Twenty-Sixth Sunday After Pentecost November 16-17, 2024
“Christ at the Center” Colossians 2:6-10
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
A few weeks ago I went to visit Wilma Ruggera, one of our 97 year-old homebound members. Wilma is a delightful lady, living each day with a smile and a chuckle. But she has a few medical issues that demand some attention.
As we began our visit a nurse came in to dress a wound that she has on her foot. The nurse began the conversation with us talking about the wound, but the conversation didn’t end that way. She asked who I was, and Wilma spoke up, “This is my pastor.” Well, her nurse, is also a Christian, active at Littleton United Methodist Church, just a few blocks from Ascension. She asked a question that was really a great one. “What is a Lutheran?” “What do Lutheran’s believe?” What would you have said? Would you have had a good answer to that question? Wilma had a great answer. She said, “Lutherans say that the Bible and Jesus are at the center of what we believe.” Pretty sharp 97-year-old, wouldn’t you say!! It is like Peter says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (I Peter 3:15)
It is with those questions, “What is a Lutheran?” and “What do Lutherans believe?”, that I would like to speak with you today. Lutherans believe that God speaks clearly and concisely in His word – the Bible. Paul when he wrote to Timothy would say, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” (II Timothy 3:16) The writer to Hebrews would say, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12) Peter would say of the Bible’s work, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (I Peter 1:23) Of this strong and unwavering word Paul would speak, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:16-18)
Do you know why the Bible is so important? It is a book of salvation. Its writings bring redemption. Hope oozes from its pages. Did you know that many people look at the Bible as a book of rules? They see it as a list of how to please God – lots of do’s and don’ts. Is that what the Bible is? If that is what this book is, then Christianity is no different than any other religion. Who needs another rule book? I can see why so many people would be leaving the faith rather than running to it if that is what the Bible is.
No, the Scriptures, which Lutherans embrace, is a book of life. It is a book that will lead you to certainty because it will lead you to the only hope that you can have – Jesus. I’m reading this book, “Why I am a Lutheran”, and Daniel Preus tells this story, “I’ve often asked people if they believe they will go to heaven. More times than I can count I have heard the reply, ‘I don’t know. I hope so.’ My heart sinks every time I hear that answer. It’s absurd to think we tolerate such uncertainty regarding life’s most important question. Would we act this way in any other area of our lives? For example, if someone asked if your spouse were coming home from a business trip, would you answer, ‘I don’t know. I hope so’? Or if someone asked you if you were going to be paid this month, would you answer, ‘I don’t know. I hope so?’…Even sadder than such a response to questions such as these is to offer the same ‘hope so’ answer to the question whether God loves you or whether Jesus saves you.” (Why I Am a Lutheran. Jesus at the Center, Pages 21-22)
The Scriptures will wound you when you read them with an open mind. They will expose every flaw that we have. They will show us how far we are from the righteous life that God has called us to lead. Part of that Hebrews 4 passage that began with the words, “The word of God is living and active” says, “It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to which we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13) God is angry over our sins. They grieve Him.
What is the answer? Do we hide from our sin? Do we make believe that they mean little to God or to us? No. We speak honestly that we need the mercy of God. We need God to give us another chance. We need forgiveness. We turn to Jesus.
Have you read Colossians lately? What is its theme? Here it is: “Christ at the Center”. This is part of what I read, “So, then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness…For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is head over every power and authority.” (Colossians 2:6-7, 9-10)
I know that for most people in the world they think that John was a Baptist. After all, we call him John, the Baptist. I’m not sure if he was a Southern Baptist, a Northern Baptist, an American Baptist or an Independent Baptist – but for years the church has declared that he was a Baptist. I suggest to you that John was a Lutheran. Why would I say that? Lutherans truly believe that Christ is at the center of all Scripture. He is the only reason that we are sure that we are saved and that we are going to heaven. We don’t have to answer, “I don’t know if I am going to heaven.” You see, Jesus only gets bigger and greater to us. It is like John the Lutheran who said, “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30)
“Christ at the center” that is what Lutherans have shouted and sung for 500 years. Earlier in Colossians we read, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20) Luther called this action of Christ dying for us, taking away our sin and giving to us the righteousness and perfection of Jesus, “the blessed exchange.” In Colossians 2 we read about “Christ at the Center” – “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)
These truths are universal, but they are more than that. They are personal. God loves the world, but does He love me? Jesus died for all, but did He die for me? C.F.W. Walther, the first President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod wrote, “One thing needs to happen in order that you may possess which has been given to you – that one thing is faith…In order to be saved, it is necessary to believe that the forgiveness God offers is yours.” Preus is his book says, “Christians are not universalists who believe that because Jesus died for everybody, everybody goes to heaven. Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) “There is no salvation apart from faith in the true God.” (Preus, Page 53)
Jesus Christ, our savior becomes personal. Your Baptism is God immersing you with the truth that He will always be your Father, your Redeemer, your Illumination to God’s certain truth. When you come to the meal of Christ’s body and blood, all focus is on Him and His focus is on you and your salvation. He speaks to you, “This is my body given for you.” “This is my blood shed for the forgiveness of your sins.” When you read the Bible you see with surety the words of Jesus, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” (John 5:39)
I don’t know if it took Wilma Ruggera 97 years to become so wise about faith. She may have known these things since she was a little girl. Don’t wait for years or decades to know that freeing truth that the Bible will lead you to Jesus who is at the exact center of our Christian faith. Amen!!
