Daily Archives: January 9, 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 9:28 pm on January 9, 2015  

People Are Mirrors for One Another – Rev. David J. Schreffler

January 9, 2015

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Romans 8:1, 10-11

The expression “in Christ,” as often used by Paul, is explained as follows: “This expression ‘in Christ’ is one of the hinges of the epistles….denoting the intimate vital union through faith between Christ and his people” (The Pulpit Commentary). I was reading a devotion today, and the devotion talked about people. “People are mirrors for one another. When we see something in another person and react to it emotionally, what we see in that person is a reflection of what we know exists within ourselves. There is a lot of truth to the idea that people are mirrors for one another. If we judge someone for being (arrogant), then that is a reflection of the idea that maybe we know we are full of arrogance too. However, if you see beauty in another, it is a reflection of your beauty too.”

As Lutheran Christians we understand that to be “In Christ” is to experience a mutual in-dwelling. In other words, we seek to have Christ in us, and at the same time to be in Christ. To have Christ in us is to take into our bodies, minds and spirits the true essence of Christ. We take Christ into our eyes and minds by reading the Word. We take Christ into our bodies through the sacrament of Holy Communion. We take Christ into our ears through hearing the Word preached. When we have Christ in us, then we look to live lives that are grounded in Christ. And to live “In Christ” means that we see in every person we encounter the image of Christ. When we can see Christ in another, then we know that we have Christ in us.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 8:40 pm on January 9, 2015  

“The Buried Life” – Rev. David J. Schreffler

January 10, 2015

“I feel a nameless sadness o’er me roll.
Yes, yes, we know that we can jest,
We know, we know that we can smile;
But there‘s a something in this breast,
To which thy light words bring no rest,
Ah, well for us, if even we,
Even for a moment, can get free
Our heart, and have our lips unchain’d;
For that which seals them hath been deep-ordain’d!”

“The Buried Life” by Matthew Arnold, 1822 – 1888

“Your lives are busy, useful, honest; but your faces are anxious and you are not all you want to be. There is within you another life, a buried life, which does not get free. In old days it got free through old forms of religion, and then men had peace and were not afraid of anybody or anything. We cannot go back to the old forms…Many therefore have given up religion altogether and carry about a buried life. It is buried but it is not dead. When it really hears G*d’s voice it will rise. Will you come (to church) and give yourself even ten minutes? It may be that as you listen to the silence, to the music, or to the worship of others, G*d will speak and that the buried life will arise and that you will have peace.” {Samuel Augustus Barnett (1844 – 1913) “For All The Saints” Volume I}

Many today want to bury religion because it is too “judgmental”, too “universalistic”, too “pious”, too “out of touch”, or too “whatever they can see that they feel is wrong with religion”. In response then they have buried lives – lives where they can find no sense of comfort, of peace, of stability, of assurance, or of value. As Christians we should find value and peace and comfort in the fact that G*d knew us and loved us before the foundations of the earth were set. Our value comes in being “children of G*d”. Therefore let us not live buried lives – instead let us live into the resurrection of Jesus, who lifts us up and offers us life.

Pastor Dave