St. Paul Lutheran Church, Mountain View, CA http://www.st-paul.org/current The Man of Sorrows: Jesus' Loneliness http://www.st-paul.org/current/post/the-man-of-sorrows:-jesus-loneliness Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:55:00 -0800 http://www.st-paul.org/current/post/the-man-of-sorrows:-jesus-loneliness     Today, it is very possible to spend an entire week completely alone.  Groceries and all the necessities can be left on your doorstep.  All correspondance can be done without saying a word.  We can be part of "communities" without ever seeing people face to face.  Some people choose loneliness.  Some people feel trapped in their loneliness.  And - maybe worst of all - some people are lonely in their very own homes, families, and even churches.  

     Jesus was the Man of Sorrows.  "For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:2-6)

    During our Midweek Lenten services, we will take a look at the loneliness of Jesus.  We will find in Him eyes that understand our own loneliness, whether that be by our choice or not.  We will see Him struggle in prayer in wilderness and desolate places.  We will see Him feel completely alone in the midst of His blood relatives.  We will see Him long for those who came to love and deliver, and their despising and rejecting of  Him.  We will see Him plead for the presence of His closest companions...and see them fail Him.  We will see Him where only He alone can go to ensure all those who trust Him that one day our loneliness with pass away - the cross.

    Come and acquaint yourself with this Man of Sorrows and see Him carry your sorrows.

]]> Honesty http://www.st-paul.org/current/post/honesty Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.st-paul.org/current/post/honesty One thing I've always appreciated about Jesus is His honesty.  He is sinless, so He never lied. But more than that, He never told a half-truth.  What He said, He meant. He was sneaky or devious with His words. And, since the Scriptures are the Word of God, we see the same things in the Scriptures.  They are brutally honest: about the state of human beings, the reality of life on earth, etc.

The last two weeks in the sermon, we have spent time in Romans chapter 7.  And, again, I was confronted with the brutal honesty of the Scriptures.  Here is Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, and he gives an autobiography of his inner life....and it is not pleasant.  "I know that nothing good dwells in me." "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing."  The Scriptures give an honest picture about everybody.

The Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times during the most difficult period of Jesus' earthly life.  The great King David committed adultery and planned a murder.  The Apostle Paul gave approval to murder.  These men of God were sinners before they came to believe in the Messiah Jesus, and they were sinners until their death.

If we are honest about ourselves, we will agree with the Scriptures that we were, are, and will be sinners.  Of course, covered in the purifying blood of Jesus by grace through faith, we are presented to God as people who are righteous through that blood of Jesus.  Apart from Jesus, we are sinners. In Jesus, we are at the same time righteous. And that is the honest truth!

]]> Jesus' post-resurrection appearances http://www.st-paul.org/current/post/jesus-post-resurrection-appearances Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.st-paul.org/current/post/jesus-post-resurrection-appearances Gospel writers Matthew, Luke, and John make a tremendous effort to narrate the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  Jesus appeared to the women, to the disciples, to those on the road to Emmaus.

Yet, there is one post-resurrection appearance of Jesus that is not narrated, only mentioned.  Luke 24.34 - "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  1 Corinthians 15.5 - "...and that He appeared to Cephas..."  

Yes, the Scriptures testify that the Risen Jesus appeared to Simon Peter/Cephas....but the New Testament writers do not narrate this appearance.  Wouldn't you like to know what exactly took place when the Risen Jesus appeared to the one who denied him three times?  Of course, John's Gospel narrates Peter jumping into the Sea of Galilee/Tiberius when Jesus appears on the shore and works the second miraculous catch of fish.

So, we are left to imagine that Jesus offered and forgave Peter in that intimate appearance.  Why wasn't this recorded?  I'm not sure, but Luke and Paul definitely wanted us to know that it happened.

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