David Bahn – Reflections

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:1-14

I had the pleasure of connecting today with three pastors who are part of the Harvest Partnership – a church-planting network. This group of pastors and church planters mostly in Texas is encouraging and supporting one another in the task of starting new congregations. This is a vitally-important task given the current state of the Christian Church in North America. Churches and the number of people who identify with the Christian Church are rapidly declining. Planting churches is the most effective means by which new people are brought into the Christian faith. These guys are heroes for the kingdom of God! I thank God for them!

Such arrangements are new in one sense. Local congregations have only more recently taken the lead in starting churches. St. John, the church I served, planted two mission starts during the time I was there. I was able to restart a mission start in Utah when I served there. 

But it was not always so. For a time the basic strategy for starting new congregations in my church body was to say, “Here’s a group of Lutherans who don’t have a church close by. Let’s start a new Lutheran congregation.” 

Now it’s much more, “Here’s a place where there are no Lutheran Churches (or possibly too few churches at all). Let’s start a mission here. Let’s see how we can bring the Good News of Jesus to them. 

That’s not new. This was Paul’s strategy. He would go from town to town and look for people of peace through whom a new congregation was started. Colossae was one of those places. But he did not hang around there long. He would appoint elders and leaders to see to the continuing development of the congregation. Occasionally he would need to offer correction, encouragement, and instruction to the various congregations he had started. Colossae was one of those congregations.

But Paul never claimed to be alone. He constantly mentions other people who were partners in the gospel. Whether it’s Timothy, Epaphras, Silas, Acquilla, or Priscilla, Paul partnered with these people. And the kingdom of God grew. Do you have a partner who is dedicated with you for the sake of the Kingdom? 

Afterword: I’m at the Texas District LCMS Theological Convocation this week. I had the opportunity here to talk with a couple of pastors today. They both mentioned my number one ministry parter, Diane. How thankful I am that God has given us both opportunities to work together for the sake of his kingdom! Each of us also have others with whom we partner in this work. This is something for which we both give praise to God.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:1-14

I am back in the pulpit on a regular basis once again. Serving as a vacancy pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe, Texas has offered me a welcome return. The greatest compliment regarding this reengagement was from my dear wife. She said, “You were in your sweet spot,” when she was able to join me there last week. And so, I am once again, “Pastor Bahn.” Although I am happy to be known simply as David or Dave, I’m also happy to claim this title as a pastor. I consider it an honor and a privilege.

And that’s what it is. That is a reflection of Paul’s greeting here in his letter to the church in Colossae. He claims the title apostle. The term means sent-one. And in the early years of the church the apostles also occupied a vital place of importance in keeping the faith alive and true. They had a place of authority, securing the gentile believers’ place in the Christian Church and even validating Paul’s mission work. 

Paul claims this title because of a very special encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. You can read about that in Acts 9:1-19. In that encounter Paul learned that he would be a major factor of God’s kingdom’s advance. It was important to him and for the sake of the kingdom so much that Paul not only used it here, but would make the point in other writings that he was an apostle by God’s call – not by man’s arrangement. 

This was not a matter of personal aggrandizement for Paul. It was for the sake of the gospel message. It was so that he could offer grace and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is my claim as well. I stand little on being a pastor as a place of authoritarian power, but much more on the basis of sharing the grace and peace that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Nor is he alone. Nor is this happening only in Collassae. I look forward to reflecting on that this week. 

Meditate on and pray these psalms on this Lord’s Day. Pray for the war-ravaged people in Ukraine. Pray for the people of this nation. Pray for mothers and their children. Pray for those who voice opinions different from yours. Pray that God’s name will be praised, and people will turn to him.

Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God. – Luke 24:44-53

I was at the gym the other day when our trainer leaned into me with a theological observation. He said, “I don’t go to church very often, but I heard something that I really like. God doesn’t love you because of what you do, but because of what’s in your heart.” He went on to say something about how that gave him comfort because he doesn’t attend church very often, but feels that God knows what is in his heart. I look forward to further conversation with him about that, and maybe expand my point about what I told him. 

I told him that I like to say that God doesn’t love us because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because that’s his nature. There’s a lot to unpack with that comment, and I don’t know if I’ll get the chance, but if I do…

At the end of Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry he mentions two significant things. Jesus ascended in the view of the Apostles. And the Apostles return with joy and continually bless God in the Temple. Make no mistake, they’re there because of what’s in their hearts. But what’s in their hearts is there because of God’s work in the world and in their hearts. 

The only reason there is anything good in our hearts is because of Jesus’ presence there. Otherwise we would have only the sinful nature. Jesus’ assessment of the sinful nature is unvarnished. He says, “If you, being evil, know how to give good things to your children…” (Matthew 7:11). We who are evil need a physician., and Jesus is that physician. He has redeemed us, and made us new. He reigns in grace, and because of all he has done, we delight to worship him. Not so that he will see the good in us, but because he has redeemed us and we are truly and deeply thankful to him!

Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God. – Luke 24:44-53

There are some things you just can’t unsee. Most of the time that refers to things you wish you could unsee. Sometimes it’s a bit more light-hearted. Did you know there’s a bear hidden in the Toblerone logo? Or that there’s an arrow in the FedEx logo? Or that the word bed looks kinda like a bed? (Thanks, Google for those examples. Maybe we won’t be besieged today with other less-welcome images!)

There are other great, good, and god-glorifying things you may have seen that should not be unseen. An answered prayer. A word of grace at a moment of shame. A kindness in a time of helplessness. A friend’s smile in a moment of mourning.

All these good things pale in comparison to seeing Jesus die, be buried, and risen, living and ascending into heaven. That’s what the Apostles had seen. They couldn’t unsee his horrible suffering and death. They couldn’t unsee his mother at the foot of the cross. They couldn’t unsee the fear in each others’ eyes as they hid behind locked doors on that first Easter evening.

But all that was put into a dramatically redemptive context when they saw his hands and feet. When they saw his body, heard his voice, and watched him eat in their very sight those things – evil as they had been – became redemptive. They realized that Jesus had to suffer in order to redeem us. He had to because of our sin. He had to because of God’s love. He had to because of his love for the Father and for us. He had to because it was written that these things would happen. They were literally witness of those things (v. 48). 

We see these things by faith. We weren’t there 2000 years ago when these things happened. But we have the witness of the Scriptures. We read Isaiah’s prophecies (Isaiah 53). Moses records God’s promise of a seed of the woman who would crust the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). Jeremiah speaks of a New Covenant (Jeremiah 29). Then Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record Jesus’ teaching, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return. The remainder of the New Testament helps us understand what it means to live out the reality of our redemption.

So when we see that kind smile, act of kindness, answered prayer, the faithful witness from God’s word, let that be a reminder to see again what is behind it all. God loves you. He sent his Son. He died for you. He rose in victory over sin, death, and the devil. That’s something none of us need to unsee!

Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God. – Luke 24:44-53

None of the commentaries I consulted made comment on the nuance I want to linger on today. But the translations are all over the place in regard to one word that is found in the grammatical nuances of the aorist, passive infinitive κηρυχθῆναι. The Greek means preach or proclaim. But the nuance has to do with how to describe this form of the verb. Is it should be, will be, would be, or is to be? Well like the old Pizza Hut commercial, but different, “Why not all three?” 

The message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations [ESV]. Indeed it should be. This is something that should happen. We should take the gospel message to all people of all nations, tribes, languages, and tongues. It’s the right thing to do. God has commanded it. We ought to do it.

This message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent,’ [NLT] is also a correct statement. We are living proof of that – we who have heard the message and been brought to faith in Jesus. We’re part of the “all nations” of this verse. We’ve been called to repent of our sins, and receive forgiveness. 

It is also true that repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem [NIV]. The NRSV has “is to be preached,” which is yet another nuance to this verse. Perhaps it goes along with “would be proclaimed.” But this one is the one I want to lean into today. It’s gonna happen, Jesus is saying. This message will be preached. People will hear. People will repent. They will enjoy the blessings of forgiveness and eternal salvation. 

Once upon a time a friend made this same point to me. I was five years out of the seminary and I wasn’t sure I liked the idea. It seemed to take too much off the shoulders of Jesus’ followers. Those who were given the commission to make disciples could lay back and let it get done (by someone else). God’s got this. Why do I need to worry.

Such thinking strikes me as akin to the question in Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then, shall we sin more that grace may increase?” The answer there is a dramatically emphatic, “May it never be!” But the reason isn’t that grace won’t increase. It’s not that grace will run out. It’s that we’ve died to sin, why would we want to live in it?!? 

So if God’s got this, should we just sit back and let someone else proclaim the word? Should we just watch God work, rather than engaging in his mission? May it never be! How could we who have heard this message want to keep it to ourselves? The message will be preached. It should be. In would be (now and in previous years). We’re living proof of that. Thanks be to God. Is there someone you know who needs to hear it?

Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God. – Luke 24:44-53

We’ve been working on mindfulness these days. Things like misplaced cell phones, walking into a room and forgetting why we’re there. Those are somewhat important. But being truly present and being mindful about the conversation and actually listening is even more important. Mindfulness has to do with going through life not on autopilot. Intentionality takes deliberate effort. 

I wonder whether the disciples had been more on autopilot than they realized even as they were being taught by Jesus. I wonder if they thought they had heard it all before. Might they have thought, “We’ve got this. We know how this is going to roll.” 

Certainly they didn’t have closed minds like the Pharisees and other religious leaders did. Surely they were open to the new ideas that Jesus was teaching. Obviously they didn’t reject Jesus out of hand. They no doubt were soaking it in as he challenged the status quo.

But maybe not. Jesus had to open their minds to understand the Scripture. After three years with Jesus they still needed some remedial tutoring about the very basic foundations of the faith. Somehow they didn’t soak it all in. Somehow they needed some further clarity. The Apostles!

So pardon me if I suggest we may all need some more open mindfulness. It’s not the same as open mindedness, although open mindedness is part of it. Being intentionally focused on what we’re doing means watching for Jesus’ kingdom coming. It means watching for kairos moments – those moments when Jesus’ kingdom breaks through and God calls us to repent and believe. 

That’s what is happening here. Jesus is showing up (literally!), and by opening their minds and making them to understand the Scriptures, he’s calling them to repent and believe. 

If we pay attention, God may be showing up and calling us to repent and believe as well. If we sense that, there is no better place to go than to the Scriptures. The wisdom literature offers us insights and direction about managing life itself. The Psalms give voice to deep emotions and yearnings of the soul. The letters of the New Testament reveal how the faith is to be lived day to day. The gospels point us to Jesus the source of life and salvation. 

When we are mindfully open to the God moments of life be sure to follow the trail to faith in Jesus. Be open to his word of grace and truth. For surely this is God’s ultimate desire for us all. And as we are mindfully open to his teaching we will certainly be blessed. 

Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God. – Luke 24:44-53

It was a long game and Diane, our friends and I weren’t seeing any signs that the team was going to come back from their deficit. It was the bottom of the 9th. We were behind by two runs. We decided to head home. On the way to our car – after we were completely out of the stadium – there came a roar from the crowd. And then a larger one. “I wonder what we missed,?” I asked. We turned on the radio to discover that after a couple of hits, our team had scored a walk-off three-run homer. We left too soon to see our team win.

When do you give up? Do you stick it out until the very last minute? Do you leave the game early? Do you lose heart? The promises of God have been around for some time. And we’re not just talking hours, weeks, months, years, or even just decades. We’re talking centuries, millenia. From the first promise to Adam and Eve in the garden (cf. Genesis 3:15), to the last prophet of the Old Testament (Malachi), God had promised to redeem his people. He had pledged to send the Messiah. He had vowed that his word would  be fulfilled. 

Some gave up. Some didn’t see Jesus for who he was. Even some of his disciples had given up on the hope they had placed in Jesus when they saw him die. Their dreams were dashed. They didn’t think he was worth waiting for. 

Thank God he was willing to wait for them. Thank God he is far more patient than we are. Thank God that his grace moves him to wait a long, long time. And so when Jesus comes to those who had given up on him, he brings a greeting of peace.

But he does more than just that. He uses this moment to teach them a lesson. “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,” he reminds them. This is not new news. He had said it before. He had told them this was going to have happened. Now he teaches them – again – about his suffering and death and his resurrection. 

But there’s more here. He is reminding them of the absolutely trustworthy nature of God’s word. “Thus it is written…” We don’t have only a verbal promise – good as that would be from God. We have the written word. We can refer to it again and again. And the purpose is not just to give us something to argue about. It’s not just so we can prove our point because the Bible says so. It is so we can be clear and assured of God’s promises. 

We give up too easily. We lose sight of God’s promises. We acquiesce too quickly to the discouragement and distractions of the world. Better we lean into what God has promised. Read it, mark, learn, and meditate upon it. There we’ll learn not only of God’s promises – which are sure to come true – but of God’s goodness, grace, justice, faithfulness, and patience.  He hasn’t given up on us. Let’s recommit ourselves to clinging to his promises and keep our hopes alive in him. 

Meditate on and pray these psalms on this Lord’s Day. These are again so appropriate to pray for the people of Ukraine. I pray also for the Russians who are caught up in this terrible web of evil. Lord have mercy on us all!

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” ³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

³⁶ As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. ³⁸ And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate before them. Luke 24:-43

I’ve been reflecting on a relatively recent discovery. It has to do with the context of the Great Commission, and the fact that when the 11 met Jesus on the mountain where he gave us the Great Commission (“Go therefore and make disciples…”), some worshiped him. Some worshiped, but some doubted. Check it out in Matthew 28:17. I’ve reflected on their doubt and invited others to chime in as well. Some recognize that the trauma of seeing Jesus die would make it difficult to believe he was actually now alive. Others suggest that they were perhaps doubting how they could possibly fulfill this commission.

There may be other reasons as well for their doubt. But here we’re faced with the doubt that is more immediate to Jesus’ death. To some degree these people have an excuse for their doubts. The reality and cruelty of Jesus’ death is all too fresh on their minds. The disappointment and anguish of seeing their dreams dashed and their Lord crucified is no small trauma. To believe the early reports of the women would put them in danger of looking the fool if it were not true. The stakes were just too high. And when they do return they don’t verify the women’s story. They attest to Peter’s witness. 

Women played a major role in the ministry of Jesus. Recall the healing the woman with the issue of blood and calling her a daughter of Abraham. Remember him speaking with the woman at the well, or receiving the loving attention of the sinful woman who washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. And the first witnesses to the resurrection were women. But still the disciples did not believe.

We seem to think we’re more enlightened these days about the role of women. From the heroine in Star Wars to those in the Hidden Figures to Working Girl, women are playing a more and more prominent role in the dramas of life and science fiction. But where are the strong and faithful women in the likes of Mary, Martha, Salome, or Priscilla. Each of these had a strong role to play in Jesus’ ministry and the mission of God. I’m not sure we’ve got it better in hand than the early disciples. 

Years later we have the written witness to the resurrection of Jesus. We have the evidence of the phenomenal growth of the early church that has consistently grown decade after decade. We have the witness of changed lives. We have the message of the women, Peter, John, Paul and all the apostles. Why do we still doubt? If Jesus has really be raised from the dead, why do we still fret? Why do we worry? Why do we doubt?

We all bear the sinful human flesh. The devil always fires his darts. The world continually offers its glitz. These conspire to cause doubt. They worry us because they press in on every side. And there are plenty of troubles in this world! And the devil is cunning. And the flesh wars against the Spirit. 

Jesus asks, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” He doesn’t do that because he is ignorant of their thoughts or struggles. He does that to call them to a new place of hope and peace. So the question today is for you and me: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Jesus is risen. The tomb is empty. He reigns at God’s right hand. His greeting is, “Peace!”