Bloghardt's Reflector

St. Matthew 28:18-19 - “Something about Baptism”
Higher Things Retreat 2011
Zion Ev. Lutheran Church, McHenry, IL
Nov. 11, 2011
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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. You can’t learn everything about Baptism in a weekend.  You can’t learn everything about Baptism in your whole life.  But, in a weekend, you can learn “Something about Baptism.”

Probably good to start at the beginning:  your Lord Jesus.  He lived the life that you should live perfectly before God.  Every commandment, He kept.  Every law, He fulfilled.  For you, each one, checking them off as if you had done them.

Then, for you, for your salvation, Jesus paid the penalty and took the punishment for all your sins.  All the wraith and anger that God could have for you, Jesus bore on the Cross.  And after three days, this same Jesus who died for you rose again from the dead.

That is salvation’s achievement - Jesus’s holy life and bitter sufferings and death.  To make that salvation yours and deliver it to you, Jesus sends His eleven disciples after His resurrection to deliver His salvation to you.   

He comes to them - they don’t meet Him.  He sets the place - on a mountain.  Mountains are where God does business.  He gave the Law on a mountain.  Tonight, we hear that He’s sending His men to deliver His salvation to you and me.

“All authority on Heaven and earth has been given to me.”  He says.  The authority of the Father comes to Him as a gift.  Then, He uses it not for Himself.  No,  He uses this power to save you and me.

St. Matthew 6:24-34 - Trinity 15 - 2011
Zion Ev. Lutheran Church
Oct. 1-2, 2010 
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In the name of Jesus. Amen.   Beloved in the Lord, in Christ Jesus you are a child of God, heaven is yours, even if you have lost everything.  No matter what else seems true about you, right now today yours is the kingdom of God.

Don’t worry.  Don’t fret.  Don’t fear.  Don’t worry about what you will eat.  Don’t fret about what you will drink.  Don’t be concerned about you wear.  Don’t worry about what will happen to you.  

When our eyes are lifted toward the heavens wondering what bad thing might happen to us next, He directs us to His gifts – down to earth and every day – look at the birds of the air… consider the lilies of the field.

Don’t worry, the Father loves you in the cross of Christ.  Don’t be afraid, He has not abandoned you.  Don’t be uneasy or nervous, for the Son of God has taken upon Himself all that you have ever done and He has died in your place.   

St. Luke 17:11-19 - Trinity 14 - 2011
Zion Ev. Lutheran Church
September 25, 2011 
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In the name of Jesus. Amen.   Happy Thanksgiving!  Yes, Thanksgiving.  This is the Gospel for Thanksgiving Day.  Obviously!  It’s all about thankfulness!  Who could miss that!

Well, the other nine lepers missed it.  The crowd, the disciples, they probably missed it too.  You and me?  We’ll get to that in a bit.  

“Jesus, Master, Have mercy on us!”  The Lord Jesus had come to the ten lepers.  Sinners don’t come to God, He comes to sinners.  

They called out to him from a distance.  Ten Lepers.  Unclean. Outcasts.  Their lives filled with death and their bodies living pictures of the decay of our sinful world.  

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, the Cross, salvation, eternal life - for all.   For all means for them, for you, and even for me!  Happy Thanksgiving!

St. Luke 10:23-37 - Trinity 13 - 2011
Zion Ev. Lutheran Church
Sept. 17-18, 2011
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In the Name of Jesus.  The Law of God was never given so that you and I could justify ourselves.  God spoke His laws and threats and thunderings to men so that, at a minimum, men would fear to run wild and butcher each other; and even now and then do a little  of good for the next man in need.  

But Sinai shook and burned and scared Israel out of her wits, to make her plead with Moses to go up in their place to speak with God!  God laid down the Law, that those who would live would know that they must be all about the true God all the time and treat their neighbors as well as they treat themselves—so that men would beg God to speak something else to them, something different, some other message other than more threats.

Adore the mercy of our Father in heaven.  He did not only SPEAK a different message to us—different from the Old Covenant, the contract you had to fulfill or die - “Do this and live!”  No, He MADE HIMSELF totally different, by making the mystery of the un-containable Son of God contained in the One born of Mary, and sending heaven’s chief herald to tell the world, “Fear not!”

St. Mark 7:31-37 – Trinity 12 – 2011
Zion Ev. Lutheran Church
Sept. 10-11, 2011
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In the name of Jesus. Amen. “Ephphatha! Be opened!” What a great Gospel word! Ephphatha. Say it with me: Eph-pha-tha.

Ephphatha. Be opened. He opened the ears of the deaf man. He loosed his tongue. His speech impediment left. 

Ever try to say the word “impediment” a few times? It’s not easy!  I’ve messed it up while reading in church one year. The teenagers laughed. This guy could speak plainly after Jesus ephphatha-d his mouth and tongue.  No speech impediment!  

Jesus didn’t do it for the attention either! He took the guy away from the crowd, away from the TV cameras, and the paparazzi. 

He put his fingers in the deaf man’s ears. He threw them in there – that’s the word in Greek! Right into the guy’s ear holes! 

Then, He invaded the man’s personal space. He spit and touched the man’s tongue. The Lord spit. You know. Spit out of his mouth. 

He then looked up to heaven, groaned, and said the Aramaic word, “Ephphatha.”

Imperative. Command. He divine wet-willy-ed the man’s ears and mouth, and then the Lord commanded the universe to change for this man. 

Christ has done the same to you too. Really. No cameras, probably. No press. He invaded your personal space and rocked your world. He touched you, marked your forehead, touched your heart. 

And back in the day, in the Baptismal Rite, the pastor would put his fingers into the ears of the candidate for baptism and say, “Ephphatha. Be opened.”

Fingers in ears. Water dripping down your forehead. Ears opened to hear God’s Word. Tongue loosed to sing His praise. 

Christ’s holy and perfect life lived for you. His bitter suffering and death ransoms you from your sins. 

At that font, in that water, you were saved. Your universe was changed. Your sins forgiven. Eternal life received – given in the water and God’s name which marked you as a child of God.

St. Matthew 25:1 - Last Sunday in the Church Year - 2011
Zion Ev. Lutheran Church
November 19-20, 2011
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In the name of Jesus. Amen.  Dear Wise Virgins!  Here you are again!  Thanks be to God you are here.  Here to fill your lamps again with oil!

Isn’t this where we started last year?  Then, your new pastor had just gotten here.  First sermon.  My life was in boxes and the Midwest had taken my Southern voice.   

Now, my life is still in boxes that are day by day being unpacked.  We’ll check at the end of the Late Service whether I have a voice or not.   

Lots has changed since last year.  There’s more folks here coming to fill there lamps with oil every week.  Twenty-nine new members! There is such an excitement around the Lord’s gifts.  

And one not so fun change:  They say I’m not allowed to pray for snow anymore.  I’d vote against it at today’s voter’s meeting if I could.  Snow is the coolest ... or coldest thing about being here!

Yes, here we are again gathered together hearing the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

And like the Ten Virgins, we are waiting.  Waiting for our Lord Jesus to show up.  The translation says kindly, “he was delayed.”  But, it’s good to check the Greek: it could be translated, “He took His time.”

“He took His time.”   In the ancient world, weddings were planned and thrown by the men.  Yeah, that couldn’t go wrong at all, could it?  

So, the Bridegroom in this parable took His time. The whole thing was on His time, not theirs.  He would appear when He would appear.  Everything is about Him.  He is, afterall, the Lord.  No wedding party without Him.

Ten Virgins are waiting for Him.  Probably something like a beauty contest.  Winner take all - take Him.  

Five Virgins figured they had enough.  It’s not like the Bridegroom was going to be much longer. No need to bring extra oil.  And you can’t hide a flask of oil.  It doesn’t fit in a sheik purse.  It would look just foolish to have oil if the paparazzi took their picture! 

The other Five Virgins looked so foolish lugging the extra oil around.  Everyone who is anyone knows that they had enough oil in their lamps!  Why do they have to have more?  Really. I mean, really, who is going to keep all ten virgins waiting?

The hours passed and still no Bridegroom.  Then, all the virgins fell asleep.  Then midnight there was a cry, “Here is the Bridegroom!  Come out to meet Him!”  Then, all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.