November
13, 2016
“the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,”
“the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,”
In our Gospel this morning Jesus tells the
parable of the Final Judgement that will occur.
Easily we could say this parable is told by Jesus in order to ‘call down
judgement’ upon each other no matter the circumstance, no matter the reason. Others would say it is to vindicate the Son
of Man. Yet, Jesus tells this parable
not to vindicate, but to reveal Himself as the Shepherd, not to judge, not to
justify, not to point out the log in other’s eyes, but simply to forgive and separate
the sheep from the goats.
You see in Jesus day flocks were kept by
the shepherds that included both sheep and goats. The sheep were the prized possession of the
herdsman. On the other hand, the goat
was not held in as much honor, because goats were bullies of the sheep and
caused the destruction of the land causing erosion. Hence why when gathered together the sheep
and goats were separated by the shepherd, because the goats were trouble
makers.
Jesus as the great shepherd knew this and
tells this parable in order to further explain the difference between the
believers, the sheep and the unbelievers, the goats. Not much has changed in 2000 years. Sadly in our world around us even here in
Western Kansas, we have people who are bullies and the herd mentality and we
also have the sheep who believe, but don’t stand up to the bullies.
Yet today in our confession of the
Apostle’s Creed, we confess a need all of us should daily seek and a belief
what will occur on the last day. When we
confess, “the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body,”
it is with the clear understanding we believe we need forgiveness from God and
we will on the last day receive a resurrected body.
One
of the hardest things some Christians face is understanding our need for
forgiveness. Our culture always wants to
be seen as ‘right’, never wrong, never to show weakness. So to seek out forgiveness is in one sense
‘against our culture’. In Lutheranism
101 a constant question I ask, as Christians who are supposed to be ‘disciples
of Jesus Christ’, as Christians are we ‘in’ or ‘of’ the world? The simple answer is we Christians ‘live in
the world’, but we Christians are not ‘of the world’. For as followers of Jesus Christ who confess
our belief in what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary our values, our
thoughts and our actions should mirror and be the same as Jesus Christ.
And
what did Jesus Christ call for? You
guessed it, ‘repentance’ and “the forgiveness of sins”. Jesus called for us to forgive one another
and daily declare to one another what He offered so freely on the Cross of
Calvary. To either deny or not seek out
and ask for forgiveness means we deny Jesus Christ, His death on Calvary and we
deny the grace that He so freely wants to offers us. Our culture sees forgiveness as a weakness,
but with God when we confess and ask for and lay claim to “the
forgiveness of sins” our reality changes. We then more fully rely upon God, not only
for this life that we live day to day, but a life that looks with eternal eyes that
leads us deeper and more fully into what we confess in the Apostle’s Creed and
a fuller relationship with Jesus Christ and the blessings only He can give to
each of us.
Not
only do we confess, “the forgiveness of sins,” which
is for the ‘earthly’, but we lay claim to the eternal, with our belief in “the resurrection of the body,”. Consider if you will we spare no expense to
take care of our loved ones who have died, from the caskets, the flowers for
the funeral, the plots that we will be buried in at the cemetery. Yet as Christians, in our Creed we believe
that the flesh we have will when Christ comes again will no longer matter,
because we confess “the
resurrection of the body,”.
Paul
says it plainly in 1st Corinthians 15 and 1st
Thessalonians, “the dead in Christ will rise first” and our bodies that we now
worry about whether we are physically fit or able to wear the latest fashions, will
remain in the dust of the earth and we will be given new bodies. Spiritual bodies that don’t need to worry
about aches and pains, pulled muscles, diseases like cancer, diabetes, broken
bones or any ailments. Our belief in “the resurrection of the
body,”
looks not with the earthly eyes we look for and see, but the eternal eyes. For in our being raised with all the saints
our bodies will be imperishable.
But
of what value and importance is our confession of “the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,”. Simply we confess in this phrase of the
Apostle’s Creed our trust in Jesus Christ.
For we receive forgiveness because of His great love for us and in our
trusting Jesus it is not just for forgiveness, but that we will be with Him in
heaven for eternity. No matter the
political parties that are in control, the hurts we inflict intentionally or
unintentionally that we receive here on earth, none of this matters, because
our faith is not built on the sand that shifts with the wind. Our faith is firmly built on what Jesus
Christ offered on Calvary and is the bedrock of our faith. For our faith is built upon our trust in
Jesus Christ and the offer of salvation for all of mankind.
Today
we celebrate our Thank Offering. We
smell the fruits of the ladies labor and the gifts of love that will fill our
stomachs. We have the distinct
opportunity to gather this year to give thanks to God for what He has done and
continues to do in and with us. In the
early summer, a bountiful wheat harvest not seen in a generation. A corn harvest that fills the bunkers at
Frontier and Co-Op. The devil wants us
to look at the prices for wheat, corn and cattle and worry about what will come
tomorrow and how our finances will meet expenses. But God wants us to focus on something
totally different. God wants us to
simply be thankful for our lives, our harvest and especially the blessing of “the forgiveness of sins” and “the resurrection of the body” He
gives through His Son Jesus Christ.
We
have the greatest opportunity today to give thanks because of His sacrifice and
honor the gifts that God offers unto us of eternal life. In celebrating and giving thanks today we
clearly lay claim to what we weekly confess in the Apostle’s Creed. For this is our corporate and personal
confession that not only gives thanks to God for the grace God offers us freely
and without cost to us, but promises us what we need the most “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,”. AMEN.
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