Immanuel Lutheran Church - Benson

“Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish.  But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.  None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’ - these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:6-10

It’s a hard thing in this day and age to claim to have wisdom.

First of all, wisdom itself is seen as almost archaic, having no more use in today’s world.  After all, what good is a philosopher like Aristotle or Socrates in this world.  Philosophers of old had experience and knowledge in all kinds of subjects.  Today, we live in a specialized society, where we expect any one person to have experience and knowledge in only one, or maybe two, subjects.  And that is the way we are taught in schools and work.  We select our speciality, work only on this area, and let everything else pass by.  Why do you think I have no apptitude for construction?  I studied philosophy and theology, and it was assumed that knowing how to use a hammer was not important.  Looking back on it now, I wish I had learned more from my grandfather!

But secondly, claiming to have wisdom is seen as presumptuous, conceited, and rude in this world of specialized training.  How can any one person make the claim that they know what to do in this crazy, mixed-up world?  And what does that claim mean for the people who have studied and worked at this particular field for years?  For example, I could claim to have wisdom in electrical work, and even hire myself out for jobs (This is assuming that I have that wisdom, which I don’t.  It’s just an example!).  But what would that mean for the people who went to school to learn to be electricians?  Would my wisdom take away their jobs?  What about the local union?

This situation, though, was probably not much different in New Testament times.  They had begun to build a network of a specialized skill force, with some people being carpenters, some people being fishermen, some people being blacksmiths.  Very few people would have tried to do all things.  They would use the goods that they made or caught to trade for everything else they needed.  New Testament times would have been a time when claiming to have wisdom would have been challenged.

But Paul, in the beginning of the First Letter to the Corithians, speaks of the wisdom he shared with the believers in Corinth.  Paul is claiming that we have seen real wisdom through Jesus Christ.  And not by what Jesus taught (Paul quotes no teachings), and not by the miracles Jesus performed (Paul cites no historical miracles).  Paul’s claim here is as controversial today as it would have been then: We have seen real wisdom in Jesus’ death.

What does this mean?  Who can handle this?  Who can see wisdom in this toturous death Jesus suffered at the hands of Pilate? 

The wisdom that we see is that one man was willing to give up his life to be faithful to God.  This is a radical change from the wisdom of the world, that still today operates on a “save your own neck” mentality.  We still struggle daily to improve our lot in life, obtain more creature comforts (a funny little phrase, don’t you think?), and do whatever we want, even at the expense of others.  For example, we all probably want a raise at work, and we could have it if the boss fired someone else.  It is clearly better for all if more people are working, but I worry that some businesses might be firing workers just to allow CEO’s to make more money.

The wisdom of this world only leads us to paths of death and destruction.  Jesus’ life proved that, as he challenged the authorities of his time, and they killed him for it.  But Jesus was following a different order of wisdom, a wisdom more complete than the wisdom of this world.

Who can understand this wisdom that God uses?  Who can understand that God used Jesus’ death to defeat death?  Who can understand that God used chooses the lowly and poor to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God?  Who can understand how, in serving the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned, we are in fact serving our Lord (Matthew 25:31-46)?

Only those who are wise in the Word of the Lord and in God’s ways can understand these things!  Only those who are familiar with the topsy-turvey way God works in this world can make any sense at all out of the mysteries of God!  Only those who struggle with the Holy Spirit, who knows the wisdom of God, can take what appears to be foolishness to this world and see it for what it is: right and true!

This Spirit is given to each of us in baptism.  Remember the prayer said at the end of the baptismal service: Pour your Holy Spirit upon _____: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the Spirit of joy in your presence” (LBW page 124).

This is the same Spirit who resides in all of us, to make us wise and smart, pure and strong, fearful and joyful in the presence of God.  To those who love God, who have been given this gift and who struggle to live in this way, these gifts are of utmost importance.  To those who do not care, these gifts are still foolishness. 

If you care for the fragile rewards of this world and not for the wisdom of God, then this has all probably sounded like hogwash.  But if you love the Lord, struggle against sin, the devil, and the powers of this world, then let us pray together:
My savior, Jesus Christ, breathe on me your Holy Spirit today: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the Spirit of joy in your presence as I live my life for you, as I stuggle today against sin and the powers of this world, as I learn your wisdom.  I pray this in your name, for your world, for your glory.  Amen.

God bless you today,
Pr. Bryan

For all of you who couldn’t make it to church yesterday, I thought I would put my Easter morning sermon up here.  Enjoy!

Mark 16: 1-8

[1] When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.  [2] And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.  [3] They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”  [4] When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.  [5] As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  [6] But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.  Look, there is the place they laid him.  [7] But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”  [8] So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

What Good is a Resurrection? 

If you have been following the news over the last couple of weeks, you will probably agree with me that it has been a difficult time to see hope in this world.  There has been a rash of multiple-murders recently.  We have inundated by news stories of people killing their entire family, school shootings, gang violence, or even a woman who neglected her son to death, but made a plea agreement that she would be innocent when her son was resurrected!

So what good is a resurrection to a world that apparently does not value life?  What does this one-time resurrection mean to us, who find an easier time holding grudges than offering forgiveness, where all through this country we use guns to end disagreements instead of reconciling differences?  What difference does it make to us that at one time in history, a man who was dead was resurrected, brought back to life.  Many people today do not believe that this resurrection really even happened.  After all, resurrection is impossible.  The dead do not come back to life.  And even though there were hundreds of eyewitnesses to Jesus resurrected self, people still doubt (although if you took the case to court, you only need three eyewitnesses!). 

But we have these eyewitness accounts, or accounts written down second- or third-hand, but that does not falsify their account.  We trust the stories that we are told second-hand today with no qualms or questions, even though I, for one, am lucky if I can remember my telephone number, much less a story accurately.  I wrote this very sermon, but am still using notes to preach it, because my training did not include memorization skills.  The people who committed the stories of Jesus to the page were trained in the memorization of stories!  Their stories are far more reliable than any news story today!

So, being that this story is accurate, what good is this resurrection to us? So what if at one time, one man died as was raised?  Well, it just so happens that that question is exactly the question Mark tried to answer in his Gospel story.  Mark began his gospel with the kind of cryptic line: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  Jesus’ ministry began with the also cryptic statement: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  There is one thing that is common in both of those statements, one said about Jesus and one said by Jesus, and that is that they are both Good News, and they are good news for us!  See, for Mark, the good news for us will not happen until the end of the story, the resurrection.  The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the beginning of the good news of the kingdom of God!  So what is the kingdom of God?  Well, to answer that, you have to read through Mark’s gospel, hear the teachings of Jesus as instructions of what the kingdom looks like, play with Jesus’ parables as examples of how the kingdom will act, and most of all see his life as the one and only model for living in this kingdom.  And, I think today, when we all go home, we should read this gospel straight through.  These stories were not meant to be read piecemeal, bit by bit, arranged around our calendar, but read and proclaimed as a story. 

But for now, I’ll give you the highlights, and you can double-check me when you get home.  The kingdom is different than any form of human government.  The kingdom of God, for example, has only one rule: Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.  Compare that with how many laws and rules we have even in this country, with its incredible freedoms.  The kingdom of God operates under one condition: forgiveness of sins.  Compare that with the usual standards of retribution, retaliation, and hostility that occupy our current attitudes.  The kingdom of God has one primary example, the life of Jesus Christ, who lived in such a way that his enemies had no other recourse except to use their earthly powers and kill him.

And Jesus was dead, killed at the same time as the Passover lamb would have been slaughtered in remembrance of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.  Jesus is the new Passover sacrifice for us to leave our bondage to sin and be set free to worship God!  Jesus sets us free to be a new creation, a new people, in the midst of this world does not believe, does not forgive, and has no faith.

Jesus could have chosen to come down from the cross, as he was taunted, he chose not to.  Jesus chose on the cross to not save himself so that he could save everyone.  So he could save you, from the devil and from yourself.  Jesus could have deserted us, left us to our own devices, but instead came into this world to give us the kingdom, so that we could live in that kingdom now! 

Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead because he deserved to be raised (even though he did).  Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead because he didn’t deserve to die in the first place (which he did not).  Jesus was raised from the dead for us – to show us that the kingdom of God has in fact broken into this world, where so many people suffer oppression and death at the hands of the powerful and evil.  Like all of the teachings and miracles that Jesus did during his life, his resurrection from death was for us.  So that we might know that God is just that powerful, just that holy, just that willing to set aside all the rules and laws by which the universe operates just to call us to faith.

Jesus was raised from the dead.  Jesus is now alive.  Jesus will never die again.  And even though we die, we will receive the new life promised to us at the final arrival of the Son of Man in power.  But the fantastic thing is that this new life is open to us right now!  We do not have to wait for Jesus to come riding on the clouds.  We can tap into the power of the Holy Spirit right now, and live in the kingdom of God as it quietly and powerfully changes us and changes this world. 

Jesus’ resurrection is far from being a fictional story to entertain us.  It is not simply an explanation of how we will be at some future time.  No, Jesus resurrection and the wonder that it is, shows us how much the God of all creation loves each person, values each life, and wants to bring all into the new Kingdom as it has exploded into this world!

So what does this one resurrection, from so long ago, mean for us today?  Simply, everything!  Jesus dying and being raised from the dead means everything to us who believe.  Jesus’ resurrection means that no longer must we be caught up in a never-ending cycle of revenge.  Jesus’ resurrection means that even though there will be violence in this world, all violence will come to an end.  Jesus’ resurrection means that even though there is fear and hatred in this world, we can live in his kingdom, loving and serving one another, seeking out the best for all, secure in our hope for the arrival of God’s rule in this world! 

This is truly the beginning of the good news for us.  In this world of financial problems, multiple-murderers, poverty and homelessness, we are given a glimpse, ever so brief, of a new life, a new kingdom, and a new world where these things will cease to exist.  And we are given this glimpse all because one man, at one time, was killed, and then raised from the dead to new life, for us!  Jesus died for us.  Jesus is risen for us.  Jesus will come again for us!  Thanks be to God.  Alleluia!