Roger's Postings

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Isaiah 6:1-8.                      The amazing call of God                                                31/5/15

(1)  In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. {2} Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. {3} And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." {4} At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. {5} "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." {6} Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. {7} With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." {8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

This week’s reading deals with God’s revealing of himself in an amazing way as he calls unworthy Isaiah to carry out his difficult and challenging work here on this earth. As we listened to that reading, surely we found it to be truly awesome in the full sense of its meaning: A God whose greatness is beyond comprehension. Clearly here is a great and mighty God who is not to be messed with.

Particularly when he goes on from here and tells Isaiah what he is to do. In the verses after this great revelation of God he says to Isaiah: "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.

Today, we find this part of things very difficult to handle. We don’t want to come to grips with the grandness of God and his seeming negative and harsh message which he has for us all. We want a nice, easy and soft message. We want a God who ‘is my mate’ and who is all loving and accepting of us no matter what we think and do. Today we also want our church to preach like the false prophets of Isaiah’s day;  “Peace, peace when there is no peace.” ‘We have God and the temple therefore we can do as we please. We are Abrahams children therefore God will see to it that no harm comes our way.’ They like many today had taken God for granted, and thought nothing of it. Even when challenged they wanted only to hear that which was good and positive: that which suited them and the culture of their day.

Yet here Isaiah himself is called to preach exactly the opposite message. To preach in a way which hastens the destruction of Israel. To preach; 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’  Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant. God was out to punish his own people for their unbelief: for their rejection of him and how he told them that they should live and act.

Even though they claimed that they were God’s people, they did not want listen to God or follow his ways: they had become fat, complacent and selfish which resulted in their never understanding and never perceiving. They were determined that they would not listen to or follow God’s way, so he sets about bringing about their destruction. But even there, there was the proclamation, the holy seed will be the stump in the land. There is still the promise of hope to those remanent that look to and trust in God, no matter how tough things get.

However lest we think that this is just an Old Testament Isaiah speaking to an ancient situation, let us reflect on Peter, Paul and the disciples in the early church or to Luther in his day as well. They too preached to many who also claimed to be God’s People, but who just did not want to hear or follow what God had to say to them. They wanted their own religious ways and where not prepared to listen to the truth. So they proclaimed destruction for those who were self-secure in their own righteousness.

However most clearly we see this message come to the fore in Jesus Christ himself. Not just in his preaching and confrontation with many of those he came into contact with, but with his very being. Here God himself comes, fully as a human-being, identifying with us in every way and he takes God’s punishment on a wayward, rebellious people; you and me, on himself. Here God’s punishment is complete and total. Jesus is destroyed for our never understanding and our never perceiving. Here we see the depth of the depravity of each and every one of us. That is what we deserve. Humanity does not have a ‘leg to stand on.’ Our destruction is complete. In ourselves we are dead.

How can we be anything but. We stand before a holy and awesome God. The Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." This holy God cannot have in his presence anything that is less than perfect. They will be destroyed by his greatness.

Before this awesome God surely we too can only say: "Woe to me!"  "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."  Go away from me, Lord; for I am a sinful person.

But then there is the most awesome of all the revelations of God himself by Jesus in our Gospel reading. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

This God is truly awesome. He is not just the holy and awesome God that revealed himself to Isaiah, but he is also a God who comes right into our messed up world to do what was necessary for our salvation. This very Jesus dies and comes back to life again, assuring us of the forgiveness of all of our sin, and eternal life, no matter who we are or what we have done. He gives new life to all who are connected to him.

They are born again through baptism and belief, into everything that he has done for us and won for us. We can have the certainty that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This Jesus himself says: whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)  How truly great that is: God accepts those who simply cling to Jesus and all that he has won for us.

However that brings us back to where we began. Do we want to believe? Do we want to hang on to Jesus Christ and follow him? Do we want to acknowledge him as the great and awesome God that he is? Or do we want to continue on our own merry way; ‘She’ll be right mate. I’ve got it all under control.’ God is a loving God and so we can go on doing what we want to do.

Surely there is no question as to what our answer would be. Surely this God and his Son Jesus Christ is our all and our everything. He is our one and only hope for life and salvation. Surely we will take him and what he has to say to seriously.

The follow up from that is the same call of God to Isaiah, the disciple and his people down through the ages:  "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"  Who is going to share this Good News with others? Who is going to be bold enough to preach Law and Gospel in all of its fullness in a wicked and adulterous generation? Who is game tell of Jesus Christ and him crucified, even though the people’s ears, eyes and hearts are calloused and do not want hear that kind of message. But who simply want a nice fluffy god who will make them feel good and allow them to do as they please, and who will ensure health, wealth and happiness for us? Who is going to tell our wicked and adulterous generation, the truths of God himself, even though they don’t want to hear it? Who?

Knowing this great and awesome God who has revealed himself to us in this truly great way; and who has accepted and cleansed us despite who we really are; surely we can only say; "Here am I. Send me!" Send me, even though I am weak and frail and do not have the where-with-all to do it. Send me to my neighbour or my friend. Send me even though some people will find my message unpalatable and offensive. Send me, for I know that you are the Lord Almighty himself and you will work through my efforts and you will achieve what you want.

Yes God does and will work through us as we proclaim the truth of his Word. There will be life and salvation brought to some, but there will also be the hardening of the hearts of those who have wilfully chosen to ignore and rebel against God and his Word. Sadly for them their destruction awaits.

But for us who have been saved, we cling to our Lord and Saviour as our one true hope. For we know that because of the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. Our God is a great and awesome God who is supreme over all, and to whom alone belongs all glory and honour. May his name be honoured and glorified both in his salvation and in his destruction. AMEN

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Friday, May 22, 2015

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15.                 Guide as to what is true??                                              24/5/15

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Today we celebrate another important day in the Church year – Pentecost. Now Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of church; and in many ways, that it is. But here we are reminded that there is much more to this celebration than simply acknowledging a birthday. The greatest aspect to this day is the reminder by Jesus of the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gave birth to the Church and of his ongoing work of calling, gathering and making holy the Church down through the ages.

Today reminds us that Jesus wants to give to his Church; us, something that will be able to help us all, where ever we are at. He wants to do what he can to ensure that we are drawn into the Church, and able to live with confidence in the difficulties that we face in this life. To help us live with the same confidence that would be there if Jesus were visibly present alongside us. And to help us in the midst of the anxieties that we face: to help us all as we live in between Jesus ascension and his coming again as Judge at the end of time.

This great gift and helper is the Holy Spirit - who Jesus calls Advocate or Counsellor. And here today I would like us to dwell on this whole aspect of him being Advocate. To help us understand and appreciate what he is here for and to do in our lives, I would like to use the whole courtroom scene which in one way represents life for us.

Think about it. As we live out our life, we are living with the reality that when we die we face the Almighty Judge himself. The Lord Jesus will judge whether we spend eternity in heaven or Hell; and that decision is made in light of what our thinking and attitude is in this life. That then, makes our decisions and what happens in our daily life critical. Now that is a scary thought, were it not for Pentecost: Were it not for the fact that the Holy Spirit is our Advocate. In a number of ways he is like our legal counsel with us every day. It is this image of the Holy Spirit that I will be focussing on today. Here, let us see how this plays itself out in our daily life, in light of what Jesus says here in this text.

Now what happens as we go through life: We are faced with all kinds of decisions and we do all kinds of things as a result of those decisions; both good and bad. But, what is the right thing to do? Is our society right; other religions; our Lutheran church; ‘what I want’; what do we base our decisions and actions on? Can I be sure about which is right?

And remember our decisions have eternal consequences, so how do I ensure that I am thinking and doing the right thing? To add to that the devil and the sinful world around us keeps whispering in our ear a whole pack of lies; and when things go wrong or a tragedy occurs he seek to lead us to despair. On our own, without good help, we are in trouble, if we are going to seek to take life seriously.

Now can you imagine facing the judge on all of the issues and decisions we face in our daily life, without legal counsel all along the way. We would be very anxious indeed. In fact knowing human nature to be what it is we might as well give up right here and now. Sadly this is what many have done. They just live for today and hope for the best.

But thankfully that is why Jesus ascended and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us and help us. Here Jesus says that he will be the Advocate in our midst. He will stand with us as we go through life to help, remember and guide us in our decision making: to remind us of what is true and good: to point out what is wrong and the judgement that results: to ever keep before us the truth: and to keep pointing us to Jesus and his death on the cross.

Jesus says here that this Advocate comes to do three things for us in this world.  When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment, about sin, because people do not believe in me;  about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;  and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. Take note of these in light of a lot of contemporary thinking with regard to the Holy Spirit. I would suggest that there are a lot of half-truth and side issues being peddled as the main game.

Firstly we are told that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin. So we are reminded that he is here as ‘chief prosecutor:’ to point out sin for what it is – rebellion against God and deserving of eternal punishment in Hell. His aim is to convict us all that we are ingrained with this nature that wants to try and live independently from God and be self-centred and selfish. Through God’s Law he seeks to point these things out to us so that we understand that we are dead in our sin and need the forgiveness and salvation that Jesus Christ brings. So the Spirit firstly seeks convict us in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Jesus.

That is where Jesus reminds us that the Holy Spirit will then also convict us with regard to righteousness. Because Jesus was going to the Father - where we can’t see him, he sends the Spirit now to remind us of righteousness - the right relationship with God that the Lord Jesus has made possible through his death on the cross. Knowing that we are sinful, with no way humanly out, the Holy Spirit leads us to know that Jesus has died for our forgiveness and he rose again for the certainty of our salvation.

The Holy Spirit assures us that Jesus Christ has done all that is necessary for our salvation, and he leads us to simply trust that this is the case, so that we can go forward with confidence and certainty. The Holy Spirit continually reminds us in the face of our distresses and doubts that, nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Then Jesus reminds us that the Advocate’s work goes even further – To convict us in regard to judgment: To remind us that the devil already stands condemned. The Spirit reminds us that the prince of this world did not defeat Jesus when he had him strung up on the cross, instead that there he himself was defeated.

Consequently all who listen to the devil and follow his lies, instead of looking to Jesus and placing their trust in him, will face judgement. In fact they have already judged themselves through their unbelief. Yet all those who look to and place their trust in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross have the assurance that the final judgment will be in their favour.

So there in these three aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work, Jesus reminds us of the work that is done by the Advocate. His is ‘counsel for the prosecution’ of the world. At the same time he is ‘counsel for the defence’ of all believers; and he is witness to and advocate for the truth.

That last point is in many ways the real key to the sending of the Holy Spirit: to lead us and guide us into all the truth. Luther simply and succinctly puts it: the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. He does all that by making us aware of our sin and then pointing us to the truth of all that God has done for us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirits work is to give glory to Jesus, and him only. To do that, he uses and does his work through the Word and Sacraments - through the truth that God has already given to us. So wherever the Word is used, read and heard, there the Holy Spirit is; Where the Sacraments are rightly used, there the Spirit is: and there he is at work reminding us of all that is important. There, having done that, he has done his most important work.

Here also remember that these words:  But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth, were first spoken to the Apostles. So it reminds us that the Spirit enabled them to write what they wrote in the New Testament. What we have there, in all of its parts, is what God wants us to know and follow. This is important for us to remember as we face people wanting to change and ignore parts of it to suit their own agendas. We need to remember that the Spirit wants us today to allow his Word to guide us in all of our thinking.

This is the great gift that we are reminded here today that Jesus sends to be with us as we go through life. He is here at work among us in this way; and also in our community and world, as this work is done. Yes, the Holy Spirit is here as Advocate, Counsellor, and lawyer. As we look back through the past 2,000 years we can see how he has done this tremendous work; and are thereby assured that he continues to work with power and with truth amongst us even today.

So let us heed him, listen to him and allow him do his work in us and through us to those around about us. In so doing then, all glory will continue to go to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For to him alone belongs all glory and honour, now and always.  AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Luke 24:44-53.                   The Ascended Jesus is still with us            17/5/15

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Today being Ascension Sunday we are reminded of another great result of Easter and its ongoing benefit for us as God’s people. Here we have Jesus ascending into the heavens to rule in glory at his Father’s right hand. He has ascended so that each one of us can have Jesus’ presence with us as we live out our lives every day.

What a comfort and assurance that is for us as we live out our lives in the midst of the rubbish and tragedies of life, as well as the good things. With that presence of Jesus Christ we can hold our heads up in the tough times; and we can be kept grounded when everything is going along comfortably.

It is here though that we also face the great danger of forgetting that he is with us always. Just as real as he was for the disciples as he walked in their midst, so also he is with us. He is surely here with us, but because we can’t see him we often fail to recognise or think of him as being with us.

Too often we don’t even think, and then wonder why everything is going wrong. We get frustrated with life and even ourselves. We lose heart and become depressed and lonely. We fret and worry because we feel that we are missing out. Because we fail to recognise that Christ is with us we get caught up in our troubles and the horrors of life and we lose heart and soul. Life is tough and rough.

The danger for us, like that of those early disciples after Jesus had ascended into the clouds, is to still look to the skies and simply hope that life will somehow come good for us and that all will be well. We live life by and for ourselves and look up to things improving in the future. But without Christ it will never work out as it is meant to.

So let us listen also to the angel’s message to those early disciples to stop looking into the sky: to stop looking for the visible human form of Jesus. To stop simply standing still and hoping that life will come good for us. As good as it was for the disciples to have Jesus with them, his physical human form meant that he could only be in one place at any one time. That meant that he could not be with all of the people all of the time. So he ascends so that he can rule over all, for the good.

Now the temptation is to think that Jesus is ascended into heaven, therefore he is up there somewhere, removed from us here on earth. In fact the whole Reformed movement of the Christian Church has that very idea that Jesus is up there in heaven, therefore he can’t be here on earth. As a result when we talk of Jesus’ real body and blood being here in the Lord’s Supper they cannot accept this as true. That is why the bread and wine only symbolises and helps us to remember that Jesus died for our sins and our forgiveness. We can only receive him spiritually. Then the pressure is on us to maintain our own faith.

But that is not what Jesus has told us. As we heard over Easter, Jesus said, this IS my body, this is my blood. He truly is present in his humanity in the Lord’s Supper; and we take his presence into our very lives. We can’t see him there but we can be sure that he is there because he tells us he is. And he doesn’t tell lies. So we can be sure that Jesus is truly present with us as we live out our lives every day.

Perhaps part of the problem is that we imagine heaven is way up there somewhere and that hell is down there somewhere. But I would suggest that heaven is not a dot on a GPS map somewhere but is a reality close at hand that we cannot see. Remember that God and heaven is outside of the realms of this universe. So with God all things are possible.

Also in this regard remember what we learnt in confirmation that God is, yes all-knowing, all-powerful and all of that. Therefore he is not limited by time, space, power, knowledge or understanding. He is omni everything. Therefore God and Jesus Christ is now all of those things. At the same time Jesus is still a human being, as well as God, in all of these ways.

So now instead of Jesus just being in Israel in one locality at any one time he is now everywhere ruling for the benefit of his people; you and me. He is with us at all times no matter where we are or what we are doing. So the God and man Jesus Christ is with us always, just as he said he would be.

Which is of course, a bit of a scary thought for us at times: Jesus with us when we are in the pub, or trying to cheat on the tax man, or whatever: Jesus with us when something goes wrong and we curse and swear: Jesus with us when we are being selfish and self-centred. Jesus is there, and he knows what is going on.

At the same time he is there with us when we are travelling, or in a hospital bed, or undoing a dangerous task. When we need him we are now assured that he is right there with us. Wherever we are and whatever we are doing he is right there with us and for us.

Again we have just come from Easter when we were reminded of just how far Jesus was prepared to go for our good: To die in our place so that we might have the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Because he was prepared to and did that for us we can be sure that as he is with us now, and he also will be doing was is good for us.

Now of course that does not mean that he will free us from all troubles and hardships, and give us health, wealth and happiness. Because we are living in a sinful world, and are ourselves sinful, he will allow troubles to come our way so that we do not forget him and what he has done for us. As well he tells us that we too will have to take up our crosses because we are Christian and seek to follow Jesus. But we have his assurance that he will use it all for good – our good and the good of his kingdom.

Here remember our second reading. Paul said: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

How magnificent is that! He there with God doing what is good for his church – his body – you and me. What a blessing it is that has come our way through Jesus Christ and his death, resurrection and ascension.

But now on a slightly different tack, but still dealing with the fact that Jesus is with us always, we need to remember that where the Scriptures are, there is Jesus. We are told that Jesus is the Word. Jesus and the words of the Bible are inseparable. So where the Word is read, preached, spoken and meditated on, there is Jesus himself.

Yes we can’t see him in his physical human form, but we know that there Jesus is in all his fullness. His word is him speaking to us, so that we can know what he has in mind for us and our lives – yes even today. Through that Word he gives us instructions as to what is good for us and our relationships to him and to one another: instructions for good order in his church and in the world. Also his Word gives messages of warning; and of forgiveness, hope and salvation. Jesus and his Word is ever present to supply our every need.

Here also remember that in our baptism we were incorporated into God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they in us. So we have a further assurance that God is present with us here and now; and thereby that we are a part of that which is good and eternal. Forgiveness of sins, incorporation into God’s family, gift and gifts of the Holy Spirit and much more is now a part of our life each and every day.

Then as mentioned earlier in the Lord’s Supper we have Jesus himself giving us his very body and blood so that we can know for sure that we are not only forgiven but that he himself now lives in and with us and that we have the assurance of life and salvation.

So what joy and blessing we have now as a result of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. His ascension means that he is with us now and always. He is here with us each and every day of our life, helping us to live and be his people and then to finally take us to be with himself in heaven for all eternity. For this we surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey him, now and always. AMEN

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Friday, May 08, 2015

1 John 5:1-6.                       Living in the face of victory??                      10/5/15

(1)  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. {2} This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. {3} This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, {4} for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. {5} Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. {6} This is the one who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

Here this morning we are challenged to live in light of the victory that has been won for us in Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. Again the idea is that since we believe and are connected to Jesus Christ there are great things that will be part of how we live and act. Life will surely change for the better.

Yet it is interesting, isn’t it, that we have here something that is hugely for the good, and yet we humans want to turn our backs on it and try to do it on our own. Even within the church we want to twist and change it all to make it more palatable to a self-centred society. As a result the good that God has in mind is overshadowed by all kinds of other things, and our society around us sees us as meaningless. It has become a human institution trying to be religious.

Instead of loving God for all that he has done for us through Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection we continue to want to love ourselves. Continually we want to do what we want to do, even though we can see the results of doing so. We continually put ourselves in the middle of the picture and the wonder why it all goes wrong. But even then our pride does not want to admit that we are wrong and sinful.

When are we going to wake up! When are we going to come to the realisation that we are just plain sinful and deserve everything that comes our way and more. On our own and doing what we want to do, we are nothing and can do nothing good. We will always end up in trouble. Surely somewhere, somehow we will want to take God seriously.
Here let us remember that God has provided a way out for us. Jesus and all that he did at Easter makes possible a whole new and better life. If only we would be prepared to acknowledge that we are just plain sinful and that we need help. Then God opens up a whole new life and world for us. When we stop playing games with God, he gives us new and victorious life. However we need to come to a few realisations for this to be a part of our lives.

In this reading John was writing to a congregation that was seriously divided, with a large group saying that Jesus was only a man; and who also were teaching that we can ignore a lot of what God says in the Scriptures about how he would have us live, but who claimed to be very spiritual people.  They thought that they could talk about being loving and good Christians even if they didn’t take God and his word seriously.

In other words, like today, we can twist and change Scripture to suit our wants and desires. It brings about division and a false view of what Christianity is all about. As well it takes the focus away from where true and victorious Christian living is at. It places us and our thinking very much into the picture, and as a result the life that we want is unachievable.

Now John starts off with a simple but telling and important point.  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. You see it is not just a matter of saying we believe in Jesus [whatever we might think with regard to him] and then all is well. Today also, there are many ‘christians’ who believe that Jesus was a great teacher or miracle worker or example of sacrifice. For many, Jesus is only important in so far as he is relevant to me. I thereby determine who Jesus is and what is important for me to believe.

But the question left unanswered is whether he is the Christ. That is the Messiah who was promised long ago, [in fact even before the creation of the world] - to be the Saviour of God’s people -the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. Is he God’s very own Son come into the world to die on the cross so that we might be forgiven and accepted as God’s children?

John also makes it very plain that if we believe in God – then we will also take Jesus seriously; and love for him will be important.  John says: everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. When he talks about love he has the idea that the other – that is God and his Son Jesus – is what will be foremost in our thinking, being and doing. We can’t believe in God if we are not prepared to take Jesus Christ seriously.

Now take special note of what John says about loving God. This is love for God: to obey his commands. It is no good saying we love God, if we are not prepared to do what he says. If we love God we will take seriously all that he has to say to us in his Word.

This, I think, is critical issue for us in our world today. We are quite happy to say we love God, but we so often don’t want to do what he commands. In fact often we don’t even consider what he wants us to do. Then when we are reminded of it, we still don’t care. We would much rather do what we want and what everyone else is doing. We try to justify it by saying that we are pretty good people and are trying to do the right thing.

But then also there is the subtle, and not so subtle, twisting and changing of even God’s clear words, in order to accommodate our present thinking. We are so arrogant to the point we even say, that if God was here today, he would be saying what we are saying. Now I could name a few very current issues in our church at the moment where this is happening. If we give way to this it will be disastrous.

Alongside of this we have this idea thrust on us that it is intolerant and unlovable of us if we hold to the truth of his word. We are told we must be accepting of everyone else’s views even if we do not agree with them. Everyone has a right to their own views and we mustn’t say they are wrong. Yet that is not what Jesus and his word says. In fact it is most unloving of us if we don’t gently and lovingly call people back to the commands that God himself has clearly given to us.

However we are told that great blessing flows from humbly submitting ourselves to God and his Word. His commands are good – good for us and our relationships with God and each other. When we are obedient to his commands – even when they don’t fit the current, politically correct view – then we are truly loving toward our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Our reading also goes on to say that: his commands are not burdensome. In fact if we look closely at what his commands say we find that they are much easier than a lot of the current thinking that is peddled around about. As well by following his commands it takes the pressure off of us having to try to work out whether this or that thinking is right and good. At the same time knowing that our own thinking and choosing is flawed by our sinful human nature.

Sure it is tough, because it puts us out of step with most around us. When we don’t follow the crowd we are very quickly ridiculed and put down. On top of that we have a whole society and education system that is hell-bent on going against God and his Word. A society that is determined to push individuality, the ego and the I wants, as being the way to go, despite the clear evidence that this is destructive. So it is hard, but at the same time it is freeing and we can have the confidence that it is truly good and beneficial.

It is also not burdensome for us because everyone born of God overcomes the world. ‘I have overcome the world’ is a statement that can only be made by one who is a Christian – that is by one who through baptism has died and risen again with Jesus Christ.  As a result we can go forward confident that we can be obedient to God’s commands and come out winners in the end. For no matter what criticism and hardship might come our way for doing so we know that eternal life with God is a certainty; and it is good.

So we can now as God’s people go forth boldly and confidently to live our lives in light of the victory that has been won by our Lord Jesus Christ through his death on the cross and his resurrection. We can love God, Jesus Christ and one another with confidence and certainty: For we can know that by holding firmly to God’s word we can be sure of what this love is and how to go about it.

And we can do so without trying to twist and change it; or ignoring it and try to do what we think is right and good. God’s commands are good and right; as they have been throughout history. And they are not burdensome and bad for us, even if they are at odds with many around about us.

Let us continue to believe that Jesus is the Son of God: who came into our world and was baptised by water to identify himself with us and so be able to be the one who then shed his blood so that might have the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of salvation and eternal life. We can trust him. We can rely on him; and we can follow him. We can love as he has loved us.
To him then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish