Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Sunday, 30, January 2005
Micah 6:1-8
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Matthew 5:1-12
Psalm 1
Childrens sermon: Heidi described Jesus as a "special imaginary friend." Hopefully she learned to do better sermons after this one.
Sermon (Eberhart):
(Cites 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). "But God chose." That is not a complete sentence. It bothers Frank when he cannot form a complete sentence. "But God chose you." Saying Amen during a sermon spontaneously is okay for Baptists, but Lutherans don't do that too much. To a Lutheran, an Amen means the end. What does the statement mean, "But God chose"?
A certain version of the bible was published with errors in it. Typos in the bible said, "Thou shalt commit adultery," "the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom," "go sin on some more," and "let the children be killed."
While those are typos, "God chose you" is no typo.
A Lutheran preacher was assigned to do a graveside service. The country parish gave him bad directions and he was late. He saw workers digging in a hole, and all the people gone, but he did the service anyway, with the workers being the attendants at the funeral. But not too long afterwards, he discovered he had just done a funeral service for a septic tank.
We are saved. The Holy Spirit has created faith in our hearts. God says we are forgiven. We are chosen and saved. God delivered the Israelites so they could be deliverers, in the most desperate moments, to help others in their desperate lives.
Some of us are the "frozen chosen." We say we are saved, and then get in a stupor and won't do anything. We were called to uplift, but we act like we're frozen. What shall I do with my salvation? When we ask that, we aren't frozen. Kurt Vonnigut wrote an essay entitled, "Why are Christians so insistent on having scripture in public places?" He was talking about the ten commandments. "Are we more concerned about having the ten commandments in the courthouse than actually carrying them out? Why do you never see the beatitudes posted?" The ten commandments show us what you shouldn't do. These are things we look at and say, "we haven't broken them." But there are positive commandments as well. These are things that we should be doing. You shall build up, praise God for others gifts. It would be great to see "blessed are the merciful" over a judge's bench. It would be wonderful to see "blessed are the pure in heart" on a plaque in the senate. Or at a war desk, to see a plaque reading "blessed are the peacemakers." Or at some other bureau of the government "blessed are the meek." Vonnegut questions the frozen chosen. "What shall I do?" By grave you are saved. The bible with typos in it also had this quote in it-"blessed are the placemakers." Those who know they have a place in heaven and make a place for God in their hearts and a place for others in their lives, the kingdom is inside you, around you, and is to come.