Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3; Revelation 12:7-12; Luke 10:17-20

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

What do you know about angels? We see them portrayed many times in movies and TV shows. Yet, we know that this isn’t the best source of information. There are many ideas floating around our culture as to what angels do and who they are. These may have only a hint of truth to them. Indeed, if you asked any random person, you might get such sentiments that we all have guardian angels, that loved ones become angels when they die, or that they are cute, little chubby babies with wings. 

This is why it’s important for us to understand angels from a biblical basis. We may think that angels are pretty rare in Scripture since we don’t know much about them, but even this isn’t actually true. Angels are everywhere, though we still don’t learn too much about them. 

Let’s change this as this week we celebrate the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Only two angels are ever named in Scripture, Gabriel and Michael. Michael is the prince of heaven, the leader of the angelic armies. He is referenced only a handful of times, most notably in Revelation. Michael leads the heavenly armies against Satan and his forces to cast Satan out of heaven. Just as we read, “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven,” Revelation 12:7-8. 

We both know and confess that angels are part of God’s creation. They are made to serve God in his heavenly dwelling. Angels thus are holy servants of God. Yet, the term angel also means “messenger.” This is how we often see angels portrayed in Scripture. They are messengers of God to his chosen people. Gabriel carries the news of Christ’s birth to Mary. Angels announce to the disciples Jesus’ resurrection. It is said that angels shall even announce the second coming of Christ on earth. Angels are ministering spirits, to care for God’s people by carrying to them God’s word and defending them from Satan and his forces.

Despite all of this, the church has commemorated St. Michael, the archangel for one main reason. It’s not that it’s a good day to learn about angels. It’s that St. Michael is a servant for Christ, carrying the victory of Christ to all of God’s creation! St. Michael may lead the armies, but he himself is led by Christ. Christ is the one who commands all the heavenly host. And Christ is the one who has been born in our flesh, and died for us! Even as Revelation says, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death,” Revelation 12:11. St. Michael is a warrior of Christ, carrying the word of Christ’s death and resurrection to all of God’s people so that Satan may accuse us no more! By Satan’s defeat at the hands of Michael and the angels in Heaven, we have the assurance of God’s care and protection both now and forevermore!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Jeremiah 11:18-20; James 3:13-4:10; Mark 9:30-37

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It’s very common for us to engage in the regular game of 1-upmanship. We have this tendency to always have to prove that we are better than the next guy. For example, if he says he can finish his homework in an hour, then I’ll say I finished in a half-hour. If he says he can lift one hundred pounds, then I’ll say I can lift two hundred pounds! We do this so often because we naturally desire to show our status as the “best”.

Yet, it’s this very desire to be first, to be the best that has also led people to do some horrible things. Athletes have taken drugs to try to boost their performance. Others have sought to hinder or destroy their competition just so they can take the podium. Companies have squashed competition through underhanded deals and practices. Countries have even gone to war for such egos. 

In the Gospel reading this week, we find the disciples on this similar topic. They are playing this game of 1-upmanship. But then, Jesus comes and starts teaching them about his own suffering and death. He tells them how he will serve them with his life. Then he asks them this question, “What were you discussing on the way?” Mark 9:33. For before we ever start discussing greatness and who’s better, we should look first to our Lord. 

This is where the disciples look silly. They’ve been caught red-handed in their pride and ego, like many of us are as well. The way we and the world often view greatness is a windy road that often leads to our eventual destruction. Many people have sought to reach the top, only to realize how many bridges they burned on the climb up. Greatness in our world’s standards will always lead to our eventual destruction. If we’re the greatest, someone will seek to outdo us, or worse, harm us in their own pursuit.

Jesus changes all of this when we look to him first. He’s not clawing his way to the top. He’s not pushing others out of his way. He’s not demanding recognition for all of his success. No, Jesus goes in the opposite direction. He’s digging to the bottom. He’s seeking to join you and me. As Jesus says, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all,” Mark 9:35. That’s exactly what Jesus shows us. He’s not the greatest because he beats everyone else. He’s the greatest one because he’s God… yet, he serves us as the lowest slave of all. Jesus goes to the cross for us. He offers up his life on behalf of ours. He doesn’t seek to push anyone out of the way, but rather, as Jesus is exalted for his righteousness, he grabs onto you and me so that we may join him in his exaltation! The greatness of God is nothing else but the cross, which is the salvation of the whole world! May we then be like Jesus, serving one another that we may lift one another up, and be lifted up by God! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O God, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, grant us humility and childlike faith that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Isaiah 50:4-10; James 3:1-12; Mark 9:14-29

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I’m more than convinced that the hardest thing we ever have to do is wait. Now, I’m not talking about waiting in line, or waiting at the doctor’s office, or other such things. This type of waiting has no set time frame. It’s the indefinite waiting for something we want to happen, without any evidence it ever will. Waiting for the perfect spouse, waiting for the right job, waiting for healing while illnesses persist, etc. For these things, the only thing we can do is wait.

We all want to know that when we have problems, we also have the capacity to fix them. We want to know that we can do something ourselves toward reaching a solution. Yet, there are many times that this isn’t the case. Sometimes, the only thing we can do is wait… and that’s difficult. We wait for God to provide the needed relief, unsure when or if it will come. 

Consider then the father in our Gospel reading this week. He has a son who has been demon-possessed since childhood. While we have no idea how old this child is, it has clearly been a long time. For this demon has oppressed the child, even seeking to destroy him. The demon has cast the child into fire and deep water, all while the father is powerless to stop it. There’s no wonder the father is desperate by the time he meets Jesus. 

Imagine how long this father has sought answers and solutions to no avail. I can only imagine his doubts and despair at not being able to help his son. He has waited weeks, months, or most likely even years for deliverance. Such was his request of Jesus, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us,” Mark 9:22. Our faith is often tested the most when we have to wait. It’s easy knowing there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s easy knowing there’s a solution within your grasp. It’s hard to wait, being unsure if an answer will ever come. 

Why does God make us wait? Does he like to see us suffer? Well, of course not. But the why is something that we may never know or understand. Rather, the waiting is perhaps God bidding us to trust in him and his timing. For so often, I find myself echoing the words of the father, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24. Thus, we learn that God’s action is never dependent on us having the proper faith. It’s not dependent on our ability or faithfulness. It’s dependent on Jesus alone. For Jesus casts out the demon. Jesus overcomes our afflictions. Jesus comes to us even in the midst of our doubt and despair to tell us that our hope and waiting haven’t been in vain. For at the perfect time, Jesus came to die for us. He answers our prayers in his timing and not a minute later. While God may make us wait, he still comes beside us to remind us that he will not make us wait forever. We can lay all of our doubts and struggles at Jesus’ feet, knowing that not only will Jesus take care of them, but that our waiting shall never be in vain! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, our support and defense in every need, continue to preserve Your Church in safety, govern her by Your goodness, and bless her with Your peace; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-10, 14-18; Mark 7:24-37

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It’s a lot of fun watching a child grow up, watching them learn and grow. One aspect though of their growth and learning is learning how to speak. First words are of course a big deal. So too when they can finally communicate better what they need. I’ve loved watching my son grow and learn new words and hear him come up with ideas that are all his own. But we know that language is something that is only learned through hearing.

This is the issue for those that are born deaf. Without the ability to hear, language is much harder to master. While I’m able to annunciate words to help my son learn, those who can’t hear have no idea what the difference is between words without additional help. This is why the Church goes to great lengths to help the deaf “hear” the word when they otherwise couldn’t.

Yet, in our Gospel lesson this week, Jesus encounters a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus had already done some pretty amazing things, so his friends or family brought him to Jesus so Jesus could heal him. For thus we read, “And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly,” Mark 7:35. Jesus opens his ears, looses his tongue, and gives him back the ability to speak. 

I never wish to make light of someone else’s limitations. I wish like Jesus that I could give hearing back to the deaf, sight to the blind, strength to the weak, health to the ill, and so on. Yet, of course, that is far beyond my capability. Yet, one thing that Jesus’ interaction with this deaf man teaches us is that hearing and speaking are always inevitably linked. What we hear, we speak. If we have trouble speaking about faith, speaking about Christ, it’s because we have not heard enough. Our issues with speaking always come from a lack of listening. Especially in our sin, we will shut our ears off to hearing God’s word so that our tongues become tied.

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise,” (Ps. 51:15). When our ears have listened to Christ, we are inevitably led to speak. We cannot help it. God’s word is meant to come into our ears, dwell in our hearts, so that it may loose our tongue to declare his praise. This is what the people said afterwards, “And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak,” Mark 7:37. Indeed, Jesus does all things well. He does well in speaking forgiveness for us through his cross. He has died for us so that now, we may be able to proclaim his praises through all the world! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O Lord, let Your merciful ears be open to the prayers of Your humble servants and grant that what they ask may be in accord with Your gracious will; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9; Ephesians 6:10-20; Mark 7:14-23

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Our immune system is a pretty amazing thing. Whenever we get sick, our bodies know how to fight off diseases and expel them from the body. We might be feeling weak for a short amount of time. However, given time, our immune system will rid us of the invading disease and return us to normal. For as long as these diseases remain on the outside of our body, we are completely fine. The issue comes when they get inside the body.

Yet, as well as our immune systems do at fighting off a cold, a flu, or other common diseases, there are still those diseases where our bodies need help from medicine. The illnesses that linger inside us are those which need an additional push to expel. Medicine works side by side with our immune system, in a way, to take out the trash.

As we read our Gospel lesson this week, Jesus discusses the very things that “defile” a person. It’s those things that cause issues once they are inside the body, not on the outside. “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him,” Mark 7:15. Jesus goes on to explain that the old laws regarding certain foods shouldn’t be the main focus for his disciples. Rather, it’s the inward condition… sin.

This is the reality of our human condition. We love to talk about how there is so much evil “out there” in the world, when the reality is that the same evil is inside each of us. We all are born sinful, with evil desires. These are the things that dwell inside us and make us “ill”. Out of our hearts, out of our sinful estate, comes lust, greed, theft, murder, pride, and so on. Our hearts and minds are filled with all this “trash” that must be taken out. 

Like any disease, if our bodies cannot find a way to expel them on their own, then we need medicine to help. We need something… or someone… else to come and push out the filth inside us. That’s what Jesus has come to do. By his life, he seeks to cleanse our hearts and our minds by planting faith inside us. He pours into our hearts his grace and mercy so that he may cleanse us and make us new. Jesus takes upon himself the defilement of our flesh so that he may go to the cross for our sins and so give us the medicine of immortality… his own body and blood. By the cross, Jesus takes out the “trash” of our sins and buries them outside so it may no longer defile us. Now, by his blood shed, he has cleansed us so that God may come into our hearts and renew us in body and soul to lead us unto life everlasting!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O God, the source of all that is just and good, nourish in us every virtue and bring to completion every good intent that we may grow in grace and bring forth the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Isaiah 29:11-19; Ephesians 5:22-33; Mark 7:1-13

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

When it comes to traditions, there are two great errors that many people make. One is that we treat all traditions as suspect and toss them all aside. The other is that we are so beholden to tradition that we refuse to change anything for the sake of it. We must be in-between. We must both understand traditions and cherish them, while also being willing to step beyond a tradition that has outlived its usefulness.

What is a tradition? It really is nothing more than a habit that has been passed down through the generations. Habits are those things that we do repeatedly for the sake of ease or comfort. Certain family vacations can ascend from habit to tradition if it becomes a habit of the next generation. Traditions are important for this reason. It ties the generations together. But with time also must come understanding. We do this not because someone else did, but because it is important to us also.

This is what angers Jesus in our Gospel reading this week. The Pharisees confront Jesus about his disciples not following the traditions of the elders, Jesus tells them they have departed from the entire purpose of the tradition. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men,” Mark 7:6-7. Traditions without understanding are useless. The Pharisees no longer understood the tradition but followed it for tradition’s sake.

This is what we must understand concerning the Church and her traditions. We cannot without understanding toss aside every tradition because we want something new and modern. We must seek to understand traditions first. If we don’t know, we must seek out someone who does. Yet, on the other hand, even if every person in the church is defending a tradition, there may still be good enough reason to set it aside. If the tradition itself has become the focus instead of what it teaches, then it is no longer useful for us and has supplanted its purpose. It isn’t wrong for us to reexamine our traditions to make sure they still serve the right purpose.

I know that some church traditions appear antiquated and difficult to learn, especially to newcomers. However, there is a great need to hold on to the good traditions. For the church is founded upon one tradition above all others… Jesus! Jesus himself is our tradition. He has been handed down from generation to generation so that all people of all ages may learn Christ and his grace. But what is the purpose of this? It’s to point us back to God tradition-ing, or handing over Jesus to us. God gave us Christ, literally handing him over to sinful men so that Christ may die for our sins. Jesus was handed over to death upon the cross so that we may be given into the hands of God! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Almighty and merciful God, defend Your Church from all false teaching and error that Your faithful people may confess You to be the only true God and rejoice in Your good gifts of life and salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Proverbs 9:1-10; Ephesians 5:6-21; John 6:51-69

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The only people that ever talk about eating flesh and drinking blood are cannibals… and Christians. It’s just not something you find yourself regularly talking about for good reason. Talking about eating another person should put our sensibilities on edge. You would probably think such people are not in their right mind.

But in case you didn’t catch it, go back and read that paragraph again. Yes, as Christians, we talk about this all the time too. This is what we believe about the Lord’s Supper. When we eat and drink the bread and the wine, we are really eating Jesus’ body (or flesh) and drinking Jesus’ blood. We don’t know how this actually happens which is why we call it a Sacrament, which comes from the Greek word for “mystery”.

In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus is teaching the Jews about this need to eat and drink his flesh and blood. As we read, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you… For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink,” John 6:53, 55. After talking about the “bread of life” which comes from God in Heaven, Jesus transitions to saying his flesh and blood are this bread. It’s his own body that will give life to the world. 

This is the mistake that many people make when it comes to this Sacrament or mystery. We try to comprehend that which isn’t revealed by God. It’s a mystery for a reason because it is nothing short of the power of God that can make such a feast possible. And people become offended by that answer. The Jews did. Many people in our world do. For the only way we can comprehend this mystery at all is through faith. It’s a reverence for God that leads us to understand. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight,” Proverbs 9:10. 

This is what we must understand by faith. Jesus is our substitute. He gives us his flesh and blood as a substitute for the sin and shame we carry. He gives us his life in place of ours. Jesus offers up himself for the punishment which we deserve. The flesh that Jesus gives is his own body upon the cross. The blood that is poured out is his life given up for us. This is what we partake in the Lord’s Supper. We eat of his body and blood sacrificed for us upon the cross so that by eating and drinking it, we may have his life! Those who eat his flesh and drink his blood shall receive his life spilling over into eternity!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way that leads to life eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!