Also, I will be guest preaching at North Avenue Alliance on May 1, 2011. Feel free to visit if it fits into your schedule!

June 13, 2010 North Avenue Alliance, Burlington VT
June 20, 2010 North Avenue Alliance, Burlington VT
July 11, 2010 TBA
July 25, 2010 Grace Church, Northfield VT

Un updated schedule and sermon samples are available at http://www.joshuajmasters.com/ministry.html

Today is Good Friday, the day when Christians of all denominations remember that day of victory and suffering on the cross, so I thought I’d join the throngs of preachers and bloggers who’ll be addressing the subject of Christ’s sacrifice this weekend.

Ask any Sunday School kid, “What was Jesus’ sacrifice?” and they’ll quickly reply, “He died on the cross for our sins.” Come to think of it, that’s what most people would say and while it’s true, that answer doesn’t really cover the depth of His sacrifice does it?  Was His sacrifice really a physical one? His death on the cross certainly fulfilled the requirements of the Law for redemption, but Christ’s sacrifice went even deeper than what He endured on the cross.

Did you see Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ? If you haven’t seen it yet, let me warn you… [SPOILER ALERT] I wouldn’t rate it among the top ten date movies. You’d be better off with The Notebook or even Terminator II.  Gibson’s goal in The Passion was to offend your senses. The film was so violent and so graphic that it’s difficult to imagine anyone going through that much suffering for anyone else. I literally thought I’d  throw-up during the flogging scene and found myself surprisingly glad when Jesus finally died so His suffering would stop. It was horrific. Gibson undoubtedly accomplished his goal, but by concentrating on those few terrible moments the movie completely missed the real sacrifice of Christ. After all, others had been crucified and still more suffered other terrible deaths to bring God’s glory to the people. Bartholomew was skinned alive. Christ, of course, was the only one worthy to act as a physical sacrifice for us, but His real sacrifice—the one Gibson’s movie missed—was His emotional sacrifice.

BEFORE THE BEGINNNG:

Christ’s sacrifice didn’t begin with His emotional prayer at Gethsemane or with His arrest in the garden. His sacrifice started before the beginning of time when He and the Father made a single remarkable choice. Jesus’ story doesn’t begin in a manger. Scripture tells us all of creation is created for and by the Son. It was Christ at the burning bush…  it was Christ who loved us in the moments man was being created.

He had two choices as he breathed into Adam’s lungs. He could create a slave-like race of followers (a perfect world but without the possibility of love) or He could give us free-will.  Love cannot exists without choice and God so intensely wanted a relationship with us that He put all of creation at risk to give us the opportunity to love Him back. This is where Christ’s sacrifice began. Imagine that moment when God breathed life into Adam. The world was perfect and Adam loved his Lord with everything that he was. But God knew the cost of what he had given man from the beginning. Those He loved would only repay Him with hate, and would worship the creation they themselves had brought imperfection to above their Father.

He watched as humanity took His gift of perfection and love… and rejected it.
He watched, knowing that the cross would now be waiting for him to reclaim us.
He watched, knowing most would still reject him even after the cross and
He watched as the highest of Angels, who He loved, made it his eternal mission to destroy us.
All this for Love. This is where Christ’s sacrifice began.

GIVING UP EVERTHING:
What do you do when your child is lost? You find them… no matter the cost and you never give up the hope of finding them. You will give up everything and go anywhere to find them. That’s what Christ did next. We can’t imagine the perfection of Heaven or the glory of God’s thrown, but we know it’s greater than our own comprehension and we know Christ left it to come find us. Our Christmas displays often portray a quaint if not beautiful display of the manger, but there was nothing quaint about it. The Creator of humanity came into the darkest and most lowly of positions to find us exactly where we were lost. But even if Jesus had come into the world as a child in a palace of gold, it still would have paled in comparison to what he gave up in His Heavenly home. Those who hated Him were no longer at a distance but would have direct access to him. He would be surrounded by the corruption of those who rejected Him, but still he pressed on to find His lost children. Still he was willing to sacrifice more for them. Imagine leaving your home and going to the darkest most dangerous city in the middle of the night to find your lost children… the stench, hate, and fear on every street corner… but if you knew you could get them back… or that there was a chance you could get them back, you would go. And so His emotional sacrifice for love continued on Earth for 33 years. 

THE REAL SACRIFICE OF THE CROSS:
Now we come to it… The part of the story so well covered by the media of God’s church; the cross.  Christ’s physical death is a fulfillment of the Law and His resurrection the guarantee of eternal life. It was the moment when death was defeated and the eventual destruction of evil revealed. I do not mean to downplay the importance of Christ’s physical sacrifice or suggest that His pain was not more than I can imagine. It was, but Christ suffered an even greater sacrifice on that cross… a pain greater than what any man was capable of inflicting on Him. There are hundreds of songs and scriptures describing how Christ took our place; how He took the punishment for our sin. We think of that sacrifice as the pain of the cross. We think of that sacrifice as the nails in His hands… but there was a bigger price to be paid. As Christ, the creator of the world, hung from that cross bleeding and beaten to fulfill His Word, He took our sins and placed them on His own shoulders.  In that moment, he took on the real sacrifice for our sin. The Son who had lived His existence to please the Father from the beginning of time now found Himself completely alone. For the first time, Christ found He could not call Him “Father,” and Jesus called out “My God, my God! Why have you abandoned me?!” (NLT) The Father could not look at the sin on Jesus…he turned away from His son… Jesus was completely separated from God. He was alone.

My dad is one of my heroes and even with all my imperfections, I can not imagine the pain of seeing him turn away from me in disgust. I can not imagine the inconsolable pain and darkness I would feel. I can’t imagine him saying we were no longer family.

Jesus took our place, but it wasn’t the cross He saved us from. The cost of sin is not a physical death but an eternal one. The cost of unrighteousness is  being forever separated from God with the knowledge of His glory. The price is being completely alone and without hope for ever. That’s what Christ was willing to take on for us. That’s the price that needed to be paid.

We’re called to tell the Good News by the way we live our lives. Do we live our lives like we’ve been delivered from this darkness or do we get mired down by the annoyances of every day life? Do we see the emptiness we’ve been spared? I am so thankful… and to be honest, so ashamed of the way I sometimes present myself. Do non-believers see a freedom in our lives—even in times of trouble? They should, because we have been freed from more than the cross… we’ve been freed from hopelessness and fear. We are the lost children who have been rescued.

Editor's Note: This post was originally written in 2009 by Joshua J Masters and has been reposted.

Grace Church, Northfield VT:   02.28.10
North Ave. Alliance, Burlington VT: 03.28.10
Cornerstone Alliance, Ticonderoga NY: 05.16.10

I hope some of you will be able to come see me.

As Paul continues to develop his argument for inherited righteousness through faith, this passage is designed to refute anyone who might still believe they can attain righteousness by their own merit. The Jewish religion had become a legalistic culture in which the adherence to rules superseded the heart of the law. It was easy for them to believe that a righteous life could come through the adherence of God’s law and the rules of the church, but Paul makes it clear that this is impossible.

In the previous unit, Paul explains that believers have been released from the law through their “death” with Christ. This would undoubtedly result in traditional Jews asking, “What good are the laws of Moses then? What was the point?” It’s a fair question, and Paul anticipates the need to answer them in Romans 7:7-8. The law exposes sin. We must remember that the law is not simply a set of rules written on tablets. The law is the very essence of who God is. God, in fact, is the law and anything that is ungodly is sinful. Paul makes a two edged point here; the first is that the law is used to identify ungodliness, but the second is a more frightening concept. Paul makes it clear that the law opens us up to being attacked by our own sinful nature.

The remainder of this unit is a public confession of Paul’s own spiritual weakness, which he uses to make a very important point. This portion of the letter must have been particularly jarring to the Christian readers in Rome. We should remember that Paul was the “rock star” of the Christian movement and was greatly admired and respected by most people in the Christian world. Paul’s blatant admission that he is incapable of following the law or avoiding sin is a powerful reminder to the reader that no one is capable of attaining righteousness through works. In verses 9-25 Paul describes the overwhelming power that sin has over his life. He even describes himself as a prisoner of sin. “What a wretched man I am? Who will rescue me from this body of death…” asks Paul. His answer will lead us into the theme of our next post, “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord”

There is a clear application to be gleaned from this passage. We are reminded that we have been released from the law, but that it remains the standard by which sinful actions are identified. Having been released from the law does not change the affect sin has on our human lives. We are counted as righteous through our relationship with Christ, but we are in a constant battle with sin on Earth. The important point Paul makes here is that we can not win that battle alone. We are completely incapable of overcoming sin or following the law. This means we must fully rely on Jesus for our strength and righteousness. There is nothing we can bring to the table in this fight. Realizing this will free us to accomplish the things God has commissioned us to do.

There is a further application for those of us in ministry. Paul’s transparency here can serve as an important model in our own lives. While I’m not suggesting a pastor “air all his dirty laundry” before his congregation, I do think it’s important to be identified as a regular human being—because, of course, we are.  If we are to gain the trust of the non-believers we witness to, we must avoid appearing self righteous or “holier than thou,” because this passage teaches there’s no place for self-righteousness in the life of any Christian.  We must present ourselves as real people living with the same life-struggles everyone else lives with.  While our pride may view this as showing weakness, it may very well be the thing that encourages those who don’t feel like they can succeed. We operate under the same grace and righteousness that is available to anyone, and we struggle with the same sin that anyone else struggles with.

Previous Posts in this Series:
Part I: Romans 1:1-17  “Gospel Authority”  Posted: March 20, 2009
Part II: Romans 1:18-32  “The Bad News”  Posted March 28, 2009
Part III: Romans 2:1-3:20 “The Elitist Christian”  Posted April 4, 2009
Part IV: Romans 3:21-31  “An Answer to the Problem!”  Posted April 11, 2009
Part V: Romans 4:1-25  “Who Cares about Circumcision?!” Posted April 18, 2009
Part VI Romans 5:1-11 “A Sacrifice for His Enemies.” Posted April 25, 2009
Part VII Romans 5:12-21 “Brownies and Original Sin.” Posted May 06, 2008
Part VIII Romans 6:1-7:6 "A Slavery that Breaks the Shackles." Posted May 09, 2009

Previous Posts in this Series:
Part I: Romans 1:1-17  "Gospel Authority"  Posted: March 20, 2009
Part II: Romans 1:18-32  "The Bad News"  Posted March 28, 2009
Part III: Romans 2:1-3:20 "The Elitist Christian"  Posted April 4, 2009
Part IV: Romans 3:21-31  "An Answer to the Problem!"  Posted April 11, 2009
Part V: Romans 4:1-25  "Who Cares about Circumcision?!" Posted April 18, 2009
Part VI Romans 5:1-11 "A Sacrifice for His Enemies." Posted April 25, 2009
Part VII Romans 5:12-21 "Brownies and Original Sin." Posted May 06, 2008

The 1965 Junior Grange Members

I recently wrote a post about Nana’s diary. Within its pages I find a portal to a world I once knew. So many of her memories (and the memories penned in her mother’s diary) reflect a familiar place I once played... a familiar place, but not a familiar time. My childhood on the family farm seems like a shadow of their youth. Our early lives, though separated by time, evolved in the same house, on the same property near the same fields. They remember a new barn while my memory finds it in disrepair. They recall the planting of trees while I remember climbing in them. It is my greatest regret that any children I may have will never fall under that same shadow of family familiarity. They will never play on the roof of the chicken coop my great-great-grandfather built (The one the woodchuck lived under) and they will never relate to the farm discussed in these pages with the same echoed memories I have.

The diaries have a mild musty smell now and the penciled scrawling have begun to ware, but I sometimes enjoy opening the yellowed pages and reading what Nana (my great-grandmother) and her mother recorded on that day decades ago. Today I reflect on an entry by my great-great-grandmother, Mary Etta Stiles written on this day in 1940:

Wed. We all went to the Grange. It was children's night. Aunt Jen was here and went with us. Margaret and Ruth had programs for the children and they served refreshments.    -Mary Etta Stiles   May 8, 1940.

The Grange was an important part of our family history. Generations of Masters and Stiles were members of the organization. This diary entry describes just one of many family outings. The 1965 photograph above shows my father (back row, center) and my uncles in their Junior Grange sashes. I myself rose to the rank of Junior Master in our local Grange chapter. That’s at least five consecutive generations. In fact, If you read The Tale of Jeremiah, I make reference to the “Granger Market Fairs.” While the Market Fairs are fictitious, I took the name from my experience in the Grange. What is the Grange you ask? Well, I took an oath when I was a Junior Master never to reveal any of the signs or secrets of the order, but I can tell you that the Grange (actually, its full name is The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry) was a fraternal organization created after the Civil War by American Farmers who came together in support of the economic, political, and social well being of farmers and their communities. You may have noticed old buildings called “Grange Halls” in your town centers, but never knew what they were used for. They can be found throughout rural America and once served as meeting halls for the farmers. The Grange had hit it’s peak by the 1950s, but their membership continues reaching out to their communities even now.

I was a bit of an explorer in my youth and remember finding a ribbon celebrating Nana’s 50^th anniversary as a Grange member in the bottom of a cedar chest. Going to the Grange was a big deal… and when I got my license, Nana would sometimes ask me to take her. They would take care of Grange business, but there was always a lot of fantastic food too. Nana alone was a good cook… now imagine 20 nanas bringing dishes. They’d also sing songs around the old piano with lyrics like,

Bringing in the Sheaves,
Bringing in the Sheaves,
We will come rejoicing,
Bringing in the Sheaves.

And

God Bless America,
land that I love.
Stand beside her,
and guide her,
Thru the night
with a light from above.

These were people who loved their country, their God, their farms, and their community. The loyalty and support Grange members showed one another is not something you often see in today’s society, but it wasn’t until years after Nana passed away I realized the true significance of that ribbon I found as a child. I was visiting the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Massachusetts and decided to visit the Grange Building on the fairgrounds. Inside were members from each of the New England states. It was then the depth of devotion these people had for each other really hit me.

“Are you a member of the Grange,” asked a man, seemingly surprised someone in their twenties would visit the building.
“I was in the Junior Grange,” I said, “but my great-grandmother was a member for over fifty years in New Hampshire,” I replied, remembering the ribbon.
“Really? I know some folks up there. What was her name?”
“It was a long time ago, but her name was Marion Masters.”
To my surprise, another woman in the room looked up and said,
“Wasn’t that Jacob’s wife?”
“Yes. Yes she was!” I said. Then the man looked at me and said,
“Well then. You’re part of the family. You should come ride on the Grange float at this afternoon’s parade with us.”

I was overwhelmed. It was incredible; so many years later and they showed that kind of devotion to my family.
I had somewhere to go and so I declined their invitation.
I regret it now… greatly. I think Nana would have liked it.

I’m constantly amazed how family history intersect with our everyday lives. Some of us have terrible histories from which we escape and begin new chapters in our family story, others of us are blessed by the events of our past, but most of us have a mix of both in our lives. Nana was only thirty years old (six years younger than I am now) when my Great-great-grandmother wrote this entry in her diary, but the dedication to family and community they brought into our family directly led to the emotional experience I had at the fair. Never underestimate the reach family can have in our lives.

I know this entry is a few days late and I aplogize for that. I know there's at least four people chomping at their bits to read the next installment of this commentary, but we got a new puppy last week. Franklin doesn't care much for theology but he loves Peanut-butter.

Since I'm already off subject... I might as well address something else. I've been told by some people they love the ongoing Romans discussions, but it has given other people pause. Some have noted that the entries about Romans are not as funny as my sermons, as colorful as my creative writing, or as personal as my family heritage entries. Well... your probably right, but Romans is a pretty heavy book. I'll try to be funnier in the future... or perhaps when we're done with Romans I can choose a more amusing book like Habakkuk. In the meantime, Romans will just get heavier... so you may want to check out some of my other entries.   Ah well, back to Romans...

Romans 5:12-21:
The comparison Paul makes between Adam and Christ can be made very complicated when we allow theology or doctrine to enter the discussion. While these theological issues are important, the basic truth of this comparison is simple. Christ is the answer to the problem created by Adam.

Critics of the Bible often use the concept of “original sin” to discredit God, accusing Him of being unfair. They say, “Why should I be held accountable for something that someone else did?” It’s a fair question but a weak argument. Romans 5:18-19 eliminate the validity of that stance. Let’s assume someone could live a perfect life without sin and therefore make that argument. The action of one man may have brought sin into the world, but the more powerful actions of a single man also removed it. How could that be considered unfair? Christ not only conquered the inherent sin of Adam, but also the individual sins of each person that followed Adam.

There lies the second problem in our critic’s argument. Aside from Jesus, no one has lived a perfect life without sin, so to blame “original sin” as an unfair condemnation of the individual is merely a distracter from one’s own sin. Consider the following illustration:
Let’s suppose brownies represent sin (I choose this as an illustration, because brownies probably do represent sin in my own life), and your doctor has told you that you’ll die if you eat brownies. Now let’s suppose Adam brings a plate of brownies into the room and you eat them. It’s Adam’s fault the brownies are there, but you’re responsible for eating them. It’s this way with sin too. Adam brought sin into the world. It’s his fault sin is available to us, but everyone has partaken of it freely.

The contrast Paul makes between Adam and Christ is an important one because he is careful not to put them on par. In verses 15 and 16, Paul makes it clear that the work done by God was much greater than the work of Adam. The grace of God and the sacrifice of Christ didn’t simply counteract the sin of Adam, it obliterated it. For as Paul said, “the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin.”  (v. 16) Grace contains more power than sin and forgiveness more power than hate.

How then do we apply this to our lives and ministries? At first glance there doesn’t seem to be a direct application to our lives because it is a statement of truth not action. When we view this in the context of the previous text, however, it has profound implications in regards to our faith and trust in God. In our last post we learned Romans 5:9-11 is an expression of God’s extreme love for us manifested in what he’s willing to do for us. If God was willing to sacrifice His son for us when we did not love Him and were His enemies, how much more will he do for us now that we are His own children? It is sobering to realize exactly how much God is willing to support us. Romans 5:12-21 illustrates the power he has to bring us through any issue of sin. Not the sin of Adam nor are the sins I’ve committed stronger than the power of God’s grace. He can conquer all evil, all suffering and all sin.   

The NEXT section will be posted on Saturday May 09, 2009
A Discussion of ROMANS: Part VIII— “ A Slavery that Breaks the Shackles”

Previous Posts in this Series:
Part I: Romans 1:1-17  "Gospel Authority"  Posted: March 20, 2009
Part II: Romans 1:18-32  "The Bad News"  Posted March 28, 2009
Part III: Romans 2:1-3:20 "The Elitist Christian"  Posted April 4, 2009
Part IV: Romans 3:21-31  "An Answer to the Problem!"  Posted April 11, 2009
Part V: Romans 4:1-25  "Who Cares about Circumcision?!" Posted April 18, 2009
Part VI Romans 5:1-11 "A Sacrifice for His Enemies." Posted April 25, 2009

News broke today that the world lost one of America’s classic comedians. Dom DeLuise passed away quietly in his sleep at a Los Angeles hospital last night at the age of 75.

From his role as a film agent in “The Muppet Movie” to his multiple collaborations with Mel Brooks, Dom was an incurable goofball. There’s bound to be a number of filmographies listed for Dom on various websites and blogs today, but I doubt any of them will mention “My X-Girlfriend’s Wedding Reception.” 

In a moment I felt would most certainly launch my young career into cinematic fame, I met Dom in the lobby of a South Burlington hotel where we were about to start shooting a film together. It was the first… and worst movie I ever worked on. (Yes… a thousand times worse than the film I did with Billy Ray Cyrus called “Radical Jack.”) Dom played a priest in the movie (no I’m not kidding you… and if you think that’s weird, Senator Bernie Sanders had a cameo in the film as a rabbi.) I was a set decorator which is pretty much the worst job you can have in a movie that takes place at a wedding reception. You carry around Polaroid’s (that’s kind of like a digital camera with a built in printer for all the kids out there)  and make sure everyone’s Champaign glass has the same level of sparkling apple juice at the beginning of each take it had the last time you did it. After all, with such a fine film you wouldn’t want any continuity issues showing up in post production. “X-Girlfriend” also represented my first on-camera appearance. Want to guess what my one line was? Go ahead… guess. That’s right, I stumbled up to the wedding band and yelled, “Play Freebird! Play it now!”
I know you think I’m making all this up, but I’m not.
The movie starred Debbie Gibson. (Yes that Debbie Gibson, although by 1998 she preferred to be called Deborah.) It was her first film, and to be honest… She really was pretty good. And yes, you could get lost in her eyes. Colleen Fitzpatrick was also in the movie. You probably don’t recognize her name, but she was in two episodes on Hannah Montana and I figured if I mentioned Hannah Montana in my blog I might get more hits. (Google loves Hannah Montana… oh, did I say Hannah Montana again?) Other small roles were filled by actors who had various “reenactment” roles on America’s Most Wanted and Cameos from Vermont celebrities like Ms. Vermont and John Fishman of the band Phish. John played a stalker of the wedding band and crashed the reception wearing a bridesmaid dress. (Again, not kidding.)

Wait a minute… reliving all this was so surreal I forgot I was suppose to be writing about Dom DeLuise. I spent several days with Dom, and I can tell you this… he loved life. He loved to laugh and he loved making other people laugh. We were usually behind schedule, because Dom had problems focusing and never did the same thing twice in a scene. There was one shot we were trying to get and Dom didn’t feel it was going well so he decided to spice the scene by grabbing a floor fan and singing “Moonlight in Vermont” into the spinning blades making his voice warble. He changed every line on every take and they were worried about the Champaign glasses. But he did make us laugh… and he was kind to everyone.

I’m very aware this picture of us together is the worst photo ever taken of me, but to be honest, I didn’t want to be in the picture. We’d been working ALL night and the sun was starting to come up. I was tired… exhausted, actually. I didn’t want my picture taken, but Dom insisted. He said, “We’re going to want to remember this moment,” and he had someone snap three Polaroids. He signed two of them (without us asking him too,) and gave them to me and Keith. Then he took the third and said he would, “cherish this photo forever.” The man never stopped smiling, and I will fondly remember him.

Now, I know what your thinking, “Dom DeLuise and Debbie Gibson? Not to mention Joshua J Masters, Phish, Bernie Sanders as a Rabbi, Ms. Vermont, and a girl from Hannah Montana?” (Yes! That’s five Hannah Montanas… six,) “I’ve got to see this movie!”
NO! No you don’t. It’s crass and terrible. You don’t want to see it. In fact, I thought long and hard before even mentioning the movie because it’s so embarrassing, but then I realized it would be embarrassing to Bernie Sanders too, so I decided to go for it.
Good night, Dom… may you dream of large sandwiches.