The Lutheran Hour
-
"Under Construction"
- Download MP3 No bonus material MP3
-
Text: Ephesians 2:19-22
-
Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed! The bloodied cross, the empty grave, the coming of the Holy Spirit bring God’s good news of grace to a sinful world. Today the Holy Spirit calls us out of the loneliness of sin and invites us into the fellowship and the family of salvation. May we all be part of the Savior’s forgiven family. God grant this grace to us all. Amen.
Since it is mid-July, it might be proper to begin this Lutheran Hour Message with: A Psalm for the summer. It begins this way: it came to pass that spring turned to summer again. God’s people raised their voices and said: “Recreation is my shepherd, I shall not stay at home; it maketh me to lie down in a sleeping bag; it leadeth me down the Interstate each weekend; it restoreth my suntan; it leadeth me to State Parks for relaxation’s sake. Even though I stray on the Lord’s Day, I will fear no reprimand, for recreation art with me; my rod and reel they comfort me. I annointest my skin with oil, my gas tank runneth dry; Surely my camper shall follow me all the weekends of this summer, and I shall return to the House of the Lord this fall.” But then it will be hunting season and… well, that will be another Psalm. By now you may have guessed, this message has to do with people going to church — or, more accurately, why people don’t go to church.
The little Psalm above was designed to help explain why Christians don’t go to church during the summer months. As I say, it is a little Psalm and because it is little it can hardly begin to cover all the reasons why a person who knows Jesus doesn’t want to get dressed up and wander down to the local center of worship. To speak of those things, to talk about the reunions and the picnics, the golf dates and the fishing trips, the rummage sales and the vacations, the time to do lawn work and the visits from friends and families; to speak about the car which needs an oil change, the trip to see the children play summer sports, the shopping trip for life’s necessities and the… well, you can see where we’re going. To talk about those things, to list those things would take a library filled with giant, great books. The truth is, most of us have a lot of things we have to do. I mean we HAVE to do them, and church… well, we don’t have to do church. After all, church is going to be there next week, isn’t it? We’ll still be able to go to church next Sunday or the Sunday after that. If we postpone worship for a few weeks, it won’t make much difference, will it? We will still be able to sit through the same type of service, and hear the same preacher saying much the same things that he’s saying this week. In short, the spirit is willing to go to church, but the flesh, well, the flesh has other things higher up on the weekend’s agenda.
That’s why Christians don’t go to worship. There are other reasons why you unbelievers avoid the church and find the Savior’s story to be unacceptable. In preparation for this message I did some considerable research and I was amazed at what you think about Christians and how strongly you speak about how we’ve let you down. Understand, I’m not speaking about the hundreds of thousands of you who pride yourself on being open-minded when it comes to all things spiritual. You have convinced yourself there is no such thing as absolute truth and have accepted the politically-correct philosophy that truth is relative, with religions being composed of interchangeable doctrines which find validity in the minds and hearts of people. You simply cannot bring yourself to believe there is only one Savior from sin, death, and Satan. Such a concept is too narrow, too constricting, too confining for your world view. To you I can only say this: suppose your world view is wrong? Are you that sure, that confident, that convinced of your rightness? If you are as open as you say you are, I would encourage you to dig a bit deeper and make a thorough check of the Christ’s story. Search the Scriptures, and you may be surprised that you will find the words of eternal life.
And now I’d like to speak to those of you who have a serious grudge against Christ and His people. Once upon a time, not so many years ago, you felt you had to keep your feelings and opinions to yourself. You were afraid your views would provoke a Christian backlash which would make you a social outcast and upset your career and your standing in the community. But now things are different; you’ve found you are not alone in your unbelief. There are others, many others, who share your opinions about Christ and Christianity. On Google and Yahoo you come together and vent your anger, expressing the hurts the church has dealt you. You feel you have been hurt by us. Indeed, for many of you the wound is deep, and you are not ready to forget the pains of the past.
In feeling this way you are not alone. Not so long ago I was told about a man who, on 18 consecutive Sundays, visited 18 churches. Dressed neatly, he made himself approachable by sitting near the front of the church. He wandered through the fellowship hall; he asked for directions, he stayed for social hour. After he had graded the responses of the people in these congregations, he concluded that while some churches have solid doctrine; and their singing is inspirational, and the sermon is sometimes uplifting, it doesn’t do much good if a stranger at worship feels nobody cares about him.
The man was right. We can be cold and we can be uncaring. There are times when we can be all of the nasty things you think about us. Indeed, if it weren’t such a serious topic to you, I’d tell you a story about the woman, who, as she and her husband were driving home from church, asked, “Did you see that dress Mrs. Cadwalader wore to church?” “No!” her husband replied. A minute later, “Did you see that new hair color Mrs. Habbakuk is sporting?” “No.” A few miles later came the question, “Did you see the new car the Micahs have?” “No! I didn’t see any of that.” With a heavy, heartfelt sigh his wife responded, “Dear, if you don’t see any of that stuff, tell me, just why is it you go to church?”
Yes, we can be that bad, that petty, that gossipy, and there are times we can be far worse. There is a reason for that. It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reason — an explanation. You see, the Christian Church is a society of sinners. As near as I can tell, the Christian Church is the only organization ever created in which the requirement for membership is that the people who wish to join must be unworthy of being accepted for admission. If we were as good as you expect us to be, as perfect as you want us to be, as holy as we ought to be, then we wouldn’t need the Church, and we might easily delude ourselves into thinking we can do without the Savior as well. We can’t.
Our sinful qualities which most upset you are the very things which tell us we need the Savior. Truly, Jesus is the only One who can love such poor, miserable sinners as we are. Because of His sacrifice for us on the cross of Calvary; because He carried our sins, because He remained perfect in the face of temptation, and because He did all of this for us, Jesus is the Only One who can forgive us; the only One who can change us; who can make us into somebody useful. So, if you are looking for perfection, please, please don’t look to us. Look at Him. Look at Jesus in His Bethlehem manger where He began to fulfill the Father’s plan of salvation. Watch Him as He raised up the crippled, comforted the lost and lonely, as He reached out to the despised and told them God cares. Look at Him as He carried our sins, as He was hounded and beaten, as He was nailed to a cross.
Humanity did that to Him. Humanity and our sin. Still, at the tomb of resurrection, the risen Lord Jesus said we no longer had to be afraid; He told us if we believed on Him as our Savior, we would not only be forgiven of the past, we would also be given a wonderful eternity in heaven. At Jesus’ tomb we were told we are saved and we will, on an unknown someday, be completely changed. That’s what St. Paul was saying when he wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself….” I don’t have to tell you that Paul said we were a new creation, not a perfect creation.
No, I don’t have to tell you that. Without knowing the terminology, you are already aware that many churches, and many Christians, get stuck somewhere between Easter and Pentecost. Easter, at the Savior’s empty tomb, is the place where we find the Savior’s work is completed and our salvation won; but Pentecost is when that news is translated into power and action. The resurrection says Jesus has died for us; Pentecost says God wants us to live for Him. The coming of the Holy Spirit is God’s notice that He wishes to change us, use us, and motivate us; that He wishes to build something useful out of us. Starting with the Foundation, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit brings together different and divergent people so He may make us into ‘the Church.’ If that has not always happened, it is our fault, not His.
There is a reason for that: it is always difficult to build anything wonderful out of cast offs, trash, and junk. It is difficult, but not impossible. If you look around, you will see that people have managed to make great things from recycled junk. I’ve seen directions on how to build a solid, safe, secure home out of straw bales. I’ve come across plans on how to construct a pretty nice house out of old automobile tires. I’ve even watched a family build a dwelling out of trash others had discarded. Pallets and plywood were made into a home.In like manner, the Lord builds His Church out of factory-outlet sinners, second-quality sinners. As unbelievers delight in pointing out, we are not the best of building materials; we are hardly the most perfect of bricks. We are rough, sharp, and asymmetrical. We clash, we collide, we get into conflicts. Because we still wish to stand alone, all by ourselves, we don’t readily connect. And if it’s true you can’t build much of a home with a single, lopsided brick, it’s equally true God has a tough time building His Church with a single, solitary Christian.
Yes, I know many believers think they can be a Church unto themselves. They think they can pray alone, they can study Scripture alone, they can live a good life alone. They maintain they don’t need the organized church. They don’t need to get up on Sunday mornings to hear someone talk to them about God and His grace, about Jesus and the blood-bought salvation He has won for them. I have no problems with them doing that as long as God doesn’t mind. But I think God does mind. In Hebrews (10:25) He tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. He tells us He is building us into His temple. Notice, the Lord doesn’t say He is making us into a lot of mini-temples. He sticks with the singular: one temple, one Church. That’s God’s way of saying He doesn’t encourage isolated Christians, because He has seen, all too often, that lone, maverick Christians are ripe for the rustling. He knows. My limited experience can’t produce the memory of a single, solitary Christian who faithfully took Communion or sent missionaries overseas so the Holy Spirit might fashion lost souls into new bricks for the Church. Nor have I ever read a passage in Scripture, which said Christians were to get and not give to keep Christ to themselves and not share Him with others. To be blunt: If a person’s faith in the Savior isn’t motivation enough to bring him through the doors of a church, I have a tough time believing it will get him through the gates of heaven.
My friends, God wants to use us pitiful, pathetic, misshapen, sinful bricks to build His Church. It would be an altogether hopeless task, but by the power of the Creator who has fashioned us; with the nail-pierced hands of the Redeemer who has saved us, with the direction of the Holy Spirit who leads us, God’s Church does get built. It may not be as good as it might be if all of us were perfect, but it still, by God’s grace, often does the job which God intends. If you doubt my words, and you well might, then talk to the family who has lost a child and found themselves surrounded by members of their congregation who tried to comfort them with Christ’s love; talk to the couple who were having difficulties in their marriage and found Christian friends who supported them, encouraged them, and helped them through their time of discord; ask the folks who have suffered a loss and who have found themselves being helped by eager Christian hands.
Are we perfect? Of course we are not. But you don’t close God’s Church because sin remains in the world. Think about it. Do you close the physician’s office because the world still has sickness; the dentist’s office because people still have cavities? Of course you don’t. To combat sickness is the reason these places are open. Similarly, do you shut down the fire departments because houses and businesses catch fire; or do you pull the police off their streets because your community has seen its share of crime? These men are on duty to take a stand against these disrupting evils. Similarly, it is not wise to shut down the Church because you still see evidence of sin. The Church has been created by God to use imperfect Christians to call others to faith, to witness to the Savior’s salvation; to take a stand against sin.
Are we perfect, have we done God’s will without stumbling or without mistake? Of course not. On the other hand, any honest reader of history is compelled to acknowledge it was Christian pulpits which first and continuously called for an end to slavery, slavery which still continues in many unchristian parts of the world. It was Christian doctors who took medicine to those lands, which were without hope and sick in body and soul. It was Christian desire for learning which built colleges; a desire for healing which created hospitals. It was the moral force of Christianity which put an end to Rome’s gladiatorial games, and Christian consciences that called for equality between men and women. And if we have not done it all perfectly, I’m sorry. But I also encourage you to look at those nations of the world where the Savior has been banned and banished. Take a look and see what is the condition of races and genders in those places.
Are we perfect? Of course we’re not. But we are God’s building blocks and we are trying; and in some places we are succeeding. In my files I have a story which I would like to share. It is a story, which comes from a 1st grade Sunday school. The lady who was teaching the class of youngsters was most conscientious. She prepared her lessons so she might be a good teacher of other people’s children. She helped them with simple prayers; she told them Bible stories; most of all she taught them of the love of Jesus Who had died and risen to save them from their sins. How much they grasped of her lessons, she was never quite sure, so she left that knowledge to the Lord. One day, however, He did give her a glimpse of what the Holy Spirit was doing through her.
As I said, she taught these children. Along with the lessons she also taught them simple songs. Songs like: “Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world.” And “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” and “I am Jesus’ little lamb, ever glad at heart I am.” She would teach them the words to those songs, but the Lord taught those children to sing with heartfelt enthusiasm. That’s the way it was when a little boy, a guest, came to her class. He was a little boy without a right arm. The teacher looked at the children; the children looked at the new boy without an arm. Silently, the teacher prayed that nobody would make a big deal of the boy’s difference and cause him embarrassment. To her amazement, nobody said a thing. Not a thing.
At the end of class, it was time to sing. The class worked through their repertoire and the visitor even knew the words to some of the songs. All went well until the teacher announced, “Let’s sing: ‘If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.'” The words weren’t out of her mouth before she knew she had done the very thing she had prayed her children would avoid. Still, there was no turning back. She took a breath to begin — and noticed one of her little girls lean over and say to the boy: “Let’s you and me clap our hands together.” And they did. His left hand and her right.
We may not do everything right, but that is also God’s Church. God’s people serving the Savior and lending a hand. To paraphrase St. Paul, “being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Himself as the cornerstone, we are joined together. By God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power we will be built into a holy temple for the Lord.” To God’s Church made up of imperfect people we invite you. Into the family of faith we extend the Lord’s invitation: be joined to us as we try to reflect the Savior’s love, the only perfect love this world has seen; the best love you will ever be given. To that end, if we can help, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Q & A) for July 19, 2009
Topic: Is Marriage Only A Piece of Paper?Mark: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to more questions about marriage. I’m Mark Eischer.
Ken: Hi, Mark. What’s before us today?
Mark: Well, we have a somewhat angry question, and, if we have time, an angry comment.
Ken: Which one do we want to do first?
Mark: How about if we start with the question. This is in response to your recent comments about couples who were living together before marriage. A listener writes, “What is the Church’s problem with pre-marital sex? When a couple is engaged, isn’t that already the same thing as being married in the eyes of the Lord?”
Ken: That sounds like they might have been a little upset.
Mark: If you think this person is upset, wait ’til we get to the comment.
Ken: I can hardly wait.
Mark: So, what do you think? Is engagement the same thing as “marriage” in the eyes of the Lord?
Ken: Mark, I am pleased to give you, and our listeners, a resounding and definite “yes” and “no.”
Mark: That’s not much help.
Ken: I don’t mean to be obtuse, but there’s a certain degree of truth in both answers.
Mark: And I hope you’ll explain further.
Ken: I hope so, too. First, when God institutes marriage, it is to be a life-long, voluntary relationship between a man and a woman. To the best of my knowledge, the Lord didn’t perform an official marriage ceremony for Adam and Eve. When Jesus was born, the state of engagement between Mary and Joseph was, in many ways, the same as being married. When Joseph found out Mary was expecting a child, and he knew the child wasn’t his; he was ready to put her away. In his mind, at least at first, she had broken that marriage contract.
Mark: And is that how it is today?
Ken: A century ago a lot of people would have made that case.
Mark: But now?
Ken: Well, engagement now is certainly not regarded as seriously as it once was. It’s a lot more informal, not nearly as binding, and considered by many to be sort of a tryout time to see if the other person is going to be a suitable partner. If one of the betrothed breaks off the engagement, there’s not a lot of people who think it’s a big deal.
Mark: Well, is there anything more to be said about this?
Ken: Absolutely. Even if people still held engagement in high regard, the answer to the listener’s question would still be no — engagement is NOT the same as marriage.
The state has certain regulations in regard to marriage. Those regulations need to be respected. If the state doesn’t consider engagement interchangeable with marriage, then we can’t either.Mark: All right. I understand all that–which brings us now to the comment.
Ken: The angry comment.
Mark: Yes, the angry one. This person said they don’t believe in getting married because marriage is just a piece of paper; it’s an agreement, and agreements are made to be broken.
Ken: Well, I think that person, with that attitude, probably shouldn’t get married.
Mark: You’re joking.
Ken: Not really. I’m even more not joking when I say that person’s “significant other” ought to be running for the hills.
Mark: Wow! That’s pretty heavy duty.
Ken: Yeah, it’s really meant to be. Look. The family is the cornerstone of society. If a person really believes that his or her word is something which can easily be broken and set aside, if they believe commitment is something of little consequence, I wouldn’t give a plugged nickel for that relationship to continue on for any length of time.
Mark: But is marriage just a piece of paper?
Ken: Most certainly. In the same way that a deed which says you own your house is just a piece of paper — or loan papers, or your driver’s license, or your Social Security card. They are all pieces of paper. They all burn easily; they can be ripped up, can run through a shredder.
It’s not the fact that they are pieces of paper that makes them important. It’s what stands behind those papers. Look, if a person is really being honest, if a marriage license isn’t to be honored, then they better not ever sign a contract to buy a home, or a car, or anything. After all, those are just pieces of paper, too.
Mark: And, how would you sum this up for us today?
Ken: Those pieces of paper are significant because they are a contract into which people voluntarily enter. They represent commitments, promises, guarantees. They are saying, “I as a person have promised, and I will dedicate myself to fulfilling my promise.”
When a person gets married and signs that piece of paper, they want to know that both of those parties involved are making a commitment which will stay with them until death separates them — and they are asking God to bless them in that promise.
Mark: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“I Love Your Kingdom, Lord” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“All People That On Earth Do Dwell” by David Cherwien. From Hymn Interpretations, vol. 1 by David Cherwien (© 1992 Summa Productions)
“Allegro” by J.S. Bach. From Richard Heschke at the Hradetzky in Red Bank by Richard Heschke (© 1993 Arkay Records)