Pentecost 9 – 22 July 2018 -Year B

Grace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 The text for this meditation is written in the 6^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 30–44 & 53 to 56:

³⁰ The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ³⁶ Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. 

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognised him ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

The Holy Spirit inspired each of the Gospel writers to include an account of the “Feeding of the 5,000”in their Gospel accounts.  So what is it about this event that makes it so important that it gets that kind of attention?  Yes, this a rather spectacular miracle, but not every miracle makes it into every Gospel account.  Why this one? Surely feeding people isn’t as important as healing the sick, or casting out demons.  It surely isn’t as important as raising the dead.  Surely there is a good reason why this account is included in all four Gospel accounts?

Probably the most important reason is that this miracle presents a model for the church.  Here we begin to see the way that Jesus distributes His gifts to His church in this world.  

First Jesus asked the disciples to feed the people. ^{(Mark 6:37)}But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”When you realise that a denarius is an entire day’s wage, you realise that this is the disciples admitting that they are naive … helpless even.  In reality, Jesus does His best work when weare helpless.  It is as the Lord said to Paul, ^{(2 Corinthians 12:9)}“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

It is after Jesus showed the disciples that they were helpless that Heprovided the food.  In fact, the disciples were only talking about bread. Whereas Jesus provided bread and fish.  Furthermore, Jesus provided enough food so that everyone was satisfied and there were leftovers.  The meal that Jesus provided was far superior to the meal that the disciples imagined.

Now here is where we see the model for the church.  Jesus did not go up and down the rows handing out fish wraps to the people.  ^{(Mark 6:41)}Taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.Jesus put His marvellous gifts into the hands of His sinful, helpless, cluelessdisciples.  It was the disciples who set the food before the people.

Now just in case you think I am being a little hard on the disciples, remember who they are.  Remember James and John.  When a Samaritan village did not welcome Jesus they asked, ^{(Luke 9:54)}“Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”Then there was Peter who caused Jesus to rebuke him and say,^{(Mark 8:33)}“Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”^{(Mark 9:34; Luke 22:24)}Tell us that the disciples regularly argued among themselves about who was the greatest. Then of course there was Judas to whom Jesus would eventually say,^{(Luke 22:48)}“Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Do we think the food that Judas handed out was any less nutritious because it came from the hand of the one who would betray Jesus?  Of course not.  It is Jesus who made the food.  James, John, Peter, Judas, and the others were merely the servers … waiters, if you will. Jesus made the food and it was perfect … no matter who handled it after Jesus made it.

Do you see the model for the church?  Jesus calls Christian people to be his waiters.  He says, “You give them My gifts … forgiveness, salvation, eternal life.” If it was impossible for the disciples to provide physical food, how much more impossible is it for us mere mortals to provide the eternal gifts?  Of course, Jesus does His best work when we are helpless.  OR, as the angel Gabriel told Mary, ^{(Luke 1:37)}“Nothing will be impossible with God.”

In fact, even as Gabriel spoke to Mary, the Son of God had taken up human flesh in her womb.  He had come down in order to do His best work … the work of salvation.  With His perfect life, He provided the righteousness we needed.  Then with His sacrifice on the cross, He paid our sin debt in full.  With His resurrection, He declared His victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil.

Shortly after Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples again. He said to them,^{(John 20:21–23)}“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”With these words, He gave the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation into the hands of these disciples.  With these words these disciples became His sent ones … His Apostles.  With these words, He gave the church the authority to forgive sins.

As the tele – ad man says; “But wait, there’s more!”  Jesus gives the gift of forgiveness in many ways.  Before He ascended, He also said, ^{(Matthew 28:18–20)}“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  With these words, He authorised the church to open up more channels of forgiveness. First of all, there is Holy Baptism … the word of God combined with water according to Christ’s command.  Then there is teaching … Christ’s Church satisfying the hunger of Christ’s people with the study of Christ’s Word.  These are two more gifts that Jesus gave into the hands of His people … the Holy Christian Church.

Finally, there is yet another gift that the Apostle Paul explained to the Church in Corinth. ^{(1 Corinthians 11:23–26)} “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”Here Paul teaches that Jesus has put His very body and His very blood into the hands of sinful men to be given as gifts of forgiveness to God’s people.  Not only that, but Paul also teaches that these gifts should be handed down from generation to generation.

So it is that, just as Jesus once put bread and fish into the hands of His sinful, helpless, clueless disciples, He still puts the gifts of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life into the hands of His priests who are still sinful, helpless, and yes, often clueless.  Just as the fish and bread that came from the hands of James, John, Peter, and even Judas was just as healthy and nutritious as when it left Jesus’ hand, so also the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation are valid even though your priest, by virtue of his human nature, also sins on a daily basis.

The gifts of God depend on the promise of Jesus Christ and nothing else … not the holiness of your priest… not your holiness … not your faith… or your priest’s faith.  It is the promise of Christ alone that makes these gifts perfect.  Your priest is simply the waiter who serves these gifts according to Christ’s command.  He is the ordained servant of Christ.

So we see how the “Feeding of the 5,000”is a model for the church.  Jesus has prepared His perfect gifts of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.  He prepared them with His holy life and His precious death.  Now that He has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, He gives these gifts to His servants so that they can set them before you, His forgiven brothers and sisters.

Our presence here, in this place, can do nothing for God.  It is as He told the psalmist,^{(Psalm 50) 12}“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. ¹⁰For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” Instead, we come before God in this place because, although God is truly everywhere, this is where He has promised to reveal His presence and give His gifts to us.  We come because he has called us with His Gospel and enlightened us with His gifts.  We come because it is God’s delight to pour out His gifts on us, and it is His gifts that make us part of his family forever. Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 7 – 8 July 2018 – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and        our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for our meditation is written in the 6^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 1 – 13:

He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard himwere astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And he marveled because of their unbelief. 

And he went about among the villages teaching. 

⁷ And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. ¹⁰ And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” ¹² So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. ¹³ And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Going on a journey requires some planning. Carol and I are going on a road trip on our motorcycle on Monday. On this long trip through far West Queensland we have to plan each day carefully. I have maps for each section that indicated fuel stops. I have worked out the travelling time carefully for every day, and booked accommodation in advance. I have town maps directing us to the accommodation, and have worked out the budget for fuel, food and lodgings. I also have to know where the reliable bike parts and service agents were along the way. We also carry some equipment in case of emergency and sufficient clothes (especially Carol) to cater for the variance of weather. We really did spend some time in preparation; but this makes us feel much more prepared and confident for the trip ahead. 

In our text from the Gospel of St. Mark; It says: "Calling the Twelve to Him"— "Him" being Jesus — "He sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits." Jesus sent out His disciples on a very important journey ahead of Him to prepare the way, to prepare the people for His coming, to talk to the people, to warn the people about their sin and the deadliness of sin, to call upon the people to repent. He sent them out to tell the people the good news about a God of love, a God of forgiveness, a God of hope, a God of peace, a God Who had sent His own Son into this world to be their Saviour. Jesus sent out His disciples with a very big task. Our response would be ‘give me a week to pack and get ready’. The Disciples probably said the same!

     This was not Jesus plan; He told them they did not need a lot of stuff. Our text says, "These were His instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.’ ”

     As I thought about how empty-handed it seemed these disciples were, I thought about the children of Israel when they left their captivity in Egypt and went out into the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. On that journey the Israelites ate manna and quail for forty years, until they came to the land that was settled. God provided for them! It's interesting about that manna that God provided. He provided it each day. He gave very specific instructions to the people: they could gather only enough for one day at a time, except on Friday, when they could gather enough for two days so that they would not have to work on the Sabbath. The Lord gave specific instructions: one day at a time.

     Why did He do that? It sounds a bit like an Army survival course! Why did Jesus send out His disciples on this important journey seemingly unprepared, left to their own devices? No food. No clothing. No money. Friends, He sends them out and they're going to learn an important lesson, an important lesson about which King David writes in the thirty-seventh Psalm. He says, "Trust in the LORD and do good."

     "Trust in the Lord" — that's a tough lesson to learn, isn't it, for us? It was certainly a tough lesson for the Israelites to learn out there in the wilderness, that they needed to trust in the Lord. Time after time after time they saw such huge obstacles ahead of them; either that, or they saw nothing. Over and over again their trust seemed to waiver and they complained and bickered.
     "Trust in the LORD and do good." It was a lesson that the disciples, too, would need to learn. Jesus one day would leave them. He would go to a cross, He would suffer and die. Yes, He would rise again and He would come back to be with His disciples, but only for forty days. Then He would give them a huge assignment, the same assignment you and I have: "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Just think about that scene: twelve men — eleven; Judas is gone — and they are to make disciples of all nations. With what? They had little money. No tertiary degrees, just Jesus promise “I will be with you always”. 

Their task was big, but it came with a big reassurance - trust in Me. In today’s text, in this mission, Jesus is preparing the disciples for that time after His ascension when they would need to truly trust in Him.

     It was a tough lesson for the Israelites, a tough lesson for the disciples, it's a tough lesson for you and me, as well, to really trust in the Lord as we should, to trust in the Lord, to commit our journey in this life to obeying His will and doing what He wants us to do. It's so easy, I think, sometimes to place our trust in "money and things" we can see them, we can feel them, we can hold them. It's so difficult to embrace a God Whom we don't see and yet are called upon to trust implicitly. The Bible calls upon us to live by faith and not by sight. "Trust in the LORD."
     Jesus tells His Disciples, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town." Let’s imagine turning up here in Mackay on a mission to proclaim the Gospel, no money, no bags, no food, totally dependent upon people to care. A Parish member kindly offers, "Hey, come and stay at my place and I'll feed you. I'll give you a place to sleep." Then, as the days wear on, there is another gracious invitation from another Parish member; now your host only has a narrow little cot and serves up lentils and stew, but the alternate offer includes prime steak and seafood.         What do you do?" Human nature being what it is, you might want go over to the other house. But what would that do to the ministry? Jesus wants to prevent anything from getting in the way of the ministry. So, He tells His disciples, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there" — don't shop for better deals — "stay there until you leave that town." "Trust in the LORD and do good." St Paul tells us in Philippians that if we want peace in our life’s journey we should be content with what God provides. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation."
     Jesus gives His disciples instructions. They are not to take a lot of stuff with them. They are to be content wherever they end up staying while they are doing the mission work that He sends them out to do. Jesus also realises that they're going to run into some problems along the way. In His last instruction given to them in the Gospel of Mark, he says, "And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." In Verses 1-6 of our Gospel lesson for today Jesus was rejected by the people in His home town of Nazareth and "was amazed at their lack of faith."

     It follows then, if Jesus is going to be rejected, it was sure that the disciples from time to time would also face that, and it's sure that you and I, as we share the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ, sometimes will be rejected. So what do we do in this journey of life? What do we do when we're rejected, when the message we feel so strong about is rejected? We have no choice but to look to our Saviour. What did Jesus do when He was rejected? He didn't stop. It says, "Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village." He didn't give up. He kept on going. He kept on striving. He worked through the adversity. Even as Jesus made that journey - for you and me — to a place called Calvary, the journey to a cross, He never gave up. When   Peter denied Him, Jesus didn't give up. When Judas betrayed Him, Jesus didn't give up. He kept on going. He went to Calvary, He suffered, and He died such a cruel death: but then, of course, on Easter Jesus rose. He rose in victory. He went back to His disciples and He worked with them. He encouraged them, He taught them, so that they could carry on.

     I can read your thoughts! Sure Jesus kept going; Jesus is God; we are human we get weak and tired! Friends in Christ, Jesus sent out his disciples on this important journey without a lot of stuff. But that was okay, because Jesus sent out His disciples with the Gospel! That's what you and I have to take with us as we leave here. The promise and good news that comes to us in the Holy Scriptures. We have that Gospel reminding us of the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ, we have the Gospel to lift us when we are down; the Gospel of truth that is God’s Word speaking individually to each of us and we have that Gospel to share with others. That's what the disciples did — they shared. It says, "They went out and preached that people should repent." They offered people a different way of life, a different way of living, a different way of making this journey, a way in which people are encouraged to love people and to use our resources, to care about one another. What a different, world changing way that is!

     "Trust in the LORD and do good." What wonderful message to us as we think about the journey of life. We can make that journey trusting God and, with His help, serving others as He served us. In today's Epistle lesson Paul tells us, “But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  … That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Friends, in our weakness we have no other place to turn but to God through Jesus Christ our Lord – what privileged people we are, blessed and uplifted by our Lord. Ephesians 1: 4 tells us “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight." He wants us to be set apart, different from the people of the world. We have the gift of the Gospel to share. From this word I form an acronym – “God Offering Sinful People Eternal Life” – but to complete that we must add “in Jesus Christ”, because there is only one way, there's only one truth and only one life. That way, that truth, that life is Jesus Christ!

    May God bless each and every one of us as we make this journey through life, remembering that it's not the stuff that's important — it's what we have in our hearts and in our minds, it's the Gospel (the Good News) of Jesus Christ, it's the hope that we have, it's the peace that we have — a peace that far surpasses all understanding as God guards and protects our minds in the knowledge of the victory that is ours in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 5 – 24 June 2018. – Year B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 4^thChapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 35 – 41:

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

The incident recorded for us in the Gospel we just heard is not just an adventurous story about the Miracle Worker Jesus saving His followers from a watery grave.  It is also full of teachings concerning the nature of Jesus as the Christ and the nature of the sinners in the boat with Him.

The context leading up to the events in today’s Gospel include a very full day of teaching for Jesus. We heard two of the parables He taught in last week’s Gospel.  It’s been a long day.  Jesus is tired.  As is often the case after a busy time of ministry, Jesus decided to get away with His disciples for some much-needed rest and relaxation.  In this case, He elected to take a cruise to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee is about thirteen kilometres across from west to east at its widest point and it’s unique in that it is 207 meters below sea level and is surrounded by mountains. It is also only approximately 40 meters deep. It can be dead calm and a sudden wind howling down from the mountains can whip up the shallow waters into a treacherous whirlpool in minutes.  Ordinarily, the crossing should only take a few hours, but on this crossing, a storm came up.  Several of the disciples were experienced fishermen, they knew how treacherous this lake could be and they were terrified.  This indicates that the storm was fairly powerful.

Where was Jesus during this storm?  He was asleep in the stern of the boat.  He was exhausted from His long day and fell into a sleep so sound that even the storm did not wake Him. Reading this makes me a little envious; how great it would be to lie your head down to rest with a mind totally free of the sleep robbing pains and anxieties that our everyday lives in the world brings us.

Also, the fact that Jesus was asleep is an important demonstration of the nature of the Christ. Other than His actual death on the cross, there is no better demonstration of the humanity of Jesus than the sleep of exhaustion.  Every human being on the planet knows what it is to grow tired and fall asleep.  Here Jesus demonstrates His unity with all people. He needs sleeps like any other human being.

In their panic the disciples wake Him and tell Him of the danger they were in, they are astonished that He also was not in fear for His own life.  We should not assume that the disciples were expecting much from Jesus. After all, he was brought up as a carpenter, not as a sailor.  It is more likely that they were thinking in terms of another set of hands to help bail the water out of the boat or some other similar activity.  It may even be that they just wanted Him to move away from the stern so that they had better access to the rudder.  In any case, they woke Him, but they were not prepared for what happened next.

Jesus woke up and forcefully reprimanded the raging elements.  The word “rebuke” in the text means that Jesus scolded the wind and the water rather harshly.  After that, the wind and the water became calm.

Now, you and I could scold the weather until we were blue in the face and nothing would change. In fact, if we continued in that sort of activity, people might wonder if they should call the authorities to take us somewhere to get a mental checkup.  Jesus, on the other hand, scolded the weather and the weather paid attention.  It paid attention because Jesus is not just your ordinary, sleepy human being.  He is also the God of all creation.  Jesus’ ability to control the wind and the waves with just a word clearly shows that He is God.  So, it is that this one event very clearly demonstrates that Jesus the man is also Jesus the God of creation in one person.

As for the disciples, they were terrified when confronted by the storm, but now they were beside themselves with fear over what they just witnessed.  The original Greek says that ‘they feared a great fear’.  They were in a boat with someone who could talk to the wind and the waves and the wind and the waves would pay attention to what He said.  “Did you see that? Did you see what Jesus just did? Who is this man Jesus? Who is our Master and Teacher?’ They were gobsmacked, blown away, totally overawed – The fact is that they got a brief insight into the realm of power and presence of God that to this day is beyond all human understanding. It’s no wonder that they began to question who their master and teacher really was.

This is one of the themes in Jesus’ life.  People often ask who Jesus is.  Today, we heard that the wind and the waves know who Jesus is.  In other parts of the Gospel account, we learn that diseases, birth defects, and injuries know who Jesus is.  Even the demons know who Jesus is.  But, when it comes to the human beings, Jesus is a great mystery.  They regularly ask, “Who is this?  Where does He get this authority?”  This reminds me of the words that the Holy Spirit spoke through His prophet Isaiah^{. (Isaiah 1:3)}“The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”

The terror of God traces its way clear back to Eden.  God called, and Adam replied, ^{(Genesis 3:10)}“I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid.” Adam had sinned, and the presence of the holy and almighty God terrified him.  It is the same for all people who see their sin clearly in the holy presence of Almighty God. ^{(Hebrews 10:31)}“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.

That is the reason it so important to God’s eternal plan that Jesus be both man and God.  If Jesus were only God, He could not take our place under the law and live a holy life for us.  He also could not suffer the penalty we have earned for our sin. If Jesus were a man, and nothing more, then His perfect life and sacrificial death would earn the salvation of oneand only oneperson.  The rest of the world would be lost.  It is essential for our salvation that Jesus be both God and man.

We need the salvation that Jesus provides because the storm on the Sea of Galilee is just one instance of the many disasters that the sin of humanity has brought into this world. The destruction that storms bring is an expression of the curse that came when sin entered the world.  Our sin not only brings sickness and death to us, but even the world is cursed.  The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the Romans: ^{(Romans 8:22})“Weknow that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now”.Floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, lightening, earthquakes, and all the other natural disasters are the result of the curse that our sin brought into the world.

These natural disasters are not the only storms that our sin has brought into the world. There are other storms in our lives as well.  There are the medical storms of infections, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, cancer, and so forth.  There are the relational storms of broken families and friendships.  There are the financial storms of business closings and layoffs.  Ultimately, there is the storm of death that comes to all of us sooner or later.  We may try to deny the existence of sin in our lives, but these storms, both private and public, say otherwise.

It is in the incarnation of Jesus Christ – the fact that the Son of God assumed human nature – that we see God’s loving plan to deal with sin.  In Jesus Christ, God assumed human nature to save humans from their nature – their sinful nature.  For our own sin doomed us to perish – not just from this earth, but also from the blessings of God’s presence with us.  ^{(1 John 1:7)}“But the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin”.Christ’s human nature allowed Him to be the target of God’s wrath as He hung on the cross.  Christ’s Divine nature allowed Him to endure that wrath for all people in all times and places.  So, it is that God took on human flesh and saved us from our sins.

The Disciples and Jesus arrived safely on the far shore of the Sea of Galilee that fear filled night, the incomprehensible power of God put them safely on dry land.  In the same way, we too can have complete confidence that our passage through life on earth will be safely guided as long as we travel with Jesus. With Christ all the storms of our lives will be calmed; all our sins will be forgiven, and His promise of eternal salvation will be realised. Our eternal salvation is guaranteed because in a way that is totally beyond all human understanding, Jesus took all our sins to the grave when He died on the cross and in three days he defeated death for all time for all people when he rose from the grave.  After He conquered death, He rose from death never to die again.  After He rose, He showed Himself to His disciples.  He encouraged them to examine the marks of the cross in His body.  He talked with them and ate with them.  He interacted with them in very human ways. At the same time, locked doors and windows were no barrier to Him as He appeared and disappeared at will.  In His resurrection, He demonstrated that He lives forever as both God and man in one person. We will never have any earthly understanding of this; but by the power of the Holy Spirit infused into our hearts and souls during Holy baptism, we are empowered to live by faith and accept the loving grace our Saviour lavishes upon us.

Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man.  With that combination, we find our full salvation from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  In His humanity, He was able to suffer on the cross in our place and for our good.  In His deity, He was able to defeat our foes and rise from the dead to give us eternal life.  It is in the person of Jesus Christ who both slept and stilled the storm that we have our faith and the promise of eternal life.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 4 – Year B – 17 Jun 2018

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Our text for this meditation is written in the 4^th Chapter of the Gospel according to Mark: Verses 26-34 and (Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2 and Corinthians 5:1-10)

26 He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

30 He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

    You know, if it were up to me, all who visit our church would come back every week and become members. If it were up to me, all the people who join our church would never move away and leave us. If it were up to me, our church would have outgrown the building years ago and be in a bigger one.

But maybe that’s asking too much. Perhaps my goals are too ambitious. So let’s make them a little smaller. 

    If it were up to me, all of us would have a faith so strong it could never be shaken. If it were up to me, all the folks who have fallen away from our church would come back, and all who are experiencing trials and troubles would be made whole and healthy once again. If it were up to me, I would always have the answers to your questions, and always know just the right thing to say when you come to me for comfort or counsel. If it were up to me, you and our church wouldn’t have any problems – no doubts, no fears, no crises, no difficulties, no knock-the-wind-out-of- you surprises. Only joy and peace and all things pleasant and nice. If it were up to me. 

If it were up to me, wouldn’t our church be great? 

    Well actually, no! Because even though I may think such a church would be great, and youmay think such a church would be great, and the world may think such a church would be great – the truth is, we don’t know what makes a church great. The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. Or in other words, it’s not up to me . . . or you. It is God’s Church, and only He can grow it. Only He knows how. 

    And the good news we heard today is that He is. Through the seed of His Word He is working in the world, He is working in the Church, He is working in your friends and family, and He is working in you. Even if you can’t see it, if the growth is all underground. Even if you don’t know how. Even if it seems as if the very opposite of growth is happening. It is God’s kingdom, God’s Church, and He is growing it. 

Which means that God knows when we need peace, and He also knows when we need struggle in order to grow. He grants growth and He prunes. He knows when to make the sun shine, when to make the rain fall, and yes, even when to apply the manure! He makes the seed of His Word grow in His time, not our time. We may want it to grow sooner, and faster, and stronger, and bigger. But we cannot do it. We know not how. But He whose seed it is, knows. And He can grant growth. And His promise to you today is that He will. For as the Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel: “I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” 

    And do we need that promise! For as Christians, and as the Church, how easy it is to lose our confidence in the Lord and in His Word. How easy to think that we know better, that we can do it, or worse, think that we have to do it. Through programs and methods and social sciences. Or, at our Church Synods, by just getting the right people elected or the right resolutions passed. Those things aren’t necessarily bad, but to rely on them . . . that’s when doubt and worry and fear take over; that’s when we become burdened and weary. And not only in the church, but in our lives as Christians. Because we’ve forgotten or lost confidence in His promise: “I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” 

    But did you notice how good that sounded? God is growing His church. And that’s not just now, but think back through the history of God’s people, all the way back to the beginning. We keep messing it up, but did God not do it? Did He not keep and preserve and grow His kingdom? From Adam and Eve, to Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph: did God not do it? From Israel in slavery in Egypt, to the time of the Judges: did God not do it? From David to Solomon to the people of God hauled off as prisoners of war: did God not do it? From a small band of 12 apostles, through persecutions and martyrs, to a little monk in Wittenberg: did God not do it? From communist countries that tried to stamp out the church but couldn’t, to Muslim countries that now try to behead the church, but can’t: is God not doing it? And still today: is God not doing it?   For what credit can you take for being here, at this time, in this place? What credit can we take for this church? Did I give my children faith? Did God not do it? Is He not working? And will He not continue? 

    Now to say that is not an excuse for inaction or laziness on our part. To think that if 

God’s doing it, then we can just sit back and not do anything at all. No! Rather, it is an invitation to live our lives and our vocations in faith. To keep reaching out and doing all we can for each other, but to do what we do in faith. To not get discouraged if we don’t see the results, but to scatter the seed of God’s Word, and know that He will grant the growth. It’s His Church, and He’ll grow it. 

    I guess you could say that the reason we don’t always believe that is that sin has made us spiritually colour blind. When we look around, we don’t always see a kingdom of God that looks lush and green, but sometimes looks downright brown and dead. In us, in others, and in the Church. When we’re going through struggles, when we see what’s happening to others, when we see all the nonsense going on in the Church around the world today! . . . But you know, that’s how it is with God; that’s what we’re going to see sometimes and the way it’s going to seem sometimes, because growth for God starts with death. He kills in order to make alive. That’s what we heard from the prophet Ezekiel in conjunction with God’s promise: “I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish.” And the foremost example of that is the cross, where the Son of God was put to death and then planted in the ground. I dare say that things never looked so dry and dead to the Apostles and for the Kingdom of God than that Saturday between Good Friday and Easter morning. 

    But from that tree of death, from that seed planted in the ground, came life. Life from the dead. And though it may have looked like only a tiny mustard seed in the course of world history at the time, in that dry Good Friday tree made green on Easter Sunday was packed the death of all and the life of the whole world, the entire forgiveness of every sin, the resurrection of all the dead, and the reconciliation of the world to God!             You might not have been able to see it at the time, all may have looked dead and dry, but God was planting Paradise again. A new tree of life for the life of the world. 

And so it is still today, in you and me and all wherein is planted the seed of God’s Word. For where God plants His Word, He plants His cross, His death and resurrection. He brings you low in order to raise you up. He dries you up in order to make you green. He kills in order to give life. That whatever in us is working against Him - our sin, our pride, our desire for self-sufficiency; our reliance on our numbers, our income, or our members; our desire to be the master of all that we have - be brought low, be dried up, and die, that we may be raised up to life in Him. And no ordinary life, but eternal life. That is why, as St. Paul says, “we walk by faith, not by sight.” For our sight is colour blind! Our sight may judge the work of God wrongly, and think things dry and dead and lost. But faith trusts the promise of God. That things are not as they look or seem, but are as God says they are. 

    Friends, God is working, and growing His Church. His ways may seem as small as a mustard seed to us, but do not be deceived. The Word of God you speak to others, the water of Holy Baptism, the word of Holy Absolution, and the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion are giving life and granting growth. For in all these things is not our power, but the power of the Gospel, the power of God. The power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, forgiving sins, raising the dead, and giving faith. Faith to know it’s not up to me. Faith to believe that what I see today may not be the way things are tomorrow. Faith to rely confidently on Him and His ways to build His Church, and to save me. For only He can do it. 

    Martin Luther is known as the Father of the Reformation! But to me his greatness came in hisprofound sense of his own non - necessity. He once remarked, “While I drink my little glass of Wittenberg beer, the gospel runs its course.” That’s faith. He could preach the Word and then cheerfully step down from the pulpit, take off his robes, and have a glass of Wittenberg beer confident that the Word is at work, doing its killing and making alive thing. No frenzy. No worry. He was active, but he knew who he was, a sinner. And he knew who God was, the Saviour. And so he lived in forgiveness, trusting not himself, but the Word to do its work. And even have his little glass of Wittenberg beer in peace. 

    Herein lies a lesson! There is much to do and much to worry about in this world, but in the end, we cannot even save ourselves, let alone others. But there is One who can, and who has! We have His forgiveness and life. He has planted His Word in our heart and made it grow. And He is keeping us. We have His promise. And though we may feel as small as a mustard seed in this world, and think that all that we can do is just as small – remember that that mustard seed that we have and that we scatter is one powerful seed! 

    For that seed is the Word and power of God to forgive sin and raise the dead; the Word and power of the cross, the Word and power of His love. So scatter that seed recklessly, sow it with joy, and at the end of the day, sit down and have your little glass of Wittenberg beer. Relax. Trust. Rest in the branches of the cross. Our Saviour is working. In us. In others. In the world. Doing all that is necessary, all that we need.      This is the promise of God’s Word, of our Baptism, of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Amen 

The peace and love of our Great TriuneGod which is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Pentecost 3 – 10 June 2018 – Year B

Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 3^rd Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 20 – 35:

²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebub,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

²⁸ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter,²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

³¹ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers³ are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

You've probably never given much thought, to how often we make reference in our everyday conversations to being "bound up."  For instance, if we're unable to help someone out because of red tape and bureaucracy, we say that our hands are tied.  If something is really easy, we'll say that we can do it with one hand tied behind our back.  If our schedules are jam-packed and hectic, we say that we're tied up and can't get away. Most of us probably don't realise how often we use this binding imagery throughout the day.

 In just these few short verses of the Gospel reading there are a number of references to binding; probably more than you realise.  In verse 21, we hear that Jesus' own family members—His own mother and brothers—were outside the house He was staying at, trying to seize Him, claiming that He was out of His mind.  The Greek word used here—kratehō—carries with it the meaning of restraining.  Basically, they were looking to lay hands on Jesus and bindHim up and haul Him away because they figured He was crazy. Even Mary, knowing who Jesus was, thought that he had become overwhelmed by His large following and lost touch with reality. To make it worse He was humiliating them in front of their neighbours in their own home town!!

Then we read that the Spiritual Leaders of the day, the Scribes and the Pharisees were making the accusation against Jesus that he was “possessed by Beelzebub,” and that “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons”. In doing so they were trying to ‘bind’ Jesus from the very mission that the Son of God was born into this world to accomplish.

Then we have the statement of Jesus that“no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man”. May I say that most preachers of the Word avoid this Gospel reading. Ifyou will excuse the pun; it is easy to get into a bind trying to convey its’ message.

So Jesus’ family thought Jesus was crazy, out of His mind and the Scribes thought him Satanic!! …some things just don’t change.  Who here hasn't had some sort of accusation made against them when someone disagrees with them?  I hear it said about me, and I confess that I have questioned the sanity of others too.  Believe me over the 18 years I was an ordained minister, on many occasion, I was called into a world full of sin, dysfunction and craziness.  But the real point of this Gospel is that for a Christian to be true to their Faith involves specifically confronting sin and the devil with the Truth and Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ.  Faithfully proclaiming and serving Christ necessarily puts us at odds with the rest of the world.  

In his parallel version of today’s Gospel, St Matthew records Jesus as stating, ^{(Matt 12:30)}"Whoever is not with me is against me." Think about that for a moment.  There is no grey area or neutral zone when it comes to faithfulness, forgiveness, and salvation. Either you are with Christ or you are working against Him.  Unfortunately, being aware of that undermines our human nature and frequently leads us to judge others who don’t agree with our thoughts or standards. We think of them as sinful or crazy and in so doing bind Christ from working through us as he desires.

The confronting fact is that we're all guilty of attempting to bind and restrain Christ in no way different than His own family or the Scribes did.  For instance, how many of us have allowed ourselves to be bound up in silence when we could have spoken out when we've encountered sin?  "Confront it?  Rebuke it?  No I’m not that crazy!  That wouldn't be polite.  Everyone has a right to their opinion."  Understand: I'm not talking about dark, heinous sins here.  I'm talking about binding, ministry-robbing sins like gossip; sins like desiring to exercise authority and control that hasn't been entrusted to us…just like Adam and Eve, who desired to be like God. 

How often are we bound in inactivity when it comes to helping those in need?  It seems that whole "fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things" only applies to certain aspects of life; the comfortable, easy ones that we like and agree with.  To think that it would apply to all of life is crazy!  "I can't help out because that time interferes with my favourite TV show, my Facebook time, my Golf time, my "me" time”.  I mean; we really are there and we do want to help; but … well even Jesus’ family thought he was a little crazy and had gone overboard when he gave all of himself!!

You see that's just it.  All this binding that we do is sin, and this sort of binding and restraining and hindering of Christ and His Word and His Will has been around since our first parents were bound up in that first church—the Garden of Eden.  "If you're not with me, you're against me."  Sin—all sin—stands against holiness.  There is no grey area.  Either it's sin or it's God-pleasing righteousness.  Either it's on the side of Satan or it's on the side of Christ.  This Gospel message is a reality check that may make us feel uneasy.  The message coming to us direct from God’s Word is that by very nature we are sinful daily in our thoughts, words and deeds.  

In our own Parish, Cluster or community, Satan is overjoyed with the weakness of our human impulses and uses our sin to undermine authority and interfere and split and bind up ministry.  We must not be deceived!  These negative desires and cares and concerns are not serving God and His people, but are rather vain, sinful attempts at serving ourselves, to impose our own will. Jesus calls for us to turn from our binding ways!  Turn back and be unbound in Christ.

There are no exemptions here on earth, in faith every member of the Christian community is called daily to question themselves, “Am I pleasing God in this service that He has entrusted to me, or am I trying to please myself or others?”  Life is easier sometimes when you just give in to the haemorrhoids in your life.  But God’s message here today is a reality check for all of us; as St Paul tells us ^{Romans 3: 23}"for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

About now you must be feeling a bit like the Israelites must have felt when Moses came down from the mountain and threw the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments at them. It is true, our sin does condemn us; but what of verse 27; ^“But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house”. The message of salvation here is thathe “strong man” represents Satan, who is strong and armed for battle. “His house” represents his kingdom, a realm of evil, misery and death. In his house he has “possessions,” probably representing people under his control. Like the men in the Gospels who were “demon-possessed,” they are Satan’s possessions. The “stronger” man who attacks and overpowers the strong man, tying him and robbing his possessions, represents Jesus. I this case, as described in Matthew, He has just freed a man from Satan’s possession.

The good and liberating news is that we and all are also redeemed in the blood of Christ Jesus.  All are forgiven, or as the Greek says, all are “aphethāsetai'd”; that is, released and unbound.  That's what this ministry is all about.  That's the mission of this Ministry Unit and Cluster — to proclaim this Good News of Christ Jesus.  This is why Almighty God Himself has allowed the Holy catholic (i.e. universal)church to exist and prosper for the past two thousand years.  We, here in this Parish, in this Cluster and in Christian Churches world-wide as God's people, have been set free and unbound in the Gospel truth of Christ crucified and resurrected for all mankind. 

Do you realise what a tremendous, life-giving, liberating treasure God Himself has implanted in our hearts?  This is what the truly sanctified life is all about.  As those who believe and trust in the total and complete forgiveness that is ours by God's grace alone because of the all-redeeming work and person of Jesus Christ alone, we have been set free; unbound to serve and proclaim Christ with reckless abandon.  We are not called to be caught up and bound up in the ways and worries of this fallen and sinful world.  Whether we live or whether we die, we belong to Christ.  Heaven is our home.  We have been baptised into Christ's death and resurrection. 

Look around you.  Here are your mothers and brothers and sisters in the faith.  Here are those who serve and love and forgive because of the joy of knowing that God first loved them and forgave them unconditionally.  Are we perfect?  Do we do always agree in the way we want to see things done?  No! But that doesn't mean that we're sinful: That is the very essence of a human family.  In our weakness, the Holy Spirit binds us together in love, using our God given gifts and talents to faithfully endeavour to serve God and do His will. This is God’s own Spirit which He graciously infused us with at the Baptismal Font.  The Spirit that leads us to repent of our sins and to forgive those who have offended us; faithfully seeking the unbinding and loosing that is found only here in the cross of Jesus Christ. 

We can leave this place today reassured in the Good News of the saving Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that we are justified in Christ alone by God's grace and that His love alone will unbind us and set us free to serve, honour, love, and obey our Lord in all that we say, think, and do, now, through these long days of Pentecost, and into all of eternity. Amen.

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen