Children of the Promise: A Meditation on Romans 9

 

Our readings in St. Paul’s letter to the church at Rome begin a transition in chapter nine, where he discusses the distinction between the Gentile Church and the Jewish nation.  His lament, that he could wish himself accursed from Christ so that his ethnic people might be saved, is one that rings in the ears of many Christians even today.  How many of us have looked out into the world, perhaps at our own families, and wished we could take their suffering upon ourselves so that they could avoid the judgment they are piling up for themselves?  But St. Paul takes his sorrow for his people, and by the Holy Spirit, teaches us something about the nature of faith versus ethnicity.

Here we learn, that God is much less interested in ethnic or cultural ties, than He is about making promises and keeping them.  Why does God choose Abram from among all the people of the earth?  It wasn’t because he was particularly holy or pious, but rather because he would believe the promise of God, and God would impute his faith as righteousness.  The same questions reverberate down through the millennia, as God chooses one and not another—from the children of Abraham (Isaac versus Ishmael,) to the Patriarchs of the 12 tribes, to Moses, to Joshua, to the Judges, to the Kings, to the Prophets, to the Apostles.  God chooses some, and rejects others.  It is a hard reality, but the Scriptures declare it.

Of course, being the sinful people we are, we much prefer to think we are chosen because of some intrinsic value in ourselves.  We like to think our national or cultural heritage is better than others, or that our genetics are superior to those of others (which is, of course, how the 20^th century’s evil Eugenics movement began.)  We like to think we are particularly clever, pious, or charismatic, so that God’s choice reveals us to be of merit.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  God declares to us that all have fallen short of His glory, all have run after wickedness, and all of us together have become unprofitable.  God’s choices amongst men have nothing to do with the intrinsic merit of man, but everything to do with the infinite love and mercy of God.

In this way, St. Paul is able to see the distinction between the ethnic Jews who repudiated Christ (many of which maintained control of the Temple, becaming the Rabbinic leaders after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD,) and the people of every ethnicity who embraced Christ (Jews included, himself as evidence.)  For God, the issue was not primarily related to ethnicity, but to faith in His promise, so that whoever would call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, would be saved by His grace.  Thus, whether they were people of the Old Testament epochs, or the people of the New Testament era, the rule of faith was the same:  God’s people, His children, are children of His promise, living by His grace through faith in Him.

But not everyone will believe His promise, which is a sad reality of the sinful disposition of mankind.  The Jewish people of Jesus’ day who rejected Christ, rejected the salvation Jesus offered through His Gospel.  They refused to live by grace through faith, and rejecting Jesus, chose to stand before God on the merit of their own works.  St. Paul could see the end of such faithlessness, knowing that by the works of the Law no flesh shall be saved.  But he also knew that God would compel no one to love and trust in Him, because love compelled is no love at all.  For those who refuse God, they do so out of their own sinful and corrupted hearts, preferring their darkness to His Light.  God does not choose anyone for hell—we do that ourselves.  God’s promise of life and salvation through His Son goes out to the whole creation, so that all who will believe, will live, because God desires all people to be saved through His Son.

It is in this way that God, by the power of His Holy Spirit,  continues to call, gather, enliven and enlighten everyone who will believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Working by Word and Sacrament, the Spirit leads dead and wicked sinners to hear the blessed promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation which Jesus brings to us through His Cross and Passion.  The promise of eternal life is given freely, just as the life of Jesus was laid down freely, so that men might no longer measure themselves against one another by their own works or merits, but rather see themselves once again as brothers and sisters of the promise.

And so the promise comes to us all, Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, slave or free, Norwegian or Polynesian:  for God is no respecter of persons.  And to us all, regardless of our nation, our culture, our social status, or anything else we may think pridefully of ourselves, comes the promise of life to all who will repent and believe the Gospel.  Even so, the Gospel comes to you, calling you to be a child of God’s promise—calling you to repent, believe, and live. 

Amen.

Selling Out: A Meditation on Matthew 13

As I was growing up, “selling out” had two very different connotations.  The first was negative, as if someone gave up their principles for money, influence, or reward.  The second was positive, as if someone gave everything they had to accomplish a goal or mission.  “Selling out” on the football field meant leaving every drop of energy, focus, and effort on the grass, and holding nothing back from your team to win the game.  That idea of winning or succeeding, even if it cost you everything you had, is more akin to the first two parables in this week’s reading from Matthew 13.

In the first short parable, a man finds a treasure in a field.  In order to possess that treasure, he sells all that he has, so that he can buy the field with the treasure in it.  In the second short parable, a man who specializes in procuring pearls finally finds the greatest and most magnificent of all pearls.  In order to acquire it, he sells everything he has—every other pearl—in order to have that one.  In both of these stories, Jesus tells of people who are willing to sell out in order to claim the Kingdom of God; people who hold nothing back to achieve the prize.

That’s a pretty alien notion amongst religious people in our time and place.  “Selling out” for the Kingdom of God seems extreme, even fanatical.  Our churches are comfortable places, with comfortable seating and climate control, for the proclamation of comfortable sermons.  We have conveniently located restrooms, coffee and snacks.  We have a nursery if your child is disturbing you.  We have musicians who can play the sweetest and most inspiring tunes.  We have audio systems to make listening easier.  We have lighting and projectors to save you the trouble of reading small hymnal print.  We have programs designed for children, for adults, for singles, for couples, for men, for women.  And we compete with each other, as each church across town claims to have more comforts and programs, trying to lure people from one congregation to another.  And if it is true of the church, it is true of the culture at large… in spades.

“Selling out” for your job, your family, your friends… it’s just so extreme.  Our families crumble when hard times come; we leave our jobs when someone doesn’t stroke us the right way; we dump our friends when they say something hard to us, or challenge our stupidity.  Our culture and our churches reflect a weak and tepid commitment to almost everything, knowing that whatever the next whim or pleasure we fixate on, that will be our pursuit, at least until it gets difficult, or some other shiny thing takes our attention away from it.

Into our mental, physical, and spiritual weakness, Jesus speaks His Word.  The Kingdom of God, that eternal kingdom which is present among us now in His Word and Sacraments, and shall continue forever, is not a place for the tepid or weak.  It is a place of holiness and absolute commitment to Truth.  It is a place where no evil is permitted, and Justice, Mercy, Love, and Compassion reign unchallenged.  This Kingdom of God has God as its King, and the character of God pervades every inch of it.  It is a place, a communion, which brokers no half heartedness, no dual allegiances, and no other gods.  It is holy and pure, and only there is eternal life.

Gazing into this terrible beauty from our sinful sloth, we know we have no right to be there.  We, who have heard the wonderful Word of the Lord and yet have not kept it, who gather in comfortable churches to stroke our own egos and satiate our own desires, know that this Kingdom is not our due.  The kingdom we deserve to inherit is one of misery and death, which is the natural end of our gluttony and narcissism.  Rather than strolling into the House of the Living God with our designer coffee and lounging back with our smart phones, we know that the very first words from our hearts and lips should be, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

And it is here that we learn what these parables are really all about—they are about Jesus.  You and I, though we saw the Kingdom of Heaven like a treasure in a field, had nothing to go and buy that field with.  You and I, though we saw the Kingdom of Heaven like the most fantastic of pearls, had no currency and nothing to trade for it.  But Jesus did.  Already King of Heaven and possessing all things, He beheld our fallen and miserable estate, and gave all that He had to secure that Kingdom for us.  From the Incarnation by the Blessed Virgin, to the Passion of the Holy Cross, Jesus “sells out” everything for you, and for me.  He gives His life as a ransom for many, so that all who will believe in Him would not perish, but have His everlasting life.  He pours out His most holy Blood, His precious Body broken, that He may be for you the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.  Rising again, glorious and victorious, He declares to every ear that will hear, that He has bought our passage, our citizenship, into His Kingdom.  He has left it all on the field—all upon the Cross—and achieved the victory we could not win.

It is our Lord Jesus who presents to you and to me, this treasure beyond price, by grace through faith in Him.  The price was incalculable, but it was paid, so that the Kingdom of God might be His free gift to sinful men.  And this free gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation, stands between the second and the third parable we read this Sunday.

That last parable, is of the end of the age.  When the trumpet sounds, and the Holy Angels are sent to sever the wicked and unbelieving from among the justified in Christ, there will be no more time to proclaim the Gospel to men, no more time to repent and believe and live.  In that day, the great dragnet shall gather in every living soul from every time and place under heaven, and the final judgment shall commence.  You stand today by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the One who “sold out” everything to secure your place in His eternal Kingdom.  You stand today by the Cross of Christ, where your Lord calls you to pick up your cross, and follow Him.  Your cross, your works, your “selling out” cannot save you, but they are the response of faith to the wonderful gift of the Gospel of your salvation.  May the Cross of Christ bring us to repentance for our lethargy, our selfishness, our sloth and our weakness—and may His Holy Cross, by the power of His Holy Spirit, inspire us to renewed faith leaves every ounce of our strength spent upon the field of this world, as we lay hold of the Kingdom of our God by grace.  Amen.

More than Conquerors: A Meditation on Romans 8

Who shall separate us from the love of

Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or

famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is

written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are

accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that

loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor

life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things

present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth,

nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the

love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord  (KJV)

Victory in the Christian life is something often talked about in our day.  From televangelists to the local Bible study group, folks are often looking for victory over the struggles in their lives.  They are suffering with work, unemployment, poverty, unfulfilled desires and aspirations.  They lack contentment in any number of spheres of life, from possessions to people and relationships.  Perhaps they are suffering from the abuse of others, or the abuse they bring upon themselves.  People are suffering throughout the world and throughout the Church, and often do they gather, seeking victory over their pain.

Pagan religion and human philosophies often pursue such things.  They appeal to the gods to help them in their distress, make them strong, and bring them success.  They look for patterns of life that avoid pain and bring pleasure.  They build societies and fellowships around the mutual protection of each other, and their own pursuit of happiness.  Pagan religion is often a search for a path out of the sufferings of this world, while human philosophies are often a search for the least painful path while in this world.  They reflect the best and worst of human thinking from our limited resources, and do what they can to make life as pleasant as they can imagine it.  But of course, every pagan religion and philosophy eventually shows its failure in face of death—the ultimate pain and suffering which cannot be avoided by anyone, no matter how pious or clever.

Christ offers us something completely different.  Rather than removing the pain of the world, or providing a path to avoid it, He enters it of His own free will.  Beholding the suffering of His people, He elects to take our flesh upon Himself, that He might walk among us, suffer among us, and die among us.  He fulfills in every way the prophecy that our God and Savior would be Immanuel—God with us.  Rather than avoiding our pain, He takes it head on, and conquers it through His death and resurrection.  No short cuts, no drugs, no therapy.  Just Jesus crucified and risen for the sins of the whole world.  This is the Victory Jesus executes upon sin, death, hell and the devil.

And this teaches us something about the victory we should be seeking.  God has not called us to avoid the suffering and pain of this world, but to fellowship in His Son who has conquered this world through His Cross.  As Christ picked up His Cross and carried it all the way to Calvary, so we are called to pick our cross and follow Him.  Our victory is not in avoiding the pain and suffering of the world, but it is Christ’s Victory over and through the pain and suffering of the world.  In this way, the devil is utterly defeated, the power of death is destroyed, and the gates of hell are closed to us forever.  In Christ’s Victory is the forgiveness of our sins, and the giving to us of a new life in Him that has already proved it cannot be contained by the grave.  In Christ’s Victory, there is no running from the devil, or anything he wants to throw at us.  The devil is trampled under the pierced feet of Jesus, and nothing he can do can separate us from our Savior.

So if the devil throws pain your way, you can laugh him to scorn, ensconced in the love of Christ.  In the words of the great Reformation hymn, were he to take our house—goods, honor, child, or spouse—though life be wrenched away, he cannot win the day.  The Kingdom is ours forever, because Jesus is Victorious, and it is His good will to give us His Kingdom by His grace.  Be we persecuted, slandered, tortured or murdered, the love of God in Jesus Christ bears it all, and emerges victorious in a life that continues blessed forever.  All glory, laud, and honor be to our Lord Jesus Christ, our Victory and our Salvation!  Amen.

Wheat and Tares: A Meditation on Matthew 13

It doesn’t take long for anyone observing the world, to conclude that it is a mess of conflict between good and evil.  There are those who attempt to walk in the light of God’s good and gracious Word, and those who choose to walk in the darkness because their deeds are evil.  Secular humanists and people of other religions can see the world is hosed up.  Unfortunately, apart from God’s Word, those people who see the brokenness of the world can only cast about despairingly for answers to why, and what should be done.  Apart from God’s objective perspective on things, people come up with many poor explanations and even worse solutions.

Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and the Tares helps shed some light on this problem.  Envisioning the whole of the universe, Jesus begins by telling His disciples that the Kingdom of Heaven is like… a field in which good and bad seed is planted.  Even the angels are confused by this, asking God if He actually used good seed in His field.  God explains to His angels (and to us) that He is not the author of this confusion and corruption—it is an enemy that has done this.  An enemy has planted bad seed in His Kingdom, and created conflict.

The angels, aghast at such devious profanation of their Lord’s Kingdom, ask if they should go out and immediately rip the bad seed out, purging the Kingdom and making it holy once again.  God tells them no, lest the good wheat be torn up with the bad tares.  Instead, God instructs His Holy Angels to wait until the time of the harvest, when the wheat and the tares can be sorted without confusion, and when each can be delivered to its proper end.  At the harvest, not one ear of wheat will be lost, and not one tare will be saved.  But in the mean time, they will be growing up together, side by side, in mortal conflict.

This vignette Jesus shares, teaches us something about God, His Kingdom, and ourselves.  When we are tempted to wonder why the world is so corrupt, He teaches us:  an enemy has done this.  That same old enemy, the devil, who tempted our first parents to Fall in the Garden, continues to sow his wicked word of rebellion, pride, malice, and hatred in the fallen hearts of mankind.  Apart from the grace of God in Christ Jesus, who sows His good seed of the Everlasting Gospel in our hearts, we would be lost to the wickedness of Satan’s lies forever.  But our Savior puts out the good seed of His Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, raises up children for His Kingdom.

And so we see the confusion and conflict of our hearts, where wheat and tares seem to spring up side by side as our fallen nature struggles against our new nature in Christ, written large across the landscape of the whole world.  While there are those who live by grace through faith in Christ alone, they live side by side with those who are dead in their trespasses and sins.  The world, like each human heart, is a battle ground of good versus evil, of good seed struggling against wicked seed; of the Word of God alongside the contorted words of the evil one.

But thanks be to God, that He has chosen to redeem and rescue His Kingdom!  While God did not corrupt this world, He has sent His Only Begotten Son into this world to seek and to save the lost.  He has sown His good seed—first in Creation by the power of His spoken Word, then later through the Incarnation by the power of His Word made flesh—that the devil’s corruption might not stand forever.  Our loving and saving Lord desires no one to perish, but that all might have everlasting life, and so He waits patiently for the harvest, so that every soul might hear His saving Gospel, believe, and live.  But our Lord will not suffer evil to strive against Him forever.  When the time of grace is complete, and the harvest is ready, He will send His Holy Angels to gather His people to Him, and to cast the devil’s seed into eternal fire.

It is in this way that the Christian makes sense of this messed up world. We do not blame God for anything—He made the world perfectly, sown pristinely by His Word.  We do not blame Him for the wicked one planting bad seed, because it is man who let him do it by his own free will.  And we do not blame God for the continued struggle in the world, where evil seems to continue without judgment while the saints are persecuted and slaughtered, because we know that He is suffering all this for the sake of all His people who will believe and live forever in Him. 

Rather, we give thanks to God for the good seed He has sown in our hearts, so that we might believe and live forever in Jesus.  We give thanks that He suffers patiently with us as individuals while we struggle against the wickedness that still lingers in our fallen nature, even as we thank Him for suffering patiently with our world until the full number of our brothers and sisters has been brought in.  And we thank Him for the promise that He will come again to judge the living and the dead, so that no one who puts their faith in Him shall ever be put to shame… even as no one who has despised Him and preferred fellowship with the devil will ever escape eternal condemnation.

We give thanks, that the Kingdom of God has a victorious King; and that Jesus Christ our Saving King, will keep all those who trust in Him.  Amen.