David Bahn – Reflections

You don’t have to make all your own mistakes! What wisdom is in those words. It applies to teenage boys who watch their older brother and determine they won’t do some of the things he did. It applies to the bank teller who watches the bank manager get hauled off to prison for embezzlement. It applies to the woman who learns that her neighbor is being audited by the IRS. It applies to anyone who will learn from the mistakes of others.

Oh how things would have been different if Israel had listened to the Lord God! But, as Jeremiah records,

“But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day” (44:5-6). 

The other readings today reflect that same theme. But it is not only God’s people who failed to learn from others’ mistakes. Egypt is mentioned as well. Their cities and land will suffer greatly because of their abominable behavior.

Saddest of all, Ahaz, king of Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. He was one of the worst kings. He burned his sons as a sacrifice to the gods. He closed up the doors of the temple, and sold its treasures to pay off Assyria for protection. He did not trust in God and he died in ignomy.

Hezekiah must have learned from his father’s mistakes. He trusted in the Lord more than any king of Judah before or after him (2 Kings 18:5). He reopened and cleansed the temple, restored worship, and destroyed pagan idols and high places his father Ahaz had set up (2 Chronicles 29–31).

Yet even Hezekiah will stumble and fall. Near the end of his life, pride crept in. He showed Babylon’s envoys his wealth, prompting Isaiah’s warning that Babylon would one day take it all (2 Kings 20).

We know there is only one who is perfectly faithful – Jesus, son of Mary and Son of God. We cannot learn from his mistakes for he made none. But we can learn faith, trust, grace, and truth from him. He perfectly humbled himself, feared God and walked in his law and statutes. He is our righteousness and our great example – however much we fail to follow it perfectly.

The lesson of Ahaz, Hezekiah, and the people of Judah is that human faithfulness wavers, but God’s mercy remains. Each generation has the chance to listen, to turn, and to trust. Christ gives us that chance daily. He not only shows the way of obedience but also redeems our wandering hearts when we miss it. May we learn quickly, repent humbly, and walk closely with the One who never forgets, never fails, and never stops calling us back to Himself – Jesus Christ our Lord.

“You’ve got to remember, Paul was a doting old bachelor,” she said. As I recall this, it was my mom in an attempt to diminish Paul’s teaching about women. Take that as you will. Here Paul is commenting and giving directives about proper behavior toward one another as husband and wife, two betrothed people, widows, and single people. His bottom line is that if one is able not to marry that is good. If, however, the passions burn hot, it is better to marry.

It’s interesting to me that he makes the point elsewhere in this chapter that this is not a command from the Lord, but his own wisdom. So maybe the fact that he was not married does color his commentary. File it under wisdom from a mature man of God. But his other aside (“I think that I too have the Spirit of God.” V. 40), gives his advice some significant weight. This was not throw-away advice.

The situation in Corinth certainly does color Paul’s advice. Corinth is the church that tempts almost every other church to a smug attitude, at least we’re not that bad. They had issues around lawsuits, sexual immorality, worship, women, Holy Communion, factions, and spiritual gifts. So it’s not surprising that Paul would be a bit more directive with them.

Paul’s words remind us that faithfulness isn’t measured by whether we marry or remain single, but by how we walk with God in either place. His wisdom calls us to listen carefully – to hold divine commands with reverence and human counsel with discernment. The Spirit still speaks through seasoned saints like Paul, yet invites each of us to seek what obedience looks like in our own calling. Whether in marriage or in solitude, the greater gift is a heart steady in devotion to the Lord, trusting in his goodness and grace,  and reflecting his love in Jesus.

Martin Luther made famous the phrase, “This is most certainly true.” I love that! So I like to make the point that if something is in the Bible once it’s true. If it’s in there twice, it’s certainly true. And if it’s in the Bible three times, it is most certainly true. Well, what are we going to do with this one? The phrase “the two will become one flesh” appears not just once (Genesis 2:24), but in Matthew 19 where Jesus speaks of the sacred nature of marriage, again in Ephesians 5 where Paul speaks of the relationship between husband and wife, and a fourth time here in his letter to the church in Corinth. This is a most, certainly certain truth!

When a man and a woman leave parents, hold fast to one another, and join in the act of marriage, they become one flesh. That applies obviously to the physical union of the two. It applies also to the happy result of that physical union in the birth of children.

The reason and need for marriage is found in Genesis 2:18, where we read, “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’”

I like to joke about the truth that it is not good for the man to be alone. Whenever Diane used to travel for her work with PLI, I would enjoy the first 1-½ days on my own. I might make it to two. But then it was not good for the man to be alone! It wasn’t a matter of cooking and cleaning the dishes. I can do all that pretty well. But without companionship I’m just not good.

God made man purposefully needy. In that pre-fall state it was still not good that man should be without companionship. So God created woman. These two fulfill a need in each other by God’s design. And, according to the Bible, they also are an object lesson about the love Christ has for the church.

For that reason we must remain true to our marriage vows, for our love and faithfulness to one another are to be a reflection of Christ’s love for the church. We may muck that up from time to time – thank God for his forgiveness and grace! But marriage is a big deal. And if you’re not married or no longer married you can still honor God through your life of sexual purity and support of those who are married. This is most certainly true.

I love Martin Luther’s Sacristy Prayer:

Lord God, you have made me a pastor and teacher in your Church.
You see how unfit I am to administer rightly this great and responsible office;
and had I been without your aid and counsel, I would surely have ruined it all long ago.
Therefore, do I call upon you.
Of your boundless mercy, grant me a faithful heart,
and the right understanding, and skill, to teach.
And may I so exercise this office that I may save my own soul and those who hear me.
Amen.

Luther’s prayer – to which I can say a hearty AMEN!, is sincere and humble. Paul’s claim is the public side of the pastor’s role. We are stewards of the mysteries of God. These mysteries are not ours. We do not own them. We are accountable for our administration of them.

In the New Testament, the “mysteries of God” not unsolvable riddles. They are God’s redemptive work made known for all people through Jesus Christ and received by faith (Rom 16:25–26). Central is the mystery of the Gospel—Christ’s death and resurrection offered to all nations (Eph 6:19). This includes into the mystery of Christ and the Church, where Gentiles become fellow heirs with Jews in one body, with “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:26–27; Eph 3:4–6). Jesus speaks of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven disclosed in parables (Matt 13:11). The incarnation is the “mystery of godliness” (1 Tim 3:16), and the resurrection transformation (1 Cor 15:51) are also identified as mysteries. These mysteries proclaim God’s eternal plan of salvation by grace alone, entrusted to believers as stewards (1 Cor 4:1).

No wonder Luther prayed as he did! These mysteries are profound, and we are entrusted to administer them faithfully. Paul was speaking to the Corinthians to correct their undue attachment of the people there to him, Apollos, Cephas, or any other human teacher. They are clay vessels. The treasure is the gospel and the sacraments by which God pours out his grace and mercy on all who believe.

We who are called to be pastors must be faithful in that calling, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), and delivering the fullness of God’s grace and truth to his people. We don’t receive some extra grace that elevates us when we are set aside for this task. We are, however, accountable for faithfully serving Christ and his people.

Lord, grant me your Holy Spirit and hold me to your words of grace and truth so that I may be found faithful; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen

I remember the feeling, the event, and where I was sitting when the reality and truth of 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 made its way into my heart. It was in the fall of 2000 at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. Our PLI collegeal group was visiting this mentor church as part of our PLI training experience. They were hosting that same weekend their Courageous Congregations conference, and we were invited to attend.

I had expected 200 or more people to be there. But there were far fewer people present. The staff, presenters, worship leaders never blinked. They didn’t apologize for the smaller-than-expected crowd. They just gave what they had. It was enriching.

I remember more, however, the kairos moment as we sat there soaking it all in. PLI was for many of us an experience of church envy. We visited many large and successful Lutheran churches. They had large staffs, signature ministries, and impressive facilities. We pastors would look at them and think, if only I had a large staff, such a deep talent pool, and the resources they had! It was envy pure and simple. We would even talk about it and repent of it. But it would snake its way into our hearts (at least into my heart).

But sitting at a round table with 6 other pastors and experiencing that moment, I realized: All this is mine. Ours. Christ’s. God’s. I could envy or I could enjoy the blessings of the moment in that place. I even stood up and said something to that effect to the whole group.

Maybe you struggle with envy – that green-eyed monster. Shakespeare speaks of it in these words:

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.

Jesus warns against it:

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts… envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.

But Jesus is also the answer to envy. We must realize it’s all his – everything – and that we are all stewards of all we have and everything we experience. Envy is evidence of a heart turned from God. We must simply believe, remember, and trust that God is enough. His love envelopes us. His grace saves us. His mercy attends us. We are his. And that is enough.