The Keys of St. Peters

Welcome News From Heaven

“There were shepherds in that region, out in the open, keeping a night watch around their flock. An angel of the Lord stood in front of them. The glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the angel said to them. ‘Look: I’ve got good news for you, news which will make everybody very happy. Today a saviour has been born for you—the Messiah, the Lord!—in David’s town. This will be the sign for you: you’ll find the baby wrapped up, and lying in a feeding-trough.’”

Luke 2:8-11, NTE

“They were terrified.” Ever wonder why people have always been terrified by the presence of the supernatural? Many of the scariest movies feature something supernatural. There has to be a reason for this universal fear of the supernatural. However, if you consider just how profoundly sinful humanity is, it begins to makes sense that we would fear the supernatural. There’s a subconscious fear of the supernatural. That certainly includes a fear of any message that comes from God. Imagine there was a camp of rebellious subjects who had risen in rebellion against their King. How do you expect they would feel if they were to receive a messenger from the court of the king? They would certainly be afraid. What kind of message do you think we may expect from God, the Creator of the universe, for our rebellion against him? Those shepherds may have had good reason to be terrified, but the angel didn’t think so. “Don’t be afraid… I’ve got good news for you!” How welcome do you think those words are?

Notice that the most welcome news ever announced was not made to the Emperor, nor to the Jewish nobility in Jerusalem, nor even to the religious leaders. No, this news was given to humble shepherds who were “keeping a night watch around their flock.” God picked lowly shepherds. Shepherd were social outcasts, people whom society thought really didn’t matter. It was people that didn’t matter whom God selected to hear good news. Society thought shepherds didn’t matter, God thought they did. They were overlooked by the world, but not by God. That’s the way God has acted ever since. The angel’s words of comfort are not just for those shepherds. They’re also for us. God chooses those whom we would have overlooked. He blesses though we think are not good enough.

“Don’t be afraid… I’ve got good news for you.” And this news was very good indeed! “Today a saviour has been born for you—the Messiah, the Lord!—in David’s town.” The shepherds learned that the long expected king, David’s true heir who would reign forever, had finally been born! But, instead of following David’s heir, we have sought to rule ourselves and to be the masters of our own destinies. How has that turned out for us? We suffer much and inflict suffering in countless ways, simply because humanity is guilty dethroning God. But, the hope of those shepherds is your hope too—the hope that under King Jesus this poor sin-stricken world will at last be set right again. Everything will be put back the way it should have always been, including all this world’s injustice, its godlessness, its violence, and its crime. In that little baby, born in a feeding-trough, God himself has become one of us—Divinity united to humanity. In that child, God has become our king once again, and he shall reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). We find our true peace and joy by trusting Jesus who is “the Lord” of all. This good news “will make everybody very happy.” That includes you.

What does it all mean for you? It means more than a day to gather with family. It means more than tinsel, trees and decorations. It even means more than all those gifts. On Christmas day a Saviour was born into the world, a Divine Redeemer, One who upon the Cross died to remove the one curse that infects our humanity. Christmas means: You are delivered from the deadly plague of sin. The promise of a Saviour means you have been forgiven and delivered from the degradation into which we have all sunk. It means freedom from our slavery and debt to sin. It means we have absolutely nothing to fear from God because he is not an angry judge nor a vengeful king. He is your loving heavenly Father, who sent his Son so that you might not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). No matter how much you may think you don’t matter, you always matter to God. No matter how much you feel overlooked, God will never overlook you. No matter how distant you may feel from others, God is always near with his word and promises. Consider the depth of God’s patience towards us! Think for a moment of the boundless breadths of God’s compassion to us.

This Christmas may be far more simple than in other years. Yet, no matter how austere or reserved our celebrations may be this year, the “reason for the season” has not changed. The greatest Christmas gift is this wonderful news from heaven. Christmas assures us of God’s patience and compassion towards us in Christ. This welcome news is for everybody: men and women, boys and girls, children of all ages. It was welcome for those terrified and wondering shepherds. “A saviour has been born for you.” As we hear the angel’s words again this Christmas season, we know that they are for all the wide world, and, whoever we may be, for us.

Merry Christmas!

Dealing With Conflict

In television and movies drama and conflict are what propel the plot forward, create tension, and grab the viewers interest. However, when drama and conflict appear in our personal lives, they are often unwelcome guests. Some people like watching soap operas, but when our lives start to resemble them, we soon become weary.  Sometimes television dramas get to the bottom of an issue, showing how to put the problem fair and square on the table, how to express anger, confusion and hurt while trying to see the other point of view as well. Actually, I think true reconciliation—the kind that doesn’t crack under pressure—happens more often in movies than in real life. I think that our own congregation needs to take reconciliation seriously, and a passage in Matthew 18 is bedrock for the basic principles.

“‘If another disciple sins against you,’ Jesus continued, ‘go and have it out, just between the two of you alone. If they listen to you, you’ve won back a brother or sister. But if they won’t listen, you should take with you one or two others, so that “everything may be established from the mouth of two or three witnesses”. If they won’t listen to them, tell it to the assembly. And if they won’t listen to the assembly, you should treat such a person like you would a Gentile or a tax-collector. I’m telling you the truth: whatever you tie up on earth will have been tied up in heaven; and whatever you untie on earth will have been untied in heaven,” (Matt. 18:15-18 NTE).

Complimentary to this is Martin Luther’s explanation of the eighth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”

“What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbour, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything,” (SC I.16).

If we have been on the receiving end of some injury, insult, lie, sin etc., from a fellow member of Christ’s Church, the first step is to visit them. That’s not our go-to solution. Many of us prefer to pretend there isn’t a problem. We can refuse to face the facts. We can’t seem to swallow our anger or resentment. We paper over the cracks and try to carry on as if nothing happened, all the while seething with rage inside. That’s hypocrisy. Or we can simply avoid and ignore the other person or group and pretend they don’t exist. That’s not loving nor Christian. What does Jesus tell you to do? Go and tell your fellow Christian their fault just the two of you. “Have it out.” Speak to them privately. That means alone. Don’t go and publish their fault on Facebook. Don’t blab it to your friends or family in an attempt to find sympathy or support. “Love endures all things,” (1 Cor. 13:7 NTE). The eighth commandment admonishes you to not gossip or tell others. We need to hold our tongue in the presence of others and go to the offending party, get them alone and talk to them. “Above all, keep absolutely firm in your love for one another, because ‘love covers a multitude of sins,’” (1 Pet. 4:8 NTE). Speak to them! It’s better to tell them what they’ve done wrong than to brood over it and let if fester. But speaking to them may require courage. It will certainly require prayer and humility. The other person may well respond with a counter-accusation, and there is always the possibility that there may be truth in it which you need to recognise. When we approach them, we must remember to, “let your words always be gracious, never insipid,” (Col. 4:6 REB). Do not go in “guns blazing.” A kind, gentle, faithful, straight-forward, empathetic approach is the most likely course to win your fellow Christian. (It may be a matter of Christian wisdom to repeat this private admonition several times).

If that doesn’t work, and if after thought and prayer you still think a wrong was committed, Jesus tells you to take one or two others along. This is not to gang up on them. This is a reality check on your own judgment. You should choose people who are prepared to tell it straight. They may have some uncomfortable truths to tell you. But, if you are in the right and the person refuses to see it, they are your witnesses that you’re not just making it up. If the person still refuses to repent, the last resort is to tell it to the Church, that is, the assembly or congregation. At this stage, we refer the whole matter to the Christian congregation of which we are all members. The goal of this appeal and admonition is to win back your brother or sister. If they fail to listen to the congregation, then it means a necessary break of fellowship. Reconciliation can only come after the problem has been faced.

What if you’re a neutral party? Perhaps someone has come to you and in the course of conversation has presented you with a complaint about a person. What should you do? You should ask them if they have talked to the person responsible. If they have, ask about the response. If they have not talked with the person alone, encourage them to do so! Do not have anything to do with it until they have, because at this stage it’s none of your business. If they don’t want to confront the person, then exhort them to forgive the other person and move on. The first thing in any complaint is to make sure that the one complaining has already brought this to the proper person.  If they have not, complaining is nothing more than gossip, slander, and betrayal.

Let’s not pretend this is simply good advice to keep in mind in case of some unlikely eventuality which might arise one day. No, there is drama and conflict here in our church. How do I know this?  Well, whenever two or more sinners are together, toes are bound to be stepped on. In all this, we must remember that God has come and made our sin known to us. He has shown us in his Law how we have sinned against him and offended him. He continues to remind us of our sin whenever the Law is preached. In addition, Christ our Lord has come, died for our sins, and offers us forgiveness. May we treat our fellow Christians with the same grace that we were shown in Christ.

Your pastor,
                Rev. Matthew Fenn