A, Easter 7 – John 17:11b-12 “In His Name”

IN HIS NAME
A sermon on John 17:11b-12
The Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year A) 5/06/11
Pastor Heath Pukallus Katanning-Narrogin Lutheran Parish

This prayer in John 17 is known as "the High Priestly Prayer". Jesus prays it just before his betrayal, arrest and crucifixion. Perhaps what we hear here in John 17 might have been some of the content of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane recorded in the other Gospels. Yet as Jesus is led to the horrendous events about to be subjected upon him, we find him praying this High Priestly Prayer.

He is about to enter in and make the atonement sacrifice just as the high priest would have done in Old Testament Israelite tradition. Yet here he is the not only the high priest he is the sacrifice too. He is entering into death for you. And it's his sacrifice on the cross which enables him to pray in the way he does, atoning for your sin and unifying all of us, forgiven believing sinners, with him before the Heavenly Father.

Although not the central focus for the address today, there's a healthy lesson here for us to see modelled in Jesus' actions. And not only is it modelled for our observation, Jesus does it for us too.

As Jesus nears the chaotic events of Good Friday and his death, he is drawn into prayer. As the going gets tough, Jesus doesn't get tough, nor does he get going; rather he stops to pray more and more.

This is a reminder for us to turn from our faithless efforts in times of fiery trials towards our Father in prayer. When we pray we face God and not the problem. The action of prayer literally leads us from anxiety and worry working within, to exhausting the issue onto God's plate. And in doing so we open up the avenue for God to give us peace despite the trials we face.

But even greater than this moral lesson is the fact that as we enter into times of trouble Jesus has not just given us a template of prayer, we can be reassured that he has entered into the eternal realm face to face with God the Father, and prays for us. Now that we are one with him through baptism into Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection, the prayer Jesus prayed here on earth in John 17 is fulfilled and is eternally being fulfilled for all who trust in him.

Why can we trust in Jesus, why can we know he prays for us? Because we're told just that in his word over and over again. As you listen be reassured by the what is written…

…We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. (Hebrews 8:1–2 ESV)

and…

Christ has entered… into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. (Hebrews 9:24 ESV)

And still if that's not convincing enough, it is written…

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)

So while he was on earth he prayed and now before the Father he prays. And as he prays we know this prayer is effective because Jesus prays…

Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:11–12 ESV)

His prayer for those who believe him is effective because we are kept in God's name. That is the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And we know the Father and receive the Holy Spirit as a result of the work of God's Son, Jesus Christ.

But what is it to be kept in God's name? Why do we pray in God's name? Why is our help in the name of the Lord? What's this "name" business? Are we not one with God, surely then we can just speak to him? We can and should speak with him just as a child speaks to its loving father, but we should also address him by name, call on him by name, and believe we are heard and helped by praying in his name.

Firstly, Jesus prays that all believers are kept in God's name, the very same name he has given to Jesus. This is the name of identification. We know being in Christ is being in God the Father. We are identified as God's children, through Jesus' identification as being the One and Only Son of the God. This is reassuring for us having been adopted as God's children. If Jesus hadn't received God's name then how could we be sure we could enter into God presence and receive peace that will endure into eternity?

So being kept in God's name allows you to know God, but it also allows you to be known as his child too. You receive God's identity and being which are one and the same as his name. In the same way you are known as the child of your earthly father by name, and if your family is known then your name reveals a lot about you to others, even before they might meet you face to face.

We are identified as beings of God. We have God's stamp on us, we bear Christ inwardly and outwardly as he lives in us and the Holy Spirit bears the fruits of Christ from within us. Just like a coin which bears the image of its country's sovereign. Or, the envoy who bears a letter or message from a monarch whose seal is placed on the letter by way of their signet ring. We bear the image of our Creator, Saviour, and Sanctifier.

And because we know God as our Father, Jesus as our saving brother, and the Holy Spirit as the one who works our wills with God's word, and are therefore known by those around us as his children, you all can be sure you will not fall into eternal destruction. You can trust this new holy identity, and existence, given to you and sustained in you.

Jesus prays that we are kept or guarded in his name. The holiness of God's name sustains and keeps us like a boundary or a fence placed around us to protect us from danger. This is danger both from that which is around you, as well as that which is within you, which if left without God's name being placed on you all of us would soon walk into eternal destruction.

God's name is holy in itself but we call on his name that it might be kept holy in our being. As this occurs in us we knowingly and unknowingly live out our everyday lives as living sacrifices to God; giving glory to him and shining his glory on those whom he calls you to serve.

There are many stumbling blocks in this life, which seek the undermine our identity as God's children and lead us away from knowing him and trusting in the power of his name. Peter tells us…

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)

We cannot resist the devil by ourselves; yet firm in the faith given by the Holy Spirit, you can pray, turning away from his temptation towards your Father from whom you have his name of blessing and protection.

This boundary of protection we have in God's name, is best demonstrated by the words of Luther in his well known hymn "A Mighty Fortress" where in one verse is written…

Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They shall not overpower us.
This world's prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none;
He's judged, for e'er undone;
One little word can fell him.

This world's prince is the devil whom Peter tells you is your adversary prowling around like a roaring lion looking for one to devour. But you need not be anxious, nor tremble, nor fear. Nor do you have to advance out to take on the devil at his own game. If you did he'd win every time!

Rather we stand against him and his evil entourage and resist by trusting in one little word — the name which keeps us. Our trust in his name proclaims their judgement and destruction as it keeps us and surrounds us with protection.

And the name that cuts down the devil and his demons is given to all of us to pray, as you pray with him — the Word made flesh — who is also interceding for you before the Father. And his holy name is Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.

A, Easter 6 – Acts 17:22-31 “Religious Men”

Religious Men
A sermon on Acts 17:16-31
The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) 29/05/11
Pastor Heath Pukallus Katanning-Narrogin Lutheran Parish

Acts 17:16–21 (ESV) Now while Paul was waiting for them (Silas and Timothy) at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities"—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean." Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

God caused Paul to stop, sit around, and wait in his ministry. So he waited there in Athens the Greek city of many remarkable structures built for a pantheon of gods. We might think of temples like the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city. Or the Acropolis where it and other temples stood above Athens.

No doubt visitors to Athens are overwhelmed by these massive temples raised up out of the city's centre. But as Paul sat around seeing these monolithic monuments to the idol gods of Athens agitated and irritated him. And so after he witnessed and absorbed so much idolatry he could be quite no longer. Paul began to ask questions. He began speaking and preaching to the Jews and the devout believers in the synagogue. And amongst the pagans in the marketplace.

What makes this all a bit of a surprise to us is Paul was supposed to be just waiting in Athens after being banished from the northern Greek trading city of Thessalonica and pursued west through Macedonia by militant Jews to the city of Berea. This caused the believers there to take Paul, by sea, south to Athens, to escape false allegations and punishment whipped up by the jealous Jews of Thessalonica. And yet Paul being Paul, embittered with passion for the Gospel starts speaking with the Jews and locals of Athens. And soon after finds himself addressing the men of the city at the Areopagus, a lesser hill overshadowed by the Parthenon and other pagan temples.

This brings us to the text set down for today, where Paul address the thinkers of Athens. These Greek men were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers among others. All Greeks viewed the human being through the eyes of Plato, in that people were both physical and spiritual beings. But they separated and distinguished these two as a dichotomy — two parts mutually exclusive of each other.

The Epicureans therefore viewed life to be enjoyed since the physical life on earth was to be left some day for the higher spiritual life. Although not just pleasure seekers, Epicureans held the mindset of many today whose belief it is to, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die!" They sought to gratify the desires of the emotions. They thought they could do whatever they wanted with the physical body as it would have no consequence for the spiritual body of the next life. This led to many living immorally and it's the lifestyle Paul denounces at Corinth. We hear his attack on their orgies and sexuality written in First Corinthians.

Then there were the Stoics who under the same platonic dualism, sought a higher life of stoicism by denying the emotions and rising above them through dedication to moral and intellectual perfection. Many today still operate with the same stoic ideal that the body is evil and must be punished. And in doing so they believe they make themselves better people by denying any sort of emotion outbreak — good or bad.

It seems as if Paul has been taken from the frying-pan and put into the fire! But this doesn't stop Paul from honouring Christ the Lord as holy, and making a defence before the men of Athens as the reason for the hope templed in him. (1 Peter 3:15)

So Paul addresses them in the Areopagus saying, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for " 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, " 'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:22–31 ESV)

Paul addresses the men as religious. He sees they are overwhelmed by what is around them. Paul uses a strong word for religious here which comes from two Greek words equivalent to delirious and demon. Negatively he said they are deliriously demonstrous, or overly superstitious. After all, Paul was agitated in his spirit by the idolatry around him! But since they don't react negatively to being called religious men, they probably took his words in the positive sense of being devout adherents to their pagan efforts. Or, perhaps being men who like open discussion on philosophical matters they neither saw being demonic nor delirious as negative as we do today.

Nevertheless, Paul finds an opening to proclaim God the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, to these religious men. They believing in many gods, allowing Paul to tell them about this "unknown god" whom they had no name and to whom they had an altar. He even shrewdly and eloquently uses the words of pagan poets' to convince them about the truth of God announcing to them that we are God's offspring, and we live, move, and have our being in him.

We must notice here with these words, Paul is moving them towards Christ. Humanity did live move and have its being in God, yet sin has corrupted these things in us and Jesus was sent to bring us back to the Father, by moving us once again into God's presence by his way, by giving us and showing us our being in his truth, and healing the way we live through his life. We live, move, and have our eternal being in Jesus Christ.

However, Paul doesn't even get to mention the cross or Christ to these men. He calls them out of their ignorance to repent of the images of their imaginations for which they have built temples in their idolatry. But their ears became sealed at Paul's mention that a man will come in righteousness to judge the world whom God has raised from the dead.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We will hear you again about this." So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. (Acts 17:32–34 ESV)

Why did some mock Paul? Because it was foolishness to a Greek to hear of returning to a physical body in resurrection after attaining the higher spiritual body. To them this was ludicrous and inferior.

Perhaps the events of being chased by jealous Jews and mocked a mad man were in Paul's thoughts when he later wrote to the Corinthians saying…

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:22–25 ESV)

There are still many religious people today, inside and outside the church. A mixture of those within and without Jesus Christ and the faith the Holy Spirit seeks to give in the preaching of God's Word. There are some whose righteousness sees them seeking to staunchly do the right thing. They think that because they're good people and law abiding citizens they have earned the right to a higher life.

Then there are others hell-bent on having a good time, living life with the misconception if God is a god of love he won't hurt me. Yet both are idolatrous acts of self-righteousness, and trusting these delirious delusions destines one for a date with the devil on judgement day, regardless of church attendance or not.

It's God's wish for you not to be religiously righteous in its delirious deceptive way, in church or in any part of your life. Rather than being religious he calls you to be Christian instead. This happens when you stop and let Jesus religiously serve you through his death and resurrection, through your being buried with Jesus in baptism and raised through faith by the Holy Spirit as you continually hear the Word, repent, and believe in him whom we live and move and have our being. Amen.

A, Easter 5 - Acts 7:54-60; 1 Peter 2:2-10 "A Stone Like Stephen"

One would have to agree being stoned would be up there as one of the worst ways to die. Next to crucifixion it would be an equally painful and slow death. Each body blow would tear at your flesh and smash your bones, disfiguring your body ever so slowly. For someone to willingly stone another person the intent would have to be personal as they saw and heard each rock wreck the person in front of them.

Stephen was chosen as one of seven disciples, to distribute welfare to the gentile believers so the apostles could focus solely on the work of preaching and teaching. We don't hear much about these seven, except that Stephen's faithfulness was truly born of the Holy Spirit, and this caused him to be recognised amongst the seven, and all those who came in contact with him.

What then arises amongst the people is what is known as "the tall poppy syndrome". False allegations are secretly brought against Stephen by some who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." (Acts 7:11 ESV)

Notice how dissension grows out of secrecy. Grumbles from those whose pride was offended by the exposing reality of having had their sinfulness revealed, leads them further into sin.

Nevertheless, Stephen under complete submission to God freely allows the Holy Spirit to radiate from him in all wisdom and power from God, revealing wonders and signs through this disciple who was originally called to serve in the seemingly tedious task of handing out food, to the gentiles, no less!

We have cause to reflect on the instance in Lazarus' house when Mary sat at Jesus' feet while Martha worked to prepare the meal, and was far from joyful in doing so. (See Luke 10:38-41.) She was not happy in her vocation, choosing to meditate, or grumble, about Mary not helping her in the kitchen. Often it's heard Martha should have been out at Jesus' feet too, but this is wrong.

Rather it was Martha's calling, or vocation, to be "at Jesus' feet" in the kitchen, while Mary's was literally at his feet as he spoke. Stephen got it right serving and seeing the holiness of his vocation, even if it could be easily seen as a lesser task, compared to the work the apostles were doing, preaching and teaching.

Stephen is found to be the faithful and submissive servant, joyfully allowing God — to be God through him — in his vocation of serving. He is tenacious in the faith given to him as he does the work he is called to do — a contented Martha figure, if you like! However, others fell into the discontented and disgruntled ways like those of Martha. And from this deep-seated secret sin flourishes the actions that see Stephen stoned.

But as Stephen is pelted with the deadly assault he assumes a position that should surprise us. Beaten down by the blows he does not recede into himself as we would expect. Our natural human instinct is to protect our vital organs by huddling in a foetal position. But the picture the scriptures paint of Stephen is far from a man cowering in on himself as he is beaten to death.

In fact as the opposition gnarled its teeth at him, as the mob gathered, and as it was whipped into a feverish frenzy, Stephen gazed! Now to gaze here means to cast one's attention at something. It can be to stare in complete earnestness or in a way that is what we refer to as day-dreaming. Nevertheless, one's focus is completely on a single person, thing, or event.

On what would your attention be if a mob was hurling stones at you? Surprisingly Stephen's was on God. He gazed at God! By the power of the Holy Spirit he saw into heaven, he saw God's glory, and he saw Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God the Father. And as he saw these things he testified to what he saw, saying, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56 ESV)

So full of the Holy Spirit, despite being smashed by stones, he testified to the risen presence of Jesus Christ. The reality of the situation allowed Stephen to be drawn out of himself to focus on a heavenly reality, a witness the ears of unbelievers could not stand and still cannot stand today.

Despite the earthly reality we face here day after day, like Stephen you and I are called to see the greater reality. This reality grows when you allow yourself to hear who God says you are. If you don't, then your reality will always be clouded by your own efforts, your own understanding and your own mortal shortness of attention.

With the reality seen through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, repentance is produced, together with a craving for the pure spiritual milk of God. You want to pray; you want to study the scriptures and come to know how they are being unfolded in your day to day life. The desire is there and with this desire comes the Spirit's cry within you, as you pray for spiritual, scriptural understanding.

You begin asking more and more for your life to be conformed to that of Jesus' life, and your will to that of the good and gracious will of your Father in heaven. And as you peer into the word of God, you pray that its truth is embedded in you by the Holy Spirit, and your ways and life are understood according what is written.

As this happens, throughout your walk with God in this life, all areas of unbelief are revealed and challenged. There is a continual loosening of your ears and heart and the stiffness of sin is softened so you might repent, and you gaze more and more on the glory of God as you realise it's his grace and power filling you so you do even greater things than Jesus did before he was nailed to the cross and raised from the grave.

This is the position in life, the vocation, Stephen was fulfilling. This is the vocation God seeks to fulfil in you. He wants to be God with you, in you, and through you. He wants you to allow him to be the God that he truly is — healing your sin, giving you faith, that's forgiving, tenacious and fully focused on the greater reality which awaits all who allow God to be God within.

Your vocation is one of holiness and it tastes good. If your Christian life does not taste good, then you've been eating the wrong stuff! So pray that you might stop and allow God to give you the food of life – his holiness, his way, his truth, and his life.

Like Stephen your immediate circumstances most likely won't change. Perhaps they might even deteriorate. But like Stephen and all who trust in Jesus you will be growing into salvation, fed by the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus. You will become so heavenly minded the world may think you have no earthly use, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, the prayers you pray, the life you live, and the compassion you give will be as result of your willingness to see your weakness and trust in God's strength. His power will not only move you but flow through you polishing the faith of those around you.

Those who believe in Christ are like polished stones. Things happen and we encounter all sorts of people throughout the course of our lives. Some of these are far from pleasing, and they come about because of humanity's sin, although many often blame God for them and the suffering experienced!

However, God doesn't take these irritating and hazardous stones away from our lives, rather he allows them to remain, to agitate, and to knock off the many edges of unbelief! So when we come out of the mix of life, we are not just stones of death but rather polished jewels reflecting the light of the Son — the glory of God.

So the question is this: Are you allowing God to polish you so you might have a place with Christ — the Cornerstone in the eternal kingdom of God? Or: Are you stumbling over Christ, has his Church left a sour taste in your mouth, or are you so earthly minded you are no use to yourself or anyone around you? Also does the truth of his word offend you so much you'd rather join others in being the agitators of those focused on their eternal reality?

If you are then it's time to talk if you don't want it to be this way! Talk by praying to God, tell him exactly what is going on right down in the secret part of your being. Enlist pastors, called to help those who honestly seek help. You can't shrug off reality nor can you afford to lose sight of the eternal goal.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thankyou for allowing the things of this life to rub us up the wrong way, to agitate us, and knock off the things that cause us to lose our reflection of you! Continue to polish us so we might live out the many vocations in our everyday lives as your holy priesthood, reflecting the glory of God to all those around us, so they too might be polished for eternal life with you. Help us to gaze upon you and your reality, just as Stephen did, and send the Holy Spirit into our hearts so we might taste and see that your are good and continually present spiritual sacrifices acceptable to you through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

A, Easter 2 – All Readings “Recalled to the Manufacturer”

Recalled to the Manufacturer
A sermon on 1 Peter 1:3-9, Acts 2:25-28, John 20:19-22
The second Sunday of Easter (Year A) 1/05/11
Pastor Heath Pukallus Katanning-Narrogin Lutheran Parish

There's nothing more disappointing than the day one gets a product home and on using it for the first time, finds that there's a problem and it needs to be returned to the manufacturer to be corrected, to be put right or fixed.

This is made worse when it's a present for a child whose long expected gift doesn't work, while everyone else's toy is fine. It's not hard to hear and see their disappointment.

Or you've just built something, sewn some choice material, or planted an expensive tree, to watch it not function in the way you'd expected, or to die for no known reason.

When this happens, we tend to feel let down, but to save face we take the product or part back to the retailer, so it might be returned to the manufacturer for replacement or repair.

Then again you might have bought a car or gone shopping and purchased your regular groceries. Everything seems fine, but then through the media or post comes the news there's a product recall in full swing, and your car or product qualifies to be returned to the manufacturer to be modified, fixed, or replaced. Perhaps there is relief, because you had noticed some ill effects starting to creep in, or consumption might have meant grave illness or death.

Last Sunday, all creation celebrated the anniversary of the resurrection of God's one and only Son, and many of us ate chocolate eggs in celebrating Jesus' new life, and ours with him too.

We also heard that the resurrection events will also shake us and our world. Jesus is coming again to take us to himself, but in the meantime he warns us in his word that rough times are ahead and calls us to stand firm through them. All earthly things and our reliance on them, and perception of them will be torn away, and for very good reason. As we are shaken by these stripping events we will see our Saviour come and your resurrection will be revealed in all of Christ's glory.

Today continues that resurrection glory theme, one week after our resurrection remembrance at Easter, as we focus on the events of the first week surrounding the disciples' world view being shaken through Jesus' death and resurrection.

These men were shaken in every way. We heard in the gospel that they cowered behind closed doors in fear of the Jews. If the Christ, the Son of God, who came to take away the sin of the world, could be crucified, then it's not hard to sense the fear these bumbling fishermen, tax collector and other disciples felt after one so powerful would die, in such a weak and humiliating way! They thought it was the end, and bitter death was forthcoming at any moment.

We know Christ died and was raised for the sake of God's love and will to forgive us, so we might live in peace with him forever. In fact, we have perfect twenty-twenty vision of these past events through his word, and receive the peace of God that passes all human understanding quite freely. But like the disciples, waiting and peering into the unseen future, peace is sometimes harder to find, as we hang onto our perishable old world perception.

Let's now look at this from God's point of view. Imagine how disappointed God was when saw us — his new creation born into the world — fragile and easily shaken. Like a new gift, not working properly, in the hands of a child, God saw us as defective from the day we were born.

We were born malfunctioning! Left to our own devices, we were on a course leading to self destruction. God created us for life with him, and that means life forever. But our life was flawed by our sinful being; our living is actually the thing that is shaking us to death. Yet, this temporary life of self destruction is the life we seem to think is normal. But God knew it wasn't what he intended from before we were unwrapped from our mothers' wombs. Some of us don't even survive long enough to be born, and for us the ones who have survived birth, it's a mystery how we've existed as long as we have being as dysfunctional as we are!

So we operate in this life very much in a temporary existence, and like a dodgy piece of machinery we can and do conk out at any time. That in itself causes us to be shaken. We can be like the disciples waiting and cowering behind closed doors at the prospect of sudden death — fearing the worst at any time. We are tempted to hang onto and trust that which is perishing over against that which will live on forever.

But Jesus who was raised from the dead and now lives and rules eternally, has the same words for us as he did for the disciples. He says, "Peace be with you!" Using his written word, he then shows us he is present, risen and all-powerful over death. And naturally, we praise him for what he's done. He says, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on you in baptism and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:19-22) Now having received the Holy Spirit, it is his will to forgive you all your sins through those he calls to do so, as pastors, so you might live in peace, even in the midst of so much dysfunction and malfunction.

Realising the importance of King David's resurrection hope in Christ Luke quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2 telling us, David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' (Acts 2:25-28 and Psalm 16:8-11)

So even as we operate in our temporary existence, and our whole world could be turned upside down at any time, we know God is with us, and although things might shake us we know that just as the Holy One was not eternally abandoned to the grave, nor will we.

You see God saw us in our haphazard state, and although he was disappointed with what we had become because of sin, he did something very powerful about it. We now live because of what he did; and that was to send us his Son to give eternal longevity to our lives. He also sends the Holy Spirit as well to show us Jesus' hidden presence. And the Holy Spirit makes us work in the way God intends until God himself recalls his faulty product to be eternally freed and fitted with the same risen glory in which Christ stands.

This is why Peter says… Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Let the inheritance, which is imperishable, rise in your lives as the perishable things are shaken away as you wait for the glorious day when you're recalled to the manufacturer for eternal improvement. We live temporary lives enduring many things, but we do so in the hope that one day we will live in permanent peace with he who intended us to live this way from the beginning of time. Amen.

A, Easter 4 - John 10:1-10, 1 Peter 2:25 "Sheep Gate"

Arguably the most unintelligent domesticated animal ever to walk the face of the earth would have to be the sheep. And the younger the animal is, the greater its foolishness.

Lambs are the epitome of weakness and dimwittedness. And anyone who has ever worked with sheep will know this to be the honest to goodness truth.

Sheep have a number of habits that confound any reasonable sense of logic. Why is it that when chasing a sheep separated from the flock in the paddock, they decide to just give up, sit down and sulk and die?

Why is it that when herding lambs into the yards, they baulk and refuse to go through the gate? It makes no difference how hard one yells, they just mill round and round in the dust, while everyone gets hoarse from yelling, and the dogs just give up and go sit in the trough to recover from their frustration.

And why is it when the sheep finally start going through the gate, after much cursing and repentance, one jumps over nothing, so they all follow and jump over nothing? Then when in the pen, they try to leave by running full pelt straight into the fence! It makes you wonder why God created an animal so dull in the first place!

With these images of sheep in mind, I suspect it brings us no joy that we’re likened to sheep in Bible.

Today, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is traditionally Good Shepherd Sunday and images of sheep and their shepherd fill our ears and imaginations. But having been taken way over the edge of frustration many times by brainless sheep, it comes as a complete mystery how the Good Shepherd remains good, when the flock is so thick. And what’s more, you and I are numbered with these ludicrous lambs capable of causing so much lament.

In 1 Peter 2:25 we hear …For you were like sheep going astray, but now you are returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

This theme is repeated over and over again in the bible — Lost sheep in need of rescuing, returned to the Shepherd. Some English translations of this verse weaken the Greek passive emphasis by suggesting our return is through our own doing. However, like a sheep or a lamb, we have little to no knowledge of how to return. And even on being brought back to the fold, we usually struggle against the Good Shepherd who patently seeks to yard us through his gate of grace.

If we are sheep that so easily stray and resist our Good Shepherd, and the Bible does nothing to say otherwise, it comes as an even greater surprise when we hear this Good Shepherd is also a lamb — the Lamb of God.

Last week in 1 Peter 1 we heard …for you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19) And in Isaiah 53: 6 we’re also told …we all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.

From the day humanity was scattered from the paradise pen for acting like goats in the Garden and eating what was forbidden, we have wandered like vulnerable lost lambs to all corners of the earth. Yet God in his gracious wisdom sent his Son into this world to suffer for our dim-witted waywardness, and he did it by sending his all-powerful Son as the Lamb.

Although we recognise a lamb in all its weakness to be the epicentre of dimwittedness; it’s in the nature of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which we also find the only personification of true faithfulness. After all, Jesus gave up all his heavenly power, and was born into the faithless flock of humanity, yet he looked to the Father and faithfully followed his will, even unto death. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; remarkably though the Lord has laid on the faithful Lamb of God the iniquity of us all. That is the failings of his entire scattered faithless flock.

Saint Peter speaks clearly about the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, saying …you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you are returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:21-25)

Jesus suffered for you. He allowed himself to be the weak lamb with no power. He did not fight back, and in his wounds and weakness we are healed. In fact, in his weakness and defeat, he won. In his suffering and slaughter he sealed the fate of sin and death forever. In his faithfulness he took the fall, and because of his faithfulness we have victory over the fall.

The flip side of Jesus’ humility, sinlessness, and faithfulness unto death is our increased exposure as silly sheep and lost lambs. And if this were the end, Jesus’ slaughter as the Lamb of God would mean nothing, and our fate, and the fate of the whole flock, would be total destruction by death and the devil.

It’s here the fate of the Lamb of God together with our fate, takes another amazing turn. This Lamb of God was slaughtered but now he is raised and rules as the Good Shepherd.

Who would ever have thought a lamb could be the Shepherd of the sheep, considering that lambs can’t even look after themselves? How powerful is he who became one of the flock, and powerfully overcame the faithlessness of the flock, and is now the Shepherd of the sheep?

No wonder the image of the Good Shepherd warms our hearts despite our lost lamb waywardness being revealed. The 23^rd Psalm and John 10 are two of the most comforting pieces of scripture we can hear in God’s word.

Therefore our Lord and Good Shepherd herds us into his fold with these words …“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:1-10)

Not only is the Lamb of God, our Risen Good Shepherd, he is the gate too. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Therefore, we can enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. (Psalm 100:3-4)

We can turn from our woolly ways and be led by him. We don’t need to jump or do anything to enhance our coming in and going out, nor do we need to run into fences to get out. In fact our weakness as lambs, and our total need to trust the Shepherd, glorifies him not only as the Good Shepherd, but as the one and only Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

So the Lamb of God, is the Good Shepherd, but Jesus also says he is the gate too. This might seem strange, but in reality it’s not when we understand what a shepherd does, especially back in times when there were no fences and boundaries. In this context the shepherd is the boundary, and he allows the sheep to go one way but not another. In fact, he acts as though he is the gate.

God herds us with his gate of grace today, and we his sheep are faithfully herded when we hear and trust his word. After all Jesus is the Word of God incarnate — the Word, or gate, in flesh — and we have this written word of Law and Gospel pushing us towards his pastures of paradise. The word of his Law is in fact the Shepherd’s rod, and his word of the Gospel is his staff. His sheep receive and remain in his word and it comforts us as we faithfully listen to his voice.

On the other hand the Good Shepherd would fail to be good, or even a shepherd, if he didn’t use these gates of grace to herd us towards heaven. Amen.

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

A, 2nd Sunday of Easter - 1 Peter 1:3-9, Acts 2: 25-28, John 20:19-22 "Recalled to the Manufacturer"

There’s nothing more disappointing than the day one gets a product home and on using it for the first time, finds that there’s a problem and it needs to be returned to the manufacturer to be corrected, to be put right or fixed.

This is made worse when it’s a present for a child whose long expected gift doesn’t work, while everyone else’s toy is fine. It’s not hard to hear and see their disappointment.

Or you’ve just built something, sewn some choice material, or planted an expensive tree, to watch it not function in the way you’d expected, or to die for no known reason.

When this happens, we tend to feel let down, but to save face we take the product or part back to the retailer, so it might be returned to the manufacturer for replacement or repair.

Then again you might have bought a car or gone shopping and purchased your regular groceries. Everything seems fine, but then through the media or post comes the news there’s a product recall in full swing, and your car or product qualifies to be returned to the manufacturer to be modified, fixed, or replaced. Perhaps there is relief, because you had noticed some ill effects starting to creep in, or consumption might have meant grave illness or death.

Last Sunday, all creation celebrated the anniversary of the resurrection of God’s one and only Son, and many of us ate chocolate eggs in celebrating Jesus’ new life, and ours with him too.

We also heard that the resurrection events will also shake us and our world. Jesus is coming again to take us to himself, but in the meantime he warns us in his word that rough times are ahead and calls us to stand firm through them. All earthly things and our reliance on them, and perception of them will be torn away, and for very good reason. As we are shaken by these stripping events we will see our Saviour come and your resurrection will be revealed in all of Christ’s glory.

Today continues that resurrection glory theme, one week after our resurrection remembrance at Easter, as we focus on the events of the first week surrounding the disciples’ world view being shaken through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

These men were shaken in every way. We heard in the gospel that they cowered behind closed doors in fear of the Jews. If the Christ, the Son of God, who came to take away the sin of the world, could be crucified, then it’s not hard to sense the fear these bumbling fishermen, tax collector and other disciples felt after one so powerful would die, in such a weak and humiliating way! They thought it was the end, and bitter death was forthcoming at any moment.

We know Christ died and was raised for the sake of God’s love and will to forgive us, so we might live in peace with him forever. In fact, we have perfect twenty-twenty vision of these past events through his word, and receive the peace of God that passes all human understanding quite freely. But like the disciples, waiting and peering into the unseen future, peace is sometimes harder to find, as we hang onto our perishable old world perception.

Let’s now look at this from God’s point of view. Imagine how disappointed God was when saw us — his new creation born into the world — fragile and easily shaken. Like a new gift, not working properly, in the hands of a child, God saw us as defective from the day we were born.

We were born malfunctioning! Left to our own devices, we were on a course leading to self destruction. God created us for life with him, and that means life forever. But our life was flawed by our sinful being; our living is actually the thing that is shaking us to death. Yet, this temporary life of self destruction is the life we seem to think is normal. But God knew it wasn’t what he intended from before we were unwrapped from our mothers’ wombs. Some of us don’t even survive long enough to be born, and for us the ones who have survived birth, it’s a mystery how we’ve existed as long as we have being as dysfunctional as we are!

So we operate in this life very much in a temporary existence, and like a dodgy piece of machinery we can and do konk out at any time. That in itself causes us to be shaken. We can be like the disciples waiting and cowering behind closed doors at the prospect of sudden death — fearing the worst at any time. We are tempted to hang onto and trust that which is perishing over against that which will live on forever.

But Jesus who was raised from the dead and now lives and rules eternally, has the same words for us as he did for the disciples. He says, “Peace be with you!” Using his written word, he then shows us he is present, risen and all-powerful over death. And naturally, we praise him for what he’s done. He says, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on you in baptism and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:19-22) Now having received the Holy Spirit, it is his will to forgive you all your sins through those he calls to do so, as pastors, so you might live in peace, even in the midst of so much dysfunction and malfunction.

Realising the importance of King David’s resurrection hope in Christ Luke quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2 telling us, David said about him: ”‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ (Acts 2:25-28 and Psalm 16:8-11)

So even as we operate in our temporary existence, and our whole world could be turned upside down at any time, we know God is with us, and although things might shake us we know that just as the Holy One was not eternally abandoned to the grave, nor will we.

You see God saw us in our haphazard state, and although he was disappointed with what we had become because of sin, he did something very powerful about it. We now live because of what he did; and that was to send us his Son to give eternal longevity to our lives. He also sends the Holy Spirit as well to show us Jesus’ hidden presence. And the Holy Spirit makes us work in the way God intends until God himself recalls his faulty product to be eternally freed and fitted with the same risen glory in which Christ stands.

This is why Peter says… Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Let the inheritance, which is imperishable, rise in your lives as the perishable things are shaken away as you wait for the glorious day when you’re recalled to the manufacturer for eternal improvement. We live temporary lives enduring many things, but we do so in the hope that one day we will live in permanent peace with he who intended us to live this way from the beginning of time. Amen.