Internet Monk on Preaching the Gospel

This is a slam dunk article/post. The Internet Monk is a Baptist theologian/pastor with obvious Lutheran theological sympathies. This post kept me up later then I wanted to be, but I was glad it did because it is invigorating. I particularly loved these few lines:

"Law youth ministry is a waste of your time. If all you’re doing is trying to make kids behave, make good choices and buy into the church as a place to hang out, then by all means, get another job. Or be honest and just say you’re a moralistic therapeutic babysitter carrying out the wishes of the church to not have any kids make bad decisions.

What is ministry? Get them to the Gospel and Jesus, sister. Let Jesus decide if they need to be in jail or not."

Like I said, slam dunk. Enjoy the whole read, let me know what you think. Does your church preach Gospel? Or are you getting beat over the head with Law?

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/the-lawgospel-rant

Un Dios

Corona, a section of Queens, has a congregation that is at its very wits end. There are two more surviving members left of this once proud Lutheran Church. A myriad of reasons are the causes of why this congregation is down to two members, but God will not let it die. Let pastorally by Pastor Priest of St. John’s, Emanuel Lutheran Church in Corona is being headed by a small committee to keep it kicking.

One member is an elderly woman who speaks both Spanish and English, but definitely prefers the Spanish. The funny thing about Corona is it is in a Hispanic neighborhood. It seems we have the perfect little set up there, and with the help of a Diaconate Candidate from San Pedro’s in Brooklyn, another one from a church in Woodside, and an elderly couple from another Lutheran Church, that outreach has begun. The one member, the Hispanic lady, lives in the church rectory and keeps it up quite nicely for an older woman. She does what she can to get by and is refusing to let Emanuel Corona, literally down the block from Citi Field where the Mets play (a bastion of death) to die.

I mentioned that there are two surviving members, the woman and also her husband. Her husband tiene ochenta y cinco anos (as he relayed to Pr. Priest and I this afternoon). He is a stroke victim and lives in a nursing home. His status as a functioning member of the barely breathing church in Corona is non functional. We went and visited him today. For Pr. Priest to do this is purely on his own and out of pastoral care. Emanuel Corona is not even in St. John’s circuit. But he goes anyway because these two have not had a pastor for quite a long time, as evidenced by it being down to two members. So we arrived today to a man who is recovering from a stroke, is 85 years old, and barely speaks a lick of English. Now I took 4 years of Spanish in high school, I’d say 5 but senior year was a joke, and I once was good at it. This is not really the case any more. Since then I have taken Greek and Hebrew and thought I lost all my sense of the Spanish language nearly completely. But then I walked into this elderly mans room today. I won’t claim I knew everything he said, but by some miracle I was able to understand a lot of it, and what’s more, communicate with him in his native tongue.

And just as I wrote in a post a couple weeks ago, in this short visit, my favorite part was when we got to the Sacrament. To see his face light up as a guy who otherwise mumbled due to his disability clearly recited in Spanish the parts of the liturgy and The Lord’s Prayer was simply breathtaking. It humbles you to the core and you appreciate everything you have, but more than that, you appreciate everything you have in Jesus Christ. It reminded me that even though we are trying to save a congregation and essentially a building, and for good cause, ultimately the church is found wherever the Word is preached and the Sacraments are administered. The church was present in that nursing home room today.

One thing I remember he kept saying over and over was “Un Dios.” As he said this he would point upward as well as look upward. He was making it clear there is One God, and he knows who that God is. “Un Dios, Un Dios,” he kept saying. “Un dios en Cristo Jesus” I responded with, as the man nodded and smiled his approval. It is that type of care that the pastor and his ministry is all about. But more than that there is no reason why a lay person, not ordained, cannot give ministerial comfort to the hurt and sick. “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am with them.” Go and bring that comfort of the Gospel, no matter who you are. Yeah, you may not be bringing the Sacrament, but you are bringing a comfort that is of utmost importance to people. If there is one thing I have learned here it is the ministry of presence and how essential that is to people of all stripes.

I came out of there blown away and thinking to myself over and over again, “Un Dios, Un Dios.” Never forget that. There is One God, and He cares for me and He cares for you through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Good Shepherd

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, powerful blessings of the Holy Spirit be with you all, amen. On the basis of the Old Testament lesson this morning, “God as Shepherd.”

Today’s text from the Prophet Jeremiah parallels the activity of God and Israel to be that of a relationship in the form of shepherd/sheep. And what we see from the text is that God is portraying Himself to His creation as a shepherd. The idea is that God cares for His people. God is a god who shepherds His sheep and does not lead them astray. God likes this so much that even in our own church He has set up the shepherd/sheep relationship. The word pastor, for example, is a Latin word that means “shepherd.” The Church uses the Latin word for shepherd to describe the spiritual leader of the congregation. God gives to the church the Holy Ministry where the pastor preaches the Word and delivers to us the sacraments. The pastor is called to tend a flock, and that flock being the congregation.

Although, not everyone is called to be a pastor, in our families God has us shepherd or care for one another. The idea here is that God wants us to love one another. Just as the pastor exercises God’s care for His people, the people of God as a family look out for one another, and even the “lesser of these.”

In Old Testament times the Kings of Israel had certain responsibilities. They were to guard the religion, protect the people, and give of themselves when needed. Essentially they were shepherds over the nation, the people, of Israel. They were to look out for the best interests of Israel, namely that they were worshiping the One True God and not the pagan gods of other nations. Notice that God’s anger in the Old Testament is not so much because the people sinned, but because they worshiped other gods. That is how a man like David, who had his many faults, was able to be called a man after God’s own heart. Although the king was not to be somebody who carried out the priestly functions of the office, he was to look out for the people of Israel and that they were being spiritually fed and not led astray. So the king would keep an eye on the priests to make sure the religious functions of Israel were being properly carried out. It was almost set up as a checks and balances thing of sorts. The kings were not the priests and could not carry out priestly functions, but they made sure the priests were doing just that. And don’t we see this today in our own lives? God has set up pastors for us, parents, guardians, friends, family, etc., etc. who guard us, guide us, and give to us. It is a very consistent way of working, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, isn’t it the case that we do not hold to this care? When we look inward at ourselves, do we look like that shepherd? Are we a reflection of God’s plan for being shepherd’s over the people entrusted to our care? Notice in the text right away Jeremiah conveys that the LORD is declaring a “woe” or some word of lament, as was a common thing in Jeremiah, to those shepherds who scatter the sheep of the flock. The LORD is especially upset with the neglect of the flock by leaving them unattended and by not visiting them. The false shepherd’s who are out there scattering the flock are those leaders in the church that teach false doctrine and would lead the congregation down a path of destruction because of them permeating this false teaching. We see this all the time with false preachers. It is also the case that false shepherds will even appear outside the context of the church in a cult like situation. These type of situations usually end in destruction. Waco, Texas was the scene of a false shepherd leading followers, or sheep, to a path of utter destruction. What happened there? A man claimed he was Jesus, gathered a large following of people and, regardless of how you may think it became out of control and violent, it did. The people who followed this false shepherd died because he led them astray.

But it’s clear that the leaders in church or society are not the only ones who are capable of being bad shepherds, right? Whether it is an immediate family member, extended family, or family of faith, there are definitely times, more often than not unfortunately, when we neglect to care for those in need. God gives to us those who are in need of care and we neglect to give them care usually for our own selfish and sinful reasons. We make it a lesser priority and not one that has any real meaning or substance in life. Maybe we’re bad siblings, maybe we’re bad children, maybe we’re bad spouses. In fact at times I would venture a guess that we are all capable of being those things. By treating those entrusted to our care as an afterthought we wind up treating God as an afterthought. And treating God as an afterthought is not the best course of action because it is a course that leads nowhere. It is a dead end, so to speak. Dead because the only path that sin leads down to is death! Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray…” We appoint our own shepherds who feed us with empty promises and a food that is not everlasting. We lead ourselves blindly in the direction of the world whose prince is Satan and whose chief means is sin and death. It is not good to follow this path, because even if it feels good, it is only for a while before it comes crashing down and literally burns us all. The sheep will be fed to the wolves, and we come up oh so short and oh so empty searching for nourishment that lasts.

How is it that people can be so easily led astray? The funny thing is the parallels Jesus makes about humans being sheep works because we often behave like sheep. You usually hear conspiracy theorists claim people who go with the status quo are “sheep”, right? The reason for this is because sheep are pretty easy animals to manipulate and to have follow you. They will follow those who feed them. That is how a herder or farmer can get a whole flock of sheep to follow him or her because the sheep will most likely associate the shepherd with food. So because of this they follow out of a yearning to be fed. So it goes with humans and especially in our society. Everyone is constantly looking to be fed. And humans will usually follow in one way or another. If someone comes by with these lofty false promises that sound good the sheep may very well follow because they are not being properly led by the shepherd. Or in the clear difference between the animal and people, people are sinful beings who follow after things to itch their ears with. But the same rule of thumb applies that in their search, and in their wandering astray, we human beings are looking to be fed with something.

So where do we turn? Where is it that we can go to enable a true nourishment or fulfillment? We see it in todays Gospel where Jesus shows compassion for those who seemed like sheep without a shepherd and was to them the Good Shepherd as we satisfied their hunger. But we know it extends further beyond that very point. Yes, Jesus provides for our physical needs and does bless us out of His grace, but more than that we are satisfied in our soul with a hunger that all of humanity cries out for in their search for meaning and contentment. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He says so Himself in John 10. There again we see the ever so visual picture of Jesus being our shepherd.

Jesus as Good Shepherd is certainly a stark contrast between Him and the false shepherds out there. Think of those “shepherds” you may see on the television or out in our culture. Some may rally a cause that keeps the attention on themselves and not on what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Others try and guilt or bribe viewers into sending seed money to give them so that they can send back “blessings” and you can watch your wealth grow. What utter nonsense! What a distraction to the real message that we see here today. Jesus is the Good Shepherd! Jesus is the One who has gone ahead of His sheep to save them from their sins. Because of this, out of grace, Jesus leads us to be shepherds in our own lives.

How is it that we can envision ourselves as shepherds, in the proper sense, in our own families? Anyone ever hear of the Portals of Prayer? The prayers of the Small Catechism which instruct families how to do family devotions? There are many resources out there that can help us lead those we have been called to shepherd, or care for, in our own lives. Try and envision yourself as a shepherd in that manner. Bringing those in your care to church, sharing with them the Gospel, and getting to live that out not only in the home but also out in the world.

Witnessing in the workplace is another way to lead those under our care. Heck, this is different from family because it may be obvious children are under the care of their parents or guardians but is this so obvious in the public square? Do you see yourself sharing this message of the Gospel with those who need to hear it? Sharing our faith is a way to follow the lead of the Good Shepherd who sacrificed Himself for us in order that we may live. And in our living, that we would shine before others to let them also know of this Good News! Jesus the Good Shepherd leads you in that way in life as well. What a blessing that is to know and to receive. The New Testament sheep shared the Gospel with great joy, and what a wonder it would be to be able to share that same message that is timeless and endless to those we see in our lives. There are those out there who wander like those who are sheep without shepherds, like Jesus, let us have compassion on them as well!

I think the best thing to take away from this lesson today is that ultimately the Good Shepherd is also the Good Sheep, or the Good Lamb. Say it another way, Jesus has gone ahead before us as a sheep led to slaughter in order that though we die, we may live forever. That passage in Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray, and the LORD has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.” We sheep have gone astray and do go astray but Jesus had the iniquity of us all laid upon Him. In today’s text of Jeremiah 23:5-6 we see the ultimate promise of the LORD speaking to His people when he declared, “In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely.” God spoke a promise to His people that even in the midst of their scattering that they would be brought back into the fold. And this same message applies even to us today in New York City, to those of you here in this great congregation of St. Paul’s! God brings us back to the fold and keeps us as there as He has claimed us as His very own. And He did it by sending His Son, at the same time Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God sacrificed for our sins and iniquities. Try and envision this brothers and sisters, the shepherd went to the shearer ahead of His flock. Jesus went ahead of us into death and hell to suffer the punishment we deserved to suffer. The Good Shepherd turned Sacrificial Lamb did that for you and He did that for me. He did that for Brooklyn and all of New York City. He did that for all of New York State, and the United States of America. He did that for this continent, and He did that for this world! Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. In Him and in Him alone there is life everlasting!

Just a short while ago we read from Psalm 23, “The LORD is my shepherd.” God is our shepherd, and His Son Jesus Christ is the very Good Shepherd, sisters and brothers. It is through Him that God claims us as His sons and daughters and as His very own sheep. We read further that the LORD our Shepherd leads us beside still waters and restores our soul. In that vein don’t we see a Shepherd who leads us to the still, peaceful waters of Holy Baptism and in that manner restores our soul? Jesus walked with us through the valley of the shadow of death and told us to stay back as he literally went through the punishment of death and the torture of sin and hell to bring us back into the fold.

In the fold we are brought to the table that the LORD has prepared for us and we receive Jesus’ true body and blood that He, the Good Shepherd, gave and shed for us and for our salvation. God anoints our head with oil, and our Cup overflows with the very blood of Christ, which saves mankind. It is the LORD who makes us righteous by giving us His very righteousness that He won for us on Calvary. In Jeremiah 23, verse 6 we see right there in plain sight that the LORD is our righteousness. We see this refrain repeated in Chapters 30 and 33 of this same book, that the LORD is our righteousness. We cannot shepherd ourselves or lead ourselves, but thanks be to God that Jesus is our righteousness and that saves us from our very sinful selves. Because of this righteousness that has been given to us, Jesus gives the power to the church to shepherd through the proclamation of the Gospel. The pastor, as spiritual leader of the congregation, takes care of this and by the gifts of God given through His grace the priesthood of all believers, or the flock, are equipped to carry that message of the Good News into the streets and to those who need to hear it. God has brought us back into the fold, the LORD is our shepherd, and our righteousness. Thanks be to God we just get to live in that. Be a sheep, be a shepherd, but know who the Good Shepherd is, and follow Him! Amen.

Kickin' It

I am definitely at a point where I am running on all cylinders, and furiously. Not in a furious anger, but rather I am firing on all cylinders because of the sheer energy I have inside of me. Be able to do ministry, and in this setting, has me fired up. I mentioned last week the visits we did. I want to point back to that because although I love all my work days here in their own right, I think Thursday's may be my absolute favorite. And the cool thing for me to realize is, it has nothing to do with the fact that I get to go home as soon as my day is over.

I start out at the crack of dawn at a coffee shop with men from the church and we sit there and discuss what's on our minds and pray for each other. From there Pastor and I do any number of visits. Today we were in the housing complex across the street, as we usually are. We visited two sweet old ladies who gave us food. Being able to pray with these people and being able to share fellowship with them is something that simply uplifts me because I know it is by the Spirit. And then toward the end of my day, I put my thoughts together. You may have noticed my blog posts tend to favor toward Thursdays. I can exhale my weekly thoughts.

I know I just said Thursdays were my favorite, now hear about Wednesdays. We got a neighborhood situation here with kids looking for fun in a safe environment. And not only that but a Christian environment. These kids have a faith, they want an outlet to express their joys, as well as their fears. Although this is mostly a safe neighborhood, you definitely cans till have your rough elements. The church to them is that place of peace and comfort. They can be kids, and they can learn about God's love for them. It's overwhelming. It's something I notice at Trinity, but it's something I also notice here.

We finished our painting project in the Youth Room attached to The Center here at the church. I'm definitely posting a picture here because you have to see it for yourselves. Creation and New Creation we call the piece. I'll let you figure out why we call it that. We had a real buzz about the place last night and I am thankful for that. We are hoping it will carry over to next week when we do Youth Night for the teens. We will start out at the church with a Biblical message or study of some sort and then to 42nd Street (Times Square for you non NYers) for Cold Stone Ice Cream and just chill time. I am really looking forward to that. I cherish and miss the Wednesday nights for Trinity Islips Youth Night, but this is a sweet dynamic that I am simply fired up for. Getting to ride the subway and do ministry of presence with the teens in the center of the universe. Try and tell me that isn't awesome!

The experience is half over, but I already have memories that will carry me throughout life. The Good News has me rolling, hop on board!

Ministry of Comfort

One of the coolest things—no, the coolest thing about doing ministry visits to me is when we celebrate the Sacrament. This especially has hit home for me the past two weeks as on our Thursday visit days we have visited two unique women. Last Thursday we visited a nursing home in Far Rockaway, which the “Far” does not do it justice to just how much of a trip it is from the neighborhood. There we met a woman who used to regularly make it to St. John’s in Williamsburg, which in itself by car straight up is a 45 minute drive. Now factor in that this woman does not have a car and travels by mass transit. She would take multiple buses and the subway to make it to St. John’s for a Sunday. You’re definitely talking about a good hour and a half visit. Needless to say she cannot and does not make it to St. John’s anymore because of her situation. Pastor actually had to do some “going outside the box” work in order to track her down because she had moved from one facility to another and due to the laws the church cannot be told where a person moved to. That information is only available for immediate family members, or the most immediate family member—the next of kin. So we tracked her down and trekked it out to Far Rockaway and enjoyed a beautiful hour plus visit talking with a woman who was uplifted by our ministry of presence and by the Word being shared and by her receiving the Sacrament.

This week we went to the projects across the street from St. John’s. The trip is about a 45 second walk opposed to a 45 minute one. This situation was quite different. Unlike last week’s visit where we visited an otherwise mobile woman who needed assistance, we visited a bed-ridden woman with Multiple Sclerosis. She is paralyzed from the neck down and can barely utter a word. Yet what was simply miraculous to me was her face as we read her the Portals of Prayer devotion and especially as we went into the celebration of the Sacrament. Her face literally lit up as she recited the liturgy with us by simply moving her lips. This is a woman who is bed-ridden with a horrible disease and can barely utter any coherent words. Yet there she was, uttering the liturgy of the Sacrament.

In both of these visits I noticed the comfort the Sacrament brought. To me that is the miracle of the Sacrament. These two faithful women truly believe they are receiving more than just bread and wine and they are receiving the very body and blood of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. To them this was no mere celebration of a past story of faith. No, to them this was a very real celebration of a very real person coming into their suffering presence. If I may be selfish for a moment it was comforting to me, since I am not comfortable in nursing homes and in the presence of the paralyzed. Jesus coming to them in Holy Communion made those trips worth it. It’s a ministry of presence that extends beyond any and all understanding. Yet it brought intense hope and comfort to those who have nothing else.

The ministry of presence is great because it allows you to connect to those who need that comfort of knowing people love them. But it is also important for pastors because they can bring the comfort of the Gospel in the bread and the wine as Jesus is truly present in, with, and under the elements. It is that type of comfort that no man can give, and only God can deliver. Thanks be to God for this gracious gift of the Sacrament of the Altar which nourishes us and sustains us in our faith. Hallelujah!

Sermon 7/5

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, powerful blessings of the Holy Spirit to you all, on the basis of the Epistle lesson this morning, “God Qualifies.”

Ever know someone who was awfully full of themselves all the time? You know the type I’m talking about. Any new item that came out they had to have. They could do anything, or at least thought they could. They were the best at everything they touched and even things they haven’t yet touched. I kind of grew up with a kid like that going through Sunday School and Confirmation. He played the sax like our man Anthony over here. He would brag and brag and brag about just how great he was. How he was one of the best in the whole state of New York at playing the sax. But his boasting didn’t just stop there, he would also boast about his brand new sneakers and waltz around bragging about his kicks and how he could never dirty them. I remember once when they had recently paved the street our church is on he refused to go across the street to 7-11 with us because he had his brand new kicks on. You know he was just that kinda guy. A fun loving goof ball whom everyone was friends with, but a bragger of self nonetheless.

It seems like it was quite the opposite idea for St. Paul. Paul even admits in the text that if he chose to boast, he would be right in doing so, but he doesn’t so that no one would think more of him then what he is. So St. Paul chooses not to boast in himself and the things he has, unlike my childhood buddy. We read and gather from several of St. Paul’s writings that he was about boasting in things not of himself. He would talk about boasting only in the cross, in his weakness, anything and everything but a positive reflection of himself. Paul recognized his abilities as little as nothing and as most a weakness. But he did not even seem discouraged by thinking so lowly of himself. He realized the greater good that was brought forth in him, namely that God was the one qualifying him, and not the other way around.

You see St. Paul was not always a friend to Jesus and the church. Just last week at Deacon Scott’s commissioning service we heard from scripture in Acts 6 that a young man named Stephen had been chosen among six others for service to the Lord. Well that same man Stephen is largely thought to be the first martyr of the Christian cause. Tradition says he was the first person killed for the faith. And guess who oversaw his execution and was “breathing murderous threats” against the church as Acts also records? Yup, it was the same very Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus. How could it be possible that a man such as this became the churches greatest apostle? Because it is not man who qualifies, but it is God who qualifies.

Unfortunately we all try to qualify ourselves in life don’t we brothers and sisters? Isn’t it the case that in life we try and qualify ourselves? It is definitely the case that humanity works against God. Humans are always running around doing their own thing and relying on themselves. But if we’re honest with ourselves we realize we are weak. We understand our thorns in the flesh as St. Paul alludes to his own. Paul’s personal concern is that he is guarding against becoming conceited or “too puffed up.” Paul’s concern for that is good. It is not the case that we would want someone pasturing a congregation who was too puffed up and felt or gave off the impression that he felt he was above the people. Certainly a man like St. Paul could have taken a little credit for all the sufferings he underwent in the Name of Jesus. Yet he kept on suffering. The text says he even pleaded with God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh.

Isn’t it true in our own lives that we like hearing compliments? Don’t we seek to do things to get glory and praise showered down upon us? You better believe we seek to do those things. I know I certainly have in the past. And I am sure I will once again. So instead of letting our light-shine to others so that they may see our good works and praise our Father who is in heaven. We try shining our own crafted light. Especially when serving others who are our neighbors or when rising up to serve in the church we want to be good right? We have to be good. This is no place for beaten down sinners, we have to put on a face!

Ever since I started vocalizing to others that I wanted to become a pastor I ran into these instances of feeling puffed up because people kept telling me how great that was or worse how great I was. And I would buy into it, because I knew the truth was not what needed to be seen in church. Church is not a place for the weak, but the strong, right? Isn’t it? How could I be a messenger for God? How can I be a messenger for God in my community if I am weak? I must be strong! Better yet in this community right now where a young father and beloved son was taken from us, I have to be strong to witness to that family don’t I? Brothers and sisters that was how I’ve thought. It came to a crashing halt my last semester at college when I realized everything that lay ahead of me was coming close. I’m a believer in Jesus and Satan was gunning for me. Most nights I went to bed feeling isolated and alone. I tried to carry on in my strength and in my time but was unable. Realization of my weakness and recognition of my sin drove me crazy. I couldn’t fathom what God wanted with a wretch like me. How could God want to call someone such as myself to a life of ministry and service in the Name of Jesus? I had to be strong, and yet I was weak. So there I found myself boasting in what I could do, and when it was evident that what I could do was nothing, I cracked.

I’m sure many of you are feeling weak today. If it isn’t mentally it is physically. Try as we might, high as we aim, we never can get it quite right, and we are exposed for what we truly are, sinners in need of saving. Maybe this neighborhood feels weak, and has sought other means to boast in itself to hide that. Maybe some in this neighborhood in this prominent city think life is a dangerous game and the only way to get out alive is to look out for number one.

Many centuries ago there was another prominent city and neighborhood that was out to mind its own business and find its own way. Then one night this city called “House of Bread” was invaded by the Bread of Life. This city was minding its own business when the greatest event in the history of mankind took place. In the helplessness and weakness of a baby, our savior was born.

Three times St. Paul pleaded with God to remove the thorn from his flesh. And God responded by saying, “My grace if enough for you, for my power is fulfilled (made perfect) in weakness.” Brothers and sisters the point I am trying to get across here today is that the church is not a place for the strong; For the puffed up or conceited. No, the church is a place for the weak. The church is a place for those who are sinners and recognize in their very sin that they are helpless and weak. So we come here. We came to the waters of baptism to be united in the powerful weakness of the cross, but even more than that the resurrection from the dead. And each Lord’s Day we come to this table here and partake in the meal from the one who was strong, yet became weak; Was rich, yet became poor for our sake. See the cross was not some symbol of strength, certainly not for the person hanging on it. No, the cross was a symbol of the power of Rome and the absolute weakness of the one who would hang there, as many did. Yet God used something as the cross to show His power. God used mans weakness to display His might. And through that cross our boasting is redirected from a life of sin and boasting in ourselves to a boasting only in the cross that has the power to save. It’s remarkably inconsistent to the world’s thinking because to the world only the strong survive, and here in the church we say “Come all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” The world says don’t get bogged down with the weak, look out for yourself. The church says boast in your weakness! St. Paul explicitly stated that when he said, “For the sake of Christ I am content in weakness, in insults, in distress, in persecution, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

For when I am weak, then I am strong. In my own personal weakness I stumbled upon a phrase on the internet. And I wish I could give credit to whoever came up with it, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Maybe it’s because the one who coined the phrase understood that their boasting would not be in themselves but rather in their weakness because boasting in our weakness leads us directly to the cross. That phrase that showed me it wasn’t about me and my accomplishments that God wants to use me is, “God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.” Despite our sin, despite our weakness God qualifies us for service toward Him and others. Because that message of the cross is the very essence of weakness and how God’s power and might is displayed through it. So even in this neighborhood we can admit our shortcomings and weaknesses and display the mighty strength of God. To our family members, to our friends, and even to ourselves who are hurting; Who are dealing with thorns in the flesh. We can boldly declare that we will boast in our weaknesses because in our weaknesses that is where God dwells! God used the weakness of mankind in the cross to show who he truly is. God revealed Himself to us upon His throne on Calvary and we get to take that message to our neighbors and also apply it to ourselves. God does not call the qualified, God qualifies the called! Amen