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“12He
said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind
to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words have
been heard, and I have come because of your words.” Setting your mind upon God to gain
understanding as well as being, becoming truly humble was just the beginning of
the task at hand not just with Daniel but eventually for us all. With Christ the call to battle is greater, as
well as now deals most directly within the heart. This snippet from Daniel in conversation with
the archangel Michael to ready himself to battle the king of Persia sounds
almost like a ‘Marvel comics’ action scene where the super-real guardian
soldier from the Kingdom comes down in prayer to help Daniel. God himself or YHWH is distant from us with
his delegation of angels at his command.
That’s a hard view for us Lutherans
to swallow since we believe in a God that comes down to us… What today’s lesson from Daniel is leading up
to however, is how we view the battle between good and evil. Where are we in understanding how we are to obediently
transform? Through the light of GRACE as
given unto us by the cross of Christ; We are being called to a great spiritual
battle and it needs our urgent action NOW not when we feel ready or around our
discernment.
The passage in Daniel concludes with
a profound image and vision for the future: “2Many of those who
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some
to shame and everlasting contempt.3Those who are wise shall shine
like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like
the stars forever and ever.” In relating
this to us here and now, what could “sleeping in the dust,” mean? Is it the aftermath of a bloody, exhausting
physical battle or is it the clutter of this world, being, as we would hear
from Jesus—stumbling blocks in our Spiritual battle to turn the heart to God
and defeat Satan’s temptations binding us in slavery? Shining brightly above and beyond in
righteousness means to us through Christ—that GRACE does affect us especially
when we take on the challenge. Taking on
the challenge that the battle is ongoing, it is never won by anything we can do,
but is won and complete through our Hope, trust and humility in Christ who is
the victor over Satan at the end of all things… Is a part of our discipleship
journey—whether we like it or not!
This past week I was immersed in a
world of Orthodox Lutheran faith as the gathering known as the Society of the
Holy Trinity met for their annual general retreat. Retreat is a funny word for it implies that
we are standing back, recharging, refueling to go back out into the world which
really I don’t think this gathering was spiritually all about. We don’t call Sunday mornings, retreats do
we? Sundays are a charge to action, they
are discipleship forums to grow together and Go forth living into the great commission…
But then as disciples as well, we need to break away from that Sundays’ frame
of mind and see every day as actively
living GRACE.
Thinking about St. Michael and all
the angels as God’s army of warriors for the Kingdom of God made me remember
when I was studying in the Diakonia program before seminary: “Equipping the Saints for ministry…” The Word retreat is a misnomer just like
Jesus saying to the disciples who had a very hard time understanding exactly
what he meant by saying we must be like children again. We are living in times currently that need us
to do everything BUT live in retreat! We
need to hear God’s voice deeply to transform our hearts, crush Satan’s
stumbling blocks underfoot and live radically even beyond ourselves in the
light of GRACE. Think for a moment about
what equipping the saints for ministry means individually. It’s not merely a program, a moment in time
on a Sunday morning— it is a lifestyle!
Let’s hear Jesus’ “verbal-steamroller”
over the disciples’ foolish questions once again: “Truly I tell you, unless you
change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.4Whoever
becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5Whoever
welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 6“If any of you
put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it
would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and
you were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7Woe to the world because
of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the
one by whom the stumbling block comes! 8“If your hand or your
foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you
to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be
thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to
stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with
one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire!”
Yikes! I wonder how the Apostle who asked that
question felt after hearing all of this?
This definitely isn’t the soft-n-fluffy social justice activist Jesus we
are engulfed in today’s “post-modern” church culture… This is a tough, stern Jesus demanding our
spiritual transformation—internal GRACE not by external cheap grace activism! Harsh Words perhaps but they are, as we must
realize in becoming like the little children once again… spoken TRUTH from the
unconditional Love of God—King of GRACE and sacrificial lamb: Jesus Christ.
Reflecting back upon this week’s
retreat; I enjoyed many conversations with many devoted Lutheran pastors. One conversation I had was in asking why aren’t
more seminarians here? The pastor I
talked with believes that most seminaries or “post modern” ones don’t like the Society. I found that disturbingly hard to believe for
why would a community of devoted pastors in true fellowship, sharing their
faith be disliked or shunned by some seminaries?! Our conversation concluded in basically
saying that perhaps people are afraid of an empowered community especially
since it operates away from the transactional, consumerist, intellectually
idolatrous society we are entrenched in.
This is a culture that has used
those stumbling blocks to build and control a great walled fortress to the
ruler of this world—Satan. It is our
commission and calling from God here and now to don the “armor of faith” as St.
Paul would say, to operating from our transformed hearts and to engage into the
battle of tearing down that walled fortress completely and utterly! Leaving no stone unturned, is the harsh
reality of living into our call of discipleship to Jesus. These stumbling blocks to the faith are
intellectual idolatry, greed, indifference—Christ will be the final victor—that
is our greatest Hope BUT we must not stand on the sidelines of this ongoing
battle.
What Luther has to say in light of
it all is this: “What does it mean to have a god? or, what is God? Answer: A
god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take
refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and
believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence
and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust
be right, then is your god also true; and, on the other hand, if your trust be
false and wrong, then you have not the true God; for these two belong together
faith and God. That now, I say, upon which you set your heart and put your
trust is properly your god.” Luther also
says in light of our stumbling blocks: “But
since the devil's bride, Reason, that pretty whore, comes in and thinks she's wise,
and what she says, what she thinks, is from the Holy Spirit, who can help us,
then? Not judges, not doctors, no king or emperor, because [reason] is the
Devil's greatest whore.” Some of these
harsh words are found in his large catechism as instruction but are coming to
the reality of the radical call from God to grow and go under the light of
GRACE.
Coming into the reality of
understanding, transforming to the radical call from God is a life-long
process. It is a life-long process that
needs our constant attention and obedience…
For what if the whole world suddenly did turn away from the temptations
of the evil one and lived most truthfully, innocently and Graciously as God’s
little children? We have a humbled
vision become reality: the Kingdom of God revealed—ultimate GRACE revealed,
lived!
AMEN
Sunday September 29th,
2013; St. Michael & All Angels; Year C; SOLA Lectionary
Psalm 91; Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3;
Revelation 12:7-12; Matthew 18:1-11
Nicole
Collins
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