Them Bones

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Biblical Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14

The text is one of the most famous in all of scripture – Ezekiel’s Dry Bones. It’s famous, because of how it works on the heart if you allow it. If this field of scattered bones is the whole house of Israel, if the chosen people can come to this, what about us? And you’ve got to think about it because the Spirit takes you there and places you in the middle of it. And God asks you the question, “Can these bones live?”

Ezekiel has a reply, not an answer. The answer is God’s. But it is not the easy triumphalism we want. Nor is it a counsel of despair. It is a promise. It’s the Word proclaimed. This sermon hopefully opens the heart and lets that work on it.

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The Only Real Motivation is Love

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Text: Christian Questions & Their Answers 17-18

The first three groupings of questions asked the who, what, when, where and how type questions. The stuff that can be mostly intellectual. These questions ask the why? What motivates Jesus/You? Why? For me this is probably the center of any self-examination. There are all kinds of reasons. But the only valid one is love. But even within the realm of love one has to question is love properly aimed. Lots of things are done for the love of money. These questions help us both understand the proper aim of love – The Father – and how The Father’s love encompasses us through the Son.

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Needing a Sabbath

“The Lord will get his Sabbath, one way or another.”

That’s an older proverb I unexpectedly heard someone quote the other day.  I say older when I mean archaic.  Because you’d have to know what a Sabbath is first.  Then you’d have to know both who The Lord is and that he commanded one.  And it would probably help to understand that this Lord had a bunch of fights in his own day about the Sabbath.  All things which are no longer common knowledge. But it struck me that ears might be deaf to exactly the wisdom they need to hear.

The first thing I always ask when I hear a proverb is “Is it True?” In this world that is on something of a sliding scale and it often depends upon the context. There are rock solid proverbs – “A fool and his money are soon parted.”  There are marginal ones – “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” As long as you are content with marginal returns, accepting what the universe gives you, this is great advice (and holding an MBA and CFA exactly what I’d tell 98% of people), but it is terrible advice to anyone who is after excellence. Financially, you wanted all your eggs on Amazon at almost any time in the past 25 years. If you want to make the Big Leagues, that better be what you are doing all the time. In asking “Is it True?” one of the big helps I find is asking, “Is it biblical?” “Cleanliness is next to godliness” is not, neither is “God helps those who help themselves.” What about this one?

It is not directly a biblical Proverb. You won’t find it attributed to Solomon. Neither does Peter, James or Paul mouth it.  But there is a deep way in which “The Lord will get his Sabbath, one way or another” is biblical.  When the Israelites took the land of Canaan, God gave them larger Sabbath commands. Every 7 years they were to allow the land to lie fallow. Every 50 years, the completion of seven sevens, was the Jubilee year. All slaves were manumitted, all debts forgiven, any land sold reverted to the family who owned it originally. The Jubilee turned everything Israel thought they owned into a stewardship arrangement. You never actually bought a field, you stewarded it for at most 49 years. Of course there is no actual record of a Jubilee ever actually happening. The Sabbath of Sabbaths was not taken.  And no farmer let his field go fallow every seven years, are you crazy!?! What is God going to do, send manna? 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 tells us the 70 years of exile were 1 year for each missed Sabbath.  The Lord would get his Sabbath, one way or another.

The second thing I ask when I hear a proverb is “how is it used?” When would someone quote this proverb. The most logical time to quote this is to the work-a-holic. The point being that you should take a rest.  The implied threat being that if you don’t willingly take a rest, your body will probably fail in some way forcing a rest. But there is a second time it might be quoted.  When someone has put all their eggs in the basket of the world, you might quote this to them.  The intention being something like “don’t forget the sacred or the spiritual.” It would be akin to “man does not live by bread alone.” And that is where I wonder if we have become deaf.

Luther’s explanation of the Sabbath commandment is nothing about a seventh day, but about the deeper recognition of the Sabbath.  As the Lord of the Sabbath said, “it was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” And that deeper recognition is that we should not despise preaching and the Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Keeping the Sabbath day is about maintaining a proper reverence for the Word of God.  It is by the Word we were created.  It is by the Word that we have been saved. And it is by that same Word that we live in the promise of the resurrection. That day is coming when “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess (Isa 45:23).” The Lord will have his Sabbath, one way or another.  The question is: Is your Sabbath one of grace or compulsion and exile? Today we are invited to a Sabbath of grace made for us, but the Lord will have his Sabbath.

It’s Not Fair

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Biblical Text: John 9:1-41

This is one of the rare sermons where I think in the preaching I added a bit compared to the draft. 16 years in, I’ve got a hand of oral writing, so the drafts are usually pretty clean compared to the preaching. That and I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist about what I take into the pulpit. As I’ve said elsewhere, I’d like a really good idea of what I’m saying if it is supposed to be the Word of God for those people on that day. But in composing this sermon I had a rough time. First there were too many different themes or ideas jostling to be expressed. Then the one that I thought I was going to go with, when I started typing – when I actually started preaching to my keyboard and myself – isn’t the theme I was thinking of. What comes out of this text for me, every three years as it comes back around, is the strangeness of God. How little we understand Him. And in that strangeness how Good he is and yet that goodness can appear monstrous to us. The Revelation of God to us, which is the revelation of His Grace, sets us on one of two paths. And right now is the season of light. Right now is the season work can be done. Right now is when to invitation to know God in his grace is yours.

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What’s a Member?

Membership is an interesting term these days.  What does it really mean?

There is a Lutheran theological idea that goes by the name Two Kingdoms. If you read about the Two Kingdoms, you will hear the terms Kingdom of the Left and Kingdom of the Right. Those terms depend upon an old understanding of left-handedness and right-handedness. Right, being the majority, is the direct and straight and powerful.  The Kingdom of the Right is the Kingdom where God rules directly.  The left, being the sinister (the latin word for left), is the sneaky and winding and weaker.  The Kingdom of the Left is still ruled by God, but it is ruled by means.  It is ruled through other, sometimes fallen and sinful, things. 

Most things we come across in this life are part of the Kingdom of the Left.  The church is said to be part of the Kingdom of the Right, but even then I’m quick to say we have to be careful of what do we mean by church.  Jesus would remind us that the wheat and tares are sown together. The Augsburg Confession picks up on this in Article 8.  “Strictly speaking, the church is the congregation on saints and true believers.  However, because many hypocrites and evil person are mingled in this life, it is lawful to use the sacraments administered by evil men…Both the Sacraments and Word are effective because of Christ’s institution and command, even if they are administered by evil men.”  The Kingdom of the Right is found there in the Word and Sacraments. These are the things that Christ rules directly. The Word goes out and does not return empty.  Christ is present in the bread and wine whether you believe it or not.  Which is why we are warned to discern it. These are how God works in this world.  Yet, the church is not purely of the Kingdom of the Right. It must exist in this world.  And existing in this world means all kinds of troubles: politics, arguments, decisions, financial worries, human traditions, the list could go on.  And most of these things are not necessarily troubles, they are simply the tasks delegated to the Kingdom of the Left. They are the things still under God’s providence, but that he has left to us.  The Augsburg Confession also teaches that “the church is the congregation of the saints in which the gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are administered correctly.” When Jesus says go and make disciples of all nations he follows it with the means: baptizing them and teaching – word and sacrament.  This is the mission of the church in this world.   

So what is membership? In the Kingdom of the Left, which is a necessary thing, it is things like keeping a roster, tracking attendance, seeking people to serve.  Soon we are going to need a Treasurer – notoriously one of the tougher roles in the Lefthand Kingdom to fill.  The negative side of all of this is when people come to think that because my name is in somebody’s spreadsheet in the church office, I am saved.  Just because the Kingdom of the Left recognizes your membership, doesn’t mean The King does.  “Many will say Lord, Lord, we ate at your table…Go away, I do not know you.”  The real meaning of membership is found in that Righthand Kingdom. The questions that are asked in the Reception of members are many of the same questions asked in the Baptismal liturgy – “Do you believe in God: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit?”.  They are the same questions asked of confirmands – “Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?” They are sometimes hard questions – “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away?” Membership in the Kingdom of the Right is about faith.  It is about being part of the saints and true believers.

The church operates in both Kingdoms.  But at all times we need to remember that the Kingdom of the Left exists and operates at the command and purpose of the Kingdom of the Right. Having all the T’s crossed and I’s dotted, but lacking faith is not the church. But likewise we can’t go bury our talent expecting God to prosper it.  We must at least give it to the bankers to receive it back with interest. The talents, God’s providence, is given to us to use.

What is membership?  It is the saints putting the talents given to work.

Remembrance and Proclamation

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Text: Catechism Christian Questions and Answers 13-16

This is the 4th Lenten Midweek service. We have been working our way through the Christian Questions and their answer from the Small Catechism. These Questions and Answers are a model of “fitting preparation” to receive the Lord’s Supper. To me they run in expanding cycles. The first cycle is the simple proclamation of sin and salvation. The second cycle expands on that from the creed. This third cycle is very Lutheran. It always goes back to faith, but it also is not afraid to ask the question “why should or do I believe this?” The Lutheran understanding of the faith has an answer. That answer might not be satisfactory to all, but it has the advantage of being how the Bible talks about the origins of faith. And it has the advantage of being grounded in the cross. We remember and proclaim the cross as the ground of our faith. This sermon meditates on that.

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Revealed Desire

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Biblical Text: John 4:4-26

John 4 is a New Testament example of a “well scene”. It’s a stock backdrop that comes with some expectations for what is going to happen. John plays with these expectation is playful and revealing ways. If we are willing to hear, I think it reveals our desires that we often chase in all kinds of places – appropriate and inappropriate.

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Filling the Void

Today is a tongue in cheek day in the office. Somehow Annessa and I both will root for Duke.  As I say to my boys when they ask incredulously “how can you root for Duke?” Sons, you’ve got to respect greatness. But today Duke is playing the University of Pittsburgh, an institution I am an alumnus of and have been a cheering fan of ever since.  It isn’t the Alma Mater, but Grove City is not in the ACC, so there are no loyalty pangs.  When I was attending the school Basketball was the thing.  The football team was mediocre and had been losing to Syracuse and West Virginia, the real rivalries. The Basketball team had even climbed to a number 1 ranking a few times. But since that coach (Jaime Dixon) left, the team has been on the slide.  But someone got smart, hired a former Duke player (Jeff Capel) and the team got better.  And it really got better this year when Coach Capel finally realized that Pitt was never going to be Duke and started using the transfer portal to bring in talent.  Predicted to finish last, they ended up in what was a 5 way tie for the top. Which places pastor and secretary on opposite sides today.

That is all fine and good, but this is pastor’s corner, aren’t you supposed to say something at least vaguely spiritual if not downright theological? Yes, yes I am.  So here is the connection.  If you have been part of our mid-week bible studies, this past week was the Jacob and Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah story.  And I only somewhat tongue in cheek held up that competition as a scoreboard. If you know the story the rivalry was between sisters married to the same man.  The scoreboard was number of sons.  It is a story of competition and longing and attempting to fill that gnawing void.

Any athlete, other than Michael Jordan who is still attempting to crush his enemies and friends, will eventually tell you that winning is great, but what they miss when they can no longer play is being part of the team. That’s why many hang around too long.  They know they can’t do it anymore, but they need that team.  The smarter of them will move to coaching, the smartest to the front office.  The dumb but really good will eat forever on faded glory. When you see one of these in their 60’s you realize your crumbs of adulation mean more to them to fill that void than they mean to you as a curiosity. It is the rare athlete that figures out how to fill that void in other ways. Roger Staubach never had that void being the Navy man. Barry Sanders didn’t need it and even left early while he could still walk. Philip Rivers for me was always a fascinating case. Our sports press is terrible around religion.  They are a bunch of atheists covering usually a group of believers and so don’t get it.  Rivers never won a Super Bowl.  Those Chargers teams with Ladanian Tomlinson and Junio Seau and a bunch of other names were great.  They should have won 2, maybe 3. Most athletes the never-was would eat up.  Seau died early. Rivers is accepting.  I’ve only seen one reporter ask him this question. And Rivers points at his wife and 9 kids and his faith.  That void is more than filled.

That is the place where Leah eventually gets to.  She will have a relapse or two.  Sin is tough, we all do.  But after her 4th son Leah says, “This time I will praise the LORD.”  That child was Judah who would be the heir of the promise.  Leah had been trying to fill the void with a competition she would never win.  And even if she did – and you can argue that she did – it still wouldn’t or didn’t fill the void. Augustine’s famous quote is that we are restless until we find our rest in thee. His confessions are one long tale of competition that never fills the void.  Of stealing pears because he could, but not even eating them. But then finding what fills it.

Finding God, as Leah found out, doesn’t necessarily end the competition. We might even get pulled back into sinful ways of competition.  But when that void is full, we can be happy warriors. The victory is ours. Whether today we win or lose, that distant triumph song steals on the ear.  And hearts are brave and arms are strong.  Hail to Pitt, today at least!

Who is Christ?

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Text: Catechism Self Exam Questions 7-12

This midweek service sermon picks up from last week. The apostle Paul says we are to examine ourselves before receiving communion. The Catechism gives us a series of questions and answers that are a model of that self examination. This midweek series is walking through them and meditating on what they encourage us to think and live. This second grouping is what I’d call creedal stuff. (Stuff, a highly technical term there.) Part of a good self examination is some solid understanding of the God we are worhsipping as He has revealed himself. That is what these questions and this sermon meditate on.

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What is Love?

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Biblical Text: John 3:1-17

The Gospel text is the full text in which “the gospel in a nutshell” is found. Which usually means a springboard into some gaseous ramble about love. Now I’m crazy. The less concrete a word is, the more I hate it. And you don’t get less concrete today than love. This sermon is about say “What is love.” Which is pointing at the cross. You want to know love, look at the cross. That is a concrete as it gets. God works in his way – “The Spirit blows where it wills” – and “the son lifted up is His way.”

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