god – Find Faith. Inspire Hope. Pursued by Grace.

Three’s Company – A Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday

https://soundcloud.com/user-688328025/holy-trinity-sermon

How easy it is for adults to ignore, gloss over, or to block out some of the pressing questions of faith of youth? Even to say “I don’t know” is so much better than some flippant or derisive answer. Today is one of the weird Sunday’s in the church calendar known as ‘Holy Trinity” Sunday. It’s a Sunday in which we come face-to-face with a mystery; the mystery of Almighty God. Like the children who are trying to wrap their young minds around the concept of God, we too have questions about the Trinity. Who is God? Where is God? What is God doing?

Frederick Buechner, who always has something witty to say about the Christian faith, describes the Trinity in his classic book, “Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC” describes the trinity in this fashion:

“If the idea of God as both Three and One seems far-fetched and confusing, look in the mirror someday. There is (a) the interior life known only to yourself and those you choose to communicate it to (the Father). There is (b) the visible face which in some measure reflects that inner life (the Son). And there is (c) the invisible power you have in order to communicate that interior life in such a way that others do not merely know about it, but know it in the sense of its becoming part of who they are (the Holy Spirit). Yet what you are looking at in the mirror is clearly and invisibly the one and only you.”

This is one the days in the church year to ask these questions. Our appointed readings give us a sense of what God is like. You might say a glimpse of the Trinity; for we see Jesus, the Son of god, speaking of his father and of the unseen power of the Holy Spirit. For those who are interested in searching for God, John’s Gospel gives us an unusual perspective.

Meet Nicodemus. You know this story well. Nicodemus is a man whose questions may have been squashed at one time or another, but he is curious about God. He has searched for God, and went to one person whom he thought could give him a couple of answers, (or most likely more questions!) Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews go to talk about God to Jesus by night. No one of his social significance would take the chance of being seen with a rebel teacher. But Nicodemus was curious, so he meets with Jesus in the dark of night.

You’ll note in verse 2 of the reading Nicodemus says to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God.” Nicodemus pointed to the signs that Jesus did as evidence of his identity. Without even asking a question, Nicodemus heard an unexpected answer about entering the kingdom of God. “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above,” Jesus tells Nicodemus.

New birth is the entrance into the kingdom of God. And if it’s the entrance into the Kingdom, it must be pretty significant. To Christians, especially Lutherans, baptism is essential. God may have other ways of bringing people into the kingdom, but if God does, the Bible doesn’t say. Someone has said, “God has bound us to baptism, but he has not bound himself to it.”

What is this kingdom into which we are baptized? We know it’s not a place. You won’t find it on a roadmap. There are no billboards or road signs. This kingdom is instead a matter of your heart’s allegiance. God’s kingdom is found in the soul of every believer. Outwardly to the secular world, the reign of God doesn’t exist. The domain is invisible. But the people of the reign are everywhere. We are gathered here this morning into what we call the church or the body of Christ. Baptism is God’s new birth, and it changes us and makes us ready to respond to God’s will. It gives us a fresh start, a new beginning.

You and I make all kinds of new beginnings. New school, new jobs, new marriage, or merely a fresh start to an old way. None of these brings us into God’s kingdom. Only that which God provides can do it. The Bible calls it Baptism, by water and the Spirit of God, it is God’s means to enter the kingdom.

And baptism lasts forever because it is the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the name of God in which we baptize. It is God’s grace that saves us- and that never wears thin. No matter how old we are when it happens, in baptism, we come before the Trinity and receive grace upon grace. God’s goodness comes to us, washes us clean, and saves us from death and the devil. Sometimes it’s helpful to think of the church has a large swimming pool with all kinds of kids floating around in the baptismal waters.

Because every ministry we do in the name of Christ, we do from the waters of our baptism. And our baptism isn’t a spectacle. It is a sacrament featuring God – the Holy Trinity. That means the spotlight is on God’s love and grace for us, each and every time. And each of us can be part of the lighting crew that shines forth God’s love. Thanks be to God.

Know When to Hold Em, When to Fold Em, and When to Just Walk Away- John 15

[Jesus said:] ¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

I didn’t think that the yard work I did last Monday would turn into the subject of a sermon, but it fits perfectly with Jesus metaphor of vines and branches. My lilac shrub and this vine plant that I can barely stand needed to a cut, so with the beautiful weather, I didn’t want to miss my chance to trim a little of the plants. Here is a piece of the branch that I cut.

What Jesus is talking about as fruit is faith. We can be confident he is talking about faith because he gives a clue. He says that those who are not bringing forth fruit will have to be pruned and thrown away. This is because they apparently are not drawing their life from Christ who is the Vine. They are cut off from Christ. Consequently, they are cut off from life. Their lives are fruitless and dead. They must be pruned and taken away and ultimately thrown into the fire. On the other hand, Jesus says to his disciples, “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.” This is to say that Jesus has already cleansed, pruned, and trimmed his disciples that they might be able to yield the proper fruit. This is an essential point in the text…. They did not cleanse themselves. They did not make themselves fit branches for bearing fruit. Jesus himself furnished them with the righteousness to produce their fruit acceptable to the Divine Vinedresser.

The point of all this pruning work is so that we “abide” in God. Really, the heart of John’s gospel message is to abide in Christ love.

So, this week, I want us to think about the fruits of our faith. Jesus says it like this, a good tree bears good fruit. And in our text, Jesus is the vine. God is the vine grower. We are the branches and expected to bear fruit. We cannot do so unless we abide in the vine.

Like the shrubs I trimmed, God removes branches that don’t bear fruit. God prunes those that do. God is glorified when we become disciples and bear fruit. And what this fruit is not spelled out.

But, we might take a cue from Paul, who wrote about bearing fruit long before John wrote his gospel: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…”(Galatians 5:22) If we consider this interpretation of fruit, love, peace, joy and such as the fruit, then John is saying we find these by dwelling in Christ.

Here’s this morning’s take away – the branches (disciples) cannot bear fruit (good works) apart from the vine. Our good deeds come from God. And if the branch tries to bear fruit apart from the vine, it will wither. Focus in abiding in Christ first, and the branch will eventually bear fruit.

Being connected to Christ is the only way we can honestly know we are connected to the source which provides life.

It seems to me that in every parish I have served, there are a some who worked their fingers to the bone trying to do good at some point they flamed out. They weren’t connected to the vine. It’s our only source of energy, and we need reminding that we have to stay connected to Christ, the source of life. Some of us, rather than discerning God’s direction, operate frantically. Worship and prayer were secondary to some. I’m all for helping people, but without the spiritual food and drink, we will all eventually run out of gas.

Our spiritual lives are the food we need for a life of ministry, a life of walking the way of the cross. We can’t get there on our own. We need the energy from the vine to keep up going. So many of us take on too much and eventually we wither, like the seed that fell in rocky soil and then was withered by the sun because it didn’t have the depth of root. Even though some folks meant well, they got crispy from not receiving nourishment and fade away.

What are the things in my life that God calls me to Hold, Fold or Grow in my walk with Christ? Maybe I need to think about rearranging some of the priorities and values I profess to have??? Perhaps I need to do something more? Possibly I need to cut back??? Pray about it and remember through your baptism your connection to the source of life.

And this week I want you to consider what you immerse yourself. What would it be like to immerse yourself in love? Specifically, what would it be like to immerse yourself in the love of Christ – to love as Christ loved?

Let us pray…. Amen.

Ash Wednesday – February 14, 2018

https://soundcloud.com/user-688328025/ash-wednesday-pastor-steven-cauley-february-14-2018

Increasing as I age, I become more aware of my sinful nature. It’s not as if I’m a terrible person, but I realize the powerful effect sin has on my life and the world God loves. Perhaps it is the realization I have that I have the power to destroy and great potential to create distress and havoc. Not that I would ever wish to access my ability to create harm and hurt others, but I am aware of my power and limitations.

St. Ignatius described sin as putting our hope in the wrong things. From this perspective, I can see how far off my inner drive and thoughts are from the will of God. I think for some it would be just easier to give into sin and live a life without any internal examination to discover the beauty of one’s self. In other words, it is so tempting to live life in these times of transition with the motto, “Do whatever you want as long as you don’t harm anyone.” After all, it is the beginning of the age of authenticity. The point in time where our own experience directs our life and if we don’t like doing something we might as well quit the practice because the cost of missing out on something else is too significant.

The world is getting smaller every day and more focus on the self. Losing sight of the inner relatedness of life is easy.

As Dr. King taught, “all people see in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

In other words, what affects one person impacts us all. We might not consciously be aware of, but we are all, as Dr. King suggests, woven together into one fabric of life.

Moving away from our self-centered way of living to a concern for the Commonwealth of all people was Dr. King’s vision of what he called the “Beloved community” in which he meant the Body of Christ dwelling together under the Reign of God. The sin manifests itself when we divide the world into the “good” and the “bad.” Of course, we are always the good ones; the others are bad. The ones who have a problem are still outside of us, and therefore we tell ourselves we must struggle against those outside our group.

But a real community is different because of the realization that the evil is inside of us – not just inside the community or group, but inside of me. Jesus talks about this as thinking about the need to remove the speck of dust from my neighbor’s eye but overlooking the log that dwells within my eye. Sin dwells within me. Warfare is within me, within my community. We confess that we aren’t living the life God desires for us and that we place our hope in things that do not create an experience for all.

Jesus calls us into living a different vision for life. A life where, through our baptism into Christ’s death, we too are called to live a different narrative. A narrative where we are called to be agents of peace amidst the violent nature of the world while recognizing the warfare that is going on inside of me.

Jesus calls us to seek the wholeness, in that our souls are restless until they abide with God. Nothing else will satisfy this longing. Many will attempt to fill their spiritual needs with things that are not spiritual, and as a result, they can never find that inner peace as they continuously battle their own self.

Jesus gives us words of great hope this Ash Wednesday. He tells us that he is God’s “Way, Truth, and Life.” There is a need in all of our souls that we cannot meet. It’s impossible for a human to be completely satisfied on our own. We seek for meaning and life outside ourselves.

This is the day we remember how we have placed our hope in those things that are not God. That we have all wondered from the Truth, Way, and Life that God desires for us. This is the day we remember that we are not at peace. We wrestle with far more matters of life than we care to admit. This is the day where we remember that we have neglected God’s call to live peacefully in community with the world God loves. And because of all this, one day our life on earth will eventually come to an end.

This is a heavy day. But there is hope. Hope is found in the alternative vision Jesus offers in which there are many places to dwell in God’s house. In Jesus, there are many kinds of people who stay and live out what Dr. King called a “beloved community.”

This Lent, we will dig deeper what it means that Jesus is the “Way.” Not “one way” or “a way” but “The Way.” Jesus words in the Gospel speak to us in ways that our culture cannot and will not talk. So, remember to listen to his words as if you were hearing them for the first time. Think about what you are seeing in your life and what God wants to show you. For God is there, ready to receive us and forgive us even in spite of ourselves.

Hear his invitation to repentance and the possibility of growth in your faith again. Trust that where Jesus is, there we may also be. Amen.

Pouting in the Pit or Preaching to the People?

If I had been assigned the task of putting together the Old Testament, it would probably look a lot different than the one we use today. First of all, I would take the opportunity to get rid of some of the folks I’ve never liked.

I know David is a pretty significant character, given that he is the ancestor of Jesus and all, but the whole infidelity thing has always bothered me—so, either David would have to go, or I would revise the story to take out his transgression.

I would keep Deborah, for sure. And maybe write a little more about her— we don’t really have enough female leaders in the Bible, right?

Elijah and his wonder-workings are too good to pass up, so he’d stay.

Elisha, on the other hand, would have to go. After all, I think it is highly inappropriate to retaliate just because some little boy has called you – ‘baldy.’ (- 2 Kings 2:32-35)

In my version of the Old Testament, Amos would stay with his beautiful metaphors of God’s justice rolling down like cascading waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Hosea would have go—his divine marriage metaphor just doesn’t work for me. — (Hosea 1:2-3:5)

And some of the smaller, minor prophetic books seem redundant, so I’d probably cut some of them and add someone a little more modern like Dorothy Day or Martin Luther King Jr.

But the person I’d be least likely to include in my canon would be Jonah. Sure, it makes for a great story, being swallowed by a fish. But if you look at his character, it just doesn’t meet what I like to think of as good family values.

Let’s see, the first time he ‘got the call’ from the Lord, Jonah went running the other direction.

In fact, he tried to hide from God by getting in a ship with a bunch of sailors and going to sea. Jonah must have known what God had in mind. God must have known that God wasn’t going to cause destruction upon those Ninevehites. Jonah must have known that God was merciful, even to those who run away. And Jonah, in his indignation, did not want the good news to come to people like them. Jonah thought he could keep the good news from the Ninevehites. So he wimped out and ran as far away as he could from God’s call.

Okay, maybe not the first place that I would go if I were hiding from God, but this is Jonah’s story, not mine. Not only does Jonah not listen to God, but he tries to make things better by getting the sailors to dump him overboard.

Jonah goes into the ocean only to be swallowed by a giant fish.

I don’t recall enough of my high school biology classes to remember much about fish anatomy. I presume they must have ample stomachs.

But one big enough to hold a person, for three days?

Or maybe Jonah was just a petite person?

I’d be curious to know what the Biblical literalists do with this one.

At any rate, Jonah’s marine home is short-lived, as he is literally ‘vomited‘ by the fish onto the shores of Nineveh. God comes to him a second time, as we have in today’s lesson.

I wonder why God is so patient with little Jonah here. It’s equally as unbelievable as Jonah’s being swallowed up by the fish. He’s already proven himself to be a bit of a weasel and reasonably fool-hardy to boot. Why God didn’t look for another more qualified person to prophecy to Nineveh?

But God tells Jonah, again, to go to Nineveh. Get up, God says, Go to Nineveh and proclaim the message.

So Jonah, grudgingly, picks himself up out of the sand and wipes off the fish goo. His fists are clenched, his face twisted, as he stomps off to do the ministry he was called to do.

We never get to find out why it is that Jonah is so opposed to going to Nineveh. We don’t know why these people, the Ninevehites, who were so eager to hear good news, were the object of Jonah’s disdain.

Why did Jonah dislike them so? Why is it that sharing the good news was so awful for Jonah, that he would have preferred the cold sea to ministering to them? Was it because the Ninevites were different than Jonah? Was this an ancient ‘race problem’?

Perhaps Jonah wanted to claim God for himself, and not share him with those of a different lifestyle and culture? Was this an ancient case of ‘affirmative-action’? Did Jonah think that these non-Jews were getting special treatment?

Maybe Jonah was upset because he had been faithful to the covenant, keeping the law, and earning the love of God, while the Ninevehites—who had done none of these things, were about to receive this very same love of God.

Was he mad because he had played by the rules, the same rules that had gotten him ahead in life? Was Jonah jealous that God would waste his time on people he refused to get to know?

Jonah, in his refusal to go to Nineveh, was saying that he knew more than God. Surely, you don’t want me to go there, to those people, Jonah was speaking. You wouldn’t want me to spend time with people who don’t share my same values, could you?

God, Jonah must have been thinking, you must have misspoken. I’ll just wait over here for a while until you come to your senses. Indeed, your message can’t be for people like them.

I said earlier, how I would choose to keep Jonah, among others, out of the Hebrew Scriptures. I mean, his story is disturbing, perhaps too distressing. There is a part of Jonah’s story that hits a little too close to home.

There is a part of Jonah’s story that looks a little too much like myself, like someone I wish I were not.

It’s the part of me that get jealous when I hear other people’s good news. It’s the part of me that gets angry when it feels like others get rewarded for not following the rules. It’s the part of me that would instead judge a person based on stereotypes then get to know her for myself.

And its this same part of me that fakes happiness for a friend when deep down I am scowling with envy. It’s this little, but persistent part of me that would instead remain in my insecurity than enjoy the Nineveh’s of the world.

It’s the part of me that would rather pout in the cold stomach of a fish than celebrate what God has done.

There is this pit, deep inside of me that resists being seen. There is an ugliness that shows itself when one’s guard is down.

And it is from this pit that we find ourselves doing things for which we are later ashamed, like feeling for our wallets when we walk past a person of color, like only having friends who look like us, like thinking less of immigrants or the working poor.

These shameful parts of ourselves show themselves at unexpected moments. We try to hide them by insisting that, ‘yes, I have black friends,’ or ‘skin color doesn’t matter to me.’ But our ugliness keeps us, like Jonah, sitting in the pit of a fish, holding us prison to our jealous fears and insecurities.

But God doesn’t want us to stay in these pits. God doesn’t want us to stay in the stomach of a fish when there are places like Nineveh that have yet to hear the good news. God offers us a way out of our hatred, our isolation, and our shame.

And God doesn’t want us to rewrite scripture or pretend that there are not parts of us yearning for connection and security. God knows that we are held prisoner to shame and envy. But God does not want us to live that way. God does not want us to keep on living in the stomach of a fish!

That’s why God sent Jesus to us. That’s why God offers us a new way to live, a new way that doesn’t see envy before humanity. God teaches us this new way to live. God frees us from our pits of despair in the simplest of ways. We don’t need to stay bound by our ugliness and insignificance.

Because God loves it away.

God loved little Jonah, stuck in a fish, insignificant next to giant Nineveh, the giant sea, and the giant fish. God found little Jonah, who had tossed himself away to sea, who was afraid of all that life had to offer and returned him to safety.

God seeks us out, especially when we feel insignificant, especially when we are isolated, and returns us to dry land. God loves us out of our shame. God loves us out of our insecurity and our envy. God loves away any ugliness that may be buried deep inside.

But the story doesn’t stop here.

God rescues us from the pit, so that we may be freed to go to places like Nineveh, that we may be able to love others as we have been loved.

God rescues us from the isolation that we may connect with others. And those of us, like Jonah, who know what it feels to be trapped in the pit of a stomach don’t forget this feeling of insignificance.

But instead of being bound by this feeling, we use it to seek out others who may feel or who may be treated that way.

God sought us out, so we can do nothing else but seek others out, and share with them this great love that has restored our humanity and given us life.

Because with God’s love, no one is insignificant, no one is shamed, and all are made whole.

Amen.

Water and the Word: Lutherans and Baptism

From the looks of it, baptism may not appear to be a miracle, but it is the most important step in the faith of person. It can looks so ordinary – a couple of ministers in robes, a couple of parents, gathered around a bowl to say a few words and splash some water on a baby who many times is a sleep. Who’d ever guess that this might just be the most important event in someone’s life?

But, isn’t just like God, you know….the God who was born in a manger, to hide what might be the most miraculous event in a simple ceremony.

Baptism is a miracle in it we hear the Word of God and the washing of water in which God declares each of us to be God’s own beloved. Where we are taken into the communion of other saints, and are given a future that God promises to us that not even death or the devil will be able to destroy.

To understand the importance of this sacrament, we need to back-fill the biblical story all the way back to the first chapter of the first book in the bible, Genesis. Where Adam and Eve experience the fall from paradise.

Christian understanding is that it was because of turning their back on God that God cast them out of the garden and because of this, everyone is born into what St. Augustine calls “Original Sin”.

The bible speaks of the wages of sin as death. In that we all will die as a result of the fall.

St. Paul talks about the “old self” before baptism, as being the Old Adam, as in the Adam before the fall.

And I think we can carry this a step further in Lutheran’s understanding of baptism. The Old Adam in each of us loves to attach baptism and ignore the promise that God has made to us in the water and the word. “Water”… humph… “Water! Whoever heard of water and God coming to us? We flush our toilets with water and now you’re telling me that God is coming to me through means of water? Ha!”

Hear how silly of a claim that is for a non-believer?

But baptism isn’t just water for Lutherans, it is water along with the Word of God. The water and the Word cannot be separated. Apart from the Word of God, the water is just water. Apart from the water, the Word is still God’s Word, but the sacrament isn’t there without both.

“Make disciples of all nations” Jesus says in Matthew’s gospel. How does this happen? We make disciples through baptism, “baptizing them in the name of the father, son and holy spirit.”

Let’s face it. That’s the easy part. The sacrament is the easy part. But that’s not where Jesus ends it.

“And teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you, remembering I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20

“Go therefore” The syntax of the text is a command. We receive Jesus’ command to go.

So why is it, if our baptism into Christ is so full of grace and gifts, isn’t it hard to understand why the world isn’t clamoring for it, shouldn’t our calendar be so full of scheduled baptisms that we find it hard to fit them all in?

Actually though, the truth of the matter is quite the opposite.

There isn’t a gift, next to Jesus himself, that the ‘Old Adam’, the world, and the devil have a deeper hatred. Baptism, as we say in our liturgy is about a death. It is the funeral for the Old Adam, but it’s also about a birth. It’s the birth of your new identity. So, it’s no wonder that the Old Adam in us wants to attach God’s promise to us in baptism.

See, the Old Adam in us likes things the way they are because they please us. The ‘Old Adam’ in us wants to attack God’s promise to make it seem as though we are doing something for God — not something that God has done and does for us. As a result, people wind up fearing, loving, and trusting in what they do and what they can do, and it demishishes what God has done for us.

I’ve heard it said on many occasions from pagans, atheists, and unbelievers, that baptism is a magical, good luck charm and a life after death insurance policy so that we won’t be afraid to die. I can see their point, based upon their observation of laissez-fare cultural Christianity in which one is baptized but that’s the extent of their faith life.

And then, on the other side, the super-pious ignore Baptism as if God can’t do what God has promised, and needs our help in god’s assistance. This can lead us to believe that we can concentration on our own convictions and decisions for Christ, and to trust in our own “experiences” as being the truth.

At the end of the day, the fact is, Christ has commanded Baptism. Baptism shouldn’t be scary nor is it malicious…. It is a loving order that God has directed to the Church.

And so, I leave you with this question. “What’s the point?” Here again, in the Small Catechism, Luther says that baptism is about the forgiveness of sin, redeems from death and the devil, and the offer of eternal life.

Our baptism was a mini-judgement. As the Word of God was spoken to you and the water washed across your face, God has judged you already. You’ve been told the verdict and what it will be on the last day. “Not guilty,” and the same words at God’s Son Jesus were uttered, “This is my son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased.” After God’s judgement, then we receive the gifts of the last judgement: forgiveness, deliverance, and everlasting life.

The old Adam in us hears this and says, “Wait a minute, there has to be a catch somewhere. Nothing in life is free. How can god do that?” So, the Old Adam hunts around for a good response. “This stuff is too good to be true.” Where’s the catch? What’s the hidden agenda?”

“Aha” old Adam finally reads Luther’s response. “We have to believe it… that’s the price tag.” There’s a method to this logic. If we just have enough believe in God. If we convince ourselves that our believe in God is sufficient, surly God will be pleased with us, right?

God doesn’t work that way, though. There is no catch, not trap, nor hidden agendas or even a price tag on baptism. It is only a free gift.

God wants you to believe, but God isn’t waiting for you to come up with enough belief or trust on your own. God gives what God commands– making a believer out of you, and putting to death the old Adam.

Baptism is just the entry point into the Christian faith. From our baptism onward, God sends the Holy Spirit to work in us each day to make believers out of us. Then there’s the old Adam that says, “It can’t be a gift. Somehow there’s got to be a catch to everything. And what about the people who are baptized and never do anything about it? There must be something we have to do ourselves to get what we want from God.”

“No” says god. “There isn’t a catch. All I have to give is yours, and I’ve already given everything you need in your baptism, as a gift. All I want is to make a better believer out of you. And I’m doing that myself. There’s nothing more that can be done.”

“I started on you on the day you were baptized, and I’m going to keep at until the day I take you to myself.”

Sisters and brothers, when we are able finally see and recognize the gift God has offered, is what will finally destroy the old Adam.

Finally we can jump off the merry-go-round of trying to self-justify and just be the man or woman, girl or boy who God has created you to be and nothing more. It is God setting you free from yourself. Knowing the promise, we are freed from trying to impress God.

You are freed to call on God as Abba. You are free from trying to impress people with your old Adam’s religion. You are free to speak the word to your neighbors, telling them of all that God does and gives. You’re free from your own doubts and judgements. You are free to believe what God has already told you and will tell you each new day: He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” That’s you. In our baptism we can be sure of that.

Amen.

Lutherans and Creeds: The Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism

Creeds

Referencing the Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship (ELW) page 1162. Apostles’ Creed in Luther’s Small Catechism.

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First thing first: What’s the point of a Creed? Christianity is a “creedal” religion in that it has always been theological. Theology for my purpose is defined as: “Faith seeking understanding. “(Anselum of Canterbury).
1. 1. A Christianity without a creed first arose in the sixteenth century when “individual seers” came to the forefront of Christian thought known as Christian mystics.
2. As one might imagine– discussed and debated by critics of “Creedal” Christianity, and rightly noted that the Apostles’ creed (read: any creed) isn’t biblical. They are correct in that point…. But…. The need for a creed arises out of our human need to share our intellect about who/what in an attempt to describe the triune God.
3. Creeds attempt to give an articulate, intelligent expression to our faith in the triune God, and they serve to provide good order for the faith life of the Church.
4. 1. Bear in mind that every creed was fashioned at a specific time in history and the ‘great’ creeds of the church where often fashioned around a time of turmoil to help give definition to faith in the Triune God. Creeds typically weren’t written during quiet times in the Church history!
  2. Moreover, the creeds are not only marked with a specific time in history, but also by their catholicity. They (creeds) are universal in nature and can be applied to any context and culture. This is to say that a Christian Creed can never be sectarian in nature. It has to, and must be, universal and to stand the test of time. In other words, the creeds are timeless in that each generation confesses the same believe in the triune God.
5. For our life of faith, creeds are most often used in worship. It is both uniquely a personal statement of faith about what I personally believe, and a confession our faith as the gathered body of Christ. IN that when we say “I believe…” we mean to say both “I believe” individually and “I” as the One gathered body of Christ.
6. From their earliest forms in Christian history, the creeds have been associated with the entry point in to the Christian Church – baptism and/or the affirmation of baptism.
The Three “Great” Christian Creeds (in Western Christianity)The Apostles’ Creed– not sure exactly on the historicity of the creed… Legend holds that the Apostles’ Creed was composed by the Apostles on the 10^th day after the Ascension by/through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t recorded in scripture. We do know, however, that a version of the Apostles’ Creed was floating around 100A.D. and was most likely developed by the church in Rome.
1. 1. This included the language that Lutherans (and other Christians) still use in baptism liturgy known as the “Interrogatory Creed of Hippolytus”(c. 215A.D.) … “Do you believe in God the Father? I believe in God…”
2. The Nicene Creed was adopted by the Church in 325A.D. to hold together a common faith and hold the church together.

And lastly, (although seldom used any longer in liturgical worship) is the Athanasian Creed which originated in the 5^th century as an attempted to the Holy Trinity

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Luther on the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism

Luther believed the Apostles’ Creed, like scripture, “speaks of Creation, Redemption and final sanctification” which, for Luther, were the “great deeds” of God.

First Article of the Apostle Creed “on Creation”(turn to ELW p. 1162)
1. For Lutherans, when we confess the first article of the creed (according to Luther) we express three things:
2. 1. It is God who has made me and all the created world. Therefore, we are, according to Luther, “indebted” to God for everything we have. We could not live one hour, nor would the world exist, if God didn’t care for it.
  2. God’s good and mercy are the only reason why God created me and all the world and why God preserves me and all creation.
  3. It is my duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey God because God is good and merciful.
Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed – “Redemption Article” Christ redeems us from sin, death and the devil. This is the confession of faith that we will use tonight that Luther wrote as an explanation to the second article.
1. The “Who, How and Why” of the Creed:
2. 1. WhoJesus Christ and no one else in Heaven or on earth is the Lord of the Church. He is the Son of God and born of the woman, Mary.
  2. HowBy his life on Earth, His deeds, and the power that is His, Jesus Christ abundantly deserves the name “Lord of the Church” through his sufferings and death in which he has redeemed me from sin, death and the devil.
  3. WhyJesus Suffered and died and became my Lord in order that I might be his own, live under him, and serve him here on earth and in heaven.
The Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed- The Holy Spirit and His “Workshop” Here Luther speaks of the Works of the Holy Spirit in terms of the Past, Present and Future. By the “Work Shop” Holy Spirit, Luther speaks of the church has the Holy Spirit’s workshop. “There we have God’s Word and Sacraments, which Christ provides…it is in the church that the Holy Spirit continues to work on me and make me ever more pleasing to God.”
1. 1. The past – in past times, the Holy Spirit has sanctified me by bringing me into the Christian Church and keeping me there.
  2. 1. H.S. invites me into the gospel, shows me my sin, created faith in my heart, and separates me from the Devil.
  3. The Present – I believe the Holy Spirit sanctifies me in the Present by granting me daily forgiveness of my sins.
  4. 1. Daily the Holy Spirit forgives my sin. “The Holy Spirit forgives my sins daily and abundantly and so provides for my soul as God the Creator provides for my body.”
    2. The future – I believe the Holy Spirit will in the Future wholly and forever sanctify me by raising me from the dead and granting me everlasting life.

The Holy Spirit will raise me from the dead

The Holy Spirit will sanctify me forever.

Creeds and believers

In our scripture text from Matthew tonight we hear Jesus ask his disciples “who do people say the son of man is? Some say John the Baptist, but other Elijah, and other Jeremiah, or a prophet.” And then Jesus ask them personally, and it’s Peter’s confession of who Jesus is “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”. That was Peter’s confession of faith in its earliest form. And our faith, in large measure stems from what we confession individually and corporately each week in our creeds.

Knowing that our faith always has to do with invisible things, things which our eyes cannot see nor our hands grasp.