John 8:34-36

“Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin…So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’” vss. 34, 36

Martin Luther was deeply aware of his own sin! Every day he battled to get the upper hand and be free of this hideous slavery. He used every tool that the Church provided, praying regularly, daily confessing his sins, and even abusing his body with penitential acts. But nothing worked–and he remained addicted to sin! And then, as he continued to study and teach, the Holy Spirit intervened, a great truth began to emerge from the pages of scripture, and he had his “come to Jesus” realization, i.e. it’s the Son who makes us free from sin, and not our own understanding or effort! That insight paved the way for the 95 Theses, the Small Catechism, and every other blessing of the Reformation. And it’s that great Truth that gives us real freedom even now! Like Luther, and every other human, we too are sin addicts and on our own we can do nothing about it. The harder we try, the worse it gets! But when we confess our powerlessness and surrender our precious will, the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness and will fill our lives with the fruits of righteousness. Will we still sin? Of course, Luther certainly did! But like him we learn to sin boldly, trusting that the Spirit can even use sinners to bring love, joy, and peace to our hurting world.

Thought for the Day: How is my goodness tinged by sin?

John 8:31-33

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’” vss. 31-32

Jesus was a Jew, his disciples were Jews, and nearly all the people with whom he had contact were Jews–initially, many of those persons were interested in what he had to say. Some  believed in him–but it seems to have been a kind of dalliance, and not a lasting commitment. (It was similar to the kind of belief that many of us possessed on our Confirmation Day.) When Jesus talked about the life of discipleship those believing Jews were offended, and what really rankled them was his promise to make them free. He was implying that they were in bondage–and they heartily disagreed. Many of us have that same issue. We’ve been told that we are free by virtue of our citizenship–we can do what we want when we want–we’re freeborn Americans, and God help anyone who would try to take that freedom away! And Jesus, through John, tells us the truth. We’re not as free as we think we are–in fact, he says, we’re nothing but slaves. What we call freedom is illusory. We really worship amendments, politicians, wealth, pleasure, and individualism above all else, and have made nationalism a religion. Jesus says that true freedom is continuing in his word and serving him as Lord.

Thought for the Day: How would I describe my slavery? When am I most free?

Romans 3:24-28

“For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” vs. 28

Martin Luther spent decades trying to gain assurance of salvation by bringing his stubborn, subversive flesh into line with the works of the law. Since he couldn’t do it he was forever wracked with guilt, and greatly damaged his health in the process. But when in the course of studying the book of Romans he realized that justification was by faith through grace, a light went on for him, and his life changed. Now most of us aren’t weighed down by individual sins in the way that Luther was–and that’s okay–that sort of obsession isn’t helpful, and it misses the sins we should be concerned about. But those sins, the systemic ones, can really get to us! We regularly see the horrible consequences of corporate greed and manipulation and our hearts are pained–and because on some level we’re involved, we can end up carrying horrible burdens of guilt. Some are so troubled by that shared existential guilt they experience daily despair–they find it hard to be joyful in a world so full of suffering. It’s here we can learn from Luther. Even though we can’t make the world right no matter how hard we try, we can experience forgiveness. In Christ our guilt is lifted and we can have peace and even know joy. And then, as Spirit-filled forgiven persons we can even begin to change the systems that cause our world such pain!

Thought for the Day: How does systemic repentance happen?

Romans 3:19-23

“For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” vss.22b-23

Most of us have been raised with an individualistic notion of sin. So when Paul says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God we tend to agree. Yes, there have been many times in our lives when we have done the wrong thing–and our consolation is that everyone else has too. We’re all in the same boat. Individually, we have all messed up! But there’s something bigger than this going on here. Jesus spent his time with sinners, but he generally never calls people out for their individual sins. That’s because he understood sin as a corporate issue, a cancer that infects all of humanity, and that seems to be what Paul is getting at too. Sin is bigger than our individual screw-ups, it’s a great dark cloud, almost like a desert sandstorm, that covers and taints every single one of us. It sifts into our daily lives and touches us even when we’re doing wonderful, loving things–and there’s no way to escape it. But what’s really hard to accept is that, because of the nature of sin, there’s a systemic culpability that includes even the best of us. And even though we might claim to be innocent bystanders, and that we’re not responsible for the sins of the body, our guilt remains. In fact, it’s those corporate sins that are the true offense to God’s holiness, and not the silly individual things we spend our lives obsessing about.

Thought for the Day: What does systemic culpability mean?

Psalm 46:6-11

“The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” vss. 6-7

We don’t know exactly when the psalmist composed this hymn, but we can guess from what is said that it must have been a time of considerable unrest, perhaps in its way not too different from what we’re experiencing. We can certainly resonate with his description of nations being in an uproar, with some of them tottering. Wars and rumors of wars seem to dominate the international landscape–and then there’s the melting earth! Our country has just experienced its hottest summer ever–in Arizona we’ve set records in nearly every category. And there’s really no end in sight–perhaps a melting earth is not just hyperbole! Our difficulty is that solutions to our heating issue will require global cooperation, and that doesn’t seem to be a possibility in this politically charged atmosphere. Of course we can do some things as individuals–and we should do them–but chances are our world is going to get even hotter in the near future. For the psalmist it was a comfort to know that God was present as a refuge, and so it is for us. No matter how much we screw up our environment God continues to be our support and our salvation. As the Spirit works in and through the nations we will find the will to cooperate in beautiful and healing ways, and maybe even save the planet!

Thought for the Day: What will it take for the nations to cooperate?

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” vs. 1

In the 1520’s as Martin Luther was facing increased resistance to his reformation writings and the forces of the Empire were poised to eliminate the fledgling Lutheran movement, he found great comfort in the words of Psalm 46. In fact it became the inspiration for his greatest song, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” a tune sometimes called “The Battle Hymn of the Reformation.” Written about 1527 it expresses his deep confidence that, even though the ancient foe of humanity was alive and well, God was stronger still, and would ultimately win the battle against sin and evil. Our situation is not nearly so fraught with danger as was his–we’re not facing the possibility of arrest and execution and COVID-19 is not to be compared with the Black Death–but still we are fearful and anxious! We worry about our children and grandchildren, and some days a dismal kind of malaise hangs over us like a dark cloud. Like Luther we need the assurance that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Obviously, the psalmist knew those feelings too, and offers words of comfort that continue to resonate with our troubled souls. Political forces are seeking to divide us, and there’s a deep reservoir of anger and hatred feeding our most primitive instincts, but we are not alone. Christ Jesus is on our side, and in him we have permanent peace.

Thought for the Day: Why is it so hard to feel the peace of God?

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.” vs. 32

Jeremiah compares the covenant between the Lord and the House of Israel to a marriage, one established by the Lord when their ancestors came out of Egypt. This covenant, sealed by the promises made at Sinai, had been broken, and now according to the terms of that covenant, the Lord, as husband, has the right to divorce Israel. In our time the parties to a marriage covenant still have that right. So when there is unfaithfulness, it’s not unusual for those who have made promises, to choose the divorce option–it’s justifiable even in the court of public opinion. Jeremiah tells us that in Israel’s case the Lord did not choose divorce–but instead established a new covenant, one based not on obedience, but on forgiveness. Anyone who has ever experienced unfaithfulness in marriage, or any other covenant relationship, knows how extraordinary and how difficult that choice to forgive can be. There are few among us who could pull it off! But that’s what happens in our relationship with God again and again. Even when we break our promises to be faithful, God, out of a deep and abiding love, continues to shower blessings in our lives with no strings attached…and that love actually changes us!

Thought for the Day: How likely would I be to forgive unfaithfulness?

Matthew 22:18-22

“They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’” vs. 21

Initially it must have looked to the Pharisees and Herodians as though Jesus had wiggled out of their trap with an inoffensive and innocuous response. And we’re inclined to agree. But it’s the kind of answer that starts gnawing at us if we think long enough–and soon we’re asking questions ourselves. Just what does belong to the emperor? And what really belongs to God? And then it hits us, “Wait a minute, everything belongs to God! And if everything belongs to God what remains for the emperor? And more importantly, what remains for us?” Followers of Jesus have wrestled with this problem for centuries. We’ve been molded by capitalist thinking to believe that all of our stuff belongs to us–we earned it and it’s ours. Admittedly the emperor tries to take it away from us, but a good tax lawyer or financial advisor can limit our losses, and most of us still have more than we need. But if Jesus is right and it all belongs to God, is all that excess really ours to keep? Maybe we’re only stewards and not owners–and maybe it would be better if we shared it with those who have never landed on Park Place or Broadway in the game of life! Instead of hanging to our stuff for dear life, maybe we’d be more joyful if we became generous givers–kind of like God is!

Thought for the Day: What keeps me from giving away my stuff?

Matthew 22:15-22

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” vs. 

The question the Pharisees asked Jesus is exactly like those heard frequently in presidential debates. It was straight forward, pointed, and called for either a “yes” or a “no” answer–and it was a trap! For Jesus to have answered it would have been folly, so like a skillful politician he evades the question. Most of the issues that we’re  facing as a society are like that. There are massive challenges in education, climate change, healthcare, environment, economy, public safety and international relations, and addressing those problems will require decades of bi-partisan cooperation and mutual sacrifice. There are no easy answers. One thing we do know: the increasing divisiveness, the hoarding of guns and ammunition, the incessant political bickering and name-calling, does not bode well for satisfactory solutions to any of our societal problems! What can followers of Jesus do then? Well of course we will vote–withdrawal from the system benefits no one–but the most important thing we can do is to continue to love one another as fully as we can, and not just those who agree with us politically! We may not be able to change things at a macro scale, but on the micro level, among our friends and neighbors, both blue and red, our caring and helping will make an amazing difference. In the long run, that may be exactly what our world needs most of all.

Thought for the Day: Why aren’t there simple solutions to complex problems?