Prince of Peace

Peace is hard to come by these days. It seems to be in short supply. We seem to be more familiar with anxiety and despair than we are with peace and joy this year.

Sometimes the frustration we are experiencing can boil over as we raise our fist to the sky and cry out to God like the prophet Isaiah, “Why don’t you tear open the heavens and come down here! Come down and help get us out of this mess that we’re in! Come down and take out covid! Come down and bring a vaccine! Come down and bring peace on earth, goodwill to men! Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake with your presence!”

It’s easy for us to relate to this first part of Isaiah 64. It was easy for the Israelites to focus on it as well. Why? Because God actually did perform the awesome deeds Isaiah describes. The ground really did quake and shake, and the mountains really did tremble before his presence. The children of Israel saw God’s mighty acts for themselves when he worked miracles before Pharaoh through his servant Moses, and when he brought them out of the land of Egypt during the Exodus with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When God gave his people the law at the holy mountain of Sinai, there was fire and smoke and shaking and quaking. The people had witnessed and experienced God’s power and might in days of old, but now it seemed like he had all but forgotten them. There was no rest - and no peace - for the weary. 

Let’s go back to the way the ministry of Moses began. He had been living in exile as a shepherd in the wilderness when God showed up at Mt. Sinai to give him a plan and a purpose. God spoke to Moses by way of a burning bush that was on fire but not consumed. This was not a condemning fire of judgment, but a refining, sanctifying fire of mercy. It wasn’t just a plan and a purpose that God provided for Moses - it was his presence and his peace. “I AM has sent me to you.”

Later Elijah would be in much the same position before the Lord on Mt. Sinai. He had been on the run from evil King Ahab and Queen Jezebel after he had defeated the prophets of Baal. He was having a pity party for himself because after all he had done for God and his people Israel, he felt like he was the only one left who feared God. And then, in the cleft of the rock, there was an earthquake, a mighty wind, and a great fire. But the presence of God wasn’t in any of those things. No, God’s presence came in a holy hush, a gentle whisper, a still small voice. God came to him to give him what he needed most: his presence and his peace. 

As we stumble through this crazy covid year, we may have some of the same feelings as Isaiah, Moses, and Elijah. Where are you God? Why don’t you care? Where are all of the other believers? Am I the only one left? Sometimes the peace that passes understanding is pretty hard to understand.    

And yet, amid our anxiety and despair, the passage from Isaiah 64 ends with these wonderful words of hope. “Oh Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand.” He is still our Father, and we are still his dear children. He is still in control, even though the world seems to be falling apart all around us. He is gently forming us and molding us into what he has created us to be. And in the refining fire of the kiln, through the trials and tribulations of this world, we are strengthened and cemented in our faith. 

The good news for us today is that the words of the prophet have been fulfilled. Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, and all the Old Testament saints finally had their prayers answered. God the Father remembered his promise long ago by sending the long-awaited Messiah, his one and only Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6).

He came down from heaven to earth to be born as a baby in Bethlehem, to live a perfect life and die a sacrificial death on the cross for us and for our salvation. As he did so, the Scriptures say that the curtain in the temple was torn in two, rent asunder from top to bottom, for no longer was there any barrier to separate God from his people.

“For he himself is our peace, who has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile us to God through the cross. He came and preached peace to those who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him, we have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Eph 2:14-18).

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to the disciples in the upper room. He greeted them with one word, shalom, which means peace, of course. But when the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, the very Prince of Peace, says shalom to you on Easter Sunday afternoon, it means so much more. 

“I am here now. All is well. Don’t be afraid. Everything is going to be okay. Behold, I am making all things new.” 

Christian peace is not the absence of problems, but it is the presence of God amid our pain and sorrows. Thanks be to God that Jesus has come to bring his presence and his peace to all people.

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faithful in the fire

 

The end of the church year is a funny thing. It’s the time of year when you’re not quite sure whether you’re at the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end, especially in a year like this one. I think we can all agree that the phrase “hindsight is 20/20” will have a whole new meaning from now on.

This is also the time of year (even in good times) when melancholy, depression, and despair can set in. As we see the years go by and the season’s pass, it can become easy for us to see our lives as just an exercise in futility. Just the same ol’ same ol’. Nothing lasts, nothing matters, nothing seems worthwhile. Like the poet who wrote that “nothing gold can stay.” Or the philosopher who said that life is just a bad joke. Or Shakespeare’s Macbeth, who said that life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, that signifies nothing.

So what’s the answer? Where do we go to find meaning and purpose and significance for our lives? The Bible. The Scriptures. God’s Holy Word to us and for us: this is where we flee for comfort and hope in times such as these, as we are reminded that there is a plan and a purpose because there is a God. We may be lost and lonely at times - but God’s Word reminds us that we are never alone.

Just look at the lives of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Those were their Hebrew names anyway. Most people know them by their Babylonian names from the story of the fiery furnace in Daniel 3: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These three young men were captives in Babylon along with Daniel in the 6th century BC, and the authorities told them that they had better get with the program. The King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had built a huge statue (probably of himself) that was over 100 feet tall and commanded everyone in the kingdom to bow down and worship it. That included all of the Jewish exiles from the land of Israel who were there living in captivity at the time. They were all supposed to bow down and worship this thing. And if you didn’t? Well, let’s just say it wouldn’t end well.

Typically at this point in the story, we are told of the courage and faithfulness that the three young Israelites displayed in the face of imminent danger and threat of death. But if we go back one chapter to Daniel 2, we find the real source of their strength. 

“Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: ‘Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, and have made known what we asked of you” (Dan. 2:17-23).

The young men were praying to Yahweh, the God of Israel, for divine deliverance, not merely because they believed him to be the one true God, but because he had proven himself faithful to his people in the past. He was the One who had made a promise to Abraham and his descendants, the One who had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt through his servant Moses, and the One who led his people into the promised land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. Even when foreign enemies came in to ravage the land and take the people away as captives, God was still with his people and faithful to his promise.  

That’s why, when Nebuchadnezzar threatened to fry them alive in the fiery furnace, they were able to give such a bold and brave answer. “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve can deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Dan. 3:16-18).

Although theirs is an impressive show of faith, the display of God’s faithfulness to them is far greater. After all, faith is only as strong as the object in which it is placed. Fortunately for them, the object in this case is very great indeed, so great that not even the heavens above can hold him, let alone a temple or an idol made by human hands. And yet, in mercy, he deigns to dwell with his people, to deliver and to save.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isa. 43.)

King Nebuchadnezzar’s anger finally boiled over, so he turned up the ovens and had the three men thrown into the flaming furnace. As the king looked on, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Did we not cast three men into the fire? Look, I see four men in the furnace, unbound, unharmed, and the fourth one looks like a son of god!” 

How good to know that wherever two or three are gathered in God’s name, there is always a fourth! And who is he? Nebuchadnezzar calls him a son of god. Daniel and Ezekiel call him the son of man. But it’s the same person. This son of God and son of man is none other than the second person of the Trinity, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ himself. 

This is a preview and foreshadowing of the greatest act of faithfulness and deliverance in history, when 500 some years later, this God/Man went through the fires of hell for us and for all on an old rugged cross atop a rocky hill outside of Jerusalem. In the midst of his torment he cried out, “Eli Eli lama sabachthani! My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” And when it was all over, he uttered one word, “Tetelestai.” It is finished, the debt is paid, and it’s paid in full. 

Because Jesus was forsaken by his Father on the cross in our place, we can rest assured that he will never leave us nor forsake us. Because Jesus was abandoned and alone - we never will be.  

“I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28).

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Who Am I?

 

"Who Am I" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Who am I? They often tell me

I stepped from my cells confinement

Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,

Like a squire from his country house.

Who am I? They often tell me

I used to speak to my warders

Freely and friendly and clearly,

As though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me

I bore the days of misfortune

Equably, smilingly, proudly,

like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really that which other men tell of?

Or am I only what I myself know of myself?

Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,

Struggling for breath, as if hands were compressing my throat,

Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,

Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,

Tossing in expectations of great events,

Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,

Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,

Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.

Who am I? This or the Other?

Am I one person today and tomorrow another?

Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,

And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?

Or is something within me still like a beaten army

Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!

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righteous freedom

No matter what he tried, he couldn’t do it. Whether it was fasting, praying, confessing, self-flagellating - nothing seemed to help. He just couldn’t attain the righteousness of God on his own. Instead of feeling closer to God, it seemed like he kept getting further away. Even worse, it almost felt like God had become his enemy.

As a monk in the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, Martin Luther zealously sought the righteousness of God. “If ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery, it was I”. He would later realize that the righteousness of God is not something that man must strive to attain, but a gift that is to be received. God had already brought down to him what he was trying so hard to reach up and grasp.

When Luther finally came to the end of himself, he found Christ’s righteousness right there waiting for him. When he turned to his mentor Staupitz for counsel on the matter, he was told to cling to Christ and recite the verse from Psalm 119, “I am yours Lord, save me.”   

When God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 15 that he would have a son, Moses wrote that “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” What did Abraham have? He didn’t seem to have much of anything. He was an old man married to a barren woman. He was a wandering Aramean from the pagan land of Ur. He didn’t have a house, a land, a church, or a Bible. All he had was God’s promise. It doesn’t seem like much, but as it turns out, it was more than enough. In fact, it was more than he would ever need.    

Both the Old and New Testaments reveal to us that God saves his people by grace through faith in his promise. The Old Testament saints were saved as they looked forward in faith and believed in the promise of the coming Messiah. New Testament believers are saved by faith as we look back and believe in the Messiah who has come. God declares a person righteous in his sight by faith in his Son, or as Luther put it, a simple “trust of the heart.” We receive that faith by the power of the Holy Spirit through the means of grace, the word and the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper).

The two most important things to God in the Old Testament, justice and righteousness, are fulfilled in the person and work of his son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world. By the passive righteousness of his sacrificial death on the cross for us, we are justified, forgiven, and set free. And by the active righteousness of his holy life in our place, we are given his purity and holiness as a royal robe of righteousness to stand blameless before God the Father in heaven. 

Is it any wonder that when Luther discovered this stunning truth as he studied the book of Romans in the cloister tower, that he felt as if the gates of heaven had finally been opened to him?  

I meditated night and day on those words until at last, by the mercy of God, I paid attention to their context: “The righteousness of God is revealed in it, as it is written: ‘The righteous person lives by faith.’” I began to understand that in this verse the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous person lives by a gift of God, that is by faith. I began to understand that this verse means that the righteousness of God is revealed through the Gospel, but it is a passive righteousness, i.e. that by which the merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: ‘The righteous person lives by faith.’ All at once I felt that I had been born again and entered into the gates of paradise itself. Immediately I saw the whole of Scripture in a different light. I ran through the Scriptures from memory and found that other terms had similar meanings; the work of God, that is, what God works in us; the power of God, by which he makes us powerful; the wisdom of God, by which he makes us wise; the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God. I exalted this sweetest word, ‘the righteousness of God,’ with as much love as before I had hated it with hate. This phrase of Paul was for me the very gate of paradise. (Luther’s Works 34)

The gates of paradise are opened up to us today as well. By our baptism and belief in Jesus, through his dying on the cross and rising from the grave, we are now offered free forgiveness and full salvation by our gracious God. We not only experience God’s tender mercy by not getting what we truly deserve (death and hell), we are also the recipients of his amazing grace by getting the riches that we don’t deserve (eternal life, heaven).  

Our debt of sin and guilt is fully paid for on behalf of Christ, and our account is actually credited with his perfect righteousness. His purity, piety, and perfection become our own. We now stand holy and blameless before our Heavenly Father as his own dear children, and we are set free to serve our neighbor in love. Luther writes in his explanation of the Third Article of the Creed, “that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.”

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith” (Rom 1:16-17).

“If the Son set you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

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sunshine in september

 

It was just another typical fall day at the Kilns outside Oxford, England. The day began at 8 am with a full English breakfast and plenty of tea, of course. There was talk of a trip to the zoo, but fog began rolling in, so a bit of disagreement ensued over the day’s activities. Jack and his brother Warnie decided to go on ahead using the motorcycle and sidecar, while the ladies would follow later in the car. As they set out on the way to the park, the fog slowly lifted, and the sun began to shine. 

That unremarkable trip to the zoo on September 28, 1931, was the last in a long line of experiences that brought C.S. Lewis (Jack) back to the faith. Some people call it a conversion, but I see it more as a return home after a long and difficult journey. “The longest way round is the shortest way home.”

Lewis was brought up in the church as a boy in Belfast, Ireland. He had a happy and carefree childhood until his mother’s death to cancer when he was nine years old. His loss was traumatic and compounded by his father’s own despair and melancholy. Unable to function after his wife’s death, Jack’s father shipped both of his sons off to boarding school. 

Those were difficult years for the Lewis boys. After boarding school came college, and soon after, they joined the fight in World War One. The harshness of life and the horrors of war led them away from God and the church. Jack would later say that he was “very angry with God for not existing.” Fortunately, during this time, Jack was also introduced to George MacDonald and GK Chesterton, whose Christian worldviews influenced him sometimes without knowing it. “A young man who wishes to remain an atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.”

Back at Oxford after the war, one of the most important friendships of the century began when C.S. Lewis met JRR Tolkien. “Jack and Tollers,” as they were known, had a lot in common. They were both English professors who had a love for Norse mythology. They both lost their mothers at an early age. And they were both veterans who had fought in the Great War. These shared experiences would bring them together and strengthen their bonds of friendship and fellowship. They quickly became friends and enjoyed walking, talking, smoking, and drinking together. They would later establish the writers’ group known as the “Inklings,” which met at the Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford each week to read and discuss each other’s literary work.

Around this time, one of the fiercest atheists that Jack knew admitted that the evidence for the Gospels was surprisingly good, and that it seemed God had indeed entered into human history after all. “Rum thing. All that stuff about the Dying God. It almost looks as if it really happened once". The core of Jack’s atheism began to crumble as friends, acquaintances, and even authors of the books he was reading were all ganging up on him regarding the truth about the existence of God.

As he considered all of this, he finally let go of the reins and gave in. “That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. I finally gave in and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”

Jack now believed in God, but he was not a Christian yet. That would come two years later, in September of 1931. It began with a stroll along Addison’s Walk in Oxford and continued in conversation late into the night at Jack’s place. Tolkien, Lewis, and another friend, Hugo Dyson, were discussing all the old myths that they loved, and how Christianity was the one true myth of history, the one that actually happened. 

Eight days later, after breakfast on September 28, 1931, Jack and Warnie headed out by motorcycle and sidecar on the way to the zoo. He would later write, "When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, but when we reached the zoo I did. I had not exactly spent the journey in thought, nor in great emotion. ‘Emotional’ is perhaps the last word we can apply to some of the most important events. It was more like when a man, after a long sleep, still lying motionless on the bed, becomes aware that he is now awake."

From death to life. From darkness to light. The fog had lifted, and the Son was now shining bright.

the art of albrecht durer

 

When you think of great artists of the Renaissance, who comes to mind? Perhaps Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael? Donatello, Caravaggio, or Bellini? My guess is that a German artist known mostly for his woodcuts is not the first to pop into your head, but Albrecht Durer is undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of the late Renaissance.

Durer was born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1471. This was a time of great change and discovery in Europe. Renaissance means “new birth,” and that’s truly what this time was. It seems like world-changing events were taking place nearly every year. Martin Luther was born in 1483, Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, and perhaps most notable for young Albrecht, Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440.

Durer’s father was a goldsmith, and his godfather was a printer and publisher. One of his godfather’s publications, the Nuremberg Chronicle, used hundreds of woodcuts to portray the history of the world, some of which young Albrecht may have worked on. His first significant work to be published was a woodcut which served as the title page for a volume of St. Jerome’s Letters in August of 1492.

The zeitgeist into which Durer was born was one of advancement as well as apocalypse. Religious and political change was on the horizon. The plague had continued to afflict the continent. Out of 18 children, Albrecht was only one of three who survived into adulthood. With the year 1500 approaching, a sense of fear and dread began to seize the masses. Durer felt this as well, and in 1498 he published the volume Apocalypse, a series of fifteen woodcuts portraying scenes from the book of Revelation. The most famous of these being The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and St Michael Fighting the Dragon. 

Another work with an end-times theme, Knight, Death, and the Devil, came about as the first of his series Meistertiche (or master prints). A knight rides confidently through a narrow valley surrounded by a demon and a figure of death riding a pale horse. Up above, a mighty fortress perched on a hilltop beckons the rider to endure and persevere through all the evils of this world to finally reach the eternal kingdom of God. It’s Durer’s medieval take on the line from Psalm 23, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”  

Durer seemed to be quite interested in Martin Luther and the Reformation. He mentioned Luther several times in his writings, and he appears to have received a copy of Luther’s Babylonian Captivity of the Church in 1520. He also wrote of his desire to draw Luther in his diary from 1520: “God help me that I may go to Dr. Martin Luther as I intend to make a portrait of him with great care and engrave him on a copper plate to create a lasting memorial of the Christian who helped me overcome so many difficulties.” 

Durer died in August of 1528 at the age of 56. His monogram, a stylized AD, was a sign of his initials and a symbol of the Latin phrase “Anno Domini,” the year of our Lord. It is now a lasting memorial of the immense talent of this incredible artist and the God of all grace who inspired his work.  

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remembering rembrandt

 

The first Rembrandt I ever saw was an original. 

The year was 1978. I was nine years old at the time, and living with my family in Germany. On a weekend trip to Amsterdam, we walked into an art museum and there it was - big, bright, and beautiful. I didn't know anything about it, but couldn't seem to take my eyes off of the grand scene before me. The valiant figures on the canvas looked like they might walk right out into the gallery and start talking to me. I was transported to another place and time, enveloped into the shadowy world of a 17th-century Dutch militia. Later on I learned that what I was looking at was a Rembrandt masterpiece, The Night Watch, one of the most famous paintings in the world.

That experience stuck with me through the years, so I was dismayed to hear that in 1990, thieves broke into a museum in Boston and stole $500 million worth of classic artwork, including paintings by Rembrandt, Degas, and Manet. It's considered the largest art theft in US history and remains unsolved to this day. The museum still displays the paintings' empty frames in their original locations. 

That describes much of Rembrandt's life - an empty frame. Rembrandt's first three children died as infants. His first wife then died, so he married again and had two more children. He eventually outlived them all and ended up burying all 7 members of his immediate family. Though considered one of the greatest artists of all time, Rembrandt had a difficult life, died penniless, and was buried in a pauper's grave. 

Rembrandt’s mother was Catholic and his father was Dutch Reformed. He attended his father’s church as a child, and though never formally becoming a member, he never seems to have lost his childhood faith. He continued to return to spiritual themes in his painting and etchings, especially in the wake of life's trials and tragedies. Some of his greatest biblical and religious works in the 1630's came about in the midst of great struggle, heartache, pain, and loss. This culminated with his poignant Return of the Prodigal Son, finished the year of his death, 1669.

Rembrandt had a great effect on many artists that came later, including Vincent van Gogh. On a number of occasions, van Gogh found himself in the midst of his own trials. In 1889, he was isolated and alone, locked up in a mental ward in France. He was anxious, irritable, deeply troubled, and under attack from all the pitfalls and pressures of life. Then he received a letter from his brother, Theo. In this letter, his brother included an etching that had been done by Rembrandt 200 some years before. As van Gogh looked at the etching by Rembrandt, he felt as though he had been raised from death to life. The etching by Rembrandt was entitled The Raising of Lazarus. 

He was so moved that he decided to do his own painting of the raising of Lazarus. In his version, van Gogh put to canvas what he could not put into words, and painted his own face as the face of Lazarus rising from the grave. 

Vincent van Gogh would later go on to say that, "Rembrandt goes so deep into the mysterious that he says things for which there are no words in any language." 

Here’s how the Apostle Paul puts it in his letter to the Romans: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom 8:26).

Rembrandt's paintings can help point us to something outside of ourselves, something greater and grander than the pain and suffering we may be experiencing in this world. That something is the gospel of Christ: the biggest and brightest and most beautiful thing ever conceived. It is a sight to behold, a true original, a work of art, a priceless possession, God's masterpiece, indeed.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord”  (Rom 8:38, 39).

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secrets in the dirt

Someone once asked golfing legend Ben Hogan for the secret to the game of golf. His answer? “The secrets are in the dirt.” What he meant was that nothing can replace good old-fashioned hard work out on the driving range. I think this can be said of the Bible as well when applied to the areas of history, geography, and archaeology. The people, places, and land are important. The secrets are in the dirt.

Christianity is different from other religions in this regard. Other more spiritual and ethereal religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism have no real need for historical settings and events. To quote historian Paul Maier, “Mythical personalities are not involved in authentic episodes from the past.” For those other systems to work, it doesn’t really matter whether the Buddha existed or if Vishnu had any basis in reality. These faiths are philosophical systems based on spiritual experiences and practical insights for living.

Christianity is different. It’s based on reality and grounded in history and geography. It’s a story about real people in the midst of real-life situations in real geographical locations. The Bible is chock full of names of people, places, and land features. There are names of oceans and rivers and streams and brooks, mountains and hills and valleys, cities and towns and villages, regions and provinces and empires. Many of these have been accounted for due to Biblical Archaeology. This science has helped immensely in providing evidence for the veracity of the Bible and the Christian faith.

Here are some Biblical characters we know from secular history as well as from the New Testament:

Roman emperors - Caesar Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius. Roman governors - Pontius Pilate, Sergius Paulus, Gallio, Felix, Festus. Local rulers - Herod the Great, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Philip, Herod Agrippa. High priests: Annas, Joseph Caiaphas, Ananias. Prominent women - Herodias, Salome, Bernice, Drusilla. Prominent men - John the Baptist, James the Just.

Here are a few of the many archaeological discoveries from the past 100 years:

1947 - Dead Sea Scrolls
1961 - Pontius Pilate Stone
1968 - Peter’s House in Capernaum
1968 - Bone of a Crucified Man
1986 - First Century Fishing Boat
1990 - Joseph Caiaphas Ossuary
1993 - Tel Dan Inscription (House of David)
2004 - Siloam Pool
2007 – Herod’s Tomb
2009 – Magdala Stone
2015 – Hezekiah Seal
2018 – Isaiah Seal
2018 – Pilate's Ring

As evidence from the past continues to come to light and the reliability of the Scriptures and 

Christianity is made manifest, “the very stones cry out,” as Jesus himself said in Luke 19.

The disciplines of history and archaeology have assisted in demonstrating the integrity and accuracy of the Bible. This doesn’t automatically prove everything in it to be true, but it does mean that it is at least based in fact. The Bible and Christianity are grounded in history like no other holy book, religion, or philosophy. They are unlike the Greek myths, the Norse epics, or Aesop’s Fables. The Apostles and writers of the New Testament grounded the faith in eyewitness testimony and verifiable events. What Christians believe is based on reality and grounded in history, and verified by both geography and archaeology.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and touched with our hands - this life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.” (1 John 1:1-2).

The secret to this life is no real secret to Christians. It may be a mystery, but it’s no secret. Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. That’s the Christian faith in a nutshell. Christ is risen, Jesus is alive, and his tomb is still empty to this day. And just as he was raised from the dead by the glory of God the Father, we too will rise from our dirty graves to walk with him into new life.

(Thanks to Dr. Paul Maier for some of the facts and figures found in this article.)

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scripture interprets scripture

In his first lecture on the psychological significance of the Bible, psychologist Jordan Peterson shared an image with the audience that he called “one of the coolest things he'd ever seen.” It was a visual representation of the entire Bible, which showed how the text of Scripture interacts with itself. The bar graph on the bottom represents all the chapters in the Bible, while the nearly 65,000 textual cross-references are depicted by colored arcs, which correspond to the distance between chapters. It’s an amazing example of the connected narrative within the Bible and how it speaks to and interprets itself.

This should come as no surprise to Reformation Christians. Sola scriptura has been part of our tradition for nearly 500 years. Scripture alone is the sole rule and norm for faith and life. Being the very Word of God in written form, the reformers also maintained that “Scripture interprets Scripture” which means that the Bible is its own interpreter.

This is a profound concept to be sure. But here is an even deeper truth: Scripture not only interprets itself but also interprets us. As we read and hear the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and then points us to Christ so we can be comforted by the Gospel. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12).

This is why we take great care when approaching the text of Holy Scripture, coming before God’s Word in deep humility, and not believing that our 21st-century ideas and interpretations are somehow more enlightened. Holy Scripture was given by God and inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal divine truth to fallen man. But this is not just another set of divine “truths” to follow. This is the revelation of truth itself in the story of the promised Messiah and Savior of the world, the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. As Luther wrote, “the Bible is the manger in which Christ is laid.”

So what do we really mean when we say “Scripture interprets Scripture?” In short, it means that as we engage in hermeneutics (the art of interpretation), we interpret the implicit by the explicit and the cloudy through the clear. The clear passages of Scripture that speak of justification by grace through faith in Christ (the central theme of the Bible) are used to interpret more difficult passages.

Here are two key phrases to keep in mind in the pursuit of faithful biblical interpretation. “Context is king,” and, “a text without a context is a pretext.” What we strive to do is allow the context of a given passage to help dictate how we interpret it. We begin with the immediate context of the phrase or sentence, then move to the paragraph, then the chapter, and then the book. Finally, because Christ himself claims all of Scripture as a testimony to himself, we allow the Old Testament to be interpreted in light of the New Testament, and vice versa (Luke 24:44). As St. Augustine famously said, “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.”

We also try to keep the literal sense of the text in mind, or the sensus literalis. In other words, we seek to interpret the text in the sense in which it was written and the way it was intended to be read. Whether we are reading narrative, poetry, history, prophecy, or a letter, we try to get into the shoes of the original hearers and read a text the way it was originally meant to be read.

Another idea important to the reformers was the perspicuity (or clarity) of Scripture. This means that the Scripture is clear in its main teachings and doctrines. People don’t need any special knowledge or training to understand sin, grace, forgiveness, and salvation. Do we fully comprehend everything found in the Bible? No, but we apprehend the main and plain things of Scripture by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“As for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17).

In the end, we believe the Bible because we believe in Jesus. Just as Jesus is both God and man, the Bible is also both God’s book and man’s book. We know that as Son of God and Son of Man, we are able to trust Jesus and his Word regarding all things. He has proven his faithfulness by means of his resurrection from the dead, so we know that everything he ever said or did is true. If he said it, we believe it, and that includes what he said about the Scriptures.

Unlike other religions, Christians don’t merely follow a book. We follow Christ, the very Word of God for us.

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heaven's not far away

If you ever find yourself in the middle of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome, don't forget to look up. What you will see, along with many other depictions of biblical grandeur, is the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. On the left side of the fresco is Adam lying on the ground, just about ready to come to life. On the right is God, rushing toward Adam with a divine purpose, surrounded by angels. And at the very center of the picture is a small empty space, the space between man and God, between heaven and earth.

I think it’s safe to say that most people today don’t think the space between heaven and earth is small. Most people think that heaven is a long way away. And that's not just because we don't like to think about our own mortality. It's also because we have been conditioned to think that heaven is a far off place, way out there somewhere, divorced from the earth. This is actually just good old-fashioned Gnosticism creeping back into our thinking as it always does. It's the idea from an ancient heresy influenced by Greek philosophy that heavenly spiritual things are good, while earthly physical things are bad. It's a false dichotomy that is antithetical to the Bible and to historic Christianity.

The Bible teaches that the natural state of things in this physical world is good. "God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good." (Gen. 1:31). Something went terribly wrong on the earth, of course, due to Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, but it is still God's good world and we are still part of his good creation. Maybe heaven is not as far off as we seem to think.

In one sense heaven is just another realm or sphere of reality. When Enoch "walked with God" in Gen. 5, he didn't have to go very far to be in God's eternal presence. He just entered a different dimension. The same goes for Elijah when his time was up and he was taken up by a chariot of fire into heaven. He didn't have to fly way past Jupiter to the edge of our solar system in order to get to heaven. He was simply taken into God's presence by way of a holy whirlwind. Similarly, when Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after his resurrection, he didn’t shoot like a rocket on his way to the moon. He simply disappeared from view into the cloud of God’s presence. It's really not distance that is the issue here - it is dimension.

It seems like this idea would be fairly easy for people to grasp these days, with all the talk about the multiverse, alternate realities, and the multiple dimensions that show up in Marvel movies. If actual scientists are seriously considering the possibility of a multiverse, why not investigate the claims of the Bible and the possibility of an alternate spiritual reality?

In the Christian worldview, heaven is right around the corner. When we pray to God, we aren't shooting random thoughts out into the stratosphere hoping that the universe will hear us somehow. We are praying to our Heavenly Father who loves us and cares about us and is willing and able to help us in our time of need. When we read the Bible or hear it spoken, it’s not just the dry words of a dead language from a 2000 year old book. It is nothing less than the living and active Word of our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer - the lover of our soul who's as close to us as our next breath.

The ultimate expression of this for Christians is when we go to the altar to receive the Lord's Supper together. What happens there is nothing less than amazing, as we receive the holy communion of Christ's body and blood given and shed for our forgiveness and salvation. Space and time fall away for a few brief moments and heaven and earth come together in a wonderful and mystical way as we commune together with our Lord, with one another, and with all the saints who have gone before us in every time and place. It is the closest we can come in this life to “heaven on earth”, until the day when Jesus returns and brings heaven with him, as the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, descends from on high in the new creation.

Heaven may seem like a long way off right now, but it is as close to you as a gentle word spoken, a splash of water, a bit of bread, and a sip of wine. It may not look like much, but it is indeed the eternal mystery of God’s ultimate reality revealed in His Son Jesus Christ for you. Heaven opens up to you when you hear the pastor's words as from Christ Himself,  "I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

If you ever make it to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, don’t forget to look up. But in the meantime, remember to look around you to see what God is doing in your very midst. You may be in for a big surprise, when you realize that heaven is not as far away as you think.

"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."  (Gen. 28:17)

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the pilgrim's promise

As a hiker I have always had a fascination with pilgrimages. Whether it be the Jesus Trail in Israel, the Pilgrim's Way in England, or the Camino de Santiago in Spain, there is something very compelling about going on a pilgrimage. To be on a quest, out in the wilderness, seeking truth, upward and onward, just you and God.

It turns out that I'm not alone. Millions of Christians go on pilgrimage every year, traveling all over the world to all kinds of places for all kinds of reasons. This is no recent phenomenon. Since at least the 4th century, Christian people have been traversing the globe for holy purposes.

It's no wonder why the book The Pilgrim's Progress has been so popular over the years. It was at one time second only to the Bible in popularity. It is the classic tale written by John Bunyan in 1678 about the journey of a young man named Christian from the City of Destruction through toil, trial, and trouble all the way to the Celestial City. It's an allegory, a great piece of literature, one of the first novels written in the English language.

There are many positive aspects about the book. It is filled with interesting characters like the Giant Despair of Doubting Castle, as well as creative place names like the Slough of Despond. From a theological point of view there are certainly some positives as well. The Bible is rightly held up as the only authority for faith and life. Sinfulness is shown as the natural condition of all men. The world is exposed as corrupt and broken, and salvation is needed for people to escape death and hell. That's all fine and good. But there's something missing - especially at the beginning of the story.

It's an element that, if it had been there in the first few paragraphs, the book could have been a whole lot shorter. So what is it? In short, it's the Gospel.

Before he leaves on his quest, Christian is burdened by his sin and the coming judgment upon the city. He meets the Evangelist and asks him, "What must I do to be saved?" Now, what Evangelist should have done (if he were really an evangelist) is preach the gospel to him! What he should have said was, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! You and your whole family!" (Acts 16:31). But instead he hands a parchment to him that says, "Flee from the wrath to come." He can't even bring himself to say it, and he hands him a religious tract instead.

Another problem right at the outset is that Christian leaves his family behind to go on his quest. What happened to his vocation of husband and father? Even when they come running after him, he puts his fingers in his ears and runs away, caring only for his own salvation. We could spend a lot of time here on the doctrine of vocation, but that’s probably another article for another time.

It’s interesting to note that Martin Luther went on a pilgrimage at one point in his life. In the year 1510, while at university in Erfurt, Germany, he traveled all the way to Rome on foot - a journey of over 1,000 miles that took 70 days one way. He was excited at first to see the grandeur of Rome, but when he got there he was quite disappointed to find widespread corruption and abuse taking place at the highest levels of the church. It was an important reality check for him, and he came back to Germany more determined than ever to clearly and boldly proclaim the truth of God’s Word.

In the fall of 2010, for the 500th anniversary, a writer named Andrew Wilson  retraced the journey that Martin Luther made from Erfurt, Germany to Rome. One thing he came to realize is that Luther would have been a hiker his whole life long, not just during his long pilgrimage to Rome. He would have had to walk pretty much everywhere. Just like Jesus.

They say that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. What they don’t tell you is that Jesus has already made the journey for you. He’s already walked the road. He’s already made that pilgrimage. He’s paved the way as our pioneer and perfector, the founder and finisher of our faith. For he went the way of sorrows, the Via Dolorosa, all the way to the cross and to the tomb for us and for all.

That’s a good reminder for us as we continue to celebrate the Reformation, this year highlighting  Luther’s important work from 1520, The Freedom of a Christian.  For that is what the Reformation was and is all about. The freedom that comes by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone. For ultimately the Christian life isn't about progress, it's about a promise. The Pilgrim's Promise.

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the gospel is a noun

The men of the city had gone off to war. The women and children and elderly remained back home, anxiously awaiting word of the results of battle. Good news would mean great joy and celebration for the people, while bad news would mean distress and despair. Finally, the scout spotted a lone figure running over a hill toward the city. It was the herald bringing news from the battlefield! As he approached, the townsfolk began to hear his proclamation, “Good News! We have overcome the enemy! We have won the victory!”

This is the original usage of the word gospel in the ancient Greek world. A herald or messenger (keruks or angellos) would bring a message from the front lines of battle back to those awaiting word on how things were going. A “euangelion” was the good news message that the victory (nike) had been won, which was followed by great joy and celebration. Whether it’s greek, latin, or english - euangelion, evangel, good spell, or gospel - it all means a good report or a good message.

Today the word gospel is used in all kinds of different ways, often as an adjective. There’s gospel music, gospel tracts, gospel projects, gospel cruises, gospel churches, etc. There are all kinds of gospel things out there in our world today. But the Apostle Paul reminds us that there is really only one true gospel, and that is the good news gospel message about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and his death and resurrection for us in our place.

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel, you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” (1 Cor 15:1-8).

As Dr. Rod Rosenbladt is fond of saying, there’s not a single thing about us in that entire passage. It’s mainly objective truth and not subjective experience. Although we are involved in the process of hearing and believing the gospel, it’s ultimately something that is done to us and for us from the outside. It’s a delivery of historical facts that tells us who Jesus is and what he has done for us through his dying on the cross and his rising from the grave.

St. Mark begins his book, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” That’s what it’s all about. The titles of the four books we know as “Gospels” in the New Testament bear this out. The Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There are four books - but not four different gospels. There is one good news gospel message witnessed and testified to by four different people.

Paul goes on to explain the meaning of this gospel in the first chapter of his letter to the Romans:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God - the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord ... For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, as it is written, ‘the righteous will live by faith.” (Rom. 1:1-4, 16-17).

The gospel is the dynamite power of God in Christ for you. The gospel says that it is finished, that the devil is defeated, and that death is destroyed. The gospel says that Christ is risen and Jesus is living and that in him, you have free forgiveness and full salvation forever. Not because of anything you have done, but simply because God loves you enough to come save you and rescue you. That is the greatest good news the world has ever known. And it’s not just any good news; it’s good news for you. “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

In ancient times, after the herald would bring his message of good news to the people, they would often go out to meet the conquering leader as he came back to the city. After they all went out to meet him, they would return to the city to continue the victory celebration. This is a picture of what Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem looked like on Palm Sunday, as well as his return on the last day when he comes again as our conquering king, bringing the heavenly Jerusalem with him in the new creation.

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come and see

A few weeks ago I saw a video of fireworks going off in Nazareth on New Years Eve. The person filming was on the roof of his building, so he was able to capture quite a spectacular panoramic display. There was an anticipation and excitement in the air, as the sky was filled with color and flashes of light. Everyone in Nazareth that night would have been able to see the light.   

Quite a contrast between Nazareth now and Nazareth of two thousand years ago. The light of the world, the light of light, the very god of very god had come to dwell with them - but hardly anyone seemed to notice. Isaiah 9 states that "the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." But had they? It sure didn't seem like it.

When the holy family returned to Nazareth from their sojourn in Bethlehem and Egypt, they began to lead a fairly provincial life. Joseph went to work in the carpentry shop while Mary worked at home, raising Jesus and the other children who would come later. Nothing much happened out of the ordinary (as far as we know) until Jesus turned twelve and they traveled to the temple in Jerusalem for the Passover. That's when his parents lost track of him and weren't able to find him for several days. When they finally found him teaching the teachers at the temple, he said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49)

That's the only episode we have in Scripture from the events surrounding his birth until the beginning of his ministry that seems to show that there was something special about this boy. From all accounts, everyone in Nazareth would have just thought of Jesus as a very good boy who obeyed his parents and worked hard with his father as a tekton's apprentice in the family trade. (A tekton was a builder who worked with wood and stone.)

That's why the townspeople in Nazareth were so shocked when Jesus began his ministry in Galilee preaching, teaching, and healing people. "Isn't this Joseph's son, whose father and mother we know?" (John 6:42). "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where did this man get all these things?” (Matt. 13:55,56).

It's also why Nathanael responded the way he did when Philip told him that they had found the Messiah in Nazareth. "Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip's response was simple and to the point. "Come and see."

That's our invitation this Epiphany season as well. Come and see Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan as he begins his earthly ministry. Come and see him overcoming the devil's temptations in the wilderness. Come and see him turn water into wine in Cana. Come and see him on the mountain peak, as he gives us a peek of his glory. Come and see him descend to the plain, as he sets his face toward Jerusalem and to the cross, to die for our sins and the sins of all the world.

Five years ago I was on a tour of Israel and had opportunity to be in Nazareth to see the massive bronze door at the Church of the Annunciation. It has six main panels that depict scenes from the life of Christ - from his birth, to his baptism, to his ministry, and finally to his death on the cross.

It's too bad that door wasn't there for the local townsfolk to see 2,000 years ago. It might have cleared a few things up for them. But the good news is - it's there for us now. And not just over there in the Holy Land - but right here in the palm of our hand through the Word of God.  During this Epiphany season Jesus is not only the Light, he is also the door - the way to forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal. Come and see!

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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