Transfigured King: A Homily on the Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-9

Transfiguration of Our Lord

19 February 2012

St. John's, Chicago, IL

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of th Holy Spirit. Amen.

This month the Boy Scouts of America celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Eagle Scout award. The Boy Scouts had been in the United States for about two years when this all came to pass. The same can be said for our British counterparts.

In 1909, at the urging of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, King Edward VII of Great Britain created the King's Scout award for the two-year-old scouting organization. When the reigning monarch is a male, this is the name of the highest award in scouting in the nations of the United Kingdom. In a way, it corresponds to the United States of America's Eagle Scout, as each of these awards are given as the ultimate recognition of service to God and country. The King's Scout is honored as one who is a leader, a good citizen, one learning many skills, and a fine servant of the King. But in the United States, you have no king. Or do you?

You have no earthly king. Instead, God has given this nation the structure of a democratic republic. You elect many leaders; no individual is your monarch. At least, no mere human.

And that is the way you have been brought up. You tend to be a typical American, with an aversion to the monarchical form of government. You'd agree with the old Schoolhouse Rock cartoon, "No more kings." It carries over to spiritual choices. You fancy yourself as self-governing, or at least cooperating with other people. Often, you don't even appreciate the elected leadership! That is why entertainment such as Saturday Night Live is popular when they mock presidents, dignitaries, and last night -- history in the making -- even the president of The Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod! But a King? That's not for you! So you think. You reject the idea of the true and everlasting King, and end up refusing Christ THE King.

Your King is the One who reveals Himself as He speaks with Moses and Elijah. Your King is bearing witness to His glory -- a glory that does not have its source in light or power, but a glory foreshadowed here, as the Old Testament bears witness and converses with the New, and directs our attention to the coming exodus.

What exodus? Exodus means, "going out." Jesus would soon suffer and die and rise again, and in that great event of Good Friday through Easter Sunday, He would be going out of death to life, and from this world to the heavenly realms. In His death and resurrection, the King of kings and Lord of lords shows His ultimate, perfect, righteous, holy glory!

That is the moment depicted in the beautiful stained glass window that faces Montrose Avenue. It is the Transfiguration. Moses and Elijah are on either side of Jesus. The artist did something a little unusual, combining themes, though, and instead of the transfigured Jesus, places our Good Shepherd in the center pane of the window. Still, the image reminds us of the Old Testament confirming and conversing with the New. That they were speaking of Jesus' death and resurrection all along. And that in those marvelous events, Christ comes as you King and serves you.

That is the beauty of the new cross that adorns this chancel. At one and the same time, it proclaims to your eyes the glory of Christ in both the cross and resurrection. The King Himself has given everything and suffered and died for you. He revealed His glory as He redeemed you on Calvary. Then He continued to reveal that glory as He rose. Your King is risen and victorious! And now He delivers the fruits of that victory to you as He serves as your priest, bringing you forgiveness and life through His sacraments. A picture is worth a thousand words. This picture of Jesus keeps speaking thousands of words to you, without end!

This King you see before your eyes is the King who was transfigured to comfort the apostles in the days ahead. As they witnessed the frightening events of Good Friday, even though they still did not understand, Jesus had the apostles "Be prepared." He readied them for Holy Week. He blessed them to see that He is God in the flesh.

The King does the same for you. Still. Now. Only not in the same way. You do not see Him with His clothes gleaming whiter than any bleach or launderer's soap could get them. You do not hear some booming voice from heaven.

Christ reveals His glory now in the miraculous gift of Baptism, Absolution, the preaching of His Gospel, and in His Holy Supper. The voice from heaven now comes to you through your pastor. The glorified Christ now comes to you through water, words, bread, and wine. And in these gifts, Jesus Christ makes you King's Scouts in His kingdom, gifting you to "Be Prepared" for His death and resurrection, this coming Lententide, and always. He prepares you for life everlasting with Him, as you come down from the mountaintop and go out into daily life, nourished, forgiven, and strengthened by the Lord. Amen.

Be Prepared: A Homily on Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

2nd Sunday in Advent

4 December 2011

St. John's, Chicago, IL

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

"Be prepared!" Lord Robert Baden-Powell, when he founded the Boy Scout movement 104 years ago, found this an important concept. When choosing a motto for his organization of providing training for boys to grow in maturity, citizenship, outdoor skills, and service, this simple phrase was chosen: "Be prepared."

While serving in the British army in 1890's South Africa, Baden-Powell recruited youths to be "scouts" -- boys who aided the military troops as messengers, and who were being prepared for the conditions they were facing against the Dutch.

Saint John the Baptizer was not a Boy Scout. Although he was all about preparing. He was sent by the Father in heaven to "prepare the way of the Lord." When the Angel Gabriel prophesied his birth, already it was clear that John's life's work would be to "prepare the way of the Lord."

So how is the Lord's way prepared? I know. You try to prepare. You try to "make His paths straight" in your home and life. But how do you prepare? Are you better prepared when you put all your effort and concentration into serving God? Are you better prepared by listening only to "Christian radio," or watching only certain films or TV programs? Are you better prepared with only associating with the rights people, and not "sinners?"

Stop and listen to all that, for a moment. Sound familiar? It was a common sin among the Pharisees whom John was calling to repent! The Pharisees felt they could "prepare the way of the Lord" by doing the right thing and associating with the right people. They trusted in their own preparations. And John knew they were on not the straight path of the Christ, but the wide, easy, yet crooked path leading to hell. Don't be a condescending Pharisee! Your attitude can quickly fall into that same trap, and your trust ends up in yourself, not Jesus.

Trusting your own preparations will not get you into God's kingdom. It will help you fall short. It is the same problem that plagued many medieval monasteries; monks were often taught to be comforted in their many prayers and works -- their own preparations, rather than solely in the blood of Jesus.

Trusting in your own preparations makes as much sense as a pre-born baby getting her family ready for her own arrival. She cannot get a nursery ready, purchase diapers and other supplies, strap in a car seat, and get the house baby-proofed, all while still in the womb. Neither can a person prepare himself or herself for the Lord.

But St. John the Baptizer brings a different kind of preparation. He does not have you prepare yourself. He does not give you false hope in segregating and separating from the "undesirables" and sinners around you. He shows you that you cannot save yourself.

That is why "all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem" sought out John. They were cut to the heart by his message, and the Holy Spirit led them to realize that they could not save themselves. They could not even prepare themselves!

Instead, the Lord uses John to bring His preparation. He boldly proclaims God's Law, in order that the crushed sinner may be healed and restored with the Gospel. He baptizes that people may be given "forgiveness of sin, rescue[d] from death and the devil, and give[n] eternal salvation, as the words and promises of God declare."

Yes, John's baptism brought these precious gifts of God, because it wasn't really "John's" baptism, it was the Lord's! And the Word of God, as it attends that water, does what He says. He forgave, rescued, and saved the repentant Judeans who came out and heard the Lord's Word preached, and were cleansed in the Jordan by water and the Word. Just as your Father in heaven forgave, rescued, and saved you through that sacred washing in His font!

Today we welcome a number of brothers and sisters in Christ, who are now officially attaching themselves to St. John's. They have been baptized and received the preaching of Christ's Law and Gospel. They are forgiven, rescued, and saved. They are prepared.

The Holy Spirit has gathered each of you at this specific time, in this specific parish, to be prepared. He is the One making you prepared, as you could never hope to do. He removes your sin and guilt, and cleanses you, making you holy, in Christ.

What amazing joy, dear friends in Christ! The Lord, in His wonderful wisdom and gracious giving, has brought you together as His people here. He prepares you as individuals to receive and be strengthened in His faith, and gives you hope and confidence in His ongoing care and coming in His gifts, as well as the longing for His return in glory.

As you await our Coming King, it is a blessed, hope-filled waiting. He has sent John the Baptizer, and all His other prophets and apostles, indeed all your pastors in your life, to proclaim His Word to you and to prepare you. You are prepared. You are forgiven. You are called, gathered, enlightened and sanctified. You are ready to come to His Table and excitedly exclaim, "Come, Lord Jesus!" Amen!

Do Not Be Anxious: A Homily on Matthew 6:24-34

Matthew 6:24-34

8th Sunday after Epiphany

27 February 2011

St. John's, Chicago, IL

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

"Do not be anxious." Do not worry. Don't worry about how soon you can fulfill all the requirements to be an Eagle Scout. Don't worry about selling the most Girl Scout cookies. Do not worry what you will drink or eat or wear. Do not worry about earthly concerns.

"Do not be anxious.". Do not worry. No, not because you are following the motto, "Do your best," or "Be prepared." The reality is your best is not good enough, and you can never be prepared for absolutely everything to a perfect level.

"Do not be anxious." "Do not worry." "Let go and let God" -- that is what the expression says. But you know what? You can't! You can't let go. And nothing in you wants to hand anything over to God. You desire to handle it yourself. Most boys cannot wait to cross over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, because you get to have more fun, doing more for yourself. And people are like that in general. Even two year olds quickly learn, "I do it MYSELF!"

"Do not be anxious.". Do not worry. But you want to worry. It's even comfortable to worry. It is familiar. How sad that you and I are that mixed up, that worrying tries to soothe your sinful self.

But our dear Savior takes your anxiety and worry. He took these burdens from you and laid them on His own shoulders, carrying these burdens to His cross. Jesus removes these cares from you, lifting their weight from your shoulders.

"Do not be anxious.". Do not worry. Jesus gives you some true and lasting peace and comfort here. He cares for you. He provides your real needs of body and soul. He sustains you, and uses you as a living witness to His care and provision for His Church.

You do not deserve to be clothed so well, but your Father in heaven lavishes you with clothing. The flowers of the field are more beautiful than King Solomon in all his glory, and you are finer than the lilies of the field.

Not only does the Lord provide you with earthly clothing, but He graciously covers you in Holy Baptism with the robe of Christ's righteousness, which covers all your sin. Far better than Solomon's glory -- far better than the glory of flowers -- you are covered with Christ's glory. Your are clothed with Christ!

And do not worry about what you will eat. Don't worry if your fellow scouts can't cook that well, and your food on the campout will not be great. Don't worry if the pantry is not as full as it used to be. Your Father in heaven feeds even the birds. If He takes care of such little "unimportant" creatures, how much more will He provide for you and feed you! And not just with the food of this world. He gives you the Bread of life. He provides the Body and Blood of Jesus. He feeds you Jesus!

Jesus gives you comfort and assurance today. You do not need to worry and stress and doubt like unbelievers. Your Father in heaven has got your back. He clothes you and feeds you. He baptizes you and feeds you His Holy Supper.

"Do not be anxious." Do not worry. It is not a command that you are failing. It is soothing comfort from Jesus that the Lord is taking complete care of you. He is nurturing and providing for you so well, that there is no need to worry!

Thanks be to God, who clothes you with Christ and feeds you with Christ. Yes, you are clothed finer than Solomon and fed better than any creature. You are blessed as He frees you from anxiety and worry! Amen.

Swimmer!

Tonight Ben completed his swim test for Boy Scouts!

As a youth, I was always in the "Beginner" category. For that, you need to swim at least 25 yards. For "swimmer" you need to swim 100 yards, the last 25 have to be back stroke, and then tread water.

Ben swam 50 yards, and thought he reached his limit. So he got the "beginner" level. After his good friends got "swimmer," he decided to try again. This time he completed it!

When you go to Boy Scout camp, a board is posted at the pool. It has a circle cut out of white card stock, but color coded. If it is left white, you are a non-swimmer, and MUST stay in the shallow end of the pool. If half is colored in red, you are a beginner, and may go in the shallow or middle of the pool. If you are a swimmer, half is colored red and half blue. You may then go to the deep end as well.

No, Ben is not ready for the "Mile Swim" award, but man! He did great!

Congratulations, Ben, for becoming a "swimmer!" This also completed some requirements for rank advancement!

Ben the Boy Scout!

Ben is officially a Boy Scout. He received his Arrow of Light (Cub Scouting's highest honor) in February, and "crossed over" to the Boy Scouts. He is in a very large and active troop, which promises to be a lot of fun!

All three of his grandparents were there for the banquet when he got his Arrow of Light, which thrilled him! His first meeting with the troop was a Court of Honor, when boys are recognized for their achievements during the past six months. He and the others who just crossed over received their "Scout" rank that night, since they had met all the requirements.

Now, he looks forward to his first summer camp, and all the other excitement of his first year as a Boy Scout!

Scoping out Scouts

Ben and his fellow Webelos Scouts will have a tough decision in the coming weeks: they need to choose which Boy Scout troop to join.

We have two troops that are both fairly close. The one in Lanesville is nice, but VERY small. You can probably count them on one hand. Also, they are all older and much higher in the scout ranks.

The other possibility is a troop in Georgetown. We also know boys there. They are a very LARGE troop, and VERY organized. They have boys across the whole range of ranks.

Neither choice will be a bad one. I guess it comes down to this: do our boys want to be "big fish in a small pond?" Or do they want the advantage of many others with experience and help? In either troop, they likely would be their own patrol, and still be close buddies.

Any boy could go anywhere. However, with this group, I think once one boy decides, the others will decide to stick together.

Only time will tell. We shall see in the coming weeks which troop is chosen.

He CAN Camp!

Ben completed a significant task last night. So significant, in fact, that both Kristi and I are blogging about it. :-)

He and I went with his Webelos Den on an overnight camp out with Troop 525 from Lanesville. We simply went to Cedarbrook, the local rustic camp run by the Lutheran Laymen's League of the two Lousiville circuits. (Troop 525 is sponsored by our local LLL.)

Ben had gone to Webelos resident camp two summers ago. He was not ready for it, as far as maturity, and cried and threw up so as not to stay the night. So he and I had gone like day camp that week. Since then, he has avoided talk of camping.

One of the requirements for the Arrow of Light, however, is going camping with a Boy Scout troop. Well, last night we did. Our entire Webelos den went, and they all had a blast! Including Ben!!!

He and Cameron were in one tent, and I was right "next door." Around 1:30 a.m. or so, he crawled into my tent. But not one tear or upset tummy! And this morning he said he was ready to stay another night.

We were confident he would enjoy it if he gave it a fair chance. Now he realizes that too. Our boy is getting closer to being a Boy Scout.

Aquanaut

Today Ben and I went to the Y with other Webelos Scouts to work on their badge for swimming, also known as "Aquanaut." They learned swimming safety, rescue methods, and practiced various strokes and floating.

All of the boys did a fine job, tried their best, and were very well-mannered.

Congratulations, Ben!

Scout Hike

This morning, Ben had his first Scout hike. We went to Wyandotte Woods, in the local state park, for a three-mile hike. It was a fun morning. The first half was pretty much uphill. Then we turned around and returned on the same path. It was a horse riding trail, so we had to watch where we stepped, if you know what I mean!

It was a beautiful October morning for a hike. In the 50's to 60's and sunny. We began hiking at 9 and finished at 11. Not bad for a bunch of ten-year-olds on their first hike!

First Pack Meeting for 2008-2009

This evening we will have our first pack meeting for the school year. Our Lanesville Pack is pretty inactive for summers (an unusual thing in scouts!) So it will be nice to get back together with everyone.

We had "Round Up" last Thursday. Around 15 new boys are coming in!

I have started a new blog for the pack, as well. It is by invitation only, to protect the boys from any online predators. (We can feel safe in posting phone numbers, dates and places, and photos of pack and den events.)

Pinewood Derby

Pinewood Derby is an annual Cub Scout event for most packs. The boys are to design and help construct a motor-less car out of a small block of pine, with officially endorsed wheels and nail axles. Gravity is the power source for these 5 oz. race cars.

Ben has never been overly excited, although he has participated in the last 3 out of 4 races. Many boys get quite competitive, almost obsessive regarding this contest. Yet Ben is simply there to have a good day and play with his friends.

This year Ben got to race against one of his best buddies, Cameron. They’ve been good friends since pre-school, and probably will be for years to come!

I just loved how Ben and Cameron shook hands wishing each other “luck” that morning! It was a close race, but Cameron’s car won, and went on in the tournament bracket. Ben didn’t care, because he was just as happy for his friend as he would have been to win himself.

Now, next year may have a bit of competition. He is starting to take this race a little more seriously…and he only has one more time to race as a Webelos Scout. Nevertheless, he is a good sport, and we are thanking the Lord that he is a good witness even in competition.

Cub Scouting