Posts filed under ‘Word for Today’
“Word for Today” – Luke 18 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
It was in the middle of our record-breaking long, hot, dry summer. And although I don’t usually do this, the temperature that day was racing toward 105 degrees and so I figured, “Why not? It’s hot outside. It’s a slow day at work. I’m going to wear shorts to the office today!” And so, without a lot of forethought, I threw on some black and white plaid shorts with a black and white striped shirt. I was so proud of myself. I managed to color coordinate on the fly.
I thought I was a regular fashionista until I arrived home that evening. My wife Melody’s jaw slacked open. “Umm,” she said, “You didn’t wear that to work, did you?” “Well, yes, I did wear this to work,” I responded defensively. “What’s wrong with it?” “You’re wearing plaid shorts with a striped shirt,” my wife informed me. “You can wear a solid with a pattern, but not a pattern with a pattern. Don’t ever wear that again!”
I thought I had dressed acceptably, and even stylishly. But it took the fashion conscious eye of my wife to inform me otherwise.
In our reading for today from Luke 18, Jesus tells this parable:
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (verses 10-14)
Far too often, far too many Christians read Jesus’ parable and reflexively respond, “Wow, I sure am glad I’m not like that Pharisee. I’m not arrogant. I’m not self-righteous. After all, I would never treat a ‘lesser’ tax collector the way that Pharisee did. I’m so much better than that Pharisee.” Hmmm. Perhaps we’re more like that Pharisee than we first care to admit. We may think we are more spiritually coordinated, even more spiritually stylish, than that Pharisee. But it takes the spiritually discerning eye of Jesus to inform us otherwise.
Indeed, in order to understand the true import of this parable, we need to first understand the audience for Jesus’ story. He was not telling this story humble and humiliated tax collectors; rather, he was telling it to self-righteous religious elites: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable” (verse 9). Thus, in order to hear this parable, we need to first recognize that we are part of Jesus’ audience – we are part of the mob of self-righteous religious snobs. That is why we need this parable. That is why it is in the Bible. It is not there for those other self-righteous people who are spiritually worse off than we are. It is there for us.
At the heart of the Pharisee’s self-righteousness is the preposition that Jesus uses to describe the Pharisee’s prayer: “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself” (verse 11). The Greek word for “about” is pros, often meaning “to,” or “toward.” The sense is that this Pharisee is far less interested in praying to God as he in talking to himself about all of his laudable accomplishments: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get” (verses 11-12). Notice that while using God’s name only once, he uses the pronoun “I” four times. This prayer is clearly all about him. The tax collector, on the other hand, is not nearly so narcissistic. He prays, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (verse 13). And he, Jesus says, is the one who goes “home justified before God” (verse 14).
The fact of the matter is we live in a world of Pharisees, not of tax collectors. We lust after accolades, accomplishment, and adoration. We read books like The Power of Positive Thinking and How To Win Friends and Influence People which encourage us to believe in our own potential rather than to lean on the grace of God. And when we pray, our pronouns echo those of a Pharisee rather than those of a tax collector: “God, I need this and I need that. I want you to help me with this and I want you to give me that.”
If you would indulge me, allow me offer some very simple guidance for your praying today. As you pray, begin each prayer with words not of request, but with words of confession: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” For this simple confession is also an expression of our deepest need: our need for forgiveness. And this, finally, is the difference between a Pharisee and a tax-collector: one asks for forgiveness and the other does not. And that is why, by the end of this parable, we are allowed to identify with the tax collector. Not because we’re better than the Pharisee and would never treat anyone like the Pharisee treated the tax collector, but because, like the tax collector, we have been forgiven by God. For God’s grace turns former self-righteous Pharisees into newly forgiven tax collectors. And that’s why I’m happy to be a tax collector. I hope you are too.
“Word for Today” – Luke 17 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
From conversations I have had with my friends, it seems to be a trauma experienced almost universally by children everywhere. Indeed, I too was traumatized by this experience in my own childhood. It usually began with an odor – a foul odor – emitting from the kitchen. I knew that trouble was imminent and so I would trot into the kitchen and ask my mother, “Mom, what’s for supper?” “Liver and onions,” would come her reply. Immediately my stomach began to churn and turn. “But I hate liver and onions!” I would protest. “Can’t I have macaroni and cheese, or peanut butter and jelly, or beans and franks? Anything but liver and onions!”
I have never met a child who enjoys liver and onions. Yet, I have also never met a person who, when growing up, was not forced to eat this despicable dish by their menacing parents. One would think that with the unanimous disdain that liver and onions garners, parents would give up on trying to force this meal down their kids’ throats. But it didn’t stop my parents. And I’ll bet it didn’t stop your parents either.
I would arrive at the table to find my plate of liver and onions waiting for me. Mercifully, with my liver and onions also came some broccoli and potatoes. Thus, I would always eat my sides first while leaving my main dish untouched, and then ask for more potatoes to which my parents would reply, “You can have more potatoes when you finish your meat. There’s plenty of food on your plate already. You don’t need anymore.”
In our reading for today from Luke 17, Jesus gives his disciples a hard teaching:
Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves. (verses 1-3)
A millstone was the ancient equivalent of a pair of the mafia’s cement boots. If you were wearing a millstone in the water, you were preparing to meet your end. Jesus says that this should be the desired end for someone who has caused another to stumble in his faith. Now that’s a tough teaching!
How do the disciples respond to such a difficult word? “Increase our faith!” they exclaim (verse 5). This is an understandable request. After all, to trust that it’s better to meet your demise than to harm another person is about as easy to swallow as a plate of liver and onions. But notice how Jesus responds to his disciples’ request: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you’” (verse 6). Rather than giving his disciples increased faith, Jesus explains the value of small faith. For even small faith can do magnificent things. Essentially, Jesus is saying to his disciples, “There’s plenty of faith on your plate already. Even for my hardest of teachings, you don’t need anything besides the faith you already have.”
One of the cries of the Protestant Reformation was sola fide, a Latin phrase meaning, “by faith alone.” The reformers proudly held that a man is saved by faith in Christ alone and not by his own righteous works. Interestingly, when the disciples ask the Lord to “increase their faith,” they use the Greek word prostithemi, meaning literally “to place something with.” In other words, the disciples are saying, “Faith alone is not enough to receive your teachings, Jesus. We need you to place something else alongside our faith. What extra thing do you have for us so that we can properly receive your teachings?” Jesus’ answer to his disciples is, “Sola fide. Faith alone is all you need. For even the smallest faith can believe my most challenging teachings.”
Perhaps you have encountered a trial, tragedy, or trouble where you wondered if your faith in Christ would be enough to get you through. Couldn’t Jesus add to your faith? Perhaps he could give you a divine sign or a heavenly vision or a miraculous solution. Sure, Jesus could give you those things, but most often, his reply to such requests is the same as his words to the disciples: “There’s plenty of faith on your plate already. Even during your toughest times, you don’t need anything besides the faith you already have. Sola fide, dear brothers and sisters. Sola fide.”
May the cry of sola fide be your cry today…and always.
“Word for Today” – Luke 16 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
A couple of weekends ago, I had the privilege of running in the “Wounded Warrior” 5k at the RIM Shopping Center. Proceeds went to support those who have been irreparably injured while protecting our country in battle. In my mind, any chance to support our troops is a high honor.
I am proud to say that my time for this run, although not stellar by any stretch of the imagination, was at least respectable: 5k in 22:50. For me, this represents a dramatic improvement over what I would have been able to run just a few short years ago. Indeed, a few short years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to run a 5k at all. For that matter, I probably wouldn’t have been able to run a 1k. I did not regularly exercise, nor did I eat a well-balanced diet. And even in my late twenties, my poor health habits were beginning to take a noticeable toll on my wellbeing.
But then, I made a change. I began exercising regularly and swore off food that, although delicious, should never be ingested by someone daily, as I was doing. The results were remarkable. I lost a lot of weight and now run not only out of a sense of obligation to my health, but because I actually enjoy it.
For those who have not seen me in a while, however, my newfound love of exercise can seem a little befuddling. My wife was talking to an old friend of ours after our run and she explained how we had run the 5k together. “Zach ran a 5k with you?” came the response. “That’s great! But that doesn’t sound like Zach!”
In our reading for today from Luke 16, Jesus tells a parable about a master who has to fire a top-level executive because he is “wasting the master’s possessions” (verse 1). Apparently, he has taken one too many pens from the office supply room. The executive is distraught. He doesn’t know where and how he will find another job. And so, he hatches a plan:
He called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” “Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,” he replied. The manager told him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.” Then he asked the second, “And how much do you owe?” “A thousand bushels of wheat,” he replied. He told him, “Take your bill and make it eight hundred.” (verses 5-7)
This executive is blatantly cooking the books! He’s dishonestly cutting his buddies’ debts so that they “owe him one,” so to speak, after he gets fired. “Perhaps I’ll get a free meal from them and a spot to crash on their couch,” he thinks to himself. But the real shock of this story is not in the action of this aberrant administrator, but in the reaction of his master: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly” (verse 8). The master, of course, represents Jesus. Jesus? Commending a dishonest manager? But that doesn’t sound like Jesus!
It is important to note that Jesus does not commend this man because he is dishonest, but because he is shrewd. And shrewdness can be a good thing, as Jesus himself says, “Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Thus, just as this man was shrewd with the things of this world, we are to be shrewd with the things of God: “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with handling true riches” (verse 11)? Jesus’ desire is that we learn to be shrewd with the lasting riches of God’s kingdom.
Just as the manager was commended by Jesus, we too will receive commendation from Jesus on the Last Day when he will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)! But just as the manager was also “dishonest” (verse 8), a word in Greek which literally means “unrighteous,” we too are unrighteous sinners, unworthy of Jesus’ commendation. And yet, Jesus commends us anyway – not because we are intrinsically worthy of such commendation, but because he loves us. Thus, he finds things to commend us for, as imperfect as we may be.
I love to watch a new parent with their infant child. They carefully and dotingly gaze at every move their child makes and, when they see something which impresses them, they gleefully exclaim: “Look at that! Look at that! How awesome is my little child!”
Our heavenly Father looks at us with the eyes of proud new parent. Yes, we are sinful. Yes, we are unrighteous. Yes, we are deserving of God’s wrath. But because of Jesus, God sees us clothed with his righteousness – a righteousness which leads us to live righteously. And so, when we do something well, God, in spite of our sinfulness, cannot contain his glee. “Look at that!” he shouts, “Look at that! How awesome is my little child! Well done, good and faithful servant.” What a terrific commendation from our God.
“Word for Today” – Luke 15 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
When I was in college, I, like most young men my age, subsisted on a steady diet of Ramen Noodles and Little Debbie Snack Cakes. After all, Ramen requires only a little bit of hot water before it congeals into a delectable feast and Little Debbie is always good for a delicious dessert. Her Nutty Bars are the best. Perhaps most important to me, however, was the fact that these two so-called “food” products were, for all intensive purposes, non-perishable. Yes, they came with “sell-by” dates on their packaging, but these dates were usually years away. As the prophet Isaiah has foretold, “The grass withereth and the flowers falleth, but Ramen and Little Debbie endureth forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Hmmm. Perhaps I mistranslated the Hebrew there. The point being that since these foods were nearly non-perishable, I never had to hurry and scarf down these products. I could buy them in bulk and then save them indefinitely – even from one year to the next if I wanted to.
What Ramen Noodles and Little Debbie Snack Cakes are, people are not. People, unlike food products packed with preservatives, are perishable. Perhaps an ancient inscription on a Thracian sarcophagus discovered in the early twentieth century says it best: “Whenever this night might come, I will wholly perish.” People perish. So says the sarcophagus which now holds the remains of a perished person. Notably, the Greek word for “perish” in this inscription is apollumi, which, consequently, leads us to our text for today from Luke 15.
In today’s chapter, Jesus tells three stories of things which are “lost.” But they are actually more than merely lost. They are “perishing.” For the Greek word that Jesus uses here for “lost” is apollumi. Thus, Jesus speaks of not just a lost sheep, but of a perishing one (cf. verses 4-7). And a woman does not just search for her lost coin, she searches for her perishing coin (cf. verses 8-10). And when an ungrateful son demands his inheritance from his father so that he can squander it on wild living, he is not just a lost soul, he is a perishing one (cf. verses 11-24).
It is this final story which I find especially fascinating. For Jesus’ first two stories are more allegorical. That is, they are stories of animals and things which symbolize people. Jesus’ final story, however, is more explicit and straightly told. Jesus flatly says that people can and do perish. And yet, this final story is not so much about a perishing son as it is about the father who finds him.
After this perishing son squanders his inheritance and hits a financial, moral, emotional, and spiritual bottom, he says to himself:
“How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (verses 17-20).
“But while he was still a long way off…” This is the key to understanding Jesus’ story. The father does not wait for his perishing son to draw near to him so that he can breathe new life into his shattered existence; rather, he chases after him while he is still a long way off – while he is still perishing.
The father in this story, of course, is Christ himself. And the son is us. We are perishing. We are perishing because of our sin. And if you doubt this, your sarcophagus will confirm this truth soon enough. But Jesus is in the business of rescuing perishing people. He is in the business of saving people, even when they are still a long way off from him.
Today, take a brief account of what sins enslave you. Then remember that these wicked things are “destined to perish” (Colossians 2:22), and so repent of them so that you might not be doomed to destruction (cf. Matthew 10:28). For it is God’s will that “none should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). That is why God sent his Son to an earth and a sinful people a long way off – so that we might not perish, but have eternal life. And that’s a promise not even a sarcophagus can sever.
“Word for Today” – Luke 14 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
In the 2001 remake of the famed heist film, Ocean’s 11, I found my favorite character to be Rusty Ryan, played by Brad Pitt. Do I like him because he has the raw street smarts to pull off a $150 million heist at three Las Vegas Casinos simultaneously? Nope. Do I like him because he is able to coolly keep his partner, played by George Clooney, in check when as he plans this job only to impress his ex-wife? Not really. The reason I like Brad Pitt is because, in almost every scene, Brad Pitt is found chowing down on some piece of junk food. Indeed, this turned into an intentional gag, as Pitt later himself admitted: “I started eating, and couldn’t stop. I don’t know what happened. It’s just the idea that you never have time to sit down and have a meal while you’re trying to pull off this heist, so my character is grabbing food all the time.” Now there’s a man after my own heart. He starts eating and he can’t stop. I know the feeling.
In our reading for today from Luke 14, Jesus seems to be always eating. The chapter opens: “One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee” (verse 1). From there, the food motif continues. Jesus tells a parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited” (verse 8). He then follows up this food-based parable with another meal metaphor: “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid” (verse 12). What is Jesus’ obsession with food? Is this some kind of intentional gag?
It is indeed intentional, but it is certainly no gag. The majority of people in the Ancient Near East subsided on next to nothing. That is, rather than having a super-abundance of food, they lived on scarcity. One famine, one drought, or one natural disaster could kill hundreds of thousands of people because they had few reserves in place to stymie a crisis. Thus, the Old Testament prophets would often promise a day when people would no longer have to contend with these restricted resources. They would speak of a day of feasting. The prophet Isaiah writes, for instance, “The LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines” (Isaiah 25:6). The Psalmist promises likewise: “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing” (Psalm 92:13-14). In our day, a promise of fatness is hardly desirable. But in the first century, when food was scarce, a promise of fatness was a promise of provision. It was a promise of a lavish feast.
When Jesus speaks of several feasts in Luke 14, he is saying: “I am the fulfillment of God’s provisional promises. With me, God’s feast has come!” This is why Jesus continues with yet another parable on food:
A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.” Another said, “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.” Still another said, “I just got married, so I can’t come.” (verses 16-20)
It is important to understand that the excuses these guests offer as to why they cannot attend this king’s feast are offensive and disingenuous. To turn down any invitation to share in a meal, much less to share in a lavish feast such as this one, would have been unthinkable in that day. But this is what these ungrateful invitees do. Thus, the king responds by ordering his servant: “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (verse 21). This king, one way or another, will have guests at his feast. And these marginalized people will certainly not turn down the king’s invitation. And indeed they don’t. They come to the king’s feast. But even after they come, the servant returns to his king and says, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.” (verses 21-22).
I love these words. Even after the poor, the crippled, the blind, and lame fill the king’s banquet hall, there is still room. There is still room for more feasters. There is still room for more banqueters. There is still room.
The king in the parable, of course, is Jesus himself. And the invitees to Jesus’ banquet are you and me. We are invited to share in Jesus’ feast of salvation. And if you have not yet trusted in Jesus’ invitation to salvation, I have some good news for you: There is still room. There is still room enough for you to share in God’s salvation. There is still room enough for you to share in God’s grace. There is still room enough for you to share in God’s forgiveness. There is still room enough for you. So come to Jesus’ feast and share in his goodness. After all, there is still room enough at his table…just for you.
“Word for Today” – Luke 13 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
I know the stereotype demands that, when preparing for a trip, guys pack light while women bring five suitcases for a two-night stay, but as much as I hate to confess this, I tend to pack pretty heavily myself. Granted, I don’t necessarily bring an exorbitantly large number of personal effects, but I always bring my work bag, crammed with books and papers, determined to “catch up” on a bunch of work while I have some “down time.”
When I’m flying, it’s my workbag that I take with me as my carry on. However, it is almost always comically bursting at the seams as I lug it down the jet way to my aircraft. This means that it also becomes incredibly difficult to fit my overstuffed carry on under the seat in front of me. But that’s okay. I have a system. I start with the bottom of my bag and begin to jam it under the seat. Then, if it doesn’t fit, I pull out a book or two and hold them in my lap. After all, I’ll want to read those on the flight anyway. If it still doesn’t fit, it’s nothing a good-old-fashioned kick can’t solve. And with that, my bag becomes irremovably lodged under the seat in front of me. I always stand amazed at how much carry on I can fit into such a small space. There’s a lot more space under that seat than you might first think.
In our reading for today from Luke 13, Jesus is asked a question: “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved” (verse 23)? This man wants to know: “How many people can God cram into the kingdom of heaven?” Interestingly, Jesus does not answer this man’s question directly, but instead offers a picture of the door which leads to salvation:
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, “Sir open the door for us.” But he will answer, “I don’t know you or where you came from…Away from me, you evildoers!” (verses 24-25, 27)
Jesus calls heaven’s entrance a “narrow door.” Some have taken this to mean, as Jesus’ questioner opines, that only an elect few will be saved. An old nineteenth century Baptist hymn expresses this sentiment thusly: “We are the Lord’s elected few, let all the rest be damned. There’s room enough in hell for you; we don’t want heaven crammed!” As you have hopefully already deduced, this is hardly an accurate paraphrase of Jesus’ teaching.
The Greek here is interesting. The word for “door” is pule which is commonly used to describe not the doors of normal, everyday houses, but the gates of cities and palaces. In other words, a pule is not just a door, it’s a large door. Thus, Jesus’ language is almost oxymoronic: “Make every effort to enter through the little big door.”
What is Jesus’ point? The door to salvation does indeed look narrow and small. And you may wonder how anyone can fit through such a small space. But there’s a lot more room in heaven than you might first think, for the door to heaven is a little big door.
Indeed, this is exactly what Jesus says: “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God” (verse 29). Even though the gate to heaven is narrow, and even though many will be left outside “weeping and gnashing their teeth” (verse 28) because of unbelief, heaven will still be packed with believers from every corner of the earth – east and west, north and south.
Jesus draws his words concerning the earth’s four corners in verse 29 from Psalm 107:
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this – those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. (Psalm 107:1-3)
God will redeem people from every corner of the earth, says the Psalmist. The Psalmist then continues:
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. (Psalm 107:4, 6, 10, 13, 17, 19)
Some from here, some from there. Some from north, south, east, and west. And by the time you put all these people together, you find there’s a lot more room in heaven than you might first think. A lot of people will finally fit through that little big door. And you know what the best news is? By faith, you’ll fit too.
“Word for Today” – Luke 12 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
I know it’s obnoxiously expensive, but I splurge. I splurge on bottled water. Yes, I understand that I can purify my own water and fill my own bottle for pennies on the dollar to what I spend on bottled water, but this luxury’s convenience makes it worth the money. Granted, I will forgo my pricey bottled water and fill a glass of my own with water when I’m enjoying a leisurely evening supper, but in the morning when I’m racing out the door, the grab and go convenience of bottled water is too alluring for me to pass up.
One of the things which helps assuage my guilt over the price of bottled water is the cases in which I buy it. Most of the time, these cases contain twenty-four bottles. But every once in a while, the manufacturer, in an effort to keep folks like me buying their water, will offer a discount: A twenty-eight pack of water rather than a twenty-four pack for the same price. And just so I am sure to notice this enticing bargain, on the package will be proudly emblazoned: “Buy 24 and get 4 free!”
The promotion of buying one thing and getting something for free is a nearly ubiquitous fixture in our free market society. Hostess does it with its cupcake packages which periodically contain three, rather than the normal two, cupcakes. Old Navy does it with its clothing. If I buy one t-shirt, another awaits me for free. During the low-point of this recession, I even heard a commercial from a car dealer who promised that if you bought one truck, he’d give you another for free! Now that’s a bargain!
Although we may think the “buy one, get one free” gimmick is a comparatively recent phenomenon of American capitalism, its origins seem to be much more ancient. In our reading for today from Luke 12, Jesus speaks of the care of his heavenly Father using this analogy: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (verses 6-7). The word which Jesus uses for “pennies” is a Greek form of a Latin loanword: assarion. An assarion was the lowest valued Roman coin, being equal to about half-an-hour’s minimum wage. The sparrows which went five for two assaria were the cheapest things sold in the ancient market.
But wait. Something doesn’t quite add up here. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is again teaching on God’s care when he uses this same analogy of sparrows, but with a twist: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). In Matthew, two sparrows are sold for a penny. That means in Luke, four sparrows should be sold for two pennies. But instead, Jesus says that five sparrows are sold for two pennies. It’s a cut-rate price for sparrows at the ancient Roman market! Buy four…get one free!
This, then, is the exquisiteness of God’s care: Not only does he care for the four sparrows which are valued at an already paltry two for a penny, he even cares for the fifth sparrow which is valued at absolutely nothing. What the world gives away for free is tremendously valued in God’s sight.
Perhaps today, you feel somewhat like a fifth sparrow – you feel undervalued if not unvalued. If this is you, take this promise to heart: Jesus cares for and about the fifth sparrow, even when that fifth sparrow is you. Of course, no matter how you might subjectively feel, in objective reality, you are worth much more than any sparrow and even many sparrows, as Jesus himself says: “Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (verse 7). And as the apostle Paul will later write: “You were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20). And this price was very steep indeed. For it was the price of God’s only Son. So take heart! You are valuable in God’s sight. Rejoice in your value today.
“Word for Today” – Luke 11 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
My first Christmas as a pastor, I was living in Corpus Christi and was thrilled at the prospect of preaching at my first Christmas Eve candlelight service ever. I spent hours crafting my message, I carefully scoured the sanctuary’s Christmas decorations, making sure everything was in its place, and painstakingly proofread the service several times. The big evening came and with anxious expectancy, I arrived at the church two hours before the service was to begin. But then something completely unexpected happened. I glanced out the church windows and noticed our parking lot was turning white. “How can blacktop turn white?” I wondered to myself. So I walked outside to investigate further. That is when I discovered, falling from the sky, these little, white, crystallized flakes. In South Texas, I don’t think these flakes have an official name, but in other regions of the country, I hear they call them “snow.”
Unfortunately, because South Texas snow on Christmas Eve is a once-in-a-century phenomenon, our Christmas Eve worship attendance was abysmal. People either did not want to drive in what for them was a menacing white powder, or they took the opportunity to spend a white Christmas around the comfort of their living room fireplaces. The snow was indeed beautiful. But after all of my planning for our Christmas Eve service, the attendance was disappointing.
Apparently, Jesus wasn’t battling inclement weather in Luke 11. Attendance at Jesus’ church services was increasing exponentially. Luke 11:29 begins, “As the crowds increased…” That pretty much says it all. People were cramming into synagogues to hear Jesus preach. And Jesus does indeed preach. Addressing a packed house, he begins his sermon for the day: “This is a wicked generation” (verse 29).
Uh, maybe Jesus needs to go back to seminary and take a remedial preaching course. I was taught to begin a sermon on a slightly more upbeat note. But Jesus, even in front of one of his largest crowds yet, wastes no time cutting the hearts of his hearers: “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign” (verse 29). It seems as though with Jesus’ ever-increasing crowds came the crowds’ ever-increasing appetite for miraculous feats. But this crowd’s appetite was not a hungering for faith in Jesus as the Son of God; rather, it was a hungering for the cheap chills and thrills that miracles inevitably bring. But Jesus refuses to feed the crowd this kind of spiritual junk food. Jesus offers no miraculous thrill, but instead an ominous sign: “No sign will be given except the sign of Jonah” (verse 29). In Matthew’s account of this story, Jesus further explains his statement: “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). “I will die and be buried,” Jesus warns. “But I will only be dead for three days.”
One of the marks of a good sermon is that it moves people to do something. For instance, if a pastor preaches a sermon on reconciliation, one of his hopes might naturally be that his congregants will seek to reconcile their own broken relationships even as Christ reconciled us to God through Christ. Jesus’ sermon, then, which is not only a good, but a perfect, sermon, is meant to move his listeners to action, as Jesus himself says: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (verse 28). Sadly, the people listening on this day do not obey, but rather rebel: “When Jesus left, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say” (verses 53-54). Jesus’ sermon leads his listeners to action, but not to obedient action. Instead, it leads his listeners to persecute him. Indeed, his listeners eventually kill him and bury him for three days, according to the very miraculous sign he has just preached about. Thus, his persecutors become part of his sign.
Jesus still preaches. He still preaches through his Word. But Jesus doesn’t only preach so that we will passively soak in his message, he also preaches so that we will do something with his message – so that we will obey him. And happily, Jesus has given us plenty to obey. From loving our neighbors to helping the poor to comforting the bereaved to approaching God in prayer, there’s plenty to do today. I hope you’ll heed God’s voice and do it.
“Word for Today” – Luke 10 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
When President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter as a justice on the Supreme Court, his endorsement ignited a firestorm of controversy and suspicion because of a 2007 speech where he outlined his philosophy in selecting Supreme Court justices. The president said:
The issues that come before the court are not sport. They’re life and death. And we need somebody who’s got the heart to recogni… – the empathy to recognize what it’s like to be a young, teenaged mom; the empathy to understand what it’s like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that’s the criteria by which I’m going to be selecting my judges. (President Obama, July 17, 2007)
Obama’s so-called “empathy-standard” became almost instantaneously infamous and led many to believe that the president desired judges and justices who would not only interpret the law, but actively make it.
Whatever one might think of Obama’s judicial philosophy, our reading for today from Luke 10 makes one thing is clear: The “expert in the law” whom we meet in this chapter would not have measured up to Obama’s benchmark of empathy: “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus” (verse 25). I like the King James rendering of this verse: “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Jesus.” This expert in the law has an agenda when he speaks with Jesus, but it’s not an empathetic one; rather, it’s a vitriolic one. This man wants to trick and trap Jesus in his own words. And he tries to trick and trap Jesus with this question:
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” (verses 25-28)
This lawyer tries to bait Jesus with a question. But Jesus will not take the bait. This expert in the law, rather than getting Jesus to answer to his question, ends up answering his own question, and fails to trick and trap Jesus in his own words. And so, Luke tells us, this lawyer tries again: “But the expert in the law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor’” (verse 29)?
In 1963, famed psychologists Elliot Aronson and J. Merrill Carlsmith conducted an experiment where they left two groups of children in a room with a variety of toys including a highly desirable steam shovel toy. Upon leaving the room, a researcher informed the first group of children that there would be a severe punishment if they were to play with the steam shovel while informing the second group that there would be only a mild punishment if they were to play with that same toy. Some time later, the researcher returned to both groups of children and told them that they were now free to play with any of the toys, including the steam shovel. Interestingly, those with the threat of a severe punishment went immediately to play with the steam shovel while those with the threat of a mild punishment still did not play with the toy. The researchers concluded that this was a case of “self-justification.” Because the children who had received a threat of only mild punishment did not have sufficient initial grounds not to play with the steam shovel, they had to justify in their own minds, on the basis of other grounds, why they should not play with the toy. Thus, even when the threat of punishment was removed, their self-justification as to why they should not play with the toy remained.
Humans, even from their youngest years, seem to have a penchant for self-justification. Even when we know we’re in the wrong, we will still regularly seek to minimalize, marginalize, and rationalize our thoughts, words, and actions. But the Christian faith has no room for self-justification. Indeed, the very crux of Christianity is that we do not and cannot justify ourselves; rather, we are justified by Jesus’ blood, as Paul says: “We have now been justified by his blood” (Romans 5:9).
Today, is there anything for which you need to stop making excuses? Is there any area in which you need to stop trying to justify yourself and simply, humbly, and honestly admit that you are wrong? If so, then confess your sins instead of trying to justify them. There is no need for that. For you have already been justified by Christ. And he does a better job at justification than we can ever hope to.
“Word for Today” – Luke 9 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
I am a creature of habit. There are certain things I do each and every day if for no other reason than simply that I’ve done these things each and every day for so long. I always stumble out of bed and begin my day with a workout. I always follow up my workout with a cup of coffee and some time in prayer and Scripture. I always peruse the morning’s news stories. In the evening, I always brush my teeth and floss them (yes, I’m one of those people) and I always give my wife a goodnight kiss. I am a creature of habit.
There are, of course, dangers in habits. Thoughtlessly going through the motions of everyday tasks can result in drudgery, depression, and even a disparaging of things which should rightly be received and rejoiced in as blessings from God. Then again, habits can be beautiful things when appropriately used. Good health habits can save a person from a crush of physical ailments later in life. Good spiritual habits can help a person walk closely with Jesus. Indeed, in many corners of the Christian church, religious orders will actually wear habits, that is, certain kinds of dress. The Greek word for this kind of a “habit” is schema, a word denoting an outward expression of an inward disposition. Thus, these people wear outward clothing to express their inward habits toward Jesus.
In our reading for today from Luke 9, Jesus gives to his disciples an important habit: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (verse 23). Did you catch Jesus’ habit-forming word? A Christian, he says, is to take up his cross and follow him daily. Just like morning workouts and cups of coffee and evening flossing and kisses, a Christian – each and every day – is to take up his cross. What does this mean? It means three things.
First, to take up a cross means that a Christian, each and every day, is a forgiven child of God. Right before Jesus speaks of a Christian’s cross, he speaks of his own: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (verse 21). This is Jesus’ redemptive work. Thus, while Jesus died and rose once, the effects of that death and resurrection are received by us daily through faith. We daily live in the shadow of the cross.
Second, to take up a cross means that the Christian’s life, each and every day, comes with challenges. A Christian’s life is not easy. In our chapter for today, Peter announces that Jesus is “the Christ of God” (verse 20). But for Peter, this confession does not come with the realization that to call Jesus “the Christ” is also to call him “a Suffering Servant.” But Jesus did suffer. And we will too, as Jesus himself says: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20). To take up our cross is to bear up under challenges, hardships, and persecutions.
Finally, to take up a cross means that a Christian, each and every day, is to confess and share his faith in Christ. Jesus warns, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (verse 26). Every Christian should wear his cross like every monk wears his habit – boldly and without shame. Our faith should be readily apparent to others.
We all have many habits. But in the midst of our many habits, do we take the time to cultivate the most important habit that anyone can have on this earth – taking up a cross from Christ? My prayer is that this habit is a habit which is ingrained deep in your soul. My prayer is that this habit is a habit which you cheerfully undertake – each and every day.
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