The Joshua Victor Theory

  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today, August 15 th , we commemorate the Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus. Some Lutherans and other Protestants don’t know how to recognize St. Mary or are worried about seeming “too Catholic.” The Roman Catholic church encourages prayers to Mary (“Hail Mary’s), as an additional mediator between us and God. 1 Timothy 2:5 says there is only one Mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ. So, we believe our prayers go direct to God through Jesus, with no other middleman or middle woman is between us. Pastors, priests, and even Mary, the mother of our Lord have no special “inside channel” to God. But every person may bow their heads in prayer and call upon the Name of the Lord. So, we don’t elevate Mary in that way, but Lutherans go a middle way to honor the saints, not by worshipping them or praying to them, but by remembering their example of faith, and imitating their trust in the Lord. S...

“ Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters !” (Isaiah 55:1a). Come to Jesus Christ, the Living Water! Amen! Today is Pentecost, one of the three great Jewish festivals of the Old Testament, and the day full of grace when Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit on the disciples. But I want to talk to you about one of the other of the three great Jewish festivals—the one mentioned in our Gospel reading, John 7! Because at the Feast of Tabernacles (which means tents or booths) Jesus prophesied about sending His Holy Spirit on the disciples.  So, in John 7:37, it says, “ on the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out… ”  So, if you look earlier in the chapter, you find out that this last day of the feast is referring to the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a joyful, annual holiday, rich with reminders of how they lived in tents in the wilderness as God lead them to the Promised Land. There was lots of beautiful imagery—God dwelling among His people in Hi...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Every day we are engaged in a spiritual battle. We may or may not be conscious of it. But Bible passages like Ephesians are meant to wake Christians up, to be alert and engaged in the spiritual battle. You can guess how well the spiritual battle will go for us if we are sleepwalking, unarmed and unprepared, vs. being watchful and alert, armed and ready. To this end, Ephesians 6 tells us what the lay of the battlefield is, who our true enemies are, and what armor God equips us with. Last week at my drill with the National Guard, I talked in my sermon about how soldiers are issued a uniform, and expected to report for duty or ceremonies dressed in their uniform. Just like the wedding guest in last week’s parable did not wear the garment that would have been issued by the host. I also made a stop by the supply room, where they took my sizes to issue me a helmet, vest, and other gear. I neither make my own unifo...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. A year ago we marked the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation, when Martin Luther brought the light of Scripture back to the church. One of the discoveries that jolted Luther as he studied the New Testament was that every Christian struggles with an ongoing battle—between the saint and sinner in us. Or as Paul puts in in Romans 7, the battle between the spirit and the flesh, or the new self and the old self. So long as we are alive we have this constant struggle against our old sinful nature, tugging and pulling us toward all manner of sin, selfishness, greed, and impurity. And the new nature that seeks after holiness, righteousness, and God’s Truth. That struggle only ends in the grave, and after the resurrection of our body, to the sinless eternal life in Christ. But the new self is already implanted and germinated in us in Christ Jesus. So day by day we faithfully struggle again...

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia ! Amen. The beloved old Lenten hymn, “Go to Dark Gethsemane” shifts from the darkness of the crucifixion of Jesus, to His Easter resurrection in the final verse: “ Early hasten to the tomb where they lay His breathless clay; all is solitude and gloom. Who has taken Him away? Christ is ris’n! He meets our eyes. Savior teach us so to rise.” That poetic phrase, “ His breathless clay” refers to the dead, lifeless body of Jesus, buried in the tomb. But it also reminds us of God creating Adam from the “breathless clay” of the earth, when God created the body of Adam from the dust of the earth, and then breathed into Adam the “breath” or spirit of life (Genesis 2:7). Adam, the valley of dry bones, and Jesus’ resurrection all in turn show who is the God of the Living. Who has power to make breathless clay breathe life again. Death could not hold Jesus any more. The breath or spirit of life returned to Him, and He rose, never to die again! Ezek...

Out of the flood of images that pour out of the Passion reading, seize on the person of Peter for a moment. At the Last Supper, Jesus says “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Jesus is quoting from the prophet Zechariah, explaining how all His disciples would abandon Him in His hour of greatest need. But also, that Jesus would rise up from death, and rendezvous with them in Galilee (this of course they forgot until after the resurrection). But Peter is eager to proclaim his undying loyalty to Jesus: “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” Probably many of us at one time or another have imagined ourselves doing something heroic in the midst of danger. Or showing our loyalty to the extreme, or standing up bravely when others failed. But how will we be tested? And would we stand the test? Jesus soberly answered Peter’s boast: “Truly, I tell you, th...