Sermon for the Festival of the Reformation

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Jesu Juva

“No Fear When God Gives Himself to You”

Text: Revelation 14:6-7; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36; Psalm 46

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

What is the worst thing in this world? What is the worst thing that could happen in this world? What do you fear the most in this world? 

We all have little fears . . . losing a boyfriend or girlfriend, failing a test, messing up at work. And these are our own. But there are bigger fears, too. And these are shared by many.

Like, people losing their minds over next week’s election. Both sides stirring up fear if the wrong candidate gets elected as our next president. 

You’ve also heard the fear that the war in the Middle East, or the war in Ukraine, or an upcoming war for Taiwan might escalate into World War III or a nuclear holocaust. 

We were told to fear Helene and Milton. Storm surge, flooding, tornadoes, devastation. We’ve seen the pictures from the Carolinas and Florida. They’re frightening. It looks very much, in fact, like what Psalm 46 was describing - the earth giving way; mountains moving and the waters roaring and foaming.

We fear crime. We fear losing our jobs, our homes. Buy a generator, stock up on food and water, arm yourself. Fear covid, or the next covid variant, or the next pandemic-causing virus coming down the pike. 

There is certainly no shortage of things to fear in this world. Big things. And I’m sure you could add more things to this list.

But there is something worse than all this. Worse than politics, worse than war, worse than natural disasters, worse than food shortages, worse than disease or nakedness or poverty. It simply does not get worse or more desperate in this life than a person who does not know his Saviour; who does not know that she has a gracious, loving, giving God.

Now maybe you disagree with me about that. I’m a pastor, after all, so I have to say that, right? But maybe I’m right. And maybe that little nagging voice in your head is telling you I’m right. That you’ve been fearing the wrong things. That you’ve been loving the wrong things. That you’ve been trusting the wrong things. Things that are of this world, not of eternity. This world that is passing away. This world that is constantly changing. That’s been your focus instead of the changeless one, the eternal one. And therefore, fear. 

But the reading from Revelation that we heard today is to give us hope. To direct our hearts and minds back to the one who is greater than all; greater than whatever it is you fear. 

Chapter 13 of Revelation, just before our reading for today, describes two beasts, servants of the dragon, satan, unleashing persecution on Christians. I didn’t mention that before; and maybe that is something you fear - persecution. At the beginning of chapter 14, though, we are given a vision of the Church Triumphant. That all who belong to the Lamb, who belong to Jesus, are safe. All of them. Every single one known and counted. Neither the dragon nor his beasts could have them. And never will.

But that’s not us, yet. We’re still here. In the Church Militant. So to us, three angels are sent to announce the defeat of the dragon and his beasts. And the first angel’s message is the one we heard today; a message for all who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And his message is this: Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.

So he says first, fear God. If you are going to fear anyone or anything thing, don’t let it be one of the things that are less than Him! Fear Him! The one who is over all. And second, he says, give Him glory. I think it’s important that those two things are put together and are not separate. Because to fear God is to give Him glory. It is to acknowledge Him as the one above all. The one who holds all things in His hands - not just the present, but the past and the future. There is nothing above Him or equal to Him. Nothing that can overthrow Him. He is the Almighty. Fear Him and give Him glory . . .

Because the hour of His judgment has come.

Now maybe that statement makes you fear! The thought of death and Judgment Day. The thought that I’m going to be on trial! And our guilty consciences fear. I know my sin, and so I know what the judgment against me should be . . . 

But that statement is not meant to make you fear. Because in this context, the judgment is on the dragon, the beasts, and those who follow him. This is a proclamation of good news! That all the evil and wickedness and sin and turmoil that causes us fear will one day end. There is an hour, a time, a day, already chosen. These things may all be greater than us, but they are not greater than our Lord. And as I said a couple of weeks ago, just as satan and his angels were cast down from heaven to the earth, so the day is coming when they will be cast down from the earth into the abyss, once and for all. And the hour for that is coming. It. Will. Be. We may wish it to come sooner - and maybe it will be soon! But that’s not up to us. Our Lord has His time. And it is the right time. 

And we know this because our Lord has already shown us. Satan tried to make his hour and his judgment come, avenging his casting down by casting Jesus into death and the grave. And it worked! . . . for a few hours. But when Jesus rose from death and the tomb was empty, the victory was won. So while it is true, as Paul wrote and as we heard again today, that all have sinned - we have sinned - and fall short of the glory of God, and deserve judgment and casting down ourselves, we will not be. For this is true as well, that we are justified - made right, raised up - by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 

So in Christ Jesus, we need not fear Judgment Day. The Son has set us free. So we are free indeed. Free from fear, from from judgment, free to live. For when you are baptized into Jesus, your Judgment Day happened some 2,000 years ago when Jesus took your sins - all of them - and was judged for them; condemned for them. That’s done. That water, filled with the words and promises of God, washed you clean with His forgiveness, put God’s name on you, and made you His. Your judgment is done. The verdict is in. You are free.

Free now, as the angel in Revelation said, to worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. 

Now, the angel already said to fear God and give Him glory, so to worship Him means something different than that. And it’s not just that God is the Almighty, though He is that. Maybe the clue here is in the words themselves, the creation of heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. For why did God create these? He didn’t need them. They are for you. They are gifts for you. And the highest worship of God is to receive His gifts. To acknowledge Him as the giver, to receive His gifts with joy, and to give thanks for them. For this gives Him joy. How do you feel when someone despises a gift you give them? Not good, right? But when they are filled with joy, so are you.

But let me circle back to the beginning of this sermon . . . if our greatest fear should not be the things of this world and life, but not knowing and having our Saviour, then the greatest gifts of God we receive are not the things of this world and life, but the gifts given here. That’s why this is often called worship, or better, the Divine Service. For here the Divine is serving us. Here God gives us the gifts we need the most: His Word, His forgiveness, His Body and Blood, His life and salvation. The gifts that give eternal life. The gifts that join us to our Saviour and set us free. This is number one.

Now maybe you disagree with me about that. I’m a pastor, after all, so I have to say that, right? But maybe I’m right. And maybe that little nagging voice in your head is telling you I’m right. That you’ve put other things first in your life, and so fear.

Saint Augustine, an early church theologian, preached it this way. He said: God does not merely give us what belongs to Him, rather He gives Himself to us . . . It is one thing for God to sacrifice what is His. It is entirely another for Him to sacrifice Himself for us. . . . You appear to yourself to be rich. Yet if you have not God, what do you have? And a poor man, if he has God, what does he not have?

God gives Himself to us. You know, really, that is what the Reformation was all about. Oh, they didn’t deny that at the time, but it wasn’t the focus. The focus, rather, was about us giving ourselves to God. But have you? Have you enough? Have you well enough? And with those questions, fear.

But God gives Himself to us. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. The answer in Psalm 46 to all that causes us fear in this world, is this, at the end: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. And what helps you when you are afraid? When someone is with you. And especially, someone who can do something about and help you with your fear.

Luther picked up on that, and so wrote his hymn A Mighty Fortress (LSB #656). And so over the years, some folks have thought that he was the angel in the reading from Revelation, proclaiming again this good news. And I will say: he was. But there are also others who thought this angel was Elijah - and I will say: they are right, too. He was. And this angel is Saint Augustine, John the Baptist, and all who preach the Gospel. All who point to Christ crucified and say: There is your judgment. There is your salvation. There is your hope. For there the Son of God has set your free. For He came and was Bound in Death’s Strong Bands (LSB #458) for you, and broke them. He is free, and so you are free.

So let me ask you again . . .

What is the worst thing in this world? What is the worst thing that could happen in this world? What do you fear the most in this world? 

Maybe your answer has changed, like it changed for Luther, who somehow became so bold to stand against both Pope and Emperor. That’s what the Word of God does. It takes away our fear. The Word preached to us, the Word crucified for us, the Word that washes us, and the Word fed to us. And the Word that is coming again for us. And when He does, no fear, just joy. No more death, just life. 

And until that day, you can live in joy and peace. Because A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“Exceedingly Amazing Salvation”

Text: Mark 10:23-31; Hebrews 4:1-16; Psalm 34:3 (Introit)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 

That’s what Jesus tells His disciples as He is watching the rich man we heard about last week walk away from Him. That rich man who, when He had to choose between his great wealth or Jesus, chose his wealth. 

And the disciples were amazed at his words. 

Amazed because, maybe like us, they assume everything is easier when you have wealth. When you don’t have to live paycheck-to-paycheck. When you can sleep in a bed, not a box. When you wear a suit to work, not a hard hat. And easy is good, right? We want easy. We like easy. With our life, and with our faith.

But Jesus doubles down. And says to them again, Children - like they’re children in school, which they are! - Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! And now Jesus doesn’t just limit this to wealth. How difficult it is - period - to enter the kingdom of God.

Which is definitely not a message for today. Definitely not a message that resonates - especially in an age like ours - that is all about making life easier. AI to make my work easier. Self-driving cars to make my commute easier. Pills and drugs to lose weight because it’s easier than diet and exercise. Can you imagine (for you younger ones) that you used to have to get up to change the channel on the TV? Then came to remote control, so you didn’t have to get up. And then when it became too much to have to point that at the TV, there came voice control! And now with smart devices, you can pretty much control your life with your phone. 

Now, none of that is wrong, and you could argue that a lot of that is good, and it probably is. It is simply to point out that difficult is not what we want. Difficult is not how we think. Difficult is not how we roll. That’s why there are more people playing games on their phones than there are Elon Musks doing difficult things.

So, why Jesus? Why make it difficult? Why, if you want everyone to be saved, why not make it easy?

And here’s where I think many churches - and Christians - have followed the thinking of the world. Maybe with good intentions, maybe meaning well. That if we want to save more people, make Christianity, make religion easier. If you can’t get the camel through the eye of the needle, make the eye of the needle bigger! Easier to get through. 

So if coming to church every week is too inconvenient, that’s okay. Just come when you can. Or even just watch from home - with your voice controlled remote! Catechesis? Make that shorter and simpler. And the Law? Well, things are different now. So don’t talk about sin, talk about preferences. Don’t talk about repentance, talk about tolerance. Don’t talk about forgiveness, talk about acceptance. Let everyone come to the altar. And how about this, see if this doesn’t sound familiar, or how you are tempted to think . . .  that it’s easier to ask forgiveness than to resist the temptation. It’s easier to keep silent than to speak. 

And easy is incremental, you know. Big thieves usually start out as little thieves. Big sins usually start out as little sins. Hurricanes start out as tropical depressions. Little exceptions turn into big problems.

The truth is, though, Jesus doesn’t make things hard - we do. The rich man’s wealth was a good gift from God - he’s the one who made it into an idol. Your gifts and abilities are good gifts from God; your marriage, your job, your family, your friends, your faith - all good gifts from God. We’re the ones who mess them up, looking for easier, looking for better . . . and suddenly things are very hard. And maybe we blame others, maybe we blame God for making things so hard. I wonder what that rich man was muttering under his breath as he was walking away from Jesus . . . ? 

And then the disciples were exceedingly astonished. And said the quiet part out loud: Then who can be saved? 

And Jesus looked at them and said, “With man - for you - it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Now, don’t just hear that as a general statement, that there’s nothing God can’t do - true as that is. But can you think of another time when someone was astonished and a statement like this was made? Can you think of something that is even harder or more impossible to do than get a camel through the eye of a needle? How about a virgin having a child? Can’t be done, right? Except the angel Gabriel said it not only could be, it would be. For nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). 

And Jesus did that, was born of a virgin, so there could be an answer to the question of the exceedingly astonished disciples: Then who can be saved? Because after His virgin birth, He did the next “impossible” thing; the next thing even harder than getting a camel through the eye of a needle: a dead person rising from the dead to life again. For how can we be saved from death? How can we be saved from the rot and decay of the grave? Only by the one who came to do what is impossible for us, because while He was a man, a true man like us, born like us, He was more than that - also true God. The God for whom nothing is impossible. So God became man to take man through death and the grave to life again. So that what is not just hard, but impossible for us, now be possible.

So it’s easy! . . . And it’s not. Easy because Jesus accomplished and promises and gives this impossible to us when we are baptized into Him. For when we are baptized, it is into His death and resurrection (Romans 6). When you are baptized, you become the man Jesus takes through death and the grave. And for that you do nothing; He does it all. That’s why baptizing babies is such a wonderful picture of the grace given in baptism. Baptism which, as St. Peter would later write, now saves you (1 Peter 3:21). It’s as easy as that!

And as hard as that. (1.) Because it’s so easy, how easy it is to forget; and how easy it is to take advantage of that. To think - and I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this - that since I am baptized and forgiven and have this promise of eternal life, that means I can live and do whatever I want! I can load up my camel with all kinds of sins and vices and idols and false gods, and Jesus is going to get me through! But that’s not what Jesus told the rich man. That’s the kind of thinking Baptism washes away. And if you find yourself thinking like that, it’s time to unload that camel and repent of what you’ve been doing and how you’ve been thinking. To die to that and rise to a new life again.

(2.) But then there’s an equally dangerous thinking, and that is perhaps what Peter expressed when he (speaking for the twelve) said: See, we have left everything and followed you. That’s loading up your camel with your own good works and pride, which can also be idols and false gods, and thinking that Jesus doesn’t have to work so hard to get me through! Like those people. You know the ones. The sinners. The really bad ones. That’s not me. Except it is. Your sins just look different. They’re more socially acceptable sins. But just as deadly. Time to unload your camel of those in repentance as well.  

(3.) And if those two dangers don’t get you, how about this one: you know what happens when you leave house and brothers and sisters and mother and father and children and lands for Jesus’ sake and for the gospel? Jesus says He will provide all you need, and more, BUT . . . there will also be persecution. Because satan hates this. He hates Jesus and you and your new life and your faith and everything about you. So he’ll try to undermine it and make you want to ease up and go back so it’s not quite so hard. Because God doesn’t want it to be hard, does He? God wants you to be happy, doesn’t He? God will understand, won’t He? 

This was the temptation the Christians in Rome who received the letter to the Hebrews were facing. Life was tough for them. They were being persecuted - and not a little. But if they went back to being Jews, life would be a whole lot easier! And it was tempting. Just like it is for us in our world today. To be Christian but not too Christian! To be serious about your faith, but not too serious. To be Christian one way in here, within these walls, and another way out there, in the world. 

So the letter to the Hebrews encourages them - and us! - to stand firm; to hold fast our confession. To not give in, as hard as that may be. The portion of that letter we heard today talked about the people of Israel in the wilderness after they came out of Egypt. And it was so hard they wanted to go back to Egypt, where (as they remembered it) it was so much easier for them. It wasn’t really! But that was the temptation. 

So these verses encourage them to look forward, not back, to the rest God has prepared for them and promised to them. He knows how hard it is in this world and life. Jesus went through it all with us. We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are - tempted like this, to take the easy way. But He didn’t. And He went through not the eye of a needle, but a sealed and guarded grave, to give us life. That easy or hard, rich or poor, young or old, first century or twenty-first century, we have hope. That what is impossible for us, is not impossible for Him. That no matter who you are, the answer to the question, Then who can be saved? . . . the answer is: ME.

And then, impossibly, Jesus gives us the food we need to strengthen us to live this life and stand firm in our confession - the food of His true Body and Blood. That both Baptized into Him and with Him Suppered into us, forgiven our sins and raised from the dead, we live on the other side of the needle. A new life. Not of sin nor of pride but of faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So that the first be last and the last first. 

Which is kind of an enigmatic saying, isn't it? Maybe hard to understand. Unless you know that it’s true first of one before it is true of many. For first it is of Jesus - who was the very first who became the very last, so that we who are last could be raised up to first. And now we can do the same. We can unload our camels, give to the poor, we can take care of others, we can face the hard, because we have treasure in heaven. Because no matter how last you make yourself (or others make you!), Jesus raises you up. To first. Maybe not first in this world, but first in His kingdom. And that’s better. For this world and life are passing away. But His kingdom is eternal. 

So, you see, it’s not the eye of the needle we need to make bigger if we are to get through. It’s Jesus. Because unlike the camel, the bigger He is in your life, the easier it is to get through sin and death to life and salvation. That’s what Mary did when she was told the impossible and that her life was now going to be difficult: My soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:36)! And as we live in a hard and difficult world, we do the same. NOT make Jesus smaller to make life easier, but (as we sang in the Introit) Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!

Magnify Jesus. Magnify the one who does the impossible. For us, for all, and forever.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“Follow Jesus to Eternal Life”

Text: Mark 10:17-22

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

For the past few weeks, the news has been filled with three main stories: the election, the war in the Middle East, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Three stories that seem radically different from each other, but which have this in common: The concern about what is life going to be like for me now? How is this election going to affect inflation, crime, or speech? Is the war in the Middle East going to stabilize or erupt into World War 3? And how long will it take to get the people in the South back on their feet after the flooding and devastation of these hurricanes? Real life. Real problems. And not small ones.

And you have real life problems, too. Problems at home, problems at work, problems with your health or the health of a loved one; worries, frustrations, difficulties; too much to do and too little time, and no relief in sight. And these are not small problems either. 

So the reading we heard today, of a man coming up to Jesus and asking, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? seems a bit, well, not irrelevant, but maybe impractical, not on the list of most people’s immediate concerns. There’s a phrase about that that’s been coined recently, luxury beliefs, or luxury concerns, meaning, you can believe that or you can be concerned about that because you don’t have real problems to deal with; because your life is pretty good. But the rest of us . . . living paycheck to paycheck, hoping we and our children don’t have to go to war, wondering where our food and water will come from . . . we don’t have that luxury. We have to worry about this. Now.

So this man in the Holy Gospel today . . . he’s not worried about inflation; though crime, maybe. They may not like Roman rule, but at least there’s peace. And all the necessities of life he has; no worries there. He’s comfortable. And more than comfortable. He’s rich. He had great possessions, great wealth. He has the luxury, the freedom, one might say, unlike many people, of being concerned and asking about eternal life.

So how Jesus answers him is really important. Not only for him, but also for us and for people in our world today who are focused on real life issues; who might think a story like this irrelevant or impractical. So after asking the man why he called Jesus good (which the man doesn’t answer), Jesus says: You know the commandments. Do them. To which the man answers: I have! All these I have kept from my youth.

Now, at this point, it might be helpful to imagine the scene. It probably wasn’t just Jesus and this man with no one else around. Everywhere Jesus went, there were crowds of people around Him - broken people, hurting people, sick people, confused people. So when this man tells Jesus that he has kept all the Commandments from his youth, that there is nothing more he could possibly do . . . I imagine Jesus just looking around for a moment, at all the other people, and thinking: Then why are there people here who need your help? Because the Commandments aren’t just things we don’t do, or things we do for God or for ourselves; they are things we do for these people, for others. We help and support our neighbor in every physical need. We help hurting marriages and encourage sexual purity. We give to those in need. We tell the truth, even when it’s hard. We honor the authorities over us and speak well of them. The Commandments are never past tense, are never done. There is never nothing more we could do. 

So Jesus, after (I imagine) pausing and looking at all the people in need around Him, then looked at the man and, we are told, loved him. So, Jesus told him, Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor - give to all these people following Me around and in need; right now, help Me take care of them - and - don’t worry! - you will [still] have treasure  - in heaven; and come, follow me. And you know how the story ends . . . for now at least. He couldn’t do it. He left. Sad.

Now, three things Jesus told him there . . . and which of the three, do you think, is the greatest? (1.) Selling all he had, his great wealth? (2.) Giving to the poor? Or (3.) following Jesus? Which of the three would actually answer his question and give him eternal life? 

It is the third; following Jesus. This man’s great wealth that was preventing him from following Jesus, so that had to go. It was a false god for him. But just being poor doesn’t get you eternal life. Giving to the poor, taking care of others, is good, and what the Commandments are all about. And God doesn’t make us wealthy just to be wealthy, but to be a blessing to others. But that, too, doesn’t get you eternal life. All the goodness in the world can’t make up for or atone for your sins. But following Jesus does. 

But here’s the question, and an important one: follow Him where? Just all around Galilee, Judea, Samaria? No. Follow Him to where He came to go: to the cross. Because that’s how you inherit eternal life. By seeing and believing that Jesus gained eternal life for you there. By believing and confessing that there is nothing you can do to earn that yourself, but that you are, in fact, the problem. And by confessing that, repenting of yourself, and receiving the forgiveness of your sins Jesus won for you on the cross - that is how you inherit eternal life. There is no other way. But instead of that, this man, for now at least, goes the other way.

But here’s the thing: this all goes together. It’s not that real life and eternal life are two different things, and that you have to be concerned with one or the other. They go together. For if you are concerned about real life, here and now life, you realize how fragile life is, how broken life is, and that we need more life than just this. That causes us to look to Jesus, whose death and resurrection, gives us more, gets us farther. For in Him, we get through the grave not just to eternal life, but more life. More life already here and now. And having that life, given you by Jesus, brings you back to real life, with its fragileness and brokenness, to help others in need in this life. And to know that if the things of this life are taken away from you, even if this life itself is taken away from you - your life in Christ is a life that will not and cannot end. 

So to follow Jesus to the cross is not just the way to inherit eternal life (to answer this man’s question), but also the way to live life now. It puts our lives now into the big picture. That it’s not just about me. That there is more to life than just what I have or don’t have. That who’s in the White House may be important, but not the end of the world. That wars come and go - not to belittle them - but that the war that matters most has already been won, by Jesus, on the cross. And that if we have that, that enables us to live life now in freedom, and not bound up and held down by worry, frustration, and fear. We’ll have those things; we’ll always have those things in this world and life! But we also have the one who overcame them all, and gives that victory to us.

Which brings us full circle; back to this man’s question: What must I do to inherit eternal life? Keep the Commandments, Jesus said. And when you don’t, when you realize you can’t, get rid of what’s getting in your way; repent of it, what’s preventing you. For the man in the story today it was his wealth. For you, it might be something else, something wrong, something off, something that has captured your heart. Repent of it, and follow Jesus to where He has come for you; where He has put His cross and benefits for you: here. Come to the Font, come to the Altar, come to His Absolution, come to the Word, and receive Jesus and His life and salvation.

And then with this life, this life that is eternal, go back out to life in this world and keep the Commandments. Not because you have to, but because you can. Because the life Jesus has given you enables you to now help and serve others. And keep receiving the gifts you need for the life you need, gifts and life that never run out. 

So really, being concerned with eternal life isn’t a luxury belief or a luxury concern or irrelevant or impractical at all - but is, rather, the foundation for living life now. For knowing that you have eternal life, that Jesus has taken care of that for you, that the life you are now living will continue through death to life again . . . that frees you to live a new life now. So that whether war breaks out or not, whether your party is in the White House or controls Congress or not, whether the next natural disaster - or a personal disaster - strikes you, you have a foundation to stand on. Life may still be hard! Probably will be. But however life is for you now - and it may be different tomorrow! - while life changes, your Saviour does not. And when there’s nothing else you can count on, you can count on Him. 

Some ancient Christian sources tell us that this man in the story today, this rich man who went away sad, eventually came back to Jesus. And while I don’t think they say whether he did the first two things Jesus told him to do, sell all his possessions and give to the poor, he did do the third and most important thing, that his riches, at first, prevented him from doing - he followed Jesus. And not just followed Jesus, but served as an early Christian missionary. And not just served as an early Christian missionary, but wrote one of our Gospels - this Gospel, in fact. That his name is Mark. That’s not from the Bible, so I don’t know if it’s 100%, but I like to think it is. That there’s hope for you and me and anyone with stuff in our lives that prevents us, or holds us back, from following Jesus. There’s still time. For the Word of God to work. For the Word to change my heart. For me to live the life Jesus has for me. To be a blessing to others. Be not so self-focused. And to live confidently, even with all sorts of problems and difficulties. To know that no matter what happens, my life in Christ is eternal. And I am free. Free to live. Free to love. Free to repent. Free to forgive. That’s life changing! And it’s what having eternal life is all about. Not that we don’t care about this life, but what enables us to live this life now. In joy and peace. Jesus has taken care of the eternal, so we can live now. So let’s do just that.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.