Welcome Back Sunday Sermon - Proper 16C (3yr), 2010

Asking the Right Question

Luke 13:22-30

Pentectost Proper 16 - C (3yr) 2010

CMU Welcome Back Sunday

Christ The King Lutheran Chapel

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

    Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when someone approaches Jesus and asks him a question in today’s Gospel, that person is looking for an answer that will allow him to ask another question. Think about it. If we ask Jesus whether there are many who will be saved, are we really all that interested in the multitude who will be saved? Don’t misunderstand me – we are all interested in the expansion of God’s heavenly kingdom and we certainly hope that all people would receive eternal life from God – but no matter Jesus’ answer to the question; whether it be ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ would we be satisfied?
    Imagine an eleventh grader living in a small mid-western city. His high school is home to an outstanding baseball team – every year they are in the running for the state-championship. He wants to be a pitcher on that varsity team this year, so he puts in a lot of hours, working hard all winter to prepare for the tryouts in the spring. At those tryouts, he sees that he is just as capable of playing on the team as all the other hopeful pitchers, but only half of them can make the team. On the night before the final day of tryouts, this young man finds himself standing in a slow-moving line at a grocery store right in front of the baseball coach. Now, he might start a conversation with the coach by asking whether there were many good pitchers who would be making the team, but we all know that no answer to that question is going to tell him what he is truly burning to learn. Certainly he hopes that the team will have many good pitchers, and he most definitely hopes that they will be the best pitchers so that they will have the best chance of winning a state championship, but what he really wants to know is if he is among those best pitchers who will be throwing for the team when the season begins. The question the young man asked would merely be the first among other, much more specific questions.
    It is the same for the person asking Jesus whether few would be saved today in the Gospel reading, and it would be the same for any of us if we were in the same situation. Whether Jesus answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’, we would still have more to ask him. What we would really want to know is how likely it is that we would be among those who will be saved.
    Today’s Gospel, however, never gets to those answers because Jesus knows this already, and answers accordingly. Instead of falling for the line of questioning that will end up with the person asking whether or not they are going to heaven, Jesus responds that they are to ‘strive to enter through the narrow gate.’ It’s important to note that Jesus does not say whether or not this person is to be counted among those who will be saved, even though he knows that that is what they really want to hear. Again, think about it. Jesus knows the answer, but he also knows better than simply giving a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
    If the coach were to tell that eleventh-grade pitcher that he did not have to worry about making the team before the tryouts were finished, the boy would no longer value or treasure what it cost for him to make the team. He might not even bother to show up for the last tryout, since it would only be a formality anyway. Perhaps worse, what if the coach were to tell him that he didn’t have any chance of making the team before the last tryout? Would he even consider showing up, even though he knew it was for nothing? Would it have been any different for the person in the Gospel? Would it be any different for us?
    The problem here, dear friends, is not that Jesus knows that we will inherit eternal life in heaven on account of his death and resurrection for our sins; nor is it a problem that he knows that we believe in him on account of the faith which he has given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The problem is the question. The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh love this question. Will we be saved? A ‘no’ response leaves a person in despair and without hope; it means that sins are not forgiven and that eternal death is all that stands ahead. A ‘yes’ response is even worse because it gives a person false comfort; it means that temptations will never test faith, and soon faith itself becomes obsolete. Our sinful flesh loves this question because ‘yes’ or ‘no’ means we can do whatever we want; the end has already been decided for us. Our fatalistic world loves this question because it means that our existence might as well conform to the image of the world, rather than transforming the world in the image of God. The devil loves this question because it undermines everything that Jesus ever did, and still does for us; this question turns our focus away from God who created all things from nothing, away from God who became flesh in Jesus Christ and lived and died and rose for us, away from God who comes to us in his Word, his Baptism, his absolution, and his Supper to call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify us in the one true faith. The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh love this question because, yes or no, it drives a wedge between the Lord and us.
    So what does Jesus do when faced with this question? He knows the danger of the question, but more importantly he knows what we need to hear. ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.’ Jesus’ words wander from the scope of the question. The person wanted to learn if few would be saved, and more importantly if they would be saved. Instead, Jesus explained to him the way in which he might be saved. Cyril of Alexandria tells us that, “Jesus is purposely silent to the useless question, and proceeds to speak of what is essential.” ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.’
    In the rest of the today’s Gospel, Jesus makes the point to the people in the cities and villages on the way to Jerusalem that they cannot expect to be included in the kingdom simply because Jesus came to their town, or because they are they children of Abraham, or because they shared food and drink with him. Even more startling, there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth for them when they saw themselves thrust out of the kingdom while others from the four corners of the world – gentiles – would come and sit down in the kingdom of God. Being born and raised in Israel was no guarantee of passing through the narrow gate. Listening to Jesus while he taught in the streets was likewise no guarantee of passing through the gate. Even sitting down to eat and drink with Jesus when he came through their cities and villages carried no guarantee. Similar warnings could be said to us today. Being born and raised in a Christian home is no guarantee of going through the narrow gate. Coming to church and going through the motions, listening to sermons and singing along with the hymns are not guarantees of eternal life. Not even being hospitable to others and doing good things for them can guarantee safe passage through the gate.
    There is nothing, dear friends; not one thing; that we can carry with us through that narrow gate. There is no room for our heritage, no room for mere politeness toward God and his church, and there is most certainly no room between those gates for our good works. The narrow gate is entered only through faith, and that faith is ours only by God’s grace in his Son through the Holy Spirit. We cannot walk ourselves with all of our baggage through that narrow gate, and that is why it is something we strive for – it is difficult to throw off the baggage that we sinful people accumulate throughout our lives. Our enemies, the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, all want to load us up with as much as they can to keep us out of the gate. Only Christ our Savior defeats these enemies, and takes our baggage of sin and death away from us and replaces them with faith and eternal life. Jesus is the only way through that narrow gate. It is he who tells us, ‘Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke easy, and my burden is light.’
    The Gospel today began with a question, but it certainly does not end that way. For many of us, a new school year is starting [tomorrow] [in these coming weeks]. Parents, teachers, professors, students, confirmands and pastors are all preparing for a year filled with questions and answers. When it comes to eternal life and salvation, however, asking the right question is not about whether many will be saved or whether you’re to be included in that number; those are questions that the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh put in our heads to take our focus away from our Lord and his sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Strive, dear friends, to enter through the narrow gate. Our Father in heaven sent his only Son to live and die for us and to rescue us by the Holy Spirit to eternal life.
    To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.

Sermon for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost (3yr)

Whose Are You?

Luke 12:13-21

Pentecost Proper 13C, 2010

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ amen.  The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from St. Luke which you just heard.

Then one from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”  Then he spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’  So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’  “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, whose are you?  To whom do you belong?  Where does your heart find its rest when you are troubled?  These questions are at the heart of the parable Jesus tells this morning.  It is a reminder to us that God alone is our refuge and strength; our one and only help at all times.

            3 years ago I preached from this pulpit on this very text on what was to be a very significant day for our congregation – that same day we broke ground on River Rd. for the first phase of our congregational building project.  You can imagine, then, that I could hardly help but chuckle yesterday as I was preparing the sermon on this text, when I opened a piece of mail from Zion informing me that our New Sanctuary Campaign is beginning and I am invited to take part.  In other words, the very same week when we set the wheels in motion raise the funds for the completion of the building project, we have a parable from our Lord warning us of the dangers of laying up treasures for ourselves.  I suppose you could call it a coincidence, but I think that the words God gave me then are just as important for us today.

            We may be tempted to hear the words of Jesus and think that we are not the ones of whom he is speaking.  After all, we have given generously of our time, of our talents, and especially of our treasures, and are preparing to do the same once again.  However I warn you - do not be like the rich fool.  It is one of the devil’s favorite ploys to make Christians believe that they are not storing up treasures for themselves when they are building God’s church with their own sweat, ingenuity, and gifts.  It is the forgiveness of sins and the preaching of salvation; the sacraments of holy baptism and the Lord’s Supper; the very presence of God among his people – all of those together – make a building a church.  The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh would have us believe that our building is our treasure.  It is not.  Our treasure is God and the forgiveness, life, and salvation he gives to us wherever two or three are gathered together in his name.

            That was essentially the same thing I said to you three years ago.  God and his Word are indeed timeless.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Yet things are different after three years.  The world has changed, and even our congregation has changed.  Some of you were not among us three years ago.  There have been new faces, new babies, new baptisms, new families, and new weddings.  Also, some of us who have been here for a very long time are no longer among us.  There have been students away at college, some have moved away, and some have died and there have been funerals.  All of this is the regular pattern for a Christian congregation.  It has been like this for Zion since it was established as a congregation in 1889; it will continue as we undertake to finish building the sanctuary in these coming years; and it will remain, Lord-willing, long after all of us are gone and even after the buildings we are working on now are replaced.

            Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our true treasure.  Jesus Christ is the meaning of life.  This is the heart of the Gospel reading today.  A man calls out to Jesus, complaining about his brother taking the inheritance.  It is a common point of conflict within a family.  Jacob schemed to get Esau’s birthright.  The prodigal son squandered the inheritance his father gave him.  Maybe you have seen or even been involved in a bitter dispute over who deserves what from their parents’ estate.

            Inheritances are important things.  Jesus knows this better than any of us.  He is his Father’s one and only Son.  Yet few of us consider our inheritances the same way.  When we are young, unless we are royalty, we do not give much thought to such things.  Our parents have always been with us and will always be with us.  There is no distinction between what belongs to our parents and what belongs to us – it’s our house, it’s our car, it’s our family.  Things change when we get older, though, and see that there is a distinction in property – we have debts that we wish we could pay; we have a desire to live in nicer homes and drive nicer vehicles; we have children of our own and begin to think of what we will hope to be able to do for them in due time.  Where will they live and what will they drive?  Where will they go to college?  What will they have for their children?

            It goes on and on and on.  Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.  How many of us take comfort and find security in the inheritances we anticipate receiving from our parents and grandparents?  Not that we are hoping to receive them quickly or anything morbid like that; but we have faith that eventually things will be easier for us because of what they will leave behind.  Repent.  As our Lord tells us, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’

            A good summary of Jesus’ parable in the Gospel today would be, ‘you can’t take it with you.’  That is most certainly true.  What is also true is that you can barely leave it behind when you go.  Think about it.  What material possessions do you have today that you received from your parents?  What do you have that they received from their parents, or from their parents’ parents, or their parents’ parents?  Certainly, there are heirlooms, and even sizeable treasures can be made to last for a very long time, but the things we have in this world will not last forever for us or our children.  Eventually, usually sooner than later, the things we have now will all pass away.

            Consider the rich man in the parable who became a rich fool.  He was a wealthy landowner, and his farms produced very well.  When this happens to us, we consider it to be a blessing from God.  We respond with thanksgiving.  We are right to react, like that rich man, by making a plan to accommodate such blessings.  When the harvest is plentiful, we build bigger grain bins; when our families expand, we buy larger homes; and when our income expands, we save and invest for our future.  None of this is condemned – it is the proper management of the things God has entrusted to our care in this life.  Neither is the rich man a fool for tearing down his barns and building new ones.

            What makes the rich man a fool is the faith he stores up with his harvest in those great barns.  Finally, after all that hard work, after a life of concern about whether his choices would help or hinder him and his family, he has no need to worry anymore about anything to come in this world.  He has more food than he will ever need.  If he needs money, he has more grain to sell than he will ever need.  If he becomes sick, he has grain to spare that he can sell to bring in the best physicians.  He says to his soul, ‘Soul, take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’

            Like I said before, how many times have we found ourselves longing for what the rich man achieved?  Maybe our hope is not for the barns of grain, but how many times have we dreamed and longed for the security that an overflowing checking and savings account would give us?  How many times have we looked forward to the day when our debts will be paid, when our cupboards will be full, and the rigors of full-time work will be behind us?  When we put our trust for such peace and comfort in earthly things, we are just as foolish as the rich fool in Jesus’ parable.  It is the same for all who lay up treasure for themselves, and are not rich toward God.

            Only God, and him alone, can give us such comfort, and only God, and him alone, can take it away.  And he will, indeed, take it away.  Jesus calls the rich man a fool because that very night his soul would be required of him.  It may not happen tonight for any of us, but just as God has numbered the hairs on our heads, he also has numbered the days and hours we have in this life.  Nothing we do in this world can give us one more second than the Lord gives.

            Worldly inheritances all pass away.  Few last longer than a few generations.  There is another inheritance, however, of which Jesus knows – the inheritance which comes from his Father in heaven and is unlike any other.  Certainly it is divided among many children, like most others; and certainly death precedes the disbursement, like most others, but the similarities end there.  Unlike every other inheritance, even though this one is divided among many children, every descendent receives the full birthright.  Stranger still, it is the descendents themselves who die before they receive the fullness of this inheritance.

            Friends, you know this inheritance.  This is the inheritance that is stored up not by you but by the Lord.  This inheritance is the eternal life won for you by your Lord, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead to the right hand of the Father.  This inheritance is the forgiveness of sins which is given to you by the power of the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you in the one true faith.  This inheritance is what it means to be rich toward God.

            Today you are not called to be careless with the earthly things our Lord gives you, but you are warned that laying up treasures for yourselves leaves no room for God.  Richness towards God, instead, means that you look to God for every help in every time of need.  Richness towards God means that you put yourselves and your own comforts last because Jesus Christ is the true treasure, and the only one for you.  God provides you that richness through the Holy Spirit and fulfills that inheritance for each of you.

            And when the Lord finally does call you home, whenever that will happen; and when he has poured the inheritance upon you, then he will say to your soul, ‘Soul, you have the good things which laid up for eternity; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’

            To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever.

            The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.

Summer Newsletter Article

‘…everyone did what was right in his own eyes.’

Judges 21:25

            Brothers and sisters in Christ, surely you have heard it before.  ‘I am spiritual, but not religious.’  It has become the theological mantra of my generation – according to a LifeWay Christian Resources survey in 2009, 72% of people aged 19-30 say that they are ‘more spiritual than religious.’  Chances are, some of them are in our families, maybe some are in our pews on Sundays and Mondays, and without a doubt people walk by our chapel on the campus of Central Michigan University every day who call themselves spiritual, but not religious. 

            What does it mean to be spiritual, but not religious?  It seems harmless enough, doesn’t it?  And isn’t it better, after all, to be spiritual than unspiritual?  Aren’t we taught that God is a spirit?  Being spiritual but not religious has to do with a person being spiritually connected to a power greater than themselves, but without having to choose an organized religion to do so.  Now, that statement is by no means an attempt to define what it means to be spiritual but not religious for each person who applies the label to themselves, but it does get to the heart of the issue; connection with an almighty power without the rules, and traditions of a classical theological framework defining that connection.

            The quest for spiritual connection is universal and well documented.  In the book of Acts, Paul stood in the Areopagus and told the men of Athens, ‘I perceive that in all things you are very religious.’  Surrounded by temples to every imaginable deity – even an altar to ‘the unknown god’ – Paul preached of the man ordained by God who was raised from the dead; Jesus Christ.

            The quest for spiritual connection apart from religion, however, is not so common.  Apart from the major world religions like Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam, people have still organized themselves into sects and cults, gathering together with others who believe as they do to practice their beliefs.  Even atheists gather together to discuss that in which they do not believe.  While the self-chosen label of being spiritual but not religious would seem to preclude any religious tendencies among the people who call themselves spiritual but not religious, it is my contention that it actually is a religious movement. 

            To people my age and younger, it sounds very wise and non-judgmental to define yourself as ‘spiritual but not religious’ – after all, for the last decade or so, it has been a convenient label without much baggage or definition.  It is a label that can be self applied in most any social situation, and because it does not directly denounce or prefer one particular religion, friends and family would rarely raise a fuss.  Like so many things of humanity’s own creation, however, it has developed into a full blown movement, complete with its own dogma and traditions.  If you don’t believe me, Google (that is, use www.google.com to search the internet for) ‘SBNR’ (yes, there is already an acronym for this ‘non-religion’, along with a Facebook fan page, and, coming in July, a website: www.sbnr.org).

            The point of this article is not to analyze and debunk the beliefs of those who call themselves SBNR – that can come at another time.  Rather, the goal is to make you aware that, in spite of the actual words used by those who call themselves spiritual but not religious, it has become its own religion.  It is not a spiritually neutral statement, and considering the following it has among the young people we are trying to reach with the Gospel on CMU’s campus and in the community, it will bear us well to keep that in mind.

            Perhaps it will be a spiritual fad like so many others, but I urge you to be vigilant with your faith in your homes.  Speak with your children about your faith in Christ, the one who became flesh for us, and who died and rose in that flesh to everlasting life for the forgiveness of our sins.  Faith in the man who is also God, Jesus Christ, is the only true religion.

            To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

Homily for Lent IV

The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:1-3, 11-35

4th Sunday in Lent, C 2010

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen. The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from St. Luke.


Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." So He spoke this parable to them, “A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "


Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, some people are never satisfied. It matters not whether they completely understand what upsets them – it is enough that they are angry. The Pharisees and scribes in the Gospel reading are upset that sinners and tax collectors were drawn to Jesus. The older brother in the parable Jesus told is angry because the younger brother receives such wonderful treatment from their father.

Surely, we have all felt this way at some time or another. Whether it is a parent, a teacher, or an employer; we all desire to please them. Nothing satisfies quite like earning their praise, especially in front of our peers. For the same reason, nothing frustrates us quite like watching that coveted attention going toward another. When my brother did a better job on the dishes than I did, I was upset. When my sister had better grades on her report card than I had, I was jealous. When a coworker was selected for a special task by the supervisor that I wanted, I secretly hoped they would fail.

Sometimes, my wishes would come true. My brother would drop a dish and break it. My sister would get a ‘B’. My coworker would make a mistake. Then the roles would be reversed – I would receive the praise they desired, at least until I made a mistake of my own.

I am not a parent, but I understand that there can be no favorites among your children. I will never forget the smug feeling I had when I asked my mother which of her three children she loved most. She said that she loved me most, which was only natural according to my thinking. My sister and brother learned the truth, however, when they each went to ask her the same question. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise and frustration to learn that my mother said the same thing to my sister and brother that she had said to me! How could she love them as much as she loved me?

Jealousy is definitely a main ingredient for dissatisfaction, but it is not the only thing that leaves people unhappy. Some people are never satisfied no matter what they have. Whether it is money, beauty, power, fame, or love, they can never find contentment. The young son in Jesus’ parable illustrates this well. His dissatisfaction with his life reached its limit, he thought, until he asked his father for what was to be his inheritance. Whether he meant to say it or not, the action revealed to his father that he loved himself above everything else. The father, who loved both his sons, was heartbroken, but did not say no, and so the young son, thinking his discontentment was over, soon left home for bigger and better things. What he did not realize was that money could not buy him happiness, and that his hunger for all of the things he thought would fulfill him soon swallowed up his inheritance.

Whatever the hunger is that makes someone dissatisfied; it is never satiated by feeding on the things it desires. Whether we crave praise, approval, and glory – like the older brother; or money, power, and fame – like the younger brother; receiving those things only serves to make us long for more. This is what happens when we think we know what is best for us – either we act like the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and go searching for it; or else we lead quiet lives of desperation and begrudge others we think are taking away what should rightfully be ours.

Contentment in the parable has nothing to do with taking care of what the sons thought they needed; true contentment was all about their relationship with their father. It is the same for us. Think about it – the younger son knew his father loved him very much, otherwise he would never have asked for his inheritance. He did not realize, however, how his father looked after him and gave him more than what he needed. He discovered the hard way, when he left home and lost everything, just how much his father did for him. When he returned home, full of shame and remorse, he also discovered how his father loved him. Running out to greet his son when he first saw him in the distance, the father spared nothing in celebrating the return of his younger son. The son finally realized that being content in his father’s house had nothing to do with the things he thought he needed, and everything to do with being home in his father’s house.

The older brother was different – he did everything his father asked of him, and he believed that his hard work should earn him the place of honor between him and his brother. When he saw his brother’s audacity, however, and then saw his father give half of the family wealth to his brother, it only served to feed his jealousy that his father did not love him as much as he loved his brother. There was no way, he believed, that his father would have given him anything like what was given to his brother, and so he gave up hope, and did not bother to ask for anything. He did not learn of his father’s great love for him until his younger brother returned. He hoped that he would finally be vindicated, that his brother would be disowned, and that he would finally receive the recognition he desired. His father’s reaction to his younger brother’s return, however, crushed his hopes and caused his jealousy to boil over into anger. He refused to join in the celebration, and lashed out at his father when he sought him out to come to the feast. ‘All these years I have been serving you, and not once have I gone against your word. Yet, you never even gave me a young goat that my friends and I might eat it and have a party. However, as soon as this other son of yours came home, who has wasted his entire inheritance on prostitutes and fast living, you killed the fatted calf for a feast in his honor!’

The father responded, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.’ You wanted to kill a goat for a feast with your friends? You thought that all this time you were working for me? You are my son; whatever is mine is yours. We are celebrating as we should, because your brother who was dead is alive again. The older son thought he was more of a slave than a son, but his father rebuked him and reminded him of his own inheritance.

Both of the dissatisfied sons in this parable learned the hard way how much their father truly loves them. They also learned the hard way that their hope and contentment rest not in fulfilling their self-centered desires, but upon the relationship their father has established with them. It is no different for us.

How often have we wanted recognition from God for the good things we believe we are doing for him? How often have we wandered from the path God intended for us? How often have we felt totally justified in our self-centered beliefs and feelings toward God, others, and ourselves? Yet God does not hold these things against us. Far from it.

The parable hardly does justice to what God would accomplish in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, but it does give us a glimpse into the heart of God the Father. Not only is he good and gracious to us; through the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our brother in the flesh, he has also become our Father in heaven. We are not his slaves; we are his children. We do not expect a wage from him; he is preparing our inheritance. All that he is and all that he has is ours.

There is great joy and celebration in heaven over one sinner who repents, but there is also great joy and celebration in Christ’s church on earth for all of God’s family –whether they have newly repented or been here all their life. Our Father rejoices that we are his children and he has sacrificed the greatest Lamb of all to save us from our sin and to give us the greatest feast in the world. In his body and blood we eat and drink his riches, his innocence, his power, and his love. Satisfaction has nothing to do with us but everything to do with Christ. We need not wonder whether there is something better somewhere else and we need not wonder whether our Lord loves or approves of us. No matter how far we run, he will run to meet us. No matter how stubborn we are, he will not let us forget that we are his children. From the beginning to the end, God loves us, God makes us his children, and God gives us the greatest inheritance of all; eternal life.

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.
The Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.

March Newsletter Article

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,

but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, two months ago I shared with you in this space some observations I have been able to make as a campus pastor.  I spoke of things parents and grandparents ought to have in mind when it comes to the upbringing of their children within the church with a vision towards their children’s ongoing growth and maturation in the Christian faith.  This month I would like to follow up that article by broadening the perspective to what a congregation, as a whole, ought to have in mind when it comes to supporting and encouraging youth to take their faith seriously, continue in the Lutheran church if/when they move away from home, and grow as Christians.

            Recent surveys about the tendencies of young people to leave church (and, subsequently, the Christian faith) after high school or confirmation vary a bit over the actual percentages of those who will leave.  Just before coming to Zion and Christ The King I saw a survey that indicated 75% of confirmed youth will not be attending church by the time they are 22 years old.  A more recent survey result shared with us at a circuit pastors’ meeting a few months ago put the portion of population with no affiliation to any church by the age of 22 (average age of a college graduate) at close to 94%.  While they may not be startling figures when we consider the prevailing culture and its attitude toward the Christian faith in general, those numbers serve to remind us that we in the church are not immune to this problem.  They ought also to encourage us to seek how we can support our own youth who learn in, live in, and interact with this world every day.

            As a campus pastor, I have the privilege of meeting and working with the small portion of the student population that does not follow the trends I mentioned above; who consider their connection to Christ in His church to be the most important thing in their lives.  Why do they take their faith so seriously?  Why do they wake up on Sunday morning to come to church?  Why do they attend Bible studies, go on mission trips, and invite their friends to join them at church?  Why do they care about so much about being Lutheran, let alone Christian?  The single answer to all of these questions is that the Holy Spirit has worked in them through the Means of Grace to nurture their continued hunger to hear the Word of God and receive his gifts in the Sacraments.  This work of the Holy Spirit, however, has not taken place just anywhere – it happens in their home congregations!  What begins at baptism is nurtured through Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Lutheran Pre-Schools, Lutheran Elementary and High Schools, Confirmation Instruction, and most importantly, regular exposure to the Means of Grace through preaching, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper.  A strong Lutheran identity is, I believe, the most important factor in a young college student remaining Lutheran during and beyond their college years.

            So what is a congregation to do?  First, we can thank God for the gifts he has given us in our Lutheran Pre-School, our Sunday School, our Vacation Bible School, and our CCI program – these all serve to cultivate that distinctive gift of the pure Gospel we have in the Lutheran Church through the use of carefully selected Lutheran teachers, curriculums, and materials.  Second, we can thank God that parents in our congregation have made the Christian upbringing of their children the priority in their homes and avail themselves and their families of the spiritual and educational programs and services our congregation supports.  Third, we can thank God for the campus ministry.  The Lutheran students who attend the services and other activities at the chapel are living witnesses to the esteem in which they hold the Lutheran faith, they know firsthand what it is like to be a Christian at a secular university, they are happy to help out with our own youth group, and in many cases they are also members of our congregation, either through adult confirmation, or simply having grown up at Zion and gone to CMU.  Lastly, we can give thanks for one another – the members of our congregation support all of these programs with our time, talents, and treasure, but much more than that, we are living witnesses to one another and to our children of the common faith we share.

            We certainly have much for which to give thanks to God.  I cannot overemphasize the fact that bringing up the youth of the congregation in the faith is the work of the whole congregation, and how our efforts are undermined when the whole congregation is not working together for this purpose.  It makes a great statement when pastors and parents show and tell the youth of our congregation the importance of the Christian faith and being Lutheran.  Those statements are nothing, however, compared to the strength of the witness that is given when children see the same people in church with them, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, living out what their pastors and parents are showing and telling them.  Perhaps the best way to think about it is to think back to when you were growing up in the church.  Whom did you see as a role model in your congregation?  What did it mean for you to see them there (likely sitting in the same pew!), week in and week out?  What would it have meant if they had only been there half the time?

            There is certainly no simple solution to the challenges that face the church when it comes to raising up the youth in the faith.  We can give thanks to God for the faithful witness of our parents and those who have come before us, and we can resolve to continue to take our faith seriously as we ourselves grow and mature as Christians throughout our lives.  God grant strength and courage in the faith to all of us!

            To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

                        Pastor Bakker

New Orleans Day 2

Good morning!  It's already Day 3, but I'll update about that tonight when we're back from working.

The Lord blessed us this trip with safe travels and gracious hosts along the way - we arrived late last night and have settled in to Camp Restore.  Saturday night and Sunday morning we were the guests of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Nashville, TN.  Their hospitality was fantastic, and we couldn't have hoped for a more perfect place to stop on our travels.  Rev. Philip Young and the congregation he serves there were gracious hosts and we will definitely be through there again when next we head south for mission work!

I wish it were warmer here in NOLA, but it's like we have brought the record cold temps with us.  Thankfully record cold for NOLA is 'only' 28 or so degrees, but it's not quite as warm as we hoped.  Oh well, we came south for more than warm weather, we came to serve.  Pray for our group to have courage and willingness as we begin the work for which we came!

New Orleans Trip: Day One

Waking up at 4:45 has its advantages - no line for the shower!  :-)

I'm preparing to embark now on a trip with the students I serve to New Orleans for some service work to help rebuild in the wake of Katrina.  You can see details about the trip at our Chapel website.

It's going to be exciting and challenging.  We're bringing together a group of 24 people who, at best, only know about half of the group, and several who know less than a handful.  Your prayers for patience and courage in the coming week would be appreciated, along with safe travels!  I'll be updating throughout the trip as a way of keeping a journal of what happens and how we're doing.  If you don't hear from me tonight in Nashville, it will be because there was no Wi-Fi.  We'll catch up for sure again in New Orleans!

Blessings, Pastor Bakker