Judgment at the End of the Year

This is the assigned text for New Year's Eve as well as Christ the King A, this coming Sunday. I chose to preach on it for Jan. 1 in response to a congregational request.

The AngelUS Trumpet stands by its reporting at the time. 

https://blindfaithdumbcluck.blogspot.com/2016/12/baa-baa-black-sheep.html

The sermon from Jan 1 is a reminder of how the year started. Re-reading it caused me to reflect on how our world has changed (?) over these 11 months.

https://blindfaithdumbcluck.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-peoples-court-matthew-2531-46.html

This year's Christ the King sermon on this same text will appear in a few days.

Keep the faith! The battle is already won! Matthew 25:14-30

So many have read and heard this story over the years, but they have not had the political scene of today in the background. That has made the difference for me. Or maybe I am just learning something in my old age.

What is clearer to me this year, more than ever before, is that each of the Gospel writers has a particular, historical context and a particular audience each is addressing. In its own way, each Gospel is highly political, deeply spiritual, and broadly concerned with the welfare of all of God’s people living in relationship with God and one another.

It is very likely that the Gospel of Matthew was written during or just after a time of persecution of Christians. This means that people suspected as being Christian were called before the court of Rome to renounce or denounce their faith. We know that some people were not able to do this and became the early martyrs of the Church.

Those who wanted to save their lives publicly declared that the Emperor, who was most likely Domitian, was Lord of all and then made a sacrifice of incense on the altar to the Emperor. If they completed this, the judge then welcomed them saying, “Enter into the joy of Rome.”

If we overlay today’s parable on this time of persecution, then the words Jesus gives to the master, “Enter into the joy of your master”, of course, would have had meaning for the people of Jesus’ time that we might otherwise miss today. These words would have had a poignancy particularly powerful for the people of Matthew’s time.

To understand what this means for us today, as we read this Gospel lesson, we have to discern, “Is the master God or the Emperor?” A favorable judgment in the parable resulted in the invitation to enter into the joy, that is, to continue living, in the master’s kingdom. Those who identify the master as God hear this differently from those who identify the master as the emperor. So, is the kingdom of the master the political world, or is it the kingdom of God’s promised eternal life?

Then we have to determine, “What is faithful living? Making money? Or is faithfulness the willingness to risk everything?” We do not have all of the details of this time that we would like, but there are some things we know. From records of Roman court cases we have indications that a fee for the court costs, a tax, a bribe or gift, a mordida, would most probably have been part of the process. Whatever these amounts might have been, they would have been far short of the talent mentioned in this story, but the issue of money in this story would have been clear and the object of the parable remains. Those who please the master live in joy; those who don’t, live in fear, torment, and death.

I know that you have heard this parable preached as a stewardship sermon. I know because I have heard those sermons. I may have actually preached one of those sermons, but today I believe that this parable has to do more with fear and the consequences of it. So, let us look at these three slaves in the context of a fear response. What is this fear? Is it the fear of terror, of punishment that must be avoided at any cost kind of fear, or is it the fear of reverence, the “You shall fear and love God” kind of fear?

The first slave receives the talents and immediately trades them away. It is as if he fears that the amount of money he has been given is bound to cause him trouble and ultimately be the cause of his death. He might as well get it over with, and so he immediately dumps all of it into trades. By luck or shrewdness, he discovers that instead of losing money, he has multiplied his fortune. He now has ten talents. He is like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice who, the more he tried to chop up the brooms, the more brooms got up to carry the buckets of water.

The slave who has been given two talents also trades, but in this case, it appears that he is more judicious. He does not act immediately without considering alternatives. Nevertheless, he too responds to his fear and gains two more talents.

Notice that neither the first nor the second does anything with the talents they have received once they have doubled their money. They seem to stop handling the money until the master reappears.

And the last slave seems paralyzed. In fear he buries the talent in the ground. In terms of this parable, he is a worthless, lazy slave.

It is easy to say that the slave that got five talents did what was expected of him, but I am not so sure he was the good guy in this story. Likewise, we appreciate the work of the slave with two talents, but even then, I am not sure that his actions are praiseworthy. Why do we agree that the third slave is worthless and lazy?

So, let us go back and look at this parable from the context of the early Christian persecution. Each of the slaves have been given talents, and they are called to the court to renounce their faith and denounce Jesus as the Christ.

The first person is brought in, and he effusively renounces his faith. He pays the court costs and then lavishes gifts on everyone in the court. The second, though less lavishly, is able to do the same. But the third person, in effect, says, “I refuse to play these games. I will give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more. I will continue to give to God what is God’s. I will not renounce my faith. I will not denounce Jesus as the Christ. I will most certainly not make a sacrifice to Caesar on any altar. You can put me in prison. You can send me to the Coliseum to be devoured by animals. It will make no difference.”

While the first two are welcomed with the words, “Well done! Enter the joy of the master”, is this something that we are pleased with? When the third person is thrown into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, are we ashamed of him?

Today as we think about this parable in our world we must ask ourselves: Are we living in fear? Is fear controlling our lives? When we risk everything for the Gospel, are we doing that out of fear or are we acting in faith? What is the treasure that we have? How are we going to use that treasure? I bring these questions to you for your consideration because you are the ones who must answer them.

Yet, before you jump to one answer or another, let me share these last thoughts. The type of literature or writing we are reading is called apocalyptic literature. The premise of this writing is, “When you read this account, the battle has already been won.” Therefore, I am confident in understanding the meaning of this parable in our world today.

We know that Jesus has already been crucified. He has died. The tomb has been opened. He is risen! He has promised that he will come again. In the midst of this story, in the midst of the persecution, stands this amazing promise that Jesus will come again.

In our world, as in the time of Matthew’s gospel, there is more than enough fear to go around. There is the fear of terror when we consider how screwed up our world is today. Have we done enough? Is it possible to do enough to make a difference? Will Jesus find faithful people when he comes again?

We need to also remember the fear of reverence. We know that that fear is both enough and never enough, but we do have this assurance: Christ has already won the battle for us. God’s love for God’s people is shown to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; and for his sake God forgives us all of our sin.

The fact of the matter is that we are all of these slaves. We are both willing at times to risk everything for the Gospel and at other times just trying to save our lives. We are sometimes more judicious in how we do these things, but still are willing. We are sometimes unable to do anything for the sake of the Gospel, and then there are those times when for the sake of the Gospel we are willing to confront the powers of the world and say, “Enough is enough.” At those times, fear may be much more like the reverence or honoring of God that the Old Testament writers and Luther speak of. In those times, we are much more able to say we fear and love God. There is but one God who is above all others. We have come to know God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier; co-equal and co-eternal, God in three persons, the blessed Trinity.

And so, we wait in that time between Christ’s ascension into heaven and his coming again to judge the living and the dead, doing what we can in faith, depending on God’s grace. We continue to keep the faith knowing that God has already won the battle over sin, death and the devil. We wait, hearing these sometimes confusing and challenging texts with the sure and certain hope of God’s love for the world, in the context of the telling of the story of faith recorded for us in the Gospels, knowing that each of the Gospel writers has a particular historical context and a particular audience he is addressing. Each Gospel is highly political, deeply spiritual, and broadly concerned with the welfare of all of God’s people living in relationship with God and one another.

The question that lingers for us today with the telling of this parable is, “Will we wait in fear and trepidation or will we be able to depend on the mercy and the love shown to us in Christ, celebrating each day that we have?”. When we hear those words, “Enter into the joy of the master,” will we be cringing, or will we be dancing? These are the questions we have as we come to the end of our liturgical year, as we begin to think about how we are going to faithfully tell the story of Jesus in the coming year, as we prepare for the Christmas event of vulnerable coming and the walk to the cross and the Easter proclamation of joyful hope.

May you know Christ’s presence in these days. May you be strengthened for the journey. May you find your faithful response in this time of waiting for Christ’s coming again, walking in the ways of Christ, loving our neighbor and one another.

I urge you. Keep the faith. The battle is already won.

JOY OF THE MASTER

THE ANGELUS TRUMPET

The Unexpurgated Source for Alternative Bible Facts

JOY OF THE MASTER

by Matt Hughes 

Dateline: Jerusalem, Nov. 19, 2017, 25:14:30

Officials closed down a money laundering operation at the Hippodrome earlier today. Police received a tip to an illegal betting and money laundering scheme. Duke McMaster, owner of racehorse Joy of the Master and underworld drug cartel overlord, is accused of manipulating races and passing money through off-track betting (OTB) and track betting at the same time.

The scheme seemed to work well for a while. A number of McMaster’s colleagues bet on Joy of the Master using money McMaster had gained through drug trafficking. By betting on his own horse, and bribes made to jockeys so as to control the outcome of those races, McMaster was able to make his money look legitimate.

It is estimated that it cost McMaster up to 20% of his initial capital, but when the process was completed, McMaster had money that he could legitimately use without fear of tax fraud charges until yesterday afternoon when suddenly things fell apart.

Three men were to make bets on Joy of the Master in the 7th race to win. At race time, Joy of the Master was running at even money. Earlier, Phillip Pokette went to the betting window placing $50K to win. Seymour and Barrymore Cash were to also place bets of $20K and $10K, respectively. At the end of the day, when each had won, the plan was they were to turn over their winnings to McMaster less a small percentage.

Problems arose after Seymour Cash made his bet. The window was closed before Barrymore Cash was able to make the third bet finishing the deal. Barrymore Cash feared McMaster’s ultimate reprisals when he would be able to only give back the money McMaster had given him. Because he knew McMaster has a violent temper, Barrymore Cash decided to turn State’s evidence and enter the witness protection program rather than face McMaster’s wrath.

Barrymore Cash’s statement has led to the arrests of brother Seymore Cash, Pokette, and McMaster. New indictments are expected in the coming days as investigations continue concerning race fixing, jockey bribes, OTB parlor managers, and several track officials. It is suspected that more than 100 people have entered into the Joy of the Master kingdom of fraud.

Track officials report that there has been much handwringing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth as this story unfolds. Track steward, Horace Cense, stated, “This has thrown the entire horse racing industry into utter darkness.”

God Takes a Vacation

Once there were three churches. They were modest churches that were formed by modest people living in modest communities. Each of these modest churches had modest councils who were made up of modestly faithful men and women who oversaw the modest ministries like the modest Sunday School, the modest music program, the modest property surrounding the modest church, and the maintenance of the modest cemetery.

One Sunday, the modest pastors of these modest churches stood up in the modest pulpits to preach modest sermons. Now no one knew it, but the Holy Spirit, which is anything but modest, had been imprisoned in the beautiful but modest hand-tooled, leather-covered, gilt-edged Bibles. When the modest pastors opened the modest Bibles that Sunday, the Holy Spirit was set free. The Spirit entered into these three modest pastors, and then these three modest pastors said something quite immodest.

“God loves you!” they shouted to the modest people sitting in their modest pews. And every modest person jumped.

“God loves you so much that while you have been living your modest lives, sleeping in your modest homes, God extravagantly gave gifts of excellence from the Holy Spirit to each and every one of you. God did this because, after five thousand years, God is tired of hearing all the complaining and grumbling and discontent about the work that God is doing. So, God has decided to take a vacation and has left you in charge of God’s kingdom!

“Don’t panic! God has arranged for the Holy Spirit to continue to support and lead you in these coming days, so that you can learn to use the amazing gifts God has given you for the life and ministry of God’s world.

“I am told that the Holy Spirit laughed for joy when God unveiled the plan and said, ‘Okay! This should be fun because giving gifts away only makes more gifts!’

“So, I come to you today telling you that you now have all of the gifts that you need to thrive. What do you think of that?”

Then, the modest pastors immodestly sat down. Each of these modest pastors looked a little confused or dazed, not quite sure of what had just happened.

In the first church, people started talking to their neighbors quietly and then more loudly as they prepared to leave worship that day. Someone stood up and said, “I think we need to discover what gifts we have so that we might consider what we are best suited to do.”

And they did. They discovered that their greatest gift was a gift of generosity. They decided to give God’s kingdom away. And so, they gathered everything they had and prepared to give it away—they even mortgaged the modest church building and the modest property.

But then, they were challenged to find the best way to give God’s kingdom away. So, they went out into the community, and they met people at the bus stops and in the cafés. They asked them what they needed because they were giving God’s kingdom away.

They built playground equipment in the parks and gave their time away cleaning up the messy parts of town. They gave food away at potlucks, and they opened their building as a shelter for people who were abused and forgotten. Each week they gathered together and talked about how they could give more of God’s kingdom away to the modest community in which they lived.

In the second church, people started talking to their neighbors quietly and then more loudly as they prepared to leave worship that day. Someone stood up and said, “I think we need to think about what we have just heard and each come back with an idea for how we should respond to this message.”

The following week they gathered in small groups and discussed some of their ideas. They discovered that each idea involved singing. They were a little surprised to discover that they loved singing so much. So, they decided that they needed to do something about making sure that anyone who loved music and who loved to sing should feel welcome in their church. They told their council to find a way to help them get more people who liked to sing.

And so, they advertised in the papers, and they talked with their friends. They organized musical performances of stories from the Bible. They invited people to come and share their musical gifts, or to simply come and enjoy the music and the stories. They gathered people who played guitars and saxophones on the street corners, and they sang hymns and songs and celebrated life.

In the third church, people started talking to their neighbors quietly and then more loudly as they prepared to leave worship that day. Someone stood up and sarcastically said, “Well, that was something.”

Shamed, and in fear, the other people in the congregation modestly looked down at the floor, then guiltily at one another, and went home. During the following week people met each other in stores and shops. They called each other on the telephone. They talked about how shocking the Sunday message had been.

One person was overheard to say, “I am really afraid that the message was not from God at all. I think that the pastor should be ashamed for trying to hoodwink us like that. We need to call the council to do something about it. The sermons need to be the way they’ve always been. God gave me this modest life, and I like my modest life in my modest home in our modest community. Who does the pastor think she is? What she is proposing sounds good, but it could also destroy us.”

On vacation, God talked with people at the bus stops and ate in cafés where the people from the first church were gathered. God played on the slides and swings, acted like a monkey on the monkey bars, and laughed with the children. God laughed most of all at the thought of trying to give the kingdom away.

God sang with the guitar and saxophone players as people gathered in harmony with one another in the second church. Indeed, God had a great time at the parties, singing the old songs and the new, and they drank wine together and shared their life stories.

But in the third church God wept and quietly walked among them in sadness. God gathered the people into God’s arms and blessed them and forgave them because, they could not find a way to use the amazing gifts of the Spirit God gave them. In their fear, their anger and their shame, they felt abandoned, like they were cast into the outer darkness. They ground their teeth and angrily and fearfully looked at the sinful world around them and withdrew further and further until they finally just disappeared.

© June 2007 (rev. Nov. 2017), Peter Heide. All rights reserved.

Life is a cumulative experience Matthew 25:1-13

Life is a cumulative experience. When I first heard this, I thought that people were talking about clouds. I used to love to lie on my back and watch those cumulative clouds. I thought that it had something to do with finding the silver lining of the cloud. It was not until a few years later learning arithmetic that I learned that there was a difference between cumulus and cumulative.

I bring this up today, because we all know that life is cumulative. We need to learn to roll over before we can crawl. We need to crawl before we can walk. We need to walk before we can run. I’m not going into hopping, skipping, and dancing.

Well, reading Scripture and understanding God’s word for us is also cumulative, and it is that cumulative learning we depend on today. Without our cumulative learning, this story looks very harsh.

Okay, there were five foolish maidens, and there were five wise maidens. What about it? For some reason they come to light the way of the bridegroom to the wedding hall, and the bridegroom is delayed. Really, the bridegroom drags his feet. Maybe he is having a case of cold feet about the marriage, or maybe there are some things that cause him to tarry on the way. At any rate, the bridegroom is delayed.

While they are waiting, the maidens nod off. Notice, they all fall asleep. Suddenly there is a cry, and all of them awaken, but they have all been burning oil while they were sleeping. Now, when they trim the wicks of their lamps they notice that some of them don’t have enough oil to complete their vigil awaiting the bridegroom. Notice it does not say that they have actually run out of oil, only that they fear that they will run out of oil. Asking those who have extra oil, the foolish maidens are rebuffed and told to go into the market, to the oil dealers, and bargain for more oil.

Doing due diligence, these five foolish maidens leave, negotiate the price of more oil, return to their place of vigilance only to discover that the bridegroom has already arrived, and they are no longer able to light the bridegroom’s way to the wedding hall. Frantic, they knock on the door crying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!”

Now they receive the most devastating news of all. “Who are you? I don’t know you! Go away! Don’t bother me!”

Okay, do you remember what happened last February? For instance, where were you at 2:00 in the afternoon on Valentine’s Day? Or, what were you doing on Presidents’ Day? Do you remember us reading much of Jesus’ sermon on the mount during that time?

You see, reading the Gospel of Matthew, like life, is a cumulative experience. Do you remember hearing Jesus say, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but every bad tree bears bad fruit.…You will know the trees by their fruit?” If you remember that, do you also remember Jesus saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven’”? These words of Jesus come to us from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and, yes, that was already last February. Just hold that thought for a moment.

Do you remember during Holy Week hearing that Jesus was tried, crucified, and was buried? That Jesus did what Jesus did for the sake of the world? Do you remember on Easter Sunday reading that the stone was rolled away, being told that Jesus was going ahead of his disciples to Galilee? Yes, life is cumulative, and we need to remember that today especially. Otherwise we are confronted with an image of a very vengeful, judgmental God. Without the context of our other learnings and readings, in this story, we are challenged by a Jesus-like bridegroom we don’t recognize. We are left with incomplete understanding. We are not even clearly told whether the foolishness of the maidens was that they didn’t bring enough oil or that their foolishness was that they were willing to leave their posts of watching to go into the market to buy more oil.

So, what are we supposed to learn from this story? We are told in no uncertain terms that we should be watchful, that is, we should be engaged in life. We should be engaged in doing our Father in heaven’s will. We should understand that the message Jesus speaks is the same at the end of the Gospel of Matthew as it was at the beginning. We should be aware that the time of the bridegroom’s coming will be a surprise.

At this stage of the sermon, I am guessing you are thinking about the bumper sticker that said, “Jesus is coming. Look busy.” That is not what Jesus is talking about today. But if we think that we can claim our place in this story with the wise maidens, then we are probably setting ourselves up for a rude awakening. At the same time, if we align ourselves with the foolish maidens we are doing ourselves an injustice.

Today we are called upon to take our cumulative knowledge of God and God’s intentions for the world. In our Lutheran language, we need to hear, “Through the person of Jesus Christ, God intends that all should be saved. God intends that all should be saved. But, by actively turning away from God we can lose the gracious gift of salvation God gives. Even then, if we truly repent of our ways, God is anxiously waiting for us to re-enter that relationship of loving grace that we have come to know in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

So, what are we to do with these foolish and wise maidens? We are to see ourselves in them. How many times have we been distracted from our vigilance, from our walk with Christ? How often have we been distracted by the needs of the market, by that single thing we think we need in order to have a better, more comfortable, fulfilling life, only to discover that our relationship with Christ has suffered for our own wants and needs? How many times have we ignored the call of the marketplace to come to worship, to help those who are less fortunate, to be a little Christ to our neighbor? How many times have we chosen to strengthen our relationships with Christ and our neighbor, to see Christ’s face for us in our neighbor?

This is going to be an important learning for us because, in a couple of weeks, we will again be faced with being on the right or the wrong side of God’s work. So, it is that today we need to understand that we are both the foolish and the wise maidens in this story. We have already been given enough to light the way of the Bridegroom to the wedding hall, and, if we are not distracted, we will continue to be that light, not only for the bridegroom, but for the people who follow in the bridegroom’s entourage, for all the saints, for the Church on earth, and the hosts of heaven, gathering in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving for God’s active presence in our lives and the abundance of what we have.

We come to this reading today with the cumulative life-learning knowing that we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, not only by what we have done, but by what we have left undone. We also come, knowing that we have praised God with what we do and what we undo.

We come to this place today, hearing this story, knowing that we are simultaneously saint and sinner; always in a state of grace and always knowing that we need to be forgiven. We come to the door of the wedding feast not just crying, “Lord, Lord, open to us”, but knocking on the door with the promise that it will be opened to us, finding what we are seeking, that is, a stronger relationship with Christ and our neighbor.

So, in our watching, that is, in our engagement with the world, with all of our imperfections, the foolish and the wise, we remain vigilant. When we see Christ coming in the cumulus clouds with his angels in glory, we might joyfully cry out, “We are here Lord. What took you so long?”

Amazon Drone Delivery Saves the Day

THE ANGELUS TRUMPET

The Unexpurgated Source for Alternative Bible Facts

Amazon Drone Delivery Saves the Day

by Matt Hughes 

Dateline: Blue Mountain, PA, Nov. 12, 2017, 25:01:13

In recent months there has been a certain amount of concern and criticism over Drone Delivery Service, especially Amazon’s use of them, but last Friday night proved the service. While newly married Blake and Darcy Stourmee-Knight took a winding, celebratory drive around the mountain on the way to their reception party at the Thurufare dining club and banquet hall, ten young women, friends of the Stourmee-Knights, thought to light the way of the wedding couple to the reception.

The entourage, in a large bus, was following the young couple who were driving in their new, compact SUV. Unexpectedly the SUV turned down a narrow lane the bus was not able to navigate. Unbelievably, it took some time for the Stourmee-Knights to realize that they were alone and to find their way back to the others.

Everyone was expected at the Thurufare at 7:00 pm, but, at the appointed time, the Stourmee-Knights and their entourage had not arrived. The girls, believing everyone would arrive momentarily, continued their lamp vigil which allowed Amazon to have a momentous impact.

One, Yaswi Kahn, explains it vividly, “We all sort of grew up with one another. We played soccer when we were really little, and then we went to school together. Later, we played basketball and volleyball together. It seems like we have always been together. Some of us were always on the honor roll, and some of us just scraped by, but, somehow, we always managed to stay friends.

"So, when Darcy got married, we decided to do this thing to, like, honor them. We wanted Blake to know that we thought he was cool too, so we went out and got these really ancient lamps to light their way to the Thurufare. The sun goes down pretty early these days, so we thought it would look really cool, but as time went on, it got really dark and Stourmee-Knights didn’t show.

“When they finally did get there, it was like in the middle of the night, and the fuel in our lamps was getting kinda low. I asked Lita Kandall, one of the other girls, to share some of her fuel, but she said she didn’t think she would have enough as it was. See some of the lamps came with an extra fuel cell, but it was more expensive. We thought that we were probably going to use it just that one time, so some of us only got the lamp with the single fuel cell. Well how were we to know that they were going to get 'lost'?

“So anyways, we had to get more fuel for the lamps. I mean we could have used our phone lights, but that looked really tacky next to the flaming lamps, so I went to my Amazon Prime account and found that I could get extra fuel cells for the lamps really cheap if I ordered enough for all of us who were running short. And, of course, I could get immediate delivery if I used the Drone Delivery Service, so I made the order.

“It’s really cool, because the drones locate your GPS coordinates, and then they fly right to where your phone is. By the time the Stourmee-Knights finally got there, the fuel cells had been delivered, and we all went into the Thurufare, a little late, but we had a great time.

“I highly recommend the new Drone Delivery Service and give a “thumbs up” to Amazon Prime for making it all happen. Looking back, buying the extra fuel cell would have been better, but Amazon Prime came to the rescue. The cavalry arrived just in time. Thanks, Amazon Prime.”

I love to go to the beach Matthew 23:1-12

I love to go to the beach. I don’t care whether it is Lake Michigan or the ocean, there is something about big water and beaches that sensorily help me to know God’s work in the world, of experiencing the limits beyond which the sea cannot go; to hear the waves rolling in; to listen to that rhythmic action of attack and retreat, of encounter and withdrawal; to feel the wind on my face; to taste the spray as a storm comes in; and to feel the sucking of the sand from under my feet.

Beyond the noise, the smell, the touch, the taste of God’s border patrol work, is that mystical ebb and flow of the tide. Okay, I know Lake Michigan only has a tide of about six inches, but it is measurable. Of course, the tide is much more apparent at the ocean, and I love walking along the shoreline during the changing time. I love that feeling of walking along finding myself either running toward the water trying to keep my feet in the water or running away from the water trying to keep from being washed away.

Several years ago, I was sitting at the water’s edge playing in the sand. As I was building my sand castle with its moats and parapets, the tide started to come in. I knew that the castle was not long for the world, but I wanted to finish it before the ravages of the tide would take it away. So, I stayed.

When the waves finally washed my handiwork away, I turned and sat there letting the water rise around me until I finally had to get up or be drowned. I was neck deep in the water, and then suddenly a wave would come in and completely cover me. At the same time, as I was being covered, my body was lifted up and pushed toward the shore. As the water again withdrew, I could feel my body being pulled out into the ocean. By the time I got up, it took real concentration. First, I was being pushed forward and then being pulled back. Just as I thought I was beyond danger, a wave hit me in the backs of my legs, and I was put down on my knees. It was like gentle reminder from God’s creation of who was or wasn’t in control.

Today, we come to this All Saints Sunday in the midst of Holy Week tides. Perhaps we are coming in the tides of death’s grief and life’s joy. Perhaps, we come feeling like the sand is being washed out from under our feet and that we will be drowned in seas of chaos. We may only feel the forces of change between autumn breezes and winter blasts, but I’m guessing that each of us has a tidal push and pull in our lives today.

Well in the midst of the tidal changes in the book of Matthew, today we see the tide coming in. The Chief Priests, the Scribes, the Pharisees and their disciples, even the Herodians, have taken their shot at trying to pull Jesus out into those seas of chaos, but he has maintained his place throughout. Jesus’ debate with the Chief Priests and the Elders and the rest have not gone un-noticed, and now, at the end of the testing, Jesus turns to the crowd and his disciples and begins his critiquing judgment on those who have been testing him. Yes, the tide is coming in, and the people are learning what servant leadership is.

In a world of honor and shame, it is Jesus’ victorious right to judge those who have judged him, and yet, he does not try to discredit what they know and teach, he only promises danger if they continue in their disconnected ways. In the following verses of Matthew Jesus demonstrates how hypocrisy, that disconnect between teaching and doing, leads to empty-faith living and wrong-minded, oppressive behavior. He warns the crowd and his disciples particularly, but for those others who have lagged behind, Jesus says it is important to practice what you teach. As a pastor friend of mine says, “If you say it, you need to pray it. If you pray it, you need to walk it. If you are going to walk it, talk it. If you are going to talk it, teach it. If you are going to teach it, preach it. And when you preach it, say it clear.” However you say it, Jesus is telling us today that there needs to be a connection between what we teach and what we do.

--------
Who doesn’t like to be honored and recognized in the midst of the crowd? Who doesn’t like to be thought of as wise and powerful? Jesus does not say that we shouldn’t want or receive these things. He only states that our actions need to be in accord with words and our position; we need to continue to be part of the community, sharing the load. In the words of a song, “We all need somebody to lean on.”

That leaning time is recognized in this passage and in this day. Jesus has proven through his words and actions throughout the Gospel of Matthew that he will be there when we need someone to lean on, not like a surging tide that threatens to knock you over, but as a neighbor who reaches out a hand in a time of need to give extra support.

So as the tide now shifts in Matthew, we hear that we need to remember who and whose we are, but first we are reminded of who we are not. We are not the teacher of God’s word; we are all students. We are not the Father who created the heavens and the earth; we are God’s children. We are not even instructors of God’s ways in the world, that one is the Messiah, the Christ, the one who is able to turn aside the hatred of those who would entrap, arrest, and kill him. The one who is able to speak good of those who have disparaged him and his followers for the sake of the world.

So, if we are not the teacher, the father, or the instructor, who are we? We are the mirrors of God’s loving judgment to the world. We are the people who have hope in times of despair. We are the people who grieve with hope because of God’s Word, revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, the one who continues to point us to the kingdom relationship of everlasting life.

We know that there will always be tides that threaten to pull us away from the shore of God’s loving embrace, but we continue to walk on the shores knowing that beyond this point the waves of chaos cannot go. In the mysteries of our world, God continues to act, to bring life in a world of death, to bring hope in a world of despair, to bring healing to a broken world, to bring forgiveness in a world of sin, to find ways of continued goodness in God’s own handiwork, to remember that in the tidal waters that can drown us comes a source of life and many gifts to support life.

On this All Saints Sunday, we remember many of the words of those who have gone before us, but, more than that, we remember their actions of love and caring that have helped to make us who we are for, in our faith living, we are all affected in some way by those with whom we have been in relationship. We are also affected by the loss of relationships and the grieving holes of loss in our lives that occur when loved ones die. Today we especially remember Virginia King, Charles Stubby, and David Bowden.

There is a temptation to say the tidal pull is between grief and joy, but today I would suggest that the tidal shift is between grief and peace, that peace that comes from the promise and hope of Christ’s own resurrection, the peace that comes from Jesus’ standing firm in the changing relationships with those who would even dare to pull him into power politics of that time, the peace that comes from continuing in relationship with Jesus through the rest of the story, to the cross and to the Easter tomb. This is not to say that we should not grieve, but that grief is one of the tides that pulls on us. Yet there is another tide coming, a tide that brings peace. That tide of peace is always coming and waits on the other side of grief.

Today, we come to the shores of heaven’s kingdom, building castles of relationship, of love and hope, knowing that what we build will be swept away in the loving baptismal tidal sea of God’s eternal living love, no longer tossed about by the push and pull of the world, but sustained in the promise of a final surging wave that will wash us up onto the shores of God’s eternal kingdom.

In the meantime, let us live fully in the kingdom of heaven we know, reflecting God’s promise and hope to all we know. In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, “Proclaim the gospel in all that you do. If necessary, use words.”

DO YOU NEED THE MOSES SEAT?

THE ANGELUS TRUMPET

The Unexpurgated Source for Alternative Bible Facts

BUSINESS

DO YOU NEED THE MOSES SEAT?

by Matt Hughes 

Dateline: New Jerusalem, PA, Nov. 5, 2017, 23:01:12

Kingdom of Dodd (KoD) will expand its production of products to improve the way we live. KoD has announced their latest venture will be a line of innovative ergonomic furniture. Mesa Grande table tops will adjust to the comfort level of those who are using it.

Kristy says, “With the touch of a button this table top will raise or lower to meet the user’s needs maximizing ergonomic comfort.” The table comes with 23 preset height settings, but it can also be adjusted at any time by activating a Bluetooth scanner that feeds your unique information into the height adjustment mechanism. Then, depending on what you are doing, the table top can be adjusted according to your needs.”

For safety, the table top also comes with a thermal sensor so that adjustments cannot be made when hot food and beverages are set upon it.

Head designer Justin Kitschen said, “The new home has many needs for the Mesa Grande. We have never just used tables for eating meals. Many households use their table tops for crafting, homework, game play as well as food preparation. This means that many different height requirements may be needed for any particular table top every day. Today especially, with keyboarding and many other needs of the modern family, table tops need to be even more flexible.”

Besides simple usage, we are living in a world where the height differences are much greater than 100 years ago. Adults are much taller while little ones continue to come in the same size. This means that table top heights need to be adjustable for comfort. Our new Mesa Grande meets all of the modern family’s needs. With the reading desk attachment at an upcharge of only $29.95, this table top can also tilt to accommodate the needs of serious readers. The reading tray can hold up to five books at a time making it convenient for multiple users or that serious research project.

Of course, the perfect companion to our Mesa Grande table are the matching adjustable chairs fitted with our new Moses Seat. The chair frame remains constant, but the Moses Seat allows the person to raise or lower it with a simple toggle switch. It also has Bluetooth connectivity with the Mesa Grande scanner. In response to requests while the Moses Seat was tested, a child lock to prevent youngsters from randomly playing with the chair during mealtime was added.

The Moses Seat chairs also come with a conference configuration that gives greater comfort and has a full body massage feature that promotes soothing tension relief for those high-pressure meetings.

Whether it is for the kitchen, the board room, or the classroom, our Mesa Grande tables and chairs with Moses Seats will change your life.

“You may not be able to be called the teacher, the great designer, or the answer to everyone’s prayers, but you will love sitting on your Moses Seat, and you will be known as the person with the best taste when you invest in our latest KoD innovations for making your life better.”

A reflection on the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Reformation, October 31, 2017

Luther lived in hard times. In Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries, over two thirds of the population had died from plague, the Black Death. Periodic outbreaks followed for 2 more centuries when even Luther lost two children from it. Europe was consumed by petty wars; the boundaries of nations were being established; feudalism was dead; and the aristocracy was beginning to be threatened by a rising merchant-middle class.

Luther thought the end of the world was coming soon. He read the Bible as his story, and, in the book of Revelation, Luther saw all of the things that were going on in his times. He truly believed that the end of the world was at hand.

But in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the social unrest of his time, Luther found comfort and peace in his garden. He took time, working with his hands, planting and weeding. He planted for his table and that which would be harvested later. He planted flowers, shrubs and trees, caring for his environment. From a theological perspective, we might say that Luther wanted to get us back to the Garden of Eden, or maybe he was thinking of the Theology of the Cross and how the cross is referred to as a tree.

Once asked what he would do if he were told that the world was going to end tomorrow, Luther is reputed to have responded, “I would plant a tree.” Today, because of statements like this, we can say with certainty that Luther addresses his own pessimism and the despair of his time, “In the times when rumors of the end of the world come, it is time to have hope for the future, to think about planting and living; living in a world that is supported by, and dependent on, God’s creating, forgiving presence that comes to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit.”

During this 500th anniversary year of Luther’s Reformation we come honoring his understanding of care for the earth, that we are in a relationship with God and God’s creation. Through our relationship with God’s creation, we also are given the gift of relationships with one another and our relationship with a loving God.

Luther is known for having some radical ideas requesting reform. Among them we most clearly remember his 95 Theses. Adoption of his beliefs both separated Luther and his followers from the Roman Catholic Church by choice and also were the cause of their excommunication by the Roman Catholic Church. That chasm led to years of war further devastating Europe’s population until there were finally not enough soldiers to fight anymore. We recognize that exhausted day in 1648, more than one hundred years after Luther’s death, as the Peace of Westphalia.

When we commemorate the beginning of the Reformation we turn to the Bible reading most associated with Luther’s reforming work. In the Gospel of John, we read and hear that to be a disciple (a learner-follower) means to remain in God’s word, and, through that, we will know the Truth and the truth will make us free.

Responding to the Gospel and to Luther, we must acknowledge that some of Luther’s writings were not helpful or hopeful then, and they are not helpful or hopeful today. Some have shaped the way many have thought about and related to not only Roman Catholics but also Jews and Muslims. He referred to the office of the Pope as being the anti-Christ. He used the language of disability as metaphor of false believing and stupidity. These and the many anti-Semitic articles he wrote were used 400 years later by Hitler and the Third Reich to justify their treatment of the Jews and the disabled, the gay, and the politically oppressed. He also said some very hurtful things about Muslims, most often referred to as the Turks.

As we recall all of the good Luther did, we must, at the same time, speak truth in order to be free of the destructive influences of Luther’s writings. We need to recognize both his brilliance and his humanity. He did not always speak responsibly, and he was not always responsive to his times. Then, speaking truth about who Luther was, we can set those writings aside.

In truth, Luther was a man of paradox, contradictions. As much as Luther cared for the poor, when the Peasants’ Revolt came about, Luther sided with power rather than with the poor and the oppressed. He often demanded acceptance and leniency for the workers of the Reformation, but he, himself, was not often accepting or tolerant of others. We need to remember this because Luther would not want to be remembered without these parts of himself. He understood, “We are simultaneously saint and sinner, always needing to be forgiven and always in a state of gracious forgiveness.”

Thus, even in the work of Luther there is a need to reform because, for all of the good things Luther did, there were also many things that he did that were not so good. So, we should not be surprised that we need to continue to be a reforming church.

The invention of the printing press helped to make the Reformation possible. Luther and his followers were able to engage that new technology and were therefore able to change the world. When books were written by hand, burning a book virtually destroyed the work of the writer, but in the day of the printing press, one could burn a book and find another copy of the book being circulated in a matter of days or weeks. The way information was circulated had changed, and that change made all the difference.

As Luther and his colleagues were able to advance the work of the Gospel in their time, using the technology available to them, so today we need to be a people of faith who continue to address the changing technologies and needs of our time. The Church cannot and should not lag behind or shun the technology we have available to us for it is through the technologies of our day that we can find new ways of spreading the Gospel, that is, the Good News of Jesus Christ, to those around us. Scripture is more available to us now than ever before. But, if we are going to benefit from this technology, we have to be willing to learn and use it. We need to use the gifts and the tools available to us in order to express our faith.

As we engage this gift of technology, Luther speaks to us across the years. I am not sure that there has been a more important time for us to hear Luther’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment concerning false witness. “We are to fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.” In the world of social media and instant news, these words continue to be a cynosure of our concern for our neighbors and ourselves.

500 years: It is an amazing thing. Each year Lutherans tell the story of the Reformation, remembering Luther and the work of his colleagues, but this year, this year in particular, we remember where we have been and dream about where we are going. Lutherans and Roman Catholics are now closer than we have been since 1517. As a matter of fact, we have gotten so close that the Pope recently received a letter charging him with among other things, being too Lutheran. I, personally, say, “Go, Pope Francis!” It is only through radical gracious action not only on the part of the Roman Catholic Church, but on the part of all Christians, that we have the possibility of ever being one Church again. It is only through our united action that true change can take place as there is much to be done to heal the over-scarred rupture of our schismatic, polarized, denominational world.

What does it mean this year, hearing Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel, to remain in Christ’s word, to be disciples, knowing the truth? What is this truth freeing us to do in the next 500 years? Maybe that is too long, maybe we should only be concerned about the next ten years, five years, maybe just one year or even a day? From his writings, I have come to understand that Luther thought that wandering about in the past was to live a life of death. Yet we are prevented from living in the future because it has not yet happened. Therefore, we are to live into the present fully, caring for our neighbors, being little Christ’s to one another. Finding ways to express our faith and hope in our world on a daily basis continues to enrich us and helps us to be a place of Good News proclamation—a relevant, reforming voice of hope to those around us, to our neighborhoods, our village, and our world.

May you know God’s blessings these days, as you go out in the midst of this reforming time, planting seeds of hope in our despairing garden, being a reforming agent of Christ’s peace, embracing that which is coming from the future into our present time. Do this looking forward in the One who is the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, that is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Not a What, but a Who is Truth John 8:31-36

In the book of John, truth and freedom are a really, big deal. These subjects of truth and freedom are not new to John, but John treats the subject of truth and freedom differently than many of his contemporaries. The subject begins long before John with Plato among others. Still Plato struggles with the subject of “What is true?” and “What is truth?”.

I have always thought that it is interesting that Plato writes that the things we see before us in the world have a reality to them that cannot be denied. A table is a table. A chair is a chair. Yet the table and the chair are, in and of themselves, not the true table or chair. He hypothesizes that in the heavens, beyond the ninth sphere of understanding, that there is a true table that defines all tables; a true chair that defines all chairs. What we have on earth is a shadow image, a verisimilitude (a reflection) of what the true table or true chair is.

In this sense, a table looks like a table, it acts like a table, it has legs like a table, but it is not a true table. It is a representation of the true table to be known in the heavens. Plato says that what we have as a table is a corrupted version of what the true table is. He further says that when we die and our divine essence is returned to that great divine essence recycling center in the heavens, then we will know what the true table is before our divine essence is again sent to live in another corrupted body.

Aristotle comes along, and he is less concerned about the true table. He is concerned with naming things correctly. He believes that if you can name a thing correctly then you can have control over that thing. He gets into common names and secret names and needing to know the secret names of things in order to properly order the world.

Truth for Plato is rightfully beyond our knowing. Truth for Aristotle is about control, naming things correctly in order to have power over them. And so, the great thinkers of time continue to struggle with “What is true?” and “What is truth?”. Most of these people will use the thoughts of Plato or Aristotle as their starting point and then go on to define truth in their time.

As we move through history, we encounter Thomas Aquinas, Kant and Hegel, Descartes (“I think therefore I am”), John Locke and David Hume, Soren Kierkegaard (“On the last day, we shall all stand alone before God to be judged.”, Fredrich Nietzsche (“We create our own gods.”), into our modern age where with Adler, we now claim, “Truth is relative.” We have come to think that truth is ever changing and therefore illusive.

All of these concerns about truth are based, that is, founded or anchored, in the idea that truth is a quantity, or a quality, something we can claim and control, something we can hold on to, something that will not change. We talk about empirical truth in science, work with provable truths in mathematics. We look for truth in politics, parsing sentence structures trying to determine whether what we hear is truth or some shadowy facsimile of truth. We listen to the news and hear truth being claimed, but as we switch channels and stations we hear truth differently. These differences are so great at times that we sometimes need to do our own research to find out what truth is. It seems that the harder we try to discover truth the slipperier it becomes until, ultimately, truth becomes a commodity. It is something to be traded, something to be bought and paid for. I find this to be deeply disturbing.

As advanced as we get in our thinking, we continue to come back to this single issue with Pilate at Jesus’ trial asking, “What is truth?”

-------

Today John captures Jesus’ words for us and changes the entire conversation. This change is important for us as Christ-followers because John tells us that truth is not a what but a who.

In John chapters 7 & 8, Jesus is confronting the politics and the powers of his time. Near the end of this long passage Jesus turns to his followers and addresses them concerning this subject of truth. He tells those who have been believers to this point that they should continue in his word. By doing this they will know truth and the truth will make them free.

Now this passage has all kinds of meaning for us today as we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. In Greek the word for freedom is “eleuthero”. We will come back to that in a minute. For now, it is enough to know it is not a coincidence that the Greek word freedom, “eleuthero”, and the name “Luther” look and sound similar.

In this passage, Jesus tells the people that truth is not a concept but a relationship. Continuing in his word is to continue to be in relationship with Christ himself. For, we have already learned at the beginning of John’s Gospel that the word of God is revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, that the “word became flesh and dwelt among us”. So, to continue in Christ’s word is to continue to be in relationship with Christ.

Discipleship then is continuing to be in a learning relationship with Christ. And, by continuing in this learning relationship, we will encounter truth, that is, the fullness of who Jesus is. To know the fullness of Jesus, you must continue to read the Gospel of John because the cross and resurrection, Jesus’ death, his burial in the tomb, the open tomb on Sunday morning, Mary’s tears of lament, and her recognition of Jesus in the garden are still ahead. These life-changing events are how we come to KNOW the truth of who Jesus is. Knowing that truth frees us to live life in new ways, in new relationships, will sustain believers through the centuries.

-------

“Continue in my word and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

Now we can talk about what it means to be free. This Greek word has a more basic meaning of being revealed, uncovered, a sudden or new realization. It has little or nothing to do with living in a democratic society, voting for those whom we wish to govern over us, although it does embrace living in a relationship with others in an egalitarian way. This freedom has everything to do with loving our neighbor as ourselves, walking together in Christ. It is that moment of full knowledge that allows one to act without fear of the future. It is not reckless, but it is empowering and energizing, helping one to clearly see the way to go, and then going there without distraction or fear.

Indeed, this truth that frees is not and cannot be a what, a simple principle. It must be a who, the who, who leads and teaches the believers in right paths, in right ways, in right relationships with God and our neighbors—Jesus, himself.

This word, this truth that has been hidden, that at times seems to be distant from us, is revealed, has come into existence in our presence, in the person of Jesus Christ. This truth frees us, with all of the believers throughout history, to live in new ways.

It is this freedom, this relationship, that Martin Luther (eleuthero) wishes to commemorate in a new spelling of his name. He is Martin The-One-Who-Is-Free, free from the power of the Pope, the traditions of the Church, the mediation of the saints, the baggage of 1500 years of man-made hurdles to jump in order to be saved. “We are saved by grace, in faith through Christ alone.”

-------

“You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

That freedom is known in a loving relationship with Christ and our neighbor. A relationship with Christ is one that will reveal the pain and distress of life, of death itself, as being powerless for Christ will conquer death that all may know the power of the resurrection through him.

In baptism we enter into this relationship with him. As we die with him in the waters of baptism, so we are raised up with him to live a life like his, reaching out to our neighbor in healing and loving ways, lifting them up into new ways of living through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a relationship of walking with, alongside of, working together, in the body of Christ. Jesus calls us into this relationship of having already died in baptism and being raised up in the world of the resurrection with Christ, freed to also live with Christ and one another, walking alongside the neighbors that we meet.

If Lutherans have anything to offer on this day that is unique, it is that Luther’s understanding of our relationship with Christ frees us to be in relationship with our neighbor. Indeed, Luther develops an entire theology of neighbor based on the event of the cross. Christ died on the cross for us, so we, in baptism, die to ourselves for the sake of our neighbors that we might walk with them, not only with the people we like, but with all of our neighbors, freed, liberated, given the opportunity to work for a better world and society. We do not do these things in order to be saved but because we are saved. So, it is that at the heart of Lutheran theology, we reach out to the poor, to the dishonored, the disenfranchised, the oppressed, to raise them up into Christ’s relationship of wholeness.

I find it interesting to note that the first real Community Chest program, the first welfare program, that western society knows, is created by Martin Luther. Luther finds a way to have funds set aside for the less fortunate of his world. These funds are locked in a box to be distributed as needed. Yet, it is not up to a single person to distribute these funds, but to three people. The priest and two others must agree that someone needs help. It takes three keys, one held by each person, to open the chest and the funds. Even in distributing the funds for the poor, Luther has found a way to build community relationship awareness.

Trying to keep Luther’s extravagant giving in check, Katie Luther insists she needs to be in control of the household finances because, if Luther were in charge, he would give everything they have away. We always need a balance of Martin and Katie because, from the beginning, Lutherans have this commitment to the oppressed and the poor. Luther firmly believes that we are freed to do that because of our relationship with Christ. Christ gave up everything for us, so that we should be willing to give up everything, or at least something, for our neighbors, to be little Christs to one another.

In today’s Gospel, speaking to the people of his time, Jesus confronts the leaders with this new understanding of truth and freedom. Their response is to ignore their history, even their own present circumstances. They say, “What are you talking about? We are children of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.”

We immediately want to say, “Wait a second! Don’t you remember Egypt? What about the Babylonian Exile? Do you not know that you are living under the thumb of Rome at this very moment?” Jesus could have been equally judgmental and harshly ridiculing concerning their answer, but Jesus changes the game. He says, “Anyone who sins is in bondage to sin and is a slave to sin.”

In the 19th century William Loehe takes Luther’s words and ideas. What Loehe composes helps us speak Luther’s theological understanding of this passage in our Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness. “Most merciful God, we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; not only by what we have done, but by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart (i.e., we have not honored the first commandment). We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves (that whole issue of relationship, i.e., we have not fully entered into a relationship with one another in a way that helps us all to lift one another up). For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name. Amen.”

Having spoken this truth, we are assured of our freedom from sin when we hear, “In the mercy of Almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all of our sins…. Your sins are forgiven.”

This whole understanding of relationship with one’s neighbor begins with confession. We are not fully able to enter into a full relationship with our neighbor until we are forgiven. It is how we move from the world of selfishness to selflessness.

Luther tells us that we live in two kingdoms: The kingdom on the left, that is, the kingdom of the world, and the kingdom on the right, that is, the kingdom of God. These kingdoms are not mutually exclusive. They overlap or intersect like a Venn diagram or that familiar image of two marriage rings interlinked, with a parenthetical space in the middle. We live in that in-between, overlapping, interlinked place, in the intersection or marriage of the two kingdoms, being drawn in both directions. We understand that institutions, authorities, and law-giving powers, those kingdoms of the world (the kingdom on the left), pull us in one direction while the kingdom of whole, right relationships with God and God’s will, the kingdom on the right, first shown to us in the person of Jesus, that relationship of loving, gracious embrace, a relationship of forgiveness and peace that is extended to our neighbors, indeed to all people, draws us inevitably to God’s grace and mercy.

We are not citizens of the world alone for in baptism we have been raised up with Christ into the Kingdom of God. Yet, although we are drawn, at times, in one direction or the other, Luther understands that God is at work in both kingdoms always, for God is Lord of all and gives both kingdoms to us for the good order of the world. In this way, God uses both kingdoms in order for God’s work to be done.

From this dynamic relationship we come to understand that we are neither fully engaged in the world only nor fully engaged in God’s kingdom only. We are at the same time fully engaged in both. We are simultaneously saint and sinner. We are always in a state of sin, needing to be forgiven, and always in a state of grace having been forgiven and assured of God’s love.

On this Reformation Sunday, we lift these things up because we have come to know that truth is not a thing, or a quality, or a value, but a who, a relationship with God’s only son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the relationships with our neighbors we have in him.

Luther’s words and writings changed the world he lived in, and his words continue to be a reforming presence in our world today for we are not only concerned about the what of truth, but we are firmly grounded in the who of faith, in the Word of God revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, in the Truth that sets us free indeed. Go and share the good news.