Needed Today

1 Fret not yourself because of evil- | doers;*
be not envious of wrong- | doers!
2 For they will soon fade | like the grass*
and wither like the | green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, | and do good;*
dwell in the land
and befriend | faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself | in the Lord,*
and he will give you the
desires | of your heart.
5 Commit your way | to the Lord;*
trust in him, and | he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness | as the light,*
and your justice as the | noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait
patiently | for him;*
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man
who carries out evil de- | vices!

—Psalm 37:1-7

06092013 2nd Sunday After Trinity

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray!  Merciful Father, You continuously invite us to weekly worship in Your house where You prepare not only a feast of Your Word, but also Your Sacraments that give us life and salvation.  Yet, we sometimes place our priorities not on You, but on ourselves.  Enable us to confess our shortcomings and rely solely upon Your grace offered through Jesus Christ death on Calvary for all of mankind, including all of us Saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

One of the most dreaded days back east when in school was when it would rain and we could not go out and play at recess.  We would spend the time in the gym and one of the favorite games of coaches was ‘dodgeball’.  The game was easy as was shown in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, but as someone that was slow with reflexes I was always one of the first people out, I was an easy target.

In our Gospel this morning, we hear about a lot of people who are ‘dodging’ a feast.  Having been invited by the head of a household who had prepared the feast and made all the preparations, the people made excuses why they could and would not come.  They ranged from ‘a new land purchase’, ‘new yokes of oxen that needed tried out’, ‘a new wife’, to every imaginable excuse.  They were ‘dodging’ going to this feast and giving all the reasons and rationale in the world.

Are we any different today?  We make excuses and provide ‘plausible’ explanations why we cannot do something whether in the home, at work or even here in the church.  We provide the reasons and believe they are adequate explanations even here at church.  Whether it is our attendance at worship, involvement in the men’s or women’s groups, helping with Meals-On-Wheels, ushering for the worship services, acolyting, being a reader, greeting, serving as a coffee fellowship host, providing flowers on the altar, serving on the council, being a mentor for a confirmation student, serving in some capacity in vacation bible school or Sunday school.  We dodge the responsibility that we took at every baptism in this church, every confirmation and our joining the church and becoming part of the Body of Christ. 

The simple question for us today is “Are you dodging God?”  Am I guilty of this?  Yes I am.  I dodge God and the responsibilities placed on my shoulders and which I am eternally responsible for with my ordination vows and also my installation as Pastor here at Emmanuel.  I am guilty of dodging the responsibility of holding myself individually responsible to God as well as to you the people God has placed under my care as your shepherd.  All of us are just as guilty.  We skate around the issues, want to be a ‘good person’, don’t want to ‘make waves’, but have clearly avoided the problem and now have created a pattern that we live with.

Dr. Henry Cloud in his book “Boundaries for Leaders” uses this paradigm of problem and pattern.  We continue to have problems and these problems usually continue to manifest themselves and this becomes a pattern.  Whether it is an issue that if we consider it in a business context like the farm, the office or in our place of work it would have been dealt with immediately without a second thought.  But here in the church we have created a pattern of avoiding the issue, dodging the tough calls and calling it ‘mercy’.

But God is clear, that is not mercy, it is our dodging God’s call to each and every one of us to the responsibilities that God has given us as His children as the body of Christ.  There are consequences and we may not immediately encounter these consequences, but eventually they will be a tangible reality and catch up with us.  God today and every day of our lives is calling us to a banquet feast that we cannot fathom.  Our text talks about a prepared dinner, well, God has prepared for each and every one of us a feast beyond our wildest imagination.  And when we make the excuses that we do on a daily basis, God not only is not honored, we cannot be partakers of the greatest gift God has to give each and every one of us.

Are we dodging God?  We probably are, but we can do three things to change this.  Resolve to accept God’s offers in our lives.  Be God’s action agents whether in work, the community or even our church.  And finally receive God’s continued bidding to not only be involved in His plan, but become good and gracious stewards of what God has entrusted to each and every one of us.

Easily we talk about ownership, whether of property like houses or farm ground, vehicles, equipment or even our gadgets like phones and computers, but we are just stewards of these items.  We cannot take them with us and they can and do pass away.  If we are dodging God and the opportunities He is giving us then our ownership is nothing more than selfishness.  Let’s resolve to use use God’s gifts to each of us for His glory in order to point to God and what He did for all of mankind.  For God understands what true sacrifice is because He offered His Son Jesus Christ in order to give us life and salvation.  God was a good steward and sacrificed Jesus Christ in order that we may be in His kingdom.  May we daily resolve to not dodge God any more, but encounter God and offer ourselves, our time, our talents and even our treasure in order to reach the lost and those who have never heard nor experienced the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  For the Gospel is for all mankind, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning, so let’s not dodge the free grace offered by God any more.  AMEN.

06022013 1st Sunday After Trinity

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray!  Gracious Father, today we celebrate four youth taking the step from children to adults in the eyes of the church.  They take upon themselves the promises made for them by their parents, sponsors and the body of Jesus Christ the Church when they were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Enable Adison, Kasey, Kate and Simon to not only hear the Gospel this morning, but to be emboldened to choose life and salvation offered by Your Son Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary for all of mankind, including all of the saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

“Which side of the divide will you be on?”  This question seems innocuous enough, but this morning as we come to celebrate the Confirmation of Adison, Kasey, Kate and Simon it is more important for us to consider.  From our Gospel this morning we have heard the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man is not given a name, but the poor man, Lazarus is clearly named and described.  The rich man lacks for nothing, having all the riches and prestige of not only his station, but his wealth that surrounds him.  He has maids and maidens, servants to serve him cold beverages when needed, food that is perfectly prepared and only the finest linens to lay his head and body on.  Perfumes from far countries are an every day occurrence to make him smell better and hide the stench of the area as well as the people and person right outside of his doorway.

Lazarus on the other hand laying right outside the rich mans mansion has sores that cover his body, dogs that lick his wounds and feed on the sparse food that he so desperately needs.  His clothes are tattered and barely cover his body and do not protect him not only from the elements of the wind, sand and weather, but the sun that beats down on his brow daily without respite.  The odor that rises from him is no better than a sewer since he can’t get to a bathroom, which we take for granted.

Then both the rich man and Lazarus die.  Both the rich man and Lazarus cease their earthly existence and as Luke says, “²² Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”  This seems like a simple explanation, but Luke goes further in his explanation of the two fates of the rich man and Lazarus which begs the question I began with. “Which side of the divide will you be on?”

You see the divide between the rich man and Lazarus is not a valley, not a simple hill, not a surmountable object that can be conquered.  The difference in the two places is more profound.  It is the difference between Heaven and Hell.  Today this is the decision which the confirmands take the responsibility upon themselves for as they become adults in the eyes of the church.

When they were baptized in the font of Holy Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God washed them clean of the stain of sin and set them free from the bonds of sin, death and the devil.  But it was their parents, their sponsors and we the Body of Christ that took the responsibility of their education in the Christian Faith in our hands.  When we ‘welcomed them into the Family of God’ we said their upbringing and modeling of faith was in our hands and we were responsible for their faith development.  As a congregation we took the responsibility of offering Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and Confirmation instruction.  Our responsibility did not end with the teaching, but continued with our modeling for them the responsibilities of being a Christian.  Putting our faith first, not our vacations or relaxations, not our jobs, not sports, not school, not our education, but our Savior Jesus Christ and His innocent death on Calvary.  This is, was is and should be the message we remember daily and point to as now Adison, Kasey, Kate and Simon are taking the responsibility upon their own shoulders.

Today, Adison, Kasey, Kate and Simon stand before God and the congregation and Confess the Christian Nicene Creed not just as children, but now as full adult members of the body of Christ.  Today they confess the divinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit Who not only created us in our mother’s womb, but redeemed us on the Cross of Calvary and sanctifies and keeps us in the one true faith.  For it is the Holy Spirit given on the day of Pentecost that we celebrate today and how the Holy Spirit now guides and directs them for the rest of their lives.

Now I return to the question, Adison, Kasey, Kate and Simon “Which side of the divide will you be on?”  Will you be the rich man or Lazarus?  Will you now that you are eternally responsible for your eternal destination, choose life and salvation through Jesus Christ?  Or will you choose the path of this world that places more importance on money, possessions, personal gain, acclamation, glory and medals that will pass away?  Today is the day you become personally responsible for the rest of your life.

This decision of choices is one that cannot be easily dismissed.  The best role model we have for us today is not only the citizen soldiers and active duty military who serve and protect our freedom, but also the men and women who put their life on the line daily whether as police officers, emergency medical first responders, but also firemen and women who insure our safety.  There is something that is taught in each of these organizations that we need to understand today.  In the military they do not leave anyone behind.  In a recent movie, “Act of Valor” about the Navy Seals, while on deployment one of the seals was killed in the line of duty.  He left behind in his death his wife and family all in order to offer us the freedoms we take for granted.  All of the other seals mantra was to leave no one behind.  And they brought him home to honor not only his sacrifice, but also his decision to preserve and protect our freedoms.

Adison, Kasey, Kate and Simon, hear clearly this today.  We who are here today stand behind you and do not want to leave you behind.  We are here to support you and continue to guide and direct you.  Today you begin to answer for yourselves, “Which side of the divide will you be on?”  Our prayer is that God Who began the work of salvation in each of you on your baptism enable each of you to choose life and salvation with Jesus Christ Who died for all of mankind, including each of you and all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel to celebrate your confirmation.  AMEN.