"Change and decay in all around I see;  O, Thou who changest not, abide with me."  Amen.

          The Word of the Lord grows, and where it grows, the Lord Jesus is present and at work.  Where the Word of the Lord grows, the Kingdom of God is at work, creating faith in hearts and turning lives around, changing them from selfish to selfless, from sad to glad, from loveless to loving, from faithless to faithful.

          In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast, identical stories of how the Kingdom works and how the Word of the Lord grows.  He says the Kingdom of God is like yeast in the dough, fermenting, disturbing and changing the flour until it becomes something that tastes good and is good for us.  Flour by itself could be eaten, but not easily, and it is much better with other ingredients.  Bread is not mere flour and water mixed together, but ingredients changed by the inner workings of an agent of change, a catalyst that moves the ingredients to work together in a more beneficial way.  Yeast in bread is necessary because change is necessary.

          So it is with the church.  As I become a bit older, I'd like to think I'm also becoming a bit wiser, but I have to admit that's not always the case.  These days I don't like change as much as I once did.  I used to welcome it, seek it, and almost nurture it, but now it's become more unsettling.  I love the familiar and am skeptical of some new things.  I know change is not, as some think, an enemy.  It's just not as exciting as it once was.

          But that doesn't make it any less needful.  If I am getting older, chances are I'm also getting more set in my ways, and that's not always good.  There's nothing wrong with hanging on to those good things we value, things that work and are proven.  But when we hang on to an unhealthy attitude, to our pride rather than humility, then we definitely need some change.  When we hold to the old just because it's old, we're not being wise, just pig-headed.

          No matter how old we are, we don't have all the answers.  No matter how long something has been done a certain way, time alone doesn't make it right for every succeeding age.  Only how an idea or activity measures up against the ultimate Truth, Jesus Christ, does it become right and good.  Only how it compares to the love and forgiveness earned for us on the Cross will it have eternal value.  If even the most time-proved idea no longer has merit, then it's time for change.

          I grew up loving my mother's bread.  It was a mainstay of our life back then.  She bought flour in fifty pound sacks and made bread at least once a week, usually starting late in the afternoon.  She'd get out the big mixing bowls on the kitchen table, set out the ingredients of flour, milk, salt, sugar, and, of course, yeast.  She'd mix it all up and knead the dough a few times.  Just before going to bed, she'd punch it down once more and cover it with damp towels.  And the next morning she'd punch it down again;  then she'd shape it into loaves or rolls, put it into pans and bake it in the oven.  It was delicious, a wonderful memory I can still taste.  No other bread was as good as Mom's.  Two friends and I once ate five loaves of fresh bread - three of us ate five loaves! - with butter and jam and coffee on a memorable weekday afternoon.

          But you know what?  We don't make bread that way any more.  And it's not because we've found a better way, but because we needed a faster way.  Look at all the time it took her, all the steps of preparing, mixing, kneading, shaping and baking.  Talk about labor-intensive!  Today the few folks who make their own bread toss the ingredients into a $200 bread machine, punch a button and come back two hours later to a completed loaf.  Things have really changed, mostly because we no longer take the time to do it that way.  And besides, some of us have found that the "staff of life," whether home-made or store-bought, isn't good for our waist lines.  Even the best of things do change!

          Like yeast in bread, the Word of the Lord changes lives and it changes the Church.  There was once a time when the basis of our Lutheran Church was a rural church and its members were rural people.  But no more.  There was once a time when you could go from one Lutheran church to another and worship with basically the same liturgy and the same hymnal, but no more.  There was once a time when Vacation Bible Schools were bursting with kids, but no more.  There was once a brief Lutheran "golden age" when there was a calmness and a time of tremendous growth, but no more.  There was even once a time when pastors could differ on theology and practice and still respect each other's points of view, but, sadly, that time has become a thing of the past.

          Why?  Is this only because of sin?  Yes, there's plenty of that to go around.  I also believe all this is happening because the Word of God is an agent of change that won't let us be complacent.

          The Word of the Lord grows, and as it does, it changes people and churches.  Of course, not all the change is good.  We must filter it through the unchangeable Gospel of Jesus Christ.  What our Lord did on the cross for the world is not subject to change.  There is no other Gospel, no other way to heaven than through faith in Jesus Christ.  His death and resurrection will always be due to sin, even our ever-changing ways to sin, our incredible ability to find new ways to do wrong.  Life has not changed so much that we no longer need a Savior.  "Only the fool says in his heart, there is no God." (Psalm 14:1)   And only the fool says sin is a thing of the past.

          But change has come, and change will continue to come.  Only the fool believes you can turn the clock backwards to the glory days of post-WWII when every church bulged at the seams.  Nor can we turn the clock back to the sixties when radical change brought us more problems than solutions.  Nor would we want to turn the clock back to the eighties when complacency and greed motivated so many and churches became stagnant.  Friends, those days are gone, and we will never see them again.  And that's good because we live today, when the Word of the Lord is growing and changing lives all over the world.

          We must look to where the Gospel is doing its work.  It's not just here in America, but in Africa, China, Asia, Russia, India and Eastern Europe.  The Word of the Lord is growing in the hearts of a lot more non-Americans than just us Yanks.  We may sense stagnancy here at home, but out there the Holy Spirit is moving in mysterious ways to perform the wonders of God.

          Today's text is a changeless word about rapidly changing times in the early church.  Luke records, "When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord;  and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.  The word of the Lord spread through the whole region."  It was a time when the Holy Spirit was moving people away from the old and into a new and vibrant relationship with God.  It was a time when traditionalists were fighting novelists.  And it wasn't Jews against Christians - it was Christians against Christians!

          The early church was mostly converted Jews.  The disciples were Jews and the first believers were Jews.  Because they had a long tradition of Judaism, they naturally believed everyone should become like they were, Christians who follow Jewish rules.  If you wanted to become a believer, you must first submit to certain rules and regs.  You don't eat certain foods or hang around with certain peoples.  If you're a male, you had to be circumcised, and if female, you had to undergo rituals of purification.  Only then could you become an official follower of Jesus Christ.

          But the apostle Paul said no, it is wrong to force Gentiles to follow old Jewish ways.  Any man, woman or child can come straight to God without running the gauntlet of tradition.  All you need is faith that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God who rose again from the dead.  You need not submit to anyone except Him.  It was simple to be a Christian, so simple, some thought it wrong!

          Only Apostles should teach the Bible or it would lead to confusion!  How could they be sure these new converts would interpret the Word rightly?  How could new converts know how to worship correctly, that they wouldn't introduce modern music or stringed instruments or dance or new liturgy?  They believed it would be foolish to let the Holy Spirit take charge of His church.  God needed trained people to make sure it was done right, and don't you forget it!

          But the Word of the Lord was growing, like yeast in the dough, creating faith and changing lives.  It was fermenting, disturbing and molding the tiny new church into a creation of God, not of men.  It was led by divine power, not By-Laws or resolutions.  The hopeless were receiving hope, the sick were being healed, the rich were sharing with the poor, the selfish were becoming selfless, and those possessed by demons of power and lust were submitting to the One Authority, Jesus Christ.  In short, they were letting the Holy Spirit do His work and build His church.  So, my friends, should we!

          Dear people, this is not "our church", nor is it Luther's church.  It is the Lord's church.  Yes, it's Lutheran in character, and so we do things in a certain way and keep watch for error.  But regardless of what we call it, God will build His church His way.  We are servants in the Vineyard, not owners of the field.  So, may we members and all our leaders have the grace to accept this.  May God give us all the courage to let go, to let God be God, and let Word of the Lord grow.

          "Change and decay in all around I see;  O, Thou who changest not, abide with me."  Amen.

Copyright © 2002 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.