Tuesday, June 24th

The single most important church doctrine in the Lutheran Church is Justification by Faith through Grace.  I had to memorize that title in confirmation as many of us had to.  But what exactly is faith and what exactly is grace?  There is the passage from Matthew where Jesus proclaims that if we only have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains.  I don't know about you but I have never been able to say to a mountain move and that mountain actually moved.  Do we not have faith?  I don't believe that is what Jesus meant but rather it was to show us the great power our faith can have on this world.  Jesus often spoke in parables and a mountain could easily be substituted to mean governments who have gone astray or drug dealers who ruin neighborhoods.  These are just a few examples.  

Still the concepts of Faith and Grace are a complete mystery to me.  How can I have faith?  Well it's by God's grace.  Well what is God's grace?  It comes from your faith.  Faith comes from God's grace but one must have faith to receive grace.  Now you know why this is all a complete mystery to me.  The beauty of theology is that its okay to admit that we don't know.  Science demands hard facts to back up findings and the truth but theology and religion facts and proof solely rest with God.  To say we don't know shows the world  the great awe and power of God.  God is God.  If we could understand God we wouldn't need God.  

This world needs God.  God makes all the hard decisions and at the same time brings comfort to us.   Good people lose their jobs because of corporate take overs, young men and women die everyday because of drug related crimes, parents have to bury their children because of cancer or other incurable diseases are just some of the problems we deal with every single day.  Why one child lives while another dies is a mystery but its a mystery that we don't have to know about or will ever have to make those choices.  God makes the hard choices and God also comforts us.  

I was watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition on Sunday night.  It was the 100th episode and they were showing clips of the previous episodes.  One builder was giving a motivational talk and he said, "We are not heros but we are angels."  We don't always have to be heros to make a difference.  We cannot save the world.  The world has a Saviour.  Rather, this world needs angels in order that others may see and know God.  

I happened to be surfing through YouTube last night when I came across an old act of George Carlin titled "Religion is Bullshit."  I only watched a few minutes in the beginning because I cannot stand listening to closed minded individuals.  (I am going to  paraphrase what I heard)  He said the biggest load of crap that world has ever seen, he claims, is religion.  Carlin claims that we, the church, have convinced the world that there is this great man in the sky watching everything we are doing.  I turned off the computer after I heard that.  The church has done no convincing.  Rather, God loved the world so much that he sent Jesus to save us.  Jesus welcomes all to his kingdom.  We did not choose God but rather God chose us.  I hate people that ask "Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour" or my favorite "Have you found Jesus?"  No, I have not accepted Jesus Christ fully into my life, but he has.  No I have not found Jesus but Jesus found me.  Shockingly, Jesus was never lost and needed to be found.  These same Christians that claim we need to find Jesus also sing the line from Amazing Grace "I once was lost but now I am found."  When we are lost, we need to be found.  Christ has never been lost.  He is the Seeker and we are the individuals who need to be found.  Christ found us when we were baptized.  Baptism is not something that man created but rather was institute by Christ and through baptism Christ washes us of our sins and we no longer are bound to our sinful nature.  Yes we will still sin but Christ promises us forgiveness.