Pious Lutheran

Today marks the first day of that holy season we call Lent. The word Lent simply means Spring. You know that season when the sun is hotter, the snow melts, and the buds begin to break. That season when everything's made new and has a fresh start. So Lent in the church is all about having that Springlike beginning in our lives as well. Lent is about beginning anew, by changing earthy, physical behaviors to focus on Christ, so that most importantly our hearts might be set on Christ as well. Lent is all about refocusing on Christ. Our Lord declares: “ Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” So often we hear those words and the only part of it we hear is: “rend not your garments.” Likewise with the Gospel, Jesus says: “ Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ” But all we hear Jesus...

“ As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ” Have you ever met and gotten to know a blind person? Not just someone who can’t see very well, but someone who is completely blind, can’t see a thing, their eyes don’t work. I’ve only gotten to know a few folks who’re blind.  One such gentleman I met at seminary: Greg. Such a kind and intelligent man, with a very difficult disability. Simply getting around on our small campus was a challenge for him. Even after a few months of memorizing the layout and creating a mental map of the campus, he would still occasionally get turned around and lost.  You’d see Greg out wandering in the grass or the parking lot calling out for help. So you’d go out to him, “Hi Greg, this is John, can I help you get somewhere?” You’d explain to him where he is and where he’s trying to go, then you’d take him by the arm and lead him there.  In a way, you and I are not unlike Greg wandering in a parking lot o...

“ A Sower went out to sow His seed. ” And as Jesus says: “ The seed is the Word of God. ” What a beautiful picture this is of our Lord sowing the seed of His Word across the world. Spreading it far and wide! And what a strange picture it is as well, almost to the point of absurdity, because it’s so wasteful!  Today’s agricultural industry is so mathematically and scientifically precise. Today we’re good at calculating our return on investments, only spending precisely what we need to in order to get the best possible yield per acre. Thus, we would never plant the roads and the ditches, the rock piles and the windbreaks, it would be a waste of money! You wouldn’t get anything out of it! But that’s not how God operates. He wouldn’t make a good capitalist, because his business practices are crazy! Last week we heard Him pay all of his employees the same wages, even the ones who came in the last hour and didn’t work. Today we hear Him sowing seed on bad soil which will never produ...

Many of us have been Christians for a very long time. Probably most of us in this room were Christians from birth and perhaps even members at this particular congregation for years or even decades, a lifetime maybe! So many of us have put in years of work and volunteering, we’ve put in a great deal of effort and time, maybe even a lot of money. So it can feel as though we deserve something, a payment or reward, for all that we’ve done.  You’re not alone in that temptation, afterall St. Peter and the other apostles felt similarly. The context for our Gospel today is Peter asking Jesus on behalf of the twelve, “ See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? ” In response to that question, Jesus says that “ everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. ” He also goes on to say that “ many who are first will be last, and the last firs...

Today we don’t really get the concept of holiness and purity. In a way, we even look down on those who desire to be holy, we call them puritans or prudish, we call them bible thumpers or holier than thou pharisees. Rather we prefer to be a little rough around the edges, we romanticize the badboy like Mad Max, we celebrate the wildwest cowboy or pirate who drinks too much, shoots people, and is always running from the law. As a result of that we end up with supposed pastors melting down purity rings into erotic statues. This is what our culture has devolved into, in which we despise purity and rejoice in unholiness.  But I think we still at least a little bit understand the value of purity. For instance, if I were to bake you a batch of cookies and after you’ve eaten a couple I tell you that they’re a little impure, not a lot but just a little bit, you would be a little concerned, right? What if I told you that they’re 99% flour, sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda, and chocolate ch...