what will your verse be?

One of my favorite commercials of all time debuted at the Super Bowl in 2014. I'm usually one of those football nerds who just wants to watch the game and mutes the commercials, but this time it was different. This commercial mesmerized me and captured my imagination. I kept hoping they would show it again later on in the game. Since then I have watched it many times.

It was a commercial for the new Apple ipad Air, and it featured the voice of Robin Williams from the movie "Dead Poets Society" along with images of beauty and wonder from around the world. The commercial ends with these words - "the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"  

The commercial is affective and effective because it combines words and images together in a way that draws you into the story. But it's not just any story. It's not just Apple's story or the world's story. By the end of the commercial you realize that it's actually your story. "The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

I believe the same can be said of Holy Scripture. You begin to read a passage of the Bible thinking that you are reading an old story about someone else. But as you continue to read and reflect, you begin to realize that this is not only God's story or man's story, it is also your story as well. It's about your sin, your grief, your pain, your loss - as well as your forgiveness, your freedom, your redemption, your restoration. 

It's kind of like a Disney Star Wars ride.  At first you think you are just watching a show - and then suddenly you realize that you are in the show as one of the main characters! Instantly you find yourself engaged in the action of a new adventure and a new way of seeing the world. This is what the Bible does to us as well - as we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest God's Word. The Word of God, the Eternal Logos, Jesus Christ Himself is revealed to us by the power of the Holy Spirit, and pretty soon, God's story becomes our own. It's funny - we think that we're the ones who are reading and interpreting the Bible, but we soon discover that it is really the Bible that is reading and interpreting us.

Martin Luther writes in his explanation to the Third Article of the Creed, “The Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.” 

 This is what Epiphany, "the season of light", is all about. The first words God ever spoke were "Let there be light", and there was light, and it was good. That's how He began and that's what He has been doing ever since - making something out of nothing, bringing light out of darkness, creating life where there was only death. The Apostle Paul writes that "this grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (2 Tim. 1:9)

One of our liturgies for evening prayer states - "enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ." That is our prayer this week as Christmas turns to Epiphany - and December turns to January - and a new year and a new decade begin. Epiphany means appearing - revealing - manifesting - making known. It is the time when we take all of the gracious gifts we received during Advent and Christmas and let them shine for all the world to see.

By the light of a star and the light of God's Word, the Epiphany season proclaims that God's salvation in Christ has been manifested and made known to us and to the world. A new year awakens, a new day dawns, and the great and grand story of God's salvation in Christ, the greatest story ever told, begins to play itself out in the church and in the world. And as it does so it becomes our story too, as we are swept up into the divine drama to play our part in the narrative. 

The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be? What part will you play in God's great story of reconciling the world to himself? What are you going to do - now that God has taken care of everything in Christ so you don't need to do anything? Well, the 10 Commandments are a good idea. Your vocation is a good place to start. As Luther famously said, "God doesn't need your good works, but your neighbor does." 

"Now is the time of the Lord's favor. Today is the day of salvation."  (2 Cor. 6:2)

"Arise, shine, your light has come." (Isaiah 60)

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joy to the world at 300

“Sing to the Lord a new song all the earth!” (Psalm 96)

Isaac Watts was a minister and musician in England in the early 1700's, and he thought it was time for the church to have a new song. But he didn’t just come up with one new song; he composed a whole host of them. Known as the “Father of English Hymnody,” he is credited with over 700 hymns, many of which are still in use today. In 1719, he published a collection entitled “The Psalms of David,” a new paraphrase which included a hymn based on Psalm 98. It would become his most famous hymn, especially when it was later paired with a tune by Handel. We know it today as “Joy to the World,” and this year, it turns 300 years old.

Joy to the World; the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing.

Joy is the second fruit of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5 and is also found in many other passages throughout the Scriptures. C.S. Lewis famously said that “joy is the serious business of heaven.” After we believe and receive God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, we are full of joy and gratitude over our newfound faith. But we must also remember that this joy is not just for us; it’s a joy that is meant to be shared with the whole world! Why? Because the Lord himself has come down to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth with the offer of free forgiveness and full salvation for all.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

We don’t have to wait until the last day for Jesus to begin his reign. He is ruling and reigning over all things right now and has been ever since his ascension into heaven. That’s why some people have said that this is more of an ascension hymn than a Christmas hymn. And though the whole creation is indeed groaning as it awaits the consummation of all things, it is still full of worship and praise at the glory of its Creator. All creation joins together to repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

It’s fascinating to think that the thorn, one of the signs of the fall, would also be instrumental in the event that would reverse the curse of the fall: namely, the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head before he was crucified at Calvary for the sins of all the world. He wore a crown of thorns so that we might wear a crown of life. He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.

Truth and Grace: two of the most foundational truths in the whole Bible. Another way for reformation-type folks to say it is, law and gospel. This is what the entire grand story of God’s salvation is all about: the truth about ourselves as sinners and the truth about our gracious God and  love and mercy and compassion towards us in his Son, Jesus Christ. Because of his first advent, we can be full of hope and joy as we await his second advent, when we will, together with all the saints, behold the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love.

Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!

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son of abraham

“Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord.”

Many of us probably remember singing the song, “Father Abraham,” as children in Sunday School, but have we ever really thought about the words? Father Abraham? How am I a son of Abraham? How can we New Testament Christians possibly say that we are sons of Abraham? Well, that’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.

“A wandering Aramean was your father.” That’s how Moses describes Abraham at the end of the book of Deuteronomy (Deut 26:5). He was a wanderer, all right. He traveled all the way from the land of Ur, to Haran, to Canaan, to Egypt, and then back to Canaan. Abraham’s life was full of twists and turns, setbacks and surprises. The biggest surprise of all came when he was nearly 100 years old when God told him that Sarah would bear him a son in her old age. His name would be Isaac, and he would be a child of the promise.

Another surprise came a few years later when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Tim Keller makes the point in a message entitled, “The Story of the Lamb,” that Abraham may not have been as surprised as we think. He would have known that this child was God’s child and that as his firstborn son, God had the right to his life. But Abraham also knew that this was a God who kept his promises. Even if Isaac had to die, his God would have to raise him to life again.

“Father?”
“Yes, my son?”
“The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
“God himself will provide the lamb, my son” (Gen. 22:7-8).

That is exactly what happened. The angel of the Lord (the pre-incarnate Christ) intervened just in time, staying Abraham’s hand and providing a ram for the sacrifice. Abraham called that place Yahweh Yireh, the Lord Will Provide. We know it as Mt. Moriah - the mountain on which the temple of Jerusalem was built - where Jesus would come to die as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. The Lord will provide, indeed.

“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me” (Gen 22:15-18).

When he first called Abraham back in Genesis 12, God said that he would bless him to make him a blessing to all people. Now that Abraham passed the test of faith, God again promises to bless him and his descendants, declaring that through Abraham’s offspring, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is also the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32).

God spared Abraham’s son, but he did not spare his own Son. He sent his one and only Son down from heaven to earth on a rescue mission to save, deliver, and bless the whole world. This Son was born in Bethlehem, came up out of Egypt, and then grew up in Nazareth. He was baptized by John in the Jordan river and was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. During his three year ministry, he blessed the children, taught the crowds, healed the sick, and raised the dead.

Finally, the time of testing came for him, and this Son of Abraham obediently picked up the wood and marched up the hill. But this time, there was no ram in the bramble bush to take his place of sacrifice. Instead, Jesus himself is the sacrificial lamb who dies to take away the sins of all the world. In him, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. In him, as adopted sons of Abraham, we are blessed.

As you read the Christmas story from Matthew this year, may I suggest that you begin at the beginning?

“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1).

"Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord!

Blessed Advent and Merry Christmas!

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back in time

There are certain dates that are emblazoned into our collective memory:

Dec. 7, 1941 - the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Nov. 22, 1963 - the assassination of JFK.
Sept. 11, 2001 - the collapse of the Twin Towers.

Everyone remembers exactly where they were when these tragedies took place. I remember my dad talking to us about Pearl Harbor, and telling us how he heard the news as his family was returning home from church on Sunday afternoon. I distinctly remember the morning of 9/11 being a bright and beautiful fall day as several of us drove to a circuit pastors meeting in rural Kansas. The radio was off, and the conversation was hearty, so we didn’t find out what happened until we arrived at the church later that morning.

It’s almost as if these moments are captured and frozen in time, indelibly inscribed upon our memory. Earth-shattering events like these have a powerful impact on us at the time that they happen, but they also have a way of haunting us as they shape and mold our world for generations to come. There’s always a part of us that wonders, “Why did it have to happen in the first place?”

What if there was a way to go back and change history? What if someone was able to come in from the outside to change things for the better?

That’s the premise of Stephen King’s 2011 novel, 11-22-63. The story is centered around a teacher named Jake Epping, who unwittingly finds a time-travel portal in the closet of a local diner. He and the diner owner get together and concoct a plan to travel back in time to stop Lee Harvey Oswald and save President John F. Kennedy’s life. There are many misadventures along the way, but eventually, Jake completes his mission and becomes a national hero (for a while at least).

Interestingly, JFK was not the only national figure who died on November 11, 1963. Though his death certainly took up most of the headlines, the acclaimed writers C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley also died that day as well. All three men were well known at the time, but for very different reasons. They were all diametrically opposed to one another in philosophy, outlook, and worldview. Kennedy was a secular humanist, Huxley was an atheist, and Lewis was a Christian apologist. And yet they all sought to answer the question: “What if someone was able to come in from the outside to change things for the better?”

In 1944, Aldous Huxley wrote a novel called, Time Must Have A Stop. It is a story about a young poet named Sebastian, who is living the high life on holiday in Florence with his rich atheist uncle. When his uncle unexpectedly dies, Sebastian resorts to thievery and ends up selling one of his uncle’s paintings to get by. Consumed by guilt over what he has done, he seeks out another relative for help, his distant cousin Bruno, a religious bookstore owner. Bruno is able to help him get back the painting that he had stolen but at a high cost to him and his life. Transformed by Bruno’s sacrifice, Sebastian embarks on his own spiritual journey by the end of the book.

In 1943, C.S.Lewis published, Perelandra, the second book in his popular Space Trilogy. Dr. Edwin Ransom travels to Perelandra (or Venus) at the behest of the ruler of Malacandra (or Mars), whom Ransom encountered in the first book of the series, Out Of The Silent Planet.

Ransom’s mission is to counter an attack on Perelandra by the ruler of Thulcandra, or Earth. This satanic attack on the paradise of Perelandra is like Satan vs. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, except on a different planet. Ransom eventually takes on a man named Weston, who has traveled there to do the Tempter’s bidding and lure the innocent king and queen of the planet into iniquity. Ransom (as the Christ figure) finally does battle with Weston and defeats him in mortal combat, leaving Perelandra pure and unstained by sin.

So what if there was a way to change history? What if someone was able to come in from the outside to change things for the better?

As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened. It is in the life, death, and resurrection of the God/Man, Jesus Christ, that the curse is reversed, every evil is undone, and everything sad finally comes untrue. It is indeed the one true myth – the one event that seems too good to be true – yet still actually is.

It all happened in real-time, in a real place, to real people. And the best part? It still happens for us today as we come to him in faith and gather around his word and his supper, and as we join together with all the saints in every time and place, from every tribe and nation who surround the throne saying, “Blessing and honor and glory and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

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the way home

We were lost. We didn’t know where we were going or which way to turn. We had been driving around in circles for hours with nothing to show for it. And now we were lost, not sure how to find our way home, and losing hope by the minute.

My family and I were living in Germany at the time while my father finished up course work at a church music school in Westphalia. While we were there, my dad was determined to investigate our German heritage and to find some of the old ancestral farms. So one day we set out in our little green Ford Taunus in search of German relatives. Dad supposedly had some directions on how to get to this certain family farm, but it seemed to be of little help. So there we were, lost and in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Northern Germany, like strangers in a strange land.

I have to tell you that not only were we physically lost at that point - I was personally feeling pretty lost inside as well. Here I was 9 years old, in a strange country, with a foreign language, a new school, and no friends. Things had changed, everything was different, I felt lost, like I was far away from home.

That's how many people in East Germany felt after World War 2 when the Border Wall was constructed in 1949, and later the Berlin Wall in 1961. They found themselves far from relatives, far from freedom, far from prosperity, and far from home. I remember the stark contrast between East and West Germany on a family trip to Berlin. It was especially noticeable driving through Checkpoint Charlie – away from modern and colorful West Berlin – into drab, dreary, and gray East Berlin. The armed soldiers placed strategically on towers throughout the city made quite the impression as well. It was a place straight out of The Great Divorce by CS Lewis – somewhere between purgatory and the edge of heaven. The sign above the gate from Dante's Inferno says it best – “Abandon hope all who enter here”.

As I think back on the experience, Jesus' words from the Gospel of Jobn 14 come to mind, words of comfort and hope for fearful followers during trouble times. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. I go there to prepare a place for you , and since I’m going to prepare a place for you, I will come back for you and take you to be with me, that where I am there you may also be. You know the way to the place I am going.” Thomas says, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

There are other statements in John’s gospel that are mile markers or sign posts, but this is the giant billboard on the highway of life for the disciples and for us. Jesus doesn’t just point us in the right direction or lead us on the right path. He Himself is the Way, the one and only way home to the Father. He has bridged the great chasm of fear and death that once separated us from God and from our true home in heaven. He has gone the way of the cross and the empty tomb in order to make straight the path to God and prepare for us a home in heaven.

So as we were driving around Westphalia just about to give up any hope of finding a family farm, there approached a man on a tractor in the field next to us. As my dad slowed down the car, he rolled down the window, and in his best German yelled out, “Hallo! Do you know any Dierkers around here?” (Dierker was my grandmother’s maiden name.) The farmer paused, looked a bit puzzled, and then answered, “Ich heisse Dierker”, which means, I am a Dierker!

We all looked at each other for a moment and then just started laughing at the absurdity of it all. We were related to this guy on a tractor who just happened to bump into us in the middle of nowhere. Now we were no longer lost, but going the right direction, and on the way home.

Some years later my brother was able to return to Germany as an exchange student in college. While he was there in 1989 a monumental event occurred - the Berlin Wall came down. It was an historic event for everyone because it meant the reunification of a once divided Germany. The celebration that ensued was unprecedented and my brother and his friend wanted to make sure to get in on the experience. As they were driving toward the border of East and West Germany, cars began to stop and spontaneous celebrations erupted right there on the highway. There was music, singing, dancing, fireworks, you name it. And when my brother began talking to some of the other people in the midst of all the celebrating, he realized the reason for their joy was not just that Germany was united again, but that they would now be able to see their family again. They would soon be on their way home.

Jesus has lifted the barrier of sin and death that once separated us from our true home. He takes away all of our fears and worries, and replaces that with peace, hope, and joy. He now makes His home in our hearts as we look forward to that day when He will come back for us, to bring us home to the place He has prepared for us.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Jesus - for He is our way home.

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a gracious invitation

I've got a confession to make. I'm not very good at praying. Sure, I pray regularly for my church and my family, as well as for those who are sick and in need. I'm a pastor so obviously I do a lot of praying, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it - not like those "prayer warriors" you sometimes see in other churches or on TV. When asked about his prayer life, Frederick Buechner said that it was "meager, random, sporadic, inarticulate, and mostly blubbering". I can relate to that.

That's why passages in the Bible like 1 Thess. 5:17 tend to cause me a bit of consternation. Depending on how you translate it, the verse reads - "Pray continually", "pray constantly", or "pray without ceasing". So does this mean we have to become like monks and get on our knees and pray all day long? Do we have to go online and order our mail order prayer shawls? Do we need to join an organization where a steady stream of volunteers file into prayer rooms to “pray without ceasing” in the hope of Jesus imminent return? I sure hope not.

Let's go back to the text. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thess. 5:16, 17, 18. When Paul says to rejoice always, he doesn't mean that we have to be happy all the time, but that we can have joy even in the midst of our suffering. When he says to give thanks in all circumstances, he means that no matter what is happening in a given situation, we can have a thankful and grateful disposition toward God. So when it comes to prayer, I think the context of this verse seems to indicate that it is really about an attitude of the heart.

So what does this mean? What does it look like? I think it means having a prayerful spirit. Thinking God's thoughts after Him. Saying back to Him what He first says to us in His Word. Keeping the conversation going with our Creator, Savior, and Friend.

The daily prayer life of the Christian will vary of course from person to person, but these three times of day are a good place to start - morning, meals, and night. Pray the Lord's Prayer and/or Luther's Morning Prayer when you wake up, say a prayer of blessing over your meals during the day, and then pray the Lord's Prayer and/or Luther's Evening Prayer at night, along with whatever personal petitions you may have. Sprinkle in a few psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs throughout the day and you'll be on your way to a fruitful prayer life that will grow as you grow in the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember - Jesus gave His disciples the Lord's Prayer as a gift. It's really our prayer when you think about it. His prayer is the High Priestly Prayer in John 17. Our prayer is the Lord's Prayer - so we shouldn't be afraid to use it early, often, and late.

Here's another reminder - scripture and prayer always go together – like salt and pepper, milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly. Luther said that when he prayed, he always did so with an open Bible in his hand. It's like breathing – inhaling and exhaling – as God speaks to us in His Word and we speak back to Him what He has said.

Praying continually means always being about the things of God no matter where you are or what is going on around you. Asking, seeking, knocking, thinking, pondering – at work, at home, at church, with the kids, on vacation – all the while knowing who you are and Whose you are in Christ. It's a gracious invitation to enter into the inner intimate life of our loving God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Before the children of Israel entered into the promised land of Canaan, Moses said to them in Deut. 6 - "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

Moses wasn't instructing the people of Israel to get out their sharpies and face paint. He was reminding them to think about and talk about the words of God all the time – no matter where they were or what they are doing. That's why they needed to be on their hearts and why their children needed to learn them - so that they could recall them when they were far from home – even in a place like Babylon.

We need to be reminded of this today as well. God has given us His Word and the wonderful gift of prayer, so that we might always remember that He is our God and we are His people, and that we can always come to Him at any time to “pray, praise, and give thanks.”

So then, let us indeed rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

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eyewitness of his majesty

He was an old man. He couldn't hear anymore. He could barely see. His body was broken down after a lifetime of hard work ... from foraging to fishing to fishing for men. Though his body was failing him, his mind was still sharp. He could still remember everything - just like the Master had said.

He remembered ...

- seeing the Master and hearing His voice for the first time along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

- pulling in a big catch of fish at the Master's request - and realizing that this man wasn't just any ordinary man.

- watching Him walk on water and then getting out of the boat and actually doing it himself!

- making a great confession of faith to the Master - "the Christ, the Son of the Living God".

- then enduring a stinging rebuke just a few moments later after trying to keep Him from His mission.

- walking to the top of the mountain with the Master, and along with James and John, and there experiencing something few other human beings have.

- and then, of course, the events of holy week - the arrival, the parade, the temple, the supper, the garden, the betrayal, the arrest, the denial, the trial, the cross.

Actually he didn't remember those last two - the trial and the cross. The others had to tell him about it later. For he had denied knowing his Master, running away in shame and weeping bitterly.

But he did remember Sunday morning! Did he ever! With the arrival of the third day came reports of an empty tomb - and a stone rolled away! "He is not here - He is risen as He said! Go tell His disciples (and Peter) that He is going ahead of you to Galilee - there you will see Him as He said."

There Peter did see Him - and there his life was changed - as he was restored three times for the three times he had denied his Lord. Then came the ascending, and then the sending, and then Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

And now Peter was nearing the end - with one last task to fulfill - one more letter to write. Some of his fellow followers in Asia Minor were starting to give up hope - doubting that the Master would ever return. So Peter reminds them (just as the Helper had reminded him) of all the things the Master had promised, and the faith that each of them had been given.

He begins the letter with grace and peace - gifts that had been given them by God through the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ, their Lord and Master. These gifts imparted divine power that enabled them to "partake in the divine nature", which allowed them to participate in the life and love of God Himself. As they remembered their calling and continued in the faith, He would richly provide for them in this life, and also give them entrance into the eternal kingdom of the life to come.

Peter is reminding them of these things because he knows that his time is short, and he wants them to be able to recall these things when he is gone. So he goes back to one of his most vivid memories - the encounter on the mountain with James and John, Moses and Elijah, when the Master was transformed (metamorphed) into an amazing manifestation of unspeakable brilliance.

Peter is quick to say that he isn't making any of this stuff up. These are not "cleverly invented stories". He and the others had been eyewitnesses to His Majesty. They were there - they saw the shining shekinah glory - they heard the thunderous voice from heaven say, "This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” It was all true – the teachings, the healings, the miracles, all of it.

And more than that, as great as all that was, Peter reminds them of the sure and true Word of God, spoken of and written by the prophets, and now confirmed by the apostles, as "a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts."

Until that great and glorious day, we have God's Holy Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, carried along and written down by men, as a guide to forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life in Christ.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you all in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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