Jesus Guarantees the Results

In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, ^ he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.^ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ^and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Today’s text leaves us shaking our heads again saying, “Peter, Peter…how could you be so dense?”  Jesus says, “Go out into deep water, let down the nets for a catch.”  Jesus doesn’t say, “See if you can catch anything.  I’ve got a good feeling about this spot.”  He says, “You are going to catch something out there.”  And Peter says, “Well, I’ll do it, because you say so, but, um, Jesus, no offense or anything, we’re professional fishermen, we’ve been at work all night, and we haven’t caught anything.”  And then Peter is shocked, shocked to discover that his nets are so full that they start to break and nearly capsize the boats.

And we say, “How?”  It was Peter’s brother, and co-worker, Andrew, who brought Peter to Jesus, saying, We’ve found the Messiah. For a short time after that, Peter, along with Andrew, James, John, Philip, and Nathanael, followed Jesus around.  They weren’t yet full time apostles; that came later.  But in this time with Jesus, they saw something amazing.  Peter was at Cana when Jesus told some house servants to fill stone jars with water, water that became wine.  And between that wedding reception and this stunning catch of fish, Jesus performs other miracles.  We don’t know how many Peter saw, because we don’t know when he returned to fishing.  But Luke says this. ^Jesus…went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ^So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. ^When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

Peter has seen and heard incredible things from Jesus.  So much so, in fact, that it would be fair to say that the words of Jesus are guarantees and Peter knows that.  Jesus guarantees results.  If Jesus speaks, it’s as good as done.  Yet Peter had a hard time grasping that.  By the end of this fishing trip, Peter understands why:  I’m a sinful man. On this day, and every other, Peter missed the mark.  Peter failed.  He could not grasp this truth about Jesus perfectly.  So much was this the case, that Peter says to Jesus, Go away from me! Peter can’t abide to be near Jesus, because His perfection casts Peter’s imperfection in such a brutal light.

And it does the same for us. 

The Cross and the Catechism – Lent/Easter at St. Mark

Lent wasn’t always mainly about commemorating the Passion of our Lord.  It began as the last dash to confirmation for those preparing for Baptism.  In later years, when Christianity became the dominant religion and there were less adult converts, the focus of Lent shifted to the Passion of Christ.

This year, we blend those themes.  Our Lent, Holy Week, and Easter services will review the Passion and Easter accounts, but also show how Luther’s Small Catechism leads inevitably to the cross of Christ!

Midweek services are on Wednesdays, 6:30 pm.  Suppers precede all services (beginning at 5:30 pm) until Holy Week.

February 17 – Ash Wednesday (Lord’s Supper): The Ministry of the Keys and Confession – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

February 24 – Midweek 1: The Ten Commandments, The First Table – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

March 3 – Midweek 2 (Lord’s Supper): The Ten Commandments, The Second Table – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

March 10 – Midweek 3: The Lord’s Prayer, Part 1 – Pr. Nate Bourman (Abiding Faith, Fort Worth)

March 17 – Midweek 4 (Lord’s Supper): The Lord’s Prayer, Part 2 – Pr. Nate Bourman

March 24 – Midweek 5: The Apostles’ Creed, The First Article – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

April 1 – Maundy Thursday (Lord’s Supper): The Sacrament of Holy Communion – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

April 2 – Good Friday Tenebrae: The Sacrament of Baptism – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

April 4 – Easter Sunrise Service (7:30 am; B’fast at 8:30 am): The Apostles’ Creed, The Second Article – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

April 4 – Easter Festival Service (10:30 am; Lord’s Supper): The Apostles’ Creed, The Third Article – Pr. Benjamin Tomczak

c. Original sin (in human nature) is not just this entire absence of all good in spiritual, divine things. Original sin is more than the lost image of God in mankind; it is at the same time also a deep, wicked, horrible, fathomless, mysterious, and unspeakable corruption of the entire human nature and all its powers. It is especially a corruption of the soul’s highest, chief powers in the understanding, heart, and will. So now, since the fall, a person inherits an inborn wicked disposition and inward impurity of heart, an evil lust and tendency. We all by disposition and nature inherit from Adam a heart, feeling, and thought that are, according to their highest powers and the light of reason, naturally inclined and disposed directly against God and His chief commandments [Matthew 22:36–40]. Yes, they are hostile toward God, especially in divine and spiritual things [Romans 8:7]. For in other respects, regarding natural, outward things that are subject to reason, a person still has power, ability, and to a certain degree understanding—although very much weakened. All of this, however, has been so infected and contaminated by original sin that it is of no use before God [Romans 8:8].

– The Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article I: Original Sin, paragraphs 11-12 (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, Readers’ Edition)

Jesus Brings You Back from the Edge

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Can you imagine what happened in Nazareth happening at your doctor’s office?  Your doctor says, “There’s nothing else we can do for you.”  Then you grab him by the arm, drag him out of his office and throw him in front of a bus.  No matter how angry you are by the news the doctor gives, your response is not to kill him.

Yet that’s where we find Jesus.  For speaking the truth, for preaching the good news about the kingdom of God, for proclaiming God’s law and God’s gospel, a crowd made up of his friends and neighbors is ready to lynch Him.  The kindly grandparents that babysat Him, the families that brought meals when His brothers and sisters were born, the men who ran the lumber yards where He and His father got their wood, their customers, the boyhood chums – these friends, His fellow Nazarenes have dragged Jesus out of church so that they can murder Him.  Because they didn’t like what He said.

Luke places this trip at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  After John baptizes Him, the Spirit leads Him out into the desert for forty days of fasting and temptation.  Jesus emerges triumphant and returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ^He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. Then He decided to head home to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ^ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ^ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ^and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.

So far, so good.  In fact, more than good, spine-tingling.  What an Epiphany moment!  First, the Spirit descends and the Father speaks as John baptizes Him, marking Him as God’s Son.  Then Jesus turns water into wine, demonstrating the divine power dwelling in Him.  Now, Jesus reveals the fulfillment of the prophets.  God anointed and sent Him to bring freedom, sight, release, and favor, to be the Savior!

But, oh, how quickly the tide turns, eh? 

Luther writes in the Large Catechism on the third petition:

“Such prayer, then, is to be our protection and defense now.  It is to repel and put down all that the devil, pope, bishops, tyrants, and heretics can do against our Gospel.  Let them all rage and attempt their utmost and deliberate and resolve how they may suppress and exterminate us, so that their will and counsel may prevail.  Over and against this one or two Christians with this petition alone shall be our wall, against which they shall run and dash themselves to pieces.  We have this comfort and confidence:  the devil’s will and purpose and all our enemies shall and must fail and come to nothing, no matter how proud, secure, and powerful they know themselves to be.  For if their will were not broken and hindered, God’s kingdom could not remain on earth nor His name be hallowed.”

– Large Catechism, Part III: Lord’s Prayer, paragraphs 69-70 (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, A Reader’s Edition).

The pastors, male teachers, and congregational delegates of the South Central District of the Wisconsin Synod meet every January to gather around Word and Sacrament, grow together through study of the Scriptures, and hear reports from various District and Synod level groups and organizations.

This year’s conference was held on January 21-22 at Abiding Word, Houston, TX.

• To read the minutes, go here.
• To read the various reports, go here.
• To read the essays, go here.

As of this posting (January 30, 2010), not all the reports and essays have been posted, but check back in the future for additional postings.

Jesus Ends His Silence

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ^ and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ^ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ^and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

A pregnant pause is that second when everything hangs in the balance.  It’s the eternity between “Will you marry me?” and “Yes.”  It’s the epoch between, “Have you reached a verdict?” and “Not Guilty.”  It’s the eon between an interview and the call that says, “You’re hired”

Usually such pauses are brief.  But the Bible records a thirty year pregnant pause.  What began so dramatically in the manger of Bethlehem when a virgin gave birth, hung in the balance for thirty years.  Shepherds and wise men, Zechariah and Elizabeth, cousin John, not to mention Mary and Joseph, were left waiting…waiting…waiting.  The time had fully come; the Savior has been born…now what?  Except for the briefest of glimpses when He was twelve, we’re left with a thirty-year silence from Jesus.  Now what…?

With His perfect sense of timing, we see what today.  At a wedding in Cana, a newly baptized, tempted-in-the-desert, gathering-disciples-to-Himself Jesus ends His silence.  And with His perfect sense of doing what we might not expect, this pregnant pause ends with a most unlikely miracle.  Jesus doesn’t raise someone from the dead.  He doesn’t stop a storm.  He doesn’t feed thousands of people.  He doesn’t stunningly end sickness.  He saves a couple from embarrassment and provides refreshment where there was none.  Jesus turns water into wine and He ends His silence.  He reveals His glory.  He reveals the One we can believe in.

The sermon delivered at the Christian memorial service for Mitch Strickland.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

^And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ^For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ^And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.  What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ^He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ^ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ^ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ^ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ^ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ^ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ^ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Death is the separation of body and soul.  This corruptible, perishable, and mortal flesh finally fails and falls apart.  It goes into the grave while the soul, that gift from God which separates us from animals, goes to its eternal destiny – heaven or hell – to await the reunification of body and soul at Christ’s return.

Death is also the separation of people from each other.  Death takes a husband from his wife, a father from his son, a son from his mother, a brother from his siblings, an uncle from his nieces and nephews, a friend from his friends.  There are no more talks, no more vacations, no more family events, no more hugs, no more kisses, only photographs and memories and stories.

We hate this separation.  We want our son, our husband, or father, our brother, our uncle, our friend to be on the other end of that phone or email or hug.  We want memories and stories narrarated by Mitch.  But they aren’t.  And they won’t be.  I’m going to propose to you today that this is not the worst separation.  It’s the one we focus on and fear and rage against God about.  But it’s not the worst.  Paul asked, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And he goes on to say, “No one and nothing.”  But that’s not the whole story.

What’s ahead for you in 2010?  What do you think is ahead for your community, the world, your church?

neighborsgo, a local newspaper supplement published in both print and electronic editions by the Dallas Morning News, dedicated a portion of its January 8 edition to a Look Ahead to 2010 by various Dallas-Fort Worth community leaders.

Pastor Tomczak was one of the leaders asked to contribute to the Best Southwest (Duncanville, DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Lancaster) edition.  See his response to questions about challenges and opportunities facing the Church and St. Mark congregation here:  Pastor Hopes for Reformation. (Scroll down about half-way to see Pastor Tomczak’s answers).

Look!  Baptism Reveals Jesus

In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

“I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”  Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ^ I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ^ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

I myself did not know him. Terrifying words.  If John the Baptist, one of the most spiritual men of all time, says, “I would never have recognized Jesus,” what chance do we have?  If John, who recognized the voice of Jesus’ mother in the womb, says this, what hope do we have?  Paul writes, As it is written, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.’ And, The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We have no chance on our own of finding, recognizing, coming to, or discovering Jesus.  No amount of navel gazing will enlighten us.  No amount of communing with nature will grasp God’s grand plan.  No amount of prayer will suddenly cause the scales to fall from our eyes.  No amount of groping will lead us to stumble upon Jesus, because we were like blind men with the elephant.  One of us at the rear might say that an elephant smells bad.  One of us on top of the elephant might say that he’s like our car that won’t start any more.  One of us, grasping the elephant’s trunk, might say that an elephant’s like an out of order phone.

Likewise, we can’t know God on our own.