Month: February 2007

Text: John 13
Date: Lent Midweek I + 2/28/07

     We learn about the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. St. John, in his Gospel, does not have an account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper primarily because he knows that you’ve already read Matthew, Mark, Luke and Paul! Though John does not have a narrative of the institution of the sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, what he does have is no less than five chapters of everything else Jesus did and said that Maundy Thursday, that night in which he was betrayed. Furthermore, because we never hear but only a few snippets from John chapters 13-17 in the lectionary, we are taking the time to hear all of it during our Lenten midweek services this year.

     It was a long night, that Passover night. Jesus gathered with his disciples in the Upper Room for the annual Passover Seder meal. John relates what happened and what was said before, during and after that meal with its prayers and scripture readings, its symbolic use of unleavened bread and cups of wine, and the meal itself.

     At every Eucharist we hear the Words of Institution beginning with the phrase, “On the night in which he was betrayed.” Why that designation? So many other things were done and said that night. It was the night he washed his disciples’ feet; the night he promised the coming of the Holy Spirit; the night he prayed his high priestly prayer; the night of the new commandment and of the institution of the sacrament of the altar. Yet that night is always referred to as “the night in which he was betrayed.” Why? It was the betrayal by Judas that set everything else in motion. Like the firing of a starting gun, once the betrayal took place nothing could stop what was to follow. Continue reading “A Clean Getaway”

Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Date: Lent I + 3/5/06 – 2/25/07

     That our Lord Jesus Christ was “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness immediately after his baptism in order to be tempted by the devil indicates two things that are actually one thing. First, it indicates that his fasting and temptation were according to the will of God. Like a preemptive attack with laser-guided missals, Jesus’ active earthly ministry begins by addressing the very root of the problem from which He came to free us, namely, the rule of Satan, sin and death. First He disarms and “binds the strong man.” Then He “plunders his house” (Matthew 12:29) by proclaiming good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and the setting at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18). Jesus, not Satan, was in charge from the beginning to the end. Even Satan’s seeming victory in Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and trials, his suffering and death on the cross was according to the plan and will of God. As our Lord said, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” [John 10:17-18 (ESV)].

     Secondly, this text teaches us that to be “led by the Spirit” means not by some direct, immediate communications of exotic or “new” revelations, but, as for Christ in his state of humiliation and for us, it means, simply, to hear, know, and believe the Word of God, the Holy Scripture that reveals God’s good and gracious will for us and for all people. Having met his decisive defeat in the wilderness and through the cross and empty tomb of Jesus Christ, now those who belong to Christ have the armament to fend off the devil’s attacks, to persevere in faith and to look with faith and good hope to our final victory in the day of resurrection. The operative power for Christ in his state of humiliation, his earthly ministry, and for us who take up our cross and follow Him is the mighty Word of God. Continue reading “Led By the Spirit”

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:2
Date: Ash Wednesday + 2/21/07

     Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the annual 40-day season of Lent; an extended time of meditation on our sin and need of God, a season of repentance in preparation for the Great and Holy Week wherein we celebrate the Passion of the Christ. The thing is, we’ve done this before! It happens every year. Of course, without Ash Wednesday and Lent there would be no Mardi gras, no “Fat Tuesday,” no Paczkis! But more seriously is the fact that, since this does happen every year, you may get the impression that, since we’re never really done with or rid of sin in this life, the forgiveness of sin and salvation from death we talk about is not really real but only something reserved for the future of heaven. In this way some see Lent to be little different than the occasional interruption of radio or TV broadcasts, you know, with that annoying electronic pulse signal followed by the explanation, “This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test.” No need to get too excited or concerned because “this is only a test.” Continue reading “This is Not a Test”