April 4, 2016

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

G-d established a relationship with Abraham known as a covenant. Later this covenant would be extended to all of the Israelites as they gathered at the foot of Mt. Sinai. The covenant promised G-d’s leadership and support, but also asked the people to trust and to obey. The Law, the Ten Commandments were a part of this covenant, which asked the people for a response to living under this covenant.

The Ten Commandments do hold a particular place in the Christian’s understanding of a relationship with G-d. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. A good question to ask today is how the Ten Commandments impact the lives of Christians today? Some feel that the commandments are integral to a Christian’s life, and the breaking of these commandments is a huge deal. Another may say they are too restrictive and really are only a sure guide for the Christian life today.

We are going to take some time to revisit the Ten Commandments for the next two weeks, including looking at what Martin Luther had to say in both the Small and Large Catechism. Luther wrote the Small Catechism because he found the faith understanding among both pastors and lay people to be deplorable. We are not in such drastic times today, but if we do not continue to return to the basics of our teachings, we can find our faith understanding from a Lutheran perspective to be less-than what it should be. And that, to me, is deplorable.

Pastor Dave

April 3, 2016

25 So the other disciples told (Thomas who was not present at the first appearance of the risen Lord), “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Thomas is accused of being a doubter. Unfair? Probably, but this is the lasting image that many have of Thomas. He did not believe the other disciples when they said they had seen the Lord, and as such, he is accused of being a doubter – of lacking faith.

Now if we doubt, and we voice that doubt, is it fair that others may accuse us of being “doubters”? I think it is unfair, because, from my perspective, questioning leads to more understanding, not less. I will admit, I have wondered why it seemed so difficult for Thomas to believe. After all, he had the testimony of all the other disciples — wasn’t that good enough for him? But over time the doubt and disbelief of Thomas made more and more sense to me, because his doubt became my doubt.

Over time my questions have shifted. Rather than wonder why Thomas struggled to believe, I wondered why Jesus seemed to answer him so harshly. After all, Thomas only asks for what the other disciples had already received. Have you ever noticed that? After Jesus greets them, he shows them his hand and his sides. Why? To prove that he wasn’t a ghost or apparition or someone who merely looked like Jesus — rather that the one who had been nailed to the cross and pierced in the side was the same one who now stood in front of them, raised from the dead. And so Thomas asks for the same thing. So why the rebuke from Jesus? Maybe, just maybe, our gospel writer is holding up Thomas as an example of how even the most skeptical and hardened realist can come to faith. For after hearing Jesus’ invitation to faith, Thomas makes the great confession of John’s Gospel, calling him not just “my Lord” but also “my God.” Again, his questioning leads to more understanding.

My friends, ask the questions that are on your mind as you read the bible and as you encounter your faith. Do not be afraid to be seen as a “questioner” or as a “doubter”. I worry about the ones who have no questions more than I worry about the ones who have the courage to ask the questions probably everyone has on their minds — but not everyone is willing to dare to ask.

Pastor Dave