Death and Taxes (Sermon Matt 22:15-22)

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

When I was reading the text for this sermon, my first thought (as Im sure many of you will have in a moment) was, oh goody, another sermon on money and tax.

The verse that is the basis for the sermon is from Matthew Chapter 22, verses 15-22, and in particular the second part of verse 21: “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”.

There are two things that are certain in life: Death, and Taxes. And as we will see, both of these certainties are implied in this reading.

In todays reading, the Pharisees sent their disciples along with the Roman authorities to test Jesus. To try and trap him in his own words. They buttered him up with empty words of flattery. They said that his teachings were good and that he taught in truth about the kingdom of heaven. And then, they sprung their question, Should we be paying taxes to Caesar? 

What could Jesus answer??? If he said not to pay taxes he would be arrested for treason against the Roman Empire as many had been not 20 years earlier. And if he said that they must pay taxes he would lose many of his followers and be charged by the Jewish authorities for blasphemy, as he would have been elevating the position of Caesar to an almost god like status (which was in fact the reason for the Roman tax).

But instead of answering in the way both the Romans and the Pharisees expected, he made them think about their motives and who they served. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. The face and the inscription of the Caesar was on the tax coin, and you could only pay the tax with the Roman coin. But to give to God what is God’s was the emphasis Jesus was getting at. 

So what belongs to God?

In the Psalms, in the prophets, in the 10 Commandments and in the whole Christian Faith, we see that Everything belongs to the Lord. Why? Because He created everything. Everything that we have, is a gift from God. Our life is the Lord’s, our health, our sickness, our wealth, and our poverty, our joy and our sorrow, our time and even our death. All belong to the Lord. 

So what should we render the Lord?... Everything, both the good and the bad belongs to God. Pretty heavy? Yep! But this is what God was showing the pharisees in these verses. He even called them hypocrites because they had forgotten this simple truth, they had forgotten who they were called to be and who they were to serve. Instead of following their calling and serving the Lord, they chased after their own cause, and their worldly agenda. 

How messed up were these Pharisees? They had Jesus right there in front of them, to teach them the truth of the kingdom of God so that they could come to praise and worship Him in spirit and in truth. They had God’s Son right there in their midst and still they didn’t listen.

And yet; how very much like the pharisees are we? And how much more guilty are we than they? We don’t have Jesus sitting next to us, teaching us the way they did... We have Jesus in us! We have the Holy Spirit with us! And we have God our Father for us!... God shows us daily that He is the one true God, that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is because He has given it to us... And yet; still we ask: “what shall we render the Lord”. 

We are to render to God everything that is God’s. Our lives, our time and our possessions. There is nothing we should not give the Lord. For all is His, because He created everything.

This is how we truly fear, love and trust in God above all things.

But still we have Jesus command to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s...

Having heard all that it is to serve God and that we are to give everything to Him. What have we got left to render to Caesar?

We have already answered the question: What is God’s? And we have learnt that everything is His for He created it all. We also learnt that their is nothing in our lives that God does not deserve. So doesn’t this also include our government? 

God has placed governments in our land, to be good stewards of his creation, and to create laws to help and assist us within God’s creation. So, if God has asked us to render to Him all that is His; doesn’t this mean that to serve God we are to serve the government that He has placed in a position of authority over us? It only makes sense then, that paying taxes to Caesar, or to our government is a way that we render to God what is God’s. This is not to say that the government is a god, but that God is ultimately the one who has placed these officials in our land. 

And now we come to the most important question of this reading... We have heard that we are to render to to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. But we all know that we can’t do this, not on our own anyway. We constantly fall into the trap of grumbling about those whom God has chosen to lead and protect us. So how is it possible to truly serve the Lord our God, in spirit and in truth? 

It is only possible because Christ our crucified saviour has given to himself to us. We can only render to God what is God’s because He has first rendered Himself to us. 

At baptism, God gives himself to us with His name and with water. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit we are rendered to God. And this is the exact point I wanted to make with my opening sentence. There are only two things in life that are certain, death and taxes. 

In Baptism, sin is put to death, God drowns the curse of death and makes us truly alive.

Tax as we know is an annual event. Every July we lodge our tax forms and we pray that we have withheld enough tax during the year to prevent a huge tax bill. But unlike tax, we daily sin, and as a result our death needs to be made a daily event. In a way I guess we could call it a sin tax. We need to daily ask God to kill the old sinful self, and daily ask God, our Heavenly Father to forgive us our sins, because we can not pay this tax on our own. 

Death my friends needs to be a daily event. 

When we confess our sins to God and to one another we ask God to forgive us for all the wrong which we have done. We confess that we are born in sin and that we cannot free our selves. And We promise too, that with the help of the Holy Spirit we will live a holy life even as Christ has made us holy. THIS IS OUR DAILY DEATH. 

Our daily rebirth, or, our daily tax return, are the words we hear after we confess our sins. We hear that our Father, has had mercy on us, that He gave his only Son to die for us, and for His sake forgives us our sins.

Both our daily death and our daily rebirth is only possible because of Christ death and resurrection. Through baptism into the Triune God, and through our daily death and rebirth, God renders himself to us. He makes us His children, and as such gives us the ability to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

And the peace of God, which passes all human understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Amen

Feeling Sheepish (Sermon Matt 25:31-46)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, my Lord, my King, my judge and my redeemer. Amen.

Feeling Sheepish

Today, I want to tell you a little bit about me, so you can understand me a little better. I was born into a good Christian family, I was taught the 10 commandments, the Apostles Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, I went to Sunday School almost every week, until I was in High School and then I did Confirmation, and went to Youth Group as often as I could. 

I have had many jobs, mostly in the Human Resources field. I worked with special needs students. I was an aboriginal educational tutor. I even worked with children with disabilities. 

Four years ago I started studying to become a pastor. Since the start of my studies I began to spend many more moments of every day praying, and reading the bible.

I have never murdered anyone, stolen, lied, committed adultery, and I am a good steward of those things God has given me. I even take all my used clothes to Lutheran Community Care, to clothe the needy.

I like to think that I am a pretty good kind of guy. 

So, when I die what do you think will be on my head stone???

Do you think it will read:

I don’t know about you, but these things, are not the things I want to be remembered for. 

I want to be remembered as a child of God. As one who served Christ without knowing. As one who was gathered with the rest of the sheep to the kingdom made for me since the foundation of the world. I want to be remembered as one who was judged righteous, not by what I did, but by what Christ won for me on the cross.

What do you want to be remembered for???

Friends, I’m sorry. You will not be alright if all you have is your good deeds. Sure they helped people but they alone won’t cut it. Only faith in Christ will save you from the eternal fire.

Jesus says to the unrighteous: I was hungry and you did not feed me, thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I had no where to sleep and you did not take me in, I was naked and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.

But why didn’t He warn them? Surely it was within God’s power to let them know that by serving those in need they were serving Him... Surely He could have prevented them from entering the eternal fire of Hell which he prepared, not for them, but for the Devil and all the demons. Why didn’t He step in to help them???

Friends, I’m sorry. God has told you. He continually tells you. Those pulls on your gut as you walk past the needy, that pull on your gut telling you to help. You know, those pulls on your gut which we all ignore at different times. That my friends is the Holy Spirit, tugging at your soul to provide food, drink; shelter; clothing and comfort for Jesus Christ himself.

God had told us, but do we listen???

On the last day. Whether it be at the arrival of Jesus Christ on judgement day, or on the day that we breathe our final breath. On that day, it will be too late. Too late to help the needy, and too late to help yourself. 

In a way judgement day has already begun to take place. Our lack of care for the needy has already begun to show us to be the goats we really are. We see in our selves that we have neglected “the least of these”, and our neglect of the needy shows us our neglect of Christ. And our neglect of Christ, who is the judge, shows us our neglect of the one who sent Him, God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and earth. 

Friends, I’m sorry. The time for excuses is over. It’s too late to make a case for our selves. We have already proven ourselves unworthy. Judgement has been made. We are goats, we all deserve the punishment which God has made, we all deserve the eternal fire. We are goats, and it’s too late to change.

Being Sheepish

Even though God has already passed judgement on the goats. He is not content to let dead goats lie. Even though we deserve the punishment of the unrighteous. Even though we ignored, neglected and forgot “the least of these”. Even though we did not see Him in the least of these. God has not ignored, neglected or forgotten you. 

God sent his Son into this world, not as a king on a glorious throne, but as “the least of these”. 

A baby; not born in a private hospital, but in barn, in an animals feeding troth.  

Not to a well off, highly regarded family, but to a carpenter and his teenage wife. 

Not from Rome or another wealthy city, but from a small poor town called Nazareth in Galilee.  

He was the friend of sinners and outcasts, not of the high and mighty. 

And when he was lifted up and named the King of Israel, it was not with trumpet blasts and stringed instruments, but with a crown of thorns and nails in his hands and feet. 

His throne was not of polished marble, but of crude wood.

Why, oh why, did our heavenly Father send His son into this world? He knew that He would suffer great suffering, and die a horrific death. Why would anyone do that to their own child?

It is because He loved you so much. He did not want you to suffer the punishment of the goats, which He made for the devil and his demons. He wanted you to be able to inherit the kingdom that He created for you from the foundation of the world. He put our salvation above his own life, so that we could come to fear, love and trust in Him.

Jesus offered himself up as the sacrificial lamb, to shed his blood from his throne of wooden suffering, so that He could bring all the nations to Himself, and make them His sheep. 

Jesus suffered the fate that we deserved... to give us a new life. A life that is among His flock of righteous people. 

We don’t need to make a case for ourselves, Christ has made the best and only case that will ensure our salvation. Its not because you are a good person, but because Christ was the perfect person, and He gave up His life for you.

Friends, Thanks be to God for making the case for us.

A few weeks ago, I helped with the funeral service of the oldest member of my vicarage congregation (she was 1 month away from 100). I want you to hear the text for the service. It was from Second Timothy Chapter 4 verses 6 to 8:

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 

Do you see the difference between our comments: “Its ok, she was a good person” and “She has fought the good fight. She has finished the race. She has kept the faith”?

It is not by your good work’s that you will be judged among the righteous. As I said earlier: “You will not be alright if all you have is your good deeds. Sure they helped people but good works alone won’t cut it”. Only faith in Christ will save you from the eternal fire.”

This lady has entered eternal life, not because she was a great person (although she was), it wasn’t even because she prayed and read her bible (although she did), it was because God called her to believe in Him. And she dutifully did until her final breath. 

And this is what God calls us to do also. You are called to love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and with all your strength. How can we do this? We can’t. Not on our own anyway. But as mentioned earlier, Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to guide you on your path. He reveals to us the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the naked, the sick and the lonely. And he reveals Christ today through this text. Don’t be uncertain about this Christ is present in “the least of these, his brothers and sisters”. 

And whats more, the more we come to know Christ, the more the Holy Spirit transforms us to be like Christ. And the more like Christ we become the easier it is to help those in need. And even more amazing than all of this is; each time we help “the least of these” in their needs we are given the special opportunity of seeing, serving, and hearing Christ through these his children.

Friends, Thanks be to God for telling us where He is.

My Brothers, my sisters, listen! Its not too late. We don’t need to fear that it is too late. We no longer need to be goats who are worried that we are not good enough to build a good enough case for our salvation. We don’t need to worry about when the judgement will be or who will be present to speak against us. We don’t need to worry that we haven’t seen Jesus in the needy. 

CHRIST HAS ALREADY DONE IT!!! 

Christ has made our case in His blood. He has washed us clean from all sin, in His blood. He has revealed Himself to us in the needy. Christ is our King and our Judge. Christ our King has had the last word. 

WE ARE SAVED. 

WE ARE RIGHTEOUS IN GODS SIGHT;    By    our    faith    in    Him.

The same faith which we freely received at our baptisms, and the same faith that we have renewed in us each and every time we receive Christ’s body and blood.

Because of this forgiveness that Christ has won for us, we can give hope to “the least of these”. It’s not too late for them either. We freely serve the “least of these”. Not for some ulterior motive. Not because our salvation rests upon it. We serve them, because they need our service. And by serving them we are both blessed. They will see Jesus through us. And Jesus promises us that we will see Jesus in them.

Friends, Thanks be to God, “It’s not too late” 

And may the peace of God which passes all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The distance between birth and death can seem to take a lifetime... (Sermon Ecclesiastes 3:1-13)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every delight under heaven— 

A time to give birth and a time to die; 

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 

A time to kill and a time to heal; 

A time to tear down and a time to build up. 

A time to weep and a time to laugh; 

A time to mourn and a time to dance. 

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; 

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 

A time to search and a time to give up as lost; 

A time to keep and a time to throw away. 

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; 

A time to be silent and a time to speak. 

A time to love and a time to hate; 

A time for war and a time for peace. 

What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 

I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. 

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, with out which man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. 

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 

moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.

Grace and Peace to you from God the Father through Jesus Christ the Lord of all the seasons. Amen

“Are we there yet, Are we there yet, Are we there yet?”, “When will we get there, When will we get there, When will we get there?” “How much longer, How much longer, How much longer?”. 

Have you ever been on a road trip with children and not heard these questions asked over and over and over again? 

For the child on a road trip it is hard to remember where you are coming from or even where your going to. The only thing on your mind is how much longer this awful journey is going to take. The travel seems to far out weigh the destination because of how long the trip is seeming to take.

The life that we have been given is like a road trip. The journey between our birth and our death can seem to take a life time as well. Get it??? It takes a life time to get between birth and death... Ok so it sounded funnier in my head... Oh well.

But what I am trying to say, is that life can seem to take a long time. There are many seasons that we go through during this road trip called life. There are times for rejoicing, and times of planting, reaping, sewing, mending and healing. But there are also times of mourning, weeding, ripping, throwing out and sickness. And the time that is spent in and between these seasons can seem dauntingly long or unbelievably short. But the good news we hear in todays scripture readings is that every season we go through; every obstacle in the road and every exciting destination we see, are already known by God. Because God is the God of our journey, our seasons.

Today of course is New Years Day. A day of celebrating the end of 2011, and the beginning of 2012. I don’t know what last year was like for you. You may have had seasons of joy, and of hardships. Seasons of sicknesses and of health. Maybe even seasons of mourning and of laughter. But no matter how long or short the year may have seemed, we can know this one thing: God knew about these times of gladness and hardship, even before you were born. 

I wonder though how often we have thanked God for each of the seasons He has allowed us to experience? Sure it is easy to acknowledge God’s goodness in the good times, when we are healthy and not struggling too much financially, mentally or spiritually... But what about in those times that seem to suck???

Have there been times in the past year that you have been unwell, or under huge stress? Maybe you lost a family member or a close friend? Maybe everything you intended to do throughout the year fell through; the promises or resolutions you made last New Years Eve failed???  Have you ever even pondered to thank God for these times.

I wonder if you have even possibly wondered where God was at these obstacles in the road??? Or if we have prayed and begged God to answer our “How much longer?”

What about this coming year? What seasons are we going to go through in this leg of our road trip called life? Will there be times when everything seems to be roses and warm fuzzy feelings? What about times of pain, and sickness and weeping?

This year are you going to be content to trust God to be your Lord and guide through out the year? Or are you going to cry out to him “ Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet?” Are you going to thank God for all the good roads and the hard roads. 

And seeings how I’m on a bit of a roll, how about we look past 2012, and into the future past 2015, 2020 right up until the end of the world. Are we going to continue our Christian mantra of “How much longer, Are we there yet and When will we get there?”  Or are we going to give thanks to God for His amazing gift of the seasons. Will we ever be content to thank God for both the highways and the four wheel drive tracks?

You see the problem isn’t so much the road trip or the seasons of life. The problem is we see all things as either good or bad. We see birth as good and death as bad; planting as good and weeding as bad; we see weeping as bad and laughing as good and we see mourning as bad and dancing as good. But this not the truth about life. For every season there is a reason. The reason we see weeping as bad is because we prefer the feeling of joy. But there is a very real reason for weeping. God knows that there are times in our lives that we need to cry. The loss of a loved one is a traumatic occasion, and God appoints a time for us to mourn the loss of those near to us. After a time we may be able to look back on the life of that person with rejoicing and even laughter, and you know what, thats ok as well, God has appointed a time for rejoicing and laughter as well. How long will the mourning be for. Well thats not really up to us to decide is it? The Lord of the seasons is in control of the duration of time. But can you imagine a life where it was not ok to mourn or to die or to throw out the undesirable stuff in our lives. Wouldn’t that be boring? 

This is the reason I can say with such certainty that even through the hard times we should be giving thanks. We can give thanks that God has made a time for us to go through the hard times. 

It is not God who makes bad things happen. He doesn’t want us to suffer. He wants us to be happy and to enjoy all the good things He has created for us. But because we live in a world which has fallen to sin, bad things happen, which is exactly the reason He appoints times or seasons for us to recover. Times to be healed, times to be happy, times to mourn, times to tear down and times for building up. The key to every thing we go through, everything mentioned in this poem from Ecclesiastes is that all seasons the good and the hard are a gift from God. There surely is nothing better than for us to rejoice and give thanks to our God on this, our road trip called life.

This week as many of you know Adele and I had a bit of a scare with Ezekiel not being very well. A season we needed to go through in our lives. At the end of his stay in hospital, I found my self at the LLL looking through some tracts to thank some of the people who I called and I know helped us, through prayer, conversation and babysitting. While I was there I found another tract which I am happy to hand out at the end of the service. The reason I am mentioning this is because it perfectly sums up the help we have for the road trip of life. So please hear its message:

Wherever I am -

He’s with me,

Whenever I need Him -

He’s there,

Whatever the day

May bring me -

I’m in His loving care.

For peace, joy and comfort

On Him I can depend -

Jesus, my Constant Companion,

My never failing Friend.

Brothers and Sisters there is a time for everything, theres:  

A time to give birth and a time to die; 

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 

A time to kill and a time to heal; 

A time to tear down and a time to build up. 

A time to weep and a time to laugh; 

A time to mourn and a time to dance. 

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; 

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 

A time to search and a time to give up as lost; 

A time to keep and a time to throw away. 

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; 

A time to be silent and a time to speak. 

A time to love and a time to hate; 

A time for war and a time for peace. 

But throughout all these times, both the good and the hard times. Not just today. Not just throughout this new year. But for the rest of your journey. Jesus Christ your Constant Companion is with you always, throughout all these times. To guide, comfort and lead you on, every moment of your life.

So go forward into 2012 with confidence, knowing that Jesus your saviour, your Lord and your guide is with you. And that the “bad” times during this coming year can be turned into positive experiences which draw us ever closer to our Lord the constant companion on your road trip called life. 

And the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 

Amen.  

The 3D Kingdom

Matthew 13:31-33:


He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”


He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”


“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”




The three dimensional kingdom of heaven


Have you ever seen a 3D movie or one of those books which you need the red and blue glasses to see the picture with focus and clarity? 

Without the glasses all you see is a blurry picture, you may be able to see a little bit of the picture, but without the glasses your eyes can not work out the details of the picture. 

The gospel reading we heard this morning is like these pictures. We heard five different parables each describing a different view or different aspect of the kingdom of heaven. Sure, we can look at the pictures individually. But this does not let us see the full three dimensional view of what Christ is showing us this morning.

So How should I describe the kingdom of heaven? The kingdom of heaven is like a 3D movie or book, it has many layers, which look blurred when looked at through our own eyes but can be seen clearly and in focus when we look through the lenses of Christ Jesus.

The Largeness of the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is described as being like a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, which a farmer sows in the middle of a field, and which grows to be the largest of the bushes. 

I am no farmer, and correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t it seem like a waste of a field to plant one lonely, tiny seed in the middle of the field? Wouldn’t it be more economical to plant a lot of seeds within its boundaries to maximize the yield of the crop? 

But this is the way Christ describes the kingdom of heaven. It begins with a tiny little seed, planted in the ground and it grows, and it grows. Yet it is still only one plant in the middle of the field.

Does this catch you as odd? Why wouldn’t Christ describe the kingdom of heaven as like a huge, strong and ancient Red Cedar or Blue Gum tree? Why does he use such an insignificant bush that you could barely call a tree at all?

It is because the kingdom of heaven is exactly like a mustard seed. It is easily seen as insignificant, small and blurry. But when seen in its fullness, it is like a large mustard plant, in which the birds of the air can roost and get protection from the surrounding elements and the predators that are in the surrounding, bare field. 

We too come and hide in the branches of the kingdom of heaven. We come to church and roost. We are protected and strengthened by the Word of God and we find ourselves protected and strengthened from the bare field, or the world around us when we sit in the branches of the kingdom of heaven.

The Hiddenness of the kingdom of heaven.

Again the kingdom of heaven is described as a bit of leaven or yeast which has been placed in a heap of flour. When we read the parable of the leaven, the enormity of the flour is lost. The dough consists of around 50 kilograms of flour. That is enough bread to feed over 150 people. And yet within this huge amount of dough, a tiny little bit of leaven is placed and kneaded into the flour. 

You cant see the leaven, it is such a tiny amount of yeast that is hidden within the huge lump dough, but the results of this tiny little bit of leaven is huge. Imagine for a moment a 50 kilogram ball of dough, and just how much this dough will grow. Instead of a wheelbarrow full of dough, you end up with a truck load of dough. 

It is the same with the kingdom of heaven. The flour or dough is those who hear God’s word and listen. The leaven is God’s word spoken into our lives and as the leaven works through our lives, we rise and we prove and we become more and more like Christ. As we grow and become more like Christ the leaven, we too spread the leaven to those around us. The kingdom of Heaven grows through us who receive the leaven, as we leaven those around us with the word of God. 

The kingdom of heaven may seem small and insignificant at first glance but as the three dimensional picture comes into focus we see that what seemed small and was initially hidden, has become really huge. Yet this is still only one aspect of the whole picture.

The Preciousness of the kingdom of heaven.

The next two images of the kingdom of heaven are a hidden treasure and a precious pearl of great worth. 

In the image of the pearl the merchant who has been looking for and selling pearls, finds one remarkable pearl and instantly sells everything he owns just to have, hold and keep this one. Nothing else is important to this man other than this one pearl.

It is the same thing with the image of the hidden treasure. A person who found the treasure, re-hid it, sold everything he owned just to buy that single field. Because he knew of the great wealth hidden within it. 

Both of these images show us how very precious the kingdom of heaven is. These two images don’t mean that to get the kingdom of heaven you must sell everything you own. What they do mean is that the value of God’s word and wisdom is far greater than any worldly possession and that you. Having received it, you should be willing to do that which God tells you; namely, to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. And to love your neighbor as your self.

The drag net, and the catch.

The final image of the kingdom of heaven is that of the drag net, in which all fish, both clean and unclean are gathered together. And as Jesus says the dragnet and the boat are the angels who at the end of the age are sent to gather in all people to bring them all to judgement. No one is spared this final judgement. The righteous will be saved and the unrighteous will be cast away from God’s presence. 

But don’t let this image frighten you, as it has to many people over the ages, remember this is just one detail or one layer in the 3D image of the kingdom of heaven. Without this image we can forget that there will be a final judgement. 

Remember the image of the hidden treasure.

There is an even deeper level of this image that Christ has put before us. It is the fine detail of that 3D image of the kingdom of heaven. The field is the world, but the treasure is not the Word of God as with the pearl, but the treasure is you. You are the treasure in the field. Christ himself is the person who found the treasure, who found you.  He sold everything he owned, His heavenly glory he left behind, to become truly human, He even sold His life to pay for your salvation so that you could live. He sold everything he had, so he could have the treasure so he could have you!

The work of those who see in 3D.

From these five parables we see the the smallness, the largeness, the hiddenness, the revealedness, and the preciousness that forms the layers of the picture. Which when we look through the lenses of Christ, the 3D picture of the kingdom of heaven becomes clear, vivid and in focus.

So, having heard all this, I ask you the same question that Jesus asked His disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” Do you see the three dimensional image of the kingdom of heaven? 

If so, I ask you to think this week about the final parable that Jesus gives to us this morning. 

That: All who have been taught and discipled into the kingdom of heaven are like the man who is master of the house, who brings out of his storeroom both new things and old.

What a great joy we have, that we can dig into the word of God. And that we know that we are part of this 3D kingdom he has given to us. 

Being part of this 3D kingdom means that we have access to this huge storeroom full of old thing and new things that Jesus talks about in this parable. He has given us The Old and New Testaments, which we can bring out to those around us so that they too can see the wonderful 3D picture God has painted for us, The kingdom of heaven.

And the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The rewards of faithfulness: Matthew 10:40-42

The one who welcomes you welcomes me, and the one who welcomes me welcomes Him who sent me. The one who welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous persons reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, they shall not lose their reward.

Upon reading this text, I want to ask you a question, the same question which this blog will be looking at. What exactly is the reward of being a Christian? What is a prophets reward? What is the righteous persons reward? and What is the reward of being a humble disciple? 

Throughout the Old Testament we hear story after story about the prophets, and the reward of their loyal service to The Lord God almighty. One story, the story of Elijah

Looks at when he confronted King Ahab (the husband of Jezebel) which God told him to do, After Elijah delivered God’s message, he became an outcast and had to flee from Israel. While he was fleeing he needed food, so God provided him with food and water. The catch was... he was fed by ravens, the great scavenger birds which feed on dead flesh, and as time went by, the water of the brook dried up. Elijah then went to a widow whom God had told him about in Zarephath, God worked a great miracle through Elijah. God provided for this widow with a never ending supply of flour and oil. The catch was... Her son died, Elijah was yelled and screamed at and asked why he came. God again provided a miracle for the widow by bringing the child back to life again. Many other things happened in the life of Elijah, God worked many wonders through him, and by him, but for every work that he did, there was resistance, hatred and pain. 

The reward of the prophet is not an easy one. It carries the reward of pain, suffering, hostility and abandonment by your peers. But this is not the end of the story. With the faithful service to God comes the great reward, as we hear in second Kings chapter 2: And Elijah went up in a windstorm to heaven. The final great reward of a prophet is to be united with God our Father in heaven for all eternity.

In the gospel reading we heard that whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophets reward. So I guess we better ask the question: What is a prophet? How else will we know how to welcome Christ and His Father who sent Him?

Many people believe that a prophet is someone who tells the future, or in other words, a Christian fortune teller. Biblically speaking this is not accurate. A prophet first and foremost is one who hears or sees God’s word, it is someone who God has revealed himself to. Not for the prophets sake in the first instance, but for those people whom God loves, His chosen people. You all here today, are God’s chosen people. God has chosen you to welcome Him. But how do you welcome Him? 

You welcome God, by welcoming the one whom he sent, Jesus Christ his only Son. You welcome Him firstly at your baptism when He made you one of His chosen people. When He promised you Eternal Life. You continue to welcome Him by welcoming those who come to you to proclaim the word which he has given. You welcome God by welcoming His word, which is preached at church every Sunday. This is the reason and the importance of training in the Pastoral ministry. Faithful Pastors who faithfully preach the word in Spirit and truth to us every week are working in the place of Christ, proclaiming God’s word, as a prophet. And we are to welcome them and their message, as God’s word for us. Because they have been sent. The reward of hearing this word is abundant. The words which they speak bring life, they are our spiritual food. In the same way as God provided for the widow with Oil and flour. So too God feeds us through our Pastors voice and there word, God feeds us with the food of eternal life, with his word.

On the flip side of coin, when we hear and are given His word and welcome and receive them, we also receive and welcome the prophets reward. The word does not leave us untouched. God’s word never returns to Him empty. As we hear God’s word, we are changed to be more like him. And when we are changed we begin to receive those rewards I mentioned earlier. We begin to be hurt, isolated and suffer for the sake of the word. For this is the prophets reward that they will not even be accepted in their own home town. Harsh words, You bet. But the words of Hope are SO MUCH MORE. Remember Elijah, he suffered, he was persecuted and driven away from the land for which he was prophesying. But God provided for him throughout his whole life, and when he was at the end of his life. He was taken up to heaven in spectacular fashion, in a whirlwind or a windstorm of some sort.

We have another example given to us that is so much more than Elijah. His name is Jesus Christ, the great prophet, God’s only Son. He was persecuted for the sake of the word. He suffered mocking, beating and His life was ultimately taken from Him. 

The reward of the prophet is a heavy reward. But a great one.

We must not forget that although the reward of the prophet is hard, isolating and can lead to such persecutions leading even to death, the heaviness of the reward is far out weighed by the amazing promise of eternal life. Because as Christ was raised from the dead, so to will we be on that great day when he comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Christ in the sermon on the mount says: Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. Jesus is not saying here that you may be persecuted one day for His sake, or that you may be insulted or excluded. He is saying that you will be persecuted for his sake in one way or another; for the sake of righteousness. When you welcome a righteous person in the name of a righteous person you will receive a righteous reward. 

Here as in the reward of the prophet, the reward is not as we may expect, it also includes the promise of people hating, insulting, and excluding you. And yet again although these things may be hard and disheartening. But again this temporary hurt is far outweighed by the promise of eternal life. Not only will you be awarded with eternal life. Your reward in heaven will be great! 

But what does this mean for now? Is there any reward for serving our God right now?

Absolutely. Whoever welcomes Jesus Christ welcomes the one who sent Him, namely our Father in Heaven. And by welcoming Him into our lives we welcome His promises. His promise never to leave us orphaned (as we mentioned in previous posts), to forgive us our sins (as we hear when we receive His forgiveness), to nourish us through His body and blood (as we receive the Lord's Supper), to provide us with all that we need, and to be with us always until the very end of the age.

Times will get tough, you will be persecuted, you will be isolated and hated for the sake of Christ. But you will also have Him who was, who is and is yet to come, in, with and by you, forever and ever.

And the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.

The F Word: John 20:19-21

John 20:19-21

So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you"And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” 

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

Fear 

Have you ever thought about the word fear? Not the feeling of fear but just what the word fear means? Does its meaning look at the action of “shaking in your boots”, scared of someone or something? Does it mean worrying about the things that you need, like food, clothing, savings or health? Or does it mean holding something in a very high regard and even ‘idolizing’ or worshiping something or someone? 

The disciples in todays Gospel reading did exactly these things. They feared. The were shaking in their boots, afraid of what the Jews might do to them. They worried about their lives; about what would happen to them now that Jesus had died. And they devoted their time and energy to their fear of the Jewish leaders, as is seen by the fact that they were hiding behind a locked door rather than spending time helping the sick and the poor and the needy. 

But is it only the apostles that are guilty of these things?

We too fear things that are beyond our control. We fear for the safety of our selves and for those close to us, we worry about what we will eat and wear, and we hold in high regard and even idolize those things that we want or possess. Are we really that different to the apostles?

One fear that many people have is the fear of isolation. The fear of being alone. When I think of that room where the disciples hid behind the locked door, I imagine an image of total isolation. Yes they had each other, but each of them would have been in their own world of loss, mourning and fearing. We too at times feel alone, even when we have people around us. Maybe we are in mourning, or are fearful of those things that burden us. Maybe it is guilt of things that we have done, or those thing left undone. 

Freed from Fear

When Jesus entered the room that the disciples were in; He said “Peace be with you”. This ordinary Jewish greeting “Shalom” is used in the most amazing extraordinary way. Not only is Jesus Christ greeting them. He is announcing himself as present among them. And He is giving them the ability to have peace. 

Remember the disciples were full of fear, they were afraid and they had locked the door. 

Then Jesus appears before them. The one who they had lost had appeared to them and this by it self gave them peace. But Jesus did more than appear to them. He gave them true peace. He gave them their focus back. They were no longer looking within themselves and looking at what they had lost, and what the future might bring them. But they focused once more of that which was most important, namely, Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that he brings. What joy must have been the disciples when they saw and knew that Christ had been risen. When his peace that passed their understanding was brought to them. 

The bible verse here says that they were overflowing with joy. 

And we too overflow with joy when we hear, and see, and know that our sins are forgiven. 

Have you ever felt like the things that you have done are so bad that you don’t want to go out side, or even go to church. Or maybe there is guilt for the things that you haven’t done or the people you haven’t spoken to. Maybe you feel like this today. Maybe the reason you are hearing this right now is that God wants you to hear that your sins are forgiven, and that because of God’s great love for you, He sent His son to die for you so that your sin could be forgiven. The fear of your sin is gone. It has been washed away in the blood of your saviour. The peace of the Lord is with you. We have been freed, by the forgiveness of Christ which brings us His peace.

Freed to Fear

Earlier I asked about the meaning of ‘fear’ and looked at what the definition actually meant. We looked at the trembling fear, or the “shaking in the boots fear”; we looked at the worry for material needs; and we looked at fear being an idolization, or worship of someone or something. When we look at the First Commandment “You shall have no other God’s except me” in light of the word fear; we remember what Luther said this meant: “You should FEAR, love and trust in God above all things”. We have been freed from worldly fears (as we heard earlier), by the forgiveness of our sins. But why are we freed from fear? We are freed from fear, so that we can fear, love and trust in God above all other things. We no longer fear what others may do to us, because we love God and know that God loves us and has promised us eternal life. We no longer worry about what we will eat or wear, because we trust in God to provide us with everything we need. And we do not fear those thing we want, or worship other gods because Our Father has shown us that He can and should be feared above all other things. 

This fear of God does not need to be an afraid fear, nor does it need to be a worried fear. It is a reverential fear, a fear that brings us to worship and devotion before our God. And it is a fear that we are given by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. 

Freed to Fear so we can Free the Fearful

After Jesus had revealed himself to the disciples and has given them His peace, he charged them with a great responsibility. 

This is the same responsibility that He gives to us today. That we pronounce the forgiveness of sins. Why do we have this responsibility? It is because we have been forgiven. We have received the peace of God, so why wouldn’t we want to give this peace to all those around us? The overflowing joy that we receive at the knowledge of our eternal life is one that does exactly that, overflow. We have been given the joy that overflows, the overflowing of this joy flows over into those around us, infecting them with the peace and joy which the Holy Spirit brings. 

Today as we celebrate pentecost, we remember the moment when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into our lives. When He gave us the responsibility of proclaiming the forgiveness of sins to all those around us. When he gave us the opportunity to receive His great peace and joy. And when He made us free from fear, so that we could truly fear, love and trust in God above all things.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.