faithlutheranbv.org

Tag: Jesus

  • God’s Service

    God’s Service

    “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10:45a)

    A lot of things have changed recently. We have seen pandemic, rioting, and peaceful protest. Some of us are not able to gather together in church to be served by God, so God serves them online. We have seen changes. However God’s Service does not change. Whether we gather together online or in person God serves us through His word and Sacraments. Every week that we gather together is a great banquet offered up by God. Never forget that.

    Some do forget. I wonder if that is the reason that church attendance is in a decline throughout our nation. Many churches have forgotten this fundamental truth. We do not go to church to serve God. He doesn’t need our service. We go to church to be served by God. 

    Listen to His word, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) God left His throne in heaven and took on our sinful flesh so that God could serve us. Truly God loves us, or he would not have gone to such lengths to save sinners. That is what we are. Sinners. Sinners loved by God. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What incredible service! When viewed through God’s service to us, church is not a burden. 

    Compare this to how some churches only call you to serve. After a difficult work week the alarm goes off on Sunday morning and off you go to serve.  You get up, dress, and go to church to give your best to God. At the beginning of the service, a worship leader comes out and asks you to stand and make a joyful noise to the Lord.  After a couple of songs, even though your coffee has not kicked in, the worship leader is crying out, “Now this time, really sing it!  Everyone get your hands up!”  Then, just when you think you can take a break, a pastor comes out, and you are given a list of ways in which you can work harder to be a better Christian and better serve God. After church is complete; you finish your errands, go home, and go to bed, to start all over again.It sounds exhausting, because it is exhausting.

    Now compare a service where God serves us. We go to church burdened with a week’s worth of sin. God meets us. We confess to God, and lo and behold, we hear His promise of forgiveness. We eagerly wait for more. We hear God’s word and are strengthened by the Holy Spirit working in it. We rejoice that God has saved us in a message that emphasizes God’s work for us. We begin to recover from our stressful work week. We are feeling better. Next we are invited to a feast that God has put on for us. He invites us to take and eat His very body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine. We receive forgiveness, life, and strength, through this holy food. God serves us and we respond to His gifts. No wonder we break into song. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!” We receive God’s blessing as His saints on earth, and strengthened by God’s service to us we respond. Then back home ready to face another week.

    Which would I rather take part in? I want to be served by God. I need His strength and His blessings. God’s service is returned with my joy and song. Then I can face another week. Strengthened by God and I can be ready to serve Him in my life and vocation. But first I need His service. 

  • A New Thing

    A New Thing

    I know that many of you are looking forward to things getting back to normal. This period of social distancing is hard and scary. I want things to settle down as well. However, I question whether there will be normal again. The 1918 flu pandemic lasted into 1919. That pandemic killed 675,000 Americans. The people who lived through that were never quite the same again. I pray that this pandemic is nowhere near as deadly. But even with a far less deadly pandemic, I wonder if we will ever be the same. In many ways we won’t. The phrase “social distancing” has now become part of everyday speech. I see people wearing masks and gloves in the grocery store, and that is new. I have never seen that outside of a hospital or doctor’s office before. I can’t erase what I have seen. I don’t know that things will ever go back to how they were before. But is that a bad thing? Sometimes it is through trial and tribulation that our faith grows. Our hearts go out to those who are sick, suffering, and mourning. Would we have had this chance to cry with those who cry if things had stayed the same? Would we have had the conversations with our family that we have had if we weren’t confined together in our houses? 

    Isaiah writes, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19) Are we so insistent that things be normal that we miss a new thing? Are we so tied to how things were always done that we miss opportunities? 

    Jesus certainly didn’t. We read in Luke’s Gospel, “After this He (Jesus) went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, ‘Follow me.’  And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’” (Luke 5:27-32) 

    The Lord God made man was calling tax collectors and sinners to follow Him. What a wonderful unexpected thing. Churches still call sinners. Now, because of this pandemic, many churches that would have never considered a digital presence are reaching out online. God’s Holy Word is spoken, and The Holy Spirit moves through it. 

    In this pandemic we need each other, and those who are God’s children can reach out to each other and support each other. Where food is needed food can be provided, where an ear to listen is needed an ear can be there to hear. A member of Faith told me that they have never heard from so many people from Faith before! The bonds of Christ’s body are strengthened, and we will celebrate when we gather together again. Let’s put aside the way things have always been done and look for new ways to tell others about Jesus. Jesus tells us, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) Let this time apart be a reminder to love each other, and love each other enough to share Jesus. Let’s reach out in any new way possible, teach and baptize. We are Jesus’ Church. Our future is assured through His death and resurrection. We are safely buried and resurrected in Him through baptism. We have the assurance of His absolution and Holy Communion. That is our reality. With that security we can be ready for new things.