Good Shepherd Lutheran Church(elca)
Following Christ, Growing in Faith, Sharing God's Love
<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <![endif]--> November 14-15, 2009 Mark 13:1-8, Hebrews 10:11-25 “Encourage One another Pr. Tom Schoenherr This weekend our readings are focused on the end-time. Next weekend is the last weekend of the church year and the following weekend is the first weekend of the new church year. Today Jesus is speaking to us of endings. I think that we face of number of endings through our lives. It could be as a result of the death of a loved one, a spouse or child; the end of a relationship that is painful; the end of employment, etc. Sometimes it is hard to see beyond the endings to hope or new life. We may get stuck in the ending. My father is facing another ending in his life. He will soon be moving from rehab, not back to his apartment but into the nursing home section of where he lives. It marks an ending of whatever independence he had. He never wanted to be going into a nursing home. Jesus speaks to us of endings and of stones that fall, a sign of the end. This past week marked the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall that divided East from West Berlin. I remember being at the Berlin Wall and going through Checkpoint Charlie from West into East Berlin and back. I remember seeing the huge cement wall that divided families from one another, that separated those enslaved from those who were free. Our family visited Westminster College and saw the sections of the Wall that are there. When it was in place the wall was impregnable. But when it came down students from east and west used sledge hammers and songs and tears of joy to break down the wall. This temple to tyranny, power and fear had the stones broken down, and people were set free. As Jesus tells about the stones of the temple that will be brought down the disciples ask, “When will this be?” Jesus gives some signs and then he says, “Beware that no one leads you astray.” There are any number of so-called messiahs who can lead us astray. Some want us to buy this or that product and when you they promise that you will be happy, or your life will be easier, or you will be gorgeous, or you will be in with the popular kids at school. But when we purchase these products we find that life is much like it was before and we have to go out and buy something else to try to make us happy or set free. One way in which the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall was celebrated was with a replica of the wall placed like dominoes. When the first section fell it hit the second and knocked it down until all around the circle the stones fell down. When the end comes all of our human endeavors will crumble and fall like stones. It is our sin that destroyed Jesus Christ on the cross and as we continue to worship our own messahs and look to others to set us free and make us feel good, we too will surely crumble and die, crumbled like stones on stones. Jesus tells the story that is recorded in Mark 121 calling us to turn away from other messiahs and follow Christ. He tells of a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press and built a watchtower. He leased the vineyard to tenants and when he sent someone to go and collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard, they seized the servant, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Other servants were sent and some were beaten and some were killed. Finally he sent his son to them thinking they would respect his son, but they killed his own son in order to fget the inheritance for themselves. The stone that builders rejected, God’s Son, is the cornerstone. He is the stone who is crushed on the cross for you and me. We did our worst to his Son, but God gave his best for us. The one whom our sin crucified still loves us. Instead of what we deserve, we receive God’s gift of love and forgiveness. He takes away the fear of the end. Surprise! Christ breaks through the stone of the tomb that sought to keep him enslaved and imprisoned to death. He is alive and lives to go alongside each of us into the “ends” that we have in our lives. In Christ the end is not the end. What are the stones that seem overwhelming in our lives? It could be unemployment, or the struggles of aging, health issues that aren’t going away, broken or hurting relationships. In Christ instead of the finality of the end there is the promise of life that now and forever. We have an eternal relationship with God. Now as we have this gift of grace from God, we are free to encourage one another to “not be alarmed.” There will be wars and rumors of wars. Kingdoms will rise up against kingdoms. The problems of aging and health issues will come. These are just the birthpangs of the new beginning we have in Christ. So, according to Hebrews, keep on encouraging one another to love and good works for the people around us who need to be loved and cared for. We have a story to share that gives hope in the place of hopelessness, life in the face of death. God’s story has an ending but the ending is not the end because there is new life through faith in Christ. May this give us encouragement and peace as we keep on encouraging one another with Good News. Amen.
November 14-15, 2009
Mark 13:1-8, Hebrews 10:11-25
“Encourage One another
Pr. Tom Schoenherr
This weekend our readings are focused on the end-time. Next weekend is the last weekend of the church year and the following weekend is the first weekend of the new church year. Today Jesus is speaking to us of endings. I think that we face of number of endings through our lives. It could be as a result of the death of a loved one, a spouse or child; the end of a relationship that is painful; the end of employment, etc. Sometimes it is hard to see beyond the endings to hope or new life. We may get stuck in the ending.
My father is facing another ending in his life. He will soon be moving from rehab, not back to his apartment but into the nursing home section of where he lives. It marks an ending of whatever independence he had. He never wanted to be going into a nursing home.
Jesus speaks to us of endings and of stones that fall, a sign of the end. This past week marked the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall that divided East from West Berlin. I remember being at the Berlin Wall and going through Checkpoint Charlie from West into East Berlin and back. I remember seeing the huge cement wall that divided families from one another, that separated those enslaved from those who were free.
Our family visited Westminster College and saw the sections of the Wall that are there. When it was in place the wall was impregnable. But when it came down students from east and west used sledge hammers and songs and tears of joy to break down the wall. This temple to tyranny, power and fear had the stones broken down, and people were set free.
As Jesus tells about the stones of the temple that will be brought down the disciples ask, “When will this be?” Jesus gives some signs and then he says, “Beware that no one leads you astray.” There are any number of so-called messiahs who can lead us astray. Some want us to buy this or that product and when you they promise that you will be happy, or your life will be easier, or you will be gorgeous, or you will be in with the popular kids at school. But when we purchase these products we find that life is much like it was before and we have to go out and buy something else to try to make us happy or set free.
One way in which the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall was celebrated was with a replica of the wall placed like dominoes. When the first section fell it hit the second and knocked it down until all around the circle the stones fell down. When the end comes all of our human endeavors will crumble and fall like stones. It is our sin that destroyed Jesus Christ on the cross and as we continue to worship our own messahs and look to others to set us free and make us feel good, we too will surely crumble and die, crumbled like stones on stones.
Jesus tells the story that is recorded in Mark 121 calling us to turn away from other messiahs and follow Christ. He tells of a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press and built a watchtower. He leased the vineyard to tenants and when he sent someone to go and collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard, they seized the servant, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Other servants were sent and some were beaten and some were killed. Finally he sent his son to them thinking they would respect his son, but they killed his own son in order to fget the inheritance for themselves.
The stone that builders rejected, God’s Son, is the cornerstone. He is the stone who is crushed on the cross for you and me. We did our worst to his Son, but God gave his best for us. The one whom our sin crucified still loves us. Instead of what we deserve, we receive God’s gift of love and forgiveness. He takes away the fear of the end. Surprise! Christ breaks through the stone of the tomb that sought to keep him enslaved and imprisoned to death. He is alive and lives to go alongside each of us into the “ends” that we have in our lives.
In Christ the end is not the end. What are the stones that seem overwhelming in our lives? It could be unemployment, or the struggles of aging, health issues that aren’t going away, broken or hurting relationships. In Christ instead of the finality of the end there is the promise of life that now and forever. We have an eternal relationship with God.
Now as we have this gift of grace from God, we are free to encourage one another to “not be alarmed.” There will be wars and rumors of wars. Kingdoms will rise up against kingdoms. The problems of aging and health issues will come. These are just the birthpangs of the new beginning we have in Christ.
So, according to Hebrews, keep on encouraging one another to love and good works for the people around us who need to be loved and cared for. We have a story to share that gives hope in the place of hopelessness, life in the face of death. God’s story has an ending but the ending is not the end because there is new life through faith in Christ. May this give us encouragement and peace as we keep on encouraging one another with Good News. Amen.
