“The Good News” (Luke 4:14-21)

Luke 4:14-21

 Pastor Tom Johnson, January 24, 2016

My family has a favorite restaurant. They claim to have organic meats, grains, and vegetables to the extent that they can. They promise a nourishing meal. When you go to this particular place, you are greeted with a smile and the question, “What would you like?” Over time, we have gotten to know the workers there and they sometimes offer us a free meal if we go there on a birthday. But one time, my wife and I went to the other establishment that is part of the same chain. It wasn’t the same. The workers seemed to be not as happy. We recognized one of the workers from the other restaurant. We asked how she was doing. “Not good at all. The customers in this area are mean, unappreciative, and demanding. You don’t know how much nicer it is at my former location. I have already requested to be transferred back.” But that isn’t the only problem. Late last year, hundreds of people got sick with E.coli and hundreds more with the norovirus in this chain of restaurants. In a few weeks, all restaurants in this chain will close for a few hours. They will have an in-house conversation about food safety. Everybody must work together toward the same goal: safe and nourishing food. Good food is the only thing that will bring them through this difficulty. Good food will be the only thing that will lead them back to the growth they were experiencing before.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus goes to his hometown for an in-house conversation. The core of his activity is centered on the written Word. In this case, a passage from the book of Isaiah. He reads it aloud while the people listen with enthusiasm. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” More often than not, we as Missouri Synod Lutherans under-emphasize the social implications of this text and want to spiritualize it as quickly as possible. Certainly there is both physical and spiritual poverty, captivity, and illness. The written Word is followed by the spoken Word. Jesus preaches what must be history’s briefest sermon: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The written, spoken, and now the embodiment of the Word—the Word made flesh.

The Word of God of God is good news. It gives us hope to those who are in need—material and spiritual. God cares about those who lack financial resources, physical resources, and those caught up in the injustice of our societies. In Jesus’ day, poverty and hunger was a serious problem. Rome imposed its laws and severe consequences such as incarceration and execution often with little justice as Jesus will soon experience for himself. People were born with or developed loss of eyesight, hearing, or other health limitations and problems. Today, poverty and hunger is a serious problem. It is estimated that the top 62 billionaires in the world have more wealth than the lowest half of the rest of the world. That means 62 people are richer than 3.5 billion poor people. I am grateful for our community meals ministry and how we strive to encourage the poor. We as a society are still grappling with what it means to have a truly just judicial system. We remember many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who suffer loss, imprisonment, violence, and death because of their faith in Jesus.

We as a family never have stopped going to our favorite restaurant because we have always received what we go there for: good food. We like the welcoming and kind atmosphere, the smiling faces, and the relationship we have with that place. As I think about First Saint Paul’s, we in a similar place. The best way to continue to grow as a congregation is to be a healthy and nourishing place, to truly enjoy and care for one another, and to treasure the main thing—what we are really about—that is, the good news of Jesus Christ—the one who lived, preached, befriended, died, and rose again—to encourage, give hope, comfort, forgive, and assure us of eternal life.

“Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus is on the scene. He was with the Galileans in that synagogue long ago ready to deliver good news. He is with us today in this building. He is present to bring us good news. Jesus is the embodiment of the good news. He is the good news.  Today, we have the fellowship with Jesus and with the whole family of God—that’s you and I. Today, we hear the Word, preach the Word, sing the Word, and receive the Word made flesh into our mouths with the Bread and the Wine. Today, we embody the Word by becoming a people about the good news. The name of this church is out on the front sign: “First Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.” Evangelical means we are a people of the good news.

“The Heavens Opened,” Luke 3:15-17,21-22

Luke 3:15-17,21-22

 

Pastor Tom Johnson, January 10, 2016

As I was preparing my sermon the other day, I was sitting in a room with vending machines. Customers came, looked through the window, and considered which of all the chips, chocolate bars, and candy they desired most. They gave their offering into the coin slot, bill receiver, or swiped their credit card. On the keypad, they selected their snack or refreshment. And the fulfillment of their promise landed with a thud which could be retrieved through the flap door. It struck me how much this is like human religion. In times of drought people prayed to the god of rain, in times of infertility the goddess of fertility, in times of storm to the god of thunder, and in the times of war to the god of power. The teaching of the church can even erode to the point of portraying God like a vending machine. In the Middle Ages, heaven was described like a treasure chest. The key to opening this promise of blessing might be to give something to God, an offering to the church, pray a certain prayer, or do a good deed. It is easy for any of us to think about God in this way. Maybe if I prayed more, God would be more pleased with me. Maybe if I gave more of my time…maybe if I shared my faith more at work and with my friends…then God would open up that treasure chest, open the door to heaven, and give me good gifts.

But God’s ways are not our ways. Like us, John is struck by his own unworthiness. “I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals,” he says. We feel unworthy and guilt because we have not done enough. We feel unacceptable to God because we have been unloving to our neighbor and not trusted in God above all things. We feel unworthy and shame because of who we are. We may feel like we are tainted goods. We might think we will never meet the excessive expectations of a holy, righteous, and perfect God. We may believe that he will always find fault no matter how hard we try, how much we pray, and how much we give. John’s unworthiness was not intended to beat himself up but point to the One who is truly worthy. John’s unworthiness was not intended to diminish his own baptism but to highlight the power and promise of the Baptism that was to come.

Coming out of the time of Christmas, we have it fresh in our minds that God has already given us the greatest gift he could give—his Son—himself—the eternal Word who became flesh and was born in Bethlehem in a manger. But unlike a vending machine, we do not need to entice, persuade, or purchase God’s attention. When God gives gifts, he gives them for free. He chooses what to give, he pays the price, and he determines the times of delivery. God gives his only begotten Son. Jesus pays the price—not with gold and silver—but by his precious blood on the Cross of Calvary. The times of delivery is at his birth and—even more in its fullness—at the time of his Baptism.

“Now when all the people were baptized,” our Gospel reading says, “and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” In Jesus’ Baptism we see the already clean and spotless Lamb, Jesus washed with water. We hear the prayer of Jesus and God’s people. Heaven is opened to unleash the power and the grace of God. The Holy Spirit shows up and dances in the air down to Jesus like a dove. The voice of God the Father endorses his Son. Jesus’ Baptism is less like a vending machine and more like the winning number for a 1.3 Billion dollar jackpot. God gives us his winning number for free.

On Thursday, I had an appointment with Louisa for her Baptism today. Although she is only a few months old, she sat on the couch ready to be catechized and examined to determine if she is worthy to be baptized. No, she, her parents, and I talked about the flood of blessings poured out through Baptism; and, as it turns out, that Louisa will be baptized on Baptism of Our Lord. Louisa will share the same day as Jesus’ baptism! How awesome is that! And it gets even better. We all share in Jesus’ baptism. We are all baptized into Christ. He washes us with water and clothes us in his perfect righteousness. He renews and adopts us by the Holy Spirit. And he refines us throughout our days like a refiner’s fire. The heavens opened to announce the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry. The heavens opened for the flood of God’s love into his creation. The heavens opened wide to make way for a greater current of God’s amazing grace.

“The Wise Men,” Matthew. 2:1-12

Matthew. 2:1-12
 

Pastor Tom Johnson, January 3, 2016

Crèche 

There are a lot we do not know about the wise men from the East. Even the New Testament word here, Magoi—or as it is sometimes transliterated, Magi—is not entirely clear. Are they priests from a Median tribe, Persian astrologers, or Zoroastrian? How many were there? They bring three kinds of gifts but we are never told exactly how many persons there were. And the East is a general direction from which they came with many different kinds of people, tribes, and ethnicities. Yesterday, I noticed that even our crèche is becoming more and more shrouded in mystery as the branches of our Christmas tree are beginning to lose their vigor. We should give Matthew credit for telling us all we need to know.

The thread in this story that ties it together is their pilgrimage to worship the newborn King. God called them to make a long journey together. The star drew them in to a foreign nation. The Scriptures enlightened them to go to Bethlehem. A dream warned them to avoid Herod and go back to the East by another road. Perhaps the way he tells this story, encourages us to make full use of our imaginations on who these wise men might be. There are no boundaries between God and his creation that he cannot easily cross. There are no obstacles that God cannot easily overcome. God not only welcomes the stranger, he calls them from a faraway land. This is in answer to generation after generation of prayer. “Let all the people praise you, O God” (Ps 67). God answers Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the temple when he prays for “the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name” (1 Kings 8:41-43). The wise men remind us that our prayers our not in vain for the nations. Our prayers are not far-fetched when we pray for God to transform the hearts of all his creatures near and far. When we pray, “Hallowed be thy Name,” we are praying for the world to be drawn to Messiah Jesus and worship his holy uniqueness.

Worshiping Christ the King is a journey. It begins where God has placed us. He knits us together in our mother’s womb. We seek. We ask questions. We see beyond our own nation, tribe, and people. We meet new people along the way. Some of them are companions and fellow sojourners. Some are adversaries. Through their knowledge of the stars, the wise men hungered and thirsted for more wisdom. Modern astronomers will tell you that ancient stargazers were great observers of the night sky. Hundreds and thousands of years ago, Zoroastrians, Persians, Chinese, Mayans, and many other peoples were able to predict with great precision the movement of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. “When I look at our heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,” the Psalm writer (8) asks, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” Knowledge leads to more questions. Discovery leads to wonder. Humility is a good companion to wisdom as we learn what we know and learn what we may never know about creation. The King of the universe knows and cares for us.

The wise men make a long trip. When they arrive at the land of Judea, they still have not completed their journey. They ask where the Messiah is to be born. And God’s people point them to the Scriptures: “In Bethlehem of Judea.”  The Word of God is such a beautiful gift. It is in the Scriptures where God reveals himself so wonderfully and clearly. Religion and spirituality can be so abstract. The Bible makes what we need to know concrete. “The Word of God is living and active” (Heb 4:12). “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16). “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105). The Word of God leads us to the Word made flesh—the newborn King—the eternal Son of God born into humanity in the little town of Bethlehem.

The wise men are warned in a dream to not trust Herod. God speaks to their conscious and subconscious minds. There are adversaries along the way. Sin and death are still sad and devastating realities. But God still overcomes these formidable evils. And he does so by meeting these people in the secret and mysterious place of their dreams just as God gave Pharaoh dreams when Joseph was enslaved in Egypt. He gave dreams to the prophets and people of God in the Scriptures. And I hope you will remember our friend Pastor Hicham Chehab’s story and those who have been baptized by him from faraway lands in the East like Iran and Lebanon. They also encountered the King of kings and Lord of lords in their dreams. This is so common throughout the East, that even non-Christians ask one another if they have had the “Jesus dream.”

The wise men lead us to worship the newborn King. God calls us to make a long journey together no matter what tribe, nation, tongue, or people. The Scriptures enlightened us—even in the quiet hours of the night to trust in Jesus Messiah—the One who has made his own faraway journey from heaven to earth to draw all creation to himself—the Word made flesh—born to overcome our sin whether conscious and subconscious—so that we will worship him now and forever.

“Peace on Earth” (Luke 2:1-14)

Luke 2:1-14
 
 Pastor Tom Johnson, December 24, 2015

“Peace on earth.” I like the simplicity. I like the profundity. I’ll admit it: I like the pictures of the starry night sky, the silhouette of a manger, and those words of promise “Peace on earth.” In a day when you can get into trouble for saying “Happy holidays” on the one hand or “Merry Christmas” on the other hand, “Peace on earth” seems to strike a universal chord. It sounds progressive. At the same time, it is an ancient idea.

We all long for peace on earth—well, at least I'd like to think so. One person’s understanding of peace may differ from another. One culture may have a vision for peace that they are striving for while another culture may have a very dissimilar one. One group envisions peace as the rule of law, citizens complying with that order, and victory over those who oppose their plan. Another group envisions peace as the liberty to say and do whatever they please as long as no one is harmed along with freedom from violent opposition. I’d like to believe that all humanity is working toward peace on a global scale. But, sadly, it does not seem to be the case. We end this year with headlines of terrorist attacks, political tension, war between nations, violence between citizens of the same nation, and name-calling.

Peace on earth eludes us. Peace in our communities eludes us no matter how we define it—whether we long for security, or prosperity, in our homes—whether we work for safety, or justice, on our city streets. There is strife in our homes and tension at the workplace. There is unrest and turbulence in our own private thoughts and lives. But the good news of the angels tonight is that we seem unable to create, God gives as a free gift!

Tonight we boldly sing the angelic Christmas carol: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth.” Together, we announce to the world the vision and promise of God’s peace—God’s shalom.
You’ll remember that the angels proclaimed “Peace on earth” to shepherds working the graveyard shift, “Peace on earth” to the land of Judea which was forcibly occupied by a foreign military imposing its laws and religion, “Peace on earth” at time when a new census was being taken to raise taxes,  “Peace on earth” to a young man and young pregnant bride who had just made a long, difficult journey and soon must travel again as refugees to Egypt to escape genocide, “Peace on earth” to shepherds who had as much, if not more, reason to hear those words with skepticism and cynicism. Maybe that is why God sent a choir of angels to illuminate the dark sky—they saw a foreshadowing of glory to foreshadow peace.

It was custom in the Middle East then, and still today, to greet people with the word peace: Salaam in Arabic and Shalom in Hebrew. Those two words are undeniably rooted in a shared Semitic ancestral word. The arrival of the Baby born in the manger comes with this greeting of peace. But even more than a simple greeting or coming in peace; this newborn King comes for peace. He comes to usher in peace to a fractured, violent, and turbulent world. This Child is the Prince of Peace. He will bring peace—the fullness and essence of true peace—true Shalom—peace which is completeness, wholeness—of both the individual as well as the community.

Peace is not the absence of violence but the presence of empathy and care for one’s neighbor—no matter how foreign or distant. Peace is not the silencing of our adversaries but reconciliation and understanding.  Peace is not freedom from another’s domination but binding together and partnering for a shared enjoyment of the gift of life and all God’s creation. Peace is not something we create; peace is an earthbound package we have received all wrapped up in swaddling cloth.

Peace is the Child born in the manger—from heaven to earth—a divine gift—a peace-offering from our Creator. Peace is the mission of this Messiah who comes to seek and to save not the righteous but the unrighteous, the sinner, and those who are lost. Peace is the gift to every nation, tribe, tongue and people. Peace is the Savior who confronts all our adversaries and obstacles to peace. No matter who we are—no matter how diverse, we all share the same enemy of evil, sin, and death. The Prince of Peace will cast out our demons, heal our bodies, mend the broken-hearted, and preach the good news that we no longer have to live our lives captive to the power of hatred, discord, or strife. We have the gift of true, heavenly peace. Peace is the Lord who will battle to the death on the Cross of Calvary for us. He overcomes death for us. And He is our Victor over the grave. He triumphantly rises from the dead to assure us that the world-wide storm will soon be over.

Christ is our peace on earth. The Seed of peace has been sown into the earth at Bethlehem and the hill of Calvary. It grows in our hearts. It spreads to God’s people. And like the angels, we have the privilege of being his ambassadors and messengers of his peace. Glory to God in the highest, indeed,
and peace on earth!