Sermon 2022.01.02
Pastor Wesley Menke
Grace Lutheran Church
Did I ever tell you about the time I met the guy who invented rocket fuel? I was serving as a chaplain at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. It must have been one of the nurses who told me she had this highly regarded patient. He had had a procedure and I was sure that he would love a visit from the friendly chaplain who was a mathematics major in college, and a huge science geek. When I went into the room I saw him sitting in his bed looking down at his tray of food. He had very long fingernails. The fork, spoon, and knife all sat unused as he methodically ate using his bare hands.
I tried to strike up a conversation but he never once turned to acknowledge my existence. With him there was a kind of attendant. He was a very kind man who cared for the patient like a personal assistant or caretaker, and this same man smiled at me and said, thank you so much for your visit, chaplain, I don’t think today is a good day to chat. I left the room feeling not a little disappointed. I had so wanted to talk about science, engineering, math, and space exploration with this legendary man, but as it turned out, that isn’t what he wanted to do.
It could have not been a good time to talk, it didn’t seem that way, it seemed more likely that the attendant felt that a scientist wouldn’t have anything to gain from religion and vice versa. Why do so many people think that way?
Many science minded people reject religion because they cannot find evidence for a God who rewards or punishes people based on their behavior. So they say, I don’t believe in God. Actually, as Lutheran Christians, we should not disagree with them. Luther rejected the belief that there was a God who punished or rewarded us for our behavior. Luther had such a sober and realistic view of humanity that if that were true all of humanity would be condemned to death, except for Jesus of course. Instead, what Luther found in scripture, and what he had faith in was a God who loved all of creation and humanity with unconditional love. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was a salvific act and declaration of God’s word for all of humanity to save us not because we are good enough, but just because that’s how God is. So in a way I don’t believe in the “God” that many atheists don’t believe in either!
Rather I look at all of creation, the miracle of life itself and I see a benevolent loving God caring for all of life despite our evilest attempts to subvert it. We see written into creation itself that we are all saved by grace through faith, and not by works.
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When I was in seminary in Berkeley, California we had a day when many different faiths and their people gathered for worship and fellowship that is to say lunch. Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is part of the Graduate Theological Union, and so we studied with many Catholics, Episcopalians, Unitarian Universalists, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, and we could take classes from one another. This was a very good thing and living outgrowth of the freedom of religions we value in our country.
During one such occasion I sat down at a table with some men wearing brown robes. They were Franciscan monks. We started to talk about Christmas. Somebody made a comment about how culturally Christmas is a much bigger holiday than Easter. More money is spent, more time is taken off of work and school, maybe even more people got to church at Christmas than at Easter. Then the question was asked or rather the opinion was stated, Isn’t Easter more important for Christians and for our salvation? When this question was asked the friars all leaned back in their chairs and took a collective sign. But before they could answer I jumped into the fray.
“No.” I said. “Easter is not more important than Christmas. The birth of Jesus as a divine and human being is an act of salvation in and of itself. Christmas is about more than the birth of our savior, it is our salvation!”
On of the friars’ face lit up and he leaned forward and pointed to me. “Yes!” He said. “That is exactly right and what we believe as Franciscans. The incarnation is a saving act.” He went on to say, “We ask this hypothetical question: If Adam and Eve and humanity never fell into sin, would Jesus still have been born? For us, the answer is a resounding: Yes! Even before humanity fell into sin God’s plan was to always bring creation, all of creation into God’s own self. Jesus is the firstborn of the new creation!” And there we sat, ate, drank iced tea, and continued in deep theological conversation.
Today on the second Sunday of Christmas we have strong Biblical support for this viewpoint. Take Ephesians 1:9-10, “He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
God’s plan is to gather up all things in heaven and on earth into God’s very own being and heart. God’s plan for all time and space is for all of space and time to be one with God: utter beauty, perfection, harmony, and bliss everlasting. All people, all past, present, and future, all differences reconciled, all atrocities atoned for, all pollution cleaned up, all wounds healed, all hate ameliorated with love. And after all of this, what remains? Faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love!
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