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/2011/04/17/and-setting-a-guard/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/17/and-setting-a-guard/#comments Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:21:11 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=763 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/17/and-setting-a-guard/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: St. Matthew Passion Date: Passion/Palm Sunday + 4/17/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The enemies of Jesus remembered talk about Jesus’ prediction of being raised from the dead after three days. So they sought to g[...] Text: St. Matthew Passion Date: Passion/Palm Sunday + 4/17/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The enemies of Jesus remembered talk about Jesus’ prediction of being raised from the dead after three days. So they sought to get final control of the situation by setting a guard before the tomb to make sure His disciples didn’t come to steal away His body and then claim a resurrection. But who is in control, anyway? Right now we along with the first disciples should feel like we’ve lost control, completely. It was great and inspiring and a happy occasion when we entered Jerusalem with Jesus and the crowds cheering Him on, “Hosanna,” “Save us, now,” “Blessed, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Of course the cheers died down as they always do. One day followed into another. We spent a pleasant Passover with Him though He did and said some rather strange things…washing our feet…calling the bread His body and the wine His blood. And then the mysterious prediction of one of us betraying Him. We didn’t even finish the meal in the usual way before we went out in the night to a garden to pray. It was then that we lost control. Judas and an angry crowd arrested Jesus and took Him away, and we all ran away. Have you run away from Jesus? from the cross? It seems Peter tried to keep some control by following them as they took Jesus to the high priest. But even he soon lost control as people around recognized him and accused him of being a disciple of Jesus. Have you ever been “accused” of being a disciple of Jesus? What did you do? Peter again tried to get control of the situation by denying their accusations. Fortunately, a bird, a stupid rooster preached the accusing Law of God to Peter, and Peter gave up trying to control things, and repented, and wept bitterly. Who is in control? Talk about losing control! Judas tried to take matters into his own hands ending his own life. Then Pilate the governor, then Barabbas, then the crowds shouting and threatening a riot, then the soldiers, Simon of Cyrene, the cross, the nails, the mocking, the darkness, the spear. Then the silence of the tomb, “and they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.” Setting a guard they were in control. Or were they? Who’s in control? Not you! And that’s what the entire celebration of Holy Week is all about. It’s what the Gospel and the Catechism is all about. Who is in control? Jesus said, “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). And now “the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mk 14:41). Nevertheless, He was still in control. “This woman has done it to prepare me for burial.” “I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.” “One of you will betray me.” And He was in control even from of old, as He said, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” “All this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” “Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver…and they gave them for the potter’s field.” And you think that is amazing? Then what of the Good Friday words-come-true of Psalm 22 heard echoing around the altar stripped of His glory? “My God, my God.” “All who see me mock me…they wag their heads; He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws.” “They have pierced my hands and feet…and for my clothing they cast lots.” Who is in control? To repent and believe is to lose control, or rather, to give control over to the One who washes you with living water and the Spirit and with the blood of the Lamb; the One who clothes you in a white robe and places you at the right hand of His gracious judgment; the On[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/10/the-disciples-dying-and-rising/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/10/the-disciples-dying-and-rising/#comments Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:48:06 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=758 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/10/the-disciples-dying-and-rising/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 11 Date: Lent V + 4/17/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI We have been following the pathway of Lent, the spiritual walk that leads to the full Easter faith, joy and hope of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, a C[...] Text: John 11 Date: Lent V + 4/17/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI We have been following the pathway of Lent, the spiritual walk that leads to the full Easter faith, joy and hope of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, a Christian. That path always begins by the Word of God entering your hearing, getting the attention of your heart, and working that first work of awareness of your need, awareness of sin and the desire for forgiveness and life. It is the divine work of repentance—not only the awareness but also sorrow over sin, and then the gift of faith that looks to God for the mercy and grace of forgiveness. We have seen that work of the Holy Spirit in the examples of Nicodemus the Pharisee (John 3), a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4) and a man blind from birth (John 9). In each of them we have seen ourselves: that is, our innate inability to understand spiritual things, the need for a new birth, for living water, for new eyes to see the grace and glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, today, we have the final Lenten witness in the person of Lazarus of Bethany. His problem, however, is not lack of understanding or thirst or sight. His problem is that he is dead. As with the others we are also like dead Lazarus. St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians says of all, “and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.” Then he adds the good news, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:1-2, 4-5). As physical death means the cessation of all bodily functions—all feeling, breathing, thinking—the separation of the soul from the body, so spiritual death is having no impulse for or responsiveness to God, separation from God. Because of sin—not just sinful acts, but the condition of corruption of the heart—even though we are born physically alive into this world, we are, at the same time, spiritually stillborn, spiritually dead. Death is not a friend. It is not right. It is not good. It is not according to God’s original intention for you. Death is called in scripture the “last enemy” (1 Cor 15:26). It is “the wages of sin” (Rom 6:23). The principle is “you sin, you die.” Likewise, therefore, it is also true, “you don’t sin, you don’t die.” The Bible says, “All have sinned” (Rom 3:23), therefore all die (Rom 5:12). However, there is one, Jesus, who did not sin (Heb 4:14). Therefore He did not have to die. But He did die, and quickly. For it was your sin and mine, our sin, and the sin of the whole world that killed Him. For He took it on Himself as the only pure and perfect sacrifice that alone took away the sin of the world and its curse. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, therefore, sin no longer has the power of death. It was the power of death that Jesus confronted in a town called Bethany that day. For death not only took His friend Lazarus to the grave, but it caused no end of grief to his sisters Martha and Mary and, indeed, to all their friends. It was because of all their weeping, because of what death was doing to everyone there that Jesus, too, was “deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled,” and wept. How is it said in the letter to the Hebrews, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:15). The raising of Lazarus from death testifies that Jesus is the God “through whom all things were made” (Creed). He is the Lord of Life. So is His promise to all who belong to Him, “whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live;” “this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn 6:40). This is the faith that believes in the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come. Maybe more difficult than faith in a Last Day of the res[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/03/the-disciples-light/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/03/the-disciples-light/#comments Sun, 03 Apr 2011 17:24:16 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=755 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/04/03/the-disciples-light/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 9 Date: Lent IV + 4/3/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI So far each of our Lenten visitors are different, but they are also the same. Nicodemus is an important man of the Pharisees, but he visits Jesus in the d[...] Text: John 9 Date: Lent IV + 4/3/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI So far each of our Lenten visitors are different, but they are also the same. Nicodemus is an important man of the Pharisees, but he visits Jesus in the dark of night and does not understand Jesus’ talk about being born again. The Samaritan woman is an outcast even among her own people not to mention the division between Jews and Samaritans, yet she, too, doesn’t understand that Jesus isn’t talking to her about ordinary water. And today a man literally dwells in constant and deep darkness, without physical sight from birth. Though he is given the miracle of physical sight he never sees or knows Jesus until the very end of the drama. Only then, at the Word of Jesus, he is the first of these to give evidence of coming to faith. In all of these we are to learn that regardless of status in this world, we all dwell in spiritual darkness, incapable of understanding until we encounter the light and the enlightenment of God’s Word and Spirit. That encounter happens in mysterious ways, seemingly by happenstance from our perspective, but always at the direction of God. “You must be born again by water and the Spirit.” “I will give you living water.” “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” Water is the means by which God shows that His salvation is for the body as well as the spirit. As water was a prime element at the creation, so was the first of God’s commands, “Let there be light.” Today Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” So the new birth we look for through baptismal water will also be the enlightenment of our minds, hearts and understanding, and Easter will truly be the sunrise of our life. The conversation begins with God. The conversion begins with God. Did the man born blind overhear Jesus and His disciples talking about him? Is blindness or any malady for that matter some sort of divine punishment for some sin? It is the old question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” But did the man himself think that his blindness was all that bad? I don’t imagine that blind folks go around every minute of every day cursing the darkness or thinking about seeing with the eyes. I wonder if they can even imagine, really, what seeing is like. In this way the repeated emphasis these past three weeks of the spiritual incapacity of our fallen, sinful nature is heightened to tell us we really don’t know what we’re missing, yet. St. Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah, saying, “But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory…. As it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’” (1 Cor 2:7, 9). The confession of the last part of the Creed, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” will, for all our days now, always be shadowed by the mystery, as St. John said it, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2)…whatever and however that may be. So far in our Lenten journey we have been impressed with the need of repentance of sin, confession and forgiveness of sin and our need of spiritual rebirth. Then last week we took notice of the Samaritan woman at the well and her limited confession of Jesus as “a man who told me all that I ever did” (Jn 4:39). So we added to our Lenten preparation not only the receiving of the gift of saving faith but also its confession before the world. We then suggested that that confession will, variously, be received by some, ignored by others and even rejected by still others. The story of the man blind from birth describes the opposition of the world to your confession of faith. It is as St. John began his Gospel, saying, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (Jn 3:19). To be [...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/27/the-disciples-living-water/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/27/the-disciples-living-water/#comments Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:50:04 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=741 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/27/the-disciples-living-water/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 4 Date: Lent III + 3/27/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Once again we have seen the power, the destructive power of water in the Tsunami that followed the great earthquake in Japan. Acres of land were erased [...] Text: John 4 Date: Lent III + 3/27/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Once again we have seen the power, the destructive power of water in the Tsunami that followed the great earthquake in Japan. Acres of land were erased of the rickety structures of life, wiped out like so much straw, and thousands of lives were drowned out, just gone. Then the giant wave traveled thousands of miles causing destruction even on the other side, “our side” of the ocean. Just the consideration of that demonstration of power should make us look again in awe at the account of the very beginning of creation when the “stuff,” the formless void, the “nothing” out of which everything was created was called in Genesis “the deep” or “the waters.” In this sense all life comes from water and without water is death. So this isn’t just a metaphor to continue to talk about water this Sunday at Jacob’s well. We have followed Jesus after His baptism into the desert wilderness of temptation. We have heard the call to repent of our sin and joined the fight against the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. Then, when approached at night by a leader of the Pharisees, Jesus spoke about the necessity of being born again by water and the Spirit. As the nighttime conversation with Nicodemus reminded us of the spiritual darkness of our fallen nature, so now the conversation about living water with a woman of Samaria reminds us of our continual need of daily repentance and faith to quench our spiritual thirst. In Jesus’ conversation with this woman we are drawn to confess our own need. Once again, as with Nicodemus, and as with each of us, Jesus is the One who starts the conversation. He directs his initial request for a drink of water to an invitation to the woman to receive from Him “living water.” Again, as with Nicodemus, the woman can only think in terms of this world, of regular, plain, physical water. And so again we need to reiterate the unresponsiveness or spiritual ignorance of our fallen nature until it is enlightened by God. As St. Paul describes this spiritual diagnosis, “the natural person (without God’s Spirit) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). “Living water?” the woman wonders. It sounds silly. “Where do you get that ‘living water’?” Jesus answers. “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Clearly Jesus is talking about a different kind of water, a water greater than at creation, a water of a new creation to eternal life! The water is “living” because of the activity of God the Holy Spirit creating faith and working His gifts in you. But as soon as we say, “Yes. Sir. Give me this water,” the hammer of the Law comes down again. “Go, call your husband, and come here.” Though we try we can’t weasel our way out of it, out of honestly confessing what is dead in us, our sin and confusion and need. The woman is an adulteress having “gone through” five husbands and still trying out number six! Now I know these days that doesn’t sound like such a shocking thing any more with people “trying out” partners as if they’re looking for the most comfortable pair of shoes; and when one pair is too tight or too loose or irritating in any way, you just throw them away or trade them in for a different pair. These days even the concept or definition of what marriage is suffers sinful debate, redefinition or even disqualification as a valid institution. But here again comes the call to repentance of sin. You see, even for the baptized you’re not there yet. Yes you will sin again after baptism. But this does not undo or negate your baptism. And you don’t have to redo or be baptized again. Baptism is God’s Word[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/20/the-disciple-born-again/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/20/the-disciple-born-again/#comments Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:04:33 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=738 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/20/the-disciple-born-again/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 3:1-17 Date: Lent II + 3/20/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Welcome to St. John’s Gospel and to the Lenten road to discipleship. That, above all, is the goal of both as the Apostle and Evangelist stated his p[...] Text: John 3:1-17 Date: Lent II + 3/20/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Welcome to St. John’s Gospel and to the Lenten road to discipleship. That, above all, is the goal of both as the Apostle and Evangelist stated his purpose in penning his account of the God-Man, Jesus of Nazareth, when he says, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:30-31). These words have the ability and power to create saving faith in your heart. “So that you may believe” is the purpose and the goal of John’s Gospel and of the season of Lent. For believing, the creation of saving faith in the heart, is what makes you a disciple, a learner, a follower of the Way, a member of the body of Christ, the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world. Furthermore, that faith is not something you can conjure up or define on your own. It is the gift of God given through the Holy Spirit’s work through the means of grace, these Words preached and the Sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution. Each Sunday during this Lent we hear those texts that have been used by the Church from ancient times to bring those desiring to become Christians through the training of the catechumenate to the reception of the sacrament of Holy Baptism at the Easter Vigil and the fellowship in the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood. It began last Sunday with our Lord’s temptation in the desert wilderness and His victory over or binding of the devil. The first step in coming to faith in Christ is recognizing temptation and sin, admitting sin, confessing sin, repentance of sin. This Sunday our Roman Catholic friends strangely hear the account of the Transfiguration, while we have the next step to conversion in John’s Gospel, the meeting of Jesus with Nicodemus the Pharisee (though we both share the same Old Testament reading from Genesis 12). After this we all will hear the extended accounts of the Samaritan woman at the well and the living water (John 4), the giving of sight to a man born blind (John 9), and the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11). All of these images of desert, water, light, death and resurrection then combine in the Great and Holy Week where baptismal water and the light of Christ bring us to the death of repentance and the resurrection of faith, so that “by believing we may have life in His name.” The story of Nicodemus addresses the spiritual darkness out of which the Gospel of Christ calls all men. Nicodemus, an otherwise pretty important man in the community being a member of the Pharisees, comes to Jesus by the dark of night. We know innately even without the truth of scripture as it says right after today’s Gospel that sinful man “loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (Jn 3:19). So this little detail has more significance. At any rate Nicodemus obviously did not want his fellow Pharisees to know that he was seeking to speak with Jesus. And how many people today resist the call of the Gospel, avoid checking out the Church simply because they are too embarrassed to be seen there? The darkness of sin really has a hold on us. Furthermore, because of our spiritual ignorance or darkness, even when we approach God in His Church or in His Word, we don’t know what questions to ask. Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night and admits that he and all his friends “know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him;” an indictment, by the way, of their evil opposition to Jesus from the very beginning. But notice Nicodemus didn’t ask a question. And Jesus doesn’t wait for a question but directs the conversation to the important issues. The Lenten catechumenate, likewise, supplies you with the right questions, the que[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/13/the-disciples-temptations/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/13/the-disciples-temptations/#comments Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:23:00 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=733 http://al.lunneberg.com/2011/03/13/the-disciples-temptations/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Matthew 4:1-11 Date: Lent I + 3/13/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The story is as old as the third chapter of the first book of Moses and as current as this moment. It is the story of life, God’s good gift of hum[...] Text: Matthew 4:1-11 Date: Lent I + 3/13/11 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The story is as old as the third chapter of the first book of Moses and as current as this moment. It is the story of life, God’s good gift of human life and identity as His creation, His offspring, His own sons and daughters. That life, however, met an enemy: temptation, suspicion, pride, the lie of “life” without God or at least apart, separated from God; then awareness of sin and guilt, then tears, then fear, isolation, bruise, pain, sweat, then dust. “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It’s the same story for everyone no matter how great or how small, no matter fame and fortune, or neglect and poverty. “All have sinned.” Still, God saw His creation the object of His care and love and he planted alongside the Fall into sin the seed of promise, the promise of His own rescue, renewal, redemption, resurrection from death to life. Today we enter the ancient path that leads to our own rescue, our own chapter in the story. It is the path called Lent in which, first, we are called to deny ourselves and simply receive what God offers, for He has made good on his promise of rescue. The seed or offspring of the woman has appeared: the offspring of Adam and Eve, the son of Mary, the Son of God in our blood and flesh[1], Jesus of Nazareth. On this path we hear His story walking the way of the cross. But more than that. We not only hear His story, we receive it, take it in and as we do it has the power to transform us. Today we hear of His victory over temptations and are told that in Him neither do we have to give in. Then, this year, we follow the ancient path of John’s Gospel: we hear of new birth from above, of living water that gives life, of blindness turned to sight, and of calling forth the dead to life. Then, in one great and holy week, all of these stories combine and grow in our hearts, no longer as a cancerous tumor of deadly sin anymore but as the blessed new birth pangs of living faith bursting forth from baptismal water into the divine light, the dawning day of the morning star arising in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19). By means of the mighty, creative Word of God in our hands, our eyes, our nostrils, our ears, our hearts, the miracle of Easter gives us life. “Death is swallowed up in victory” by “God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:54-57). “This is my beloved Son,” said the voice from heaven as Jesus stepped forward from the Jordan water as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. By the same Spirit He was led to begin His mission of deliverance by first meeting the archenemy head on. Fasting and hungry in the wilderness, the tempter, the ancient serpent, the accuser, the liar and murderer from the beginning approached. As He began by planting doubt in the first daughter and son of God asking, “Did God say,” so He begins here with the doubtful words, “If you are the Son of God.” The devil knew Jesus is the Son of God. He just didn’t believe it. In reply, as with a swift thrust of a sword, “It is written” made the temptation evaporate and any chance of sin with it. So also on this Lenten path must we not only hear but “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” what is written, the Word of God. As the letter to the Hebrews warns, “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Heb 2:1). For “the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12) and it is our only weapon, the only weapon we need, “A sword and shield victorious,” the “weapon of the Spirit” (LSB 657). By the same Spirit and Word temptations that come from without no longer must take root within. But be careful with this sword, this Word. In the wrong hands it can be used against you. The way of glory, of side-stepping the cross, seems much more desirable. There is an addiction to glory that becomes blind, that just cannot see that the only w[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/21/the-wicked-tenants/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/21/the-wicked-tenants/#comments Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:37:13 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=518 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/21/the-wicked-tenants/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 20:9-19 Date: Lent V + 3/21/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The scribes and the chief priests perceived that Jesus had told this parable against them. They were right. But remember that St. Luke told us, “he [...] Text: Luke 20:9-19 Date: Lent V + 3/21/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The scribes and the chief priests perceived that Jesus had told this parable against them. They were right. But remember that St. Luke told us, “he began to tell the people this parable.” So if the “church officials” could figure out the meaning of the parable, what did this have to do with the people to whom he ostensibly spoke? Put in contemporary terms this parable is a warning for pastors and all church officials. But the people, the laity, the church members are part of the picture, too. Today’s Gospel tells of some of the teaching Jesus did in the temple on Tuesday of Holy Week. What makes the Lord’s Passion cruel is that quite a large number of people welcomed Him joyfully on Palm Sunday and crowded around him and listened with hope if not faith as He preached and taught in the temple all the way until that Tuesday evening. These hearers were among the crowds that, in a few days, would be joining the mob yelling, “crucify him.” It was to people who came to hear what He had to say that He told this parable. Of course the scribes and chief priests were standing by and, as it was obvious to all that the parable had them in mind as the “called and ordained” leaders of the people, they were put in a sort of uncomfortable position. This parable is more allegorical than others and the people understood its meaning, namely, that upon Jesus’ coming sacrificial death and resurrection, He is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises; from now on He is the key to understanding all the Old Testament scriptures; there is salvation in no one else but by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The scriptures frequently refer to God’s people as a vineyard of his planting. In the parable this vineyard was “let out” or “leased” to tenant farmers representing the religious leaders and priests of the people. Those called to serve God’s people in His name with His Word are not the owners but are given a charge to care for the people in the way the Owner has commissioned them, namely, by the preaching of His Word and giving out of His gifts. Today we speak in terms of Word and Sacrament. As the planting-growing-harvest cycle of the field and vineyard are predictable, and “the time came” that the owner of the vineyard should receive some of the fruit of the vineyard, so now Jesus has in mind the now tight time schedule when, in a matter of only two more days, He would accomplish what He came for—His sacrificial death. God has acted in specific ways in our world and our history according to His own time schedule. The Old Testament reading for today calls to mind the deliverance of God’s people from Egyptian bondage as Moses led them through the Red Sea on dry ground but drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and his army. We recall the words of St. Paul when he wrote, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). Or, even better, from the beginning of Luke’s Gospel with his precise description of the days of Caesar Augustus “when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” “When the time came” for His parents to present Jesus in the temple, Simeon understood it was time for God to act, saying, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:29-31a). Jesus is here saying that the critical time is now, in this final week in Jerusalem, where Jesus is destined to die. So also the crucial time comes to each of us whenever the claims of the word of the Gospel are preached. As St. Paul said of preaching, “now is the time of salvation.” The servants sent by the owner to reap some of the fruits of his vineyard represent all the Old Testament prophets sent to God’s people, and especially the last OT prophet, John the Baptist, sen[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/14/celebrate/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/14/celebrate/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:56:08 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=515 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/14/celebrate/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Date: Lent IV + 3/14/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The Fourth Sunday in Lent has been known traditionally as Laetare or “Rejoice” Sunday from the historic Introit that begins with Isaiah 66:10[...] Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Date: Lent IV + 3/14/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI The Fourth Sunday in Lent has been known traditionally as Laetare or “Rejoice” Sunday from the historic Introit that begins with Isaiah 66:10, “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her.” It may seem strange that tradition has handed down one Sunday in the otherwise austere, penitent season of Lent as one of joy and celebration. But this is reflected even in our three-year lectionary. The prophet Isaiah turns hymn-writer as he composes the joyful hymn of Isaiah 12. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” When he gives the instruction, “Sing praises to the Lord,” however, he is not talking to church-growth praise bands to make a lot of happy-clappy noise but to the people of God to praise the Lord by telling and re-telling what the Lord has done, what there is for us to be so happy about, the mighty acts of God. Yes, joy is a main theme of today’s scripture readings; the joy of the deliverance, salvation and incomprehensible love of God for His whole creation. That’s what is behind the parable of the Prodigal Son. Don’t forget the setting. Those slimy, dirty tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. At this the Pharisees and the scribes, those pillars of society and paragons of virtue grumbled among themselves. To them all they could see in Jesus was a wild-canon rabbi who was defiling himself not only by his association with such sinners but even having intimate meal fellowship with them. “This man,” they grumbled, “receives sinners and eats with them.” Yes, as we sing in one of our hymns, Jesus sinners doth receive; Oh, may all this saying ponder Who in sin’s delusions live And from God and heaven wander! (LSB 609:1) You see, that would include both the tax collectors and sinners and the Pharisees and scribes! And that’s the point. In response to their grumbling Jesus told three parables, the parable of the Lost Sheep, the parable of the Lost Coin and the parable of the Prodigal Son. The first two parables are a defense of His mission to seek and to save the lost. “There will be more joy in heaven,” He said, “over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (15:7). “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (15:10). But then what about the ninety-nine so-called righteous persons and the nine silver coins that were never lost in the first place? The third parable, the Prodigal Son, shows two amazing things. First, as the Apostle Paul would put it succinctly, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:22-23). The Pharisees and scribes and the self-righteous of every age and nation need to learn the first lesson: all are sinners, you included, and therefore all are in need of repentance and salvation, you included. So, you see, the second amazing thing is that Jesus not only receives tax collectors and sinners and eats with them, but He’s even willing to receive you, the so-called righteous who wrongly suppose you need no repentance. In other words, “God so loved the world,” His whole world, and everyone in it. Jesus is not only defending His ministry, but is also reaching out to love and to save even His enemies. In the same way we, as His disciples, are commanded to “love your enemies” (Lk. 6:27). The younger son in the parable therefore represents the tax collectors and sinners, all those whose lost condition is the more evident. They are separated from God and ruin themselves in reckless living. The Word of the Law of God comes to them and convicts them in hopes that they will “come to themselves,” wake up to their true need, repent and return to their Creator, their God, their true Father. So far that would be the end of the parable, mirroring the[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/07/our-praises-grow-from-living-roots/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/07/our-praises-grow-from-living-roots/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:49:17 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=509 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/03/07/our-praises-grow-from-living-roots/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 13:1-9 Date: Lent III + 3/7/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI In many ways the theme of the scripture readings for this Sunday takes us all the way back to the beginning—the beginning of the Gospel and of the c[...] Text: Luke 13:1-9 Date: Lent III + 3/7/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI In many ways the theme of the scripture readings for this Sunday takes us all the way back to the beginning—the beginning of the Gospel and of the church year with the call of John the Baptist, “repent and be baptized;” and our beginnings of the life of faith in our Holy Baptism. Like the roots of a tree that grow deep into the soil for nourishment to grow and live, God’s gift of faith must stay connected to its source of nourishment in order to grow and stay alive. That Source is nothing and no one else than Jesus Christ where he has promised to be, namely, where his Word preached and his holy sacraments are administered. The life of faith is characterized by daily repentance, bearing the fruits of repentance. In other words, it is the daily struggle against sin relying on the grace of God to continually receive forgiveness of sin, life and salvation. Today’s Gospel speaks of how we are to read the signs of the times and remember that the primary concern of the Christian Life is fighting the good fight of the faith, bearing the fruit of repentance in our struggle to remain faithful. Just before our text, Jesus spoke about the necessity and importance of properly interpreting the present critical time. “He said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, “A shower is coming.” And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat,” and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?’” (Luke 12:54-56). Some of his hearers, therefore, brought up the latest news item of Pontius Pilate’s sending his troops into the very temple precincts where they murdered some Galileans while they were making their offerings, thus mingling their own blood with the blood of their sacrifices. Now certainly this only added to the Jews’ rage and hatred of the Romans. As with any tragedy, in their anger and grief, people, trying to make some sense out of it all, ask the question, “Why?” Why did this happen? But in seeking some purpose in evil or suffering, people fall into the trap of blaming God. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day commonly held that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between sin and suffering. It is almost natural to the fallen, blind sinful nature to think that, when evil happens (especially to “good” people) it must be because they have done something to deserve suffering. Jesus, however, does not speak of the sin of Pilate or the Roman government. Disasters are not signs of God’s judgment on individuals, but they are signs of his wrath against all sinful humankind. “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” The correct interpretation of the signs of the times is that all suffering, sin and disaster points to the truth that you and we all are on the way to appear before the judge. But present on that journey is Jesus and his messianic ministry of proclaiming the kingdom of God. And it is only through personal repentance and faith that you can be included in the deliverance of that kingdom. Jesus adds another incident well known to his hearers, the accident at the tower of Siloam. Here there was no apparent human cause, like the bloody attack of Pilate’s henchmen. So, what about so-called “natural” disasters? Do you think that the people of Haiti or Chile were worse sinners than everyone else that so many have suffered or died in the recent earthquakes? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Insurance companies call earthquakes, tornados and floods “acts of God” laying the blame somewhere else than where it actually is, and that is that we live in a fallen world unhinged and dying because[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/02/28/jerusalem-jerusalem/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/02/28/jerusalem-jerusalem/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:34:03 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=506 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/02/28/jerusalem-jerusalem/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 13:31-35 Date: Lent II + 2/28/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI When St. Luke begins today’s Gospel reading with the words, “In that very hour,” he is signaling that what follows is an important step directly t[...] Text: Luke 13:31-35 Date: Lent II + 2/28/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI When St. Luke begins today’s Gospel reading with the words, “In that very hour,” he is signaling that what follows is an important step directly toward the goal of “THE hour,” namely, our Lord’s betrayal, arrest, trials, beatings, mockings, sufferings and ultimately His death by hanging on the cruel cross of Calvary. What follows, then, is, in a word, a lie. It is a lie when the Pharisees threaten Jesus by telling Him to “get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” Herod didn’t want to kill Jesus! When our Lord finally appeared before Herod it was obvious the ruler was interested only to be entertained by the so-called miracle-working rabbi. Herod wasn’t threatened by Jesus. It was Pilate who felt the threat for his hopes of political advancement if he couldn’t handle the religious unrest in his vicinity. So then why did the Pharisees lie? They wanted Jesus to go somewhere else. They were trying to scare Him away. Before we go on, let us not pass over or ignore but admit that the common reaction to Jesus in every sinner is to stay as far away as possible from Him, to tell Him to leave us alone. That’s because the fallen sinner’s first and obvious reaction to God, to the Church and to Christians is the fear of judgment of sin. People stay away from Church because they know they are sinners and they expect judgment and condemnation for their sin by God and by the Church. After all Church is for good people, right? What they don’t know is that being a sinner is the first requirement to be a member of the Church, not because, as they say, “the Church is full of hypocrites,” but because the Church is all about the forgiveness of sins. If you have no sin (or refuse to face up to it and confess it) you have no need (or, more precisely, do not know your need) of Jesus or His forgiveness. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Jesus said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). This is the very, very Good News that escapes every person who does not hear the Gospel but lets their wrong presumptions get in the way. Instead of Jesus going away, however, He, rather, told the Pharisees to go away, saying, “Go. Go to Herod yourselves.” He calls Herod “that fox” highlighting the common trait of the governing authority’s slick, cunning and crafty ways of political intrigue; the same intrigue that ended John the Baptist’s life and that, through Pilate, would be part of the picture of Jesus’ destiny. In His answer to the Pharisees Jesus speaks prophetically, summarizing His ministry and His rapidly approaching destiny and goal. His words, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures” recall and summarize what we heard Him announce in His hometown of Nazareth, that He came to release people from sin, Satan and sickness. When He says he does this “today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course” He announced that His goal, destiny or “finish” is quickly approaching. The divine imperative of His mission is emphasized as He says, “Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.” Yes, He called Himself a prophet. And yes, He will perish in Jerusalem. Now His voice lowers at the utterance of the name “Jerusalem.” It started in Jerusalem and it ends in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was God’s choice of a place where His people could connect with Him, hear His Word, receive His guidance, direction, mercy and grace. Jerusalem was the name also that identified God’s people, the recipients of all His grace and mercy. But now Jesus repeats, laments, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem.” For instead of faith and love for God they have proved to be “the city that kills the prophets an[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/02/21/tempted-for-you/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/02/21/tempted-for-you/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:00:33 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=498 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/02/21/tempted-for-you/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Luke 4:1-13 Date: Lent I + 2/21/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI That our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil in the wilderness as His first action after His baptism, was the first skirmish or battle in His [...] Text: Luke 4:1-13 Date: Lent I + 2/21/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI That our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil in the wilderness as His first action after His baptism, was the first skirmish or battle in His mission to free mankind and all creation from the devil’s rule, the curse of sin and the reign of death. That He was tempted, as the Bible says, “in every respect…as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15) means that He understands intimately whatever it is you are enduring and can “sympathize with our weaknesses.” That He endured temptation, not as a super-man, nor “counting His equality with God” as anything (Philippians 2:6), but as one of us armed only with holy scripture, the Word of God, suggests that by faith in Him, baptized into His family, we have the same necessary equipment ourselves to fight the good fight of the faith, to resist temptation, “to live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness” (Small Catechism, Creed II). That our Lord, as of first importance, was tempted by the devil in the wilderness set the course that led to the ultimate conflict on the cross where, resisting the devil’s last temptation to “come down from the cross” (Mt. 27:40), He, nevertheless, received and endured the whole load of God’s righteous wrath against all sin, including yours, and let it kill Him so that His death would be the one and only perfect sacrifice that erases all sin, death and devil for all people as His resurrection proclaims the triumph of life and reconciliation with God. We are maybe more familiar with St. Matthew’s report of Jesus’ temptation. But this year we hear it from St. Luke who emphasizes, maybe more than Matthew, the cosmic conflict and warfare of the mighty Son of God. The devil repeats the challenge, “If you are the Son of God,” tempting the Lord somehow to prove His identity that is for now hidden humbly behind His fully human nature. Maybe the greater temptation was for the devil to think that Jesus would be easier to tempt as a man who could be affected with hunger, pride, or false doctrine or teaching. Martin Luther preferred Luke’s ordering of the three temptations for preaching because they build to the chief temptation of despising and misusing God’s Word. The temptation to ignore God and make bread and money and material possessions your sole goal (or your “god,” that to which you look for the highest good in your life) should be obvious enough. How many (especially public) high school graduations have you attended where student speakers talk primarily about their number one goal in life of becoming rich, as if that’s the highest aspiration a person can have? The “living by bread alone” credo is the most common and universal temptation. Furthermore, it is interesting that Luke does not report Jesus quoting the entire verse of Deuteronomy 8:3, “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” In Jesus’ temptation both the original sin of Adam and the historic failure of Israel are undone. Adam was tempted to eat and fell into sin. Israel was fed with manna in the wilderness but their lack of faith and fear of not having enough food caused them to murmur and rebel against God. Jesus lived by the Word of God. He is the new man, the new Israel who is the Word of God and is Himself the bread of life from heaven who feeds His people. In Luke’s ordering, the temptation of gaining the fame and power and riches of the world by selling your soul to the devil is the second temptation. One should pause at the devil’s claim and assertion that all the authority and glory of the world has been given (by God!) to him and ask, “is that true? Or is he lying?” Don’t fall for it. As Adam and Eve found out, the devil’s promises are hollow; he cannot deliver what he promises. His only “authority,” such as it is, is over the fallen world, separated from God and from li[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/04/01/father-forgive-them/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/04/01/father-forgive-them/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:37:53 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=263 http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/04/01/father-forgive-them/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: John 11, Office of the Keys/Confession Date: Midweek Lent V + 4/1/09 Our forty-day Lenten journey is almost over. During this time we have noted the ancient model of preparing candidates for baptism and incorporation into the Body of Jesus [...] Text: John 11, Office of the Keys/Confession Date: Midweek Lent V + 4/1/09 Our forty-day Lenten journey is almost over. During this time we have noted the ancient model of preparing candidates for baptism and incorporation into the Body of Jesus Christ, his Holy Church. In the basic teaching of the scriptures and the catechism we are given much to ponder, much to believe. We are born again, born anew, born from above to eternal life through the gift of faith. We believe that God works through his Word, revealing his will and creating faith in the hearts of those who hear. We believe that God works through the sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper giving us the forgiveness of sins, new life now and eternal salvation for the sake of Christ. Tonight we note also the “third” sacrament in the Lutheran Church, confession and Holy Absolution. Confession and Absolution has God’s command and promises the grace of the forgiveness of sins. We can summarize and harmonize the account of the raising of Lazarus from the grave with Holy Absolution by noting our Lord’s word from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” For when he spoke those words he knew his prayer would be heard and answered, for he was dying for them. It was the most powerful and effective prayer that ever was prayed. For, though he was the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, though he made the lame to run and gave the blind their sight, though he exercised his power as the Lord of Life in raising Lazarus from the dead, here he was giving his own life as the one and only sacrifice that makes forgiveness at all possible in the first place. Forgiveness has to do with sin. The wages of sin is death. Physical death, of course, is the separation of the soul from the body. But there is more to it than that. For God created every human being to live forever. Unless our separation from God is remedied we are destined to eternal death, that is, every human being that ever lived will be raised with their bodies on the Last Day, even as Christ raised Lazarus from the tomb. But those who rejected Christ during this time of grace will be rejected and sent away, their separation from God will be confirmed forever. And on that day there will only be two places: with God in heaven or separated from God in hell, that place of eternal punishment created for the devil and his angels. In our world, we often hear it said of a soldier giving his life in the service of his country that “he paid the ultimate price.” But when it comes to our eternal destiny, our own death, as ultimate as it may seem, is not the ultimate price. For the price and wages of sin is more than we can pay, even by our own death. The wages of sin demand a death strong enough to pay off the debt and then have life left to live. And as this is beyond the ability of any human being, it took God himself to take on our created flesh, our human nature, to live the perfect, sinless life, and then, nevertheless, to offer up that life as the only perfect, sinless sacrifice—taking the wages of sin of the whole world into himself, thus breaking the power of death. By Christ’s death, and solely for his sake, our sin is disarmed and rendered powerless. There is no more price to be paid. In Christ, sin is taken away as well as the power of death to separate us from God any more and forever more. Tonight we proclaim that Christ died for the sins of the world. And only His death has the power to destroy death and to restore life to all. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection the words “I forgive you all your sins” when spoken in connection with the name of Christ are powerful. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, as Jesus simply called forth Lazarus from the grave by the power of His life, so will He call forth all who have died on the Last Day, and those who belong to Him by faith will be raised with the bodies and be ushered, body and so[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no