aSacredRebel

uhm yea but…

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. (John 12:20-26, NRSV)

I love this passage…

The Greeks come to the festival and see the disciples, or Philip and ask to see Jesus. Philip told Andrew, and the two of them went to tell jesus the Greeks who came to the festival want to see Him.

Then Jesus says ““The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor”

I can imagine Philip and Andrew standing there, did you hear the question or the request. What you said is nice and all but what about the Greeks?

Jesus just side-stepped the question/request and turned this into a teaching moment about serving God.

It is as if Jesus is saying, “It doesn’t matter if the Greeks want to see me, they need to see God and follow Him.”

So follow God and not your own desire.

Tell no one…

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9:18-22, NRSV)

Why should they not tell anyone?

I have to admit I have always found this line a little disturbing. When Jesus tells the disciples or someone He has healed, “Tell no one about this…”

Are we not suppose to tell about Jesus and what He has done for us?

Are we not suppose to shout it from the mountain tops?

It seems a little like reverse psychology here.. But no that isn’t it…

The ESV Study Bible says this about that line:

“Peter’s confession (v. 20) is correct, but proclaiming it widely at this time would be misunderstood because of Jewish nationalistic expectations and would make Jesus’ ministry more difficult, as people tried to force him into the role of a political and military leader against the Roman army.” (Lane T. Dennis and Wayne Grudem, eds., The ESV Study Bible (Accordance electronic ed. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2008), n.p.)

So Jesus is not trying to keep them from telling, but is trying to keep the crowds that want Him to be king and a military leader to a minimum. He is trying to progress the plans and mission of God, rather than what man wants from the Messiah…

So God knows what He is doing, and sometimes we get glimpses of that too, just like Peter…

Baptism…

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29-34, NRSV)

It is interesting to me we take this passage as the Baptism of Jesus, but it doesn’t actually say that John baptized Jesus.

It says that John testified that he saw the Spirit descending on Jesus from Heaven like a dove. And the one who sent him to baptize with water told him this would happen.

We assume that John was baptizing Jesus when this happened. And don’t get me wrong, I take the other 3 gospels understanding of this event and have them inform my picture of this event. But it doesn’t actually say here there was a baptism…

So does that change anything?

In my mind no. John tells the story of the Good News of Jesus Christ. How He cam to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and set our hearts on fire for the Lord!

So follow where He leads you!

Promise

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the LORD stood beside him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:10-17, NRSV)

Here is one of those readings we know, because we learned about it in Sunday School…

We see the picture of the stairs/ladder and the angels ascending and descending on it. The thing we sometimes miss is the promise and the presence…

The promise is the land where he is sleeping will be his and his offsprings, and all of the world will be blessed by him and his offspring. And that God Himself will keep Jacob and be with him and being him back to this place. And God will always be with Him until the promise is fulfilled.

Now this might seem like God is going to leave Jacob. But what is the promise? That the land will be his and his offspring, so as long as Jacob has an offspring, no matter how far removed, God will be with Him. And that is the presence…

God stood beside him… Why do we not see pictures with God standing beside Jacob? God stood with Him and promised to not leave him until the promise was fulfilled.

That is the same presence He gives to you. And His promise is to be with you!

Seeing

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” (John 1:43-51, NRSV)

Do we believe things because we have seen them?

I think about the movie The Santa Claus and the part between Charlie and Neil, where Neil asks if Charlie has ever seen Santa, and he says yes, and then Neil says well I haven’t and Charlie asks if Neil has ever seen a million bucks. Just because you have never seen a million dollars does not mean that it doesn’t exist.

I have never seen the resurrected Jesus, but I know that He exists.

We will see greater things than God knowing all about us!

He will show us things we could not in our wildest imaginations dream up!

All because He loves us.

So always remember seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing!

The sport of it

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. These all look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works—who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 104:24-35, NRSV)

I love this Psalm, because it shows that God has a sense of humor! As if I needed more than God calling me into the ministry as an ordained pastor to show me that He has a sense of humor…

But the line that the seas have creeping things innumerable and ships and Leviathan that He made for the sport of it!

Everything in the world was made by God and nothing happened apart from His plan.

And while we can find humor in Leviathan, we can also find hope in Leviathan. Because God created everything and nothing is a mistake or happened without His doing.

So you are special and made for a purpose!

in not of

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. Then those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth part of the day, and for another fourth they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.” And Ezra said: “You are the LORD, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. (Nehemiah 9:1-6, NRSV)

They separated themselves from all those different…

This means that until this time they were living in and among those who were not like them.

But they took time to gather with those who believed the same as them and to give thanks to God and to confess all they had done wrong.

When they had heard the words that God has restored them and given them life, even though the text does not say it, they probably went back to the lives they were living in and among those who were different.

That is where we are! Living in the world, but not really a part of it. We are in, not of the world. We are the hands and feet of Jesus and need to gather with our brothers and sisters, but not leave the world behind.

God needs us in the world!

So go and be in, and not of, know that Christ has claimed you and called you His own!

wear out

And, “In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.” (Hebrews 1:10-12, NRSV)

The earth and all the creatures on it were fashioned by the Lord. And all of these things will pass away. The Bible tells us that all of creation will perish. But God remains the same. Unlike our clothing God will never wear out.

Unlike our mortal beings, the Lord will last forever.

He will always be there, and will transform us into His glory in His time. And when we are transformed we will never wear out.

Where were you?

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?—when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped’? “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a garment. Light is withheld from the wicked, and their uplifted arm is broken. “Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. (Job 38:1-18, NRSV)

I love this verse, and the song that it reminds me of that was written from it.

We think we know so much that we can question God.

Now don’t get me wrong, God is big enough to take our questions. But if He were to respond like any parent wants to when a kid keeps asking why, I imagine it would be much like this…

Where were you when I created this place?

Where were you when I set the stars in the sky?

Where were you when I taught the lion to roar?

Where were you when I made that baby look just like her mom with her daddy’s eyes?

Where were you?

When we get to big for our britches that is what God would say…

Where were you?

The myth of traditional Lutheran worship

Great read!

LUTHERAN MOXIE

I hope you all enjoy these beautiful rendered MS Paint pictures. I made them just for you.

This church sign could be in your town. At least, it could be if we named churches after famous Lutherans, which we don’t, but if we did, Melanchthon would definitely be near the top of that list. Somewhere below “Luther Lutheran Church” but way above “John Mellencamp Lutheran Church.”

But the rest of the sign, advertising two different styles of Sunday services, that’s probably pretty accurate, right? And for such general terms, these two words, “traditional” and “contemporary,” evoke very specific images:

Traditional: white robes (albs), candles and acolytes, hymnals and organs, repetitive prayers, choirs, pews, pulpit, altar, stained glass.

Contemporary: praise bands, jeans, projection screens, praise bands, comfortable seating, stages, a total embargo on “thee”s and “thou”s, and praise bands.

Maybe your local Lutheran church even offers a…

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