Whom Shall I Send?

Power is impressive. One of the privileges of working in the garden is that, after dad was done tilling the soil, we got to go out and play in the dirt. We got to take out our Tonka trucks. One day, instead of toy dump trucks, we saw real ones. They were paving the road in front of our house. So what do you do when that happens and there’s nothing else to do? You go out and watch. I just sat there for many minutes watching the big machines at work. But then, there was the back-hoe. I remember seeing it dig a trench. And that huge arm swung out and around. And even though it was a safe distance away, for the first time, I could imagine what that machine could do if it swung out to me. Power is impressive. But when you begin to see that that power can be used against you, it becomes terrifying. In our gospel this morning Peter came in contact with true power as Jesus performed a miracle and it was terrifying. This morning in our first lesson we see much the same pattern. In Isaiah 6, we read: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1 NIV11-GKE)

All of God’s word deserves our attention. But there are some that deserve our imagination. Here in these words Isaiah sees the Lord. The real and true God that we worship—the same God that we all have wanted to see with our own eyes—that is the God that revealed himself to Isaiah in this amazing imagery. Isaiah saw heaven itself and God seated there in heaven. But then what happens? “Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.” (Isaiah 6:2 NIV11-GKE)

Isaiah sees angels. And these unique kind of angels, called Seraphim, were flying around the throne with two of their wings. But what were doing with the others? With two pairs of wings they covered their faces. And with two others they covered their feet. There’s a visual sermon there. Even though these angels are powerful and without any sin, nevertheless, when it comes to the Triune God, there are facets of their God they are not allowed to see and there are places they are not allowed to go. And as Isaiah sees this he begins to put the pieces together. If holy sinless angels cannot see some facets of God and if there are places they cannot go, then what about me? And as this thought is swirling around in his mind, he sees and hears what happens next: “3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah 6:3–4 NIV11-GKE)

The angels continued to sing this triple song of praise to the Triune God. And as they sang, the temple began to come apart. It’s important if a wall shakes and shatters. But when a load-bearing wall begins to fall apart, it begins to be scary. Bit by bit, moment by moment, Isaiah begins to stack all these details up and they add up to a very scary and fearful conclusion. There are facets of God that even angels cannot see. There are places that even angels cannot go. If they are holy and cannot go there, then what about a guy like me who is not holy? And God’s power is truly powerful. He could destroy anything he wants to. And that drove Isaiah’s mind and heart into a very specific direction. We read: ““Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV11-GKE)

Isaiah shouts out that he is a man of unclean lips.1(I

The Lord Sends Us To Speak

It’s your turn to speak. When I was a child we had “show and tell” in school. Just like you would expect, we would take something that was very important to us and precious to school. Then, one by one, each of us would show what we liked. Then we would tell our classmates what we liked. And the teacher would says those words, “It’s your turn to speak.’” And when the teacher said those words, there was nothing holding us back. But then what happened? We got a little older and, sadly, we realized that not everyone likes the same toys we like. And they aren’t afraid to let us know. For us as Christians, our Lord has invited us to show and tell this great gift, this great treasure of God’s word with those in our lives. But we soon learn the powerful lesson that that invitation is easier said than done. There is nothing new under the sun. In God’s word this morning we see that it was the same in Jeremiah’s time. In Jeremiah 1, we read: “4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”” (Jeremiah 1:4–5 NIV11-GKE)

In these words the Lord approaches Jeremiah and gives him an amazing invitation. He invites him to speak God’s word. But even more than that, he invites him to speak God’s word as a full-time work and calling as a prophet. But, instead of the pure joy we might expect, we find a different reaction in Jeremiah: ““Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”” (Jeremiah 1:6 NIV11-GKE)

Jeremiah responds to this joyous invitation with an objection. He says that he is too young.1(Jeremiah 1:6 BHS-T)}} It’s easy to look at Jeremiah and say, “what’s wrong with you? Don’t you see the great calling the Lord is offering you?” But my friends in Christ, there’s a little more that you need to learn. Jeremiah would be sent to share God’s word with God’s people. The problem was that some of God’s people hated God’s word and the messengers who shared God’s word. Later on in this book Jeremiah is thrown into a muddy cistern with slimy walls so that they get rid of him and put him to death.2(Jeremiah 38:6 BHS-T)}} The sort of opposition we face today is not the same. But yet we still throw up objections for not speaking God’s word, don’t we? Who will listen to me? I am too young. Who will listen to me? I am too old. Who will listen to me? I don’t know enough of God’s word. Or, if you’re in my shoes: Who will listen to me? I know too much. How many times have I had to answer the question, “why do bad things happen to good people? Will my answer come across as something more than memorized, treating the person as a person? And, if given more time, we could come up with even more objections, couldn’t we? But what does the Lord do with these excuses? We read: “But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.” (Jeremiah 1:7 NIV11-GKE)

Notice how there were no excuses for Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a teenager when he was sent to be a prophet. Yet the Lord still sent him. And today the Lord has sent us too, as a congregation, and also individually, as Christians to speak God’s word. Your situation is a little different than Jeremiah’s. He was sent officially as a prophet of God. Your situation is more personal and private. You and Jeremiah each have different calls. But both you and Jeremiah have the same invitation to speak and share God’s word. So the Lord speaks law to Jeremiah, letting him know that his excuses don’t hold any weight. And he does the same with us. But then where does the Lord go? We rea

That’s not what I ordered

This is not what I ordered. Years ago, I went to a restaurant. And there was table next to mine. And at that table one by one, the waiter took each person’s order. Minutes passed by and the food came. And the waiter put in front of one of the women at that table a big steak. And as soon as she saw it, those were the words she spoke: “You need to take this back. That’s not what I ordered.” There is this frustrating offense each of us goes through when we order and ask for one thing, but get another. That’s what we have in front of us this morning. In Luke’s gospel, we read these words: “16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. 20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”” (Luke 4:16–21 CSB17)

Here, in these words, Jesus shares with the people of own town and his own people good news. About 800 years before this the prophet Isaiah was writing to the Jewish people. The Jewish people had rebelled against the Lord so powerfully and persistently that he allowed the Babylonians to come down, conquer them, and then lead them away as captive slaves. But the Lord had good news for them. First, their captivity under the Babylonians would one day come to an end. But, second, there was even better news. The captivity they had to death would be conquered. The spiritual darkness inside of them would be forgiven. And they would be brought into the light. Their slavery to sin would not exist anymore because they would be set free. That is what Jesus said to them. And it was a good message. But what he said right after that was even more good news. Jesus doesn’t just tell them that the Lord would free them. Jesus also tells them when. Right then, in their hearing, these words are fulfilled. There can be no greater or more joyous message than what Jesus shared with them. But what happened next was definitely not what Jesus ordered. We read: “They were all testifying against him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from his mouth; yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”” (Luke 4:22 CSB17)

Jesus shares this amazing message of forgiveness with them. And we would expect “amens” and invitations to pre

Jesus Reveals His Glory

Ihate the wait. When I was a kid, right about this time of the year the Superbowl would be finished. And they would interview the players on the winning team, “So, now that you won the Superbowl, where are you going to go?” And what would they say? “I’m going to Disneyland.'” Even as a child I knew that was not the answer I would have given. I didn’t want to go to Disneyland because I hated the wait. So you got to go to Space Mountain. But my older brother and sister told me the story of how long the wait was on a hot and sticky day just to get to the front of the line. And still to this day, I have no desire to be out on Black Friday. I hate the wait. But, as we look at these words this morning, I see that I’m not alone. In John 2, we read: “1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”” (John 2:1–3 NIV11-GKE)

It was the third day. But it was the third day from what? A few short days before this Jesus was baptized. And there in the river Jordan the Holy Spirit rested on him and gave him power—true power. And all those who were there knew what this meant. There were hundreds of prophecies and promises spoken of in the Old Testament. And one day God would anoint someone to fulfill those prophecies and promises with such great power. And there, in the Jordan river those prophecies pointed to and were fulfilled in Jesus. And so Jesus was anointed as our Prophet, Priest, and King. They saw it. And then what happened? Nothing. Hour after hour, day after day, nothing happened. That’s the context we need to understand as we begin to walk through these words. I hated waiting in lines. But Mary and Jesus’ disciples—they hated waiting for the signs and wonders to begin like having to watch too many previews before the movie starts.

So, in these words, there’s a wedding. Jesus and his disciples are invited. But Mary shows up. And when the wine runs out Mary lets her son know that they are out of wine. It’s hard to know what to do with her comment. Is it a good comment? Is she letting Jesus know of a problem and leaving the result in his hands? After all, one of the dilemmas we can face is to pray to our Lord to fix a real problem in our lives. And then, just as soon as we’ve told Jesus to fix the problem, we then step into his domain, telling Jesus when and how, if we were God, we would fix the problem. So this could be a good example. She tells him the problem, leaving the solution in his hands. On the other hand, it could be a bad example. It could be like when the husband and wife are sitting together on the couch and she says to him, “The garbage is full.” Every husband knows that those words make it appear as if that’s a simple statement of fact. But, in reality, it’s a command. The statement “the garbage is full” really means, “take the trash out.”

We don’t know which direction to take with her comment. But what we do know is that she too was waiting to see her Son’s

Remember Your Humility

It’s hard to be humble. As Christians, we know there are these traits we are supposed to have and these actions we are supposed to take. But it’s hard, isn’t it? In our words from Paul’s letter to Titus. Paul tells Titus: “1 Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.” (Titus 3:1–2 CSB17)

Isn’t it fascinating that our situation as humans never changes. It’s hard to submit to the authorities. Our leaders in our nation sometimes make shortsighted laws that only seem to exist to get them elected two years down the road, not to make our nation better 2o years down the road. It’s hard to be humble. We try to get to church on time, but, especially at night, people wont’ let us turn left onto Minnewashta, or they cut us off. It’s hard to not be angry. But notice what Paul tells us here. He reminds us to be humble. And then, after Paul does this. He follows with two important reasons why we are to remember our humility: “For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.” (Titus 3:3 CSB17)

Paul starts out by reminding us to be humble. And he gives us a real reason to remember this by remembering what we were. It is so easy to say, “look at them—how wrong they are.” But Paul does not direct our focus outward. Instead, he focuses our focus inward. In the congregation that Titus served most of the People could remember a time when they were not Christians. For many of us here this morning, we cannot remember that because we were brought into God’s family at a very early age. But for those who can, this would have been piercing, paralyzing words. For life outside of Christ is a terrifying existence. But even for us who cannot remember our life before, we do know what it is like right now to be a Christian and at the same time have a sinful nature. And in that context we need to say the same as Paul, “We—also we used to be them.”1 And all throughout our lives we see reminders of this. Last week Priscilla’s school went on a school trip to go downhill skiing. And I got to be a chaperone. And at the bottom of the ski lift there was a boy who took a short cut. There was a line that was for the ski patrol. But the kid shuffled his way through that empty line to the front. A bunch of his friends told him he was in the wrong line. And he ignored them. When I saw all this I got really angry. Finally, when the boy realized he couldn’t ignore his friends, he looked up. And one of his friends say, “you cannot use that line.” And with such arrogance and pride, he said, “Looks like I just did.” And you would think that that statement would make me angry. But instead it filled me with sadness and fear. Why? I remembered times, when I was his age, that I cut in line. And when I did, those are the exact words that I said. And I felt so sorry for something I did 30+ years ago.

One of the challenges about being a Christian is that, the longer we are Christians, and the more we study God’s word, the more we see our sin. And the more it hurts. And so, one of the ways we are moved to remember our humility is to remember that we—even