Gospel of Matthew

“Give to God what is God’s”

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

This week is my week to submit a devotional for the local newspaper so I decided to expand more on what I posted yesterday.  The question I asked was, “do we spend time giving God what is God’s or do we spend way too much time debating/arguing over what belongs to Caesar?”  When it comes to taxes, government and politics, people can get really fired up and passionate but when it comes to God…well…not so much.  I mean…how many times have we heard passionate people get upset over “trivial matters” in the church, but rarely of “Gospel matters”:  “You’re not doing this report correctly”, “I don’t like those new light fixtures”, “I can’t believe so and so is doing that”.  Business matters of the church are important, but not at the expense of “Gospel matters”.

“Give to God what is God’s”
How about all those people who do not know God?  How about those inactive members?  How about discussions on who we can give our money too?  How about a discussion on what service projects we could do next?

What are we to give to God?  God demands and deserves our worship, our trust, our faithfulness, etc.  When we do this, everything else seems to fall into place.  When we give to God what is God’s “trivial matters” in the church seem to become less trivial.  When we give to God what is God’s, love and respect of all God’s people seem to take center stage.

So…”give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” but don’t forget to “give to God what is God’s” Amen.

-edh-

Monday morning check in

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Greetings and salutations…and welcome to another addition of “Monday morning check in” (I have no clue what that was…I guess I am just in a goofy mood this morning).

Anyway…

…if anyone is curious, the Twin Cities marathon web site has some pictures posted of me crossing the finish line.  In a couple of them you can definitely see my pain 🙂  To view these snap shots simply go to the website at:  http://www.mtcmarathon.com.  Once there click on “finisher photos” under the marathon section then enter my bib number: 4387.  There are a couple picture there that are not me.  I am the one wearing the dark long sleeve t-shirt with the red hat (or the one in more pain than the others).  Enjoy 🙂

Paying taxes (Matthew 22:15-22)
How appropriate that we get a text that talks about paying taxes.  In a time of economic hardship the last thing people want to hear about is paying taxes.  Here in Jackson, taxes are a huge issue.  There is a battle currently waging about the proposed construction or renovation of the county Resource Center.  Some want to see a brand new building and others want the current one (the old high school) renovated.  Either way, taxes would go up quite a bit in Jackson.  And this is after the new school referendum passed last year that some people believe the district is misusing.  What a time we live in.

Here in Matthew 22:15-22 the Pharisees are looking for some dirt to nail Jesus with so they try to trap him with the issue of taxes.  If he says that people should pay them then his followers would get upset.  If Jesus says they shouldn’t pay taxes, then the Pharisees could bring that info to Caesar and accuse him of treason.  But Jesus is smarter than this as he responds, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s“.  So the question is what is Caesar’s and what is God’s?  Discuss…

…to be continued…

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer — Thank God for for being chosen

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Once again I have had a busy September week but my upcoming schedule is starting to look a little better as it usually does towards the end of the month.  I have much to share with you (in addition to my scripture reading highlights).

I do have one little piece of personal news to share with you now, though (actually this is more of an update).  The Twin Cities marathon is 2 weeks from today.  Please remember me in your prayers.  I am growing more and more excited and more and more nervous.  I wonder sometimes if I am ready for this; if there is more I could’ve done or more that I can still do.  I know I can’t back out now after 13+ months of training (even though my mom and my wife wouldn’t mind if I backed out now).  I need to keep chugging along…I know I can do this and I am excited to be able to call myself a marathon runner.

With that…let’s prepare ourselves for worship today by remembering the Gospel text of the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.  My preaching focus today is about the fact that before we do any work in the vineyard we are chosen.  And the problem I see in the Church today is that too many people get caught up with the economics of this world and try to apply them to the Kingdom.  A sense of entitlement creeps into many people’s theology.  But what we need to recapture is our sense of excitement of being chosen in the first place.  It’s like recapturing the new car smell again.  Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).  Let’s rejoice over being chosen!  Let us pray…

Almighty, loving and gracious God, we desire to be with you but we fall short of your glory through sin. Our feeble efforts do not merit us salvation. It is only through your son that we find life everlasting. Thank you, God, for choosing us. Thank you God for sending us into your vineyard. Thank you God for not treating us as we deserve to be treated. Through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

Take care and have a very blessed day!

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Hey there…long time no see.  No…it’s not that you haven’t been here for a while it’s that I haven’t stopped by my own blog for a couple days.  So please allow me to make excuses here:
(1) The busyness of September seemed to sneak up on me.
(2) The busyness of September seemed to sneak up on me.
…and (3) The busyness of September seemed to sneak up on me.

That is enough said on that.  I think I am beginning to get a hold of things now so you will see me a little more in the coming weeks.

Anyway…the Gospel text I am preaching on today comes from Matthew 18:21-35.  This is the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  Peter asks Jesus the question, “How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me?  Seven times?“.  Jesus goes on to basically say, “You forgive continuously.   There is no number.”  Then we get this parable.  What hits me square in the face is the contrast in debts.  The debt God forgave me and the debt I often refuse to forgive others.  This is indeed a convicting parable.  The debt we owed God was a debt we could not hope to repay but yet God says, “I love you so much and I want so much to be in a relationship with you that I am going to forgive this debt of yours.”  Wow…that is an amazing God.  Let’s go and do likewise…forgiving others the sins they have committed against us; showing them Christ’s love.

Let’s pray…
Gracious and forgiving God, we can’t even begin to express how thankful we are for the forgiveness you show us in Jesus Christ.  We are so unworthy.  But yet you love us anyway.  Grant us strength to forgive others as you have forgiven us. So we may mend and nurture relationships with them as you do with us.  In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

-edh-

Text study – Matthew 3:13-17 (The baptism of Jesus)

/ The Pastor

"the one thing that encourages me in this whole thing is seeing how deeply vested we all are in the church and her practices. Everybody contributing to this discussion here and on other blogs are doing so because we care so deeply. That is a very good thing!" (Luther Punk)

Well said…and yes…thank you for all the energy and wonderful dialog around the issue of lay presidency.  I am by no means cutting off or finished with this lively and healthy dialog.  There is definitely some deep seeded beliefs about lay presidency.  I do see what Luther Punk is saying about calling and gifts and I will be exploring that some more, but right now it doesn’t change my belief about lay presidency.  The openness that has been shown is quite amazing and and for that I am thankful.

But now I would like to move to the Gospel text for Sunday from Matthew 3:13-17 and maybe get into a discussion about the other sacrament — baptism.  According the the lectionary, this Sunday (January 13) is called "The Baptism of our Lord".  Since Epiphany is about revealing who Jesus is the text seems very appropriate as God announces from heaven after Jesus is baptized, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

But the questions I want to ponder are ones that always seem to come up when we deal with the text about Jesus being baptized.  The questions are this:  Why did Jesus have to be baptized? and When Jesus says that this must be done to fulfill all righteousness…what does he mean by "all righteousness?  Both are very good questions and of course I have my own thoughts about what is going on.  And…has always…feel free to "correct" me if you feel I am "wrong" 🙂

When I think about baptism I go back to Romans 6 where Paul says that "if we have been united with him in a death like his we will certainly be untied with him in a resurrection like his."  Baptism here then is about being identified with Jesus or joined to Jesus.  Therefore, since we are identified with Jesus; what is his is now ours…not because of anything we have done but because Jesus first identified with us.

Now to Jesus’ baptism…

…if John’s baptism was for repentance for the forgiveness of sins, then why did Jesus need to be baptized?  Jesus was sinless and had no need to repent.  The way I see it is that by being baptized Jesus identified himself with sinners.  If Jesus was going to bring us to righteousness, he needed to identify with sinners…he needed to identify with us.  And because Jesus identifies with sinners Jesus understands very intimately what we need.  Jesus understands what must be done.  Jesus understands that he must die and rise so we can live.  So therefore it all comes down to identification.

What do you think of that?  What are your thoughts?  (Of course I still invite you thoughts on the issue of lay presidency which is posted below.)

Thank you again for you contributions and I look forward to many more lively conversations.  Take care and God bless!

-edh-

Text study – Matthew 11:2-11

/ The Pastor / 5 Comments

What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the king, whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary!

Why lies he in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross be bourne for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word made flesh, the babe, the son of Mary!

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh; come peasant king to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise the song on high, the virgin sings her lullaby;
Joy, joy, for Christ is born, the babe, the son of Mary!

The Gospel text for this Sunday (Advent 3) comes from Matthew 11:2-11.  As I was doing some research I came across a sermon that another pastor posted that was titled, "What Child is this?"  Of course he was referring to the good ole favorite Christmas carol of the same name (which also happens to be my sister’s favorite hymn…anyway…).  That title alone got me thinking…what Child IS this?  Who is this baby that we (hopefully) give all our attention to during this time of the year?  Who is Jesus for you?

John the Baptist was born to be a fore runner of the Messiah.  John knew his mission — in that there is no doubt.  Last week we heard John preach a message of "baptism for repentance" and to "produce fruit worthy of repentance".  Now…after all of this…I am left wondering and pondering two different interpretations of this text.  I will throw them out here and let you decide:  INTERPRETATION #1 — John is growing weary of sitting in prison when he thought Jesus was the one who was to come and "open up a case of whip _ ss (I will refrain from misusing the word that is also used to talk about a donkey).  So John sends his disciples to find out if this prison thing is all worth it.  Was John wondering who Jesus really was?  INTERPRETATION #2 — John knew exactly who Jesus was.  His sending of his disciples was to instruct them:  "One is coming after me who is greater than I; one whose sandals I am not worthy to carry."  Follow Jesus…not me.  Was John’s question meant, not for him, but for his disciples, for the original readers of Matthew and for us?  Or…(after all this) maybe it doesn’t matter what John was thinking or feeling.  Maybe the point is the question itself.  After all, Matthew is writing for a Jewish community where the Messiah is indeed a big deal.  Maybe the message is:  There is no need to wait for anyone else.

Whatever the interpretation, the question is still thrown out there — who is this Messiah?  What Child is this?  Is Jesus some nonthreatening Messiah who will leave you alone; to live life how you want or is Jesus a kick butt type of Messiah meant to change your life?  Is Jesus a non-personal type of King who does not know you even exist or care about you current sufferings or is Jesus an intimate King, Lord and Messiah who is closer to you than you are to yourself? 

Who is Jesus?  What Child is this?  I guess Advent is a time to discover this.  Advent is a time to ask questions and see, once again, this awesome thing that God did in that manger stall.  What Child is this…this sweet, non-threatening, little baby?  This Child is our intimate, Savior, Lord and King who has and continues to "open up case upon case of whip _ss upon the sin of the world.  And because of that, there is no need to "wait for another".

Praise be to God, MERRY CHRISTMAS and Amen!

-edh-

Monday morning check in

/ The Pastor / 5 Comments

Busy week
Whew…a busy week is done.  Even though I feel a little tired, I feel pretty good.  Thanksgiving eve went very well with a very good turn out.  The Celebration of New Life service for Gordon went very well also, on Saturday.  We had about 300 people in attendance worshiping and celebrating the New Life we have in Jesus Christ.  We had a great soloist who sang "How Great Thou Art" and the tear jerker, "Thank You" by Ray Boltz.  As prelude music, the family hired a local harpist to play for a half hour before worship – absolutely beautiful.  Sunday worship also went off just fine.  With the three sermons I got to write last week, I was worried something would get missed, but once again, God provided and the Gospel was preached.

Prayer shawls
One of the ministries of Belmont Lutheran Church is wrapping people in prayer shawls.  When people are in the hospital or shortly after they get home, they are presented a prayer shawl from the congregation.  The shawls are made by some ladies in the congregation.  In the two years I have served with Belmont I did not know about this ministry until last week.  Doris, the secretary for Belmont, asked about doing a blessing of the prayer shawls in worship.  They hadn’t done this for a while and asked if I could do that.  I said sure, but I have never done anything like that before, but I will figure something out.  Does anyone out there have any experience with blessing like that or know of a blessing service I can use?  I am not looking for anything too elaborate – just something that can be done during the regular Sunday service this Sunday.  Thanks much.

Sunday morning prayer
I am sorry I did not get a prayer posted.  I know there are people that show up, here, for that Sunday morning prayer, but with the chaos that was last week, I just did not get one written.  For me that prayer serves as devotion for me to prepare for worship.  I know that all that I do on Sunday morning I can not do on my own.  My prayer during sermon and worship prep is basically that I am not that talented and if it were left up to me I would surely bring it all to ruin (to paraphrase Luther’s sacristy prayer).  I plan to get back to my routine this weekend.

Scripture
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:  His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’" (Matthew 1:18-21)

God bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS (I love this time of the year)!

-edh-