[Propertalk] Fw: Sermon for Aug 30th

[Russell Meyer]

Note: Full-disclosure, I'm a Lutheran.

Luther gets a bad rap about the epistle of straw remark, which illustrates
the risk of misreading that's always present with everyone.

Luther's comment, which he withdrew in later prefaces to the epistle, arose
out of his early years of trying to communicate the wonder and power of the
gospel of grace which had been deeply buried in his native Germany under
piles of duties and obligations for meriting favor. We should remember that
the 95 Theses was motivated by a desire to improve the lot of the poor in
his parish whose meager income was being siphoned off by donations and
indulgences and fees for kissing relics.

Luther was convinced that the gospel of grace, when received faithfully,
would move one to do far more for the disadvantaged than mere calls of duty
could ever perform. The love of Christ will exceed the law of the neighbor
in real outcomes of the common weal. Why shoot for second best? How is that
a "free pass"? If anything, Luther in his exuberance for the gospel
temporarily was distracted by the way the power of sin will misread the
challenge of the good to one's own unjust advantage. That's the double bind
of the law/gospel distinction, which Luther often shows knowledge but
doesn't often analyze thoroughly. Those who find a free pass in the epistle
of straw remark only show the grip the power of sin has on their
imagination.

Ok. Thanks for letting sound my Luther trumpet.

Russell Meyer
Tampa FL

-----Original Message-----
From: propertalk-bounces at stsams.org [mailto:propertalk-bounces at stsams.org]
On Behalf Of Joe Parrish
Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2009 10:06 AM
To: Propertalk
Cc: PROPERTALK.topic at ecunet.org
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon for Aug 30th

Sermon for Sunday:

    Mark 4:26-34  -  The Gratitude Salute

Why are you here?

Why did you come to church this morning?

What made you voluntarily choose to spend the last summer Sunday -- before
the too busy, too crowded Labor Day weekend -- inside a church?

Why aren't you lolling on some beach? (Okay, okay--maybe you will be later
this afternoon!)

Maybe you are here out of habit.
Maybe going to church is "what you do" on Sunday morning.
Maybe you are here because your parents dragged you into the car, kicking
and screaming, and you would rather be anywhere else.
Maybe you are here because you are lonely.
Maybe you are here because you feel something is wrong or missing in your
life.
Maybe you are here hoping that something in here will make you different in
here (point to heart).

None of these are bad reasons to be at church on a sunny August Sunday
(nope, not even being brought by your parents). But here's the reason we
Christians gather for worship week after week: We worship to wake up. We
worship to come alive and take notice of the presence and power of God in
the world, in our lives, in everything we see and do and touch and feel.

The Latin "re-ligare" from which we get our word "religion" has the root
"lig" - which scholars have traced back partly to meaning "pay attention."
Any religious service, any religious act, should make us sit up, shake our
heads, and focus in on the divine. When our lives adhere to a set schedule
of work, when everyday routines can be acted out without even thinking about
them, we loose consciousness to the wonders that surround us.

The wonder of God's creation.
The wonder of love.
The wonder of family.
The wonder of breathing in and out. The wonder of life.

G. K. Chesterton, one of the most important writers of the last century, put
it like this: "The world shall perish not for lack of wonders but for lack
of wonder."

This week's epistle text is from the Letter of James, the letter Martin
Luther famously pooh-poohed as "an epistle of straw." Luther's words gave a
lot of us a "free pass" on James. James was seen as "weak sauce" - not
worthy of much attention. But skipping James lets us slip by to our peril of
slipping up and missing some of the most real life, faith-in-action
admonishments in the New Testament. Could that be the real reason it is so
tempting to keep James on the back burner? James won't let....

The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining
www.eSermons.com.



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