The teens that just did that skit about the parable of the sower have sure sprouted up into leadership around here. We never know how God’s supernatural ability will take root. So we praise God that the seed is spread out upon various soils, sometime in a very foolish manner without regard to the soil type.
It was the fall of 1988 when Robert Olson of Russell, Kansas invited me to go out on an October afternoon to drill wheat. Me the city boy and all, was clueless what this meant as I was completely uncertain why anyone would drill wheat. I soon discovered that drilling was a term used for planting seeds and in the case the seed was wheat. But I still didn’t understand why anyone would plant a crop in October. I soon discovered what “winter wheat” was all about. The plants would grow until the frost, go dormant until spring and then continue growing until June or July when the wheat was then harvested. I watched the wheat being harvested that summer of 1989 just a few short months before I began serving here as a youth director, yes almost 20 years ago this next year.
Jesus was drilling into the disciples the generous spirit of God when he taught them the parable of the sower. The sower went out to sow! There was no preparation of the soil. There was neither removal of the rocks from the rocky area nor any weed removal or fertilizing. It seems so careless not to make sure the soil is ready before you drill the seed into the ground. It seems so wasteful to spend time throwing everywhere instead of intentionally planting seeds in the best soil. It is a broadcast spreader of seed this sower seems to be instead of being responsible for the sowing of the seed everywhere. Perhaps we wouldn’t receive the word of God if it were contingent on the condition of our heart before the seed was planted.
Jesus drilled into them that the promises of God would fall upon all kinds of people, not just those whose soil was good or ready. The word of God was cast upon everyone who had ears. The seed is planted upon those who path is shallow or feeling downtrodden; upon those who life was rocky because of financial uncertainties and upon those who were caught up in the thorns of heartbreak. We gather today to celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ is still being cast out today for us, for hearts, at different times of our lives, are like these four soils and the promises of God are being drilled into us.
We gather today to remember that the church is called to cast the word out generously. The church was planted here in 1992, the year when most of these teenagers were born. We can give God thanks and praise for the “supernatural activity”[1] of God to cause such growth in these young people who led our worship last night. We have watched the faith community grow and develop as we’ve shared the grace of Christ.
A few weeks ago I preached for the fortieth ordination anniversary of Pastor John Harder. He was my first pastor from 1970-1977 at FirstLutheranChurch in Chicago. I said that when I was in second grade, there was not one sermon I recall him ever preaching. As a matter of fact, I said that Pastor Harder was foolish in his preaching, because he cast the seed upon all kinds of soils of inner city kids and long time members who all needed to here about God’s grace.
We are called to recommit our time, talent and treasures into planting seeds of faith here in this place.We don’t worry about the harvest. We don’t take credit for the growth. The Bible says that we plant, we water but God gives the growth.
In Psalm 126, we heard today that those who sow in tears will reap with armloads of joy. It was risky business planting the seeds that could have been used for food.Psalm 126 reminds us that sowing meant you had to depend on that which you didn’t see. You could see these seeds from this years harvest and they could be crushed and made into bread from for those hungry mouths you had to feed most of the winter long and into spring. But the farmer’s family would have to set some of the seeds aside to plant in the spring. I can’t imagine crying over planting seeds uncertain about whether they would turn into another harvest come fall. But perhaps they did with dear longing in their hearts cried with a trust in their heart that the one who provided for them this past year would provide again for them next year. They took that percentage of seeds one must surrender in order to allow God to make something new and more for the future harvest. The result will bring joy and salvation.
Let us pray: Gracious God, you cast your seed of good news upon our hearts today. We gather to ask you remove the stones away and bring healing to the thorny places. Root us deeper in our trust that you will provide that we may sow the word wherever we go, in Jesus name, Amen.
Matthew 25:14 – “A man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them.”This man in the story of Matthew 25:14 entrusted everything to these three slaves. There is great risk in giving everything to others with the hope that they will do what the master wants and for the purpose of the master. There is such risk in life; in driving a car, in getting on a plane, on entering a hospital or entering into relationship with others.
There was a risk when I signed the release agreement with the cardiologist on Tuesday. I had a nuclear stress test with an echo cardiogram. The other two gentlemen were older than I was who sat there waiting. The form would release the doctor if something were to happen. My paper work said that 1-10,000 die from the test. About a month ago I found out that my 54 year old sister was going to have an aortic valve replacement and bi-pass. My test turned out just fine but I wanted to know my situation. When I thought about the fact that 1 out of 10,000 people die doing this stress test, I realized that 3 of 100 people die in aortic valve surgery. We all face risks everyday.
These three slaves were called to use their talents and risk losing everything for the sake of building up the kingdom of God. They each were given talent, which had a financial value to them. One talent was 6000 denari or 20 years of day wages. Today that would be about $30K for the average working person (our county average household income is about $90K – so triple that amount) x 20 year = $600,000 was a talent. Basically it was a lifetime of income. All three slaves were given so much money each that they hadn’t earned. The giving of the talent is a sign of generosity from God.Two of them immediately responded with risk. They perhaps invested in the futures of olive oil since the first story in Matthew 25 is about the maidens who needed to oil at midnight. Perhaps there was a chain of stores that sold olive oil for lamps but jacked the prices way up at midnight. Or perhaps they invested into Jerusalem real estate knowing that the land would be cheaper after the destruction of the city in 70AD. It ended up that the two slaves doubled their funds. When they see the master they hear that they will enter the “joy”. It is better to give than to receive. The word for joy in Greek is “chara” and the word for spiritual gifts is “charismata” and the Greek word for grace is “charis” and today here at this altar we will celebrate the “eucharast”. Grace and joy and so connected.
What’s interesting about the reunion of these two slaves is that they said to their Master when he returned, “Master, you handed over to me”. They both viewed the master as the one who gave them what they had. Their life time of working income was a gift from God. They viewed God as generous. The last slaves view of the Master? His response the return of the Master, “‘Master, I knew that you were harsh…” This slave viewed the Master as harsh. He view of God was not one of generous but of harshness. God was mean. God was not fair and was going to punish.
The worthless slave didn’t see that God was willing to risk everything between now and eternity upon our understanding that everything is a gift. The point of giving it to them was that others would benefit, the lost, the least and the last from the last story in Matthew 25 about the sheep and goats. God gave these three slaves a lifetime of wages for the sake of putting it to good use to the benefit of others. Perhaps we think that God is hard on us. There is a purpose we have been given much that we might be good stewards of all that we have been given so that others might benefit.
There is great risk that God has taken to place gifts into our hands until that day when he returns, Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 are about what we do until Jesus returns. We don’t know when he will return, but he will. We wait for the fullness of the Kingdom of God to break into our lives. That time will come someday. God’s kingdom time is more like a future that we are being pulled into and we wait with eager longing until that day. Until that day, God is risking so much by giving us gifts and grace to use for the benefit of others.The purpose of the olive oil and the money is picked up in the last part of Matthew 25 with the sheep and the goats – those who used their oil and their money to care for the hungry, the homeless, the prisoners, or the alien.The judgment will be about how we treated the least, the lost and the last. We serve Jesus to the extent that we do these things, and we neglect Jesus himself to the extent that we don't. God is willing to risk looking foolish by handing over to us such gifts with the hope that we will use them for God’s glory.
Christianity is at risk of going by the way side my friends not because of any major external threats or great evil that lies outside of us. At the risk of sounding like a mad man up here, we must see that the greatest risk Christianity is facing today in the middle class suburban world is that of consumerism. I risk sounding like an alarmist when I say that we have so much stuff that does not sustain. We risk just becoming some sort of social club instead of the body of Christ.
As we approach Christmas, we forget what the season is all about. Okay, here are a few simple questions. Whose birthday do we celebrate on Christmas? Christ! Yes! Great job!So who should get the presents? Christ! Yes. Tell that to your kids. We’ve kept track of our Christmas spending the past two years and we are changing things this year. We are not sending out cards. We send out about 200 cards plus postage we spend about $140. We’ll email one out with my poem and a cute photo. We’ll use that money for some hunger program.
So as we approach the advent season, we can trust in the promises of God. I want to encourage you to look for the signs that Jesus was right, the signs that show right now that the Spirit Jesus sent is living and moving and active in the world to accomplish Jesus' work among us to care for those least, last and lost.They're out there: large and small signs. Here's a large one. Living Waters gave away in mission support and social ministry programs locally and globally over $40,000 in 2007. This is a great sign for our congregation. It is a value that we have that we are called to give it away. I’m not sending out Christmas cards this year to save money and use it to participate in the ELCA food programs. These new members need to know that we are a very risky faith congregation that trusts in the promises of God.
On Wednesday, I had one risky experience. I had needed a new wiper blade on the driver side and went to AutoZone to replace it. I’ve replaced the rubber blade before where you slide it in but now they say just replace the entire blade since my blade was functioning at about 80%. Well I bought the $5 item and went outside to replace it. I took the old one off pretty easily. I was following the instructions with the new one but couldn’t figure it out. There was this little plastic piece and I just couldn’t figure it out. I’m sure the guys insider were just laughing. Then I heard a voice crying in the wilderness. “Need help” one of the guys from inside asked. Sure. He told me it was upside down; clicked it in and it was done. I said, “What’s this little piece for?” He said, “I don’t know, some blades need that I guess.” I risked looking foolish asking for help but help came. For God has promised that one day, God will wipe away all forms of suffering: no more hunger, foreclosure, disease, no pain. We see through a windshield wiper dimly but then we shall see clearly. We can trust in the promises of God enough to risk living as Jesus taught us with grace and joy to use the talents and treasures to bring a sign of God’s great gifts. Let us pray: Gracious God, until that day when you wipe away every tear form our eye, we pray that you will use our gifts for your glory. Bring healing and strength to us in the journey, in Jesus name. Amen.
So if the son makes you free you will be free indeed. When will we be made free? The verb tenses here from John chapter 8 are all future tenses. The verb is 3rd person singular so it’s plural. The truth will make you free again and again into the future. This means that Jesus is telling us that we will be made free in Christ again and again. But why are we not free in a permanent state to live in this household that we are invited into?
We know that the door keeps getting slammed in our face. We are locked out of this life of freedom and we end up creating our own traditions and manners by which we feel some control of our own destiny. We are imprisoned by our conforming to the idea that we can in some way stay free on my own. We think we can keep the door of grace open on our own. There are various mental, emotional or psychological doors that we try to just push open ourselves so that we may stay permanently free. But we have no place in this house of faith lest we are invited. This is the focus of reformation Sunday.
We are called again today to turn and enter into this freedom! God who formed us in the mother’s womb is continuing to reform us and calls us to reform. Jeremiah 7:3 says that God says “Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.” Reform in the Greek word is diorthose which means channel to make things right and to straightenthoroughly; rectification. This is where we get the word orthodox, getting back to the basics.
So we recall today that it was October 31, 1517 that Martin Luther posted on the website the 95 THESIS or points of contention that he wanted to discuss further. Inspired by the Holy Spirit to seek to reform the church, he was a part of a reformation movement.
It was then in 1529 that the reformers sent a document that was called Protestatio, and hence, the entire group of reformers came to be branded “Protestants.” Thus, we who belong to any of the denominations that have sprung from the Reformation root have our beginnings in a protest movement firmly inspired by the reforming work of the Holy Spirit.[1]We don’t celebrate “protestant” Sunday but reformation Sunday.
Now the reformation continued in 1999. The Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed the Joint Declaration of Faith back in the same place where the reformation started. I had the chance to preach there. It is my hope that we will invite them next year on Reformation Day to preach here and have a service of prayer together.
God is continuing to reform the church. I saw this happening in the past week when I attended a Catalyst prayer meeting of church leaders of McHenryCounty. This is a newer group and has been put together by the evangelical free, Baptist, non-denominational and Willow Creek of Crystal Lake churches. I hadn’t been invited before last month to attend as they had been meeting for awhile. You see Lutherans get together with other mainline churches, Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, but not the conservative right of the church. Now I saw the agenda ahead of time. It listed an opening prayer, presentation on the Catalyst group of LakeCounty and prayer for the nation. The Catalyst group of LakeCounty did a month long food drive and raised over 120K pounds of food; they had 30,000 bags in the Daily Herald and did a great job of working together. Then the prayer for the nation took place and I figured they would pray for a certain candidate, which they didn’t. They did express concern for how the election might go. So when we prayed it was for all the leaders and then I prayed: Gracious God, help us to see that there is just one church; even if we don’t like one another; that there is just one Christ. Show us the more excellent way of love (1 Corinthians 12:31.”It was a hopeful experience. Well, I just read their mission statement that they sent out this week. It says: “A community of churches and ministries sharing a common mission to glorify God (Psalm 86:12-13) and to be used by Him to reconcile men to Himself through Jesus Christ.” Well I guess we are only going to reach about half of the county because we are excluding the women, since the mission is only for “men”. Now, when I bring this up they may just label me a feminist. Some will say that “men” is used in a general tone. Well when they might just say I’m a feminist. Yet the one who formed us in our mother’s womb is out to reform us again whether we like it or not.
God continues to reform us in Christ through worship, prayer, scripture and community that we might know the more excellent way and be a people of reconciliation. When we gather for worship, we are reminded of how imprisoned we are before God. Prayer and scripture expose us to the truth about ourselves and a door slams in our face for we are not free. We are slaves to sin which causes us to conform to the ways of the world. We gather to know the truth about ourselves and to hear the good news of Christ who WILL set us free again and again.
These young people today who are affirming their faith have transformed and matured in the past few years. They have been formed in the image of God and have grown up before our very eyes. I can’t believe you are taking this step of faith. Yet you are called to turn again and again to Christ who will show you how to care for one another in a world that wants everyone to conform to materialism, individualism and Christian denominationalism. You are free to not attend confirmation class – it was never called conformation class. You are confirming your faith and the word confirm means “with strength” and conviction you are saying yes to Christ as your Lord and Savior. You are invited to confirm your faith every day
So when someone asks you when you were saved, you can say like all of us that we were saved 2000 years ago outside of the city of Jerusalem when Jesus died on the cross. When someone asks you if you know the day you were saved, you can reply that you don’t just have one day but everyday the Holy Spirit calls out to me to reform. This is the promise of freedom, the Christ will set you free from sin, death and evil one to live and be a reformation people.
Let us pray: Gracious God, you continue to reform and reshape us into your people. Reform this world and let it begin here with us who gather. Even when we don’t want to be changed or transformed, your holy spirit grabs us and creates life where there is death. Reform us today, we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.
Posts
