The Three Cs

This was the first sermon I preached to an actual congregation ... in that case, Ascension Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in March 2016. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 You’ve gotta love firsts. We cherish the first day of school, first communion, and our first anniversary. We love first place, our first paychecks, our first cars, our first houses, the first man on the moon. And if you are like me, some of you will remember the first time you went to church and how hearing the Gospel for the first time became so life-changing. Now, I’m not sure why I chose this for my first sermon. There is a concept in our epistle reading that is so big, that has so many syllables, I spent nearly my first week of preparation merely trying to wrap my head around it. I’m talking about the ministry of reconciliation. THAT is a mouthful of syllables. But to say it simply, the ministry of reconciliation is this: God followed through on HIS first priority: restoring creation and his relationship with us, thr...

There may not be a more precise expression of faith than Article X of the Augsburg Confession. In the Latin text, with just 33 words, the confessors present a profoundly clear explanation of one of the most important articles of the catholic faith: that “the body and the blood of Christ are truly present and are distributed to those who eat the Lord’s Supper.” The translation of the German text of the same article expands the confession slightly, declaring that the body and blood are “true” and “under the form of bread and wine.” Given what Scripture says about the Lord’s Supper, the confessors could not have explained it in a better way. There are four accounts of the Supper in Scripture — Mt 26:26-28, Mk 14:22-24, Lk 22:19-20, and 1 Cor 11:23-25. If not for more detail provided by Luke and Paul about what the cup is, those passages would be almost exactly the same. Paul expressed it with the most detail: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus ...

There is no Biblical writer who emphasizes the importance of prayer more than St. Luke. In his gospel, we encounter Jesus either praying or on his way to pray at least ten times (3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18,28,29; 11:1; and 22:11,32,39,41,44), and we hear him encouraging prayer at least seventeen more times. In contrast, Matthew and Mark use the word “pray” just 31 times — combined. And interestly, although John records the longest, most detailed and most magnificent prayer in Scripture, the high priestly prayer of chapter 17, he uses the word pray only twice, both of which appear in 17:9. Luke will continue his prayerful theme throughout the book of Acts, where it comes up another 31 times. In contrast, Paul, despite his call for us to pray unceasingly, wrote about prayer just 37 times. Mary and Zechariah get credit for the most beautiful prayers in Luke’s gospel, but no prayer by Jesus is either more intense than the one recorded in Luke 22:39-46. Modeling what he taught us during the Se...

Behold, the glory of the Lord shone around them! It is hard to look past it in the Gospel of Luke because δόξα is at every turn: at the birth of Jesus, during his transfiguration, and in his resurrection. The shepherds saw it when the Angel of the Lord appeared to them (2:9). The heavenly host heralded it (2:14); Zechariah finally proclaimed it (2:32); the Father and Holy Spirit showered him with it in the river (3:22); Jesus, Moses, and Elijah appeared in it (9:31,32); and the disciples rejoiced in it (19:38), all before the Christ reached his final glory (24:26). The common denominator in all these events is Christ’s humility before them. The pericope on the transfiguration of the Lord is in itself about much more than glory, but, behold, you can’t look past it. The transfiguration is quite literally a watershed moment in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus has taken his three chosen witnesses up the mountain so that the Father can unveil in no uncertain terms just who the Chosen One is. The d...

The setting of the Gospel of Saint Matthew is unlike the other three Gospels: It resounds with the proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah. Matthew moves quickly through the birth and infancy narratives of chapters one and two into the adult ministry of Jesus. But along the way Matthew sets the stage by showing how prophecies from Isaiah, Malachi, Zechariah, Hosea, and Jeremiah, in particular, effectively link Jesus to the Torah (Matt. 1:1-17), the virgin birth (Isa. 7:23) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and as a survivor of a slaughter of innocents (Jer. 31:15) who comes out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). As chapter three opens, John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-80) has begun his ministry as the one calling in the desert to turn the hearts of the fathers. Textual Notes 1 Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις -- The expression “in those days” rings throughout prophetic scripture, serving as an important marker that something big is about to happen: Elijah has arrived to “...

The pericope for Lord’s Supper in the Gospel of Matthew is in the midst of a paradox. The fruit of salvation offered in a cup is sandwiched by two of the worst kinds of sin. On one hand, Jesus will be betrayed by someone who doesn’t believe in him (Mt 26:14-16, 24), and on the other he will be denied by someone who does (Mt 26:30-35). Jesus will warn us that it would be better we hadn’t been born than to betray Him (Mt 26:24), and he has already said that if we deny him, he will deny us (Mt 10:33). All the while, forgiveness is in the offering. As readers hit this foundational passage to the sacrament of Holy Communion, the ministry of Jesus is coming to a close. Matthew has presented the Messiah in an orderly fashion, not linearly like Mark and Luke, through five discourses — the sermon on the mount, the ten miracles, the establishment of the apostolic ministry, the kingdom parables, the life of the church, and the prophecy of the end times — and he has gone into great detail conn...

What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time? In case you've missed it, I write a lot about believing in God. (OK, that's an understatement; it is what I write about). Believe, is my reminder. Set your hope in Jesus. Have faith that the one you have not seen is real, that the stories you read about him are true. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength. Of course, I am not just reminding you; I am reminding myself, in a large part because of today's passage. You realize, demons believe in Jesus, don't you? Oh, wait? Demons are real, you ask? Of course they are real! Why would we need a savior if there are no demons? Yes, demons are very real; they really do possess people; they are going to hell, and they know it. And they want to take you and me with them. Demons are intimately aware of who Jesus is. In fact, they not only recognized the son of Joseph and Mary, they recognized him as the W...

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. I made a horrible mistake. For the longest time I thought godliness was something that came from me. Godliness, one dictionary will tell you, is a piety by virtue of being a godly person, or having a righteousness by virtue of being pious, or devout, or reverent. Therefore, if I am pious; therefore, if I am doing something righteous; therefore if I am being reverent, then I am living a godly life, the dictionary will tell you. Apparently, the people who wrote the definition haven't read the Bible. God has revealed a mystery to us here: Godliness isn't something you do. Godliness is something God does through you. Listen to the words of Timothy, again, as God reveals the mystery. The mystery of godliness is Jesus was manifested in the flesh (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35); Th...