Good evening all,
Here is my sermon for this coming Sunday, Lent 1, based on
the gospel for the day.
Rev. Dean M. Bell
First English Lutheran Church
Fosston, MN
--------------------------------------------------------------
+In Nomine Iesu+
INVOCAVITLent 1
St Luke 4:1-13
21 February 2010
Jesus once asked His disciples, Who do men say that I
am? It was Peter who answered. You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Peter was correct. He made
the true confession. His confession was true then. It is
true now. His confession will always remain true.
<>
But many people no longer seem interested in asking who
Jesus is. Rather, they ask a different question. A
question that follows along this line: Who do I say that
I am? People wish to define themselves. They wish to
interpret themselves. They want to confess
themselves. By nature were not all that interested in
being defined or interpreted by anyone outside
of our self. We feel perfectly capable of making the true
confession as to who we are.
<>
And just how does our desire for self-definition play
itself out? We see examples in todays Gospel. Jesus had
just been baptized. He had just taken His place in the
midst of sinful humanity. And as a result He was led by the
Holy Spirit into the wilderness. Into the wilderness of
mans sinful existence. And there Jesus was tempted by
Satan in the same manner we are. Jesus was tempted to
define Himself.
<>
So, what are the temptations? First comes the temptation
for bread. And here we must understand bread in the
broadest sense. This isnt simply a matter of white or
whole wheat. Rather, bread is everything we surround
ourselves with. And in that being surrounded by bread, we
use it to define ourselves over against others. Its a
matter of my six-bedroom split-level against your
two-bedroom bungalow. My late-model SUV against your rusty
old four-door sedan. My i-phone, my snowmobile, my
play-station, my inboard-outboard run-about, my computerized
sewing machine against your lack of any or all of those
things. By our bread we want to define ourselves
positively, and our neighbor negatively. What we are
insisting is, I know who I am by the things I have.
But nowhere does Jesus say: Blessed are the ones with
the most stuff.
<>
In the second temptation we see another aspect of our
self-defining ways. Here the matter at hand is power.
To you, Satan says to Jesus, To you I will give all
this authority and glory. We want to define ourselves by
the power we wield. By the wealth we have accumulated. The
education we have attained. The influence we can exert on
those around us. All of these so we think elevate
us above others. Or, at least they should. We are wont to
insist that our status and power define us. But, nowhere
does Jesus says: Blessed are the powerful.
<>
The third temptation is to glory in our abilities.
Obviously God will under gird us with His power. After all,
whats the mantra we hear? God helps those who help
themselves. Thus positive definitions of self revolve
around the things we can do. Athleticism for instance. The
star quarterback is obviously of more worth than the
tackling dummy. Or we look to our drive for success. The
person who can get things moving really get things done
is certainly to be valued more highly than the poor lout
who cant organize two paper clips. Or maybe were very
accomplished in some field. Music, perhaps, or art. Maybe
writing or public speaking. And those who arent?
Obviously of less worth. Obviously inferior to us. But
nowhere does Jesus say: Blessed are the nimble, the
quick-witted.
<>
But, how does God define us? How does the Bible
interpret us? As sinners. Sinners who have become
by our own disobedience less than fully human.
Having lost the image of God our true humanness we
concoct our own image of what it means to be human. Our
bread owns us, defines us, controls us distorts
our judgment. Power seduces us it becomes our reason
for living, our goal in life. Our abilities inflate us,
infatuate us always threatening to become our god.
Trust is not the problem. Its what we trust. By nature,
we have turned to the wrong god (ourselves). Gods
definition of who we are kills us. Gods definition puts
to death the old Adam in us. There is no life in our false
god. We are being tempted constantly to curve in upon
ourselves. Tempted to see ourselves as the center of the
only universe that matters. And therein we doom ourselves.
<>
You see, the temptations Jesus faced were not accidental.
They were very specific. Their aim was at man where he is
most vulnerable in his self-definition. It wasnt
that Satan had to come up with some temptations on the spur
of the moment and these were the best he could offer. No.
The temptations that confront Jesus encompass all the
temptations that beguile us, entangle us, insinuate
themselves into our lives all the temptations that
inexorably seek to draw us deeper and deeper into hell.
<>
But then comes the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus
stands in front of us. It blocks our path. We can try to
ignore it, but we cant get around it. God, our Father,
wont allow that. The cross of Jesus is there planted
firmly into the very earth from which we were created. We
are forced to confront the death of Jesus. It wasnt that
Jesus had nothing better to do so He decided to be
crucified. His death had a reason a purpose. And we
are that reason.
<>
The crucifixion of Jesus cant have been simply an
accident. If that were so then God has shown Himself to be
incredibly careless. Can the cross be seen as an
overreaction on Gods part? An overreaction to what are
really only minor mistakes on our part? Little blemishes on
our otherwise stellar character? If thats the case then
God isnt very adept in choosing an appropriate response.
Is it that God could have accomplished the same result in
some way other than by the crucifixion of His only-begotten
Son? If so, then God is guilty of divine child abuse for
allowing His Son to needlessly suffer in such a way. No,
the crucifixion of Jesus was necessary. His death and
resurrection were necessary. Necessary if we were to be
defined according to Gods eternal will.
<>
And now we have come to the crux of the matter. Now we
have come to that which truly defines us in the eyes of our
Father in heaven. In Christs life, death and
resurrection beginning in the wilderness God has
given you a new identity. Now you are defined as Gods
forgiven child. Thats what Jesus has accomplished. What
He has accomplished for you. Bread, power, ability none
of these define you in the eyes of God. And, neither does
sin. Your unruly, defiant desire to do what is not
according to Gods plan does not define you. In like
manner, feelings of guilt, or shame, or inadequacy do not
define you. Rather, it is Gods word of forgiveness that
defines who you really are. It is as St Paul declares.
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this
body of death? THANKS BE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!!!
<>
And there is even more. Since it is God who defines you
by His word of forgiveness no one else can define you in any
other way. Your enemies cannot define you through their
accusations or innuendo through prejudice or
discrimination. An economic system that may leave you
dumped in a ditch along side the road cannot define you.
Not even your own physical infirmities or failing powers of
perception can define you. God has the final say. His word
of forgiveness defines you interprets you. And that
word of forgiveness assigns to your life the greatest worth.
<>
Who are you? How are you defined? As one whom God has
destined to make strong in your Savior. The Father defines
you in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. His
history has become your history. You are a child of God
risen to life in and with Jesus. Therefore you are a new
creation. When Jesus breathed on His disciples and said,
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven,
that was the same breath that first stirred the dust and
brought you into being. That breath brought forth life
then. It does the same today. Now here Gods act
of forgiveness creates you anew. Your past history has been
buried in Christs tomb. Jesus has squeezed the death out
of your sins. Your sins have been left buried in
Christs tomb. A borrowed tomb, remember? Borrowed once
but now no longer needed. Dead and buried, your sins
can no longer accuse or condemn you. Or define you! They
have been de-fanged, de-clawed, destroyed. Jesus is your
resurrection. Your life. From baptism to absolution to the
altar your Father defines you over and over again in the
life of His Son. And because of that your conscience can
truly come to rest. From your Father in heaven you learn
what it means to be finally and truly human. He has set you
free. You are now Gods new and forgiven
creation.
Amen
+Soli Deo Gloria+
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
