READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 40:1-11
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
- St. Matthew 11:2-10
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Who speaks to us on this third Sunday of the new Church Year, saying,
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Thus far from God’s Word, included for us to hear of faith alone, because, as Jesus laments, will there be faith on earth when He returns? For if John, the greatest born among women, must face jail time, then what’s in it for us?
There is a very promising trend, they say, of the younger generations returning to church. Through one statistic or another, American evangelicals are pushing this fact. And its somewhat true and churches are seeing young people coming. Good news.
However, there is always another side to the story. The other side is that there is also a growing trend of young men returning to the pagan gods, the “old” gods as they say. There is an increase in popularity of living off-grid, eating like cavemen, and practicing the “old ways”.
And it makes sense. When you go into the woods and into the fields to find a livelihood, it was the ancients who knew how to live off the land. When your distrust of lying medical professionals reaches a peak, you begin to understand that ancient peoples were able to heal themselves through real food, not from Walmart. When you search for strength and trust in life, you look no further than yourself and how amazing the body is.
The mystery of the wilderness, the strength of nature to weather any storm, and the ability to shut out the material world is tempting. Much more than that, the old religions promised fulfillment. If you want to be your strongest, healthiest, peaceful-est self, just follow the people of the land.
Now, for the rest of the story…the old gods promise fulfillment, but at what cost? Hard work and sacrifice are not the only things demanded. You will reach a plateau in your self-improvement, because you can only improve so far. But there is a promise beyond that: indulgence. A personalized, self-improvement. And for every instant gratification and lust you can imagine, the price you pay is your soul.
If you want a woman, take her, because you are stronger. If you want someone else’s woman, because you are stronger, no one will tell you no because they don’t want to get killed. If you want to get stronger than just eating beef liver, then drink the blood of powerful men. If your children are weak or get in your way, kill them. That is true pagan ritual.
What is best in life? "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!"
Who’s to say this way of making yourself stronger is wrong? Odin wills it. They promise no responsibility afterwards, on your part. To the victor go the spoils. To the strong, justice. To the self-anointed, truth.
It is the lies that we and our country have told our young men, that drove them to seek out that sort of truth. We labelled our un-masculine propaganda, “just be nice”, as Christian and so they seek out anything but Christian. For if those “christian” rules got them to those lies, of what use are those rules?
This was St. John’s temptation. He was the greatest born among women. He was the prophet. He was Elijah to come. He knew what they wanted to hear. He knew they wanted glory and if he just said what they wanted, he could just capitulate and it would be his.
He was the greatest, why should he end up in prison? If he is publicly humiliated to that extent, then no one will believe his message. If God allows His prophet to be trampled and defeated in front of everyone, then they will just seek out gods who will give them victory over their enemies.
It would be easy to change the story and just say, “What I really meant was…” in order to gain the favor of men. His popularity attracted attention and that attention came with a deal. Change your story and we’ll make sure to take care of you, for we have the power and the glory.
John also knew they wanted a martyr. For in order to maintain the power and glory they got for themselves, they needed planned opposition. Thus, St John knew, regardless of whether he claimed to be the Christ or not, he was going to prison. He was going to take the fall. He was going to be their martyr.
Is there any mystery, manliness, or life in Christianity? Is not John the shadow of that and Jesus the picture itself? John is uncompromising. He knows what brings in the cash and he refuses. He is not the Christ, not even worthy to untie His sandal. He is not the one to usher a new, jewish era over their enemies, he won’t even wear proper clothes. He will not stand for marriage to be blasphemed and goes to jail over it.
For greater than the old gods who demand blood, sexualization, and shame is the God Who is Justice. Jesus bears the insults against John, for they are properly aimed at Him. He is the God Who sends John and all the prophets. He is the God Who set up all of creation to work as it does, and He is the One Who is Coming to bring the wrath to come, raise up children of Abraham, and lay the axe against the tree.
Yet, John does go to prison and is beheaded. Jesus does get arrested and is found guilty in a court of law. They are both reeds shaken by the wind, soft-clothed men, and regular, ordinary men. Who cannot break out of the cycle of Empirical lies any more than we can.
Jesus brings a new way. As He shows us, the reed bent by the wind stands up again on Easter. The soft clothing of the Christ turns out to be imperishable clothing. The strength of God is found in service, serving sinners the gift of forgiveness. The justice of God turns out to be for everyone, not just the strong. And the Blood of God is what gives strength for immortality.
Jesus is the Self-Donating God. Instead of demanding His men to strip away all dignity, morality, and strength to prove their worth, He offers them His own. And He offers it in His soft clothing that is stained with betrayal, torn with suffering, and dripping with blood.
Jesus’s manly Way is the way of the cross. The denial of self. The forsaking of the temptations to lust and greed and pride. Does being able to take those things whenever you want, make you a man? No. And worse than that, they make you someone else’s man. Those things are not the path of a man, but of the devil.
It is righteousness that the God of all things demands and it is righteousness that the manly Son of Man offers with His own Body. It is obedience that the God of the wilderness and all places requires of His creatures and it is obedience that the Only-Begotten gives with His life. It is Mercy that marks the Way of this realm, and it is mercy that hangs on the cross for you.
Hangs there until the job is done. “Come down from there”, they tempt our Lord. Oh how peaceful it would be! “Drink this”, they coax Him, knowing He is dehydrated to death. “It can all end. Right now. Peace. Just say it. Cry out, mercy”, and the old gods would make everything right again.
Can Odin produce such manliness? Can Zeus control himself long enough to reveal such strength? Does Allah have the guts to come down and offer himself in love to those who have sinned against him? I don’t think so.
The Way of the cross is the old way, the original way. The way its supposed to be. No amount of self-improvement, self-indulgence, or self-anointing can produce the righteousness of God. He must produce it Himself and He chooses to do it in love. The love that sacrifices Himself for the good of another. That is, all of us.
The Way for John is in prison. It is there that he will show the glory of God. How, not even the wind of an executioner’s axe can bend the reed of God’s Will. How not even soft camel hair can clothe a believer in Christ. And that not even the humiliation and death of a prophet of God can mar one ounce of God’s holiness.
For His holiness is wrapped up in the promise of salvation and He keeps it. He keeps it even in the face of death, which has no power over Him. Is John ridiculed? Yes. Does that prevent the salvation of God?
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Promise of the Lord endures forever. John was adopted into the Word, the Promise of the Almighty and the Promise held fast. John now lives in Christ, out of the reach of those who would harm him any longer. The commendation from God is faith in Christ, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
When those things are received, then it is that we have made it to the Way. This is why the true Church on earth orbits around the gifts of God which promise such things: Word, Baptism, Sacrament of the Altar, and Absolution.
These are the things of Christ, which no amount of sin can overcome. Sin done to others or sin done to self. They are permanent things. They are universal things. Their power hinges solely on Christ and His life. The promise we find in Word and Sacrament are the Promises made in the flesh and blood of Jesus by His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.
For it takes more of a man to endure, than to yield. It takes more of a man to remain faithful, than to indulge. It takes more of a man to serve, than to be served, because Jesus is among us as the One Who Serves.
Challenge the old gods. Stand up to them. Out serve them, out mercy them, out self-control them. Do not overshadow the manliness of faith with a willingness to appease everyone. God’s Word is what is working, not your charisma. Baptism saves, not your improvement. Communion forgives. God wills it. Numbers or no numbers.
Amen.
Who speaks to us on this third Sunday of the new Church Year, saying,
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Thus far from God’s Word, included for us to hear of faith alone, because, as Jesus laments, will there be faith on earth when He returns? For if John, the greatest born among women, must face jail time, then what’s in it for us?
There is a very promising trend, they say, of the younger generations returning to church. Through one statistic or another, American evangelicals are pushing this fact. And its somewhat true and churches are seeing young people coming. Good news.
However, there is always another side to the story. The other side is that there is also a growing trend of young men returning to the pagan gods, the “old” gods as they say. There is an increase in popularity of living off-grid, eating like cavemen, and practicing the “old ways”.
And it makes sense. When you go into the woods and into the fields to find a livelihood, it was the ancients who knew how to live off the land. When your distrust of lying medical professionals reaches a peak, you begin to understand that ancient peoples were able to heal themselves through real food, not from Walmart. When you search for strength and trust in life, you look no further than yourself and how amazing the body is.
The mystery of the wilderness, the strength of nature to weather any storm, and the ability to shut out the material world is tempting. Much more than that, the old religions promised fulfillment. If you want to be your strongest, healthiest, peaceful-est self, just follow the people of the land.
Now, for the rest of the story…the old gods promise fulfillment, but at what cost? Hard work and sacrifice are not the only things demanded. You will reach a plateau in your self-improvement, because you can only improve so far. But there is a promise beyond that: indulgence. A personalized, self-improvement. And for every instant gratification and lust you can imagine, the price you pay is your soul.
If you want a woman, take her, because you are stronger. If you want someone else’s woman, because you are stronger, no one will tell you no because they don’t want to get killed. If you want to get stronger than just eating beef liver, then drink the blood of powerful men. If your children are weak or get in your way, kill them. That is true pagan ritual.
What is best in life? "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!"
Who’s to say this way of making yourself stronger is wrong? Odin wills it. They promise no responsibility afterwards, on your part. To the victor go the spoils. To the strong, justice. To the self-anointed, truth.
It is the lies that we and our country have told our young men, that drove them to seek out that sort of truth. We labelled our un-masculine propaganda, “just be nice”, as Christian and so they seek out anything but Christian. For if those “christian” rules got them to those lies, of what use are those rules?
This was St. John’s temptation. He was the greatest born among women. He was the prophet. He was Elijah to come. He knew what they wanted to hear. He knew they wanted glory and if he just said what they wanted, he could just capitulate and it would be his.
He was the greatest, why should he end up in prison? If he is publicly humiliated to that extent, then no one will believe his message. If God allows His prophet to be trampled and defeated in front of everyone, then they will just seek out gods who will give them victory over their enemies.
It would be easy to change the story and just say, “What I really meant was…” in order to gain the favor of men. His popularity attracted attention and that attention came with a deal. Change your story and we’ll make sure to take care of you, for we have the power and the glory.
John also knew they wanted a martyr. For in order to maintain the power and glory they got for themselves, they needed planned opposition. Thus, St John knew, regardless of whether he claimed to be the Christ or not, he was going to prison. He was going to take the fall. He was going to be their martyr.
Is there any mystery, manliness, or life in Christianity? Is not John the shadow of that and Jesus the picture itself? John is uncompromising. He knows what brings in the cash and he refuses. He is not the Christ, not even worthy to untie His sandal. He is not the one to usher a new, jewish era over their enemies, he won’t even wear proper clothes. He will not stand for marriage to be blasphemed and goes to jail over it.
For greater than the old gods who demand blood, sexualization, and shame is the God Who is Justice. Jesus bears the insults against John, for they are properly aimed at Him. He is the God Who sends John and all the prophets. He is the God Who set up all of creation to work as it does, and He is the One Who is Coming to bring the wrath to come, raise up children of Abraham, and lay the axe against the tree.
Yet, John does go to prison and is beheaded. Jesus does get arrested and is found guilty in a court of law. They are both reeds shaken by the wind, soft-clothed men, and regular, ordinary men. Who cannot break out of the cycle of Empirical lies any more than we can.
Jesus brings a new way. As He shows us, the reed bent by the wind stands up again on Easter. The soft clothing of the Christ turns out to be imperishable clothing. The strength of God is found in service, serving sinners the gift of forgiveness. The justice of God turns out to be for everyone, not just the strong. And the Blood of God is what gives strength for immortality.
Jesus is the Self-Donating God. Instead of demanding His men to strip away all dignity, morality, and strength to prove their worth, He offers them His own. And He offers it in His soft clothing that is stained with betrayal, torn with suffering, and dripping with blood.
Jesus’s manly Way is the way of the cross. The denial of self. The forsaking of the temptations to lust and greed and pride. Does being able to take those things whenever you want, make you a man? No. And worse than that, they make you someone else’s man. Those things are not the path of a man, but of the devil.
It is righteousness that the God of all things demands and it is righteousness that the manly Son of Man offers with His own Body. It is obedience that the God of the wilderness and all places requires of His creatures and it is obedience that the Only-Begotten gives with His life. It is Mercy that marks the Way of this realm, and it is mercy that hangs on the cross for you.
Hangs there until the job is done. “Come down from there”, they tempt our Lord. Oh how peaceful it would be! “Drink this”, they coax Him, knowing He is dehydrated to death. “It can all end. Right now. Peace. Just say it. Cry out, mercy”, and the old gods would make everything right again.
Can Odin produce such manliness? Can Zeus control himself long enough to reveal such strength? Does Allah have the guts to come down and offer himself in love to those who have sinned against him? I don’t think so.
The Way of the cross is the old way, the original way. The way its supposed to be. No amount of self-improvement, self-indulgence, or self-anointing can produce the righteousness of God. He must produce it Himself and He chooses to do it in love. The love that sacrifices Himself for the good of another. That is, all of us.
The Way for John is in prison. It is there that he will show the glory of God. How, not even the wind of an executioner’s axe can bend the reed of God’s Will. How not even soft camel hair can clothe a believer in Christ. And that not even the humiliation and death of a prophet of God can mar one ounce of God’s holiness.
For His holiness is wrapped up in the promise of salvation and He keeps it. He keeps it even in the face of death, which has no power over Him. Is John ridiculed? Yes. Does that prevent the salvation of God?
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Promise of the Lord endures forever. John was adopted into the Word, the Promise of the Almighty and the Promise held fast. John now lives in Christ, out of the reach of those who would harm him any longer. The commendation from God is faith in Christ, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
When those things are received, then it is that we have made it to the Way. This is why the true Church on earth orbits around the gifts of God which promise such things: Word, Baptism, Sacrament of the Altar, and Absolution.
These are the things of Christ, which no amount of sin can overcome. Sin done to others or sin done to self. They are permanent things. They are universal things. Their power hinges solely on Christ and His life. The promise we find in Word and Sacrament are the Promises made in the flesh and blood of Jesus by His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.
For it takes more of a man to endure, than to yield. It takes more of a man to remain faithful, than to indulge. It takes more of a man to serve, than to be served, because Jesus is among us as the One Who Serves.
Challenge the old gods. Stand up to them. Out serve them, out mercy them, out self-control them. Do not overshadow the manliness of faith with a willingness to appease everyone. God’s Word is what is working, not your charisma. Baptism saves, not your improvement. Communion forgives. God wills it. Numbers or no numbers.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment