Romans 3:19-28.                                               Reformation faith???                    2/11/14

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

 As we celebrate Reformation Sunday I wonder how Luther would feel if he saw our church today. I suspect that he would be very disappointed with what he would see. Again there is a great need for a reformation in our churches and in our own lives. It is essential that we again get back to the basics of what the Christian faith is and means.

 It is rather sad to see how much the church and the thinking of many people has and is moving away from what the Bible says. We are using Scripture simply to give credence to what we want to think, believe and do, rather than actually following what God has to say on these matters. This is happening in all manner of issues of life: sexuality, roles in the church, freedom to do as we please; how we are saved; and a whole range of issues in between.

 Today we seem to be seeking to make God fit into our thinking instead of the other way around. We are making ourselves God and the real God has to do what we think he should do and allow us to do what we think is right and good for us. So in crude terms we don’t give a darn what God has to say to us; but he just better take care of us when things go wrong and when we want to get into heaven.

 Here today however I just want to pick up on one basic issue that our reading here is talking about to highlight the problem and need. This reading speaks of being saved by faith apart from works. We Lutherans love this one, yet we seem to have twisted its meaning to suit our own ends.

 How often haven’t we heard comments like: ‘I believe in God. I have my faith and that is all that matters.’ The flow on of that is, therefore, that I don’t need to go to church and do all kinds of things. Also it brings into question as who and what this ‘god’ is that they believe in.

 Here we need to first keep in mind what we heard in our Old Testament reading from Jeremiah:
³³ “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴ No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

So we know God and we know what his law is for us. So it is another reminder that we all know that there is a God out there somewhere and we know what he expects of us. But we seem to have gone on from that and come to our own conclusion that we have some idea of this and therefore we are okay. We know that there is a God and we have our idea of what is good and right and that must be of God and so all is well.

 However surely we also know that we are sinners. That is, that we are turned in on ourselves and want to twist everything around so that we can do what we want. We don’t have to look very hard to know that we are continually making a mess of our lives by doing what we think is right. That in itself tells us that God’s law is good and our twisting of it will get us into trouble. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

 But back to the real question who is this ‘god’ that we say we believe and have faith concerning. Is he the almighty creator of all things? Is He the just and holy God who tells us that whoever does not heed God and what he has to say, will be sent to hell. Is he the God who will judge all according to his Word, and not ours? Is he not then a God who is to be feared?

Yes, he is also a God who sent his own Son to die on the cross so that we might be forgiven. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.

 So this true and almighty God is both just and the one who justifies. He did punish our sin, with death, just as he said he would. But instead of punishing us he punished his own Son in our place. So, there is a righteousness [a way that God can look at us as people who a right in his eyes] that is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. So God has provided a way out for all who now have faith in him.

 So what is this believing and faith in him?  Is it simply a matter of knowing a few facts about him and having a general idea that there is a ‘god’ out there somewhere? Are we simply able to know a few facts that we learnt in Sunday School and Confirmation lessons and then as long as we live a reasonably good life that is all there is to the matter? This seems to be the understanding of many people today.

 No, faith is much more than that. It is more than simply knowing facts and trying to do the right thing. It is more than looking at oneself and saying I am okay. No it is a case of do we really believe that Jesus is God’s Son who died on the cross for our sin, so that we can be forgiven and be once again in God’s family. Is this God the one who is truly all important in life? Is it Jesus death alone that ensures that we are acceptable to God; rather than any goodness or lack of it in ourselves?

 So are we prepared to acknowledge that God and Jesus Christ and his death on the cross are for real and that they are all important? This is not a ‘two bob each way’ question. Because if he is all important, then we are all ‘in’ with him, or we are his enemies. We cannot sit on the fence: it is all or nothing.

 Faith is a complete trust in God and what he has done for us through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. It is an acknowledgement that we are completely devoid of any goodness that would make us acceptable to God and so become solely reliant on him and what he has to offer us.

 Here again remember that he has rescued us from a certain eternity in Hell through Jesus Christ and the cross. He took the punishment that we deserve on himself, so that this forgiveness, life and salvation can be ours. So surely we are deeply thankful and will do whatever we can for this one who has done so much for us. His saving of us should be the greatest thing in our life which we will never forget and which will be the motivation for everything that we do.

Here let us be quite clear that this is what God’s Word in the Bible has revealed to people right down through the ages.  This is what Luther and many other reformers through the ages wrestled with and came to terms with. This is what God wants his children to think and believe. This is what he means by faith.

 So, Where, then, is boasting? Where is this attitude that I have my faith so I will be okay, even if I don’t go to church or whatever? Where is this I am okay Jack? Where does this primary focus leave us which we place on I, me and myself?

 Yes God’s Word is quite clear that: It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.  For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Yes God refuses to look at this focus that we place on ourselves and what we do. If he did we would be in serious trouble.

 Thank God, that instead, he looks for those who recognise that they don’t measure up, but who trust and cling to the fact that Jesus died and rose again for our forgiveness life and salvation. He looks for those who trust that what he has to say about believing and living as Christians is what they now seek for from their lives.

 Yes faith looks to what God has said and done for us, not what we think, say and do. Faith holds dearly to Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. It trusts that he has won life and salvation for us. Faith gives all glory and honour to our Great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for all that he has and continues to do for us. For there alone we have what is needed.  AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Isaiah 45:1-7.                      The Lord is in control??                  19/10/14

 {1)  "This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armour, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: {2} I will go before you and will level the mountains ; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. {3} I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. {4} For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honour, though you do not acknowledge me. {5} I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, {6} so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. {7} I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

 This reading here this morning is a very good one for us to contemplate over and meditate on as we are faced with very serious and dangerous world conflicts and a rapidly growing Ebola epidemic. As much as we have not yet seen the full extent of the impacts of these terrible events, we know that it will change many things and bring disaster for many people.

 These events will, of course, raise many questions for people the world over. How can people in this day and age do such terrible things, to in many cases innocent people? How come we with all of our great advances are not able to control this terrible epidemic? Where is God in all of this? How can he allow such tragedies? Does he care?

  In light of this reading, perhaps God has a far bigger hand in this, than we might initially think.

 Now, there is a question for us to contemplate! God involved in world affairs: in the rise and fall of nations: In the epidemics and problems of life. Surely he is a God of love and blessing, not of extending difficulty on people’s lives? Surely he would not want to bring disaster on our fine, upstanding western cultures? Why would he want to bring ruin on nations and individuals? Surely he is a God who wants us to be healthy, wealthy and happy? I am sure there are many other questions in this regard, as well.

 It is here then, that I believe this text has much to say to us. Here, God says with regard to Cyrus a king of Persia that he will be helped to defeat nations and be given great wealth. He will be strengthened so that he can become a great and mighty king over much of the then known world. Here remember that Cyrus did not acknowledge the Lord or have any regard for him. Yet God tells that he will make him great; that he will use him for greater purposes. God is involved in human affairs; even of those who have no regard for him. Why?

 What is going on here? Here listen again to what God has to say. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

 The Lord is in control; even though Cyrus and all the people thought they could live without and apart from him. Cyrus’ god and the god’s that the nations had created for themselves, would all come to nought, even though the people looked to them and trusted them. The Lord would work through Cyrus and others, to use them for his greater purpose. So that people may know that he is the LORD, and there is no other.

 Along with that we have his other great purpose for using Cyrus and the destruction of many other nations. He says: For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, he will ensure that Cyrus has the ability to do these things. For the sake of maintaining his promise of sending the Messiah to save mankind from its sin and rebellion he raises up Cyrus. So that the remnant of his people now held captive in Babylon might one day return to Jerusalem and maintain the peoples from which the Saviour would come, he uses Cyrus.

 God controls history so that Jesus Christ could fulfil his promise of being the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. His aim throughout is for people to look to him and know that they are forgiven and assured of eternal life in heaven. He brings prosperity and creates disaster in order to achieve this goal. He uses Cyrus in order to see that this happens. Here remember again that these words were said before these events even took place. The Lord is in control.

 Again Israel was restored to Jerusalem, there the nation continued on even though they again and again turned their backs on the Lord. Jesus was born, lived, suffered and died, just had been promised with the express purpose so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me: That there in him alone is the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of life and salvation. He does it all so that we his creation who have rebelled against him may have and know the love of God in Christ Jesus: That we may know that he is what is central to our lives and all that we think, say and do.

 That brings us now to today once again and the events that are unfolding before us. The same Lord and the same purpose is at work in our midst. Despite the fact that we again have rebelled against our God and turned to and trusted in our almighty dollar and the great weaponry that we have to ensure that we can make peace; we have our trust in our science to give us a healthy and happy life that is free from major diseases; we have openly accepted homosexuality and sex outside marriage and many other moral issues that are outside of what God permits and knows is good for humanity. We are more and more trusting in that which we have created for ourselves. At the same time we are giving less and less thought to God and who he is and his place in all of this.

 Even within Christianity we are more and more moving away from the centrality of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. We are shifting our thinking from the truth of God’s Word, to what we want Christianity to be.  Yes even we in the church have turned from where we should be in our thinking.

 I believe that God is here seeking to draw us back to himself. Very much, the eyes of our western affluence has turned away from Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, and we have more and more trusted what we can create for ourselves. Selfishness and greed has been promoted as ideals that are to be strived for and to be achieved at all costs. We have made the human achievement that which is revered throughout our world and we have worshipped what it can do for us.

 So we find as we look around us that we have more and more abandoned the Lord and all that he has done for us through Jesus and his death on the cross. We pay lip service to the Lord; and yet we all too often worship capitalism and selfism with our hearts and our lives. When we look to God and his Word we look with a mindset that is very much centred still on what our world has to offer. In many cases we find that the modern world, has even shaped the teachings within the modern ‘chistian’ scene as well: the focus is not Jesus and his death on the cross, but something else.

 Is it any wonder then that God will be at work in our world to bring down these false gods that we have made for ourselves and which very much obscures that which is central for us and for our salvation. Without doubt he is surely wanting to use these situations that we have brought about by our greed and selfishness to help people once again to see and acknowledge that he is the LORD, and there is no other; apart from him there is no God.

 We can be quite sure that God will not be acting any different today than he has throughout history. His focus and his reasoning for his involvement with our world will still be to ensure that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides him. For the sake of his people and in particular for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, he will be using, even people who do not acknowledge him, to do his work of ensuring that his people and his promised are not destroyed. Yes he has brought us prosperity, but now because we have become so corrupt in our use of it, he will be at work to create these disasters so that we not longer trust the creation but the Creator and Saviour himself.

 So hear again what God himself says: I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. So let us turn back to him once again and let us pray that he would help our world that has become so misguided to once again see and know that he is the only Lord; and that Jesus Christ and his death on the cross is what is central to our lives as we live them out every day. The Lord is in control so let us give him all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN

  Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Matthew 22:1-14.                                            So what????                                                      12/10/14

 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

 Here in this reading today we have a message that is simple and straight- forward; and which we have heard many times, but I wonder if we have every really applied it to ourselves. What’s it really got to do with me? Who cares, anyway? I know I have passed over it many times without it actually shaking me to the core.

 These words of Jesus are really very shocking to our world today; me included.  It should really stop us in our tracks and make us take stock of our attitude with regard to where we are at and where we are heading. There is a real danger that we are like the people in Jesus’ parable who couldn’t care less about attending the feast of a life-time, with the One who is truly important in life: So finding ourselves being discarded and destroyed by God himself.

 The Bible is full of account after account of where God reminds us that if we turn our backs on him, he will turn his back on us. If we refuse to come to be with him can we really expect him to accept us into heaven? Be sure, he has invited us all and made it possible for us to all be there, but he clearly tells us that many will not be there, because they are too busy thinking of themselves and their own lives here and now.

 They paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.

Work, sport, pleasure and all kinds of things so easily take precedence in our lives that we neglect that which is of ultimate importance.  Much of it all is important, but not at the expense of that which has eternal consequences.

 Living for the moment is the basic philosophy of our present day society, and we are reaping the rewards of this already in this life without taking into account the eternal consequences. The loneliness, depression and lack of purpose are just the beginning of what we are seeing as the results. That is without thinking of the breakdown in our relationships with the people around us.

 But even more significantly what we are seeing all around us and in our own lives as well, is that we are giving less and less thought to what God himself has to say: This not just the case with this issue but with regard to many, many things. We are making up our own rules and are paying dearly for it.

 We are also trying to convince ourselves that God is no big deal: if he is there at all. But the reality is that we all know that he is there. Deep down we know, but if ignore him and pretend that he doesn’t really care, then somehow we seem to think that it lets us off the hook. But even there we know, without being told.

 But just so that we cannot let ourselves off the hook, God here and in many other places reminds us again and again; that to refuse to take him seriously has dire consequences. To not pay any attention and go off and do our own thing is even worse.

 But why would we want to anyway? Here again, as well as in many other places, we are reminded that to be with God is likened to a wedding feast without end: the very best laid down for us to enjoy. Knowing that with him everything will work out for good: even our troubles and tragedies here, will only be fleeting, and turned to good in the end. So we have every good reason to accept his invitation.

 So often we think that Christianity is a kill-joy, and boring and lacking any real life. Yet here again we are reminded that it is just the opposite. By being with God and living in accord with what he has to say to us enables us to live happily with God and the people around. By following his way we will be treating and being treated in ways that are good and helpful: rather than selfishly and to the detriment of good relationships.

 Now of course that is not happening because we are being selfish and making up our own rules and all of that and so we find that this good life here in this world is far from being there. But the more we stay away from God and what he has to say to us, the worse it gets.

 At the same time we have his assurance that as we come to him he does clear away the guilt and the hurts of all that has happened in our lives because of sin. Jesus came into this corrupt world of ours and took on himself the punishment that we deserve so that God can wipe our slate clean.

 So we can know that even though things are still far from perfect in this world, because we human beings continue to do evil to one another, by taking up his invite we will eventually be freed from it consequences and be able to fully enjoy this great feast that he has prepared for us.  The time is coming that those who are connected to him will have no more, sickness, crying, pain or death; only the very best of everything. This ‘pie in the sky’ is there courtesy of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.

 But even here and now we have glimpses of it as we live in his presence. Here this morning we have two young people being connected to Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us. They have the assurance that they are a part of God’s family, now and for all eternity.

 But it doesn’t stop there, for as they are raised up knowing and being taught all that is of God they will be given assurances and a hope that will keep them going no matter what they face in this life. The will be enabled to face life with confidence and certainty. They will be given a way to live that will be good for them and for their relationships with God and the people around them.

 Even when they fail along the way, as they surely will, they have the assurance that they can come into God’s presence and receive his assurance that they are forgiven for their sin. They can come to Holy Communion and receive the very body and blood that Jesus shed on the cross for them and us all so that they can be absolutely sure of this fact.

 There as they receive Jesus they will also be given the assurance that Jesus himself is with them as they live out their lives each and every day. They will be assured that no matter what happens in their lives God will use it for good: both their good and for the good of others.

 So, week by week as they and we all enter here into God’s house we are given a foretaste of this great feast that is to come. So we can have a peace and a joy that is beyond what could ever be expected. Already now, we can know that as we come near to God, he does have the very best in mind for us and that we will enjoy eternal life with him, sharing in the very best of everything. We have every good reason to accept his invitation.

 However, we here also need to remember what Jesus said in this parable; that all from the highways and byways of life are invited. Both the bad as well as the good have the invite to join him for all of this. He wants and has made it possible for all to enjoy the feast.  Many are invited, even if many of them choose not to take it up. But he tells those who do not take up the offer that they will instead of a feast, be thrown into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 Also let us not be like the man who thought he could enter in without dressing appropriately and having an attitude that is fitting for such a host and feast. If you are only there for what we can get out of it without any respect and appreciation for the host and what he is providing, we shouldn’t be surprised if we get ‘turfed out’.

 No, the host, God Almighty himself, it just too great and important to ignore and walk away from. What he has done for us through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross is so amazing that we cannot help but take up his invite. The feast is just too grand and extensive that we surely do not want to miss it. It is the invite of invites

  I pray that you will all join me there in give all glory and honour to him who has made it all possible, our great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Matthew 21:33-46.                          Rejected??                                         5/10/14

 {33)  "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. {34} When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. {35} "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. {36} Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. {37} Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. {38} "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' {39} So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. {40} "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" {41} "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time." {42} Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone ; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? {43} "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. {44} He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." {45} When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. {46} They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

 As we think about what God has to say to us through the readings this morning, we are surely challenged as to their application. What has the rejection and destruction of the church leaders of Jesus’ day got to do with us? Surely we here have not rejected Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour; so how does this relate to us???

  Here let us not forget the Old Testament reading from Isaiah which had almost the same meaning, but to a different audience at a much different time: God’s pronouncement of the destruction of Israel whom are likened again to a vineyard, loved and cared for, but which failed to produce the ‘goods’. Certainly clear references to the fact the God will destroy those who openly reject God and what he has to say to us in his Word, whilst holding a very pious outward appearance.

 Surely this needs to be something that is clearly etched in our minds as we go forward as God’s people. Just as in Isaiah’s and Jesus’ days, so also today, there is the danger that we take for granted that we are God’s people simply because we are connected to a church and go through certain rituals: Even if it is only now and again.

 When the emphasis is placed on us and what we are, do and think, then this is danger time. When it is all done without any reference to, and faith, in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, then we need to be aware that this is a rejection of Jesus Christ and God’s means of salvation. When that occurs, the end result is that the salvation that has been won for us will be taken away from us; this Rock will crush us.

 Because we surely can see that this subtle and not so subtle rejection is happening very much in our present world and society, we need to be careful ourselves. Because the focus of life, and even ‘christian’ life, is more and more turned away from Christ and his death on the cross, to us and what we feel, think and do, this will surely make us even more alert and wary.

 We know that our sinful nature wants to shift the focus from Christ to us and the world around us, so surely we will want to ensure that we are ever so watchful as to what we listen to and follow.  Because we know that we are so susceptible to being led to focus on ourselves we will make every effort to be where our God would want us to be so that he can keep reminding us of the things that are important and strengthening us for the task that is before us.

 Here in this reading and from the history of what happened to these people that Jesus was speaking to, not long after this, as well as to the Israelite nation not long after Isaiah said what he said; we are reminded that God is true to his word. We cannot take God and his word for granted. If we ignore God, he will ignore us.

  If we reject God, He will reject us.  God destroyed the Israel of Isaiah’s day, and the Pharisees of Jesus day. As a nation they were brought to their knees. Now I think if we look around our nation and world today we are starting to see that we are reaping the rewards of our attitude toward Christ and the centrality of the cross. I would suggest that God is already warning us very seriously of what will happen if we continue to not take him all that seriously.

 Let us then, not fall for some of the rot that is peddled about today that God is a loving God and so will not destroy us: Or where sin, Hell and judgment is very much ignored, as if it were not a reality. God’s Word is very clear that if we think we can ignore and reject Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, then trouble is ‘just around the corner’.

 This is then where we will take note of Paul’s attitude in that second reading here today, when he says; What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

 He knows very well the dangers of pharisaism and the taking of our eyes off of Jesus Christ. Paul knew what he was like before God brought him to faith in Jesus Christ: how even though he was the very best from an earthly point of view, he persecuted those who were Christians; he had a vendetta against Jesus that he now knows was terrible. Having come to know all that Jesus Christ had done for him through his life, death and resurrection, he now knows of that which is infinitely greater than what he was and did. His focus on his own righteousness was destructive rather than beneficial. He trusted in the wrong things.

 So now the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, was that which he saw as absolutely important.  Everything else was garbage compared to that; every effort of his own, to be a good person, was rubbish. He wanted to lose sight of every other focus so that he was not distracted from that which was vital for him and his salvation; being found in Jesus Christ: being found trusting in nothing other than Christ and the righteousness that he has won for us.

 He now wants to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. His whole aim was to ensure that eternal life in heaven which was won for him by Jesus Christ, would be his. Being connected to Jesus Christ, here and in heaven was what was important, even if it meant suffering immensely in this life, it did not matter. In fact this was now a good thing, because through suffering and death he was sure that his focus would be kept off of himself, and on him who is all important.

 Because this is of utmost importance he continues:  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 No surely we here can grasp something of how immensely great and important Jesus Christ is; and that we too need to be connected to him. Surely we also recognise that our eternal salvation is only possible as we look to, trust, and are incorporated into the very being and life of Jesus Christ. That is why our baptism and our daily remembrance of it, is important. That is why our regular gathering around Word and Sacrament is so vital; that he can give us what we need in order to keep our focus where it needs to be.

 That surely is also why we also will consider all this “I” focussed religion as just that; pure garbage, compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. All this modern day pharisaism needs to be considered as a loss compared to all that God gives to us in our Divine Service and that  He continues to do for us in and through our Lord Jesus. We too will want to be found in him having a righteousness which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

 We too will surely want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.   So forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, let us press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

To him alone then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish