Monthly Archives: October 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 25, 2015
Tags: , ,   

You Are Free — Rev. David J. Schreffler

image

October 25, 2015, Reformation Sunday

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:31 – 36

“If we are ever to enter fully into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, we are going to have to spend more time thinking about freedom than we do. The church, by and large, has had a poor record of encouraging freedom. She has spent so much time inculcating in us the fear of making mistakes that she had made us like ill-taught piano students; we play our songs, but we never really hear them, because our main concern is not to make music, but to avoid some flub that will get us in dutch. She has been so afraid we will lose sight of the laws of our nature, that she made us care more about how we look than about who we are; made us act more like the subjects of a police state than fellow citizens of the saints.

It is essential that you see this clearly. The Apostle is saying that you, and Paul, and I have been sprung. Right now; not next week, or at the end of the world. And unconditionally, with no probation officer to report to. But that means that we have finally come face to face with the one question we have always thought we were aching to hear but that we now realize we have scrupulously ducked every time it got within a mile of us. What would you do with freedom if you had it? Only now it is posed to you not in the subjunctive but in the indicative: You are free. What do you plan to do?” (from Robert Capon in Between Noon and Three.)

You are free. You are free now. Today. Yes one day we will be free from pain, death, loss, suffering, etc., but there are ways that we can look at and live into our freedom right now. The first thing we should do is identify the ways that we are held hostage – by our jobs, by our wants You Are and needs, by our desires, and so on. We are just as capable of living holy lives as butchers, bakers and computer makers as we are if we all go to seminary. So if we are free, we need to live in that manner.

But we also need to remember who makes us free – Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ makes us free right now – free to love, to serve, to hate, to judge – it is an unprecedented freedom, but it is a spiritual freedom. So what will you do with your spiritual freedom today – and how will you be an instrument of freedom to someone you meet?

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on October 24, 2015
Tags:   

With All Your Might — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image

October 24, 2015

But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” Ecclesiastes 9:4-5, 10

“When I first began working in the small office I now rent, the only inhabitants were a few mopey flies. Several of them had gone the way of all flesh, and their bodies littered the floor and windowsills. I disposed of all but one, which I left in plain sight. That fly carcass reminds me to live each day well. Death is an excellent reminder of life, and life is a gift. Solomon said, “Anyone who is among the living has hope” (Eccl. 9:4). Life on earth gives us the chance to influence and enjoy the world around us. We can eat and drink happily and relish our relationships (vv. 7,9).

Gladness & purpose can be found by relying on God’s strength.  We can also enjoy our work. Solomon advised, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (v. 10). Whatever our vocation or job or role in life, we can still do things that matter, and do them well. We can encourage people, pray, and express love with sincerity each day. The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “Time and chance happen to them all. . . . No one knows when their hour will come” (vv. 11-12). It’s impossible to know when our lives on earth will end, but gladness and purpose can be found in this day by relying on God’s strength and depending on Jesus’ promise of eternal life (John 6:47).” (Our Daily Bread, September 21, 2105, A Fly’s Reminder)

I think there are two things that we need to remind ourselves of each and every day. The first is to remind ourselves of our mortality. It is easy to slip into the time warp that is “living life”. We wake up, we do our work, we go to bed, we wake up, and we do it all again. When we get into the avalanche that are the day-to-day routines, we get swept away and find it difficult to hit the pause button. But before we begin each day, we can kneel in prayer to thank G*d for another day to do G*d’s will, for as it says in Ecclesiastes, “Anyone who is among the living has hope.”

The second is to remind ourselves that no matter what it is we do with our lives, we should do it to our very best. We should put our “all in all” in our daily work, or as Ecclesiastes says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Martin Luther believed that to be a faithful Christian, there was no need to become a priest or a nun — that everyone could be a faithful Christian in whatever endeavor they were employed.

Take time today to remind yourself of your mortality, to thank G*d for every day, and to work with all of your strength and might in whatever tasks you take on today.

Pastor Dave