Posted on by pastorkevinjud

Small, Plain and Ordinary

 

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BULLETIN

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Pentecost 4 2024 Proper 6
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 16, 2024
Ezekial 17, 22-24, 2 Corinthians 5:1-17, Mark 4:26-34

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            This is a beautiful church building.  We have been blessed by those who were here in the 1940s that they chose a classic style and durable materials to build our Romanesque style church modeled after St. Bernard church in Cincinnati.  This is a beautiful space in which to have the divine service.

            When Jeannette and I were in Europe in April we visited cathedrals and churches, and monastery chapels in Germany, Austria and Hungary.  The cathedrals and chapels were incredibly large, towering, ornate monuments to the architectural styles of their time.  In the Baroque style cathedral in Passau Germany, there is a gigantic golden pulpit with figures of Jesus and angels and the four gospel writers and the last supper and so much more.  It is magnificent.  So large, so beautiful, so ornate.  What would it be like to preach from a pulpit like that?  Wow!  People must be impressed with a sermon from a golden pulpit.  Now, I love my pulpit here, but it is plain and ordinary compared to European cathedrals. 

Jesus is plain and ordinary.  This must be what the disciples think about Jesus and His ministry compared to the Temple in Jerusalem with its magnificent tall pillars and gold and decorations. The priests adorned in amazing robes with golden threads in white linen.  By contrast, Jesus is a homeless teacher wandering around the backwater areas of Galilee with a rag tag band of followers including fishermen and even a tax collector.  Sometimes Jesus teaches in the synagogues but mostly outdoors on a hill or by the lake.  Jesus is not even just plain and ordinary, He is poor and lowly and weak and insignificant. Dressed like a normal person, He preaches and teaches and heals the sick and casts out demons but it does not look like much.  The healings and exorcisms are remarkable, but Jesus does not make a big deal about them, he even tells folks to keep quiet about being healed.  There are crowds following Him to be healed and to hear the teaching but it a crowd of poor, lowly people.  When the rich, powerful, important people come around Jesus they are offended by Him; they oppose Jesus.  They look to trap Jesus because they want to destroy Him.  They see the good Jesus is doing and accuse Him of being in league with the devil.  Plain, ordinary Jesus just keeps doing what He is doing; He does not care what the cool kids think of Him. 

Jesus tells the disciples a couple of parables to steady them as they follow Jesus.  The first is about the Kingdom of God being like a man scattering seed on the ground and the seed sprouts and grows all on its own.  While the man goes about his life, the earth produces automatically until the harvest.  Jesus spreads the Word and it produces on its own without human assistance.  Jesus’ Word produces fruit in the lives of His followers all by itself.

Like the disciples, we really want to believe that faith, and forgiveness, and the Kingdom of God is about us and what we do — but it is not about you, it is about Jesus for you.  There is a terrible infection afflicting church bodies that causes folks to believe that God needs our help.  There is a thought that God’s Word is good and everything, but we really need find more and more clever ways to present it so people will believe.  In churches there is a thought that, “if we can just…whatever,” then everything would be better.  If we can just…have a better Sunday School program.  If we can just… build a better building.  If we can just…. have the youth more involved.  If we can just… do more with senior ministry.  If we can just… reach out better to the people in the neighborhood.  If we can just… find the right program at the right time.  If we can just…do whatever it takes to help God.  We are looking for a silver bullet fix to whatever ails the church, but there are no silver bullets.  God’s Word is sufficient.  Isaiah 55:10–11 (ESV) 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

This is humbling for pastors.  God does not need me.  The Kingdom of God will grow by the power of God.  I am called to proclaim the Word of God.  It is not about me being ingenious; it is about God’s Word succeeding without my assistance. 

            Jesus continues with a second parable.  Mark 4:30–32 (ESV) 30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” 

            Now when you think of kingdoms you think of splendid castles and throne rooms and ornate robes and crowns.  Jesus here teaches about the Kingdom of God; the reign and rule of God, and it is like, it is like — a mustard seed.  I bought a pack of mustard seeds to see what they look like.  They are tiny, brown and round; just about 1 millimeter in size; small, plain and ordinary. I put a few mustard seeds in every pew this morning, but I doubt anyone noticed.  You would have trouble finding them even if you looked.  A mustard seed is tiny, plain, ordinary and almost invisible. The Kingdom of God begins quite small, plain and ordinary there in Galilee and Jerusalem, but it grows and grows and grows.  Now the reign of God in Christ Jesus has spread all over the world, but it still appears to be small, plain and ordinary. 

            The Word of God is the only source of salvation and eternal life but it is so plain and ordinary and folks are not impressed by plain and ordinary.  People want something exciting and entertaining.  The news media will report all sorts of meaningless stories about rich, famous, powerful, important people, but they ignore what God is doing. 

God is here today, in this place, to forgive your sins and feed you the food of eternal life.  Jesus, the source of eternal life, is here with you and people act like nothing is going on.  They just ignore it because it is plain and ordinary and boring.

Far too many church bodies have grown weary of the Word of God and have moved on to preach and teach what people’s itching ears want to hear.  They constantly adjust their teachings so that the cool kids of society will not look down on them.  So many churches will fall all over themselves to change what they teach to fit whatever is the latest and greatest rejection of God’s Word put forth by the cultural elites in New York, and D.C., and Los Angeles. They care so much what the cool kids think that they have given up on God.  They have rejected the Word of God, and forgiveness, and eternal life so they can fit in with people who change their beliefs as often as their clothes.

            Not so for you.  You are a follower of Jesus Christ.  You are bound to the Word of God.  You cannot care what the cool kids think.  You cannot adjust your life to fit their perverse teachings.  As the Church of Christ, you stand firm on the plain and ordinary Word of God and reject false teachers.  You are warned about this in the book of Jude.  Jude 4, 8 (ESV) 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ …these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” 

            Trust God’s Word because God’s Word will not return empty. The plain and ordinary Word of God is effective and the seed planted will grow by itself by the power of God. Trust the Gospel; the Good News of forgiveness of sins through the life death and resurrection of Jesus.  Trust the power and promise of your baptism. Trust Jesus’ words of pardon for sin. Trust the forgiveness given in the Lord’s Supper.  Trust…even though it is plain, ordinary water combined with the Word of God.  Trust the plain, ordinary words of absolution.  Trust the plain, ordinary bread and wine combined with the Word of God.  Trust that God works as He has promised.

            Trust the Gospel to accomplish what it promises. Follow God — obey God — not out of fear of punishment — the punishment was taken by Jesus; not out of hope of reward–you have already been given eternal life.  Follow God — obey God — out of love for God because of what He has done for you through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 

            It can be difficult because obeying God out of love is messy. We are so much more comfortable with punishment and reward.  Do this and you get this in return.  Don’t do this or else you will be disciplined. 

Living in the plain, ordinary love of God is messy… wonderfully messy.  Your sinful side so much wants to be in control…but you are not in charge.  God is in charge, and the Word of God is working in you, and the day of harvest will come and Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead and you will be declared righteous, pure and holy because Jesus’ robe of righteousness covers all your sin. 

It does not matter how foolish the cool kids think you are.  It does not matter how foolish they think Jesus is. It does not matter how small and plain and ordinary Jesus’ Church is.  God’s Word does not return empty.  We so much want to have some kind of spiritual experience that we can point to, some exciting happening, some spiritual high, but we get God’s plain and ordinary promises and that is good.  

  It can be difficult because obeying God out of love is messy. We are so much more comfortable with punishment and reward.  Do this and you get this in return.  Don’t do this or else you will be disciplined. 

            So follow Jesus…trust Jesus…live in the messiness of His love for you.  Obey God out of love.  Repent when you get distracted by the world and give in to temptation.  Receive His forgiveness…over and over and over. 

As Jesus’ Church we do what God has given us to do.  We make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching.  Even though it is not exciting and entertaining we pronounce the forgiveness of sins, preach the truth of God’s Word, administer the Lord’s sacrament of His Body and Blood, and we trust God’s Word to do what God has promised it will do. 

It does not matter if the pulpit is golden, or wooden, or no pulpit at all, the Word of God is effective.  Trust in the promises of God regardless of what the cool kids think.  Amen.  

Posted on by pastorkevinjud

Prepare for the Lord

WORSHIP VIDEO LINK (linked after 10:45 AM Service)

WORSHIP AUDIO LINK

SERMON AUDIO LINK

BULLETIN

SERMON TEXT BELOW

Advent 2 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud 
December 10, 2023
Isaiah 40:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-14, Mark 1:1-8

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                        bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:   bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            Before the judge enters his courtroom the bailiff, loudly, announces his arrival, “All rise.  The Common Pleas Court of Butler County Ohio is now in session, the honorable Michael Oster Jr. presiding.”  And everyone stands until the judge tells them to be seated.  To be prepared for the judge is to rise. 

            In a scene from the Luther movie, the monk Martin Luther is visiting Rome and an announcement is made that Pope Julius II is riding down the street. Everyone kneels in preparation as the Pope rides by dressed in the golden armor of a knight. 

            In the Navy, if a senior officer is entering a room the first one to notice announces, “Attention on deck,” and everyone stands and salutes. 

            People need to be prepared when an important person arrives.

            In our Gospel reading today John the Baptist is preparing the people for the arrival of the long promised Messiah, the Christ.  God is arriving.  God is arriving clothed in flesh to do a great work.  The Christ’s arrival has been foretold in scripture, and not only His arrival, but but also the arrival of the one to prepare His way. 

            Mark 1:2–3 (ESV) 2 … “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ” 

            John the Baptist is God’s messenger preparing the way.  For context, it is a dark time for the people of Israel.  The 10 northern tribes were taken into exile in 722 BC by the Assyrians, never to return.  The Southern Tribes are defeated by the Babylonians in 589 BC and many of them are taken into exile.  The Jews begin to return to Judea in 538 BC and the rebuilt temple is finished in 516 BC. Israel is under the control of the Persians who defeated the Babylonians, and then under control of the Greeks who defeat the Persians in 332.  The Jews rebel in 164 BC under Judas Maccabeus after the temple is desecrated by the Greeks sacrificing pigs on the altar to Zeus.  The Jewish rebellion is successful and they retake Jerusalem. Hanukkah is established when one day of oil lasts eight days in the temple lights.  The Roman Empire then rises to power and Pompey the Great conquers Jerusalem in 63 BC.  Julius Caesar appoints Antipater to be Proconsul of Judea and manage the financial affairs.  Antipater’s son Herod, gets in good with the right Roman authorities and through many political moves the Roman Senate declares Herod to be King of the Jews around 36 BC. Herod the Great rules for 37 years and is known for his colossal building projects including rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.  Herod is called king, but he answers to Caesar.  At the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry the Romans have ruled Israel for 67 years with two of Herod’s sons and a Roman Governor now in charge.  When will the Jewish people be free?  They have been through so much for so many centuries.  The Messiah has been promised, but it has been so long.  There have been false Christs.  Judas the Galilean starts a revolt against Rome around 6 AD and many think that he is the Messiah, but he is not.  Will the Messiah ever come?  The last prophet to preach of the coming Messiah is Malachi 400 years earlier.  Malachi 4:5 (ESV) 5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”  When will the Messiah arrive?  It has been 400 years of silence from the Lord. 

            And then out in the desert down by the Jordan River there is a voice crying in the wilderness.  The great and awesome day of the Lord is near.  John the Baptist is the new Elijah preparing the people.  How do the people prepare?  John proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  To be ready for Jesus is to admit you are sinner who needs forgiveness and submit to receiving forgiveness in John’s baptism.  Mark 1:5 (ESV) 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”  The Messiah is coming.  And the one who is coming is so mighty that John is not worthy to stoop down and untie His sandals.  Even though He does not look like it, John knows Jesus is God in human flesh.  John is not worthy to even be near Him. 

            John is not worthy, but Jesus arrives in the very next verse to be baptized by John.  Mark 1:10–11 (ESV) 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 

            Jesus has promised to be here with you today to forgive you your sins.  How did we announce His arrival?  You rose and I announced, “In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!” These are the words with which you were baptized and remind you that you are a baptized child of God as you begin worship.  And then you knelt and acknowledged your status before God – you confessed that you are a sinner who is not worthy to be near to the Lord.  And the Lord forgave you all your sins and is coming to you in Holy Communion. 

Advent means arrival.  During Advent we remember and celebrate Jesus’ threefold arrival.  His arrival as the incarnate Son of God as a baby in Bethlehem, His coming each Sunday to you in His Body and Blood in Holy communion and His final coming on judgment day.  Each week you prepare by remembering your baptism and confessing your sins and being forgiven.  You prepare by rising for the reading of the Holy Gospel in honor of Christ.  By preparing for Jesus’ arrival here each week you stay prepared for His third arrival when He comes again on the great and awesome day of the Lord.

It is an ongoing struggle.  Your sinful, prideful self does not want to admit to being helpless to sin.  You naturally want to believe you are good enough and you can do it yourself.  By nature you want a do-it-yourself religion.

            At John the Baptist’s time there were some who did not want to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.  There are many today who do not want to submit to baptism and confession. It is a difficult thing to admit that you are a sinner.  It is tough to confess that you are doing something wrong and you need to stop.  To admit you are a sinner is to acknowledge that you are not good enough, that you are in bondage to sin and you cannot free yourself.  To admit you are a sinner is to admit helplessness and being helpless is not a good feeling.  It means you are vulnerable.

            Picture each of your sins as a link in a chain and that chain is wrapped around you and locked with a big padlock.  You can do nothing to free yourself from this bondage to sin and guilt.  Jesus is the key that unlocks the lock and the chains fall off.  You are in bondage to sin and Jesus is your savior so you cry out in despair, “Save me!”  And Jesus saves you.  To admit helplessness is to know that you cannot do it yourself and to know, if you are going to be saved, you need a savior.  It is to admit you are poor in spirit.  It is to be brutally honest that you are by nature sinful and unclean. 

It is an ongoing struggle.  Your sinful, prideful self does not want to admit to being helpless to sin.  You naturally want to believe you are good enough and you can do it yourself.  By nature you want a do-it-yourself religion.

            A wise Lutheran Theologian, Francis Pieper, wrote in the 1950’s, “[there are] but two essentially different religions: The religion of the Law, that is, the endeavor to reconcile God through man’s own works, and the religion of the Gospel, that is, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” There is the religion of “do” and the religion of “done.”  

            The religion of “do” is your natural religion. It is the one that feels most comfortable.  This is what makes the voice of one crying in the wilderness so radical.  John calls for the people to repent — to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus; to turn from a religion of “do” and receive the religion of “done.”  Because it is such a natural fit, it is a great temptation for people and churches to give up on the religion of “done” and go back to the other religion of “what must I do?” The religion of “do” is a deception of the devil because you cannot do it. 

            The children of Israel went through the waters of the Jordan to enter the Promised Land after their exodus from Egypt.  John the Baptist is having the people go into the waters of the Jordan to be forgiven and enter the Kingdom of Heaven; the reign and rule of God.  In confession and absolution you return to your baptism to remember you are forgiven and are already under the reign of your Lord and Master, Jesus. 

            The Gospel of Mark is a compact, fast moving account of Jesus’ Gospel Ministry bringing the Good News.  The first words are Mark 1:1 (ESV) 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  Perhaps more literally, “The beginning of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  Gospel means Good News.  What is the Good News?  “It is finished.”  Jesus has paid the price for your sin.  He has unlocked the chains of your sin and guilt and set you free to love God and love your neighbor because He first loved you. 

            Mark writes in a very straightforward, concise manner. As Jesus begins His ministry after His baptism and temptation, Mark records Jesus summing up Christianity in one sentence.  Mark 1:15 (ESV) 15 … “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  Amen.