Month: June 2021

Our June 13 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. We are excited to say that our Sunday 8 & 10:30 am services are open again for in-person worship. Services will continue to be streamed online.

The June 20 Sunday worship service will be held with in-person attendance. We have returned to regular in-person worship services.

It is scheduled to be streamed live on the DeSoto Redeemer Facebook page. We will post a direct link to the recording here as soon as it is possible after the service.

We are glad to share our worship with you. Click on “Contact Us” above to find out more about our faith family and what we believe.

Ezekiel 17:22-24 | Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14
2 Cor. 5:6-10 [11-13] 14-17 | Mark 4:26-34

“The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.” What is interesting about that section of today’s text is that we still don’t know how a seed will decide to sprout and grow. It has been about 2,000 years since Jesus said these words, and we still don’t know! So much for how far we have come, humans still don’t have the answers to some basic questions. The more that I look into the field of physics, the more you discover that things are “probabilities,” and not “knowns.” And that isn’t the only field. Still, especially this time of year, it is amazing to watch plants grow from those little tiny seeds. Then, you plant them in the ground, and in the night, and the rabbits eat them.

Jesus’ descriptions in the parables today are not really about seeds. He is describing the kingdom of God. We don’t really know how that comes either. We will always ascribe that work to the Holy Spirit. And we don’t know how the Spirit works either. Just that it does, and things happen according to God’s plan. Indeed, in that sense we declare both our ignorance of events and our hope in the future.

Jesus use of the Mustard seed is telling, and accurate in ways. How does a mustard seed grow into a tall bush (and I have seen them up about 4 to 5 feet)? A seed needs three things to grow: good soil, water and sunlight. Put those together on a mustard seed, and in a while, you will have a bush large enough for birds to build a nest in. They are everywhere in California. Or, you plant a seed of mustard, wait a couple of centuries, and they are in just about everyone’s kitchen in yellow bottles. Mustard is the second most popular spice in the world. Pepper is number one, and its seeds aren’t much larger.

To build the kingdom of God, and especially personal spiritual growth (here is the importance of personal devotions – but it also includes worship), also takes three things in addition to the Gospel, the Word of God. Luther said that he had labored hard to put the word of God into everyday language so that hearing and reading the scriptures would inform their biblical spirituality. That is the gift of the Word of God which Luther gave to his followers. But, he also recommended three rules to aid in the development and understanding of faith, which he said that he learned from Psalm 119 (which, I always thought was too long and boring, so I didn’t get these from it). The three rules are: prayer, meditation and overcoming the assaults of the devil. I will explain, take notes.

First, “one must distrust one’s own ability to reason and submits oneself to prayer from the heart, so that one will understand the scriptures through Christ by the Holy Spirit.” When you read or hear a Bible text, pray about it; to seek out not just the surface meanings; but to delve deeper into the text. That is especially true of parables. Jesus’ parables are very deep. This mustard seed parable is a good example. Every time I read it, the first thing that comes to my mind is, “What kind of faith does a mustard seed have?” And, the answer is always the same, “faith that it is a mustard seed.” That isn’t much to go on! But, it is enough for a mustard seed. Pray, and think deeper.

Second, Luther wrote, “One must meditate by using all one’s senses, especially that of repetitive hearing, to experience the external word for understanding.” When most people think about meditation, they think about Buddhist monks and Hindu gurus sitting in a trance, slowly saying “Om” to themselves. That is Eastern meditation, not practiced in the Western religions, for good reasons. That isn’t the type of meditation Luther is referring to. The oldest form of Christian meditation was simply going about your regular business, but in your head repeating Bible verses, over and over; and relating them to your life. That is what St. Paul means when he writes about “unceasing prayer.” Sound difficult? Not really. I do it all of the time. I read the lessons for Sunday on the Tuesday morning before, usually. I then spend the rest of the week thinking about them during whatever I am doing. Then, Friday or Saturday, I write the sermon (hopefully), after having thought about the texts for a couple of days. I do more of a weekly devotion than a daily one. Try it. It is called, “living the text.”

Third, Luther wrote, “One does not fully experience the sweetness of the word unless one suffers the assaults of the devil. Only when one suffers the assaults of the devil through temptation can one” fully experience the sweetness of the word. Does anyone not suffer temptation in their lives? If you are praying and meditating (as I described it) about a Bible story, you will be surprised how often you will realize during this that you are being tempted to some other purpose. Temptations, are what Luther meant by assaults of the devil. That makes sense, since the devil is referred to as “The Tempter.”

Doing these things, living literally in the Word of God, helps that little tiny mustard seed of faith, (which was probably planted at your baptism) grow into a fine strong shrub of faith in God and Christ, as the Holy Spirit works in you. The kingdom comes, on its own, and grows. That faith will even be strong enough for you to rest, and place your nest in. A place to, rest secure in the faith and knowledge of the blessings which God our Father has given us: the gift of His Word, His Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and the ongoing care and guidance of the Holy Spirit. For the kingdom of God comes, it comes even to us.

Our June 6 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. We are excited to say that our Sunday 8 & 10:30 am services are open again for in-person worship. Services will continue to be streamed online.

The June 13 Sunday worship service will be held with in-person attendance. We have returned to regular in-person worship services.

It is scheduled to be streamed live on the DeSoto Redeemer Facebook page. We will post a direct link to the recording here as soon as it is possible after the service.

We are glad to share our worship with you. Click on “Contact Us” above to find out more about our faith family and what we believe.

Genesis 3:8-15 | Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 | Mark 3:20-35

Brokenness, Sinfulness, Isolation, Separation, and failure to accept responsibility as to the actions of ourselves and others, for good or for bad: that’s what the lessons are about today. It all begins in Genesis. God is taking a walk in the cool of the evening. Adam and Eve are hiding. Finally, they come out when God calls to them. And God asks why they were hiding? Adam’s says, “Because we were naked.” Children always say too much. God, “Really, who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I told you not to eat?” Does Adam own up to it? Listen carefully to the reply. “The woman You gave me gave me some, and I ate it.” Many like to say that he blames Eve. Many still blame Eve. But no, listen again. Adam blames Eve; and God for giving her to him. But that isn’t the end of the passing of the buck, it continues. God, “Is this true Eve?” “The snake tricked me.” The text will then continue with the punishments: Death, men have to work by the sweat of their brow, weeds pop up, women get to have pain in childbirth, and the snake gets to crawl on its belly and eat dust (no wonder they tend to be ill tempered!). I wonder sometime, are the punishments for the eating of the forbidden fruit, or are they because when called on the carpet? They all pass the buck and refuse to own up to it! There may be another punishment not recorded in Scriptures, you get to have children just like them. Let me know your answer later. These kinds of human reactions continue towards God into the Gospel lesson.

“He is out of his mind!” “Surely he has gone mad!” Jesus is at home in Capernaum (in the past, I used to think that this was in Nazareth, but rereading Mark to this point, I think that he is still in Capernaum, although later in Mark, Jesus will go to Nazareth). And, from the things that Jesus is teaching, and doing; like healings and exorcisms, Jesus’ friends and neighbors aren’t sure he is acting like their normal upstanding neighbor. He is doing things which are contrary to his reputation to this point. His teachings are challenging some of the things that they had been taught. He is breaking the Law of Moses. He even healed a man on the Sabbath, in the synagogue itself! This is also contrary to their expectations. These are strange things for a carpenter to do; healing, teaching and casting out demons. Although realize that the word translated as “carpenter” also means “wise man” in Greek, and may also in this context refer to exactly what Jesus is doing. Then again, maybe Jesus himself is crazy, or worse, maybe he is demon possessed?! He is no longer fitting the mold of any person’s expectations. Perhaps, he is the devil himself?!!!

Jesus actions even affect his family. When Jesus’ family; mother, brothers and sisters (and yes, that is exactly what the Greek original says. Jesus has brothers and sisters, not just cousins as some groups have tried to maintain). Jesus’ family seems to approach him with words such as, “What are you doing?” “Are you trying to ruin our good name in this community?” “We are working hard to maintain our family’s position in this town.” Isn’t it interesting how these kinds of situations don’t change over the centuries? I rarely read “modern books,” because almost everything has happened before. So, I tend to read classics. They also tend to be better written. There are reasons why they are classics.
I think that we should heed these responses by themselves a bit to Jesus’ ministry. They can be very informative for us. When doing God’s work, some people will get upset, already in this third chapter of Mark, the Pharisees and the Herodians are out trying to figure out a way to have Jesus killed, already in the third chapter!!! Others will listen to you, but think that you are nuts. Some will think that you are working for the other side. Some will think that you are wise and profound, but not understand what you are saying or doing. A few might get it. But, your own family will probably try to take you away. You can see that things haven’t changed much.

Jesus response, “A house divided against itself cannot stand;” that text will become the basis of one of Abraham Lincoln’s greatest speeches. I read those too. And the basis of a simple strategy: Divide and Conquer. Even children are good at that one. Ask any confused parent. It is true of families, any body politic from village up to nation or even international unit. The issue is precisely unity. The same, Jesus points out, applies even to Satan and evil. Evil doesn’t usually fight evil, nor does sin fight sin. But rather evil and sin tend to thrive upon themselves. And Jesus, contrary to what the people are saying and thinking, is evil’s enemy. The Genesis 3 text is not only the text about the penalties of falling into sin, it also contains what is considered the first prophesy of the coming of the Messiah. That is why it is paired with this Gospel lesson. Evil is striking at Christ’s heel, and Jesus is in the process of crushing Satan’s head.
Now, in Christ, the Messiah is present, is here. Sin, death and Satan are destroyed. Sin may now be forgiven, through repentance and faith in Christ. There is only one sin which is not forgivable: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, or we usually say denial of the Spirit. I have several people this week ask me about suicide. Suicide was taken off of the unforgivable list years and years ago, for a couple of reasons, not least among them is this text!! All sins can be forgiven except one. Here, the scribes aka “the teachers of the Law,” are denying Jesus power, the Holy Spirit, attributing Jesus’ power to other forces, Satan. This is unforgivable.

This is a reason why we need to be cautious about judging others. We don’t know why they do what they do, or say what they say. And maybe, just maybe, they are following God’s will, and we need to listen to them. We usually miss that part at the time. True, some things are obviously wrong, and should be stopped and condemned. There are things that are obviously and blatantly contrary to God’s Holy Writ. But some things are just different; or new; or that most dreaded of Lutheran words; a change. There is a simple test, very simple. If something builds up the Church or the people, it is good. Evil always tears down, always destroys. It is chaotic, by definition.

It is in the doing of God’s work, for the good of all, united, empowered by the Holy Spirit. That is what we are called to do. If you have a nagging, nearly constant desire to do something for others, and it is for their good, it may well be a calling from God through the Spirit to serve Him. It can be just about anything from the simple (the classic giving a person a glass of cool water) to the very complex (St. Francis heard the call to “rebuild my church.”). This is how we show that we are part of Jesus’ family, God’s children. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Go and do likewise. Oh, and don’t blame someone else if called on the carpet.
Pastor Rose