Sermon Video: The cause of Peter's bitter tears, Luke 22:54-62

Peter's denial of Jesus is famous, in part because all 4 Gospel accounts cover this low-point of the Apostle's life. But what caused Peter to shed bitter tears? How did he get to that point, what were the steps along the way? Importantly, what can we learn from Peter's experience?

Sermon Video: The anguished prayer of Jesus before his Passion - Luke 22:39-46

In the hours before his Passion began, with less than a day before his agonizing death on the Cross, Jesus spent intentional time alone in prayer.  That he made this choice is a powerful example to us, as is what he prayed for: deliverance.  It wasn't going to come, it couldn't, for only Jesus could complete the plan of Redemption as the God/Man, but Jesus asked anyway.  Why?  Not because he was anything less than fully God, he asked because he was also fully human.  The wondrous mystery of the Incarnation here reminds us that Jesus felt the anxiety of the road ahead, as any person would, and yet his divinity ensured that this moment would also include an iron commitment to what was needed to save humanity.

The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory, by Tim Alberta: A book review

 

1. I found the book to be deeply emotional, in a good way.  It connected with my own care and concern for the Church in America on a gut level, I could sense the authenticity of Tim's faith and his heartbreak at what has become of the Evangelical world he grew up in.  The personal sections where Tim wrote about his dad's death were at hard to read as expected, but that same heart-on-his-sleave aspect carries throughout the book.

2. Alberta interviewed, and got honest self-aware responses, from the heaviest hitters in the world of political evangelicalism.  This isn't a hatchet job from an outsiders, instead it is a look behind the curtain.

3. Although I knew about most of the episodes that he builds his narrative around (Jerry Falwell Jr.'s fall from leading Liberty University, for example, or Rachel Denhollander's crusade to help the SBC reckon with the sexual abuse in their midst), there were still gut wrenching new details and head shaking low points that were new to me.

4. While a cry for help, the book is not without hope.  In the midst of the most Christ-dishonoring actions of individuals who claim to be doing God's work are sprinkled the stories of other men and women, mostly less well known, who were/are willing to strive to be like Jesus and to do so with honor and decency.

5.  "Christian" Nationalism as a threat to the Church in America isn't going away anytime soon.  It took us generations to reach this point, a point where politics trump theology and ethics, where winning at all cost is met with thunderous cheers instead of the horror that it deserves, and so the path back to a more Christ-like attitude will be a long and difficult one.

Overall, this is an excellent book, sobering in its unflinching diagnosis of what ails the Church in America, Evangelicalism in particular, but also ones written from a man who firmly believes that God is in control and that his Church will triumph.

I'm not afraid, should I be?

 

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,

    an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

In the Empire Strikes Back, young Luke Skywalker is trying to convince the Jedi Master Yoda to train him, a task that Yoda deems both too late and unwise due to Luke's rashness.  Luke tries to change his mind by claiming, "I won't fail you, I'm not afraid."  After a nice long dramatic pause, Yoda replies, "You will be...You...will...be."

Here's the thing, I'm against 'Christian' Nationalism and embracing strongmen/autocrats to solve our nation's problems, not because I'm naïve like Luke, but because I'm sober-minded enough, and grounded in history and theology enough, to know better.

I will never embrace solving America's problems by abandoning the democratic process in favor of a 'savior', not because I don't love America as much as those advocating such a drastic move (see for example: Eric Metaxas and Rod Dreher), but because I know human history.

Autocracy has never saved a democracy.  

Power always corrupts, the greater the power the greater the corruption, do you really think that one person wielding the power of the American military and economy without checks and balances, without elections and judicial review, would be a force for good in the world?  We've seen how much evil has been done with the power Xi Jinping wields in China, do you think an American strongman would be any different?  Only a fool would think this plan disconnected from both human nature and world history is anything but a national suicide pact.

Immorality has never helped the Church

I will never embrace 'helping' the Church by utilizing evil as a tool, not because I don't love the Church as much as those advocating such a Faustian bargain, but because I know the nature of God.

Many of those not quite willing to abandon our democratic rights have nevertheless been convinced, or have chosen to convince themselves, that the 'greater good' and the urgency of the moment demands that we abandon the luxuries of Truth, Honor, Integrity, Kindness, Mercy, and the like in favor of Realpolitik, 'might makes right', and 'win at all cost' means and measures.  Only a fool would think this plan disconnected from both the nature of Evil and the Holiness of God is anything but an act of faithless rebellion.  Evil is never the path chosen by God for you or for us.  Choosing evil to confront threats to the Church instead of righteousness is not realistic, it is cowardly, it is faithless.

I'm not afraid of the present, there's nothing new under the sun.

I'm not afraid of what comes next, God is always in control, my faith rests in him.

I'm not afraid of the future, God's final victory is assured.

The Early Church was a tiny minority living in a hostile pagan Empire that would soon be torturing and murdering the disciples of Jesus.  And yet, the Apostle Paul never even hinted at trying to overcome evil with evil, in fact he specifically rejected it {Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.}.  If the disciples of Jesus, who watched their Lord be brutally murdered at the hands of evil men, and the early generations of his followers, who faced the mightiest Empire the world had ever known, were told to not lost heart, to not compromise their character, but to serve and sacrifice with righteousness and love, what on earth makes 21st century American Christians so important that our fears, real or imagined, allow us to not follow in their footsteps?

Yoda also said something else that is appropriate here, "Fear is the path to the Dark Side."

I'm not afraid, my God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, why should you be?

See Also: The downward spiral of Bonhoeffer biographer Eric Metaxas

The Bible doesn't mandate that Christians support Democracy, BUT preventing the Evil that Autocracy would unleash in America does

The Watchman Decree: 'Christian' Nationalism's 'name it and claim it' dangerous prayer

Sermon Video: The insanity of: "Let us do evil that good may result" Romans 3:5-8

Sermon Video: The Fall of Peter: Love and Fear - Mark 14:66-72

Alone in the courtyard while the trial of Jesus progresses, Peter is faced with three increasingly dramatic opportunities to affirm himself as a disciple of Jesus, famously he fails all three times.  Some combination of love, loyalty, pride, and stubbornness brought Peter to this moment, plus failing to heed Jesus' warning to him.  In the end, Peter falls, and reaps a bitter harvest to his lies.  What is the lesson for us?  Many (if not most) of the 'heroes of the faith' have a tragic self-inflicted wound, if they can fall so can we.  The episode of Peter's denial ought to be a reminder to us to shelve our pride, hold back our judgmentalism at the failings of others, and if we do fall, follow Peter's path of repentance with our own sorrow.

Sermon Video: "Yet not what I will, but what you will." - Mark 14:32-42

Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. In the Garden, though it cost him anguish that few people will know, he submitted. There was no other plan, the Incarnation proves the necessity of Jesus' Passion, salvation for humanity had no other champion. The divinity of Jesus did not shield him from the pain of his Passion, knowledge of the victory to come did not make it any less real.

The advice given by Jesus to his slumbering disciples speaks to us as well, "watch and pray". We don't know what our time of trial will consist of, nor when it will come, but we too need to submit to the Father and we too need vigilance and the power that prayer conveys.

Sermon Video: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" - Mark 9:14-29

 Is faith all or nothing?  Is there room for hesitancy, fear, or doubt?  Faith isn't like a light switch, all on or all off, but a continuim, it can grow and it can be weakened.  As Jesus helps a father whose son health need is too difficult for his own disciples to overcome, he also confronts the issue of wavering faith.  Jesus does not condemn the man who admits that his faith is weak, he helps him.  As Christians, and as a Church, we need to do likewise: admit our own weaknesses and help those in need.

Sermon Video: "Peace be with you!" - John 20:19-23

 On the evening of the first Easter, following a confusing morning involving an Empty Tomb and visitations from angels, the disciples of Jesus were gather together, with the doors locked for fear of arrest. Suddenly, Jesus enters the room and dispels their collective anxiety and fear, telling them, "Peace be with you!" (Shalom in Hebrew) Not only was their recent fear releaved, for Jesus was truly alive, but the future's concerns were suddenly less daunting. Jesus immediately tells them their next step, to go and tell the Good News. Without Jesus, they were anxious and afraid, with Jesus, they were confident and ready to take on the world. That's the difference that the presence of Jesus makes, he brough peace then, and he brings peace now.

Sermon Video: Jesus calms the storm - Mark 4:35-41

 In an episode that reveals his true power to his disciples, Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee with a word. Lessons for us? Whether the storms we in life be literal or metaphorical, God is in control. The will of God is not altered by tragedy, the love of God is not lessened by dangers, and God will finish what he has begun in us (our transformation into Christ-likeness). God has not made the storms disappear for his people, and while he may intervene to spare some, the true power of God is in overcoming the 'storms'. Get in the boat with Jesus, let him worry about the storm.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

How should Christians act during a pandemic? - Wisdom from Martin Luther's experience with the Plague

The response of American Christians to the COVID-19 pandemic has run the gamut from faithful adherence to CDC guidelines, to open and proud defiance of recommended precautions.  The root causes behind these extreme variances is itself an interesting, but separate topic.  The question of the moment is this: How should Christians act during a pandemic?
On August 2nd, 1527, the bubonic plague (Black Death) returned to the German city of Wittenberg.  Many of the town's residents fled (the students and faculty of the University were advised to flee the city), but Martin Luther stayed put.  1527 was 10 years after the posting of Luther's famous 95 thesis, 6 years after Luther was excommunicated in 1521, the same year that he defended his beliefs before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms.
The risk of staying to Luther and his family was not insubstantial.  While his wife Katie survived a bout of the Plague while pregnant with the family's second child, the girl Elisabeth died in infancy before her eighth month (perhaps weakened by the Plague, perhaps not).

An English translation of the text of Luther's letter in its entirety may be read here: Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague - by Martin Luther.  Relevant excerpts will appear below in italics with my commentary in bold.  Three factors to consider when weighing Luther's words: (1) The way in which the plague spread was little understood, except that contact with those infected was dangerous.  (2) There was little in the way of efficacious treatments with death rates as high as 30%, and (3) there was no system of hospitals to care for the sick, if family or friends could not help, the sick would die alone.

Grace and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Your letter, sent to me at Wittenberg, was received some time ago. You wish to know whether it is proper for a Christian to run away from a deadly plague. I should have answered long ago, but God has for some time disciplined and scourged me so severely that I have been unable to do much reading or writing. Furthermore, it occurred to me that God, the merciful Father, has endowed you so richly with wisdom and truth in Christ that you yourself should be well qualified to decide this matter or even weightier problems in his Spirit and grace without our assistance.

Luther wrote to Rev. Dr. Johann Hess, a fellow Lutheran pastor at Breslau.  Before giving his own opinion on the matter, Luther expresses confidence that the wisdom of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, should have made the answer to Hess' question apparent without Luther's insights.  In our current situation, facing COVID-19, one would hope that Christians could arrive at God honoring positions through applying the wisdom that they already should posses as followers of Jesus Christ.  Given the wide-range of responses, however, as well as the animosity that these various positions have brought with them toward those who hold differing views, it seems that we too need Luther's wisdom to help us see things more clearly.

Those who are engaged in a spiritual ministry such as preachers and pastors must likewise remain steadfast before the peril of death. We have a plain command from Christ, “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep but the hireling sees the wolf coming and flees” [John 10:11]. For when people are dying, they most need a spiritual ministry which strengthens and comforts their consciences by word and sacrament and in faith overcomes death. However, where enough preachers are available in one locality and they agree to encourage the other clergy to leave in order not to expose themselves needlessly to danger, I do not consider such conduct sinful because spiritual services are provided for and because they would have been ready and willing to stay if it had been necessary. We read that St. Athanasius fled from his church that his life might be spared because many others were there to administer his office. Similarly, the brethren in Damascus lowered Paul in a basket over the wall to make it possible for him to escape, Acts 9 [:25]. And also in Acts 19 [:30] Paul allowed himself to be kept from risking danger in the marketplace because it was not essential for him to do so. 

In Luther's view, the clergy were obligated to ensure that ministry continued among the people, even during times of plague.  He did however, note an important caveat, only such as were needed should expose themselves to danger.  This theme will be developed by Luther throughout the letter: to expose oneself unnecessarily to danger is to tempt God, and is thus immoral.  This has relevance for the ongoing debate about 'reopening' churches.  {update 8/21: The same principle applies regarding mask wearing and vaccinations, as those issue continue to be contested}  We are blessed in this generation with the ability to worship remotely.  In this way, we can both fulfill our obligation to continue to worship and teach the Word of God, and minimize the risk of spreading contagion.

Yes, no one should dare leave his neighbor unless there are others who will take care of the sick in their stead and nurse them. In such cases we must respect the word of Christ, “I was sick and you did not visit me …” [Matt. 25:41–46]. According to this passage we are bound to each other in such a way that no one may forsake the other in his distress but is obliged to assist and help him as he himself would like to be helped.

Given the lack of public medical care, one of Luther's primary concerns was that brotherly/neighborly love be maintained as a witness to Christ.  Times of disaster do not put our obligations to each other on hold.  {Update 8/21: This same passage is one reason why I have not kept silent in the face of anti-vax attitudes based upon non-factual (that is, lies) information.  Should I turn a blind eye to those who if they continue on this path are likely to become sick, and some die??  No, for the same reason that I would caution against other choices that a Christian would make to harm his/her Temple, we are not our own, our bodies do not belong to us, Jesus paid the price for them.}

 To flee from death and to save one’s life is a natural tendency, implanted by God and not forbidden unless it be against God and neighbor, as St. Paul says in Ephesians 4 [5:29], “No man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it.” It is even commanded that every man should as much as possible preserve body and life and not neglect them, as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 [:21–26] that God has so ordered the members of the body that each one cares and works for the other...How much more appropriate it is therefore to seek to preserve life and avoid death if this can be done without harm to our neighbor, inasmuch as life is more than food and clothing, as Christ himself says in Matthew 5 [6:25]

Much has been said during this pandemic about 'living in fear', as if taking precautions is somehow against living by faith.  Martin Luther disagreed, strongly.  He saw fear of contagion and death as a natural, even God given, tendency.  As a member of the body of Christ, we each have an obligation to protect our own health, as much as possible, "unless it be against God and neighbor".  Rather than a sign of weakness, or of lack of faith, taking necessary precautions to protect own's own life is a sign of gratitude toward God (for the giving of that life in the first place).

Examples in Holy Scripture abundantly prove that to flee from death is not wrong in itself. Abraham was a great saint but he feared death and escaped it by pretending that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. Because he did so without neglecting or adversely affecting his neighbor, it was not counted as a sin against him. His son, Isaac, did likewise. Jacob also fled from his brother Esau to avoid death at his hands. Likewise, David fled from Saul, and from Absalom. The prophet Uriah escaped from King Jehoiakim and fled into Egypt. The valiant prophet, Elijah, 1 Kings 19 [:3], had destroyed all the prophets of Baal by his great faith, but afterward, when Queen Jezebel threatened him, he became afraid and fled into the desert. Before that, Moses fled into the land of Midian when the king searched for him in Egypt. Many others have done likewise. All of them fled from death when it was possible and saved their lives, yet without depriving their neighbors of anything but first meeting their obligations toward them. Yes, you may reply, but these examples do not refer to dying by pestilence but to death under persecution. Answer: Death is death, no matter how it occurs. According to Holy Scripture God sent his four scourges: pestilence, famine, sword, and wild beasts. If it is permissible to flee from one or the other in clear conscience, why not from all four? Our examples demonstrate how the holy fathers escaped from the sword; it is quite evident that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fled from the other scourge, namely, hunger and death, when they went to Egypt to escape famine, as we are told in Genesis [40–47]

Here Luther cites numerous examples from the Heroes of the Faith, that even men such as Abraham and David fled from danger.  In Luther's mind, to wisely flee from the threat of violence is not different than protecting oneself against wild animals, famine, or in this case, pestilence.  {Update 8/21: This line is so important, "Death is death, no matter how it occurs", Luther saw it as a Christian duty to avoid unnecessary risk, not a matter of personal choice or freedom at all}

By such reasoning, when a house is on fire, no one should run outside or rush to help because such a fire is also a punishment from God. Anyone who falls into deep water dare not save himself by swimming but must surrender to the water as to a divine punishment. Very well, do so if you can but do not tempt God

Here Luther counters the folly of fatalism from those who proclaim any misfortune to be God's punishment.  When taken to its logical extreme, such people should not seek food or shelter either, trusting in God's providence.  Today's version of this outlook is on display from those who ignore social distancing while yelling, "I'm covered by the blood of Jesus".  To ignore the wisdom which God has given us, through modern medicine, as some sort of way of publicly proclaiming one's faith, is both an act of pride, and an attempt to tempt God into protecting us from our own folly.  {Update 8/21: Likewise, those who proclaim that faith is the best defense, making a vaccination unnecessary are tempting God, to do so is BAD theology}.  

We should then need no apothecaries or drugs or physicians because all illnesses are punishment from God. Hunger and thirst are also great punishments and torture. Why do you eat and drink instead of letting yourself be punished until hunger and thirst stop of themselves? Ultimately such talk will lead to the point where we abbreviate the Lord’s Prayer and no longer pray, “deliver us from evil, Amen,” since we would have to stop praying to be saved from hell and stop seeking to escape it. It, too, is God’s punishment as is every kind of evil. Where would all this end? From what has been said we derive this guidance: We must pray against every form of evil and guard against it to the best of our ability in order not to act contrary to God, as was previously explained. If it be God’s will that evil come upon us and destroy us, none of our precautions will help us. 

The proper outcome of faith is not fatalism, but realism.  If medicine exists, use it.  If precautions can be taken, follow them.  If, after having done this, it is still the will of God that we should become ill, and having done so, that we should die, so be it.  The people of God were told to pray for deliverance for a reason.  Luther was clear about whether or not we need to do our part to protect ourselves against the evil of the plague, "guard against it to the best of our ability".  The important questions for much America's Christians: Why are small precautions, that cost us comparatively little, the cause of such anger and defiance?

In the same way we must and we owe it to our neighbor to accord him the same treatment in other troubles and perils, also. If his house is on fire, love compels me to run to help him extinguish the flames... A man who will not help or support others unless he can do so without affecting his safety or his property will never help his neighbor. He will always reckon with the possibility that doing so will bring some disadvantage and damage, danger and loss.

Once again, our obligation to our neighbor is no different when facing an invisible contagion than when facing visible flames.  It will always cost us something to help our neighbor, and there will always be excuses to hand for those who want to find them.  {Update 8/21: Love compels me to urge my family, friends, and neighbors to be vaccinated, Love compels me to 'run to help'.  Don't tell me to ignore the Law of Love when God has commanded me to follow it!}

It would be well, where there is such an efficient government in cities and states, to maintain municipal homes and hospitals staffed with people to take care of the sick so that patients from private homes can be sent there — as was the intent and purpose of our forefathers with so many pious bequests, hospices, hospitals, and infirmaries so that it should not be necessary for every citizen to maintain a hospital in his own home. That would indeed be a fine, commendable, and Christian arrangement to which everyone should offer generous help and contributions, particularly the government. Where there are no such institutions — and they exist in only a few places — we must give hospital care and be nurses for one another in any extremity or risk the loss of salvation and the grace of God. Thus it is written in God’s word and command, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and in Matthew 7 [:12], “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”

Public healthcare was almost nonexistent in Luther's day.  We are so very much more blessed in that regard.  Our response today?  Continue to support those institutions, the workers who risk their lives there, and the politicians who ensure that they have the resources they need to help the sick.  {Update 8/21: Having prayed with nurses and staff in our local hospital during the height here locally of the pandemic, this sentiment is only strengthened in me; they were (are) doing the Lord's work and require our support.  Additionally, note that Luther was in favor of government's involvement in healthcare, he wanted them to help the people.}

 Because we know that it is the devil’s game to induce such fear and dread, we should in turn minimize it, take such courage as to spite and annoy him, and send those terrors right back to him. And we should arm ourselves with this answer to the devil: “Get away, you devil, with your terrors! Just because you hate it, I’ll spite you by going the more quickly to help my sick neighbor

This is the balance that Luther is calling for: One the one hand, take necessary precautions to protect our own lives and not spread contagion, on the other, do what needs to be done to help those in need.  Thanks to our much greater understanding about how disease is spread, we have the opportunity to do both of these things without compromise.  We can make sure that our neighbors are not neglected during times of crisis like this pandemic without recklessly endangering them or us.

This I well know, that if it were Christ or his mother who were laid low by illness, everybody would be so solicitous and would gladly become a servant or helper. Everyone would want to be bold and fearless; nobody would flee but everyone would come running. And yet they don’t hear what Christ himself says, “As you did to one of the least, you did it to me” [Matt. 25:40].

Who is my neighbor?  Luther imagines the throng of people willing to volunteer if Jesus or Mary were ill, but then reminds us that each of 'the least' among us should be treated the same way.  By the way, Luther goes on to point out the folly of thinking you'd be willing to help Jesus if you aren't willing to help others in the here and now.

Others sin on the right hand. They are much too rash and reckless, tempting God and disregarding everything which might counteract death and the plague. They disdain the use of medicines; they do not avoid places and persons infected by the plague, but lightheartedly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. They say that it is God’s punishment; if he wants to protect them he can do so without medicines or our carefulness. This is not trusting God but tempting him. God has created medicines and provided us with intelligence to guard and take good care of the body so that we can live in good health. 

{Update 8/21: Wow, rereading this section is a gut punch.  So many within the Church today are 'proud' of not taking precautions, 'proud' to refuse vaccination, shouting slogans of 'freedom!' as they do so.  Hear this, Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, calls this "not trusting God but tempting him."}

If one makes no use of intelligence or medicine when he could do so without detriment to his neighbor, such a person injures his body and must beware lest he become a suicide in God’s eyes. By the same reasoning a person might forego eating and drinking, clothing and shelter, and boldly proclaim his faith that if God wanted to preserve him from starvation and cold, he could do so without food and clothing. Actually that would be suicide. It is even more shameful for a person to pay no heed to his own body and to fail to protect it against the plague the best he is able, and then to infect and poison others who might have remained alive if he had taken care of his body as he should have. He is thus responsible before God for his neighbor’s death and is a murderer many times over. Indeed, such people behave as though a house were burning in the city and nobody were trying to put the fire out. Instead they give leeway to the flames so that the whole city is consumed, saying that if God so willed, he could save the city without water to quench the fire. 

{Update 8/21: Once again, these words hit far harder today than when I first published this.  Martin Luther is telling you that refusal to take precautions against a pandemic (whether that be masks when necessary or vaccinations) is akin to suicide, and that if your prideful refusal results in the deaths of others you will stand before God as a murderer.  Martin Luther wrote this, doesn't it have weight to you?  As a minister of the Gospel, I consider it a sacred duty to try my best to prevent my brothers and sisters in Christ from, in Luther's words, committing suicide or murder. }

No, my dear friends, that is no good. Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood and straw devours life and body? You ought to think this way: “Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.

A long section, but the heart of the matter as Christians today argue about how we should respond to things like government mask-wearing mandates.  Notice that Luther compares the cavalier attitudes of those who take no precautions to that of a suicide.  He also considers those who knowingly spread the contagion to be murderers.  Even conceding that the Plague was 30x more deadly than COVID-19, Luther's moral premise remains.  In this pandemic many more people will 'get away with' it because the results of our actions will not be readily apparent.  The best phrase in the section, "act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city."  That is the true test, do our actions help or hurt the spread of the pandemic?  Are we helping our neighbors in need, or ignoring them?  
" I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence."  Is your presence necessary?  500 years ago Martin Luther was considering the dictates of social distancing.

Perhaps it was foolish for Martin Luther to remain in Wittenberg, especially with a pregnant wife and young child to care for.  Had there been ample public health facilities, and other ministers who could have taken his place, he may have followed his own advice and declared his presence there to be not 'necessary'.  The point of examining Luther's words from five centuries ago during a far more deadly outbreak is simple: If the Christians of medieval Europe could find ways to care for their neighbors AND take the threat of contagion seriously, why can't we?

Coronavirus: It will reveal our true character

In the past twenty-four hours, the impact of the Coronavirus upon life in America accelerated greatly:  The NBA is on hiatus (with other sports and entertainment events soon to follow), colleges are sending students home (primary schools will be next), and as expected the stock market is in free fall.  At this point, certainty about the eventual impact upon both lives lost and the global economy is impossible.  It will be significant, it will last a while, people will lose their jobs, and some their lives.  This is not the first time that a global pandemic has brought life to a halt, with the 1918 Influenza Pandemic as the worst example in modern history.  This pandemic will not result in a Mad Max style apocalypse, but it will have a significant impact, no matter what precautions are put in place.
The question today is this: What will this crisis reveal about our character?  Will it showcase our xenophobia, our greed, and our callousness to the potential harm of others, or will it remind us that we all live on the same planet, that resources are not our possession but gifts from God, and that our proper response to the needs of others is compassion?  In other words, will be respond to this crisis with good or evil?  In our everyday lives we face opportunities to choose to act in selfless righteousness, and opportunities to act in selfish immorality.  These are only made more acute and more consequential during a crisis.  Who you truly are is revealed when pressure is applied.  To whom you owe allegiance is made manifest when tough choices need to be made.
For Christians, the answer to this crisis is simple: continue to embrace righteous living and reject immorality, continue to serve others, continue to place your faith and hope in the Lord, continue to pray.  We as a Christian community fail to fully live up to this standard when times are easy, we are not an unvarnished reflection of our Savior, and for this we are rightly criticized and must repent.  A crisis like this will propel some Christians to extraordinary acts of bravery and charity, and it will reveal the deficiencies in the character of other Christians.  Every crisis is an opportunity to rise to the occasion, in the weeks and months ahead the world will be watching to see how the people of God react; for the sake of the Gospel, we must, by the grace of God and through the power of the Spirit, reveal ourselves to be true disciples of Jesus Christ in word and in deed.
In the Gospels, the repeated response of Jesus to the need of individuals and large crowds is compassion (Matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 20:34; Mark 6:34, 8:2; Luke 15:20).  In each case that compassion leads to action.  What actions we can take, as a Christian community, to help during this public health crisis are not yet clear, but they will be.  The opportunity to help will arise, we must be ready and willing.

Sermon Video: Building up God's people, including the doubters - Jude 17-23

Given the need that the Church has to be on its guard against false teachers and divisive people, what ought we to do about those who have doubts?  Doubt (and with it: fear, anxiety, etc.) is NOT a cause for excluding people from the fellowship of God's people.  Rather than judge those who doubt, Jude tells us to show them mercy.  In addition, those who are in danger of judgment should be "snatched from the fire", and even those who are in mired in darkness likewise should receive mercy from the people of God.  The reasons and the cure for doubt/anxiety/fear are a larger topic, the attitude of reaching out a helping hand to others is a simple principle to build upon.  {Also, this topic is yet another reason why 'church' is not a solo operation, why we need to be a part of God's people, both giving and receiving help in times of need}.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

The Slippery Slope argument is paralyzing our republic

** This is not a political comment, I purposefully avoid those, if you choose to take these thoughts that way that's up to you, but you'll be ignoring my intended purpose.**

In an era when a significant number (if not an outright majority) of politicians at both the state and federal level face more election drama at the primary than the general election level, it has become commonplace for politicians, pundits, and the general public to repeatedly apply the Slippery Slope argument to topic after topic.  To the Left and Planned Parenthood, any reasonable restrictions upon abortion are tantamount to outlawing the procedure, and thus must be met with the fiercest resistance with no compromise even remotely possible.  To the Right and the National Rifle Association, any reasonable restrictions upon guns of any type being owned by anyone are tantamount to the government, "coming for our guns", and thus must be met with the fiercest resistance with no compromise even remotely possible.  This same entrenchment is repeated issue after issue, year after year, resulting in near total paralysis where only a super-majority of one party can advance even basic measures, and sometimes not even that.  The end result is paralysis, an enshrinement of the status quo that can only be shaken, and even then only temporarily, by a disaster on the level of 9/11.

Prior to World War II, isolationists shouted their opposition to the Slippery Slope of F.D.R's willingness to help the British and the Soviets hold off the German onslaught.  F.D.R. demonstrated leadership in that he largely ignored the isolationist voices by pushing Lend-Lease among other efforts to slow down the Nazis, but America as a whole remained woefully unprepared for the war that came on December 7th, 1941.  Had the isolationists possessed the wisdom to accept reality and compromise, the United States military would have been better prepared for war, had F.D.R. given in to their doom and gloom and failed to support our future Allies, the war in Europe would have ended with the Nazis triumphant.

The Slippery Slope argument is of course used by those within the Church as well, particularly against those who are willing to work ecumenically with other Christians, or those willing to admit that our own understanding of theology cannot hope to be perfect.  In too many cases, much needed reform or potential cooperation for the Kingdom is squashed by shrill cries of disaster should the status quo be challenged.

Why is the Slippery Slope such a problem?  Perhaps you like the status quo, at least on a particular issue, and have no qualms with using whatever means are necessary to defend it.  The problem should be obvious, but our inability to recognize it is a symptom of our collective illness: The Slippery Slope is a FEAR based argumentation.  It does not require facts or evidence, it asks no proof, it need only posit a future disaster and simply assumes that one's political or theological enemies are nefarious, up to no good, and perhaps evil incarnate.  Their devious schemes, if successful, would destroy us all, and thus any hint of working with "the other side", any hint of compromise, is the work of the devil.  To govern a people, or run a church, by fear is to make a Faustian bargain; in the short-run there might be "victory" for your side, whatever that is, but in the end, we all lose.

With the advent of media tailored to both the Left and Right, and with social media providing an echo chamber to confirm what each side already believes and shout down any opposition, is there any hope for the future?  There's always hope, but if history is any guide, it will take a moment like Pearl Harbor or 9/11 to spur real change, until then fear in daily unrelenting doses will continue to be served up to all those willing to be swayed by it.

** Note, there is also a related dangerous tactic being used regularly when discussing solving problems, I'll call it the All or Nothing.  Those who use it dismiss any proposed reform or change because it won't fix all of the problem, as if fixing part of a problem is a bad thing and only a perfect solution that will fix every conceivable aspect of the problem can be acceptable.  This tactic is simply a way to defend the status quo, whatever it may be, and is used regularly by all sides. **

Sermon Video: The Lord's Will Be Done - Acts 21:1-14

As Paul finally approaches his destination of Jerusalem, both those traveling with him and those fellow disciples of Christ whom he meets at each stop, urge Paul to abort his trip and not go to Jerusalem.  Despite these significant warnings, one from a known prophet of the Lord, Paul insists that he must continue onward.  Paul had already accepted that his life was in danger, and that the cost of his discipleship might be imprisonment, or even death.  It was not that Paul didn't care about the risks, he simply considered his mission for the Kingdom of God to be of surpassing importance, even surpassing his own life.  And what was that mission?  To meld together the Jewish and Gentile Christians into one Church by bringing the famine relief offering from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem in person.  In the end, Paul's hope was a forlorn one, the Jewish revolt was only a few years away and Jerusalem itself would soon be destroyed by the Romans, but to Paul it was a cause worth dying for, if need be, for like his Savior, Paul lived by the rule, "the Lord's will be done."

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: The living hope of the resurrection - I Peter 1:3-5

Hope is a necessity.  It may not sound as necessary as food and water, but we need hope.  The future is unknown, our own deaths are certain, where will we be without hope?  False hope abounds, where can we find true hope?  The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead offers humanity living hope.  Hope that will not disappoint, and hope that is connected by faith to the glories of heaven in the age to come.  Because we, as Christians, have this living hope in our lives, everything changes.  We no longer fear death, we can sacrifice today in service to God's kingdom, and we can share the joy we feel with those around us.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

The peril of fear mongering among Christians

In a recent interview with Time magazine, the president of Faith and Action, Rob Schenck, a noted anti-abortion activist, spoke of the danger posed by fear mongering when it is used by conservative politicians and pastors, he said this: "Within our conservative ranks, there seems to be an almost rampant fear mongering that's used as a device to build audiences and readership.  And I think it's contrary to the optimism of the Gospel."  It doesn't take much searching to find a self-proclaimed conservative or evangelical politicians whose primary rhetorical tool is utilizing fear.  The same holds true, sadly, for several prominent conservative and/or evangelical pastors, and many less prominent ones.  Many congregations are given a steady dose of fear from the pulpit, fear of the government, fear of persecution, fear of the future.
There are two major problems with this use of fear, first that it doesn't represent reality, as Schenck went on to say, "Christians, especially evangelicals, often fear persecution by government.  And that does occur in other places.  So we project it here."  I've heard many a well-meaning Christians, and perhaps some not of noble purpose, speaking as if America is one small step away from being Nazi Germany, as if the government were compiling lists of Churches to raid and shut down, as if storm troopers will soon be in the streets.  There are things that require legitimate concern about our culture, our government, and our future as a Church and a nation, but when such fantastic claims are made, when the spectre of persecution is raised to frighten those who don't know better, not only are the real issues buried by fear and obscured, the far too real and deadly persecution of Christians around the world is trivialized by American whining and paranoia.
The second problem inherent in the fear mongering is that it is used primarily by those interested in your vote or your money.  The motive behind the appeal to fear is almost always a dark one, the response that it breeds in people is far more likely to be hatred than love.  It is contrary to the Gospel.  In the first century, the Church faced far more difficult circumstances, Paul was beaten and left for dead, unjustly jailed, and ultimately put to death, but he did not give in to fear, nor did he spread it, he responded with hope.
As I have said many times before, and will continue to say as often as need be, the Church is not a castle under siege, a timid force hiding behind a moat; the Church of Jesus Christ is an army, conquering in his name, by his power, a force that the gates of hell will not prevail against.  Why, oh why, do we let ourselves be led by men (and women) whose pessimism and appeal to fear is leading the Church from proclaiming the Gospel proudly to hiding in fear, fear of a persecution that isn't even real.
Lastly, Schenck's interview ended with a sentiment that deserves an amen from anyone who believes in the necessity of the Gospel as the sole path to salvation for humanity, "the deepest of moral, ethical and spiritual questions can't be answered by a political party."  Nor, I might add, by a politician or pastor looking for votes, book sales, or donations.

Sermon Video: What, me worry? - Luke 12:22-34

In this passage, Jesus offers some of the most practical, yet difficult, advice you will ever hear when he says, "do not worry about your life".  Worrying is exceedingly detrimental to our health and well-being, and we'd all love to worry less, but the problem is that we don't know how to make this happen; worry, anxiety, and fear seem to strong for us.
Jesus offers multiple reasons why his followers ought not to worry, even about the necessities of life like food and clothing, beginning with the reason that "life is more than food, and the body more than clothes."  Even if the bulk of our time and resources are devoted to the act of living, that is not the purpose of life.  We were created to be more than just alive.  In addition, Jesus offers the example of the ravens, who without effort are provided for by God, and the lilies who make for themselves a flower more beautiful than human hands could make.  Both of these forms of life are the result of our Creator's joy in the creative process, and neither are beneath his notice.  If God cares for such as these, surely he cares for you whom he values far more as a human being created in his likeness.
The reasons from Jesus for us to not worry continue with his assertion that worrying doesn't accomplish anything positive, but is itself evidence of faith that is lacking.  If we trusted God more, we would worry about our lives far less.  In the end, the perspective of knowing that God is in control, we certainly are not, and that God's care and concern for us extends from the basics of life all the way up to our hopes and dreams, is the key to keep worry at bay.  We already trust God with our souls, having chosen to live by faith, we just need to keep going and trust God with a far smaller thing, our tomorrow.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "whom you should fear" - Luke 12:1-9

Fear is a powerful emotion, it affects many of the decisions we make in life, for both good and ill.  After speaking to the crowd about the danger of hypocrisy, Jesus transitions to one of its causes, fear of persecution by telling them that they should not fear those who can ONLY kill you and then do no more.  On the surface of it, that statement is one of the boldest things Jesus ever said.  It is only natural to fear those who could kill you, and if they can do that, what more could there be?  Jesus explains his statement by going on to say that we should fear him who can actually send our immortal souls to hell.  The perspective Jesus is advocating, viewing the afterlife as more important than this life, and fearing God more than man, is necessary if we are to truly become his disciples.  We must begin our path to God with a healthy fear of his divine power and authority as both Creator and Judge of this world.  Our realization that we must account for ourselves before God need not lead to despair over our unworthiness, however, as Jesus goes on to say, God cares for the sparrows, surely he will not leave you in a state of depravity without a rescue plan?  The way out, the escape plan from our earned fear of the wrath of God, is to simply acknowledge the Son, claim Jesus as Lord and he will testify before his Father that you are part of the family, and we can have confidence that Jesus will be our advocate, which in the end will leave us with nothing to fear.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Democracy, The Free Press, and Facebook

Something struck me as I was working my way through William Shirer’s massive and insightful “The Collapse of the Third Republic”, which is his accounting through first-hand insight as a newspaper correspondent, and massive research after the fact, of the weaknesses that brought about the quick collapse of France in WWII.  It serves as a companion to the equally massive and equally insightful “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” which he also wrote.  In his account of the chaos and strife that enveloped France from the time period before WWI until their defeat by Germany in WWII, Shirer lays much of the blame for the divisions and hatreds within France upon the invective and clear falsehoods of the publications of both the Left (Communist, Socialist) and the Right (Fascist, Royalist).  The papers were filled with shrill accounts with little basis in reality that stoked fear and pitted Frenchmen against each other as each side envisioned that the other was on the verge of a coup that would destroy the Republic.  The press, and the politicians who were no better, treated each electoral defeat as the end of the world for their side, and vilified the opposition to the extent that mobs took the streets when urged to take matters into their own hands: assassinations, protests that turned violent, and other such drastic measures pushed France further and further down the road that had already destroyed the Weimar Republic in Germany and replaced it with Hitler’s Fascist police state.

                Why all this talk about France almost one hundred years ago, and what does any of this have to do with Facebook?  The reading of history is of course its own reward, a pursuit that enlightens today as it revels to us yesterday.  I saw just this week on Facebook, yet another dubious story about the imminent overthrow of America at the hands of the insidious Islamic revolutionaries who are even now plotting to take over the country and impose Sharia Law.  This latest version, reported by plenty of people on Facebook as if it was a proven fact, is saying that the FBI knows of dozens of terrorist training camps in America, but isn’t taking any action against them.  The story should be, on its surface, so ludicrous that no one would be willing to pass it along, yet there it is on Facebook, shared and re-shared over and over.  Stop and think for a moment; in order for the story to be true, the FBI would have to have sold out their own country, these brave men and women of law enforcement, some of the best patriots in our nation, would not sit by and choose political correctness over their own country.  Certainly there are terrorists out there trying to establish a worldwide Caliphate, but they're not evenly remotely close to doing anything of the sort, they've taken over pieces of a few war torn failed states, they're not a threat to topple the world's most powerful country.  Stories such as this, and there are plenty of other topics equally butchered on Facebook and other online sites by both the Right and the Left, contribute nothing to a democracy but fear, cynicism, division, and hatred.

                The willingness of a population to let their fears cloud their judgment so that they accept what they fear as the truth without questioning it, is not in any way a new facet of democracy.  It has happened before in our own history, at the very beginning, when John Adams, as ardent a patriot as the Founding Fathers ever had, was accused in the press by the opposition of secretly desiring to return America to King George if Adams should win the Presidency.  Ridiculous nonsense, yet willingly spread by those opposed to Adams’ politics and believed by far too many regular people who should have known better.  A similar story could be told of Athens during its glory days, when Alcibiades was convicted in absentia of desecrating the gods and condemned to death; when he heard the news he was in the middle of fighting for his city on foreign soil, a fact that his enemies used against him as he could not defend himself in the courts.  Likewise, the aged war hero and philosopher of Athens, Socrates, was also vilified without factual basis and convicted of corrupting the youth of the city, he too was condemned to death, and unlike Alcibiades, who fled and switched sides to fight for Sparta, Socrates willingly took the hemlock to die as a martyr.

                There are two equally unpalatable explanations as to why ridiculous scare tactics would be utilized by a free press: (1) the people writing these stories know that they’re false, but care so much about their cause, and hate their opposition so much, that they don’t care about the Truth. (2) The people writing such stories believe them to be true because their ideology has clouded their rational minds to the point that everything is seen through that prism.  Neither of those scenarios are a good one.  The first envisions a limitless supply of morally repugnant behavior in the pursuit of an ideal, and the second requires a human mind so blinded by its own convictions that rational thought is not to be found.  When a society is infected with this sort of rancor, both purposeful falsehoods and willing blindness are at work.

                The reason why this diatribe about the portions of the Press (which includes many outlets claiming to be journalism, but falling far from that standard) that are partisan, and the ongoing manifestation of truth-less claims in Facebook arguments, are being included in my blog about the Christian Faith and my life as a Pastor is that I have personally witnessed the negative effects of this on morally upright Christian men and women.  There are people I have known, some for decades, who now only listen to one side of any political story, who now assume that the opposition is full of scoundrels and turn a blind eye to the moral deficits of their own champions, and who seem to have accepted the false premise that the cure for what ails America is to be found at the ballot box, in Congress, the White House, or before the Supreme Court.  This is a false hope, one that will continue to cheat and frustrate those who put their trust in it.  The only true hope for America, for any nation, is to bring about spiritual revival through the local churches, one person saved by the grace of God and transformed at a time.  The time, energy, and passion spent indulging in fears about the future, in listening to and creating salvos about the wickedness of the other side, and in looking for a political savior when only a spiritual one will do, is sadly time, energy, and passion that could have gone far in building up the Kingdom of God. 

                I’m not surprised that Facebook, and the internet in general, are where those without a filter indulge their capacity for spreading rumors as if there were facts, but I am saddened and troubled to see Christians, those taught by the Word of God, committed to the Truth, and servants by choice of the Kingdom of God, joining in on this farce to their own detriment.  This isn’t a new problem, for democracy or for Christianity, but it is one that we ought to be on the side of combating, or at least ignoring, instead of passing it along.

Sermon Video: Do we need to look anywhere else? - Luke 7:11-23

If you or I were arranging the material that Luke had to work with when writing his Gospel, I don’t think we would have placed the episode of the doubt of John the Baptist while in prison immediately following the healing of the centurion’s servant and the raising from the dead of the widow’s son.  These two demonstrations of Jesus’ intimate connection with his Father should be proof for even those who were skeptical beforehand, let alone for the man whose mission in life was to prepare the way for his cousin to be the Messiah of Israel.  And yet, as John’s time in prison grows, doubt has crept into his mind.  After early success in the wilderness, with throngs of people proclaiming him a mighty prophet, maybe even the Messiah, John’s career has taken an abrupt about-face with the arrest by Herod for daring to publicly denounce Herod’s clearly sinful stealing of his brother’s wife.

            How will Jesus respond to John’s doubt?  Will he criticize him from not holding firm, or offer him solace in the same way that God comforted Elijah when his strength failed?  Rather than directly addressing John’s most pressing need, freedom from prison, Jesus tells John’s followers that the proof of who he is has been made clear in the healing of the sick, blind, lame, deaf, and the raising of the dead.  Why doesn’t Jesus offer his cousin a word of encouragement, John is after all in dire circumstances at this very moment?  The truth of the person of Jesus Christ, that he is indeed the Son of God and the Son of Man, that he has come to save the lost through self-sacrifice; this truth is greater than the circumstances that John is facing.  It may not be the easiest thing to hear when we ourselves are enduring suffering, but God’s plan to redeem humanity is far greater than anything we are, or will, ever endure.  The difficulties we experience in life are very real, the pain or sorrow equally so, but in the end, the love shown to us by God will have the victory.

            If you doubt, you are not alone, if you are afraid, you are not alone; God is greater, his love for you is greater, you don't have to look anywhere else.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video