“Powers and Principalities” (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Ephesians 6:10-20

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Pastor Tom Johnson, August 26, 2018

The daily news should be enough to convince us of the evidence of evil. I’m not talking about a demon behind every bush—or a red devil with horns and a pitchfork type of evil. I’m talking about an evil that is so deep, so insidious, so pervasive that we are often left speechless—and with more questions than answers. Perhaps this is the same chill that came up the Apostle Paul’s spine when he wrote, “For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Paul is speaking about evil—evil so pervasive that it is at work in the hearts of more than one person at a time—evil that causes both personal and corporate sin. This Scripture reminds us that evil is beyond our human control and power.

One of the greatest examples of this is from the life of Jesus himself. When Jesus stood before Herod and Pontius Pilate, Herod and Pontius Pilate are not the ultimate source of evil—they are only flesh and blood. Even they are held captive to the cosmic powers of darkness and spiritual forces in the heavenly places. Pilate says “I find no guilt in this man,” but because of the crowds, his wife’s dreams, and the Roman Empire he is powerless to do the right thing and let an innocent man go free. And so Paul reminds us that even those who we think have power and control are often subject and even victims of a more sinister power. Knowing this, it even makes loving our enemies and praying for our enemies possible—that even those who do the most wicked things are also victims of the same evil they are responsible for—not that they or we should not face the consequences of our actions but that all should be freed from the power evil—as our Lord taught us to pray—deliver us from evil. This is what Jesus came to do.

It’s why God’s Word today for us is not only good news but life-saving news: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles—the schemes of the devil.” Do not fight life’s battles in your own strength. Do not try to fight evil as if evil is only of human origin—mere flesh and blood. Do not take refuge in human and worldly resources—but take refuge in someone greater—the Lord Jesus himself. For God is not only greater and stronger than flesh and blood—he is greater than all things material and immaterial. Good and evil are not two equal forces contending in the universe. As Scripture says of Jesus, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” As Peter says in our Gospel, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. You are the Holy One of God.” As John says in his letter, “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered [the evil one]; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).

I cannot tell you why God still allows it to be so—but we live in a world where God has not yet fully conquered evil—he has not yet brought final justice to every land and every people—he has not yet brought perfect peace. But he has begun. Even though it appeared that even Jesus the promised Messiah was himself a victim of evil—crucified in his flesh and blood by the powers and principalities of the world—death could not hold Him. The grave did not conquer him. But he rose victorious. This is a foreshadowing and a pledge of our victory over the powers and principalities of evil.

And so Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God—to know we have every resource we need for the spiritual battle we find ourselves in—a belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the Gospel, a shield of faith, a helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God, and prayer. God wants to clothe us with his power—to put on his armor so that we can stand firm. He dresses us up in the protective righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is his goodness that shields us from the powers of darkness. He give us all this defensive armor so that we may not be spiritually harmed. As Jesus tells us, “Do not fear those who kill the body, but after that have nothing more that they can do” (Luke 12:4). But God also gives us offensive weapons—the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God and prayer. And as Christ’s Church we should not forget to take up these weapons—to be in the Word of God and to pray without ceasing.

“For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

But our victory is through the flesh and blood of Jesus, through his perfect life, healing touch, his death on the Cross, his rising again from the dead, and ultimately his coming again when he finally rights every wrong and makes all things new.

Now have I found consolation,
Comfort in my tribulation,
   Balm to heal the troubled soul.
God my shield from ev’ry terror,
Cleanses me from sin and error,
   Makes my wounded spirit whole.
                                            (“Jesus Comes Today with Healing” LSB 620 vv. 1 & 6)

"I am the Living Bread" (John 6:51-58)

John 6:51-58

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Pastor Tom Johnson, August 19, 2018

Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” In a way, it is a comfort to know these words of Jesus were difficult to understand from the very beginning. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they ask. Rather than simplifying their understanding, Jesus seems to complicate matters even more. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

2,000 years later, these words still cause a dispute between seminary students. The question is put this way: “Is John chapter 6 sacramental?” Is Jesus referring to a spiritual eating and drinking as a metaphor for receiving Jesus by faith? Or is he referring to Holy Communion? This approach to Jesus’ words can lead to endless arguments about cannibalism, distinctions between body and flesh, spiritual eating, the necessity of Communion for salvation, transubstantiation, consubstantiation...you probably get the point.

I love what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:14: “Remind everyone...and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.” In other words, when our conversations are about winning theological arguments, all it does is tear people down. It ruins those who listen. Because the goal is to win so that one side or the other can say, “I am right. You are wrong.” I’m certainly not advocating an anti-intellectual Christianity. We should never check our brains at the door when we come into church. We are to be discerning, wise, and teachable. There are things each of us feels strongly about. And that is not a bad thing. But demanding everyone else to agree with our finer points of doctrine is not okay. Creating discord and confusion is not healthy or helpful. Pride is a sneaky and pernicious thing. We do harm to ourselves and others when we lose sight of what being a believer and follower of Jesus is all about. When we talk about other Christians and Christian traditions with contempt we are not only judging a child of God. We are ruining those who are listening. We are not building up the body of Christ. We are tearing it down.

What Jesus wants his hearers to discover is the greater truth and mystery of who he is. Sometimes the bigger picture is the clearer one. As the cliche goes, “We don’t see the forest through the trees.” Sometimes we do not even know the ground we are standing upon. Archeologists dig in the mud, sift through sand and dirt, and explore caves. The look for signs of civilization. They may be small artifacts. And it can take years to stumble upon them. But Sarah Parcak from the University of Alabama has a different approach. She looks from space—400 miles away using satellite cameras. She has been able to discover lost rivers, roads, and cities. Just this summer, it has been so dry in Wales in the United Kingdom that farms are revealing their secrets from these satellite photos. You can see the footprint of castles, their moats, homes, barns, and old roads dating back a thousand years.

This is the effect Jesus wants his words to have. “Take a step back. This is what I am doing for you and the world—I’m giving myself. All you need to do is receive.” “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life,” Jesus says. “And I will raise them up on the last day...I am the living Bread...the one who eats this bread will live forever. Jesus invites us to receive himself as a gift. He wants us to be his “consumers.” He wants us to enter into a relationship with him—to abide with him and he with us. He wants to enrich our lives. He wants to give us the assurance of eternal life. It really is that simple. Let us get this satellite image of the whole world and Jesus through whom everything was made.

This is the big picture: Jesus gives us himself—flesh and blood in being born of the virgin Mary. He gives himself in his teaching, healing, and spreading the good news. He gives his flesh and blood on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. He gives his flesh and blood in his rising from the dead to assure us of our victory over death and eternal life. We receive Christ through the hearing of God’s Word which heard read and preached today. We receive it by faith. It is not earned. It is not deserved. We receive Christ through the Bread and Wine—his Body and Blood in Holy Communion. We enter this mystery every time we abide in Christ—every time we hear, eat, drink, and pray to Jesus. This should not cause a dispute between us. It should put wonder in our minds, thanksgiving in our hearts, and praise on our lips.

“Journeyman’s Bread” (1 Kings 19:4-8)

1 Kings 19:4-8

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Pastor Tom Johnson, August 12, 2018

In our reading from 1 Kings, Elijah had just come down from a mountain top experience at Mount Carmel. It was a battle between Elijah and the prophets of the false god Baal. It is a powerful and humorous story. When the false god Baal does not show up, Elijah asks if he stepped out to use the washroom. Elijah unmasks the lies and deception of false religion. The true and living God—Yahweh himself shows up in a consuming fire. People fall on their faces and confess, “Yahweh, he is God!” The false prophets are put to death. Elijah outruns by foot King Ahab who is riding a chariot over a distance of about 20 miles to Jezreel. And when King Ahab tells Queen Jezebel of it, they decide to kill Elijah. So, Elijah runs nearly 100 miles from the northern part of the Kingdom to the southern to Beersheba. Not only do I admire Elijah’s courage to boldly preach the truth to power, I am also impressed that he was an ultra-marathoner. Elijah continues a day’s journey alone into the wilderness—the same wilderness where the Israelites wandered 40 years.

Elijah’s mountaintop experience is now an all time low. He ran well over 100 miles and hiked for another day into the wilderness. He tells God he wants to die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” This is called the post-adrenaline blues. Athletes and performers talk about it all the time. You can get it after a huge school or work project. It is what Winston Churchill was referring to in war when he said, “Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” We derive strength from the adrenaline rush and perhaps some carbs, sugar, or a little caffeine. But at some point those natural resources are not enough. Elijah’s battle is not with mere flesh and blood but against the powers and principalities of evil through false religion and the abuse of power.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” Trouble found Elijah. He is so physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted that death sounds like a good way out of his misery. Even the Lord’s prophet Elijah got discouraged and felt despair. This great man of God was overwhelmed by the exhausting brokenness and evil of this world. I admire Elijah’s courage, authenticity, and humility. He casts this burden upon the Lord in prayer: “Take my life. I’m no better than my ancestors.” Elijah surrenders himself to God in the spiritual cradle of prayer and then surrenders himself to the physical cradle of sleep—a temporary escape and renewing of body and soul.

Elijah is quite literally a wonderful forerunner of how we ought to meet these dark nights of the soul when all seems lost and pointless. “It is enough,” we might also be bold to cry out the emptiness of our own strength and resources. “Take my life.” For those who have been baptized have died to sin. The old self has been drowned so that the new creation, Christ in us, will be raised. In Christ, we surrender ourselves to him and commend ourselves into God’s cradling arms “body and soul and all things.” This is not self-annihilation. It’s putting our lives into the loving hands to whom our lives already belong. “For the earth is the Lord’s and all that dwell therein.” “We are not better than those who have come before us.” We have no bragging rights or self-righteousness to pull ourselves up by our own proverbial bootstraps. We are at the mercy of God who good and gracious. Each night we ought to lay our heads down on our pillows in the sure and certain confidence that those in Christ who close their eyes to this life will one day open them to God’s promise of new and eternal life.

Elijah closes his eyes in this dark place. Weeping may have tarried for the night but joy comes in the morning. The angel of the Lord touches Elijah, stirs him awake, and tells him to get up and eat the miraculous bread and water prepared for him. He does so and falls back asleep. The angel of the Lord wakes him up again and says, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” “God knows our frame.” He knows our weakness, sinfulness and limitations. He knows what our journey ahead will be just as he knew Elijah’s. God has numbered our days. He will take us home when it is our time. Today is not Elijah’s time. He gives Elijah this miraculous bread and water to strengthen him body and soul for another journey—this time 40 days and nights in the wilderness. This is the same wilderness that the Israelites wandered for 40 years. God is pointing back to the Manna and the water from the Rock that sustained his people through their dark, sinful, and difficult journey.

And for us it points ahead to him who says, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ...I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ...Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” Do you feel that tap on your shoulder? Is God not stirring you to wake up to the new Kingdom reality? He knows our struggles. He knows our despair. He too suffered. He died and rose again so that he can offer you himself as living Bread. He knows our journey ahead. And he promises to strengthen us body and soul unto life everlasting. Get up. Take, eat. Drink of it all of you.

Do we really need bread lines? (John 6:24-35)

John 6:24-35

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Sermon by Rev. Dr. Douglas Groll

Introduction:  In Jesus’ Name, Dear Friends

For several years now WTTW,  Channel 11, has hosted a program called Check Please produced here in Chicago….and, I understand has achieved quite wide distribution.  Each week the moderator interviews three or four men and women who have all visited the same three restaurants.  One week it might be Asian Fusion or Caribbean coladas……Sometimes the restaurants are moderately priced….sometimes exorbitantly expensive…and a little bit repulsive when they show the chef with his bare fingers gingerly dropping an olive on a cube of raw salmon or of a delicate square of flounder that has been cooked by pouring liquid nitrogen or some esoteric condensed gas over it.  It is usually served on a white plate….three bites…$47.00 not including drinks.   The program should be about food…but often it says more about guests…especially when they strain to tell you that the duck is almost as good as what they had eaten in Peking….being interpreted…”I’m international…I visited Peking”  Perhaps they consider themselves cynosures….a very small elite group….a select few.

I don’t buy that…because after living for 30 years in Chicago, I am convinced that Chicago is a metropolitan area composed of millions of select tasters…cynosures if you will.especially because of one delicacy…bread.   CHICAGO HAS GREAT BREAD….THE BEST ANYWHERE.  Think about it for just a minute…  What makes your favorite restaurant?  It might be the beef..or the fish or the shrimp….but what do you reach for first?  The Bread….It could be Olive Garden’s bread sticks…the heavy thick crusted loaf you have to break with your hands at the Gale Street Inn …or the Chicago hot dog bun,….or the bun they use at Jonny’s Italian Beef on North Avenue…and they dip it in juice….(I can’t stand that) Italian loaves, Mexican tortillas (flour or corn)? Pretzel buns, Columbian or Venezuelan arepas, sourdough….bojillas, Pita,  hamburger buns, Flat Bread, Pizza bread….…..it could come from Rosens on North Avenue or Reuters on Grand.   It could be baked in the kitchens of Jewel or Whole Foods….The variety is endless….the tastes are boundless.  Bread is the one metaphor for the universality of human existence…  Our attitudes toward it bring out our best as well as the very worse of our humanity.  At our worse we get the picture of the Children of Israel …out there in the wilderness…..remembering the fleshpots of Egypt….tired of the quail by night and the mana by day…..griping…..but eating….   Or the drive that had the new Israel of Jesus’ day hounding him around the Sea of Galilee….hungry….trying to be the new and free Israel behind a new national Messiah who could give them bread.   Give us bread….give them bread…..feed us and we will be satisfied….as though what really counts in life is the size of the loaf….the sound of the crust…the softness of the dough….Give us bread and we will be content…give them bread and their needs will be met.

NOW A CHANGE OF SCENERY

How often over the past five or six weeks have we not seen the filming of the mothers and chidren in line…..in Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Nuevo Laredo…waiting for food  a Church immigration center giving out what they have …..a tortilla, a spoon full of beans, a fruit cup….a slice of bread…?.  And then on our side…somehow the at the ICE detention center…the bread looks better…the children separated from their parents have bigger trays….the orange juice is a deeper orange….the tray is shinier….the fruit cup is better refrigerated…..  it is food ….it is bread…?  What more could they want?  .It’s what they need….  It is the American answer to the Children of Israel in the Sinai…or the 5000 who had just been fed by Jesus up there around the Sea…..  Just give them the calories and they will be content.

Or….take a look at the food trucks on the South Side…or the schools that stay open in the summer…not necessarily because the teachers want to teach…but to somehow keep the breakfast and lunch programs going so that the thousands of children that would not otherwise get a meal……at least eat once a day…..   Here we are in the New Israel…  Keep the calories coming…. Keep the juice cold….. Make sure the milk is pasteurized….. that is all they need….that is what we want….  Bread is enough…  If we truck in enough surplus milk, and government issured orange juice…. We can forget about poor schools, endemic unemployment, a broader separation between economic classes.    We are the new Israel.

So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

And it is not just the government….or the public in general….. We have to ask where we as a people of God fit into this.   Our District and Our Synod has remained virtually silent these months about the plight of separated children.  Synodically issued prayers are studies in pablum…showing neither anger or despair at injustice or systemic repression of human rights.  .   If you look at the Reporter or the NID newspaper you would never get the idea that there are children in Separation sites in the Chicago area…or even in Texas….that there is a crisis of violence in our city……..legitimate questions about deadly use of force…Our publications show legitimate acts of good will of well intentioned Christian Lutherans…and that is certainly important…..  But we have to ask ourselves again..”Isn’t this just making sure there are enough calories to sustain life?  Isn’t this just the bread that those people by the Sea were looking for from Jesus?   Is this what real living is about?   Where do I see myself in this picture? How am I  a part of the drama?   Am I still thinking only about my self, my privileges….still content to make sure all of us and maybe the rest of them have enough calories just to sustain life or am I interested in real living?

HERE COMES A DIFFERENT ANSWER

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

And then…Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John’s Gospel…and all of the Gospels for that matter are there to show God’s action in and with men. And everything that happens in them and in all of history is “bookend” with the great “I AM” of scripture.   When Moses asks  “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”     When John speaks to us and announces that the “Word Became Flesh”  he is telling us that the creator God who said “Let There Be” actually takes on humanity to be our brother.  That moves us beyond only a spiritualizing of our human God-Man relationship.  And that means that we look beyond the signs to the reality.  The big error that the children of Israel in the desert…or the Jewish nation of Jesus’ day was that they saw the signs of God’s presence the Mana or the loaves and fishes of the feeding of the 5000 as ends in themselves….instead of loving action of a God who is able to do much more than provide calories.

And that is also a big challenge for us…..We celebrate every act of Christian kindness.  Thank goodness for people who organize food drives and bread lines…..but those are calories….they in and of themselves only point to signs where the real I AM THE Bread of Life points us to a totality of life way beyond the calorie count.

Instead.  He basically says that in the incarnation he entered the totality of human life and that the one who is believing in him allows Him to pull us along into a relationship of trust…..and that relationship of trust in Christ is the true Bread….which empowers us to live confidently.

How does this play out in human life?  If the Incarnate one has entered our world it is a total entering….into the sinful state of human existence.  It listens to cries of the baptized and unbaptized separated children (and if they have come from Central and South America there is a pretty good chance they are are little brothers and sisters in Christ)…..and that means that we have to care…..  We have to rethink what are the implications of political theologies….  We have to ask,  “How will the incarnate Christ lead to new action…..systemic action that takes us beyond bread lines….and basic calorie counts and stuffed toys for tots.   We have to understand that many of our actions will be wrong….poorly thought out…full of our own self centeredness…downright sinful…but He will pick us up and bring us along.

We have to let him drag us through the messy dirty world of local, state and national concerns to care enough to pull us out of the church and into the street to act individually and corporately….Christ died for the world…not just the Church…and the great I AM would remind us that the Church in him…must now die for the world.   That is scary.  That is threatening…. That challenges our comfortable way of life.  But he does not just give us calories.

Take and Eat…Take and Drink…Here is food for the journey…Here is bread for the road…Here is the hand that will lead us through the valleys we fear and the roads unchartered…in our different ways of life…that will continue to remind us….. I AM….Alpha and Omega…Beginning and end….  The final bookend of your life….  Don’t be content with just the bread line….  Let Him lead us into real living.  Amen.