result of unconfessed sin. We certainly know today that stresses in our life are often the direct cause of many physical and mental issues that we have.
This self-righteousness that we insist on, it’s all about me, I do what I want, leaves us even more isolated, more separated from the Body of Christ, from our brothers and sisters. Let’s see how that attitude can continue to mess up our entire life: “Much celebrated cyclist Lance Armstrong seems to have chosen a new career, making himself a pathetic figure. Now admitting he used performance enhancing drugs, he met with Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, in hopes that Tygart would lessen his life time ban from competition. Apparently Mr. Tygart didn’t budge. Faced with truth, people either submit or rebel. Armstrong allegedly told Tygard, “You don’t hold the keys to my redemption. There’s one person who holds the keys to my redemption and that’s me.”1 Have you ever seen the cartoon, where the little field mouse is making a final sign of defiance to an eagle swooping in to eat it? Yea, okay, that one final gesture of independence, but it only makes the person look clueless, in total denial of the facts.
In today’s reading, Jesus is telling His disciples: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (Jn 20:23) Jesus is even more specific in Matthew 16:19: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Jesus’ disciples make up the Body of Christ. Jesus is giving them the keys to heaven, He is telling them very forthrightly, they have the authority to present the forgiveness of Jesus. They are the church and Jesus is telling His church, that if someone comes to them in repentance to confess the things that they have done, by commission or omission, that are sins against God, they, Jesus’ ministers His apostolos, they are to forgive them their sins by the authority of Jesus
Let’s go back in time, decades ago for most of us, to Luther’s Small Catechism, remember confirmation? Dr Luther asks: “What special authority has Christ given to His church on earth?” The first response is: “Matt 18:18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” and “John 20: 22-23 [Jesus] breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Not only was He giving his apostles authority of the keys, but he was impressing that fact on them with the Holy Spirit. Every Sunday I stand up before you and we join together in what is called “corporate confession” and we admit that we have sinned against God since the last time we were in church. At the end of that I announce to you that as a called and ordained servant of Jesus Christ you are forgiven. I’m not forgiving you, I am telling you that because of what you did in faithfulness, you are now forgiven, not because of what I do, but because of what Jesus did for all of us. In individual confession, it is even more to the point, for God to be merciful and to strengthen you faith. “Do you believe that my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness?” If the person says “Yes”, I reply, “let it be done for you as you believe”. You know that through the faith that God has given you, and I have affirmed that, that you are forgiven. I have exercised the keys of heaven, by affirming your faith, knowing that you are forgiven, that you do have the promise of salvation in Jesus and that He will continue to strengthen you in your faith. I was talking about this at the Mission Store and one lady says: “So I need to go to church in order to be forgiven?” Yes, to not only be forgiven, but to know that you are forgiven, because your pastor affirms that you are forgiven, you have heard that forgiveness from the minister of Jesus and so it should be cemented into your heart.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book The Cost of Discipleship writes: “A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person.’ Isn’t that our calling as pastors?
Instill in your congregation the importance of confession. Avoid fostering the image that your fellowship is full of perfect people (you won’t fit in) [yea, Amen to that JD] Instead, show by example a church where members and leaders alike confess their sins and show humility, where the price of admission is simply an admission of guilt. Healing happens in a church like this. Grace happens in a church like this. Followers of Christ have been given authority to hear confession and proclaim grace. ‘If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’ (John 20:23 NCV).” [This is also referred to as the keys to heaven and hell that Jesus gives to His church. JD]
This week really think about confession, the assurance you receive, why we maintain this opportunity to raise up the things that you are dealing with, with your pastor and how that will give you forgiveness, assurance and the renewal and strengthening of your faith. What do you want to lift up, what do you want to be healed of? Write it in your journal and bring it with you next Thursday 5:30pm, I’ll be here.
HE HAS RISEN, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

Spiritual attack

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I suppose Good Friday isn’t a time to be whining, good things are happening, the Lord has been blessing us. But it’s hard to break this feeling of being under both spiritual attack and spiritual oppression.
In my heart I know that is a good thing, if you are truly being effective for the Kingdom, you certainly put a target on your back, you are going to attract Satan’s attention. In that sense I say bring it, if I’m going to be the one to suffer the slings and arrows, if I am taking the hits for Jesus, He tells us that we should rejoice, that it is commendable: “ESV Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
People who are just going through the motions, trying to stay “safe”, not stepping out for Jesus or His church, they aren’t a threat to Satan, so he’s not going to cause them grief. Wouldn’t the strategy be more to keep people kind of fat and happy and isolated? You just stay there and go by the numbers and nothing happens to you, I’m just interested in the guy who is trying to bring the Kingdom of Christ into my world. This is Satan’s world, those who are Christians are in the world, but not of the world. Seems that for those who actually step out, they draw the fire, while everyone else hides behind their barricades.
Jesus certainly stepped out, Jesus certainly confronts the world and no matter how attacked I feel, I know that Jesus is going to be there to support me and to keep me going. Jesus promised us: “And behold, I am with you always even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28: 20) In the meantime I certainly covet your prayers, I continue to pray that I stay strong and faithful, trusting that if I am drawing Satan’s fire, then Jesus must be using me effectively and I’m staying out of His way as best I can. But pray that this oppressiveness will be turned from feeling as if I’m being pushed down and give me strength to rise up and push back hard in the strength of Jesus Christ. We remember the death and sacrifice of Jesus today, His paying for our sins on that cross. Good Friday is the second most important day on the Christian calendar. On this day, Jesus made full payment for our sins, lifted what separates us from the Father. Sunday, He rises from the dead, our sins have been paid for and now we are restored to eternal life in Christ, the life that the Father had always intended for us in our resurrection. This is a great time for family, but set some of that time to worship together, today and Sunday. In His peace.

The Dying Word

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First Saint Johns

April 9, 2014

This is from Concordia Publishiing House “Words of Life from the Cross” series

SERMON: THE DYING WORD (LUKE 23:46)

The sixth word is Jesus’ dying word, a word of committal, a word of trust. His dying words are faithful, full of trust in His Father, trusting that in His death His Father will receive Him in loving arms just as the father of the prodigal received his son with open and welcoming arms. Here again is the paradox of faith. Jesus had cried out in abandonment, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and yet now He cries out in faith, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!”
Isn’t that how it is with the life of faith? God seems so distant at times, especially those times of darkness and woe, those dark nights and days, and yet He stands ever near to embrace us in those strong, loving, fatherly arms. Jesus trusted His Father, and He did it on behalf of all of us. His trust is complete and unwavering. Though He dies, yet He trusts. Though He suffers, yet He trusts. Though the Father is silent and hidden, yet He trusts.
But take note of something—this dying word is not sighed or whispered. This is not a weak word of resignation by a man who is overcome by death. No. He shouts this word in a loud voice. He summons His strength and shouts it to the highest heavens. He wants the whole world to hear what He has to say. He is the Son of the Father, begotten and beloved from all eternity. He trusts His Father’s mandate that sent Him on this mission to the cross.
Jesus is not overcome by death. Rather, He overcomes death by dying. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Jesus has taken the sting of death and the venom of the Law into His own flesh, shed His own blood, and now He cries out in victory and triumph as He commits His life to the Father who sent Him. This strong word of the cross cuts through your doubt and disbelief. Adam’s death is conquered by this Second Adam’s death. Adam hearkened to the doubting word of the devil and became a transgressor, plunging the world into the chaos of sin. But this Second Adam, the new head of redeemed humanity, holds true to His Father and will not waver even as He dies. His life is in the hands of the Father.
With His final breath, Jesus shows Himself to be the faithful Son. Where we have failed, He has succeeded. Where we have sinned, He has proven sinless. Where we doubt, He remains strong.
Being self-absorbed and self-oriented, the old Adam in us resists this surrender. It fights like crazy against the loving embrace of the Father, like a small child throwing a temper tantrum who will not be held. We want to be in control, we want to be in power. We resent any notion that we sit not in the driver’s seat, but in the passenger’s seat of our lives. Like so many drowning victims, we think we can swim to shore ourselves. We do not need a lifeguard; we even resist the attempts to save us. We want it all on our own terms.
You know how it is in your own life—the bargaining, the denial, the transactions—anything but letting go and leaving to God our Father to hold us in safety. Jesus does it. On the cross, He entrusts His life, His mission, His death, everything to His Father. “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”
The words are from Psalm 31. The psalms are the hymnbook of the living and the dying. Jesus takes up the words of David on His lips, for they are His words, too, wrought by the Spirit of Christ in David.
In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in Your righteousness deliver me!
Incline Your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
For You are my rock and my fortress;
and for Your name’s sake You lead me and guide me;
You take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for You are my refuge.
Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
David, surrounded by his enemies, commits his life into the hand of God. Jesus, the greater Son of David, hanging in the darkness with the burden of humanity’s sin hanging heavy upon Him, commits His life to His Father. In committing Himself into His Father’s hands, He entrusts us as well, gathering all into His death that we might be gathered to Him in our death.
In Luther’s day, people were quite intentional about writing down their last thoughts and confession. What you said at your death was what would be remembered about you. This is Jesus’ last word of His being humbled unto death in obedience to the Law. This is the last word of His work that began with His Baptism where His Father voiced His approval over His beloved Son. Now at the end of His mission, His work completed, the Scriptures fulfilled, the redemption of the world accomplished, He closes His eyes and breathes His last breath with a faithful, trusting word.
Remember these words when it comes time for your last words and make them your “now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit. Say them each night, as the Small Catechism instructs, in case you should die before you wake. Hold the cross of Jesus before your closing eyes, and rest in peace and joy, knowing that death has been swallowed up in the victory of Jesus’ death.

For Your last triumphant cry, for Your faithful trust to the end, for Your final breath of the old creation, for Your entrusting Yourself and us to Your Father, we give You thanks and praise, most holy Jesus. Amen.

Please cllick on the following link for a audio recorded version of this sermon

 

 

My God why have You forsaken Me

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From Words of Life from the Cross  – The Faithful Word

From Concordia Publishing House Wednesday Night Lenten worship

Sermon: The Faithful Word (Matthew 27:45–46)

 The third word of the cross is an entirely different word. It is a word directed to the Father, a cry of abandonment in the God-forsakenness of our sin. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” spoken in Jesus’ native tongue, Aramaic. This emanates from the very depths of His soul.

Onlookers would have recognized the opening verses of Psalm 22, the desperate cries of King David in his time of trial. “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (v. 1). If they had the psalm committed to memory, and many did, they would have remembered David’s vividly prophetic portrayal of a crucifixion long before crucifixions were even invented. “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (vv. 16–18). Jesus is living and dying this psalm.

With His cry of dereliction, Jesus underscores the prophetic nature of His death. This is no accident, no simple miscarriage of justice, no quirk of history. His death in the darkness between noon and three is written large into every page of the Old Testament. It is the thread that connects the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms into a unified whole. David’s sufferings are a picture, a type, of the Davidic King in His time of trial, of Jesus on the cross. The sentences are no coincidences; they are the plan of God from all eternity that the world should find its redemption in the death of the Son of David, the Son of God.

This is an easily misunderstood cry. Those who heard Jesus misheard Him and thought He was calling out for Elijah to save Him. They offer Jesus a drink of sour wine and wait to see if Elijah comes.

But Jesus has no need for Elijah’s services. He has come to fulfill Elijah and all of the prophets. His cry is not a call for help, but a cry out of the depths of our fallen humanity, out of our own death and despair. This is your abandonment, your darkness, your sin, your death that Jesus is experiencing in His own flesh.

He became the Sinner, damned under God’s wrath, cursed on the tree. He is the adulterer, the thief, the murderer, the idolater. He is you. He willingly, knowingly, freely offers Himself on the altar of God’s justice, taking on Adam’s sin and rebellion and yours and making it His own. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Sin is alienating. It drives a wedge between God and us and between each of us. Because of sin, Adam and Eve were driven from the garden and barred from the tree of life. Because of sin, we are driven into the isolation of self, the solitary confinement of our own selves curved inward. Sin would shut us from God and from one another, leaving us permanently warped inward in a prison locked from the inside. In our time of darkness and despair, we cry out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” but the truth of the matter is we have forsaken God. We have turned from Him. We like sheep have gone astray, each in his or her own way. We have turned from God; God has not turned from us.

Jesus, as the perfect Substitute, takes our place. He puts Himself where we are, and in so doing, experiences the silence and darkness and despair, the “dark night” of our collective human soul. He places Himself into our killing fields, our death camps, our concentration camps, our abortion clinics, our prisons and gulags. He enters into all the God-forsaken places where we cry out in despair, “Where are You, God? Why have You forsaken us?” Jesus utters the “why” question on behalf of all of us. Why does God permit this to happen? Why do the innocent suffer? Why does a just God permit suffering and a merciful God not prevent it?

There is paradox in this cry. Jesus prays to a Father who appears to have abandoned Him in His time of need; the God who is absent and silent. He cries out into the darkness from His cross, and His cries trail off into the silence of space. And still, like David who prayed these words before Him, He prays. Here is the paradox of faith. Faith prays to the God who is silent, who appears to have withdrawn, whose hand of blessing has shut tightly, who appears not to be there. Faith calls out “my God” and will not let God off the hook. This is faith that clings to the promise of God, when all that you have is the promise of God. Like the centurion who said to Jesus, “Only say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8), faith trusts that the word of Jesus is sufficient.

This is the faith of Jesus that is at the heart of our faith. He trusts for us. He prays for us. He cries out for us. He suffers for us. He dies for us. He embraces us so that we will never be forsaken in our time of need; we will never be alone in the hour of our death; we will not be abandoned in the Day of Judgment. Jesus is there, joined to us and we to Him in baptismal faith. He is with us, always, promising never to leave or forsake us.

Remember this faithful word when God seems to have forsaken you, on your dark Good Friday afternoon. Remember this cry of the Son of God calling out to heaven in your place, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”, and know that God has vindicated Jesus in His death, and He vindicates you in Jesus. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). You are reconciled to God in Jesus. You are justified in Jesus. You are safe in Jesus. And you are never forsaken.

 

For Your suffering in the darkness, for Your cry of abandonment, for Your becoming our sin so that we in You might become the righteousness of God, for Your taking upon Yourself our alienation, our division, our estrangement, our death, we give You thanks, most holy Jesus. Amen.