Author: Al

Text: Isaiah 43:16-21
Date: Lent V + 3/13/16

No matter how far God’s people fall away from Him pursuing sinful ways, nevertheless they remain God’s people and God is their Savior. No matter how far you may fall away from God’s ways, nevertheless you remain God’s baptized people, identified with His Son’s redeeming death through that water, marked with the sign of the holy cross. That means there is and will always be hope. The verse just before our text in Isaiah 43 reads, “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans’” (Is 43:14). As God used their enemies to impose the punishment of captivity, so now He uses them to bring them redemption. So it is on this Fifth Sunday in Lent that Jesus’ enemies, the scribes and chief priests, sought to lay hands on Him and would eventually bring about His death by crucifixion. Yet Jesus remains their Savior and brings about salvation through the very death they themselves, we ourselves(!) caused. Continue reading “Do You Not Perceive It?”

Text: Isaiah 12:1-6
Date: Lent IV + 3/6/16

You came back! Boy am I glad to see you! After last Sunday’s emphasis on repentance of sin, quizzing ourselves on only the first and sixth commandments, realizing how just the first command by itself lays us bare and helpless (though if you listened carefully there was of course the Gospel of the forgiveness of our sins) hopefully more than just a few of you caught how devastating is God’s Law, how serious is our constant need of contrition, repentance and renewed faith. Today we heard of a young man who learned repentance the hard way. It is always a hard way if indeed it is real true repentance of real true sin. But I am glad to see you came back. And like the return of the prodigal son today God through the prophet Isaiah gives us words of rejoicing and glad celebration over the fact that, as the psalm says of God our Father, “But with you there is forgiveness” (Ps 130:4). And that forgiveness and joy is totally a gift because of God’s only Son who has become your Lord and Savior in such repentance and faith. Continue reading “Happy Homecoming”

Text: Ezekiel 33:7-20
Date: Lent III + 2/28/16

Today’s theme is all about repentance. Lent is a special season about repentance. The entire Christian life, Martin Luther reminds us, is all about daily repentance. Repentance is a life and death issue. Today we hear Jesus’ warning, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Lk 13:3). In the same way we heard the call of the prophet Ezekiel because he was sent by God to warn God’s people of the need of repentance. Now on one level we could treat the issue of the responsibility of prophets and pastors to preach the Word that we have been given, commanded and sent to preach. Whoa to us if we do not preach what God has commanded. But there are some deeper issues before us. Continue reading “Why Will You Die?”

Text: Jeremiah 26:8-15
Date: Lent II + 2/21/16

If the season of Lent lays the groundwork of what it means to become a Christian saying that the important step is this attitude we call repentance, it is a wonder that anyone would ever give us a hearing. For repentance implies awareness of sin and contrition or sorrow over sin. For one to be sorry for sin they must first agree and acknowledge that they have sinned, that they are a sinner. Needless to say this is not an easy or popular idea in the world today, or any day. It is quite the opposite. It is against every sinful man’s proud nature. The Beatitudes of Jesus make that clear revealing how upside down is sinful man’s view of life and what it means to be blessed. “Blessed are the poor in spirit?” “Blessed are those who mourn?” “Blessed are the meek?” Everyone knows that if you operate with that kind of attitude you’re definitely not going to get anywhere much less be a success in this world. So it’s not surprising that the ears of all should be closed to such nonsense. What was the prophet Isaiah sent to preach? “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive” (Is 6:9). And the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Cor 1:21). Indeed, such is the fallen, spiritual condition of all people that the Bible says we are spiritually blind, dead and enemies of God. And such ignoring of the Church’s message you’d think would be enough. Yet what do we see? Continue reading “Killing the Prophets”

Text: Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Date: Lent I + 2/14/16

This past Ash Wednesday we entered the holy season of Lent. The purpose of Lent is personal renewal in repentance and faith; contrition over our continued battle against sin, death and the devil, and faith in the only One who has fought for us and is delivering us to life and fellowship with God. Lent has always been accompanied by certain activities or disciplines: repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love. Some people talk of giving up something for Lent. But this first Sunday in Lent stands to remind us that the point is not our actions or works, or lack of them, but on the One who came to save us and gives us new life as pure gift. As today we see our Lord’s very first act of “binding the strong man” (Mark 3:27), rendering the old, evil foe, the devil, now to be in the complete control of and obedience to Jesus, we are bidden to see that in His earthly ministry our Savior is the perfect Israel, fulfilling God’s Law for us and the whole world in order that He can thereby give up Himself as the only pure and effective sacrifice sent to destroy sin and death and bring forgiveness, life and salvation to all who are brought to faith in Him. Continue reading “Israel Redux”