Isaiah 12:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Lost and found. There’s always that little bin that accumulates forgotten things over the year, things people left on accident and never realized it was gone. Going through a lost and found bin is also an interesting endeavor to see what kinds of things people no longer want. For in truth, the important things are always retrieved. They may not even make it into a lost and found bin before they’re recovered. Car keys, wallets, cell phones, important papers and so on. Even if they’re left, they will instantly be sought.

What happens, though, when it’s a son who is lost? For now, we have someone who not only is lost, but doesn’t want to be found. The younger of the two sons demands his inheritance from his father, and by doing so, is saying it would be better for his father to be dead. Against all reasonable expectations, though, the father gives it to him! And off the younger son goes. Into a far country, the son spends everything with reckless abandon. 

Like the prodigal son, we too end up lost at times. How often we stray from the path God sets out for us. We wander off into sin and reckless living with no desire to be found. It even seems well and good for a while. It might not even seem like we’re lost. But lost we are. We’ve squandered God’s good gifts with our sinful ways. We spend them on our own pleasure… gluttony, greed, lust, and so on. We’ve run away from his house with little desire to return. Until… we hit rock bottom. Until we feel like those items left in the lost and found bin, wondering if anyone is searching for us.

Lost. Yes, that’s a good way to describe this younger son… and us. And when we come to realize this, there’s only one response left. “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son,” Luke 15:21. Notice the difference between the son’s rehearsal and his actual confession. When he comes home, he is surprised, amazed, even overwhelmed to learn… his father was still looking for him. He wasn’t one of those forgotten things as he believed, having to work his way back into the family. No, the Father has mercy and forgives his son and welcomes him back with open arms! Just as God does with you. No matter how much we sin, no matter how far away we run, God is always waiting, searching, seeking you to welcome you back with open arms!

But that’s not the end of the story, now is it. There’s still the older brother. The older brother is severely scandalized by his father’s forgiveness. The brother wishes there would be a stricter punishment for such an “immoral” brother. When there is a feast going on, celebrating the return of a “lost” son, this brother shows he’s also lost. He may not have run away, but he’s lost himself in his own self-righteousness. And the amazing thing is, the Father forgives him too. He goes out to him and speaks with him. The father seeks out both his sons that they may join in the feast. Soo too, God does with you, whether you find yourself more as a prodigal or an older brother, God seeks you out to bring you into the feast of Christ’s body and blood, where God rejoices over you!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Ezekiel 33:7-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Should it stay or should it go? This is what I’m often asking myself when it comes to gardening. Now, the whole gardening thing is new to me as I only recently have a yard in which to garden. But already, I have three plants that I stare at and wonder, “Should I dig them up and replace them (because they’re dead) or do I wait to see if they revive over the coming weeks?”

Perhaps, it’s because I just don’t want to spend money right now that I leave them be and give them time. But I also understand, I need not condemn the plant already to being thrown away if it will yet grow back. Indeed, we know this well when it comes to plants, but the same is true for us with God. 

In our Gospel lesson this week, Jesus speaks this parable of a tree that fails to produce fruit. It’s pretty much as good as dead. Thus, the master of the vineyard wants to cut it down and throw it away because it’s good for nothing. However, the vinedresser responds to the master, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down,” Luke 13:8-9. The tree receives mercy from vinedresser who allows it to have more time to produce fruit. However, the fate of the tree is never specified. Will it bear fruit or not?

This is how we know that every day is a gift to us. We are the answer to that question because we’re the tree to which Jesus refers. Are we going to bear fruit or not? We know that to believe in Christ means we will also bear fruit. The fruits of faith naturally flow from our belief in Jesus. God gives us time that our faith may bear fruit as he desires. Yet, we also know that no day is guaranteed. Disasters, tragedies, and other such events are all too common in our world. We never know when one might befall us and our time be cut short.

Jesus was asked about such things also. When disasters befall our world, such as tornadoes, school shootings, wars, and so on, they’re not because those affected deserved such a tragedy. Rather, Jesus tells us, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish,” Luke 13:2-3. Disasters are a sign of our general sinfulness. We all have sinned and fall short of God’s holiness. We all deserve death and condemnation. However, God has forestalled his judgment for our sake. It’s only because of God’s mercy that he doesn’t bring the world to an end already. Rather, God punishes our sins by sending Jesus to the cross. He draws us to repentance, turning us toward himself, that we may avoid perishing eternally. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we’re given the time to come to repentance; and by repentance, to find eternal salvation! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Jeremiah 26:8-15; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Sometimes I dream about what it would be like to live in a mansion. Having more space than you know what to do with. I’ve heard others joke that they would switch which room they slept in each night, or which wing of the house they “lived” in for the day, week, or month (depending how large it is). Yes, the American dream has long been getting a bigger house than you have use for, just to say you can. But, knowing for many people, it’s a dream too far out of reach.

Think, though about that large house of your dreams. What’s in it? Do you have your own pool? A movie theater, a bowling alley, your own personal library? If it had everything you wanted, how long would you be happy? But you see, a house is only a house. If you got that mansion of your dreams but were left alone in it, you might start to wonder if it was worth it. No matter how nice the house, the most important part are the people inside it. 

For this brings us to our Gospel reading this week. Jesus is warned by some Pharisees that Herod wants to kill him. Jesus laments about the “house” of Jerusalem. He laments that they would not be gathered into God’s “house”. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken,” Luke 13:34-35. Jesus came, seeking to gather Jerusalem together. Yet, Israel and Jerusalem would reject Jesus. 

A forsaken house is an empty house. That was the curse, Jesus spoke. Because of man’s rebellion, his stubbornness, his refusal to be gathered to God, Jesus tells Jerusalem that she is forsaken. The city that used to bear the name of God does so no longer. God has left Jerusalem to herself so that she is all alone in her own house. She is abandoned by God because she abandoned God. Thus, her house is forsaken.

In Lent, this becomes our cry: “Do not abandon us, O Lord.” Do not leave us forsaken… alone, isolated, cut off from Your grace and mercy. Forgive us, O Lord… for all the times we run away and are not gathered to you. Even so, we see. Jesus continues on his course. He was not deterred by Herod. Rather, he goes to Jerusalem to finish his course. Yes, God is still at work in gathering together his children, “as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” For Jesus goes to perish in Jerusalem. He goes to the cross so that your house may not be forsaken, but forgiven! See even today how God’s work of gathering his children continues as He gathers his children before the cross of Christ and nourishes them in Word and Sacrament! In this house, we shall indeed say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

“Monkey see, monkey do.” If you’ve ever been around a child before, you know this expression well. Kids are known for copying whatever they see, be it good or bad. If someone throws a pillow, the kid will pick up the closest item to him and throw it too. If you start jumping up and down, most likely the kid will do it too. This is only natural to us and doesn’t escape us even as adults. One of the primary ways we learn is by example, that is, by watching others do something first and copying their actions.

Examples are a great way to learn something new until it’s an example you can’t follow. Take for instance the convoluted instructions you find with building furniture. Or there are those times where our parents tell us “Do as I say and not as I do.” Examples aren’t perfect. Even if it is a perfect example, sometimes the issue is with us following it. We struggle to copy exactly what we saw.

As we enter Lent, we begin by observing Jesus being tempted by Satan. Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Consider the first temptation, “The devil said to [Jesus], ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” Luke 4:3-4. The following two temptations are answered in the same fashion. Satan tempts Jesus and Jesus responds with Scripture, “It is written...”. From this, we often say, “See, you just need to know God’s word and you can resist Satan too!” In this way, we treat Jesus like our example to follow.

The only issue is we aren’t capable of following Jesus’ example. When we treat Jesus’ temptation like a five-step plan on how to beat temptations and Satan, we get stuck on step one. For when Jesus becomes only an example to us, his perfection condemns our imperfection. We regularly mess up when temptations rise, and where Jesus stood strong, we often fall. It’s not because we didn’t watch Jesus’ example. It’s because we’re wholly and completely sinful. The power and strength don’t reside within us.

Thus, when temptations arise for us, it’s not on us to follow Jesus’ example perfectly. On the contrary, Jesus came to be tempted so that he may overcome temptations for us. Jesus is our substitute! He takes our place in the wilderness with Satan so that his strength can become our strength. His victory can become our victory. This is why we’re meant to look to Jesus, not to copy his every deed, but to see that he has already done it for us! We must continue to watch Jesus because he doesn’t stop in the wilderness. Jesus continues his fight by going all the way to the cross. Jesus dies for you, that is, in your place, so that you may live in his place! In this way, our strength to overcome temptations and sin doesn’t rely on us following Jesus’ example, but in faith, that is, looking to Jesus and trusting in His victory for us!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!