From the Pulpit

Posted on August 22, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

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Pentecost 13 2021 Proper 16
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
August 22, 2021

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A husband and wife are out for a walk around the neighborhood. It is a beautiful evening with just a hint of cooler fall temperatures. As they come around the corner a huge, angry dog is blocking the sidewalk just 10 feet in front of them. The dog’s ears are forward, he is baring his teeth and barking and growling. The hair on his back is standing up — he appears to be ready to pounce. What should the husband do?

Grab his wife and put her in front of him to use her as a shield.
Trip his wife, push her down and run away
Step between his wife and the dog and be willing to be bitten in order to protect her.

Marriage is a mysterious thing. Those who are married know that it is an ongoing struggle to be the husband that you should be; to be the wife that you should be. Our Epistle lesson today brings us difficult and challenging teachings about marriage and the first three verses unfortunately have been too often misused and misapplied.

Ephesians 5:22–24 (ESV) 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

The danger in these verses is that a man hears this and he thinks this means that he has power; that he is in charge of his wife. He is the boss, the king of the castle, and his wife needs to do what he says like an obedient servant. But is that really what the Bible is teaching us here?

Taking a few Bible verses out of context can be quite risky, so let’s keep reading.

Ephesians 5:25–27 (ESV) 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Wives submit to your husband. Husbands love your wife. How is a husband to love his wife? A husband is to love his wife like Christ loves the church and gives Himself for her.

As men, we like the idea of being the boss; king of the castle; master of my domain, but that is not the model for husbands. The model for being a husband is to love your wife like Christ loves the church. Jesus comes to serve, not to be served. He washes His disciples’ feet. Christ fully gives Himself on the cross at Calvary to save His Church. A husband is called to give himself fully for his wife and children. That’s why when filling the lifeboats on a sinking ship traditionally it is women and children first. That’s why the husband uses his body to shield his wife from the teeth of an angry dog. You do this because Jesus steps in front of you to shield you from the teeth of the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Husbands, love your wife like Christ loves the Church. The husband is to make his wife and children feel safe and protected and loved.

Husbands, love your wife as Christ loves the Church. Sanctify your wife, cleanse her, present her in splendor without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. Jesus died to forgive your sins and the sins of the world. Jesus washes you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Jesus covers over your sins. He takes your sin away from you and He puts it onto Himself. Jesus takes responsibility for your sin. Husband, you are called to do the same for your wife.

Too often husbands and wives are in the fault-finding business. They are critical of one another and are always looking to point out the other’s deficiencies. Marriage becomes some kind of contest. This should never be. A man is called to love his wife like Christ loves the Church. A man is to not see faults in his wife. Instead, a man is to take his wife’s sins and faults and make them his own, just like Christ does for him. A man is to see his wife as holy, without spot or wrinkle or blemish.

In the Kenny Chesney song “The Good Stuff” an old bartender relates what the true “good stuff” is to a young husband who has come to the bar after his first big fight with his wife.

“And it’s the way that she looks with the rice in her hair
Eatin’ burnt suppers the whole first year
And askin’ for seconds to keep her from tearin’ up
Yeah man, that’s the good stuff”

The “good stuff” is a husband covering his wife’s faults.

“Wives submit to your husbands,” sounds like a hard thing to do and it is. To voluntarily put yourself into the care of another is to lose “me” as you become “we” in marriage. For men, loving your wife like Christ loves the Church is also a great submission. The man loses “me” as he becomes “we” and gives of himself completely into caring for his wife and children. Husbands, like Christ, give. Wives, like the Church, receive.

Ephesians 5:28–29 (ESV) 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,

The wrongheaded concept of the husband as boss dissolves away in his call to servant leadership of his family based on the love of Christ. Marriage is amazing. Marriage is mysterious. Marriage is sacred. Ephesians 5:31 (ESV) 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” In this one flesh union, God-willing, children will be conceived, nurtured, birthed, and raised. By nature, the wife bears the burden of child-bearing and nurture, and most often, the lion’s share of raising the kids, but she does it knowing her husband will provide and protect. Marriage is a beautiful mystery.

St. Paul says this mystery is great. The mystery is how Christ was hidden in marriage, but is now visible. Now it has been revealed that marriage is based on Christ and the Church. In marriage we get a picture of Christ’s love. Marriage is instituted by God in the beginning and is given for our benefit.

Jesus teaches that as a redeemed child of God you should love God and love your neighbor. This is an impossible standard, but one, as a forgiven child of God you strive to live out each day. When you fail, you confess your failure; you repent of your sin, you receive forgiveness from the Lord and you continue to strive to love God and love your neighbor.

God’s plan for marriage is also an impossible standard, and yet a wife strives each day to voluntary submit to her husband’s Christ-like loving care and protection. A husband daily tries to love like Jesus. Marriage is not easy. It is a daily struggle to try to do what you have been given to do in this fallen world, and the world does not help. The world around you with its selfishness and pornography and hook-up culture and no-fault divorce is trying to destroy your marriage.

The cultural elites in this nation are doing all they can do to destroy God’s institution of marriage while they themselves still mostly practice traditional marriage. Strangely, while they want to destroy the traditional family in order to cause chaos and dependency for everyone else, they know the value of marriage for themselves.

They want to reshape marriage and redefine marriage. In many places now it is considered hate speech to say, “Marriage is the lifelong union of a man and a woman.” If folks find out you believe this you can be fired from many American companies who will not tolerate such radical thinking. Of course this was perfectly normal thinking up to about 5 minutes ago, but now it is considered by many to be dangerously radical. A Lutheran bishop in Finland has been arrested for writing about this in a booklet in 2004.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States invented a supposed “right” for two men or two women to get “married”, and now you are told that you must believe that marriage is the union of any two people who love each other.

Society is confused. Folks pretend they no longer know what a man is, or what a woman is. You can get banned from social media or fired from your job if you say, “A man cannot have a baby.” The cultural elites desperately desire to force you to believe that there is no difference between men and women. They want to force you to believe that a man can simply declare himself to be a woman and that makes him a woman because feelings are more important than facts. But this is not really a surprise, because these same people want you to believe that the life created inside a woman by the one flesh union is not actually human life unless…they decide it is life. They believe, teach and confess that their feelings trump the facts.

But you know the truth. You know that men and women are different. Men and women are complementary. Men and women are made for each other and are made for the great mystery of marriage which is a picture of Christ and the Church. And as much as some women bristle when they hear, “Wives submit to your husbands,” most women really do want a man who loves them unconditionally; a husband who is their strength and support in the hard times, a man to hold them and comfort them in times of trouble. A man who provides, who protects, and who, God-willing, procreates.[1]

Finding the right man or woman to marry can be very frustrating and difficult. Sometimes it is impossible. Pray for patience, pray for God’s will to be done, and remember, it is better to remain single than to marry someone uncommitted to God’s plan for marriage.

Planning for marriage can often be so much about the details of how to dress and what food to serve on the wedding day, but infinitely more important is to prepare to live out God’s plan for husbands and wives. This will be a daily challenge to reject your natural selfishness and live out your forgiven life in Jesus. It will be lifetime of forgiving each other as Jesus forgives you; a lifetime of love and respect; a lifetime of striving to love like Jesus, because He first loved you. Amen.

[1] Man Up by Jeffrey Hemmer

Posted on August 15, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Jesus is Offensive

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Pentecost 12 2021 Proper 15
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
August 15, 2021
Proverbs 9:1-10, Ephesians 5:6-21, John 6:51-69

Two words seem to have gained tremendous power lately. “I’m offended.” If you are having a discussion or debate with someone and they say, “I’m offended,” you can feel a great deal of pressure back off, “Oh no! I don’t want to offend you.” There is great pressure to be nice, and back off of your arguments, and change what you are saying in order to not hurt the other person’s feelings. Because when someone says, “I’m offended,” what they often mean is that you disagree with them and they don’t like that, and their feelings are hurt.

Now sometimes when people are offended it might be because you are truly being a jerk — not that that would ever happen to me — but I fear too often these days, people are offended because you are speaking the truth, and they don’t like the truth, and they want you to be quiet.

In John 6 the people are offended by Jesus. They are offended because they think they know Him. They are offended by Jesus’ teachings. They are offended because Jesus is demanding a complete connection of their lives with His. They are offended, but Jesus never backs off from His teachings because as Pastor Jeffrey Hemmer writes in his book, “Man Up”, Jesus is not nice, but He is good.

The Jews grumble because Jesus says, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” But they know this Jesus. They know His parents. They know where He grew up. How can Jesus now claim that He came down from heaven? They are offended by Jesus’ audacity and they grumble.

There is a danger here for you as well. You are tempted to be offended by Jesus when He is not who you want Him to be. It is easy to love baby Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem. Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes feels like someone you can get your arms around; someone you can control. Jesus as a baby is attractive because He is not making any demands of you.

Jesus as the Good Shepherd is also a popular image. Jesus caring for you, picking you up when you have fallen down, comforting you when things are going badly. Easter Jesus is popular. The resurrected Jesus is a great comfort. Jesus conquers death. Easter Jesus is a joyous, triumphant Jesus. It is interesting that the most well-attended worship services each year are Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. And this is good and we should indeed celebrate Jesus’ birth and His resurrection. We should be comforted by Jesus the Good Shepherd. But there is more to Jesus.

There is preaching Jesus calling you to repent and believe the Gospel. There is Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaching, Matthew 5:44 (ESV) 44 … Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” There is Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Jesus being betrayed and arrested and beaten and mocked and whipped and crowned with thorns and cruelly nailed to the cross to slowly die… for your sins. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Jesus is offensive because if He is suffering and dying because of your sins. This is offensive because it means — that you are a sinner. Who does Jesus think He is that He dies for your sin? Who is He to call you to repent of your sin?

In our Gospel reading the people are offended by Jesus’ teachings because they do not understand Him. Jesus says, John 6:51-52 (ESV) 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Eat Jesus’ flesh??? This just doesn’t make sense in the regular, human way of thinking. You want to think that if you cannot understand something on its face value, it must not be true. It is easy to fall into this way of thinking. There are many things that God teaches that do not make logical sense and you are tempted to eliminate anything you cannot understand. How could God create the world in seven days? That doesn’t make sense. It must not be true. How could God cause a global flood, part the Red Sea, take Elijah up to heaven in a flaming chariot? How could Jesus turn water into wine, heal the sick, raise the dead? It does not make sense…it must not be true. How can the water and word in Holy Baptism save you? How can Jesus give His Body and Blood in, with and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion? It is too easy to forget that God is God and you are not. It is too easy to forget the words of the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 55:8 (ESV) 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

Jesus is teaching the people in a deep, powerful way. He is speaking with profound images. The Lord’s Supper has not yet been established, but that is coming, and we can see foreshadowing here of the eating and drinking of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Holy Supper. But what does it mean for Jesus’ followers on that day? Martin Luther writes about this text, “To eat is synonymous here with to believe.”

John 6:53–58 (ESV) 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” John 6:60 (ESV) 60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” The word “disciple” here means just any follower of Jesus, not particularly one of the 12.

Jesus is teaching the people in a deep, powerful way. He is speaking with profound images. The Lord’s Supper has not yet been established, but that is coming, and we can see foreshadowing here of the eating and drinking of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Holy Supper. But what does it mean for Jesus’ followers on that day? Martin Luther writes about this text, “To eat is synonymous here with to believe.”[1]

To eat the bread of life is to believe that Jesus is God in flesh, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Feeding on Jesus’ flesh and blood is to believe He is your Savior from sin and gives you eternal life. It wouldn’t seem that this could be offensive, but it is. The offensive part of believing in Jesus is the totality of belief. You cannot just believe in Jesus a little. You cannot just believe in Jesus on Sunday morning. You cannot just believe in Jesus when it is convenient and keep Him tucked away on a shelf the rest of the time. To believe in Jesus is to be fully reliant on Jesus. To believe in Jesus is to lose yourself in Him; to lose your autonomy. Believing in Jesus means you are no longer in charge of you. You no longer get to do what you want to do, but rather you get to do what you want to do as a believer in Jesus. This is offensive to your old sinful self who wants to be in charge. Your old, sinful self wants to call the shots. Your old sinful self is offended that Jesus wants all of you.

Jesus is offensive. He wants you. He wants all of you. You do not get to compartmentalize your money, or your sexual matters, or your anger, or your selfishness, and keep it away from Jesus’ authority. Jesus wants all of you; the good, the bad and the ugly. Jesus died for your ugliest sin that you do not want anyone, even Him, to know about. But He does know your deepest, darkest, secret sin, and He forgives that sin with His own blood shed for you. Repent and believe the Good News. The Good News is that Jesus redeems you completely and calls you to live as a redeemed child of God; a follower of Jesus.

The Good News is that Jesus redeems you 100 percent and yet people find this offensive because they so desperately want to have a part in saving themselves. Their pride leads them to believe they must do something…anything… to help save themselves. But there is nothing to do. Jesus has done it all.

Jesus is offensive because He is not nice, but He is good. He tells you the truth that you are a sinner who needs a savior. Jesus is the Savior come for you. Jesus fully gives Himself on the cross to save you completely. Jesus rises from the dead to give you eternal life. He will return to fully raise your body from the dead. He is not content to just save you a little. He saves you completely.

Jesus is offensive because He is really God in flesh and not the Jesus of your imagination. Jesus is offensive because He teaches with authority and His teachings contradict your human understandings. He is offensive because He loves you completely and He redeems you completely and He calls you to fully follow Him in all that you do.

Jesus is offensive because He is God and you are not. Rejoice that Jesus is offensive. Give thanks that Jesus is not nice, but He is good. Amen.

[1] LW 23:135

Posted on August 8, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Y.O.L.F.

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Pentecost 11 2021
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
August 8, 2021
1 Kings 19:1-8, Ephesians 4:17-5:2, John 6:35-51

In William Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar”, Caesar remarks, concerning a senator and general, “Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.” Cassius is ambitious and hungry for power. He is, indeed, leading a plot to assassinate Caesar on the Ides of March.

So much of our society is built on you staying hungry; always wanting more, more, more. More stuff, more experiences, more power. There is a pressure to be successful; to continually keep moving up the ladder of achievement to ever higher and higher heights. This has practical effects. The birthrate in America is dropping because folks are putting off having children until they get their careers on track and their finances in order. Birthrates are lowest in areas with strong job markets.

Financial achievement becomes so very important that nothing else can get in the way. The goal of life becomes the accumulation of more and better stuff. There is a hunger and thirst to have more and more and to do more and more always trying to satisfy the hunger that gnaws at you from within. This is a powerful force pushing you to accumulate and experience more and more and more and to never be content with what you have.

Many churches have bought into this force of life and preach a message of health and wealth; a gospel of prosperity. They teach that if you are faithful enough, God will bless you with financial success. The American dream becomes the good news. The message is not about forgiveness of sins through Jesus but about getting more money. After all, who really wants to hear that they are a sinner? People want to be successful. But this whole approach is spiritually bankrupt because the hunger and thirst for more and more is not from God.

A few years ago the expression YOLO became popular. YOLO, you only live once. YOLO became an excuse for doing just about anything. Should I buy that car or house or phone or clothing I really cannot afford? Well, YOLO. Should I hook up with this cute person flirting with me? YOLO. Should I see how fast my car will go? YOLO. You only live once…death is coming for you…you cannot wait…you do not know how much time you have. As the band Kansas once sang, “All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see. Dust in the wind. All we are is dust in the wind.” Dust in the wind. Martin Franzman says this another way in our sermon hymn today, life is “an aimless mote, a deathward drift from futile birth.”

As popular as the saying became, YOLO is wrong. You do not only live once. Life is not just dust in the wind. Life is not just an aimless mote; a deathward drift from futile birth. God’s Word means life triumphant is hurled in splendor through the broken world. This life is not all that there is for you because you have Jesus who is the Bread of Life.

The world hates contentment; it wants you to hunger and thirst for things, for experiences, for power. The world wants you discontent so that you will buy whatever new shiny thing they want to sell you. So that you will seek power despite the consequences. So that you will chase after every fleeting pleasure the world offers for fear of missing out on something. Instead of YOLO, now a more popular phrase is FOMO, fear of missing out, driven especially by social media. FOMO is also used as an excuse to hunger and thirst for the things of this world.

The world hates contentment and that is exactly what Jesus offers. St. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:6–10 (ESV) 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Jesus brings contentment. John 6:35 (ESV) 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:40 (ESV) 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

In Christ you have eternal life. You believe in Jesus. You have been baptized into Christ. You have the Bread of Life. On the Last Day Jesus will raise you from the dead. Your body will be raised up imperishable. As you hear on Ash Wednesday, dust you are and to dust you shall return. When you die your body is returned to the earth, but it will not remain there forever. Just as Jesus created Adam out of the dust of the earth Jesus will raise your body up from the dust. Your remains will be raised imperishable and will be reunited with your spirit to live forever in the heavenly city of New Jerusalem.

So YOLO is untrue. You don’t only live once. You will be raised from the dead. You only live forever. FOMO is also misguided. What people should fear is missing out on going to be with the saints in heaven on the Last Day. They should fear missing out on eternity with the Lord rather than being with the Devil and all his angels in the lake of fire.

As a baptized believer in Jesus you are right now in the Kingdom of Heaven. You have eternal life. When you die, your body is buried in the ground and your spirit goes to be with the Lord to wait for the Last Day when your body will be raised from the dead and, clothed in the white robe of Jesus’ righteousness, the saints will go marching into the heavenly city and you will be in the number.

Too often, I fear, we are led to believe that the goal of the Christian life is to die and go to heaven, but that is getting ahead of itself. When a Christian dies, their body rests in peace, and their spirit is with the Lord. But this is not the end. Jesus has not yet returned. Death still has mastery in the world. Evil still exists. Their body is still in the grave. But it will not stay there. The best is yet to come. Three times in our Gospel reading this morning Jesus says He will raise you up on the Last Day.

So YOLO is untrue. You don’t only live once. You will be raised from the dead. You only live forever. FOMO is also misguided. What people should fear is missing out on going to be with the saints in heaven on the Last Day. They should fear missing out on eternity with the Lord rather than being with the Devil and all his angels in the lake of fire.

Jesus says, John 6:51 (ESV) 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Jesus comes to our hall of death and breathes our poisoned air and drinks the world’s dark, strangling despair. Jesus is laid in a grave after being crucified and it looks like death and despair have won, but Jesus rises from the dead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia.

Jesus gives His own flesh into death on the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world. He rises from the dead as the first fruits from the grave. He gives you His very body to eat and His blood to drink in His Holy Supper. Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus gives you the bread of life and you have eternal life in Him. Jesus will raise you from the dead on the Last Day.

So this life is not all that there is. You have eternal life. Your body will be raised from the dead as you confess in the creeds, “I believe… in the resurrection of the body. You only live forever. You do not need to hunger and thirst for every new thing that the world tries to sell you or get you to chase after. You are freed from the love of money which is the root of all kinds of evil. In Christ, you are content in life with what God has given you. In Christ you use money and love people instead of the other way around. In Christ you are content. Enjoy the life that you have. As Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 5:18 (ESV) 18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.

You have the Bread of Life. You have eternal life. Rejoice and do what you have been given you to do. Work hard as a student or worker, but not so hard you neglect your other vocations in life of child, parent, grandparent, friend, brother or sister in Christ. Know you are redeemed by Jesus, you have the Bread of Life, you will be raised from the dead on the Last Day. Remember to enjoy the life that you have… because you only live forever. Amen.

Posted on July 25, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

The Promise and Warning of the Rainbow

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Pentecost 9, 2021 Proper 12
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 25, 2021
Genesis 9:8-17, Ephesians 3:18-21, Mark 6:45-56

Rainbows are kind of magical. When you see one you want to share it with others. “Look! A rainbow!” You run inside and tell your family to come out and see it before it goes away. You want to celebrate a rainbow. When I was growing up when we would see a rainbow my mother would get all us kids popsicles. Rainbows conjure up many thoughts and memories. Leprechauns and legends of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow,” where troubles melt like lemon drops. Kermit singing Rainbow connection. Rainbows are amazing.

If you look it up, A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc.[1] Sometimes definitions can kind of burst the magical bubble. “Wow! Look at the light reflected, refracted and dispersed.”

But a rainbow is not just reflection, refraction and dispersion of light. The rainbow is a powerful sign; the rainbow hold great significance. The rainbow is the sign of the covenant that God established between Himself and all flesh that is on the earth. Genesis 9:14–15 (ESV) 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

You see a rainbow and it is the sign of God’s covenant with all flesh, and His covenant with you, that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood. A rainbow reminds God of His promise and reminds you of His promise. This is good news for you. It was very good news for Noah and His family.

Traumatic events can have a lingering effect on people. Noah and his family have been through the wringer. For decades they must have endured ridicule for building a huge boat where there was no water all the while knowing what was coming for anyone who was not on the ark when the rains came. As they entered the 450 foot long, 75 foot wide, 45 foot tall casket-shaped ark they knew life would never be the same. For the Lord had promised, Genesis 6:7 (ESV) 7 … “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Seven days after entering the ark, the rains began, and the waters rose, and the ark floated up off the ground. Noah and his family knew that all the other people and animals with the breath of life in them were drowning. Once in the ark, Noah and his family endured a year of isolation and little sunlight while they cared for the animals that would repopulate the earth. This whole experience must have been terribly hard on the eight souls on the ark. So much death. So much uncertainty. Not to mention the smell of their floating zoo. Such a long year sealed in the floating casket. You’ve got to imagine that after getting off the Ark they may have gotten a bit twitchy when it next started to rain. In our Old Testament reading from Genesis God repeats His promise over and over because, as Martin Luther writes, “Therefore they could not be talked out of their fear and terror by a word or two; a great abundance of words was needed to drive back their tears and to soften their grief.”[2]

With the promise of the rainbow they do not need to fear the rain. God will never again destroy the world with water.

The rainbow is a great comfort to Noah and his family and also to you, but there is more. There is more depth to the meaning of the rainbow. A rainbow is also a warning. God made His covenant with Noah to never again destroy the world with water because — God did destroy the world. God is capable of judgment and destruction and He will destroy the world again, only this time with fire. The rainbow’s colors progress from violet, indigo and blue, the colors of water, to yellow, orange and red, the colors of fire. The rainbow is a comfort and a warning.

God is a God of mercy but also a God of judgement and judgement day is coming, a rainbow reminds you of this. Judgement day is coming. Matthew 3:10 (ESV)

10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:12 (ESV) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Judgment is coming. The wages of sin is death. You are a sinner and you deserve God’s punishment now and forever. The rainbow reminds you of God’s past and future judgment. The thought of God’s judgment can bring fear. But when there is a rainbow there is also rain. The rain reminds you of another of God’s signs. The rain reminds you of God’s new covenant with you in water and the Word in Holy Baptism. God has a covenant with you; a promise sealed in the waters of baptism that you are His…forever. God has promised to forgive you all your sins and has given you eternal life in the blood of Jesus.

1 Peter 3:20–21 (ESV) 20 … God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Noah and His family, eight souls in all, were preserved safely through the water. The children of Israel came safely through the water of the Red Sea. Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River. You have come safely into the Kingdom of God through the waters of baptism.

Eight in the Bible is a number of new beginnings. The eighth day was the first day of the new creation. Eight people came through the waters of the flood on the Ark. Jewish boys were marked with the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham on the eighth day of their lives. Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, the eighth day. And so, baptismal fonts often are constructed with eight sides to remind you of your new beginning, baptized into Christ. The number eight and the rainbow are reminders of your new birth in Christ.

Jesus suffered and died to pay for the sins of the world, including your sins. Jesus rose from the dead and death has lost its victory. Jesus has given you these gifts in baptism and continues to pour out His gifts in His words of forgiveness and in giving you His very Body and Blood in Holy Communion. God’s promise to you is sealed with water, and water is a great reminder of His promise. Let the sight or feel of water in rivers and lakes, in the pool, in the shower, in the sink, falling from the sky remind you to confess, “I am baptized into Christ.” Each morning when you rise and each evening before you go to sleep remember your baptism by making the sign of the cross, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

When you see a rainbow, an arc of refracted light, remember Noah and his Ark of refuge and rejoice in God’s promise to Noah, and God’s promise to you. God will never again destroy the world with water, and in the waters of baptism you are saved from the coming judgment. Amen.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow

[2] Luther’s Works Vol 2

Posted on July 18, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Chaos to Order

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Pentecost 8 2021
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 18, 2021
Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 23, Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6:30-44

When my oldest son turned three we enrolled him in preschool in Illinois where we were living. Some 3-year-olds love crazy spontaneity and are unconstrained by rules and order. Not my son. He wanted things predictable and orderly beyond the ability of the teacher and the other 3-year-olds to provide. He liked order. They liked chaos. We had to withdraw him from the class and wait for 4-year-old preschool. What kind of parents are we? Our first child…and he is a preschool drop out.

Chaos can be very uncomfortable. I really don’t like the chaos of large crowds where you are so tightly packed that you cannot move where you want, but just have to move with the crowd. I get panicky when I am at the mercy of a mass of humanity.

Crowds can bring chaos, but there is also can be chaos in being alone. This can happen after a divorce, the death of a loved one or having your spouse in a care center. It can also happen after the kids leave home. The regular order of your life is no longer there. Plans for the future evaporate. This chaos of being alone can leave you disoriented and anxious.

And there is the chaos of getting lost. With GPS technology it is harder to get lost, but think of a time, maybe especially as a child where you got separated from your family and you could not find them. Fear and panic starts to take over. It is a very chaotic feeling.

In our lessons today we find a lot of chaos. In the reading from the prophet Jeremiah the Lord is chastising the religious leaders of Israel for being evil shepherds. Instead of caring for the sheep, who are the people of Israel, the shepherds destroy the sheep and scatter them. Instead of guiding them to live in an orderly, faithful way, the shepherds have scattered the sheep to live out their lives without faithful religious order. They are on their own, lost in the wilderness of the pagan worship of Baal and Asherah and Molech. They are lost in a world where the people who are supposed to be caring for the sheep are fleecing the sheep for their own gain. The evil shepherds have brought chaos.

In our Gospel reading we see the chaos of the crowds that are following Jesus. Mobs have been pressing in on him and are constantly surrounding Jesus so that He and the disciples are not even able to get something to eat. They need a break from the chaos. They need a time of peace and calm so Jesus and the disciples retreat by boat to get away from the crowds. The crowds, however, see what they are doing and run ahead and are waiting for Jesus when He lands. It is chaos.

Jesus is fleeing the chaos and the chaos follows Him. So, does He get back in His boat and try to find another place? No. Jesus has compassion on the people. His guts ache for these people in their chaos because…they are like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus assumes His role as the Good Shepherd and spends the day teaching them many things. The day grows late. They are in a desolate place. The large crowd grows hungry. The disciples want to send them away but Jesus has other plans. Jesus enacts the promises of God with this great crowd of people. Jesus is their shepherd.

Psalm 23:1–2 (ESV) 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” Here in the wilderness on the shore of the Sea of Galilee we see the Lord bringing peace and satisfaction to His people.

We see Jesus, the Good Shepherd, literally making the people recline in green pastures beside the still waters. Out of chaos and hunger Jesus brings order and food. Mark 6:39–40 (ESV) 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. The disordered crowd is now set in order. Like He did in the beginning with creation, Jesus brings order out of chaos. Then, like feeding the children of Israel manna in the desert, Jesus miraculously feeds thousands of people from five loaves of bread and 2 fish with 12 baskets extra remaining. Psalm 23:5 (ESV) 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

There is great spiritual chaos in the world today. There is the chaos of false gods; gods that were made in the image of man. In too many Christian churches there is the chaos of not knowing where you stand with God. The chaos of not knowing — did Jesus die for me, or not. Some teach that Jesus died for some but not for others and, as a natural born sinner struggling with temptation and sin, you are left in the chaos of constant doubt whether you are saved or not. Others teach that you need to do enough to be saved. Be sincere enough, have enough faith, give enough, do enough. But people know they are never enough and are left in the chaos of doubt.

There is the chaos of having been driven away from Jesus’ Church. Many, many people have been hurt by abusive leaders in churches. There have been horrendous instances of pastors, the under shepherds of God’s sheep, using and abusing the sheep for their own pleasure and benefit. This is despicable. These evil under shepherds scatter the sheep. And now the sheep are alone in the world.

Others find themselves in spiritual chaos because they have left the Church seeking the freedom to live however they choose. There is a common phrase used by people who are not part of the Church, “I don’t believe in organized religion.” They seek the freedom of chaos, but freedom means these sheep wander alone in the world and are easy prey for the devil who prowls like a roaring lion.

The greatest spiritual chaos that you face in this life is the chaos of death. Nothing else leaves you reeling with so much emotion, whether it is the death of a loved one or facing your own mortality. Death brings intense spiritual chaos.

There is the spiritual chaos of having a pastor who has abandoned the Bible as the source of authority; who only pays lip service to Scripture while preaching what people’s itching ears want to hear. Preaching about how to be successful in life and have God bless you with health and wealth. Preaching that the source of moral authority is not God’s Word, but whatever is the newest, wokest idea flowing from the cultural elites. There is chaos when God’s plans for men and women, for sexual intimacy, the sanctity of life, and even Jesus on the cross as the only source of salvation, are rejected as being outdated, hateful, medieval ideas. It is chaotic to be part of a church that continually changes its teachings to go along with whatever society around them is doing.

The greatest spiritual chaos that you face in this life is the chaos of death. Nothing else leaves you reeling with so much emotion, whether it is the death of a loved one or facing your own mortality. Death brings intense spiritual chaos.

There is so much chaos in life; it is a tangled, knotted mess. Jesus untangles life. Jesus brings order out of chaos. Jesus brings you the Kingdom of God; the reign and rule of God. Jesus’ reign of service and sacrifice brings spiritual order out of the chaos of this world. Jesus establishes His Church and gives His disciples the authority to forgive sins and bring His sheep from the chaos of sin, guilt and shame to the order and peace of being the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. Jesus dies for the sins of the world and rises from the dead to conquer death. Jesus establishes the sacrament of baptism to seal His sheep as a part of His flock. Jesus establishes the sacrament of Holy Communion to continue to feed His sheep. Jesus establishes His Church which gathers together to receive His gifts.

Each Sunday you take refuge from the chaos of the world as you gather together here in an orderly way to receive God’s gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. Here, Jesus brings you from the tangled chaos of being a natural born sinner living in a sinful world, to the peace and order of knowing your sins are forgiven and you are right with God as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, protects you in the valley of the shadow of death so you are at peace despite the presence of death. Jesus guides you in the way of righteousness. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Christ conquers chaos for you. Amen.

Posted on July 11, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Haunted by Sin

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Pentecost 7 2021
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 11, 2021
Amos 7:7-15, Eph. 1:3-14, Mark 6:14-29

When it comes to sin, Lutherans are not really very advanced as far ranking sins as greater or lesser sins; mortal or venial. All sins in thought, word and deed break your relationship with God and need to be covered by the blood of Jesus but some do not have much effect on those around you. Many sins are those stupid routine sins of anger, lustful thoughts, selfishness that seem to be a constant companion. You know they are sins and you confess them, but they do not bother you that much. These are part of being a natural born sinner living in a fallen world.

There are others sins, however, that can haunt you. Sins against others. Big sins. Sins with devastating consequences. Sins that you cannot undo or make better. Carelessness that leads to the injury or death of another. The drunken one night stand that could destroy your marriage. The abortion which seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Sins that haunt you.

Herod Antipas is haunted by what he did to John the Baptist. John the Baptist was an innocent victim of Herod’s lusts and cowardice. Herod Antipas divorced his politically connected first wife so that he could marry his half-niece who was already married to his brother. You can only imagine the uncontrolled lust that must have driven together Herod Antipas and his brother’s wife, Herodias, despite all the damage and even warfare that their relationship would cause. And once together they did not want to hear that what they were doing was wrong. We are all a bit like that. Far too often, when you are caught up in sinful behavior, you do not want to hear the truth about what you are doing.

So when John the Baptist, a prophet of God, tells Herod Antipas, Mark 6:18 (ESV) 18 …It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”, neither Herod or his wife want to hear John’s call to repentance and so Herod has John thrown in prison. But that is not enough for Herodias. She must be thinking “How dare that wild haired preacher try to tell me what to do? I want him executed.”

Then comes the night of Herod’s birthday party. The drinks are flowing abundantly and Herod’s step-daughter, who is also his niece, and is probably 12, 13, 14 years old entertains the guests with a dance, almost certainly erotic. Between the lust for his young stepdaughter and the alcohol Herod sloppily promises the dancer anything she wants, up to half his kingdom. Daughter consults with mother and Herodias sees the opportunity to get what she wants. She asks for John the Baptist’s head on a platter.

If Herod had courage, he would do the right thing and protect John from his wife’s vindictiveness, but Herod is a coward. He is too afraid of what people might say who heard him make the drunken promise, so he orders John beheaded.

And later he is haunted by what he has done. When Herod hears about what Jesus is doing Herod declares Mark 6:16 (ESV) 16 …“John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” Herod is haunted by what he did to John and now worries John has come back for revenge. Herod is haunted by his sin.

We see others in the Bible haunted by their sin. Adam and Eve who disobeyed God. Joseph’s brothers who sold him into slavery. Moses who murdered an Egyptian. David who committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed. Peter who denies Jesus three times. Judas Iscariot who sells Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver. These and so many others are haunted by their deep, dark sins. So many people today are also haunted by their sin.

This account of Herod and John the Baptist is horrific; something out of some overly violent and sexual medieval story about kings. We get to the end of the reading after John’s head is brought to the party. Mark 6:29 (ESV) 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. “This is the Gospel of the Lord.” How is this ugly evil the Gospel?

What is fascinating in Mark is how he sandwiches stories together. If we zoom out just a bit we see that this account is preceded by Jesus sending His disciples out two by two and followed by the disciples returning and reporting what they have done. Mark 6:12–13 (ESV) 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

While we are hearing the account of John’s beheading, the disciples are out calling people to repent. They are doing the very thing that cost John his head. We see that even in times of opposition and struggle the Church continues on its mission to call people to repent and believe the Good News of forgiveness in Jesus — because there is forgiveness in Jesus. Forgiveness is offered to everyone, some believe the Good News and some reject it. We see this both ways in the Bible.

God comes to Adam and Eve and gives them the promise of forgiveness. Joseph’s brothers receive forgiveness from Joseph and the Lord. Moses is forgiven and becomes God’s messenger. David is confronted by the prophet Nathan and David repents and pleads with God for forgiveness. Psalm 51:1–2 (ESV) 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” David receives the Lord’s forgiveness.

Peter betrays Jesus on the night of His arrest after promising 14:29 (ESV) 29 … “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” When Peter hears the rooster crow and realizes what he has done he weeps bitterly. But there is forgiveness. On the shores of the Sea of Galilee Jesus restores Peter three times and sends him to feed His sheep.

So many are haunted by sin and guilt and shame. This need not be. Jesus is here for you. Repent and believe the Good News. Confess your sins. Jesus washes away your sin. Isaiah 1:18 (ESV) 18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Judas Iscariot sells Jesus out to the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver and betrays Him with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. After he sees Jesus condemned and brought to the governor Judas has a change of heart. His sin overwhelms him. There is forgiveness available through Jesus, but Judas instead goes to the priests and throws the money at them they tell him that his sin is not their problem. In despair, Judas hangs himself. Judas rejects forgiveness.

Herod Antipas is haunted by his sin of killing John the Baptist. The call to repent and believe the Good News is for Herod also, but He does not want anything to do with it. Jesus is even sent to Herod before His crucifixion, but Herod only wants Jesus perform miracles to entertain him. Herod rejects forgiveness.

So many are haunted by sin and guilt and shame. This need not be. Jesus is here for you. Repent and believe the Good News. Confess your sins. Jesus washes away your sin. Isaiah 1:18 (ESV) 18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

In Christ your sin is removed from you Psalm 103:12 (ESV) 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

In your baptism you were adopted as a child of God through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:7–8 (ESV) 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight…” You have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of your inheritance until you acquire possession of it.”

In Christ there is forgiveness. Jesus destroys the ghost of sins past so they cannot haunt you. You are free in Jesus. So when the devil tries to throw those old, forgiven sins in your face, tell him, “that sin no longer belongs to me. Jesus paid the price.” Amen.

Posted on July 4, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Why Can’t Jesus do Miracles

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Pentecost 6 2021
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 4, 2021
Ezek. 2:1-5, 2 Cor. 12:1-10, Mark 6:1-13

After healing the woman with the discharge of blood and raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead that we heard about in last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus travels with His disciples to His hometown of Nazareth, a 26 mile walk from Capernaum. That Sabbath Jesus begins to teach in the synagogue. The reaction of the people is astonishment. Some may be astonished like the people of Capernaum, Mark 1:22 (ESV) “22 … they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”

Others it seems are astonished because Jesus is a hometown boy and now He is back acting all high and mighty. They have all heard the stories of what Jesus has done; the healings, the driving out demons, the calming of a storm, the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead. Jesus is doing things that only God can do. But Nazareth probably has only about 400 residents and as any of you who grew up in a small town know, everyone knows everybody. They all know this Jesus fellow. Despite all they have heard, they know that Jesus is no one special. He is a carpenter after all and His parentage is pretty questionable. This Jesus is not one of the important people of Nazareth and here He is rolling in after being gone for a little bit acting like He is all that. Who does He think He is?

Earlier in Mark we saw how Jesus’ family thought he was crazy, now we see the people of Nazareth reject Jesus. They are offended that Jesus is teaching in the synagogue. Mark 6:4 (ESV) 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

Jesus tells them that this is not a problem with Him; it is a problem with them. He is a prophet and more, but they cannot see past their own issues of familiarity to recognize this. Mark 6:5–6 (ESV) 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief…

The people had been astonished wondering, “How are such mighty works done by his hands?” Now, Jesus can do no mighty works in Nazareth. Why is that? What does this mean?

Why can Jesus do no mighty works? Perhaps it is Jesus’ judgement on Nazareth for rejecting Him. He taught in their synagogue and instead of following Jesus they bring up Jesus’ pedigree and reject Him. So maybe Jesus is bringing judgement. There are times we can wonder if God is judging us. You pray for healing, you pray for relief, and God does not answer the prayer they way you want Him to and you wonder, “Is God judging me for my sin?”

The disciples want judgment. Jesus rebukes them. John 3:17 (ESV) 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Judgment sounds like a reasonable explanation, but it does not fit with Jesus’ mission and ministry. John the Baptist thought Jesus was coming immediately with axe and fire to destroy all sinners, but instead Jesus comes with water and words to bring people salvation. We learn Jesus’ attitude toward immediate judgment in Luke 9:51–56 (ESV) 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, [Jesus] set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.”

The disciples want judgment. Jesus rebukes them. John 3:17 (ESV) 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Judgment day will come on the last day with axe and fire. But until then Jesus is on a mission of mercy. Jesus is on a mission to save. This mission continues among us today. The mission is to save, not judge. People question Jesus, misunderstand Jesus, resist Jesus, but Jesus does not give up on them. Jesus takes God’s judgment upon Himself on the cross, pays for the sins of the world and opens the Kingdom of God to all. So it is not for judgment that Jesus can do no mighty work.

Perhaps it is because the people of Nazareth lack faith. Maybe Jesus is unable to do miracles because the people do not believe. After all, Jesus does marvel at their unbelief. This is an idea that is still very big concern among Christians today. Faith healers on the television claim that if you just have enough faith you will get a miracle. There are churches that teach that God wants to bless you with health and wealth and if He is not blessing you it is because you lack faith. They teach that if God is not answering your prayers the way you want Him to answer, it is because of your lack of faith.

To be clear, God does not need your faith to perform miracles. The creator of heaven and earth does not need your faith to rule the world. Jesus fed the 5,000 and calmed a storm without anyone’s contributing faith. When Jesus returns to raise the dead, all people will be raised whether they had faith or not. So if Jesus is not judging the people for lack of faith, and He does not need faith to perform miracles, why is he unable to work miracles in Nazareth?

Miracles are not a reward for faith, but miracles can lead to punishment for those who do not believe. Jesus is not pleased with those who want Him to do miracles as kind of a show. Mark 8:11–12 (ESV) 11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Just before His crucifixion Jesus is sent to Herod who is excited because He wants to see Jesus perform some sign. Jesus doesn’t.

For those who have seen Jesus’ miracles and still do not believe there are harsh words of condemnation. Matthew 11:20–24 (ESV) 20 Then [Jesus] began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Jesus is on a mission of grace as He visits Nazareth and He is still on a mission of grace here today. Even though His family and the people of Nazareth reject Him, Jesus wants them to be saved. Matthew 12:20 (ESV) 20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;

Jesus does not want to harm the people of Nazareth; He wants to bring the Good News. And so, despite their rejection of Jesus, He still loves His family and the people of His hometown and wants them to believe. He even heals a couple of people, but quietly.

It is so natural for us to want to reject those who reject Jesus; perhaps even punish them, but this is not Jesus’ way. Jesus loves all people; those who follow Him and those who reject Him. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves even me. Jesus wants all people to be saved. Jesus died for all people.

Jesus’ mission of salvation is still for all people. Jesus has not given up on anyone yet. You can look the most ardent atheist in the eye and speak the truth to them, “Jesus loves you and He died on the cross to pay the price for your sins,” and it is true, because Jesus is still on His mission of mercy. Judgment Day has not yet come. There is still time. Repent and believe the Good News.

The devil loves to throw your sins in your face as if they would keep God from loving you. Jesus comes for sinners. Jesus comes for you. Jesus has sealed you as His child in the Kingdom of God. You are a new creation in Christ washed clean in the waters of baptism. You have received the mighty work of forgiveness of all your sins. Jesus has done a miracle for you and given you eternal life. Amen.

Posted on June 27, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Faith and Fear

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Pentecost 5 2021
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 27, 2021
Lam 3:22-33, 2 Cor. 8:1-9, 13-15, Mark 5:21-43

There is an epic battle going on in your life. Two forces struggling for control. It is happening when you are working, studying, resting, eating. It is an ongoing battle. Even as you sit here in worship the two forces are engaged in warfare.

One of the forces is fear. Fear of the future. Fear of failure. Fear of humiliation. Fear of being hurt by others. Fear of disappointing people. Fear of persecution. Fear of injury. Fear of not finding the right person. Fear of your marriage failing. Fear for parents and grandparents. Fear for children. Fear of sickness. Fear of never being good enough. Fear that you are lost. Fear of death. Fear can lead to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Fear leads to despair. Fear is a powerful force and battles for control inside of you.

In our Gospel reading today we have two stories of fear; one inside the other. After completing His journey across the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encounters one of the rulers of the synagogue named Jairus. Jairus is beset by fear. His 12-year-old daughter is very sick; she is dying. This is every parent’s greatest fear. His daughter is dying and there is nothing Jairus can do to save her. He is helpless and becoming hopeless and despairing.

As He goes with Jairus, Jesus encounters another person in the grips of fear. There is a woman who has had a discharge of blood for 12 years. The discharge of blood renders the woman weak and sickly, but also unclean. She is not welcome to participate in normal Jewish life. She is an outcast. Anyone whom she touches or touches her is rendered unclean. This woman has spent all that she has seeking a cure and it has only gotten worse. She is unclean and she is afraid she will always be. She is helpless and becoming hopeless and despairing.

Jairus and the woman are both in the grips of fear. But fear has not won because battling with the fear is faith. With faith there is hope.

Jairus has heard about this man Jesus – a teacher, a prophet, a healer, the Christ. Jesus can do things that no one else can do. He has the power of God. Jesus has driven out unclean spirits; He has healed a leper and a paralyzed man. He has restored a withered hand and just calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jairus has faith that Jesus can help his little girl. Faith fights fear.

The woman with the ongoing discharge of blood is afraid, but faith battles the fear. She also has heard about Jesus and all that he can do. She knows Jesus can heal her. Faith fights fear.

Jairus, a well-respected man in the community, approaches Jesus from the front and bows down at His feet and implores Jesus to heal his daughter. The woman is an unclean outcast and sneaks up on Jesus from behind in a crowd to touch His garments. After Jesus calls her out and she explains what she has done Jesus declares, Mark 5:34 (ESV) 34 … “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” This outcast, unclean woman is cleansed and restored to the community. Jesus calls her “daughter.” Faith wins out over fear.

As Jesus finishes talking to the woman a messenger arrives on the scene from Jairus’ house. Mark 5:35 (ESV) 35 … “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” What Jairus dreads most has happened and fear swells inside of him. Jesus overhears the messenger’s awful news. As the fear and helplessness and hopelessness and despair grow within Jairus Jesus tells him, “Do not fear, only believe.”

Jesus takes Peter, James and John with Him to Jairus’ house and tells the assembled mourners that there is nothing to be wailing about since the girl is only sleeping. Jesus takes the little girl by the hand says to her, “Talitha cumi – Little girl, I say to you, arise.” She immediately gets up and begins walking and Jesus forbids anyone to tell what happened and then tells them to feed the girl. Faith wins over fear.

“Do not fear, only believe.”

Fear is a powerful force battling for control of your life, but you have an even more powerful force battling back; faith. Not faith in faith, but faith in Jesus. Faith that is not your own doing; faith that is a gift from God the Father through the Holy Spirit. Faith in Jesus; the Christ; God in flesh who died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead to conquer death for you. Faith that knows Jesus destroys fear.

There is an old Indian story: One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good, it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.” Then grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed.”[1]

Faith is fed by focusing on the object of your faith; Jesus. Faith is fed by hearing the Word of God. Faith is fed by gathering together to receive God’s promised gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. Faith is fed by coming to where Jesus has promised to deliver forgiveness and eternal life to you in His divine service.

Faith and fear are fighting for control of you. Which one will you feed? Fear is fed by obsession with the things of this world. Fear is fed by caring too much about what others think about you. Fear is fed by fixation with what the latest, greatest experts declare to be the newest, most awful ways that you can be harmed or killed. The 24 hour news cycle of the cable networks drive fear. Social media drives fear as you are fed a constant stream of divisive rhetoric, and as you are reminded over and over that your messy life does not measure up to the sanitized, filtered, enhanced versions of life that your friends portray online. Your unrealistic expectations about life drive fear. Your realistic expectations about life drive fear. Fear is driven by the lying, accusing evil one driving you to despair. Fear is pervasive and powerful. Don’t feed fear.

Faith is fed by focusing on the object of your faith; Jesus. Faith is fed by hearing the Word of God. Faith is fed by gathering together to receive God’s promised gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. Faith is fed by coming to where Jesus has promised to deliver forgiveness and eternal life to you in His divine service.

Fear wants to take over your life, call the shots, and be the driving force for everything you do. Fear wants to control you, but you have faith. Like Jairus and the woman with the discharge of blood, you know that Jesus is the source of healing. You approach Jesus from the front as you did this morning by getting on your knees and admitting that on your own you are helpless and hopeless but you know from where help comes. You approach Jesus at His altar knowing that the touch of His Body and Blood in Holy Communion brings healing from the disease of sin. You know that Jesus is the cure. Jesus is the antidote to fear. Do not fear, only believe. Feed faith by focusing on Jesus.

There is a lot of opportunity to be afraid in this life. Life is hard. Fear is powerful. God has not promised an easy, trouble free life. You know that well. But through the troubles of this life you do not need to fear. Romans 8:38–39 (ESV) 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You are baptized child of God. You have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. God has given you faith. Do not fear, only believe. Amen.

[1] https://www.nanticokeindians.org/page/tale-of-two-wolves

Posted on June 20, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Jesus Calms the Storm

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Pentecost 4, 2021
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Hilbert Kamps
June 20, 2021
Mark 4:35-41

The stormy-weather incident recorded for us in this morning’s Gospel lesson is not just a nice story about Miracle Worker Jesus saving His followers from a watery grave. It is also full of teachings concerning

the nature of Jesus as the Christ and the nature of the sinners in the boat with Him. Which is also our sinful natures.

The context leading up to the events in today’s Gospel include a very full day of teaching for Jesus. We heard two of the parables He taught in last week’s Gospel. It’s been a long day. Jesus is tired. As is often the case after a busy time of ministry, Jesus decided to get away with His disciples for some much needed rest and relaxation. In this case, He elected to travel across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee is about eight miles across from west to east at its widest point. Ordinarily, the crossing should only take a few hours, but on this crossing, a storm came up. Even though several of the disciples were experienced fishermen, they were still frightened. This indicates that the storm was certainly powerful.

Where was Jesus during this storm? He was asleep in the stern of the boat. He was exhausted from His long day and fell into a sleep so sound that even the storm did not wake Him.

The fact that Jesus was asleep is an important demonstration of the nature of the Christ. Other than His actual death on the cross, there is no better demonstration of the humanity of Jesus than the sleep of exhaustion. Every human being on the planet knows what it is to grow tired and fall asleep. Here Jesus demonstrates His unity with all people. He sleeps like any other human being.

But then the disciples wake Him and ask for His help. We should not assume that the disciples were expecting much from Jesus. After all, he was brought up as a carpenter, not as a sailor. It is more likely that they were just thinking in terms of another set of hands to help bail the water out of the boat or some other similar activity. It may even be that they just wanted Him to move away from the stern so that they had better access to the rudder. In any case, they woke Him and asked for help, but they did not expect what happened next.

Jesus woke up and had a few choice words for the developing weather elements. The word “rebuke” in the text means that Jesus scolded the wind and the water rather harshly. After that, the wind and the water became calm.

Now, you and I could scold the weather until we were blue in the face and nothing would change.

Remember in the movie Forest Gump where Sargent Dan is sitting high on the mast-pole and cursing the storm. Well, if we would continue in that sort of activity, people might wonder if they should call the authorities to take us somewhere to get a mental checkup. Jesus, on the other hand, scolded the weather and the weather paid attention. It paid attention because Jesus is not just your ordinary, sleepy human being. He is also the God of all creation. Jesus’ ability to control the wind and the waves with just a word clearly shows that He is God. So it is that this one event very clearly demonstrates that Jesus is both 100 % man and 100 % God in one person.

The disciples, on the other hand, were terrified. The original Greek says that they feared a great fear. They were in a boat with someone who could talk to the wind and the waves and the wind and the waves would pay attention to what He said. They began to question who their master and teacher really was.

This is one of the themes in Jesus’ life. People often ask who Jesus is. Today, we heard that the wind and the waves know who Jesus is.

In other parts of the Gospel account, we learn that diseases, birth defects, and injuries know who Jesus is. Even the demons know who Jesus is. But, when it comes to the human beings, Jesus is a great mystery. They regularly ask, “Who is this? Where does He get this authority?” Hear the words that the Holy Spirit spoke through His prophet Isaiah. “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” (Isaiah 1:3)

The terror of God traces its way clear back to Eden. God called and Adam replied, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid.” (Genesis3:10) Adam had sinned and the presence of the holy and almighty God terrified him. It is the same for all people who see their sin clearly in the holy presence of Almighty God. The writer to the Hebrews put it this way: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

That is the reason it so important that Jesus be both man and God. If Jesus were only God, He could not take our place under the law and live a holy life for us. He also could not suffer the penalty we have earned for our sin. If Jesus were a man, and nothing more, then His perfect life and sacrificial death would earn the salvation of one and only one person. The rest of the world would be lost. It is essential for our salvation that Jesus be both God and man. We need the salvation that Jesus provides because the storm on the Sea of Galilee is just one instance of the many disasters that the sin of humanity has brought into this world.

The destruction that storms bring is an expression of the curse that came when sin entered the world. Our sin not only brings sickness and death to us, but even the world is cursed. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the Romans: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:22)

Floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, lightening, earthquakes, and all the other natural disasters are the result of the curse that our sin brought into the world. These natural disasters are not the only storms that our sin has brought into the world. There are other storms in our lives as well. There are the medical storms of infections, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, cancer, and so forth. There are the relational storms of broken families and friendships. There are the financial storms of plant closings and layoffs. Ultimately, there is the storm of death that comes to all of us sooner or later. We may try to deny the existence of sin in our lives, but these storms, both private and public, say otherwise.

It is in the incarnation of Jesus Christ – the fact that the Son of God assumed human nature – that we see God’s loving plan to deal with sin. In Jesus Christ, God assumed human nature to save humans from their nature – their sinful nature. For our own sin doomed us to perish – not just from this earth, but also from the blessings of God’s presence with us.

In first John chapter 1, verse 7 we read; But the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) Christ’s human nature allowed Him to be the target of God’s wrath as He hung on the cross.

Christ’s Divine nature allowed Him to endure that wrath for all people in all times and places. So it is that God took on human flesh and saved us from our sins.

We have complete confidence in that salvation that Jesus earned for us because death was unable to hold Him. For Christ did not remain in the grave, but, after He conquered death, He rose from death never to die again. After He rose, He showed Himself to His disciples. He encouraged them to examine the marks of the cross in His body. He talked with them and ate with them. He interacted with them in very human ways. At the same time, locked doors and windows were no barrier to Him as He appeared and disappeared at will. In His resurrection, He demonstrated that He lives forever as both God and man in one person.

Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. With that combination, we find our full salvation from sin, death, and the power of the devil. In His humanity, He was able to suffer on the cross in our place and for our good. In His deity, He was able to defeat our foes and rise from the dead to give us eternal life. It is in the person of Jesus Christ who both slept and stilled the storm that we have our faith and the promise of eternal life; as well as the promise that your sins are forgiven, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Posted on June 13, 2021 by pastorkevinjud

Jesus Calms the Storm

WORSHIP VIDEO LINK

WORSHIP AUDIO LINK

SERMON AUDIO LINK

BULLETIN

SERMON TEXT BELOW

Pentecost 4, 2021
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Hilbert Kamps
June 20, 2021
Mark 4:35-41

the nature of Jesus as the Christ and the nature of the sinners in the boat with Him. Which is also our sinful natures.

Where was Jesus during this storm? He was asleep in the stern of the boat. He was exhausted from His long day and fell into a sleep so sound that even the storm did not wake Him.

Now, you and I could scold the weather until we were blue in the face and nothing would change.

This is one of the themes in Jesus’ life. People often ask who Jesus is. Today, we heard that the wind and the waves know who Jesus is.

Christ’s Divine nature allowed Him to endure that wrath for all people in all times and places. So it is that God took on human flesh and saved us from our sins.