If your church is following the three year lectionary, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday with 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10.  Officially, the pericope begins, “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:20b–5:21, ESV) In light of the fact that he is addressing established Christians, what Paul is obviously driving at here is the ongoing need for even the most committed Christians to realign their lives with the will of God.  “Be reconciled” implies that these already-converted Christian believers are not in a conciliar state with God; in fact, Paul is addressing them for a third time precisely because while claiming Christian identity, they are behaving in ways inimical to God.

At a recent gathering of primarily conservative clergy, I got some hostility but engendered much more fantastic conversation when I brought up the danger of Christianity being coopted by conservative politics. In the end, everyone agreed that Christians need to be on God’s agenda first, offering critique as well as necessarily-conditional support to any ideology, political party or strategy. This is what it means to be “the light of the world” and the “salt of the earth.”

A wise mentor once told me that people’s politics are always influencing their theology, but that the great conversation that is the inner life of the church over time corrects—and when necessary, excises—the errors that people of any given time and place incorporate.  Because of the fractured nature of the Church’s communion and witness, amplified by social media, there is a real danger of these much-needed course corrections being significantly delayed or not even engaged in.

The solution to this is to heed Paul’s words to “be reconciled to God,” which is of course, what the season of Lent is all about. The difference between the orthodox Christian construal of these words and the progressive Christian one is that for the orthodox Christian, the Bible provides the content of what being reconciled to God looks like—a detailed road map for discerning where one’s life is out of sync with the life of the triune God.  Conversely, for the progressive Christian, the Bible provides abstract theological principles, but the content comes from elsewhere, sources deemed more relevant because they are more contemporary, scientific, progressive, or whatever.

The outcome of these two approaches is what yields at least some of the divisions observable in contemporary Christianity, where people united by confessional traditions like Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, etc. have radically different ideas of what makes for faithful Christian living.  While both agree for the need to reconcile ourselves to God, one group sees God as telling us what would constitute alignment with God, the other believes that God is “just” or “forgiving” or “love,” but asserts that what those words mean is not what Christians have traditionally thought they mean, based on the witness of Scripture.

What this means in practice is that the progressive Christian lacks any tool whereby to critique their own politically-influenced positions, for they have no data by which to evaluate them.  As long as the principles they have gleaned from Scripture seem to be met by the ideologies and morays acceptable within their own narrow cultural conditioning, they are living as God intends and no reconciliation is necessary. Conversely, for the orthodox Christian, while perceiving one’s own biases is always notoriously hard, the Scriptures provide actual canons against which to measure cultural assumptions and political prescriptions… and the exhortation to do so.

Paul goes on, “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” It is important that we not consign the persistent warnings of the New Testament about spiritual disqualification to the dustbin based on our theological principles, no matter how venerable or new. We can receive the grace of God in vain, and only the lifetime of persistent Christian repentance (realignment) that Luther called for in the first article of the 95 Theses can stave off that terrifying reality. So, since we cannot hope to be perfected in theology, holiness, or piety, let us be perfected in repentance, and let the Scriptures dictate to us what that should look like… furthermore, let us start today. “For [God] says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor 6:1–2, ESV)

Is your word any good? Like the Old Westerns, “My word is My bond.” We like to think we are people of our word. We make a concerted effort to follow through and do what we said we’d do. We want to be seen as straight-shooting, trustworthy folks who keep their promises.

When someone doesn’t keep their word to us we get irritated, don’t we? Of course! With politicians, we just expect them to break their promises. We are disappointed when companies break their policies, their promises. We are hurt when someone breaks their word. Broken promises break our trust.

The Bible speaks about “giving your word” as making an oath. Like the president and other officials take an oath, a promise, to faithfully execute the responsibilities of their office. An oath is a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior.

We know first, that sometimes making an oath can get you into trouble. Like when King Herod who swore an oath ended up cutting off the head of John the Baptist (Mt 14:6-10). Or the time Peter perjured himself, swearing an oath that he didn’t know Jesus (Mt 26:72).

But more realistically, we know we often break our promises. In today’s world, if something better comes along, people will do what they can to walk away from their prior commitment. We break our promises to friends, our children and our spouses. If we are painfully honest with ourselves, we admit that we are not always true to our word.

Because the LORD is a God of His Word, the church is a community where we make many promises. Every time you say the Apostle’s Creed you are making a promise that you believe in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit over every thing else. If you were married in the church you promised to make Christ an active part of strengthening your marriage. When a child is baptized, parents make promises to bring their children to worship regularly and raise their children as Christ followers. When we do Affirmation of Baptism on the Sunday of the LORD’s baptism. you make a public profession of your faith, a promise, that you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in Holy Baptism (LBW, p.201). We make lots of promises in the church. When we do, we are not making promises to the Church, but to God.

And we know. We break our oaths to God. Although we expect God to be faithful to us, we make excuses for why we are not. We rationalize why it’s okay to break our oath, our covenant, with the LORD.

We should know that God holds us to our word:

“When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.” (Num 30:2, see also Deut 23:21, Ps 116:14)  

And again:

“ When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow.” (Eccl 5:4, see also Ps 22:25, 50:14, 66:13.14, Ezek 16:59 and Matt 5:33-37)

Yet, God makes a way for us sinners who don’t keep our word, who don’t stay true to the Word. Even though we distrust and despise his WORD, the LORD is always faithful. Even if we are faithless, he remains true. (2 Tim 2:13) Our God is a God of His Word. “For no word from God will ever fail.” (Lk 1:37) The LORD swears an oath on His own glory to be our God and to be with us (Deut 29:12-13, Deut 31:23). So, the LORD sends His Word in the Flesh. The Word and Promise of God is incarnated in Christ who willing takes up the Cross. The Word in the Flesh takes on all our unfaithfulness upon the cross to give us God’s Word, give us God’s faithfulness.

God makes a way for us oath breakers so that by trusting in the Word Made Flesh we are made faith filled. As we trust in the Promise Giver and Promise Keeper, we are empowered to walk in his Word. We become the faithful in Christ.

May the LORD’s unfailing love, your salvation, come to you, according to His promise. (Ps 119:41)

Your servant in the Gospel,

Pastor Douglas

“For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.  Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,  As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, “When your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work.”  (Psalm 95:7-9)

You are the One Lord through whom all things have their being.  Guide me according to Your never-changing mercy to live into the life to which You call the faithful.  You know our ways and the testing that happens amongst those who rebel.  Lead Your faithful to not be in rebellion, but to willingly come into Your presence and walk humbly before You, the Maker of all things.

Our hearts have been hardened, as they had been amongst the people of old.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of righteousness that I would not live with a hardened heart, but with one that is filled with Your peace and kindness.  Guide me in the way You would have me go that I may walk upright in Your sight and live according to Your will.  Keep me from those who would lead me astray.

Lord Jesus, You are the example of the godly life.  You have come and set us free from the recompense of sin and the death that it brings.  Lift me up to walk with You by my side that I may now and always live according to Your Word.  Help me this day to see more clearly the way You would have me go and then empower me to walk as You would have me walk in this world.  Amen.

“It shall be established forever like the moon, and the witness in the sky is faithful.” But You have cast off and rejected, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.” (Psalm 89:37-38)

The promises of the Lord are everlasting. Though many fall away and go their own way, the Lord remains faithful. You who have been called by the Lord, why do you not heed what you have heard? Come then and know the goodness of the Lord and walk in His ways. Do not waver or fall into the way of the wicked. Do not tarry, thinking yourself exempt. Come back to the Lord and know life as it is to be lived.

Lord, I do waver and think that I can walk as others walk. I am polluted by the wickedness of this world that calls evil good. Clear my mind and thoughts to walk in Your ways always knowing that only in You can I find what my heart longs for. Guide me to walk with and in You always that I may now and forever remain in Your presence and live out Your purpose.

Thank You, Lord, for providing the way of salvation. Guide me, Savior, in the way I should walk. Help me to remain humble and faithful to the calling You have given me that I may now and always walk in Your ways and live according to the purpose for which I have been created. Now and always lead me in the calling of salvation You have put before me that I would learn faithfulness. Amen.

“But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. “My covenant I will not violate, nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.” (Psalm 89:33-34)

The Lord has promised to never break His covenant. Many go the way they will, but the Lord is always faithful. He holds out His hand of mercy for those who will take it. His grace endures and in love He offers salvation. Though your sins be as scarlett, come to the Lord, know His goodness and receive His forgiveness. Know that the Lord who is faithful will teach you to be faithful in the love He grants by grace.

Lord, when things do not go as I think they should I fear and wonder where You are. Your promises are sure and Your presence is real. It is I who is far off. It is I who is distant. Bring me close to see that You are always there. Lead me in the way I should go that I may now and always walk in Your ways and know the goodness of Your mercy. Lead me, O Lord, that I may follow.

Holy Spirit, You are always calling. Lord Jesus, You have paved the way. Father in heaven, Your goodness is ever present upon the earth. Help me to walk this day humbly in Your presence and know that in Your grace alone is the hope of all people. In You alone will the promise be fulfilled. Lead me, O LORD, that I may now and always walk in the way of faithfulness and live in Your mercy and grace. Amen.

“I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him, with whom My hand will be established; my arm also will strengthen him.”  (Psalm 89:20-21)

The Lord has appointed those whom He will use for His service.  It is as the Lord determines.  Do not fret over the appointments of the Lord, but walk humbly in His ways and be glad that He has given You His word.  Live into the hope of your salvation knowing that the Lord has accomplished it.  The Lord is merciful and kind, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Lord, lead me through the troubles that each day brings.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see the hope of glory that You give.  You will appoint whom You will appoint to positions of leadership.  Guide me in the way You would have me go and grant that I be content in whatever circumstance You grant me to live.  You are God and there is no other.  In You alone is there hope.

My God and my Savior, guide me to walk humbly with You this day knowing that all things are in Your hands.  Help me now and always to see in You the hope of glory You have provided through the grace and mercy that You purchased by Your blood shed for me.  Lead me to do those things which are pleasing in Your sight.  May I be faithful this day, being guided in Your Holy Spirit.  Amen.