Tag Archives: Jesus

G*d’s Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, Messiah, Savior

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on August 3, 2015
Tags: , , Jesus   

Vessels For G*d — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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August 3, 2015

“This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”   Amos 7:7-15 (NRSV)

“If we’re really honest with ourselves…When the truth hurts, we deny, deflect, and defend ourselves. Like a bug hiding from the light, we scurry to find the safety of dark corners so we can hide from the change to which we are being called. But even the darkness is as light to our Lord Jesus who followed us to the very depths of death itself that we might yet be freed to walk in the light.”
(Krista Vingelis, Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church of Porterville, Calif.)

Let me tell you my friends, I pray every day, every day that G*d might give me the wisdom and the insight about what G*d would want us to do in this or that scenario. And often I feel like our friend the prophet Amos, who knows that he is just a vessel for G*d — and that unpopular topics can result in unpopular sermons — and yet, like Amos, pastors are just regular Joes and Janes, called by G*d, trying to hear the voice of G*d through a cacophony of voices ranting opinions, claiming to “know G*d’s mind”, views of political correctness, and secular humanism. And still I am trying to decide, in this place, in this world, in this community:

Is G*d dropping a line to say “enough is enough”?

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or,
Is G*d once again trying to tell us or remind us how G*d decides to draw a line in the sand?

As a Lutheran, I believe that the word of G*d is a living, breathing word that speaks to us through all times and places, and can help us see what G*d is doing in an ever-changing world. We Lutherans struggle through such issues, reading G*d’s word and remaining engaged in the conversation praying that the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us so that we might get a glimpse of the lines in the sand that G*d is drawing. But it will not be easy, nor will it be immediate. It might even be painful, because change is never easy, especially when we think we have a grip on life, the universe and everything, and then G*d decides to challenge us. That is exactly what G*d did to first century Judaism in the person of Jesus Christ. And then the Holy Spirit came to embolden a rag tag group of disciples who risked life and limb to spread the word about Jesus. Why should we believe that G*d wouldn’t do that to us today — send the Spirit to us to help us each achieve a new life in Christ. Just like Christ came to change our understanding of how G*d works in the world, this same word still points us to a G*d who is still surprising us, still teaching us, and still leading us to new possibilities.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on August 2, 2015
Tags: Jesus,   

Bread That Feeds the World — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

 

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August 2, 2015
Sunday

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

“The bread that comes down out of the heaven” is not an analogy between manna (God’s provision via Moses) and the feeding story (God’s provision via Jesus), but an analogy between manna and Jesus himself. At this point, they are looking at Jesus as the new and improved Moses. Like Moses, they see Jesus as one who can feed them as Moses once fed their fathers. Like an improved Moses, they see Jesus’ bread as an “always” kind of provision, not just a 40-years-in-the-wilderness provision.
Jesus is the bread that comes down from heaven, but instead of merely feeding “our fathers in the wilderness,” he is nurture for the cosmos and – drawing from the previous verses – instead of a 40 year provision his bread is into the ages.

Jesus continues this thought throughout John’s 6th chapter: “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’” “Bread That Does Not Spoil” (“leftbehindandlovingit” web site)

Jesus is not only the “bread that comes down from heaven”, he is the bread that feeds us to live the kingdom life. Jesus is trying to get the people to change from thinking of bread as “bread”, and instead to thinking of his body (in terms of his ministry) as the bread that everyone needs to live. Bread will feed you today — his bread will bring you eternal life. But how do you get people who are chronically hungry to think of bread in this way? Those who are hungry now, want bread to fill their stomachs now. So, in giving the people bread now, will they be able to see how his teachings, his love, his mercy and his grace will lead to a life that not only feeds the body but also feeds the spirit as well? They will make the connection if they continue to follow, to listen and to learn — from watching us following, listening, and serving all people in the name of Jesus.

We look to Jesus to feed us words that help us make sense of this world right now. But if we stay on the journey with Jesus, if we continue to listen to his teachings, and to study his words, we will receive the words that lead to eternal life — and live a life of love and service along the way.

Pastor Dave