Redeemer Lutheran Church, DeSoto, MO

Our September 19 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 September 26 Sunday worship service will be held with in-person attendance. We have returned to regular in-person worship services. With an upturn in county COVID cases, we recommend masks even for those who are vaccinated.

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.

Jeremiah 11:18-20 | Psalm 54
James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a | Mark 9:30-37

The Gospel lesson: Jesus is continuing his journey from the Gentile lands, now through Galilee, and back to Capernaum. Mark’s Gospel is pretty much one long journey through the Holy Land. Now at Capernaum, where it can be argued that Jesus has a house (I always liked the thought of Jesus as a homeowner. Somewhere in Christian history, we started thinking of him as a sort of homeless preacher. And for some reason, it has stayed with us.), Jesus continues his teaching to the disciples. But, the teaching has taken a turn from what he taught to this point.

While they were traveling, Jesus was instructing them on what to expect to happen to him. “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands (I wonder if Judas Iscariot was listening to that part – I’ll have to pick up a copy of the apocryphal Gospel of Judas and read it). That he will be killed, and three days later, he will rise again. In last week’s lesson, Mark told us that he tells them this quite plainly. That might also be why he doesn’t want anyone to know where he is, doesn’t want to attract a crowd, just wants to tell his chosen disciples. Part of that Secret of Jesus’ Messiahship Theme which we find in Mark’s account.

How do the disciples take this teaching? “They did not understand what he was saying, and were afraid to ask him.” For a teacher, this is very upsetting. I used to end every lecture at the college with the question, “Are there any questions?” And, I really didn’t like it when I got only empty stares, because then I knew that they didn’t understand all of the material. I often get the same response in Confirmation Class. But, at least they usually have nothing to gauge the information against. The disciples are like this, just blank stares. They don’t get it. And more importantly, at this point, they don’t believe it! It would seem that through this whole journey, through the Gentile lands and back home, Jesus is trying to prepare them, and get it through their thick heads. It’s not working. The disciples won’t really understand until after Jesus is resurrected, but even then, he will have to explain it all over to them once more.
When they get to Capernaum, their base of operations, it is obvious that the disciples aren’t getting a whole lot of what Jesus has tried to teach them. They were arguing along the way over who will be the greatest among themselves. When Jesus queries them on their discussion, in shame probably, they are silent, again. I think they had a rough idea of what he was going to say to them.

But, Jesus goes for an object lesson instead. Those of you with children have a good idea of what is going on. You hear the kids arguing, or fighting, you go to see what is up, and very quickly, they are all little angels and silent. That’s when you know they have been up to no good. And, they know it too. We don’t have a child in the house anymore. We have something worse. We have a kitten. And when you don’t see her, and don’t hear her, that’s when you have to go and see what she is up to. It is usually something that you really don’t want her to do. The other night, I caught her pulling on the chain and rewinding the cuckoo clock! And then, she looked at me all innocent, and ran to the other room. The disciples know that they are out of line, but how to correct them?

“Make a circle, and bring me that child over there.” Notice that Jesus didn’t call for a kitten! “The first must be last and servant of all.” In the midst of the circle, Jesus embraces the child. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me.” And children, in that place and time, were considered the least (often, literally, overlooked), not like we tend to treat them today. A better translation of what Jesus says here would be, “Whoever receives one in the character of this child.” There’s another part to this object lesson. What happens when you hug a child? They usually hug back, it is natural. Looking at the way I translated the verse, is it like the child being embraced, or the one who receives the child? It is in the character of both. They are embracing. And there is the object lesson. Who receives Christ, and by extension, the Father, who embraces each other, welcomes each other, enfolds each other.

The disciples, in their dispute, have been doing the opposite. When we argue, we do not embrace, we push away, often at arms length, think of the expression “when push comes to shove.” Where do disputes and conflicts come from? James answers today, “You covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.” The disciples wanted to be first. Well, for that, you have to be last. That is the rule. It runs against our nature, but everything of a divine nature is contrary to our nature.

How are we to act towards one another in faith? Not by disputing who is the greatest, where the disciples fall far short today, holding each other out at arms’ length. No, we receive and embrace even those who we normally consider the least among us, in the character of the child, open. Then, we also receive and embrace Christ, and the One who sent him. After all, it is He who first embraced us. Go therefore, embrace the world, and embody the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Rose

Our September 12 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 September 19 Sunday worship service will be held with in-person attendance. We have returned to regular in-person worship services. With an upturn in county COVID cases, we recommend masks even for those who are vaccinated.

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.

Isaiah 50:4-9a | Psalm 116:1-8
James 3:1-12 | Mark 8:27-38

There’s a couple of interesting things about people. First, they are always looking for a Messiah, a savior. Second, they always look for them in the wrong place. They usually look for them among our leaders. If you remember the psalm from last week, number 146, we are actually warned against that, and really, in any other human being: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is not help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.” There’s a pretty ominous warning. And one which has largely gone unheeded for about 3,000 years. But, people still do it, to their detriment. Old habits are hard to break. And, when people look for a savior among human beings, they tend to look back to the “good old days,” which never repeat themselves. And, again, people look in the wrong direction. We see that in Mark’s lesson today.

“Who do people say that I am?” That is the question. Indeed, that is always the question when Jesus asks it. Upon the answer lies our very salvation. It is interesting that Jesus asks the question first to his disciples, but not at the Temple, nor in Jerusalem, nor even for that matter in Israel proper. They are up in the Gentile lands, like they were in last week’s gospel lesson. They’ve left Tyre and Sidon, and the region of the Decapolis, and they are now in the area of the Gentile, as in Roman built, town of Caesarea Philippi. But, the location is also telling. Do you remember that last week, I said that he had found faith in a land that was supposed to be faithless, and among the people who weren’t supposed to have any faith? We had the example of the Syrophoenician woman, the Greek man who was deaf and dumb? Faith which was not found among the children of Israel, who were supposed to be waiting eagerly for the coming of the Messiah. Maybe Jesus is curious about what the people are saying.

“Who do people say that I am?” It is a fair question in the face of the circumstances. The answers are also interesting: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. They are all on track, but they are all wrong. Again, they are looking back. And they are looking to human beings. They are off, sometimes in surprising ways. John the Baptist was only 6 months older than Jesus, and had recently been executed, so how could that be? True he was a religious figure, preparing the way for Jesus coming, but somebody really got his message wrong, and Jesus’ message. Those who thought that Jesus was John the Baptist returned are the strangest answer of the lot. Then, there is Elijah, the greatest of the OT prophets, and the one who was supposed to return to prepare the coming Messiah. We say that John the Baptist fulfilled Elijah’s role in preparing the way, but again, they are wrong; but maybe closer or more on track. One of the other prophets, well, at least they believe that Jesus is sent from God. That’s a start, but they just don’t seem to get it.

After these answers, Jesus tries a little closer to home. “But who do you say that I am?” I think, that at this point, there was an uneasy silence. If these other answers are wrong, what can we say? No one really wants to answer out of fear that they will be wrong. They also sit there thinking, “Please, don’t call on me.” After a few moments of the unbearable silence, no doubt with Jesus staring at them, Peter makes his confession, “You are the Messiah.” And guess what, for once Peter is right. At least he understands, maybe, and probably the rest, they just didn’t want to risk being wrong. But, Jesus even tells them this has been revealed to them by God. In other words, human beings can’t figure this one out on their own. It is a gift of grace, and gift of faith. But, having the secret out in the open, Jesus now starts to tell the disciples not to tell anybody, at least not yet. Just as last week, after his healings and exorcisms, he told the people not to tell anyone. He wants this hand played close to the chest. God will have to open other hearts and souls to this answer.

Now, with the cat out of the bag, Jesus instructs the disciples what this means: suffering. This is why a human Messiah is an improbability. We don’t like to suffer. And people won’t usually follow someone who suffers for long. People don’t want suffering. They want victory! When Peter rebukes him, for saying this, Jesus rebukes Peter. He even calls Peter, Satan. “Yes Peter, you know that I am the Christ, but you don’t know what that entails. Don’t let your preconceived notions of Messiahship get in the way of my mission. God has far bigger plans than you do.”

Jesus then begins to instruct them in discipleship. What does it mean to follow the Christ? It means to bear the cross which we have already been given. To follow Christ in obedience, and like him, to be willing to pour out our lives for the sake of the gospel, just as Christ pours out his life for the sake of the world. It means, ultimately, a life of service to God, by serving Christ, in the midst of the world, and especially in the midst of those who have no faith. Although this may seem a life of self-denial and possibly self-destruction and martyrdom, it is really a life which leads to ultimate vindication and salvation. It is not the obvious route to messiahship. It is why people look in the wrong places and get it wrong.

Who do you say that Jesus is? It is question which we carry with us wherever we go. And the answer is one which we should always be wearing on our sleeves. If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, then those around us should know that by the way we follow him. Do we live our lives just for ourselves? Or do we live them, in Christ, for the sake of others and the gospel? The answer should be obvious. It can be found in the words of our hymns. A good example is; “They shall know that we are Christians by our love.” Our faith takes outward expression in the world by our acts to reach out to others in the love of Christ, in the gospel, as the Spirit gives us gifts for those acts.

Who is Jesus? He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. He is human, but he is also divine. And, only the divine is able to save us. He suffered and died for us. He was raised by the power of God over death for us! And he is the One who empowers us to reach out to all people in the Gospel, to spread his Good News, for the sake of all people. He does this so that all may know the power of God’s love to us. That’s who he is, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Amen
Pastor Rose