In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     Have you ever thought about how much your soul might be worth?

     Pr. Dave Baese shared with me an article in a recent Wall Street Journal newspaper, about a 25 year old young man, an atheist and recent DePaul University graduate, who put his soul up for auction on eBay. Now, at first glance, that sounds kind of like the blues player who sold his soul to the devil, just to be the greatest blues player ever. But you have to read the article to really understand what it was that the young man was after. It sounds bizarre, of course-young man sells his soul on eBay, eventually getting $504-presumably, for his soul. But that's not really what was being bought and sold-not really the man's soul. More than that, he was selling his time. Because what the man offered, was for each $10 of the final bid, he would attend an hour of church services in the church, synagogue or services of the bidder's choosing. And why do this? Because the young man felt he was missing something by not being religious-so, if someone was willing to bid for his time in religious services, he was willing to give the bidder the chance to change the young man's life, by exposing him to religion. As it has turned out, the winning bidder, rather, told the young man to visit 10 to 15 churches, and then write about it-reflecting on what these varied church services look like, from a non-believer's-an outsider's viewpoint. And that's that the young man has been doing. He's been visiting a variety of churches, in a variety of denominations, and then he's kept a journal of sorts, of his impression of the worship service, the style, the sermon, the church building, the people. So, after all, this young man is not really selling his soul to the highest bidder on eBay, as it sounds in the headline of the newspaper-even as an atheist, he's searching for God-and auctioning his soul, was simply a way to get some help in pointing him in the right direction-and thankfully, the winning bidder sent the young man, to churches-to worship services. Which has had me thinking-if we were atheists involved in such a search--what would we see, in most churches, and what should we see in most churches?

     Now, I know that this is one place where I could get myself into trouble. Certainly, we want people, believers and non-believers alike, to see certain things when they come to Saint Luke's. In Lutheran churches, the central focus has been-altar, pulpit, and baptismal font. In Lutheran churches, historically, the choir has not been the focus, nor has the pastor, nor has the organ, been the central focus. And there are reasons for this focus-reasons that are shared with Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, and many other Christian traditions. Churches ought to be intentional about why our churches are designed the way they are, and why each individual church is arranged in certain ways-it ought to reflect who we are, and why we're here, as a worshipping community. And granted, not all Lutheran churches, and not all other worshipping communities have church buildings like ours. But if you think about it-that's not really what we want visitors to our churches to see-the chancel arrangement; the building style. Oh, those can communicate certain things about a particular church, as well they should. But if this young atheist were to visit Saint Luke's on any given Sunday, what I would want him to remember, upon leaving, would not be, the altar and pulpit-would not be the location of the Baptismal Font, or the choir, or the organ. What I would want anyone coming here to experience-to "see" if you will-is first, and foremost, and above everything else-Jesus, lifted up on the cross! And I don't mean, necessarily, the crucifix, literally. Some churches have crucifixes, and some churches have so-called "empty crosses", and today, some churches have no crosses at all. But still, any congregation-any Christian community, can preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified-and that, is what we all-as Christians, ought to put forward, for all to see when they come into our churches-not the pastor's great preaching, not the fancy choir robes, not the well-choreographed acolytes, not the tastefully appointed welcoming areas, not the highest tech sound equipment. When visitors come to any church, what we have to present, and really the only thing we have to present, that will save souls, and cause people to be born again, and bring them to eternal life, is Jesus Christ, and Him, crucified! None of the other trappings or accoutrements, or arrangements can do that-nothing but, Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of the world. Which is exactly what Jesus is saying, in our gospel lesson today.

     Our passage is part of the encounter Jesus had with Nicodemus, himself a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews-who came to Jesus to discuss the whole notion of how one is saved. Jesus tries to put it in earthy, biological terms that anyone could understand, teaching Nicodemus about being born again, or born anew, by water and the Spirit, just as one is born the first time out of the water of the mother's womb. But Nicodemus can't seem to understand this second birth. Finally, apparently frustrated, Jesus says, "if I tell you earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you understand heavenly things?" And then, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus using an image that any Pharisee and teacher of Scripture should understand. Jesus reminds Nicodemus of the Israelites, wandering in the desert wilderness, grumbling and grousing against God and Moses for bringing them out of Egypt to this forsaken place-and the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people to punish them. And then, God provides a means for salvation-a means for deliverance from death by snakebite, as God tells Moses to make a fiery serpent of bronze, put it on a pole, so that any who would look, in faith, upon the serpent, would live. And then Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that every one who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life."

     In the simplest terms possible, Jesus makes it clear to Nicodemus, and to us, that salvation comes simply, by looking to, and believing in, Jesus, the Son of Man, lifted up on the cross. Just as the problem for the Israelites was poisonous serpents, and the means for salvation was the lifting up of a serpent-so also, because the problem for us, is our own sinful humanity, the means for our salvation is a man-the Son of Man, being lifted up-so that all who look to Him, may live! Here, Jesus is foretelling His own death on the cross, and He is calling all people to look to Him, and live! Jesus is saying that there is salvation in no one else-and there is nothing else you need to do-but look to Him-to receive the gift of life, and eternal life. St. Paul proclaims the same thing in our reading from Ephesians, where he writes, "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.for by grace you have been saved through faith-and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God." This is the good news-the Gospel, and it is this that we are to proclaim, and only this which we are to proclaim-Jesus Christ, lifted up on the cross-Jesus Christ, given by God the Father, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life. Martin Luther says these words "flow like milk and honey, because they are words which are able to make the sad happy, the dead alive, when the heart believes them firmly".

     The truth is, we Christians, and we Christian churches, have nothing else to offer, the unbeliever, the atheist, the seeker, than this Jesus, the Son of God, and the gift of God, given that the world might be saved through Him. Which is why it is Jesus, and Him alone, that every church must present, in our own way, in our own words, in our own style-but presented still, as the Son of Man, lifted up on the cross, that whoever looks to Him, may have eternal life. Because presenting Jesus as a great philosopher; presenting Jesus as a great teacher; presenting Jesus as a moral guide-will not save souls. Just as looking to Jesus as a great philosopher, looking to Jesus for His great teachings; looking to Jesus to learn moral behavior alone, will not save you. To have eternal life, we look to Jesus lifted up on the cross, as the Savior of the World; to have eternal life, we look to Jesus, dying on the cross, believing that in Him, we may not perish, but live, now and forever. And just as any church can proclaim Christ and Him crucified, any church must proclaim Christ, and Him crucified-that the world might be saved, through Him!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.