Category: Pastors Corner

A Word Near; A Far Word

The mystics, maybe more approachable the spiritual writers of every age from St. John of the Cross to Anne Dillard, seem to have two modes of talking. Call them when God draws near and when God is far.  The common expressions of these would be the euphoria of the mountaintop experience when God is so near the planets sing. The dark night of the soul is when God is far.  The music of the spheres is barely a memory.  The cave and the tomb seem the only end.  Who shall give you praise if I am in sheol the Psalmist might ask.

But our gospel reading for today gives us a different experience of near and far.  In these it is not that God himself seems to move.  Jesus is equally present in the region of Tyre and Sidon, a far gentile territory, and in the Decapolis of the Galilee, his hometown region among the Jews. God is the God of all the earth and we all – even the atheist – has an inkling of this. “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Ps. 139:8 ESV)”  Simply ponder our existence on this ball of dirt in the midst of the vast universe.  The entire universe seems to have been tuned to keep us alive here.  Yet God sustains all of it by his majesty.

The question is not God’s presence or absence, because “you are there.” The question is why is God there?  Are you here for my good, or are you here like Zeus for Leda? Are you here as a mere watcher, or as a trickster, or as the lover of mankind?

The first picture in our Gospel text (Mark 7:24-37) is of the unnamed Syrophoenician woman who has a little daughter possessed by the evil of the universe. Matthew is more explicit than Mark.  Syrophoenician is a then current territory marker that would say not Jewish to a Roman hearer. Matthew calls her a Canaanite, the ancient enemy of Israel who God once told Israel to kill all of them.  Is that still God’s stand? Kill all of them? While being near, is this God still far away?  The woman intends to find out.  She risks bridging the distance.  She begs Jesus cast the demon out.  And Jesus’ response seemingly reinforces that distance.  That this God is far away from this person, even though he is right there.  “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But the woman’s response is the only one that makes sense, at least if we have any hope.  If the God who is present everywhere on who our being rests is against us, we have no hope.  But the earth gives all their daily bread.  If this God was against us, surely the rain would not fall on the Canaanite.  Or the rain that does fall must be enough.  “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  And those crumbs of this god – however far away he might be – are enough to cast out the evil.  And this is what Jesus does.  The Word of God is a gracious word for those who are far.  “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.  And she went home and found the child well.”

The second picture is of a man who is deaf and whose tongue doesn’t work. This is a man of the Jews.  One of the children.  And as we all know children expect things and they aren’t going to say thanks.  And we all know that sometimes as parents our patience with that runs out.  For a moment instead of being the mother of the runaway bunny who loves him to the moon and back, we might be content for the entitled brat to go. If we are near and have always been near is this how God feels sometimes?

Jesus takes the man aside from the crowd privately.  God does not treat us by groups.  This child of God is his child and the only one that matters at this moment.  And he heals him.  Unlike the far word to those who are far, this is a near word for those who are near.  He puts his fingers into his ears to open them.  Jesus puts his spit into the man’s mouth to loose it. And he says to ears that hear something for the first time, “Be opened.” Even though near we might have been closed to this God.  But the Word draws nearer into our very selves.  The word of God is a gracious Word for those who are near.

Whether you feel yourself far or near from the God who supports your entire being, the Word Jesus speaks to you is his grace. The challenge is more how we receive this word.  And how we tell others.

An Arizona Visit

I was sitting in my office fresh from vacation.  The translation for the week was done. I was trying to scrape the rust off the brain.  Half-heartedly skimming somebody’s commentary on the gospel of the week. When I felt a breeze.  But it wasn’t the AC kicking on and refilling the tubes.  Instead it was an old friend.

“Dr. Luther, I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.  I got the feeling the last time we talked it might be the last time. And that was quite a while ago.  About 7 years”

“Seven years? You’ve got to remember, time for me isn’t quite linear anymore. Worms feels like yesterday.  So that little conversation of ours was just this morning.  But I did notice that you seem to have moved.  And not a small one.  You know, other than my trip to Rome, which was only about 850 miles, I don’t think I ever traveled more than 75 miles away from my hometown.  And you are sitting on the other end of a continent!  And it is hot.  Are you sure you didn’t move closer to hell?”

“Yeah.  That might have been an undercurrent in that conversation earlier this morning. Remember how von Staupitz sent you on that Roman trip. Said, ‘you need to see the city.’  Sometimes in our common work of the gospel you need to be somewhere else.  At least that is what we tell ourselves.”

“But it seems to have worked. The black dog was at your door last time, and I hear no barking now.  Although these little chats are never without purpose.  I don’t get released from Leo X and Charles V for chit-chat.”

“You are going to have to tell me about those chats.”

“You’ll get your own one day.  Mark 7.  That’s what you are pondering.”

“Yes. It is just so unnatural.  It is all law, but the law is usually natural. We call it cancel culture – driving out the unclean – but it is really larger than that. Parents spend inordinate amounts of time and money trying to control their kids peer groups.  Our own synod excommunicated a 20 year old recently, basically for hanging out with the the wrong sorts. All of that seems natural, like practical wisdom.  Hygiene.  Yet Christ says, ‘there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him.’  And the received understanding immediately jumps to Jesus eating with ‘tax collectors and sinners.’ But this passage has been used to justify all kinds of terrible stuff.  Material that is clearly not good for anything, but the second you say so, somebody stands up and calls you a Pharisee or a legalist.”

“I did say the proper separation of law and gospel was the hardest skill in all of Christendom.  And the one most necessary.”

“Yes. And I don’t think we’ve done that right here in a long time.”

“Keep talking.”

“The context that Jesus is talking about is piety practices. Hand and cup washings, pledges to God, for lack of a better word ‘religious acts.’ Things that might have started out as helpful to faith, but have become the entire purpose replacing faith. Practicing magic. Virtue Signaling. In your day, indulgences, pilgrimages and relics.”

“Yes, those were big things in my day. But it isn’t like every age doesn’t have their own.”

“But ours are so strange. In the Epistle Paul talks about putting on the armor.  Know you are in a fight.  Yet the religious act of our day seems to be ‘strip it all off and walk naked, otherwise you don’t have faith.’  Any law is a bad law and contrary to the gospel.”

“You might have something there Brown. Continue.”

“The core seems to be ‘whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach.’  It is about the heart.  There are things from the outside that can enter the heart and displace true faith. There are also all kinds of things that exit the heart.  ‘Out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, etc.’  The breaking of the entire 10 commandments.  The heart itself is initially unclean.  But the Christian has had a new heart created in them by baptism and the Spirit.”

“Now you are dividing the law and the gospel. Can you bring it home?”

“The breastplate of righteousness.  The breastplate is what covers the heart.  Eating with ‘sinners and tax collectors’ will not make you unclean.  As long as it isn’t your heart that is desiring to join in ‘all these evil things.’ If your heart is acting out of faith it is protected by that righteousness and would not join in those works. Not all the demons could make you. You can stand in the evil day.”

“Ok, but haven’t you just made another religious work, Brown?”

“I don’t think so, because it is all borrowed armor. It is not our breastplate, but that given to us by Christ. It is not our heart, but the one created anew by the Spirit. We’ve been given these gifts not to bury them, but to use them. Not to discard them, but to wear them for the battle that rages.”

The great man walked out muttering something about it being too hot and Leo called. And then the AC kicked on flapping the pipes and jolting me from my seat.

Sacramental Knowledge

It may not be about the sacrament, but it is sacramental.  That was the sparkly line of a chapel sermon that was brought back to my mind recently.  John chapter 6 is called the bread of life discourse.  We started reading it last week and will complete it next week.  Which causes a problem in hymn selection. After you burn all the decent “bread of life” type hymns in the first week, and go with the secondary and standard praise ones the second week.  What do you do the third?  I guess take vacation.  Half kidding, although the connection between the hymns and the texts certainly becomes looser than I like.

Some of the meat behind that sparkly line – not about the sacrament, but is sacramental – is that Luther himself was strident that John 6 had nothing to do with Holy Communion. It was not about the sacrament. Of course with Luther so much was about polemics. He was always in a fight with somebody.  In this case the fight was over the Word.  John 6 is one of those places where a spiritual or allegorical reading is very natural.  When Jesus says “the bread of life that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (John 6:51)” and commands you to eat it, immediately jumping to the Lord’s Supper is natural.  Most of us can’t imagine a way to take that without jumping to the Lord’s Supper.  Luther insisted that gave too much away and missed the reality of what John was writing. And any spiritual or allegorical jump could not just be made up, but it had to be grounded in the reality of the Word.

In this case the reality that Jesus is confronting is Jewish unbelief in who Jesus is.  They are happy to be the recipients of Jesus’ miracles.  They would like the bread he multiplied.  They ask about what signs he will perform.  But they do not believe what the signs testify about.  If you look up the definition of sacramental you will have to go to an old dictionary for help.  The current online ones are much like our simple reading of John 6, sacramental means “pertaining to the sacraments” and nothing more.  You’d have to find one that still has multiple definitions or uses where you would find a definition something like “an outward visible sign of an inward grace.” The sacraments themselves – baptism and the Lord’s supper – are specific instances where the grace of God is promised attached to visible elements. We Lutherans define the sacraments themselves with three points: 1) Instituted by Jesus, 2) Visible elements, 3) For forgiveness.  Baptismal water is not simply water only, but the water connected to the word.  But before you talk about the sacraments which are means of Grace, you must talk about faith in Christ alone.  The bread and the signs and the wonders that Jesus performed were the outward visible signs pointing at His grace. The sacraments themselves rest upon faith in the one who instituted them.

And that is what Luther insisted John 6 was about.  Jesus himself is the sacrament of God.  “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day (John 6:39).”  The Grace of the Father has appeared in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  And this grace of the Father is for you.  “But the Jews grumbled about him, because he said ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven. (John 6:41).’”

And this is the crisis of all sacramental things. When you see them, you know. You no longer have an excuse. Christ has been placed before all mankind. “They will all be taught by God (John 6:45).”  We have all been taught by God. This Christ, this cross, this resurrection, these Words are for you. “Truly, Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life (John 6:47-48).” We have seen.  We know. We do not have an excuse. Walking away from the bread of life, is walking away from life. All sacramentals are two edged swords. Used properly in faith they cut the knot of our problem with sin. But used improperly, in disbelief or blasphemy, they are deadly to ourselves. 

Ordinary Days

With the last two corners, you’ve probably had your fill of worship service explainers.  But give me one more.  First, we’ve asserted with some examples both sacred and secular that everybody has a liturgy. That word liturgy is simply how we incarnate our beliefs.  If you want to understand America observe the liturgy of pre-game football from tailgate to kickoff. Likewise, if you want to understand who is being worshipped, observe the form of the worship. This is an observation so old it has a Latin phrase – Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi – the law of Worship is the law of belief.  Second, we’ve seen that the basic form of Christian worship was most likely inherited from the Jewish Synagogue of Jesus’ day adding to that Service of the Word the Lord’s Supper as Jesus commanded his disciples to do. And third, we looked at two of the changing parts of our worship service, the Introit or Entry Psalm and the Three Scripture readings.

The changeable parts of our liturgy have a specific name; they are the propers of the day. In that big book that is always on the Altar – known imaginatively as The Altar Book – you will find almost all of the propers for every service of the year. The Altar Book itself doesn’t have all the readings printed out.  It assumes you have a bible or a lectionary book.  Or like we do, print it out every week. But one could host our worship directly from the Altar Book.  And for most of time, that is what was done. The propers formal are the Introit, the Readings and also the Prayer of the Day, a verse, a gradual and a hymn of the day. In a true “high church” place all of this would be chanted. It is one of the quirks of getting old that growing up, since we rarely chanted anything, I was considered “low church.” But, as most of American Christianity changed its liturgies to what would have been backwoods Pentecostal worship, my low church came to seem high. And please ponder for a second that old Latin phrase.  If your liturgy changes, your beliefs probably did also, regardless of what you say.  The incarnation is more meaningful than the spare word.  That is not questioning the salvation or presence of Christ, simply recognizing that the house has many rooms.  And rooms have different decoration.

Our liturgy also has unchangeable parts. These are known as the ordinaries.  Specifically: the Kyrie, The Gloria, The Creed, The Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei.  You can’t study the history of Western Music without knowing those parts.  Every “Mass” ever written has settings of those parts.  And you will find examples of all of them quite early in church history. The creed being formalized in the 300’s but predating that. All of them being present by the 700’s.  But in those five ordinaries you find the purpose of the service.  The Kyrie is our basic entreaty – Lord have mercy.  And it is followed by the Gloria – a trinitarian song of praise. This is why we have gathered – for prayer and praise.  To seek our forgiveness and to praise the God who has forgiven us.  The creed is next in the order and it is the basic statement of the faith.  Right in the center of the liturgy, this is the faith which is believed and which we are incarnating in the liturgy.  The Sanctus – a setting of the cry of the angels around the altar in heaven – Holy, Holy, Holy – is the recognition that here on our altar in the Lord’s Supper we are part of that heavenly feast.  Heaven and Earth come together in the bread and wine. The final ordinary – The Agnus Dei – is the recognition that what we are about to receive is the very body and blood of Christ. And it is a return to the prayer of the Kyrie.  As we are bold to approach the altar, may what we receive there be for our good.  “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” The Kingdom of God certain comes without our prayer, but we pray that it would come to us also, as Luther would explain the 2nd petition.

That liturgy is remarkably robust.  You can strip it down for a private visit, you can blow it out for a great feast. It is made for when two or three are gathered, and for times you might have 5000 men besides the women and children. It might take a bit to learn.  And since we change settings occasionally we might ask a little more. But it is the incarnation of that creedal faith at its core. Here is where Father, Son and Spirit meet us, and where they are worshipped and glorified.

Why Three Readings?

One of the questions about a liturgical service that often comes up is why are there three readings: Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel?  The answer is both very old and relatively new.  The old portion of the answer goes all the way back to the Synagogue. The Jewish Synagogue service had two readings: one from the Torah – the first 5 books of the bible – and one from the prophets.  The reading from the prophets was typically shorter and keyed to the Torah reading. You get a glimpse of that with Jesus in the New Testament in Luke 4:16ff. When Jesus begins his ministry in Nazareth it is on the Sabbath and he is given the reading from the prophets to read.  The pattern of Christian worship grows out of that Synagogue worship.

There are two famous “dog that didn’t bark” arguments about early Christian worship.  Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 addresses Christian Worship, but his words are primarily about how to celebrate the Lord’s Supper with a prolog about men, women and hair coverings. The dog that didn’t bark is about what we call “the service of the Word.”  There were no problems with the basic service because the Christians just followed Jewish practice. The problems were where Christian practice diverged from Jewish.  It diverged in welcoming both men and women into the same space for worship.  And hence some guidelines for good practice.  And the real new part was the Lord’s Supper. The other dog that didn’t bark is infant baptism. In the New Testament entire families were baptized (Acts 16:15). The universal practice of the church until the Reformation was infant baptism.  Not all were baptized as infants.  There were strange delays of baptism – like with the Emperor Constantine – treating it as a one time get out of hell free sacrament.  But nobody ever talks about baptism, other than to do it, because it was just accepted practice.  Even in the scriptures the squeaky wheel gets the oil sometimes.

Somewhere between the 2nd and the 4th centuries the Torah and Prophets readings were replaced with an Epistle and a Gospel reading. The Gospels being the Torah wellspring and the Epistles commenting on the Gospel like the prophets.  That two readings format continued until the middle of the 20th century. The relatively new portion of the reading cycle being the addition of an Old Testament reading and the freeing of the Epistle from the Gospel.  The Epistles for most of the year are now read continuously in themselves. The Old Testament readings being keyed to the Gospel.

All of that is a nice short history that answers the “why?” with “It’s tradition!”  We can all join Teyve in a dance. But if you’ve ever attended a Reformed service or a non-denom type they have clearly separated themselves from that tradition, why not Lutherans?  Isn’t reading three separate readings each week confusing?

As far as confusing, maybe.  But the Old Testament and the Gospel readings are usually meant to be typological fulfillment.  The Gospel Lesson today (Mark 6:45-56) is Jesus walking on the waters. Here is the one who commands the winds and the waves.  And this one gets into the boat with the terrified disciples.  This is a fulfillment of the promise of God after the flood to Noah which is the Old Testament reading (Genesis 9:8-17).  “The waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” The fulfillment of that covenant is present.  This is also one of the reasons I like to take the continuous reading of the Epistle as the bible study topic. Confusing gets addressed through preaching and teaching.

What about tradition? This gets at something core in the Lutheran Reformation.  The Augsburg Confession Article 14 is on “The Mass”. And it starts off with the charge: “Our churches are falsely accused of abolishing the mass.” And compared to the Reformed version of the Reformation that would often change things much more radically, the Lutheran Reformation maintained a rule that if something could be kept, it should be.  And again, most of that article talks about the practice of the Lord’s Supper.  How the mass had been turned into a money making operation.  Getting the Lord’s Supper wrong seems to be a church tradition. But that article ends with an interesting quote.  “The mass among us follows the example of the church, taken from Scripture and the Fathers…this is especially so because we keep the public ceremonies, which are for the most part similar to those previously in use…the Scriptures are read, and the preachers expound them.”

Why three readings?  Yes, tradition, but also because this is the Word of God expounded for us in the way that we received it.

Everybody

There are two “everybody” statements that I firmly believe in, but it has been my experience most people reject.  They might even get mad when I say them.  First, everybody worships.  Second, everybody has a liturgy of worship. 

The first one: everybody worships is easier to prove.  Luther’s explanation of the first commandment is that “we should fear, love and trust in God above all things.” He expands on that in the large catechism explaining that whatever we fear, love or trust in above anything else is our God. The number of idols is almost endless, but Luther in his jokey way, I think correctly recognizes that most people have their own stomach as their God. Whatever the gut wants is where they are lead to worship.  Although there are several other common gods: money, power, fame are the usually the negatives, but you could also add family, land or tradition as normal positive things that can become idols.  And if you don’t believe me on those, listen to Jesus in Matthew 10:37 or Matthew 15:3.  Most of his arguments with the Pharisees were over idolatry of good things. The righteousness of the Pharisees wasn’t slight, see Matthew 5:20. It was just nowhere close to the perfection required for salvation.   The purpose of “everybody worships” is a reminder to be conscious of who or what you worship.  Most people slip through life not knowing.  Hence Luther’s being led around by their belly. But The One God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. You can worship him.

The second “everybody” is something of the answer to: Well, how do I worship?  And even more than people not realizing who their God is, the vast majority do not understand how they worship. And in not understanding they don’t realize the power of everyday liturgies. What is a liturgy? A liturgy is formalized order of worship that incarnates belief. Now that worship and belief doesn’t have to be of ultimate importance. There is a liturgy of going to a football game. You enter through the tailgate. Everyone rises and lines up.  The colors are presented. Sometimes a prayer is said – like at my son’s Valley Lutheran Games, but always the National Anthem is sung.  On High Holy Days, like a championship game, you will have an airplane flyover.  On the highest of holy days you get a Stealth Bomber. The Kick-off lines up.  Everyone chants “seven nation army” or whatever the kickoff song is.  And then the liturgy is over when the ball flies.  What does that liturgy worship?  Basically everything America and American.  And when you break liturgies, like by kneeling for the anthem, people get upset. There are liturgies big and small that fill our days. The purpose of “everybody has a liturgy of worship” is knowing what yours are.  Because those liturgies tell you what you actually believe; what you believe deep enough to make real in time and space.

I want to occasionally highlight elements of our liturgy. Today I want to take a minute to look at the Introit.  What the heck is an Introit?  It is simply the Latin word for entry.  Now we usually staple on in front of it a hymn and corporate confession.  We’ll leave that for another day. But the original start of the worship of Father, Son and Spirit was the invocation of the God being worshipped.  Christianity is clear.  The idols usually try and hide that part. But you started with the invocation and some entry words about what we are going to be making real in time and space. Those words change week to week as the meditation of the church upon Christ focuses on different things He has done for us.  Those words are typically taken from the psalms, the prayer book of the bible. So what we have in the Introit, which we at Mt. Zion recite responsively, is the theme of our worship for the day in the words that God has given us.

Today, the words of the Introit give us the theme of God providence (Psalm 147:7-11, Psalm 145:16).  “He makes the grass grow on the hills.” But that material providence that falls on the just and the unjust alike points at God’s greater providence. “You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” And what is that desire?  To rest secure in the love of your creator. “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” You who join in this liturgy, in making real in time and space our beliefs, shall see that steadfast love of God for you.  That love of God that forgives sins, provides us our daily bread, and most importantly promises us that we shall dwell securely in his land (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

Plumb Lines

“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” – Amos 7:8

I’m always hesitant to bring up things that originate from the larger Christian world that I consider bad ideas.  There used to be a never ending stream of dumb ideas floating over from Evangelicalism.  Even that term I don’t exactly like because it doesn’t really describe that movement or the churches that they form.  There really is no consistent theology believed, taught or confessed. It varies church to church and pastor to pastor although most of it is vaguely Baptist. I like the historian Miles Smith’s term, Folk Religion.  There is a core of general doctrine, but more important are the feelings and practices.  And those practices are ever changing and morphing as the folk themselves change. That is both the power and the danger.  American Evangelicalism is often able to meet the moment and a folk practice can spread rapidly, but it can also spread terrible ideas just as fast.

One of those ideas goes by the name “Faith Deconstruction.”  The general idea behind it I believe is a healthy one. Over the last 50 years in this folk religion evangelicalism there have been lots of practices and beliefs that have attached themselves and even moved into central identity roles. The original faith deconstructionists undertook to examine some of those practices and beliefs and be more discriminating if they deserved a central place.  I’d take that general idea has something of what Paul would mean by “examine yourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5)” or “work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).”  We should take note of our faith and practice. Satan is tricky and our hearts are idol factories.  But folk religion is and was a terrible basis to do that from.  Being concerned primarily with personal feelings and practices, it had no “plumb line”.  Or the only plumb line was the individual heart. And so faith deconstruction, which has spawned an entire genre of memoirs about it, became not a healthy spiritual practice, but a method often to ditch the faith all together, or to re-craft the faith into exactly what our sinful hearts desire.

This is exactly where folk religion/evangelicalism needs its confessional spine like the Lutheran Church. In our Old Testament Reading for the day (Amos 7:7-15), God tells the prophet Amos what he is doing with the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel (Amos 7:8).”  And what is the purpose of a plumb line? It is to see if the wall constructed is straight.  Is what has been built, built square, built to last?  Or is it crooked and destined to fall? In Israel’s case it is all destined to be taken down. “The high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste (Amos 7:9).” What the folk religion of Israel had built was crooked and needed to be deconstructed in a radical way. But the question for us is: What is the plumb line?

The answer is first the scriptures. If someone says search your heart in spiritual matters, that is bad advice. In spiritual things, in the things of God, you start with the Word of God.  “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you (Micah 6:8).”  Resting under the authority of Scripture the church through the ages has found certain expressions of the faith to be wholly consistent with the scriptures. The creeds which we confess and the Small Catechism fall into that category.  We believe, teach and confess them because they are a right understanding.  To faith deconstruct one needs a plumb line.  And we have been given one.  Although we often disdain it. Just as Amaziah the priest and Jeroboam the King said to Amos when he held up the plumb line of God.  “Seer, go, flee to Judah, and eat there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the King’s sanctuary and it is a temple of the Kingdom (Amos 7:12).”  We often prefer our sanctuary and our temple, the King’s sanctuary and temple, our folk religion over the religion of Jesus.

But we don’t get rid of God and his plumb line so easily.  Amos’ reply to the High Priest and King, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ (Amos 7:14-15)”  The word of God, that plumb line, has a way of sticking around.  And God is not embarrassed to have his humble witnesses. Amos might never get a book contract for his memoir, but he has a plumb line.  And what is not straight shall come down.

The Prophetic Voice

(A note that I’m writing this to be printed June 27th, and our popular definition of a prophet (being able to see into the future) is not something I claim. But I do think this is evergreen truth.)

 It has always interested me how certain strains within the church have claimed to be “speaking prophetically.”  I always think they must never have read the actual bible. Because when you actually read the bible you get confronted with what the prophetic voice actually means.  Our modern day prophets seem to think it means “I get to change things and I win.”  But when you read the bible you get confronted with calls like Isaiah who was to say “keep on hearing, but do not understand…and though a tenth remain in it, burn it again (Isa 6:9,13).” Or you get our Old Testament lesson today, “And whether they hear or refuse to hear, they will know that a prophet has been among them (Ezekiel 2:5).” In the Old Testament the prophetic voice was the simply the voice of truth.  The only prophet who “won” was Jonah, and he didn’t want to.  And lest you think the prophetic calling in the New Testament is dramatically better, please remember Paul’s “thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7).”  The power and truth of God speaks more powerfully through that left hand of weakness. Even Jesus in his prophetic office is thrown out of his hometown. “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown…and he marveled because of their unbelief (Mark 6:4-6).”  The prophetic call of Jesus leads directly to the cross.

The main point of Ezekiel’s call is that the people of Israel are a nation of rebels, impudent and stubborn. And this is simply the way of the World.  Satan, the ruler of this age, has been in rebellion since the beginning.  And this age, or this world, is his.  This world groans at that.  There are remnants.  God created is so good, much of it continues.  But when the powers that be are focused, the world is on their side. And that rebellion against the creator is as deep as our own flesh. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Ps. 51:5 KJV).”  The prophetic voice is that voice which speaks truth to this situation. If the voice claiming to be a prophet is making peace with the devil, the world or our flesh, it is a false one.

But the promise of the gospel is present both in those Old Testament calls and even more in the word’s of Christ.  Isaiah’s words may have burned Israel to a stump, yet “the holy seed is its stump (Isa 6:13).”  Our Old Testament lesson cuts off for some reason, but it continues that “you (Ezekiel) be not afraid of them (Eze 2:6).”  The Lord shall put flesh on the field of bones and breathe life into his people.  Paul boasts in his weaknesses because that is the power of Christ in this world (2 Cor 12:9).  And Jesus – rejected by his hometown – sends out the apostles two-by-two.  And the demons flee and sickness is healed.

That prophetic voice is the voice of the Good Shepherd for all who hear it. It is the voice that calls us to repent of our wayward ways.  It is the voice that reminds us that this age is the age of the cross. We fight not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities. And if we are living the word, we are living behind enemy lines. But they know their time is short.  This age is drawing to a close. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. When you hear that, you know you have heard a prophet.

A Note on the Tithe

But as you excel in everything– in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you– see that you excel in this act of grace also.  – 2 Corinthians. 8:7

The “act of grace” that Paul is extolling here in our Epistle reading for the day (2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15) is the financial support for the needs of the church. Money issues tend to be the third rail of congregational life. Everyone knows that they are important.  The one vote you know you will take every year will be the vote on the budget. It is a truism that the Bible talks more about money and our use of it than it does about a whole host of other topics. Yet we tend not to be clear about financial support of congregations. We vote on what we agree to spend, but then often fail to consider our support.

When Paul places financial support for the needs of the church in the category of “act of grace” he is placing it in the realm of the gospel which is a meaningful decision.  If he wanted to place such support in the realm of the law he could have done so. There are numerous tithes stated and discussed in the Old Testament and the law of Moses. The purpose of the tithe was for the support of the Levites, the priestly tribe of Israel. “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, (Num. 18:21)” Those Levites from their tithes were to also take care of the widow, the fatherless and the sojourner (Deut. 26:12). And the law of God is good and wise. When we are talking about things we’d rather not, we are quick to dismiss the law and claim our Christian freedom. Sometimes falling into the error of pitting the gospel against the law. Christ did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). We are freed from the penalties of the law, but the good will of God expressed in the law is something we seek to fulfill.

One of the oldest stories in the Bible centers upon the disposition of the heart towards God in material blessings.  Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground.  Abel brought the first born of his flock and its fat portion (Genesis 4:3-4). The LORD had regard for Abel’s, but not for Cain’s. And it is this distinction that leads to the first murder. This distinction is also the difference between the legalistic tithe and Paul’s “act of grace.” God had provided for both Cain and Abel.  It was Abel’s trust that the providence of the LORD would continue and continue to be enough, it was his faith in the grace of God, that brought forth his offering of the firstborn and their fat portion. Fear always lurks. Fear that the LORD is not as good as his promises.

Paul continues in 2 Corinthians to make the distinction between an extraction and an “act of grace.” It would certainly be possible to extract an offering from the Corinthians, but such an extraction wouldn’t do anyone any good.  It might even be like Cain leading to a hardening of the heart. Instead Paul has “arranged in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it will be ready as a willing gift, not as an extraction (2 Cor 9:5).” Paul’s encouragement is for the Corinthians to understand and act upon the economics of the Kingdom of God. First is that “He (meaning God) has distributed freely, he has given to the poor, his righteousness endures forever (2 Cor 9:9).” The grace of God has been given to us poor sinners in Jesus Christ.  And the righteousness of Christ endures forever. We need never fear a lack, for God has made his grace abound.  The promise of God here is much like the promise of God given in Malachi 3:10, “bring the full tithe in…put me to the test says the LORD, and I will pour down blessing.”  “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness (2 Cor 9:10).” The economics of the Kingdom of God are of abundance.  It starts as a mustard seed.  It starts as 5 loaves and feeds 5000. The grace of God multiplies that given in faith.

And what does it mean to give in faith?  “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9:7).” Reflect on the will of God expressed in the law that he wishes to see brought to completion.  Reflect upon the God’s providence of temporal goods and of his grace in Christ.  The “act of grace” is that portion freely given seeking the good of the Kingdom of God that grace might be increased.  The will of God will certainly be done, but here is our chance to see it done amongst us and to participate in that grace.

I’m sure there is someone out there who tithed and regrets.  But I honestly have never met that man or woman. There are lots of spiritual reasons.  “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also (Matt 6:21).” “Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward (Matt. 10:42).”  And there are many other such verses. But not least of the reasons is probably something that Paul says here. “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (2 Cor 9:6).”  Those who “excel in this act of grace” usually have the best eyes to see the return.

So my encouragement here is for your Spiritual good. Take the time. Decide in your heart cheerfully.  And support the Kingdom of God with your gifts. As you excel in everything, see that you excel in this act of grace also.   

Weapons of Righteousness

With the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left – 2 Corinthians 6:7

Flavor Flav turned 65 this year. I wonder if he ever found out what time it was? Or if it is just time to start collecting social security. Yes, that is pure corn, and you probably don’t remember Flav. He was one of the early rappers in pivotal group Public Enemy. His shtick to this day is wearing a giant clock and interjecting, “Do you know what time it is?” Which if you’ve got an apocalyptic sweet tooth is impossible not to like.  Because we all should be asked if we know what time it is more often.  The hour is later than you think.

But the good news of any apocalyptic is that Christ is both the Alpha and the Omega.  Christ can operate with both the right hand and the left. Moses had placed “good and evil” before the gathered Israelites (Deuteronomy 30:15ff) and urged them to “choose life.”  Of course Moses was talking about the law which is good and wise. Our problem is choosing it. Knowing what time it is by Moses isn’t a good thing.  But Paul has a different proclamation. “We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain…look, now is the favorable time, look, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).” What time is it? It is the day of grace.  If you are still in the flesh and reading this, now is the time that grace has come to you.  Now Christ helps us.

How does Christ help us?  With weapons of righteousness for the right and for the left.

What the heck does that mean? I think the base picture is the ancient warrior who held an offensive weapon, a sword, in the right, and a defensive weapon, a shield, in the left. The right is the instrument of power.  The left is the tricky one.  It is tricky for a few reasons, but the greatest is the fact that the greatest strength of the warrior comes not from skill with the right, but from savvy formation with the left. My shield in formation protects not just me but the man to my left. The army that lost was almost always that one that broke ranks first and no longer fought as a unit.  And they would do this because they trusted their own might and not their fellow’s shield.

The apostle leading up to that summary has a couple of lists.  Weapons of the left: “endurance, afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger (2 Corinthians 6:4-5).”  The Apostle Paul held formation through all of those things. He proclaimed Christ and our eternal life in Christ thought all of those things.  He kept the faith. And paradoxically it is those weapons of the left that are much more meaningful. The grace of Christ which is seen most clearly in the cross is centered in our endurance of what this temporal world has for us.  But that does not exclude weapons of the right: “purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, the power of God (2 Corinthians 6:6-7).” All of those are active things.  You could call those the Sanctified life. The Saints also have weapons of righteousness that demand use and skill, not just endurance.  The endurance weapons of the left are typically better, but there are times that demand action, that demand holiness and truthful speech.

Flavor Flav’s question, the apocalyptic question, is always meaningful.  “Do you know what time it is?” Now is the favorable time.  God acts with his grace both through the left and the right.  But do you know which is called for in your life?  As Luther would say, “sin boldly.” Choose your weapon, but have faith in the grace of Christ to make now the day of salvation regardless the choice.