Thoughts going in, Sunday October 5th, Pentecost +17

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

            As I mentioned last time, this week we begin a new sermon series--a four-week study on the topic of stewardship. STEWARDSHIP is one of the scariest words in the modern churchly lexicon. Particularly anyone raised in the church, anyone who remembers the excesses of certain notable (and mostly discredited) 'televangelists,' is likely to see or hear the word and think the worst. Images of elderly pensioners signing over their social security checks to tv con-men who live in palatial estates and drive luxury vehicles come to mind. And so, before I say anything else, let me just say this: Having an eyes 'wide open' healthy dose of skepticism in not a bad thing--particularly in the world in which we live. Jesus said it well, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). In essence, he sets the 'bookends' for us; a healthy dose of 'skepticism' (wisdom/cunning) is not a bad thing, providing it doesn't so jade us that our innocence is paralyzed. Because, in the end, the legitimate work of the Lord must still go forward. And so, it is with this in mind and no small amount of trepidation on my part, that we begin a study on the biblical concept of stewardship.

            The text we'll begin with is quite small, yet it is laden with three highly theologically-weighted words: 1. servants (Gk, huperetes); 2. stewards (Gk, oikonomos); and 3. faithful (Gk, pistos). So, before we go further, let's get a handle on each of these words.

            1. SERVANT. There are many words in the Bible that are easily translated as 'servant' in English. Huperetes has the original connotation of a lower galley slave on a ship. His job was to row according to command, and in perfect timing with the other rowers. This is a concept still readily seen in our modern day in rowing teams. It's not enough to sit in the boat and put your back into it. You must row in concert with everyone else, otherwise the vessel won't reach its potential. In the Bible the word is also sometimes used for lower level officials carrying out the orders of a higher magistrate. The scenes of Jesus' arrest are a good example: But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers (huperetes) to see the outcome (Mt 26:58). Working with either idea, it's easy to see that a servant/huperetes is a person under orders.

            2. STEWARD. This word almost always denotes the head servant (sometimes indentured, sometimes a 'freedman') of a rich landowner. Then, as now, rich landowners have "more important" things to do than to be bothered with hiring/firing the help, ordering the wine, seeing that the silver is polished, etc. When I think of the concept of a 'steward/oikonomos' ... and being a huge fan of the Downton Abbey tv series, I cannot help but think of ever-faithful "Carson" the butler. His job is not to answer the doorbell. His job is not to cook, or clean. His job is to ensure that all of that stuff is done in a timely, efficient, cost-effective manner.

            3. FAITHFUL. Like its Greek equivalent 'pistos,' faithful is a simple word but with many nuances. To be faithful means to be honest. To be faithful means to be reliable. To be faithful means to be conscientious. To be faithful means to remember one's place. Our friend Carson comes to mind again. He has dedicated his entire life to the mission of doing the best job possible for his master's family.

            And here's where, in my opinion, we encounter one of the biggest hangups when it comes to any discussion about stewardship.... and it's a dual-edged hangup: (a) IT'S ALL OUR STUFF, so we really don't have to answer to anyone for how we use it. "I worked hard for this, so I'll use it how I want." " It's my money, so I'll do with it as I please," we say. Then (b) the other side of the hangup is that when it's *NOT ALL OUR STUFF, and we know it, it's all too easy to adopt a cavalier attitude about it. How often have we seen in our work lives that office supplies are wasted or stolen for use at home; how often have we seen company vehicles abused or misused, or expense reports padded... all because it's NOT our stuff, so who cares, and what does it matter? We tend to treat our own vehicles a little better than we do a rental!

            Thus, any discussion of biblical stewardship will have the twin difficulties of having to impress upon people that the earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Psalm 24:1), yet we have a duty to manage this stuff with the greatest of care even though it's not ours.

            It really boils down to that last part about being FAITHFUL (honest, trustworthy, conscientious). After doing all of the word studies and consulting of commentaries that usually precedes the exercise of sermon-prepping, in the quiet moments of my meditation a strange image came to my mind--that of a red 1962 Ford pickup. It belonged to my father, and it was his primary mode of transportation to and from work when I was a teenager. It was a hairy beast of a truck, produced long before the days of creature comforts that one finds in today's trucks (like power steering!). It was a 3-on-the-column stick shift, straight 6 cylinder antique that would shimmy a little if you tried to push it beyond 53mph. But it was what Dad could afford, and as I say, it was what he relied upon to get to work daily. And out of the goodness of his heart, he let his 16yr old son, ME, drive it when he wasn't using it.

            Faithfulness began with my father. Faithfulness began when my father had enough faith in me that I wouldn't wreck his truck; that when I took it out in the evening, it would be there waiting for him the next morning when he needed it. HE took the first step in faithfulness when he let a 16yr old kid USE HIS STUFF.

            I can't help but think that in a very small way this illustrates the sort of faithfulness God operates with. It all starts with his faith in us that we can be trusted with HIS STUFF. Being found faithful, then... in the 1Corinthians chapter 4 sense of the term, is all about living up to God's faith in us!

Cheers,

T.M.

           

Thoughts going in, Sunday Sept 28th, Pentecost +16

Exodus 17:1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?" 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" 4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me." 5 The LORD answered Moses, "Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

            This week will be the last of our Old Testament sermon series based on the "semi-continuous" readings option of the lectionary. Although the readings continue on, we are devoting the four weeks of October for a stewardship emphasis series.

            Concerning the above passage from Exodus 17, as usual, there's a LOT going on--some of which is, by now, familiar to the reader. For instance, it can be mentioned all over again that Liberation at the hand of God does not mean that the trials of life will end...nor does it mean that the path to the Promised Land will be easy.

            For instance, here in Chicagoland it's big news that Cardinal Francis George is suffering from cancer and has recently resigned due to ill health. Just yesterday I was at my dentist's office and couldn't help but overhear a conversation about this. The gist was that it seemed strange to one of the persons that a man who had dedicated his whole life to "his God"... hadn't received some "consideration" in his hour of need. Point being, where's the miracle for Cardinal George? Better yet, why did God even allow him to get cancer in the first place? Questions like why did God allow ____ and why didn't God prevent ____ are known as 'theodicy' questions. They're religious brain-teasers that wrestle with vindicating God's essential goodness in the face of a prevalent evil. If God is all-good and all-powerful, then why _____ is how the question goes. Philosophically there is no good answer to the question; one is forced either to live with mystery or adopt a philosophy of random meaninglessness without a God.

            Regardless, for the Israelites, 'Liberation' has meant a series of unexpected problems: being trapped between the sea and Pharaoh's army in chapter 14; having no drinkable water in chapter 15 (the bitter waters at 'Marah' were miraculously sweetened after the Israelites murmured); having nothing to eat in chapter 16; and now, again, having nothing to drink in chapter 17. The cynic might well ask, with a liberation like this, who would want to leave slavery? And as the reader well knows, the Israelites basically express this thought repeatedly. It takes FAITH to see that the destination is worth the trip; it takes FAITH to see that the process is better than the status quo of bondage; it takes FAITH to see and remember the mighty acts of God along the way (surely the God who rained bread from heaven can handle the water problem); and the problem with FAITH is that it needs to be exercised in order to grow... and exercise usually hurts.

            There are several specific points of interest about this week's reading. From vs 1 we note that camping at water-less Rephidim was no accident. It says:  traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. In other words, what often seems random and pointless in human terms at ground level, hasn't taken God by surprise at all. NOT that this detail changes the basic human need; it's still hot and they're still thirsty, but God *knows the problem.

            Vs 2 amounts to an interesting development. In the Exodus story it is a first. The people had 'murmured/grumbled' before (and indeed do so in vs 3), but now it says: they quarreled with Moses. The Hebrew word is riyb, meaning, to strive; quarrel; contend with. This was getting PHYSICAL. It was a near mutiny. No wonder Moses is in fear for his life (vs 5 they are almost ready to stone me). In other words, the sequence of events that require God's intervention and that require waiting on the Lord, rather than building faith, seems to be leading to more desperate action on the part of the people. This illustrates the difficulty of faith-building in difficult times.

            In vs4 Moses sets the example by crying out to the Lord. Was this his first prayer? Was it anyone's first prayer? The narrator doesn't tell us. All he tells us is that finally at the point of total desperation, God acts. Noted, there is an undeniable frustration when God's action is needed most in our lives and all we can do is wait. It is as though God wants to be sure that we know that every other POSSIBLE human alternative has been exhausted; there are no other options; there is no 'good luck' waiting to happen; there is only death or divine intervention.

            Vs5 amounts to another great citation for any discussion of sacramental theology. God tells Moses: take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile. Why? If God is going to work a miracle, why does he 'need' something as mundane as this staff? Surely he can just speak the word; surely he can just think the thought. Yet over and over again the Bible presents just the opposite happening; God interacts at our level with mundane, ordinary, every-day things like a wooden staff, water, bread, wine, etc. In the famous Protestant debates of the Reformation, Zwingli had argued against Luther's sacramental view of Holy Communion and Baptism, saying the Holy Spirit needs no vehicle. Meaning, the Holy Spirit need not be chained like an ox to a cart to things like water, bread and wine. To this day, most of Protestants agree with Zwingli, and see the Lord's Supper and Baptism as important, but empty rituals (Lutherans, on the other hand are often seen as "too catholic" on these matters). At a certain level, Zwingli is correct. The Holy Spirit doesn't need these things. God is God. But you and I are not. The Spirit may not need these things, but we do. Zwingli was right, but he missed the point entirely. It's not a matter of what God needs, it's a matter of what God has graciously condescended to use on our behalf. God did not need the wooden staff Moses carried. But perhaps Moses needed the reassurance that he held in his own hands a physical, albeit mystical, connection to the God of the universe. And so once again, how can we miss the sacramental connection as every Sunday in Holy Communion we hold in our hands a physical, albeit mystical, connection to the God of the universe?

            Vs6 will be very climactic for any Christian familiar with his/her Bible. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink. Strike the rock; water will come out; dying people will receive life. St. Paul makes a startling statement in 1Corinthians 10:3-4 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. In the suffering servant passages from Isaiah chp. 53, most often read in Lent/Holy Week, we read: 3 He was despised and rejected by others, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. And finally, John 19:34 at the death of Christ: one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

            There is, of course, a biological significance to Jn 19:34 pointing to the full humanity of Jesus; but the ancient Church has always seen something more in terms of the significance of the mention of water gushing forth from the side of the crucified Lord. Water gives LIFE. All those years ago in the dessert something very unexpected happened. A rock was struck and water gushed out, giving life. That's not normal; it goes against our expectation. Usually striking a rock with a wooden staff means a broken staff and perhaps a sore hand. On Calvary's cross something also happened that defies logic and our expectations. God in the flesh DIED. God in the flesh allowed humanity to strike him, and humanity didn't suffer as a result. When the Greeks (and others) told stories about 'the gods' interacting with humanity, woe betide the person who strikes against the god(s). Not so in terms of the one true God. He takes on flesh & blood; he allows himself to suffer and die at the hands of humanity; and what happens? Just as in Exodus 17, but now on an eternal and cosmic level, water gushes forth; and that water GIVES LIFE.

Cheers,

T.M.

Thoughts going in, Sunday Sept 21st, Pentecost +15

2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days." 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?" 8 Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD." 9 Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.' " 10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud. 11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' " 13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.

            When last we saw the Israelites they had miraculously been led through the parted waters of the sea and seen the defeat of their taskmasters--to say nothing of the once-for-all total defeat of their old life of slavery. Now they were truly liberated, and while the lectionary did not include the passage, they do the most natural thing in the world; in chapter 15 they break out in song.

            As the narrative unfolds, they have a wonderful oasis respite followed by the resumption of their journey into the wilderness of "Sin." At first glance to English readers, it seems as though the author has engaged in the use of metaphor--the wilderness of Sin being where Israel “sins” against God. Not so fast. While this may be true, 'Sin' is just a phonetic spelling of an area already known by that name. It means thorn or clay. The Israelites are now in the desert; not so much in the 'sand everywhere' sense, but in the 'deserted' sense. It all looks like the badlands of the Dakotas as far as the eye can see; no food, no water, only death... again. And so the people do the only natural thing, they complain: In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron (vs 2). The word translated grumbled in the TNIV is that great old KJV word MURMURED. Hebrew is a very artistic language with layers of nuance and meaning. At its core level the original word means to lodge or to stay-over; to remain. In its amplified context it becomes grumble/complain/murmur, but the sense of remaining isn't lost; in other words, they didn't just complain once and then sit back to see what would happen; they're complaining was non-stop. They remained in that state of complaint.

            Wilderness/desert topography is heavily weighted in the Bible. It is a place where people confront their own mortality, which leads to one of two things: despair, or total dependence on God. In terms of the latter, the bar was set very high by Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4), whereas despair is what we see in this week's passage. The situation they confront is so completely hopeless that they pine for the good old days of slavery: The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death (v3). It's difficult to stop and reflect when you're in the middle of a crisis, but one of the learning moments of any wilderness experience is to come to grips with the fact that life is a wilderness, and the control we think we have--our health, our wealth, our intellect, etc.--is transitory at best. We are all, constantly, a single breath away from eternity...but sometimes it takes a wilderness experience to help us realize this.

            Of course, that's what the wilderness looks like from our frail, imperfect, human perspective. A few years ago when I did a sermon series on Jeremiah I was interested to see that the God's-eye-view perspective is quite different. In Jeremiah 2:2 we read: "This is what the LORD says: " 'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. In other words, the desert/wilderness is God's idea of a honeymoon experience. This is where he took his "bride" so they could be alone together. It's as though God relishes the idea of being totally depended upon, and the opportunity to show his beloved that he can be depended upon.

            As we approach this Sunday and the various themes that can be used for our reflection, I am very drawn to the last verse of the reading:  When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat (v15). The word translated as manna, in Hebrew, means what is it? The Bible in various other places calls it the bread of heaven and the bread of angels. I'm especially drawn to the final phrase it is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.  In keeping with good Lutheran tradition, I see both Law and Gospel in that one brief statement. It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat is wonderful Gospel. Good news! You will not starve. Good news! The Creator God of the universe has stooped low enough to see and hear your need and has miraculously provided for it. Good news! You did nothing, indeed, you can do nothing to earn it....it's purely a result of God's grace. Good news! Precisely what you need has come from God’s hand to your mouth….Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more…as the old hymn says. However, wrapped up in that tiny phrase we find not only Gospel good news; we also find Law. Because the tiny word *IT… in It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat is VERY EXCLUSIVE. This, and only this is it. This, and only this will do. God has given manna. God has not given rye bread, whole wheat bread, wonder bread, corn bread… or any other sort of bread; God has given THIS BREAD. Take it or leave it. Take it and live… GOSPEL! Leave it, and die… LAW! You can’t wonder what’s behind door #3 with God because there is no door #3.

            And so when we get to John chapter 6 where Jesus repeatedly refers to this passage and draws parallels to himself—where he even goes so far as to declare himself as the true bread that has come down from heaven, the same Law/Gospel dynamic applies. TAKE HIM AND LIVE!

Cheers,

T.M.

Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit hosts "Operation Cookie Drop" Sept 13, 2014

From the Daily Herald, Elk Grove Village, IL. CLICK on the link below:

Operation Cookie Drop

Thoughts going in, Sunday Sept 14th, Pentecost +14

Exodus 14:19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt." 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

            This week is not only a continuation of the Old Testament sermon series, loosely titled the way of deliverance, it is also, in many ways, the MAIN EVENT itself. There are many things both before and after this event that are of great importance to the life of faith for God's old covenant people, but no single event looms larger than the crossing of the sea as related in this passage. Without chapter 14 of Exodus, there would be no true Exodus; there would only have been a brief intermission; a momentary whiff of liberation followed by punishment, torture, and resumption of slavery.

            This week's passage, like so many that we've been looking at lately, is dense with meaning. I particularly like how one Jewish commentator points out both the natural and the supernatural in the narrative. Vss 21-22 mention that this was the work of the Lord, and the image described sounds like water piled up on top of itself; not unlike the scene from the old Charlton Heston movie. On the other hand, the same verses attribute this to a strong east wind--something which occurs, or can occur quite naturally. The point being, there is a seamless interplay between God's intervention (divine/supernatural) and God's use of plain, ordinary, things of nature. Again, this has a very sacramental ring to it.

            Another commentator looking at the same verses saw echoes of [new] creation occurring: the waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. From Genesis 1:9 we read: And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. In 'recapitulating' the creation story, the author wants us to see these events also in terms of creation; God is creating (even birthing) a covenant people; no longer to be slaves in Egypt, but now free to be God's sons and daughters. The same commentator also points out a heavy irony in the story: the birth-canal to freedom is a death-trap to outsiders. Israel walks through on dry ground, but the wheels of the chariots are jammed with mud. In the narrative itself, Israel doesn't even have faith yet (that doesn't come until vs31); all they have is enough fear and a slight inkling to move forward, and the humility of their station to be doing so on foot. Horsemen and charioteers, however, who dare to approach the divine presence as outsiders, spitefully, and without proper humility, soon discover the folly of their ways.

            In all, there are several big themes going on in this passage. There is the theme of NEW BEGINNINGS. The baptismal emphasis is clear, again. Having already had one strong baptismal theme (baby Moses being drawn out of the water), we now have another. Indeed, St. Paul even sees the passage with baptismal echoes in 1Cor 10. This time around the focus would be more along the lines of the corporate nature of a shared baptismal experience, the creative act of God calling forth a people devoted to his will, and of course, the new beginning of the life of faith. When we as a people get a glimpse... when we even partially grasp what God has done for us in salvation, there can only be one response, that of the people of Israel at the start of the very next chapter: [the song of Miriam & Moses] The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him (Ex 15:2).

            Another big theme here is the idea of God fighting our enemies. While technically not part of the lectionary's selection, vs 14 is HUGE in terms of the narrative flow of the story. When the people realize they're trapped between the proverbial rock and hard-place--the sea in front of them, Pharaoh's army behind them, they turn on Moses and berate him for this horrible idea of trying to escape. This is a collective mortal moment. They sense that their only choice now is which form of death they'll endure--drowning in the sea, or death by the sword. In response to this utter, chaotic turmoil... this hopelessness on the part of the people, Moses responds: The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still (Ex. 14:14). This was no easy thing that Moses wanted. "Keeping still" goes against the grain, even if the best you can do in the circumstances is run around in circles at top speed. Whether you've ever considered it this way or not, one of the *truly great things about modern anesthesiology is that it enables the surgeon to do great things for the patient because the patient is STILL. It's inspiring to me that the people listen to Moses, even though, narratively, they've yet to believe or have faith in anything.

           From the skeptic's corner, I suppose the big question is why doesn't God always fight our battles for us? Why does person A get cancer and recover, but person B gets cancer and dies? Why does struggling congregation A turn things around and become thriving, whereas struggling congregation B doesn't? Why is Christianity taking hold in new ways in some parts of the world, but being brutally snuffed out in other parts? There are no perfect answers to any of these questions. Narratively, the crossing of the sea was about God saving a PEOPLE. A lone individual who decided to break free and try it on their own would have been doomed. Also, narratively, the saving of this people had a divine purpose to further salvation. A lot, then, boils down to our concept of "deliverance." I'm reminded of Luther's spin on the meaning of the 7th petition in the Lord's Prayer, and deliver us from evil. What does this mean? We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.

            NONE of us know when our last hour will come, but for the believer, death doesn't mean that God has failed, it is merely one more act of deliverance God works on our behalf.

Cheers,

T.M.