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Marriage is a good thing. The problem is, youth are usually years from marriage and struggling with sin now. Luther notes that maintaining chastity apart from marriage is a rare and supernatural gift. Most of us don’t have superpowers. We were born this way. We’re sinners, but we have a Jesus who forgives sinners. This forgiveness becomes our identity.
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By Rev. Eric Brown
“Your Father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
Abraham was on his way to worship the Lord, on his way to church as it were. But it was not necessarily a happy trip. No, the Lord had required the life of Abraham’s son, Isaac. And Abraham goes, ready to sacrifice his son. He’s old, and frankly, he’s got no grounds to argue against God. For 99 years Abraham had tried to get a son on his own and nothing good was the result. Then God gave Isaac. If God wanted Isaac back, well, even though it was long before Paul said it, Abraham knew that the wages of sin was death.
Yet there, at that church, in the middle of that worship service, just as the highlight approached, Abraham saw the day of the Lord. The Angel of the Lord, Jesus before His birth, called out and told Abraham to put down the knife, that Isaac would live. There would be a substitute. Today, a ram in the thicket, but come one day Jesus Himself, the very Lamb of God would come and die and take away the sins of the entire world.
Many years later, sons of Abraham confronted Christ. He had literally saved their lives, their existence many years ago by sparing their father Isaac – yet they still griped and complained and fought – even wanted to kill Him. They refused to see who He was. They didn’t want a savior, they just wanted to jockey for social position and power. And yet, even for them, Jesus would die, would still be the Lamb of God who takes away even their sin. He hides Himself until it is time to die upon the Cross.
If you think you’ve got it all together, or maybe just need a bit of brushing up, Christ Jesus isn’t much to look at. He’s better than you, and that will just annoy you. But when you have seen sin and death and dying, when you know you own lack and weakness and are too tired to make excuses, then you see the day of the Lord and like Abraham you will rejoice. The Lord’s Day means that you will live. Christ Jesus has died in your place, and because He has risen from the dead you will rise too.
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
By Rev. Eric Brown
“Perceiving that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.”
Now this was the sort of Messiah the people wanted! It was great. Think of all that could happen if you have a King who could just hand out free food whenever you wanted. The luxury, the ease that we could have! And so, the crowd basically started planning to kidnap Jesus and cage Him on a throne like He was the goose that laid the golden egg.
They missed the point. They didn’t understand what sort of King Jesus would be. He’s not a king of ease and leisure; He’s the King who takes up a cross to battle Satan and sin and death. And just as He had provided manna in the wilderness for 40 years so the children of Israel could endure their struggles, Jesus had provided the 5000 bread so that they could endure their struggles. But that wasn’t what the crowd wanted – no more struggles, Jesus! We want a luxury king, far removed from struggle! But Jesus will not be forced to play by the crowd’s whims – instead He will go to the cross and win salvation.
We can be tempted to think like the crowd today as well. We can put more focus on getting more and more stuff and focus less and less upon the Cross. While it is true that Jesus provides earthly blessings for us, Jesus has a bigger goal than just that. He provides us bread, it’s not for a life time of ease. Rather, He gives daily bread so that strengthened by Him we may face our vocations and tasks (which He gives as well), so that we may serve even in the face of our troubles. But that’s not the main point; the Lord’s Prayer doesn’t stop at the fourth petition (“give us this day our daily bread”). No, the wants of our flesh don’t distract Christ – instead He continues on and gives us the forgiveness He won for us upon the Cross, He leads us away from temptation by His Word, and He delivers us from Satan and Sin and every evil. And that is what we truly need.
All thanks be to our Lord Christ Jesus, who gives us what is truly good for us, not merely what we would want!
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
By Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
As the baptized people of God, we have access to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Thus, at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy we gather before the face of God remembering our baptism in which we daily die to sin and rise again to walk in newness of life. Therefore, we are taught to go before God’s face in humility. We humbly confess to Him with fellow believers that we have sinned against the True God in thought, word, and deed. Then we petition Him asking that He would forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in His will and walk in His way. For the sake of Christ, we are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
We gather together at the place of grace, that is, where Christ Himself is in our midst as the High Priest granting us remission of sins and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Through the message of the cross, the Holy Spirit is working in us to bring about new thoughts, new words, and new deeds. We have a new desire to be instructed by God. The Word of God is efficacious, that is, it effects a change in those who hear it. The Spirit of God enlightens us and guides us to walk in the Light. Our entire life of faith is depicted as walking with God through the wilderness of this fallen creation.
Without God’s Word as a Lamp unto our feet and a Light unto our path, we are left alone on an unfamiliar trail amid darkness. If you have ever walked around in the night without a light, you know about stubbing toes, banging shins, and even stumbling to the ground. If you have ever hiked on a trail when the sun goes down in the middle of the wildness where there are poisonous snakes, you know the importance of having a flashlight. However, if the batteries die and you wonder off the trail, then you risk being lost and even bitten by a snake.
When the Triune God originally gave the Ten Commandments to His people at Mount Saini, He was preparing them for the journey ahead through the wilderness into the Promised Land. He would guide them and lead them to safety. In fact, the Pre-incarnate Christ would tabernacle in their midst. He promised to be present with them in a pillar of cloud by day to show them the way and a pillar of fire by night to give them the light.
Yet, before they set out on their pilgrimage, God instructed them about the obstacles that would be found along their way. Thus, He gave to them the Ten Words. Notice that this instruction began with the proper identity of God and His people. The Triune God spoke and said, “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:1). The people of Israel did not make themselves God’s people by their thoughts, words, or deeds. In fact, they were slaves in Egypt and could not free themselves from their own captivity. They needed a Deliverer who would deliver them from the oppression of Pharaoh. God had freed them and liberated them from the house of slavery. To confess God as Yahweh, is to confess God as the One who redeemed them. Yahweh is their only Savior. They have been freed from slavery to Pharaoh and made servants of the One True God. They had been baptized in the waters of the Red Sea.
Thus, God began to instruct them by saying, “You shall have no other gods before me.” There is no need to have a different god who did not save them. There is no need to bring another god alongside the True God. There is no need to look for an alternative face for God. There is no need to try and win God’s favor with one’s own thoughts, words, or deeds. There is no need to worship God in the way of the contemporary corrupted culture.
Israel is taught that as soon as they begin to walk in God’s way, temptation will come trying to lead them astray. The land of Canaan will be filled with creative ways to worship God. The Ancient Serpent will be waiting for them along the path. The Deceiver deceives people into making gods in their own fallen images. The Tempter tempts people to form gods from the imagination of their own corrupted hearts. Such gods are false. They cannot save or redeem. Thus, the True God warns His people about false worship which is done without God’s Word and without faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Out of love for His people, God instructs them in what is pleasing to Him. The people of God do not need any other gods. Instead, they are to learn to fear, love, and trust in Yahweh above all things. The people of God already have the True God who redeems and saves them. The first commandment instructs us in true worship.
Now that Christ is incarnate, we confess Jesus as Lord, that is, Yahweh who redeems us. Jesus is our only Savior. There is no other name by which we are to be saved. We belong to Him. He is our God and we are His people who live under Him in His Kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM
By Rev. Eric Brown
But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.(Luke 11:15-16)
They just wanted to ignore Jesus. That was all. They didn’t want to have to listen to what He was preaching. So, they came up with an excuse. When Jesus cast out a demon, they claimed he cast out that demon by Beelzebul. And then Jesus proceeds to explain to them in great detail why that excuse is an utterly foolish excuse.
Here’s where I could point at these folks and mock them for their foolishness, but the simple truth is I’ve heard worse excuses. I’ve heard ones less logical, more nonsensical. And not from others. I’m talking about the excuses my own sinful heart throws out in front of me over and over again. And I’m sure you know the excuses your heart likes to toss out.
You know how foolish and stupid “He casts out demons by Beelzebul” is? Well, our excuses, especially the ones we cherish and cling to, are far, far more foolish. The ability we have to rationalize our sin or self-justify our wretched behavior, all while ignoring the Word of God is astonishing.
And yet, what does Jesus do for these foolish excuse makers in the text? He doesn’t write them off. He doesn’t mock them (as I’d be tempted to do). He still goes to them and speaks to them again. He shows them their sin, but then proclaims their Savior. The Finger of God that gives life and salvation has come upon you, even you who come up with foolish excuses to avoid this.
This is why, over and over, Jesus brings His Word to you. This is why over and over He has His servants preach to you and give you His Body and Blood in the Supper. Your folly doesn’t make Him despise you; rather He comes to you again, for you are His blessed brother or sister, joined to Him in the waters of Baptism. He brings you the Word of God again and again. Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word!
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
God gave the fifth commandment, you shall not murder, because He loves your neighbor too. He wants to see us all taken care of. Sin breaks stuff. He gives the 5th commandment to see us protected. In the same attempt to protect us, He also gives authority to government to limit the damage that sin does. He calls them to protect their citizens, even by force. Killing is always painful, but inside of this vocation, God exempts them from the 5th commandment. Soldiers don’t fight for selfish gain, but to protect and serve. This is painful, but this is not murder.
Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.
God gave the fifth commandment, you shall not murder, because He loves your neighbor too. He wants to see us all taken care of. Sin breaks stuff. He gives the 5th commandment to see us protected. In the same attempt to protect us, He also gives authority to government to limit the damage that sin does. He calls them to protect their citizens, even by force. Killing is always painful, but inside of this vocation, God exempts them from the 5th commandment. Soldiers don’t fight for selfish gain, but to protect and serve. This is painful, but this is not murder.
Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.
By Rev. Eric Brown
“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:21-28)
This Canaanite woman seems to be having a bad day. To start, her daughter is demon oppressed. Severely. That’s a rough start to any day. Moreover, when Jesus comes by, and she cries out to Him for mercy, He is silent. Then the disciples want Him to send her away.
And then, when Jesus finally answers her, after she kneels in front of Him, all He says is, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” And yes, in the ancient world, calling a woman a dog is just as much of an insult as it is today.
And we’d expect that woman to be insulted. We wouldn’t be surprised if she left in a huff, told all her friends, “Can you believe what Jesus said about me!” But she’s not insulted. She sees an opening. Yes – Yes I am a dog, but good masters make sure that their dogs get fed and the crumbs – the scraps that you provide – would be more than enough for me!
This is what Jesus declares to be a great faith.
Often the Scriptures say things about us that we don’t like. They say that we are sinners, that all our good works are as filthy rags. That we are basically dogs. Many get offended by this. Rail against it. But here is the glorious truth – though you are sinful and lowly, you belong to Christ, and He treats you far better than you could ever deserve. He pours out His love and mercy upon you and gives you life everlasting – not because of how great you are, but because of how great He is, because you are His by virtue of your Baptism.
Yes, Lord – I am a sinner and worthy of nothing, but You are gracious and give me everything!
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
By Cambria Stame
“Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Today, your pastor will speak these words to you as he traces the sign of the holy cross in ashes upon your forehead as a reminder of your hopeless mortality. There seems to be no hope in death, only an inconsolable, desperate, miserable grief that will forever hold your soul in thrall. In death, your life is reduced to ashes. Fallen captive to the passions and pleasures of the world, you succumbed to that which strangles the souls of men. Lust, pride, envy, worry, bloodshed—these things you carried on your back as you collapsed back into the earth. Your epitaph is hardly worth reading. Your life amounts to no more than a handful of dust. You will surely die. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
But if Scripture has taught us anything, it has taught us that God raises dead men back to life. He breathed life into a valley of dry bones. He raised a little girl whose father was sick with grief. To the amazement of Mary and Martha, he restored Lazarus back to life after four days in the tomb. These resurrections, and all others recorded in Scripture, are woven into the fabric of the cross. For God in the flesh was lifted up, that you might be lifted up out of the ashes.
Hear how Christ has conquered death for you, “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Thus, these Lenten ashes are not so morbid as one might originally suppose. The ashen token is a memento mori, for it gives you a cause to remember death, not that you may fear its impending gloom, but that you may remember the one who caused Death to die. It is a reminder that sin surely demands your life, but that God demanded it back in your Baptism. When you were plunged into the font where Word and water collide, you died and were made alive again; you were lost, and was found. As Christ is risen, you have risen indeed.
Embrace your Lenten ashes. Fix your eyes upon these crosses that adorn the foreheads of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Rejoice and be glad, for death has no sting and hell holds you captive no longer. You, like the noble phoenix, arise from your ashy chamber. As the phoenix issues forth from the dust in a flurry of fire, you are reborn from an equally mighty act of nature: a baptismal flood. Resplendent in all his resurrection glory, the phoenix is colored crimson, and you are too, by the blood of your crucified and risen Lord.
The first time I attended a Lutheran church, I did so on Ash Wednesday twelve years ago. While the “smells and bells” of the liturgy certainly impacted me, what stood out to me the most was the way Scripture, quite literally, touched me. My pastor, like all other men of the cloth, used his hands to baptize, bless, and embrace—his hands are vessels of the life God gives us. Yet, he is equally as acquainted with death as he is with life. Pastor now dipped his hands into ashes, into filth, into grime, into death—as Christ did. He cupped my chin, looked me in the eyes, and pronounced me dead. Brushing ashes onto my forehead, he supplied the vector that pointed me back to my Baptism. Like the host of saints who had gone before me, I too was made alive again as Christ knelt down and mixed water in with the dust. Christ applied this ointment to give me seeing eyes of faith, saying as he always does, “Arise, to life be reconciled.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, remember that you are dust, and lend your ears to this baptismal requiem: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” A blessed Ash Wednesday to all of you.
Cambria Stame is a member of Messiah Lutheran Church in Danville, California.
By Rev. Michael Keith
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
These somber words come at the beginning of the Lenten Season as they are spoken to us on Ash Wednesday. They aren’t the most cheery words ever spoken to be sure, but they are true and they confront us with a truth that we so often seek to ignore, deny, and hide. We are going to die.
In our modern day we do most everything possible to hide the reality of death away. We don’t even like to hear people talk about death. It is almost as if we think, superstitiously, that if we talk about death someone might die! You are probably a little uncomfortable reading these words even now. We’re afraid of talking about death. We’re afraid of thinking about death. We’re afraid of death.
The Church, in her wisdom, doesn’t let our fears dictate what we think about or talk about. In fact, the Church brings us face to face with some of these difficult realities. Through Word and ritual the Church confronts us with our fear of death. And perhaps like no other time than on Ash Wednesday as the cross of ashes is placed upon our foreheads and we hear “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” We are very personally confronted with the fact that we will die. We are given the opportunity to look into one of the deepest questions of life: Death.
If you came to church on Ash Wednesday, or at any other time, and only heard the message “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” that would be pretty disheartening wouldn’t it? If the only thing you heard was—you are going to die—that’s it, that’s all folks—well, that would leave you without much hope. It might lead you to despair. It might lead you to wonder if there was any meaning to life at all if all it leads to is death.
That’s why I think so many people are afraid of talking or thinking about death. That’s why I think that there are so many people who have no meaning in their lives. They think this life is all there is and so they try to get all the meaning they can out of this life—but that will never work. You can’t get meaning out of the “stuff” of this life if ultimately it only ends in death. That’s why there are so many people who live lives of despair. They have no hope. They have no assurance that when they die they will have eternal life. So rather than wrestle with the inevitable – they in fear ignore it. They seek to distract themselves. They do everything they can to shield themselves from the fact that they will die.
As Christians we don’t hide from death. As Christians we face it head on. We even have a cross of ashes put on our foreheads. We are reminded that we will die. And our response? “Yes, some day I will die. Yes, I am a sinner and the wages of sin is death. But what of it? Jesus lives! And because He lives so shall I live. He has rescued from death and the grave and has opened for me the way to everlasting life!”
We don’t ignore the harsh reality of death because we have hope in the face of death! Jesus, our resurrected Lord and Saviour, has defeated death. And this gives us hope and assurance in the face of death. No, this does not mean that we just gloss over death and the way it hurts us and rips us apart. Death hurts those who are left behind in a most profound way. But even there—while we grieve and mourn—we have hope. Even in our sadness we have comfort. Even at the graveside we know that this is not the end. Yes, we hurt and suffer—but we know that we are not alone! We know that Jesus is with us as He promised in our baptism as we go through this loss.
On Ash Wednesday with a cross of ashes on our foreheads—we hear the Good News of Jesus Christ proclaimed to us. We hear that our sin is forgiven. We hear that our death has been defeated by Jesus’ resurrection. We hear that we have been given eternal life.
And this gives us hope. This gives us meaning in this life. We realize that there is more to life than just what we see. We realize that there is more to life than just to eat, drink, and be merry. There is a God who loves us. He loves us so that He sent His Son to die for us and to rescue us from sin and death.
Knowing that there is a God who loves us and cares for us and has prepared a place for us to live forever with Him—gives us hope. It gives us peace. We don’t have to hide from death. We don’t have to be afraid of death. For in Jesus, we have life!
Rev. Michael Keith serves as pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church and SML Christian Academy in Stony Plain, AB Canada.
