Epiphany 8 Matthew 6:24-24

Epiphany 8 Matthew 6:24-24
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

[24 ] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
[25 ] “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26 ] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27 ] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28 ] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29 ] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30 ] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31 ] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32 ] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33 ] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
[34 ] “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(Matthew 6:24-34 ESV)

What do you do with our gospel reading? We are so far removed from the people that Jesus is speaking to that His words about basic physical need can fly right past us if we’re not careful. Keep in mind that Jesus is not an American; He is a first century Galilean Jew. And he is talking to people that are living hand to mouth. They’re worried about having enough food to feed themselves and their children. They are worried about not having clothes to keep themselves warm.

Does anybody here relate to this? Does this hit home for any of us? Maybe a very few.

It’s no secret, we’re rich. We are not first-century Galilean Jews. We’re Americans and making money is in the fabric of our capitalist, consumer-driven society. Money makes the world go round and we’ve got a lot of it. Even our middle class is unbelievably wealthy. Think about the rest of the world, which we don’t really do all that often because it can get kind of depressing. I once heard that if you own more than one pair of shoes and you get to choose what you eat for lunch, you’re rich. Well, yeah, that’s us.

Unlike the Galileans that Jesus was talking to, we do not have the slightest concern about whether or not we will be fed and clothed. That’s not to say that we don’t worry though. Oh, we have worries, but not that we will starve to death. We worry…that we won’t get the retirement plan we want. We worry that we won’t be able to travel as widely as we’d like in our old age. We worry that we’ll only be able to go to the mall once this week. We worry that we won’t be the first of our friends to own the newest version of the iphone, or ipad or Xbox. Or whatever else is coming out.

But we can quickly see that having money and possessions is not the issue. For example, Abraham and David were very wealthy. The question isn’t: “do you have money and possessions?” It’s “Are you controlled by your money and possessions? Where do you look for your security and identity and meaning? If you lost all your money and pocessions tomorrow, what would that mean for you? Does your money serve you (and by extension others) or are you a slave to your money? Do you trust in the Lord for every provision and acknowledge that every good thing comes from him, or are you anxious and worried about your financial future?

Let’s look more closely at what Jesus says about all this and see what it means for us today.

In verse 24 of our reading, Jesus says that you cannot serve God and money. Being a slave is not a part-time job. It involves total commitment. It is literally impossible to serve two masters. Either you serve God, or you serve money.

How do we become an undivided slave of God? Stop worrying. It’s easier said that done though. Worry is as much a part of our society as materialism is. They seem to go hand in hand. Concern for tomorrow is built into our commercial and economic structures. But worry is a sign that we do not trust God to provide. The people of God are to live “a carefree life of confident dependence on a caring and generous Father,” as R.T. France says. That sounds attractive, but it’s difficult to relate to. The people of God are to be generous toward others, but anxiety about the future devours any thought of this. To us modern Western disciples with 9-5 jobs and mortgages and children to put through school and investment portfolios, Jesus and his wandering band of rag tag disciples may seem like they have more in common with the sensibilities of Haight and Ashbury than of Wall Street.

Jesus is not telling us to become hippies and live in a van down by the river. Just saying, “Don’t worry, be happy” is law. We can’t do it. We even get anxious and worry about the fact that we are not able to stop worrying. We need the gospel. We need a heavenly Father who cares for us and offers us His righteousness and his kingdom. We need someone who feeds us and clothes us physically and spiritually and makes the idea of worrying about money and pocessions laughable.

Starting in verse 25, Jesus tackles this issue of worry and anxiety. And He teaches his disciples with these great questions; a method that was common with rabbis. I don’t know exactly what first century Galilean humor was like, but it seems like Jesus is being kind of silly here.

Jesus says, “Life is more than food, right?” You can see all the disciples following along and nodding, “Yeah.” “And the body is more than clothing, right?” “Yeah.”

“Have you ever seen a bird driving a tractor?” “No.” “Have you ever seen a bird in overalls gathering crops into a little bird barn?” “No.” “Is there an abundance of farms in the Central Valley owned and operated by birds?” “No.”
“Well, your heavenly father feeds the birds and you’re more valuable than a bird, right?” “Yeah.”

It may be a good time for us to pick up bird watching. In fact, Luther says that we are put to shame by the birds. He calls birds: “theologians,” “little saints,” “our lords in teaching us wisdom.” Luther goes on to say:

A bird does the work for which it was created…and sings to our Lord God a little song for the privilege of doing this. Early in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned, while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to where to get its breakfast. Ay, shame on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to eat.

I guess in this case, it’s a good thing to be a bird brain.

In verse 27, Jesus asks, “Can anyone add an hour to their life by worrying?” “No.” The opposite actually, anxiety shortens your life.

Then in verse 28, Jesus turns to the flowers. Look at the craftsmanship that God put into flowers. Yet, as Luther pointed out, cows walk all over them and eat them. “Flowers do not put in a hard day’s work at the office, right?” “No.” “If God clothes something that is burned for fuel and something that that cows walk on, He will clothe you too, right?” “Yeah”

Jesus then reiterates his point in verses 31 and 32: Don’t worry about food and drink and clothing, this is what the Gentiles worry about. God knows what you need.

There are two types or people. God’s people and everybody else. Everybody else does not know God. They are deceived about what is important in life. They worry about…stuff. But we are God’s people. Our lives are to be characterized by calm confidence in Our father. Why? Our Father knows what we need. Jesus had just got done teaching the disciples the Lord’s Prayer. You’ll notice that the language about ‘Our Heavenly Father’ is still quite evident in this passage as well. Our Heavenly Father feeds the birds and Our Heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask.

Needing daily bread was very relevant for the people of Jesus’ day. It rang true everyday. Maybe the need isn’t there in the same way for us, but looking to God as Our Father who daily provides for us, is relevant to people of any age, any nation, any race, any socio-economic standing.. The Lord’s Prayer should always be on our lips. We are able to come to Our heavenly Father as little children come to their Father. How awesome is that?

We all know verse 33. Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” God’s kingdom and His righteousness are ours though the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The one who faced the cross for you will give you the strength to live each day. Christ has redeemed you. He has bought you. He has placed all your worry and anxiety on himself and died for it all on the cross. He has given you his righteousness and the Father has adopted you as his child and heir of his kingdom. Once you have the righteousness of Christ, living as co-heir with Him in the kingdom of God, why sweat the small stuff of life? You don’t need to worry about food or drink or clothing or anything else. You are free. You are released from bondage to worry and anxiety. Our Father knows what you need and he provides for you. You do not provide for yourself. God provides for you physically and spiritually. That is good news.

In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said “man does not live by bread alone.” This is most certainly true. Man does not live by bread alone or bank accounts alone, or investment portfolios alone, or retirement packages alone, or nice cars alone or electronic gadgets alone. What do you live by? You live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

You live by the Word…God’s Word. And here you are fed that Word regularly. Just as at home, you wouldn’t want to miss a meal, why would you want to miss being fed by your Heavenly Father? Missing a weekend at church is like skipping a meal. And today God feeds you with his Word and with his very Body and Blood. God has clothed you with his righteousness in Holy Baptism. Fed and clothed spiritually and physically by our God, we live as the children of God. We are not controlled by money and possessions. Our security and identity and meaning is found in Christ crucified. It’s more than a worry-free philosophy. It the way of life for us as the people of God in our Life Together, united through Christ our Lord.

Epiphany 7A - "You will be Holy"

Epiphany 7A - "You will be Holy" - Leviticus 19:2 - Matt 5:48 - I Corinthians 3:16-17
(On the occasion of Polly Bloom Guinta's adoption into the holy, catholic and apostolic church through the sacrament of Holy Baptism)
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

The gospel reading this morning is quite a well-known passage from Jesus’ sermon on the mount. You don’t have to be all that biblically literate to be familiar with some of Jesus’ sayings here: “Turn the other cheek,” “Go the extra mile,” “Love your enemies.”
These sayings work better on bumper stickers than some of Jesus’ other sayings earlier in the chapter. Like, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Anybody else find the Sermon on the Mount uncomfortable in places? You kind of wish Jesus would tone it down little a bit. For instance, Jesus is says you think you’re basically a good person because you don’t murder or commit adultery, I tell you that are in danger of hell if you get angry or have a lustful thought. Well, if all this weren’t clear enough, Jesus finally says, “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
How’s that working out for everybody? You all fine with your level of perfection in turning the other cheek and loving your enemy?

If we examine ourselves, we quickly realize that we are indeed not perfect. Actually, we’re pretty lousy. Ever gossiped, gotten angry, had a lustful thought? Ever cared about yourself more than others? It seems that, according to Jesus, we all deserve judgment.

We need something from outside ourselves to intervene. Because if you look to yourself to provide comfort and assurance of your salvation, you will either quickly become very depressed from the glare of your own imperfection staring back at you in the mirror or you’ll become delusional in your efforts to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees

So what do we do with this? Well, it’s helpful to see Jesus’ comment on perfection in a larger context. Jesus is referring back to Leviticus 19:2, which reads, “You shall be holy, because I the Lord, your God am holy.” There were two categories for Israel: Yahweh, the Lord God, was holy; everything else was not. This contrast is all over the Bible: I Samuel 2 says, “There is no one holy like the Lord.” Isaiah calls Israel a worm, a nation of sinful corrupt people. But Yahweh is called the Holy One.

For Israel, only God was the creator and source of holiness. God did not give his people commands for them to generate their own holiness. Israel’s holiness comes from God’s holiness. It is outside of themselves. On their own, the Israelites “did what was right in their own eyes” as it says in the book of Judges. Holiness was by God’s grace alone.

God’s laws presuppose that God makes and keeps his people holy. For the people of Israel, God’s gift of holiness was not something that happened a long long time ago and was in the rear view mirror. God’s holiness was ever before their eyes. It was something they kept on receiving.

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What’s this mean for us?

The church is the new Israel. Like the Israelites, we are called to be holy and share in God’s holiness. Each congregation is, as St Paul says, a community of saints, which means “holy ones.”

How are believers made holy today? St. Paul connects it to when God’s Spirit comes to dwell in us. This is particular importance for us today. Listen to Paul’s words to the church from 1 Corinthians 3:
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?...God’s Temple is holy and you are that temple.

This is awesome. We are not condemned, but rather are are holy.

But, how do you know that the Spirit dwells in you? How do you know that you stand holy and righteous before God? How do you know that you are saved? Think about this. If some one were to ask you, “How do you know that you will be with Christ after you die?” What would you say?

If you became mentally disabled or were in a coma, do you have assurance you would still possess salvation? What if you were physically unable to confess with your mouth that you were a Christian or lost the mental capacity to understand the Christian faith?

What about a baby? What assurance is there for parents that their child has been made holy?

Well, to answer all these questions, St Paul says in Galatians 3:27 – For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.”

God makes us holy through the perfection of his son Jesus. Through baptism we have been clothed with Christ and with his righteousness. When the Father looks at us, he does not see our imperfections and our sin, He sees Christ whose blood shed on the cross atones for the sin of the world. We are God’s temple and the Holy Spirit dwells in us because we have been clothed with Christ at baptism.

Well, this indeed flies in the face of the wisdom of this world. Honestly, water, probably from the faucet, clothes one with Christ? But it’s not just ordinary water. It’s water combined with the command and promise of God’s Word.

What is this command? St Matthew records the words of our Lord in last chapter of his gospel:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

This command from our Lord is why many of us are here today. We believe, teach, and confess that when Jesus instructed his followers to make disciples of “all nations” he meant all. Every one, everywhere. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, or age. And how does Jesus tell us to make disciples? By baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He places His holy name on us.

That is the command of our Lord. What are the promises? They are abundant. Believe it or not, baptism actually does something.

St. Mark writes, “Those who believe and are baptized will be saved.” St. Peter says, “Repent and be baptized everyone one of you… for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off.” St Peter also says, “Baptism saves you.” St Paul writes, “God saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Paul calls baptism the washing of regeneration. New birth. Not long ago, Polly was born, but today she will be born again of water and the spirit as our Savior instructs us to do in John 3.

Baptism isn’t merely a profession of faith that you make. It is God adopting you into his church and making you his child. It is physical and tangible and wet. It is an offense to reason that the creator the universe would choose to come to us in such a simple, mundane manner, but this is the foolishness of God for our salvation.

God saves us not because of what we do or think, but because of what he does for us through the Holy Spirit at Baptism. Yet we don’t want to admit that we are helpless children. We like to find our identity, meaning and significance in ourselves.

Are we holy because of our superior reasoning? No, Rather, God works by defying conventional wisdom. He offers his own son as a sacrifice for us in a cruel, shameful death. He entrusts an uneducated band of fisherman with his message of salvation. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man, at the same time. God is 3 in 1. None of this makes sense. It defies the wisdom of this world. So it follows that God’s means of grace defies that wisdom as well.

So, where do you find assurance of salvation? Do you base your salvation on what you do and what you think? If so, you had better make sure you are perfect. And that your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

How do you know that the Spirit dwells in you? Is it because of your ability to confess the faith or capacity to understand?

Dear Christian, turn your eyes from yourself to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are worms. He is the Holy One.

How do you know you have been made holy; that the Spirit dwells in you? Are you baptized? As we sang in our hymn, “When nothing else revives your soul, your baptism stands and makes you whole and then in death complete you.” God has given you the promise that through baptism you are his disciple. You are clothed with Christ. You are made holy because you have been given the Holy Spirit through the washing of regeneration. You are forgiven from all your sins right now.

You no longer need to be seized by a guilty conscience. You no longer need to be disturbed by sin. You are baptized into Christ. As in, you are currently in a state of baptism.

This is why we make the sign of the cross. This is the sign that will be made over Polly as Christ snatches her from the grip of the devil and proclaims her as His own Child. When we make the sign of the cross when we wake up in the morning and when before we go to bed at night, we daily remember that we have been and daily remain baptized into Christ, whose blood has set us free to be the people of God.

Luther writes in the Large Catechism, “Baptism daily strengthens the new man, always remains until we pass from this present misery to eternal glory. Therefore let everybody regard his Baptism as the daily garment, which he is to wear all the time…As we have once obtained forgiveness of sins in Baptism, so forgiveness remains day by day as long as we live.

“You will be holy, because I the Lord, your God am holy.” That's not a threat. It's a promise.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Fine outward training

Here's kind of the flipside of what I wrote the other day. It's for our church newsletter.

“Fine Outward Training"
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Around the country, millions of people are beginning to see the end of a long winter…at least those people who are baseball fans. Many of us eagerly counted down the days until players reported to Spring Training, beginning their month-long time of preparation for the new season. I’m sure that many of you are especially excited this year to see if Lincecum, Posey, Wilson and the rest of the boys can lead the Giants to a repeat of their World Series victory.

During spring training, I like to prepare myself for the long season ahead. I usually spend time watching Ken Burns' Baseball documentary, re-reading classic baseball books like "The Glory of Their Times," and watching great games from the past.

This year, baseball’s Spring Training and the Lenten season overlap fairly nicely. Just as Spring Training is a time of preparation for baseball players (and some rabid fans), Lent is a time of Christian preparation often marked by increased attention devoted to almsgiving, fasting, and prayer (rooted in our Lord’s teaching in Matthew 6:1-18). Lent is a 40 day penitential season, allowing us to repent and examine ourselves as the great feast of the Resurrection of our Lord approaches.

Just as baseball players prepare physically in anticipation of Opening Day and the start of a new season, Christians prepare spiritually in anticipation of the annual celebration of new life through the Easter triumph - the Resurrection of Christ.

There are many ways that we can prepare spiritually.

If you have neglected daily devotions, now is a great time to reintroduce that holy habit. Pick up a Portals of Prayer from the church narthex or order “Treasury of Daily Prayer” (www.cph.org/prayer) to help assist you.

Also, you are invited to attend one of our midweek Lenten services Wednesday at 7PM (proceeded by a dinner at 6). The sermons at these services will focus upon interactions between Jesus and Peter and how these reflect upon our own pride, complacency, misunderstanding, discipleship, and denial.

Perhaps you would like to practice the discipline of fasting by eating more simply on certain days. Traditionally, fasting has meant 1/4 meal for breakfast and lunch, with a simple dinner and abstaining from meat and wine on Fridays.

Just by means of a disclaimer, lest you think the Vicar is trying to introduce a “Romanizing” practice, in the Small Catechism Martin Luther says that fasting is "a fine outward training." It’s a Christian’s Spring Training, so to speak.

Also, the LCMS’ website says: “If a Christian wants to give something up for Lent as a way of remembering and personalizing the great sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for our sins, then that Christian is certainly free to do so.”

Amen! We are free in Christ! And if you do indeed chose to exercise your Christian freedom by fasting, you need not simply “give up” something. As Pastor Wil Weedon writes, “By not eating so much, you actually have more money to give to others who have less than you, and by not fixing elaborate meals, you also have more time to spend in the Word and prayer.

Further, by going hungry each day you experience solidarity with those many members of the human race who also go hungry each day. Above all, we teach ourselves that the hunger behind all hungers is the hunger for God Himself.”

I wish you a blessed Spring Training, er, I mean, Lenten season as we joyfully prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming Easter celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.

A season of preparation

This year we are fortunate that Lent and baseball Spring Training overlap fairly nicely. It seems that with this intersection of the church/mlb year, 2011 provides opportunity for increased bodily and spiritual preparation in light of our annual celebration of new life and the restoration of all things - The Resurrection of Christ and Opening Day.

Lent is a 40 day penitential season allowing us to repent, examine ourselves and prepare for the Great Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord.
Spring training is a month-long (plus 2 weeks for pitchers and catcher) time of preparation for the new season. As Lent is a time of Christian preparation marked by increased attention devoted to fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, I submit that Spring training may also mark for us a period of baseball preparation.

Here are proposals:
-Abstain from watching, reading about, or following any sport except baseball. Avert your eyes from NBA, NFL, NHL, and NCAA news and event. It will help cleanse your mind and help prepare you for the long season ahead.

- Set aside money dedicated to purchasing mlb.tv or a tickets to few games this season.

-Spend time mediating on the testimony of those who have gone before us. Watch Ken Burns' Baseball documentary. Go to itunes and peruse "Baseball's Best Games." I plan on watching Game 5 of the 1984 World Series, perhaps 1991 WS Game 7, or 2001 WS game 7. Read, mark and learn the inspired words of "Ball Four" or "The Glory of Their Times" or "Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract." If you have not inwardly digested these books, examine yourself. Repent. You obviously have not experienced the good news of baseball. It is my fervent desire for all who endure the crush of defeat to be comforted by the pure joy of baseball so that we all believe, teach and confess in one accord.

Street Art

We had an enjoyable time at SFMOMA the other day. Great stuff there, photo, art things. A 'bible' with all the letters rearranged in alphabetical order. Don't know what I think about that one, but it was interesting. I remembered it. It was better than the naked people stuff. They had a show on wine and art. You got to smell wine. Yum. There was a cool photo show, with photos from all around the world. Reminiscencings and whatnot galore. We then got a bite to eat in the delicious cafe and noticed a guy taking a poop on the sidewalk across the street.

SF day in the park

I enjoy San Francisco. It's a delightful odd town. We walked around Delores Park the other day after eating some tasty baked goods. It was a sunny day and the park was filled with people lounging on the grass. There was the token drag queenish flamboyant crowd, also a large group of people hula hooping, others walking on a tightrope, other assorted normal folk, fartsniffers, hippies, hipsters, moms and babies. My favorite moment was when a guy that looked like a 19th century ringmaster/snake oil salesman (with top hat, tuxedo, handle bar mustasche and spats) looked at a girl that walked by in some sort of see-through lingerie outfit and rolling his eyes he said, "A bit much, don't you think?"