Back to the Source

           It’s only about a half a mile. The monk walked from his cell in the monastery, past the university where he was a teacher, to the church at the other end of town. There he posted a notice on the door of the Church of All Saints. If any of the common people passing by were interested enough to look, they would soon turn away in disappointment. “It’s in Latin.”

            That’s the way it may have happened on October 31, 1517, in the town of Wittenburg, in the German Principality of Saxony. I’m talking about the publication of the 95 Theses by Martin Luther. Little did anyone realize that these hammer blows on the door of the church would change Western Christianity, not to mention the course of history.

            How could one man do it? He couldn’t, and he didn’t. Looking at all the events of what we’ve come to call the Reformation of the Church, it’s not really about Martin Luther; it’s not about the 95 Theses; it’s not about the right timing. The Reformation is all about the One Truth in Christ instead of the many “truths” around us.

            When Father Martin issued his 95-fold call to the Church, he was challenging Christians. Not just the high and mighty, like the pope and the cardinals and the bishops and so forth. He was challenging all Christians (at least in the Western Church) to come back to the source of faith and life: the Word of God; the Bible. It’s eye-opening to consider that at the time of Luther, the Church was doing fine—if your standard of “doing fine” is activity, people involvement, influence, and property. The Collegiate Church of All Saints at Wittenburg was worthy of admiration. Their seven priests conducted thousands of masses a year. That meant a sizable income for the clergy, and even more so, people received assurance for the quicker release from purgatory for both themselves and their family members. It was a good deal all around, of great economic benefit to the city. And along comes this monk, who said…well, what did he say?

            Father Martin did not say, “Don’t listen to the Church.” He did not say, “Believe whatever you want.” He said, “Let’s go back to the source.” What source? The Word of God. The Holy Scriptures. The Bible. Let’s get back to the source. Dare I ask, what have you done to get back to the source lately? How important is it to you to get God’s Word into your life? Because that’s what the Reformation was all about. Not about some mythical German hero named Luther, but about God’s grace, the real message of Holy Scripture. And here you have it. All of God’s mercy, packed in words; the whole Christ, crucified and risen for you, speaking His full message of repentance and salvation.

            But look around today. There will be Reformation services elsewhere. These days there seem to be, even in the Church, so many different views, opinions, philosophies, and convictions that others begin to ask, “What does the Christian Church stand for?”

            Jesus said, “If you abide in”—if you listen, stick to, remain with, hang on to—“if you abide in My Word, you are truly my disciples.” That’s a pretty big “if.” The best medicine prescribed by the doctor will be useless if you don’t take it! Jesus himself issues the invitation to abide in His Word, but that’s all it will be if you don’t take him up on it.

            How many baptisms have taken place at this font during your lifetime? And yet, do you see all of those blessed by water and the Word sitting here with you today? How many confirmands have vowed faithfulness to Jesus and loyalty to the Church at this altar? Where are they now, and do you care?

            How do you stick with it? How do you abide? I cannot possibly overstate the importance of Christian education, catechism instruction and regular worship attendance for the survival of each Lutheran in their Christian faith. It is nothing less than a threat to your spiritual survival to disregard the Word of God or to separate yourself from it. It seems so simple—staying plugged into the power source is necessary. But how often do God’s own people act like it isn’t necessary? How often do God’s own people pretend that getting God’s Word into themselves is an optional activity?

            Perhaps you had hoped today to hear more praises of Martin Luther and the other great men and women of the Reformation. But that’s not our greatest need. Our greatest need is for Christ’s Holy Word to strengthen us for the road ahead. We need Jesus with us as we move toward our final goal.

            Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” That truth we learned from men like Pastor Luther. And from those following him, including the teachers and preachers who have fed you with the heavenly food of the Gospel. That Gospel says: you cannot free yourself from what you are. The sinner, Jesus says, is a slave, tied up and loaded down. The truth that sets you free is that Jesus breaks the chains; Jesus leads you out into the light.

            Jesus also said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” What a claim, and what a promise! For Christians, truth is not a theory or a philosophy or an ideology. Truth is a person. Jesus is truth. Jesus is God’s final and saving promise to you. Included in that promise is strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow; life constant and joyous in God’s presence that begins right now, and that is perfectly fulfilled in eternity. What do you have to do to realize that promise? Memorize the 95 Theses? Know your way around the LCMS handbook or Robert’s Rules of Order? Over-commit yourself on the church committee? None of the above. Remember Jesus’ words: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The Son has done it. You can be free from slavery to sin. You can be free from slavery to self. You can live free from fear. The Son of God offers you himself. He gives you all for nothing. He pronounces you free and loose from sin. He calls you into a new kind of life—a life in which He has connected Himself to you for good.

            Martin Luther’s legacy is that he pointed people to Jesus with great clarity. That can be our legacy too. It will happen if we get back to the source. That will happen if we meet Jesus face to face in Holy Scripture. That will happen as you build your life on the fact that the Son has set you free.

Adapted from a sermon by Rev. Wilhelm Torgerson

Get Some Rest

A man named Frederick Taylor worked for a large steel mill in 1898. He was an ambitious executive and was one of the first to apply scientific methods to study the productivity of manual labor. Here’s what I mean: In those days there were no cranes to load steel bars onto railroad cars. It was backbreaking work, and after some experimentation, Taylor concluded that men could do more if they took rest pauses at definite intervals. He got some of the workers to try this new method by offering them a dollar a day more and flattering them by calling them his “high-priced men.” Under this system, a whistle was blown after the men had carried iron for 12 minutes. At the whistle, they were to sit down and rest for three minutes. At the next whistle they would resume working. The result: the amount of iron carried increased from 12 and a half to 47 tons a day. This seeming miracle ushered in the era of rest pauses, which just might be the forerunner of today’s coffee breaks.

            Thoughts of work and rest dominate our lives, don’t they? Our work and our identity are intertwined. Soon after meeting someone for the first time, you’ll probably ask or be asked, “So, what do you do?” The Bible reminds us, from the very beginning, that we were not created simply to exist. We were created to do something. A careful reading of Genesis chapter two shows God giving Adam jobs to do. Tasks to complete. This was before the fall into sin and death. Before the fall into sin, work was not “work” as we think of it. It was a joy. It gave purpose. But after the fall into sin, everything changed. That was one of the curses that God pronounced—the nature of work would be drastically different. Work might still have a good result, but it would be hard, toilsome, even exhausting, something you could easily come to resent. If your labor wears you out, there’s a reason for that. What happened in the Garden of Eden changed the nature of work in this world. And we find ourselves in need of relief.

            In other words, we need rest. It is a necessity. “Rest” is the word of the day, and you may have noticed it is all over today’s Epistle Lesson, the letter to the Hebrews. We truly need to pause periodically and rest from our labors. Our bodies need to catch up with our tasks and the great mechanisms of our bodies can’t do without some downtime. As Frederick Taylor’s steel mill experiment pointed out, we are more productive when we rest and replenish our vital strengths. But the writer of the letter to the Hebrews is going far beyond the idea of rest from physical labor. What this word from God is saying to you is that there is a deep soul rest that is available to you; an inner, spiritual rest that you really can have when you consider who Jesus is, what He has done, and why it matters to you.

            Here’s verses 9 and 10: “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” There’s the offer. It’s there for you. Did you hear it? There is a deep rest of the heart and soul available to God’s people. How do you get it? Again, “whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” You enter God’s rest when you rest from your works. Let’s explore the dimensions of this because it really could change your life.

            Most of us live our lives trying to prove to everyone that we’re good enough. We try to prove, and sometimes this is very subtle, we don’t even know we’re doing it, but we work really hard to prove that we’re lovable—to prove that we’re worthy of respect—to prove that we’re competent and productive. In essence, we’re trying to justify our own existence, and we push ourselves to the limit in order to do this. And why not? It’s the way the world works, after all. The world says “prove it,” then you’ll be rewarded. So we try, and while you may get some rest and relaxation once in a while, deep, abiding rest of the soul is hard to come by. That’s hard enough. But then, again, without even being aware we’re doing it, we bring that “prove it” attitude into our spiritual lives; into our relationship with God.

            We think and act as if we’ve got to prove to God that we’re good enough. We try to prove to Him that we’re lovable, that we’re worthy of being blessed. We try to justify our existence before Him by producing our list of accomplishments; a track record that we believe should count for something. But do you want to know the truth? There’s no rest in that! Remember, the Bible says you enter God’s rest when you rest from your works. That means that God’s rest enters you and fills you when you stop making your works your trust; when you stop trying to work your way into God’s good graces because you realize that work has already been done.

            Jesus came down to earth precisely to do that hard work on your behalf. His perfect life; His sacrificial death; His resurrection; His ascension back into heaven, has all been applied to your record. It counts for you. That’s why He did it. There is nothing you can add to what He has done. True peace of the heart, mind, and soul is yours when you rest from your works and trust in the work Jesus did for you. That’s why Jesus, nailed to a cross, struggling for breath, said in his dying moments, “It is finished.” Trying to justify yourself before God is finished. He justifies you by giving you His performance record. Trying to prove to God that you’re lovable is finished. Jesus proved He loves you already by going through suffering and crucifixion to settle your account with God. Do you hear that? Do you believe that? That’s the Gospel—the news of a new reality! The announcement that changes everything! Can you work that into that self-talk that goes on in your mind every day? I think you can, with prayer and help from the Holy Spirit.

            Rest from your works. Don’t make them your trust. Don’t make yourself your trust. Make Jesus your trust, and enter a Sabbath rest for your heart. What He accomplished for you needs no more work. When you understand that, when you get that, the daily work you’ve been given to do takes on a higher purpose. With nothing to prove to God, your daily work can be done as a service to your neighbor. It’s a means through which God grants your daily bread. It’s a daily thank you letter written to your Lord and Savior. It’s there for you. You can have this. God’s Word promises it. “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God rested from His.”

Salted for Service

What is it about salt? There’s just something about a nice salty pretzel to put a smile on your face. I remember as a kid, when you’d get to the bottom of a bag of pretzels and you’d have all that salt there at the bottom, so what do you do? You lick your finger, stick it down in that salt and pop it in your mouth.

            What is it about salt? Salt adds flavor, or maybe it would be more precise to say that it enhances the flavor that’s already there. Salt also heals, having an antiseptic quality. Salt preserves. It’s what you used before the days of the refrigerator/freezer. And in the Bible, salt purified sacrifices in the Old Testament and indicated peace with God. It also indicated peace between parties and so Jesus adds in today’s gospel lesson, “Be at peace with one another.”

            What is it about salt? Jesus uses salt to talk about you and me today. In His Word today, Jesus tells those who follow him, “Be salty!” What does He mean by that? Well, think through the qualities of salt again: Jesus is saying to you: (1) Have a distinctive flavor. A Christian’s life should not be blah or bland. The greatest news of all time has entered your mind and heart, and if that’s not changing you, if that great news is not erupting out of you, then you might be losing your salt. But how could it not be? Death has no claim on you. Jesus died, yes! He dove into sin and hell for us, but He broke to the surface on the third day with life to give to you. Forgiven Life. New Life; New Priorities. Forever Life. A Resurrected Life to come. Nothing else tastes like this! Be salty; keep a uniquely Christian outlook. (2) Salt heals. What are you doing to bring healing into this world…into your relationships? That’s part of being a salty Christian too. That’s the unique Christian flavor. Your goal is to bring healing, not to destroy. You are after forgiveness, not revenge. You are looking to help put things back together again, not to tear down. Bring healing. (3) Salt preserves. Imagine what the world would be like…imagine what our country would be like…imagine what our community would be like if one day, all the Christians [poof] were gone. What would it be like? I’m bold to say that the impact would be huge and not pretty in the least. Salty Christians preserve their communities by doing things no one else wants to do. Salty Christians preserve communities by being Christ-like. Today Jesus says to each of us, “Be that salt.”

            Today we are highlighting the work of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, of which our Ladies’ Aid is a part. These groups take the command of Jesus to be that salt seriously. Along with our Lord they would remind you today that you are “Salted for Service.” It’s a message that the Bible sounds again and again. It’s become so important to us here at Trinity that our mission statement has become “We are saved by Christ to serve his creation.” It’s become so real that you have embraced servant events, serving at Christ’s Table, and in the case of the LWML and Ladies’ Aid, funding and supplying missionaries in foreign lands, sewing dresses for African girls to wear, supporting students in training for ministry, and so much more.

            One of the iconic images of the LWML is the Mite Box. The Mite Box is nothing more than a small cardboard box into which you can slip your mites—your loose change—and then when your box gets full, you bring them in and pool those funds at local, national, and international levels. But when I say it’s nothing more than a cardboard box, that’s understating it by quite a bit. That fact is, that all those mite boxes down through the years have funded millions of dollars worth of mission activity. Hundreds of projects in the Ohio District alone have been at least partially paid for by those Mite Boxes so that the Gospel of free forgiveness in Jesus is shared everywhere. Let me put a real face on that for you.

Pastor Matt Harrison, president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, writes the following. “Over the past decade, I’ve visited dozens and dozens of places in the world and had a recurring experience—like I did for example, in Ambur, India. There I was touring a large and bustling Lutheran hospital compound. Hundreds of people are treated there daily. Babies are born and people are cared for by pastors and deaconesses and doctors. As I rounded a corner on the walk, I came face-to-face with something profound. A plaque on the hospital building stated, “Built with the assistance of funds from the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.” Every time this occurs I think of all the women I’ve met in all the churches over the years. I think of all those faithfully-filled Mite Boxes. I think especially of those women now with the Lord. And I’m profoundly thankful.”

It would literally take all day to tell you about current LWML projects around the district, the United States, and the world that are caring for the poorest women and children, fighting malaria and other diseases, assisting the addicted, and supporting crisis pregnancy centers. The list could be multiplied, and in all these instances, Jesus is being shared with those in need.

The LWML is an example for us all. We are all “salted to serve.” How do we do that? Forgiven by Jesus, we bear witness to Him in our everyday lives. We care for those in need, just like He did. We live a life together of love and forgiveness, where healing is top priority. And in all this service, through every victory and every disappointment shared, there is joy in the Lord, joy in what He is doing through you and me. Be that salt, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Adapted from Pastor Matt Harrison's sermon for LWML Sunday 2012

Greatness

Who is the greatest athlete of all time? How about the greatest entertainer? What is the greatest movie ever made? The greatest person you ever met? It’s a human pastime to come up with our list of “greatests,” and there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, as long as we understand that God’s definition of what makes a person great is far, far different than ours.
Jesus’ disciples found that out in an embarrassing way in today’s gospel. Jesus had been teaching them about himself; telling them in plain language about his rescue mission. Jesus said: “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And after he is killed, He will rise on the third day.” To you and me, this is dangerously close to “old news.” To the disciples, it didn’t make sense, and they were afraid to ask questions. Instead, as they walk along the road to their next destination, the conversation shifts, and has nothing to do with what Jesus was talking about. Instead, they start opining about who of them was the greatest disciple! Some translations say they were disputing this issue. When they get to the house where they were staying, Jesus asks them, “What were you talking about on the way?” You probably could’ve heard the proverbial pin drop in the silence that followed, as the disciples thought it over. Jesus had just told them he was going to be betrayed and executed, and they had responded by cutting him out of the conversation and debating who is the greatest among us. What an uncomfortable silence that must have been. How patient of our Lord Jesus to keep teaching these guys who couldn’t seem to see past themselves. We might as well say the same thing about ourselves. How patient Jesus is with us, who so desire worldly greatness, recognition, and status. He never stops instructing us through his Word.
To understand God’s definition of greatness, we have to understand God. By nature, the almighty God of heaven and earth is a servant. He created Adam and Eve so that He might care for them. He created them in His image to serve one another and to take care of what God had made. When they sinned, He did not respond with raw power, instead, he promised to serve them again by sending a Savior who would crush the serpent’s head, decisively defeating death and hell. That’s the plan Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel—a plan to serve. That’s God’s nature. Therefore, when God measures greatness, he measures it in terms of serving. In God’s eyes, the one who is great is the one who serves others.
Sinful humankind measures greatness in exactly the opposite way. Our culture says greatness is when you have so much power that you are served by others. Greatness in our culture means you have some talent or quality that sets you apart and make you worthy of being admired, glorified, and yes, even worshipped by others. That’s why movie stars, musicians and professional athletes are idolized. Think about it: the word “idolized” says it all. Natural man looks at wealth, publicity, and power and says, “that’s what life is all about.” But lest we point the finger too easily at Hollywood or Washington D.C. or your local sports arena, we also need to look in the mirror, and ask: “in what ways have I been seduced by a need to be thought of as great? In what ways have I craved recognition or power or control? What has my need to be number one caused me to do? Even Jesus’ own disciples couldn’t help jostling for the number one spot. It is a constant human temptation.
And that creates some tension, to say the least. Jesus says, “In service to the people of the world, I’m going to suffer and die to buy back what is already mine.” This is the greatest service of all. By their discussion, the disciples said, in so many words, “Suffering and dying isn’t great. Gaining power and influence is great. So which one of us will be the greatest of Jesus’ disciples? Which one will have the power and authority?” By their discussion, the disciples betray how far away they are from thinking God’s way.
What follows is what educators call a “teachable moment.” Jesus sits the twelve down in response to their embarrassed silence and says, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” This would have been a startling statement to the disciples, and in truth, it is still startling to the sinful nature. Greatness is found in service? Being best is a matter of being last? What is that supposed to mean? To God, it makes perfect sense, because he is the servant who created us to serve; to man, it sounds ludicrous.
The “teachable moment” continues. A child toddling by is scooped up in Jesus’ arms as He says, “Whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but Him who sent me.” This, too, would’ve been so far away from the disciples’ conventional wisdom: the lines were clearly drawn, childcare was for the womenfolk, men did manly stuff like catch fish and fight wars. Yet Jesus declares that service to children is great service. He has come to save all people, children included. But this goes way, way past Jesus telling his disciples to serve the cute little boys and girls because they’re so doggone adorable. Jesus is saying: to be great means to serve those who can’t serve you back. Serve those who might not say thank you. Serve those who are in no position to reward you. You can almost see the disciples casting sideways glances at each other, with a mixture of shame and confusion in their eyes. They didn’t get it yet. But they would, after Jesus had made good on his promise to serve by suffering dying, and rising on the third day, and the Holy Spirit filled them on Pentecost.

 That means there is hope for us, too, as we grapple with God’s definition of greatness.
There is wonderful clarity in this idea; The Lord remains the Servant. He went to the cross and died for the sins of all people in service to all; and he still comes here to serve us by his means of grace, his Word and Sacraments. The Lord is a servant who sets you free from sin to be a servant. The Lord has placed you where you are to be a servant in that place. Parents; children; husbands; wives; employers; workers; retired; just getting started; teachers; students; wherever you are, God has placed you there to serve. The Lord may give you skills, assets, and wealth; should he do so, rejoice that t the Lord has entrusted these things to you so that you can serve others. On the other hand, if you have little in the way of resources, rejoice that the Lord has put you where you are, to serve with what you have, even if that’s just your two hands. This is the life of a Christian: thanks to Jesus, you are set free to serve wherever the Lord has put you. Make it your goal to serve as Jesus would serve, and do so knowing that you are fully and freely forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.