Those Who Annoy

In Luke 10, a lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus's answer is a summary of the Ten Commandments:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.  Luke 10:27.

But the lawyer wants to justify himself, so he asks Jesus to clarify, "And who is my neighbor?"

Those two ideas - the command to love others and the desire to justify oneself - they've been on my mind lately.

As people, we annoy each other...a lot.  At least, that's my experience.  

Sometimes I say to myself, "Why is this person doing this?  It's just making life harder for me, for him, for everyone."
  

When another person is at fault and annoying me, I start to vent.  I justify to myself that, in this circumstance, it's okay to express hate for my neighbor, my fellow Christian, even my family member.


Then it happens.  Either through God's Word or with the help of a Christian brother, I realize what I'm doing, and I'm convicted of my sin.

At first, I feel relief in knowing and facing my sin.

Then, I remember the cross, and I'm grateful that my sins are forgiven.

Finally, my own sinfulness gives me a new love for my neighbor.

Confession, the cross, forgiveness, and love.

But this "loving your neighbor" - it's not easy to continue to love an annoying "neighbor" or to remember to do so.

The apostle John always convicts me:

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  1 John 4:20

How can I love God, whom I can't see, if I don't love my fellow man, who is sinful and in need, just like me?

And whomever God puts in my life, even and especially an annoying person - that person is the neighbor, or the brother, whom I'm commanded to love and to serve.   

I realize - I can't do it.  No matter how hard I try, sooner or later, most likely sooner, I'm going to fail.   

But Jesus could and did love in this manner.  

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:17

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.                    1 John 4:10

Jesus came, not to condemn, but to show us His love, and to live and die for us.  

Loving one another, loving my neighbor, my brother - it's only possible when I face my own sin and know God's love and His forgiveness for me.

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:11

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32
 

Thankful to be a Beggar

Christmas decorations have been in stores since October, and I keep hearing, "Has everyone forgotten Thanksgiving?"

The truth is...

We're a consumer society, but Thanksgiving isn't a commercial holiday.  

And the origins of Thanksgiving relate to food and the harvest.  But we're far removed from relying on a local field to produce what we eat. 

Martin Luther said that, before God, we're all beggars.

And God provides well and abundantly for us beggars.

Remember the adage "Money doesn't grow on trees."  

God is so good, that our food does grow on trees!

The one thing that food needs to grow on those trees, and the thing that our bodies need to survive...water...well, it falls from the sky!

And when I think of water, like a good Lutheran, I think of baptism. 

God's provision for me, for my body and my soul, it's nothing less than miraculous.   

Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.  Psalm 85:11

But, I'm used to His provision; I expect it.  And I forget...I forget His goodness.  I take it for granted.

In Acts, Paul preached one Sabbath and then:

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath.  Acts 13:42

The people begged for Paul to preach to them.  If I were to be judged by that standard, I wouldn't fair too well.  I don't beg to hear God's Word.

"Give us this day, our daily bread."  That's a prayer for God to provide us with all we need.  God is the great giver.

"You shall have no other Gods before me."  That's a command to look to God for everything and to be thankful to Him.

Those two together, the prayer and the command, they remind me that I'm a beggar before God.  I'm a beggar for all my physical needs - food, clothing, family, everything.  I'm also a beggar for my spiritual needs - my salvation, His Word, prayer.  It's all a gift from Him. 

Since He's the One who provides, my only response, my only act is to be thankful to Him.   

But I don't need decorations in the store to be thankful.  I just need to remember - when I take in food, and when I take in His Word - I need to remember to give thanks.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  Psalm 34:8

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Psalm 81:10b

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!  Psalm 118:1

Happy Birthday, Marine!

The Marine Corps was established on November 10th, 1775, making the Corps now 243 years old.  

And the Marine Corps' Birthday is a big deal!

On that day, Marines greet each other with "Happy Birthday, Marine."

While in the Marine Corps, I remember attending two or three cake cutting ceremonies per year.  And the Birthday Ball was an annual, must- attend event. 

November 10th was and is a day to celebrate and be happy to be a Marine.

But I didn't enter the Naval Academy with the intention of becoming a Marine.  My decision to "Go Corps" was based on intellect, not enthusiasm.  Even as I was contemplating and making that decision, I was uncertain if I would fit-in. 

I remember the day, in the winter of 1984, when my Naval Academy class had service selection.  That evening, by class rank, we went to a specified room and made our choice.  When my turn came, I chose Marine Corps.

From there, I went to a reception area for future Marines, and I went with apprehension.

As I walked into the room, the first person I saw was Major Hobson.  Major Hobson was a JAG officer, and he'd taught my Military Law class the previous semester.  

Major Hobson had no idea that I would choose Marines.  And I still remember his greeting, the smile on his face.  He was surprised and delighted to see me!  Didn't matter that I wasn't a gung-ho Marine from birth. 

When I walked into that room and he greeted me, I felt welcomed; I felt a part of the Corps.  From that moment on, I never looked back.  I thank Major Hobson that my initial reception and welcome to the Marine Corps was so positive.  No regrets!



Happy Birthday, Major Hobson.  And thanks!  You taught me something valuable that day about leadership, serving, and loving others.

Semper Fi.

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.  Romans 15:7

Reading Isaiah with Luther

I thought Reading Isaiah with Luther by Pastor Brian Kachelmeier would be about Isaiah's prophetic writings.  But I was wrong.

Recall Martin Luther's famous statement:

"...for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe."

Reading Isaiah with Luther is about the conscience.

Our conscience is a gift from God.  It filters what we take in, processes it, and then influences us.  And when we're reading God's Word and hearing it preached, we're convicted by His law, we feel guilty and humbled...but then we're refreshed and freed by His gospel. 

Use of book's photo approved by CPH.

I love this book's set-up...

The author introduces a chapter's topic.  He then quotes scripture passages along with large portions of Luther's written views.  And, in a pastorly way, he further clarifies and explains those concepts.


I especially like the chapters in which Pastor Kachelmeier contrasts King Ahaz's conscience and actions with those of King Hezekiah. 

When his kingdom is threatened, King Ahaz hears God's Word, but he isn't comforted by it, he lacks faith, and he falls into idolatry. (Isaiah 7)  But King Hezekiah's conscience is strengthened by God's Word, and he turns to God in prayer. (Isaiah 36-37)

Pastor Kachelmeier deals with these two kings in a way that makes it personal and applicable for me, for my faith and my conscience.

My favorite part of the book is the section on Isaiah's conscience from Isaiah 6, which is a vision of God's throne room.  I've always loved this passage, but Luther's comments give it a whole new meaning.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew...And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"  Isaiah 6:1-2, 5

Isaiah is in God's presence, he knows his own sin, and he confesses.  The passage continues...

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."  Isaiah 6:6-7

After Isaiah confesses his sin, one of the angelic beings, a seraph, applies a coal from the altar to Isaiah's mouth and Isaiah is free; his guilt is gone.

And Luther likens the seraph in Isaiah to the pastor.  The pastor is the one who hears my confession, announces forgiveness of sins, and preaches God's Word.  And then, at Holy Communion, the pastor gives bread and wine to my unclean mouth.  Like the coal from the seraph, this bread and wine are also given for the forgiveness of sins. 

Reading Isaiah with Luther has made me more aware of my conscience and how my conscience is influenced by my own sin and by the culture, and how it needs to be affected by God's Word.  I know that I'll be referring to this book again and again.

But, the book's real value is that it does what every Christian book should aim to do - this book has fueled my interest and desire to read and study Isaiah and to read the Bible even more. 

Thanks, Pastor Kachelmeier.