What about my Plans?

“If you want to hear God laugh, just tell him your plans.”

I don’t like that saying. First, I think it is a little too pithy and cute. When our plans fall apart, it doesn’t make me feel better to imagine God laughing at me. Second, I don’t think God ever laughs at our hardships. He laughs with derision at the attempts of his enemies to thwart him (Psalm 2). He delights in his people and their praise (Psalm 149.) He boasts about our faith (Job). Yet I cannot think of one time when God had fun messing with his own people. Finally, I don’t like that saying because it hits too close to home. I like my plans. I think they’re good plans. I want to follow through with them. I want to see them succeed. It makes my life easier when things go as planned. Sometimes my heart aches for the plans that fall apart.

My heart isn’t aching, but today was a little frustrating. My grass needed to be mowed last week. The orchard where the chickens scratch about is resembling a jungle. The forecast has been all rain from now until Easter (not that I will have time to mow next week anyway.) This morning the sun appeared. I had a good productive morning already. I made some service preparations. I taught a child. I did some studying. I walked the dogs (in the rain), so when the sun came out,I saw my chance. Time to mow.

It always takes me longer to get out of the house, I had to find work pants, water, sunflower seeds, headphones, boots, church keys, and car keys. I don’t know why that takes so long, but it does. The mower needs a new battery. (I’m not complaining, since it is really nice that I get to use it in the first place. I planned to jump it with my truck. The ignition is jammed and won’t turn. After fighting it for a few minutes, I decided to use the other car. After all this, I only made it about ¼ through the work before Oregon did its thing. Wet and a little cranky, I put the lawn mower away and got cleaned up to do my normal work, as I ate my lunch, the sun reappeared. I don’t think God was laughing at me and my plans, but I do know my lovely bride was.

That is just one of hundreds of every day examples of the plans we make and what becomes of them. Often the interruption is even more frustrating. Speaking of interruptions, I think it is safe to say no one’s year is going as planned. Vacations are cancelled. (I don’t have high hopes for my own, scheduled in June.) Flights are grounded. School children are home. Colleges have moved online. Medical procedures are being postponed. Stores are closed. Projects have been put on hold. Easter is only a week away but instead of planning for a breakfast and a joyfully robust service, I am arranging schedules so that I can at least see the people the Lord has entrusted to me and serve them the meal the Lord has given them to eat. When we will be able to meet together fully, no one knows. Our lives are in limbo. Our plans are shattered, and we don’t know enough about tomorrow to fit those pieces back together into anything useful.

I’m not laughing. No one is. We are still in the early stages of shock at how quickly our lives got turned upside down. As every new deadline passes, as every plan falls away, as milestones are missed, as insecurity grows, as money gets tight, our plans are going to look feebler and more foolish. The Lord isn’t laughing.

I am not going to tell you to look on the bright side; however, we can all learn from this. Jesus told a parable about a man who made his plans. He had a big harvest. He built his barns, and then he was ready to sit back and enjoy life, but his life was cut short. (Luke 12:16-21) Instead of making plans, God gives us the blessings of each day to use wisely for us and for others. Even in the limited lives we are living now, we have so much to use. We have our time for family, for friends, for prayers, for encouragement, for study, and for praise. Now is not the time to sit back and wait until you can plan for tomorrow. It is good to do those projects you have put off. It is good to get reacquainted with those who share your roof. It is good to learn to appreciate your daily bread, even if it becomes the daily beans.

As the rain poured down on my lawn mowing aspirations, I thought of James chapter 4, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that city, spend a year there, do business, and make a profit.’ You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? Indeed, it is a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears.” In a way, nothing has changed with this stay at home order and the viral threat. We never knew what day our lives would end. We don’t know if this virus will touch any of us or even anyone near to us. We can make long term plans, but tomorrow is out of our hands. “Instead, it is better for you to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live, and we will do this or that.’” What relief that is! Forget about your control! Forget about your plans! Live in his!

Right now, everyone has a theory about what the next few weeks and months may look like. Some paint a dire picture, others believe this is all an overreaction. Everyone wants a plan, a plan for the medical needs, a plan for the economy, and a plan for us to get back to our lives. Maybe in this case, God does laugh. He laughs not because we are struggling, but because we think we know. Even with all our charts and data, even with the best experts in the world trying to solve this puzzle, we know so little. Every reasonable expert I have listened to says exactly that: we don’t know enough. “But right now, you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So, for the one who knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it, this is sin.” We all have the right thing to do. Love your neighbor (yes, even if that means maintaining a safe distance for the time being.) We have work God has put into our hands. This interruption is not the time for lounging around the house binging Netflix, or wallowing in self-pity, or worrying in panicked fear. Trust the Lord. Your plans might be ruined, but his never are.

Well, the sun is back out, but I don’t think I will have the time to mow the grass today. (Maybe Thursday?) I guess some ruined plans can be worth a laugh. In fact, for me, for all who trust in God, your Savior, all our ruined plans will one day be worth a laugh, because we know our God’s plan. His plan brought his Son to a cross. His plan raised him up on the third day. His plan is to gather all his people to himself forever, maybe, just maybe, my plans aren’t so vital in comparison.

Always Essential

He sat on the end bench and watched his team battle up and down the court. In the beginning, he was cheering his team on excitedly. When the coach looked down the bench, looking to give one of the starters a breather, he tried to look ready to go. Someone else was always chosen. It was a close game, down to the wire. As he watched the quarters pass, and the seconds tick away, he knew he wasn’t getting in the game. His team didn’t need him. Maybe they didn’t even want him. He wouldn’t be a part of the victory. He didn’t want to be the reason they lost. It is hard to be a non-essential part of the team.

Right now, many feel like they are riding the bench. As of now, non-essential gatherings are forbidden. Non-essential businesses are asked to close or change the way they offer their services. Recreation was deemed non-essential weeks ago. Non-essential workers are being sent home or laid off. People are told to stay in their homes. Whether you call it “shelter in place” or “stay home. Stay safe,” the result is the same, our lives are put on hold while we wait for the determination that the threat to our general society has passed. If you don’t need to leave the home, don’t. If you are deemed non-essential, don’t bother doing anything.

I get it. We are all trying hard to keep our distance to slow the spread of a deadly virus. Keeping workers at home, shutting doors and moving online, and asking people to stay home, should help. Still, I think that term non-essential is misleading. Not every activity we do throughout our days will directly keep us alive. Not every business supplies life-giving or life-saving materials. Businesses might not fall apart if a certain worker stays home, but does that mean they are not-essential?

Are any of us non-essential? Are any of the things God gives us to do? We may struggle to see where we fit into gears of the universe. We may feel like we don’t matter, and like everything else in the world would just go on without us. In this time of social distancing, it feels like we are riding the bench. We feel disconnected, and we wish we were a part of things. The Lord says you are.

By God’s grace you are a part of something wonderful. By God’s grace and knowledge, your work always matters. This is true of everyone, The Psalmist sings, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful and my soul knows that very well….In your book all of them were written. Days were determined before any of them existed (Psalm 139:14, 16). God created each person with a purpose. He formed the minute details of our bodies and minds with his great wisdom. He knew what works we would do and how long our lives would last, even before we drew our first breaths. Even before you started to grow in your mother’s womb, God thought you were essential.

This is even more true of God’s people. You are essential to his work on earth. He has made you a part of something great, the living and active body of Christ, the kingdom of God, the universal church. He chose you, not because of anything you have done. He chose you, not because he knew what great things you might do, but Paul tells us It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Out of God’s love he chose you. He chose to make you alive in Christ. He chose to forgive all your sins in Christ. He chose, purely out of his grace, to raise you up with Christ to enjoy all the joys of heaven. Paul wasn’t done yet. Because God has chosen you placed you in his kingdom, you are essential. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

The Lord has no benchwarmers on his team. He has no non-essential personnel in his Kingdom. He has formed the Christian heart in Christ for good works. He uses your unique abilities, your unique thoughts, your unique prayers, your unique words, your essential uniqueness, to help and encourage those around you and to do those things God wants done. Little children, even babies, with their laughter, their innocence, their beautiful faith, are essential to God, not for their potential but because God has prepared childlike things for them to do. The elderly, even the infirm who require so much care, they are essential to God, he delights in their prayers. Their faith is a testament this world desperately needs to hear. Their care is an opportunity for others to love another human being. Workers of all kinds, who make all kinds of goods, who provide all kinds of services, especially those who do this with God’s love in their hearts and guiding their hands, they are essential. Christian parents, Christian teachers, Christian students, Christian volunteers, Christian who study the word, speak the word, pray the word, you are always essential to God.

No one likes to sit on the bench. We aren’t created to do nothing or to live a non-essential life. In Christ, God always has meaningful work for you to do. Even in quarantine, let’s keep at it.

The Difficult Path Ahead: Where Trust, Testing, and Love Meet

Only three weeks ago, we gathered together and heard how Satan brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, and told him to jump. “After all,” he declared, “it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, so that you do not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus replied confidently with another word from Scripture, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

From our modern perspective, that might not seem like much of a temptation. I have no desire to go bungie jumping, even less without a rope! But Jesus was alone in the desert. The Father had left him to contend with the devil. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was tired. The Spirit had sent him there. God had placed this challenge at his feet. Why wouldn’t he want to know, to see, to prove how much God cared for him? He was God’s Son, wasn’t he? Wouldn’t it be great to shove it in the devil’s face? What an example that could serve others; see how much Jesus trusted the Lord! Christians today say things like it, “Let go and let God.” Or “Step out and trust God.” It sounds so right, but Jesus wouldn’t test God.

Only three weeks ago, I preached on that Psalm the devil quoted. I encourage all of you to read it again. (This will still be here when you are done.)  At the time, the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Washington. At the time, Italy hadn’t been devastated. At the time, it was just starting to get hard to find toilet paper in the stores, but the panic and fear was starting. The words of Psalm 91 take that fear away. God remains in control. Those whom Jesus calls his own are safe from the devil’s traps. God’s shelter and protection go with the Christian wherever they go.  Indeed, we have nothing to fear.

Have things changed? Well, no. God is still in control. We are still secure. He still goes with us and protects us wherever we go. We can trust in him. In another way, yes. The stories out of Italy are tragic. The few cases in Washington have spread to every state. The cases we know about (testing is limited) in our own area are few, but increasing. This virus is so contagious that it cannot be taken lightly.  Though, the severity of the illness is still debatable, those who get the worst of it, get very sick, many die, and hospitals can quickly be overwhelmed. Events have been cancelled. Children have been sent home. Businesses are closing down. Gatherings are limited. If they can slow the spread, the hospitals can keep up. If the hospitals can have enough beds, enough ventilators, enough doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists, lives will be saved.

How should we react? What should we do? Remember what hasn’t changed. God is still watching, caring, protecting, and keeping his people for this life and the next. The Christian has nothing to fear. Yet we value life, all life, from conception to natural death. We love our family. We love the family of believers. We love our neighbors. We love our communities. We submit to the governing authorities. But what does that look like? How do we Christians demonstrate our trust in God, not fear? How do we Christians keep from testing his love, as if challenging him to care for us? How Christians not give false bravado to the world, “see how much I trust God”? And in the midst of this difficult time, how can we Christians love our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our communities?

If you still have Psalm 91 open, (if you skipped reading it before, I’ll give you a second chance), compare the words of Satan to the Words of the Holy Spirit. They are subtly different. I think these words Satan skipped offer us the path through the hard place of where trust, testing, and love meet. Psalm 91 actually says, Yes, he will give a command to his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways; They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11) That little phrase, to guard you in all your ways, speaks loudly. How was jumping off the temple the way Jesus should go? How is exposing ourselves or others to this dangerous illness the right way for us to go?  Where does your path lead? Perhaps it still leads to work where you can’t avoid everyone. The Lord will be with you there. (And your path can certainly lead to a sink and soap and water. It doesn’t require shaking hands or sharing too many spaces.) Perhaps your path allows you to stay home. With technology today we can still stay connected. Perhaps your path leads you to look out for your neighbors who may be more vulnerable. Do they have your number? Have you offered to help? Perhaps, your road leads you directly into the path of this sickness, you may have to care for a loved one. You may be one of those that the rest of us depend for our health. Serve confidently, the Lord will keep you in all your ways.

Finally, the question that has been weighing on my mind and my heart, does our path lead to gathering together in the Lord’s house? We have streaming capabilities. I can visit one on one (though I kind of think it defeats the purpose if I am entering multiple homes.) We can speak and pray over the phone. At the same time, we could keep our gatherings under the banned number. I have and can continue to take precautions to fight the illness. Those who should not be there (those with vulnerable immune systems or who are feeling ill) are encouraged to join us online. Isn’t a time of fear and trouble the exact time, Christians need to be around the word together? Aren’t we blessed to pray with each other and encourage one another? Isn’t the bread of life essential food for us? Can fear take that away? Will we forgo the celebration of Jesus conquering death and hell and giving us resurrection and life because of this virus?  It doesn’t sit well with me. My heart declares that my path leads to the Lord’s sanctuary.

Realities, however, seem to have taken our options away. Though state government hasn’t specifically banned churches from gathering in numbers under 25, the spirit of their orders should make us consider very carefully whether it is wise to continue to meet. 25 is the specified legal limit to gatherings, but the president and our governor have encouraged people to limit their groups to under 10.  If this is what our health officials are saying that they need to have the resources to combat the illness and slow its spread, is it for us to defy them?

The reality of my life is also difficult. Living with an emergency nurse increases the risk that I may be exposed. I cannot purposely break a quarantine and risk the health of others. For these reasons, though I have my own feelings about where our paths should go and meet and though we long to be able to spend our time together, I do feel that it is necessary to follow the guidance of those who are set above us. For this reason, I don’t think we can hold our regular church services or Bible studies. (You can read our synod’s response here.) As long as I am healthy, I am willing to meet with small groups of you, either in your homes, out in this lovely fresh air, or in our sanctuary. We can still in this way, confess our sins together to receive Christ’s absolution, hear God’s Word for our mutual encouragement, lift up our hearts in prayer together, and if desired receive Christ’s body and blood for our eternal good.  At our normal service times, I will stream live on Facebook to share the confession of sins, the prayer of the day, the proper readings for each Sunday, and my regular sermon.  I encourage you to participate as families in your homes, responding as you would if you were standing in the Lord’s sanctuary. 

This is not the way any of us envision observing Lent, but during this prayer and repentance, we will focus on our Savior’s work. May this serve as another reminder of sin’s cost and our Savior’s love. In the case that we are not able to gather even for Easter, Christ’s victory is undiminished even if the songs only ring out from our own homes.

I have been fatally optimistic about this outbreak. From the moment it reached our shores, I have believed that most of our population would be exposed. At the same time, I haven’t felt that it would take a more serious toll than most other illnesses that run through our lives. We have always had illness. Death is always a threat. Every flu season people die. Every day drivers are seriously injured or killed. This too shall pass. Even more, The One who lives in the shelter of the Most High will stay in the shadow of the Almighty. I am not a prophet. I am not a disease specialist, but my God knows all and rules over all. In him I will trust, and in the end we will all rise with him. Now that’s a reason for optimism.

When the Earth Dissolves and Our "gods" Cannot Help

Cancel everything! Nothing is worth the risk that this disease might spread. Quick! To the stores! Toilet paper, enough canned goods for months, cases of water (why water?), and of course enough disinfectant to douse our home at least ten times. Stay away from people. Don’t even think of traveling. Sell all your stocks! We might never recover! Everyone stay calm and panic; this is serious!

I have had a hard time getting worked up about COVID-19. Though I have been wiping down common surfaces, focusing on completely scrubbing my hands (20 seconds is a surprisingly long time), and avoiding touching my face (no easy task when you have both seasonal allergies and an awesome mustache), I can’t even bring myself to worry at all. I fully understand we need to “flatten the curve” so hospitals can properly care for the sick. I guess I understand some of the closings. (Our school only closes when we want it too, like a sunny day in Oregon, so that’s not going to disrupt our lives.) I continue to pray for, plan for, and offer what help I can to those in the most vulnerable groups. Yet, it still seems likely that many will get sick, some seriously, and not a few will die.

All the advice I have seen from medical experts and disease control agencies seems good and wise. I see no reason we shouldn’t apply it to our lives. But what about all the panic? Where is that coming from? Is this virus really different than all the others that have come before it? Is it more dangerous than all the other dangers that tragically take human life every day around the world? Is an illness really going to shut our lives down? Will children missing school, workers taken off the job, and putting our lives on hold stop it? Can we sanitize everything? Are we doing something, or do we just feel that way? Is it all too much? Or is it too little too late? I admit, I don’t know.

In light of all this, I have been reflecting  on the Psalms. There I find both the source of all this fear and panic, and the relief.

Again and again the Psalms confess. God is my refuge. My Strength. My Stronghold. My Rock. My Deliverer. But what happens when he isn’t? What happens when you replace God with anything else? Government is my refuge. (Shudders) Trump (or Biden or Bernie) is my deliverer.  Science is my rock. My work is my stronghold. The economy and my things are my strength.

In the good times, we might delude ourselves into thinking this works. The government can pass laws to make our lives better. It protects us. It ensures our rights. It pools our resources together to provide for our needs. Science and technology have done wonders. They have made us healthier. They have given us knowledge. They have made life so much easier. They provide security and power, distraction and healing. My work gives me purpose and direction. My stuff, all that I gather, that number in the spreadsheet can provide for my future. We are living the dream!

Then one microscopic virus pops that bubble. No government or leader on earth was up to the challenge. They couldn’t stop the spread. No medical system was ready to prevent or even fully treat this outbreak. The science and technology are lagging behind, eventually they may find a solution, but already we have seen how vulnerable we are, they can’t really protect us. Work and income aren’t guaranteed. Our stuff can’t promise a long life. This thing, a communicable and harmful virus has brought the world face to face with the reality we have been trying our hardest to ignore. We will all die. None of those replacement “gods” has a lasting answer. When we place our roots in them, we will be like chaff that the wind blows around. Every new threat is a good reason to panic with pathetic “gods” like those.

God is our refuge and strength, a helper who can always be found in times of trouble. That is why we will not fear when the earth dissolves. Maybe that is how it feels right now, like the earth is dissolving. The more the bad news spirals out of control, and all the things we love and enjoy are being taken away, the less secure the ground feels under our feet.

God’s voice calls out, “Be still! And know that I am God.” We, who know Christ, know we can be still. No one can take away God. No one can change his love. No one can surpass his thoughts. No one can destroy what his love has done for us. Jesus’ blood still purifies us from all sin. Jesus’ tomb is still empty. He still lives and he still sits upon his throne. He still rules all things for our good. (I don’t have to understand the details on how and why. He is God. I am not. How liberating that knowledge is!) He will raise us up on the last day. This world, heaven and earth, will pass away, but his word does not. He will make all things new. And God will wipe every tear from our eyes. Be still.

With no reason to panic and the confidence that God is near to protect and keep us, we can go out to live lovingly and wisely. Perhaps all these closings and cancellations are our opportunity to evaluate what really matters in this life. In times of trouble, we can look around and see the people God has put in our lives to love and serve. (We also get to see those who love and serve us. Thank you to all those who work to keep us safe and healthy.) What do they need? How can we help them? We can give out of God’s great abundance of love. When death is near, it is God’s call to repent. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In times of distress, you have the words of God that bring comfort, healing, and rest to wearied souls.

Instead of worry and fear, I encourage us all to spend a little time in the Psalms today. You can start with #1.

Sermon Leftover: A Bad Exchange

Their mother had given each of them 5 dollars to spend at the mall. The older brother had squandered most of it very quickly, but as his brother came out of the candy store, he was regretting a few of those arcade games. No worries, he had an idea. “Joey, come here! How much money do you have left?” His brother showed him a dollar and a few cents but he held a bag full of candy. This idea just might work. “Were you planning on going to the arcade?” The younger looked at the flashing lights and smiled. “Well then, you’re going to need some quarters!” I will trade you three quarters for your one dollar; three is better than one.” His brother eyed him suspiciously; why would his brother try and help him like this? Seeing his brother thinking it through, he added, “But you’ll have to give me one of your candies, too. I think that’ll make it a pretty fair trade. Now come on, mom will be out of that clothing store any second.” Still worrying that his brother might be tricking him, Joey made the trade anyway and ran to the arcade. With a smirk, his brother bought a pop and sat down to enjoy his brother’s candy.

Too often we are the little brother, the devil dangles his promises, his temporary pleasures, temporary glory, temporary happiness in front of our noses. He convinces us that it is a fair trade, that God’s Word and his promises aren’t worth nearly as much. We fall for it. Never realizing when we forfeit God’s treasures for worldly pleasure we trade the temporary, the fleeting, the worthless, for the value of eternal life. Not only will we not receieve a second chance on Judgment Day, but those who fall for the devil’s lies won’t just be out a few extra blessings. They will go to eternal punishment.

These words of Jesus may be some of the most controversial in religion today. “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Many around us are convinced a loving God could never send anyone, well anyone but the worst of the worst to hell. Or they believe that it must be temporary. That once their sins are paid off or maybe just their temporal punishment for sin is paid off, their time will be up and they will go to heaven. Others go to the other extreme and say that this was what God wanted from the start. He predestined those who would suffer forever, theirs is a hopeless life. But Jesus could not have been clearer. These fires were never meant for the crown of God’s creation, but for the devil and his demons. That those on his left enter into fire is not God’s desire, but their choice, for they chose to follow the devil’s lies instead of God’s truth. They reap the devil’s reward, the punishment that never ends.

Some may ask, where is God’s love in eternal punishment? Where is his justice, when so many, good people by our standards, will be punished for what seem to us to be minor sins? We need look no further than the cross for these answers. When we see our Savior’s suffering, when we hear his cries of agony, we see there are no minor sins. When we diminish sin, its damage to lives and the punishment it deserves, we do not amplify God’s love, we diminish it. It is out of love that our Savior became man for us. It is out of love that he died for us. It is out of love that he suffered, suffered the full punishment of sin, for us. It is out of love that he calls us to repentance. It is out of love that he works faith in hearts and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Are we going to let Satan bamboozle us? Are we going to let him convince us, as he did Adam and Eve, that we can have something better than what the Lord has already given us? Are we going to listen when he says God’s love is not so great and the danger of sin is not so real? Are we going to live our lives as if the things we have and enjoy today are all that really matter? Or are we going to live as Jesus urges, with our hearts set on eternity? We live for eternity when we listen to his Word. We live for eternity when we do what it says. We live for eternity when we rejoice over sins forgiven and the hope we have in Christ. We live for eternity when we look forward to the Day of Judgment. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Sermon Extension: How Do I Love My Neighbor?

Many Lutheran pastors, myself included, struggle to preach sanctification well. I never want the focus of my sermon to be about the things we do, but on what God has done. It is the gospel, Jesus’ righteousness for us, that gives us the peace and the strength to live a new life in Christ. The law might scare or guilt us into proper outward actions, but it never changes the heart. We also recognize the weakness of the law in this: the law always accuses and crushes, so even if the gospel is the center of the sermon, the encouragement to do something will always accuse us when we do not.  (For more discussion on the law and gospel, I suggest this lighthearted Lutheran podcast: https://www.letthebirdfly.com/2017/06/06/episode-11-law-and-gospel-a-first-pass/ .)

However, no pastor can preach the whole counsel of God without giving the encouragement to live in accordance with God’s Word and his will. I spent last week studying Isaiah 58:6-12, and you cannot read those words without seeing how poorly you live up to the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Even as I sit and write this, I am surrounded by the comforts many Americans take for granted. I write on a new computer, sitting a sectional couch; my six pets are all nearby. In my garage sit a nice motorcycle and a new, albeit very practical, crossover SUV. When my daughter asks, “What’s for supper?” We always respond, “Food.” Then she complains, “We always have food for supper.” Isn’t that amazing? Life is so much better than I deserve.

So, what do I, what do any of us, do with Isaiah 58? Can any of us really say we put those words into practice? Isn’t God rebuking us? Most of these questions are answered in my sermon found here: http://www.corvallislutherans.org/site/file.asp?sec_id=180003462&file_id=180465866&table=file_downloads and on our Facebook page.

But now for what is lacking in that sermon: what does that look like? How do we do it? How do we put the words, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” into practice in our lives?

Are you already a little uncomfortable? I am, and not just because I know how much I need grow in my life of faith. This topic, helping the poor and homeless, has sadly become political. So, let me try to dismiss that right away. I have opinions on the politics of a good society, but I don’t have the answers; God doesn’t tell me what form the government should take, other than a good government maintains peace and order and all government is under God’s authority. So, while I have opinions, I also make this assumption: I believe that a majority of people from every political angle and direction care about the poor and homeless, but they disagree on government’s role in solving the problem. So, if you believe that our government can be a force for helping the needy and you are happy to pay higher taxes, knowing how those programs help people. That is very reasonable and loving. But that doesn’t excuse you from living in a way that helps the poor and needy in your personal life. If you believe that government is a bad way to help the poor and needy, and citizens choosing to work together on their own causes by their own powers is a better way. That is also reasonable and loving. But then, you need to do what you say helps and live according to the command, “Love your neighbor”.

The other reason this might make us uncomfortable is this: we wonder why our own congregations don’t do more to feed the hungry and help the needy?   This is a serious question. If Christians are called to love our neighbors, then shouldn’t it follow that group of Christians gathering together would be always thinking about helping the needy? But is it that simple? The Christian will want to live according to God’s Will and “Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” Have you ever noticed how hard that is? It is impossible! We cannot do it. We can’t even come close by our own powers. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to live that way. And the only place we can receive that power is through the means of grace, God’s Word and the Sacraments. The only place we receive the Word and Sacraments for you in all their purity is within a faithful congregation. To forfeit this work of your local congregation for community service will not increase Christians ability to love their neighbors but decrease it. Doing community service in such a way that seems to make a difference in our community, can be an all-consuming work, one which most congregations cannot undertake and one which other organizations in your communities often might do better.  So is it wrong for a congregation to do these things? God forbid! Some of the most encouraging times I have had with my fellow Christians is when we serve the Lord and our neighbors together. How wonderful it is for our communities to see how much we, as a group, love them! Let’s continue to ask, What can we do together to let our light shine among men?

Finally, the reason these words make us uncomfortable is they leave us no way to escape. Whenever the Bible talks about loving your neighbor it is talking to each of us. It doesn’t leave you any room to hide in a group or pass the responsibility to someone else. It doesn’t leave you with any excuses. This is what you are supposed to do. The way you are supposed to live. It is up to you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to put those words into practice in your own life. The way I try to put them into practice in my own life is by giving freely to charities and groups that I know will use my money wisely. What’s your personal approach?

As I have thought through these things in the last week, there is so much more I could say. Christian vocation fits in with loving your neighbor, too. You love your neighbor when you do your work well, whatever it is. We can give God the glory in “whatever we do”.

May God give us strength to live according to his will.

To Him Alone Be the Glory

Pastor Tembreull

Sermon Leftovers: Deuteronomy 32:11-12

Sometimes when you prepare a delicious meal, you can’t eat it all at once. Sometimes everything a passage teaches can’t fit into one sermon. I enjoy leftovers. A good meal is worth eating twice. I hope you enjoy a couple of leftovers from last Sunday’s sermon:

Sometimes I can’t help myself. I have an idea for an illustration and then go do some research to make sure my memory has all the facts straight. Sometimes all that research and time get wasted. Sometimes the “facts” were just in my imagination. Sometimes explaining the takes too much time and the main point will be lost. Sometimes it just doesn’t fit the theme of the sermon doesn’t fit with the illustration and after trying to jam a square peg into a round hole for about an hour, I give up and use something else.

This was not one of those times. This time the illustration was right there in the text: Moses sings, “11As an eagle* rises from its nest and hovers over its young, then spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on the edge of its wings, 12so the Lord alone led Israel” (Dt. 32:11-12).  But what does that mean? This Independence Day we think of the majestic Bald Eagle. It is a symbol of power. It is a symbol of freedom. You picture them soaring free, nothing holds them back. You can imagine them diving down on their prey, nothing escapes their claws. A few months ago, I got to see two eagles fighting in midair; it was mesmerizing seeing them dive and clash and tumble and fall and recover and go again. Despite the fact that Benjamin Franklin desired the national bird to be the wild turkey, we can see why the image of an eagle is one which attracts most Americans.

But what does Moses mean with this picture? Some commentators tell long stories about how eagles will stir up their young and push them out of the nest and then swoop down to catch them so that they learn how to fly. Others how the eagle parent hovers over the nest showing the eaglets how wings work and how to soar. The imagery is great. You can apply it to how God trains us in following him, how he guides us in our daily lives, and how he is always there to catch us when we fall. The problem is: eagles don’t do this. Eagles don’t push their young from nests. Eagles don’t have to teach their children how to fly. And it is nearly impossible for an eagle to catch and carry a fledgling, even in its powerful talons, let alone on its back or with its wings.

So what is Moses trying to say? After all my research about eagles* and their habits with their young, I came no closer to a deeper meaning than the plain words. God is always with his people. He always cares for them. He always watches over them. You can picture a glorious eagle hovering over its nest, no tree climbing or flying animal can come close. Nothing can snatch those eaglets out from under it. You can imagine one of those great birds spreading its wings over them, shading them from the elements, shielding them from the wind and the cold. They are helpless, defenseless and without any means of feeding themselves. Without their parents they would never survive, but those eagles care for them unceasingly; they never leave the eaglets alone. They always watch and always care. “So the LORD alone led Israel.”

*Although we Americans probably prefer  the image of eagles, the Hebrew word can just as likely mean vulture (the old world Eurasian Griffon Vulture is native to that region), since it describes a large raptor. So not only did I research the nesting habits of eagles but also vultures, finding that they were even less likely and able to catch and carry their young.

Is Christianity Inclusive or Exclusive?

It was an uncomfortable exchange. Senator Sanders questioned presidential nominee Russell Vought. The senator took issue with something Vought had written, “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned.” Those are strong words, and for Senator Sanders they were hateful. Vought’s repeated response, “I’m a Christian,” didn’t satisfy him. I don’t know anything about Russell Vought and whether he would be qualified for a high position in government. Nor do I claim to be an expert on Senator Sanders’ beliefs; however, I do know a little about the heart of the issue: Is Christianity inclusive or exclusive? Does that make it unamerican?

When it comes to our natural status before God, Christianity is very inclusive. Right from the beginning, usually on page two of every Bible, God says, “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness”(Genesis 1:26) and then, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27) It doesn’t get more inclusive than that! All people were created in the image of God! It doesn’t matter what gender, race, or ethnicity you are! God wanted you to bear his image. He wanted you to be like him: holy, loving, righteous, and good.

But there is bad news about this inclusiveness. We were unable to keep that image of God. We fell away from him. We are not holy, loving, righteous, and good. The Bible is also very clear about this inclusiveness, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Psalms lament, “There is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:3). We see this truth all around us. Even the best of us, the nicest person, isn’t nice all the time. We have the phrase, “No one’s perfect.”  Jesus said, “No one is good but God alone” (Mark 10:18). And it isn’t the number of times we sin. This isn’t about how severe our sins are. We are sinful. We are sin-filled. Whether we volunteer and are generally well liked as a nice person, or that jerk with the obnoxious bumper stickers and hateful attitude who cut you off on the freeway, we are included in the category of sinner.

Which leads to another way Christianity is inclusive: what we deserve. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). We all know this to be true, too. We all know that death is the one experience that truly unites us all. We will all die. We all experience pain and sadness. We all long for something better. We all wonder about the meaning of life when there is so much pain. This is evidence of what the Bible says, “So the whole world will be held accountable before God” (Romans 3:19).

That is the negative side of inclusiveness; here is the positive side. “God wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). See that? All people, every single one, we are all included in God’s love. One of the most famous passages of the Bible says it this way, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Or as a sinner, my personal favorite, “God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

But this is where Christianity gets exclusive. God wants us all to be saved. God sent his Son, Jesus to die to take away the sins of the world, but it is only in Jesus, through faith in him and his work that we can receive what God has done. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Right after Jesus says those comforting words of John 3:16 he says, “The one who does not believe stands condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18b). These are the exclusive claims of not just Christians, but of Jesus himself.

From there, Christianity gets inclusive again. If God loves all the people the world, Christians will love all people. If God cares for all people, Christians will want to care for all people. If Jesus died for the sins of the world, Christians will want to be ambassadors of Christ and share the life giving gospel will all people. For as the Apostle Paul said about Jews and Gentiles, so also is true of every division we sinful people make, "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and have been justified freely by his grace."

Where does that leave the Senator and the Nominee? Well, letting people believe what they believe, and teach what they believe, and speak what they believe has been a fundamental right in America since its founding. So has disagreeing with me or anyone else. Only in this way can the words of the Declaration be upheld in a world full of sinners, so that we live as if "All men are created equal." I pray this is an ideal we can uphold in the years to come.