Pastor’s Letter Reformation Day 2010
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a greeting that was often used by St. Paul in many of his Epistles (letters) and bears repeating here. In this greeting to others, we are wishing the best of God’s holy blessings upon everyone we meet.
God’s grace is something that we cannot get enough of in our lives. The classic definition, which every confirmand learns is: “the unmerited favor of Almighty God” We need God’s grace in every aspect of our lives. We need God’s favor, not because we deserve it, but because without grace in our lives, we would be in a sorry mess of mistakes, blunders, missteps and downright sin. We are favored because we are children of the most high God. And like all children, we have a lot to learn—sometimes by trial and error, sometimes by reading God’s Word and at other times by learning from experience by other Christians. Sanctification, or the ultimate righteousness, is the goal for all Christians. Without grace we would be lost in our self-serving ways. With grace, we can overcome our human blindness and flaws and become a person worthy of the Kingdom of God and model to others of a life that gives glory and honor to God.
Mercy and compassion is also very important in our lives, both as a gift we receive from God covering the errors of our ways and as a gift we give to others. We, in our humanness, tend to lapse into “the dark side” whenever we are insulted, offended or hurt by others. Forget about mercy or compassion, we want to get even! By focusing on mercy, compassion and forgiveness for others we are able to give the very same blessings from God that we ourselves have received. Martin Luther was always telling his congregation that they should strive to be “little christs” i.e., that we would do very well in this life if we tried to emulate the model that Jesus gave to us of humility, mercy, compassion, forgiveness and love. This is not to say that we become Christ, rather we become as “Christ-like” as we can. Always remember the line from the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others.” Let me paraphrase: the Lord only forgives us as we forgive others. Given the way some so called Christians are forgiving toward others, I wonder how they receive any forgiveness or mercy from God.
Peace is so important in the Kingdom and yet, we never seem to have enough. Jesus offers peace many, many times in the Holy Scriptures. We say “peace be with you” several times in our worship liturgy. We share the peace during the service—do we equally share the peace at least as much in our everyday lives?
The world is a hectic place of obligations, commitments and demands. In the mid19th century the term “rat race” became popular as we tried to make some sense out of the chaos. I believe we found out that this is impossible without peace—a special kind of peace, a peace which passes all understanding, a peace, freely given by Jesus is the only peace that can truly bring relief to our lives.
So, be bold and gracious and greet everyone you meet with the greeting that shares God’s blessings with others and you too shall be blessed!
Peace be with you,
Pastor Havir
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From the Pastor:
An Advent-Christmas Message December 2010
Glory to God in the Highest! This is not a greeting we tend to say to one another even in the Christmas season. Usually its Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or, “eat, drink and be merry!” these greetings, while appropriate, fail to reflect on the time of the church year in which we await Christ’s advent (the 2nd coming) or Christ’s birth. As the world becomes more focused on the materialism of Christmas, we as followers of Christ, ought to be more deliberate to remind others of the true meaning of Christmas.
Yes, the Wise Men gave gifts to the new born King. However the gift that Jesus gave back to us was far more precious than the expensive and extravagant frankincense, gold and myrrh. Jesus was born to give of himself in order to save a fallen humanity from itself and its sins. How much is one’s life worth? Giving of gifts, in remembrance of the gift God gave to us is important to our understanding of the Kingdom of God. Sadly enough, we have replaced the work of God in the world and the gift of his son, with the fantasy of a magician from the polar icecap who gives us our heart’s content just because we are nice and not naughty. Now, I’m not Santa bashing here. I believe that Jesus’ birth and Santa can peacefully co-exist. The problem lies in the fact that Jesus is put off to the back burner while our culture literally worships and covets the gifts made by elves. And let’s not forget to mention the time we put into the season decorating, shopping, cooking, wrapping gifts, etc., etc., etc. What if we put that much time and effort into our church, our community, …our salvation?
Christmas is about God breaking into the world with a Savior, the Word made flesh to live among us. Jesus brings the Good News of the relationship we have with God and our eternal home in heaven. Because he lives, so we shall live too. Because he died for us, our sins are forgiven. Because he was resurrected from the dead, we too will share in a resurrection like his. WOW! Because of a little baby being born in a stable, all humanity shall have salvation for those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God. Who else can guarantee you forgiveness of sins, salvation and eternal life???
That’s why I always try to say, after saying Merry Christmas—Glory to God in the Highest—and Peace to his people on earth! Give it a chance, try to say it every time you wish someone a happy holiday. You will be focused on the real “reason for the season”, people will know you are a Christian and who knows? Maybe it will offer the perfect opening to tell someone about the Good News of Jesus and invite them to “come & see” at your church.
Glory to God in the Highest!!!
…and Peace to his people on Earth
Pastor Havir |
