Sermon for June 19, 2016: To KNOW and to GROW, Coming Out.

The following sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson, on June 19, 2016, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA. It is the fourth sermon in a 6 week series on Galatians, entitled TO KNOW, and TO GROW. 

Galatians 3:23-29

²³Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. ²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ,

This morning, just as we have for the last three weeks, we read from Paul's letter to the Galatians. This is a letter Paul wrote thousands of years ago to the churches of Galatia and it's a letter, which by the power of the Holy Spirit speaks to us today. 

Paul wrote this letter so that people, whether they be Galatians or Christ the Kingians, would Know and Grow. So that these people would KNOW their identity as the People of God and so they would GROW in what it means to be a people with such a holy identity. 

Now, one thing that may be overlooked in our 'knowledge' about being the people of God, one part that we might take for granted is the greeting that Paul uses in his letter, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ," the same greeting which I gave at the beginning of this sermon. As the People of God, these words remind us what it is that makes us such a people, the thing that initiates this relationship, and that thing is God's grace and peace given to us out of love. It is God's grace and peace, given to us not because of how good we are, or how great our children are, or what country we come from, what religion we necessarily practice or even who we love, rather it is given to us because we are in need. God's grace is given to us because we are all sinners.  The whole point of grace, is that it given to someone who's done something wrong, not someone who's done everything right. So we remember, as the People of God, that this greeting, and the grace it bestows, is where our faith comes from and it's where our faith grows from. 

Apart from grace, there is "the law" as Paul puts it; the law which would have us do all the things that God wants us to do, the law which would have us do everything right, the law which is subject to endless interpretation, the law which greets us in a different kind of way: "YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT, ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU IN A COURT OF LAW." or "DO YOU SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH..." or there is always this greeting, which I know from more then just the movies and TV, which I know from actual experience, "DO YOU KNOW WHY I PULLED YOU OVER? The law isn't really concerned with my own personal well-being, or anyone else's for that matter. 

While the law is good for the general ordering of our society, it can't give us grace or love. The law can point out our wrong doings, it can accuse us, it can uphold our rightness over and above someone else, it can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, but it doesn't build relationships. The law doesn't make us People of God or keep us as people of God. 

Yet, we do give thanks for the Law, God's Law. The law which tells us to love the Lord, our God with all our heart, and soul, and mind; and to love our neighbor's as ourselves. We give thanks for the Law, because through it's commands, it does have the ability to keep us safe, somewhat. Recently, I've been given new insight into what Paul is saying to us regarding the Law as our guardian, as keeping us safe. This insight came to me through work with the Holliston Drug and Alcohol Awareness Coalition, and in hearing different people's stories. One theme that has come up recently, is the story of parents whose children, while struggling with addiction, have either been locked-up in jail or prison, or spent time in in-patient rehab. Troubling as it is, for parents who are in a constant state of crisis, worried about where there child is, where they are spending the night, or even if they are alive, having some security that there child is at least safe, brings some relief. While a parent never dreams of wanting this for their children, this type of "law" watching over their children is far better than the alternative.

This idea of law as our guardian, can be very useful to us, and help us to get through some of life's toughest moments, especially when the love that we bear becomes so painful. But being locked-up, is not how parents want their children to live, it's not how any of us want to live, it's not how God wants us to live, it's not how we are created to live. 

WE KNOW: God didn't make us the People of God to put us into a prison of rules and regulations. We have been made the People of God so that we can love God, love each other, and KNOW how much we are loved. 

WE KNOW: It is by the grace and peace given to us by Jesus Christ, that has made and formed us as that People of God, and that it is through the waters of baptism where we are clothed in Christ.

Indeed, it is sheer grace that makes us the People of God, and in Christ, that grace is among us. This grace forms us as the People of God to become One, to grow together, with God and with each other. By this grace we have been made the People of God so that when sin comes knocking at our door and greets us with such tragedy as the events in Orlando last Sunday, or the events in Charleston last year, we don't ignore it. When we see and hear of our sisters and brothers, of our fellow children of God suffering, being persecuted, having violence done against them just for the sake of who they are, by the grace of God we are called to join with them in their suffering, called to love them, called to be One with them. By the grace of God, as the People of God, we are called to be the Body of Christ with them. A body that knows suffering and death, but that most surely knows resurrection. 

Here in the ELCA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, it is grace that has helped us see the pain and suffering of so many people who love someone of the same gender, or who don't fit neatly into traditional expressions of romantic love, have gone through, physically, emotionally; externally and internally. It is grace that has helped us as a national church to break open some of these "prisons", which never should have been there in the first place, and allowed us to be blessed with the gifts of so many of our sisters and brothers in ministry. 

It is this same grace, which has brought us this far, which helps us to see the persecutors of such crimes, and KNOW that we offer grace to them as well; as hard as this may seem. God's grace is intent on bringing us together, on making us One in Christ; where there is no longer slave and free, Jew and Greek, male and female, but only One. 

Truly, we have been clothed in Christ, so that we can remember what God's grace has done and so that we can be this grace for the world. This graceful living isn't easy, if it was, it would just be how we always act. It isn't easy, even for us, who hopefully hear of this grace everyday, who are on the receiving end of this grace. Living in grace can be hard, and it's why God is constantly at work in us. God is working by calling us together, and feeding us with his body and blood, so that we may KNOW what it is that makes us the People of God. So that we may KNOW our brothers and sisters, so that we may KNOW that God's love is what wins!

God's grace calls us together so that we may KNOW we are the People of God, and God's grace calls us together so that we may GROW. WE GROW in coming out to this grace. WE GROW in realizing that our pain and suffering, our shame and guilt, that our shortcomings, our sin, is an affliction that we all share. WE GROW when we come out in our pain over loved ones who are lost or our own lack of control over things, and share it with each other and with God. The many afflictions in our lives, the things that cause us to suffer are not things that should separate us, and they certainly don't stop us from being the People of God. These things are only the places in our lives where God's grace is at work, driving out that which works to separate us, and bringing us into relationship again and again. WE GROW in coming out to God's grace, so that it can take our inner-demons, the ones that we all have, the ones that we pass on to each other and even to our children; so that this grace can break down the walls that separate us, and light can shine in the dark places of our lives and world. 

WE GROW by coming out to God's grace, and remembering that it is not how we act that makes us a People of God, but how we are loved. As we remember that fact, as we experience it, as we share in it, we see that we are indeed clothed in Christ, that we have been made One in him, and we rejoice over all that God has done!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

Amen

Galatians, we KNOW:

That the Gospel message is given to us by Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and it reveals Jesus Christ.

That Jesus Christ came to do something, to give himself for our sin and free us from this evil age. 

That Jesus Christ comes not to the healthy, but to sinners; sinners like Paul and sinners like us, to transform us and give us new life, to give us his life. 

That we are justified not by works of the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

God didn't make us the People of God to put us into a prison of rules and regulations. We have been made the People of God so that we can love God, love each other, and KNOW how much we are loved. 

It is by the grace and peace given to us by Jesus Christ, that has made and formed us as that People of God, and that it is through the waters of baptism where we are clothed in Christ.

and we GROW:

By considering the question that Paul asks about who we serve, and whose approval we are seeking. Is it the approval of God, or is it humans? 

By learning to trust in grace, and not our own human abilities and ways of doing things. We wrestle with the words of this quote from H. William Gregory. "Trust, and not rigidity is what defines the will of one converted by Grace." 

By opening ourselves to the presence of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, in our lives, and allowing him to live in, with, and through us.

By realizing that our pain and suffering, our shame and guilt, that our shortcomings, our sin, is an affliction that we all share.

By coming out to God's grace, and remembering that it is not how we act that makes us a People of God, but how we are loved.

Sermon for June 12, 2016: To Know and To Grow, Blessed Beginnings

The following sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson, on June 12, 2016, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA. It is the third sermon in a 6 week series on Galatians, entitled TO KNOW, and TO GROW. I will be making references to a document I produced, of the same name, and that is pictured within this post. 

Galatians 2:15-21

¹⁵We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; ¹⁶yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. ¹⁷But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. ¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; ²⁰and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

Today, we read again from Paul's letter to the Galatians. This is our third week reading from this letter, and we will cover most of it in the six weeks that it serves as our appointed text for the week.

Paul wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia a long time ago, 2000 years ago, and Paul's words are written for us today as well. Paul writes to us so that we may KNOW and GROW, the same theme as the document that outlines my pastoral vision. TO KNOW and TO GROW is why Paul writes to us. 

In reading Galatians, we remember that Paul writes to us as one who has changed tremendously as a result of his encounter with Jesus Christ, who had been crucified and raised to eternal life. Paul, we remember, was once named Saul, and he had been going around, persecuting and trying to destroy the new churches that were serving Jesus. It was in the midst of these persecutions that Jesus came to Saul in a blinding light, knocked him off of his horse, and by his grace gave him new, transforming life, and a new name, Paul. This encounter was so transforming, that Paul soon started to build up the same church he had tried to destroy. By the power of the Holy Spirit, this transformed man not only wrote to the Galatians, but he writes to us today, so that we can KNOW and GROW.

In reviewing chapter 1, we KNOW:

That the Gospel message is given to us by Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and it reveals Jesus Christ.

That Jesus Christ came to do something, to give himself for our sin and free us from this evil age. 

That Jesus Christ comes not to the healthy, but to sinners; sinners like Paul and sinners like us, to transform us and give us new life, to give us his life. 

and we GROW:

By considering the question that Paul asks about who we serve, and whose approval we are seeking. Is it the approval of God, or is it humans? 

By learning to trust in grace, and not our own human abilities and ways of doing things. We wrestle with the words of this quote from H. William Gregory. "Trust, and not rigidity is what defines the will of one converted by Grace." 

Today, Paul writes to us and he writes "We Know" "We know that we are not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ." Paul must have been writing with a Lutheran congregation in mind, because certainly, "We Know" that one is not justified by works. If you have been a Lutheran for a longtime and don't know this, then I would like to have a conversation with your confirmation teacher. But we Lutherans, as well as many other denominations, KNOW that we are not justified by works, but by faith in Jesus Christ. 

Knowing this today, we celebrate and say good-bye to Gerry Hava as the Blessed Beginnings Preschool director. It's appropriate to think of Gerry having a Pauline sort of role in starting Blessed Beginnings, though there were certainly many other hands and of course the Holy Spirit that went into starting it, but Gerry has been it's faithful director since the very beginning. 

This school, this ministry, that Gerry has played such a role in, wants young children TO KNOW. Of course, the goal is to have the young children learn some knowledge about a variety of different things, but, as far as I know anyway, there isn't standardized testing when the kids turn 5. They somehow are able to promote the children to kindergarten without it, though I'm sure it will be coming down the road...But, what Blessed Beginnings really wants the children TO KNOW, is that they are loved, that they are cared for, and that they are part of a great, big, amazing world in which God has given to us so many things. 

The great thing about Blessed Beginnings is that it is for everyone. There is no test, or certain type of child that the school is looking for, it is for everyone. In fact, Blessed Beginnings even offers Grace Scholarships, so that not even finances will get in the way of a child being there. The school is for all children because God's love is for all children. Today, we give thanks, for Gerry, for all the teachers, the volunteers, and the Holy Spirit, who have worked with so many children so that the KNOW of this great love. 

Of course, children grow a lot from the ages of 3 to 5. Blessed Beginnings gives children the chance to GROW in this knowledge that they are loved and to GROW in their trust of that love. It gives children the chance to GROW in sharing this love, in sharing themselves with each other and with this world. It truly is a Blessed Beginning. 

This time of learning and growing is what we as the Church do as well. The last time I checked, we are all children of God, and God has called us TO KNOW and TO GROW. 

God has called us TO KNOW that it is Jesus Christ who justifies, or makes us right, by his grace and God does this by giving us sure signs of this grace. We are given the waters of baptism, which splash over us not after we do something great or meriting them, but simply because of who we are and as a sign of God's unending love for all of us, and also for all who have not been baptized. We know that God certainly loves us before we are baptized, and still gives us this gift as a certain sign of this life, as a promise that we, and all of creation, are Children of God. God gives us the gift of baptism as a certain sign so that we may KNOW that we are not justified by doing works of the law but by grace. 

God calls us together by the Holy Spirit so that we KNOW that God's saving work is not a one-time thing, but continues on and on in us. TO KNOW that Jesus is freeing us from this evil age, that he's saving us from our sin, not just once, but continuously. Jesus continues to call and gather us, and feed us with his Body and Blood, a sure and certain sign of just how far God's grace is extended to us. We the children of God, need to continue to hear this from God, and get it etched into our being, we need TO KNOW this, so that we can trust more and more in the love God gives and the grace God offers. As this knowledge is imprinted on our hearts and minds, we let go of our own sense of control and rigidity, our own ways of doing things, and our mind is opened to the grace of God, and the new life that God gives. 

God is at work in us. Jesus Christ is alive in us. And we have been given these signs to show us that, to help us to KNOW. 

God helps us TO GROW as well. One sign of God's work in helping us to grow, is work that is done through us, us as human beings and us as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As you know, I was at our synod assembly the last two days, and we had a woman there speaking to us named Mikka McCracken. Not only is Mikka from the beautiful state of Minnesota, but more importantly she serves as the Director of Planning and Engagement for the ELCA's World Hunger Appeal. Mikka told us about all the wonderful things that our gifts from across the country are doing to help people both at home and abroad. One thing that she said that really stood out to me, was that 1-in-9 people across the world today suffer from chronic hunger. This number is much too high, but in the 1970's this number was 1-in-4. God is at work, the Holy Spirit is at work and is working through us, not because of how great we are, but because of God's great love, for all of creation. God is at work through us, making this world a sort of Blessed Beginnings classroom, where all of God's children can feel safe and free; free to love each other and share our lives together. God continues to be at work in us!

May we GROW, grow in the knowledge that it is Christ who justifies us, and GROW knowing that it is Christ who is alive and well in us today, and that he will be forever. "It is not I who live," says Paul, "But it is Christ who lives in me." Truly it is Christ who lives in us, and who will continue to do so through all time and space. 

For this we give thanks in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

Amen. 

Galatians, we KNOW:

That the Gospel message is given to us by Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and it reveals Jesus Christ.

That Jesus Christ came to do something, to give himself for our sin and free us from this evil age. 

That Jesus Christ comes not to the healthy, but to sinners; sinners like Paul and sinners like us, to transform us and give us new life, to give us his life. 

That we are justified not by works of the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

and we GROW:

By considering the question that Paul asks about who we serve, and whose approval we are seeking. Is it the approval of God, or is it humans? 

By learning to trust in grace, and not our own human abilities and ways of doing things. We wrestle with the words of this quote from H. William Gregory. "Trust, and not rigidity is what defines the will of one converted by Grace." 

By opening ourselves to the presence of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, in our lives, and allowing him to live in, with, and through us.

Sermon for June 5, 2016: TO KNOW and TO GROW; Visions from God.

The following sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson, on May 29, 2016, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA. It is the second sermon in a 6 week series on Galatians, entitled TO KNOW, and TO GROW. I will be making references to a document I produced, of the same name, and that is pictured within this post. 

Galatians 1:11-24 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; ¹²for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

  ¹³You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. ¹⁴I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.¹⁵But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, ¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.
  ¹⁸Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; ¹⁹but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord’s brother. ²⁰In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! ²¹Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, ²²and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; ²³they only heard it said, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴And they glorified God because of me.

Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ,

When I was younger, maybe late high school, perhaps college, I feel as if I was given a vision from God. Mind you, this was not a vision to go and become a pastor. Rather, it was a vision of riding a motorcycle. Not one of the big choppers that people like to cruise around on, but the kind commonly referred to as "crotch-rcokets." The kind that Tom Cruise so awesomely drove in the movie, Top Gun. In my vision, I was thinking about how cool that would be to have one, and how fast I could go. In my vision, I saw myself speeding up and down the road, and then God interrupted, and I, a young man who felt pretty invincible as many young people do, saw myself, flying off of that motorcycle and a long way into the air. I realized then and there, that God was telling me that a motorcycle would not be a good purchase for your life. God was saying "DO NOT BUY A MOTORCYCLE. EVER!"

There I was, a bold, invulnerable young man, and God interrupted, and gave me a better path, a different way of doing things. 

Today, we read once again from Paul's letter to the Galatians. In reading it, we remember that Paul, wasn't always Paul. In his earlier life, he had been Saul, a bold and zealous young man, a very religious young man, an important figure in the realm of Judaism. In his religious life, Saul had certainly known all the rules and was a stern protector and defender of the faith. So much so, that when a new expression of it started popping up, when churches, centered around this guy named Jesus Christ, a man who had been crucified and then was raised...Saul, a zealous person of faith sought to put an end to that church. Saul even held everyone's coats when one of the members of this new faith, Stephen, was being stoned to death. Saul new where he was headed in life, he had it all figured out and his religion, would take him to the top, both in terms of importance and righteousness. 

It was this person named Saul, who had a vision from God, who in fact had more than just a vision, but a revelation. The leader of this church that Saul was so zealously persecuting, a guy buy the name of Jesus, came to Saul, knocked him off of his horse, and blinded Saul with his great light. This revelation must have been amazing to Saul, as it was Jesus, who had been raised from the dead who had encountered him. But the most amazing thing about this whole encounter, this whole revelation, was that Jesus gave to Saul his grace and love, and transformed his life. Saul went from someone who had had it all figured out, to someone who realized what it was he was doing by persecuting the church and it's followers, and who saw how empty, even sinful his own self-perceived merit before God was. Because of Jesus' revelation to him, Saul, the one who lived with pride in his own works, was transformed into Paul, the one who lived by trust in the grace of someone else towards him. 

Paul, this person so dramatically transformed by Jesus, is a unique case. We don't have a lot of folks with similar experiences running around. It seems Jesus worked in this sort of way about once, and that was it. Yet, Jesus, our risen Lord and Savior, continues to reveal himself today. Jesus continues to reveal himself through Paul, as Paul went around starting to build up the same church that he had once tried to destroy, including the church in Galatia. In Paul's work, in his transformation and building up of the church, by the power of the Holy Spirit we see the work of Jesus revealed. 

Quite a few years after helping to start this church, Paul wrote a letter to them, a letter that still speaks to us today. Paul wrote to those Galatians as one who had been transformed by Christ, and as one seeking to reveal Christ to them once again. 

Indeed, Paul wrote to the Galatians so that they could KNOW about how it is that they had come to be this church, this people of God in Christ. Paul wrote to them so they could KNOW about Jesus' love which did this work. 

Paul wrote to these Galatians so that they could GROW in what this identity means. So that they could GROW in being free from this evil age. So that they could GROW in the life of Jesus Christ, who gave himself for their sins. 

In Galatians, we hear Paul writing to us as well; to KNOW and to GROW:

TO KNOW: That the Gospel is from Jesus Christ, it is about Christ, and it reveals to us Christ. 

TO KNOW: That Jesus Christ came to do something. He came to give himself for our sins and free us from this evil age. 

TO GROW: We join with Paul in asking: "Am I seeking human approval? Or the approval of God? Am I hear to please people?"

Because of God working through people like Paul, we KNOW and we GROW. 

We KNOW that Jesus reveals himself today, the same Jesus that was revealed to the Galatians; the same Jesus that revealed himself to Paul. Jesus comes to us and is revealed in baptismal waters. Waters that promise us that we are children of God; waters that tell us that just as Jesus is God's son, we have been made God's children, that God's favor is upon not only us, but upon all of creation and upon all people. 

We KNOW that Jesus reveals himself to us today, as we gather in worship. We KNOW that he is full of grace and mercy as he reveals himself to us by giving us his life to us in the midst of our sin. He gives us his body and blood for us so that we may share it with each other. 

We KNOW that Jesus reveals himself to us here in worship, through the Word of God that has been handed on through the generations to us. We KNOW that Jesus reveals himself to us here, so that we may see our risen Lord Jesus' presence wherever we may look; his grace, his mercy, his love, his unending life. 

In our Year of Prayer, here in 2016, we pray to this Jesus. This Jesus who comes to us, not only when we are riding horses or motorcycles, and knocks us off of our old way of being. And he gives to us a new message, a new way of life; the way of grace and mercy. 

This week, we are to KNOW, we are to KNOW that Jesus comes and frees us from this evil age to transform sinners, to transform us. Jesus came to Saul for a reason, to transform him, to turn him into Paul by revealing to him his grace and mercy. Jesus' revelation to us today does the same. Truly, Jesus is here, transforming us.

TO KNOW: Jesus reveals himself to us, to transform sinners by his grace and mercy.

In knowing this, WE GROW. WE GROW in our trust. Just like Paul, this person who was taken from a life where the rules,  the way of being, how to get along in society, and how to be faithful and religious were all clear, and following them was what brought upon God's favor, and had it all shattered by grace, the grace of Jesus Christ. After this, Paul was left with only trust, trust in Jesus. In fact, in Paul's letters, it's never about what he is doing, but about revealing what Jesus is doing. Paul's letters are about revealing the One who he now follows, and revealing the Life that has been given to him. 

To the transformation of Paul, and our own transformation another way, I offer this quote which I recently read, from H. William Gregory, "Trust, not rigidity, is what marks the will of one who has been converted by grace." Paul was converted by grace. We have been converted by this same grace. May we learn:

TO GROW in our trust of that grace, and let go of our own human visions and human ways so that we may seek the way of life we have been given, the way of Jesus Christ. 

And, as we grow in our trust of this grace we have been given, it's abundant life will spring forth in us, and by the work of God, we will share it with each other, and all of creation.

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

TO KNOW and TO GROW, Galatians Chapter One Summary:

TO KNOW: That the Gospel is from Jesus Christ, it is about Christ, and it reveals to us Christ. 

TO KNOW: That Jesus Christ came to do something. He came to give himself for our sins and free us from this evil age. 

TO KNOW: Jesus reveals himself to us, to transform sinners by his grace and mercy.

TO GROW: We join with Paul in asking: "Am I seeking human approval? Or the approval of God? Am I hear to please people?"

TO GROW in our trust of that grace, and let go of our own human visions and human ways so that we may seek the way of life we have been given, the way of Jesus Christ. 

Sermon for May 29, 2016: To KNOW and TO GROW

The following sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson, on May 29, 2016, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA. It is the first sermon in a 6 week series on Galatians, entitled TO KNOW, and TO GROW. I will be making references to a document I produced, of the same name, and that is pictured within this post. 

Galatians 1:1-12

¹Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—²and all the members of God’s family who are with me,
  To the churches of Galatia:
  ³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

  ⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—⁷not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! ⁹As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!
  ¹⁰Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

  ¹¹For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; ¹²for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

I have a new intro today, not really mine I guess, but one I copied, or plagiarized from Paul...but being as he hasn't been around for 2000 years, I think I'm ok. Paul wrote this, as the greeting to Galatians, and he writes similar things in his other letters in the Bible.

Today, we read from Galatians and we will continue reading from it over the course of the next six weeks. For a little background, Paul wrote this letter to the churches of Galatia thousands of years ago. These churches were ones that he had played a role in starting quite a few years before with his message of the Gospel. A message about Jesus Christ and a message that the Bible tells us Paul himself received directly from Jesus. As the story goes, Jesus, who has been raised from the dead and is living encounters Saul with a blinding light, knocks him off of his horse, and tells him to change his name to Paul. Jesus also gives Paul the good news, the saving news about himself, and Paul, an apostle, shared that news with others, like the Galatians.

It had been some years since the Holy Spirit, through the work of Paul, had formed the church in Galatia, and now Paul felt the need to write to them. It seems that Paul's Gospel message, the message of Jesus Christ himself, had gotten a little twisted. So Paul, writes the Galatians a letter, and he writes to them about what they are "TO KNOW" and how they are "TO GROW". 

Paul's themes; TO KNOW and TO GROW, also fits nicely with my own document, my pastoral vision that I call, "TO KNOW and TO GROW", which you all have a copy of. 

Paul wanted the people of Galatia TO KNOW, that they were the Holy People of God, and TO KNOW how they got that way....

Paul also wanted the people of Galatia TO GROW in what it meant to have that holy identity, as the People of God. 

Today, in a different time and place, we are no more or no less the People of God as the Galatians were, and therefore Paul's letter speaks to us as well. We are called TO KNOW and TO GROW.

The first thing that Paul emphasizes, the first thing TO KNOW, is that this Gospel of Jesus Christ didn't come to him from human hands, or human councils, it came to him directly from Christ, and most importantly, this message is not about Paul, but all about Jesus Christ. The message is about God, not about Paul. Paul goes to great lengths to emphasize this. 

This is what we are TO KNOW, even today, that Paul's message, that has been passed on for over 2000 years does not come to us by the power of humans, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a message, a Gospel, about Jesus Christ, that has continued to reveal his presence to humans, right up to, and including today. Though Paul writes the letter, it is the work and Word of God. 

TO KNOW: The Gospel comes to us from Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and reveals to us Jesus Christ.

The second thing that we are called TO KNOW, is that Jesus Christ came to Paul, he came to this world, he comes to us in this Gospel message for a reason! Paul writes "Grace to you and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age." Jesus is here with us, because he is doing something for us. He is saving us from our sin and freeing us from this evil age. 

We might not like to talk about sin, thinking that this type of language is a thing of the past, or that if we just ignore sin it will go away. But, our whole reason for needing salvation (from Jesus) is the fact of sin in our lives and world. I like to say that, "The Good News about the Church is that we have a savior. The bad news about the Church is that we really need one."  Jesus Christ is here doing something, and doing something about sin.

The sin that Jesus is doing something about, affects us all, no matter if it is our own sin or the sin of someone else. Sin's effects are apparent through all times and places, and we are confronted with its devastating results as we are about to observe Memorial Day. In our observance, we are marked by the markers of those who have lost their lives in service to our country, as a result of being put into violent situations. As we mark generations of those men and women who have died, we see the continual consequences of war; death, destruction; pain, and loss. Setting aside the issue of being right or wrong, in these losses, no matter who we are, or what times and places we have lived in, WE KNOW that war touches us. WE KNOW that this violence, this sin, leaves its mark, and darkens the lives of us all. Worst of all, WE KNOW that we will join with the mass of humanity that has gone before us, and continue to pass our sin on to the coming generations.

In our memorials, we remember. We remember the role of sin in our lives, whether we choose to acknowledge or not. Truly, sin is at work in our lives, and we don't have to dig hard to see that. Recently, there were bomb threats made towards schools in this area. These threats, thankfully, were unsubstantiated, but that didn't stop them from having an effect on teachers, staff, parents, and even young students; causing fear, stress, and anxiety. This sinful act causes us to wonder; what would happen if the threats were true? and what type of person would do something like that? When these thoughts enter into our lives, they become a part of our very being, causing us to be more afraid of others. These thoughts can cause us to turn inward, looking more and more upon ourselves, and our own protection, security, needs, and desires, and captivating us in fear, so that we forget about our neighbor. Sin, works its way into our lives, and then holds us captive to our own selfishness, however that manifests itself. 

The GOOD NEWS, what God, through people like Paul, so wants us...

TO KNOW: The Gospel comes to us from Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and reveals to us Jesus Christ.

TO KNOW: Jesus Christ has come to us to give himself for our sins, and to free us from this evil age. 

In my document, "TO KNOW and TO GROW" there is a focus on my calling to preside at worship, because it is in our worship, in our gathering, where God speaks to us the Gospel message that God wants us TO KNOW. As we read Galatians together today, we remember that 2000 years ago the people of Galatia didn't read this alone, in their homes. Rather, they gathered together to hear it, and to be formed by it. The Holy Spirit continues to call us together, into worship, so that we, like the Galatians, KNOW that Jesus Christ has come to give himself for our sins, and KNOW that Jesus does this work in grace and peace. 

The Holy Spirit calls us together in worship so that we can hear God speak to us about the grace of Christ in ways that go beyond words. God speaks to us in water that is splashed upon us, so that we KNOW that we have been made Children of God, so that we KNOW that God has claimed us as his beloved. God speaks to us in the bread and wine that we take and eat the body and blood of Jesus Christ, given for us, for the forgiveness of our sin, for the forgiveness of the sin of the world, so that we KNOW that nothing we do can separate us from the love and life of God.

The Holy Spirit gathers us in worship TO KNOW this promise of God, to experience this promise together, and then....the Holy Spirit empowers us TO GROW in being people of this promise. When we KNOW of God's love, it transforms us, so that we may GROW in our own love for God, and love of all whom God has made.

The Holy Spirit gathers us in worship to be formed, TO GROW, in our holy identity, and the Holy Spirit gives to us many spiritual gifts and practices to help us grow, and for today, our growth comes from focusing on a question Paul posed to the Galatians, "Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people?"

KNOWING the Gospel of Jesus Christ. KNOWING the grace it gives to us and KNOWING that it is ours forever, we are given the freedom to ask this question of ourselves, "Are we seeking human approval or God's approval?", and simply in our self-examination, we begin TO GROW in our trust for God, our love for God, and our life together in God. 

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

TO KNOW: The Gospel comes to us from Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, and reveals to us Jesus Christ.

TO KNOW: Jesus Christ has come to us to give himself for our sins, and to free us from this evil age. 

TO GROW: "Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people?"

Sermon for April 10, 2016: Coffee with Jesus

This sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Holliston, MA on April 10, 2016.

John 21:1-19

1After [he appeared to his followers in Jerusalem,] Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
  4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
  9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

  15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Sermon for March 6, 2016 Lent 4: Accepting that you are found.

^{This sermon was preached by Rev. Mark T. Peterson, on March 6, 2016 at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Holliston, MA.} 

^{Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32}

¹Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] ²And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
  ³So he told them this parable: ^11b“There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. ¹⁴When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ‘ ²⁰So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²²But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
  ²⁵“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ ³¹Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”

Be a Values Voter!

Through Jesus Christ, God has established the Kingdom of Heaven, right here, in this time and space, right in our very midst. Yet, while the Kingdom is certainly established, God continues to grow the Kingdom, by acting through us humans. My favorite vision of this Kingdom comes from Micah 4, which says:
In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the                          mountains, and shall be raised above the hills.
People shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain            of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may             walk in his paths.
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The Lord shall judge between many peoples and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;               they  will beat their swords in plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; and they will            not learn war anymore.
But they will all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one will make them             afraid.

Knowing that God uses us to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven, we should remember that a very formidable tool that we have been given, is a recognized voice and vote in the way that our community, state, and nation are governed. Here, in this time and place in the world, using this tool of participatory government is not just a privilege we have, but our Godly duty. Indeed, we are called to be values voters!

 Before continuing, a few clarifications about the government we are called to participate in:
--First, the government is not our Savior, it’s merely a system, and an imperfect one at that. 

--Secondly, the government is not “ours” and by that I mean the property of Christians, or any other group that would claim ownership of it, at least not in this country.  

--Thirdly, governance and order are a gift to us and our world from our creator, and they are given to help us live together according to something beyond our own whims and fancies. These authorities in our lives and world require our attention, even if it means standing up to them, rather than supporting them. 

--Finally, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and his church, are not held in peril by any government, whether it is our own, or the Roman Empire. Our faith is secure, Jesus Christ has won the day and will continue to live eternally, both in places where Christ’s Church is persecuted and in places where the Church has become the persecutor.  Therefore, we remember that government, whether a democracy or monarchy, whether representative or autocratic, whether peaceful or warlike, whether open or repressive, and whether brutal or compassionate, is merely a system, and is neither our salvation nor our greatest threat.  

Moving on, we, who live in the United States, have the opportunity to actively and safely, ( At least in theory, many who are neither white nor male could argue this with a long list of exampls to the contrary.) participate as representatives of the Christian faith, as ambassadors of Christ, in the system of government that helps bring order, for better and worse, to not only the 310 Million people who live in this country, but the billions that live in this world. It is incumbent on us as Christians to work to influence these systems that have authority over us so that God's righteousness, justice, and love is not a forsaken part of this ordering.   At the same time, our Christian duty to be involved in the workings of our government does not mean that we seek to make a Christian state. We as a faith community place our trust in the fact that God's Heavenly Kingdom has already been establish, and that God has instituted the community of the Church to be the place where Christians are called and transformed.

Ultimately, the way that we are called to act in our government is as an active voice, representing those who society forgets and tramples, with the truth of God. This is a truth of a Godly justice that values all life, and especially the lives of those our systems usually discard; the lives of the poor, the homeless, the imprisoned, the persecuted, the immigrant, and the refugee. This is a truth that stands in solidarity with these forgotten ones, and stands opposed to our human ideas of justice, which all too often places a higher value on order, profit, vengeance, and power, than it does upon the life that God creates.

Today, as many people vote on Super Tuesday, remember that it is indeed, right our duty and JOY that we should in all times and all places proclaim God's truth. Here in the United States of America, we have a freedom that should make this proclamation easy, and there is little excuse to keep us from yielding our freedom on behalf of all people, even and especially those who can't make campaign donations. So go vote!

Finally, a word from the prophet Ezekiel:

34The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ³You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. ⁴You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. ⁵So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.