The Lutheran Hour
-
"Giving God Our Garbage"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
-
Greetings to you all from your brothers and sisters from the North, in Canada, and hello to my fellow Canadian listeners. It’s an honor to be invited to share the Word of God with all you today, and especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
My name is Dr. Harold Ristau, and I’m an associate professor at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario, located just a few minutes north of Niagara Falls New York.
I understand that you are all beginning a study on 1 Samuel with Dr. Zeigler. Well, in chapter 2:1-10, we have one of the most famous portions from that book: the “song of Hannah,” in which Hannah praises God for the gracious birth of a prophet and spiritual warrior: Samuel. The reason I say “spiritual warrior” is that her song is driven by thanksgiving over this savior’s coming as a victorious hero over Israel’s enemies. The song of Hannah proclaims a certain and coming victory. For instance, she sings, “My heart exults in the Lord … My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. He will guard the feet of His faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them He will thunder in heaven.”
What God does through Samuel is done in a much greater and universal degree hundreds of years later, in his “Anointed One,” the Messiah, His only Son our Lord: Jesus the Christ. This song foreshadows what God would do and still does through Jesus Christ. Centuries after Hannah’s song, similar words are sung by the blessed virgin Mary in the Magnificat, in Luke 1, when she is told by the angel Gabriel that she has been chosen to give birth to the world’s Savior, whose death and resurrection would save us all from our enemies: death, hell, and the devil.
It is then especially fitting that 1 Samuel 2 concludes with: “There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God.”
Now, I served as a military chaplain for the Canadian Armed Forces and was deployed a number of times to the Middle East. When it comes to the battlefield, you need to know who your enemy is, and where to find him. That’s why terrorism is so effective. The enemy is hidden—up in a tree, under a bridge, even in civilian clothing. When we look at Afghanistan recently, we see the horrific impact of hidden enemies. For you can’t beat them until they are revealed.
In our case, our enemies aren’t flesh and blood but are spiritual. As St. Paul says in Ephesians 6:12. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” These spiritual enemies are often hidden from our eyes, though experienced in our lives and world around us in sadness, sickness, tragedy, violence, and so forth. Sin is the cause of all evil. Because sin is hidden inside of us, its deception can make us—we ourselves—our worst enemies.
And unless we admit that and begin to battle that sin in our own lives, we are in trouble. As the psalmist writes, “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God protect me from those who rise up against me” (Psalm 59:1). And God has!
Out of immeasurable love, our Almighty God and Father sent forth His Son, to redeem us from the forces of darkness, victoriously crushing all our enemies under His feet at the cross. He has reconciled all things to Himself “whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.” How does He do it? Through the forgiveness of your sins. Washing them all away with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. If sin is the problem, Jesus removing them (forgiving them) is the answer.
I recall once, overseas, counselling a dismayed army sergeant. Let’s call him, Andrew. Andrew agonized over feelings of deep personal guilt. He was the only survivor of the team of young men that he led during a gunfight in Iraq many years ago. He blamed himself for the losses. He wouldn’t forgive himself. He wouldn’t give his sins to Jesus. Finally, I said, “Brother, did you know that you are stealing from God? After all, Jesus paid a high price for your sins. That’s right, all your spiritual garbage, and emotional and mental baggage, belongs to Christ. On Good Friday, Jesus in a sense became the dumpster of your sins. So, for goodness’ sake, let Him have them.” Andrew looked at me in shock and horror. Then after a moment’s reflection, he nodded his head affirmatively and then began to weep. With tears in his eyes, he said “Chaplain, you’ve made a good point.” He knew that his burdens had to go somewhere, but he couldn’t fathom anybody else wanting them. We talked some more. Then we prayed together. His eyes brightened. He smiled. His conscience was cleansed. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” Jesus says. Andrew rejoiced in God’s grace.
Boy do we have a hard time letting go of our garbage, giving the Lord our sins. Yet Jesus wants them. Yet do we ever resist! Since we often have lots of conditions. Sometimes, the sins which we embrace are evils others have done to us. They cling to us like leeches, yet we hang on to them too, not letting go unless that our offender asks for forgiveness. I have news for you. It often doesn’t happen. And once again, you are your worst enemy since its not your offender who suffers, but you are the worse off.
Other times we punish ourselves for the mistakes and sins we have committed. We don’t believe we are worthy of forgiveness. Yet that’s what true forgiveness and grace is: undeserved. Give it all to Jesus—that hurt, that shame, that guilt, whether caused by you or done to you.
One of the greatest things you can give to God is your sins. “The sacrifices of God are a broken heart, a broken and contrite heart He will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Isn’t that strange? Imagine being invited to the president’s house for supper, and what do you bring him? A piece of stinking garbage. Yet that’s what our King asks for. That’s what He came for. Our loving Lord wants nothing more than to free us from our worst enemies, to take away all that spiritual garbage that keeps us from having peace, blocks us out of heaven, prevents a relationship with Him, and sabotages our relationship with others. He came to take all your spiritual filth and brokenness away because He loves you. For if it goes to Him, it’s no longer on you.
Yet the devil doesn’t want you to give it to Jesus, because he doesn’t want you to be set free. That way this enemy can maintain a foothold in your life.
Another enemy, the world, tempts you to buy into all the creative ways it has invented to handle life’s problems itself, yet without success. For only Christ can rescue us from the ash heap of our sins, darkness, death, and the attacks of evil upon us body and soul. God took on human flesh, came from heaven to earth, to raise you from earth to heaven. To quote, 1 Samuel 2:8, “He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.” Actually, the NASB translates “ash heap” as “garbage heap.” He lifts us all the way to heaven from the garbage heap of our sin. That is why Jesus was lifted high upon the altar of the cross, at the hill of the skull just outside of Jerusalem as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Lift up your hearts to the altar of the Crucified One.
Now I know American Thanksgiving is still a long way away. Canada’s Thanksgiving is considerably earlier, on October 11, in fact. And the classic thanksgiving text is the story of the ten lepers found in Luke 10. It’s where ten lepers cry out to Jesus for mercy and healing, praying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And Jesus heals them all. Being a leper was one of the worst things in the world back then. No doctor could heal the lepers. There was no cure for them. Leprosy was one of the worst diseases of that time. Outcasts of society, they lived in graveyards and caves, some wearing bells to warn visitors to stay away. Imagine the emotional pain they suffered, the loneliness and isolation.
Yet believe it or not, those lepers were better off than we are, in a way. For they knew who they were. They knew what they were: sick sinners. And they also knew they needed help. They knew only God could save them. They weren’t afraid to say it and confess it. They go to Jesus, who always welcomes sinners, and makes an ugly situation, beautiful by His Word and presence.
We have a harder time relating, realizing that we are just as desperate, believing that we are equally as sick inside as were those lepers. Especially when we are physically healthy, and we enjoy stable lives from a worldly point of view. Yet when we honestly assess our lives, we can’t deny our spiritual illness. We may not look sick, but deep inside, we have our own monstrous infections. Whether caused by ourselves or others, we have wounds, open bleeding wounds deep inside that hurt. Like the leper you may have been unrightfully hurt. You may have been disappointed by a parent or felt let down by someone in a big way. Someone you trusted may have told you that you were a “good for nothing,” and though you want to ignore that wound, you can’t. Or maybe it was a bad marriage or relationship; someone took your love and tossed it away like it was nothing. Or a child that you love so dearly has turned away from you, with no interest to reconcile. Or maybe you have wronged someone and are haunted by the memory. You may think you can never be relieved from that thing, that pain or guilt. No one can heal that spot, not even the best doctor or closest friend; it’s just too deep.
Like those lepers, cry out to the Lord. He’ll hear you and heal you. Then like Hannah, rejoice in His unfailing love and victory. Don’t let shame stop you. There is nothing too messy for God to clean up; He’s seen it all before. He won’t ignore you; He won’t deny you. Cry out to Him and don’t be afraid, for He is the greatest, most-caring doctor ever.
The bright side of the pandemic is that people today are increasingly recognizing that there is more to life than just body and material things. With mental health issues hitting an all-time high and suicide on the rise, spirituality is taking on a new appeal. Though still rejecting organized religion, most people identify themselves as “spiritual.” Unfortunately, and ironically, they look to medicine, science, and psychology for help. Yet, our personal and societal issues can’t simply be solved by pharmaceuticals, doctors, and government policies. They involve matters of the soul. It is vanity and foolishness to look inside ourselves for help. If what’s inside is the problem, looking inside won’t help at all. We need to look outside of ourselves, turning towards Christ and His cross. As individuals and as a society, we need to repent of our sins, and our unswerving trust in human-made solutions to spiritual problems. “Repent” means to turn: to turn towards Jesus who has the cure for our spiritual illness. For there is no replacement for the unique healing that Jesus brings to us through His Word and, specifically, as you find it delivered to you in His church: through faithful pastors, through the Holy Means of Baptism and Communion.
Christ and Him crucified is our antidote. He is the medicine of immortality. Jesus is the One who offers ongoing aid. He addresses the deepest issues. God who became flesh, the greatest of physicians, who dwelt and dwells among us.
Now my friend Andrew’s battle wasn’t over the moment he heard that God loved him and forgave him of all his sin, cleansing him of all his guilt. The spiritual garbage from which he had been freed, found a way to creep back into his heart. He needed to keep bringing it to our loving Lord.
So too we need to keep giving our garbage to our very kind, compassionate and patient Jesus. And we do just this, as we come to him on bended knee, in repentance, confession, prayer, and humility—when we keep coming to Him, His Word, His pastors, His church, His font, His table. He raises us from our garbage heap with peace and sends us away with joy. What I especially love about Hannah’s song is the fact that it’s rejoicing about a future victory, at a time when all was far from perfect. Look at Israel’s history of corruption and false teaching, murder, etc. Yet in the midst of that mess, there is the sure promise that God is also there, intimately present and in control.
Andrew’s guilt returned a few weeks later, as it often does, when we doubt that we have been forgiven. Like Peter walking on water, the moment he doubts his Saviour, and turns his eyes from Jesus and back onto himself, he begins to sink into the sea of despair. The devil keeps poking at us by bringing up old sins though we “have washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The devil has lots of clever ways of getting us to doubt that our sins are forgiven. Andrew needed a reminder from time to time. He would call me up occasionally and say, “Chaplain, can you tell me again that God wants my trash and hasn’t abandoned me on the hill of my garbage”?
Forgiveness is not just about a one-time utterance of a magic word that suddenly makes everything perfect. Like Andrew, you may find that you are assaulted with old sins, even forgiven ones, lacking faith that God is as good as He says He is. But even that is a blessing in disguise since “God works all things for good for those who love Him,” even their own sins! Those moments of doubt can draw us back to Jesus Christ and His holy Word and gracious promises.
So sometimes we are too troubled by our sinful condition, but other times, not troubled enough. We behave as if we have been cleansed, and now all is good to go as if we’re no longer sinners. Yet though we have been washed, we need to be washed again and again, until we breathe our final breath, and God’s angels take us to heaven, where we will experience the victory over all our enemies achieved by our crucified, resurrected, and triumphant Lord. In this life, we are saved from our enemies, but still soldiering onward towards heaven, surrounded by old enemies and new ones that tempt us to believe that God isn’t in control. That makes prioritizing our spiritual health more important than anything else in life. In other words, keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus, your Savior, since He deems nothing more important than keeping His eyes fixed upon you!
After all, God is more eager to give than we are to ask, turning none away, waiting eagerly for us spiritual lepers to constantly reach out to Him in prayer, and receive His help through His Word of forgiveness. “For He has cast all yours sins as far as the east is from the west,” meaning your enemies no longer have any power over you. They can no longer harass you. They can no longer haunt you. For our crucified and risen Jesus is victorious over them all. Amen.
And let us pray, dear Lord, Heavenly Father, we rejoice in Your salvation. Deliver us from all of our enemies especially the sins that assault and haunt us. And help us to lay all our burdens into the outstretched hands of our Savior Jesus Christ who welcomes sinners, offering us forgiveness, life, and healing. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Reflections for October 10, 2021
Title: Giving God Our Garbage
Mike Zeigler: I’m visiting with Dr. Dale Meyer, Lutheran Hour Speaker Emeritus. Thanks for being with us, Dale.
Dale Meyer: It’s my pleasure to be with you, Mike.
Mike Zeigler: Dale, you’ve been recording a series of video Bible studies with Lutheran Hour Ministries, and they’re based on 1 Peter, right?
Dale Meyer: Yes, they are print and video.
Mike Zeigler: Okay. And what’s your theme? What’s your angle?
Dale Meyer: The angle is I have a used car and I want you to buy it. The theme is life together. And the reason for that is that more than ever before, in most of our lifetimes, Christians need to band together to encourage one another and to learn how to go out into this community and nation and world in which we live. Followers of Jesus need to get together at home, at church, on The Lutheran Hour, and learn what God’s love for us is all about and how we take that love into the community as Christians who are going into a public culture that often discriminates against our faith.
Mike Zeigler: We can’t give what we don’t have. And so that’s why we need to get together because we’re inviting people into a community, not just into some abstract truths about God.
Dale Meyer: And it’s not just inviting other people in. You and I need it ourselves. I need a place where I can be affirmed and encouraged that God loves me, that He cares for me, and that there is a way for me to go into this impersonal society and carry the love of Jesus to others. So the gathering of God’s people, the followers of Jesus, in congregations and through ministries, like the Lutheran Hour Ministries, it’s important for us who believe, and not just for getting other people to join us in this “happy throng,” as the hymn says.
Mike Zeigler: Now Dr. Meyer, you’re also writing an academic commentary on 1 Peter, correct?
Dale Meyer: Yes, sir.
Mike Zeigler: All right. So what has that been doing for you personally, preparing and writing in that way?
Dale Meyer: The research and the writing is enjoyable. Maybe the research is more enjoyable. The writing is a real discipline. But the biggest takeaway that I’ve had from working on the 1 Peter commentary is how we have blinders on when we read the books of the Bible. And I’ll give you an example: in Western culture, we believe in individualism. That’s the way we’re born and bred. Individualism. But when the Bible uses the word you, Y-O-U, it is usually plural. That’s a subtle way by which the devil just perverts a little bit the message of Christ.
I give you another example of these blinders that we often have on when we do Bible study. And that’s the word, “Bible.” In the first century A.D., the time when 1 Peter and the other New Testament books were written, there was no Bible as we know it. And most people in Roman Empire could not read. They got the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus, through their ears and through speaking. In Latin, it’s called the viva vox evangelii, the “living voice of the Gospel.” So when we impose our cultural understandings upon the Bible, we’re missing a lot of its power.
Mike Zeigler: I remember a quote from Martin Luther. He says that the church, that congregation that gets together, is not a pen house, but a “mouth house,” a “talking house.”
Dale Meyer: Exactly right. A mouth house to talk the Word of God.
Mike Zeigler: What would you like to see this Bible study series that you’re preparing with Lutheran Hour Ministries do for others?
Dale Meyer: I hope and pray that it’ll give each participant a greater zeal for the life of the local congregation. Life together in our congregation and with other believers is more important than ever. It used to be said that you come to church to hear the Word of God. Well, true. But now with all these amazing technological devices, we can hear the Word of God in our pajamas at home. So what is it about the congregation that is so important? It’s the flesh and blood gathering of people who are staking their life on the faith that comes to us in our Lord Jesus. It’s a great time to be a congregation. It’s a great time to be the church. But we have to band together, get together to be nurtured, encouraged in this common faith, and then learn how to take it out into a community which has, largely, no clue about what Jesus is here for.
And I’d add that there’s an urgency to our gathering as congregations. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the entire world and then the end will come. Because of technology, this Gospel of the kingdom has circled the globe. There’s not much time left. And so we need to gather with one another to be encouraged and to go out into the community where we live, gather with one another, because the end is very close.
Mike Zeigler: Yeah. Like you said, the author to the Hebrews says, “Don’t stop gathering together and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Dale Meyer: Sometimes I think that we’ve lost a sense of urgency in many congregations. And coming out of Covid and knowing that the end is very near, urgency is very important. Urgency should be a characteristic of our life. Not a panicked urgency, but a desire to get out there because Jesus is going to be coming very soon.
Mike Zeigler: Thank you for joining us today, Dr. Meyer.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)