Immanuel Lutheran Church - Benson

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?
Romans 8:32

Paul’s Letter to the Romans is one of the most theologically dense writings in the Bible.  You cant’s shake a stick without hitting a large, detailed theological discussion Paul is having with these converts, most of whom he has never met.  But that’s doesn’t stop him or hinder him in any way from his purpose of writing this letter: to generate some money to help struggling churches, and to make a new base of operations for a mission trip to Spain.

Yes, this man who once tortured and tormented the followers of Jesus is trying to go out of his way (quite literally) to spread the Good News.  But Paul can only make this trip to Spain if he has help.  So his entire letter, all the arguments, discussions, quotations, and stories are designed to get across this one simple point: The Christians in Rome are in the best position to help Paul.

Like all Christians, these Roman Christians have the faith to help.  They want to spread this message as far and wide as possible, and they are more urgent about that task than we are most days.  But then they believe Jesus is coming back TOMORROW!  Not ”sometime.”  Not “eventually.”  But very, very soon.  So they are excited about spreading this message so people won’t be surprised when Jesus shows up again.

But what the Roman Christians here don’t believe is that they have the resources to help Paul and the rest of Christ’s kingdom on earth.  They are, after all, just a random collection of probably poor and oppressed Jews and Gentiles that live in Rome, the capital city of “the enemy.”  They can’t act out their faith in a public way, because if they did, they would be crucified just like Jesus was and Peter will be.  No, Rome was not a safe place for Christians to be.

But Paul here argues that it’s not what we have on hand that makes us so useful to God.  It’s what God gives us that makes us useful.  And most of the time, God only gives us what we need when we need it.  Talk about faith!

But don’t think even for a second that we deserve this.  No, we are still sinners, as Paul makes clear very early in the letter (2:1).  Everything we are, and everything we have, is a gift of love from God, who loves us all so much that Jesus came down, took on human flesh, died, and was raised from the dead just to show us that God is very serious about loving us poor sinful people.

So often, though, in our lives, we think about getting what we deserve.  We feel that we are owed by someone or something some certain things based on what we have done.  For example, when I was a child, instead of getting an allowance, my brothers and I got rewards for report cards.  We would get a certain amount of money for an “A” and a little less for a “B” and so on.  Well, that system worked out well for a while, but eventually my dad didn’t have enough money to continue.  But we (the little kids that we were) still felt that we were entitled to a reward.  Even though the money was a gift (based on achievement in school), we thought we were owed that money.

But if all the time, all of us got what we really deserved, we would not be very happy.  If you got a well-deserved speeding ticket every time you drove over the speed limit, you would not be happy.  If God gave us what we really deserved in eternal life, the new heaven and new earth would be pretty sparse.  We don’t deserve salvation, and nothing we can do will ever change that.

But God doesn’t care about what we deserve.  God cares about what we can be given.  Some people look at gifts, and turn their noses up.  You can read horror stories if you check out the website: http://www.etiquettehell.com/.

Jesus wants us, the faithful followers, to see the un-deserved gifts that we are given on a daily basis and rejoice in them and the one who gives us all we have.  So as you go about your days and weeks, keep an eye out for those wonderfully undeserved blessings that God showers on you, and thank the Lord that we are loved so much.

God bless you!
Pr. Bryan

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
Psalm 33:4

Psalm 33 is one of those glorious songs that make us happy to sing.  There is none of that usual psalm motif of going from saying good things to saying bad things, and there’s none of that tricky challenging God stuff.  No, this psalm is purely celebratory, proclaiming the great power of God in the world.

It begins with an invocation for all to make music and sing praises to the Lord with the instruments at hand.  Apparently, this psalm was originally written to be accompanied by string instruments (33:2-3).  Then the psalmist tells us why we should sing this song: “For the word of the Lord is upright and all his work is done in faithfulness.”

This is a song of celebration for all the wonderful work that God has done for us.  God created the heavens and the earth by speaking it into existence (33:6).  God made for us dry land to live and farm (33:7).  God thwarts the evil schemes of dictators and illegal governments (33:10). 

God is, in fact, so great that he watches over all of the creation - good and bad deeds, chosen people and all the nations - because it is only through God’s providence that we have life and breath (33:13-15).  And because all of God’s actions are done through such amazing faithfulness, God delivers us through all trials and death, accomplishing feats more magnificent than all armies, soldiers, or strength of arms (33:16-19).  Because no matter how powerful any one person might be, or how strong and well-equipped a military force might be, we are all mortal and will die.  But God, through steadfast love, delivers us through to the other side of death to eternal life.

Deliverance is not being plucked out of the situation.  We still die, because the wages of sin is death.  We get what we deserve.  What we don’t deserve, and what is so wonderful about our Lord, is that death is not the end for us.  Oh no!  Through death we receive eternal life, because Jesus died, and then God raised him.  So, all who trust that the promise of eternal life is real will be granted life on the new earth under the new heaven, with a living Lord who lives now so that we might live forever.

That is our hope and our faith.  We wait for it in expectation, even though we have never seen it.  If you have something, you no longer hope for it.  We were granted a vision of the new life through the first disciples who described for us Jesus after he was raised.  That is what we hope for for ourselves.  And we trust that it will happen.  Our faith is that all of what the psalmist says is true: that God is faithful, more faithful than any human being, who can break our promises at the drop of a hat.  God’s promises will never be broken, because God is faithful, and we trust in that faithfulness.   

So today, sing a song or say a prayer of thanksgiving to our God, the one in whom we can trust no matter what comes along.  You can use Psalm 33 if you would like.  Look it up, read through it, and rejoice with the psalmist that our God loves YOU!

God bless you,
Pr. Bryan

Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. 
Psalm 85:7

Jon Bon Jovi had a song on one of his albums called “Always,” and this song always struck me as kind of weird.  This song is a love song by any definition.  The refrain is: “And I will love you, baby - Always/ And I’ll be there forever and a day - Always/ I’ll be there till the stars don’t shine/ Till the heavens burst and The words don’t rhyme/ And I know when I die, you’ll be on my mind/ And I’ll love you - Always.”

With a refrain like that, how can you not consider this a love song?  However, in this song, he sings, “Now I can’t sing a love song/ Like the way it’s meant to be/ Well, I guess I’m not that good anymore/ But baby, that’s just me.”

This song is about a girl that has broken his heart, and is now with another man.  Now, it’s clear that the “I” of the song (whether it’s actually Jon Bon Jovi or whether it’s a fictional “I”) still loves this woman.  But, on the other hand, it’s hard to love someone when you have no connection with that person any more.  And it’s hard to love someone who apparently doesn’t love you back.

Psalm 85 speaks to that same incongruency in love that Bon Jovi sings about.  Here is a psalm that speaks about all the benfits God gives: “Lord, you were favorable to you land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.  You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sins” (Psalm 85:1-2).  However, the writer of the psalm doesn’t feel forgiven, pardoned, restored, or at all favorable.  The psalmist writes: “Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.  Will you be angry with us forever?  Will you prolong your anger to all generations?”  (Psalm 85:4-5).

The psalmist feels the same way that the “I” of Bon Jovi’s song feels, that the object of his love doesn’t love him anymore, and that the usual love songs aren’t going to be enough this time.  A new love song is needed, one that speaks to the reality at hand.  So, like Bon Jovi’s song, the psalmist proceeds to write that new love song, that no matter what happens, this person will keep steadfast in their love.  “Show us your unfailing (steadfast) love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation” (Psalm 85:7). 

But this is where the difference between these two love songs appears.  In Bon Jovi’s song, there is no reconciliation between the two people.  She is still with the other person, and the “I” has feelings that will remain unrequited.  The psalmist, on the other hand, knows that it is not his (or her) steadfast love that will keep the relationship, but God’s love that lasts forever.  “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts” (Psalm 85:8).

In Bon Jovi’s song, the end of the story is not nearly happy.  The woman in question will stay with the other man, and the I will remain alone.  The psalmist ends his love song in images much more like a traditional love song: “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.  Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.  The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase” (Psalm 85:10-12).  All of this will happen when the Lord speaks again to the faithful people, which the psalmist expects to be right now!  There is no waiting, testing the other’s feelings, making subtle and clumsy attempts to repair a broken relationship.  No, the Lord knows what the people need, and the Lord will provide out of abundant goodness and love.

So, Bon Jovi’s love song “Always” is a different kind of love song, but so is Psalm 85.  The difference is that Psalm 85 is the love song that we want to hear - a song based on the love of the other.  Even though we know we have done wrong, God still loves us and will provide for us.  But it is no rose-tinted love song.  Psalm 85 readily recognizes the need for forgiveness and faithfulness in this relationship, and in every relationship.  And that is the kind of love song we so often need - one that reminds us that relationships are not easy.  They require a lot of work and even more humility.  But they are necessary to our lives.  So, as much as I feel for the “I” in Bon Jovi’s song, I hope he is able to put away the love that will always be for this woman who obviously doesn’t love him, and find a new relationship built on mutual love and compassion, as well as forgiveness and faithfulness.  Because that is the kind of relationship God gives us, the kind of relationship God models for us, and the kind of relationship God wants us to have.

So today, give thanks to God for those relationships that support you.  Be they between parents and children, friends, siblings, or spouses; we know how important those faithful relationships are to us.  They are a blessing to us from God, for each other.  It also couldn’t hurt to tell those that you love how much you really care for them.  Show your steadfast and unfailing love for one another, and you will see God’s unfailing love for you through them. 

God bless you!
Pr. Bryan