Evil

Late last night a man from the neighborhood was gunned down. I don't know all the details like where, exactly when, or why. But I do know one thing, the neighborhood is mourning. In experiencing something like this for the first time personally I have had the opportunity to look around at how a community such as this responds to evil such as that. I am thoroughly impressed.

Honor killings seem to be the name of the game around here. Honor in killing? Surely we have heard of those who lay down their lives or who go into harms danger knowing that could very well be their fate. But how many people do we laud and magnify for actually carrying out the act of killing. Murder is such a troublesome thing that even when honoring soldiers we talk about their sacrifices, and not the actuality that they too may have had to end the life of another human being.

What we need to get across is there is another way. This cannot and will not happen over night. Evil is a vicious force in the world that seeks out any and all to destroy. It is true evil manifests itself in ways different from maybe one may be used to in suburbia opposed to the city. But evil is evil no matter where it is. Satan, the accuser, and his minions seek out humanity to destroy it and bring it down. And in this place not even Christians are immune from the temptation to do evil and to perform acts of great sin.

Yet the Christian can and does fight on. The Christian meets evil eye to eye and responds in a way that evil does not want it to and cannot take it responding: In Love. In Love I saw Christians from the neighborhood gathering around the altar of our Lord Jesus Christ to take part in His Holy Sacrament and to comfort those who are grieving. In Love Christians from the neighborhood visit the projects block where this young man lived and where his grieving mother still lives. In Love the 32 year old pastor of St. John's went carrying the comfort of the Gospel of Hope to the projects to deliver the promise of forgiveness of sins.

Love will overcome. And it will take people responding in this manner so that evil will see it has no stand here amongst the very people of God. Evil is a very present reality. But ever more present and real is Jesus Christ. Who conquered sin, death, and the grave. Evil has no hold, try as it might.

Thanks be to God.

Portals of Prayer

Since the rain doesn't cease here in New York, I figured today's Portals of Prayer devotion on Baptism (WATER+the Word) was relevant. Fun fact, Romans 6 just may be my favorite chapter in the entire Bible. Enjoy! Devotional Reading for: 6/26/2009 Associated Scripture Readings: Romans 6:1-11 Psalm 63

Baptismal Day

All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death[.] Romans 6:3

One of the great privileges of being a pastor is to administer the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Each time that happens, it is a “goose bump moment” for me, as I realize how God’s Holy Spirit works through water and the Word, bringing Jesus to a person through this means of grace. Twenty years ago today, I administered this Sacrament to my youngest daughter in a hospital room. In addition to goose bumps, I also had a quivery voice, shaky hands, and tear-filled eyes. The pediatrician had told us that her physical condition was critical and that she might have to be flown to a larger hospital. How thankful we were when her condition improved and that flight was not necessary. On that day, the promises of Baptism struck me in a very personal, emphatic way. Through Baptism, we are united to Christ, now and forever. All the conditions and circumstances of our life may be uncertain, but the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation that God gives are not. Each day, we can make the sign of the cross and celebrate the ongoing significance of our Baptism into Christ Jesus.

“Baptized into Your name most holy, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I claim a place, though weak and lowly, Among Your saints, Your chosen host” (LSB 590:1). Amen. http://www.cph.org/cphstore/pages/forms/portals.asp

Depression

Depression has always seemed to be the elephant in the room within the church, especially in dealing with pastors. Thanks be to God for this great resource put out by Pastor Todd Peperkorn. Pr. Peperkorn courageously recounts and goes through his own battle with depression in order to bring awareness to the situation and just how deeply it can and will effect Christians, even pastors. The book is available free for download at this link here.

Thanks again to Pr. Peperkorn for this important work!

Cultural Breakdown: Jon and Kate + 8, Governor Mark Sanford, ELCA Church Wide Assembly 2009

The breakdown in culture is disturbing. It is a trend that has been growing for quite some time now though. It may just be with the size of the media that we can even begin to realize how bad it has gotten/it is getting. Speaking out on cultural things has always been a weird thing for Lutherans to do--especially this Lutheran. We and I are always mindful of the balance, namely balancing Law and Gospel. Where the issue comes into play however is when the Law is disregarded for our own itching ears and then of what worth is the Gospel if the Law is inconsequential?

This is a tough topic to chew on for sure. When dealing with speaking out against certain sins the one doing the speaking out must first and foremost look inwardly and see the self as the sinner it is. So it is only appropriate that I do that as well. With St. Paul I stand there and admit I am the chief of sinners. But this does not make disregard for the Law of God good. So when divorce, extra marital affairs, and homosexuality drown the scene, it needs to be pointed out for the wrong it is. What is the message TLC TV Reality stars Jon and Kate Gosselin are sending by getting a divorce? More over what was the message they were sending by agreeing to have their family paraded around on camera for the world to see? The breakdown in the family, especially here in America, AND in the church starts with divorce. Marital unfaithfulness and divorce are the chief means to the end of society. It allows for all sorts of issues to creep in.

All around me here in Brooklyn are "broken families." This idea of a "nuclear" family simply does not exist. The abandonment of God's sacred covenant for selfish and sinful desires fuels the breakdown in the family. Jon and Kate Gosselin are Christian and they get divorced for the whole world to see after Jon is caught having an extra marital affair. It is this kind of stuff that is fuel for the fire for those who can't stand Christianity or who at least think they ought to shut up about homosexuality before getting their own house in order. And there is a lot of truth to that thinking. If your own house is not in order why are you finding the audacity to speak out against someone else's house? What is a faithful Christian to do?

Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina "disappeared" for several days this past week. It turns out he was in Argentina visiting a woman who is not his wife. Another high profile Christian taking a fall in such an embarrassing fashion. Tough to avoid, tough to stay away from. What is the message that the Chief Executive of South Carolina is sending? Unfortunately what happens is when the church or people in the church cannot abide by their own rules or Laws it gives even less legitimacy to anything else they would have to say on other topics. Which brings me to homosexuality.

In August the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will vote on two proposals which will more or less allow in writing for the ordination of open and in relationship homosexuals to Pastoral Ministry. Today's culture says "Let this pass!" and joyfully. But todays culture has no say in the matter when it comes to the Law of God. In the same manner it is NOT okay for Jon Gosselin and Mark Sanford to be prancing around having extra marital affairs. It defies the created order. The more and more I read and understand with homosexuality becoming more and more accepted in Christianity it all leads back to Christians abusing heterosexual marriage--the type of marriage God intended. People who get married have made a mockery out of the institution. It is a mere legal obligation, which if and when it is broken, it can then be taken care of. THAT is frightening!

Satan and his minions must be rejoicing over the chaos being created in American culture. The breakdown of the family in the above mentioned ways is a key tool to the Accuser. It is so effective because the Accuser himself can point at us and say "Who are you! You sin just as badly if not worse! So what if two men want to get married? You got divorced! You had sex before and outside of marriage! You are a sinner!!" What is a faithful Christian to do?

What is a faithful Christian to do when he or she sees the whole world crumbling around them and because of their own sin they are crippled and cannot even begin to express condemnation because of their own condemnation hanging over their own heads? What is a faithful Christian to do?

Repent.

Before you can call others to repentance, you must repent yourself. So when the Devil does throw your own sins back in your face and tell you off for what you truly are, you get down on your knees and you repent of your sins to God your Father for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ who made satisfaction on our behalf. Only then does the Law make sense, and speak the truth only in love. Speak the truth in love, St. Paul says in Ephesians 4:15. And that word for love that St. Paul uses is the word "Agape" which is a love that comes down from on high, it is a love that passes all understanding, it is the love of God.

Speaking the Law to people is not easy, but when done in love it is done right. Many will not accept the truth spoken in love, but in order for anyone to begin to understand their need for a savior they need to see themselves for what they are, namely wretched sinners. And that goes for any and all sin. Homosexuality is not the chief one, nor is it the only one. But nevertheless it is one, and the truth is to be spoken in love. Martin Luther once said, "If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign." (Letter 99, Paragraph 13. Erika Bullmann Flores, Tr. from: Dr. Martin Luther's Saemmtliche Schriften Dr. Johann Georg Walch St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, N.D., Vol. 15, cols. 2585-2590.)

So be a preacher of true mercy and speak the truth in Agape love. But above even that cling to and trust in the promises of Christ even greater. Because if you make the mistake of clinging to the Law or harping on the Law too much all there is room for is death and despair. Those who hear the Law and recognize their sinfulness need to be comforted with the Gospel which says, "Come all you who are weary and I will give you rest." That rest is in Jesus the Christ who was crucified on a cross on Mount Calvary outside the city gates in Jerusalem for our sins. And even more than that, the very same Jesus rose on the third day and we now have hope because of that.

So anytime you are going to engage culture with a word of the Law, bring the Gospel with you to comfort those who need to find rest. The Law can point out error and sin, but it cannot save. The Gospel saves. So instead of setting out to engage the world in condemnation through the Law, set out with the Gospel of Hope, and be a preacher of true mercy.

Rain, Rain Go Away

April showers bring May...showers, as well as June? Man it feels like it rains everyday. That's pretty much because it does! I heard a stat today that the entire month of June has had two completely rainless days. What the heck is going on out there? I guess it's appropriate that todays Gospel was from Mark 4, where Jesus calms the winds and the waves.

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." ³⁶And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" ³⁹And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"⁴¹And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

There's a cool scene unfolding right here. Jesus is setting it all up to get across to the other side to do ministry. Right in the midst of it are the wind and the waves as they start to increase and strengthen and send the boat full of former fisherman into a frenzy. You know it must have been bad if they were freaking out, they should have been used to this stuff. So the disciples go down and wake up Jesus. And the best part is they're freaking out on Him! "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Then Jesus gets up, and tells the wind and the sea to basically can it. It's a harsh form of be quiet in the Greek. But it's not the case that Jesus always gets up and calms the rocky seas in our own lives. Sometimes we have to weather the storm, but we know that in the boat with us is Jesus. We know that we are safe in His protective care as He travels with us.

I was over on Devoe Avenue in Williamsburg today at a Fathers Day fair at a local Baptist Church. Cool music, good food, good people, good vibes. The rains came and the young girls dance studio continued to perform for a little while out there. Eventually the events moved inside as we took shelter from the elements but I couldn't help but think of those few moments that those young girls braved the storm and danced right through it. They did it by keeping their eyes on their teacher and trusting the could get through the routine. This little episode has made me reflect and think about that phrase that goes, "Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." I know I know, corny, but how true does it ring? Jesus told us there would be hardships in this life. He never promised it would be easy. What He did promise however was "Lo, and I am with you always, even unto the end of the age."

Storms and rocky seas will seemingly always be present in our lives, especially while we're in the midst of them. But like those little girls, it's about learning to keep our eyes on our teacher. In this case the teacher is Jesus. In another storm account in the Gospel's Jesus sends the disciples ahead and seas are dangerous. Amidst their fear Jesus showed up walking on water. Peter, in faith, keeping his eyes on Jesus walked out to meet Him. It was only when Peter began to rely on his own strength that he started to sink, yet even Jesus was there in that instance. So instead of holing up and waiting for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain.

Comfort Zone

Moved to Brooklyn this past week for my 2 month plus internship/vicarage at The Lutheran Church of St. John the Evangelist. Brooklyn, NY. You know there's this level of coolness that comes into play when one lives in the city, especially when it is the greatest city in the world. New York City is the ultimate. For those of us in the ministry business it is also the ultimate. The problem comes in where some of us who are called to ministry in the city are from a background totally unrelated to the city no matter how really close we ma have grown up.

And that's my situation. I grew up 40 miles from where I will be spending 5 out of 7 days for the summer. The other two I return home to my buffer, my safe spot, my comfort. But during those 5 days a week my buffer and safe zone has been ripped away from me. I experienced this in my first week of the internship. What the city has to offer is incredible, and it makes for an exciting mission field. Especially for a Lutheran looking to broaden the horizon and bring others into the fold under an understanding of grace and the sacraments they never had anywhere else. But that does not come without its reservations.

For a white boy from Long Island the city is intimidating. It is louder than what you're used to, it is faster, and in some respects meaner. It can have a cold streak to it and a sense of not belonging that you may not have felt since high school. For that reason and others the city is a tough place to be, even in the capacity of ministry. The comfort zone is gone and suddenly all you are left with are the raw emotions and people of the projects. What you have to realize is the God of the projects is the same God who provides for you with your own "daily bread." In the context of the Gospel it may not give you earthly treasures or comfort of the local context and easy life bit it hits you all over with the comfort of the Gospel. Jesus Christ, friend to sinners. Real, authentic relationships. THAT'S what being a part of the body of Christ is all about!

And that is the same no matter here.