Immanuel Lutheran Church - Benson

“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” 
1 Corinthians 1:20

I have always liked Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.  The theology, the imagery, the arguments - for all these reasons and more I love this letter.  It is in the 12th and 13th chapters of this letter that we get our basic understanding of the Christian life - that we are each one of us part of the larger body of Christ, and even though we are different we are still part of the whole, just like the finger is still part of the human body even if you don’t need it for any particular task.  And, Paul tells us, the power to hold us all together is more powerful than muscles and tendons, and even more powerful than any human desire or tolerance.  This power that makes us one in the body of Christ is God’s love for us, that flows down to us and flows out from us, binding us together whether we want to be united or not.

But this verse comes from the first chapter, before Paul tells us how to understand our connections, because Paul must first destroy our divisions so that we can understand our unity. 

The letter begins with the usual salutation, that says who wrote the letter (Paul), who delivered the letter (Sosthenes), and to whom the letter is addressed (”the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together withall those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…”).  Notice here that Paul didn’t write this letter to any one particular person, or to any particular group.  He wrote this letter to the “ecclesia tou theou,” that is the gathering of the ones who belong to God, who reside in the city of Corinth.  Even from this first piece of the letter you see Paul’s trajectory of expanding their understanding of whom the “gathering” consists. 

Paul then writes that he gives thanks to God for giving the Corinthians the grace of Jesus Christ.  This becomes a main point of Paul’s entire letter - that God’s grace changes people in a real and important way.  The rest of this letter will help explain how these people should be different because of God’s grace, and we’ll probably have many times to explore that later.

But the first chapter of the letter is where Paul is trying to break down the divisions that people have made between each other.  Starting in 1:10, Paul explains that he has received a report from a friend named Chloe that the Corinthians are squabbling with each other, separating each other based upon from whom they received the gift of baptism.  Some people apparently want to belong to the school of Paul, others someone Apollos, others to someone named Cephas (which could be the Apostle Peter, but I don’t know about that), and others say that they belong to Christ. 

Paul points out (in 1:18 and following) that the power of the cross to save people’s lives only works for people who want to be saved.  He writes, “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (that is, who do not believe it and have not accepted new life in Jesus’ name), but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  And this does not make sense, in a worldly sort of sense.  In the world of Corinth, when Paul wrote this letter, people lived their lives admiring strength and power, wealthand personality.  Sort of like our world now, isn’t it?  But Corinth is located in the Southern part of Greece, not far from Sparta or Athens.  It is in the part of the world where the classical philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle grew up and created what we know of as Western Civilization.  The Greeks of Paul’s time were descendants of the wisdom of these and other philosophers, and claimed wisdom as one of the greatest benefits. 

But the message of the cross is foolishness to those who live their lives based on this wisdom.  Paul says, “consider your own lives: very few of you were rich, powerful, or of noble birth; but God chose you, not the wise, powerful, or noblility.”

Why would God do this?  Why would God choose us, instead of the wealthy and powerful, to spread the good news to all people?  Because God’s wisdom is so much more expansive than the wisdom of the world.  Because God knows that it is the people who have little of their own who will receive the message of salvation as a gift, and be gracious enough to spread that message across the world.

We are inheritors of this gracious blessing that God gave the Corinthians.  We are blessed in our lowliness to be great and wonderful signs of God’s gracious love and God’s generous power for the whole world.  The wisdom of this world, the wisdom that says: “pick your best and brightest, your wealthiest and most powerful” gets turned on its head, and God says, ”I pick YOU.” 

God becomes the captain of a school-yard game, that instead of picking their friends, the best kicker, the tallest, the strongest; God picks us, weak and lowly in our own ways, and lifts us up to be messengers of the Gospel to all the world.  And God gives us the gifts through the Spirit so that we can do this. 

We cannot, like the Corinthians, get caught up in our own weaknesses, our own partiality, our own foolishness masquerading as wisdom, and lose sight of the real and true power that God gives us in order for us to be a great good in this world, and to unite as the body of Christ even in all of our differences.

And that is a hard message to hear, especially this close to our national presidential election, when what we hear from our wealthy, our powerful, our “elite” is attempting to divide us into groups, just like the Corinthians tried.  But we are not Democrats or Republicans.  We are not Conservative or Liberal.  We are brothers and sisters, joined together by the Spirit into the body of the Living Christ in this world, to be the hands and feet to change this world. 

Please keep this in mind over the next week, as we delve into what could become one of the most divisive times in our country, that no matter what the wealthy and powerful of this world says and does, we are something completely different, something that they will never understand, something that find foolish, but we know is true life.  Amen.

Pastor Bryan

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” — Matthew 7:24

When I was younger, I thought that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was just the beatitudes.  But that Sermon (that I think all preachers eventually want to preach a sermon like this) lasts for 3 chapters of Matthew’s gospel.  It is not the absolute beginning of Jesus’ ministry, but it’s pretty much the beginning of his public life.  His work before this sermon drew such a large crowd that Jesus went up a mountain to talk to his disciples, and that where he gave this famous Sermon.  What is really interesting in the set-up of this sermon is that Matthew is very specific in that this was Jesus teaching his disciples (5:1-2).  In other words, the sermon wasn’t at all how Monty Python showed it in “The Life of Brian,” where people in the back are struggling to hear what Jesus says.

You can see that scene on youtube if you search.  But that’s not how this happend, although it’s pretty funny to think about people mis-hearing the beatitudes!

Matthew is very insistent that this sermon is for the benefit of the disciples, not for the crowd at large.  And of course, that makes a lot of sense.  After all, the crowds that were gathered around were not crowds of spiritually hungry people, who wanted a messiah and savior to lead them in a new spiritual direction.  They were crowds of sick, afflicted, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics that were seeking Jesus’ miraculous cure.  And, as Jesus was human as well as divine, he cured them out of his compassion, but would continually retreat from the demands of his hectic life to a solitary place to pray and teach his disciples, who would carry on his mission when he left.  That is what the Sermon on the Mount really and truly is, at it’s core: the marching orders for the disciples.

Those of us faithful now are Jesus’ disciples, so these are our marching orders as well.  We and others like us are blessed because of the work we do (5:3-12).  We are the salt of the earth, preserving it from decay because of our faithfulness (5:13).  We are the light of the world, shining brightly so all can see that we are lit from the fire of the Holy Spirit that will never blow out (5:14-16).  We are the ones who take the laws and commandments and are not simply happy to follow the letter of the law but, like Luther, follow the Spirit so that instead of just saying “Thou shall not…,” we also hear a “Thou shall…” (5:17-48).

We try to be responsible in our piety.  We don’t seek to worship God so that we benefit, but so that we show our thanks and praise to our Lord and Savior for what he has done and continues to do for us (6:1-6).  We pray to our God because we know that our God cares for us and for this world, and has given us the power to make radical and drastic changes for the better of all (6:7-15).  We try to contol our desires for the things of this world, for the empty promises and vain clutchings for material possessions (6:19-34). 

We try to be fair and honest with each other and ourselves, caring for those in need instead of judging them (7:1-5).  We recognize the wonderful gifts we have been given, and know that our Father in heaven loves and cares for us, and wants us to live lives that are a blessing to others (7:6-11).  We “do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets” (7:12).

We know that this is not easy.  We know that there will be people who come to trick us, foil us, even kill us.  We know that some people seek nothing but our downfall because we believe in a living Lord who has claimed us as his own (7:13-23).

Everyone who knows this, and does this, is like a wise man who built his house on rock, a sure and solid foundation that, when the rains came, was safe because the house had a strong base. 

The hearing and knowing comes easily, especially for those of us who attend church regularly.  We hear Jesus’ words all the time, every Sunday, at least once and most likely many times throughout the service.  It’s the “putting them into practice” part that can be hard for us.  The wonderful part is that most of what Jesus says in this sermon is actually pretty easy.  “Be charitable with your giving.”  “Don’t judge other people, or you will heap judgement on your own head.”  Fairly easy to follow instructions included here.

But because we are still sinners, still curved into ourselves, still selfish and idolatrous, we discover that even these simple, easy instructions are impossible for us to follow.  All too often we find ourselves in a sandstorm, with no shelter left because it all blew away.

Luckily for us, God’s grace will see us through the storm, and give us the power to pick up the broken pieces of our house and rebuild.  Because it is not our doing that is the rock of our salvation, but the one man who was broken and hung on a cross for us.  He is the rock on whom we build, to whom we cling, through whom we survive.  Jesus forgives us our failings in following his directions, and allows us another chance to put into action what he has told us, no matter how hard it may be to turn away from the powers of this world.

So, when you get a chance, read through Matthew chapters 5-7, and hear again Jesus’ directions for your life.  And then give thanks that you have been given the opportunity to be one of Jesus’ disciples, to be given these directions and graced with the power to try and follow.  Thanks be to God for that!

Pr. Bryan

I apologize to all the faithful who read this blog that I have not posted for a couple of weeks.  I’ll try and make it up to you this week, by posting a couple of times.

For my first post this week, I’d like to share something that’s been on my mind for the last week, and that is getting better.  I know that there’s been a lot of sickness going around lately, and I have not been immune.  Our Christian tradition has a lot to say about people who are sick.  Our Lord, Jesus, even seems to have gone out of his way to meet those who were sick, and heal them.  So, how do we good Lutherans look at these healing stories?  Let’s look at the one healing story that fundamentally shapes the Lutheran view of being well.

John 9:1-5
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The ancient Israelites were a superstitious lot.  No more superstitious than you or I, but they had their ways of thinking.  And the one superstition that Jesus challenges here is that sickness, illness, disease and infirmity are the result of God’s punishment for sin.  When a religion is a strict monotheism like Judaism, the adherents will eventually find all explanations for life in their God.  But Jesus tells us that the reality is that life is uncertain.  Some people are born with infirmities.  All people eventually get sick.  Life inevitably ends with death.  Now, we locate death as the result of general sin, but not the result of individual sins. 

But sickness and infirmity do have their place in God’s design, and that place is to be the opening to see God’s glorious work.  Because all those who are sick, like myself, will eventually get better.  Just like all who die will eventually live again.  This is a call for us to remain faithful even in our sickness, not to blame God for illness, but to rejoice and thank God for the healing we receive. 

It is also a call to open our hearts to recognize that the healing we receive is not always the healing that we want.  There is a great difference between being healed and being made well.  In fact, you can be well, but still be sick.  You can also be healed, but not well.  For example, I suffered from a running-induced knee injury for years, and finally had the surgery necessary to repair the damage.  However, I still treat my knees very carefully, and am wary of doing too much, not because they wouldn’t hold up, but because I’m scared of damaging them again. 

Fear has the power to limit our well-being, probably more than any other thing.  If we let fear control our lives, we will never be well.  What we need to be well is the opposite of fear: faith.  We need to trust that God holds us closely and will never let us go.  Then we can see the adventure that is this life of ups and downs, being sick and being healed and being well.

I think that’s why people like their pastor to visit them when they are sick in the hospital.  Hospitals can be scary places, where people poke and prod all day long, and people can sometimes only be known by the illness that they currently carry.  When your pastor visits you, I hope it brings comfort, calm, and the remembrance that we are, whole body and soul, a beautiful and loved child of God, who, like the man born blind, only sick now so that God’s works of love may be revealed through us. 

Let us pray: Gracious God, our whole lives belong to you.  Everything that we are and everything that we can be are part of your good work.  We ask that you grant us an extra measure of faith and love when we are sick, that our illness and our healing may be a reflection of your goodness to us.  Thank you for your son, our Lord, Jesus, who healed the man born blind and continues to heal us through your wonderful spirit in the hands and hearts of those we trust with our lives.  We pray all of this through his most holy name.  Amen.

Psalm 79:9
Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.

As much of a music fan that I am, I’ve never really cared for the Beatles.  I realize that puts me in the minority in terms of music-related fans, but that style of British music has never been my cup of tea, or my taste of scone.

But whether I like them or not, sometimes they have really great lyrics to their songs, and their song “Help!” is probably my favorite of all of their work.  In case you’re like me and don’t really know the words, here they are:

“Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody’s help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I’m not so self assured,
Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won’t you please, please help me?

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I’ve never done before.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won’t you please, please help me.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody’s help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I’m not so self assured,
Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won’t you please, please help me, help me, help me, oh.”

Now, the Beatles probably were not thinking of God when they wrote this song, nor were they thinking of the forgiveness of sins that we receive from God as the type of help that they need.  But we know that we are in need of God’s help throughout our lives.

What is fascinating about this verse from Psalm 79 is the realization that the forgiveness of sins that we receive so graciously from our loving God is not for our benefit, but for the glory of God’s name.

This is a weird phrase nowadays.  We don’t speak about bringing glory to anyone’s name very often, and the counter point, “for your name’s sake” is quite anachronistic. 

To really understand what this means, we need to look back into the world of the psalmist.  This person lived in a time and place of many competing gods, and people would pick their “god of the week” so to speak.  People would worship whatever god they thought they needed at any particular time or place.  For example, if they needed a good harvest, they would pray to the god of the harvest in hopes that that god would give them what they wanted.

The Israelites changed things, when they received the divine revelation that there is only one God, one Lord of heaven and earth, one God who rules the land and the water and all that is.  This would have been a hard sell for their neighbors.  So the Israelites would pray to the Lord for all things, and when God responded, their neighbors would recognize the power of God, and would eventually come to faith, trust, and love in the One, True God.

So when the psalmist writes in Psalm 79, “Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name…,” it is both for our help we sing, and for our neighbors benefit, and for the recognition that we pray to the One, True God, who loves all creation.

We have the access to God because God has given it to us.  Luther tells us this in his explanation to the Second Commandment, ”You are not to misuse the name of your God.”  Luther writes, “We are to fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, practice magic, lie, or deceive using God’s name, but instead use that very name in every time of need to call on, pray to, praise and give thanks to God” (The Small Catechism, The Book of Concord, Kolb & Wengert, p 352.)

So today, as you go about all your daily work, remember to call on God for help in every time of need.  God has given to us our Savior, Jesus (whose name means, “God Saves”) whom we are to call on for help, who is more trustworthy than any other. 

God bless you!
Pr. Bryan