When Billows Blow

A poem for the rededication of St. John's Lutheran Church after the November 17, 2013 tornado

When billows blow and dark winds howl

When whirlwinds and cyclones scowl

The young, the old, the timid the bold,

Are all alike as hope grows cold

It was Sunday, November, you recall,

That brought violent weather for the fall

Remember that morning, what could be better?

Baptism and communion—the Lutheran double header!

But worship was over and people departed

That’s about when the trouble all started

The storm quickly turned joy into sorrow

We wondered what would be left standing tomorrow

With storms like this, we remember days past

We’ve become accustom to such a deadly blast

Twice before the village was reduced to sticks

Nineteen ought seven and eighteen ninety-six

The dark wind struck, the storm bared down,

How many would be dead?

The storm went north, it missed our town,

God hit His house instead.

Before the stones could finish falling

God’s people began to answer the calling

You are God’s house of living stones

A truth that you know way down in your bones

You came with your truck, backhoe, and tractor

Red, yellow, orange, or green it wasn’t a factor

You came with fried chicken, casseroles and pies

Folks always came in to a tasty surprise

You picked up debris across country side and fields

You helped the farmers protect their yields 

You were there for the broken, crushed, and frustrated

You shared Christ’s hope that makes us elated

Now that the stones are all back in their place,

And we’ve gathered for worship again in this space

A challenge I’ll offer, if I may be so bold,

A challenge that comes to you—twofold

You did it, you loved God and served your neighbor

You showed with your work and your labor

How will you love now that news trucks are gone?

And the governor’s not standing out on the church lawn?

It’s still true for you, the washing with water

That’s where God made you His son or His daughter

Why wouldn’t you come, each time you are able

To receive forgiveness at the Lord’s Table?

So when billows blow and dark winds howl

When whirlwinds and cyclones begin their scowl

Remember God’s mercy, you’ll know what to do,

Share the message of the cross, what Christ’s done for you.

Holding All Things Together: a sermon on Colossians 1:13-20

This was my sermon at Holy Cross on November 24, 2013--the Sunday after the tornado hit New Minden. I had spent the better part of the previous week back in Illinois helping with the recovery. It was good to review it as I prepare for preaching for the redidication service on August 9, 2015. 

In the name of Jesus, who holds all things together, dear fellow redeemed,

             On Monday I had the opportunity to sit at lunch with my Dad. Unfortunately we were not alone. It was crazy in our school basement. Victims, rescue workers, and volunteers were all grabbing a bite to eat before getting back to the recovery. Of course, victims, rescue workers, and volunteers weren’t the only one who were there. The media was there too. As I sat down with Dad, two reporters from a large Metro-East newspaper joined us.

            They asked the questions you would expect from reporters after a tornado strikes: What do you say to your people after something like this? Is God judging us?

            Dad pointed them to the hymn we just sang. “Built on the Rock the church shall stand even when steeples are falling.” That rock is Christ, who is first in everything as our reading tells us. The church is built on Him. It doesn’t depend on a building no matter how beautiful or historic.

            This is where our reading today takes us. It reminds us that Jesus is the one who holds creation itself together. He is also the one who holds His body, the church together. That’s what I saw with my own eyes this last week in New Minden, IL. I hope today we can see this together as we examine this text.

First, Jesus holds creation together. The first verses of the text remind us that Jesus, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the one who made the world.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16

           

            Nothing that has been made was made without Him. He is not part of the creation as Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses would say. “By Him all things were created” doesn’t really leave anything out. 

For us as Christians, the fact that God made the world goes much further than debating what should be taught in schools. It shapes how we look at the rest of creation. That’s important because we living in creation. If we believe that God made the world then we believe that nothing in all creation is outside of His control. Indeed this is what our text says. “In Him all things hold together!”

We can have confidence that the universe won’t suddenly zap out of existence. Think of it. If the universe is here accidentally, then it could suddenly disappear accidentally. I’m not sure why more atheists aren’t worried about that. We never have to worry about that because “In Him all things hold together.”

If God is holding creation together, then why does He let things like tornadoes happen? This is a really good question. It’s one that makes some question either God’s goodness or even His existence at all.

Here’s the best answer we can give: God allows us to see glimpses of hell sometimes. That is to say He lets us see what the universe would be like without His providence. He lets us see how horribly broken the world actually is. It’s our fault. We are the ones who rejected God’s perfection. We thought our own way was best. For brief moments like a tornado or for long moments like a battle with cancer, God lets us see what the whole world would be like if it was left up to us without His protection. It’s a reminder that if this disaster or disease doesn’t get you, something else will. Death is coming for us all.

He doesn’t let these things happen to punish individual, specific sins. He does these things so that we know He’s the only one we can trust. He’s the only one on whom we can depend.

He even goes further than that. He begins the process of making peace. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)

Jesus has made peace between His rebellious creation and its perfect creator. He did this joining the creation and became part of it by being born as a human being. He made peace by shedding His blood for you on the cross. There He died so that you wouldn’t have to fear death.

He rose again from the dead as the firstborn from the dead. That if you have a firstborn, what does that mean? It means you’re going to have more. In this case many, many more. If He is the head then He will certainly bring His body with Him. What is His body? It’s the church! It’s you. It’s me. In baptism you were made a member of Christ’s body. He made you a part of Himself. He can no more easily be separated from you than you can from your own right hand.

            Jesus holds us to Himself. Jesus holds us close to everyone else He’s holding close to Himself. This is how He holds the church together.

            St. John’s New Minden was built from locally quarried stone during the Civil War. In places, the walls are over four feet thick. The stones are tied together to give mutual strength and support. But this week, when the rocks were falling apart, another kind of stone was coming together. Hear what Peter, the rock, said about this in his first epistle:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)

            When I was home this week it was wonderful to see the church holding together. They saw that Jesus was the corner stone. They were each living stones in the church. They supported each other just as the stones did in the church building. People, who for years had heard that the church was more than just the building, were now not only actively confessing this but were showing it with their actions.

It was easy to see. On Monday afternoon I walked into the school basement and immediately all my senses were reminded of the out pouring of love and support I saw in Joplin two years ago. You could see everyone gathered together to support each other. You could hear the sounds of people encouraging each other. You feel the warmth of Christ’s love in the room. And of course you could smell and taste the food, which so many loving hands had donated and served.

Debris was cleared. Homes were surveyed. Track hoes and skid steers went to work. Pieces of lives were picked up so they could be put back together. The church was there, even without its building.

When people see a need, as in this tornado, it’s easy to know how to respond. I know you all would do the same. You guys cook really well. If this happened here, there would food to feed an army. You guys have the machinery to clean up, and you’d be happy to use it. I have no doubt that you all would respond to such a disaster in the same amazing way.

The challenge comes when we look for needs which are constant. Just here this week we have the food drive for the food pantry. Next week the angel tree will be up with ideas for things we can give away. I know you all would be willing to help with something big. Yet right here God is giving us the opportunity to help with things that are small. Will we be up to the challenge?

            Just now, we’re coming up on 10 o’clock this morning. God’s people back in New Minden are gathering for the service, which will begin in just a few minutes. They’ll be meeting in the school basement. They will probably be there for a while. They’ll be outside their normal sanctuary for a while and without their organ, bell and steeple for even longer. But they’ll see that they are still the church as verse two of our hymn proclaimed:

We are God’s house of living stones, built for His own habitation.

He through baptismal grace us owns—heirs of His wondrous salvation.

Were we but two His name to tell, Yet He would deign with us to dwell.

With all His grace and His favor

             May God give us the same perspective. Let’s just hope He does it without sending us a tornado. Amen. 

“When I am Weak, then I am Strong” a sermon on 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

You all know how this kids song goes—or at least I hope you do. Say it along with me:

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do

The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are His handy work too

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do—for you!

            Like so many of the songs we learned in Sunday school, this song shares the wonderful and profound truth of who our God is and how He works. God is strong and mighty and He acts for you! That’s good news! That’s the good news that we hear in our text this morning.

            We have nothing we can bring to the table; nothing we can boast about, nothing that we do that makes God happy. All we have is His grace! All that matters is what God thinks of us! How do we know what God thinks of us? Look no further than the cross and see Jesus dying for you. That’s grace. Look at the altar and see His gift for you—broken and poured out for you. It’s His forgiveness given in bread and wine. You don’t deserve God’s kindness, but God forgives you fully and freely because Jesus died in your place.

Paul sets himself up as a really interesting example of the way grace works. He mentions two strange things that have happened in his life—but only mentions them in passing because he wants to get on to the point.

            First he talks about getting swept up into paradise. We’d love to know more about this, but Paul is intentionally vague about every detail! He doesn’t even care if it was a vision or if it actually happened. Apparently he heard some awesome stuff, but doesn’t talk about that either.

            Now that would be something to boast about! That would be worth telling people about! Wouldn’t it? Apparently not for Paul. In Philippians 3:8 he said this:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish [dung], in order that I may gain Christ.

            Paul knows Jesus, Jesus knows Paul. What more is there? What can be better? If anything, Paul is going to boast about his weakness. With visions, miracles, speaking in tongues, and seeing Jesus alive, it would be easy to be conceited—who wouldn’t? So Paul says that to keep him from being conceited he received a thorn in his flesh. We don’t know exactly what this is. It could have been a physical disability, temptation, or something else. Again, Paul doesn’t give us the specifics because he’s trying to get to his point.

            Paul is going to boast in all sorts of weaknesses because they show that the power, the driving force, behind everything that he does isn’t himself. The power is coming from God. The great revelations and thorns don’t actually matter. Paul knows Jesus, Jesus knows Paul. You know Jesus, Jesus knows you. Jesus gives you his grace and that is enough. 

            God always has worked by giving His grace to the weak: Need a nation started? Who would you pick? People like our founding fathers would be a good choice—they were the some of the smartest people of that generation. But God chooses an elderly couple with no children and promises to make them the parents of more children than the stars of the sky.

Need to kill a giant? Who would you pick? I would at least want someone with a little military experience. God chooses a kid with five rocks, a sling, and an unshakeable confidence in the LORD’s power to slay the mighty warrior. It turns out those five rocks were four more than David actually needed to kill Goliath.

Need a place to bring the savior into the world? Where would you pick? I would have chosen a nice palace with a soft bed. God chooses first the womb of a virgin, then a manger to bring His Son into the world.

            Need to start the church? Who would you pick? You probably wouldn’t pick a group of ordinary fishermen, tax collectors and zealots but go instead for the wise and learned. But look who Jesus picked!

            Need to bring your message to the world? Who would you pick? It probably wouldn’t be someone who hated you and your message—someone who wanted to arrest your followers and approved of their death. But that was Paul himself! God choose him to prove that it was all His grace and none of Paul’s action.

            We should see a pattern here. Age doesn’t matter to God. Human strength doesn’t matter. Economic status and education don’t amount to much either. God does all these things to show that His grace and power are enough for us. Don’t think that God can’t still use you. God does His best work when people are weak—when they have nothing but His grace.

            For the greatest example of God working through weakness, we need look no further than the cross. Jesus didn’t come in His power and glory to defeat sin and death with a public display of His power. Instead He worked through the worst possible type of weakness to save us all from death and sin. There was no greater sign of weakness than the cross. A crucified person can’t do anything. All their dignity was stripped away with the cloths from their back. Jesus died in horrible pain and agony.

            But that’s where God’s Son went for you. He became the weakest thing in the entire world in order to save you. God used what was weak to show His strength. And He showed His strength three days later when He raised Jesus from the dead! By doing this, God has shown that our sins are forgiven and we have everlasting life.

            Looking through the lens of the cross and empty tomb, things get turned upside down. The weakness and foolishness of the cross becomes God’s strength and wisdom. 

            This is really hard for us to see for two reasons. We’re either so used to relying on our own strength, we don’t think we need God, or we have so little strength, we don’t think God can work through us. Both are wrong.

            We Americans pride ourselves in being able to control our own destiny. We call ourselves self made people. Hard work and determination are good things, but as we’ve already seen, God doesn’t take that into account when He thinks about you. Compared to God; your strength is weakness, your wisdom is folly, and your life is but a handbreadth. But God in His grace gives you strength for your weakness, the wisdom of Christ for your folly, and life for your death.

            Some of us have seen our self made worlds collapse around us. Eventually they all will! Maybe it came with a cancer diagnosis, maybe it came with the loss of something or someone near and dear, or maybe it came with just getting older. No matter the way this realization came into your life, you now see that you can’t do it on your own. This is where we should be in order to hear about God’s grace and receive good news. The problem comes when that good news goes in one ear and out the other because we are so caught up in our despair that we can’t hear—we can’t listen. When this happens to you, listen again. Hear that God works through weakness. God helps those who cannot help themselves. God gives joy in weakness because He gives grace and that’s enough. We have forgiveness and because we have forgiveness we have life.  

            On the morning of March 31, as I was headed down to Warrensburg for my surgery, I remember praying something like this, “God, you can’t let me die.” (Remember at that point we didn’t actually know how bad the cancer was) “God, you can’t let me die. There’s too much going on at church. We’ve started so much; I want to see it happen.”

            I see now that this wasn’t the best thing to pray. (But He listened and spared me anyway.) God is certainly capable of doing all things without me! He hasn’t spared me because He needs me. He hasn’t healed me because of the things I’ve done or the things we’re going to do. He is God, I am not. His healing has been a complete gift. Compared with God’s grace, what does anything else matter for me? I know Jesus, Jesus knows me.

            What we see, even in our own congregation, is that the Church of God is not sustained by human power, wisdom, or strength. Instead Christ’s Church is supported, run, and grown by God’s grace and mercy alone. If anything our effort, pride, and boasting get in the way at best and are destructive at worst.

            Yes, I will join Paul, I will even boast in my cancer! Why? When I am weak, then I am strong. Because:

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do

The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are His handy work too

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do—for you!

Amen. 

"Sleeping" A Sermon on Mark 5:21-43

“Sleeping?”

In the Name of Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, dear fellow redeemed, 

            You know the darkness that into in this text. Here we see Jesus reaching into two of the darkest, most terrifying places we can be. On the one hand, we have Jairus and his wife, parents with a sick child and on the other, a woman with a chronic disease.

            Parents, you know how this is. Even if the illness isn’t necessarily serious (but especially if it is) you feel completely powerless when your kids are sick and nothing is helping. You would move heaven and earth to help your kid but you simply can’t. Watching your child suffer can actually feel worse than suffering yourself.

            For kids, being sick can also be scary. For those of us who are grown up, remember what it was like to be sick as a kid. You don’t know what’s going on. All you know is that you’re feeling bad and it’s a little scary—or a lot scary. No doubt that’s how this little girl must have felt as well in what was perhaps days leading up to her death.

            Many of you also know about the woman’s situation. Here she’s been bleeding for years. She’s tried doctor after doctor and not a single one of them have actually been able to help. If anything things have just gotten worse for her. Besides getting worse, she was now broke.

Two thousand years, and not much has changed! We still have people who go from doctor to doctor and can’t get any relief. And of course, medical bills pile up and the person is left drowning in pain, sorrow, and debt.

With such a diverse group of people in our reading today, we should be able to identify with them. We have also felt the effects of our own sin in our lives. We all sin and we’re all going to die. Every sickness, every pain, every bill from the doctor is a reminder that death is coming for us. It’s coming for everyone, no matter our differences, because we all have sinned.

            And just look how different these two people are! Jairus is the ruler of the synagogue—in our congregation we’d call in an elder. She, by virtue of her bleeding, is unclean according to the law. He is settled in the home with a family, she is an outcast who has lost everything.

            But, two things draw them together. They are utterly helpless. Jairus can do nothing to save his daughter. This woman can do nothing to stop the bleeding and she’s tried everything.

But both of them are drawn together by one thing—even more than their helplessness. They are drawn together by faith in Christ. Both of them, when they finally meet Jesus can do nothing but fall at His feet and beg for mercy. Mercy that He is willing and ready to give.

When our world is shattered let us remember that these two things also draw us together. We are utterly helpless. We can do nothing to save ourselves from this dying world. We must also fall at Jesus’ feet like Jairus and this bleeding woman and find mercy in Him.

This Jesus has come to this broken world to put everything right. His miracles show just a glimpse of what the last day is going to be like when all sin and death are put away.

            Did you notice how Jesus completely disregards everything that anyone has to say about death in this reading? Jairus begs Jesus to come and heal his daughter who is near death, but is delayed by the bleeding woman.

            Look at verse 35. Mark captures the vividness and the quick pace of Jesus’ work. While He’s still speaking words of comfort to the woman, He’s interrupted by those who bring the bad news—Jairus’s daughter is dead—his entire world just collapsed around him. What good will it do bother Jesus anymore?

            Jesus overhears what they whisper in Jairus’ ear and complete ignores them. He doesn’t even give Jairus a chance to doubt or say anything but responds with these beautiful words, “Do no fear, only believe.” He leaves everyone else there except the parents and three disciples, and begins His assault on death.

             Have you noticed that Jesus had the worst funeral etiquette in the history of the world? He always says or does the wrong thing. Three times in the gospels, we hear about Jesus raising the dead. Each times He does things that are absolutely inappropriate.

            The first time this happened was in Luke 7 where Jesus goes to a town called Nain. There they met a procession—a widowed mother going out to bury her only son. It was a sad day indeed.

            What do you do when a funeral procession goes by? You stand on the side of the road, take off your cap, put your hand over your heart and pay your respects to the deceased. But not Jesus. Jesus stops the whole horrible procession in its tracks, touches the bier and says, “Young man, I say to you arise.” If anyone else did this, he’d probably get arrested! But of course, since its Jesus, the dead guys, gets up, starts talking, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

            The same thing happens when Lazarus dies in John 11. This time Jesus doesn’t even make it to the funeral, but shows up late! Lazarus has been dead for four days by the time Jesus gets there. Jesus makes a startling request—open the tomb! Who would demand that? Martha objects because now Lazarus stinks—not to mention the indignity of unearthing a corpse!

            But Jesus knows what He’s doing. He calls out, “Lazarus, come out.” Of course, the dead guy comes out and is restored to life. In John 12 we hear about the dinner that Martha served for Jesus and Lazarus—the world’s first “welcome back from the dead” party. There is no etiquette for parties like this. Do you “unread” the will and give everything back to the guy who died? Do you give back the memorial money? Would you ask the newspaper to print a retraction for the obituary? Do you ask for a refund from the undertaker? Jesus shatters the rituals and etiquette we have surrounding death.

Look at what Jesus does here. As was their custom, people are weeping and wailing. He walks in the door and says, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” The laugh at Him because, “silly Jesus, we know better!” Jesus kicks them out. (In fact the word is the same word used when Jesus casts out demons.)

He goes into the room with the disciples and parents. Jesus takes her by the hand. Mark gives us the actual Aramaic words that Jesus used, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “little girl, get up!” And she does!

So what would happen if Jesus would come to one of our funerals here? If He came to the visitation I don’t think He’d wait in line to view the body and greet the family. He wouldn’t exchange the pleasantries we use, “Oh, he had a good life,” “She’s in a better place.” Those are the things we say to take the edge off of death.

No, instead Jesus would cut to the front of the line. Comfort the family, with a sentence or two, throw open the casket, grab the corpse by the hand and raise it from the dead! The whole reason for gathering in sadness and fear would be gone!

Here’s the beautiful truth, the Son of God, the Author of Life, cannot stand to see death win. He can’t watch idly by as people hurt and struggle with pain and sickness as they slip towards the grave. He has to do something. He has to break in. He has to help.

That’s just what He’s done. The Son of God has come to be with us. His arrival marked the beginning of God’s reign here on earth and the beginning of the end for death. By raising this little girl from the dead, Jesus showed that He had power over death and the grave—even before He Himself would die.

By His death, He has taken the sting of death away from you. He has gone to the grave, where we must go and has defeated it—bringing not only life but forgiveness and restoration.

That’s what Jesus gave to this family. You have to love these little details that Mark throws in as he’s telling you about Jesus. Here he ends the reading by saying, “[Jesus] told them to give her something to eat.” Why? Certainly seeing her eat would prove that she was not only alive again, but also that she was no longer sick. Remember that Jesus also asked for something to eat to prove to His disciples that He had risen from the dead.

There’s another reason. For this family, life could go back to normal. They wouldn’t have a single meal with their daughter’s empty place at the table. Jesus had restored her completely.

That is what Jesus does and promises to do for our families. He restores what sin breaks. Where there is sin, He brings forgiveness. Where there is despair He brings hope. Where there is death He brings resurrection.

Walk through our cemetery and you will find a number of tomb stones which read, “Asleep in Jesus” or in German “Hier ruht in Gott” (which means “here rests in God”). Sleep is truly one of the most beautiful ways to talk about death. If you are asleep in Jesus, then what happens to you? You’re going to wake up, just like the little girl did.

Jesus takes the most terrifying thing that will ever happen to us and talks about it like it’s just an afternoon nap. He can do that because He’s been there. We’re with Him and He’s going to bring us through it. Actually, by virtue of your baptism and faith, you’ve already made the transition from death to life!

This little girl was dead for just a very short time—maybe less than a few hours. We’re just going to have to wait a little longer before Jesus comes to our dead body to call us from the sleep of death to live with Him forever. Amen. 

The Twelve Days of Chemo

"A joyful heart is good medicine." Proverbs 17:22

It's going to be a long Summer, and it will certainly be dominated by chemo. I've decided to do something to commemorate each treatment and have a little fun with it. There will be twelve treatments, so I tried to think of groups of twelve. Sure, Jesus had twelve disciples and there were twelve tribes of Israel (all sons of Jacob, if I may remind you). Those would work, but then I had a better idea. Here it is:

On the first day of chemo, my oncologist prescribed for me

A pair of apple trees 

On Wednesday, May 13, the day after my fist chemo treatment, Dad and my brother Daniel helped me plant this pair of apple trees. You can see them on either side of us. There's also a peach tree in the foreground. Planting these trees was one of the most encouraging things I've done since being diagnosed with cancer. For me it is putting hope in action. I'm not going anywhere. There's a lot of fruit (of all sorts) left to be born in Emma.

 On the second day of chemo, my oncologist prescribed for me 

Two turtle doves

Aren't they cute? You can make just about anything from candy wrappers. (Second chemo treatment was May 26)

On the third day of chemo, my oncologist prescribed for me

Three French hens

(They almost certainly surrendered.)

 My third chemo treatment was June 9th.

On the fourth day of chemo, my oncologist prescribed for me

Four calling birds fans

Yes, Mike, Marilee, Hannah and I are all fans of the birds--the Red Birds that is!

 Chemo number four was on June 23rd

On the fifth day of chemo, my oncologist prescribed for me

Five golden rings 

That's right, five pairs of rings for today. Julia's parents: Mike and Marilee Wehrenberg (top left), My parents: Tim and Dawn Mueller (top right), My brother and sister-in-law: Paul and Jessie Mueller (bottom right), Julia's brother and sister-in-law: Mitch and Shelby Wehrenberg (bottom left) and Julia and I (center)

Chemo number five was supposed to be on July 7th, but was delayed until July 14th due to my low platelet count.

On the sixth day of chemo, my oncologist prescribed for me 

Six guys a laying

Laying bricks that is, which you can clearly see in our hands. Here I am with five other members of our South Africa Mission Team. We'll be traveling to South Africa next June to build a house for people affected by HIV/AIDS. We might not know what to do with them now, but we will soon! Team members pictured are (from left to right) Roger Flandermeyer, Joe Blackburn, John Frerking, myself, Katlin Murray, and Tim Mehl.

 Chemo number six was on July 28th

Chemo treatment number seven was delayed due to a low platelet count.

On the seventh day of chemo, my oncologist prescribed for me

Seven Schwans a swimming 

These seven "Ancient Grain Crusted Cod" from Schwans take one final swim.

  Chemo number seven was on August 18th

On the eighth day of chemo my oncologist prescribed for me

Eight maids a milking

Michael Hemme (a dairy farmer at Holy Cross) snapped this picture of a bunch of their cows milking. There has got to be at least seven cows behind this one.

     Chemo number eight was on September 1

On the ninth day of chemo my oncologist prescribed for me

Nine ladies dancing 

Here are nine ladies from St. Paul's Lutheran Elementary, Concordia, MO doing the "Whip and Neigh Neigh"

   Chemo number nine was September 22 (there was a one week delay)

On the tenth day of chemo my oncologist prescribed for me

Ten lords a leaping 

"A Christian is a free lord, subject to none" --Martin Luther
8th graders from St. Paul Concordia, once again

   Chemo number ten was on October 6, had there been no delays, this would have been the day of my last chemo treatment

On the eleventh day of chemo my oncologist prescribed for me

Eleven pipers pipping 

Amazingly, this is the only one that cost me any money. It was $13 to get pipe from the hardware store.

   Chemo number eleven was on October 20

On the twelfth day of chemo my oncologist prescribed for me

Twelve drummers drumming 

More like 12 percussionists, but you get the idea. It was the closest I could get to 12 drums. Thanks again to the St. Paul 8th grade class!

 
  Chemo number twelve, the final one, was on November 10

I'm done!

“The Vine and the Branches”

Sermon on John 15:1-8 for Confirmation Sunday, May 3, 2015

In the Name of Jesus, the True Vine, dear fellow redeemed—especially Logan, Chelsea, and Micah

Unless you’ve grown grapes or spent time around a vineyard or winery, calling Jesus the Vine, doesn’t quite seem to work. When some of us think of vines, we think of something that grows off of the branches. We think of something that Tarzan might swing on as he travels from tree to tree.

That’s not the kind of vine Jesus is talking about today. Jesus was thinking about grape vines. On that plant, the vine is the trunk or stalk of the plant. Jesus is like the vine. Each one of us is like a branch coming off of that trunk. It is the branches, not the trunk that bear fruit. And so, Jesus has called us to be the branches. “I am the vine; you are the branches.”

Followers of Jesus, the branches, do two things, they hear His Words and they bear fruit. We’ll look at these two things this morning. 

The branch was looking especially droopy on Monday evening when I took this picture.

            First, let’s talk about bearing fruit. Take a look at this branch. I cut it off a tree in our back yard just last night. Look at what’s happening to it already. The leaves are withering. The sap is bleeding out end. It looks like the branch is dying—actually it’s already dead.

            This branch is from a maple tree. Even though the fruit this tree produces is those wonderful little helicopters, this branch will never produce fruit again. So what should I do to this branch? I’m going to do exactly what Jesus says we do with branches like this. I’ll throw it on a pile of dead branches, let it finish drying and burn it.

            That’s what Jesus says happens to those who don’t bear fruit! There is a stiff warning! Remain in Jesus because without Him, everything you do will amount to exactly nothing! Jesus would say in another place, “What good will it do a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”

            Sometimes it feels like we’ve become that branch—broken and seemingly separated from Jesus. However, if you’re worried about this, chances are pretty good that you haven’t been thrown away. Those who are separated from Christ don’t care about it.

            Jesus says another thing is happening in our times of trouble. He says, “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

            Pruning is necessary for trees. We have to trim some branches off of the trees in our yards or orchards. If we didn’t do that, some branches would die, rot, or cause trouble for the other branches on the tree. Look at a tree after a professional tree trimmer gets through with it. You might be mad because it mike look like there are no branches left!

            God doesn’t lop off parts of our body to prune us. (Okay, sometimes He does—you could say I have a pruned colon.) Just like it is painful for a tree to be pruned, sometimes God leads us through painful times.

            Why would God do such a thing? If He’s really a loving God, why would He let anything bad happen in the first place? Jesus gives us the answer here. God is “pruning” us so that we bear even more fruit then before. God has a goal and a purpose with all of our suffering: bear fruit.

            Just so we’re clear, when God calls you to bear fruit, He’s not calling you to plant a bunch of fruit trees and harvest the fruit. Instead He’s clearly defines the fruit that we should bear. He does this in the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

            Really you could sum all of those fruits up with just one word—love. In your questioning on Friday night, you guys said that love is the summary of the commandments. Loving God is the summary of the first three. Loving your neighbor is the summary of the last seven.

            So when God brings us to and through difficult situations in our lives, He’s calling us to be loving to people around us, to share the joy we have in Christ and peace we have in His forgiveness. He’s calling us to be patient and wait for His deliverance. He calls us to be good to each other, faithful to each other, gentle to each other, and to control ourselves and put other people first.

            If we feel like we are being “pruned” that does not mean that we’ve been cut off and thrown away. It actually means the exact opposite. It means that God is trying to make us more fruitful—more loving to Him and to others.

            This isn’t easy to do when things are going well, much less when things are difficult. But that’s where the second thing comes in. Jesus’ followers—that’s us—listen to Jesus’ words. 

No matter the liturgical color, this is always the symbol on the pulpit. It's actually a metal piece that gets screwed to a bracket on the pulpit. Holy Cross is the only church I've ever seen where you need a wrench to change the altar cloths!

Down below me on the pulpit there’s an interesting symbol. Even if you’ve been going to church here for years, you might not have taken a good look at it. At first glance it looks like a chicken sitting on top of a really scrawny bush. That’s not what it is. It’s actually a nice visual of what Jesus is telling us in our reading today.

We have clearly defined trunk to this vine or tree. We’ve got branches connected to the vine. Look and you will see that the branches are bearing fruit—so far, so good! But we still haven’t gotten to the bird.

            When we think of a bird in the world of Christian symbolism, the first thing we think of is the Holy Spirit, who took the form of a bird at Jesus’ baptism. That’s why we have the bird looking thing hanging over the baptismal fount.

            The Holy Spirit is there, perched on the tree because the fruit we’ve talked about is the fruit “of the Spirit.” Notice this image is attached to the pulpit. This is to remind you that your ability to bear fruit comes from hearing Jesus’ words.  

            Think about it. A branch doesn’t have life because it bears fruit. We don’t get connected to the vine because we bear fruit. It’s opposite. We bear fruit because we are connected the vine and receive life from Him. Jesus says that this life comes from hearing His words. He says, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”

            Jesus’ Words have given you life. He takes dead branches and grafts them in. He takes you and me, sinners though we are and fills you with life. This life comes from His death and resurrection for you. That’s what His word is all about. You remember the verse you used to describe the purpose of the Bible, John 20:31 “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that by believing you may have life in His name.” You have life in His name because He died and rose for you.

He says to you, “Your sins are forgiven.” From the cross He says, “It is finished”—that’s all His work for you, in your place. The benefits of His death and resurrection—forgiveness, life, and salvation—have come to you through His word. He not only speaks this word to you but pours it over you in the water of baptism and puts it in your hands and on your tongue in the Lord’s Supper.

            God has been filling you with His words just like a branch is filled with nutrients from the vine.

            Jesus calls Himself the “true vine” He does this because there are so many other “vines” that want you to plug in and find their identity in them. This could be anything that desires you to fear, love, or trust in it more than you trust in the Lord Jesus—the desire for acceptance through sports, good looks, money, relationships or friends. Plug into these vines and all the things you do will amount to nothing—or at least nothing good.

            As is our tradition, each of you has chosen a confirmation verse. Like every other verse of scripture, these Words from Jesus keep you connected to Him. They are to remain in your mind for the rest of your lives.

Chelsea, your verse fits really well: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” This is exactly what Jesus is saying in our text. Apart from Him, all that we do amounts to absolutely nothing. But with Christ, the Vine, strengthening you, you can do all things.

Now keep in mind that when Paul wrote these words he wasn’t thinking about hitting a home run or sinking a three point shot. He tells us in other places in Philippians that he is in Rome, in prison, and expects to die soon. Yet Paul knew that there was still fruit to bear. He could do it because Jesus was strengthening him. Chelsea, no matter what you go through Jesus will strengthen you so that you bear fruit.

Micah, your verse is similar: Isaiah 40:31 “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

In the chapters leading up to Isaiah 40, we read about the Assyrian invasion of Judah. Were it not for a miracle from the LORD, God’s people would have been wiped off the face of the earth. Then, Isaiah foretells that the people will go into exile in Babylon. The rest of the book, starting with this chapter is encouragement for the people of Israel not to give up. They will be pruned, but it is only so that they bear more fruit. Micah, our prayer for you is that no matter what trouble comes your way, that Jesus the Vine would give you the strength to thrive in the midst of it.

Finally Logan, your verse is a wonderful description of the confidence we have in Christ: Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” Nahum is one of the Minor Prophets. The book is directed at the city of Nineveh. It’s gloom and doom because God is about to destroy them.

This is good news for God’s people. Nineveh, you see, was the capital of the Assyrian Empire which had caused so much trouble for God’s people in Judah. The enemy would be destroyed, but God has this wonderful promise for His people. The LORD is good. He’s going to protect you because He knows you. He knows you.

God knows you because you have been connected to Him in baptism. Our prayer for you is that you would continue to take refuge in Him no matter what trouble comes your way.

As we’ve seen, this passage is not just a command to bear fruit. It is a reminded that we belong to Christ. Logan, Chelsea, and Micah—you have belonged to Christ since the day you were baptized and even before. Remember that you belong to Him. Though He may prune you, He gives you the strength to bear the fruit of love in a hungry world. May God bless you as you do just that.

Amen.