Photo by Rosie Fraser on Unsplash

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Whenever I enter uncharted territory … a new school, job, or home for example … it always helped to have someone help bolster my confidence.  When I went to my first school as a little kid, my buddy next-door went with me.  It gave me great confidence knowing he was there.  Two years later, I moved to Arizona and had to go to a new school all alone.  I was terrified.  Until I met Jeff … or actually he met me because he was assigned to be my “buddy.”  Jeff and I became friends and shared a lot of great times on the playground at Lulu Walker Elementary School.  It truly helped to have a buddy when I entered that new territory.

In our walk of Christian faith, it can also be daunting to go it alone.  There seems to be both subtle and, at times, not so subtle hostility toward Christian faith in the world.  So, it can also be easy to simply go through life quietly, not making any waves, in order to avoid being harassed.  Isaiah was called by God to tell the people in his own country, to include its kings, that they were acting in open rebellion toward God and His Word.  This was difficult work indeed, but God was with him throughout. 

In Isaiah 50:4-10, God reveals His love for us by telling us that He has sent someone to help us navigate through the unfriendly and uncharted territory of our lives in this world.  This someone is the “Suffering Servant” … one who knows all that God commands AND lives in total obedience to these commands.  Isaiah writes that the Suffering Servant says, “The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.  I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” (Isaiah 50:5-6) A servant who does not rebel … who does not turn back from God’s task for Him.  Here, as well as other places in Isaiah, the Suffering Servant is identified by the way He lived out His earthly ministry as Jesus Christ, our savior.  As God, He knows everything.  As God, He lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s commandments.  As man, He also willing submitted to beatings, whippings, spitting, and, of course, crucifixion. (Matthew 26:67-68, 27:26) Through it all, despite the powers of the world allied against Him, Jesus was not alone … His Father was there by His side, “But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced … He who vindicates me is near.” (Isaiah 50:7-8)

Jesus took the sins of the world, including your sins and mine, upon Himself.  Yet, despite this, He was vindicated by His Father.  Therefore, you and I are also cleared of all blame and eternal consequences for our sins.  As the Father stood by His Son Jesus, Jesus, the Suffering Servant stands by us as we “walk in darkness and (have) no light.”   Darkness is scary, but as we “trust in the name of the Lord god and rely on (Him)” (Isaiah 50:10) He is with us in all things.

                                                                               In Christ’s Love,

                                                                               Pastor Jim

Photo by Josep Castells on Unsplash

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When I grew up in Arizona, part of summer included the “rainy season.”  I looked forward to the afternoon storm clouds gathering, the lightning starting in the distance.  The lightning was always followed by thunder.  I learned that you could tell how far away the storm was by counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder.  As a rule of thumb, I’d divide the seconds by 5 to figure out how many miles away the storm was. Thunder always followed the lightning.

In our epistle lesson today, James tells us about another thing that follows along.  Works … they follow faith.  James writes, “I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18) Just as thunder always follows lightning, works follow true faith.  We don’t do good works in order to earn our faith.  Faith is a gift from God.  Knowing God loves and cares for us, we’re freed to do works of love in faith.  Why?  Because, even if we give a hungry person our food or give up our clothes to someone else, we know God our Father will care for our needs.  We don’t worry about whether we’ll have enough for ourselves. 

James provides an example for how faith is demonstrated by works with how we treat people who come into our midst.  In his example he contrasts the treatment of a wealthy and a poor person.  The wealthy person can return favors given him.  Or perhaps, to earn the wealthy person’s favor, one might treat them well hoping to gain their favor.  On the other hand, a poor person can’t repay a favor given to him.  James says that when we decide how we treat someone, based on their ability to return the favor or in the hopes of being repaid, we fail to live by Jesus’ Word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (James 2:8) Faith in God and His promises, involves trusting Him in all things to include that He will provide for our needs, both in this life and in eternal life. 

The reality is that we are all hopeless beggars.  We’re stuck in the endless cycle of sin which leads to death (Romans 6:23).  However – not because we deserve it, can earn it, or can ever hope to pay God back for it – He loves us and grants us forgiveness of our sins and eternal life purely out of His grace, mercy, and love.  In response to His love, expressed through His Son, Jesus Christ, we’re freed to do works of love in faith for others, without concern for our needs.  We trust God to care for our needs … including our most critical needs … forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

God places many among us who’re in great need.  I’m thankful to each of you who, in faith, trust God and His provision through your time, talent and treasure.  If you’re looking for other ways to serve God in faith, we’re always in need of volunteers to support our food pantry, homeless ministries, outreach ministries, childcare ministry during worship services, and other areas.  If interested, please see me or Shawn.  We’d love to put you in touch with ways for your works to follow your faith!

                                                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                                                        Pastor Jim

Photo by Stefan Cosma on Unsplash

Dear Saints,

I can hear it everywhere … parents saying, “Yay! School’s back!”  From the students I hear, “Ugh! I don’t wanna go.”  Like it or not, school is one of God’s many gifts, along with parents and others, to help us develop our God-given talents, skills, and abilities.  It’s through school that we receive many gifts from our teachers benefitting us throughout our lives. 

Even the best teachers sometimes have to tell their students what they need to know twice.  It’s been that way forever.  The name of the Old Testament book Deuteronomy means “Second Law.”  It’s not another Law … a new one for God’s people.  Rather, God’s primary instrument to teach His people Israel, Moses, took some time to teach Israel a second time what they’d already been taught.  Moses says, “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live … keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:1-2) God gave His law to His people as a gift protect them and to show them how to live as His people among the pagan peoples in the Promised Land He was about to give to them.  So, Moses retaught God’s law for His people … making sure they knew and understood it. 

In living by the law among these people, who didn’t know God, God called Israel to become a light to them … showing them the one, true God through their actions and deeds which emerged from their hearts.  Their adherence to God’s Word would cause people to stand up and take notice saying, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” because the one, true God was so close them in all things. (Deuteronomy 4:6b-7)

Of course, teachers sometimes need to go over key items again.  Fourteen hundred years later, God sent His Son into the world to teach His people … again.  The people of Israel had changed God’s commandments by adding their own ideas to it … against Moses’ warning. (Deuteronomy 4:2) Jesus told the crowds, “There’s nothing outside a person that going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” (Mark 7:15) The things making a person impure come from the heart of a person, their actions and deeds which run counter to God’s Word.  Jesus lists them for us in verses 21-23.  Later, Jesus re-teaches the law in summary saying, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ … (and) ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mark 12:30-31)

We all get to go back to school … to hear the teaching of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh in our daily devotions, prayers, and worship of Him through our lives.  Here He teaches us how to live as His people in the world.  Then, seeing the love of Christ coming from our hearts, people of the world will stand up, take notice, and be drawn to God by the Holy Spirit to hear His teaching again.  Welcome back to school!

                                                                                              In Christ’s Love,

                                                                                                        Pastor Jim

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“So close … and yet so far,” “Close, but no cigar,” or “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades” (attributed to former Baltimore Oriole Frank Robinson).  We use these sayings when someone almost gets the right answer or nearly wins a prize.  You probably remember a time when you almost got the job done, but not quite.  This often happens when I have a do-it-myself carpentry project … it has almost perfectly square corners.

Isaiah records the Word of the Lord saying, “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me … I will again do wonderful things with this people.” (Isaiah 29:13-14) The people of Israel had taken God’s Word and twisted and bent it.  They’d speak God’s Word, but their actions didn’t line up.  They were close … and yet so far from God.  God desires that His people not just know about and repeat His Word, but that they live their lives in accordance with it. 

By Jesus’ time on earth, Temple leaders had developed 613 new rules true Israelites needed to follow to be considered holy.  God’s Word had been warped into “the word of man.”  Jesus addressed the problem of being “so close … and yet so far” in Mark 7:1-13.  The Pharisees and scribes, those knowing the Word of God inside and out, complained that Jesus’ disciples weren’t following the law to perfection by washing their hands before eating.  In their minds, the tradition of washing properly was key to earning God’s favor by obeying His will.  For the Pharisees and scribes, outside appearances … clean hands, clean pots, clean furniture, and other man-made traditions … were the indicators of holiness.  Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 to make the point that these outward displays required by man, though based on God’s Word, are only close.  They’re still off the mark.  What truly matters is what comes from inside a person in response to God’s Word … what is motivated in the heart by the love of God found in His Word.  As an example, Jesus cites the 4^th Commandment, “Honor your father and mother.”  This is God’s Word.  But the “word of man” had twisted this Commandment into a practice called “Corban” where a son, though obligated by God’s Word to help His parents in need, could, according to “man’s word,” set aside money for this purpose for a higher purpose … dedicating it and setting it aside for the work of the Temple.  Once set aside for this purpose, it couldn’t be used by man anymore.  While their actions might seem godly … they missed the mark.  They were “close, but yet so far” from God.

God the Father has drawn all of us to Him by the Holy Spirit through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.  In response to His grace and mercy, He fills our hearts with His Word.  Our actions, informed by His love and Word, overflow from our hearts, showing His love to the world.  Words alone are nice, but they are only close … actions reflecting a heartfelt love and trust of God and His Word … that’s on target!

                                                                 In the Love of Christ,

                                                                          Pastor Jim

Dear First Family and Friends,

Somebody asks you, “Who are you?”  Usually this question is answered by our name.  So, when I’m asked this, I’ll say something like, “I’m Jim.”  Once someone knows my name, they can call on me … to come to them, to do things for them, to talk to me or greet me.  We all have names … and that name is how people reach out to us.

God is no different.  Recall in Exodus how Moses was tending his sheep on Mount Horeb when he saw a bush that was on fire.  But, it wasn’t being consumed!  Little did Moses know, but the fire was actually God … a fact He discovered as the bush began speaking to him, asking him to rescue His people who were enslaved in Egypt.  Moses asks a simple question, “What is the name of the god who is sending me?”  Moses wanted the identity of his taskmaster.  “Who are you?”  God responds, “’I am who I am.’ And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:15) The Hebrew word “I am” is “YAHWEH.”  That might sound familiar to us … YAHWEH (or YHWH) is the name of God used throughout the Old Testament.

When you and I in 21^st century Calvert County hear Jesus say, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” (John 6:51) we might think, “Oh yeah … His words nourish and feed my soul, like bread feeds my body.”  Or, “His body, present in Holy Communion, feeds my faith.”  And … we’d be correct.  But for a 1^st century Jew, living in Palestine, this statement carries extra weight. 

In the Gospel of John several “I am” statements grammatically reveal much more than simply Jesus saying, “I’m bread … I’m light … I’m the one” and so forth.  Grammatically, Jesus is calling Himself God.  He uses the name of God His Jewish hearers clearly recognize.  Asking, “Who are you?” … to the Jewish ear, Jesus replies, “YHWH, the living bread from heaven.”

Many do hear Jesus … which is why they dispute with Him.  “How can you be God? You’re from Nazareth!”  Jesus then lays out the facts for them … facts they must believe … or reject.  Like the people of Joshua’s day, the people have a choice, “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served … But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Exodus 24:15) Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63) by enabling people to believe in Him.  Many rejected the gift of the Spirit as “(they) turned back and no longer walked with Him.” (John 6:66) But some were led by the Spirit to continue following Jesus, “I AM,” YHWH, God the Son.

Jesus asks us today.  “Do you want to go away as well?”  With Peter, because we believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, we answer, “LORD, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life … you are the Holy One of God.”  (John 6:68-69) We call Jesus by name in all things … He comes to us.

                                              In the Love of the Living Bread,

                                                                                   Pastor Jim

Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash

Dear Fellow Sojourners in the World,

I love going on long trips by car.  It takes longer to get there … and back … but I just like seeing all the interesting things along the way.  Of course, when I do this there’s a bit of preparation for the journey.  I need to check out the car to make sure it’ll make there and back.  I need to stock up on supplies and plan on things to do and see before I head out.  And then, even the day I leave the house, there are those last-minute things to attend to just before heading out on the road.  All this preparation is needed to ensure the journey is completed as envisioned.

In our Old Testament passage, we see a distraught Elijah who is just worn out.  Going head-to-head with the prophets of Baal, he’s shown there is only one true, living God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The prophets of Baal tried in a vain to get Baal to do something with their sacrifice while the God accepted Elijah’s sacrifice in dramatic fashion, destroying the prophets of Baal in the process (1 Kings 18:20-40).  Now … Elijah is on the run because Queen Jezebel has put out a contract on him for killing her prophets. 

Elijah, worn out, tells God, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” (1 Kings 19:4) In his mind, he’s done what God asked and he’s ready to be taken away from his difficult circumstance.  I know I’ve felt this way at times.  Not to the point of saying, “God, take my life.”  But certainly, to the point of saying, “God, get me out of here! I can’t do this anymore.”  But God had more for Elijah to do.  God sent an angel to nourish Elijah for the next part of his journey telling him, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” (1 Kings 19:7) God prepared Elijah for his 40-day journey to Horeb (also called Mount Sinai) – where Moses received his call to rescue God’s people in Egypt and the Ten Commandments.  There, Elijah would receive his next mission from God.

You and I are on journeys through the world today.  Our trips across the country, to other continents, even to the grocery store and work are all part of the journey God, the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who set Elijah on his journey, has put us on.  It can be a difficult journey and we can be tempted to say, “Enough God!  I’m finished.”  That’s when Jesus, the Bread of Life, says to us, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51) He nourishes us … strengthens us … prepares for the journey ahead.  As travelers in this world, we’re on a journey to our eternal home, the kingdom of heaven.  Through the gift of His Word and Sacraments, God prepares us for the work He envisions for us to do along the way.

                                                         In the Love of the Living Bread,

                                                                                              Pastor Jim

Dear Saints,

“You gotta walk the talk.” I hear these and similar sayings when people get tired of hearing someone say they’ll do this and that, but never get around to it.  In the sports world we see teams brag about how good they are, but the reality is that it doesn’t matter what they say until they back it up on the field.  We frequently hear politicians make bold promises to get elected, but again, talk is cheap if the actions don’t back up the promises.

Paul is urging the church in Ephesus to “walk the talk” when he says, “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Ephesians 4:1) One problem he was addressing was a church where people heard about the gospel of Jesus Christ, said they believed in it … yet their actions weren’t always consistent with it.  By the gift of God’s grace, they were called by the Holy Spirit into faith in Jesus Christ, the Son through their baptisms.  It wasn’t because of anything they did that they were brought into faith … rather it was only because of God’s love and Jesus’ humble servanthood on the cross that makes faith possible. 

Nevertheless, many in the church of those days were still under the mistaken impression that man’s work was part of the process to be saved.  This brought about division caused by … false teachings, differing opinions on old religious practices, and simple intolerance of those different from them.  But, the church is not a place of division, but rather of unity under a single head, Jesus Christ. 

We see some of the same issues in the modern church today too.  Unfortunately, this disunity, caused by people in the church not “walking the talk,” threatens the church and keeps many outside the church from coming to faith.  In the eyes of many in society, the church’s witness by actions that are inconsistent with God’s word shows the church as hypocritical.    

God desired the 1^st century church, as well as the 21^st century church, to “walk the talk.”  To use the old “wristband phrase” … “What would Jesus do?”  as we engage the world.  Jesus walked the talk by speaking and acting in humility, gentleness, patience, and love.  He didn’t do this by giving into the world, but He did it by letting the world see that His actions matched His words.  He told people to love … and He loved (e.g. John 11:1-44).  He told people to be servants … and He served (e.g. John 13:1-20).  He told people to forgive … and He forgave (e.g. Luke 7:36-50).  Sometimes He spoke the hard truth, but He did it in love in order to bring about repentance ( e.g. Matthew 16:21-23). 

We walk the talk when our lives reflect the words we believe in.  When we “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  (Ephesians 4:1-2) Let us show the world the gospel of Jesus Christ in our words and deeds.

                                                                                                        In God’s Peace,

                                                                                                        Pastor Jim