First Reading Amos 7:7–15
7 This is what he showed me: the LORD was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the LORD said,
“See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'”
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” 14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Psalm Psalm 85:1–13
1 You have been gracious to your land, O Lord; you have restored the good fortune of Jacob. 2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people and blotted out all their sins. 3 You have withdrawn all your fury and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation. 4 Restore us then, O God our Savior; let your anger depart from us. 5 Will you be displeased with us forever? Will you prolong your anger from age to age? 6 Will you not give us life again, that your people may rejoice in you? 7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. 8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying; for you speak peace to your faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to you. 9 Truly, your salvation is very near to those who fear you, that your glory may dwell in our land. 10 Steadfast love and faithfulness have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11 Faithfulness shall spring up from the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, and our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness shall go before the Lord and shall prepare for God a pathway.
Second Reading Ephesians 1:3–14
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
Gospel Mark 6:14–29
14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. 18 For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. 21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22 When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” 23 And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25 Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
ARE YOU A POLAR BEAR
There’s been a piece of humor floating around the Internet, for some time, about a young polar bear cub that approached his mother one day and asked, “Mom, am I a polar bear?” “Of course you are,” she replied with a smile. “OK,” said the cub, and padded off. Later, he found his dad out by the iceberg. “Dad, am I a polar bear?” he asked. “Sure you are, son!” said his dad, wondering why his son would ask such a silly question. The next day, the cub asked the same question again and again.
“Are you and mom polar bears?” he asked his dad. “You are? Well, then, does that make me a polar bear? Sure, 100% polar bear?” Finally, his parents couldn’t stand it any longer. “Son, you’re driving us crazy with this question! You are a polar bear! Why do you keep asking?” The cub looked up and confessed, “Cause I’m freezing!”
Writer Paul Lee retells that story and then he adds these important words, “Sometimes I go to my [Heavenly] Father, and I say, ‘Am I really your child? Are you really my Father? Because sometimes I doubt, and other times, I don’t act much like you. And I’m not sure if I’m the kind of person you would want to call your child. And sometimes things don’t go well for me, and I have pain and anger and . . . is that okay for one of your children?’ “And then, though I can’t see it, I can feel it–the warm hug, the reassuring smile, the affirmation of sonship. God understands I’ll fall short at times; I know I’ll experience pain or worry. This is part of life here on earth. But I am expected to know whose I am, and that I belong. And that for whatever extravagant, outrageous reason, I’ve been loved and adopted by the One True God.” It’s a little long winded to get to the point, but everything Paul Lee says is correct. Despite us, God has chosen to adopt us into His family.
Our lesson from Ephesians begins like this: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will . . .”
With Paul’s words we can put our minds to rest. We are genuine polar bears. That is, we are genuine son or daughter of God. God has adopted us into His family. Several of our lessons over the past few months have affirmed this fact. You and I are children of God. Paul tells us in our Epistle lesson for today that we were chosen before the creation of the world. We were destined from the beginning to be His children.
There’s another piece of children’s humor that tells how we got our belly buttons. According to the story, as we were coming down the conveyor belt from heaven, God, using His index finger, said, “I’ll take that one and that one, and that one . . .” The jest of the story is to assure everyone, who has a belly button, that we were indeed chosen. Yet some may protest.
“Pastor, they might say, everyone has belly buttons.” Well, according to the story, everyone is chosen. And this is true. All are chosen, predestined, from the beginning to be children of God. The problem is many don’t accept the words of Jesus in St. John’s gospel; “whosoever believes.” (John 3:16) Far too many refuse to believe. Far too many refuse to accept the command that it’s those who do the will of the Father are [Jesus’] brothers and sisters. (Matthew 12:50) You and I have the good fortune of knowing, believing and obeying. Then again there are those who might say, “But don’t some Christians believe in predestination–the idea that some people are chosen while others are not?” The answer is yes; some believe in this doctrine, Lutheran’s, however, do not. The doctrine of predestination is a complex doctrine; one that is too complex for a single sermon. And instead of getting into the complexities of that teaching, it might be better to tell an often told story.
Years ago, two ministers agreed to swap pulpits one Sunday morning as a sign of ecumenical good will. Each would preach that day in the other’s church. The date was 1850; the place Boston, Massachusetts. One of the ministers was Lyman Beecher, the best known of Boston’s great preachers. The other was a neighboring Presbyterian minister who believed strongly in predestination, an idea which Beecher couldn’t accept.
That Sunday morning each man set out for the other’s church, a block or two away, to keep the appointment. They met on the sidewalk, halfway between the two churches, and stopped to exchange greetings. The Presbyterian minister said, “Dr. Beecher, I wish to call your attention to the fact that before God created the world, before he set the stars in their motion, He arranged that I was to preach in your pulpit this morning and you in mine.” “Is that so?” said Lyman Beecher, glaring at his Calvinist friend. “Then I won’t do it.” And with that, he turned and went back to his own church and preached that morning. Of course, maybe that was what God planned all along. Who knows?
For now we’ll simply leave the question of whether everyone is chosen to God. The important thing is that we know we were chosen–not because we’re somehow better or more fortunate than anyone else. We’re not. The sad reality is, none of us acts like God’s children all the time. That’s where God’s endless grace comes in. Amazing Grace that says by the providence of God, before the creation of the world, we were chosen.
The poignant question we need to focus on, is what were we chosen for? Paul tells us: we were chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in God’s sight. This is what trips so many people up. They like to hear about God’s amazing grace, they like to hear about His love for us, they just want no part of what comes next. We were “chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”
Walking before God holy and blameless means setting aside our goals and agendas in order to follow and adhere to God’s will. A lot of people don’t want to accept this and it makes them uncomfortable; it leave people with a feeling of guilt. But think this through for a minute. Why do you think God created us? From the teachings of Jesus, I believe God created us to be happy and healthy and to be whole human beings. God created us for healthy relationships with other people and with Him. Isn’t this what we would hope for, for your children? Now I need to be careful and not turn this into a Joel Osteen teaching. God does want the best for us, but that comes with a caveat. To be children of God we not only need to believe, but we also must obey God’s will and commands for our lives. Being obedient to God’s will is how we walk holy and blameless before Him.
A man named Ken Lindner wrote a book titled Crunch Time. In it he tells about his father, a man who had an enormous influence on him. He says that ever since he can remember, his dad cherished his physical health. For that reason, with great discipline, his father exercised regularly, whether it was walking an hour each day, swimming, or ice skating. Through the years, Ken watched his Dad walk in the rain and snow just to keep himself fit. His dad didn’t smoke and he was careful to get enough sleep. By valuing his health, his dad, at the age of ninety-seven, was able to continue working three days a week. He continued to be sharp and fit, had a great zest for life, and derived the most possible out of his life.
He said his dad was a role model for younger workers in his office. He kept a youthful appearance, a high level of energy, and a contagious enthusiasm for life. His dad missed only three or four days of work over the last twenty-seven years of his life. And while genetics no doubt played a significant role in his good health and longevity, his high value and regard for his physical well-being through the years were also major factors in his celebration of healthy and vital living. That is Ken’s heritage.
Ken inherited his dad’s value system and thus is protective of his own physical health. He says that no dessert, no serving of macaroni and cheese (no matter how good), and no other fattening food or drink, for him, outweighs being fit and healthy. Cigarettes, recreational drugs and excessive alcohol are out of the question. And Ken is somewhat of an exercise fanatic himself. He’s the kind of guy you would hate to have next to you in the gym.
But, let me ask you, do you think he’s wrong to cherish his physical health like that? Don’t you suspect that he’s living like God means for us all to live? God wants us all to be happy and healthy. Ultimately the road to happiness is paved with good habits. I think it’s also important to add that Ken is just as committed to his spiritual life, to his family and to his relationships with his friends. In other words, he’s doing the practical things that inevitably lead to a good life. It’s about balance. To have balance we need to take care of our spiritual welfare first, then make good choices about our mental, physical and social wellbeing. That’s what God asks of each of us. The lesson we can take from this is that walking holy and blamelessly before God is about putting God first and about making good choices.
Contrast Ken Lindner’s story with that of a man who’s a legend of country music named George Jones. Jones was a country music icon from the old school. A lot of his songs were the stereotypical country “cheatin’ & drinkin’” songs. And the fact that George Jones had a drinking problem himself was no secret. But on March 6, 1999 country music fans were horrified to hear that George Jones was critically injured when he crashed his Lexus into a bridge in Nashville. The investigation showed that George had been drunk at the wheel. Thankfully he recovered, and he kept performing until his death a couple of years ago. Two months after his accident a new album called Cold Hard Truth came out and on it was a hit song titled “Choices.” Ironically the hook line of the song went like this: “I’m living and dying with the choices I made.” That’s true for all of us.
Life is a matter of making good choices which is true for all of life. The power to choose is one of the most precious gifts God has given us. Author Michael Halleen tells about an elderly woman whom he calls Mrs. S. He says that Mrs. S. had lived alone for many years and got out only with the help of a wheelchair. Every Sunday she wheeled herself into the side aisle of the sanctuary of their church where she worshiped enthusiastically. She always seemed to be “up.” People smiled when they were around her.
One evening Mrs. S. spoke to the youth of their church and was asked how she could always be so alive, so full of joy. She responded, “Because,” she said, “I choose to. I had no choice about living the last half of my life as a widow or having one of my sons killed in the Korean War. And I certainly didn’t choose to have to ride around in this chair for the past ten years. But one thing I did choose–to be happy. I decided to make the best of every day and to see the best in every person.” Mrs. S I believe has the right idea. She puts God first in her life and also makes good life choices. She certainly sets a good example for all of us.
I realize, of course, that not all of us can be as disciplined as Ken Lindner, I certainly can’t, or as determined to choose a positive attitude as Mrs. S. That’s what grace is all about. When Paul wrote that God chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, God knew that we could never be totally holy and blameless. But with the help of the Holy Spirit and through the lens of Jesus, that’s how God chooses to see us. That’s how God hopes we will be–not for His benefit, but for ours.
God only wants the best for us, just as every loving parent wants only the best for their child. A life of health and wholeness—spiritually, physically, emotionally and socially–is the path that leads to the very best life possible. Abundant life we might call it. What we need most to see is that there is one choice we need to make that makes all the other choices much easier. That is to choose to put God first in our lives. Some of you may be familiar with the name Soren Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard, a nineteenth century philosopher, theologian and poet, is known as a leading Christian thinker of his generation. He believed that no person is truly alive who simply acts as a spectator toward the ultimate issues of life. The only person who knows real existence is the person who, here and now, infinitely and forever, gives himself or herself to the call of Christ. Kierkegaard’s philosophy is sometimes called Christian existentialism.
Existentialism emphasizes immediate commitment. French philosopher Rene` Descartes (Dei-kart) said, “I think, therefore I am.” The Christian existentialist would say, “I choose, therefore I am.” Kierkegaard contended that there are only two kinds of people: the drivers and the drifters. He said that he felt compelled to run after every person in the street and ask him the question: “Are you alert or inert? A master or a slave? A creator or a creature? A lifter or a leaner?” The essence of our humanity is in our choices, and the primary choice we confront is whether to submit to God’s will or focus on our own desires. Is Jesus the Lord of our life, or are we first in all things? If the answer is Jesus first, then everything else falls in place.
The French existentialist and atheist Jean-Paul Sartre (Sar-tray) took the exact opposite approach to life from Kierkegaard. He was of the opinion no such choice existed. In his play “No Exit” he portrayed persons locked in a cage. They cannot escape their imprisonment, and they’re in despair. But halfway through the play, the cage door swings open; still, those inside refuse to leave the cage. The opportunity to escape presents itself, but they do nothing about it. Why? Because they had given in to hopelessness and despair. I hope this isn’t the case for anyone here.
Jesus referred to Himself as the gate: He said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9) There is an open door. The door is Christ. He is the life, the truth and the way. Choose Jesus and all the other important choices in life will get much easier. We’ve been chosen before creation to be God’s child, part of God’s own family. Yes we are genuine Polar Bears.
Psychologists John Grinder and Richard Bandler tell an interesting story about polar bears. It seems that years ago the Denver zoo went through a major renovation. They decided to build a large naturalistic environment to house a polar bear. Unfortunately, a polar bear arrived at the zoo before the enclosure was ready for it. That meant they had to put the bear in a cage until the new environment was ready. The cage that it was put in temporarily was just big enough that the polar bear could take three nice, swinging steps in one direction, whirl up and around and come down and take three steps in the other direction, back and forth, back and forth.
Sadly, the polar bear spent many, many months in that cage with those bars that restricted its behavior in that way. Eventually the large, naturalistic environment into which they could release the polar bear was built around this cage, on-site. When it was finally completed, the bear was sedated and the cage was removed from around the bear. I’m sure you can guess the rest of the story.
The bear awoke, took three steps slowly in one direction before whirling around, and taking three steps in the other direction. Then again, back and forth, three steps at a time. The polar bear was no longer caged but it wasn’t free. If this somehow describes your current situation, it doesn’t have to be. We can take comfort in God’s promise that we have indeed been chosen to His child. Jesus is the door by which we can escape our cage of hopelessness and despair. But it means we have to make a choice. We must chose this day whom we will serve. We must choose who we put first in our lives.
Joshua’s command to the Israelites is a question for us; “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
Amen