The Joshua Victor Theory

 Sermon on  Isaiah 49:7-13 for  Maundy Thursday,  from Rev. Reed Lessing, "Singing with the Exiles" series.  “They shall not hunger or thirst.” Isaiah 49:9.   When was the last time you gave this commentary on your life? “Deader than a door-nail; a lost cause; time to throw in the towel; Sayonara baby; the fat lady has sung ...or the mighty Casey has struck out!” Israel gave this very commentary on her own life during the dark days of the Babylonian exile. Today Isaiah speaks to this people of a lost cause. You see, Isaiah knew that the days were coming when Israel would have no temple, no Jerusalem, no Davidic king, no annual pilgrim feasts, no commercial or political significance, and no hope! Mighty Casey will strike out! Or, to use Israel 's favorite – “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion .” T heir preeminence and years of glory were but a mournful, distant memory. Isaiah 49:9–12 continues the message of redempt...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. God sure loves sheep. All over the Bible He calls His people “sheep”, from “ the Lord is my Shepherd ” to the Good Shepherd searching and finding His lost sheep—God loves sheep. And Matthew 9:36 observes that when Jesus taught the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were “ harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Clearly the sheep were in danger. There is a lot going on in those words. Harassed and helpless means that the sheep are being abused, exploited, or otherwise harmed, and are unable to defend themselves or rescue themselves out of the situation. “Like sheep without a shepherd” indicates they are leaderless or that their leaders have failed them. These words echo back to God’s care for His people the sheep, described in Ezekiel 34. Ezekiel 34 describes another group of harassed and helpless sheep. God rails against the “ shepherds of Israel” , ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Earlier this week I was watching two famous professors debate—one an atheist, the other a Christian. They talked about suffering and the problem of evil. The widow in our reading was a real example of suffering. The Christian in the debate, John Lennox, said that everyone senses that there is too much suffering in this world. You can imagine the widow saying: “There’s too much suffering in my life—how can I bear it all?” When suffering strikes close to home—a husband, a son, or another loved one—we ask “why does God allow this to happen?” “How can God be good, when my loved one is dying?” Many turn away from God or simply say that He doesn’t exist, because of tragedies. But getting rid of God gets rid of the greatest hope and answer to suffering—while still leaving us with the suffering. If there is no God in the world, suffering is just a brute fact of existence, and the universe doesn’t care. If there is no G...

            In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today’s reading from 1 Peter asks the question of how are we to live our lives, while the end of the world is in view. And by that, I mean that ever since Jesus ascended into heaven, we await His coming return at any time. Our attitude should be “always ready.” Today I want you to reflect on this question as we wait for the coming end: “Who am I?” The answer wraps us up in our identity in Christ, our future in Him, and who we are to be here and now.             When the apostle Peter declares to us from the pages of Scripture that the “ end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded, for the sake of your prayers ”—what’s our reaction? Does a 2,000 year old warning seem to lose its urgency? Do we scoff and say: “ Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming? For ever...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. It’s worth noting that the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded by all four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—outside of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which are the main focus of all four. In all four retellings of the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus turns to His disciples to provide for the food, and they are in disbelief. How can we possibly feed this multitude? Only John’s Gospel records Jesus’ specific question to Philip: “ Where are we to buy bread that these people may eat ?” and explains that Jesus was testing him, because He already knew what He was going to do. We don’t often appreciate being tested—especially if we’re caught by surprise. Pop quizzes are sure to make any student groan and panic. In work and personal relationships, if we find someone is testing us, we’re often suspicious of their hidden motives. In our faith life...

Sermon outline: ·          First glance? Miracle story + reminder to always say “thank-you”? < Scratching surface. Closer look > Dynamics between Jews and Samaritans (who were they?), dynamics between the healthy community and lepers (who were they?) , purity laws and priests verifying cleansing, value of a physical wellness vs. something more received by faith! Different levels of thankfulness/praise. Dynamics between Samaritan and Jesus (who is this man?). ·          Our own semi-recent history with leprosy—Father Damien and the lepers of the Kalaupapa colony on Molokai. Sad and tragic stories—exile who was healed, refused by mother to come home—so great was the fear. 100 years Hansen’s disease sufferers banished there. ·          Biblical times: had to live outside the community and wear torn clothes, cover their face and cry out, “Unclean, Unclean!” to ...

·          Jesus the greatest teacher and master storyteller ·          Stories convey deep spiritual truth; designed to get our attention ·          Unique among His stories, character of Lazarus has a name; significant to meaning of the story: “The one whom God helps” ·          Looking at his life—the rich man feasts lavishly, and living in luxury, while poor Lazarus suffers quietly in misery, licked by dogs outside his gate, until he dies—you might think it a cruel joke that his name means “the one whom God helps.” Ironic? Doesn’t his suffering show evidence that God had abandoned him? ·          Natural way of thinking: life is prosperous and well; God must be showing favor—but if life is filled with suffering and evil things, that God must be showing secret displeasure ...