In preparing for sermon on John 15:1-17, where Jesus states, "I am the vine, you are the branches," I came across a wonderful paragraph from the always well-written magazine Modern Reformation. The article, written by Michael Horton, talks about the rise of the interest and centrality of "discipleship" among younger Christians. I include myself in that group. In fact, we have changed "Sunday school" to be "discipleship classes" at the church I pastor.

Yet, as a Reformed theologian, Horton reminds us of the need for doctrine. Though I typically end up on the Anabaptist side of the conversation, I deeply appreciate the reminders from Reformed brothers and sisters. Here's the paragraph worth reading:

We need sound doctrine, not because we are intellectualists but because we need the surprising good news that we have been saved not by our discipleship but by Christ and his work. We need this doctrine not simply to know how to be saved from God's wrath but for the knowledge of how we have been liberated from the tyranny of sin. Anyone can rise to the occasion and help to make the world a better place, but only through faith in Christ can a sinner be united to Christ and bear the fruit of the Spirit, whose fragrance penetrates this passing age with the scent of the age to come. We need the doctrine in order to know what God is doing in this time between Christ's two comings, as he gathers us to receive his good gifts through preaching and Sacrament, as we respond to him in prayer and praise, contribute to the up-building of the saints through the gifts he has given us, and reach out to the world through witness and service. (Read full article here.)

- What is the role of doctrine for Christians?
- Do you think your church over-emphasizes it or under-emphasizes it?
- Which doctrines are essential?

::Esteban::

This past Saturday when I proposed to my girlfriend, not only did our relationship move from “dating” to “engaged,” but also from “I like you” to “I love you.” I had decided to wait to say, “I love you,” until I proposed, because I wanted her to know that when I say, “I love you,” I’m making a promise, not just expressing a flood of warm feelings I’m hoping she’ll share. I wanted my saying it to be different from how it is usually said in our society.

Too many times when we say, “I love you,” we are speaking from our insecurities. We say it waiting for the other person to say it back. It’s a life-line we throw out hoping the person will reel us in. If s/he says it back, we feel safe. If not, we feel lost, alone, or empty. In this fashion, “I love you” becomes more of an emotional weapon and can cause us to act from our insecurities. We need a little pick-me-up so we want our significant other to say "I love you." If s/he doesn't say it, then we remain down. Over time, this is a huge strain on any relationship, it becomes a battle.

I wanted my fiancée to know that when I say, “I love you,” she doesn’t need to respond. At least, that’s not why I’m saying it. It’s a promise I’m making to her. “I promise to love you.” My “yes” will be “yes.” I promise to be patient and kind, not to be envious, boastful, or proud. I promise not to be rude, self-seeking, or easily angered. I will keep no record of wrongs. I promise to protect you and trust you, always hoping and persevering.

::Esteban::

I hesitated to put this up, but I can't help but share it. How does a comedy show expose the antics of the news networks so frequently? Watch this at least up to minute 9:45 as Jon Stewart reveals how FOX gets its news (from itself). Sometimes Jon Stewart really is simply better journalism than the 24-hour news networks. This segment reveals how FOX doesn't think its viewership is intelligent.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
For Fox Sake!
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

A Sermon for All Saints' Day based on John 11:14-54.

“If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.” This quote is from the opening paragraph of the first book of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The author, who writes dark tales for children under the pen name “Lemony Snicket,” explains that this is how the Baudelaire children felt when they became the Baudelaire orphans after both their parents died in a house fire.

Those words of how difficult it is to convey a sense of loss fit with today’s reading. Martha is hurt when she sees Jesus. She says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” A little bit later she called for her sister Mary who repeated that same accusation, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

God is often accused for being too late.

Then Gospel of John tells us in verse 33, “When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’”

Then we are told in that shortest of verses that “Jesus wept.”

God, the Great Unmovable, the Great Constant, is moved. Jesus loved Lazarus. He weeps at the grave of his friend. Yes, this makes sense in Jesus’ humanity, but if anyone believed in the resurrection, it should have been Jesus. Why would a person who believes in the resurrection and the glory of the life to come, let alone God himself, weep? How can God, who promises to one day wipe away all tears, weep over this man, Lazarus?

Grief is not unchristian. It is a sorrow that does not go away. Grief stays with you. In fact, not only can we NOT expect grief to go away completely, we also shouldn’t want it to. For as the person you loved is not returned to you, how can you stop grieving? The loss remains, and so does the sorrow.

Do you remember Job? Job was the man in the Old Testament who never cursed God even though he lost all he owned and lost all his family, including his wife and children. When Job’s life struggles ended, God gave him a new family and a new life. But do you think that Job never grieved over the loss of his first wife or of his children?

Grief stays with us, yet it can and does change. And so we pray not for an end to the grief, but for the unbearable sense of loss to be replaced by a sorrow we can bear. We pray that in our grief we can start to pick our heads up and learn from the lives of those who have walked with us and before us.

Just as Christ wept at the grave of the friend he loved, we too weep over the graves of those we love. And it’s not only that we miss them, it’s also that we don’t want them to be forgotten. We don’t want their names to be erased from the face of this earth. So, in a sense, we find ourselves living for them. We live trying to make sure they are not forgotten. We live to make sure that what they lived for is not forgotten.

And so on this day we call All Saints Day, we take time not only to remember those whom we loved, but also those in our Christian ancestry. Without the Spirit’s work in their lives, we may have never heard the message of God’s good news through Christ Jesus. In fact, after the sermon, Pastor James and Lydia will come forward and sing us an absolutely beautiful song about remembering. After they sing, I will invite you to come forward to light a candle for a person who has died recently. That’s what these candles are for.

I would like to share with you about two people, in particular.

As we gather in this sanctuary, I’m reminded of a man who I wish I could have known. Ray C. was once an elder of this church. He died last year. Ray was a friend to many of you and many others who used to fill this church.

Ray had a full life. He wasn’t always a believer, but when he finally came to see the promises of God in Christ, he devoted all of him to the Lord’s service. I’ve been told he was creative and artistic. In fact, he designed the stained glass windows here in our sanctuary. These stained glasses remind us of Ray. And as we look at Ray’s life and work, we are reminded of Jesus.

And that’s how it goes. That’s how it should work. That when we pass, we somehow leave behind not only a legacy of who we were, but a reminder of who God is in Christ.

And so it also is with the life of a 2nd century martyr named Justin.

Justin was a philosopher. One day an old man started talking to him about philosophical issues and then told him about Jesus. Through this conversation, Justin became interested in knowing more. So he started learning about the Hebrew prophets from the Old Testament, who lived before the philosophers Justin had studied. He said the prophets spoke “as reliable witnesses of the truth.” They prophesied of the coming of Christ, and their prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus.

Justin said that afterward “my spirit was immediately set on fire, and an affection for the prophets, and for those who are friends of Christ, took hold of me; while pondering on his words, I discovered that his was the only sure and useful philosophy. . . . it is my wish that everyone would be of the same sentiments as I, and never spurn the Savior's words." Justin sought out Christians who taught him history and Christian doctrine, and then "devoted himself wholly to the spread and vindication of the Christian religion."

Justin continued to wear the cloak which identified him as a philosopher, and he taught students in Ephesus and later in Rome. An historian notes that "he engaged in debates and disputations with non-Christians of all varieties, pagans, Jews, and heretics."

Justin's conviction of the truth of Christ was so complete, that he died a martyr's death somewhere around 165 A.D. Justin was beheaded along with six of his students.[1]

There were tears upon hearing of the death of Ray C. There were tears shed for Justin, his students, and several thousand early church martyrs. There were tears at the grave of Lazarus.

Yet these deaths had more in common than tears. These deaths were the deaths of those who were friends of Christ Jesus. And the promise which Jesus made at the grave of Lazarus is a promise that can be made at the grave of every friend of Jesus.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

Then he asks, “Do you believe?” Ray believed, Justin Martyr believed, Lazarus believed.

For those of you who believe, this is the promise we base our lives upon. And if you haven’t yet come to know Jesus, the question still remains, “Will you believe?”

You see, God has invited everyone to return to Him, trusting in His promises. It may seem that God is delayed, but surely God will deliver.

The words from Lemony Snicket are true: “If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.”

So, yes, we grieve, we cry, we mourn the loss of our loved ones. But we may become a people who can also say with Paul, “Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

To rearrange the words of Lemony Snicket, I believe what’s also true is that “If you have ever known the love of Christ, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.”

May the lives of those we remember, help us to trust all the more deeply in the promises of Christ Jesus.

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[1] http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/justin.html

I was just reading an older post from someone on Xanga I recently found. I was very interested in the discussion that ensued from the post. It made me realize that there are so many great conversations happening here that get lost (or are never found by most).

Have you been a part of some really good discussions on certain posts? What are they? What are some of your favorite or most memorable discussions on Xanga? Drop us the link.

::Esteban::