Devotion on 2 Kings 23:1-3
School Service: St. Mark's & St. John's
October 15, 1997
(Pastor Karl Walther)
Saint Mark's, Watertown
Rededication of our Church Building
Say, I was wondering: did you notice anything different in our church since the last time you were worshiping here?
(This is the time to let the kids remark regarding the new carpeting, the new padding on the pews, the new lights, the new paint, and the newly cleaned brick and the new roof on the outside of the church. As they do so, I will repeat, I will elaborate, and I will especially point out that disrepair of what was old made repairing and renewing necessary.)
That's right, when things get old in this sinful world, we need to repair and replace them. It was the same with our heating and cooling system: the furnace got old, and it needed replacing. It was the same with our sound system: it got old, and it needed repairing and replacing.
Reformation of our Lutheran Church
And the same thing happens not only to church buildings, but also to churches-- to the groups of people that attend churches in church buildings. That happened to our churches almost five hundred years ago. Back then, people's sinfulness led them to think that they needed to work their way to heaven, rather than trusting Christ. Back then, people's sinfulness led them to think they needed to listen to the pope in Rome, rather than listening to Christ.
And you might remember that this month we celebrate the way God corrected that: through a man named Martin Luther. Martin Luther read his Bible, and he learned anew that we needed to trust Jesus in order to get to heaven. Martin Luther read his Bible, and he learned anew that we needed to listen to Jesus in order to be right with God.
Renewal of God's Covenant by Josiah
Well, something very similar to the rededication of our church, and something very similar to the Reformation of our Lutheran Church, took place some six hundred years before Jesus' time, too. And I'd like to tell you about that this morning.
Back at that time, six hundred years or so before Christ, God's people didn't live all over the world, the way they do today. They lived in the land of Judah. And back at that time Judah was ruled by a series of twenty kings. Eight of those kings were good, and twelve of those kings were bad.
Now just lately, a very bad king had ruled God's people of Judah. His name was Manasseh. Here's some of what the Bible says about Manasseh: Manasseh reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he build altars to all the starry hosts. He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple. It would have been like us putting images of false gods in this building!
But after that, God sent a very good king to rule his people Judah. His name was Josiah. Josiah set about to clean up the temple. As he did so, he found a book-- very likely a book of the Bible, our book of Deuteronomy. He read the book, and he discovered: Great is the LORD's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book.
And here's what Josiah did. The Bible says:
Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He sent word to all the leaders of all the families in his realm. He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests who worked in the temple and the prophets whose words proclaimed the Lord of the temple-- all the people from the least to the greatest, youngest to oldest.
He, the king himself, read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, that book of Deuteronomy, like I said, which had been found in the temple of the LORD.
The king stood by the pillar. There were two of those pillars at the entrance to the temple. They were right about the size of the pillars here in our church. But they were covered in bronze-- the same shiny material that's on the steeple of our church outside. Josiah stood by one of them like this.
And Josiah renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD. Here's what that means: he promised to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. And not only did Josiah promise to do this, but all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. The true Lord had drawn them to follow him!
Repentance on the Part of our Individual Hearts
So, there you have it. Because of this sinfulness in this world, our church building got old; in honor of Jesus, we had to repair it. Because of the sinfulness in this world, the church was off track; in honor of Jesus, Martin Luther worked to correct that. Because of the sinfulness in this world, God's Old Testament people went astray and the temple was a mess; in honor of Jesus, King Josiah worked to correct that.
Do we still have a problem with sinfulness today? (Yes!) Yes, in fact: every day, many times a day, we sin. We'd rather play than do homework. Or our mind wanders during the day's Bible lesson. Or we misbehave for our teacher. Or we misbehave for our parents. And we need God to straighten that out for us.
Well, God did straighten that out for us! How did he do it? (Jesus!) Yes, in fact: that's why we have Jesus front and center in church. He obeyed God perfectly for us. (I point to the painting of Jesus praying in Gethsemane.) He died for our sins. (I point to the carving of Christ on the cross.) And he rose again to declare us innocent. (I point to the painting of Jesus appearing to Mary.)
And God keeps telling us about Jesus. What's this? (A baptismal font.) By your baptism, God caused you to put your confidence in Christ. (I point to Christ on the cross.) And what do you suppose we will put on this table? (Lord's Supper.) By Lord's Supper, God will keep feeding your faith through the good news of Jesus. (I point to Christ on the cross.) And what happens here? (The pastor preaches from the pulpit.) By God's Word, God will continue your confidence in Christ. (I point to Christ on the cross.)
And that's why, whether your school is Saint John's or Saint Mark's, or whether your church is Saint Mark's or Saint John's, you'll want to keep heading there. There you'll hear the Bible. And there you will keep your trusting in Jesus your Savior. Amen.