http://al.lunneberg.com Sermons and Rumenations Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:14:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 2005-2008 alunneberg@comcast.net (Allen Lunneberg) alunneberg@comcast.net (Allen Lunneberg) 1440 http://al.lunneberg.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://al.lunneberg.com 144 144 Sermons and more from my site. Allen Lunneberg Allen Lunneberg alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/06/05/una-sancta/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/06/05/una-sancta/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:41:43 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=789 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/06/05/una-sancta/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Acts 1:12-26; 1 Peter 4:12—5:11; John 17:1-11 Date: Easter VII + 6/5/11 The first time there was a Seventh Sunday after Easter the disciples were quietly waiting to see what would happen next. It was, after all, only six short weeks ago that t[...] Text: Acts 1:12-26; 1 Peter 4:12—5:11; John 17:1-11 Date: Easter VII + 6/5/11 The first time there was a Seventh Sunday after Easter the disciples were quietly waiting to see what would happen next. It was, after all, only six short weeks ago that the most tragic and horrific thing they had ever seen in their lives had been completely reversed as with an earthquake. For their Lord who had been cruelly treated and murdered, whom they themselves had shamefully denied and abandoned, suddenly appeared alive, first to the women at the cemetery, then behind closed doors, then on a road to Emmaus and a number of other times, appearing, then disappearing, then appearing again and disappearing as quickly. Then, just this past Thursday, the fortieth day since Easter, He appeared one more time. But this time He did not just vanish from their sight, but was lifted up into the air, going up until a cloud hid Him from their eyes. Our Lord ascended into heaven, to the right hand of the Majesty on high, there to rule and reign as King of the Universe forever. But now…. He said, “stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49). So here they stayed. They waited for three days (today), then seven, then nine days and…nothing; nothing yet. They were expecting this “power from on high” which they understood to be “the promise of my Father,” namely, the Holy Spirit. How would they know when the Spirit had come upon them? So this is that darker, silent Sunday, between the Ascension and the Day of Pentecost, a time of waiting and wondering. There they were, in the upper room. Luke takes inventory: there was Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas (who by now had learned not to go wondering off by himself lest he miss something more), Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James—(seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…) all with one accord, devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. So now what? We have a hard time waiting. So sometimes we take matters into our own hands and get busy doing something. I always thought St. Peter’s idea of having a voters meeting in order to fill the vacancy left by Judas Iscariot was a bit presumptive and even contradicted to some extent by Jesus’ later appointment of Saul of Tarsus to that position. If they would have waited, God would see to it that there were once again twelve apostles. But what do we see all around but the super-abundant blessing of God. God led them to choose Matthias as the bone fide twelfth apostle. And then God chose Saul in addition anyway! As Sunday, the first day of the week, has, by the power of Christ’s resurrection, become also the eighth day of the week, the eternal day, one more day than we had before, and as many are ushered into this new, “abundant” life through water drawn from an eight-sided baptismal font to “more life than we had before,” so now there are thirteen apostles! Twelve like the old tribes of Israel plus one more. So also when our Lord returns to settle us in the new heavens and earth of eternity, it will be like Eden of old, but even better. We will not only be subjects of the King but will also reign with Him. So to this day God is still blessing and adding to and multiplying His people. What a great day to have scheduled the Rite of Farewell and Godspeed to a Candidate for Ordination into the Apostolic Ministry of the Church, son of Incarnate Word congregation, David D. Herald! It is a great day, first, because of the coincidence of the readings appointed for this day all having something to do with the ordained ministry. Besides the call meeting of the first reading, the part from St. Peter’s first epistle is addressed specifically to “the elders (or pastors) among you.” The section that was left out of our reading is one heard at every ordination and installation of a pastor: So I exhort the elders among you, as a fe[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/29/not-alone/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/29/not-alone/#comments Sun, 29 May 2011 17:03:18 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=786 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/29/not-alone/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 14:15-21 Date: Easter VI + 5/29/11 I noticed, recently, an ad on the radio talking about a ductless heating and cooling system. But instead of talking about “heating” or “cooling” the rooms in your house the announcer spoke about “comfort[...] Text: John 14:15-21 Date: Easter VI + 5/29/11 I noticed, recently, an ad on the radio talking about a ductless heating and cooling system. But instead of talking about “heating” or “cooling” the rooms in your house the announcer spoke about “comforting” your rooms. “Comforting,” I guess, means heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. But “comforting” is a word that gives character or personalizes an otherwise purely mechanical function. Today, Jesus speaks about the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. “Father” gives a certain emotional identity to the First Person. “Son” and especially the name “Jesus” gives identity to the Second Person. But “Holy Spirit” seems a vague title, a mysterious concept. Therefore Jesus uses a unique word to describe the Spirit, a word that means “Helper” or “Comforter.” Today we again recall, now with “resurrection ears,” the words of Jesus in the Upper Room on the night in which He was betrayed. He spoke as if He were planning on going away somewhere and leaving His disciples alone, to themselves. At the time I suppose they maybe fearfully wondered what He meant. On this side of Easter we know that He was preparing them, first, for His exodus or departure by way of His crucifixion and death. And now, as we approach the fortieth day of Easter this Thursday, we prepare to celebrate His further departure when, at His Ascension into heaven His slow levitation into the clouds signaled His lasting invisible presence with all His disciples to this day. In preparation for this we remember that He promised, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of Jesus, that is, Who always recalls and points us to Jesus. He is the Spirit of the Father, Who, likewise, is always pointing to the Son, saying, “Listen to Him.” In Greek He is called the Paraclete, variously translated “Helper” or “the Comforter.” The Holy Spirit is very quiet and rather invisible, but His present comfort is known by every true disciple. Jesus reassures us today that in the Triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are Not Alone. We are not alone because we have the word of the Gospel of Christ. In John chapter eight Jesus already spoke about leaving. There He reassured His followers with the words, “If you continue (or abide) in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:31-32). Today we hear Him say, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” His commandments are all His words. And the first word is love. “A new commandment I give you,” He said, “that you love one another.” Then He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” And turning to us He then said, “You are my friends” (Jn 15:13-14). And He laid down His life for us and for the whole world. His commandments are the entire Gospel, the good news of God’s love in the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Son of God, Jesus Christ; the gospel of the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation with God. “Keeping” Jesus’ commands means to know them, to grasp them, to believe them, to rely upon them. This is what motivates our constant exercise in the reading and hearing and studying of the Bible and of our wonderful Lutheran Confessions that are all about His commands, the good news, the pure, sound doctrine of the Word of God. The person who has heard and learned of the great, redeeming, saving love of God and believes it can only love God in return. That love is expressed in the desire to make Jesus Christ and His word first and foremost, the most important thing in your life. We need that Word and that assurance that we are not alone precisely because we are daily tempted to think we have lost our grip on God or that God has somehow lost His grip on us and abandoned us. Whenever you begin to think that you are not living righ[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/22/abundanter-life/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/22/abundanter-life/#comments Sun, 22 May 2011 16:31:51 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=783 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/22/abundanter-life/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 14:1-14 Date: Easter V + 5/22/11 At first in this Easter season our attention was captivated for three Sundays in a row by the event of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. First Matthew told us of the discovery of the empty tomb by the[...] Text: John 14:1-14 Date: Easter V + 5/22/11 At first in this Easter season our attention was captivated for three Sundays in a row by the event of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. First Matthew told us of the discovery of the empty tomb by the women, then St. John reported on our Lord’s appearances to the disciples behind locked doors, and finally St. Luke joined the chorus of evangelists narrating the event of that evening on the road to Emmaus. Last Sunday, then, we began to proceed from the facts of the resurrection to its meaning or implication for our faith and life, namely, in the ever-present guidance of our risen Lord as the Good Shepherd. There He said, “I came that [you] may have life and have it abundantly.” We wondered how we could have more life than we already have. But as soon as we discover that the end-cap and stopper of life has been removed, namely death, and that we are now slated to live forever, what Jesus called abundant life becomes even “abundanter”! Yes, my spell checker doesn’t like it either, but neither do any of our earthbound definitions of life as we know it. This abundant life, this resurrection life is not only in terms of longevity but also of a new identity (knowing who you are) as well as in terms of a new location (knowing where you are and where you are going). As God’s first question of Adam in the Garden after sin, separation and death entered the world was, “Adam, where are you?” so now God’s first promise of deliverance after Christ’s resurrection is Jesus’ promise that, “where I am you may be also.” Well then. Where is Jesus? And are we with Him? It is probably better to begin by asking, where are you now? Are you troubled? Our Lord is risen from the dead, and now we remember the things He said before, but with resurrection awareness. “Let not your hearts be troubled,” He said, “Believe in God; believe also in me.” Faith believes and rests in the voice of our Good Shepherd, in His word. Jesus is wherever His Word is spoken. This faith is not of our own doing or effort. My goodness, the Gospels are the record of the slowness of Jesus’ followers to know, remember and believe. Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place for you,” and, “you know the way to where I am going.” “No we don’t,” said dear Thomas in a tone slightly too insistent for faith. “But it’s Me,” said Jesus. “I AM the way, the truth and the life.” Again, faith alone understands that where Jesus is and where He’s going and where we are to be cannot be calculated by a GPS, a global positioning system, but only by trust in His word. And that trust is the gift and work of faith. God gives faith through the word of Christ as St. Paul said it so clearly, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). So Jesus said, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works,” the chief work to bring about repentance of sin and salvation through simple faith in Jesus Christ. And in fact this is the “greater work” done by believers when they “let the word of Christ dwell in [them] richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in [their] hearts to God” (Col 3:16), because in this way that same Word enters the ears of people throughout the world and throughout the centuries causing the same conversion and faith to happen in millions of lives. God so loved the world! “That where I am you may be also” is salvation, is reconciliation with God, is eternal life. Sin brought separation—separation from God, from His world, from one another and even from our own self. Sin brought death, the separation of the soul from the body, something God never intended for us. Sin causes even our most intimate relationships to break apart until we are left alone. Alone! Sometimes we think we want to be left alone. “Leave me alone,” we say when we don’t want to be bothered, when we wa[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/15/abundant-life/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/15/abundant-life/#comments Sun, 15 May 2011 15:40:56 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=777 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/15/abundant-life/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 10:1-10 Date: Easter IV + 5/15/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The Fourth Sunday of Easter every year in the three-year lectionary is known as Good Shepherd Sunday as our Easter rejoicing begins to grow from [...] Text: John 10:1-10 Date: Easter IV + 5/15/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The Fourth Sunday of Easter every year in the three-year lectionary is known as Good Shepherd Sunday as our Easter rejoicing begins to grow from the facts and the accounts of the resurrection of our Lord to the implications of that fact for our new life as resurrection people. And the first thing that needs to be said is that Jesus, the risen Christ, is the eternally living Shepherd of His sheep. As we heard St. Peter today in his First Epistle he calls Jesus “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” You could translate that as “the Pastor and Bishop of your souls.” What an appropriate day, therefore, for this afternoon’s Rite of Installation of the first called pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word! For the ministry is but the pastoral shepherding of Jesus through His Word and Sacraments faithfully preached, taught, administered and delivered through the mouth and ears and hands of certain men set apart, ordained, sent and called to serve Christ’s sheep as His under-shepherds. In fact the Gospel for this afternoon’s Installation Service is the continuation of this morning’s reading, namely, verses 11-16 of John chapter ten. So it is appropriate for us to consider the first words of this chapter with special attention to the Office of the Ministry. In this text Jesus introduces His coming, His purpose and ministry with a warning against all false claims of religious authority and truth. Using the analogy of shepherding sheep the people of God are the sheepfold. A person becomes one of the sheep and is counted as one of God’s people who has faith in the promises of God. In both the Old and New Testaments a person is born into this family of faith. The sign of circumcision and sacrament of holy baptism are God’s seal and testimony of this birth of saving faith. As with sheep, people of faith need to be fed and nurtured and this by the Word of God. In that Word we receive not only our beginnings but also our instruction and strength to live faithfully as God’s people. There will always be spiritual thieves and robbers. These are false teachers seeking to present themselves as shepherds or pastors but in it only for personal gain. They have a different, even disturbing voice. I heard one on television just last Sunday! Preaching positive thinking and personal success he said that “Hebrews 1:9 says that you are to cover yourself with the ‘oil of gladness’ so that instead of criticizing and bringing people around you down with sadness, to lift them up with gladness and happiness.” That sounds like good advice. But I was suspicious. So I looked up the passage and found that it’s not talking about what you should or shouldn’t do at all! It isn’t talking about you. Verse nine is introduced by verse eight, which says, “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you [namely, the Son!] with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.’” It’s talking about Christ, the Son of God and not about you at all. This false shepherd was climbing in by another way. “He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” Jesus says, “I am the door.” “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.” “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The first issue is always salvation from sin and death. There is only one way to this salvation. It is by becoming one of God’s sheep. It is by repentance of sin and faith in the Savior, Jesus, the Son of God who came into our world in human flesh, sacrificed on the cross, whose blood makes atonement, the forgiveness of all our sins. But now the next issue is, as we said, the new, abundant life as resurrection people. Jesus describes this life when He says, “The sh[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/08/in-the-breaking-of-the-bread/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/08/in-the-breaking-of-the-bread/#comments Sun, 08 May 2011 16:35:44 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=774 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/05/08/in-the-breaking-of-the-bread/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 24:13-35 Date: Easter III + 5/8/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Even though this is now the third Sunday of Easter, the third week of the seven, the fifteenth day of the fifty, today we are still hearing what[...] Text: Luke 24:13-35 Date: Easter III + 5/8/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Even though this is now the third Sunday of Easter, the third week of the seven, the fifteenth day of the fifty, today we are still hearing what happened on that first Easter Day. Interesting, isn’t it, that we have not one but four accounts of Easter. We began with Matthew. Matthew told us of an earthquake and an angel and the women and Jesus appearing to them on their way back to the disciples with the news of resurrection. I suppose that should have or could have been enough for us. But then last Sunday we heard St. John’s account of “the evening of that day” when Jesus appeared to His disciples behind locked doors—“peace be with you;” the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, first without Thomas, then, eight days later, with Thomas, “Peace be with you,” “My Lord and my God!” Today we return and who greets us at the door but the good Dr. Luke with his well researched, “orderly account” (Lk 1:3). And he tells us of yet another happening we didn’t hear of from Matthew, Mark or John. We thank God for providing the world with not just one but four accounts, four witnesses (and actually five if you count St. Paul) of the most important thing that has ever happened in the history of the world, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Matthew was there. So was John. They were eyewitnesses. But Luke was not. He himself relied upon “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of” the word-delivered-to-us (Lk 1:2). So already we are asked today to rely on the witness of the witnesses once removed! And so through the centuries the historic fact and truth of the resurrection has been handed on by the Church on the basis of the first eyewitnesses. I would like to think that everyone has experienced in some, one way or another what I myself have experienced and that is the gift of faith that is simply convinced and overwhelmed by the evidence that what we are told in the Gospels and, indeed, in the entire Bible, is true. Maybe it is this fact, that St. Luke himself was already a second-generation believer, that he includes this incident of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. For this account, more than the others, seems to point us in the direction of the Sacramental presence of the risen Christ, alive and with us today even though we don’t see Him with our eyes. That was the point (or at least one important point) of His repeated appearing and disappearing to and from His disciples for forty days after His resurrection, to convince them that He is truly there with them, within arms reach, whether they could see Him or not. As we heard Him say to Thomas last Sunday, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). I remember preaching on this text once and pointing to the center of the chancel below and to the left of the raised pulpit and asking, “Could not Jesus, if He wanted to, simply appear right here before our eyes?” And almost all the people looked expectantly to where I was pointing! That look said, “yes.” But, of course, we with all the first disciples have learned that the risen and ascended Jesus, though He could (!), has not promised to appear to our eyes. What He has promised, however, are the following: To His preachers, pastors and apostolic ministers He says, “The one who hears you hears me” (Lk 10:16); and, “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld” (Jn 20:23). To His believers He says, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice” (Jn 10:16). But in a very special way He says to us of the sacrament, “Take, eat; this is my body; Take, drink; this is my blood.” So it was for two of the disciples that first Easter Day. One was named Cleopas, each of the larger group of believers surrounding the then eleven apostles. Like us they had heard the witness[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/24/the-end-of-the-beginning/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/24/the-end-of-the-beginning/#comments Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:36:06 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=771 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/24/the-end-of-the-beginning/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Matthew 28:1-10 Date: Easter Day + 4/24/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI As preparation for the season of Lent, on the festival of the Transfiguration of our Lord, the sermon title catapulted us, ready or not, into[...] Text: Matthew 28:1-10 Date: Easter Day + 4/24/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI As preparation for the season of Lent, on the festival of the Transfiguration of our Lord, the sermon title catapulted us, ready or not, into Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season with the title, “The Beginning of the End.” For it was then that we were told of our Lord’s setting His face toward Jerusalem, that he began to teach His disciples what was coming, namely, his suffering, death and resurrection. It seems the closer we got to Holy Week the more the disciples remembered the suffering and death part. But did they remember, yes, did they hear or understand much less believe Jesus’ talk about resurrection, rising on the third day? Well, so for us. We can identify with suffering and even death since we have experienced the same to some degree or another. But resurrection? What are we talking about? What does it mean for the apostle Paul to say to us today that we are “raised with Christ” (Col 3:1)? Well, on behalf of the Holy Church throughout the world and in the name of God, welcome to The End of the Beginning, welcome to the “confirmation” of your faith, welcome to Easter! Our Lord’s successful earthly ministry is the beginning of saving faith in each and every heart that hears the Gospel. But it’s only the beginning. This year we have followed the model of the early catechumenate represented by the traditional Gospel readings for Lent: the night-time conversation when Jesus invited Nicodemus of the Pharisees, saying, “You must be born again;” then the accounts of the Samaritan woman at the well and Jesus’ invitation to living water; then the man born blind who was given sight by Jesus; and finally the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Through all of that we were spoken to as if we were the ones preparing for baptism, seeking to become Christians, disciples of Jesus. And, indeed, there is a sense in which, no matter how long you have been a Christian, we are still, spiritually, always in a state of becoming Christian. The catechism calls it the daily repentance and faith of the Christian life. We have had our beginning in baptism. Now our beginning needs to be completed as we become also a people of the resurrection, people who “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1). The end of the beginning for our Lenten visitors would be their coming to faith in Jesus. We have evidence that Nicodemus became a disciple as he is seen assisting Joseph of Arimathea in Jesus’ burial. We don’t know the end of the Samaritan woman at the well or of the man born blind who received his sight except for his final words to Jesus, “Lord, I believe” (John 9:38). And then there was Lazarus who was raised from the dead. Did he, after all, have to die again? Or did God just take him to heaven after a time? But the question must come down to you. After your acquaintance with these Biblical characters and the words of Jesus calling you, have you now come to faith in Him? Well, if you do not deny Him but gladly confess Jesus as Lord, if you confess the Christian Creed as you have learned it, there is evidence of God’s gift of faith in your heart. That gift of faith was planted in the hearts of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, presumably the Mary of Matthew 27, “the mother of James and Joseph” (Mt 27:56). Remember Matthew said they accompanied Jesus all the way through the cross and even to sitting opposite the tomb when He was buried. After the Sabbath, whether they returned to Jesus’ tomb in sadness only to finish the details of His otherwise hasty burial on Friday night doesn’t matter. For an angel appeared and told them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.” Then the surprising announcement. The angel continued, saying, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” We presume they saw the emptiness of the tomb where they[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/16/and-for-the-unity-of-all-let-us-pray-to-the-lord/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/16/and-for-the-unity-of-all-let-us-pray-to-the-lord/#comments Sun, 16 May 2010 16:55:25 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=552 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/16/and-for-the-unity-of-all-let-us-pray-to-the-lord/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 17:20-26 Date: Easter VII + 5/16/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI At the end of His speaking in the Upper Room on that Thursday night of Holy Week, the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ pra[...] Text: John 17:20-26 Date: Easter VII + 5/16/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI At the end of His speaking in the Upper Room on that Thursday night of Holy Week, the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ prayed. St. John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, accurately recorded that prayer, for Jesus certainly meant it to be overheard by His disciples. He prayed for His own successful finish of His redeeming work, namely His vicarious, atoning suffering and death on the cross for the sin of all mankind. Then He prayed for His disciples that were with Him that they would be kept in faith and unity. Finally, we heard today the last part of the prayer where He prays also for us, for “those who will believe in me through their word,” that is, the Apostles’ witness and teaching. The overall theme of His prayer is the unity of His disciples as defined by nothing less than the very unity and oneness of God. Far from being just a nice extra to be added after the really important stuff of the faith, this unity itself is the evidence that the Gospel is secured in the hearts of the faithful. The first thing we must notice is that unity, oneness, “fellowship” we sometimes call it, is something that needs to be prayed for precisely because it does not happen naturally as long as we live in and contend with sin. So we begin every Divine Service with the “deacon’s Kyrie” summoning us to pray for the peace from above and for our salvation, to pray for the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and then to pray “for the unity of all.” Lord, have mercy. Why pray for unity? Unity does not seem to be a quality or issue very high on anyone’s agenda or list of priorities these days in this world, or, sadly, even in the church. “Do your own thing,” says the world as people seek to break from the crowd and discover their own, unique identity. Patriotism is a measure of unity behind either ethnic identity (Norwegian or German for example) or a set of principles like a political philosophy or a Constitution symbolized by a national flag. But when groups of people in the same country unite behind different identities for different reasons—for instance the demonstrations in California and Arizona between those carrying the U.S. red, white and blue and those carrying a Mexican flag; or think of the Southern Cross Confederate flag and the American Civil War—disunity or separation results complete with the antagonism, conflict and even hatred that such divisions inspire. The same is true for the Christian Church. That there are so-called “denominations” of the church at all, like denominations of money, the question can be asked, who and which one is right? with the result that many make the conclusion either that they’re all right (however that can be) or, more likely, they’re all wrong, and the claims of the Gospel go unheard. This is a central issue of our Lord’s Prayer that His disciples’ unity might be the evidence of the truth of the confession of the Gospel to the world. The less unity of confession the less seriously the world will take the church’s confession of the Gospel. Unity is hard to accomplish. Some don’t even think it is possible. That is because we live in a world divided by sin. Sin is separation. Sin divides. Sin sets at enmity. Sin causes conflict. Sin kills. Unity, then it follows, can result only from the taking away or forgiveness of sin. Forgiveness reconciles, unites in love, issues in peace and values life. In order to open ourselves for even the possibility of unity we need to be, more and more, experts at and primarily concerned with forgiveness. True unity is a spiritual quality. The kind of unity Jesus prays for, He says, is “just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.” In other words, the unity of Christians is to reflect the inner unity and oneness, the identity of God Himself. This unity is, of course, a mystery. It sounds odd to the world wh[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/09/plain-speaking/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/09/plain-speaking/#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 16:59:22 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=549 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/09/plain-speaking/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 16:23-33 Date: Easter VI + 5/9/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Thanks to Jesus’ own promise the Holy Spirit accurately brought to St. John’s remembrance as he penned his Gospel all that Jesus had said on that[...] Text: John 16:23-33 Date: Easter VI + 5/9/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Thanks to Jesus’ own promise the Holy Spirit accurately brought to St. John’s remembrance as he penned his Gospel all that Jesus had said on that night in which He was betrayed. Today we hear the concluding words from the upper room as Jesus summarizes His mission and reassures His disciples of God’s continuing love. “No longer will I speak to you in figures of speech but will speak plainly” He says even as they still have a lot to learn and to understand. As with us and every person, the clear, plain speaking of the Gospel is the avenue or the means through which the Holy Spirit brings about conversion, repentance and faith in a person making him or her a disciple of Jesus, a son or daughter of God, a member of the household of God. It is still Thursday of the great and holy week, the night in which Jesus would be betrayed, arrested, dragged before His accusers and abusers, church and government officials, condemned to death, beaten and crucified. In less than 24 hours His dead body would be hastily buried in a borrowed tomb. And now He is concluding His final words to His disciples in that upper room of the last supper. He speaks of the results of His earthly ministry and of its completion. When Jesus says “In that day” to begin today’s reading we need to remember the context, that He had just been telling His disciples about the day when their sorrow will turn to joy, the day when He will see them again, namely on the third day, the day of His resurrection from the dead. But not only that day alone! For this means also to speak of all the coming days of their seeing Him, the next forty days of His occasional physical appearances, the fortieth day at His ascension, which we celebrate this coming Thursday, but all these days with special attention to the Day of Pentecost when He sends the promised Holy Spirit. Then and to this day He invisibly shows Himself to the eyes of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit through the preached Word and the Sacraments administered in His Church. This is His promised place of dwelling, where faith not only sees Him but also receives His constant supply of the forgiveness of all our sins. “In THAT day,” He says, “you will ask nothing of me,” and, “whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” Now certainly there is much for which we ask and are even urged to ask of our Lord in prayer, petitions of all kinds with regard to our daily needs, troubles, emergencies of body or soul. When He says we will ask “nothing” this is in regard to the truth and the Spirit of truth, which we have already been given in the apostolic preaching and New Testament scriptures as we said last week. For everything else, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Again Jesus repeats the phrase, “in that day,” meaning the days after Pentecost, “you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf.” This needs to be understood the right way, for, of course, Jesus still intercedes for us before the Father as John wrote in his first Epistle, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). Whether you are an apostle or an apostate, a saint or a sinner, holier-than-thou or not, the life of faith is a struggle, a constant struggle, even a life-and-death struggle to remain faithful, to remain full of faith and hope regardless of the bruises, the injuries, the dirt that our sins bring upon us. There is cleansing daily in Jesus. Our sins are already paid for. Not that this frees us or allows us to sin freely, of course, but that this reassures us, even emboldens us to continue to believe and to fight the good fight o[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/02/true-joy/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/02/true-joy/#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 16:51:21 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=546 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/02/true-joy/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 16:12-22 Date: Easter V + 5/2/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The scripture readings for this Fifth Sunday of Easter have us looking both forward and back. The reading from Revelation is obviously a glimpse o[...] Text: John 16:12-22 Date: Easter V + 5/2/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The scripture readings for this Fifth Sunday of Easter have us looking both forward and back. The reading from Revelation is obviously a glimpse of what is yet to be, the new heaven and the new earth of eternal life. Indeed, today’s Gospel has Jesus speaking in future terms. But it is important to remember that these words were spoken at the Last Supper of Thursday of Holy Week, before His death and resurrection. He said that there were things that His disciples “could not bear,” that is, understand right then and He promised them the Spirit of truth and that their sorrow would turn to joy in “a little while.” While we can apply these words to our need for understanding and spiritual growth and our experiences of sorrow as we await our Lord’s second, final, triumphant coming on the day of judgment, our first consideration must be to understand what He meant originally on that night. Today with resurrection eyes, knowing that the crucifixion led to the empty tomb of His rising again, we can go back to recall and to understand now what we couldn’t understand before. In doing so we hope to discover and understand the True Joy of being His disciples. When Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now,” what were those many things? I think of last Sunday’s reading from Acts where St. Paul tells us of something Jesus Himself said that is not written anywhere else in the New Testament, namely, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). The only way we know Jesus said that is because here St. Paul tells us so. Or we can think of St. John’s statement at the end of his Gospel telling us that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book” (Jn. 20:30). Obviously there are many things that Jesus did and said during His earthly ministry that were never recorded. Then, we might think of His words in the Book of Revelation of around the year 90 a.d., as in His dictating to John the letters to the seven churches. You would be most correct if you think of the many things He still had to say as predicting the preaching of the Holy Apostles and especially the writing, collection, preservation and transmission of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For His very next sentence is that important word upon which rests the doctrine of the inspiration of scripture, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth,” etc. The little footnote in the Lutheran Study Bible catches precisely the right way to understand this when it says this “is not a promise of new revelations, but rather that the disciples would understand how Christ’s death and resurrection applied to the Church after Pentecost. The Spirit will lead believers into a clearer understanding of God’s truth as they make their way into the future” (LStB p. 1814). This is why it is important, first of all, to hear these words with “Maundy Thursday ears.” The shocking arrest of Jesus, the phony trials, the mocking, the bloody beating, the betrayal and the crucifixion and death of Jesus will be overwhelming to the disciples. Remember they all fled the scene in fear. Even on Easter Sunday they wouldn’t believe and they locked themselves behind doors of fear. So even the good news of His resurrection, even when He Himself appeared to them showing His hands and His side, St. Luke uses the strange phrase, saying, “they still disbelieved for joy” (Lk. 24:41). Nevertheless, with the coming of the Day of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were empowered to preach the Good News of Jesus to all the world. Some of them (Matthew, John, Paul, Peter, James and Jude) as well as a few others (Mark and Luke) would write Gospels, epistles or letters that were eventually collected into what we call the New Testament. More than merely the wr[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/25/the-lamb-is-the-shepherd/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/25/the-lamb-is-the-shepherd/#comments Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:05:49 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=537 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/25/the-lamb-is-the-shepherd/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 10:22-30 Date: Easter IV + St. Mark, Evangelist + 4/25/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Someone once pictured the great multitude of St. John’s vision standing before the throne of God in heaven from a unique [...] Text: John 10:22-30 Date: Easter IV + St. Mark, Evangelist + 4/25/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Someone once pictured the great multitude of St. John’s vision standing before the throne of God in heaven from a unique point of view. It was the view from behind the great multitude and all you can see is the back of their heads as their attention is on the throne of Christ. Can you tell who is sitting in front of you from seeing just the back of their head? A friend remembered that his parents would always sit in the back of church “so that,” they said, “they could see who was there.” Well, again, that’s fine, if you can recognize someone from the back of their head! We heard from St. John’s vision of the Church Triumphant in heaven. There is a great multitude of the redeemed, a multitude, we are told, no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. The Lamb, of course, is Jesus Christ, as when John the Baptist pointed to Him saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” Everyone is wearing white robes—the wedding garment of the righteousness of Jesus Christ handed to us at the door, the garment we received in our Holy Baptism. The celestial song of praise is heard, and says, “the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.” What a wonderful mystery! The Lamb of God is also the Shepherd! Jesus Christ is both the sacrifice who paid the price of sin and death for the world, and, now risen from the dead, is also the Shepherd of His people. The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lamb is the Shepherd. On this “Good Shepherd” Sunday, in the first two years of the three year lectionary, we hear the Gospel from John chapter 10 where Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” But in this third year we hear the reaction of Jesus’ enemies. John tells us they were divided. Some were saying he was demon-possessed. But others disagreed, saying, “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” They remembered Jesus’ healing a man born blind, reported to us in John chapter 9. But so are people divided today over the question, “Who is Jesus?” Likewise there seems to be a question over what it means to be His Church. John’s vision of the Church Triumphant in heaven remains an article of faith and hope on this side of eternity. Each Sunday we do not say, “I see one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church,” but confess as an article of faith, “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” We believe in the one Church because we cannot see it. The visible church is divided and will always be, as we say in our Lutheran Confessions, a mixture of true saint and hypocrites. For faith is a matter of the heart, not of the eye. It was some time after the argument among the Jews as to whether Jesus was a mad man or the promised Messiah. It was winter; the “Feast of Dedication,” Hanukah we call it today, the festival commemorating the liberation and rededication of the temple which was destroyed in 164 b.c. by the Assyrians. Jesus was there for the festival with his disciples when the Jews “gathered around him,” literally surrounded and crowded around him asking him a question. “How long will you keep us in suspense or leave us hanging?” they asked. “If you are the Messiah, say it to us openly.” Now Jesus could have just said, “Yes,” as he would eventually say to the High Priest Caiaphas at His trial. And He does admit it here, but in a hidden way…hidden for faith to grasp. “I did tell you,” He replied. Yet, if you look at the record in the Gospels we never do find Him telling His enemies straight out who He is. So what does He mean here? He continued, saying, “The miraculous signs which I am doing in my Father’s name, these things bear witness about me.” He told them by what He was saying and doing. This is an important point in John’s Go[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/11/peace-be-with-you-2/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/11/peace-be-with-you-2/#comments Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:23:06 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=534 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/11/peace-be-with-you-2/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 20:19-31 Date: Easter II + 4/11/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI When our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples on that first Easter evening, He could have, maybe even should have, reprimanded them for t[...] Text: John 20:19-31 Date: Easter II + 4/11/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI When our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples on that first Easter evening, He could have, maybe even should have, reprimanded them for their unbelief, their disloyalty, their fear and failure; and even more so when He appeared the next Sunday to doubting, unbelieving Thomas. But what were His words of resurrection greeting? “Peace be with you.” A common enough greeting of the day, some would be tempted to translate it, “Howdy” or “Good Day” or (as too many say today) “Ha’ya’doin’?” But the risen Lord’s greeting was not meant to be a “common enough” greeting. Those who attempt to clothe peoples’ encounter with Christ in worship today as being as common and comfortable as your own living room are further away, not the closer to the dynamic, inspiring, faith-instilling Gospel greeting of Jesus that first Easter Day. For “Peace be with you” is the first word and the last word. The peace He wishes He actually brings and bestows just by saying it, though this peace is not just a wish or a word but a completed accomplishment and gift of the God who not only created all things but has more gloriously restored all things and won us back from the tyranny of sin, death and the devil. Our Lord’s innocent, humble, vicarious suffering and death, and His mighty, glorious, incomparable, astounding awakening from the cold, dead tomb, has changed everything; it has changed the entire history of the world and its destiny. And it will change even your history and destiny when the mighty word of the Gospel is grasped by your heart: “Peace Be With You.” Peace be with you. It was the first and the final word our Lord spoke after finishing His earthly tour of duty. For this He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, taking on our flesh in that crèche at Bethlehem where angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and … PEACE to His people on earth.” Peace be with you. The peace of Christ is, first of all, salvation, reconciliation with God. “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.” That it was really Him He proved by showing the marks of His crucifixion. But more than that it was that bloody sacrifice of His own life on the cross that made for our peace with God. For it was our sin and our death that He endured and offered up His holy, sinless life as the one and only sacrifice equal to our need. Now by faith in Him we have peace with God. Peace be with you. He said it again. But this time He sends His followers to bring His peace, His salvation to others. “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” That is, as the Father sent Jesus to bring the peace of the release from sin to the world, so does He send us, His Church, to bring the peace of forgiveness to others. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them (by God); if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld (by God).” These are some of the words of institution of the Holy Ministry. It is for Christians only, that is, for those who have first received forgiveness that they are now sent to bring that same forgiveness to others. When “He breathed on them” this recalls our creation when “the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen. 2:7). The difference is that Christ gives the Holy Spirit and the new, eternal, resurrection life that cannot die. Peace be with you. Yet once again Jesus spoke those words, eight days later, this time to Thomas who was not there when Jesus appeared the first time. It is too kind to say Thomas doubted. He said he absolutely refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. He refused the witness and report of the others. Did the others, after all, really see the real Jesus, or did they see only an apparition? Resurrection means a real body that you can touch and inspect. Yet it wa[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/04/easter-facts-and-easter-faith/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/04/easter-facts-and-easter-faith/#comments Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:03:20 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=531 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/04/04/easter-facts-and-easter-faith/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 24:1-12 Date: Resurrection / Easter Day + 4/4/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI There was a time when people actually believed that the world was flat and that the sun and the stars all revolved around the eart[...] Text: Luke 24:1-12 Date: Resurrection / Easter Day + 4/4/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI There was a time when people actually believed that the world was flat and that the sun and the stars all revolved around the earth. It only made sense according to our perception, our limited perspective. Of course, science has proven beyond a doubt that the world is an orb and that the changing alignment of sun and stars in the sky is a much more complicated issue as the earth revolves around the sun. On the one hand are the facts and on the other is our ability to perceive, to know and to agree with or believe the facts. The Christian faith, and the Easter event in particular is like that. “Faith” has these two aspects. One is the facts, the objective substance or content of what it is that is believed. Theologians call this the fides quae creditur. The other aspect is what faith is in itself, or the fides qua creditur. In other words, when you talk about faith you can either be talking about what it is that is believed or just the act of believing. A lot of people seem to be satisfied to say “I believe” without being able to say what the content or substance of their belief is; “blind faith” some call it; a “shot in the dark;” “fate” or some such other idea of the substance of gelatin. It is especially on Easter Sunday that this difference between what we are called to believe (the fides quae of the resurrection) and what it means to believe it (the fides qua) becomes crucial. The fact is the tomb of the crucified Jesus is found to be empty. But the fact of the empty tomb by itself does not necessarily lead a person to Christian faith! All the Gospel accounts describe the slowness of the disciples to believe the truth of the resurrection. But it is especially in St. Luke’s account that this issue is most clearly described. It was the women who discovered the fact of the resurrection first. Luke lists them, “Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them,” very probably a good number of women who were returning to the tomb before sunrise, taking the spices they had prepared to complete the hasty Good Friday burial. They fully expected to find Jesus’ dead body the way they had seen it wrapped in linen and laid in a new tomb. Luke quickly describes two things they found. First, they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Who, what or how the stone had been rolled away doesn’t seem to enter their minds as they enter the tomb where they found…emptiness, vacancy, “they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” They were perplexed, wondering how to make sense of these facts. Making sense of the facts for faith. Recall, if your will, the story of Mary and Martha at the death of their brother Lazarus. When Jesus spoke to Martha, saying, “Your brother will rise again,” Martha responded, saying, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (Jn. 11:23-24). It’s the same with these women at the empty tomb. That is, like Martha, they had confidence…faith…in the idea of the resurrection as something reserved for “the last day.” What they were not expecting or ready for, however, was resurrection now! And so they were perplexed about the situation. The facts of the resurrection do not necessarily lead a person to the resurrection faith. After all, how many people do actually know of the claims of the Church and yet still try to explain it away or, more likely and more easily, just ignore those claims altogether? The facts need something more, namely, to be interpreted or explained and that by the Word of God. That’s why angels appear immediately. Notice the other-worldly description Luke uses: “two men…in dazzling apparel.” The angels interpret what the women observed with their own eyes (the fact that the tomb is empty) with the meaning, “He has risen!” Then the catechism: “Remember,” they said. “Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no