This morning at 900hrs (CST) the Mrs. and I left Daphne, AL for Crestview FL to meet up with Fr. Vance Tech. We met Fr. Tech at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Crestview and stopped in to see if they had any .380 or .45 ammo. Yesterday in Daphne AL, at a place called Bass Pro Shop, I found 4, 50 rd. boxes of 230 grain .45 ball ammo for $23 out the door per box, a great price. But both the Daphne and Crestview FL Wal-Mart's had no handgun ammo to speak of.
We left and made our way south to Fort Walton Beach, FL where we met up with Frs. Wes Kan and Randall Ehrichs. We lunched on the patio of The Original Crab Shack, next to the harbor waters, it was idyllic. Since alcohol doesn't agree with Fr. Kan, and since he's from Hawaii, I drank a Blue Hawaiin in this honor. It's a foo-foo drink made with vodka and other items, it was okay for a girl's drink. That was followed up by Chivas Regal and Bud on draft, lunch and another Chivas and Bud. (Once a beer swigging blue-collar worker from the West Side of Cleveland...).
Frs. Tech and Kan are also pipe smokers, and Fr. Kan was good enough to bring along a small collection of good cigars. The other good Fathers imbibed various gifts of God, and the Mrs. had a Margerita. The food was quite good, nothing like sea food on the Gulf Coast. We sat and talked theology and traded good-natured humor for 2 1/2 hours, the weather was beautiful. Though we wanted to day to go on and on, all good things must come to an end.
We parted and drove with Fr. Tech the 31 miles back to Crestview. I asked Fr. Tech if there was a place to buy ammo in Crestview. He accompanied us to Jay's Guns & Ammo. Their products were hyper-expensive so our time there was short, hopefully we'll find something more affordable in TX. It's not that much fun to go to the range if you have to conserve ammo.
Unfortunately Fr. Lydick, also of Panama City, FL, was still recovering from spinal surgery and couldn't join us, last year we had a great time together. I hope to return next year for a repeat performance.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Seventh Sunday After Trinity
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
July 26, 2009
7th Sunday After Trinity
And He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks He broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd and they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He commanded that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people, and He sent them on their way. Mark 8:67-9
When anyone talks religion always pay attention to the verbs. Ask yourself: who is the doer of the action? Is it man or is it Christ? Jesus isn’t the only actor in today’s gospel lesson but He is the central One, and the One we should watch closely if we hope to grow in grace.
Watch the verbs! If the church is to preach the Gospel of Christ, and not “another gospel,” (Galatians 1:6) then Jesus must be the subject of every sentence and doer of every verb. When He is, we can be sure our hungry souls will be filled with good things even in the most barren land. But when He isn’t be just as sure that we will die of starvation in the desert of sin.
In today’s gospel lesson Jesus is everything, as it should be. But in a recent article which the Ohio District recommended to all its pastors we find something different. The article written by the Alban Institute said, “If you're a layperson in a congregation that's experiencing decline, whether the congregation thrives is ultimately up to you…”
It continues, “A congregation that is truly being church brings people into a loving…relationship with God.”
And again, “…a congregation's greatest asset…is the people who make up the congregation.”
Beloved, if the church’s success is up to us…if we are it’s greatest asset…then we’re doomed. We might just as well go home now with a muffin and Sunday PD and celebrate the ‘day of rest’ the way the world does. But if Christ’s activity among us in the Word and Sacraments is our greatest asset, then let us dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
Today’s gospel lesson is a masterpiece which teaches us that Jesus is exactly that, and always will be the Divine Doer in the Church.
The first thing Jesus does is “have compassion” on the crowds. It wasn’t the disciples who first noticed the problem, but Jesus. No surprise there. It was compassion that brought Him into our world in the first place. A world that apart from Him, tries in vain to satisfy its hunger with bread and circuses. This is what made Jesus so attractive, He filled men’s heads with holy thoughts. He made the forgiveness of sins and the glory of heaven a Present Reality, one so captivating that His hearers forgot they that were even hungry. But Jesus didn’t. He knows what we need to sustain our bodies and souls, and provides it all so that we will never faint under the burdens of life.
It’s Jesus also who poses the supply problem to His disciples. We learn from the other gospels that He already knew what He was going to do, but He asked the question only to test them. The Lord knows what He’s going to do for us as well, whatever it is that troubles us today. He’s testing us. Not to vex us, or to prove anything to Himself. He already knows we can do nothing without Him. But He does it to teach us to rely only on Him for all that we need, and to put His love to the test as our opening hymn says (TLH #29), only to see that it will never fail.
And it’s Jesus who makes the inquiry, “how many loaves do you have?” But what is seven loaves among so many people? Nothing at all. Nothing that is until placed in the hands of Jesus. This is how it is with the Holy Communion we have with Him this day. Bread and wine alone are nothing. But when the word and blessing of Jesus are added the finite becomes infinite, the secular sacred, and it sustains countless souls (TLH #305 v.5) with the remission of sins, and eternal life.
Jesus acts again. He directs the crowds to sit down. It’s not a small detail. Even in this church in the desert there were rubrics. Things were done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). If only all churches would learn this. There was no swaying, dancing, rocking or rolling, only reverent anticipation for what Jesus was about to give them. It’s the same today. We don’t just sit in church because it’s too wearisome to stand, but we sit to remember that we are being served by the Suffering Servant Himself, who died and rose again in order to nourish us with the food of immortality.
Jesus acts again. He receives the requested loaves and then returns them many times over. The same happens in Holy Communion. We offer the bread and wine to the Lord which He first gave us, and He returns it as the soul-nourishing body and blood of Christ, feeding us till we want no more (TLH #54).
Jesus acts again. When He received the bread He gave thanks to God. But it wasn’t an ordinary act of devotion that the Lord prayed that day. Jesus understood the incalculable value, scope and power of what God was about to do. As John the Baptist announced the coming Christ, so this communing of the 4,000 announced Jesus as He would give Himself on Holy Thursday, and to His church for all of history thereafter, and we are the recipients of that gift today.
Jesus acts again. He breaks the loaves symbolizing that His body would be broken by suffering and death, so that all might be forgiven of their sins and restored to peace and unity with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus acts again. He distributes the bounty by the hands of His disciples, and He still works this way today. He still ordains Watchmen and installs them on the Walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 62) in order that they might distribute the soul-nourishing Gospel to His people.¬¬ And those who follow in the Apostolic Office must do the same. They must always be careful to set God’s gifts before God’s people, and never their own agenda, or one in keeping with the latest ecclesiastical fad. To transgress in the matter is greatest possible crime for a pastor.
Jesus still cares for His people today. He provides all that we need for our bodies and souls, our hearts and our minds. And we as His people receive our daily bread with thanksgiving, and so are satisfied.
By definition, economics is the study of making the most efficient use of scarce resources, but with God there is no scarcity. Seven loaves feed 4,000 people and yield a remainder of seven baskets. Limitations are due to sin, but Jesus is holy, and so with Him as our Lord there is no limit. No limit to the blessings He will continue to give us or to the ongoing forgiveness and grace He will provide us. Nor will His mercy ever come to an end.
Finally, as the disciples gathered up the remaining food, may His Word remain with us as we leave this place so that we don’t faint as we go back to the vocations God gave us to fulfill. May His Word be on our minds, His body and blood coursing through our veins, His benediction in our ears, and a hymn of praise on our lips. Amen.
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
July 26, 2009
7th Sunday After Trinity
And He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks He broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd and they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He commanded that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people, and He sent them on their way. Mark 8:67-9
When anyone talks religion always pay attention to the verbs. Ask yourself: who is the doer of the action? Is it man or is it Christ? Jesus isn’t the only actor in today’s gospel lesson but He is the central One, and the One we should watch closely if we hope to grow in grace.
Watch the verbs! If the church is to preach the Gospel of Christ, and not “another gospel,” (Galatians 1:6) then Jesus must be the subject of every sentence and doer of every verb. When He is, we can be sure our hungry souls will be filled with good things even in the most barren land. But when He isn’t be just as sure that we will die of starvation in the desert of sin.
In today’s gospel lesson Jesus is everything, as it should be. But in a recent article which the Ohio District recommended to all its pastors we find something different. The article written by the Alban Institute said, “If you're a layperson in a congregation that's experiencing decline, whether the congregation thrives is ultimately up to you…”
It continues, “A congregation that is truly being church brings people into a loving…relationship with God.”
And again, “…a congregation's greatest asset…is the people who make up the congregation.”
Beloved, if the church’s success is up to us…if we are it’s greatest asset…then we’re doomed. We might just as well go home now with a muffin and Sunday PD and celebrate the ‘day of rest’ the way the world does. But if Christ’s activity among us in the Word and Sacraments is our greatest asset, then let us dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
Today’s gospel lesson is a masterpiece which teaches us that Jesus is exactly that, and always will be the Divine Doer in the Church.
The first thing Jesus does is “have compassion” on the crowds. It wasn’t the disciples who first noticed the problem, but Jesus. No surprise there. It was compassion that brought Him into our world in the first place. A world that apart from Him, tries in vain to satisfy its hunger with bread and circuses. This is what made Jesus so attractive, He filled men’s heads with holy thoughts. He made the forgiveness of sins and the glory of heaven a Present Reality, one so captivating that His hearers forgot they that were even hungry. But Jesus didn’t. He knows what we need to sustain our bodies and souls, and provides it all so that we will never faint under the burdens of life.
It’s Jesus also who poses the supply problem to His disciples. We learn from the other gospels that He already knew what He was going to do, but He asked the question only to test them. The Lord knows what He’s going to do for us as well, whatever it is that troubles us today. He’s testing us. Not to vex us, or to prove anything to Himself. He already knows we can do nothing without Him. But He does it to teach us to rely only on Him for all that we need, and to put His love to the test as our opening hymn says (TLH #29), only to see that it will never fail.
And it’s Jesus who makes the inquiry, “how many loaves do you have?” But what is seven loaves among so many people? Nothing at all. Nothing that is until placed in the hands of Jesus. This is how it is with the Holy Communion we have with Him this day. Bread and wine alone are nothing. But when the word and blessing of Jesus are added the finite becomes infinite, the secular sacred, and it sustains countless souls (TLH #305 v.5) with the remission of sins, and eternal life.
Jesus acts again. He directs the crowds to sit down. It’s not a small detail. Even in this church in the desert there were rubrics. Things were done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). If only all churches would learn this. There was no swaying, dancing, rocking or rolling, only reverent anticipation for what Jesus was about to give them. It’s the same today. We don’t just sit in church because it’s too wearisome to stand, but we sit to remember that we are being served by the Suffering Servant Himself, who died and rose again in order to nourish us with the food of immortality.
Jesus acts again. He receives the requested loaves and then returns them many times over. The same happens in Holy Communion. We offer the bread and wine to the Lord which He first gave us, and He returns it as the soul-nourishing body and blood of Christ, feeding us till we want no more (TLH #54).
Jesus acts again. When He received the bread He gave thanks to God. But it wasn’t an ordinary act of devotion that the Lord prayed that day. Jesus understood the incalculable value, scope and power of what God was about to do. As John the Baptist announced the coming Christ, so this communing of the 4,000 announced Jesus as He would give Himself on Holy Thursday, and to His church for all of history thereafter, and we are the recipients of that gift today.
Jesus acts again. He breaks the loaves symbolizing that His body would be broken by suffering and death, so that all might be forgiven of their sins and restored to peace and unity with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus acts again. He distributes the bounty by the hands of His disciples, and He still works this way today. He still ordains Watchmen and installs them on the Walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 62) in order that they might distribute the soul-nourishing Gospel to His people.¬¬ And those who follow in the Apostolic Office must do the same. They must always be careful to set God’s gifts before God’s people, and never their own agenda, or one in keeping with the latest ecclesiastical fad. To transgress in the matter is greatest possible crime for a pastor.
Jesus still cares for His people today. He provides all that we need for our bodies and souls, our hearts and our minds. And we as His people receive our daily bread with thanksgiving, and so are satisfied.
By definition, economics is the study of making the most efficient use of scarce resources, but with God there is no scarcity. Seven loaves feed 4,000 people and yield a remainder of seven baskets. Limitations are due to sin, but Jesus is holy, and so with Him as our Lord there is no limit. No limit to the blessings He will continue to give us or to the ongoing forgiveness and grace He will provide us. Nor will His mercy ever come to an end.
Finally, as the disciples gathered up the remaining food, may His Word remain with us as we leave this place so that we don’t faint as we go back to the vocations God gave us to fulfill. May His Word be on our minds, His body and blood coursing through our veins, His benediction in our ears, and a hymn of praise on our lips. Amen.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Sixth Sunday After Trinity
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
July 19, 2009
6th Sunday After Trinity
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:21-24
Pollution and ‘carbon footprints’ are all the rage, but there’s a more dangerous contamination we should be concerned about, namely, the tainting of our souls, and of the Lord’s Altar, with anger aimed at our brother.
We think a lot about the pollution we can see, but not so much the invisible contagion of anger. And so today’s Gospel lesson reminds us not to corrupt the Altar, but rather be reconciled to our brother and our God through Christ.
Jesus lays the burden of brotherly reconciliation on us.
He doesn’t say: “if you have a case against your brother,” but “if you remember that your brother has a case against you go and be reconciled.”
Why does the Lord speak this way? Because we expend our anger at others, and speak to our loved ones as if they’re the greatest fools earth has ever born, but in our sinful pride we don’t think we’ve done anything wrong. We have no case against our brother, why should we? We’ve spoken our mind and exhausted our wrath, but may not stop to think about the damage we’ve left in our wake, or what case our brother might legitimately have against us.
This is why we should never come to Holy Communion without first examining ourselves according to the ten commandments with their Christian explanation. Without first confessing our wrongs, receiving absolution from the pastor, “as if from God Himself” and being reconciled to our brother through Christ. This is why Individual Confession is preferable to General Confession. In it we have the chance to properly consider our sins; and most especially the opportunity to hear the Word of the Gospel spoken to us personally, to learn once again that Jesus became liable to our judgment, was thrown into the prison of death for us, and paid the last penny of our debt.
There are other ways of polluting the Rail as well. If we don’t comprehend with our whole mind, and believe with our whole heart that we are justified before God by faith alone, then we must not come to the Altar. The Sacrament can do no good for those who think they obtain righteousness before God by any means other than faith in the sufferings, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord. Only those who believe, and are baptized into this Christian faith may come, and by God grace we are among those people.
For God’s Redeemed the Altar has always been the place where heaven and earth intersect. The place where Jesus breaks into our earthly reality in order to feed us with His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins, for our Life and Salvation. That’s what happens, and what we receive in Holy Communion.
We taint the Altar, too, if we open it up to those who Confess a different faith. Holy Communion isn’t only Communion with Jesus, but also the highest expression of Unity in Faith with all the others who come to the Lord’s Altar. When a person presents himself at a church’s Altar he claims by that act that he is in full agreement and fellowship with that church, it’s people, its doctrine, its mission and its practice. People sometimes wonder if they can receive communion when visiting the church of another Denomination, as long as they hold the correct faith regarding the Suppers? The answer is: no, for the reasons just stated.
It’s not the answer we want to hear, but it’s the answer that Jesus gives. The Church didn’t invent Closed Communion, it’s something we learned from Jesus. At The First Communion the Lord communed only His Disciples. The Blessed Virgin, the other Mary’s, Sts. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimithea all had greater love and allegiance than the Disciples, but only they were invited because only they had been fully taught. Later these First Communicants would give this Sacrament to all who would learn the Apostle’s Doctrine, (Acts 2:42) believe it, Confess it, and be baptized into it. And because of God’s great love, we are among those people.
In the Eucharist, Jesus is Present with His church to forgive her, lead her, guide her and impart to her all that she needs so that even the very gates of hell cannot prevail against her.
The Altar is where the Promises of Matthew 18:20 (where two or three are gathered…I am with them), and Matthew 28:20 (I am with you always) are fulfilled. In the Sacrament Jesus puts our sins into remission, quells God’s wrath and averts the judgment our sins of anger have merited for us.
And so Jesus tells us in this lesson: don’t pollute the Lord’s Altar with anger or disbelief, instead come to it in order to be reconciled to your God and your brother through Him.
By the Spirit-born faith we received in baptism we are reconciled to God in Christ. At the Font we were Sacramentally crucified, buried and raised again with Him, as we heard in today’s epistle lesson. Baptism isn’t the parlor game that many theologies claim it to be, but rather a true restoration to God in Christ which never diminishes or finishes. No matter how great our loss to the forces of sin and death, in Holy Baptism our fortunes have been reversed, and like Naomi, our bitterness is turned to gladness. What begins at the Font continues at the Altar, and will be fulfilled in the Holiest Communion of all at the Messiah’s never-ending banquet. This is the glorious future which we have obtained from God, in Christ.
Since we have been so reconciled to God, let us be re-united with our brothers at the Altar as well, putting aside all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander and malice, and forgiving one another even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us. (Ephesians 4:31ff)
Let the world fret over greenhouse gasses if it likes, but let God’s people in Christ rejoice because we have been cleansed from sin’s pollution, and we live in the Green Pastures of His love. Amen.
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
July 19, 2009
6th Sunday After Trinity
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:21-24
Pollution and ‘carbon footprints’ are all the rage, but there’s a more dangerous contamination we should be concerned about, namely, the tainting of our souls, and of the Lord’s Altar, with anger aimed at our brother.
We think a lot about the pollution we can see, but not so much the invisible contagion of anger. And so today’s Gospel lesson reminds us not to corrupt the Altar, but rather be reconciled to our brother and our God through Christ.
Jesus lays the burden of brotherly reconciliation on us.
He doesn’t say: “if you have a case against your brother,” but “if you remember that your brother has a case against you go and be reconciled.”
Why does the Lord speak this way? Because we expend our anger at others, and speak to our loved ones as if they’re the greatest fools earth has ever born, but in our sinful pride we don’t think we’ve done anything wrong. We have no case against our brother, why should we? We’ve spoken our mind and exhausted our wrath, but may not stop to think about the damage we’ve left in our wake, or what case our brother might legitimately have against us.
This is why we should never come to Holy Communion without first examining ourselves according to the ten commandments with their Christian explanation. Without first confessing our wrongs, receiving absolution from the pastor, “as if from God Himself” and being reconciled to our brother through Christ. This is why Individual Confession is preferable to General Confession. In it we have the chance to properly consider our sins; and most especially the opportunity to hear the Word of the Gospel spoken to us personally, to learn once again that Jesus became liable to our judgment, was thrown into the prison of death for us, and paid the last penny of our debt.
There are other ways of polluting the Rail as well. If we don’t comprehend with our whole mind, and believe with our whole heart that we are justified before God by faith alone, then we must not come to the Altar. The Sacrament can do no good for those who think they obtain righteousness before God by any means other than faith in the sufferings, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord. Only those who believe, and are baptized into this Christian faith may come, and by God grace we are among those people.
For God’s Redeemed the Altar has always been the place where heaven and earth intersect. The place where Jesus breaks into our earthly reality in order to feed us with His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins, for our Life and Salvation. That’s what happens, and what we receive in Holy Communion.
We taint the Altar, too, if we open it up to those who Confess a different faith. Holy Communion isn’t only Communion with Jesus, but also the highest expression of Unity in Faith with all the others who come to the Lord’s Altar. When a person presents himself at a church’s Altar he claims by that act that he is in full agreement and fellowship with that church, it’s people, its doctrine, its mission and its practice. People sometimes wonder if they can receive communion when visiting the church of another Denomination, as long as they hold the correct faith regarding the Suppers? The answer is: no, for the reasons just stated.
It’s not the answer we want to hear, but it’s the answer that Jesus gives. The Church didn’t invent Closed Communion, it’s something we learned from Jesus. At The First Communion the Lord communed only His Disciples. The Blessed Virgin, the other Mary’s, Sts. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimithea all had greater love and allegiance than the Disciples, but only they were invited because only they had been fully taught. Later these First Communicants would give this Sacrament to all who would learn the Apostle’s Doctrine, (Acts 2:42) believe it, Confess it, and be baptized into it. And because of God’s great love, we are among those people.
In the Eucharist, Jesus is Present with His church to forgive her, lead her, guide her and impart to her all that she needs so that even the very gates of hell cannot prevail against her.
The Altar is where the Promises of Matthew 18:20 (where two or three are gathered…I am with them), and Matthew 28:20 (I am with you always) are fulfilled. In the Sacrament Jesus puts our sins into remission, quells God’s wrath and averts the judgment our sins of anger have merited for us.
And so Jesus tells us in this lesson: don’t pollute the Lord’s Altar with anger or disbelief, instead come to it in order to be reconciled to your God and your brother through Him.
By the Spirit-born faith we received in baptism we are reconciled to God in Christ. At the Font we were Sacramentally crucified, buried and raised again with Him, as we heard in today’s epistle lesson. Baptism isn’t the parlor game that many theologies claim it to be, but rather a true restoration to God in Christ which never diminishes or finishes. No matter how great our loss to the forces of sin and death, in Holy Baptism our fortunes have been reversed, and like Naomi, our bitterness is turned to gladness. What begins at the Font continues at the Altar, and will be fulfilled in the Holiest Communion of all at the Messiah’s never-ending banquet. This is the glorious future which we have obtained from God, in Christ.
Since we have been so reconciled to God, let us be re-united with our brothers at the Altar as well, putting aside all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander and malice, and forgiving one another even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us. (Ephesians 4:31ff)
Let the world fret over greenhouse gasses if it likes, but let God’s people in Christ rejoice because we have been cleansed from sin’s pollution, and we live in the Green Pastures of His love. Amen.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The Fifth Sunday After Trinity
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
July 12, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
5th Sunday After Trinity
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
When Peter witnessed the miracle we hear about in today’s gospel lesson, he had a double barrel reaction: first amazement, then fear. Both were the right reactions. But when he begged the Holy and Righteous One of God to get away from him, and to leave him in his sin, shame and darkness, there Peter had made a terrible mistake.
Like Manoah the father of Samson who had also seen God in person, Peter was afraid for his life. But he was badly mistaken in his estimation of the Lord because Jesus didn’t come to destroy sinners, or to abandon them, but to save them.
Peter qualified. He was a flesh and blood violator of all that is good, right and holy even as we are. But it wasn’t only the surface sins that made Peter feel so unworthy before God, but the pure midnight of his soul, now made evident against the back-drop of Jesus who is the Light of the world. This is what brought the salty old sea-dog to his knees. What he experienced that day was not only the power of God but also the person of God.
According to Luke, this wasn’t the first miracle Peter had witnessed. Prior to this point he had seen Jesus heal countless diseases with a touch, and expel vicious demons, which held iron grips over people’s lives, with a word. Peter had seen all this. But no where do we read that these wonders brought the stiff-necked, hard-headed Fisherman down to his knees in fear before Jesus.
Up to this point, Peter didn’t get it!
Even in the presence of all this power he still thought that he was a good man! He worked hard, played hard and did his part in the economy. He was, no doubt, proud of his accomplishments and his rugged individualism. Like all of us, Peter thought that he was a good person. But when he finally learned to know Jesus as Jesus wants to be known – as God-come-to-earth, then Peter realized that he was no longer such a big fish. His whole house of cards suddenly and irreversibly collapsed. He fell down on his knees and cried out in sheer terror “depart from me LORD, for I am a man who is filled with sin.”
With a simple command “let down your nets for a catch” the Lord of creation turned an otherwise bad fishing day into the greatest catch man had ever taken, so great that the nets began to tear and the boats began to sink with the weight! Now the Fisherman understood! Before this miracle he called Jesus “teacher.” But now, as divine revelation flooded his senses, he woke up from his sleep, arose from spiritual death and addressed Jesus, not as Teacher, but as Lord, as God, as Maker and Monarch and Ruler of all! (TLH 128).
Suddenly, witnessing the raw power of God, Peter recognized a vast deficiency in himself. It wasn’t a deficiency of money, wisdom or the ability to get the job done. It was a moral deficiency. A power shortage. An insufficiency of what Peter was and what Peter was not, namely, holy.
Jesus and Peter weren’t just two people with differing philosophies or opinions, they were people from two different realities! Peter was a sin-filled slave of the devil, shot through with self-esteem, self-love, self-righteousness and the ever-consuming lusts of the flesh. He was bursting with contempt for God, at war with his Creator, and we are no different.
We may not feel it.
We may not recognize it!
We may have embraced the philosophies of the surrounding culture, or been swept up in the prevailing winds of the LCMS, which were designed to keep our eye off the Ball of God’s Word.
We see the results of sin on the News and in the mirror, but we’re too blind to comprehend what the problem is.
It wasn’t just a matter of the things Peter did, it’s a matter of what he was, what he thought, what he loved and what he didn’t love. Nothing good, divine, God-pleasing or worthy of blessing existed in Peter because Peter had heart trouble! He was conceived and born in sin and apart from Christ could do nothing, and neither can we. (John 15:5)
In our Lutheran Confessions (Augsburg Confession, Article II), the church’s Reformers wrote this: “It is also taught among us that since the fall of Adam all men who are born according to the course of nature are conceived and born in sin. That is, all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mothers’ wombs and are unable by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God. Moreover, this inborn sickness and hereditary sin is truly sin and condemns to eternal wrath of God all those who are not born again through Baptism and the Holy Spirit…”
Peter didn’t need to “get into a program.” He needed to fall on his knees before Jesus, acknowledge his sin, believe the Gospel, and live a New Life in Christ. By God’s grace, and the working of the Holy Spirit, this is what he did. It’s what we did too! Or rather what was mercifully done to us, in us and for us when we were baptized into the name of the Triune God. Our “lusts and evil inclinations” were forgiven. Our “inborn sickness and hereditary sin,” which is “truly sin and condemns to eternal wrath of God” was cured. Like Peter we are Real Sinners, but Jesus is a real Savior.
If there’s any problem in our thinking today, it’s that we don’t take our need for the Savior seriously like Peter did. He recognized in this Son of God One who had power over nature, and over the ravages of humanity’s evil. That day he learned that Jesus could catch men as easily as He could bring fish out of Lake Genessaret. That day he left all he had ever known, and followed Jesus, and may we do the same.
The Good News for us this morning is found in two little words Jesus spoke to Peter. Fear not! Wonderful words when spoken by God to sin-filled man. But words which brought enormous fear to the One who spoke them. This benediction which our Lord so freely bestows upon us, caused the Son of God to sweat blood; to pray to His dear Heavenly Father who always heard Him, that if there were any other way…that this cup might pass from Him. But there was none. Jesus drank it, died and by His death, trampled death. But because He is holy, God raised Him from the dead, and now we drink of Him. We eat His flesh and drink His blood and have a share in the Life of Jesus which quells our every fear, and fills us with inexpressible joy.
Fear not! Those two words, spoken by Jesus remove our sins, and give us Life, Strength, Courage and Peace as we do battle with sin and death each day.
Don’t be afraid Dear Christians. Don’t be afraid of judgment, of the devil, of the world, or of the crosses we must bear today or tomorrow. Jesus will never leave us. We cannot drive Him away. No sin will make him leave us. No sadness will make Him abandon us. No circumstance will make Him forsake us. And no sorrow will make Him depart from us. He didn’t leave Peter and He won’t leave us. We have been caught in the net of His love and gathered into the Nave of His church, which will bring us safely to Canaan’s Shores. Amen
Cleveland, Ohio
July 12, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
5th Sunday After Trinity
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
When Peter witnessed the miracle we hear about in today’s gospel lesson, he had a double barrel reaction: first amazement, then fear. Both were the right reactions. But when he begged the Holy and Righteous One of God to get away from him, and to leave him in his sin, shame and darkness, there Peter had made a terrible mistake.
Like Manoah the father of Samson who had also seen God in person, Peter was afraid for his life. But he was badly mistaken in his estimation of the Lord because Jesus didn’t come to destroy sinners, or to abandon them, but to save them.
Peter qualified. He was a flesh and blood violator of all that is good, right and holy even as we are. But it wasn’t only the surface sins that made Peter feel so unworthy before God, but the pure midnight of his soul, now made evident against the back-drop of Jesus who is the Light of the world. This is what brought the salty old sea-dog to his knees. What he experienced that day was not only the power of God but also the person of God.
According to Luke, this wasn’t the first miracle Peter had witnessed. Prior to this point he had seen Jesus heal countless diseases with a touch, and expel vicious demons, which held iron grips over people’s lives, with a word. Peter had seen all this. But no where do we read that these wonders brought the stiff-necked, hard-headed Fisherman down to his knees in fear before Jesus.
Up to this point, Peter didn’t get it!
Even in the presence of all this power he still thought that he was a good man! He worked hard, played hard and did his part in the economy. He was, no doubt, proud of his accomplishments and his rugged individualism. Like all of us, Peter thought that he was a good person. But when he finally learned to know Jesus as Jesus wants to be known – as God-come-to-earth, then Peter realized that he was no longer such a big fish. His whole house of cards suddenly and irreversibly collapsed. He fell down on his knees and cried out in sheer terror “depart from me LORD, for I am a man who is filled with sin.”
With a simple command “let down your nets for a catch” the Lord of creation turned an otherwise bad fishing day into the greatest catch man had ever taken, so great that the nets began to tear and the boats began to sink with the weight! Now the Fisherman understood! Before this miracle he called Jesus “teacher.” But now, as divine revelation flooded his senses, he woke up from his sleep, arose from spiritual death and addressed Jesus, not as Teacher, but as Lord, as God, as Maker and Monarch and Ruler of all! (TLH 128).
Suddenly, witnessing the raw power of God, Peter recognized a vast deficiency in himself. It wasn’t a deficiency of money, wisdom or the ability to get the job done. It was a moral deficiency. A power shortage. An insufficiency of what Peter was and what Peter was not, namely, holy.
Jesus and Peter weren’t just two people with differing philosophies or opinions, they were people from two different realities! Peter was a sin-filled slave of the devil, shot through with self-esteem, self-love, self-righteousness and the ever-consuming lusts of the flesh. He was bursting with contempt for God, at war with his Creator, and we are no different.
We may not feel it.
We may not recognize it!
We may have embraced the philosophies of the surrounding culture, or been swept up in the prevailing winds of the LCMS, which were designed to keep our eye off the Ball of God’s Word.
We see the results of sin on the News and in the mirror, but we’re too blind to comprehend what the problem is.
It wasn’t just a matter of the things Peter did, it’s a matter of what he was, what he thought, what he loved and what he didn’t love. Nothing good, divine, God-pleasing or worthy of blessing existed in Peter because Peter had heart trouble! He was conceived and born in sin and apart from Christ could do nothing, and neither can we. (John 15:5)
In our Lutheran Confessions (Augsburg Confession, Article II), the church’s Reformers wrote this: “It is also taught among us that since the fall of Adam all men who are born according to the course of nature are conceived and born in sin. That is, all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mothers’ wombs and are unable by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God. Moreover, this inborn sickness and hereditary sin is truly sin and condemns to eternal wrath of God all those who are not born again through Baptism and the Holy Spirit…”
Peter didn’t need to “get into a program.” He needed to fall on his knees before Jesus, acknowledge his sin, believe the Gospel, and live a New Life in Christ. By God’s grace, and the working of the Holy Spirit, this is what he did. It’s what we did too! Or rather what was mercifully done to us, in us and for us when we were baptized into the name of the Triune God. Our “lusts and evil inclinations” were forgiven. Our “inborn sickness and hereditary sin,” which is “truly sin and condemns to eternal wrath of God” was cured. Like Peter we are Real Sinners, but Jesus is a real Savior.
If there’s any problem in our thinking today, it’s that we don’t take our need for the Savior seriously like Peter did. He recognized in this Son of God One who had power over nature, and over the ravages of humanity’s evil. That day he learned that Jesus could catch men as easily as He could bring fish out of Lake Genessaret. That day he left all he had ever known, and followed Jesus, and may we do the same.
The Good News for us this morning is found in two little words Jesus spoke to Peter. Fear not! Wonderful words when spoken by God to sin-filled man. But words which brought enormous fear to the One who spoke them. This benediction which our Lord so freely bestows upon us, caused the Son of God to sweat blood; to pray to His dear Heavenly Father who always heard Him, that if there were any other way…that this cup might pass from Him. But there was none. Jesus drank it, died and by His death, trampled death. But because He is holy, God raised Him from the dead, and now we drink of Him. We eat His flesh and drink His blood and have a share in the Life of Jesus which quells our every fear, and fills us with inexpressible joy.
Fear not! Those two words, spoken by Jesus remove our sins, and give us Life, Strength, Courage and Peace as we do battle with sin and death each day.
Don’t be afraid Dear Christians. Don’t be afraid of judgment, of the devil, of the world, or of the crosses we must bear today or tomorrow. Jesus will never leave us. We cannot drive Him away. No sin will make him leave us. No sadness will make Him abandon us. No circumstance will make Him forsake us. And no sorrow will make Him depart from us. He didn’t leave Peter and He won’t leave us. We have been caught in the net of His love and gathered into the Nave of His church, which will bring us safely to Canaan’s Shores. Amen
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The Fourth Sunday After Trinity
Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
July 5, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
4th Sunday After Trinity
Be merciful even as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36
Mercy isn’t a spectator sport. The entire culture thinks that it is, and we’re tempted to believe it, and so we need to hear what Jesus says in today’s gospel lesson.
If the example of the world is to be believed all we need to do in order to be compassionate, is talk about the world’s “injustices” with the right amount of moral outrage in our voices.
Complicating the problem is the example set by our elected officials. They love to be merciful with other people’s money. They compel us to be sympathetic to those they call “less fortunate” through taxation, but forced pity is no substitute for Christian mercy. There’s little we can do about that problem, nor should we waste our energy fretting about it. The kings of the earth will have their day of reckoning with the King of kings, and so will we all if we judge others from a vantage point of moral superiority.
It’s true that there’s little we can do about the problem, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything. Our call as Christians isn’t to topple governments or even to fix them, but to be merciful toward others, even as our Father in heaven is merciful to us.
Mercy isn’t merely a theory for Christians, but something that expresses itself in the definitive forms Jesus talks about in today’s gospel lesson.
But before we speak about them, we should first remember the Gospel, which is our salvation, and the basis for the kindness we show to others.
The Father’s love is legendary! When He first reveals His attributes to Moses in Exodus (34:6-7) mercy is at the head of the list. It’s at the head because it’s the most important one, and all the others – gracious, slow to anger, forgiving iniquity and so on...all these get their definition from it.
The word ‘mercy’ in Scripture is derived from: the love that a mother has for the child in her womb. That love is real, constant and undeniable. And this is why, no matter how hard society tries to justify it, women who abort their babies suffer endless guilt. Guilt that can’t be healed by all the anti-depressants in the world, but only by Confession and God’s certain mercy given in Holy Absolution.
How did God show His mercy for us? Not by throwing money at the problem! But by giving His Son to suffer and die on our behalf. To let all the judgment and condemnation of our transgressions fall on Him. He received no mercy as He was judged before Pilate, fastened to the whipping post, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cross. He received no answer when he asked: My God, my God why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34) No answer that is, until the third day when God raised Him from the dead, even as He will do for us. And so rest assured Beloved in Christ, be happy and joyful, because we are the recipients of the Father’s abundant mercy in Christ.
And this is the basis of the love we show to others. Be merciful, not by government decree, not to merit God’s favor, not to receive something in return or to assuage liberal guilt. But be merciful because the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has been gracious and merciful to us.
Mercy isn’t a spectator sport. Once we firmly believe that we are the recipients of God’ Love, then we learn from Jesus how to express it to others.
First, it’s demonstrated when we refrain from judging others. This is a much misunderstood term today. When Jesus admonishes us not to judge others it doesn’t mean that should ignore the distinctions between right and wrong or truth and falsehood. It doesn’t mean that we should approve of people’s sins. Nor should we accept it when people use the Lord’s words as a “gag order” to silence preaching of the Law. When Jesus cautions us not to judge or condemn others, He means that we should not consider ourselves morally superior to them. It’s a harsh warning because the pull of this sin is so strong on this matter, and we all do, in fact, consider ourselves more righteous than others. We deem ourselves and our opinions the Standard that everyone else should live up to. But mercy isn’t a spectator sport. Be merciful, as your Father in heaven has been merciful to you, and don’t judge others.
Secondly, we show mercy when we give generously to others. This verse isn’t meant to promote socialism, enabling, or the redistribution of wealth. In Jesus’ day there were no safety nets. There were no food stamps, Section 8 housing, Catholic Charities or United Way. The poor were condemned to a life of squalor and could only rise above it if people were generous with them. There are cases of true need today that demand our time, our trouble and our money, and usually they’re very close to home. Mercy isn’t a spectator sport, and so take note of these situations and be merciful, even as your Father in heaven is merciful.
Thirdly, we show mercy to others when we throw off ignorance and eagerly learn the Christian faith. We should all be well versed in the Bible, the Catechism, the Creeds and in the various disciplines of classical education. When we know these things we’re qualified to give people who inquire an eternal perspective. Especially that the sufferings of this present age, aren’t worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. Most of us are not pastors, but within the sphere of our daily vocations there is always a need to dispel error, speak eternal truths, and give true consolation in Christ to those who suffer. Mercy isn’t a spectator sport, and so cast off your blindness, so that you can show people the to glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.
Fourth, we show mercy when we take the log out of our own eye, rather than obsessing over the speck in our brother’s eye. The former will take a lifetime, and that leaves little time for the latter. One of the Great Sins of our age, one that’s been institutionalized by the puritanical culture we live in, is the sin of being a busy-body. The sin of interfering in everyone else’s life, when our own life is a disaster. Jesus counsels, first take the log out of your own eye, then you’ll be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Here is a true act of mercy.
Mercy isn’t a spectator sport. First, we receive God’s loving-kindness by faith, and then we express it to others in the ways Jesus outlines for us today. Not in a flamboyant manner, but quietly, steadily and humbly, never growing weary in well-doing. (2 Thessalonians 3:13 & Galatians 6:9)
We sin against mercy often, and so we come to God’s House just as often to confess our sins, receive the absolution, and be strengthened by His Word and Sacrament. May God’s mercy continue in and among us each day. Amen.
Cleveland, Ohio
July 5, 2009
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
4th Sunday After Trinity
Be merciful even as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36
Mercy isn’t a spectator sport. The entire culture thinks that it is, and we’re tempted to believe it, and so we need to hear what Jesus says in today’s gospel lesson.
If the example of the world is to be believed all we need to do in order to be compassionate, is talk about the world’s “injustices” with the right amount of moral outrage in our voices.
Complicating the problem is the example set by our elected officials. They love to be merciful with other people’s money. They compel us to be sympathetic to those they call “less fortunate” through taxation, but forced pity is no substitute for Christian mercy. There’s little we can do about that problem, nor should we waste our energy fretting about it. The kings of the earth will have their day of reckoning with the King of kings, and so will we all if we judge others from a vantage point of moral superiority.
It’s true that there’s little we can do about the problem, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything. Our call as Christians isn’t to topple governments or even to fix them, but to be merciful toward others, even as our Father in heaven is merciful to us.
Mercy isn’t merely a theory for Christians, but something that expresses itself in the definitive forms Jesus talks about in today’s gospel lesson.
But before we speak about them, we should first remember the Gospel, which is our salvation, and the basis for the kindness we show to others.
The Father’s love is legendary! When He first reveals His attributes to Moses in Exodus (34:6-7) mercy is at the head of the list. It’s at the head because it’s the most important one, and all the others – gracious, slow to anger, forgiving iniquity and so on...all these get their definition from it.
The word ‘mercy’ in Scripture is derived from: the love that a mother has for the child in her womb. That love is real, constant and undeniable. And this is why, no matter how hard society tries to justify it, women who abort their babies suffer endless guilt. Guilt that can’t be healed by all the anti-depressants in the world, but only by Confession and God’s certain mercy given in Holy Absolution.
How did God show His mercy for us? Not by throwing money at the problem! But by giving His Son to suffer and die on our behalf. To let all the judgment and condemnation of our transgressions fall on Him. He received no mercy as He was judged before Pilate, fastened to the whipping post, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cross. He received no answer when he asked: My God, my God why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34) No answer that is, until the third day when God raised Him from the dead, even as He will do for us. And so rest assured Beloved in Christ, be happy and joyful, because we are the recipients of the Father’s abundant mercy in Christ.
And this is the basis of the love we show to others. Be merciful, not by government decree, not to merit God’s favor, not to receive something in return or to assuage liberal guilt. But be merciful because the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has been gracious and merciful to us.
Mercy isn’t a spectator sport. Once we firmly believe that we are the recipients of God’ Love, then we learn from Jesus how to express it to others.
First, it’s demonstrated when we refrain from judging others. This is a much misunderstood term today. When Jesus admonishes us not to judge others it doesn’t mean that should ignore the distinctions between right and wrong or truth and falsehood. It doesn’t mean that we should approve of people’s sins. Nor should we accept it when people use the Lord’s words as a “gag order” to silence preaching of the Law. When Jesus cautions us not to judge or condemn others, He means that we should not consider ourselves morally superior to them. It’s a harsh warning because the pull of this sin is so strong on this matter, and we all do, in fact, consider ourselves more righteous than others. We deem ourselves and our opinions the Standard that everyone else should live up to. But mercy isn’t a spectator sport. Be merciful, as your Father in heaven has been merciful to you, and don’t judge others.
Secondly, we show mercy when we give generously to others. This verse isn’t meant to promote socialism, enabling, or the redistribution of wealth. In Jesus’ day there were no safety nets. There were no food stamps, Section 8 housing, Catholic Charities or United Way. The poor were condemned to a life of squalor and could only rise above it if people were generous with them. There are cases of true need today that demand our time, our trouble and our money, and usually they’re very close to home. Mercy isn’t a spectator sport, and so take note of these situations and be merciful, even as your Father in heaven is merciful.
Thirdly, we show mercy to others when we throw off ignorance and eagerly learn the Christian faith. We should all be well versed in the Bible, the Catechism, the Creeds and in the various disciplines of classical education. When we know these things we’re qualified to give people who inquire an eternal perspective. Especially that the sufferings of this present age, aren’t worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. Most of us are not pastors, but within the sphere of our daily vocations there is always a need to dispel error, speak eternal truths, and give true consolation in Christ to those who suffer. Mercy isn’t a spectator sport, and so cast off your blindness, so that you can show people the to glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.
Fourth, we show mercy when we take the log out of our own eye, rather than obsessing over the speck in our brother’s eye. The former will take a lifetime, and that leaves little time for the latter. One of the Great Sins of our age, one that’s been institutionalized by the puritanical culture we live in, is the sin of being a busy-body. The sin of interfering in everyone else’s life, when our own life is a disaster. Jesus counsels, first take the log out of your own eye, then you’ll be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Here is a true act of mercy.
Mercy isn’t a spectator sport. First, we receive God’s loving-kindness by faith, and then we express it to others in the ways Jesus outlines for us today. Not in a flamboyant manner, but quietly, steadily and humbly, never growing weary in well-doing. (2 Thessalonians 3:13 & Galatians 6:9)
We sin against mercy often, and so we come to God’s House just as often to confess our sins, receive the absolution, and be strengthened by His Word and Sacrament. May God’s mercy continue in and among us each day. Amen.
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