“Overcoming Evil” (Romans 12:9-21)

Romans 12:9-21

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“Overcoming Evil” Romans 12:9-21
Pastor Tom Johnson, August 30, 2020

Paul’s letter to the Romans encourages us to live out our Christian faith with authenticity and victory—with sincerity and joy. It’s packed with the wisdom of the Cross of Christ. It helps us navigate the evil. It helps us improve our relationships with sisters and brothers in Christ and our unbelieving neighbors. “Let love be genuine,” our Scripture says, “hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good. ...Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

“Do not be overcome by evil.”

That is what happens when we do not understand or live out the wisdom of the Cross of Christ. We are overcome by evil when we lean on our own understanding—when we think more highly of ourselves than we ought and lack sober judgment. We allow evil to overcome us when we play by evil’s rules and not by the reign of Jesus and his Kingdom. We are actually handing over the victory to our enemies when we retaliate and try to avenge ourselves. Rabbi Abraham Twerski says, “harboring your resentment is allowing someone you don’t like to live inside your head without paying any rent.” “I’m not that kind of guy,” he quips. “I’m not that nice.”

We give our power away to difficult and toxic people when we ruminate and harbor bitterness. They predominate our thoughts. They drain the life out of us. Over 250 years ago, Pastor Johann Bengel said that “to retaliate is to be overcome both by the evil of one’s enemy and by the evil of one’s heart toward that enemy.” In their song, “Cedars of Lebanon,” the Irish Band U2 says, “Choose your enemies carefully, ’cause they will define you. Make them interesting ’cause in some ways they will mind you. They’re not there in the beginning but when your story ends Gonna last with you longer than your friends.” We should not let our enemies treat our minds and lives like a squatter settlement. We should not let evil march in like an army into the prime real-estate of our hearts to calcify, harden, and slowly asphyxiate our life in Christ. This is just as Jesus taught us to pray: “Lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.” 

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Our Scripture gives us a full arsenal to war against evil. We remember that our battle is not against “flesh and blood” but a spiritual one. Our strength and victory will come only through Christ alone who has made us more than conquerors. Let’s open this Christian armory and see what we find. It is not the shock and awe of the world we might expect. We find the way of the Cross. Our scripture tells us to cultivate a disgust and repulsion for evil but a taste and appetite for good. With a sense of urgency, we prayerfully endure and hold on to the hope of our faith. We extend generosity and hospitality toward others. We bless those who mistreat us.  When “we rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep,” we manifest one of the greatest attributes of our humanity: empathy. Our humility keeps ourselves in check. We live each day mindful that we desperately need Christ’s wisdom and strength.

By our not being vindictive, we leave judgment and vengeance where it belongs—in the Lord’s hands. It’s beautifully expressed with the words: “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” We do our best by Christ’s strength and then surrender the rest to the Lord. We cannot be responsible for someone else’s inability or unwillingness to change, apologize, and become more like the person God created them to be. We can do our part. But the rest is between them and God. We should be kind to our enemies—to love our enemies as Jesus taught us by meeting their needs—body and soul. By doing that we heap burning coals on their heads. These are the “burning pangs of shame and contrition.”

Our kindness in the face of other’s malice will ignite their conscience. This is the ultimate weapon—to love and pray for our enemies as Jesus taught us. By doing this, we are now the ones invading the heads of our enemies without paying rent! The grace of God—so counterintuitive—so divine—so foreign to the ways of the world starts to kindle inside their minds. They ask, “Why is this person repaying my evil with their good? I deserve an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.” Soon they’re tormented by the unconditional, unmerited, unearned love of God. He is a consuming fire—refining and burning up the dross and polluting sin and evil that has held us captive for far too long. 

This is the way of Jesus and the way of the Cross. He was not overcome by evil but is a friend of sinners. He loved and prayed for his and our enemies. He overcame evil but humbling himself to the point of death—even on the Cross. By his death, he won the victory over sin and evil by breaking its power. By his resurrection, he proved that he and we are more than conquerors over death and the grave. He overcame all evil by the goodness of his selfless, sacrificial love.

Praise and thanks and adoration, Son of God for you we give
For you shove to serve creation, died that Adam’s heirs might live.
Dear Lord Jesus, guild my way; faithful let me day by day
Follow where your steps are leading, Find adventures joys exceeding.
          (“Praise and Thanks and Adoration,” LBW 470, v. 1) 

“Built on the Rock” (Isaiah 51:1-6; Matthew 16:13-20)

Isaiah 51:1-6

Matthew 16:13-20

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Wartburg Castle, Eisenach, Germany

Pastor Tom Johnson, August 23, 2020

“Let the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Amen.

Jesus promises that he will build us up on the rock of who he is as the Messiah, son of the living God. As we see from our reading from Isaiah, Scripture tells us to look to the rock from which we were hewn. Let’s look to the rock of our redemptive past—out of which our salvation was chiseled—from which God has sculpted our renewed life in Christ. As our reading from Isaiah reminds us, it is rooted in creation. God carved out a garden paradise from the lifeless and rocky earth.

God called Abraham and Sarah to be the bedrock of the people of God whose descendants would outnumber the stars. And so we should remember the other quarries from which God dug us out from. You’ll remember the exodus from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt. Each Hebrew generation was born into a life-sentence of stone-cutting and brick laying under the tyrannical pharaohs. But God delivered his people—through the wilderness into the promised land. There he provided the manna—the bread of heaven. There in a desolate place he provided water that flowed from the rock. The Apostle Paul tells us that this miraculous bleeding of a rock which gave life-sustaining hydration to God’s people is a manifestation of the Messiah to come—Jesus Christ (1 Cor 10:4). His life-blood sets us free from sin and its tyranny. 

When God made his pact with the Israelites, he etched the Ten Commandments into tablets of stone. His Word was written in permanence beginning with his declaration that he is the Lord their God who brought them out of the house of bondage. When the newly emancipated slaves crossed the river Jordan on dry ground into their promised land, each of the twelve tribes stacked a large stone together into a heap. It was a memorial so that their children would ask, “What do these stones mean to you?” They would get to retell the story of God’s goodness and salvation.

When God finally gave the okay to build a temple to Solomon, it was a huge step forward. For generations, the priests served in the Tabernacle—a very large tent that was essentially a portable Temple since they were a nomadic people. Building a Temple made of stone gave God’s people more permanence and a structure that could not be easily moved or destroyed. It was a reminder of God’s presence with his people—always. Yet, even Solomon at its dedication said in his prayer, “heaven and earth cannot contain you, O Lord, let alone this Temple” (1 Kings 8).

“Look to the rock,” the prophet says. “Upon this rock I will build my church,” Jesus says. These are words meant to bring comfort and security to us—especially in our time of need. We need the rock when all other ground is sinking sand. We need the rock when everything around us seems to be in chaos and confusion. I don’t think I need to convince you that these are uncertain times—confusing times—chaotic times. It seems that the wind from all directions wants to carry us away into its own agenda. And the ground beneath us is sinking sand, unsteady—like a nightmare where the faster you run, the slower and heavier we sink down. In uncertainty we have the security of God’s love for us. In chaotic times we have the continuity of the assurance of God’s grace and presence in our lives. In the confusion of this world we have the clarity of the Gospel. 

The rock is not human leadership or tradition. We are unwise to put all our faith and trust in mere flesh and blood. Just a few verses after Jesus praises Peter’s confession, Peter lets us down and he lets Jesus down. Jesus even says, “Get behind me, Satan” to him. Peter is not the rock. No mere mortal is. As Jesus told Peter, flesh and blood do not reveal hope and salvation to us—only the Rock Jesus does through the gift of faith. Jesus promises us that he will build us up on the bedrock of who he is as true Messiah. He is our immovable Cornerstone. Jesus alone went to the rocky outcropping called Calvary or The Skull. Upon that rock, he alone carried the full weight of all our sin. There he surrendered his life and purchased our forgiveness and eternal life on the Cross.

Jesus assures us: nothing will hold back his work of building us up—not death, the grave, or even hell itself. “The Gates of Hades will not prevail.” Jesus already broke through the bars of death—as the stone rolled away from the tomb attests. The rock is not any church building just as the Temple could never contain God. Our not being able to physically gather together for months has been painful. But it has always been enlightening.  It has been a blessing to see how strong the mortar of Christ’s Spirit is that binds us together. It has been a joy to witness Jesus, our true Messiah, gather us together under the Word—by the Holy Spirit. No virus—no earthquake—no gale force wind can take that away. The Rock is Christ. He edifies you and me every time we pray together, hear the Word together. He strengthens the bond of his Spirit that unites us to each other and to him, our Cornerstone. Our hope, our security, and our joy is found in him, our Rock.

Built on the Rock the Church shall stand
Even when steeples are falling.
Crumbled have spires in ev’ry land;
Bells still are chiming and calling,
Calling the young and old to rest,
But above all the souls distressed,
Longing for rest everlasting.
     (“Built on the Rock” LSB 645, v. 1)

“Hate Speech” (Matthew 15:10-28)

Matthew 15:10-28
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Pastor Tom Johnson, August 16, 2020

One of my seminary professors once said that the three most important things in biblical interpretation are context, context, context. 

Context: Jesus just scolded the religious authorities for their belief that by washing their hands they are pure and undefiled spiritually. It is not dirty hands that defile a person, Jesus says. It’s not what goes into the mouth and out the other end. It is the sinful thoughts, words, and deeds that stem from the heart that defile a person.

Context: Jesus provides a list of evil flowing from our hardened hearts. The last one he mentions is slander. The New Testament word is blasphemia. In the broadest sense, it means words against another or insulting talk or hate speech. In the narrowest sense, it is to speak against God—words that make the sacred profane: blasphemy.

Context: Jesus and the disciples travel outside Israel into the northern region of Tyre and Sidon. Here they meet a Canaanite woman. She is not a Jew. She is not even a Samaritan. They had a name for these people: dogs—not the kind we have at home as our beloved pets but the wild, dirty, and scavenging kind of the first century.

So when the Canaanite woman comes toward Jesus and his disciples shouting in her heavy accent, Jesus knows exactly what is on the minds and in the defiled hearts of his disciples. They were thinking, “Who does this loud-mouthed, foreign and pagan woman think she is to be so bold and outspoken? She is nothing more than a Canaanite dog.” This is literally de-humanizing her—not even of the same species. I must admit. My first impression of Jesus’ behavior is troubling and disturbing. He stonewalls the woman. He acts as if he does not hear—refusing to listen or even acknowledge her. The disciples are emboldened now. “Send her away. Kick her to the curb, Jesus.” So he does. And he does so with slanderous, blasphemous words: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But we know he wasn’t. He said himself that he had other sheep outside the fold of the people of Israel (Jn 10:16). When she will not back down or be silenced, Jesus says, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

What?! What are you saying, my sweet Jesus—my radically inclusive Jesus—my Jesus who came not for the righteous but for the unrighteous—my Jesus who is a friend of sinners of all kinds—my Jesus who died and rose for all—in whom we are neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free. 

The German Reformer Martin Luther said that Jesus’ reply is “eternally unanswerable” and “masterful.” Jesus is playing devil’s advocate. He is taking on the deplorable attitude of the day. And why would he do that? He does it to unmask the lie of racial superiority that the prevailing culture had toward those outside. He gives this woman the opportunity to not just smack down the ethnic slur but to—with one brilliant word—completely destroy the slanderous metaphor that she and people like her are no more worthy of empathy or help than a wild, stray dog. Jesus uncovers the prejudicial attitudes and slanderous thoughts and words against others that were acceptable to the prevailing culture.  

Just like the disciples, Jesus stands at our sides. He hears the thoughts coming out of our hearts and minds even if they do not come out of our mouths. When you and I come across others as we walk through our city streets what sort of filth and slanderous words start to creep out from the dark, hardened cracks of our hearts? What sort of words were you taught by friends and family to describe others who differ from you by their accent, skin tone, neighborhood, country of origin, gender identity, sexual orientation? What sort of choice-words come to mind? This is the slander—the blasphemy that Jesus uncovers—whether spoken or unspoken. Unspoken, please! We dehumanize those created in the beautiful and glorious image of God. Every human being is fearfully and wonderfully made. We are profaning what is sacred by our name-calling. 

Dear Christian, choose your words wisely. Be the light of Christ. Speak well of others.  Let no unwholesome speech come out of your mouths. Confess and repent of the evil still lurking in our hearts. Dear Christian, do not patronize others and lecture them. Let others speak for themselves. Listen. Listen to their stories and unique journey to discover and uncover their worth in Christ. Does this make us feel uncomfortable? I believe that is why Jesus behaves the way he does. He wants us to feel the cringe. Maybe then we will squirm away from such harmful and shameful thoughts, come into Christ’s light, and let him mold us further into the people of God he died and rose for us to be.

And that Canaanite woman! I believe she senses something in Jesus’ body language or tone of voice that makes her feel safe. “Yes, Lord, you and your people may consider me to be a dog. But even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” The bread the master serves to the children at the table will reach the dogs on the floor. Touché! In debate, such a sharp and witty response is called a rejoinder. And it is not just her skill with words that’s so impressive. It is what Jesus praises her for: her faith. Did you catch how she turns the metaphor on its head? She turns it on the generosity and goodness of the Master. God is so good and generous at the Lord’s Table that our cups run over. Our bread baskets that were once empty now have leftovers that would feed an army. What she believes about God transforms what she believes about herself. Her worth is not found by where she was born, her gender, who she loves, her skin tone, her accent, her politics, or even her religious upbringing. Her worth is found in the true and living God whose blessings overflow to all creation. Even if we were to use the false and ethnic slurs ourselves—God’s love will still prevail.

Dear child of God, God hears your cries for help, justice, and love. You are not invisible. You have a voice. Shout it out! Be your authentic self. It may cause a stir among some. But be assured that Jesus not only accepts you. He celebrates you. Great is your faith! It is awesome when you believe in God’s faith in you as a lovable, beautiful child of God. We believe in Jesus who lived, died, and rose again for the whole world—whose love overflows for all humankind. Our faith and faithfulness will bring greater glory to God as we build up the humanity of those around us. He is the God who transforms our hate speech into love speech. 

In Christ there is no east or west,
In Him no south or north,
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.

With God there is no tribe or race;
In Him we all are one.
He loves us as His children through
Our faith in His dear Son.

So, brothers, sisters, praise His name
Who died to set us free
From sin, division, hate, and shame,
From spite and enmity.
          (“In Christ there is no east or west” LSB 653, vv. 1-3)

“Walking through Storms” (Matthew 14:22-33)

Matthew 14:22-33
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“Christ Walks on Water” Amédée Varin (1818-1883)

Pastor Tom Johnson, August 9, 2020

Jesus withdraws again into the wilderness in prayer. He sends his disciples away in a boat toward the other side of the Sea of Galilee. While Jesus enjoys time in prayer, a storm starts to pummel the disciples’ boat with its wind and waves as battering rams. Jesus decides to catch up with the disciples. He walks on water toward them. When the disciples see him, they think he is a ghost and cry out in fear. But Jesus immediately tells them to be courageous. “It is I,” he says. This is the divine name “I am that I am.” He is the true and living God. He tells them to not be afraid. His words are literally, “Stop being afraid.” They’ve already been overcome by fear. Jesus, by his divine presence, saves them. He delivers them from their inner turmoil of fear and superstition. This is the storm going on inside all of them. 

Peter’s fear melts away. He’s filled with joy, enthusiasm, a sense of adventure, and risk. He says, “If it is you, Lord, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus says to Peter, “Come.” Peter makes a bid to connect to Jesus. Jesus accepts his bid. Peter walks on water toward Jesus because Jesus first walked toward Peter. But Peter starts to notice the wind and waves. Fear grows inside him. The storm of doubt grows stronger—stronger than his trust in Jesus and joyful sense of adventure. The wind pushes and pulls Peter in random directions. The waves bump and tug at him. The storm fills all his senses all around his body—above, from the sides, underneath. And on the inside, there is a storm of fear, panic, and doubt. Peter cries out, “Lord, save me!” And Jesus does just that. He’s right next to Peter the whole time. Jesus only needs to extend his hand and catch him. I wonder if Jesus caught him by the back of his collar like a mother cat picking up her kitten by the scruff of its neck...or if Jesus held Peter in one arm like a parent with their newborn. With Peter cradled in his arm, Jesus rebukes him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” That is what growing fear does. Doubt is letting fear overcome faith. Fixing our eyes on the howling wind and crashing waves of this world will robs us of faith. Being more captivated by that which threatens us will drain the joy right out of us. 

This is a timely message. Storms rage outside. Not just now...always. But these seem to be days when the wind has picked up its speed and the waves their destructive power. The pandemic still spreads and grows in many parts of the world. Outrage over racial inequality and social injustice cries out. The threat and reality of death is on our city streets and in our emergency rooms. Rather than coming together, we are pushing each other further apart—polarizing and inciting greater division and animosity. Storms rage inside. Waves of anxiety and fear threaten us. The wind of culture, politics, and superstition randomly toss us around like rag dolls. There is no sure footing for us to be found if we try to walk through this life by our own sense of direction, balance, and strength.

Here is the amazing thing about the storms that rage within and without: we are exactly where God wants us to be—learning to trust him in the midst of storm. Remember, Jesus sent his disciples into the storm. Jesus does not call us to hide, hunker down, and stop living because of the storms. He sends us out into a world that will always have troubles. Without Jesus, our bodies and spirits will be overwhelmed by the storms. Without trust in Jesus our imaginations will run wild with ghosts or whatever superstition we fall back on to explain what we do not understand. “In the world you will have tribulation,” Jesus says, “But take heart; I have overcome the world.” This life is full of storms in the outer world and in our inner worlds. But take courage. Jesus helps us walk through the storms. He alone stills storms.

Jesus gives us what we need to get through the battering wind and waves of life—he gives us himself. He meets us in our storms that threaten us from the outside. He calls us to come near to help us with the storms that rage within. And when we fail—which we often and will do—he extends his hand to catch us when we fall or sink down into despair. This is the love and power of Jesus. He left his sweet communion with God to take on our humanity and enter our storm-plagued and tumultuous world. Unlike us, he is able to walk on water. He is able to transcend the wind and the waves and walk without the burden of doubt and sin. He alone surrendered his life to the storm of sin, evil, and death on the cross. He alone extends both hands to save us since we cannot save ourselves. In the resurrection, he catches us with his victory over death and the grave. He lifts us up and brings us into the ark of his peace—and sets sail for our journey ahead with him with the joy of worship and paradise that awaits us. As we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus—as we learn to trust him more and more, no one and nothing will rob us of our joy. Because our God is not just the God who makes the wind cease. He brings a peace that surpasses and transcends all the storms that rage within us and around us. 

Jesus calms the inner storm before the outer storm. That is how we stop letting doubt rob us of faith. That is how we put a muzzle on our fear. That is how we walk on water with Jesus. That is how we fix our eyes on Jesus and journey ahead with joy and worship to the other side. 

“Divine Haggler” (Isaiah 55.1-5)

Isaiah 55.1-5
Matthew 14:13-21

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Pastor Tom Johnson, August 2, 2020

In our Scripture from Isaiah today, we have a window into the marketplace of ancient Israel. People would gather in a high trafficked area. They would display all their produce, vegetables, fruit, baked goods, meat, fish, eggs, jars of dairy, wine, beer, fabric, clothing, dyed linens, spices, herbs, jewelry, artwork, and craftsmanship. In addition to skillfully laying out all their merchandise, they’ve developed the skill of drawing attention to themselves and to their products through the human voice. You can still experience this at a convention with table after table of vendors doing all they can to get your attention—or at flea markets—or at the farmer’s market. “Good afternoon! Nice hat!” Anything to get your attention. “Hey! Have you ever tried one of my delicious olives?” “My tents will keep the rain and cold out!” Flattery goes a long way. “You look like the kind of person that would appreciate well-aged and well-refined wine!” “You would look fabulous in my purple-dyed fabric!” In today's text, God steps into the marketplace—poking fun at everybody else’s sales pitch. He uses the language of those desperate to gain a profit off anyone they can. The first word God uses is a meaningless interjection. It’s only function is to make a loud, attention-getting sound: “Ho!” In Hebrew, it is “Hoi!” “Hey! Yo!” we might say.

Today, neon lights try to hypnotize you into a door for a delicious meal. A billboard entices us with someone who was once bald and now sports a full head of hair. Ads promise to make you rich, gorgeous, happy, and to extend your life-expectancy. I remember as a child watching commercials for toys. Each toy seemed to have a life of its own. It seemed so much more colorful, sensational, and spectacular on television than when it was in my living room. When I see “buy one get one free,” I start doing the math. If they can make a profit off my buying two for the price of one, then what percentage of a profit were they making before the sale price? It has to be at least more than 50% profit! Or how about an all-you-can-eat restaurant? How inexpensive is the food they are serving—how low is the nutritional value if they can fill us to the gills and still make a profit? How much food does one need to eat before they lose their profit?

The marketplace is full of lies and deception. If sellers can convince you that you are getting more value for what you are paying, you will feel great about charging your card or handing over cash. That’s their goal—for us to feel good about giving them money. If we new the truth of how much the items are actually worth—if we knew the truth of the quality (or lack thereof) of the product—we likely would feel like victims—lured and deceived by a con-artist. We may always have to live with buyer’s remorse. In the economy of the world, that is often how things work. There are winners and there are losers. There are those who will lie and deceive to make a profit. And in the spiritual realm, the Devil is a master at deception. That is his name: Deceiver. And we can get carried away by the empty promises of sin and its pleasures. What if every material thing in the world that we put our faith in—and buy into—will eventually let us down? What if we found out that in the world’s marketplace we will always be the losers and victims of scam after scam?

I’ve mentioned this before a few years ago. But I’ll never forget hearing a very young incarcerated man at Stateville telling me and a group that it took him 2 1/2 years to realize he was there because at one time he believed in a lie about gangs—that they will give you a place where you will belong, make you rich, and unending romance. We have been haggled so much by the world that we can easily lose our way. We have invested so much and received so little in return. I believe it is one of the biggest reasons most of us have a hard time understanding grace. How can something be of value if it is simply given away? How can something have worth if it is free.

Just a few chapters earlier than our Scripture today, the prophet writes., “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord stands forever!” (Isaiah 40:8). As as Paul says of the Gospel: “God has shown us the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The Scripture today is about grace. It helps us understand what grace is. It is g-r-a-c-e. God’s richest at Christ’s expense. It is treasure that we receive for free. It is unearned. It is not purchased. It is free.

That is what I love about our text today. God humorously uses a sales pitch. He haggles us—not to buy—but to receive—his grace, his love, his generosity: “Hoi! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

“Hey you! Are you thirsty? You hungry? Come to my table. Everything you see is absolutely free. What? You do not have any cash? You have terrible credit? That is exactly what I expected. That is why I am not here to sell but to give. Why go to the other tables and buy food with no nutritional value? Or why would you spend your hard-earned money for food and drink that will spoil and clothing that will wear out and tear? Why not get the very best for free?”

In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples not to send them to the towns and marketplaces to buy a meal but to come to him and receive for free. All ate. All were satisfied. God truly opens his hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing as our Psalm says. At the Lord’s Table we receive not just Bread and Wine but the Body and Blood of Jesus—we receive the very currency by which our salvation was purchased—not gold or silver but his precious Body and Blood. “The wages of sin is death,” Scripture says, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Through Jesus death and resurrection, God has paid our all our debts. He gives us forgiveness and eternal life. We owe him nothing but our love, gratitude, and thanksgiving. We don’t buy his love by our obedience or good works.

“Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress. Helpless look to thee for grace.” He opens his hands. He satisfies the longing of body and our soul. He fills that God-shaped void in our hearts. He haggles us—pleads with us to receive all of this by grace—absolutely free.