Pastor Darryl

Here at St Paul’s we are having two celebrations on the one day this year. Traditionally Reformation falls on the 31st October and All Saints Day on November 1st which happens to be this Sunday. “Saints” are all true believers in Christ as their Lord and Saviour on earth and in heaven, both
living and dead.

Although some saints are held in esteem because of their service in Christ’s Church, the departed ones, according to the Lutheran Confessions, do not hold a higher “position” in the Church. They are just as all true believers today, each is just another sinner washed in the blood of Christ, saved solely by Christ’s complete atonement for their sins. We do not pray to or through the departed Saints. God commanded, we are only to worship and pray to the one true God, the Triune God.

We do however remember those who have died in Christ with the hope of salvation and redemption by his grace. We are thankful for the blessings the departed saints gave to the lives of others. We also remember the Christian faithful from all generations. We are all members of the same family with them, as we confess in the Apostles Creed to our belief in “The Holy Christian Church, The Communion of Saints”. All Saints Day is a day to glorify Jesus Christ, who by His holy life and death redeemed the lost and made them saints through Holy Baptism and faith in Him.

Pastor Darryl

Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash

Deuteronomy 34:1-12
When we look at the most faithful people of God, Moses certainly stands out. Of all the Israelites , surely Moses deserves to enter into the Promised Land. Be he cannot. One commentator stated that: ‘Moses is in a new-and-not- yet time.’

Moses stands on the edge of the future of that journey into the Promised Land, but he will not enter it. Our text does not list any reason why. Still, God graces Moses with a view of what is to come. Moses sees the land and knows again that God will keep his promises. Whatever the reasons for Moses’ situation, perhaps it speaks more directly to people’s experiences. I suppose many people who hear this story will relate to situations of disappointment and dreams unfulfilled, the feeling of being in a now-and not-yet time.

Moses’ story can continue to speak today, even in the midst of disappointment, as we live by faith in the God of Moses, the God who does indeed fulfil promises. We live in hope, knowing that the risen Christ, who already fulfilled so many of God’s promises to his people will come again and fulfil all of God’s promises, even as he is now preparing a place for us.

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for being the God of promise and fulfilment.
Help us to look to Jesus, who is not only the author, but also the
finisher of our faith. In his name, Amen

Pastor Darryl

Photo by Stainless Images on Unsplash

Exodus 32:1-14
It is interesting that often times we tend to give up on God because we can’t see him working the way we think that he should. God’s people have not changed very much since leaving Egypt behind those many centuries ago. We can still often be very ‘stiff-necked’ people. Although the term “idol”
seems to have faded into the background in today’s culture, and perhaps we don’t worship a golden calf.
However, it is easy to mistake our own creations for our idol or god. It is tempting to take our plunder (our wealth, career, numerous things and pleasures) and shape them into something that not only pleases and feeds our senses, emotions, fears and anxieties, but even become objects for the purpose of gaining admiration from our neighbours. But as much as we like to celebrate these idols as centre pieces of our lives, they are not able to lead us to freedom and will not lead us to our promised inheritance. Rather they tend to tether us to slavery, to a worldview in which people are expendable, interchangeable commodities.

Our challenge as a ‘stiff-necked’ people is to renew God as the centre of our lives and to live in promises given through Jesus Christ. As St Paul in his letter to the Philippians writes: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, WILL guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Pastor Darryl

Photo by Luís Eusébio on Unsplash

Matthew 21: 33-46
Reading this week’s lectionary texts Isaiah 5:1-7 and Matthew 21:33-46, it is hard to miss the similarity between the two and the point that is being made. In the Isaiah text, God the vineyard owner asks the question: “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?
In this question we hear a loving God’s anguishing over the unfaithfulness of God’s chosen people Israel. Two things that God has always asked of Israel, to seek justice, and righteousness. And yet, it is in these two things that Israel has demonstrated the opposite.
The accusations that God puts forward still apply today. Justice remains perverted, and those who are powerful exploit those who have little. Even though we, as God’s chosen in baptism like to think that we offer justice and righteousness, we fail to produce the justice and righteousness that God expects. “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah 64:6). Martin Luther said, “The most damnable and pernicious heresy that has ever plagued the mind of man is that somehow he can make himself good enough to deserve to live forever with an all-holy God.” I am glad that we have a faithful God.
Though God accuses and condemns us in our sin, God remains faithful to the promise of forgiveness given in our baptisms. We know that God’s final word to us is mercy.

Pastor Darryl

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Matthew 21:23
In Matthew 21:23 reads: ‘And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Authority and obedience are topics that are still very much alive today. However, we like to decide for ourselves what we will do or not do, what we think or believe, what is right or wrong. We like to consider that we are autonomous individuals. But in doing that, it is not hard to become a law unto ourselves. We are each entitled to our own opinions, that is, as long as yours doesn’t clash with mine. And of course, I’m right. There are of course many areas of life that individual autonomy does operate, such as our choice of food, clothing, our career choice, etc. But there are other aspects of life in which we are in no way free to be a law unto ourselves. Decisions pertaining to Christian faith fall within this arena: such as matters pertaining to sin, grace, salvation. The elders and chief priests who came to Jesus believed that they were the authority, the arbiters of truth. They would tell you that they obeyed God, but it was in the way interpreted for their own desires.

God means for us to hear his Word, believe it, and do what he says. This is especially true when it comes to how we know Him and how we receive his salvation. Both are expressly through Jesus. God’s desire is that we would believe in Jesus and receive his forgiveness and salvation freely through faith, although it cost Jesus much suffering and his very life.

Pastor Darryl

Photo by steve pancrate on Unsplash