Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
December 20, 2009
Rev. Dean Kavouras
4th Sunday of Advent
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice, let your moderation be known to all men, the Lord is at hand. Philippians 4:4-5
Advent is a season of repentance. But God gives us a great gift in His Word today, He gives us both the permission and the power to rejoice, not only in Advent but always.
St. Paul’s words today serve several purposes, they are first of all a directive to Rejoice. What is Joy? Most people confuse joy with happiness, but they are two very different things. Happiness is external, Joy internal. Happiness is temporary, Joy is permanent in Christ. Happiness has to do with temporal things like a winning lottery ticket or good hair day, but Joy has to do with our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and the gifts that He gives. Happiness can be pursued and even obtained for short intervals; but Joy is a Gift that remains with us no matter what happens, because we know that our sins are forgiven and we have Peace with God through Christ.
Why do we need this directive, especially since we are New Creations in Christ? Because of the usual suspects: sin, death and the devil.
Sin leaves us with guilt, and guilt robs us of Joy. The world’s catechism works hard to deny guilt but it will never succeed. If sin is the fang of the snake, guilt is the rattle, and wherever the head is the tail is always close behind.
Death also conspires to divest us of Joy, it makes us sick, weak and afraid. As with guilt, the world tries to put a positive spin on death, but nothing it does can take away its sting. Only Jesus, who willingly suffered death for our sins, and conquered it by His glorious resurrection can empower us to Rejoice even in the face of death. The Bible says of our Lord that, “for the Joy that was set before Him He endured the cross, scorned the shame and is seated at the right hand of God.” (Hebr 12:2) With these words: Rejoice in the Lord always, Jesus teaches us to do the same.
And there’s the devil as well who incites so much malice, envy, hatred and revenge among men that finding joy is like looking for a needle in a haystack. And so this divine directive, given to Christians of all ages by the pen of St. Paul, is a priceless treasure that cuts through despair and fills us with Advent Joy.
God’s word also gives us permission to Rejoice. How are we to live our lives as Christians? Should we spend our days and nights anguishing over the sins of our youth? Should we lead drab, austere, celibate lives like the Shakers? Not at all. It’s true that we should regret and confess our sins. They are an affront to God, an assault on our neighbor, and degrading in the extreme to us as children of God. But with these words, Rejoice in the Lord always, God instructs us to put sorrow behind us and to Rejoice in Christ our Lord who became incarnate to save us, and fills our lives with the Joy of forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life.
Though our faith makes us Glad in the extreme our Rejoicing isn’t the manufactured optimism of Joel Osteen, or the artificial enthusiasm of the so-called contemporary worship churches. Instead it’s a reverent and sober joy which focuses on Christ crucified for our sins, and raised again for our justification; one that fills us with delight and our devotion to it knows no bounds.
God’s word also gives us the power to rejoice. Paul is writing these words, but God is the one speaking, and we must always remember that His word brings into existence the very thing that it says. As God spoke the world into existence, He likewise speaks Joy into our hearts by this Word today. Without His gracious Word we could search for Joy our whole lives and never find it, but with Him, Joy is ours.
Scripture also instructs those who Rejoice in the Lord to let their moderation be known to all men. Though Joy is an internal quality, it can’t help but spill over into the way we live. As God’s people St. Paul charges us to be reasonable and agreeable, gentle with others, tolerant of their weaknesses, and as much as humanly possible live at peace with all men (Romans 12:18). Joy makes this possible, because when we are at peace with God and at peace within, we are eager to be at peace with others as well.
God’s word also gives us a reason to Rejoice, namely: the Lord is at hand. What does Paul mean by these words? First He joyously anticipates the Lord’s return because on that Day all that Jesus accomplished by His birth, death and resurrection will be delivered to us in full! Graves will be opened. Death will be destroyed. Tears and sorrow will be forgotten and our Joy will be full. Whether the Day of the Lord is around the corner or many centuries in the future we should be ever mindful of this Great Event and, by faith, join the saints of the ages in Confessing: the Lord is at Hand.
But it’s not just the Lord’s future coming that causes us to Rejoice, He’s also close at hand in the Word He inspired, and in the Sacraments He ordained.
Whenever we hear God’s Word heralded, whether by Isaiah the Prophet, John the Baptist or by the “called and ordained servant of the Word,” we are hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd. By it He gathers us close to His bosom, carries us through the valley of the shadow of death, leads us into the Green Pastures of His love and fills our lives with joy.
The same is true of the Sacraments. In baptism sinners are incorporated into the Triune God and made holy, even as God is Holy. In absolution we receive the continuing Therapy we need to be constantly cleansed of our sins, so that even as we struggle with temptation our Joy might be full. In the Mass we receive the true Body and Blood of Christ into our own sinful and dying bodies, so that the Life of Jesus might be imparted to us in every way.
These things, the Lord’s Second Advent, His Holy Word and Blessed Sacraments cause us to Rejoice unceasingly in the Lord, and in the good promises He makes to us. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice. Amen.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
3rd Sunday of Advent
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
December 13, 2009
Rev. Dean Kavouras
3rd Sunday of Advent
Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5
Everything about the Christian faith is a mystery. Over time we learn to think theologically and God’s wisdom begins to make sense, but there are still more questions than answers. It won’t always be this way, however. A Day is coming when all our questions will be answered, and when we will know even as we are known. (1 Cor. 13:12)
Chief among the mysteries of our faith is the Lord’s incarnation. Throughout the Old Testament the pre-incarnate Christ made many appearances. He is Melchizedek whom Abram worshipped; the Rock that led the children of Israel through the wilderness, and the fourth Man in the fiery furnace who saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from a fiery death. But His greatest Advent is to be found in the mystery of the incarnation when “eternal God begotten of the Father from eternity,” assumed human nature, thereby exalting humanity to the highest heavens!
It’s true that human nature has been completely compromised by sin and that there’s not a trace of spiritual health remaining to it. But that’s not to say that sin is an essential property of man, or that we are the loathsome creatures and blight to the planet that the Nature Worshipers in Copenhagen would have us believe.
In spite of original sin and our many actual sins we are still God’s creations! And though mankind lost its original righteousness when Adam sinned it has been fully restored to us by Christ who is the New Adam! By His birth, death and resurrection He redeemed us, reconciled us to God, justified us, glorified us, and in every other way returned us to full sonship by faith in His name. We all want to be praised and held in high esteem, that’s as basic to Sinful Nature as breathing. But there can be no higher status than the one we now possess as God’s people in Christ. His birth gives us dignity and His death makes us Holy. So let us give up our trifling attempts to be important in the eyes of the world, so that we might receive the commendation of God when Jesus comes again.
Jesus is God’s Great Gift to the world, but His incarnation isn’t the only mystery. St. Paul says, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor. 15:51ff) St. Paul is speaking here of the Lord’s Second Advent in which He will judge the living and the dead.
The world doesn’t know what to do with such information. It writes off the Christian faith as foolish. Or, in good post-modern fashion, it declares that it’s only valid for those who believe it but affects no one else. But the mysteries of our faith are not fairy tales, or private revelations which only have consequence for those who believe them. Instead they are theological realities that will affect every person without exception.
Equally mysterious is the fact that our Lord knows all that is now hidden and that He will reveal it on the last day. We love our privacy. We all have secrets we’ve concealed from the world, and we’re glad that others can’t read our thoughts. When Warren Buffett, the world’s richest man, was asked what his guiding business principle was he said: never do anything that you wouldn’t want to read about in tomorrow morning’s paper.
But when Jesus returns all that is now hidden will be revealed. He says in Luke 12:12 “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”
We don’t like to hear words like this. They make us afraid because we all have many things that we would rather not have revealed. We all judge others harshly in our minds as if we were God. Nor have we been faithful stewards with the gifts God has given us, or in the vocations He’s placed us.
Whenever the Scriptures make us squirm we should know for certain that we are hearing the Law. It’s not pleasant because it exposes the thoughts and intents of our hearts. But we need to hear it so that it can lead us to repentance. Only then can we understand the Great Gift that Christ is. As we can’t justify ourselves before God, neither should we condemn ourselves according to St. Paul. Instead we should let God be our judge and not be afraid to do so, because in baptism we are dressed in Christ, and in Him we stand before God in Righteousness and Purity forever.
St. Paul says in the last part of our text that, “at that time every man will receive his commendation from God.” Does that sound confusing? It shouldn’t. As Jesus praised John the Baptist before the people for his faithful ministry, He will also commend, confess and and acknowledge us eternally before His Father in heaven (Mt. 10:32). He came to share our humanity, He lived for us, died for us, rose again from the grave for us and will come back one more time to bring us to the place He’s prepared for us. These are some of the mysteries of our Christian faith that we will one day understand fully. Until that time, may they sustain us as we fight the good fight of faith, and cause us to rejoice in the Lord always. Amen.
Cleveland, Ohio
December 13, 2009
Rev. Dean Kavouras
3rd Sunday of Advent
Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5
Everything about the Christian faith is a mystery. Over time we learn to think theologically and God’s wisdom begins to make sense, but there are still more questions than answers. It won’t always be this way, however. A Day is coming when all our questions will be answered, and when we will know even as we are known. (1 Cor. 13:12)
Chief among the mysteries of our faith is the Lord’s incarnation. Throughout the Old Testament the pre-incarnate Christ made many appearances. He is Melchizedek whom Abram worshipped; the Rock that led the children of Israel through the wilderness, and the fourth Man in the fiery furnace who saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from a fiery death. But His greatest Advent is to be found in the mystery of the incarnation when “eternal God begotten of the Father from eternity,” assumed human nature, thereby exalting humanity to the highest heavens!
It’s true that human nature has been completely compromised by sin and that there’s not a trace of spiritual health remaining to it. But that’s not to say that sin is an essential property of man, or that we are the loathsome creatures and blight to the planet that the Nature Worshipers in Copenhagen would have us believe.
In spite of original sin and our many actual sins we are still God’s creations! And though mankind lost its original righteousness when Adam sinned it has been fully restored to us by Christ who is the New Adam! By His birth, death and resurrection He redeemed us, reconciled us to God, justified us, glorified us, and in every other way returned us to full sonship by faith in His name. We all want to be praised and held in high esteem, that’s as basic to Sinful Nature as breathing. But there can be no higher status than the one we now possess as God’s people in Christ. His birth gives us dignity and His death makes us Holy. So let us give up our trifling attempts to be important in the eyes of the world, so that we might receive the commendation of God when Jesus comes again.
Jesus is God’s Great Gift to the world, but His incarnation isn’t the only mystery. St. Paul says, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor. 15:51ff) St. Paul is speaking here of the Lord’s Second Advent in which He will judge the living and the dead.
The world doesn’t know what to do with such information. It writes off the Christian faith as foolish. Or, in good post-modern fashion, it declares that it’s only valid for those who believe it but affects no one else. But the mysteries of our faith are not fairy tales, or private revelations which only have consequence for those who believe them. Instead they are theological realities that will affect every person without exception.
Equally mysterious is the fact that our Lord knows all that is now hidden and that He will reveal it on the last day. We love our privacy. We all have secrets we’ve concealed from the world, and we’re glad that others can’t read our thoughts. When Warren Buffett, the world’s richest man, was asked what his guiding business principle was he said: never do anything that you wouldn’t want to read about in tomorrow morning’s paper.
But when Jesus returns all that is now hidden will be revealed. He says in Luke 12:12 “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”
We don’t like to hear words like this. They make us afraid because we all have many things that we would rather not have revealed. We all judge others harshly in our minds as if we were God. Nor have we been faithful stewards with the gifts God has given us, or in the vocations He’s placed us.
Whenever the Scriptures make us squirm we should know for certain that we are hearing the Law. It’s not pleasant because it exposes the thoughts and intents of our hearts. But we need to hear it so that it can lead us to repentance. Only then can we understand the Great Gift that Christ is. As we can’t justify ourselves before God, neither should we condemn ourselves according to St. Paul. Instead we should let God be our judge and not be afraid to do so, because in baptism we are dressed in Christ, and in Him we stand before God in Righteousness and Purity forever.
St. Paul says in the last part of our text that, “at that time every man will receive his commendation from God.” Does that sound confusing? It shouldn’t. As Jesus praised John the Baptist before the people for his faithful ministry, He will also commend, confess and and acknowledge us eternally before His Father in heaven (Mt. 10:32). He came to share our humanity, He lived for us, died for us, rose again from the grave for us and will come back one more time to bring us to the place He’s prepared for us. These are some of the mysteries of our Christian faith that we will one day understand fully. Until that time, may they sustain us as we fight the good fight of faith, and cause us to rejoice in the Lord always. Amen.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Second Sunday Of Advent
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
December 6, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
2nd Sunday of Advent
Rejoice O Gentiles, with His people. Romans 15:10
Advent is a season to rejoice. We no longer have to rejoice with God’s people like the believing Gentiles did in past ages, because in Christ we are God’s people! By faith in His name we are children of Abraham and heirs to all the promises and comfort the Scriptures give. (Gal. 3:7) And that’s no small amount dear Christians. The Word of God we Confess has sustained people throughout the long night of sadness; and will continue to do so until the end of the age and beyond, because like God Himself the Word is eternal.
Before we can rejoice, however, we first have to repent. Advent helps us do that. It’s a season dedicated to knowing and confessing our sins. As Christians we know that our wrongs were pardoned on the cross, but we must never think of them lightly. Sin robs us of joy. It’s the cause of the enmity that exists between fathers and sons, and sons and fathers. Sin kills! And except for the healing death of Jesus on the wings of the cross, the Day of the Lord that Malachi predicts would be a Day of Wrath. But in Christ it will be a Day of peace and joy for us.
We don’t like to think about sin. Those who don’t know how it is forgiven, by faith in the blood of Christ, must deny it, minimize it or otherwise make it disappear. Sad to say even many churches have banished the dreaded “S” word from their vocabulary. They’ve replaced that “black sheep” of theological terms with the word: brokenness. We’re not sinners, they say, but broken. Like a car. Or a window. One that can be repaired and then it will work again. If only it were that easy.
Yes, before we can rejoice we must first regret, and so the church’s color for Advent is purple. Scripture doesn’t command us to use that color but the church has always done so with good reason. Purple is the color of the God-Man Jesus Christ who came into the world to suffer for sin. When God gave His Old Testament church instructions to build a tabernacle in the wilderness the color scheme commanded over and over again, was blue, purple and scarlet in that order. Why? Because Blue is the color of the heavens and therefore of God; and Scarlet (red) is the color of the ground and therefore of Man who was made from the dust of the ground. When you combine those two colors, as happened when God assumed human flesh, you get Purple. And so Purple is both the Old Testament and New Testament color for Jesus who became incarnate to reconcile Heaven and Earth, God and Man, by His blood on the cross. It was no coincidence that Jesus was dressed in a purple robe before His death. His tormenters were unknowingly proclaiming that Jesus is True God and True Man come to earth to suffer for our sins.
Advent is a season of Rejoicing as well because in it we contemplate the coming Christ, and the end of all our sorrows.
Before Jesus was born, the promise of the coming Christ kept God’s people alive, alert and filled them with all joy and peace in believing (15:13). Through the dark night of sin the Scriptures were preached, taught, prayed and sung even as they are today. The Word consoled God’s people in all the mortal anguish they suffered both personally and nationally as the Lord’s Suffering Servant.
God’s Old Testament church looked forward, but are different. We have a dual focus. We look back to the promise of God that was fulfilled so wondrously in our Lord’s incarnation. But we also look forward to His Second and Final coming. Jesus tells us that the last days, which began with His birth (Heb. 1:2), will be a time of great distress for the world and its people. Truer words were never spoken! In today’s Gospel lesson He teaches that men will stare in stunned confusion as they behold history’s final events. They won’t know what to make of the signs that will be evident in the earth and in the heavens above. But He also tells us that when we see these things happening, when we see the distress of nations that perplex everyone else, that we should stand tall! Stand tall and lift up our heads because they mean that the Day of our Redemption is drawing near.
Along with this Gospel assurance, our Lord also speaks a word of warning, like Malachi does in the very last sentence of the Old Testament Scriptures. He does so because, like the unbelieving world, we too can get weary of waiting, weary in well-doing. We forget to pray. Forget to trust. And just like the children of wrath we want to salve our present pain and future fears by intoxicating ourselves into oblivion. It’s all the rage. It’s how the world deals with spiritual angst. It should come as no surprise, because those who don’t have the instruction, endurance or consolation of the Scriptures have no other defense. Life hurts too much and men can only tolerate uncertainty for so long.
And so Paul prays that God would endow His people with endurance, consolation and with a united heart and voice.
We need endurance because we’re not allowed to quit. We’re not allowed to throw in the towel. Yes we’ve been shot by the devil’s fiery darts. Everyone’s been shot. But God’s Word, in ways we don’t even understand most of the time, gives us endurance. It gives us fortitude to continue in faith, hope and love and to do the work He gave us to do while it is day, “before the night cometh when no man can work.” (John 9:4)
We need consolation too, and we get it from the Scriptures, but the Scriptures don’t come to us naked. They come to us in the context of the church’s worship, where Jesus comes to us with healing in His wings by the appointed means of the Word and Sacrament. We come on empty but we leave on full, consoled by the forgiveness of our many, repetitive, repulsive sins and renewed by the word and promises of God.
Christian worship is the occasion where the words of our text, “Rejoice O Gentiles with His people” come to pass most perfectly. It’s the place where: with one heart and one voice we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (15:13)
We do that inwardly by faith, but outwardly as well by hearing the same Scriptures and praying the same prayers.
It’s pre-written, canned, planned and engineered. Because short of a Script, one we believe with all our hearts, Christians will have no united voice of praise on earth. But we must, because the Mass is among other things, a rehearsal for heaven where there’s also a Script we will follow and believe unceasingly with all our whole mind and heart.
Rejoice O Gentiles with God’s people. We are God’s people. We were made so by the wings of the Cross of our Lord, who gives us endurance, consolation, and unity, so that with one heart and voice we can ever praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Cleveland, Ohio
December 6, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
2nd Sunday of Advent
Rejoice O Gentiles, with His people. Romans 15:10
Advent is a season to rejoice. We no longer have to rejoice with God’s people like the believing Gentiles did in past ages, because in Christ we are God’s people! By faith in His name we are children of Abraham and heirs to all the promises and comfort the Scriptures give. (Gal. 3:7) And that’s no small amount dear Christians. The Word of God we Confess has sustained people throughout the long night of sadness; and will continue to do so until the end of the age and beyond, because like God Himself the Word is eternal.
Before we can rejoice, however, we first have to repent. Advent helps us do that. It’s a season dedicated to knowing and confessing our sins. As Christians we know that our wrongs were pardoned on the cross, but we must never think of them lightly. Sin robs us of joy. It’s the cause of the enmity that exists between fathers and sons, and sons and fathers. Sin kills! And except for the healing death of Jesus on the wings of the cross, the Day of the Lord that Malachi predicts would be a Day of Wrath. But in Christ it will be a Day of peace and joy for us.
We don’t like to think about sin. Those who don’t know how it is forgiven, by faith in the blood of Christ, must deny it, minimize it or otherwise make it disappear. Sad to say even many churches have banished the dreaded “S” word from their vocabulary. They’ve replaced that “black sheep” of theological terms with the word: brokenness. We’re not sinners, they say, but broken. Like a car. Or a window. One that can be repaired and then it will work again. If only it were that easy.
Yes, before we can rejoice we must first regret, and so the church’s color for Advent is purple. Scripture doesn’t command us to use that color but the church has always done so with good reason. Purple is the color of the God-Man Jesus Christ who came into the world to suffer for sin. When God gave His Old Testament church instructions to build a tabernacle in the wilderness the color scheme commanded over and over again, was blue, purple and scarlet in that order. Why? Because Blue is the color of the heavens and therefore of God; and Scarlet (red) is the color of the ground and therefore of Man who was made from the dust of the ground. When you combine those two colors, as happened when God assumed human flesh, you get Purple. And so Purple is both the Old Testament and New Testament color for Jesus who became incarnate to reconcile Heaven and Earth, God and Man, by His blood on the cross. It was no coincidence that Jesus was dressed in a purple robe before His death. His tormenters were unknowingly proclaiming that Jesus is True God and True Man come to earth to suffer for our sins.
Advent is a season of Rejoicing as well because in it we contemplate the coming Christ, and the end of all our sorrows.
Before Jesus was born, the promise of the coming Christ kept God’s people alive, alert and filled them with all joy and peace in believing (15:13). Through the dark night of sin the Scriptures were preached, taught, prayed and sung even as they are today. The Word consoled God’s people in all the mortal anguish they suffered both personally and nationally as the Lord’s Suffering Servant.
God’s Old Testament church looked forward, but are different. We have a dual focus. We look back to the promise of God that was fulfilled so wondrously in our Lord’s incarnation. But we also look forward to His Second and Final coming. Jesus tells us that the last days, which began with His birth (Heb. 1:2), will be a time of great distress for the world and its people. Truer words were never spoken! In today’s Gospel lesson He teaches that men will stare in stunned confusion as they behold history’s final events. They won’t know what to make of the signs that will be evident in the earth and in the heavens above. But He also tells us that when we see these things happening, when we see the distress of nations that perplex everyone else, that we should stand tall! Stand tall and lift up our heads because they mean that the Day of our Redemption is drawing near.
Along with this Gospel assurance, our Lord also speaks a word of warning, like Malachi does in the very last sentence of the Old Testament Scriptures. He does so because, like the unbelieving world, we too can get weary of waiting, weary in well-doing. We forget to pray. Forget to trust. And just like the children of wrath we want to salve our present pain and future fears by intoxicating ourselves into oblivion. It’s all the rage. It’s how the world deals with spiritual angst. It should come as no surprise, because those who don’t have the instruction, endurance or consolation of the Scriptures have no other defense. Life hurts too much and men can only tolerate uncertainty for so long.
And so Paul prays that God would endow His people with endurance, consolation and with a united heart and voice.
We need endurance because we’re not allowed to quit. We’re not allowed to throw in the towel. Yes we’ve been shot by the devil’s fiery darts. Everyone’s been shot. But God’s Word, in ways we don’t even understand most of the time, gives us endurance. It gives us fortitude to continue in faith, hope and love and to do the work He gave us to do while it is day, “before the night cometh when no man can work.” (John 9:4)
We need consolation too, and we get it from the Scriptures, but the Scriptures don’t come to us naked. They come to us in the context of the church’s worship, where Jesus comes to us with healing in His wings by the appointed means of the Word and Sacrament. We come on empty but we leave on full, consoled by the forgiveness of our many, repetitive, repulsive sins and renewed by the word and promises of God.
Christian worship is the occasion where the words of our text, “Rejoice O Gentiles with His people” come to pass most perfectly. It’s the place where: with one heart and one voice we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (15:13)
We do that inwardly by faith, but outwardly as well by hearing the same Scriptures and praying the same prayers.
It’s pre-written, canned, planned and engineered. Because short of a Script, one we believe with all our hearts, Christians will have no united voice of praise on earth. But we must, because the Mass is among other things, a rehearsal for heaven where there’s also a Script we will follow and believe unceasingly with all our whole mind and heart.
Rejoice O Gentiles with God’s people. We are God’s people. We were made so by the wings of the Cross of our Lord, who gives us endurance, consolation, and unity, so that with one heart and voice we can ever praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Saturday, November 28, 2009
First Sunday Of Advent
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
November 29, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
First Sunday of Advent
"Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." Romans 13:11-12
The long awaited Savior, whose incarnation we mark with joy each Christmas, will come to earth one final time. Not in poverty or humility, but with great power and glory. Not to die again for sins, but to raise the dead. On that Day the long night of waiting will be over, and all who believe and are baptized will be incorporated into the glories of the Church Triumphant. However far the devil, the world or sinful flesh has pushed us back a Great Reversal will take place when our God returns. He isn’t coming to fix things or fine tune them but to hit the Reset Button. To create a New Heaven and New Earth filled with Righteousness in which our every hope will come true. May this good promise calm our troubled hearts and give us Heavenly Peace as we begin a new church year.
The opening words of our text are a bit curious. St. Paul says “besides this you know what hour it is.” He makes it sound as if God’s people have a special insight into the times, as if we know something the rest of the world doesn’t. It’s no mistake that he speaks like this because we do. We don’t know the day or the hour but nor does it matter because we do know the two most important things of all. First that Christ will return, and secondly how to prepare for His coming.
How do we know that our Lord will return? Not from special revelations, or by studying the Mayan calendar, but from hearing and believing God’s Word.
Scripture teaches that the world had a beginning, and that it will have an end. That it had a first day, and that it will have a last day, a Day which will coincide with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. But our Lord’s second coming is not only a future event for Christians. In his first epistle St. John states that “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8). For Christians the return of Christ is as much a present event as a future one. We experience it most fully whenever the Gospel is preached and the Sacraments administered. In these gifts Christ truly comes, and imparts the merits of His death and resurrection to us.
The second thing we know is how to prepare for His coming. Not by locking ourselves in our closets with our bibles, but by dedicating our lives to all the things which Paul teaches in the thirteenth chapter of Romans. We can think of this chapter as a catechism of Christian behavior while awaiting the Lord’s return. He tells us here that, though we are citizens of heaven above, Christians are to be fully functioning members of society who obey the laws of the land, who love their neighbors, and who embrace the highest moral behavior.
It’s not only duty that drives us, but also a conscious awareness that our Lord could return at any time. Every day that passes brings the event one day closer. Every moment is pregnant with the possibility that Jesus could return and call an end to all the devastation sin has visited upon us. Those who don’t know God’s Word don’t know where they came from, and so they can’t possibly know what their final destination might be. They may have wishes and hopes, all men do, but they have no certain knowledge that can guide them when perplexed, or console them in life’s distress. But we do, Beloved, because we know that however bad things get, Jesus has the final word, and it will be a benediction for us.
How do we prepare for His coming? By waking up from spiritual slumber and casting off the works of the Flesh. Why does Paul say it like this? Because sin has a powerful sedative effect on us. It puts us into a deep sleep regarding our present duties and our future destiny. And so St. Paul sounds the alarm, and pastors in every generation must to the same.
In biblical theology Flesh is a synonym for sinful nature. From its conception Flesh is at war with God and there’s nothing that can be done to repair it, change it or even to improve it a little bit. Flesh is like gasoline, if it gets too near a flame the result is always the same. You can’t change gasoline by preaching to it or praying for it, and the same is true with Sinful Nature. The only way to deal with Flesh it is to drive the stake of God’s Law through its grisly heart.
Flesh cringes at the Law. It fears it the way vampires fear sunlight and like Superman fears Kryptonite. It doesn’t like to be hemmed in, told what to do or threatened with divine punishment.
What does Flesh love? It loves all the things the Apostle tells us to cast off in his little catechism. It loves to party like there’s no tomorrow. It prefers pleasure over duty. It loves to get drunk and abandon self-control. It’s devoted to fornication, adultery, casual sex, internet porn, orgies and every perversion it can think of. It loves quarreling and jealousy until there’s not a scintilla of happiness to be found, and the whole world is at war with itself. Is it any wonder, then, that our families are a wreck and our society a disaster?
These are the things that Flesh loves, and the things that Paul sounds the alarm about. There’s no human power strong enough to overcome them, but the Word of God is. And so Paul, speaking as God’s apostle, instructs us to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light! Jesus is the Light; the light of the world and the light of life. He is our armor against sin’s curse, death’s sting and the devil’s reign of terror in our lives.
He further instructs us to, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the Flesh.” This was done to us and for us in holy baptism. The Bible says that all who are baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). In that primary Sacrament we are dressed in the garments of salvation and robed with our Lord’s own righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).
We’re only baptized once but its benefits are everlasting, and we should remember that sacred event every day. By contrition and repentance we should daily drown the Old Adam, with all his sins and evil desires, and emerge as new people to live before God in righteousness and purity forever, as we wait for history’s final and finest hour.
We don’t know when it will come, only that it will. We know how to prepare for it by doing battle every day with temptation and living as New people. Most importantly we have God’s ongoing Word of love to inform, pardon and empower us. With these holy gifts we can wait calmly and patiently for the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord to arrive. Amen.
Cleveland, Ohio
November 29, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
First Sunday of Advent
"Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." Romans 13:11-12
The long awaited Savior, whose incarnation we mark with joy each Christmas, will come to earth one final time. Not in poverty or humility, but with great power and glory. Not to die again for sins, but to raise the dead. On that Day the long night of waiting will be over, and all who believe and are baptized will be incorporated into the glories of the Church Triumphant. However far the devil, the world or sinful flesh has pushed us back a Great Reversal will take place when our God returns. He isn’t coming to fix things or fine tune them but to hit the Reset Button. To create a New Heaven and New Earth filled with Righteousness in which our every hope will come true. May this good promise calm our troubled hearts and give us Heavenly Peace as we begin a new church year.
The opening words of our text are a bit curious. St. Paul says “besides this you know what hour it is.” He makes it sound as if God’s people have a special insight into the times, as if we know something the rest of the world doesn’t. It’s no mistake that he speaks like this because we do. We don’t know the day or the hour but nor does it matter because we do know the two most important things of all. First that Christ will return, and secondly how to prepare for His coming.
How do we know that our Lord will return? Not from special revelations, or by studying the Mayan calendar, but from hearing and believing God’s Word.
Scripture teaches that the world had a beginning, and that it will have an end. That it had a first day, and that it will have a last day, a Day which will coincide with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. But our Lord’s second coming is not only a future event for Christians. In his first epistle St. John states that “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8). For Christians the return of Christ is as much a present event as a future one. We experience it most fully whenever the Gospel is preached and the Sacraments administered. In these gifts Christ truly comes, and imparts the merits of His death and resurrection to us.
The second thing we know is how to prepare for His coming. Not by locking ourselves in our closets with our bibles, but by dedicating our lives to all the things which Paul teaches in the thirteenth chapter of Romans. We can think of this chapter as a catechism of Christian behavior while awaiting the Lord’s return. He tells us here that, though we are citizens of heaven above, Christians are to be fully functioning members of society who obey the laws of the land, who love their neighbors, and who embrace the highest moral behavior.
It’s not only duty that drives us, but also a conscious awareness that our Lord could return at any time. Every day that passes brings the event one day closer. Every moment is pregnant with the possibility that Jesus could return and call an end to all the devastation sin has visited upon us. Those who don’t know God’s Word don’t know where they came from, and so they can’t possibly know what their final destination might be. They may have wishes and hopes, all men do, but they have no certain knowledge that can guide them when perplexed, or console them in life’s distress. But we do, Beloved, because we know that however bad things get, Jesus has the final word, and it will be a benediction for us.
How do we prepare for His coming? By waking up from spiritual slumber and casting off the works of the Flesh. Why does Paul say it like this? Because sin has a powerful sedative effect on us. It puts us into a deep sleep regarding our present duties and our future destiny. And so St. Paul sounds the alarm, and pastors in every generation must to the same.
In biblical theology Flesh is a synonym for sinful nature. From its conception Flesh is at war with God and there’s nothing that can be done to repair it, change it or even to improve it a little bit. Flesh is like gasoline, if it gets too near a flame the result is always the same. You can’t change gasoline by preaching to it or praying for it, and the same is true with Sinful Nature. The only way to deal with Flesh it is to drive the stake of God’s Law through its grisly heart.
Flesh cringes at the Law. It fears it the way vampires fear sunlight and like Superman fears Kryptonite. It doesn’t like to be hemmed in, told what to do or threatened with divine punishment.
What does Flesh love? It loves all the things the Apostle tells us to cast off in his little catechism. It loves to party like there’s no tomorrow. It prefers pleasure over duty. It loves to get drunk and abandon self-control. It’s devoted to fornication, adultery, casual sex, internet porn, orgies and every perversion it can think of. It loves quarreling and jealousy until there’s not a scintilla of happiness to be found, and the whole world is at war with itself. Is it any wonder, then, that our families are a wreck and our society a disaster?
These are the things that Flesh loves, and the things that Paul sounds the alarm about. There’s no human power strong enough to overcome them, but the Word of God is. And so Paul, speaking as God’s apostle, instructs us to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light! Jesus is the Light; the light of the world and the light of life. He is our armor against sin’s curse, death’s sting and the devil’s reign of terror in our lives.
He further instructs us to, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the Flesh.” This was done to us and for us in holy baptism. The Bible says that all who are baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). In that primary Sacrament we are dressed in the garments of salvation and robed with our Lord’s own righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).
We’re only baptized once but its benefits are everlasting, and we should remember that sacred event every day. By contrition and repentance we should daily drown the Old Adam, with all his sins and evil desires, and emerge as new people to live before God in righteousness and purity forever, as we wait for history’s final and finest hour.
We don’t know when it will come, only that it will. We know how to prepare for it by doing battle every day with temptation and living as New people. Most importantly we have God’s ongoing Word of love to inform, pardon and empower us. With these holy gifts we can wait calmly and patiently for the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord to arrive. Amen.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
23rd Sunday After Trinity
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
November 15, 2009
23rd Sunday After Trinity
“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away. Matthew 22:21-22
We’ve all heard sad stories but today’s gospel lesson records the saddest of all. We learn from St. Matthew that the people who were with Jesus that day heard what He had to say, marveled at His wisdom, and then promptly left Him and went away to live their lives without Him.
Does that amaze us? On the one had, as people who’ve been enlightened by the Spirit of God, it surely does. We know that malice towards the Christ is not only the saddest possible existence, but also the most dangerous, because without Jesus life is a dead end, both temporally and eternally.
But on the other hand it doesn’t surprise us because we know the power of sin, not only from Scripture but also from personal experience. Sin makes us blind. It makes us thick. It makes us cotton-headed and drives us to act against our own best interest.
In the book of Deuteronomy Moses read God’s Law to the people and in a detailed and plain sermon that anyone could understand he set two choices before their eyes: life and death. But before they could respond he added these words, “choose life!” “Choose life that both you and your descendants may live…”
Why did he do that? Wasn’t the choice obvious? Don’t we always act in our own best interest, especially when the choices are so clear?
Unfortunately not. When it comes to matters that reason can comprehend we can be very savvy. We read, study and do our homework to insure that we pick the option that yields the most benefits. But in spiritual matters nothing is clear! Sin has turned us into fools, simpletons who can’t see God’s gifts even when they’re placed in front of us.
The Herodians and Scribes in today’s gospel lesson are a perfect example, they stood in the presence of Jesus but couldn’t connect the dots. St. Matthew informs us that as they heard Him they marveled at His words and wondered at His wisdom. How could they not?
To meet Jesus was to encounter God in human flesh.
He taught with authority! Not just because He was more talented than the Scribes, whose Call it was to teach and interpret the Law, but because He is the Living Word, Scripture’s author and so every that word He spoke carried the unmistakable ring of truth.
But it wasn’t only His words that caused such wonder in people, but also the way He conducted Himself among men. They observed the way He lived, that He was always holy, always gracious, always pure and unlike anything they had ever seen before. To be in His presence must have been as exhilarating as it was wondrous, and there was no aspect of Jesus that they wanted to miss. But in the end St. Matthew tells us that: they left Him and went away.
What were they leaving behind? They were walking away from the only One who can save us from sin, and fulfill the obligations we owe to God and Caesar.
As odious as it might seem sometimes, even citizens of heaven must fulfill their obligations to Caesar. Not only for fear of punishment, but out or reverence for God as well, who established government as His ministers to keep order in the sinful world. Usually we don’t like the things Caesar demands of us. He has an insatiable appetite for our money, he likes to send us traffic tickets in the mail, and send our children off to fight senseless wars. He’s never quite happy until he controls everything and everyone.
That’s not the way God wants things to be. He expects those who govern to be noble and to rule with wisdom. He charges them to make intelligent laws that reward people for doing good, and punish them for doing evil. But more often than not those things get turned around. And so the kings of the world must remember that they, too, have a King to whom they are answerable; a king named Jesus, who is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Caesar loves power and glory. He loves to coin money and put his name and picture on it so that we never forget who it belongs to. But Jesus doesn’t criticize him for this. Instead He instructs us: render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars. If we do Caesar is happy.
But things aren’t so simple regarding our obligations to God because He isn’t satisfied with mere outward performance. We can’t get Him out of our hair or out or our conscience by filling in paperwork and paying money. God demands more of us than anyone can possibly fulfill. He requires that we fear, love and trust in Him above all things. He insists that we live our lives like Jesus did, giving our full time and attention to Him, but this is impossible for sinners to do.
And so Jesus came to our rescue, came to save us and to do all the things that we cannot. Not only did He obey the civil law and even submit His life to it, but He did much more! He fulfilled the righteous demands of God’s law for us, and then died to expiate our sins. This is what the Scribes, and all who reject Jesus today leave behind, the only Savior and friend a sinner ever had.
However sad a commentary that is, please understand that it’s the natural tendency of us all. Left to our own devices we to, would walk away, but God calls us by the Gospel to come to Jesus, never to leave Him behind.
Not the Jesus of modern theology, but St. Matthew’s Jesus!
The One who saw the evil intent of the Scribes, and called them on it. The One who made them “feel bad” without apology and never a thought of attending an “anger management” seminar. The One who antagonized them to such a degree that they manufactured whatever evidence it would take to get rid of Him. (Luke 23:2) The One who was: handed over for our trespasses, and raised again for our justification (Romans 4:25). The One who “while we were yet sinners…died for the ungodly,” and who became the Wisdom and Power of God (1 Cor 1:30), and the source of eternal Salvation for all who put their hope in Him.
Through the Church God still calls out to all men to repent of their sins, believe the Gospel, and be baptized. He calls out to us all to learn true wisdom from His Word, to join the church in her Holy Communion, to live each day as citizens of heaven, and to wait patiently for our Savior to return, who will change our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. Amen.
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
November 15, 2009
23rd Sunday After Trinity
“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away. Matthew 22:21-22
We’ve all heard sad stories but today’s gospel lesson records the saddest of all. We learn from St. Matthew that the people who were with Jesus that day heard what He had to say, marveled at His wisdom, and then promptly left Him and went away to live their lives without Him.
Does that amaze us? On the one had, as people who’ve been enlightened by the Spirit of God, it surely does. We know that malice towards the Christ is not only the saddest possible existence, but also the most dangerous, because without Jesus life is a dead end, both temporally and eternally.
But on the other hand it doesn’t surprise us because we know the power of sin, not only from Scripture but also from personal experience. Sin makes us blind. It makes us thick. It makes us cotton-headed and drives us to act against our own best interest.
In the book of Deuteronomy Moses read God’s Law to the people and in a detailed and plain sermon that anyone could understand he set two choices before their eyes: life and death. But before they could respond he added these words, “choose life!” “Choose life that both you and your descendants may live…”
Why did he do that? Wasn’t the choice obvious? Don’t we always act in our own best interest, especially when the choices are so clear?
Unfortunately not. When it comes to matters that reason can comprehend we can be very savvy. We read, study and do our homework to insure that we pick the option that yields the most benefits. But in spiritual matters nothing is clear! Sin has turned us into fools, simpletons who can’t see God’s gifts even when they’re placed in front of us.
The Herodians and Scribes in today’s gospel lesson are a perfect example, they stood in the presence of Jesus but couldn’t connect the dots. St. Matthew informs us that as they heard Him they marveled at His words and wondered at His wisdom. How could they not?
To meet Jesus was to encounter God in human flesh.
He taught with authority! Not just because He was more talented than the Scribes, whose Call it was to teach and interpret the Law, but because He is the Living Word, Scripture’s author and so every that word He spoke carried the unmistakable ring of truth.
But it wasn’t only His words that caused such wonder in people, but also the way He conducted Himself among men. They observed the way He lived, that He was always holy, always gracious, always pure and unlike anything they had ever seen before. To be in His presence must have been as exhilarating as it was wondrous, and there was no aspect of Jesus that they wanted to miss. But in the end St. Matthew tells us that: they left Him and went away.
What were they leaving behind? They were walking away from the only One who can save us from sin, and fulfill the obligations we owe to God and Caesar.
As odious as it might seem sometimes, even citizens of heaven must fulfill their obligations to Caesar. Not only for fear of punishment, but out or reverence for God as well, who established government as His ministers to keep order in the sinful world. Usually we don’t like the things Caesar demands of us. He has an insatiable appetite for our money, he likes to send us traffic tickets in the mail, and send our children off to fight senseless wars. He’s never quite happy until he controls everything and everyone.
That’s not the way God wants things to be. He expects those who govern to be noble and to rule with wisdom. He charges them to make intelligent laws that reward people for doing good, and punish them for doing evil. But more often than not those things get turned around. And so the kings of the world must remember that they, too, have a King to whom they are answerable; a king named Jesus, who is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Caesar loves power and glory. He loves to coin money and put his name and picture on it so that we never forget who it belongs to. But Jesus doesn’t criticize him for this. Instead He instructs us: render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars. If we do Caesar is happy.
But things aren’t so simple regarding our obligations to God because He isn’t satisfied with mere outward performance. We can’t get Him out of our hair or out or our conscience by filling in paperwork and paying money. God demands more of us than anyone can possibly fulfill. He requires that we fear, love and trust in Him above all things. He insists that we live our lives like Jesus did, giving our full time and attention to Him, but this is impossible for sinners to do.
And so Jesus came to our rescue, came to save us and to do all the things that we cannot. Not only did He obey the civil law and even submit His life to it, but He did much more! He fulfilled the righteous demands of God’s law for us, and then died to expiate our sins. This is what the Scribes, and all who reject Jesus today leave behind, the only Savior and friend a sinner ever had.
However sad a commentary that is, please understand that it’s the natural tendency of us all. Left to our own devices we to, would walk away, but God calls us by the Gospel to come to Jesus, never to leave Him behind.
Not the Jesus of modern theology, but St. Matthew’s Jesus!
The One who saw the evil intent of the Scribes, and called them on it. The One who made them “feel bad” without apology and never a thought of attending an “anger management” seminar. The One who antagonized them to such a degree that they manufactured whatever evidence it would take to get rid of Him. (Luke 23:2) The One who was: handed over for our trespasses, and raised again for our justification (Romans 4:25). The One who “while we were yet sinners…died for the ungodly,” and who became the Wisdom and Power of God (1 Cor 1:30), and the source of eternal Salvation for all who put their hope in Him.
Through the Church God still calls out to all men to repent of their sins, believe the Gospel, and be baptized. He calls out to us all to learn true wisdom from His Word, to join the church in her Holy Communion, to live each day as citizens of heaven, and to wait patiently for our Savior to return, who will change our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. Amen.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
22nd Sunday After Trinity
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
November 8, 20079
22nd Sunday after Trinity
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:26-27
Before we consider the obvious lesson of the parable, let’s take a moment to think about the less evident but more important one, namely that Jesus is the Merciful Lord of the parable, who paid the debt we owe by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. This is our faith, our life, our hope and our joy.
Jesus is the Merciful Lord. Numerous times in His earthly ministry people called on Him for aid and He answered them all: the thief on the cross who was suffering the wages of his sin; the Canaanite woman who was willing to eat crumbs because she loved her daughter more than her pride; and the father of a self-destructive son who was possessed by a demon to name just a few. They didn’t ask Jesus for silver or gold or jewels but only for mercy and He gave it because they believed and asked. May we all so believe, and so call upon our Lord Jesus Christ in every trouble whatever it might be, and know that He will always hear us and extend mercy to us.
Jesus isn’t only our Merciful Lord, but our Merciful Servant as well. He says in Matthew 20:28 “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus did many things in His earthly ministry. He preached God’s Word, taught heavenly wisdom to earthly people, miraculously reversed the consequences of sin and kept the Law perfectly on our behalf. All of these things were vital parts His saving mission, but the one thing we glory in above all is the Cross of Christ which still towers over the wrecks of time, and still confers grace, mercy and peace to sinners throughout the ages.
When Jesus died God forgave the sins of the world, all of them, including yours. Always remember that and never doubt it. But the problem with sin is that we can’t see it with our eyes. We can see its effects; most obviously in the way we interact with one another, amusing ourselves by abusing one another.
Why else does a man on Cleveland’s east side rape and murder eleven women? Why else do those in power print and borrow money like there’s no tomorrow and send the bill to us and our children? What do their balance sheets look like before the Lord?
But more importantly, what does ours look like? Are we better than they? Less sinful? More righteous? Kinder or gentler? God forbid! Scripture emphatically states that, “there is none that is righteous, no not one.” (Romans 3:10).
We all plot to game the system.
We all want a free ride.
We’re all more than happy to accept pardon for the mountains of debt we owe, but un-willing to extend the same pardon to those whose debt is but a mole hill by comparison.
No, we can’t see sin with our eyes, and divine justice is something in the foggy future. And so in order to teach us this central lesson of the Christian faith Jesus uses a parable in which He compares sin to debt.
The Unmerciful Servant was in dire trouble. Like much of the financial world today he had borrowed too much money. He was up to eyeballs in debt and now it was time to repay, but his investments all went suddenly south. He was upside down, under water, and had no way to pay what he owed. Unlike today there were no bailouts in Jesus’ day. But there were debtor prisons and a strict code of justice which if applied today would land many of the world’s financiers into a deep, dark, dank prison.
But lest we feel smug please know that the parable isn’t about Wall Street, it’s about Main Street. It’s about us. We too have incurred unsustainable debt before God and man by our countless transgressions. (Luke 15:21) Every violation is like money borrowed that we must pay back. But like the Unmerciful Servant we have no means, and so all that remains for us is to be sold into temporal and eternal punishment.
The Unmerciful Servant was no fool however, nor should we be. He entered negotiations without a leg to stand on, and not a chance in the world of winning. His desperate request was not to be forgiven, but only for more time. It wouldn’t have helped because he never could have paid back the debt he owed, and neither can we. But in the end it didn’t matter because he got much more than he ever bargained for, the Merciful Lord forgave the entire debt and set him free! And so it is with us!
We too have been released. We too have been set free from the consequences of our sins before God. Not by bargaining, but by confessing and believing. St. John states in his first epistle that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un-righteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Why does he say that?
He says “just” because the Merciful Servant paid our debt, in full, on the cross and there is no balance due. And He says “faithful” because God does exactly what He had promised to do from the beginning, namely to forgive our iniquity and remember our sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)
We said earlier that the parable is about Jesus who is the Merciful Lord and Servant, but it’s about us too. Once we grasp the divine transaction that occurred on the Cross, and the mountain of debt that has been forgiven us, it is incumbent upon us to forgive the mole hill of debt that others owe us.
Those mole hills can often seem like mountains to us. People can be cruel and heartless. They can rob us of joy and make us wish we were never born. That’s the reality of life in a sinful world and we must never, like so many co-dependants, deny it or minimize it. But as Forgiven Servants we must acknowledge that the debt of sin we owed to God was immeasurably greater than the debts that others owe to us; and that it’s our high Calling in Christ to forgive others even as God in Christ has forgiven us. (Eph. 4:32)
We have no duty to expose ourselves to the assaults of others. Nor should we confuse forgiving wrong, with excusing it. Nor can we forgive the sins people commit against others, against society, or remit civil penalties.
Never-the-less forgiveness lies at the very heart of the Christian faith; God’s forgiveness extended to us in Christ, and our forgiveness extended to others who desire it from us.
It’s not always easy to do, and the repetitive sins we commit against one another often make us weary. And so we pray that the Father of all mercies, and God of all comfort would grant us a hearty faith to believe that He has pardoned all our debt in Christ; and strengthen us to forgive those who trespass against us. Amen.
s
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
November 8, 20079
22nd Sunday after Trinity
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:26-27
Before we consider the obvious lesson of the parable, let’s take a moment to think about the less evident but more important one, namely that Jesus is the Merciful Lord of the parable, who paid the debt we owe by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. This is our faith, our life, our hope and our joy.
Jesus is the Merciful Lord. Numerous times in His earthly ministry people called on Him for aid and He answered them all: the thief on the cross who was suffering the wages of his sin; the Canaanite woman who was willing to eat crumbs because she loved her daughter more than her pride; and the father of a self-destructive son who was possessed by a demon to name just a few. They didn’t ask Jesus for silver or gold or jewels but only for mercy and He gave it because they believed and asked. May we all so believe, and so call upon our Lord Jesus Christ in every trouble whatever it might be, and know that He will always hear us and extend mercy to us.
Jesus isn’t only our Merciful Lord, but our Merciful Servant as well. He says in Matthew 20:28 “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus did many things in His earthly ministry. He preached God’s Word, taught heavenly wisdom to earthly people, miraculously reversed the consequences of sin and kept the Law perfectly on our behalf. All of these things were vital parts His saving mission, but the one thing we glory in above all is the Cross of Christ which still towers over the wrecks of time, and still confers grace, mercy and peace to sinners throughout the ages.
When Jesus died God forgave the sins of the world, all of them, including yours. Always remember that and never doubt it. But the problem with sin is that we can’t see it with our eyes. We can see its effects; most obviously in the way we interact with one another, amusing ourselves by abusing one another.
Why else does a man on Cleveland’s east side rape and murder eleven women? Why else do those in power print and borrow money like there’s no tomorrow and send the bill to us and our children? What do their balance sheets look like before the Lord?
But more importantly, what does ours look like? Are we better than they? Less sinful? More righteous? Kinder or gentler? God forbid! Scripture emphatically states that, “there is none that is righteous, no not one.” (Romans 3:10).
We all plot to game the system.
We all want a free ride.
We’re all more than happy to accept pardon for the mountains of debt we owe, but un-willing to extend the same pardon to those whose debt is but a mole hill by comparison.
No, we can’t see sin with our eyes, and divine justice is something in the foggy future. And so in order to teach us this central lesson of the Christian faith Jesus uses a parable in which He compares sin to debt.
The Unmerciful Servant was in dire trouble. Like much of the financial world today he had borrowed too much money. He was up to eyeballs in debt and now it was time to repay, but his investments all went suddenly south. He was upside down, under water, and had no way to pay what he owed. Unlike today there were no bailouts in Jesus’ day. But there were debtor prisons and a strict code of justice which if applied today would land many of the world’s financiers into a deep, dark, dank prison.
But lest we feel smug please know that the parable isn’t about Wall Street, it’s about Main Street. It’s about us. We too have incurred unsustainable debt before God and man by our countless transgressions. (Luke 15:21) Every violation is like money borrowed that we must pay back. But like the Unmerciful Servant we have no means, and so all that remains for us is to be sold into temporal and eternal punishment.
The Unmerciful Servant was no fool however, nor should we be. He entered negotiations without a leg to stand on, and not a chance in the world of winning. His desperate request was not to be forgiven, but only for more time. It wouldn’t have helped because he never could have paid back the debt he owed, and neither can we. But in the end it didn’t matter because he got much more than he ever bargained for, the Merciful Lord forgave the entire debt and set him free! And so it is with us!
We too have been released. We too have been set free from the consequences of our sins before God. Not by bargaining, but by confessing and believing. St. John states in his first epistle that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un-righteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Why does he say that?
He says “just” because the Merciful Servant paid our debt, in full, on the cross and there is no balance due. And He says “faithful” because God does exactly what He had promised to do from the beginning, namely to forgive our iniquity and remember our sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)
We said earlier that the parable is about Jesus who is the Merciful Lord and Servant, but it’s about us too. Once we grasp the divine transaction that occurred on the Cross, and the mountain of debt that has been forgiven us, it is incumbent upon us to forgive the mole hill of debt that others owe us.
Those mole hills can often seem like mountains to us. People can be cruel and heartless. They can rob us of joy and make us wish we were never born. That’s the reality of life in a sinful world and we must never, like so many co-dependants, deny it or minimize it. But as Forgiven Servants we must acknowledge that the debt of sin we owed to God was immeasurably greater than the debts that others owe to us; and that it’s our high Calling in Christ to forgive others even as God in Christ has forgiven us. (Eph. 4:32)
We have no duty to expose ourselves to the assaults of others. Nor should we confuse forgiving wrong, with excusing it. Nor can we forgive the sins people commit against others, against society, or remit civil penalties.
Never-the-less forgiveness lies at the very heart of the Christian faith; God’s forgiveness extended to us in Christ, and our forgiveness extended to others who desire it from us.
It’s not always easy to do, and the repetitive sins we commit against one another often make us weary. And so we pray that the Father of all mercies, and God of all comfort would grant us a hearty faith to believe that He has pardoned all our debt in Christ; and strengthen us to forgive those who trespass against us. Amen.
s
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
