Sacraments

Running from God

By Paul Koch–

I was a Vicar at Peace Lutheran Church in Bremerton Washington 17 years ago. I remember, with astonishing clarity, driving down to church early in the morning and listening to some bewildering news on the radio. An airplane, no, make that two airplanes, had struck buildings in New York. Upon arriving at the church Day School office for morning devotions I found all the teachers and staff huddled around the computer watching the news as it was unfolding. It was a bit sketchy and disjointed as the reports came in but the picture began to develop; this was no accident but an attack.

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The Unworthy Minister

By Paul Koch –

A little framed picture hangs to the right of the door exiting my study which leads into the sanctuary of the church. Most people leaving through that door probably never even notice it, but I do. Though it is small, behind the glass is a simple and eloquent prayer. I’ve had it hanging on the wall of my study ever since I’ve had a study. I’ve read the words printed there so often that I have them memorized and simply looking at the dark mahogany frame causes me to recite them like some sort of strange Pavlovian reaction. It’s a prayer written by Luther, a prayer written for people like me. The first line reads:

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Sharing Jesus

By Paul Koch –

I have a confession to make, I’ve never really liked the phrase “sharing Jesus.” I’m not sure why, but it has just always sounded weird to me. But I hear it all the time. I was watching the call service for the new pastors from the Seminary in St. Louis and the preacher must have emphasized over a dozen times the need to “share Jesus”. You must share him with the people, share him in this or that particular way, go out of your way to share your Lord. It makes it sound like you’re sitting down next to your neighbors with a big bowl of Jesus and you’re inviting them to dig in and get a bite. Like he is some sort of quantifiable substance that is passed back and forth. And it all sounds so easy, right? Just share him! Well, it’s not such a simple and straightforward task. It’s complicated. We have difficulty sharing Jesus with our own family and friends, let alone people we don’t know all that well. So just to say that you need to or ought to share Jesus doesn’t actually do much.

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Learnign to Not Love the Church

By Paul Koch –

The smorgasbord that is American Christianity is a plethora of material for running jokes and cultural commentary. Not only is there a conflict between people of the Christian faith and those outside the Church, but there is also an ongoing conflict within Christianity. The Baptists are pretty sure that the Catholics are going to hell, the Lutherans continually frustrate and confuse the Presbyterians (but let’s be honest that’s not hard to do), the Catholics think everyone else is just throwing a temper tantrum and will come home eventually, and on it goes.

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A Strange Church

By Paul Koch –

I have realized that there are many texts from the Word of God that I call my favorite. But this one from John 20 is without a doubt my all time favorite text in Scripture. Okay, it’s at least in the top five. You see, it is an honest and powerful story that gives incredible comfort and encouragement to the church today. On the evening of that very first Easter day, the disciples of our Lord were locked away in hiding because they were afraid, and rightly so. Their teacher, their Lord, had just been unjustly tried and brutally beaten and crucified for all to see. Now sure, Peter and John had seen the empty tomb and Mary had proclaimed the incredible news that she had seen the risen Lord, but they were still processing it all. They were still trying to figure out what it all meant and what they were supposed to do next. Huddling together, locked away, seemed like a good idea.

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Behold, this is our God

By Paul Koch – 

Today is the celebration of the pinnacle event in all human history. Today we rejoice in the great working of God who interceded at a specific moment in time to overturn the power of darkness and sin and death. This is the dawn of a new day and the promise of something better. In the beginning of human history, mankind rejected the Word of God and set out on their own journey in opposition to their Creator. They ate the fruit of the forbidden tree so that they might become like God knowing good and evil, and know it they did. And so, is seems, do we all. And with that knowledge came punishment and brokenness and selfishness and pride and anger and a whole host desires that pervert and destroy relationships. But today we confess a gift that comes through a different tree, the tree of the cross. There your Lord died, and he died for all that deserves death and punishment in this world. He dies so that there might be life, so that there might be hope for you.

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Forgiveness is in the Blood

By Paul Koch –

How is this night unlike all other nights? It is a significant night to be sure, but just what is it that makes it so important? Well, for starters, this night marks the initiation of the great events of our Lord’s passion. If you were to say that our Lord’s story is one that points ultimately to his death and resurrection on Easter morning, then this night is the moment when things begin to hone down and become focused. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that this night is what everything has been leading up to. Everything from our Lord’s birth in the little town of Bethlehem, to his Baptism in the Jordan River, to his transfiguration before his disciples, all of it has been driving towards this night.

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OT Encounters: Exodus 24:3-11 – Real Presense

By Jeff Pulse –

The Old Testament reading for Maundy Thursday, March 29, 2018, is written in the second book of the Torah, Exodus. The text appointed for this special service is Exodus 24:3-11 and is the strange account of Moses and 70 elders (along with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu—perhaps Joshua) being called up the Mount of Sinai to eat in the presence of God. The language used indicates that this is the full manifestation of God, not simply the pre-incarnated Christ. However, the question is, “How can this be?” Sinful men cannot look upon the face of God and live, and yet here these men are doing just that and not dying. This account is one of the places where God breaks His own rule. We have seen this with Moses as well when God shows him his backside. It is important to remember two things in this regard. First, God is the One who makes the rule. Therefore, He can opt to break it; man does not have that right or luxury. Second, whenever God does break one His rules in the Scriptures, it is always on the side of grace. Therefore, we need not fear that one day God will wake up and destroy us, hate us, or abandon us because He decides to break a rule/promise.

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Unavoidable

By Paul Koch –

Once again, we have made it to the beginning of the most fantastic and profound week in the church year. A week of unique movement and excitement, a week of great devotion as we move from somber reflection to joyful celebration. Today, our church started the worship service outside the sanctuary and processed into the house of our Lord signing, “All glory, laud and honor to you, redeemer, king, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.” Today, we recall the great triumphant entry of our Lord into the city of Jerusalem all those years ago. The reason we make a big deal about it is because he entered that city for a distinct reason. He didn’t come just to be celebrated and revered. He came to make a stand to face his opposition, to be betrayed and suffer and die on a cross. The same people who shouted “Hosanna” will ultimately be found shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!”

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Zeal for Your House

By Paul Koch –

Tradition is an important part of our lives. Sometimes we scrape against our traditions, especially if they are in our way, or somehow slow our progress. Of course, there are traditions that we don’t really understand, and so we would rather not worry about them. Yet traditions are important. They carry with them an ancient understanding of things, a working of the world and our place in it. Our traditions are how we can evaluate new things, how we can understand worth, and even how we chart the future. No matter how cutting edge and modern you might be, we all have traditions that we value. All of us have traditions that we think should be upheld. In fact, we all know that when long held traditions are done away with, there will be consequences. Therefore, older generations will shake their heads at younger ones when they change a tradition because they know it will lead to something unpredictable.

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