Roger's Postings

Friday, January 27, 2012

Mark 1:21-28.             Under whose Authority??                              29/1/12

 (21)  They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. {22} The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. {23} Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, {24} "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" {25} "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" {26} The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. {27} The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." {28} News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

 Here today we have some advice that is desperately important for us as we go through life. At a time when we are faced with all kinds of issues, difficulties and troubles, so often we are uncertain as to who and what is the authority that we should be listening to and following. In an age where we have so much information, and so many guru’s, and yes, dare I say it, charlatans; who and what should we be looking to? Where are we to get the power we need in order to bring about the good we need in our lives? Well, here in this reading we are pointed to that which is a real authority: the only real authority.

 The only trouble is, it seems, that we want to always be looking for something new; something different; something more exciting: something that is popular; something that places me in the centre of it all. And again and again we see this happening in our own lives and around about us. We look to ourselves and what makes us feel good to determine what is right or wrong. We look to the almighty dollar and the things that it will buy us, to give security and happiness. Science and higher education is what will give us the answers we need to good health, a long life and what really makes the world tick.

 And even in the church we look to knowledge alone and not also to wisdom; we look to the culture around us to determine how we are to understand and interpret Scripture and church practice; we look to ourselves and our feelings to guide us in what is right or wrong. We listen to the ‘liberal authorities’ to guide us in our understanding of the truth. And our worship is first and foremost seen too often to be about us serving and worshipping God, instead of God serving us. And the list goes on.

 But with all of these things, if these are a first priority; and our authority that we look to; we do and will continue to find, that when the chips are down we will be left hanging ‘high and dry’. All these ‘lesser’ authorities will let us down when they are held up as ‘the’ authority. Time and time again we see this happen, and yet we always seem to think that somehow we are cleverer now than in previous times. We are smarter now, or whatever, and so we will not make the same mistake again. But again, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we will see that this is just not the case. Every authority, but one, will prove to be nothing but a disaster when they are looked to as the ‘be all and end all’.

Now of course, the devil and the forces of our culture, will keep telling us to try harder or to look again, to the ‘latest and greatest’ for our answers. We will hear that we need to change; change our psychotherapist or financial guru; change the government; switch religions; read the latest how to book; change our environmental policy; and many others: Each claiming to be the new and great authority that we need in order to go on.

 Saddest of all, is that we do little else but follow blandly along.

 But it is here again today that we are reminded of the one who truly has all authority, in heaven and on earth. Here in Jesus and his Word we have one who has proven his authority above all else. In both word and deed he has shown himself to have an authority which is way above all other authorities. Right here at the beginning of his ministry here on earth he shows quite clearly where true authority lies.

 First and foremost he enters into the heart of the worship life of his people and there proclaims God’s Word in all of its truth and purity. He simply and clearly spoke the Word as it is in the Scriptures without compromise. Here was the Word of God that humanity needs to hear if it is to attain peace with God and the security, hope and joy that it yearns for; along with so much more.

 Now we know from elsewhere in the Gospels that his core message was; ‘Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.’ In other words; turn away from seeking your meaning and purpose in yourself and what you do, or in anything else other than God alone. Turn away from that human-centred thinking, to God himself and the forgiveness, life and salvation that he has to offer. In other words, Jesus got right down to the heart of the matter, and preached and taught what humanity needed to hear, not what it wanted to hear. That meant preaching the Law to the point where everyone knew quite clearly that they were not and could not measure up to the perfection that God expected from us all. Only when we despair of any hope within ourselves does he then reach out with his word of forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life. His death on the cross taking the punishment that we deserve, so that we might again be acceptable to God.

 Here we are told that, the people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. He did not say that the Scriptures could mean this or it could mean that. Nor did he pander to the whims of the people hoping that he might be successful. He strongly but firmly said what had to be said, knowing that this was what we need to hear. God’s Word is God’s Word; and it is this which he calls us to listen to and heed. Jesus and his Word is the true authority that we need in order to go forward in life.

 Along with the authority of his teaching, we then find he also has the power to do what no human being can ever do. Here Jesus then takes up his authority even over the evil spirits that had possessed a man. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him. At another time we hear how even the winds and the waves obey him. He performed miracle after miracle. This Jesus has the authority to do that which is absolutely impossible to us human beings. There is nothing he cannot do. If it is for our good and for the good of his kingdom he will do it.

 There then we have one who has true and lasting authority. In word and in deed he has the real authority that is needed in life by each and every one of us. His word is true and lasting. His deeds are beyond comprehension.

That being the case, what are we going to do from here on? No doubt many will continue to look to the ‘authorities’ that the world around us look to. Many in the church even, will look to that which panders to their feelings and emotions; that can give us the easy steps to living with purpose; or how to pray so that we get results; and yes even those who promise to give us miracles and prophecies.

 At the same time we all will continue to look to ourselves as our own authorities. Far too often we will fall back into doing what we want to do; thinking we know best. We will be our own judge of what we will think and do; and we will continue to reap the sad rewards that go along with that thinking.

However surely as we are reminded here that Jesus and his Word is the real authority in life, we too will more and more look to him as the one who is all important for us. Since his Word is the real authority for us we will accept it as such, and so look to it and follow what it says; trusting that when it points us to the cross we know that we are forgiven and that life and salvation is now ours; guaranteed. Then we will go on to listen and obey what he has to say to us in all other aspects of life as well.

 Remember, as the real authority, the Lord Jesus has promised us we can have security, peace, hope and contentment even in the midst of troubles and hardship; in sickness we are well and whole; in captivity we are free; and in death we have life. All this and more is ours, even if we cannot see it, because Jesus is the one with the power and the authority to ensure that it is ours. Nothing now then in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish



Saturday, January 14, 2012

1 Cor. 6:12-20.                        Free to do our own thing??                             15/1/12

 12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.

 Here again we have another important truth that we need think rather seriously about. Yes, as Christians we are free – the law no longer binds us. We don't have to go to church every Sunday: we are free to work and play our sport and the like: we          don't have to read our bible regularly: we don't have to do anything – we can drink, play sport, drive like maniac and much more.

 BUT - but let us very clearly remember Paul's advice here: all things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. I am free but I will not be dominated by anything. I will not let my freedom be my ruination. I will not allow it to destroy what is of greatest importance. Now there we have some very sound advice for us take to heart. In our present day we have taken hold of this whole concept of freedom and rights and all of that – the focus is on self - on no. 1 and what we want to do ourselves. But we have failed to think the whole issue through. We have failed to use this freedom and rights in a way that is truly beneficial, and as a result are in danger of allowing this freedom to destroy ourselves and our nation.

 Think about it - one example - look around you and see all the empty pews and think about a lot of those people who used to sit their regularly. They listened to the Gospel and knew the freedom that we have in Christ and all of that. But many of them thought that they could miss church once - then it became twice – and now we never or hardly ever see them. Is that a good situation that they are now in? Think about it - they are in great danger of allowing their freedom to destroy themselves and particularly their children and grand-children; and to lose out on the great benefits that our God has for us. In their freedom, they have gone the way of the world and as a result the decline of morality, spirituality and all the rest has become even greater.

 Now here Paul uses another example for us, to illustrate the point. A man is a Christian and as a result is freed from the law [that is, the demands of having to obey the law in order to be acceptable to God.] Through Jesus Christ he had come to know that he was saved by God's grace and that he was a part of God's family and that eternal life is his: he has God's Holy Spirit within him.

 Now in his freedom he thinks he can go and spend a night or nights with a prostitute and that it doesn't matter. He believes he has the Spirit and that nothing can stop his salvation. However Paul correctly says that to do so means that he becomes one with the prostitute. The act of sex with her affects him body, mind and spirit. It affects every part of him. His body and mind also belong to God as does his spiritual life. To give way to temptation and openly flaunt oneself against what our Lord would want and what is good for us and our society; is to turn ones back on God and so to reject all that he has to offer us. He can't divide his life into little segments; thinking his adultery will not affect his unity with Christ: thinking that what he does out in society and what he does in Church are two completely different things: that one does not impact on the other.

 Paul however reminds us that we are a unit - one whole being. We can't straddle the fence with a leg on each side. Now I venture to say that you are all nodding your heads, saying, ‘yes – yes that is an impossible situation. Adultery with a prostitute for a Christian is just not on. It is wrong and all of that. It is a disgusting thing to do; and of course we wouldn't get involved in that.’

Well now, think a little more. Think of your freedom and what you are doing with it; and check to see that the same things and principles do not apply for you and your approach to your business, sporting, financial and social aspects of life. Is what you are doing in those areas beneficial to you and others, or are they controlling you? Are you going against what God says in his word simply so that you can do what you want; or that others around you are doing, in those areas? Are you bending what is good and right for you and your relationship with God and others, simply because you want to do what you want to do? Think about it!

 Remember, we here are Christians. We have been bought with a price: the blood of Jesus Christ redeeming us and restoring us back into fellowship with our Lord. At our baptism our whole being – body, mind and spirit is united with Christ. What did Paul say here: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? We are all members of his body: called into one spirit with him. We belong to him and so he and what he wants and says is what is important for us.

 We are different from the people out there. Our selfishness, self-centredness and sin has been put to death: They are no longer the central part of who we are; which means we have a different attitude and outlook on life. God and what he has to say is all important to us. In the Gospel reading today we were reminded that we are called to follow Christ: to come and listen, see and do the things that he does. And we are freed to do so.

 Because of our connection with Christ, we are no longer bound to have to do this and that in order please God and to work our way toward being acceptable to him and so be able to achieve heaven. We have been freed from that slavery of having to please others; and having to do as our neighbours do. We have our security and salvation - all the riches that we could ever want. The extra days work, the sport and enjoyment will not give us those things that we really need. They are already there for us: they are ours in Christ. United with him we have everything that is of real value and importance.

 So that means that we are now free - free to live as a Christian: free to be the people that we now are in Christ: people who have the Holy Spirit within us leading, guiding and empowering us: enabling us to be different and so to do what is good and beneficial. Now we surely will love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and we will love our neighbour as we do ourselves. We surely will not follow the ways of our society in those things that ruin and destroy: that bring friction, fear and loneliness. We now have everything going for us, so we are free to glorify God in everything we do. And that is done as we live and be the people that he would like us to be, instead of simply what we and everyone else wants and is doing. Not simply by allowing what dominates our sinful world’s thinking and activity to be what we do also. We are new people - we have a better way to live and act. We do have a positive and great future ahead of us by following our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Even more importantly we will want to live and act in a God-pleasing way because we want to honour God with our whole being for all that he is, and all that he has done for us through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for us. Recognising that we were bought at a price [a huge price at that] we now surely will do everything we can in order to bring honour and glory to him. He is such a tremendous and all-important God that we will want everyone around us to recognise this also.

 So let us not lose all of this. Yes remember that all things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. I am free, but I will not be dominated by anything. I will not let my freedom be my ruination. I will not allow it to destroy what is of greatest importance. Jesus Christ and the salvation that he has won for us is everything to us, so let us glorify God in everything we do. For to him alone belongs all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Friday, January 06, 2012

Matthew 2:1-12.                                 Under whose star???                           8/1/12

 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’ 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

 The wise men saw the star of Jesus and followed it in order to come and worship the king. They read the signs that were given to them and heeded the message that they received through it and so worshipped the Lord of life. While on the other hand, King Herod and his merry men lived under a different star and followed different pointers in their life. We would have to say that in many ways they were star struck: his only ambition and thought in life seems to be power and holding on to it at all costs; and as a result clashed head on with God and his ways.

 Now this raises an important issue for us here to contemplate: one the affects our whole way of life. The question for us is; under what star and sign are we living? What is giving us our direction for living? These are serious questions, because although we can claim to be Christian, we need to be aware of who and what is directing our life and so what signs we are following.

 Today there are many and various stars people are following and worshipping. Take for instances the sporting and movie or pop-singing stars and see how they are looked up to and followed and the effects it having on many people’s lives. Or look at those that are living under the influence of the star of the almighty dollar and who as a result are allowing economic rationalism and the like to determine their every action; and see also the effect that this is having on life. Others again look to the star of self and rights and so chase after the pleasure this promises, and see how they are reaping the rewards of short term happiness and yet long term heartache. While still others, like Herod, live under the sign of success and power, where to lie, cheat, kill and almost anything else can be done in order to gain success and power, and to keep it. Again see how so many lives are hurt and destroyed as a result. And I could go on and on with signs and stars, one after another, that people today choose to live under and the results that follow.

But the question is, are they really all that wise, or do they end up being fools and who also lead many others into trouble as well? Is it, as many say today, that it doesn't really matter - each one to their own - as long as we claim to be sincere or Christian and that is all that matters?

 Well, let’s think of Herod who claimed to be one of God's people and see what a fool he made of himself by giving himself over to the hunger for power and glory. He had many innocent children killed just in case; in order to protect himself from any possible threat to his leadership years down the track. His hunger for power and glory squashed every sign and pointer that were there to lead him back to God and ultimately to our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ.

 So also, we will find that every other star - every other sign that we might live under will in the end make fools of us if we follow them regardless. Money, sport, self, power, astrology, whatever will all make a mockery of us if we don't see and heed the pointers to Christ and a God-fearing life. Every attempt that we make to solve our problems and give ourselves happiness, peace and security without God as an integral part of it, will end in folly. If we fail to come under the light of Christ and the forgiveness and guidance that he gives, all our strivings for pleasure and a contented life will fail. And if we make those things our be all and end all, not only will we, but also many others, be hurt and even destroyed along the way.

 However, there is another way - another guiding star - that makes us wise and leads us to all that we really need in life and which gives real hope, security, peace, happiness and much more. Those wise men from the east were called wise not because they were astrologers who predicted events by the stars or because they perhaps were highly educated and wealthy men. They were counted as wise because they saw a new star that was a sign of a new and great king – the king of life – and they went out in search of him and worshipped him. In the process of their life they saw the pointer that led to their salvation and instead of being like so many others and poo hoo it, disregard it and seeing it as of little importance, they went out and made the most of their discovery.

These men were wise because they did not refuse see the signs and pointers that lead to Jesus Christ. They did not let their astrology, education and self-importance get in the way of worshipping him. In fact they went across deserts, foreign countries, and made inquiries in order to reach and worship this new king Jesus – the King of kings and Lord of lords. Then they went on their way happy and contented, knowing in the full sense of the word, that one who makes all the difference.

Now today, it is no different. The wise are those who look to Jesus as Lord and saviour and worship him. They see the signs and pointers - hear message – and they do not ignore it; but live under his guidance and direction. So no matter who they are or what they face in life all are shown the sign, Jesus, and all have the opportunity to hear the message of him and what he has done for our salvation. It is the wise who heed the message and let nothing distract them from worshipping him and following him; living under his direction. They know this Jesus is for real and that he is to be taken seriously.

 This Jesus even though he was only a little baby; even though he only looked to be an ordinary human being; even though he was hanging on cross, dying a criminals death; here is God’s Son sent into our world to do what had to be done so that we can have hope in the midst of a hopeless, and yet ever-searching world. This Jesus has done what was needed so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation might now be there for a world that continually messes things up for itself. We today have the added proof that all of this is for real, in the fact that this Jesus not only died on the cross but he rose again three days later from the dead so that we can know for sure. So this Jesus is the Lord of life and death; he is our saviour and redeemer; he is God Almighty himself come to our rescue and to rule over us.

 So now we can see and know that this Jesus Christ is the one who is all important in life for us. He is the one who truly is able to help us in our need and be able to bring us to eternal life in heaven. He also is one we can look to for our directions for daily living, for his ways alone are what are good and right for us, for he is our creator and redeemer. Here is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

So let us here be wise also. Let us look to the Lord Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords; and allow him kingship over all that we do and say. Let us look to our God and his ways to solve the problems of the world so that he can give us the peace and security that we need. To do that, let us live under his guidance and direction; letting nothing stand in our way from following and worshipping him.

Let us not get caught up in the foolishness of much or our present day thinking, following all kinds of false signs and wonders. Instead, always keeping our eyes fixed on the Lord of life; let us go forward into tomorrow knowing that it is there alone in Jesus that we will find all that we need for life. Then as we go let us encourage others too, to seek and live under this true sign – the real Star – the Lord Jesus Christ. After all he is the Lord of the whole world – the only One who has and will continue be relevant to all our needs. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, yesterday, today and forever.    AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish