Acts 4:5-12.                         The Good Shepherd powers on!!                             26/4/15

Also John 10:11-18  and Psalm 23.

  The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. {6} Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. {7} They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?" {8} Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! {9} If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, {10} then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. {11} He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' {12} Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Again this week we are reminded that Easter and Jesus Christ goes on into the rest of life for us. This Sunday is referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday – a day that we reflect on Jesus as the Good Shepherd – the one who cares for his flock – his people – you and me. Even today his love and power is at work in the midst of a broken and dysfunctional world.

Here in this reading Peter and John are brought before the Church Council because they had shown kindness to a cripple and healed him in the name of Jesus Christ. So we have here after Jesus had already ascended into heaven, Jesus working through his disciples doing miraculous things so that his message might be proclaimed.

The work of the Good Shepherd goes on as he now works through his disciples to bring his love and care to people in need and to people who need to hear his Good News. The message goes out loud and clear, that: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

This Jesus is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' This Jesus even though he was rejected by the religious leaders of his day and put to death as criminal has not only risen from the dead, but even now continues to be active in our world for good.

With that we are able to even today go forward with confidence and certainty. Despite the fact that many around us have rejected him, and who suggest that Christianity is simply a relic of a bygone past: Despite the fact that many have turned this Christianity into a ‘feel good’ religious experience that is centred in one’s own ego: despite this and many other aberrations of what Christianity truly is all about, Jesus Christ is still present and active for the good of his people.

Again he does so in the midst of a broken, dysfunctional world. Our world today is desperately trying to portray itself as having the answers and is progressing to a better and better society. We are desperately trying to convince ourselves that there is no God and even if there is, we have no real need of him in our daily lives. Yet, we see ever increasing evidence of loneliness, depression, lack of purpose and more. No matter how good the idea or system we put in place, it never produces the ultimate good that is promised.

As Christians that should not surprise us. Sin will always corrupt and spoil any and every idea and system that is in place. Because we as individuals choose to go against God and any idea or system that is in place, things will go wrong. Greed and corruption will be ever present. People will use others for their own benefit; and more. Since every one of us is corrupted by this sin, life will never always be easy.

Even in Christian circles this will still occur. Even though we are connected to Jesus Christ and all that he has won for us at Easter we still have a sinful human nature that gets in the way. So even within the Church and our own personal lives we find that things go array. Dysfunction and brokenness is ever present for us all. On top of this, we will also be hurt by other and their selfishness toward us. Our time in this world will never be free of sin and its consequences.

It is here that we often hear the comment, that if there is a God why does he allow all this to happen. Surely if he is God he can rid all of this from our lives. Yet that would take away our freedom of choice – we would simply be robots. Here also remember that God made the world very good, it is we and our sinfulness that has messed things up. We cannot blame God, but our stupidity alone.

However in the midst of all of this we are reminded again today that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who is here to help us through this life and then to take us to a better world beyond. He is at work in our world and through us his people to bring his care and power to bear in the midst of our brokenness. He is here so that we can have hope and a better future despite what we are experiencing at the moment.

Because of Easter we can be sure of this. We can be sure that he cares about us; and we can be sure that he has the power to bring us to the better world that he has promised. Jesus told us already before Easter that he would lay down his life for us and that he would take it up again. He tells us that he did all of this for us.

He died so that he might take the punishment that we deserve, on himself; so that we in turn  might be forgiven and be accepted back into God’s family. He rose again so that we can be sure that in him there is eternal life. So there we have taken care of our most important and pressing needs. We can be sure now that he is for real and that he has done what is needed for our salvation.

So now our brokenness does not stand in the way of our being in the presence of God; and eternal life is now there for all who are connected to him. Along with that we are assured that he loves each and every one of us, no matter who we are or what we have done. The things that really matter to us have thereby been taken care of. So we can now get on with life in a new and positive way.

Now instead of being selfish and self-centred we can be more outward focussed toward others and their needs. After all we know that the Good Shepherd will look after us. Now we can and will more and more want to do what God tells us is good for us, instead of following like sheep the failed philosophies of our day. We will listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd rather than hirelings who are here today sprouting forth and tomorrow are running for their lives when they are under attack.

We, like those early disciples in our reading, will now be wanting to care for those around us who are in difficulty. We will want to bring God’s Good News and power into people’s lives, who are lost, lonely and helpless. We will be bringing Jesus Christ into their lives so that he can give to them what they need in order to for them to be able to live with confidence, hope and meaning also.

We too will want people to know that their Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection are all important for us all. So we will want to share with them that which will truly be able to be of help to them.

That task is surely a difficult one for us in this day and age, for we are a society that is not all that interested in God or think that we need him.  We are a society that seems to be interested only in self and our narcissistic views of life. However the loneliness, depression and hurts of so many around us, surely indicate that the need is there. Deep down many want more from life than they currently have.

For us to be able to do this we ourselves will need the Good Shepherd to be with us and to help us to carry out this task that he has for us.  So we will carry Psalm 23 with us always as we go about our lives as his people.

We will remember that:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul: he guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

With that we will be able to go forward and do what needs to be done. We will care for the needy and we will bring Jesus and his power to bear in their lives. We will want them to know that Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection is important for us all.

So always remember that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who seeks, today and always, that which is good for us and for his kingdom. To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

1 Peter 1:17-23.                                Easter changes life!!                                                                                       19/4/15

               

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

This reading here this morning reminds us again that Easter changes life for us. Life is no longer the same for us who believe in Jesus and his death on the cross for us, and his resurrection from the dead. Our lives have now taken on a whole new and positive direction. We have a sure hope and a better way to live now as people who have been saved by our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been placed on a different road, which leads to life, hope, joy and oh so much more.

Since we have been saved in a most miraculous and extraordinary way from a life of hopelessness and hell, we now will surely want to live in a way that is good and helpful for us and for those around us: and especially since God has done such a great thing for us. We have in front of us the best life possible for us, now guaranteed.

So if that is the case why would we want go on living the old life that is harmful and destructive? Why would we want turn away from that which is good and helpful and go back to the struggles and futilities of a world that is wandering aimlessly from one foolish delusion to the next? Why would we want to put ourselves and others back in danger with the prospects of losing that which is truly life-giving and everlasting?  Yet, so often that is what we think we can do and get away with it.

To help us to see the stupidity of this I will use an illustration that only comes part way in understanding what danger we are placing ourselves and others in. Now you are going for a nice relaxing and safe drive out into the country for a lovely weekend. So you head up the South-Eastern Freeway on a lovely day with the prospects of a really great weekend ahead.

But us you head up through the scenic hills you see all the traffic heading on the down track back into the city. You figure to yourself that all those people must be heading to where the action is; but you forget that they are all heading to work for another day of drudgery and hassles. But that is what everyone else is doing so we will turn around and be a part of the action too.

So you stop there and then and turn around and head back down the hill, without even crossing over to the down track. You think that you can dodge the traffic coming head on and that all will be well.  ‘I have got it all under control, and I will be able keep myself and everyone else safe’. But naturally enough you don’t get far and a fatal accident occurs. All for what? Just to join the futility of what everyone else is doing.

Now if you don’t think that turning our backs on Easter and what Jesus has done for us through his death and resurrection is that bad, take a look around and see all the empty pews. Think about many of the people who used to sit there but have now turned away from God and his church. They thought that they would be OK and that it would not hurt theirs and others soul’s salvation, but in many cases we know otherwise.

They thought that they could follow the world around them and still come through safely; but in most cases not so. But again I say, for what? To go back to the perishable things of this life which are here today and gone tomorrow! To go back to the empty way of life handed down to us in our society.

No Jesus has died for us and for our salvation.  The precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect has taken the penalty for our sin on himself.  All a part of God’s whole intention and plan. We are told here that: He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Because God is all knowing, he knew already before he created the world that we would sin and go against him. But in his infinite wisdom he chose to send his Son into our world to set us free from the punishment that we deserve for our rebellion.

That is why we are today. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. We know now as a result of Easter that not only did Jesus die for us but that God raised him from the dead and glorified him. We know for sure that there is a God and that he has a plan for us. Jesus resurrection is a sure sign that here God is at work for good. As we heard over Easter, there is very reliable evidence of the certainty that this did happen.

Now think about all of this. If he knew all of this, and then had also planned a way out for us; and brought it to fruition through the death and resurrection of Easter, surely then he is reliable and true. We can trust that he has a plan and a future for us. We can know for sure that that there is a sure and certain future ahead for us.

We also know that this God is truly remarkable and is able to turn that which is bad into that which is super good. He can support us and keep us throughout the course of our troubled life here in a sinful world. He can even ensure that our death is not the end of the story for us. He assures us that all who are connected to him have the certainty of eternal life in heaven with him. There to enjoy an eternity that is free from all that is bad and evil.

We know then we can look to and call on, God our Father to help us through, no matter what we are facing. We know that he judges impartially. That is that he punishes all sin just as he said he would: Death and hell being the consequences. However we now know that Jesus took that punishment on himself so that we would not have to. Now all he looks at with regard to our judgement is; do we have faith in Jesus Christ. Do we trust in the fact that God in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross has won the victory over sin, death and the devil?

Knowing all of this then, that is why we now can call on God as Father, rather than a holy and just God who cannot tolerate sin and evil. We know that he lave and cares about each one of us and our smallest of needs. He wants what is best for us, and he wants to ensure that we are with him in heaven. So we can now approach him and call on him as a loving Father who takes care of all of our needs – especially of our need for the forgiveness of sins so that we can share eternity with him.

With that assurance we can live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. We can live each day knowing that this life here on earth is not the end of the story. We can live each day in the midst of the troubles of life knowing that God will only allow what he knows is good for us to happen. Because we are still sinful we need troubles to remind of our need for God and his forgiveness and for our strengthening of faith. As well he uses our troubles so that we can witness to others, all the God has done for us through Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection.

Yes we can now live knowing that God is using our life here for good and that our real eternal home awaits us at the completion of our life on this earth; whenever God deems that time to be right. So we are foreigners here in a sinful world know for certain that we have something far better ahead.

So we live each day in reverent fear. We humbly look to him as the one who is all important for us and for our welfare: he died in our place so that we might be with God: His love is so great that he would sacrifice his own Son so that we might be forgiven. At the same time we know that if we turn our backs on him, then he had better be afraid, for he tells us that if we do not have faith, we will receive eternal damnation in hell.

Knowing now all that God has done for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection we will now seek to go forward in the time that we have left here on this earth to  have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. We will do whatever we can for those around us with the love that God has extended to us. We will want to do what is best for them and that means most of all that we will want them to know how important the message of Easter is for them all.

We can now give our all for this task because we know that our salvation and eternal future is secure. No matter what, now Jesus Christ has won a place for us with him in heaven when our time is up here on this earth. We have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

So we can go forward with hope and confidence into each day of the rest of our lives knowing for certain that Jesus has died and risen again so that our eternal future is secure.  We now will set about seeking live and do as he would want us to, so that others may know this Good News and that all glory might go to him for all that he has done for us and for our salvation.

He truly is Lord of all lords and King of all kings, but he is also our loving Father and Saviour and Friend. So let us go forward as he would have us. Amen.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

John 20:1-18.                     He is Risen Indeed!!                                       5/4/15

¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Yes our Lord Jesus is risen from the dead. This is the most amazing news our world has ever heard and ever will hear.  Here we have a message and reality that turns life on its head and gives hope and confidence  for us to go forward with. Here in the midst of a life of troubles and death we have that which gives real life and certainty with which we can go forward with.

To keep the theme of the weekend going, here the great ‘I am’ continues to be present and active in our world. He didn’t walk away from us after the seeming defeat on the cross of Good Friday. Instead he now raises up his Son from the dead. He announces clearly and boldly that this Jesus who died on the cross, there won the victory over sin, death and the devil.

The great ‘I am’ – God almighty himself is still in control of the situation. This is all happening because he wanted it to happen so that we can have forgiveness of sins, hope and life in a hopeless, dying world. It is all happening so that we can look beyond the frustrations and futility of this life, to him who is the centre and source of life itself and then be able to truly live.

But the question for so many today is, as it was on that first Easter morning;  can this be for real? Surely this is all only a fairy story. People just don’t rise from the dead. There is so much ‘bull dust’ peddled around our world today, that you can’t believe anything anymore. Look most people around us today don’t believe this stuff anymore, so surely there must be something in that.

Look, even when the churches give their Easter messages to the media, there is no depth to the message of Easter. It is simply about encouragement to be more caring for the marginalized in our community; more accepting of one another; the churches need to be more open and honest; an example of sacrifice that we are to follow; and the list goes on.

Now these things are all good and right, but look we all know that, and try to do that. We don’t need a Jesus, and one who supposedly rose from the dead, to do that. We all know that it is important that we try to do the right thing. So if Easter is simply all about us and what we have to and must do as Christians and Easter is to be our impetus to try a bit harder, we don’t need this Jesus stuff. We don’t need to try to believe in some rising from the dead to do that.

Is it any wonder that fewer and fewer people believe these days? Is it any wonder that everyone is out for a long weekend away or have other things to do? Is it any wonder that the church is no longer relevant?

Where is the strong and confident message that Jesus has risen from the dead defeating the power of death. Where is the vital message that this Jesus, God’s very own Son, the great “I am,’ died taking the punishment for all of our sin so that God would not punish us as we deserve for failing to be the people that we are meant to be. Where is the proclamation of the certainty that just as Jesus was raised from the dead so also will we who believe in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us through his death and resurrection.

Where is the boldness of Peter today that proclaims the clear and powerful message of Easter; As we just heard in the reading from Acts chapter 10.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹ He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

This is what Easter is all about. This is why it is so important. This is what makes Easter the greatest event in all of history. This is why Christians across the centuries has stopped year after year, and taken the time to reflect on and give thanks to God for this truly momentous event. This is why they made time to worship at the three great Easter Services.

All so that God could continue to remind them of what he has done for them, in rescuing them from an eternity in hell and giving them the assurance of forgiveness and thereby salvation and eternal life with God in heaven. All so that he could encourage us in the face of the troubles and death of this life, that there is hope; that there is life in connection with Jesus. Also and particularly, so that we can face Judgment Day and the Judge with the confidence of knowing that Jesus has paid the price for our rebellion.

And Jesus has risen indeed, so that we can be sure of all of this. This is for real. Here remember there is ample evidence even today, that this is all so. A few years back an unbelieving lawyer set about looking at the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection and came to the conclusion that it did happen. In fact he said, that if it was brought before a court of Law today, two thousand years after the event, it would still be proven beyond doubt that it happened.

Also our readings here all remind us that despite their initial unbelief, all those early disciples saw and testify to the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. In other readings we have Jesus showing them from the Old Testament Scriptures that all of this was to take place. There are many, many references to prophecies that were made hundreds of years before, that all of this would happen. The early disciples, after they saw Jesus after his resurrection and were reminded of all of this, they had no doubts that this was all for real.

Also we find that the very disciples who were hiding away for fear that they too would be killed, after they saw the risen Lord Jesus they were willing to tell everyone, including those who had Jesus put to death, that he was alive and that he had a message of forgiveness and hope for all. The result was and has continued on through the centuries to be that many, many people have come to believe this message and their lives have been transformed.

Yes Jesus has risen indeed. We too can be confident of this fact that Jesus, the great ‘I am’ did die on the cross, taking our punishment on himself so that we might be forgiven. This Jesus died to pay the price so that we can face Judgement Day with the assurance that we who believe in him will be declared righteous. This same Jesus was then raised to life three days later so that we can be sure that what he did for us on Good Friday was for real. But also so that we can be sure that he has won the victory over death. So all who are connected to him can know for sure that just as Jesus was raised from the dead so also will we.

This is the greatest news that we could ever know or be a part of. It is also so important that we will want to take it seriously, to the point we allow it influence everything else that we do. Jesus Christ will be our Lord – the one who controls everything that we are and do. It will also be the one message that we will want everyone else to know. We will stand by it, proclaiming the truth of it boldly and clearly.

Yes, our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. The great ‘I am’ has died and risen again for us and for our salvation. So to him then be all glory and honour now and always. Amen.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish