Thursday, October 30, 2014

Behold the Love of God: A Meditation on 1st John 3, for the Feast of All Saints


The Feast of All Saints is a festival largely forgotten in the western Church.  We celebrate this feast on the 1st of November, or sometimes transfer the feast to the nearest Sunday.  What is generally celebrated as Halloween is a corruption of what used to be the eve of All Saints Day, as Christmas Eve is to Christmas Day.  But on this All Saints Day, it is good to give some thought to why we have this on the calendar, and what our readings reflect regarding it.

St. John’s first epistle is a marvelous and intimate letter, written to Christians whom he called his “little children.”  As a spiritual father and Apostle of Jesus Christ, St. John seeks to call his readers into the truth of life in their Savior, and away from the death of the world.  This life in Christ is presented as the polar opposite of the death brought about in the world, despite what might be seen in the experience of each Christian as they are persecuted and slandered, while the wicked seem to prosper in their vanities.  St. John points his dear little children to the truth that life is more than what we see—it is bound up in the love of God made flesh in Jesus Christ.

But what is life in Christ, if for the Christian this world is full of suffering and misery?  This is a fundamental fear of most Christians, because we all carry with us a wounded and fallen human nature that struggles to see beyond the current moment.  Our fallen nature is more influenced by our current pain or pleasure, poverty or prosperity than we might like to admit.  When hard times come upon the Christian, he is tempted to question the love of God for him, because he is suffering and confused.  In our weakness we cry out, “Why, O Lord, should the wicked prosper, and your people be ridiculed, litigated, persecuted, and martyred?”

From our human perspective, it seems the most reasonable question in all the world; but from God’s perspective, we have missed the deeper truth of our fallen condition, and the price that must be paid to rescue us.  The reason we find ourselves in a world bent on evil, where the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, is because we are fallen people in a fallen world.  There is really none who is righteous in this world… no, not one.  That we retain any semblance of life at all is a divine mercy beyond all imagining—a measure of His willingness to suffer with our sin and depravity, our corruption of ourselves and the whole creation, so that He might offer salvation to all.  We are a fallen race, and the world reflects our descent.  We are the authors of our own suffering, the ushers of our own calamity.  Fallen as we are from the grace in which we were created, we have no power to lift ourselves out of this suffering and death, just as we have no power cure our poisoned nature, or to bring forth truly good fruit from our corrupted tree.

But the love of God for us is shown most brilliantly, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Author of Life looks down upon his fallen creation, and elects to take upon Himself our death and destruction, so that He might offer to us His eternal life and restoration.  This life that He offers is not for a moment or an age, but continues forever in Him.  Just as Jesus Our Lord is the eternally begotten Son of the Father, having no beginning and no end, so His life which He gives to us can never be diminished or extinguished, even by suffering and death in this fallen world.  The Life He gives by grace through faith in Him, transcends the moment in which we struggle, and extends into the infinity of His embrace.  This is life, that we know the only true God—and that we live in the life given through His Only Begotten Son.

But such life in a fallen world has consequences.  The same fallen world that crucified the Lord of Life, which did not know Him nor love Him, will persecute and hate those who live in Him.  The same fallen world that rejected the Word of grace and gospel that came from our Lord, will reject the Word of grace and gospel that comes from Him through you.  The same fallen world that preferred darkness to the light of God, will prefer its darkness over God’s light shining through you.  And so, as our Savior suffered and died for the sins of the world, taking upon Himself our misery and death, His people will also carry the form of His cross through this fallen world, suffering in our witness to Him.

This life, however, given to us by our ever living Lord, is a gift that outpaces anything this fallen world can present.  While life in the world might seem for a short time to satisfy the lusts and perversions of our flesh, both the world and our perversions are passing away.  The Kingdom of our God shall shine forth like the sun, purged of all wickedness, and those who preferred the passions of the devil over the blessings of life in Christ, will find their eternal torment in the hellish prison of their own choosing.  But those who are alive in Christ will find their eternal fellowship in His presence, at peace and in fullness of love with their Savior, and with each other.  Together with Christ, each person who lives by His grace, is purged of their wickedness and evil, so that they become all that they were created to be—each a unique reflection of God’s infinite love and mercy, redeemed in the Blood of the Lamb.

For the saints of Jesus Christ, alive in Him, this is our blessed fellowship, both in this world and the world to come.  For there is but one Christ, and one life into which all His people are grafted—one Church into which all His people are called, and in which all live by His grace.  Whether those saints are here on earth, battling out our daily struggles against the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, or in perfected harmony with Christ in heaven, resting victorious in His victory over our mortal enemies, each and every saint of God enjoys a sweet and unbreakable fellowship with each other, and their Lord.  Each and every one of us, who live by Jesus’ life, live together in that same eternal life, sharing together the wonders of His mercy and grace.  No Christian is ever alone, no matter how dark their earthly prison, or the roaring of their enemies.  For each and every Christian is connected by Christ to each and every other Christian that has ever walked the earth, or ever shall until the end of time.  This is the beautiful mystery of the Communion of the Saints, where all the household of God is united and alive in Christ.

And while this eternal reality is more certain than the very earth upon which we now stand, to we who are weak and struggling in our faith, He has given us a sign of this blessed communion in His very Body and Blood.  The Holy Eucharist which He established on the night in which He was betrayed, remains the everlasting sign of His communion with us, and our communion with every other baptized Christian.  That same Body and Blood which suffered and died and rose again for our salvation, is given to us that we might always remember the greater reality of our life in Him amidst the confusing darkness of our world.  Here in this Eucharist is Christ our Savior, and here in Him we find not only ourselves, but all He has gathered to Himself.  Here we find not only our own personal communion with God restored, but our fellowship with all His people perfected through His Blood which washes and saves us all.

This Holy Eucharist, presented as simple bread and wine upon our humble altars, when combined with His Almighty Word, bring forth the confluence of heaven and earth in the immediate place of our sanctuaries.  Here is Christ, and in Him the Kingdom of God is fully come.  Here are the saints of all times and places, the martyrs and confessors, the doctors and the mystics.  Here are all those known only unto their Lord, whom the histories of the world have not recorded, but are found written in the Book of Life.  Here we find the great cloud of witnesses, the countless multitude of white robed martyrs, all united together in Christ our Savior.  Here we see those who live even though they die, knowing that the eternal bliss into which they have already pressed, is that same eternity into which we are now pressing.  Here we see the eternity of love and compassion our God extends to us, which shatters the dark and fearful lies of our present world.  Here we find present our future glory, and Christ our Righteousness presents Himself to us.  Here we find our true life that passes through death unscathed, emerging more brilliant than the stars of heaven.

Behold the love of God for us, that we should be called the children of God!  Behold the eternal life and sweet communion, won for us in the Cross of our Savior Jesus Christ!  Come to the waters of Holy Baptism, where your death is exchanged for His life.  Come to the servant of Christ, confessing your sins, that you may be absolved and made whole.  Come to the Supper of the Lord, where He gives us a foretaste of the feast to come.  Enter into the fellowship of all the saints of God, alive in Christ forever:  for He is the God of the living, not the dead.  To you Christ calls, together with all His holy saints and angels, Prophets and Apostles:  Come.  Amen.   

Friday, October 24, 2014

We conclude that a man is saved by faith, apart from the works of the Law: A Reformation Day reflection on Romans 3




This is the great conclusion St. Paul articulates, after having laid the ground work of Biblical theology in chapter’s one and two of Romans.  For if all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, then by the deeds of the Law no flesh shall be justified in His sight.  There is no salvation for mankind that can come of his own works, no matter how noble they seem, because the Law of God convicts all mankind of being hopelessly wicked and twisted to the core.  The only salvation that mankind can hope for, must be by God’s work, and given to mankind as a gift—an unmerited gift of grace that can only be received by faith, and never earned.  And lest anyone think this is simply St. Paul’s peculiar theological opinion, he grounds his theology solidly on the witness of the Old Testament, and speaks on behalf of the whole Apostolic band, when he says, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28, KJV)  This is the very core of the united Apostolic doctrine.

While the Biblical theology of Justification by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ alone is radically simple, it also has radical implications.  If I am dead in my sins, I cannot save myself… not even a little.  If my slightest fault or wicked inclination, at any time in my life, is severe enough to damn me to hell, then no positive work I can do will outweigh it, no matter how long I live or suffer; i.e., if the just demands of the holy Law of God are that I be perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect, then no amount of good works no length of penance can erase the presence of one wicked thought.  In the light of the Law of God, there is only perfection and imperfection, purity and corruption.  The holy, pure, and penetrating light of the Law of God reveals me for who I really am as a rightfully condemned sinner, and shows me that there is nothing I can do to save myself… ever.  Of my own powers, I am hopelessly destined to an eternity of just destruction, suffering forever for the eternal guilt in my own body and soul.  My God is holy, pure, good, and righteous.  I am not.  I do not deserve to be where He is, nor to enjoy His fellowship, His goodness, His mercy or His grace.  I deserve His judgment for all the evil I have concocted between my ears, and the wickedness I have brought to bear in my words and deeds… things spoken and done, as well as things unspoken and undone.  I am not worthy of God’s goodness.  I am rather only worthy of His wrath.

This proper understanding of man before the face of the One True God, strips from us every pretention and pride.  We can do nothing but fall upon our knees, confess the truth of His greatness, and the truth of our wretchedness.  But this total destruction of our pride is the great work of the Law, and it is necessary for us, because our pride is that last and greatest idol to which we cling most grievously.  Our pride always whispers to us the lie we so long to believe:  that we are our own gods, and we are worthy to steal the glory of the only True God, even if only a little.  This last bastion of our wicked idolatry must be destroyed, and truth be told, we are powerless to defeat it.  Pride rises up from the depths of our crooked nature, corrupted as it was in the Fall.  Pride, which became the mark of our race, as we yielded to the devil’s temptation that we might become like gods ourselves, now marks and mars our every thought, word, and deed.  Pride is our great and common corruption, refusing to be who God created and called us to be, preferring to seek only our pleasure, lust, and passion.  Pride is the sin we celebrate, even in polite society, and the wound we nurture even in our tender children.  Pride is the last work of the devil that separates us from God, just as it separated him from God.  Pride is the wickedness we received freely from the evil one, which he used in his rebellion against the only True God.  Pride is the dark sacrament of our unholy communion with the devil, and the offensive fist we shake in the face of our Creator.  Pride is the face of our slavery to sin and death, and our rightful destiny in hell.

But it is our pride that our Lord Jesus Christ comes to slay.  In His life, death, and resurrection, He lays aside His own rightful glory as the Lord God Almighty, taking our place as a suffering servant.  He takes our pride upon Himself and carries it to His Holy Cross, where the ancient idol of our fall is destroyed.  There, in His suffering and death, the penalty for our pride is paid, and the curse of the Law is satisfied—from the beginning of time, to the Last Day.  With Christ as victor over sin, death, hell, and the devil, He comes to us with a new Word of Gospel and Grace:  to we who could not save ourselves, He has come as Savior and Lord, preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins for the sake of His bitter suffering and death.  It is a Gospel written in His most holy blood, and a lavish forgiveness that receives nothing from us as payment… but everything from us in thanksgiving and praise.

So where is boasting?  It is excluded.  Who may boast of their own works, when it is Christ alone who saves?  Having seen the price of our salvation, who can cast their eyes anywhere or upon anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and His saving Cross?  Having been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ, who would think to add to Christ’s works or merits, or to accuse Him of having failed to complete His saving work?  Shall we, having begun in grace, return to the Law that condemns us for our salvation?  God forbid!

And this is the simple, revolutionary, Biblical witness of the Reformation.  This is the great and reverberating witness of the Prophets and the Apostles, which declares that man is nothing, and Christ is everything.  This is the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ that shall never be removed from the Church of Jesus Christ.  This is the hope of the saints and the martyrs, who know who they are, and who their Savior is.  This is not just the voice of the 16th century Reformation, but the voice of Christ and His people in every age.  For we conclude that a man is saved not by his own sinful works, but by grace through faith in Christ alone.  On this hangs the whole story of redemption from the dawn of man until the end of the world—and upon this great and unshakable truth, the Church of Jesus Christ stands forever.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Our God Among the Heathen: A Meditation on Psalm 96


Our Psalm and Gospel reading from this week strike upon a similar subject, and one that is always present with the people of God.  The Church, having been established in the world by the Word of God, sustained in the world by the Word of God, and ushered into eternal life by the Word of God, exists side by side with peoples and cultures that do not respect the Word of God.  Our God makes Himself present in the world through His Word, and yet the world is always resisting Him, preferring the darkness of their sin to the Light of His holiness, grace, and redemption.

So what does the Christian do in such world?  The Pharisees attempted to trip Jesus up with their question, “Should we give tribute to Caesar, or not?” knowing that a simple yes or no would bring down either the wrath of the mob or the wrath of the Romans.  Jesus makes clear, in the face of their evil hypocrisy, just what it is our duty to do—to give unto Caesar what belongs to him, and to give unto God what belongs to Him.  It was an answer simple enough on the surface, but deep enough upon reflection to send the malevolent Pharisees off marveling and scratching their heads.

What was behind Jesus’ answer?  This truth that resounds throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, and especially in Psalm 96:  everything in all creation, including every king or Caesar that will ever walk the earth, belongs to God.  Be it the Caesar of the ancient world, or governments of our own day, whether they recognize this truth or not, they are still accountable to the God of the universe.  There is no one in heaven, or earth, or hell that can make good on their claim to be outside the authority of the One True God.  Everyone who will ever exist, will be created by the One True God.  Everyone who has been created by the One True God, will eventually stand before Him to give an account of what they have done with the life they have been given.  To the One True God, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.

So what does this mean for the Christian in this wicked world?  It means we are called to obey the authorities given by God to the world—be they our police, our judges, or our government.  But, it means that our governments and all our rulers, are accountable to God for what they do and say—and that if they ever run afoul of the God who gave them their authority, the people of God must obey their God rather than erring men.  Here the Christian observes our God present with us by His Word, which informs the peculiar duty of government as well as the peculiar duty of His Church.  The Church is sent forth by His Word to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, preaching Law and Gospel, calling all to faith and repentance, and exercising the Keys of the Kingdom which Christ has given to forgive sins through His Word and Sacraments.  The governments of men are called forth to execute justice according to the Law and to protect the preaching of the Gospel, using the sword given to them by God to restrain evil and encourage righteousness.  These are the peculiar duties of the Church and the State, both accountable to the God who created them, and both destined to be judged according to His Word.

In each sphere of life, the Christian is called by Christ to give what is due.  To the governments of men we give our loyalties, our taxes, our labors, and the honor due to them.  To God we give our whole lives as living sacrifices, sanctified in the waters of Holy Baptism, nourished on the Body and Blood of our Savior in the Holy Eucharist, and absolved of our sins when by faith and repentance we hear the words of Holy Absolution pronounced upon us.  It is God who has established the two kingdoms of Church and State, given to them their proper authority and means, and called them to exercise His Word accordingly… and those who exercise authority in both kingdoms shall be accountable to the King who endowed them with His authority, each according to their vocations.

And so must we hear the Word of the Lord, each in our time, place, and circumstance.  If we are guilty of speaking evil of either kingdom God has established under His own authority, we should repent—for when we disparage or call into disrepute the governments of men or the government of the Church, we are insulting the God who ordains and empowers them according to His Word.  But if we have granted improper license to either the governments of men or of the Church to dispense with God’s Word, to disparage the King of the Universe or hold Him in disrepute, of this too we must repent—for when we have failed to bear witness to the Word of God before kings or bishops, we have failed to be faithful witnesses of the One True God.

But to us, faulty as we are, ever given to fits of selfish pragmatism, the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes.  He has died for you, O Sinner, who has failed to bear proper witness to the wonderful mystery of His saving grace.  He has died for you, O Politician, who has failed to live out your duties under the Word of God.  He has died for you, O Bishop, who has failed to preach the Law in all its severity and the Gospel in all its sweetness.  Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has died and risen again for the sins of the whole world, that the whole world might be reconciled in Him—every man, woman, and child, every bishop, king, and citizen.

Whoever you may be, and in whatever calling of life you find yourself, give ear to the Word of the Lord which calls you out of darkness, and into His marvelous Light.  Repent of your evil and rebellion, and return in faith to the Creator and Savior of your soul.  Repent, believe, and live.  Amen.

Monday, October 6, 2014

The Wedding Feast: A Meditation on Matthew 22


What it is that occupies your time?  It is the most precious commodity you have been given, and perhaps it has been a long time since you asked yourself that question.  It is the only thing that passes which you cannot recover—the only thing you posses which you cannot keep, and cannot save for later.  You have this moment in time:  a moment that is unique, and shall never come again.  What you do with it will be remembered forever, as it is captured like a photograph or movie clip, written with indelible ink into the great Book of the Lord.  At the end of time, or the end of your life (whichever comes first,) you shall give an account of every one of those moments you’ve been given, standing before the throne of Him who gave you each and every one of them.  So again I pose the question, what is it that occupies your time?

There’s an old exercise that usually comes on the heels of a sad story, of a life that seems to be cut too short.  It winds up with easily levied quips that sound very philosophical, like, “What would you want written on your tombstone?” or “Nobody ever said at the end of their life, that they wished they had worked more,” or “Live every moment like it was your last.”  These secular wisdom nuggets point to something far deeper and more significant—we know our time is limited, and that we are accountable for what we do with it.  We seem to know intuitively that spending our time on wasteful things is disgraceful, but we often either numb our conscience regarding what we’re doing, or rationalize our activity according to our own self gratification.  I waste time at the golf course, because I enjoy it; I waste time on the internet, because I find it interesting; I waste time on social media, because I find it compelling; I waste time on blogs, because it makes me feel important; I waste time with (fill in the blank) because I (fill in the blank.)  It’s a series of self justifying attempts that in the present moment seem satisfying, but when held up to the light of truth and reality, show themselves as vapid and shallow.

If you were to ask a husband, “Who is more important to you, your wife or your video game?” he would probably tell you that it is his wife.  But what do his actions reveal?  Are the preponderance of his present moments absorbed in the soft glow of his TV or smart phone, or in conversation and relations with his wife?  If you were to ask a high school kid, “Who is more important to you, your sister or your social media news feed?” she would almost certainly say it is her sister.  But when she is together with her sister in flesh and blood, does she spend those present moments relating to her, or have her face buried in her social media device?  What we actually do with our time, and how we spend it, reveals what is really important to us… even when our words conflict with those same actions.

The story Jesus tells of the wedding feast, reveals the same incongruent things about the Jews He is talking to.  They said that God was the most important thing in their lives, and yet, when the King of the Universe sent His Only Begotten Son to save the world from their sins, they found better things to do.  The marriage feast is an image of God betrothing His people to Himself, saving them from all the misery and death they had earned on their own.  Jesus was pointing out that the religious leaders of that day were more impressed with their own pursuits than the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world.  In fact, they were so absorbed with their own pursuits, that they attacked those who called them out of their shallow wastes of time, reflecting the truth that was in their hearts:  they actually loved themselves more than anyone else, especially God.  They preferred their own satisfaction and their own feasts, wedded to themselves in a sick and twisted social self-pleasuring, over the salvific marriage to the Savior of the world.

How true this can be for us, as well.  The Lord has set His banquet, and declared His wedding feast, even as He calls all mankind to repentance and faith in His Holy Gospel.  He has sanctified the waters of Holy Baptism, so that through those hallowed waters our own filthy garments might be done away with, and a new wedding garment woven of the merits of Jesus Christ be put on our shoulders.  He has given His own Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins, in the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist.  He has given His servants the blessed Word of Holy Absolution, so that those who have sullied their baptismal garments by sin, might be washed clean again in faith and repentance.  He has set this feast in every town and locality where His Word is preached purely, and His sacraments are administered according to His institution.

But how has His calling to the wedding feast touched your ears?  Are you angry when He tells you to turn off your cell phone, put down your wasteful distractions, and return to the font of life?  Are you too busy with your work, your play, your troubles, or your fears, to tear yourself away and receive the salvation of your soul?  Do you even carry your distractions with you into His Holy Temple, and before the altar of Almighty God, prostitute your time to other gods, while the Bridegroom stands before you with His gifts of life, forgiveness, and salvation?

Let the Law of Jesus’ parable sink deeply into your corrupted heart, O sinner:  for those who will despise this marriage feast, will feel the wrath of God descend upon them like the armies of heaven, judging them in their unforgiven sins, and casting them into the lake of fire forever.  For you who will repudiate your Bridegroom with all His blessed gifts, wasting your time pleasuring yourself with shallow and temporal pursuits, your self absorption will be shattered when the King of Glory gives to you your heart’s true desire… your own adulterous and unfaithful heart forever bound to you in your selfish lust, in a sea of flame and darkness forever.

But to you who will hear the Word of the Lord and guard it in your heart; you will hear the terror of the Law and fall down in faith and repentance before the Bridegroom you have despised, there is life and hope in Jesus Christ.  For He has suffered and died for your self absorption, your wasteful and vane pursuits.  He has shed His blood to redeem you, and to sanctify your every moment to His love, and mercy, and grace.  Hear the voice of your Bridegroom who calls you to His wedding feast, and away from your self seduction.  Hear His Gospel of forgiveness and life; be clothed in His baptismal wedding garment; be fed upon His Body and Blood, that you may have life in you; be absolved of your sins by grace through faith in Christ alone; be reconciled to the lover of your soul, who crosses all eternity to seek and to save you; repent, believe, and live.  Amen.