The Joshua Victor Theory

  Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. “BUT IT’S NOT FAIR! SHE GOT MORE THAN ME!!!” “BUT IT’S NOT FAIR! HE GOT THE PROMOTION I DESERVED!” “BUT IT’S NOT FAIR! LOOK HOW PERFECT AND EASY THEIR LIFE IS AND LOOK AT MINE!” “BUT IT’S NOT FAIR! I’M ALWAYS LAST!” “BUT IT’S NOT FAIR! I DID MORE WORK, BUT THEY GOT PAID THE SAME!” “BUT IT’S NOT FAIR! THEY DIDN’T EVEN STUDY AND GOT A BETTER GRADE THAN ME ON THE TEST!” I’m sure you can add to this list. Nothing can make us feel greedy, grumpy, whiny, jealous, or even just plain angry than perceiving some sort of unfairness. Truth be told, our eyes don’t always see the full picture. Glossy magazine or internet ads push all our buttons for lust, jealousy and greed. Our friends or even a stranger’s postings and photos only show us a “picture perfect slice” of their life. Our constant comparisons leave us dissatisfied and resentful. We cry “foul” all the time, but we make pretty poor ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Meals are inescapably at the center of human life. Eating is a defining feature of our existence—stop eating, and you won’t be sticking around for too much longer. Meals and meal etiquette are at the center of much human culture. A feast or a banquet is an especially important meal—usually greater time and care is taken in preparation; and usually a feast or banquet is a celebration of something significant. Meals, whether a feast or an ordinary meal, are a place where hospitality, friendship, trust, brotherhood, and even forgiveness and reconciliation can be communicated. Meals truly are a key part of our human existence. Today’s Gospel reading is part of a series of mealtime conversations with Jesus. It’s one of many in Gospel of Luke. Zoom out one step further to the whole Bible, and you’ll find dozens more examples of prominent meals with God, feasts or banquets. They are so important because they are of...

Firstly, I hope everyone had a great celebration of Christmas this year, and that you remembered to be thankful for God’s many gifts as the year 2017 draws to its conclusion, and 2018 is just beginning. This Christmas season I developed a special fascination for the story “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. It’s a perennial classic, ever since 1843, when Dicken’s wrote it in a flurry of inspiration, just before Christmas—reviving his slumping writing career and inspiring new attitudes about Christmas even in himself. But I didn’t realize it has been adapted into cartoon or film well over 20 times. Vaguely remembering several versions I’d seen in childhood, and the iconic images of Ebenezer Scrooge’s miserliness and later transformation to hilarious generosity ( note—the Greek word for “cheerful giver” is hilarity), I decided to read the original work and watch several of the best rated versions. I haven’t managed to see the latest film, but presently in theaters is a different...

• To know and to do—very different things (P. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary). Jesus established that the teacher knew the Law correctly—but to do it is a far greater matter. A great many good things we know we ought to do, by the 10 Commandments, but how much harder is it to do than to simply know? A child may know their parents told them not to fight with their siblings—but doing it… • Jesus teaches the Law’s promise: “Do this and you shall live”. That’s all well and good if you can do it, but if you don’t do it? Gal. 3:10-11 tells us this very command becomes a curse to us, because “cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”” • Teacher wanted to justify himself. Betrays his motive. Wants the law to do what the law cannot do, because of our sinfulness. 21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. In our Old Testament reading we have a beautiful story of forgiveness and mercy. Joseph forgives his brothers the terrible sins they committed long ago against him—selling him as a slave, lying about his death to their father, and their hatred. After their father’s death, he tenderly consoles their fears and assures them that he doesn’t want revenge, but that all is truly forgiven. It pictures what Jesus commands in our Gospel reading: “ Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” The verses of our lesson explain how we become merciful like our heavenly Father, and to conform ourselves to the pattern of Jesus, so that as the reading also says, that we would be fully-trained , just like Jesus, our Great Teacher. After all, the picture of Joseph’s mercy, and all other human stories and examples of mercy, are small reflections of the perfect mercy of Jesus, who sought no vengeance against His enemies, but forgav...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. [Welcome to all of our Emmanuel Lutheran Preschool families! It’s a delight to have you as part of our ohana, and a blessing for our teachers to share in the joy of raising up our children in the knowledge of our Lord.] Today the parable Jesus tells gives us a surprise about how the kingdom of heaven works. But you’ll have to step out of the world of full-time employment for a moment to get the right picture. The people in the parable are “day-laborers” with no contract except a one day agreement for one day’s work and one day’s wage. At least the first to arrive on the job have that agreement. The ones who come later only have a promise to be paid “whatever is right.” How uncertain would life be if our employment was day to day, not on a more permanent basis? One thing is for sure, no work = no pay = no food. Consider the life or death value of that denarius—one day’s wage—in the story....

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. On Sunday we spoke of how we are members of Jesus’ Kingdom as fruitful branches growing from His Vine. Joined to Jesus we are green, alive, and bearing fruit. Today in 2 Corinthians 9, Paul zeroes in on one particular spiritual fruit: generosity. The well-known phrase, “ God loves a cheerful giver .” Immediately upon hearing this phrase, our minds go to money, and our hands go to protect our wallet. Or they might , anyhow, if we think this passage is only about how generous our offering will be in the plate. But while Paul certainly appealed to the Corinthians for financial support for the Christians in poverty in Jerusalem—the Biblical picture of generosity is bigger than cash. It’s a stock phrase in churches, but true nevertheless, that stewardship can be described as giving of our time, talents, and treasure. That’s simply to recognize that there are more ways to give, than just...