Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Bread Devotional booklets are available in the gathering space on the welcome center for March, April, and May 2022. Please take one for your family.
From the Pastor – monthly article
I saw a robin in a tree behind the church this morning. A sure sign spring must not be far away.
This has not been the easiest winter with plenty of snow and very cold temperatures. But we are now approaching the end of February and beginning of March. Its warming up.
Today was Transfiguration Sunday. Wednesday will be Ash Wednesday followed by the first Sunday in Lent. The church season marches on.
I always look for to Lent each year. The season marks the beginning of spring. Spring is my favorite time of year. Each fall I go to the garden center and purchase bags of yellow daffodils. I really enjoy daffodils poking up through the soil. Makes my day.
Spring means we have roughly nine months of warmer weather ahead. Hurrah.
In spring we speak about new life. The church will have new life too. Think of our weekly Lenten services.
I always enjoy Lenten services. Marty Haugen’s Holden Evening Service is beautiful. I look forward to hearing it again.
I always enjoy our Lenten dinners. We have an opportunity to sit down and speak with each other. On Sundays we rush into church and then out the door. But at a Lenten service and meal we can take time to speak with other and build our sense of community.
This Lent make it a priority to attend our meal and worship at Lenten Services.
I often tell people All Saints Lutheran Church is the little congregation with the big heart. Think of all we do thru our pantry each Saturday. We have a wonderful congregation. Nowhere will that be better experienced then at our Lenten meal and service.
Message from March 9, Mid-Week #1
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
Some years ago, one Sunday evening my wife and a friend went to an event in Rock Island, leaving me at home to fend for my own entertainment. I was aware, of course, from all the newspaper publicity that this was the evening the Academy of Motion Pictures presents the Oscars for the best films and acting.
When I turned on the television, I came across the channel where Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa held forth on a red carpet outside of the pavilion at which the awards were presented. In recent years, major award ceremonies, such as the Oscars or Grammys or Golden Globe awards, are preceded by programs in which film or music celebrities are interviewed.
Joan River, however, gives the interviews a twist by adding commentary on clothing worn by the participants to the ceremony. This year everyone thought the dress worn by Oscar winner Charlize Theron looked glamorous. Diane Keaton adopted a Charlie Chaplin look which drew comment, but not from Joan Rivers, who appears to be mending a feud One woman I read about wore a dress with a million dollars’ worth of diamond sown into the fabric. Even the tuxedos of the men drew comment, though I don’t know how you tell one suit from the other.
Taken by themselves these pre-ceremony events probably don’t mean much. I don’t really care what Nicole Kidman wore to the Oscars. But I wonder if this event is symbolic of a much broader shift in our society. There have always been movie stars or their equivalent who live ostentatious lives. Today, however, the cult of the film star has a broader social impact and is more symptomatic of changes in our culture.
Anyone who has sat for any time in a dentist’s office recognizes that People Magazine makes money as the Bible of the movie star cult. Anyone who reads the Sport page knows that Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Wood and Michael Jordan have more wealth than some small nations. We live in a time of fantastic wealth and that wealth changes people and it changes a society.
I once read a book by Christopher Lasch titled, “The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. Listen carefully to what Lasch argues. He says people seek the kind of approval that applauds not their actions but their personal attributes. They wish to be no so much esteemed as admired. They crave not fame but the glamour and excitement of celebrity. They want to be envied rather than respected…What a person does matters less than the fact that they have made it.” Maybe this explains why people line up to defend Michael Jackson or O. J. Simpson or Bill Clinton.
Lasch adds this comment to his analysis: “The contemporary culture is therapeutic, not religious. People hunger not for personal salvation… but for the feeling, the momentary illusion, of personal well-being, health and psychic security.” What he is saying is this. The idea of personal salvation has less relevance for many people. These individuals don’t see the need to attend church, as a way of dealing with the important issues in their lives. Instead, if they are concerned about their health, they go to a health club. If they have a personal problem, they see a psychologist. Religious faith is irrelevant to their life. They live on in a material world devoid of spiritual practice or values. Their focus is on themselves and their personal wellbeing. This is the culture of narcissism about which Christopher Lasch writes.
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians writes about the culture of narcissism as it existed in his own time. He describes the problem this way: “Their end is destruction; their god is their belly; and their glory is their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.” Here Paul describes people for whom the spiritual dimension means nothing at all. They are most concerned about personal consumption. What they take pride would draw shame from a Christian.
When I read this passage from Paul’s letter, I thought about two men who were featured in newspaper articles. The first individual that came to mind is Walter Yetnikoff who was once the most powerful man in the music industry. He was the head of both CBS records and Sony Music. During the 1980’s he made millions and millions of dollars, but at the same time he morphed from a low key, married father of two, to a self-described philandering egoistical monster who lived on drugs and alcohol, until his life deteriorated. He lost his job and fortune and ended up in a detox center. His god was his belly and he self-destructed.
The second individual I want to speak about is William I. Koch, a multi-millionaire oil man who is known as a collector of art and furniture. But what is most unusual about Mr. Koch is his collection of ex-girlfriends and wives and the children he has had. His life is strewn with broken relationships. He has money and he has things. He is envied but not respected. He hasn’t done much, but he has made it. He is the poster child for narcissism of our age.
We may say to ourselves we will never have the sort of money that Mr. Yetnikoff or Mr. Koch have had, but it is not the scale of fortune that is the issue here. The question is one of values and the means and ends of our lives. Some people lead the life of a Mr. Yetnikoff or a Mr. Koch, but only on a smaller scale. The values and the materialism out of which they act are the same. The question then is what kind of values underlie are life. What is the true role of our Christian faith in guiding us?
Paul describes Christians as being citizens of heaven. By that he means we are focused on Jesus Christ and the life he calls us to lead. Paul does not worry about the body or material things. He knows how quickly the material changes. He says we should focus on the transformation Christ will bring to us. Are we truly citizens of heaven?
Lent challenges us. On Ash Wednesday, we confessed our unfaithfulness, our self-indulgent appetites and ways, our intemperate love of worldly good and comforts. When we made that confession, we admitted our belly is our god and that our minds have been set on earthly things. The challenge of Lent is to see the subtle ways we share the values of the narcissism of our age.
Today we want to rededicate ourselves to becoming citizen of heaven. Once again, our values and action must follow from our commitment to Jesus Christ. We seek to transform ourselves through the power and grace of God. Amen
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Message from March 13, Second Sunday in Lent
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
During this season of Lent, we focus on all that our Lord Jesus has done for us. In our Gospel lesson we see that Jesus was tempted by Satan, but despite Satan’s best-efforts Jesus resisted each temptation, not just for Himself, but also for you.
First, “Tell this stone to become bread.” In other words, “Jesus focus on yourself.” Such temptations of the flesh come to us as well. How often in our lives do we have legitimate needs, perhaps we need just a few more dollars to pay the gas bill, or some relief from this nagging pain, or a decent night’s sleep, or peace within the family. We ask for nothing extravagant, Lord, but can You really help us with the daily, physical necessities of life?
It often seems like, in this area, we are on our own. And we too are sometimes tempted from our own fleshly needs to question the love of God. Referring to such temptations of the flesh, Dr. Luther once wrote, “My own worst enemy is closest to me, I am carrying him in my breast. Therefore, if God does not help me with His Holy Spirit, I am lost. I cannot govern myself for a solitary hour.”
And so, the words of Jesus to Satan are also a good reminder for us. “Man does not live by bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3). Or, as Jesus would later explain further in His Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore, I tell you do not worry about what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? … And why do you worry about clothes? See the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows you that you need them” (Matthew 6:25-34).
Then, “The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, “I will give You all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it anyone I want to. So, if You worship me, it will be Yours” (Luke 4: 5-7).
Oh, the world had so much to offer. Of course, it had gold and riches beyond measure. But there was something more here as well—something that spoke to the compassionate heart of Jesus. For when He looked out over the nations, He saw more than glory and power. He also saw the suffering, the anguish and the despair that filled the lives of so many people. For that is why He had come into the world—to give hope to those who despair—to ease the pain of those who suffer—and to bring forgiveness and peace where there is sin and guilt. And now He could do it. There need be no crucifixion, no humiliation, no thorny crown, no death—here was a tremendous shortcut to accomplish His mission—He could bring peace on earth, free the world of evil, and bypass the agony of the cross.
What a temptation that was! Would Jesus go for it? No, because that was not His Father’s plan. And Jesus knows that when you try to do things outside the Father’s plan—when you try to accomplish things your own way (regardless of how good your intentions might be) when you try to accomplish things your own way, with no regard for God and His will—the result is always disaster.
What was Jesus’ response to Satan? “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
We do not worship on Sundays apart from Christ and His cross. We do not live the other 6 ½ days of the week apart from Christ and His cross. Because Christ and what He did for us through His suffering and death is the foundation of who we are and what we do.
Finally, “The devil lead Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If You are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully; they will lift You up in their hands so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone” (Luke 4:9-11).
Here we see the temptation to test God, which is actually an invitation to doubt God. The only reason we would test Him—to see if He were really there—or to see if He really cared—would be if we doubted Him or His love. For that is the reason and purpose of Satan’s entire existence. He wants to do nothing else than to plant seeds of doubt in each believer’s heart, to pull us away from our gracious God, and to rob us of our salvation.
But Jesus would not fall for this temptation. Rather, “Jesus answered again, very clearly from Scripture, ‘It says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Deuteronomy 6:16).
Satan wants you to doubt God, he wants you to doubt your salvation, he wants you to doubt that Jesus cares for you and loves you and provides for you each and every day. Why? Because Christians are people who live by grace through faith (Romans 1:17). And every doubt we have works to undermine that faith by which we are saved. That is why it is so important that we hold onto the certainty of our salvation.
So, Satan failed in all his attempts to get Jesus to sin. Jesus remained the spotless Lamb of God. He conquered temptation for us so that we could apply His strength, His perseverance and His victory, when we fight those same battles against the devil, the world and our flesh each and every day.
Every day we face temptation in many ways. The world tests us to see where we stand with our faith. May you persevere as Christ did. Do not fall to temptation but be strong in your faith. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your minds and heart in Christ Jesus.