Verse for the week of Febuary 13:

14. February 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags:
For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
(I Corinthians 3:9)

When I was in college, I was part of a National Christian Service Fraternity (Sigma Theta
Epsilon) and our motto was I Corinthians 3:9. The translation that we used had part of
this verse as ‘fellow workers with God.’

This verse really speaks to me in the sense that as the baptized children of God we are
called to be fellow workers with God as we seek to do God’s will ‘on earth as it is in
heaven.’ Within the context of I Corinthians, Paul is writing to the people of Corinth and
is calling for them to work together as one. It seems like within the church in Corinth,
there were different fractions of people (‘I belong to Paul’, ‘I belong to Apollos’) and that
these groups may not have necessarily gotten along. One saw themselves as better or
more important than another.

Paul is encouraging them to see themselves not as different groups with agendas, but
rather as the whole body of Christ—all servants of God—and that because of this we may
do different things, but everything should be geared towards God and his will.

Paul uses the analogy of the growth of a plant. And it seems like within this church in
Corinth, there were groups trying to say that their role was the most important part of
what was happening at that time. Paul takes a completely different view. He uses this
image and says, ‘I planted’ and ‘Apollos watered’—however it is God who gives the
growth. While planting and watering are important tasks to a plant’s life—the reality
is it is God who is the one who causes the plant to grow. If we translate this to the
Christian life—there may be many people who help others know about God and assist
people within their walks with Christ, but ultimately it is God who is the one who gives
the growth to Christians. Thus, nobody can therefore brag about their part—for it is in
reality about God and what God is doing. We are only fellow workers or servants of
God.

And our role as these fellow workers or servants is to work together and not against each
other. For only by working together and seeing our tasks as complimentary to the real
work that God is doing, we will be able to complete the work that God has set before us.

Within the church, we need to be able to put aside our differences and see ourselves
and others all as the same—fellow workers with God. When this happens, we may be
astonished with the power of God that is unleashed and the transforming power of God
within our own life and the lives of others.

Verse for the week of Febuary 6:

07. February 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags:
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
(Matthew 5:13)

This verse is one of the most familiar sayings of Jesus. The context of this saying is that
Jesus goes up on a mountain, sits down and begins to teach those gathered around him.

Jesus begins with beatitudes (blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor in spirit, etc.) and
then he continues on with many other teachings. This verse is one of the first parts of
Jesus’ teachings after the beatitudes.

Notice the teaching—he states—YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Most
people tend to think of Jesus as the light of the world—the light that the darkness cannot
overcome. Yet, he is not talking about himself; he is proclaiming that YOU are the light
of the world. He is telling those gathered that they are to be a light that shines before
others so that they may see your good works and give glory to the heavenly Father.

Also, Jesus is not telling the people that they CAN be the light of the world—but that
they are ALREADY the light of the world. He is commissioning his followers to go and
seek to transform the world by bringing light to where there is darkness.

This not only applies to those who were gathered around Jesus when he taught on that
mountain, but that it is also applicable for us today as followers of Jesus. He is telling us
today that we also are the light of the world.

We proclaim the same thing every time that we have a baptism. Part of the baptismal
service comprises giving a lit candle to either a parent or one of the sponsors and saying
one of the verses that follows—‘let your light shine before others, so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’ This announces that this
newly baptized person is now the light of the world and that their role is to go and allow
their light to shine within our community and our world.

The question for us now really becomes—how will we be the light of the world? In what
ways will we seek to live our lives so that the light of Christ shines out from us?

This is quite a daunting task. Imagine the confidence that God must have in all of us that
He calls us to be the light of the world. He uses us in spite of our failings and brokenness
to be the ones that bring light to the chaos and darkness of our world.

Verse for the week of January 30th:

31. January 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to
do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8)

This is one of the more familiar verses from the Old Testament prophets. The setting for
this verse is set up with the beginning of the 6th Chapter of Micah. The scene that is cast
is that of a courtroom. God is bringing charges against humanity and all of creation is the
jury. God contents that the people have forgotten what He had done for them.

Notice that as the prophet has the dialogue with God about these charges that He
is bringing, the people do not argue or say ‘no, we have not.’ Rather they inquire
of God, ‘with what shall I come before the Lord?’ and wonder about what kinds of
sacrifices that they should offer (a 1000 rams, 10,000 rivers of oil).

God answers and reminds the people that it is not JUST about the sacrifices, but that He
has told them what is required. Verse 8 is where God sums us how the people of Israel
are to live their lives. They are to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with your
God.

But what does this exactly mean for them and also for us?

A couple of observations:
• First, notice that these three actions are connected together with an ‘AND.’ What
this means is that these are not 3 separate actions, but rather God is calling people
to do all three. We are not to just ‘do justice.’ Rather we are to do all three—do
justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
• Second, God is calling us to more than a simple checklist. These three commands
are more of a way of life rather than a simple to do list. To love kindness is not
doing one act of kindness for another, but it is an attitude about how we are to
treat others. Additionally, walking humbly with God is not simply being able to
check off a list that I read 15 minutes of the Bible or said my prayers on this day.
Walking humbly with God is an ongoing function of seeking to do things like
reading the Bible, praying as well as other things that bring us closer to God and
walk with Him.
• Third, we need to proceed with caution when we read this verse. It is easy to
use this verse to condemn the ritual practices of the Hebrew people. However,
take close notice that God never tells the people to not continuing doing the ritual
sacrifices. God never means for these sacrifices to take the place of living a life
that calls us to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. What
God is challenging people about is feeling content about their relationship with
Him just because they do a particular act. Sacrificing a ram is not an excuse to
not do justice or love kindness. This applies to us today, for we cannot simply
write a check to the church and feel like we have fulfilled our duty to God. Or
we cannot show up Sunday morning for worship and think that because we have
fulfilled this duty; then we do not need to seek to help our neighbor. God is not

making this multiple choice; rather He calls us to live lives that bring honor and
glory to Him. This can be seen as we seek to do justice, love kindness and walk
humbly with your God.

Verse for the week of January 23rd:

22. January 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,

And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’
(Matthew 4:19)

In this famous saying, we have Jesus calling his first disciples. The disciples were those
whom Jesus calls to come and follow so that he could teach them in order that they could
continue in Jesus’ ministry. When we think about the disciples, I think that it is easy
for us to think more highly of the disciples than would have been the case at the time of
Jesus.

At the time of Jesus, it would not have been an uncommon thing for various Rabbis
to have students or disciples whom they would teach and instruct—for we know from
scripture that it talks about John the Baptist and his disciples. I have to think that the
process for selecting disciples might have been a difficult process for people seeking
to be a disciple of a particular Rabbi. I think it might have been similar to a music
teacher who is well known and is highly sought after. Sometimes, a person who has a
high reputation as a teacher has people who seek them out and desire to be their student
for they know that the teacher will help them advance and become a better musician.
Sometimes, the teacher might even need to turn students away after the teacher gets so
many students.

The amazing thing with this story of Jesus calling his disciples is that those whom Jesus
calls were most likely not students whom other Rabbis would have called or sought after.
It appears that Jesus calls just ordinary people—not the top recruits or A students, but
normal, everyday folk that were trying to make a living using the skills that they learned
from their fathers.

And Jesus calls these normal people and tasks them with an amazing job. He tells them
that they are no longer going to fish for a living, but that they would fish for people. This
is because Jesus’ mission is to draw all people to himself. Hence, the disciple would
assist in drawing people to Jesus—helping others to understand who Jesus is and what his
ultimate mission (dying of the cross) truly is about. The disciples are called to help catch
people so that they would know that they are children of God, whom God loves so much
that God sent his Son so that all who believe in him would inherit eternal life.

As we read this verse so many years after it was first spoken to Peter and Andrew, it also
speaks to us in that we are like Peter or Andrew—ordinary people whom God can use for
his purpose and mission.

We, as the body of Christ, are also called to go and fish for people.

Verse for the week of January 16th:

17. January 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!’
(John 1:29)

Towards the beginning of the Gospel according to St. John, we have John the Baptist
seeing Jesus and then giving Jesus the title ‘Lamb of God.’ But what does this mean?
How is Jesus the Lamb of God?

In order to understand this identity of Jesus as the Lamb of God, we need to know and
understand the Old Testament. Sometimes it is easy to forget about the Old Testament—
for we tend to focus upon the New Testament and primarily the life of Jesus.

However, to really understand Jesus, who he is and what he has come to accomplish, we
need to read the Old Testament.

The lamb is a reference to the Passover. It is a time when the Hebrew people were
enslaved in Egypt and God raised up Moses to lead the people out of slavery into the
Promised Land (which is a fulfillment of the covenant made with Abraham). After a
whole series of plagues (frogs, gnats, disease, boils, etc.), the last plague was the death of
the first born male.

God provided a way of protection for His people from this plague. In preparation for the
Angel of Death who was coming, the people were to prepare to leave by eating a meal of
lamb cooked over a fire and unleavened bread (this way they were ready in a hurry when
they were given the go ahead to leave Egypt and head toward the land God would show
them). The lamb was to be spotless and have no blemishes. When they ate the lamb,
they were to take the lamb’s blood and smear it on their doorpost. This blood was to
be a sign for the Angel of Death to Passover that household, sparing them from this last
plague from God.

Hence, the symbolism of Jesus as the Lamb of God is that he is like our Passover lamb
who has come to protect us from the punishment of sin—which is death. Jesus becomes
that lamb who blood is spilled so that we may enjoy God’s grace (just as the Hebrew
people experience this grace as He spared them from this plague of the death of the first-
born male).

John through announcing that Jesus is the Lamb of God is testifying that Jesus has come
to wash away our sin through the spilling of his blood and that he becomes the ultimate
Passover sacrifice for the sake of the whole world—providing protection from death.

How is it that we see and understand Jesus as the Lamb of God? What does it mean to
you that Jesus becomes the Passover Lamb for the whole world?

Verse for the week of January 9th:

10. January 2011 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,
And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water,
suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him.
(Matthew 3:16)

Jesus came to the river Jordan and was baptized by John (who was there baptizing others
for repentance).

While many of us can picture Jesus’ baptism, do we really understand his baptism? My
preaching professor at seminary used to tell us that on the Sunday when we hear the
account of Jesus’ baptism (on the Baptism of Our Lord Sunday), it is almost always used
as a springboard to talk about our own baptisms—but not Jesus’.

I think that this is true for it is easier to think about our own baptism and baptism in
general than to truly wrestle with Jesus’ baptism.

After all, think about what is going on. John is at the river calling people to repent and
then to come and be baptized—symbolizing the washing of their sins—thus becoming an
act of turning towards God. Yet, why is Jesus baptized? Did Jesus sin? Did he need to
repent?

Clearly the answer to these questions is NO! For we believe and confess that Jesus is the
one who is perfect. He is the one who lived a blameless/sinless life in order that he could
become the sacrifice for our sins on the cross. He was perfect, so that his death is the one
that can wash away our sin and redeem the world.

Thus, raising the question again—why was Jesus baptized? Even John realized that
Jesus was different—for he raised the issue by stating that it is Jesus who should in
reality baptize him and not the other way around. Jesus said that he must be baptized to
fulfill all righteousness. But what does this mean? How is Jesus being baptized by John
fulfilling all righteousness?

The Greek word used for righteousness is a complex word and has many different
meanings. Eric Barreto, Luther Seminary Professor of New Testament Studies, says:
‘Thus, "to fulfill all righteousness" likely means acting in obedience to God in a
way that coordinates internal dispositions and external action. Jesus' first steps
in public ministry are a combination of a compliant spirit and a powerful, public
display of his obedience to God's call.’

Thus, Jesus’ baptism is a model of obedience and display of understanding that what he
has come to do is to do the work of the Father and complete this work the way in which
God has planned it to be completed. Immediately after the baptism, Jesus is driven into
the wilderness and tempted by Satan. The temptations test Jesus about how he is going
to fulfill his mission—doing the will of the Father or taking short cuts. Jesus in humbling
himself to be baptized by John is declaring his obedience to the Father—which is

confirmed by God as God opens the heavens and sends the Spirit upon Jesus and declares
his approval with His voice announcing ‘this is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am
well pleased.’

Verse for the week of December 19th:

20. December 2010 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,
Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means, God is with us.
(Matthew 1:23)

Whenever I read this verse, I am always struck by the word Emmanuel. The text in
Matthew is quoting the prophet Isaiah saying that a virgin will have a son and name him
Emmanuel—which means God is with us.

What a wonderful promise of God. The promised one of God is called Emmanuel—
stating that God is with us. God becomes human in order to be one of us and live among
us.

This promise is also echoed at the end of Matthew’s gospel. At the end of Matthew, Jesus is with
the 11 remaining disciples on a mount and instructs them to go and make disciples of all nations,
teaching them and baptizing them. Then Jesus tells them as they go, to remember that he will be
with them always even to the end of the age—for he is Emmanuel.

But what does this promise of God being with us really mean? For me, it tells me that no matter
what happens or how I feel; I know that I am not alone. Many times throughout our lives it is
easy to think that we are alone or that no one is there for you. Whether we receive bad news or
some type of tragedy occurs or even if someone does something that offends us—these and other
events can cause us to think that nobody cares about us or that we are alone through whatever is
going on within our lives. It is amazing to me that with all the ways that we can be connected
with people (cell phones, Facebook, email, twitter, etc.) it is still so easy to feel disconnected
from others and alone.

This verse combats this understanding. It declares emphatically that Jesus was born so that God
could be truly present with humanity. It tells us that God is with us! No if and or about it. God
is with us through Jesus who is the Word that became flesh and dwelt with us.

Even while this whole understanding of God with us is good news; it can be both comforting and
unsettling. Michael Card (Christian Musician) echoes this in his book ‘Immanuel’ which are
reflections upon his songs about the life of Jesus. He writes:

‘The implications of the name Immanuel are both comforting and unsettling. Comforting,
because he has come to share the danger as well as the drudgery of our everyday lives. He
desires to weep with us and to wipe away our tears. And what seems most bizarre, Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, longs to share in and to be the source of the laughter and the joy we all too rarely
know.

The implications are unsettling. It is one thing to claim that God looks down upon us, from a safe
distance, and speaks to us (via long distance, we hope). But to say that He is right here, is to put
ourselves and Him in a totally new situation. He is no longer the calm and benevolent observer
in the sky, the kindly old caricature with the beard. His image becomes that of Jesus, who wept
and laughed, who fasted and feasted, and who, above all, was fully present to those He loved. He
was there with them. He is here with us.’

When we stop and think about the fact that Jesus is ‘Emmanuel’ this is a significant thing—for

now God is with us now and always.

Verse for the week of December 12th:

13. December 2010 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the
lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
(Isaiah 35:5)

This verse is about transformation. The blind see! The deaf hear! The crippled leap! The
mute sings!

Within this verse and passage from Isaiah, it is about announcing what God is doing and
will do within the midst of God’s people. And that work is transformation!

In our world today, we may desire to see transformations like the ones listed in Isaiah—
however for most of us this does not become a reality. I think that in our day and age, the
transformations that occur tend to be more subtle or more in spiritual nature.

Think about baptism. For many, baptism may just be a ritual that is done at the birth of a
child. However, if we take the Scriptures seriously, baptism is one of the most powerful
transformations that we ever encounter.

For in baptism, we believe that through pouring water on the head of someone transforms
them from a sinful person to a beloved child of God. We believe that in these waters,
it has the power of washing away sins, delivers us from death and the devil, and
gives everlasting salvation to all who believe what God has promised (Luther’s Small
Catechism). Luther goes on to say that it is not truly in the water for water by itself
cannot do such amazing things, but it is water with the Word of God that can accomplish
such miraculous things.

Through the gift of baptism—some of the transformational events that Isaiah announces
occur but they are in a more spiritual way. For in baptism our eyes are open more fully to
the work of God. In baptism our ears are open to the still small voice of God. In baptism
our sin crippled soul is free to leap for God.

Baptism is only one example of God’s transformative work within our world. If we look
around and attempt to be open to seeing the work of God, we may surprise ourselves and
see how God is at work transforming all of His creation.

We may not think much about transformation day in and day out. However, we need to
remember that in Christ we are made new. We are a new creature in Christ and the old
has gone away and the new has come. (II Corinthians 5:17)

How are you being transformed this Advent season?

Verse for the week of December 5th:

06. December 2010 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
(Isaiah 11:1)

This verse from Isaiah announces the coming of a new ruler. During Isaiah’s time,
there was some uncertainty within the nation of Israel. This is the time of the Divided
Kingdom—for after King Solomon the kingdom was divided into the North and the
South each with its own ruler. Also, during the time of Isaiah the nation of Assyria was
a powerful nation that people were worried that they would come and conquer them.
This was a reality for both the North and the South since they were important lands to
establish trade routes.

This verse and the larger section of Isaiah 11 have the prophet announcing that there will
be a new ruler who will rise up. This ruler will come from the line of Jesse. This is a
significant line for Jesse was the father of King David. Thus, this pronouncement would
have resonated with many of the people for many would have most likely wanted to look
back to the time of David as the good old days and wanted to recreate this ‘Golden Age
of Israel.’ Isaiah doesn’t stop at announcing that a new ruler will come, but goes go to
proclaim what kind of leader he will be.

He will be one who the Spirit will rest on, who will have knowledge and the fear of the
Lord, and he will judge with righteousness. Isaiah goes on to give almost an impossible
image of what this new kingdom will look like. It will be a time when the wolf will live
with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, and a nursing child will play over
the hole of the asp. All of this points to a time of peace and tranquility. A time when
natural enemies will live with each other and dangerous animal will not be a threat.

To a nation who lives in fear of the possibility of an invading army, this is good news
that one is coming who will be able to bring peace and bring an end to the threat that they
most likely sensed within their everyday life.

Most likely, the people who first heard Isaiah’s words thought that this person would
come in their time. However, we know that this ultimate leader would come many years
later. For we believe that the one who the prophecy proclaims is none other than Jesus of
Nazareth.

And even for us today, we know that even though Jesus has come into the world and i
s the King that Isaiah is announcing, our world does not resemble the world that Isaiah
describes—for I do not think that any of us would let our children play near the hole of a
poisonous snake. The fulfillment of this prophecy will ultimately be accomplished in the
hereafter; however, we can still work to achieve a greater level of peace and hope within
our world today.

Verse for the week of November 28th:

29. November 2010 · Comments Off · Categories: Pastoral Reflections · Tags: ,
Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain
of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
(Isaiah 2:3)

Throughout the season of Advent, many of the Old Testaments reading will come from
the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is one of the prophets that has a number of references to the
Promised One to come (which is why it is prominent in Advent—as it is the season of
preparation for the coming of the Christ).

Here in this text, the prophet is talking about what is to come—people coming to say that
they will go to the mountain of the LORD so that He might teach us and we may walk in
His paths.

As we in our culture move towards Thanksgiving, our society is more and more
concentrating on preparing for Christmas. I have already seen people with Christmas
lights lit up on their homes. The stores are already pushing for people to buy. Black
Friday (the most profitable day for most retail stores) is being pushed up and many stores
are advertising Black Friday sales beginning before Thanksgiving. The world is telling
us to get ready.

However, this type of preparation is nowhere near the notion that the prophet is talking
about within this text. The prophet is telling us that in the coming days as people prepare
for the coming one, people will seek out the LORD by going to the mountain (a holy
place) to learn from God.

Notice within the text, it is God himself who will teach us. This is somewhat different, as
typically there is more of a mediator between God and the people (e.g. a prophet, a priest,
Israel). But here, Isaiah is saying that it is God who will teach us. And it is through
this teaching that we may then walk in His paths. Throughout scripture, the word walk
is used many times as a metaphor for how we are to live our lives—the way that we
conduct our lives.

Thus, during this season of Advent, it is a time of preparation as we wait for the Messiah.
This waiting should be comprised of two things—learning God’s words and walking in
his ways. Advent is a time for reflection upon how he are orienting our lives—what are
we centered upon.

The culture pulls our attention to a life of materialism and the trapping of the holidays—
however Advent is more about listening to God’s word and striving to live a holy and
Godly life. Where is your time and energy spent this Advent season?
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