Sinner and Saint

Prisoners of Hope

Palm Sunday, 2015

Zechariah 9:9-12

“Prisoners of Hope”

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

        Throughout history the coronation of a King or Queen was a huge event. The King or Queen would be escorted through the streets by the Military in full dress, throngs of people cheering and waving, security protecting, and the King or Queen in finest apparel adorned with great jewels and crown. Although I have not seen a coronation in my lifetime I have been to an event where the President has spoken. In May of 2004 President Bush spoke at Concordia University Wisconsin. The President came to Milwaukee flown in Airforce 1. He rode in an armored limo with Secret Service and Swat Teams escorting. We had to park our car miles away, ride in on a bus, stand in line for hours, go through metal detectors and the like. Streets were closed and throngs of people waved as the President passed by. When a King or Queen, or even a President enters the city…they are sure to be noticed! It’s a big deal! It’s a grand event! Everyone knows what’s going on!

       That doesn’t seem to be the same description as the triumphant entry and coronation of our Lord. Instead of having security forces, police and military escorts or protection Jesus had 12 Disciples…two of them being sent to get the transportation… a colt the foal of a donkey. Instead of throngs of people lining the streets Jesus was cheered by “the crowd of disciples.” Yes, there were many people in the crowd…but it wasn’t an event the whole city came out for. In fact the religious leaders came only to ridicule Jesus and His followers. Jesus wore no crown, no jewels, no fancy clothing. He wasn't the kind of king people were looking or hoping for.

       What kind of king did they want? The religious leaders seemed to want a king that would listen to them. A king that wouldn't rock the boat. A king that would bring them more prosperity and wealth. The people seemed to want a king that would be a mighty and powerful ruler. A king that would have vengeance on their enemies, bring retribution to their foes. A king that would command the armies of Israel as a great general and warrior and would restore the nation of Israel to its glorious past. Even Jesus' own disciples wanted that kind of a king!

       Sometimes that's the king that we want too. We pray that God would grant a thousand and one things. We pray that God would bring economic prosperity. We pray that God would restore our nation to its prosperity and to destroy our enemies. We pray that God would grant us all that we desire. We want a bigger house, a nicer car, a better paying job. And while there is nothing wrong with praying that God would grant these things...the problem comes in when we don't get our way. We often turn God into a miracle worker...or puppet. We want a king that works for us!

       But what kind of King did God send Israel? What kind of King did God send for all people? "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double." (Zechariah 9:9-12)

       Some of those words sound exactly like the king the Israelites were looking for. "I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim." "His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth." "I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double." (Zechariah 9:10-12)

       Now that sounds like our kind of king. That sounds like a king that will defeat our enemies, enhance our nation to control the world, free our people, and bless us with even greater economic, social, and political prosperity. That sounds great!

       But that talk about our king coming with righteousness and salvation while riding on an ass? Or that speaking peace to our enemies? Where are the war horses? Where are the tanks, the planes, the ships, or the soldiers? Sure we want peace...peace that comes from defeating our enemies and receiving the spoils of winning the war. Where is that king? That's the king Israel wanted! That's the king we want! A king that will remind the world that He is the true God. A king that will show the world that we were right! A king that will bless us and make others suffer as we see fit.

       But that isn't exactly the King we have been given in Christ Jesus. Our King is unique. Palm Sunday is our Lord's triumphal entrance to Jerusalem as King of all creation. "Here there is no violence, no armor, no power, no anger, no wrath...Here there are only kindness, justice, salvation, mercy, and every good thing." (AE 20:94).

       There is a hymn that reminds us of our King. It is an advent hymn. "Comfort, comfort, ye My people, speak ye peace, thus saith our God; Comfort those who sit in darkness, Mourning 'neath their sorrows' load. Speak ye to Jerusalem Of the peace that waits for them; Tell her that her sins I cover And her warfare now is over." (TLH 61 Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People)

       Jesus Christ, our King, is the King of Love. He is the King we need. Jesus came to save sinners. All sinners. Each one of us and our enemies. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:17)

       Christ Jesus comes as the King who brings peace. In a world where sin seems to reign...Jesus brings peace. In a world where we are constantly fighting with others and ourselves...Jesus brings peace. In a world where there is daily battle with sickness and disease, turmoil and heartache...Jesus brings peace. As we wage a life and death battle with sin and Satan...Jesus brings peace. He brings peace in the gift of life...that was earned by His death.

       We are indeed prisoners of hope. We are prisoners in this sinful world...falling and failing...as we and all creation are corrupted by sin. Our hope is Jesus. Our hope is in the King who is mighty and powerful to save. Our hope is in the King who restores us from sin. Our hope is in the King who has defeated sin, death, and the devil. Our hope is in the King who brings prosperity...prosperity in paradise.

  So "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9) He comes to die on the cross to save you. He comes to rise again. He proclaims "your sins are covered and your warfare now is over." Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

A New Covenant

Lent 5, 2015

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“A New Covenant”

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

            “Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.” (Exodus 19:3-8)

            These words, recorded in Exodus 19, tell us of the covenant between Israel and God. God had saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and was promising to make them a great and special nation…God’s own nation as long as they obeyed Him. And how did the people reply?.. “We will do everything the Lord has said.” The covenant was made. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses and the people by God. Both God and the Israelites mutually promised to keep the covenant. The covenant was solemnized by the blood of an unblemished lamb. The people of Israel were bound to their promise.

            “The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:31-32)

            As we know something terribly wrong took place. The covenant had been broken. For 860 years God had been faithful to His people. God had given his people food to eat, a new land to call home, a powerful kingdom, kings as they had desired, faithful prophets, military victory after military victory. He forgave the people when they had fallen away and blessed them for their faith. As God remained faithful all those years…the nation of Israel had not. As we heard last week the people complained over and over again about the food they were given (Manna and Quail in the desert), as soon as Moses went up the mountain to get the 10 Commandments which followed their oath to obey all God commanded, the people made a golden calf to worship. Their kings went from bad to worse to horrible. The people rejected God and turned to idols. The Kings led the people to believing they could make it on their own. They trusted in man rather than God. Finally enough was enough. Israel had broken their promise thus breaking the covenant and they would be destroyed and exiled to Babylon.

            One of the most amazing phenomena of our day is a revived faith in humanity. Our generation trusts in man rather than God. “In an atmosphere of brooding fatalism, his heart flushed empty of confidence, man reminds himself that there are tremendous, unused virtues slumbering within the human race which may yet prove man’s salvation.” (Joel H. Nederhood) Some people maintain this optimism today in the face of all the facts and lessons of Genghis Khan, who slaughtered thousands in his sweeps across Asia; in spite of a Tamerlane, who piled 90,000 heads outside a city gate in 1215; in spite of Hitler, Mussolini, Eichmann, Bin Laden, ISIS, Boko Haram and the countless heinous atrocities in recent weeks, there are still those who cheerfully say: “I still believe in man!”  “I still believe that we can do anything.” They put their trust in self and mankind rather than God.

            As Christians we are God’s chosen people…a royal nation! But by Old Testament standards we would stand with the nation of Israel in breaking the covenant with God. While God has given us blessing after blessing we fail as His people too. Like the nation of Israel we fail at proclaiming Jesus to all those around us. We complain at what God gives us, we put our trust in ourselves, we make possessions and creation itself our god. When we look at the 10 commandments we must admit that we have broken them all…each and every one of them. Because of man’s sinfulness the old covenant was broken…but God didn’t leave us in a state of desperation, loneliness, and fear. God made a new covenant.

            “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

            The new covenant God has made with us brings comfort and joy to our sinful hearts. This new covenant has been solemnized in the blood of a lamb; the Lamb! Christ Jesus our Lord. While we are very often unfaithful Jesus was faithful unto death on the cross for us. The new covenant will never be broken! The new covenant is a fountain of forgiveness that never ceases to flow. God continues to forgive us over and over again and remembers our sins no more. We are made perfect through the blood of Christ. Through Christ we are never in doubt because we have been joined by baptism in to His death and Resurrection. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts we are kept in God’s ways. Thus faith and salvation are truly a gift from God.

            The new covenant will never be broken because Jesus was perfectly faithful for us. Through Jesus you are forgiven. You have received this forgiveness in your baptism. You have received this forgiveness this very morning. You will receive forgiveness and strength in Jesus body and blood. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Take and eat at the Lord's Table. Receive on your lips Jesus very body and blood that was given and shed for you. Here is your life. Here is your salvation. Amen.

 

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Believe and be Saved

Lent 4, 2015

Numbers 21:4-9

John 3:14-21

"Believe and be Saved"

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

  

            I'm sure you're familiar with the phrase "history tends to repeat itself." And so it does. God's beloved children...don't always act the way they should. We sin. We whine. We complain. We grumble. We are often unthankful. We sin. I hate to admit to doing these things as well. I hate to admit that we Christians of today often act like the Israelites of the Old Testament. So much for learning from other's mistakes.

          Our Old Testament reading reminds us not only of our own sinful nature...but the repetitious sinful nature of God's people. Over and over again we see in the Old Testament the same theme: God's children get impatient. God's people rebel. God's people are punished. God's people repent. God forgives. This theme would happen over and over again for generations. It's all in the Bible. Take a look. I promise it's a good read.

          This might remind you of your children. This will remind my wife about me. Your teenager comes home from school and is hungry. They let everyone know that they are hungry. Mom, Dad...you tell them to have something to eat. Look in the fridge! Then it happens. Your dear child stand in front of the open fridge and whines and complains there is no food to eat! They do this even though the fridge is packed with all kinds of things to eat. It just doesn't have what they want. Has that ever happened to you? I feel a bit embarrassed to say that I've done that. Recently.

          "From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Numbers 21:4-5)

          Sounds eerily similar. The people of God start whining and complaining. Hey God... why are you trying to kill us. We're hungry and there is nothing to eat or drink. Oh, by the way...the food that is here...right in front of us (so much for nothing to eat) that food is worthless! We're tired of this quail and manna. This wasn't the first time they complained. "And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3) "Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” (Numbers 11:4-6)

          How quickly they forgot what life was really like in Egypt. They were slaves. They were overworked, beaten, mocked, abused, and often left for dead. They had nothing! They truly were hungry in Egypt. "But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves." (Exodus 1:12-14) "During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew." (Exodus 2:23-25)

          Be careful what you ask for. The Israelites complained. They recalled their life in Egypt and told Moses and God that things were better as slaves to Egypt than they were following God. So what does God do. He hears their prayers and gives them what they wanted. God punished His people. You think the suffering you endured as slaves is better? Fine! Here is a reminder of your suffering. "Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died." (Numbers 21:6)

          Now before you start thinking that God was being mean...He wasn't! God was being just. The people were rejecting the gifts God gave...the miracle God gave...the freedom and life God gave. Even as the people complained...they were leading...guiding...and shepherding livestock they took with them from Egypt. It was smart to take them. It was smart not to slaughter them all. They would need the livestock once they settled in Canaan. Yet it shows their lack of trust that God would provide. Indeed God did provide them with food and drink. But they rejected the gifts of God. So God reminded them of the blessings He truly gave them by giving them what they asked for and deserved. And many Israelites died.

          Even though our Heavenly Father punishes...He is quick to forgive and He constantly loves His people. "And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live." (Numbers 21:7-9)

          That symbol is still used. That symbol is still a symbol of healing and life. They symbol of a snake on a pole is used by many Medical Corps, paramedics, physicians, and nurses. What a beautiful symbol of God's love...of His forgiveness and life. The Israelites were healed and saved as long as they looked to the snake on a pole. The Israelites looked by faith and were healed by God's grace. Yet that symbol, still used, pointed to an event that would bring greater healing and eternal life.

          "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (John 3:14-15) My brothers and sisters in Christ. We are impatient and rebellious just like our forefathers...just like God's people of every generation. We too have been snake bitten...we have been bitten by that serpent Satan and we are dying from the venom of sin.

          God doesn't leave us to die. God gives us life. God gives us a Savior who was lifted on a pole; on a cross. By faith look to the cross. Look to Christ Jesus who died for you. By God's grace you are saved. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:16-17)

          Through Christ we are saved. In Christ we have life. In Christ we have forgiveness. For we have been given life through the waters of Holy Baptism along with faith and we have been given strength and forgiveness through Jesus' body and blood. That is the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is your Father's love for you. It does not fail. It is eternal. And it is yours now and forevermore. Amen.

 

Now may the peace of God which passes al human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Bragging Rights

Lent 3, 2015

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

“Bragging Rights”

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

  

            It was a game, newspapers said, for bragging rights in the state of Illinois: Wildcats versus Illini, for what used to be the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk…the Land of Lincoln Trophy. When it was over the Illini were doing the bragging…again… Bare-chested young men with painted orange and blue faces shouted, “We’re number one!” waving huge Styrofoam hands pointing their index fingers, and jumping with glee.

          Can you picture that? Maybe it wasn’t a Northwestern/Illini game…but another. Could that be you in the crowd? Could it be you doing the yelling, cheering, and jumping? Could it be you doing some bragging?

          “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

          “Consider your calling,” says Paul. Take a look at yourselves. Do you ever boast? I’d suspect you do…for we are a nation of competitive braggarts: “We’re the best!” Think of all the things we brag about… we are… the best dressed, we have the best team, we claim to have the cutest baby, we read magazines who pick the sexiest man or woman alive. We live with pride that we can do “anything better than you! (from Annie Get Your Gun). We even mimic the taunting our favorite athletes do… as many have claimed like Muhammad Ali “I am the greatest!” How many of our youth have learned a Touchdown Dance or Homerun Pose from these same athletes?

          Boasting…Bragging…is nothing new. The Greeks did it too. They esteemed the wise philosophers, the powerful politicians, and the nobly born aristocrats. To the Greeks…these were the best people…this was who you would want to act like and become. As you read Saint Paul’s letters to the Corinthians you’ll hear that this affected the Greeks that were members of the Corinthian Church. These Christians would boast about their leaders, their spiritual life, and their spiritual gifts. They weren’t just Christians…they were the best Christians.

          We Christians of today are often no better…as we are tempted to do the same. Christians in all places claim to have the best church, the best pastor, the best choir, the best theology, the best cooks and bakers… I have even seen humorous forms of this boasting with a t-shirt that says “My Pastor can beat your Pastor…to a pulpit!” Part of me wonders why I haven’t seen any of you wearing that shirt. I’m just kidding.

          John Bunyan, when first converted, said, “I thought that there was no man in England who pleased God better than I!” What about us? Might we quietly say this kind of thing to ourselves? Maybe not…but…what about: “I’ve been a very fine deacon, chairman, organist!” You might even boast of how faithful you’ve been. Sometimes we boast so much we even boast of our humility.

          So do we boast? I’m afraid so. But should we boast? “Consider your calling,” says Paul. Take a look in the mirror…what do you see. Although I wish I saw different…when I look in the mirror…I see a poor miserable sinner. And that is what each one of us is. Certainly this was also true with the Corinthians.

          “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20) Paul repeats himself… “where, where, where?” Compared to God…there are none to be found… not in Paul’s time…not in our time. But the wise don’t like to hear that or accept that.

          The Church’s enemies saw Christianity as being a religion of the lower class, the despised, the hated…a religion unworthy of the upper class; a religion of unlearned people. One critic, Celsus, observed of the Christians: “The following are the rules laid down by them. Let no one come to us who has been instructed, or who is wise or prudent (for such qualifications are deemed evil by us); but if there be any ignorant, or unintelligent, or uninstructed, or foolish persons, let them come with confidence. By which words, acknowledging that such individuals are worthy of their God, they manifestly show that they desire and are able to gain over only the silly, and the mean, and the stupid, with women and children”

          It almost sounds like critics of Christianity today…who mock Christians for believing in Creation, The Great Flood, The Virgin Birth, and the Resurrection. But God chose to use lowly things like water, bread and wine. God chose for himself to have His Son born in a stable and die like a common criminal on the cross. God himself places the law as a mirror that we see ourselves as we truly are: poor, miserable sinners.

          God did this to shame the wise, powerful, and noble-born. Yet, he also did it to help us…to help us realize that such things may be an obstacle, a barrier, to fellowship with him. Inflated, full of ourselves, we cannot pass through the door to God.

          A truck driving under a highway bridge was too big to pass and got stuck. A crowd gathered, but nobody knew what to do until a little boy said, “Why don’t you let some air out of the tires?” Thus flattened—including the pride of the crowd deflated by the source of the wisdom—the truck could pass. Must God do this to us? The answer is often, Yes.

          Should you boast? Can you boast? When you look in the mirror and see a poor miserable sinner…no. But something happens when you confess your sins. You are absolved. Your sins are forgiven. You are seen through Christ as being perfect. Through Jesus you are made perfect…for you have been redeemed, made righteous and holy through the death of Jesus.

          “Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31) Did you hear that? “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” As a forgiven Christian are you boasting? I hope so! You might be thinking after all that we heard…we should be boasting? Absolutely! We can boast because we boast in Christ. We boast in how loving a God we have. We boast in all that our Lord has done for us. We boast in all the blessings we have been given. We can rightly boast in what the Savior has done for us! I gladly say it: “Christ died for me!... because He loves this poor miserable sinner.” Let all the members of God’s family at Saint Paul's say the same! Amen.

 

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

The ebb and flow of faith

Lent 2, 2015

"The ebb and flow of faith"

Mark 8:27-38

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

  

            A number of summers ago, as Alicia and I vacationed in California, I had the opportunity to go to a tide pool for the first time. We didn't have the most time there as the tide would soon come in. It was amazing to see anemones, hermit crabs, barnacles, and other sea life that you would never see during high tide. Sure the crabs rushed to hide as well as other sea creatures...but how amazing it is to see the different creatures God created. Without the low tides we would never get to see this life that is exposed but that life does indeed need the high tide to live.

          The ebb and flow of the oceans...high and low tides...is also something that happens to each one of us in this life. I remember back when I was in college the questions they asked us when we joined Youth Ministry teams. Looking back on those silly question I am reminded about how frustrating they were. They didn't make much sense to me then...and some still do not. If you were a shoe...what kind of shoe would you be? (I still don't know what they were looking for in that question!) Another question however that I have adapted and  periodically ask of Confirmands: "How strong is your faith on a scale of 1-10?"

          How would you answer? In the society that we live in faith is still pretty important. There are many so called Pastors out there that make a lot of money talking about faith. Some proclaim that if your faith is strong enough, if you pray hard enough, you can have your best life right now! Other church bodies teach their members that if you take the right steps, follow the right method, and act correctly your faith will grow and grow and grow. Wouldn't it be great if your faith had an arrow that started at 1 and pointed straight up.

          So what do you think? How strong is your faith on a scale of 1-10? Before you answer...let's look at the faith of Saint Peter from our text. "And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:27-29) In Matthew our Lord says of this confession: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 16:17)

          What a beautiful and strong confession of faith in Jesus. On the scale of 1-10 it seems that Peter's faith as He confessed Jesus to be the Christ was a 110! But notice what takes place...just moments after that sound confession. Jesus goes back to teaching His Disciples..."And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Mark 8:31-33)

          One minute we see a faith as strong as any recorded in all of Scripture in Peter's confession; a confession given through the Holy Spirit as a gift from God. And the very next moment we see Peter's faith come crashing down as He is called Satan; focusing on earthly wants, dreams, and desires. How quickly Peter's faith went from 110 to negative 10!

          How strong is your faith on a scale of 1-10? When I ask confirmands it usually starts pretty high...some 8's, 9's, and every once in a while a 10. Really. That high. Have you obeyed your parents as you should? Do you do your chores and homework when they ask you without question? Do you lie? Do you say things to others that you shouldn't? Do you covet what others have? Do you go to Church every Sunday...and with want, joy, and desire to be there? Do you sin? Do you sin often?  How strong is your faith? The answers change.

          How strong is your faith on a scale of 1-10? Maybe the question isn't fair. So instead of having you answer (even though your already pondering the answer in your heart) I'll answer the question. I'll answer it the same way I did back in college. My answer isn't a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. My answer is that my faith is like a roller coaster. My faith has some wonderfully awesome highs. And my faith has weak, pitiful, saddening lows. My faith has ups and downs. My faith has ebbs and flows. The only constant...and I thank God for it...is that faith remains.

          I will never have my best life now...in this world...for I am a sinner. And I don't want my best life now. I want my best life to be in heaven. I want my best life to last for eternity. And that is a promise from God. Our lives in this world will contain hardships, tragedy, suffering, and death. To be sure we have many blessings from God in this life that bring us hope and joy. This life is filled with ebbs and flows.

          The ebbs may expose things we try to hide. The ebbs may expose things we aren't proud of. The ebbs might be times of hardship and tragedy. But the ebbs are also reminders of how much we need God. They are times when God shows great mercy and love for us. The flows are wonderful times of hope and joy. Some of the flows of my life were my wedding day, the day Aaron was born, and maybe most joyous of all the day I baptized my son.

          We are sinners. Sin hurts. Sin destroys. Sin causes the problems of this world. Sin causes our faith to have lows. Sin constantly attacks. While I none of us will have a perfect faith or life in this world...we do have a gift that makes our faith stronger. Christ Jesus has given us His very Word and Sacraments. In Baptism we are given the gift of faith. In the Lord's Supper we are given forgiveness and strength. Through Word, Bread, and Wine our faith is strengthened. Our faith is strengthened...to resist sin, to love one another, and to trust in God. We are given the strength we so desperately need!

          Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Your faith will have ups and downs, ebbs and flows. Give thanks to God for the gift of faith. For no matter how low or high your faith might rank on a scale...it is still faith; it is still God's gift given in Baptism, it is still living and active and the work of the Holy Spirit. That faith of yours...no matter how big or small...whether it is weak or strong is saving faith. Saving faith. It's not about big or small. It's not about strong or weak. It's all about God's promise. And that promise is that all who believe in Christ Jesus shall be saved. That promise is for each of you. That promise is guaranteed. That promise is yours already. Amen.

 

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.