The Resurrection

It was real flesh and blood that brought sin and death into the world. It is the real flesh and blood of Christ Jesus that made payment for sin and conquered death. So it will be real flesh and blood that is raised up at the last day, incorruptible and imperishable.

Everything around you is subject to decay, even the sun and the moon that have shown upon mankind from the beginning of creation. You may bring new things into your temporal life, but by now you know these do not last. Try as we might to manufacture something that does not break or fade, everything breaks and fades anyway.

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” –Romans 8:20-21

The resurrection of the flesh and blood of Christ Jesus which we celebrate this day is proof positive that a new creation has been introduced into our midst, one in which we partake, being joined to Him by faith, in baptism, and in His supper. Because our acquaintance with breaking and fading is so prevalent, the idea of bodies raised up and incorruptible seems distant.

The Holy Scriptures are replete with references to the resurrection of the dead. God is a God of the living, not the dead. All the saints of old who have gone before us are alive, while their bodies rest for a short time, will be raised up at the last day because Jesus, the First Fruit of the Resurrection, lives and abides in them as a Vine lives and abides in its own branches.

The extent to which you are tied into the resurrection of the dead is complete. Even unbelievers will be raised up at the Last Day, raised up to receive in their bodies the fruits of unbelief, namely eternal anguish and pain; eternal separation and banishment.

But for you, baptized child of God in Christ Jesus, awaits a place where all pain and anguish ceases; where only pure joy is found. He has plucked you out of the net and raised you up. He has seated you in the heavenly places in Christ; He is bringing you to completion at the Last Day, because for you He is risen from the dead.
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Total Tranquility

And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."

It has always been the object of your Creator’s love and mercy to be with you and provide you with rest. This can hardly be seen more clearly than in the rest of your Lord Jesus in the tomb after He made payment for your sin.

His presence has always been one to take away the sin of the world. He established a means of dwelling with poor sinners from the very moment the first Adam fell into sin, placing before all people the sure and certain promise that He is present, and that He is at the ready to provide everything good, even eternal life, despite all weakness and sin.

Rest is sweet. Rest is peaceful. Rest grants release from work and labor, fear and hurt. Your Maker fashioned you in the womb so that, as you go through your days, you experience in a small way how sweet it is to sleep soundly. But, because you are a child of the first Adam, subject to weakness and sin, there are times when even at night you awake with a start; when a sorrowful thought, or bitterness, ruins what would otherwise be total peace.

Jesus knows this well, for he took on flesh just like yours, so that He would be a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief. His presence among us is no less complete and participatory than has been in the heart of God from everlasting, and yet it was necessary for Him to enter into history experiencing birth and death, so that He might sanctify the birth and death of all who came after the first Adam.

You see, this is how His presence goes with you, and He gives you rest. He gives you rest because He gives you His flesh and blood, baptizing you into His own righteousness and life; feeding you the same, so that you need not fear sin and death, but may rather look forward in confident joy, because He has fully taken your place under the law, even to the point of resting in your tomb.

Because He participates fully in your life, having complete sympathy, He also intervenes on your behalf, praying for you, teaching you, and comforting you in the midst of trouble, just as He was comforted and sustained by the Father’s unfailing declaration: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You,” meaning that the Father’s love is always manifest in the Son, and the Son is manifest to us in love in His flesh laid down as our substitute in every way.

So it remains true, that while you traverse this short-lived moment in the midst of fallen creation, He is present and gives you rest, making known abundantly how longsuffering, patient, kind, unchanging, merciful, righteous, tender, and certain is His desire for you. By His rest in the tomb, preceded by His perfect atonement for your sin, all things are prepared for you to enter His rest, both now and forever.

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Trading Places

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The LORD mighty in battle, able to deliver His chosen people with mighty signs and wonders, is the same LORD Who humbled Himself to the extent He was found in appearance as a man, not to do mighty battle in the way the world sees it, but by undertaking to have the sin of the world heaped upon Himself so that He would take it away, thus satisfying all holy judgment against sin.

You, the poor sinner, are the object of this humility It was for you that Your Maker became small, so that He could visit you with His mercy. It is good for you to draw very simply from this verse how deeply your Father in Heaven is concerned for your temporal and eternal well-being. It is a descent from the highest throne in heaven to the lowest parts of the earth on your behalf.

We are not capable of imagining the holiness that attends to the highest things. The sinful nature is too ingrained for these things to be known directly, although some, like the Apostle Paul, and others, were given to see more clearly. Not even the most beautiful sights on earth compare. It is easier for us to understand misery, fear, sadness, anxiety, decay, and death. There are very much a part of experience, because they are attendant to our condition by nature as poor sinners.

The line from the highest heights to the deepest depths is so long and pervasive, it takes God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, to navigate from one to the next without hesitation or difficulty, which He does for you in Christ Jesus not just occasionally, but richly and daily.

The obedience of Christ Jesus was rendered in such a form as to be little recognized. He was numbered with the transgressors. He had mother, father, brothers, and sisters. He had family and friends who knew Him in person. He had no form or comeliness, no literal halo, that attended His humility, that we would look upon Him and treat Him special.

That’s because your Father in Heaven, in Christ Jesus, wanted to treat you special instead. He want to trade places, so you might be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

It pleased him, being the Word of God, to “take the form of a slave.” So he willed to be joined to our common human condition. He took to himself the toils of the members who suffer. He made our human maladies his own. He suffered and toiled on our behalf. This is in accord with his great love of humankind. - Eusebius of Caesarea

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Table Prayer II

. . . and that he who be a tree once overcame might, likewise, by a tree be overcome . . .

These words, too, belong to the Table Prayer known as the Proper Preface for Holy Week, chanted as we prepare to receive the body and blood of Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Just as it was in a particular time and place, namely on Good Friday on a cross, that your salvation was accomplished through payment for your sin, it was by way of particular persons engaged in battle, namely the devil and your Champion, Christ Jesus, that the entire disposition of God toward mankind was proven to be that of peace and good will as sung by the angels at the birth of Christ Jesus.

He who by a tree overcame, was overcome by Him who hung on a tree. This is a wonderful choice of words to describe the rescue Your Creator intended from the beginning, for this is how He draws near to you in love and defeats all your worst enemies, beginning with the accuser, who now is consigned to powerlessness in both condemning you before God, and taking you down to Sheol.

The spoiler has been spoiled of his prey. The ancient enemy bit off more than he could chew, acting from his nature to be a murderer and a liar, using sinful flesh to carry out his wishes. That same sinful flesh is now redeemed from sin, for the devil cannot partake of our flesh, but only use it for evil and work his worst with it for a short time.

The King of Creation rules from the Tree of the Cross, drawing all mankind to Himself and raising them from the dead, for he that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved from death and raised up at the Last Day in a body incorruptible like that of Christ Jesus. Who partakes of Christ Jesus by faith takes hold of the whole Christ, as He alone is worthy and able to own and abide in those whom he purchase in love with His precious blood.

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+ vs. =

An equal sign is not the best choice in describing anything that involves love or marriage. In fact it may be the worst possible symbol because it is one where two lines never meet, but remain forever in their own separate worlds, side by side, to be sure, but yielding no fruit other than a state of futility.

A plus sign, however, is perfect, because true love consists of two inequalities joined together, never to be separated, but to add up to something special, not the least of which is care and provision in love for children.

Yes, there are inequalities in love and marriage, as best demonstrated by the greatest plus sign of all time: the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ who laid down His life even for His worst enemies, thus showing how unequal true love is.

Show me a household where two heads are equal in terms of vocation and duties, and I'll show you a household that is beyond dysfunctional and short lived. Let us see how many champions of the equal sign witness a marriage where the spouses join together early in life, and stay that way till death do them part.

Christ Jesus and His Church are the perfect example of love and marriage. It is here that all true blessing and life originate. His Christians participate by faith in the fullest way in this perfect marriage, and they are given to experience the same in a small way as husband and wife love and honor each other not as equals, but as unequal opposites who add up.

Dear LORD Jesus, bless the homes and families in this world with your tender mercy and love, and bring those who are enemies into the fold where there is true Life, even as the first shall be last, and last shall be first. Help us to be merciful as are You, for we each and all fall short in matters of true love, both toward You and toward one another. Amen.

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Time and Time Again

The eyes blink all day, over and over again.
The heart beats without much thought, over and over again.
Matters of the body carry on with much repetition and little notice unless perchance something great in our eyes comes about.

So it should be of no concern our surprise that we hear time and time again how Christ Jesus came to save poor sinners through His innocent suffering and death. It is as much a part of life, even more, than what our lowly bodies do from day to day.

This hearing over and over again is dressed in song, chant, prayer, and high thanksgiving, because the effect of being joined to Him Who is risen from the dead and lives in us by faith is one of blessed release from all that drags us down into boredom and self-service.

Being joined to Christ Jesus means those blinking eyes, beating hearts, and all bodily needs are His, too. All growing into the fullness of the resurrection at the last day. Through His innocent suffering and death, coupled with His resurrection from the dead, every last particle of doom and death has been abolished.

Now it is time once again to partake of His lovingkiness forthrightly and directly, in contemplating His wounds, and receiving the benefits of those wounds through the Supper of His true body and blood which He established so that He might abide with each of us bodily and in person. Now it is time to contemplate ever more deeply how deep and great is the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Table Prayer I

. . . Who on the tree of the cross didst give salvation unto mankind; that, whence death arose, thence life also might rise again . . .

As you partake of your LORD’s body and blood in the Holy Communion this week, you hear the words of this table prayer chanted, declaring what has been the method and means for the salvation of all mankind as written in Holy Scripture.

There is a specific time and location that attends to your salvation. It was not worked out for you in some obscure location or in a dream. It was outside the gates of Jerusalem on Good Friday on a cross made of wood; wood that had been fashioned from a tree for the purpose of cruel execution.

The salvation procured through Christ Jesus is given to all mankind. It is not earned. It is not deserved. Just as Your Creator freely gave you life in this world and has sustained you by His tender mercies in giving you food and drink, house and home, and everything good when you did not deserve it, so He saw to it that you, and all people, would have a Savior from sin Who died your death.

This cross, and the death of Christ Jesus upon it, is your life; your eternal life. For where once you were dead in trespasses and sin, your now are made alive in Christ Jesus, because life arises from His death for you. It is a death of atonement. It is a substitute death, meaning that your death is placed upon Him, and His life is bestowed upon you, the exchange which God Your Father in Heaven is so anxious to provide for you at an unfathomable price.

When you participate in Christ’s Holy Supper you participate in the benefits of His cross, for He is a living Christ you receive, He is an atoning Christ you receive. The same salvation given on the cross is the salvation given to you in the body and blood of Christ Jesus.

The death that arose in the world is a death that arose in all times and in all places since the fall of Adam. The life that arises from the cross also arises at all times and in all places, inasmuch as God has declared throughout all the ages how He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.

This cross whereof we chant and sing just before receiving the Lord’s Holy body and precious blood is the only source of all forgiveness, for Christ Jesus was nailed to it, identified with it, becoming one with the curse of sin, though He Himself is totally pure and blameless, a Lamb Who is spotless and without blemish, who is faithful to His bride, the Church, now held as spotless and without blemish on His account and in His sight.

Joined to Christ Jesus in His cross, you now traverse your days of joys and sorrows with the ultimate goal of a resurrected body. You now take up entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Their gods

And He will say, "Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge?"

It is easy to point the finger when other people mess up and cause trouble for themselves. When we consider the ancient people of Israel it is as if, on the face of it, they were really dense. How could they forget God? How could they not worship Him alone, and leave all those other gods behind?

That fact is, however, in many and various ways your own flesh goes after other gods, too. Were it not so, every waking moment and every sleeping moment of life would be totally engrossed in your Creator. Far from this, your waking moments are full of worry, lacking trust, lacking in help toward your neighbor, and full of plans aimed predominantly toward self-gratification. Idolatry clings to you just as woefully as it stuck to God’s ancient people.

When you seek refuge in things, ideas, and people that are not truly able to help you, what is your Creator going to do but raise the question when you are in deep trouble: “Where is the rock in which you sought refuge?” The answer, if not utter silence will be: “I don’t know. They certainly are not here.”

Your Creator has explicitly revealed Himself to you as a jealous God. That means He seeks you out, and wants to be known as the *only* One who seeks you out, for it is His good pleasure to save you, preserve you, bless you, and bless the world through you as you confess His Name. He is a God of whom there is to be no question whatsoever Who He is, where He is, or what He does.

As we witness the innocent suffering and death of Christ Jesus, who gave His life as a ransom for poor sinners, we see God doing what no other gods could do. Knowing this to be the case from all eternity, as God spoke to His people of old through Moses, he ripped and ribbed them a good one, as He would do on other occasions, because His present desire to save has been wholly consistent throughout all eternity.

By the grace of God in Christ Jesus your Creator has joined you to Himself and begun His work to be completed at the last day in you. As He goes about working all good things on your behalf, you may consider Him to be delighted in doing this. It is not because He needs glory for Himself in saving you, but rather the He, knowing your deepest need for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life, says, “Let *Me* do this!”

Time and time again He makes this known. Time and time again He invites you and admonishes you to seek everything good from Him alone. He places the merits and righteousness of Christ Jesus into the waters of His Holy Baptism, His Supper, His Holy Absolution and says, “Here I am to save you!” Don’t look anywhere else. Do look to anyone, or any thing else.

He Who created in you a new heart and Who renews a right Spirit within you will keep your feet from stumbling upon any other Rock.

There Remains

For the LORD will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their strength is gone, and there is none remaining, bond or free.

All of history has seen the wrack and ruin of sin, death, and the devil upon fallen flesh. To Moses it was given to see from afar the vindication of God as carried out in Christ Jesus. Even Moses had to depend on this vindication. He witnessed it first hand in this life, inasmuch as it was Joshua, not Moses, who crossed over into the Promised Land first. Yes, even Moses was told how, by the real, historic, flesh of a Man [Joshua] the Promised Land would be obtained.

Real land. Real history. Real flesh and blood. These are the things God the Father of our LORD Jesus Christ deals with as He brings His people out of the bondage of sin, death, and the devil. He has a method of vindicating you that reaches down to the uttermost parts of the earth, calling you by name just as He did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, all the Prophets, all the Apostles, all the Evangelists, all the people of Israel, all the characters both obscure and well-known of whom we read in Holy Scripture.

Vindication means pay back. It means justice. It means taking what is horribly wrong and making it right. When it comes from God the Father Almighty who created the heavens and the earth, it comes in a way that transforms all of creation down to its last molecule. It is the Creator of Heaven and earth Who vindicates; not some political power, not even the mightiest of kings who have ever lived, but the King of the Jews who was crucified for you, and now lives to vindicate you.

He takes what you’ve done with your own flesh, and applies it to Himself. He takes what the world uses to ridicule you, and allows it to be heaped upon Himself. He takes all the works of the devil, including sin and death, and totally, completely vindicates you by defeating them in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

It has been revealed throughout the ages, over and over again, how your flesh is in a state of rebellion. You see the example of how the people of Israel, despite having God’s Word, ran off to worship other gods. God is jealous. He loves you too much to sit by and watch you chase after things, people, ideas, that lead away from Him. It is His highest priority and object to win you away from those things; to set Himself in your midst as a way for you to grab hold of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

The message has been told in countless ways every day, every hour, and is even demonstrated in the fact that all of creation to this day still provides much good in this body and life. How much more is this told as we witness the innocent suffering and death; the resurrection, of the Holy Son of God? You struggle with your flesh, the world and the devil and ask yourself, “Who is going to get me out of this?” It is Your Vindicator! He’s done it! Just when all was lost. Just when it seemed as if there was no possibly way because the problem was too great.

So, there remains this Almighty Vindicator Who has joined Himself to you in baptism, and continues to feed you over and over again. This would not be so if your flesh were already glorified in the resurrection. For now it is not. There is some fear and trembling still to endure, but He is by your side, upon the plain, being Your Shield in Battle.

Tree and Vine

A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.

In describing the Holy Christian Church on earth, your LORD Jesus compares it to a man planting a vineyard, renting it out, and going away for a long time. His purpose is to address the nature and purpose of the Church, in particular that it exists solely by the grace of God in order to give rest to those who labor under the condemnation of the Law.

Because the Garden of Eden was no longer accessible, tillable, or of benefit to fallen man except as a reminder of sin, it was necessary for the Creator to undertake horticultural pursuits of another kind as He continued to call out, admonish, enliven, cultivate, and hold fast to His greatest love: the poor miserable sinner. It is called a vineyard because it is beautiful, brings refreshment, develops over time, requires careful execution, thoughtful planning, and most of all tenderness in dealing with the vines as they grow.

These things are very much characteristic of the Church, which The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies, not by mighty strokes of power, might, and glory, but by participating directly in the creation, having Christ crucified on the tree of the cross preached into your ears and granting you faith to believe and receive His perfect benefits. Just as seeds and earth both join together over time to sprout up into beautiful plants, the Word of God and walking dead combine to sprout up into a new creation.

The most beautiful example of this vineyard at the time these words were first spoken was the people of Israel, who, through the means God has established in their midst, sprouted up as a special people having everything necessary for eternal life, namely the Word and promises of God; how He, on account of One great Sacrifice to come, is steadfast in mercy, forgiving iniquity, longsuffering, not to mention very much involved with His people in every way.

As the time drew near for the Son of Man to enter history under the Law to redeem those who were under the Law, it seemed as if the owner of the vineyard had gone away. His prophets, the vine growers whose Word and work were in perfect accord with the Owner - who faithfully and directly called the people of Israel to repentance and faith - had faded into the background over the past centuries. It was as if the nearer presence of God was somewhere out there, much as it often seems for you in these days where every kind of message and product hankers for your attention, which you all too often willingly yield.

Now the Man who planted the vineyard has come back. Having been put to death on the tree of the cross for your sin, and having been raised again for your justification, He has joined Himself to you as a vine is joined to its branches, sustaining them and causing them to bear fruit. “I Am the Vine, you are the branches. He that abides in Me brings forth much fruit.”

If there is one thing to learn when it comes to how God creates and sustains the Church, it is that He does so only through the person and work of Christ Jesus, who to this very hour and moment abides in you by the same Word into which you were baptized; the same Word that sanctifies you in the Body of Christ. Many are so high and mighty in their own minds that they reject the real presence and abiding joy of your Savior, as did certain authorities who first heard these words. But it is not so with you, poor sinner, for your sins are forgiven and you abide in Christ Jesus.

Taking Hold

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

To be a disciple of Christ Jesus is nothing other than His work in you, having baptized you into Himself. It is because of this that He is at work in you, just as He was at work in the Apostle Paul during his earthly pilgrimage.

It was readily apparent to Paul that he had not yet obtained the goal; that he was not yet perfect. There were plenty of reminders. His flesh wrestled deeply against his sanctified spirit. It is no different for you.

There is a fairly common saying: “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.” This is a fine starting point for self-understanding as a Christian, except that you may taken even greater comfort in knowing that you *are* perfect in the sight of God as His own dear child, for He sees Jesus in you, who is your perfect High Priest, continually bringing you into a greater realization of His perfection.

The Apostle Paul says right up front, that the goal toward which he is headed is one for which Christ Jesus took hold of him. “I was laid hold of by Christ.” You see here how it is that God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ saves you. You were laid hold of by Christ, too. You struggle against the flesh, too.

So you are enduring a trek; a race; a process; a series of points in time when your body and spirit are partaking of eternal things. For that reason you know full well you are not perfect, yet you know in spirit what perfection is. It is because perfection seems so afar off that you are inclined to become worried and disappointed both in yourself and in others around you, even those with whom you share the Faith.

To this “pressing on” belongs those flashes of regret you experience from day to day, even hour to hour, because your dear LORD Jesus has laid upon you so completely, faithfully, and lovingly His own righteousness, which runs to the core against all your flesh would do to the contrary. To this “pressing on” belongs your ongoing confession of sin, and Holy Absolution forgiving you that sin, because this is the work of Christ Jesus for you, and in you.

Take heart and take courage, for your dear Lord Jesus is at work in you to will and to do what is good. You press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, which is to say your body, soul, and spirit are found to be undergoing transition as the old man is crucified and a new man arises. The goal is not some pie in the sky gleaming trophy, but your resurrected body which will be incorruptible in the presence of all the saints in glory with Christ Jesus.

Your dear LORD Jesus Christ is patient. He is abundant in mercy. He knows your weaknesses and bears them up. In fact, He knows these things so well that He took the form of a Servant to be crucified on your behalf, in order that you might be drawn upward and away from all the sin and sorrow you experience in this life. It is His blessed goal, privilege, and delight to have you joined to His Body on this path of righteousness, in which He leads you as your Good Shepherd.

Tally No

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

It is part and parcel of waking up each morning to consider what you will do this day, what took place the day before, and what you hope to accomplish. With an accumulation of days comes ever greater expectation and accounting, to the extent that one day you realize you have a decent set of credentials.

Credentials are one of those necessary aspects of life that separate us one from another. They allow you to gain access into areas of expertise no one else may have. For some people the credentials are significant. For example, not just anyone has keys to the White House. Not just anyone has the password to your tech gadgets, either.

For the Apostle Paul it was necessary to spell out his qualifications when it came to being active in and around the Church, both before and after he persecuted it, but chiefly before. From the perspective of outward appearance, the Apostle Paul was as righteous as it gets. He was upwardly mobile in circles of those who made it their life’s aim to apply themselves to the biblical texts not only for themselves, but also so that they might teach others.

What things are of gain to you? By now you have accumulated a decent set of credentials. You’ve got some years under your belt. You are able to loosen and tighten your belt. You may even be of age to have a belt before bed. What about all that stuff? All that experience?

As surely as you now are buried with Christ Jesus in Holy Baptism and partake of His life under the cross, all that stuff is becoming less and less significant. You have the Apostle Paul as an example, whose own life of righteousness he counted as loss. He calls it “whatever things.” It’s baggage. “Our righteousness is as filthy rags.” You know this according to the spirit, but your flesh would have you constantly take stock of who you are and what you have, so that you become great and your dear LORD Jesus becomes small.

So here we have a rejoinder and an example inviting us to do the very opposite of tallying up all we have, whether it is credentials or stuff. These are all fading away. To have Christ Jesus crucified and risen, joined to you in the flesh, means more than all your credentials and stuff combined. You count these as loss for the sake of Christ Jesus; not for show, or because He somehow needs them, but because you know that in being joined to Him, having the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life, is worth more than anything your own flesh or the world has to offer.

Remember, the Apostle Paul was grabbed by the scruff of the neck in the very midst of persecuting the Church. It is really no different for you. While you were yet an enemy of God, He took it upon Himself to redeem you in Christ Jesus, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death.

To Declare Praise

The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.

It would have been perfectly within the prerogative of Almighty God to remain in and of Himself without any further expression; content to “be himself,” as we so often enjoin ourselves to be. But your Father in heaven is not merely almighty, and not content merely to be Himself. Rather it is His essence to be loving and merciful; to bestow life, gifts, and more life upon creatures of His wondrous making.

The people whom God formed for Himself are, first of all, all people who will ever enter into history as we know it, even those who are hidden from history as they depart life before they are born. All were created for the LORD God Himself, not for the sake of entertainment. Not even for the sake of receiving accolades for a job well done.

No, the LORD God created a people for Himself knowing that even in their praise of Him, His people would be filled with great joy and delight, finding their deepest yearnings satisfied, yet willing to suffer all things if only to remain in His presence.

It is this people, chosen out of all from the foundation of the world, who comprise His Church, His Holy Bride, whose wedding garment is beautiful on account of Christ Jesus; His righteousness and love which endures forever.

This formation of a peculiar people who sing the praises of God began as soon as the LORD God declared to Adam and Eve that He would save them through flesh just like their own, except without sin. He has seen to it that this Gospel is preached in the entire world throughout all ages, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to everlasting life.

There is an inevitability that attends to these works of your Father in heaven. He says that even the stones would cry out should people not come forth to declare His praise. This is how intent He is on seeing you comforted by His mercy, resting in His work on your behalf in Christ Jesus.

So it happens that you, a peculiar people, on a regular basis, take upon your lips the very praise which God has formed you to believe and declare that He is your Maker and Provider, giving you all that pertains to every Article of the Apostles Creed.

He formed you and taught you to pray The Our Father, so that you would call upon Him as children call upon their fathers. He formed you to say “Amen!” as you receive the benefits of Christ Jesus in His Holy Supper. He formed you to walk in His life and salvation as you are joined to Christ Jesus and await the life of the world to come. He formed you to sing of these things.

It is true. The people whom God formed for Himself will declare His praise, as everything good begins and ends in His everlasting love and mercy, as demonstrated most clearly in His only Son, Christ Jesus, who gave up His life as a ransom for all.

Things Past

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.

Man is of such continence that he has the capacity to consider past, present, and future, all the time he lives under a Creator Who has no beginning or end. You’ve entered onto the brief stage called life in this world, with no recollection of your conception, and now, being baptized into Christ Jesus, with a certain hope in the life of the world to come. But even that future life is somewhat vague, inasmuch as it is beyond all you could ask or think.

There came a point in time when the LORD, through His prophet, Isaiah, enjoins His people not to ponder things of the past. By that time there was a lot of world history. In particular for the people of Israel, there was the amazing history that saw a people chosen of God rescued with great power and might as Moses (whose name, by the way means “drawn from the water”) led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, right up to the Promised Land.

It is common for you in pondering the past to think back both on the blessings and problems that have come about in life. More often, unfortunately, you think of the problems; the sin; the deeds of the past that cannot be undone from history, each of which is firmly embedded as fact. Point the finger any way you wish, ultimately the past bears with it an inglorious fountain of bad water, spewing forth from a bad source, which in turn derives from Adam’s fall.

As your dear LORD Jesus makes His way into a garden totally different than the one of paradise lost, He bids you not to ponder the things of the past, when all of creation was subjected to the curse of sin; when mighty deeds of unparalleled history took place at the Red Sea and through many other miracles of the Old Testament. For He makes his way quietly, meekly, with pure love to lay down His life for you. He opens not His mouth to defend Himself, but to rescue you through His innocent suffering and death, and through His resurrection from the dead.

In times past, as God spoke to His people of old through the prophets, it was necessary that certain miracles and great works attended the prophets words. It was also necessary that just the right signs attended our dear Lord Jesus as He took your place under the law, showing Himself to be a merciful, patient healer and Lover of those like you, whose hearts are weighed down by the past. Of course it is fitting to be reminded of these things.

Today, however, now that He has made atonement for your sin and is risen from the dead, He needs no mighty deeds as we would consider mighty deeds. Instead, He washes you in baptism, and feeds you with the same body and blood given and shed for your sin, and speaks to you ever so gently through the mouths of people just like Him (and just like you) say, "I forgive you all of your sins."

It is to this fact the LORD God of all history refers when He bids you not to ponder things of the past, as it is His chief aim to bring you to Himself in love through quiet, meek, and humble means.

Thus says the LORD

Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea, and a path through the mighty waters . . .

It is an alien way of speaking, for people to say, “Thus says the LORD.” The phrase itself occurs more than 420 times in Holy Scripture, the first time being when Moses announced to Pharaoh that the firstborn of Israel belong to Him, and He will do whatever it takes to save them.

We know how that went. Eventually the LORD God drowned Pharaoh and his entire army in the Red Sea, after letting the people of Israel pass through virtually unscathed; terrified and in awe, to be sure, but safe and sound.

In many and various ways God spoke to His people of old by the prophets. It was not uncommon, as we see, for the LORD God to put these words into the mouth of His prophets: “Thus says the Lord,” making it no matter of doubt, but a matter of great certainty that the Word they were hearing was not spun out of man’s imagination, but indeed originated from the LORD God Himself as absolute, eternal truth.

In saying it is an alien way of speaking, I mean we do not speak to one another directly this way, and also, when those words sound out, we take them for granted, as if it cannot be possible for absolute Truth to be spoken in our midst. If you walk up to your neighbor and say, “Thus says the LORD,” what you speak thereafter had best already be written in Holy Scripture, or be in perfect agreement with it as a whole, for we know that even the devil can take up those words.

In this case, the LORD God specifically makes reference to His awesome deeds in saving the people of Israel from Pharaoh, for He says also of Himself: “Who makes a way through the sea, and a path through the mighty waters.” When the people of Israel heard these words from the prophet Isaiah, they immediately called to mind how they were hearing from the same God who delivered them in ancient days by parting the waters of the Red Sea.

As you draw nearer to Holy Week and observe how you are now rescued from sin, death, and the devil by our dear LORD Jesus, you can be certain this, too, is the same God who works awesome deeds by parting waters. In fact, the innocent suffering and death, and the resurrection of Christ Jesus are even mightier in deed than the people of Israel could begin to recall.

Just as today the words “Thus says the LORD” are somewhat alien to you, seemingly too absolute, the words “It is finished” tend to wash over you unawares, being alien in nature; alien to your own righteousness and alien to your natural reason and senses.

Yet these same alien deeds and thoughts, the Word which comes from the LORD God and is spoken by Him, have become yours, precisely because the same Lord God who saved the people of Israel also saves you, being baptized into Christ Jesus. The earth’s waters in and of themselves are a force to be reckoned with. No man can tame them, except perhaps for a little while with levees and dams.

He Who parted the waters of the Red Sea is the same One Who stood to be baptized in the River Jordan. He is the same One whose Word, joined with the waters of your baptism, drowned your old Adam and all his content, while saving you, body and soul, from all that would harm you.

So you may say with all certainty – although it may sound strange to your ears and heart – “Thus says the Lord God, Who makes a way through the sea, and a path through the mighty waters: You are My own beloved child, for you are baptized into Christ Jesus.”

Two Things

"I am Patrick, yes a sinner and indeed untaught; yet I am established here in Ireland where I profess myself bishop. I am certain in my heart that all that I am, I have received from God."

These words were written by none other than St. Patrick, the person whose life and work we celebrate these days by drinking green beer, wearing green, pinching those who forget or refuse to wear green, and dining on Irish cuisine such as corned beef and cabbage. Two things Patrick is known for saying explicitly about himself in writing: "I am obviously unlearned," and, "I am a sinner."

The occasion was that of sending a letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, a band of ungodly, vicious pagans who were not just ignorant of the Faith but enemies; who would gladly slaughter Christians as soon as they were baptized.

The gist of St. Patrick's letter is one of warning. But it is not without comfort. It is laden with references from the Holy Scriptures, which throughout all history are God's gentle rain of wisdom, knowledge, virtue, and everything that concerns Who He Is. These are what informed St. Patrick in every way as he addressed both friend and enemy.

St. Patrick knew his place. "Yes, a sinner and indeed untaught." No pompous glory or false authority here. By the grace of God in Christ Jesus the log in his eye had been removed. He saw himself and the condition of the world about him as one subject to all the wrath of God against sin. He knew his place as a creature, too, acknowledging that all he was, and all he had, came from Above, just as you do when you say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.”

What do you have that you did not receive from Above? This question is so excellent, every Christian ought to ask it within himself daily, for it puts everything else into perspective, whether poverty or wealth, sickness or health, life or death, whatever is given under the sun. It all originates from, and is lavishly bestowed by, a gracious Father in Heaven. This is just the first indication the God is indeed good and kind.

So pervasive is this grace and favor, that no matter what comes the way of those who bear the sign of the cross, not even death will separate them from the love of God. The heart of God is so merciful, yearning with all His being to bring us to Himself, that He undertook to shed innocent blood in our place through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and invites to ask anything we desire of Him, and even to teach us the right things to ask.

You share in all the good things St. Patrick does. His soul lives and awaits the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, just like you, because he, and many whom he taught are baptized into Christ Jesus, just like you.

You may take comfort is seeing how Patrick was given to persevere under the most trying of circumstances, with brutish, godless, demonic people all around him. It is not much different today for Christians, and even seems to be getting worse. You may take comfort because you are baptized into the same Christ, and receive His forgiveness of sins richly and daily.

And he watched over me before I knew him, and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.

'Tis Sweet

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

“A kid’ll eat the middle of and Oreo first, and save the chocolate cookie outside for last.” So went the old commercial for Oreo Cookies, a product which to this day remains highly popular, even to the extent there are some members of the clergy who wear that attribution either proudly or pejoratively.

The sweetest part of a confection; the sweetest morsels; the proverbial icing on the cake: this is what a child’s palate is most inclined to consume before anything else, just as having one’s hand caught in the cookie jar as a child was the proverbial no-no.

When you are told that God “made Him whew knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” you are hearing one of the sweetest morsels that could ever be written, spoken, delivered to your ears. Bear with a few paragraphs here and consider with me just what this means. If words could be candy there would be none as sweet as this.

First of all, it is our Maker who did this; the one whom we’ve offended deeply with our sin, which is infinitely worse than getting one’s hand caught in any cookie jar. The heart of man is evil from his youth. The offense started early. It continues daily. It isn’t just an occasional “oops” where we get carried away to satisfy ourselves for a little while and get caught in the process. No, it is a sinful nature inherited from Adam and stuck to us till our baptism is complete in the grave and resurrection.

But because it is our Maker Whom we have offended, He, and He alone, can make all things new. He calls things that are not as though they are, and so He is fully able and willing to call our sin as though it is not, and thus wipe it away forever.

How is this done? By offering Christ Jesus as the ultimate sin offering on our behalf. Did you notice how boldly and unequivocally this is written: He was made to be sin. Cyril of Alexandria put it this way: "[W]e do not say that Christ became a sinner. Far from it, but being just, or rather in actuality justice, for he did not know sin, the Father made him a victim for the sins of the world."

And that’s not all. The Apostle here gladly uses the broad sense of “we” when he writes of becoming the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This Righteousness is not just for prophets, Apostles, and those whom we think to be superior in some way. This Righteousness is for you, who once were dead in trespasses and sin.

This is the sweetest comfort and joy; the icing on the cake, and we partake of this sweetness as we participate in the Holy Supper where Jesus’ tender mercies, love, righteousness, forgiveness, and eternal life are surely present and given among poor, weak children who sin daily and much. This is a sweetness your Father in heaven desires to bestow upon you lavishly. It is His greatest desire as He loves you with His whole Being.

Today's Water

Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation. -Isaiah 12:3

Baptism into Christ Jesus completely and forever changes your state of being in the presence of God. Where once you were an enemy, you are now His child. When once you were unclean, you are now cleansed. Where once there was only sin, now there is forgiveness of sin. Where once there was only death, now there is eternal life.

How can this be? Because there is salvation in that water. There is salvation in that water because Christ Jesus is bound not only through His own baptism in the waters of the River Jordan, at which time the heavens were opened, but although through completing His baptism in becoming sin. As it is written, "He Who knew no sin became sin." Your Father in heaven saw to it that water from the springs of salvation would be joyously drawn and poured over you. That water is applied in connection with the Word and promise of your Father in heaven.

O you who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, from the time those waters of salvation were drawn and poured over your whole person, body, soul, and spirit, your state of being has been that of a Child of God. That is why, as you traverse your days in this condition, matters of sin and death are of grave concern to you; that as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death you are comforted. The still waters drawn from the spring of Salvation bring you joy in the face of adversity; comfort in times of trouble, for the same Word into Whom you were baptized speaks to you this day, even in writing.

Baptism cannot be reversed. Where there is baptism into Christ Jesus there is joy both in heaven and on earth, for it is by this means that God the Father snatches poor sinners out of the jaws of death, placing them into Jesus who has already died your death and now lives and rules to all eternity for you. The water is drawn joyously. It is poured over you abundantly, and it is declared to you simply, elegantly, and in all truth. You name is now God's Name. Your life is now hidden in Christ Jesus, so in Him you are His beloved.

There may not be a lot of amazing feelings, super tricks, feats of human greatness, and outward wonders, but where the waters of Holy Baptism are drawn and applied, the full gifts of all that belongs to Christ and His church are freely given without prior expectations on your part, for no dead person ever brought himself to life. It is the work of God, since He has raised Christ Jesus from the dead, also to bring you who were dead to life.

Without question you have a battle on your hands on this account, but it is not yours to fight by your own reason or strength. Rather, Christ is at work in you to will and to do His good pleasure, tenderly drawing you forward in love, able to sympathize with your weakness, for He has born them all in His own body unto death. Yet He lives. In you.

Not all the water in the world, of which there is great abundance also as a way of gracious provision for bodily needs and beauty, but the water drawn from the springs of salvation. The water comprehended in and connected with the Word and promises of God, Who does not lie but is faithful. That is the water with which you are baptized. It is yours today.

This Way No Longer

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

Go ahead. Pinch yourself. Then stretch out your hands and look at each side, the palm and the back. See the details, the marks, the outer surface of your being which, believe it or not, is not identical to any other person who has ever walked the is earth. Rush Limbaugh may say he knows certain things “like every inch of his glorious, naked body,” but, smart as he is, even he does not know either one as well as he might think. For every single body of human flesh there are a thousand doctors who could spend a lifetime of study and never fully comprehend it.

It is this substance of flesh the Apostle speaks of when he says “we recognize no one according to the flesh.” He says this because the flesh visible to our eyes has already been redeemed by the flesh of Christ Jesus so that, in Him, we are awaiting a flesh not subject to death and decay.

It is important to understand the Apostle is speaking from his office as an Apostle. From this office, in view of what is written in Holy Scripture, and in full knowledge of our dear Savior’s resurrection, the Apostles appointed followers after them who were the first Pastors in the church. This was essential because the bodily presence of Jesus equals the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. His flesh is given throughout the world until the end of time for our strength and comfort in the very midst of death.

Early Christians were accused of cannibalism on account of words such as these, but we in simple faith understand that when Jesus says, “This is My body,” in the Sacrament, He, being the Creator of all things by His Word, is also able to dwell with us bodily through the Word He speaks at His Supper. Even many who were right there with Jesus as He was with us according to the flesh could not swallow this Truth.

Dear reader, you need to understand that your Pastor, as he is given to adhere to the same teachings handed down from Christ Jesus to the Apostles, no longer looks at you according to the flesh. While he is interested in your physical life and well-being more than you might think, he is intent on knowing the Life of Christ Jesus is hidden in, with, and under the flesh that is visible to the eyes. This is cause for exceedingly great joy.

And how beautiful your flesh is even now, being His creation! But your Pastor especially has the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come in mind, because your Father in heaven has worked faith in the hearts of sinful men and taught them all that really counts: the righteousness of Christ Jesus for poor sinners.

Two other very important points both Pastor and hearers may draw with confidence and comfort from this verse: 1.) The eternal things pastors provide by virtue of their office are not subject to partiality based on age, social status, wealth, or any other feature that distinguishes us from one another when it comes to our earthly tents, and 2.) at the same time it is essential to uphold the order of creation whereby we do make distinctions for the sake of civility, among them being man, woman, father, mother, child, governing authority, teacher, soldier, employer, employee, Apostle, etc. It would be disastrous to abandon these distinctions, and much to our benefit to understand and maintain them.

That Day

Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

“That Day” is a day of total turnaround from what is expected when it comes to judgment against sin. It is the same day the Prodigal Son returned home in shame only to find his father rejoicing with great joy. It is the day the Root of Jesse finally came to fruition in the Person and work of Christ Jesus. It is the day you were baptized into Christ Jesus, and every day you receive His perfect benefits through faith and every means God has given for you to receive Him.

It is that day the Father of All has had in His heart from the beginning, when your unrighteousness would be placed upon Christ Jesus who would bear it up as a perfect sacrifice, rise from the dead, and make it known in no uncertain terms that your sins are forgiven. That day is today, and every day.

This summarizes all and everything the Church speaks as she has been given to speak: “Although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away.” The anger that was turned away is a righteous anger. It is an anger that by all accounts ought to result in a fate worse than death, namely eternal death.

But this anger is now turned away because Christ Jesus, the Holy Son of God, steadily and purposely made His way to Jerusalem on your behalf, all the while fulfilling all that was written of Him beginning with Moses, ending with the prophets and Apostles, and continuing with those whom He has placed before you not only to proclaim His real presence but also to assist in distributing His real presence in His Supper. So you may say with great confidence of heart concerning your Creator: “Although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away.”

What is most incredible about all this is the following: Your Father in heaven desires that all people understand and know His heart is this way toward them, even those whom you and I may be inclined to consider excluded from this love, for just as Jesus told the parable to the Prodigal Son in the midst of those who thought Prostitutes and Publicans were unworthy, Jesus speaks today in Holy Baptism and The Lord’s Supper to those who by all accounts are unworthy to receive anything good from the hand of God.

Giving thanks for the gift of salvation comes with little effort once one realizes the enormity of it all. But even this realization comes from God speaking to you concerning who He is, and what He does. What is written in the passage above is only a small portion of what God is given to speak to you and to all people for all time, and it speaks without reservation concerning the heart of God.

As you give thanks in the midst of every kind of trial and temptation, you patiently bear with your neighbor in love, knowing that what you see with the eyes is only the surface. The balance is written and spoken loud and clear. The Word does not, and will not, unwrite Himself. God is faithful.

“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.”

Talking Dads

The Father said to His servants, “This Son of Mine was dead and has come to life again.”

Every human being ever to inhabit this planet has an earthly father, but not every earthly father is loving and kind. We know all too well there are many earthly fathers who are downright unreflective of what a father should be. "You said it. Oh, and thanks again for ordering that guitar adapter!"

It is hard to comprehend a father who abandons his children; who beats them and abuses them. When I hear of these things it is as if there is an unreality adrift out there. I read of it in the news, see it in the movies and on TV sometimes, but it just floors me to think such a thing could actually be true. To the extent it is, LORD, have mercy.

There is another extreme when earthly fathers are idolized to the extent they are deemed incapable of doing any wrong. This, too, is an aspect of earthly fatherhood that is not common to my experience. Most fathers I know, and I know quite a few, are aware of their weaknesses, yet understand their place as both providers and teachers of their youth. We have natural law and civility to thank for that.

But the essence of Fatherhood is best expressed by our Maker, who, becoming flesh in His only Son, Christ Jesus, was the source of perfect love and nurturing provision for all earthly fathers and their children. That is why, when Jesus is asked explicitly how we should pray, the first word from His mouth is, "Father," and from there everything a child would ask of a father is poured out abundantly, especially and including the forgiveness of sins.

Most explicit in the relationship between father and son is what is expressed in the Fourth Commandment. For a son to render perfect obedience to his father is unheard of, but this we can guarantee: a son is more inclined to render obedience when he knows his father loves him unconditionally, because the son is literally “of the same substance” as the Father.

Sound familiar? Yes. Jesus and the Father are one - they are of the same substance - and Jesus’ perfect obedience consists of obeying all the Law in perfection to its fullest demands, and then laying down His perfect life out of love for all the other human fathers who fail, along with all mothers and all children. Of this we are taught by the Holy Spirit Who teaches us of Jesus and the Father.

So it happens that earthly fathers, who are taught in and of the LORD, seek to bestow the best things on their children in love to whatever extent they are able, for they, too, experience Life received in place of a death earned through disobedience. The Son who was once dead in your sins is now alive, to be your Righteousness forever and ever as you are baptized into, and abide in, Him.

Toward Perfection

As Christ Jesus continues to bring His Holy Church into perfection, the chaff becomes more distilled from the wheat. This is readily apparent in the midst of the redeemed in Christ, who witness astonishing deficiencies both in themselves and within their respective parishes. This is to be expected. Where Christ-crucified is all the more purely preached and applied, the effect is all the more provocative in the heavenly realms, which in turn plays itself out in human forms. Besides, the redeemed are much more keenly aware of the Law as it amplifies sin. “Fear not, little flock. It is the Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Outside of the redeemed in Christ, where His Word is rejected, there may be camaraderie, friendliness, and even the most cordial civil righteousness. Here the distinction also becomes more pronounced through the ages, as manifestations of incivility become more dissolute, and the correctives of natural law shine forth on the part of those committed to self-preservation and self-righteousness.

Based on the above, it should come as no surprise that the redeemed in Christ may actually see more incivility in their own midst, than amidst the unregenerate who participate in civil righteousness. The redeemed in Christ are given all the more opportunity to practice what has been preached into their hearts, and it hurts. No crucifixion ever felt good. Yet despite such great weakness shown in the midst of Christ’s holy people, He is at work in them to will and to do His good pleasure, so that what appears to the eyes as great failure, is in fact a beautiful reality; so that as they approach the world they may be instruments in applying the same forgiveness they themselves possess.

I would rather be found in a house full of sinners participating in the benefits of Christ with weakness, than a world full of apparent saints participating in self-congratulation with strength, but I happen to live in both worlds, and that’s okay. That is precisely how it is for all who are baptized into Christ Jesus until their baptism is completed at the Last Day.

Time and Friday

Of all the measurements of time handed down through the generations, it is probably the hours and the days of the week that have the most potent effect on people. Unless one was born a hermit, there is almost no way to escape the demarcation of 24 hours around the clock (in ancient times the days were marked out in longer swaths) and the assignment of Sunday through Saturday to a single week.

When it comes to days of the week- at least in the United States- Monday tends to be the most-dreaded. It is the beginning of a week of labor, and labor is most often accompanied by worry, sweat, and every kind of opportunity for failure. Others are counting on you to provide, from the standpoint of employer, co-workers, and ultimately those who receive bodily needs.

Wednesday calls holy things to mind because, during the penitential seasons it is observed in some detail, perhaps because by this time the Gift received on Sunday is best held forth at midweek as a means of sustaining one’s faith. It also happens to be the day when the local parish offers catechesis; a point in time when formal attention might be given to the Word by which we live.

Friday tends to be the favorite the United States because it represents the end of a work week and the beginning of two days of rest. Friday’s are so well-received in the United States that we even named a restaurant chain for them, taking care, however, to be unspecific in attributing thanks to God. There is good reason to thank God for all things, in particular to thank God the Father of our LORD Jesus Christ for providing salvation for us on a given day of the week namely Friday, as the culmination of all we need no matter what our station in life, age, or moment.

It was on this day of the week that Christ Jesus uttered the words, “It is finished,” thus releasing all creation from the burden of labor, particularly the type of labor that seeks God’s favor in good works, but also the type of labor that fears and dreads the days, weeks, months, and years ahead which culminate in a departure from this world into the life to come. He goes to prepare a place for you, with His own body given as the first fruit, His own body joined to yours in Holy Baptism and in the Holy Communion; His own voice saying to you time and time again, “I forgive you all of your sin.”

In giving His only Son over to death and raising Him up again for our justification, The LORD God, Creator of heaven and earth, chose Friday as the day when the words “It is finished” would be spoken aloud in the presence of many; spoken by the parched lips and choking throat of one Man given among men to make payment for the sin of the world. You were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.

The Watchman

"Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me." - Ezekiel 33:7

Regardless of who the judge might be – whether child, spouse, co-worker, stranger, father, or mother -nobody likes to be criticized. Oh sure, we’ll invite what is called “constructive criticism,” but even then it is a way to help ourselves gain praise, and thus better avoid criticism. I’ve seen many occasions when a person invites constructive criticism, only to take offense once the criticism is leveled.

The other side of this is how often people refuse to criticize, knowing it is not their place, and that love requires refraining from comment even though it is plainly evident some criticism is due. This is fine, but this can be tricky, too, because truly there are times when a warning can save your neighbor’s life, both in temporal and eternal terms. LORD, grant us Your mercy in dealing with others.

And of course there those who shoot off their mouths at every perceived weakness, but most often, rather than direct their comments to the “offender,” make it easy on themselves by telling it to someone else. It’s called gossip, and is no less damnable than idolatry, murder, covetousness, or sexual immorality.

It is important to understand that the verse above pertains chiefly to those who hold the office of Pastor today. Every faithful teacher, prophet, apostle, evangelist, and pastor is duty bound not merely to level criticism, but to point out in no uncertain terms where there is sin.

This is far more potent than mere criticism, because it brings with it the weight of God’s Law, which is perfect and will indeed be executed impartially, no matter how important the recipient of the accusation thinks himself to be, and believe me, the Pastor takes to heart very keenly how accusations of the Law apply to him, too.

For that reason, every faithful teacher, prophet, apostle, evangelist, and preacher trembles under the office they have as God’s own mouthpieces. When you hear a faithful Pastor’s rebuke, consider the source. He does this according to his office, just like Ezekiel was given to do. If he is silent about sin, whether yours, or any at all, it is time to find another Pastor.

But also consider the purpose. It is not the way of a faithful Pastor to follow people around and point out every little thing they do wrong according to the Law. Rather, to them it is given chiefly to make known the ways we sin both as individuals, communities, nations, and even as God’s capstone of creation, and from it the pain of accusation will come soon enough. When you hear accusations against you, consider the source. Is it the Word of God through a faithful servant of His? Good!

Those same faithful teachers, prophets, apostles, evangelists, and preachers are also God’s mouthpiece to declare you innocent in no uncertain terms, because Christ Jesus, God’s own Son, bore the sin of the world in His own body unto death, and for your sake is risen from the dead. “I will remember their sin no more.” “I, the LORD, will be your righteousness.” “I will save you.” “I am here.” “I AM.”

God is so intent on saving you and bringing you to Himself that he sent Pastors to warn you of sin, and to comfort you with the certain hope that He is not far off, but dwelling with you bodily, making you a branch grafted into the living Vine, which is Christ Jesus, your dear Savior.

Two Hours

Two hours is plenty enough time to explicate the nature, purpose, and content of the Holy Bible. An entire history of lifetimes will ultimately bear out precisely what is written with detail therein and spoken in Truth thereof.

If the entire content of all biblical texts and history were distilled into its most essential nature, it would amount to the Creator stooping down to speak ever so tenderly into every human ear and onto all of creation these three, simple words: “I Love you.”

His demonstration of this Love is so great and far-reaching that its exposition results in substantial detail of print, speech, and practice, the pinnacle of which is His Son, Christ Jesus, Who was put to death for our sins and raised again for our justification; Whose benefits are widely distributed to this day and hour, albeit hidden under the cross.

It is not just a matter of the Creator speaking of how He loves His creation, but also of bestowing His Love in essence and in Truth. While believers may only see in part and know in part, yet they possess the entire abundance of all that is written and expressed in The Holy Bible, by virtue of simple participation in Christ Jesus by faith. “All things are yours.”

Turtle Doves

A pair of turtle doves. A sin offering. "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."

A cursory overview of the Old Testament sacrifices demonstrates shedding of blood and loss of life on a massive scale. No one watches animals butchered and burned with flames of fire in person and thinks lightly of it, though there are a few who by vocation must prepare animals for food and who may be less impressed. Few people in our current society, however, could watch such a thing in person and not be moved.

The LORD of Life, to Whom belongs all things, whether hills and mountains or all the creatures that dwell thereon, set up this arrangement for the very purpose of causing man to know deeply what is required of true Love and righteousness, so that we do not think lightly of either our sin or His sheer grace; so that He may dwell with us in Person as is His most earnest desire.

If nothing else, the Old Testament sacrifices as ordained by God and practiced faithfully by the people of Israel ought to move us to consider the enormity of what is at stake, and the patience of our Creator in dealing with us. Ultimately all people of all time are subsumed under the terms God has established in dealing with us.

Today we know and are taught that all the sacrifices ordained from Above to teach us and keep us before the face of God were fulfilled by one Man, Who for a short time appeared in weakness in our midst, but as the Lamb of God, conquered all sin and death for all time; Who works to this moment to bring us out of this body of death to Himself.

This is why a Pastor, of all people in particular, no longer recognizes anyone according to the flesh, but is given constantly to bear in mind (as he is able) whether this person or that person has been baptized into Christ Jesus, and is being taught and fed in this perfect, unfathomable Gift of Gifts. For it is through this Christ that the new creation is entering into our weak and mortal bodies, to be raised again at the last day without the corruption in which we groan for a short time.