The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’   (Matthew 13:24-30)

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!  (Matthew 13:36-43)

A traditional Gaelic blessing.

The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

Lutherans understand that God’s Word comes to us as both Law and Gospel. For Lutherans, the Law comes to us first to reveal our sin and convicts our hearts of the folly of trying to be righteous and earn God’s favor. Recognition of our sin drives us to the Cross. It is in the Cross of Christ, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, that we receive God’s grace (the Gospel). The Law convicts us of our sin. The Gospel proclaims our forgiveness.

The verse from the Gospel of John above reveals that the Law that convicts us came to us through Moses when God brought him to Mount Sinai and gave him and the people of Israel the Law, what we now understand to be the Ten Commandments. These laws were given by God to shape the ancient Israelites into a people wholly devoted to the one true God and to bring order to society. The law, though, did not bring the people forgiveness for their sins: “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” This is key for understanding how Lutherans interpret Scripture. Sinners are justified before God by his grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Sinners are brought to repentance through the condemning force of the Law and brought to salvation by the freeing force of grace.

For Luther, the Scriptures and his interpretation/explanation of the texts, both include and exclude actions, and offer prohibitions and invitations. In a nutshell, the Scriptures, all of Scripture, can and should be interpreted as both Law and Gospel. Luther takes the Law (the Ten Commandments) and interprets them with positive commands (in a sense, the Gospel). Instead of focusing on the "you shall not" Luther emphasizes the "you shall" in light of the Gospel, turning each Law into an opportunity to love and serve our neighbor, thereby providing instruction on how to live as Christians.

Luther wrote extensively not only on the concepts of Law and Gospel, but on the meaning of faith for the common man. As he toured the Saxon countryside near Wittenberg where he was a professor of theology, Luther found a distinct lack of understanding of the basics of the Christian faith in both the laity and the clergy. How disheartening this must have been for one so dedicated to uncovering and sharing the truth of Scripture! Luther risked his life to liberate the Scriptures and make them available to the people. After several failed attempts by others to compile a “new” catechism (a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers), Luther took to the task himself, drawing on his sermons, and published the Large Catechism in 1529. With its longer expositions and instructions, the Large Catechism became a handbook for pastors. The Small Catechism, written in simpler form and targeted at the heads of households to be used to teach the faith to the family, came shortly thereafter.

The Large and Small Catechisms begin with an explanation of the Ten Commandments. Keeping in mind that we have a merciful God, Luther takes each emphatic commandment, explains what we as God’s people are NOT TO DO, followed by examples of what WE MUST DO in order to fulfill the commandment and live in the light of the Gospel.

Over the next two weeks, Let’s Talk Lutheran will present both the Small and Large Catechism explanations of each of the Ten Commandments in the hopes that by exploring God’s law in depth, we can come to a deeper appreciation of God’s grace and mercy toward us, poor wretched sinners that we are.

Your sister in Christ,
Sandi

Not in word or speech, but action!

How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. (1 John 3:17-18)

God continually showers us with complete, unconditional love. Jesus commands that we share that same love, grace and mercy with all people. Because of our sinful, sometimes selfish nature, we often do not do a good job of sharing and caring for one another, especially to those who are considered by society as “outcasts” - the homeless, the poor, the alien, the stranger, the other. As followers of Jesus, though, we are commanded to share what we have. This includes not only the Good News of Jesus Christ, but our material goods as well.

The Old Testament gives us some clear direction on how we are to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls and love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus and his followers knew the Hebrew Scriptures and took them to heart. When Jesus exhorted his followers to love and serve one another and to remember that whatever you do to the least of these you have done unto him, they would have heard Jesus’ words in light of their understanding of the Old Testament commands about taking care of the “other” – the poor, the widow, the orphan, the alien, the stranger. In doing so, the Lord Our God, promises not only to bless the poor and oppressed, but those who uplift and care for them.

Here, I think, I’ll let the Scriptures speak for themselves:

• You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:10)
  
• When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien. (Leviticus 23:22)
  
• For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10:17-18)
  

• If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. (Deut. 15:7-8)
• Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice. (Deuteronomy 27:19)
  
• For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. (Psalm 9:18)
  
• Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him. (Proverbs 21:13)
  
• Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse. (Proverbs 28:27)
  
• If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:10)
  

Lord God, giver of all good things, source of all that is, was and ever will be, praise be to you, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for it is you that blesses each and every one of us with all that we are and all that we have. Fill our hearts with the desire to honor you through loving the other. Amen.

In His Love,
Sandi

What Kind of Love is This?

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Love. In the English language, this one word has a multitude of meanings. We love Jesus. We love our spouse. We love our family. We love our car. We love our pets. We love chocolate. If we are followers of Jesus, we love our neighbor. Love, love, love…

Seems to me that in some respects, the word love is over-used or misused in our vocabulary. English has a shortage of words to convey the various feelings of “love.” What I feel for my family is not the same as what I feel for chocolate. My family brings me joy, fills my heart with affection and feelings of tenderness. Chocolate tastes really good and I cling to the reports that say a little dark chocolate is good for me. I really like that my car is cute and gets pretty good gas mileage, but it seems a bit odd to me to use the same word for how I feel about it that I use to describe to my feelings toward Jesus. I don’t love my neighbor the same way I love my children.

In English, there are a variety of meanings for the word love. The Bible, too, contains different meanings for this same word:  Agape, Philia, Eros, and Storge. Let’s take a look at these four Greek words and how they are used in the Bible.

Agape (uh-GAH-pay): self-sacrificing and unconditional love. It is the divine love of God – his for us and us for him. It is this type of love that sent Christ to the cross to die for our sins so that we may experience the full, complete, unmitigated love of God. It is a love that doesn’t count the wrongs done, the sins committed. This is the meaning of the word love most used in the New Testament. It is the kind of love described in the opening verse above. This is the word used by Jesus when he commands his followers: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27, Mark 12:30-31, Matthew 22:37-39, see also Deuteronomy 6:5) ” “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12-13) If we are honest with ourselves, Agape is a difficult concept, hard to put into practice.

Philia (FILL-ee-uh): affectionate attachment such as that of close friendship. It is a “brotherly” love and Christians are called to engage in this type of love: “love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:10)  “A friend loves at all times.” (Proverbs 17:17) Philia is generally mutual but can, at times, be conditional, although, in reality, followers of Jesus should never place conditions on any type of love.

Storge (STOR-jay): family love, the bond between parent and child, brother and sister. Although this word doesn’t appear in the Bible per se, examples of this type of love are found especially in the Old Testament: “Honor your father and your mother.” (Exodus 20:12). It is the kind of love that Jacob had for his sons, Mary and Martha had for their brother Lazarus, and James and John (the sons of Zebedee) had for each other.

Eros (Air-ose): physical, sensual love between a husband and wife. This Greek word is not found in the Bible, but the concept is clearly evident in the marital relationship set up between Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) “Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain.” (Genesis 4:1) This is mutually exclusive physical love shared between two deeply committed and emotionally connected people.

Philia, Storge, and Eros are fairly easy for us to understand and practice in our lives, but it is Agape that we find the most difficult. Although God shows us Agape continually, we sometimes have trouble accepting and sharing that same love with one another. As followers of Jesus, though, we are commanded to do just that.

Your sister in Christ,
Sandi

The Parable of the Sower Explained
[Jesus said to them]: “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13:18-23, NRSV)

May your roots grow deep in the soil of God's love. Amen

Have a blessed Sunday,
Sandi

We are the Family of God
Families come in many sizes and shapes.  No matter what type of family we are part of, we are also part of a second, spiritual family. We have the family we were born into or the family we live with, but those of us who believe in Jesus are also part of God’s family. 

When we place our faith in Christ, God becomes our Father, Christ becomes our brother, we become his children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the church becomes our spiritual family. “Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’” (Mark 3:31-35, NRSV). 

The family of God includes biblical figures such as Abraham, Joseph, David, Mary, and Paul. It includes the prophets, the Israelites, the disciples, the crowds who came to hear Jesus speak and be healed.  It includes saints such as Perpetua, Patrick, and Nicholas (yes, St. Nicholas). It includes famous theologians like Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It includes those whom we have loved and have passed away. It includes those who are yet to be born. It includes all the believers who have come before us, and all who will come after. But most importantly, includes you – you who confess Jesus Christ is Lord, who died for your salvation and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Being part of God's family means we have some great rewards. We are new creations. Our sins have been forgiven. We rejoice in the knowledge that we are known and loved by God. We trust that we will live in eternity with God, Our Father, and Christ, Our Brother. We find purpose and meaning in life. We know that we are not alone. Not only does Christ walk with us, we are surrounded by our spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. We have people with which to share life’s highs and lows.

When we belong to the Family of God, the diversity of God’s creation works together to build up the church and its members. As we pray, worship, study and fellowship together, we fulfill God’s plan for our lives. In sharing our time, talents and treasures with each other in His name, we find peace and understanding. As we comfort one another in times of trouble, we share God’s unconditional and healing love. As we belong to this holy family, we receive energy from the Holy Spirit to move forward on our journey of faith. 

Being part of God’s family also brings certain responsibilities:  we are called to gather in God’s house (the church) for worship, prayer and praise. We gather in fellowship to strengthen our bonds with one another. We go out into the world to love and serve our neighbor. We study God’s word. We seek and do God’s will. We put God first and repent our unfaithfulness. 

The Family of God is the church, past, present and future. And you are an important part of that great and loving family.

In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes:   “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.” (Ephesians 2:19-22, NRSV)

Dear Father, we are thankful that we can become your children through faith in Jesus Christ. We are thankful that it doesn't matter whether we are male or female. Young or old. Married or single. Divorced or widowed.  We are thankful that in Christ we all become one, the Family of God. In our Brother Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Your sister in Christ,
Sandi

Have a “Son" Shiny Day!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

I live in South Florida where just about every afternoon from May through October, clouds roll in, the sky darkens, and then pours down rain to the point where you start thinking “maybe we should start building an ark.” Most often the storm lasts only a few minutes to a half an hour then it’s over, leaving the air hot and humid. Lately, though, the afternoon rain has lasted longer than normal. It’s starting to annoy me.

On the days when just about everything annoys me (including the rain, the guy who cut me off in traffic, the lady at the grocery store standing in the 10 items or less line with 30-40 items spilling out of her cart, the teenager yelling into her phone how she can’t stand so-and-so, the harsh political rhetoric, etc.), I need God’s gentle reminder that he has made this day and I am to rejoice and be glad in it. When his message gets through, I am able to find things to rejoice in:

• I woke up this morning - great news (better than the alternative….)
  

•  My husband made me a cup of coffee as he has done virtually every day since we got married – a small daily gesture that reflects his love for me (especially since he doesn’t like coffee and never drinks it!)
  

• I took a hot shower – the water heater is working, I have running water, soap and shampoo!
  

• I got in my car to drive over to the church to wait for the local food pantry to pick up our donations – I have a car that works, I am able to drive, the people in my church community are so awesomely generous!
  

• I had exactly the number of travel-size bottles of shampoo needed to complete the number of hygiene kits I set out to make for our blessing bag project – I think God added a few because when I initially looked at the inventory, I thought there was no way that there was enough! God made me smile over a few small bottles of shampoo!
  

• I finished my errands, came home and found the cats (who normally don’t along too well) sleeping at either end of the couch.
  

You get the picture. No one single thing on this list is a monumental moment in history. It’s just a few of the kinds of things that happen to us in the course of a normal day. It is only when we remember that it is our Father in heaven who created this day, that we can see these mundane events as something in which to rejoice. Our Father has given us everything…. The good, the bad, and yes even the annoying so that we may see his hand in our lives. In this, no matter what the day brings, we can rejoice! 

By the way, as I finish this post, lightening, thunder, and a torrential down-pour are just outside… but inside, my heart is bursting with love and gratitude for this day that the Lord has made!

Rejoicing in the mundane and monumental,
Sandi

Set free by the grace of God
As followers of Christ, we know how and what we are to do to show the world God’s love and grace he has freely given us in Christ Jesus. Jesus sums it up: “He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Sounds rather straightforward. I know I must love God, putting him at the center of my life. I shall have no other God but him. Theoretically it sounds pretty simple. The second part, though, is a little less so. Here I can ask a myriad of questions: Who is my neighbor? Does love really mean love? If I love myself, isn’t that being a bit self-involved? Even with these questions, the commandments of our Lord are not that difficult to comprehend. LOVE GOD FIRST. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. Ok, I got it! I "know" what I am supposed to do. The words are “easy” to understand.

But, I can’t seem to put my head knowledge into action. Instead I frequently do just the opposite. The Apostle Paul understood this, too:  “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15) These are the thing I want to do: always put God first and love my neighbor (whoever he or she may be). What I actually do is put my own needs and desires before God and treat my neighbor with everything from indifference to contempt to anger to disappointment. I do not do what I want to do. And I know it! “For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:22-24a) I know better than to put God second. I know better than to speak or think poorly of my neighbor. And if we’re going to be honest with each other, you probably do not always put God first or always love your neighbor.

“Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.” (Romans 7:24b-25) What do we do when we fall short? Should we walk around feeling guilty and ashamed? Should we keep our heads down and hope that God doesn’t notice (trust me he does!)? Should we hide our failings from our fellow Christians? NO! We need to bring our failings to God in prayer. We need to let go of the guilt and shame. We should talk to our brothers and sisters in Christ and confess our shortcomings.

As God’s loved and redeemed children, we need to forgive ourselves when we do that which we do not want to do. Jesus Christ died for us to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In short, we need to give ourselves grace. We cannot, by definition, give ourselves grace, but we can be open to receiving the gift of grace that is ours in Christ Jesus. This means that we must open our hearts and minds fully to let God’s grace in Christ dwell richly within us, freeing us from the burden of our failure to obey the commandments our Lord has given us.

May the grace of God set you free,
Sandi

Mold me, Lord!
Just as God created Adam, so too, our God created each and every one of us. When God created human beings, he put his hands on us. “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) Likewise, God used his hands to create woman: “then he took one of his [the man’s] ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman.” (Genesis 2:21-22). But God didn’t simply create us, set us aside, create another, and sit back and leave us on our own. He is constantly working on us, molding and shaping us into the person he created us to be.  He is the Potter. We are the clay.

The potter determines the form and function of the finished piece. The clay waits, ready to be molded. To make a beautiful, strong piece, the potter must knead the air bubbles out of the raw clay. It must then be centered on the pottery wheel. It is the same for us, the human clay. In order for the Master Potter to do his work in and on us, we need to have our hearts centered, too. Our entire being – heart, mind, body, and soul need to be centered on Christ. When we are not centered on Christ and our focus is on false gods (money, pride, materialism, self-sufficiency, etc.) we become warped, misshapen. The potter must then begin the reshaping process.

When we go our own way, thinking we know it all, that we can live our lives without the hand of God to guide, mold and shape us, our loving Potter often must push a little harder, moving the clay this way or that. Other times he simply must flatten us and begin again. This can be uncomfortable and downright painful, but necessary if we are to be the beautiful creation God intended. Life would be so much easier if we could just let the Potter work on us in his own way, at his own pace. Unfortunately, we are born into a world broken by sin and cannot help ourselves. Most of us simply cannot “let go and let God.”  Try as we might, we cannot do it.

What happens when we, in our stubborn human nature, do not like the shape our lives are taking?  The Apostle Paul writes: “But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use?” (Romans 9:19-21) These words bring words of consolation for those of us (including me) who are not seeing our lives take the shape we thought God had chosen. We must have faith that God is with us, even in those times of doubt and fear: “In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7) When we set aside our prideful vision, he will take, mold, use and fill us in accordance with his will. We are in his hands. “Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” (Jeremiah 18:6)

A lump of clay in the Potter's Hand,
Sandi