Jesus at the Table

There is a pattern and an order to most things we experience. That order gives us structure; a sense of security; within that framework we can safely encounter new things. Let me give you a few examples. When you’re watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, what do you expect to have happen? You expect Mr. Rogers to come through the doorway, singing, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” you expect him to hang up his sport coat, take off his dress shoes, and change into his cardigan and sneakers. You expect him to speak directly to you about the day’s theme, you expect him to feed the fish, visit with his friends, take you on a tour of a factory or an artist’s studio, and, of course, visit the Land of Make Believe. Finally, you expect him to change back into his coat and shoes and make his exit singing, ‘It’s Such A Good Feeling To Know You’re Alive.” It’s the same show every time—but it’s not. It’s the same structure—but within the framework there is endless variety—try 998 episodes worth of variety. Or consider the order of baseball game. I don’t recall going to a baseball game wondering, “Are they going to play 4 innings or 25 innings tonight?” Normally, you go to a professional baseball game expecting 9 innings to be played. You know things are getting ready to roll with the singing of the national anthem. The players are introduced. You expect the teams to alternate between hitting and fielding. In the middle of the seventh inning, you expect to stand and sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” and if the game isn’t tied after the bottom of the ninth, you go home. It’s the same game every time—but of course, it’s not. It’s the same structure—but within the framework there is an endless variety of plays and outcomes, which statisticians have tracked for decades. Or think of a normal school day. There is a pattern and a routine to the way teachers and students move through the day. There’s no guessing when recess or lunchtime is. You know when your favorite subject and your not-so-favorite subject is coming. It’s the same school day every time—but it’s not. It’s the same structure—but within the framework there is an endless variety of lessons to be learned, in and out of the classroom. And so we come to church on Saturday night/Sunday morning and you come to expect a Confession and Absolution, a Psalm, a series of readings from the Bible, usually Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel. You expect an explanation of God’s Word for children and adults, you expect the opportunity to give an offering and to pray to the Lord, and most of the time you expect to participate in something we call the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion. Along the way there are liturgical songs—portions of the Bible set to music—such as “Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God,” “Lamb of God You Take Away The Sin Of The World,” “This Is The Feast Of Victory For Our God,” and many others. Along the way there are hymns—songs that teach the faith and give voice to our praise of God—many of which we have come to treasure. It’s the same service every time—but it’s not. It’s the same structure—but within the framework there is an endless variety of stories and themes that center on the mighty works of God and the living presence of Jesus Christ in His Church. Order serves us well. (Just think of what can happen when your getting-ready-in-the-morning routine is interrupted.) But it must be said that order and routine can also make us so comfortable that we are lulled to sleep. Nowhere is that more true than in worship. We’ve all the experience—let’s admit it—of being in a worship service, while at the same time you’re mentally making your grocery list, or wondering if kickoff is at 1:00 or 4:00. I would suggest the antidote to unconscious worship is simply to keep on asking “why”—to continually review together the purpose of our time spent in worship. Why do we interact with Jesus in the way that we do? The answer to that question is found in today’s Gospel reading. May our awareness of the Biblical framework for worship enhance and revitalize this time we spend with Jesus. The Emmaus experience described in Luke 24 is far more than just a neat add-on to the Easter story. It actually forms the foundation for how we experience Jesus in our lives! Here’s what I mean: look for the pattern that emerges. The risen Jesus walks with two men, and during that walk, He explained the Old Testament to them. He went through Moses and the prophets, describing how these writings were pointing to Him! Later on, these men would say, “Didn’t our hearts burn as he explained the Bible to us!” Then, later that evening, Jesus sits down at the table with them and—listen carefully to this language—“he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.” Then their eyes were opened, and they knew who he was.” They recognized it was Jesus at the table with them. Did the pattern pop out at you? The first part of this experience was instruction in the Word of God. It made their hearts glow with wonder. But this experience was only complete when they moved to the table, and Jesus gave thanks over bread, broke it, and gave it to them. Now, Jesus was not only someone they learned about, but someone who was with them. Then he disappeared, he vanished from their sight, as if to say, “Now that I’m risen and will soon be returning to my Father, this is how I will come to you until I return at the Last Day. My Words will be with you; and my body and blood will be with you in the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine that happen at the table. You will know me in these ways that I am leaving behind for you.” Do you see the pattern? In the first part of our worship, the Bible explains who Jesus is; in the second part, Jesus Himself comes to our table. With the Emmaus experience, Jesus laid out how He was going to give himself to us. He is still doing it. And that’s what we’re really doing here. A pastor once asked a group of very young children, “Why do you go to church?” One little girl responded, “We go to church to be with Jesus.” Now before you say, “Oh, what a cute story,” and then forget it, just understand this: That little girl was absolutely right. I urge you, in a time where there are Jesus options everywhere, from Internet and TV to the Christian bookstore and concert hall, to look for Jesus where He said he would be! At Emmaus he demonstrated He would be in His Word, and in the breaking of the bread. He continues to come to us through this pattern to save us from the depths of hell. He comes to us through Word, Bread and Wine to forgive our sins yet again! Within this framework, the risen and living Son of God touches you, forgives your sin, breathes faith and life into you, renovates your heart, resets your values and welcomes you to your place in His kingdom! So I ask you: Why do you go to church—to be with Jesus? Please, let that be your answer.

A Clever Story?

"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty." The apostle Peter wrote these words, and this is a claim that brings great encouragement to believers. It’s also a direct challenge to skeptics of the Christian faith. Peter says, “I’m telling you what I’m telling you about Jesus because I was there. I and the other apostles were eyewitnesses, and we are relating to you what actually happened.”

Now, when someone makes a claim like this, you have to make a decision about the person. Do you trust them, or not? There’s an old piece of advice that says, “Consider the source.” That’s what we’re going to do today. Peter says “we were eyewitnesses.” Is this someone whose word you can trust?

Well, let’s see. According to Scripture, being painfully honest was one of Peter’s personality traits. In the Gospels, you will find him frequently confessing the many times he had been terribly, totally wrong. When Jesus came to His disciples walking on the water on the Sea of Galilee, Peter admitted he was wrong, thinking Jesus was a ghost. Then he tried to walk on water himself and failed. He didn't have to tell you all of that story, but he did. That's not the kind of thing a person who is trying to control the message wants to share.

Then there’s the day Jesus was transfigured. Peter, James, and John were on a mountaintop with Jesus. There, quite unexpectedly, they saw Jesus speaking with some Old Testament Prophets, dead Old Testament prophets. Peter watched as Jesus' clothes became as white as light and His face shone like the sun; he listened when the Father in heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him." A cleverly invented story? Let me ask, why would Peter confess that he and the others fell to the ground in terror? Why would he confess that he didn’t know what he was talking about with the tents and everything, other than honesty?

There was the day Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Savior and then tried to talk Him out of giving His life as a ransom to save us. Later, Peter admits how, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was crushed by this world's sins, he didn't pray but fell asleep. When soldiers arrested Jesus, Peter fought and then ran away. When Jesus was being tried, Peter went to see what was happening and then denied His Lord three times. You can be sure Peter is the kind of guy who really tells the truth, to the extent that he doesn’t mind looking like a complete screw-up.

So when Peter says Jesus was crucified, you can believe him; when the apostle reports Jesus rose from the dead, you can believe that too. You see, when the disciples write of Jesus' resurrection, they admit, that when this, the greatest event in history occurred, they were in hiding. They acknowledge they didn't believe the resurrection accounts of the women; and two of them (Peter being one), had to go and take a peek at Jesus' empty for themselves. You can believe Peter and the other disciples when they talk about the resurrection because they come clean and admit they, themselves, were skeptical! They had nothing to hide and were transparent in their reporting of the facts, even when the facts were completely embarrassing.

So if you agree that Peter is a trustworthy and genuine eyewitness, then let’s consider his claim. He says that Jesus is Lord and Christ, who came with power and majesty. And this power and majesty is shown in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Ultimately it all boils down to this: Did Jesus really die on the cross and did He really rise from the dead?" Peter told the truth about himself; is he telling us the truth about Jesus, too?

As far as Jesus dying, let me say this: the Romans crucified tens of thousands of people, sometimes thousands at a time. History records not a single incident of anyone accidentally surviving. In the case of Jesus, not only did the Romans whip Him, and crucify Him, they also stabbed Him in the heart. Remember, when the Roman soldier made that spear thrust, he was trying to make absolutely percent sure Jesus was dead. Understand, when the Bible says blood and water came out of Jesus' wound it is describing a medical condition. This separation of blood platelets from the serum which carried them only takes place after someone has been dead for a while.

 Jesus was dead. The soldiers who crucified Him knew He was dead; Jesus' mourners knew He was dead; His enemies were convinced He was dead. Everyone was in perfect agreement: it was Jesus' lifeless body that was placed into that borrowed tomb.

So what is left? Only this: did Jesus rise from the dead or did He revive? Let's get rid of the revival idea by saying: Someone who has been whipped, beaten, crucified, and stabbed with a spear doesn't get around like Jesus did on Resurrection Sunday. So, did Jesus rise? He did. He absolutely did. It wasn't a Jesus-ghost who ate with the disciples. It wasn't a figment of imagination that cooked them breakfast on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It wasn't some author’s bright idea to have Jesus say, "Touch me, put your hand into My side." Jesus rose. For forty days He showed His disciples He was alive. The disciples of Jesus, including brutally honest Peter, would have no reason to tell you this—unless it was true. And they paid dearly for reporting what they had experienced. Who gives up their life for what they know is a lie?

Jesus really lived, He really died, and he really rose. The Bible reports these as facts, attested to by credible eyewitnesses. And if you put the weight of your heart on these facts, you can live your life knowing that you have God’s approval. You can live life knowing that he delights in you, because your sin and shame and guilt has all been paid for in full by Jesus’ death. If you put the weight of your hope on these facts, you can die in peace, because eternal life with Jesus has been promised to you, and resurrected life with Jesus is coming.

Peter didn't follow a cleverly devised story, and neither do I, as we make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s the truth. Now, will you believe it?

Adapted from a sermon by Rev. Ken Klaus

Beyond the Golden Rule

Question: if your friend or relative found themselves in a bind, would you help out? I’m betting you said, “Yes, of course.” I don’t think there is one person here who has not benefitted from someone else’s kindness and generosity. Business often works in the same way. Give your customers a break and you win their loyalty. We don’t forget favors, or at least we shouldn’t. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. That’s the golden rule, right?

But today Jesus says something a bit crazy. He wants us to go beyond the Golden Rule. Jesus says here that we must do good to our enemies, even if they’re ungrateful and selfish. And this is like touching a raw nerve for most people. How did you react when you heard Jesus say, “Love your enemies and pray for them”? I really want you to reflect on your reaction. What do you think of this teaching? What do you think about Jesus because of this teaching?

Being a Christian is not difficult because of what we believe about God. It is not difficult because churches require a high moral standard. Being a Christian is difficult because it requires that we go beyond moral standards; beyond the Golden Rule; beyond being nice to people who are nice to us. Jesus says we are to love our enemies, go good to those who hate us, to pray for those who would like to do us harm. The world says it is good business to be generous in your dealings with other people because someday they will be generous to you. Jesus says, expect nothing in return, at least not on this side of the grave. The Christian Life is not results-

oriented. We do not do this or that because we expect good results. It is not politics. It is not a matter of who you know. What Christians do is not determined by how it benefits us. Jesus says sinners think that way. What we do is a matter of who we have become. We are children of God.

Now we are at the heart of Christ-centered faith. The Son of God became human so that we humans could become sons and daughters of God. Jesus says that when we love our enemies we will be sons of the Most High. Not only are we recognized as God’s children, but people see we are brothers and sisters of Jesus. Children often act like their parents, when you get right down to it. Christians are God’s children and reflect who and what God is. God is not ungrateful or selfish. He does not live for Himself. He lives for you. He gave you the life of his Son. He gave you everything He was—everything he had. God did not do this only for people who beleiveed in Him already, but for the unbeliever and even those who hate Him. While we were still sinners, St. Paul writes, God loved us and gave Himself for us. At one time, we were all His enemies. Jesus did not pray for already holy people, but sinners. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

If you consider yourself a child of God, this is the prayer you must pray. Children act like their parents, so children of God forgive, and forgive, and forgive. And we’re not looking for paybacks for the good we do. God did more than any of us and he was not doing it for his own benefit. He was not waiting for something in return. He did it because he loves, and the love of God is redemptive. It is sacrificial. It gives and keeps no record of wrongs. God’s perfection is that He forgives even before those who are forgiven realize they have done something wrong. This is the hardest commandment for us to keep: love your enemies. But think about it: this is also a description of who God is. It is what God is all about. He loves His enemies. He is not their enemy. He has no enemies. That is what he was saying at the cross of Jesus.

Do you really understand this? Jesus did not suffer and die as He did to make pretty decent folk a little bit better. He suffered and died in agony of body and soul to turn enemies into friends; to change combatants into His children; to transform hate into love. At the cross of Jesus, God says, “See? I have no enemies. You may hate me, you may not care, but I love you, and I would do anything for you.” Nobody does this, except for Jesus. Nobody does this, except for people whose hearts have been melted by the weight of Jesus’ sacrifice. People like Corrie Ten Boom, for example.

Do you know about Corrie? She was a Dutch Christian whose family helped many Jews escape the Holocaust during World War II, and she was imprisoned for it,  finally being sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany. She shares her story in the book “The Hiding Place.” Now let me tell you what happened after her release from that concentration camp.

Corrie Ten Boom writes: "It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the Nazi processing centre at Ravensbruck. Suddenly it all came back to me - the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, the pain-blanched face of my sister Betsie.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. "How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein," he said. "To think that he has washed my sins away!" His hand was thrust out to shake mine.

I stood there for what seemed an eternity with the coldness clutching my heart. Forgiveness is not an emotion. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.

I tried to smile. I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so I breathed a silent prayer. ‘Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness’. ‘… I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened - into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that brought tears to my eyes. For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on God’s. When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself".

Now you can know a lot of facts and trivia about the Bible; you can remember large portions of the Small Catechism; you can live a very moral, decent life; but if you don’t understand the kind of love that would forgive a concentration camp guard, you don’t understand Jesus, and you don’t understand yourself. It’s only when your heart is meltedby the gospel that you get it. And what is that gospel? It is this: You have gone from being an enemy of God to being His friend and child through the cross of Jesus. And when he tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself.

A Matter of the Heart

How was your Valentines’ Day? Do you remember your first valentine? The person, not the card. I know, we’re getting into personal territory here. But we can’t talk about matters of the heart without getting personal.

Regardless of whether your Valentine’s Day was a romantic fantasy come true or a disaster or you are beyond caring, your relationship with God is very much a matter of the heart. It is deeply personal. Your ability to navigate life’s challenges, your ability to give and receive genuine love, your ability to deal with change and even death depends on where your heart rests. Do you know where your heart rests?

In today’s reading from the gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus responding to people who felt a right relationship with God was a matter of etiquette. Their hearts found rest in their performance of the rules. The way Jesus responded to this idea would’ve been shocking, and it still is. He says here that a right relationship with God is a matter of the heart, and that your performance is the wrong thing to rest in. Actually, Jesus says more than that. He is demanding that you have a pure heart.

Here in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is confronting a culture that was built on the idea that you are right with God if you do the right things. And really, our culture is no different. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day had constructed an elaborate list of do’s and don’ts, and following that list defined life with God for them.  But then Jesus comes along as says, ‘You are wasting your time with these do’s and don’ts if you don’t let God have your heart.’ Hear Him saying that to you today. If your life with God is just a bunch of joyless got to do’s and have to do’s and ought to do’s; if your heart is not overwhelmed by Jesus’ love, then this message today is for you. May the Holy Spirit open your heart to it.

Jesus drives home his point by walking through the commandments, and his point is that the heart is where the commandments are kept or broken. He starts with the 5^th Commandment. The Pharisees went for a strict and literal interpretation of “You shall not murder.” Don’t kill anyone and you’re good. But Jesus wants more than that. He wants to know what’s in your heart. Most of us haven’t picked up a gun or a knife to commit homicide, but how perfectly do you love? Who have you insulted lately, even if it’s just in your thoughts? Who have you actively worked to undermine? Are you carrying a grudge today? Do you hate another person? Jesus says these are just as sinful and rotten as taking a life with your own hands. It’s a matter of the heart.

Or if that doesn’t cut you enough, there’s the Sixth Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” The society of Jesus’ day was very lax on the sanctity of marriage. Sound familiar? But Jesus says that adultery from God’s perspective is not just a reference to extramarital unfaithfulness; it’s a matter of the heart. It’s not just affairs that happen outside of the bond of marriage, but affairs of the heart that are sin: wandering eyes, overactive imaginations, the use of pornography, an easy divorce mentality, all expressions of selfish sexuality; Jesus says these are just as sinful and rotten as open acts of adultery. Again, it’s a matter of the heart.

Then there’s the Eighth Commandment, the one about not bearing false witness against your neighbor. The Pharisees and rabbis had developed a code of conduct, which enabled them to say that some promises you really had to keep, while others you could let slide. By swearing an oath, you could look really serious, really dedicated, but you could be crossing your fingers while you said it, not meaning a word. But it’s the heart that Jesus cares about, not the code of conduct. The commandment is not about how much you can get away with; it’s about a basic truthfulness that God expects from us. Habitual lying destroys relationships, and it is just as sinful and rotten as slandering someone publicly. An inability to be truthful is definitely a matter of the heart.

Jesus has diagnosed a major human problem in this teaching. We are great at putting on a performance. We excel at creating a godly appearance. We can even believe that because we occasionally do good, then we’re good with God. But inside, in the heart, we’re a mess. We can keep from murdering people. We can keep from having affairs. But the heart always slips. Out pops a selfish thought. Out pops a heated temper and hateful words. Out pops resentment. Without even trying, out pops an image of lust. Out pops a flash of greed. Surely you can’t be responsible for that. But Jesus says you are. Jesus says I am. Even the smallest sin proves our hearts are not pure, and Jesus demands a pure heart. That’s the diagnosis. What’s the remedy?

The remedy is a transfusion. Our hearts need new fuel; they need to pump something that will always be cleansing us. Your heart needs something to flow through it that will make you pure. That something is the blood of Jesus Christ, the blood He shed on His cross. There are many fuels that motivate us to live for a time, but only one fuel is clean and will not lead to weariness and disappointment: the blood of Jesus, the visible proof of God’s love for you. The one thing that Satan does not want is that the sacred blood of Jesus and the knowledge that you are God’s own beloved child power the engine of your life and heart. So you see, the remedy is not to try harder to follow more rules so you look like a better person. The remedy is to drop the act and to receive this blood transfusion by faith. And when you receive that; when you rest your heart in what Jesus has done for you, here is the benefit:

You feel that the great business of life is a settled business, the great debt a paid debt, the great disease a healed disease, the great work a finished work, and all other business, diseases, debts and works are then, by comparison, small. You can be patient in trouble; calm under stress; not destroyed by sorrow; not afraid of bad news; in every condition content; for Jesus gives you a fixedness of heart. You are anchored in him. He sweetens your bitter cup, lessens the burden of your cross, smoothes the rough places you travel, and brightens the valley of the shadow of death. You always have something solid under your feet, a sure friend along the way, and a sure home at the end.

Don’t you want that kind of confidence to flood your life? It’s yours when you rest your heart in the person of Jesus and the actions he took on your behalf.