The life of the body after an amputation or when a part ceases to function.

As we grow older, some of our body parts begin to work less well or even fail completely. Eyes, ears and the various joints of hips, knees and back come to mind most readily. When this happens, the body does not die, yet its function and completeness is diminished. The same is true if a part of the body is amputated. At first the nerves give a phantom feeling that the part is still there, there is pain at the loss both mental and physical, and then there is resignation that the part is gone, never coming back and the body must make due without it.

We, each one of you who are in Christ, regular attendee or not, each one of you is a part of the body of Christ of which He is the Head. Each one of you is important to the proper functioning of the body and if you are absent either by choice or illness or whatever, the entire body suffers. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12ff.

We are all one body, we need one another, we need to care for one another and not neglect the various parts of the body. I have that fungus stuff in my two large toe nails. I can either try and ignore it and hope it goes away, and it won’t, or I can take care of it and treat it and bring them back to good health. This analogy is not given so that we might think of those who are not here as some sort of toe fungus. The point is, we either take care of all of the body parts or all the parts of the body suffer.

It would be beyond wonderful if all the members of Prince of Peace came to the Lord’s house every Lord’s day to receive from Jesus all that sustains and keeps each member of the body in perfect and eternal health. May we all pray to that end that the Lord of the Church, Christ Jesus our Head and Savior, would draw us together in love, harmony and charity to receive the forgiveness of our sins and the hope of eternal life. None of us deserve such lavish gifts from God but we all need them.

May He who has made each one of us a new creation in Him by the washing of water and the Word, may He continue to unite us together in Him and sustain us all into eternity. God does not amputate members from His body but rather He nourishes and revives them all that His Body would always be perfect and complete. The Lord bless and keep you all by His mercy and grace, healthy, safe and secure in Him. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Missing Christmas – what was I thinking!

In 1988 while on the Okinawa, Japan aka “the Rock”, I was to celebrate my first Christmas away from home and I was going to do so without celebration. My mother had written and asked what I would like and I had sent back that I would wait until I returned to the States to celebrate Christmas.

Christmas morning arrived, a cold and overcast morning and I stayed in my bed. My fellow officer in the room next door however, had other plans. Everyone from his home town and every relative he had must have sent him some gift. He began opening presents and another of our friends was video taping him, I could hear him through the walls. Each gift opened came with a “hello, so and so, thanks for the what ever.” With each additional gift and exclamation of joy by him, I slunk further beneath my covers in sadness and dejection.

But it was all of my own making. The offer of gifts had been made and I refused them. My expectation of no loss and future joy was dashed to pieces by the reality of one who gladly received and rejoiced at the reception of gift upon gift. I promised myself then and there that I would not miss another Christmas, not turn down another gift offered, not presume to be able to make it on my own without the love and compassion of those who loved me.

So many actually reject the gift of Christmas, Jesus Christ. They presume that they can make it on their own and the presents, gifts of God’s grace and mercy, the forgiveness of sins, is not something they either need or desire. Sadly, in some cases, there are those who approach the gift of salvation and free forgiveness for Jesus sake, as something that they don’t deserve so they won’t receive it. They will turn it away because they are certain that their sins are too great. This is wrong. No sin is to great to negate God’s gift of mercy, grace and salvation. And conversely, no one is so good that they deserve this gift. That is why it is called gift.

We are all sinful, we are all deserving of God’s wrath and just punishment for our sin. Yet, God is merciful to all because Jesus died for all men, for all sin and to save all men from eternal death. The gift of Jesus’ righteousness is freely given to all who will receive it. It is given by His Word and in Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Every Lord’s Day is “Christmas” even as it is also “Easter”. It is a day of receiving underserved gifts from God, freely given because He loves you. Lord willing, I will never miss another “Christmas”. I hope and pray you won’t miss any either as the Lord has so many gifts to shower upon you too.