America's kneeling problem

Not many things that happen in society surprise me anymore, but I admit that I am flummoxed over the current kneeling controversy.

Some players in the National Football League chose to kneel (or sit) during the playing of the national anthem in protest over alleged ongoing police mistreatment of black citizens. 

Now, a lot of other people are imitating the kneeling protest for their personal purposes.

I am not going to involve myself in the merits of these actions.  However, because I am a product of the Vietnam war era of the 1960's and 70's, I generally perceive peaceful public protest as an ordinary American occurrence.  In fact, only those unschooled in our nation's history would think otherwise.  

I am not highly offended by the players' actions. But many other Americans are offended beyond measure.

Standing up to oppressors is at the root of independent American thought, whether the oppression was religious, political, economic or racial.  It brought Pilgrims to North America along with many of the immigrants who followed them.  

What is at the root of the sharp denouncement of the protesters?  

At its core, I believe the controversy is neither political nor patriotic.  It is religious.

Recently I read an article in which the author maintained that a decline in religious faith does not necessarily lead one to greater immorality but it does push one toward increased tribalism and viciousness.  Current events in America and around the world tend to confirm this.  

The push-back against the NFL's kneeling protesters is understandable if we look at it from a this different perspective.

American cultural "Christianity" is a worship mixture of God and country, where the flag is both a religious and a national symbol and the national anthem is the chief and abiding hymn.  

This cultural religion is what encourages many Americans to claim Christian faith with no knowledge of who Jesus Christ is or what Christian faith entails.  It is what allows these so-called Christians to reject the Church while claiming its benefits.

For cultural Christians, the protesters' "attack" on the flag and the anthem is an attack on their nation and their religion because the two are so closely interwoven.

As often happens, discussion of the merit of the protest is sidelined in favor of other more violent arguments.  Jesus experienced this himself while on trial before the high priest.

"Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” (John 18:23)

We know how that turned out.

People who should have knelt before him murdered him instead.

The really big issue in the kneeling controversy is not the football player facing the star spangled banner on one knee, but his opponent who bends both knees to it.

Search for perfection

I keep telling myself to stop reading comments posted on internet news sites.  The majority of internet commenters are rude, highly opinionated and clueless. 

Generally, the back-and-forth sniping simply makes me angry - like the old Point-Counter Point debates that were once part of CBS' 60 Minutes back in the days when that program actually uncovered and reported important news.   

It is amazing that people are so eager to reveal their gross lack of knowledge and vast deficit of insight in such a public manner as the internet.

But hey, look what I'm doing.

There is a common thread in many comments - a politician, athlete, business executive, relative etc. - failed to live up to someone's expectations.  Therefore, he or she must pay the price of failure, intentional or otherwise.

Fire her, impeach him, give her the boot, arrest him.  It doesn't matter how, just get rid of them. 

For one reason or another, people seem convinced that there is a perfect man (or woman) somewhere who has the power and the ability to make all of our lives better.

If we could just find that person!

The other night I watched the PBS broadcast of "Martin Luther: the Idea That Changed the World."  It was a reasonably accurate portrayal of the life and work of the man credited as the spark that finally ignited the reformation of the Christian church.  

Sometimes we fail to emphasize strongly enough what Luther was seeking that eventually led to his uncovering the truth of the Gospel in scripture.  

He was seeking to overcome his imperfection.  

After years of trying to become a perfect man he realized he was involved in a fool's errand.  There is no such thing. No one can live up to God's standard because every person has the same problem - a nature corrupted by sin that cannot be shed.

Yet, men keep seeking it.  If not in themselves, then in someone else who they pray will make things better for them.

Disappointment follows, because invariably hope is placed in a person just like one's self.  

Let me suggest something that changed me just as it changed Luther.  It will change you too.

Trust Jesus.  

The good news rediscovered by Martin Luther is this:  we are made perfect in God's eyes through faith in Jesus Christ - his death for our sins and his resurrection from the dead for our assurance of life with him.  Nothing we can say or do can add to what he has done.

"This promise is for you and for your children and for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (Acts 2:39)

Stop searching for a "perfect" man or woman, politician or preacher to make everything right in the world.

He's already here, and the work is already done.

  

Blowin' in the wind

This morning when I arrived at King of Kings Lutheran Church I noticed two unfamiliar vehicles at the far end of the parking lot.

Two men were standing there, engrossed in something.

After a while it became apparent one of the men was preparing to take flight using a para-glider powered by a backpack-mounted gasoline engine attached to a propeller.

(Silent movie comedies spring to mind.)

I'm not certain why anyone would want to strap two gallons of gasoline to one's torso, start it slowly but precisely exploding and then fly into the sky on a wing resembling a very large pair of flimsy ladies' underwear, but this is what he did.

Now I want to do it too.

Joking aside, this fellow was very precise in how and where he attempted to become airborne.

In fact, he jabbed a portable windsock into the ground not far from the church in order to determine the exact direction needed in order to take off into the wind to utilize the best lift.

As I contemplated the windsock in that location - next to the church - I wanted to rip it out of the ground.  It is so incongruous next to a building housing a confessional congregation.

The windsock is the source of most of the problems of the Christian church in America today.

Too many denominations, congregations, pastors and individual Christians have decided the Church must check which way the cultural wind is blowing and "adjust" its teachings and doctrines to match the wind's direction, no matter where it takes them.

Unfortunately, most of these churches, including many Lutheran groups, have departed so far from the Bible's clear teachings that they may never find their way back.

According to the cultural wind, sin is no longer sin.  And without sin one certainly has no need of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.
Remember 1 John 1:8? "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

The truth is that sin is still sin, separation from God brings eternal judgment and our only hope is the redemption won for us by Jesus, our Savior.

God's Word is clear on that.

The next verse, 1 John 1:9, is also clear. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The one who admits his sinfulness and desires to change his life is forgiven.  We call it being justified, made right with God.

God's Word is clear on that, too.

The moral of this story?  Windsocks are necessary for para-gliders but they are death for the Church.

  

Never in a lifetime

I was amazed by this week's total eclipse of the sun over portions of the United States.  Actually, it wasn't the eclipse that I found amazing but peoples' reactions to it.  

Some drove (or flew) miles and miles in order to find an exact point where total darkness would occur. They spent hundreds or thousands of dollars in order to witness with their own eyes an event that lasted mere minutes.

It is as if people find it barely believable that the universe could be so ordered that the earth, moon and sun would align as predicted to produce this wonder.  

Here in Cedar Rapids the eclipse was barely noticeable.  Because of the heavy overcast it was impossible to see. 

Many friends and acquaintances shared their eclipse experiences on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and every other type of social media.  

Dozens of people witnessed to me about the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon they claimed to have seen.

Should I believe them?  

After all, I didn't see it myself.  And they are not professional astronomers.  They are just people with cameras and I-Pads.  What makes them trustworthy - aside from their eyewitness accounts?

It reminds me of those who doubt Jesus, especially his prophesied resurrection from the dead, having been crucified for our sins. 

Scripture tells us hundreds of people were eyewitnesses of his resurrection, including several whose written accounts are preserved thousands of years later.

Should one doubt the resurrection simply because it is outside the boundary of one's own experience?  Should I doubt the eclipse occurred simply because it was impossible for me to view it?

As Jesus, following his resurrection, quizzed his disciple Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

For me, the evidence is clear, both for Jesus' resurrection and for the eclipse.

And an eclipse truly is an uncommon wonder.

Earth has only one moon.  Mercury and Venus, the two planets in our solar system closest to the sun have no moons, so an eclipse is impossible.

Farther away from the sun, Mars has two moons while Jupiter and Saturn each sport 53 such circling bodies. Uranus has 27 moons and Neptune 13, according to NASA. These most-distant planets also have a number of unconfirmed moons that could raise their totals.

Because of the distances and physical characteristics involved however, eclipses of the sun almost never occur on planets with many moons.

Earth is the only known place in the universe where such a perfect eclipse can occur.

Think about that.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork." Psalm 19:1 KJV

That's our astronomy lesson for today.

Pastorich

A common confession

For the past several months the pastors and board of elders of King of Kings Lutheran Church have been studying the Book of Concord, a collection of documents written by church reformers in the 1500's.
  
Its subtitle is The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Most people probably interpret "confessions" as admissions of guilt, like admitting one's crimes to the police or confessing sins to a priest.  Some dictionaries inaccurately define the word this way.
The actual meaning of confession is different.

It is a statement of the truth regarding a particular matter.

The confessions of our church are clear statements of Christian doctrine, based solely on Holy Scripture, contrasted to the errors taught by the church in earlier days.

The Book of Concord is not a Lutheran addition to scripture.  It is not to be compared to the Book of Mormon, for example.
  
The Book of Concord introduces no teachings that are not found in the Bible, and it makes no theological points that are not supported by holy scripture.

Here is what this collection includes:

• Three ecumenical creeds (Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian)
• Augsburg Confession (1530)
• Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession (1531)
• Smalcald Articles (1537)
• Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537)
• Small Catechism (1529)
• Large Catechism (1529)
• Formula of Concord (1577)

The pastors and elders of our congregation recently completed our study of the Augsburg Confession and began to tackle the Smalcald Articles.

These articles bear the name of a defensive league formed by leaders of German territories who supported the Reformation.  The Smalcald League was a military alliance formed to defend against an expected attack by Charles V, the Roman Catholic emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the princes of Catholic German provinces supporting him.  

Written by Martin Luther, the articles were never acted upon by the Smalcald League, even though they were signed by most of the League's members.  They did adopt the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope authored by Luther's colleague, Philip Melancthon.

Americans today would shudder at the intermixing of religious faith and secular politics that were characteristic of life in the 1500's.  But leaders then recognized that religion is an essential aspect of what binds people together.

The Lutheran princes were prepared to go to war to defend the Reformation, but only if they were in doctrinal agreement with one another! They recognized the importance of unity in faith.

One of Luther's staunch supporters, Elector Frederick, believed the Smalcald Articles were such a clear confession of Christian teaching that he included them in his last will and testament.

Here is the First Article, called the Chief Article by Luther.

"1] That Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins, and was raised again for our justification, Rom. 4:25.

2] And He alone is the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world, John 1:29; and God has laid upon Him the iniquities of us all, Is. 53:6.

3] Likewise: All have sinned and are justified without merit [freely, and without their own works or merits] by His grace,through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood, Rom. 3:23f

4] Now, since it is necessary to believe this, and it cannot be otherwise acquired or apprehended by any work, law, or merit, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us as St. Paul says, Rom. 3:28: For we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the Law. Likewise 3:26: That He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believes in Christ.

5] Of this article nothing can be yielded or surrendered [nor can anything be granted or permitted contrary to the same], even though heaven and earth, and whatever will not abide, should sink to ruin. For there is none other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved, says Peter, Acts 4:12. And with His stripes we are healed, Is. 53:5. And upon this article all things depend which we teach and practice in opposition to the Pope, the devil, and the [whole] world. Therefore, we must be sure concerning this doctrine, and not doubt; for otherwise all is lost, and the Pope and devil and all things gain the victory and suit over us."

Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, scripture alone.  

The Book of Concord is not a substitute for the Bible.  It is merely the historic, clear statement of what the Bible says to us.  As Lutherans, it is our common confession.

"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."         1 Peter 3:15

The sign of hope

My season tickets for the 2017 Iowa State Cyclone football season showed up in our mailbox last week. 

There was a time when the arrival of that big envelope with the pretty, glossy tickets inside caused my heart to flutter a bit as the anticipation of a new and exciting college football season welled up inside me.

Like the first robin of spring, the tickets are a sign of hope for the future. Each bar-coded and embossed one of them is a potential victory waiting to be celebrated.

This year, however, I just don't feel the same enthusiasm.

It could be because I reached a significant aging milestone this year.  I certainly have spent less time reading up on my team during the off-season, which could explain it.  More likely, though, is that other things have become more important.  My perspective has changed. 

Don't get me wrong.  I still love the games, and I scream and holler with the best (or worst?) of the other fans in the stadium.  

I really want my team to win.  Especially since the "win" column hasn't exactly been bursting with W's the last few years.  

Since last season I spent my first days and nights sitting with dying congregation members and their loved ones and conducted my first funeral.  I received and gave hugs to extended families I barely knew as they wept.

I sat with couples grappling with issues that threatened to end their marriages and prayed with people despondent over their emotional distresses.

A drug addict cried in my office over his inability to break a habit that tormented him.  

I baptized babies and children, welcoming them into God's kingdom through the miracle of grace found in God's word attached to simple water.

I taught little ones about Jesus.

And I had the great privilege to announce God's forgiveness to his gathered congregation nearly every Sunday, and to share the assurance of his forgiveness through Christ's body and blood in the Lord's Supper.

Since last season I have had the honor of preaching words of life to everyone who hears and believes the Gospel of Jesus.

"We were buried with Christ by baptism into death, in order that, just as he was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4)

The place to find real hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

No ticket to any game on earth can come close to that.   Not even my beloved Cyclones. 

Where praise is due

The other day someone in our congregation did the worst thing to me that could be done to any pastor with an ego the size of mine.

She praised my sermon.  

Worse still, she said it was the best sermon she had ever heard.

Anywhere. 

By anyone.  

And she isn't a young woman!  

I know this sounds strange, but hear me out.    

Everyone is insecure about something. We all desire the approval of other people. 

This is why we keep checking our Facebook posts to see how many "Likes" our latest entry has accumulated.

Pastors are no exception.  

While it probably isn't the case, I suspect many pastors believe their congregations evaluate them primarily by their sermons.

So we like to hear a word of praise or feel a pat on the back - a Facebook "thumbs up" - as members are filing out after taking in our latest homily.

This is where the damage is done.

He is invisible to you, but each Sunday morning the devil is sitting on the pastor's shoulder while he greets members as they exit the sanctuary.

"Great sermon Pastor Balvanz," one says.

"You deserve those words," the devil whispers in my ear. "You really moved him this morning."

"I needed to hear your words today," says another member, as my chest expands.

"You are naturally better than other pastors," the devil chimes in. "In fact, you don't really need to prepare so hard next week." 

It takes a lot of time to develop a sermon.  Pastors want their words to be memorable and useful to those who hear it.  And there is the rub.

They aren't our words and pastors should claim no credit for them.

A sermon worthy of remembering is based solely on God's words given in His gospel.

Jesus is the one worthy of praise.  He is the one who shouldered our sins, died for them and rose again so that we might have life forever.

Don't praise the realtor for what the builder accomplished.  

Simply say, "Thank you pastor for reminding me of what God has done."

Thumbs up to that! 

  

Evil in this world

Do you believe that evil exists?

  

With great self-delusion, many people today do not.

  

I am not talking about "bad" things that happen to "good" people. Nor do I mean individuals whose wanton human natures bring them into repeated conflict with others.

I am talking about real evil, the pervasive darkness of spirit that invades one's mind, soul and body all at once.

  

Unseen but palpable evil.  Demonic evil.

Though many refuse to believe a spiritual realm even exists, St. Paul informs us this is where the Christian's fiercest battles are fought.

"We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)

Evil is living sin. Its author is Satan, and it commands the life of every person who has not received the new birth of the Holy Spirit through baptism in the name of Christ.

Evil inhabits one's being, and its lies are so convincing they sound like truth.

A friend told me about visiting a place where he  felt evil's presence, like an enveloping inescapable mist.

It is real, and many people struggle in its grip.

Alcohol and substance abuse, suicidal and murderous thoughts, and a host of other manifestations testify to the reality of evil.

Rejection of the Gospel of Christ, disobedience to the Word of God, Paul wrote, is the goal of the "prince of the power of the air." (Ephesians 2:2)

Evil does not enjoy the final word, however.

As he prepared to give up his life as a payment for all of the sins of this world, Jesus pronounced judgment against evil and its author saying, "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out." (John 12:31 NIV)

And as he was about to be arrested by his opponents he said, "The prince of this world now stands condemned." (John 16:11 NIV)

Satan is condemned, guilt is abolished and death is overcome in Christ, but evil persists in this world.  Its primary target is the people of God.

Here is God's command to us:

"Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:13-18 ESV)

Evil - sin alive in the world - will remain until the day Christ returns. But we are not powerless against it. 

God has freely given us his strong defense - the shield of faith in his Son and the sword of his powerful Word.  

He has placed them in our hands.  But they are most effectively used with practice.  Are you becoming more efficient at swinging the sword of his Word, more forceful in handling the shield of faith?

By the way, I was always impressed by how well evil's darkness was portrayed in the movie, "Passion of the Christ." Here is a short, edited video of living evil seeming to conquer Jesus, only to have the tables turned by His cross!

A blessed death

How do you want to die?

That sounds like a foolish question because nobody wants to die. But the question is rooted in the fact that there is nothing any of us can do to avoid death.

Dying has been part of the shared human experience ever since Adam and Eve believed the devil's lie that sin is a victim-less crime. As St. Paul wrote, "The wages of sin is death."

Certainly there are lifestyles that keep our bodies fit longer, but the end always comes. The writer of Psalm 90 recognized this fact, "Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." (v. 10)

Death is God's judgment against sin and our participation in it.

For many years our society has attempted to eliminate the concept of sin from our culture. To be successful, it must also downplay death.

Therefore, we are persuaded to believe that death is a natural part of life no different than changing jobs or getting a haircut. In fact, when death seems inevitable, one should take charge and speed it along. Confront death by ending your life! What a ridiculous notion.

If death is a natural part of living, life has little value.

But Jesus - God in human flesh - conquered death for us! How valuable must one's life be that Jesus would die to redeem it?

St. Paul added to the quotation above, "The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

This changes everything. The one "in Christ" looks forward to an unending new life while the person without Christ perceives no future at all.

What a difference in outlook. What a difference in how one approaches death!

This leads me back to the original question.

How do you want to die?

Put another way, what will be my attitude toward the future? Will I live as though death is the end of all things, or will I live in the truth that life in Christ is everlasting? Will I live in view of my resurrection? If so, how will I convey this to those around me?

These are questions that lie at the very heart of one's faithful Christian witness.

Beginning September 10, King of Kings Lutheran Church will host a Bible study entitled, "A Blessed Death."

This class will focus on how we who are called to faith in Christ live with the reality of death while publicly affirming our hope of eternal life.

As always we will study Scripture to hear God's message to us regarding sin, death and his provision for our eternal life with him.

We will also address some practical issues that witness about our faith: medical directives, advance funeral planning, wills, etc.

This study is for adults of all ages and will be held at 8 a.m. Sunday beginning September 10. Everyone is invited.

Take the load off

The other day I looked out my office window just in time to see a young man being placed under arrest by two deputy sheriffs.

Being the former nosy journalist that I am, I walked outside to determine what was going on.

It seems one of the officers in an unmarked car observed the fellow exceeding the speed limit in a small SUV as he passed through town.  

Rather than pull over as he should have done, the man attempted to elude the cop, and was eventually chased onto our street where he came to a dead end.

The second deputy quickly arrived on the scene, and then the real trouble began.

The fellow had no valid drivers license, the car he was driving was registered to another person and a search of the vehicle turned up a stash of dope.

The car was hauled away by a towing company.  The driver was hauled away in a cruiser.

There was a time when I would have said, "Good.  He's getting what he deserves for breaking the law."  

Today I am less inclined to focus on the law that was broken than on the man who is broken.  

It is possible to sum him up without even knowing his name.  

He is in his twenties and probably has no permanent employment. 

He has no car of his own, his drivers license is revoked or suspended and he has no health insurance. 

His few possessions will all fit into one room, and other than his TV they have little to no value.

He has struggled with drugs since his teens.

He has done things he regrets.

He wants a better life but he is trapped by previous decisions and current addictions.

He has no hope.

There are no quick fixes for broken people, but there is a place where healing and recovery can be found.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  (Matthew 11:28)  

Our savior invites all of us to bring our burdens and cares - our lives - to him so that he can give us relief!  The word 'rest' means much more than a good night's sleep.  It is a renewed life, a lasting respite from the things that weigh us down daily.

He adds, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29)

Animals yoked together walk side-by-side with one another.  They walk in step and at pace with each other as they move along the path.  But one must be taught to take its walking cues from the other.  

This is how it is when one walks with Christ. 

Jesus encourages us to imitate him in gentleness and lowliness, to learn from him in humility and strength.  In him we find peace and rest.

If you have feelings of failure or disappointment related to the events of your life, look next to Jesus.

If you live with regret or shame over your past actions, look now to Jesus.

If you are being swallowed up by addictive or unbridled behaviors, run to Jesus.

You have an open invitation to lay all of it on his shoulders.  

The hard part is already done.  He carried the punishment for your sins to the cross, died there and has risen to life again.

This is the new life he wants to share with every broken one of us.