http://al.lunneberg.com Sermons and Rumenations Sun, 20 May 2012 16:36:25 +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/2012/05/20/11-1-13/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/20/11-1-13/#comments Sun, 20 May 2012 16:36:25 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=989 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/20/11-1-13/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Acts 1:12-26 Date: Easter VII + 5/20/12 The sermon title, “11 + 1 = 13,” is, at first, intended to be a little humorous comment about finding a replacement for Judas Iscariot to restore the number of apostles to the original number of twelve. [...] Text: Acts 1:12-26 Date: Easter VII + 5/20/12 The sermon title, “11 + 1 = 13,” is, at first, intended to be a little humorous comment about finding a replacement for Judas Iscariot to restore the number of apostles to the original number of twelve. The humor I see is that though in today’s text, Acts chapter one, Peter and about 120 others solemnly choose Matthias to be the replacement, in Acts chapter nine Jesus Himself directly chooses Saul of Tarsus for this purpose. So, not to disallow the choice of Peter and the first “voters assembly,” instead of restoring the number of apostles to twelve the end result is thirteen! Yet I do not find this observation to be purely amusing nor incidental. For we are to discover that the Gospel of the resurrection not only restores life and things to merely the original design of creation before the fall into sin but salvation in Christ actually increases God’s gift of life to be even more than it was before. The resurrection, for instance, turned the old first day of the week, Sunday, to be now also the eighth day, the eternal day, the first day of eternal life. The Ascension of Our Lord elevated human nature itself to be identified with the divine. And the promise of our resurrection in the new heavens and earth is that we will reign with Christ (2 Tim 2:12). As Martin Luther wrote of all the baptized in reference to Psalm 82 which says, “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment” (Ps 82:1), “for we are all the children of God…and therefore we are gods”[1] Now, it’s not that Peter and the Church acted too hastily or made the wrong choice. They could have chosen the other candidate, “Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus.” I believe they were not plumbing the depths of the hidden mysteries of God in their prayer and casting of lots. Rather, this little incident demonstrates the larger fact that, in the grace of Christ, “God is in the business of blessing” his people. The main difference between the church’s choice of Matthias and God’s choice of Saul is that we, the church, are limited to the facts as we know them. The qualifications that seemed right and proper to Peter and the rest were that the candidates needed to “have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us.” That’s because the main function of an apostle is to be a witness of Christ’s resurrection. On the other hand, even if they knew at that time the man named Saul of Tarsus, he wouldn’t even make it on their “call list.” Only God Himself saw in this once “persecutor of the church” (Philippians 3:6) the perfect candidate to become the Christian apostle to the Gentiles. And that’s what this word of God tells us today. God is in the business of blessing. When it comes to “calling” a pastor or teacher, deaconess or other ordained or commissioned servant, or the placing of new graduates of our seminaries as recently happened, you really can’t make the wrong choice between candidates who are otherwise qualified to serve. God is in the business of blessing. The same goes for the pastor or other worker considering two or more calls he has received. “God’s will” is that you make the choice based on your own best judgment and desire, as the psalm says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4). God is in the business of blessing. This is not only true of church or congregation call meetings or of church workers, prophets or apostles. It is true of all the baptized. It is true of you. God is in the business of blessing you. The apostles were the contemporary eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. But all Christians, including you, are witnesses as all who have been baptized into Christ’s death have also been raised with Him so that, as St. Paul says, we may walk in newness of life. That newness is, first of a[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/13/more-water/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/13/more-water/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 16:47:50 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=986 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/13/more-water/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Acts 10:34-48 Date: Easter VI + 5/13/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! For thirty-six days now the Lord, risen from the dead, has appeared alive to His disciples. Quoting St. Paul’s list, “he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then[...] Text: Acts 10:34-48 Date: Easter VI + 5/13/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! For thirty-six days now the Lord, risen from the dead, has appeared alive to His disciples. Quoting St. Paul’s list, “he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time…. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (1 Cor 15:5-8). But that appearance was some time after the event we celebrate this Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter, our Lord’s last appearance and His Ascension into heaven. There the last thing He said to His disciples echoed the first thing God said to Abraham of old. As God promised that through Abraham’s seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed, so our Lord commanded to make disciples of all nations. The salvation of God is not for the Jews only but through the Jews to all people everywhere. That was the burden for Peter’s understanding as the preaching of the apostles began to awaken even the Gentiles who heard. As the mighty Word of the gospel awakened the Ethiopian eunuch who asked Philip, “See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized?” so St. Peter asked, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Last Sunday we heard of the necessity of baptism with water. Today we hear about more faith and More Water! At first the Christian movement would appear and be expected to be a movement within the Jewish community. The Messiah was God’s promise to His people Israel. He was of the Hebrew lineage of the great King David. Though a few Samaritans and Gentiles were drawn to Him during His earthly ministry, as He said to a Canaanite woman, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24). Even on the instrument of His execution the sign read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (Mk 15:26). His connection and identity with the Jewish people was pretty clear. It would therefore be expected that the salvation through the forgiveness of sins brought about by the Jewish Messiah’s death and resurrection would also be for the Jews. And it was! (And it is!) But what about the “nations” of “the uttermost parts of the earth”? What about these Gentiles who were drawn and heard the Good News and believed? You can easily imagine the difficulty for the first leaders of the Church. The question was, do Gentile converts need to become Jews first in order to then become complete Jews in Christ, Christians? This would be answered in the Council of Jerusalem reported in Acts chapter 15. But it began with Peter here in Acts chapter 10. It began with a Gentile Roman soldier named Cornelius, whom St. Luke tells us was “a devout man who feared God” (Acts 10:2). He was directed by an angel to seek out Peter. Before he arrived at Peter’s house, however, Peter himself was given a vision, the famous vision of the sheet containing all kinds of animals, both clean and unclean according to the list of Jewish dietary laws (Lev 11), and the command, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven (Acts 10:13-16). It was as Peter was wondering about this vision that the centurion Cornelius showed up at his door. It was then over in Caesarea the next day together with some of “Cornie’s” relatives and friends that Peter preached the sermon we heard in today’s lesson. Peter proclaimed the shockingly new revelation and understanding, “that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (10:34-35). To fear God and to do what is right is to believe in Him and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). He then preached and proclaimed[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/06/see-here-is-water/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/06/see-here-is-water/#comments Sun, 06 May 2012 16:38:03 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=982 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/05/06/see-here-is-water/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Acts 8:26-40 Date: Easter V + 5/6/12 The Lord is risen! He is risen, indeed! After appearing to His disciples a number of times after Easter, on the fortieth day at His Ascension He mapped out the mission that they should preach repentance and[...] Text: Acts 8:26-40 Date: Easter V + 5/6/12 The Lord is risen! He is risen, indeed! After appearing to His disciples a number of times after Easter, on the fortieth day at His Ascension He mapped out the mission that they should preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins, baptize and teach beginning in Jerusalem, then branching out to all Judea, even including Samaria and, as He said, “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This mission happened quickly as today, already in Acts chapter eight, we’re told of St. Philip being directed to go down from Jerusalem to Gaza. There He encounters a man from Ethiopia, which at the time was considered to be part of the end of the known world. Through an interesting turn of events Philip “told him the good news about Jesus” (8:35). He must have done quite a thorough job of it for “as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?’” Nothing prevented him, so he was and he “went on his way rejoicing.” That’s the way it really works, you know. That is, I’ve seen it happen over and over again—an individual hears the wonderful invitation, the command and promise of God concerning Holy Baptism, and, you know what happens? More times than not, miraculously, they desire what God commands and promises! The Ethiopian heard, saw, desired and received. That’s how God’s Word works. That’s how faith works. We can only imagine what Philip said to the man beginning with the Isaiah 53:7 passage he asked about. Luke says “he told him the good news about Jesus,” how Jesus is the “suffering servant” of Isaiah who, like a sheep was led to the slaughter and opened not his mouth before His accusers. Jesus is the One whose life was taken away from Him, His death for the sins of the world. The good news about Jesus can be stated as simply as reciting the Creed or as I used to do with my new member class extending two-hour sessions once a week over a period of sixteen weeks and, we should add, over an entire lifetime of hearing and living in the Word. The news about Jesus becomes “good” news only when a person, first, discovers their real need of deliverance from sin, separation from God and death, and their helplessness to do anything about that need on their own. That’s the function of the Law of God’s Word, the peeling away of the prideful defenses of our hiding from the righteousness, holiness and judgment of God against our sin. But then secondly is “the power of God to salvation” (Rom 1:16) that is the Gospel which is never about anything we must do, but always about what God does, what He has done and will do for us and for our salvation. What God does through His Word is create faith in the heart, when and where He wills in those who hear the Gospel. Then He gives that “hand of faith” something to grasp and hang on to, namely, His Word and Sacraments. This is how disciples are made of all nations according to Jesus’ institution and design, “baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching” about Jesus and His life-giving Word. Now some people are a little surprised by this if not even offended. For many misunderstand Holy Baptism to be not God’s work and action at all but merely an expression of our own work and action, that is, the sincerity of our repentance and the mindful acknowledgement of a personal decision of faith. This distinction may be what’s behind the missing verse in our text. You will notice that verse 36 of our text in the English Standard Version (ESV) is followed by verse 38! Most scholars these days question whether verse 37 is part of St. Luke’s original manuscript. Still, it was accepted by many ancient church fathers including up to the time the Bible was first cast into numbered verses in the mid-1500s.[1] (You will find it in the text of the King James Version, or in a footnote in your modern versions). After the man asks, “What prevents me from being [...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/29/there-is-salvation-in-no-one-else/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/29/there-is-salvation-in-no-one-else/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:44:59 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=979 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/29/there-is-salvation-in-no-one-else/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Acts 4:1-12 Date: Easter IV + 4/29/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Appearing to His apostles He commanded them from now on to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations for the salvation of every person. [...] Text: Acts 4:1-12 Date: Easter IV + 4/29/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Appearing to His apostles He commanded them from now on to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations for the salvation of every person. We have seen in our readings from the Book of Acts that, after Pentecost, Saint Peter did this very thing. After bringing the release, forgiveness and even physical healing of Christ to a lame man on the porch of the temple, when the people were starring at him and the apostle John thinking they were looking at some sort of fantastic miracle workers, Peter preached to them Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen again. Peter invited them to saving faith in Jesus with the result that “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” Today it is estimated that that number has grown to around 2.1 billion or one-third of the current population of the world. Today the story of Peter and John continues. We are told that “as they were speaking to the people” the priests and the chief in charge of the Levites who kept guard in the temple, and those who belonged to the party of the Sadducees (who, by the way, deny any idea of “resurrection from the dead”) approached in anger. They were angry, St. Luke tells us, because the apostles were doing what Jesus commanded them to do, namely, teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead, the most important thing that has ever happened in their lives and in the history of the world! Since it was around 6 p.m. these officials arrested Peter and John and put them in jail until the next day. What follows was simply the fulfillment of what Jesus Himself had predicted when He said to them, “they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict” (Luke 21:12-15). Well, here was the first test! And Jesus gave Peter “a mouth and wisdom.” In the official meeting the next day of the rulers and elders and scribes, with Annas the high priest, and there was Caiaphas (!), it was almost an exact replay of the interrogation of Jesus just months before that led to His death. Their question gave away that they knew what was going on because they did not ask them “how” they healed the lame man but “by what power or by what name” they did this. Peter is “filled with the Holy Spirit,” which means he was about to preach God’s Word to them. This morning I want you to notice Peter’s answer when he points us to “the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,” saying, “there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved.” What does it mean to be healed and saved “in the name” of Jesus? What does it mean to be baptized in the name of Jesus or to gather for the Divine Service “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”? It certainly does not mean simply vocalizing the name “Jesus” as if it were some sort of mantra or magic word. That’s not what Jesus meant when He said things like, “whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (Jn 15:16). So here there was no magic spell cast by Peter when he told the lame man, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6). The name of Jesus is more than just the five letters of His name as the Son of Mary. The invocation of the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is more than just an announcement or pledge of allegiance. The name of God includes His entire revelation of Himself, all His power, His very presence and all His works. But more than that! Peter did no[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/22/times-of-refreshing/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/22/times-of-refreshing/#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:51:49 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=976 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/22/times-of-refreshing/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Acts 3:11-21 Date: Easter III + 4/22/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today we heard St. Luke’s report of our Lord’s appearance to His disciples on that first Easter Day. As John reported so Luke tells us that Jesus “stood among them.”[...] Text: Acts 3:11-21 Date: Easter III + 4/22/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today we heard St. Luke’s report of our Lord’s appearance to His disciples on that first Easter Day. As John reported so Luke tells us that Jesus “stood among them.” Then He said, “Peace to you!” Luke tells us a little more of the emotional response of the disciples how “they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.” He showed them His hands and feet and invited them to touch Him to prove He wasn’t a ghost. Then one more proof. He ate a piece of broiled fish in front of them. This is the risen, glorified Jesus Christ, just as divine and just as human as before, and even more so. Do we believe yet that the Lord is risen and living? In the book of Acts St. Luke tells us of the initial witness and preaching of the disciples and certain signs or miracles that accompanied their preaching. In chapter three we are told of the miracle of the healing of a man lame from birth. In today’s reading we hear of the people’s reaction and response to this miracle. Notice, please, that while the people were “staring” at Peter and John as some sort of miracle workers, Peter preached to them not about themselves or even the former lame man but preached to them about Jesus! This was the real purpose for the miraculous signs of the early days of the Church, to draw people’s attention for the sake of preaching and proclaiming Jesus. And that’s to be the same today. For as many different “interesting,” “helpful” topics devised  by “creative” preachers today, the one thing needful, the only thing worthwhile is preaching Jesus Christ. He mentioned the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, indicating that Jesus is the Messiah promised through the ages. He briefly recalled for the people not only Jesus’ appearance before Pilate but emphasized their roll in causing the Lord’s grief and suffering. Peter preached the scathing Law, saying, “You denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life….” And even we know that, though we weren’t there, it was also our sin and disobedience along with the whole world that caused the Lord’s death. But then Peter preached the victorious Gospel, saying, “the Author of life…God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” Only then did he mention the lame man’s healing as being the result of faith in the name of Jesus. Peter continued to preach the death and resurrection of Jesus for the sins of the world. Then he drew his listeners to the invitation to such faith for themselves with three words: repent, refresh and restore. He called people to “repent…and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…until the time for restoring all things.” To repent means to acknowledge our sin and separation from God, what Luke calls spiritual ignorance. But more than the acknowledgement “that we are by nature sinful and unclean” and “have sinned against [God] in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have” failed to do; beyond admitting our failure to fulfill God’s Law by loving Him with our whole heart and loving our neighbors as ourselves; after confessing that God’s judgment against us is right and that we have justly deserved His punishment both now and forever; repentance means, even more, to turn in faith to God’s promised mercy in Jesus Christ, to receive the forgiveness of our sins. As we sin daily so do we need to receive God’s forgiveness daily. And so, like Peter, we are here to remind you, to call you to true repentance, to lay your sins on Jesus, turn and look in faith to Him and receive the forgiveness He won for you by His bloody death on the cross and His powerful resurrection from the dead. Your Holy Baptism is your reliable connection with this Lord’s death and resurrection. Now when we repent and receive the forgiveness of our sins, Peter says that “times [...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/15/testimony-with-great-power/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/15/testimony-with-great-power/#comments Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:09:08 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=972 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/15/testimony-with-great-power/feed/ 0 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/08/death-denied-or-devoured/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/08/death-denied-or-devoured/#comments Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:52:09 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=969 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/08/death-denied-or-devoured/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Isaiah 25:6-9 Date: Easter Day + 4/8/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! With St. Paul we confess the truth that “we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death [...] Text: Isaiah 25:6-9 Date: Easter Day + 4/8/12 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! With St. Paul we confess the truth that “we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:9-11). This is Easter, the great and victorious and happy day of days. But why, then, ruin it with all this talk about death? People normally don’t like to talk about death, especially the prospect of their own. People try to avoid the subject whether because of superstition or fear. People even try to deny death—deny it, that is, only as long and until they can deny it no longer. I had a parishioner once who told me they just cannot sing the Easter hymn “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” (ever!) because it was sung at their father’s funeral and it always brings back such bad memories, even on Easter Day! But Christ did not die and rise again merely so that we might be able to pretty up life a little like buying a new dress or hat, or placing a few sprays of flowers around or putting on a cosmetic smile for a day only to avoid the reality of our dreary life where nothing has changed from the frustrating irritations of the day before. Christ did not die and rise again so that we might avoid or deny death. Rather, he died and rose again from the dead so that we might conquer death through Him. I know that my Redeemer lives…. He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death. (LSB 461:7) This victory over death is a unique victory because it has a past, present and a future reality. It has always been the vision and goal of God’s plan of salvation. It is a victory promised of old, from the beginning in the words, “he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). It is the meaning and accomplishment of Easter of which we sing, Jesus lives! The vict’ry’s won! Death no longer can appall me; Jesus lives! Death’s reign is done! (LSB 490) It is the compelling force of a victorious faith by which the Christian finds new strength to “keep on keeping on” even in the face of challenge or opposing forces; even if that challenge or force is death itself. And that’s because it is a victory that also yet remains to be realized in its fullness. Of that final, ultimate victory promised, early on the prophet Isaiah wrote, “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food and well-aged wine.” “This mountain” is not a single place that can be pin-pointed by a Global Positioning Satellite. It is Zion, the seat of God’s presence, the place of His Church’s worship. It is here now, already amid the glowing candles and white robes of faith’s hope. And it will be wherever the Church has gathered in all the earth and, finally, at the feet of our Lord when He comes again as victorious Lord of all. It is a spiritual feast born and delivered through the agony of the cross of Christ who there was forsaken by God, dying alone so that we could be reconciled to God. The Psalm He uttered from the cross that day begins, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” but then it ends in hope, saying, “The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied…. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you” (Ps 22:1, 26-27). Wine takes time to ferment. It must be kept a long time for the process to complete. The “well-aged wine” of which Isaiah speaks suggests that we, now, are only yet “getting in line” waiting to be ushered in to that great and final feast of salvation won and done. The feast of victory we celebrate here is the feast celebrated on an earth and in a place that has been transformed into heaven; for here that which has separated us from God is torn down, here death is no more, for here its cause is taken awa[...] Easter alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/06/messianic-expectations/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/06/messianic-expectations/#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:30:55 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=966 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/06/messianic-expectations/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Isaiah 53 Date: Good Friday + 4/6/12 When the prophet Isaiah penned these words about the coming Savior, “he was wounded for our transgressions,” surely no one, you would think, maybe even the prophet himself, considered the wounds of which he[...] Text: Isaiah 53 Date: Good Friday + 4/6/12 When the prophet Isaiah penned these words about the coming Savior, “he was wounded for our transgressions,” surely no one, you would think, maybe even the prophet himself, considered the wounds of which he wrote to be actual, physical bruises and gashes of the skin. No, this promised king, this descendant of David would surely be the victorious deliverer defeating all those who would bring any harm or attempt to enslave God’s people ever again. Maybe the prophet meant that the coming Messiah would be “wounded” by harsh words, false accusations or unkind names, not by “sticks and stones.” As he said, He would be “despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Surely He would “bear our griefs and carry our sorrows” in His heart like a kind and sympathetic counselor or friend, not by actually enduring the same grief or sorrow we are going through. “Smitten by God and afflicted,” “the chastisement that brings us peace” would be but a temporary discipline and the “stripes” of our healing would be like those worn by a victorious military officer embroidered on the shoulder or the arm. “Oppressed and afflicted” He wouldn’t need to speak but overwhelm His enemies with His actions. “By oppression and judgment” we have been taken away into captivity and enslavement of sin. So maybe He would experience our sense of the unfairness of life and bring us back out to a better life, for the prophet said, “he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” What really were they to believe; how literally were God’s people to take these words written some 700 years before the coming of the Christ, and now we some 2000 years after? It was, maybe, that these prophesies were so literally fulfilled when Jesus was crucified, died, was buried and risen again from the dead that everyone missed or misunderstood what was happening right before their eyes on that first Passover Friday we call “Good.” For, the leaders of both church and state truly despised and rejected Him. The sorrow and grief were a matter of life and death for Him. The wounds and stripes were real gashes and bloody punctures. His silence, His refusal to complain or protest, shouted His innocence. He was “taken away” not as a prisoner to a jail cell but by execution on a cross. The “judgment” He endured was not only that of men but also and especially of God; God’s judgment against the sin of the whole world. And He endured that judgment, the hell of total abandonment by God for us. A number of years ago Mel Gibson’s theatric portrayal of “The Passion of the Christ” was considered too violent and offensive for modern day sensibilities. According to the internet web page “rottentomatoes.com,” one critic wrote, “If I were a Christian, I’d be appalled to have this primitive and pornographic bloodbath presume to speak for me.” Of course if he were really a Christian he would see that his disgust should be aimed at human sin as the reason behind the bloodbath, and maybe he could begin to see straight as to what should truly shock us. The four evangelists tell us that this was the goal, the purpose for which God took on our flesh of the virgin Mary, namely, to offer Himself as the only pure and perfect human sacrifice that takes away sin and the judgment of God against us. Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us of the confession of the Roman centurion who, when he saw how Jesus died, confessed, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” St. John, however, knows that you have read those Gospels and therefore, as with so many other details, doesn’t include this one. Rather, he includes his own eyewitness testimony and the goal, “that you also may believe” (19:35). We need to hear this Gospel over and over again, because faith, true, saving faith comes by hearing. And we are so tempted to misunderstand the truth of the matter: the bloody sacrifice of God for the liberation and life of[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/05/the-marriage-supper-of-the-lamb/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/05/the-marriage-supper-of-the-lamb/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:47:31 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=963 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/05/the-marriage-supper-of-the-lamb/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Exodus 24:3-11 Date: Holy (Maundy) Thursday + 4/5/12 “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Tonight we recall the Covenant God made with the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai pointing[...] Text: Exodus 24:3-11 Date: Holy (Maundy) Thursday + 4/5/12 “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Tonight we recall the Covenant God made with the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai pointing to the New Covenant established by Jesus at the Last Supper, both of which ultimately finding their fulfillment in the perfected people of God in the day of the full revelation of His glory spoken of in the Book of Revelation, “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. “And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” (Rev 19:7-9) The Covenant was initiated by God. He started it. He made the first move. He did it because He was not willing to see His creation destroyed by sin. He was not willing because He so loved the world. So he made a covenant promising to save His creation by dealing with sin Himself. That “dealing” required a sacrifice of blood, for “the life is in the blood”(Lev 17:11 et al.). This is not a mixture of the blood of two parties as in “blood brothers,” but one blood, the blood of the sacrifice sprinkled or poured, half of it on the altar as God’s pledge and the other half on the people as their pledge, God and man made one by one blood. After this solemn ritual Moses, Aaron and his two sons, and seventy of the elders went up the mountain. We’re told that “they saw the God of Israel,” though we are not given a description of the form they saw. No one can see God in His glory and live. But God did not harm Moses or his company but withheld the judgment of His Law by means of the love of His grace. Then we are told what seems to be a strange detail, “they beheld God, and ate and drank.” What does eating and drinking have to do with it? What did they eat? Roast oxen, of course, the meat of the sacrifice as the Levitical priests would do later in the temple. But why did they eat and drink? Why this strange detail? It was to foreshadow the new fellowship between God and men established by means of His Covenant. No other meal so richly proclaims the salvation of God than the Passover. There the deliverance from the slavery in Egypt is recalled. And there the blood of lambs is shed. And there the fellowship meal partaking in the sacrifice that sets us free. On the night He was betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ conducted the last official Passover meal ever and replaced that annual festival with the daily festival of the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, namely, Himself. For He shows how His death will be that perfect sacrifice when He takes the bread of the Passover meal and commands us to eat it, “for this is my Body given for you.” After the meal He takes the cup of blessing and commands us all to drink from it, “for this is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” To remember Jesus is to remember all of God’s saving acts since the beginning, all fulfilled in Him and also pointing forward to the marriage feast that has no end. It is not only to recall the teaching but to receive the kingdom all through the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore such joy and such assurance and such love is proclaimed and celebrated even in the looming shadow of the cross, because it is by His cross that joy has come into all the world (Good Friday liturgy). The new testament in Christ’s blood takes away our sin, covers us with God’s love, and makes us one with God and one with one another as St. John wrote, “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/01/just-another-detail/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/01/just-another-detail/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:18:06 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=959 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/04/01/just-another-detail/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Mark 14-15 Date: Passion/Palm Sunday + 4/1/12 A man named Joseph “asked for the body of Jesus” (15:43). Just another detail of the story of Jesus’ death and burial? So many of the “details” of the story were predicted ages before in the script[...] Text: Mark 14-15 Date: Passion/Palm Sunday + 4/1/12 A man named Joseph “asked for the body of Jesus” (15:43). Just another detail of the story of Jesus’ death and burial? So many of the “details” of the story were predicted ages before in the scriptures. As in the Exodus the people of God were released from their captivity to Pharaoh in Egypt, so now in Christ are we freed from the captivity of sin and death. The Passover pointed to the entire scene as Jesus is the paschal lamb of God whose blood is the cleansing of all sin. All the details of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 and more are fulfilled. Then the thirty pieces of silver for betrayal and the field of blood; the denial of Peter; Jesus’ arrest, His silent witness before Pilate, the mocking, the spitting, the striking and whipping, the abandonment by all; then the nails, the spear, the parched throat, the blood and finally His death. Then this detail: a man named Joseph “asked for the body of Jesus.” But this one was not foretold or predicted, was no amazing fulfillment of ancient prophecy, just a seemingly random, little detail. Or was it? On this day according to the prophesy of Zechariah the Lord, “the king” entered His holy city not in proud pomp bringing tokens of give-a-ways and freebees but, the people cheering the scene, in humility bringing what we need the most: righteousness and salvation. The battle He came to engage required no chariots or war horses as against another earthly ruler, but faithfulness and the strength of suffering even to the shedding of His blood. For this was the hour for the defeat of no one and nothing other than Satan, sin and death. Then, when it was all over, the disciples hiding for fear, came one driven by the conviction of a God-given faith: a man named Joseph; and he “asked for the body of Jesus.” Interesting, isn’t it, that the last man to care for and wrap the body of the Lord Jesus should be a man with the same name as the first man called to swaddle the body of the newborn? This request was the final sign of a faithful love, the provision of a suitable burial, suitably reflecting Joseph’s faith in the hidden dignity of this one called “the Son of God” even by a Roman centurion. Our bodies are not meaningless, not shed as so much worthless weight at our death. It is through our bodies, after all, that we have loved and learned and lived. So, the body of Jesus is the means, the medium, and the channel for us for the love and forgiveness and life of God. The eternal Word was made flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. It was only by means of the body of Jesus that our sin could be fully atoned for, that our death might be disarmed, that new, eternal life might be provided. So now, like Joseph, we “ask for the body of Jesus,” not in order to bury it again, however, but to receive eternal life, real, physical, eternal life through His body and blood. “Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” And whenever we receive sacramentally the body and blood of Jesus we celebrate the Lord’s eternal life and ours. In this great and holy week, it is made great and holy by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the life of the world. And we are made great and holy when we “ask for the body of Jesus” to be given to us. No longer hidden in a stained linen shroud, now risen from the dead He fills all things through our flesh as His church which is His body (Eph 1:22-23). alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/03/25/new-covenant-new-life/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/03/25/new-covenant-new-life/#comments Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:51:03 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=956 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/03/25/new-covenant-new-life/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Date: Lent V + The Annunciation of Our Lord + 3/25/12 We are getting closer, closer to the main celebration of the Christian faith, the climax and central focus not only of the New Testament but also of the entire Bible. The [...] Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Date: Lent V + The Annunciation of Our Lord + 3/25/12 We are getting closer, closer to the main celebration of the Christian faith, the climax and central focus not only of the New Testament but also of the entire Bible. The whole history of salvation hinges on this, the Great and Holy Week, made “great” and “holy” by the passion, the suffering, death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus the Christ and Savior of the world. It is, to use the language of our Old Testament reading for today, the apex between the old and the new covenant. Today those who would be disciples of Jesus learn that saving faith is always a gift, and repentance is a change of heart leading to a whole new perspective on life and service to God and neighbor. In today’s Gospel that difference is displayed in terms of the attitude of selfless, humble service versus the proud, self-serving power plays of the way of the world. The temptation to self-service and self-aggrandizement is so strong that it takes nothing less than a deep and complete change of heart to be the true servants of the Servant of God. This is what the prophet Jeremiah means when he writes, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers….” What’s troubled me about this is the idea that something could be “wrong,” “faulty,” “defective” with the old or first covenant of God. How could anything of God be flawed? What’s the difference between the old covenant and the new? The “old” covenant of which the prophet speaks is the one, says the LORD, “that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.” This covenant or promise of salvation started already, of course, from its first announcement in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:15). Then the promised deliverance was demonstrated most dramatically in the Exodus when Moses led the children of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt. Finally the covenant took on the form and included the ten words or Ten Commandments given at Mt. Sinai. Now every covenant or contract has two sides, two parties, each having promised responsibilities. On the one side, God promised to make His people a great nation and the deliverers of salvation for the whole world. On the other side, His people were to be holy, set apart and to have faith and live by the word of God alone. The problem with the old covenant was not with the covenant itself. In fact the new covenant is exactly the same as the old except for one thing. The defect of the old covenant was that it could be broken by the people. The great promise of the new covenant is the divine help and healing of forgiveness that keeps the covenant in effect. In the old covenant the law was laid before the people so that they might accept it and follow it. The fulfillment of the Law was then as it is now, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Dt 6:5). Yet it was obvious that, because of the thorough grip of sin, no one could or can love the Lord perfectly. Is this not what was behind the embarrassing request of the sons of Zebedee to be given places of honor in Jesus’ coming kingdom? Little did they realize that those places of honor on their Lord’s right and left hand would not be thrones of rule and power but crosses of punishment already reserved for two robbers on Mt. Calvary (Mk 15:27). Sin still so easily besets us as it did them. So what’s the difference? How is the new covenant “not like” the first one? God says what’s new is “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” It’s the same law. But what was merely commanded and applied externally to the heart in the old is given internally in the new. The new covenant is but the completion of the old. The difference or change is not on God’s part but on ours. It is tr[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/03/18/look-and-be-saved-through-faith-alone/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/03/18/look-and-be-saved-through-faith-alone/#comments Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:13:30 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=953 http://al.lunneberg.com/2012/03/18/look-and-be-saved-through-faith-alone/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Text: Numbers 21:4-9 Date: Lent IV + 3/18/12 The season of Lent is the traditional time (from ancient days) for the making of new disciples of Jesus, as He commanded us, saying, “make disciples of all nations.” With the command He also gave us the m[...] Text: Numbers 21:4-9 Date: Lent IV + 3/18/12 The season of Lent is the traditional time (from ancient days) for the making of new disciples of Jesus, as He commanded us, saying, “make disciples of all nations.” With the command He also gave us the means by which to do it, first with the institution of the sacrament of holy baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” and then the task of “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). Infants are baptized and then taught what their baptism means. Adults, on the other hand, are first instructed in the faith, as through the weeks of the catechization of Lent leading up to baptism at the Easter Vigil. The entire Christian life, of course, is one of daily renewal in your baptism and constant learning the faith, the life, the hope and the love of being a Christian. How did you become a Christian? Most of us here would say we became Christians through our parents bringing us to baptism as an infant. These days, however, as more and more people are born and grow up apart from the Church, more and more adults experience spiritual awakening, are brought to the doctrine of the Gospel and to the sacrament of baptism. If we expand our question from merely “how you became” a Christian to ask “why” you became a Christian we would receive many interesting answers especially from those who didn’t come to baptism until adulthood. In many cases, in my experience, people often quite simply hear the command and promises regarding baptism and desire to receive that command and promise. But then let’s include us all by asking why you continue and remain a Christian? You may even have asked yourself that question especially if you have been confronted by some frustration, opposition, ridicule, rejection, or even the doubt or questioning of your own mind or conscience. In today’s Old Testament reading God’s people became impatient. They complained to God and to Moses of the lack of food and water and even complained about the food with which God was miraculously and daily supplying them. They questioned why it was worth going on and continuing in this journey of faith. “Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.” Ah, how often haven’t we wished for “the Old Testament God” of wrath and fire and brimstone and snakes? for the retribution especially of that other sorry fellow with what he surely deserves? “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’” (Mt 5:38), “yeah, and that’s the kind of god we need around here!” Or, as I even heard a pastor say, a long time ago, “what we need is to put more teeth into the Gospel!” This reading and our Lord’s mention of it as predictive of His crucifixion is to serve us in our Lenten learning and catechization, and in this way. To become and to be a Christian does not mean that you will be instantly shielded from any suffering or trouble in this world, but rather have been given the way through suffering, trouble and even death. Like the people of Israel in our text life in this world continues to be a wilderness wandering. And the trouble comes from both within and without. The peoples’ trouble began with their own frustration and angry complaining. So our troubles usually begin because sin hangs on like a slimy discoloring that we just can’t wash off thoroughly or get rid of. The only way to get rid of sin, Biblically, is to die. A Christian is one who has died to sin through baptism into Christ’s death (Rom 6:3-4). Yet this life of faith is still lived in the body in this world where sin still reigns. In the physical life of our bodies sin still hangs on until it has killed us. “For [only] one who has died has been set free from sin” (Rom 6:7). Then there is the suffering and trouble from outside of us; the opposition, ridicule or even persecution for the sake of your faith in Christ. In fact it seems like[...] alunneberg@comcast.net no no