TEXT: Luke 11:27b-28
“a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” 28 But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (NKJV)
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear Robyn and Randy (Willard’s children), Fern, Clifford, Maxine; other family, and friends of Willard;
Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This morning you gather together for two primary purposes. First you come together as those who mourn the death of father, a brother, and a friend. I pray that you have come to this service to hear the Gospel. This morning you will sing the Gospel in the hymn, speak it in the liturgy, and hear it proclaimed in this sermon. I suppose there are other things that you could do to try to ease the pain of mourning, but none of them compare to the comfort given to us in the Gospel of our dear Savior, Jesus.
The second purpose for which you gather is to properly care for the earthly remains of Willard. And how is it that you do this properly? It is done with the resurrection in mind. Because the Scriptures teach that at the End of the Age there will be a resurrection of the dead, you bury Willard’s body, knowing that it will rest until Christ comes again on the Last Day.
The text chosen is Luke 11:28 where Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” This verse was given to Willard on the day he was confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church on March 26, 2008.
Jesus spoke these words after He had driven a demon out of a man (v.14). The demon had caused the man to be a mute… he couldn’t talk. Many people today would laugh at such silly nonsense. “You mean to tell me pastor that you believe that people were (and are) actually possessed by demons?” Yes. It’s true. No it wasn’t some psychological disorder… or some strange illness that was later explained away by modern science. Demons had a diabolical way of entering people and causing them no end of misery. And demons especially love to possess Christians. If they can keep a Chrsitian’s mouth shut, then that’s one of God’s children that won’t be able to confess Jesus as Savior.
But Jesus is the Son of God… and demons can’t mess with him. The Scriptures record no end of times where Jesus spoke to demons and they had no choice but to obey him.
The people who saw it were amazed that Jesus spoke with such authority that demons would run at the sound of his voice. But some tried to discredit Him. They would say, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons he is driving out demons. But Jesus shut them up to when He said, “… I drive demons out by the finger of God.”
One woman who saw Jesus’ miracle cried to Jesus, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” How true that is… Mary, the mother of Jesus was certainly a blessed woman. Blessed in this sense: That even while she was a sinful human being God chose her to be the mother of the sinless Son of God… and even more that her own Son would die for her that she might have everlasting life.
Baptism has often been described as an exorcism… as a driving out of demons. “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son…” Col 1:13. On Oct. 3, 1947 Willard was baptized in his home. He wasn’t quite yet two weeks old but his parents knew that Willard was born a sinner… a child of Satan and in need of the Sacrament of Baptism. On that day Willard was declared to be demon-free and was brought into the kingdom of the Son..
Fourteen years later, Willard was confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church. On that day, the pastor asked him these question, “Do you this day, in the presence of God and of this Christian congregation, confirm the solemn covenant which at your Baptism you made wit the Triune God? Do you, then, renounce the Devil and all His works and all his ways?” And to these Willard answered, “I do.” Then Willard was asked, “Do you also, as a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, intend to continue steadfast in the confession of this Church, and suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?” And to that Willard responded, “I do so intend with the help of God.”
When Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” He means to say, “Blessed are those who hear my words and believe them. Blessed are those who are baptized. Blessed are those who confess me before men in the rite of confirmation.” Willard never denied the faith once given to him and the faith that he confessed in the rite of confirmation.
Willard will be remembered for many things. His love for cars and horses. He loved NASCAR and rooted for #24 Jeff Gordon. His generosity in mowing the lawn for his neighbors and shoveling their snow in the winters. He was quite the gardener and always had fresh produce. He loved to make watermelon bowls for friends and family. He taught Robyn how to ride a bike. He liked music, especially Dire Strait’s “Walk of Life.” He was a loving father and brother.
And while it is good to remember the earthly life of Willard let us not forget that it isn’t generosity, goodness, or sincerity that wins anyone salvation. When it comes to the gift of life eternal, these things matter very little. For the Scriptures declare that the blessed man is the one who hears the word of God and Keeps it. To “Keep” means to “BELIEVE it.”
And to believe simply means to know, to trust, and to hold fast to Jesus Christ alone. To cling to His innocent sufferings and death alone… Nothing else.
To those who keep the Word of God in this way, God gives the blessing of eternal life, the blessing of the resurrection of the body, and the gift of heaven.
God grant it for Jesus’ sake! Amen.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sermon - Last Sunday of the Church Year
TEXT: Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Some people are procrastinators. They like to put things off. “Never do today what can be put of until tomorrow.” But what happens when tomorrow comes sooner than you expected?
Jesus said, “the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.” 5 were wise and 5 were fools (lit. morons). It’s a parable about the End of Time. The coming Again of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. He’s coming for His Bride, the Church…. But His return will be the time that no one expects. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Five of the virgins took their lamps but were foolish because they took no oil with them. What good is a lamp without oil?
Their lack of oil is only an indication of a bigger problem…. Unbelief. This is what God’s Word says about Fools… “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile… Psalm 14.
But all ten are virgins? Virginity is a word that implies purity… not corruption… not vile deeds. How can some be foolish?
Yes all 10 are virgins. Understand it this way. The 10 virgins are those who claim a Christian church affiliation. The ten virgins are those whom you and I assume to be Christians. They are baptized. Just as a bride wears a white gown so they were given the robe of Christ’s righteousness. Many of them confirmed. Most of them are regular in church. Practically all of them wish to be married and buried at the church.
But not every virgin is a virgin. Not every so called “Christian” is a “Christian.” Some who bear the name of Christian are fools and some are wise.
And wisdom does not mean book smart. It has nothing to do with your IQ or your achievement test scores or how well you did or didn’t do in school. The brightest and the best even get straight “F’s” the Lord’s report card. In Matthew 7 the wise man is the one who builds his house upon the rock. Jesus is the rock. St. Paul told Timothy, “from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The wise person is the person who has faith in Jesus Christ. The one who daily remembers his baptism. The one who rejoices to hear, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirirt.” Now, that’s wisdom!
The wise will endure persecution and false accusation for being wise. Can you imagine how foolish and moronic the 5 wise virgins looked carrying around all that extra oil? “Why do you need all that? Do you really believe the Bridegroom will come. You’re so gullible. Your Bridegroom still hasn’t come, has He? He’s not coming. There’s not going to be a wedding feast! Get over it!”
“AT midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him.’”
The Bridegroom will come just as he promised. It will seem as if he’s procrastinating, that he’s long in coming. But he will come. It will be as a thief in the night. Unexpectantly.
Those who have prepared themselves have no need to fear the day of his coming… (just as the farmer who has carefully planned for the winter wind and snow) but woe to those who are not ready. For them it will be as those foolish virgins who had no oil. They day that they blew off finally came. The Lord had sent servants to warn them and to prepare them. But they laughed at them. Made fun of them. But the Lord Himself will come and then it will be too late.
In that Final day, there will be no more oil to find. The door to the eternal wedding banquet will be shut. They will be excluded. “Lord, Lord, open to us!” will be their cry. But He will answer, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”
Now is the day to prepare. Do not tarry. Don’t be a proscratinator. It’s a matter of eternal life or eternal death.
Listen carefully dear friends, the last days are here. The wedding feast is nearer than it was. When Jesus comes on the Last Day the oil will be taken away and it won’t be found. Don’t run to find it then, it will be too late. The dealers, that is Christ’s servants, will have none to give you. The goats will be separated from the sheep. The sky will roll up. The global earthquake will have begun, the sun will be darkened and the earth will pass away. ALL in an instant.
On that Great day there will be no more oil… no more means of grace… no more preaching, or baptisms, or Lord’s Supper. But the oil of salvation is still available. It is free and comes in large supplies. It was bought at a price… the holy precious suffering and death of your Lord. It’s given for you and Jesus wants you to have it… as much as you want… even more than you want! That oil is the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. It is a soothing oil, an anointing oil, the oil of gladness and of joy. It comes in Holy Baptism, in Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. The Bridegroom brings his oil of salvation to you. Receive it! Bask in it! Let your cup overflow with it! Gather it up! Rejoice and be glad in it!
In Jesus Name! Amen.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Some people are procrastinators. They like to put things off. “Never do today what can be put of until tomorrow.” But what happens when tomorrow comes sooner than you expected?
Jesus said, “the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.” 5 were wise and 5 were fools (lit. morons). It’s a parable about the End of Time. The coming Again of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. He’s coming for His Bride, the Church…. But His return will be the time that no one expects. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Five of the virgins took their lamps but were foolish because they took no oil with them. What good is a lamp without oil?
Their lack of oil is only an indication of a bigger problem…. Unbelief. This is what God’s Word says about Fools… “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile… Psalm 14.
But all ten are virgins? Virginity is a word that implies purity… not corruption… not vile deeds. How can some be foolish?
Yes all 10 are virgins. Understand it this way. The 10 virgins are those who claim a Christian church affiliation. The ten virgins are those whom you and I assume to be Christians. They are baptized. Just as a bride wears a white gown so they were given the robe of Christ’s righteousness. Many of them confirmed. Most of them are regular in church. Practically all of them wish to be married and buried at the church.
But not every virgin is a virgin. Not every so called “Christian” is a “Christian.” Some who bear the name of Christian are fools and some are wise.
And wisdom does not mean book smart. It has nothing to do with your IQ or your achievement test scores or how well you did or didn’t do in school. The brightest and the best even get straight “F’s” the Lord’s report card. In Matthew 7 the wise man is the one who builds his house upon the rock. Jesus is the rock. St. Paul told Timothy, “from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The wise person is the person who has faith in Jesus Christ. The one who daily remembers his baptism. The one who rejoices to hear, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirirt.” Now, that’s wisdom!
The wise will endure persecution and false accusation for being wise. Can you imagine how foolish and moronic the 5 wise virgins looked carrying around all that extra oil? “Why do you need all that? Do you really believe the Bridegroom will come. You’re so gullible. Your Bridegroom still hasn’t come, has He? He’s not coming. There’s not going to be a wedding feast! Get over it!”
“AT midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him.’”
The Bridegroom will come just as he promised. It will seem as if he’s procrastinating, that he’s long in coming. But he will come. It will be as a thief in the night. Unexpectantly.
Those who have prepared themselves have no need to fear the day of his coming… (just as the farmer who has carefully planned for the winter wind and snow) but woe to those who are not ready. For them it will be as those foolish virgins who had no oil. They day that they blew off finally came. The Lord had sent servants to warn them and to prepare them. But they laughed at them. Made fun of them. But the Lord Himself will come and then it will be too late.
In that Final day, there will be no more oil to find. The door to the eternal wedding banquet will be shut. They will be excluded. “Lord, Lord, open to us!” will be their cry. But He will answer, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”
Now is the day to prepare. Do not tarry. Don’t be a proscratinator. It’s a matter of eternal life or eternal death.
Listen carefully dear friends, the last days are here. The wedding feast is nearer than it was. When Jesus comes on the Last Day the oil will be taken away and it won’t be found. Don’t run to find it then, it will be too late. The dealers, that is Christ’s servants, will have none to give you. The goats will be separated from the sheep. The sky will roll up. The global earthquake will have begun, the sun will be darkened and the earth will pass away. ALL in an instant.
On that Great day there will be no more oil… no more means of grace… no more preaching, or baptisms, or Lord’s Supper. But the oil of salvation is still available. It is free and comes in large supplies. It was bought at a price… the holy precious suffering and death of your Lord. It’s given for you and Jesus wants you to have it… as much as you want… even more than you want! That oil is the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. It is a soothing oil, an anointing oil, the oil of gladness and of joy. It comes in Holy Baptism, in Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. The Bridegroom brings his oil of salvation to you. Receive it! Bask in it! Let your cup overflow with it! Gather it up! Rejoice and be glad in it!
In Jesus Name! Amen.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sermon - Trinity 26
Text: Matthew 25:31-46
Several years ago I received a subpoena to be a witness at a divorce hearing. It was a sobering experience.
A man and a woman who had stood before God and His church and had promised to love each other in adversity and prosperity until death do they part; were reneging on their promise. As each one told their story, it was clear that there was no longer any love left in their marriage. They hated each other. And as I listened something else became clear… both were to blame. Both had contributed to the problems in their marriage. There was no “innocent party.”
The judge listened carefully to both sides. Each lawyer was cut throat. When the wife’s lawyer announced one failure after another of her husband… she gleamed with a sinister joy that seemed to say, “I’ve got him now.” And when the husband’s lawyer had his turn he had an equally impressive list of wrongdoings… and he too rejoiced to see his wife ripped apart by her failures.
Also present were three little boys (K, 2nd and 4th grades). The judge had a decision to make. Who would get primary custody of the boys? So he asked the oldest, “If it were up to you son, who would live with?”
“I love them both,” the little boy said. “But Mommy and Daddy have been so busy fighting they haven’t paid any attention to me or my brothers. I have to make all of our lunches for school. I even tried doing the laundry but I put to much soap in and all of our underwear has turned pink. Mommy and Daddy sit in opposite rooms and they don’t sleep together. But us three boys have to share the same bedroom even when we’re not getting along. I love them both sir. But to tell you the truth, I don’t know that I would want to live with either one of them.”
How sad The two were so focused on tearing down each other that they did not minister to their own children. They did not serve (they had no mercy for) the children that God had given to them. In the end, not only was there a divorce between a man and a woman… but the children had become divorced from their own parents.
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
What I find most amazing about this apocalyptic judgment scene that will come on the Last Day (and is even happening now) is that both the righteous sheep and the cursed goats asked the same question, “When Lord?”
The righteous asked, “When Lord did we feed you or give you something to drink? When did we welcome you or clothe you? When did we visit you?” They were completely unaware of their good works. You see, for the sheep it is like this… they live the passive life. God works so mightily and lovingly through these faith-filled sheep even while they are completely unaware that when they served even the least of the sons and daughters of God, they were also serving Christ Himself.
And the unrighteous will ask the same oblivious question, “When Lord? When did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?” They too are unaware. But their ignorance is founded in their unbelief. Oh they may have been good moral people. They may have donated plenty of money to this or that charity, served soup to the poor and needy on Thanksgiving Day and gone Christmas caroling to shut-ins. Their list of good deeds might be a mile long… but none of them… not a single one was done to Jesus. Simple morality will not get you into heaven. That’s the point.
Jesus the righteous King will come in His glory on the Last Day. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven.” It will be the day of the Great Divorce. That Day will be a day of divorcing sheep from goats… righteous from unrighteous. It will be a day of judgment… a final verdict. In this life the righteous feebly struggle but after the Great Divorce they will in glory shine.
Therefore, dear sheep, since you are waiting for this Great and Final Divorce of yourselves from the goats, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
On that Day, a eulogy will be read on your behalf. They will be sweet and kind words. Jesus, your Shepherd will speak them on your behalf. He will stand as both your Good Pastor and King. You will know His voice. You will see His holy, precious wounds for you. You will know Him and He will know you. He will recognize you as one to whom He has clothed in a baptismal gown… a robe of righteousness. He will know you because he has fed you all these years with His own Body and Blood. He will know you who have confessed your sins and been forgiven.
On the Day of the Great Divorce the unrighteous goats will weep and gnash their teeth to hear their verdict. “Guilty! Get away from me and go into eternal punishment.”
But for the His righteous sheep there will be only joy and everlasting peace. The King has declared you justified, not guilty. To you he will say, “Come into eternal life.”
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Several years ago I received a subpoena to be a witness at a divorce hearing. It was a sobering experience.
A man and a woman who had stood before God and His church and had promised to love each other in adversity and prosperity until death do they part; were reneging on their promise. As each one told their story, it was clear that there was no longer any love left in their marriage. They hated each other. And as I listened something else became clear… both were to blame. Both had contributed to the problems in their marriage. There was no “innocent party.”
The judge listened carefully to both sides. Each lawyer was cut throat. When the wife’s lawyer announced one failure after another of her husband… she gleamed with a sinister joy that seemed to say, “I’ve got him now.” And when the husband’s lawyer had his turn he had an equally impressive list of wrongdoings… and he too rejoiced to see his wife ripped apart by her failures.
Also present were three little boys (K, 2nd and 4th grades). The judge had a decision to make. Who would get primary custody of the boys? So he asked the oldest, “If it were up to you son, who would live with?”
“I love them both,” the little boy said. “But Mommy and Daddy have been so busy fighting they haven’t paid any attention to me or my brothers. I have to make all of our lunches for school. I even tried doing the laundry but I put to much soap in and all of our underwear has turned pink. Mommy and Daddy sit in opposite rooms and they don’t sleep together. But us three boys have to share the same bedroom even when we’re not getting along. I love them both sir. But to tell you the truth, I don’t know that I would want to live with either one of them.”
How sad The two were so focused on tearing down each other that they did not minister to their own children. They did not serve (they had no mercy for) the children that God had given to them. In the end, not only was there a divorce between a man and a woman… but the children had become divorced from their own parents.
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
What I find most amazing about this apocalyptic judgment scene that will come on the Last Day (and is even happening now) is that both the righteous sheep and the cursed goats asked the same question, “When Lord?”
The righteous asked, “When Lord did we feed you or give you something to drink? When did we welcome you or clothe you? When did we visit you?” They were completely unaware of their good works. You see, for the sheep it is like this… they live the passive life. God works so mightily and lovingly through these faith-filled sheep even while they are completely unaware that when they served even the least of the sons and daughters of God, they were also serving Christ Himself.
And the unrighteous will ask the same oblivious question, “When Lord? When did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?” They too are unaware. But their ignorance is founded in their unbelief. Oh they may have been good moral people. They may have donated plenty of money to this or that charity, served soup to the poor and needy on Thanksgiving Day and gone Christmas caroling to shut-ins. Their list of good deeds might be a mile long… but none of them… not a single one was done to Jesus. Simple morality will not get you into heaven. That’s the point.
Jesus the righteous King will come in His glory on the Last Day. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven.” It will be the day of the Great Divorce. That Day will be a day of divorcing sheep from goats… righteous from unrighteous. It will be a day of judgment… a final verdict. In this life the righteous feebly struggle but after the Great Divorce they will in glory shine.
Therefore, dear sheep, since you are waiting for this Great and Final Divorce of yourselves from the goats, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
On that Day, a eulogy will be read on your behalf. They will be sweet and kind words. Jesus, your Shepherd will speak them on your behalf. He will stand as both your Good Pastor and King. You will know His voice. You will see His holy, precious wounds for you. You will know Him and He will know you. He will recognize you as one to whom He has clothed in a baptismal gown… a robe of righteousness. He will know you because he has fed you all these years with His own Body and Blood. He will know you who have confessed your sins and been forgiven.
On the Day of the Great Divorce the unrighteous goats will weep and gnash their teeth to hear their verdict. “Guilty! Get away from me and go into eternal punishment.”
But for the His righteous sheep there will be only joy and everlasting peace. The King has declared you justified, not guilty. To you he will say, “Come into eternal life.”
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tribulation and White Robes
TEXT: Revelation 7:14
I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Tribulation. It means to press down upon, to squash, to afflict, to oppress, to constrict, to distress, or to suffer.
Tribulation is that which goes on in a fallen, sin-sick world. Tribulation is vicious. It’s nasty. It’s real and it loves Christians.
Tribulation is the motto of the devil. Tribulation is the purpose of the demons. And you are the object of tribulation. It’s you… it’s the Christian that the devil especially wants to squash and afflict and oppress.
Look around you… you know tribulation. Tribulation is starving kids in Africa and obese kids in America. Tribulation is the abortion of unborn children. Tribulation is women pastors who serve in God's stead without His command. Tribulation is preachers who falsely tell you how to live a good enough life to get to heaven. Tribulation is feel good Chrsitianity that fools you into believing that Jesus is some happy clappy God promises you a life without tribulation. Tribulation is religious leaders who wrongly teach that homosexuality is intended by God as another gender.
Tribulation is the bully at school. Tribulation is parents who divorce. Tribulation is the son or daughter who’s disobedient. Tribulation is pre-confirmation students who could care less about the things of God.
Tribulation is the war in Iraq and rumors of war in Iran. Tribulation is hurricane Ike and forest fires in California. Tribulation is teenagers who die in car accidents.
Tribulation… it’s the result of sin… it’s the result of the devil… it’s the result of your own sinful flesh.
But after all of this tribulation, there is the Great Tribulation still to come. That Day will be marked by a great earthquake. The sun will not shine, the moon will appear as blood, the stars in the sky will shoot in all directions. The sky will roll up. On that Day even the Bill Gateses, the General Petraeuses and the President Bushes of this world will cry out to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?
Who can stand? Who can bear the tribulation of the end times? Who can stand the Great Tribulation of the Final Coming of the Lamb of God?
You can. You who have washed your robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb… that’s who can stand. In other words, it’s you who have been baptized… you who “have been clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all your sins. So shall you stand without fear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (LSB Agenda 9)
You who have washed your robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb will stand through the Great Tribulation. Only you with your Jesus’ robe… your Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world robe… The robe that is dripping wet with the holy precious crucified blood of Jesus. You will stand because you have been baptized.
In baptism you drowned the Old Adam and you put on Christ. In Baptism, the bloody Jesus robe of righteousness you received as a gift is a status symbol… it declares you to be a child of God, even today. The Father has put his seal on you. The sign of the cross is upon your forehead and upon your heart. You are baptized, therefore you are redeemed!
In baptism, you wear the heavenly robe, the everlasting robe, the holy robe that will never wear out. Your baptismal robe glistens white even as the angel’s did at Jesus’ resurrection. Your robe is the clothing of “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”
Your blood-soaked Lamb of God robe means that you have died with Jesus and you have been raised to newness of life. You have been clothed with the imperishable… “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O Death is your victory? Where O Death is your sting?”
Who can stand these days of tribulation and the Great Tribulation to come? You can. You who have washed your robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
In the Name of Jesus.
I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Tribulation. It means to press down upon, to squash, to afflict, to oppress, to constrict, to distress, or to suffer.
Tribulation is that which goes on in a fallen, sin-sick world. Tribulation is vicious. It’s nasty. It’s real and it loves Christians.
Tribulation is the motto of the devil. Tribulation is the purpose of the demons. And you are the object of tribulation. It’s you… it’s the Christian that the devil especially wants to squash and afflict and oppress.
Look around you… you know tribulation. Tribulation is starving kids in Africa and obese kids in America. Tribulation is the abortion of unborn children. Tribulation is women pastors who serve in God's stead without His command. Tribulation is preachers who falsely tell you how to live a good enough life to get to heaven. Tribulation is feel good Chrsitianity that fools you into believing that Jesus is some happy clappy God promises you a life without tribulation. Tribulation is religious leaders who wrongly teach that homosexuality is intended by God as another gender.
Tribulation is the bully at school. Tribulation is parents who divorce. Tribulation is the son or daughter who’s disobedient. Tribulation is pre-confirmation students who could care less about the things of God.
Tribulation is the war in Iraq and rumors of war in Iran. Tribulation is hurricane Ike and forest fires in California. Tribulation is teenagers who die in car accidents.
Tribulation… it’s the result of sin… it’s the result of the devil… it’s the result of your own sinful flesh.
But after all of this tribulation, there is the Great Tribulation still to come. That Day will be marked by a great earthquake. The sun will not shine, the moon will appear as blood, the stars in the sky will shoot in all directions. The sky will roll up. On that Day even the Bill Gateses, the General Petraeuses and the President Bushes of this world will cry out to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?
Who can stand? Who can bear the tribulation of the end times? Who can stand the Great Tribulation of the Final Coming of the Lamb of God?
You can. You who have washed your robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb… that’s who can stand. In other words, it’s you who have been baptized… you who “have been clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all your sins. So shall you stand without fear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (LSB Agenda 9)
You who have washed your robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb will stand through the Great Tribulation. Only you with your Jesus’ robe… your Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world robe… The robe that is dripping wet with the holy precious crucified blood of Jesus. You will stand because you have been baptized.
In baptism you drowned the Old Adam and you put on Christ. In Baptism, the bloody Jesus robe of righteousness you received as a gift is a status symbol… it declares you to be a child of God, even today. The Father has put his seal on you. The sign of the cross is upon your forehead and upon your heart. You are baptized, therefore you are redeemed!
In baptism, you wear the heavenly robe, the everlasting robe, the holy robe that will never wear out. Your baptismal robe glistens white even as the angel’s did at Jesus’ resurrection. Your robe is the clothing of “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”
Your blood-soaked Lamb of God robe means that you have died with Jesus and you have been raised to newness of life. You have been clothed with the imperishable… “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O Death is your victory? Where O Death is your sting?”
Who can stand these days of tribulation and the Great Tribulation to come? You can. You who have washed your robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
In the Name of Jesus.
Trinity 25 Sermon
TEXT: Matthew 24:15-28
“So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; 17 the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; 18 the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. 19 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The abomination of desolation. It’s a term of judgment. The abomination of desolation has also been referred to as the “desolating sacrilege” (RSV). The idea is that something has been made so completely shameless, repulsive, and unclean that it is judged not fit to be lived in or used… therefore it must be disposed of or abandoned. It brings to mind items such as used toilet paper or a toothbrush that has fallen into a port-a-pot tank full of waste… some things are best not reused and flushed away or left where they are.
So what is it that Jesus is referring to? What is this abomination of desolations? There are various opinions about what Jesus is referring to. Some have suggested that Jesus was referring to the attempt of a Roman Emperor, Caligula, in A.D. 40 to set up a statue of himself in the Jewish Temple. Others take it to refer to the Roman general Titus and his conquering of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. And still others presume that Jesus was referring to the end-time antichrist or “man of lawlessness.” (See Scaer, Discourses, pg. 380)
Perhaps Jesus is referring to all of these shameless and repulsive times of judgment. Yet, another possibility must be considered… that Jesus was referring to his own death on the cross.
Jesus death on the cross is certainly the abomination of desolation… the desolating sacrilege. His gruesome, shameful death was repulsive. You’ve heard the Good Friday story… you’ve seen the movies. When you think of all that happened on Good Friday, don’t you wince to hear the blow of the hammer that drove the nails into his hands and feet? Don’t you look away in horror to see and hear and even feel the pain of the Roman whips on his back? The whole thing is disgusting. It’s repulsive.
But it gets worse... on the cross Jesus bears the sin of the world. Jesus who knew no sin, became sin. Cursed is he who hangs on a tree. Jesus takes into Himself all the sin of the world. Its more than a figure of speech or theological platitude. Jesus really truly becomes the prostitute, the murderer, the idolater, the thief, the drunk driver, the sex addict, the abusive husband, the wife who sleeps around… all of it and more. That’s why the Father forsook Him… “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” Jesus really truly becomes the repulsive and shameful chief of sinners. On the cross, Jesus is the abomination of Desolation… and so his disciples flee from Him and His Father turns away from Him.
Jesus said, “Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles (vultures) will gather.” The eagle was the insignia of the Roman soldier. There on the cross, the Roman soldiers gathered around his corpse. One of them even stuck a sword in his side and out flowed water and blood. Some guarded His tomb.
Jesus death even foreshadows the Last day itself. St. Matthew records that immediately after Jesus had died, the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened and many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised… St. Mark and St. Luke add that there was darkness over the whole land from the 6th hour until the 9th hour while the sun’s light failed. So it will be on the Last Day… there will be a worldwide earthquake. The sky will roll up like freshly cut wax paper. The sun will turn black and the moon will be made red. The Crucified and risen Jesus will come with a cry of command and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will be raised first. And those who are alive to see it will then be caught up themselves with them together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.. and then you will be with the Lord forever.
Until then, there will be times of tribulation and trouble. The devil is out to get you. He won’t stop until he’s made you his own. There will be false christs and false prophets. You must test your pastors… beware of the clergy because it is these men and even women who will come to you in clerical collars wearing albs and stoles and officiating baptisms and administering the Lord’s Supper who will be liars and agents of satan. You will know them because they will not preach Christ and Him crucified…. But rather they will tell you whatever sinful ears want to hear. They will preach themselves… not Jesus…. So beware of them!
And when the last day comes, believers in Jesus will not want to look back to the fallen earth and wish that they could stay as Lot’s wife wished to stay in Sodom and Gomorrah. On the Last day, don’t worry about where the kids are, the angels will care for them. Don’t cling to your riches, you won’t need them where you’re going.
In that day rejoice to be a believer. Rejoice to be one who is baptized and who wears the heavenly robe of righteousness. Rejoice that the Lamb of God no longer bears a corpse but lives and reigns to all eternity. Rejoice that the abomination of desolation has been swallowed up in victory!
Encourage one another with these words.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
“So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; 17 the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; 18 the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. 19 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The abomination of desolation. It’s a term of judgment. The abomination of desolation has also been referred to as the “desolating sacrilege” (RSV). The idea is that something has been made so completely shameless, repulsive, and unclean that it is judged not fit to be lived in or used… therefore it must be disposed of or abandoned. It brings to mind items such as used toilet paper or a toothbrush that has fallen into a port-a-pot tank full of waste… some things are best not reused and flushed away or left where they are.
So what is it that Jesus is referring to? What is this abomination of desolations? There are various opinions about what Jesus is referring to. Some have suggested that Jesus was referring to the attempt of a Roman Emperor, Caligula, in A.D. 40 to set up a statue of himself in the Jewish Temple. Others take it to refer to the Roman general Titus and his conquering of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. And still others presume that Jesus was referring to the end-time antichrist or “man of lawlessness.” (See Scaer, Discourses, pg. 380)
Perhaps Jesus is referring to all of these shameless and repulsive times of judgment. Yet, another possibility must be considered… that Jesus was referring to his own death on the cross.
Jesus death on the cross is certainly the abomination of desolation… the desolating sacrilege. His gruesome, shameful death was repulsive. You’ve heard the Good Friday story… you’ve seen the movies. When you think of all that happened on Good Friday, don’t you wince to hear the blow of the hammer that drove the nails into his hands and feet? Don’t you look away in horror to see and hear and even feel the pain of the Roman whips on his back? The whole thing is disgusting. It’s repulsive.
But it gets worse... on the cross Jesus bears the sin of the world. Jesus who knew no sin, became sin. Cursed is he who hangs on a tree. Jesus takes into Himself all the sin of the world. Its more than a figure of speech or theological platitude. Jesus really truly becomes the prostitute, the murderer, the idolater, the thief, the drunk driver, the sex addict, the abusive husband, the wife who sleeps around… all of it and more. That’s why the Father forsook Him… “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” Jesus really truly becomes the repulsive and shameful chief of sinners. On the cross, Jesus is the abomination of Desolation… and so his disciples flee from Him and His Father turns away from Him.
Jesus said, “Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles (vultures) will gather.” The eagle was the insignia of the Roman soldier. There on the cross, the Roman soldiers gathered around his corpse. One of them even stuck a sword in his side and out flowed water and blood. Some guarded His tomb.
Jesus death even foreshadows the Last day itself. St. Matthew records that immediately after Jesus had died, the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened and many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised… St. Mark and St. Luke add that there was darkness over the whole land from the 6th hour until the 9th hour while the sun’s light failed. So it will be on the Last Day… there will be a worldwide earthquake. The sky will roll up like freshly cut wax paper. The sun will turn black and the moon will be made red. The Crucified and risen Jesus will come with a cry of command and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will be raised first. And those who are alive to see it will then be caught up themselves with them together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.. and then you will be with the Lord forever.
Until then, there will be times of tribulation and trouble. The devil is out to get you. He won’t stop until he’s made you his own. There will be false christs and false prophets. You must test your pastors… beware of the clergy because it is these men and even women who will come to you in clerical collars wearing albs and stoles and officiating baptisms and administering the Lord’s Supper who will be liars and agents of satan. You will know them because they will not preach Christ and Him crucified…. But rather they will tell you whatever sinful ears want to hear. They will preach themselves… not Jesus…. So beware of them!
And when the last day comes, believers in Jesus will not want to look back to the fallen earth and wish that they could stay as Lot’s wife wished to stay in Sodom and Gomorrah. On the Last day, don’t worry about where the kids are, the angels will care for them. Don’t cling to your riches, you won’t need them where you’re going.
In that day rejoice to be a believer. Rejoice to be one who is baptized and who wears the heavenly robe of righteousness. Rejoice that the Lamb of God no longer bears a corpse but lives and reigns to all eternity. Rejoice that the abomination of desolation has been swallowed up in victory!
Encourage one another with these words.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
All Saints Day (observed)
TEXT: Matthew 5:1-12,
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Things that are seen are not always understood. What our eyes see, our minds often cannot comprehend nor can our hearts believe.
How true this is especially for the things of God. Take the Resurrection as an example. After the women had seen the empty tomb, Peter ran to see it for himself. And looking into the tomb he “saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” (Luke 24:12) No, not believing what he saw but marveling at what he saw.
Later, on Easter Tuesday, Jesus appeared to all the disciples. He greeted them saying, “Peace be to you!” Then Jesus asked them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (24:36ff) Then Jesus showed them his hands and his feet as if to say, “Wake up you guys, can’t you see it? It’s me Jesus. I’m alive. I have arisen just I said I would.” Even so, Luke writes that even after all of this, “they still disbelieved.” (24:41) They did not, the could not believe what their eyes saw until “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Jesus preached to them… then they believed. We do not obtain faith by seeing, for “faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
Today we commemorate All Saints Day. It’s a day where you and I look with St. John, the apostle and see the victorious church, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” (Rev. 7:9)
It’s a day that we look at one another in this congregation as well as the true believers in every congregation across the face of the globe and see the holy Christian and apostolic church. In other words All Saints day is a day to behold the saints of all times and all places, both those living and those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. It is a day for all the blessed… For the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, and are reviled and persecuted and are ridiculed and falsely accused on account of Jesus. IN other words, All Saints Day is about the truth of the church militant and the church victorious. The church who is in the midst of tribulation and the church who has come out of the great tribulation.
But there’s a problem for us… namely, for those of us in the church militant, the saints who are still in the battle and in the midst of tribulation. And the problem is this… what we see and what we are to believe by faith DO NOT SEEM TO MATCH UP.
Look at the church and its saints today. It’s a bloody, embarrassing mess. Isn’t it? The immorality and public sin of the parishioners of even the most pious and upright Christian congregation is downright embarrassing. The typical unbeliever looks at the average Christian and sees men, women and children whose lives are little different from the world around them and often times even worse than their pagan counterparts. The rampant sin in the average Christian congregation has led to schisms, divisions, and quarreling. It is so bad that the Holy Bride of Christ is seen as the whore of Babylon and her holy body has been sacrificed on the lude and pornographic pages of public opinion. The holy white robes of the saints have been completely and thoroughly soaked in the bloodshed of false doctrine and infighting and bickering and henpecking among the saints themselves. Let’s be honest, if we are to believe what is most often seen going on the church, then let’s do away with All Saints’ Day.
It is this defiled, mangled, sinfully sick Church that Jesus calls blessed and makes blessed. "The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." It is the saints who come out the tribulation of the devil, the world, and even their own sinful flesh who stands before the throne of God, clothed in white robes and victoriously waving their palm branches and crying with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (that is, Jesus).”
Contrary to what the eye sees, sinners have been made holy ones. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God… beloved we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.” The devil, that ancient liar and deceiver, would love to have you forget that you are a child of God. He would love nothing better than for you to forget or doubt that Baptism now saves you. That in Baptism you have been clothed with the white robe of Christ’s righteousness. That in Baptism you have already died and have been buried with Jesus in His death and that you have already risen from the dead to live before God in righteousness and purity forever just as Christ rose on the 3rd day and now lives to all eternity.
You are blessed. You are a child of God and the Father loves you NOW in spite of yourself. You who are in Jesus are saints because Jesus is the Saint... the Holy One of God.
Let us on this All saints day gather together as saints on earth with the saints in heaven at this altar in communion with Christ and His holy Christian church… with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Things that are seen are not always understood. What our eyes see, our minds often cannot comprehend nor can our hearts believe.
How true this is especially for the things of God. Take the Resurrection as an example. After the women had seen the empty tomb, Peter ran to see it for himself. And looking into the tomb he “saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” (Luke 24:12) No, not believing what he saw but marveling at what he saw.
Later, on Easter Tuesday, Jesus appeared to all the disciples. He greeted them saying, “Peace be to you!” Then Jesus asked them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (24:36ff) Then Jesus showed them his hands and his feet as if to say, “Wake up you guys, can’t you see it? It’s me Jesus. I’m alive. I have arisen just I said I would.” Even so, Luke writes that even after all of this, “they still disbelieved.” (24:41) They did not, the could not believe what their eyes saw until “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Jesus preached to them… then they believed. We do not obtain faith by seeing, for “faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
Today we commemorate All Saints Day. It’s a day where you and I look with St. John, the apostle and see the victorious church, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” (Rev. 7:9)
It’s a day that we look at one another in this congregation as well as the true believers in every congregation across the face of the globe and see the holy Christian and apostolic church. In other words All Saints day is a day to behold the saints of all times and all places, both those living and those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. It is a day for all the blessed… For the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, and are reviled and persecuted and are ridiculed and falsely accused on account of Jesus. IN other words, All Saints Day is about the truth of the church militant and the church victorious. The church who is in the midst of tribulation and the church who has come out of the great tribulation.
But there’s a problem for us… namely, for those of us in the church militant, the saints who are still in the battle and in the midst of tribulation. And the problem is this… what we see and what we are to believe by faith DO NOT SEEM TO MATCH UP.
Look at the church and its saints today. It’s a bloody, embarrassing mess. Isn’t it? The immorality and public sin of the parishioners of even the most pious and upright Christian congregation is downright embarrassing. The typical unbeliever looks at the average Christian and sees men, women and children whose lives are little different from the world around them and often times even worse than their pagan counterparts. The rampant sin in the average Christian congregation has led to schisms, divisions, and quarreling. It is so bad that the Holy Bride of Christ is seen as the whore of Babylon and her holy body has been sacrificed on the lude and pornographic pages of public opinion. The holy white robes of the saints have been completely and thoroughly soaked in the bloodshed of false doctrine and infighting and bickering and henpecking among the saints themselves. Let’s be honest, if we are to believe what is most often seen going on the church, then let’s do away with All Saints’ Day.
It is this defiled, mangled, sinfully sick Church that Jesus calls blessed and makes blessed. "The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." It is the saints who come out the tribulation of the devil, the world, and even their own sinful flesh who stands before the throne of God, clothed in white robes and victoriously waving their palm branches and crying with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (that is, Jesus).”
Contrary to what the eye sees, sinners have been made holy ones. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God… beloved we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.” The devil, that ancient liar and deceiver, would love to have you forget that you are a child of God. He would love nothing better than for you to forget or doubt that Baptism now saves you. That in Baptism you have been clothed with the white robe of Christ’s righteousness. That in Baptism you have already died and have been buried with Jesus in His death and that you have already risen from the dead to live before God in righteousness and purity forever just as Christ rose on the 3rd day and now lives to all eternity.
You are blessed. You are a child of God and the Father loves you NOW in spite of yourself. You who are in Jesus are saints because Jesus is the Saint... the Holy One of God.
Let us on this All saints day gather together as saints on earth with the saints in heaven at this altar in communion with Christ and His holy Christian church… with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Reformation 2008
TEXT: John 8:31-36
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The year was 354 AD. A little over 300 years had passed since Jesus Christ had died on the cross and rose again. It was the year that a little baby boy by the name of Augustine was born at Tagaste in North Africa. His mother Monica was a devout Christian. But Augustine would have nothing to do with his mother’s religion. Augustine lived the life of a pagan… He had no regard for the Word of the Lord and disregarded all morality. In his youth he commited adultery with a young girl and fathered an illegitimate son.
Augustine was an excellent student and was at the top of his class. He grew up to become a famous teacher of Rhetoric. In Augustine’s day a teacher of Rhetoric was the vocation of the best and brightest men. Augustine at one point even tried reading the Scriptures, but they seemed dull to him.
But Augustine life was full of emptiness. He tried to fill the void in his life with wild and extravagant living. Eventually he came to realize that he was addicted to lust.
Augustine tried to rid himself of his slavery to lust by following the false religion of the Manicheans. The Manicheans were followers of an eastern Religion that blended Christianity with false doctrine. He sought answers in life from the most prominent teachers of the Manicheans but none of them could fill the emptiness of Augustine.
Finally Augustine met a devout Christian preacher named Ambrose. Pastor Ambrose was a preacher of the Gospel and Augustine came to revere him and the Word of God that he preached. From the Word of God Augustine came to realize that the emptiness in his life was the result of sin. He had been living a lie. Sin promises happiness and joy and freedom. But it’s a lie. God’s Word spoke the truth about sin to Augustine. That he was a poor miserable sinner who was a slave to sin. Even better, Jesus Christ had died for all of Augustine’s sin. Law and Gospel. Sin and Grace. That was the Truth. Pastor Ambose’s sermons preached faith right in to the very heart and soul Augustine. On Easter day, 387, Augustine was baptized, along with his illegitimate son. The prayers of his Christian mother, Monica, were answered. Augustine was a Christian!
Augustine left the life he lived as a prominent professor of Rhetoric and entered the monastery. In 395 Augustine became a pastor and served the same parish for 38 years. Augustine wrote over 1000 treatises many, if not all of them proclaimed the Truth about the slavery of sin and the true freedom from sin found only in Jesus Christ.
How interesting that some 1100 years later a young monk in a different continent in the land of Germany would come to revere the writings of St. Augustine. The young monk was Martin Luther. Luther had his own troubles but chief among them was that he was angry with God. The church in Luther’s day had taught him that the “righteousness of God” was God’s punishment to the unrighteous sinner.
Luther once wrote, “I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners…”
Luther had fallen prey to the lies of sin. Even while He had the Word of God, it was taught to him in such a way that it was all half-truths and concoctions. Luther was a slave to sin. And as a slave he hated God.
But as Luther continued to meditate on the Word of God, God had mercy on him and opened his mind to the Truth about the righteousness of God. No it wasn’t God’s punishment to unrighteous sinners, but rather it is “that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith… the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely the passive righteousness with which a merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, 'He who through faith is righteous by faith.'”
Just as Augustine had fallen prey to the lies of the devil, the world and his own sinful flesh, so did Luther. And just as Augustine was set free from the slavery of sin through the Truth about the person and work of the Son of God, so was Luther.
St. John writes, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
This Truth cannot be found through the math or science or philosophy of men. It cannot be read on an editorial page of the local newspaper. The Truth can only be found in the Word of God. And that Word is a Word that declares to you that you are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It’s a Word that teaches you that Baptism saves… that it is beneficial to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. The Word of the Son sets you free. Free from the slavery of sin. It sets you free to be sons and daughters of the heavenly Father.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Amen.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The year was 354 AD. A little over 300 years had passed since Jesus Christ had died on the cross and rose again. It was the year that a little baby boy by the name of Augustine was born at Tagaste in North Africa. His mother Monica was a devout Christian. But Augustine would have nothing to do with his mother’s religion. Augustine lived the life of a pagan… He had no regard for the Word of the Lord and disregarded all morality. In his youth he commited adultery with a young girl and fathered an illegitimate son.
Augustine was an excellent student and was at the top of his class. He grew up to become a famous teacher of Rhetoric. In Augustine’s day a teacher of Rhetoric was the vocation of the best and brightest men. Augustine at one point even tried reading the Scriptures, but they seemed dull to him.
But Augustine life was full of emptiness. He tried to fill the void in his life with wild and extravagant living. Eventually he came to realize that he was addicted to lust.
Augustine tried to rid himself of his slavery to lust by following the false religion of the Manicheans. The Manicheans were followers of an eastern Religion that blended Christianity with false doctrine. He sought answers in life from the most prominent teachers of the Manicheans but none of them could fill the emptiness of Augustine.
Finally Augustine met a devout Christian preacher named Ambrose. Pastor Ambrose was a preacher of the Gospel and Augustine came to revere him and the Word of God that he preached. From the Word of God Augustine came to realize that the emptiness in his life was the result of sin. He had been living a lie. Sin promises happiness and joy and freedom. But it’s a lie. God’s Word spoke the truth about sin to Augustine. That he was a poor miserable sinner who was a slave to sin. Even better, Jesus Christ had died for all of Augustine’s sin. Law and Gospel. Sin and Grace. That was the Truth. Pastor Ambose’s sermons preached faith right in to the very heart and soul Augustine. On Easter day, 387, Augustine was baptized, along with his illegitimate son. The prayers of his Christian mother, Monica, were answered. Augustine was a Christian!
Augustine left the life he lived as a prominent professor of Rhetoric and entered the monastery. In 395 Augustine became a pastor and served the same parish for 38 years. Augustine wrote over 1000 treatises many, if not all of them proclaimed the Truth about the slavery of sin and the true freedom from sin found only in Jesus Christ.
How interesting that some 1100 years later a young monk in a different continent in the land of Germany would come to revere the writings of St. Augustine. The young monk was Martin Luther. Luther had his own troubles but chief among them was that he was angry with God. The church in Luther’s day had taught him that the “righteousness of God” was God’s punishment to the unrighteous sinner.
Luther once wrote, “I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners…”
Luther had fallen prey to the lies of sin. Even while He had the Word of God, it was taught to him in such a way that it was all half-truths and concoctions. Luther was a slave to sin. And as a slave he hated God.
But as Luther continued to meditate on the Word of God, God had mercy on him and opened his mind to the Truth about the righteousness of God. No it wasn’t God’s punishment to unrighteous sinners, but rather it is “that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith… the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely the passive righteousness with which a merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, 'He who through faith is righteous by faith.'”
Just as Augustine had fallen prey to the lies of the devil, the world and his own sinful flesh, so did Luther. And just as Augustine was set free from the slavery of sin through the Truth about the person and work of the Son of God, so was Luther.
St. John writes, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
This Truth cannot be found through the math or science or philosophy of men. It cannot be read on an editorial page of the local newspaper. The Truth can only be found in the Word of God. And that Word is a Word that declares to you that you are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It’s a Word that teaches you that Baptism saves… that it is beneficial to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. The Word of the Son sets you free. Free from the slavery of sin. It sets you free to be sons and daughters of the heavenly Father.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Amen.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Trinity 21 Sermon
TEXT: Genesis 1:1-2:3
And God said, “Let there be… And it was so… And God saw that it was good.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
God said. And it was so. God spoke and He created the heavens and the earth. God spoke and the earth that was without form and void… took shape and was filled. There was nothing in heaven or earth that existed before He spoke it into being. There was only the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit from all eternity. And when the fullness of the Godhead spoke… things were created out of nothing… and God saw that it was good. The Psalmist says it this way, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.”
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. No there was no sun or stars on the first day. But there was light. And God said that the light was good. There was evening and morning, the first 24 hours of creation.
God said, “let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from waters,” and there was an expanse that God called Heaven. This heaven might be called a vault or simply, “the sky.” God created it to separate the water in the sky from the water on the face of the earth. And God saw that it was good. There was evening and morning, and the world was 48 hours old.
God said, “let the waters under the heavens be gathered together and let dry land appear.” The land was called Earth and the water spots were called seas. And it was so. God also said, “let the earth sprout forth vegetation,” and every annual and perennial came to be. God saw that it was good. There was evening and morning, and the world was 72 hours old.
God said, “let there be lights in the expanse,” and the sun and the moon appeared to join the light that was already there since the first day of creation. God saw that it was good. There was evening and morning, and the world was 96 hours old.
God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly…” And it was so. Now the lakes teemed with all kinds of fish and water fowl… and there were panfish and gamefish in the water and doves and sparrows in the sky… even dragons of the sea and pterodactyls of the sky. God saw that it was good. And God said, “be fruitful and multiply…” and God created them to have babies. And there was evening and morning, and the world was 120 hours old.
God said, “Let the earth bring forth livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth.” And it was so. So the earth was full of full of sheep and cattle and bugs and even alligators and brontosauruses. And God saw that it was good.
Then God made the crowned jewel of everything in he had made. He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” And Adam was made first and Eve was made from Adam’s rib. He commanded them to rule over the earth. They were created to love God’s creation by caring and tending to creation’s needs. God saw all that He had made and it was very good. It was completely perfect and holy and without sin. And there was evening and there was morning and the world was 144 hours old.
And on the seventh day God rested and made it a holy day, a day set apart to rest in Him.
By Chapter 3, one of the angels that God had created perfect and holy had rebelled against Him. He tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. And so the curse that God had given came to be, “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” And the curse of death came upon all of creation. Sin came into the world.
The Lord God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Some 2000 years ago, the woman’s offspring was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. God said through the Angel Gabriel, “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus… the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the spirit of the Most High will overshadow you.” And it was so. And God saw that the Word had become flesh and dwelt among us. “The Word was in the beginning with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” God saw that the Word was good, very good. And there was evening and morning the day Mary conceived, and the world was only 4000 years old.
The Word made flesh was given the name, “Jesus” for He would save his people from their sins. He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and even made dead people rise again. Jesus did it all by His Word. When Jesus “said”… it was so… because He is God.
Jesus came to His own, but His own would not receive Him. His creation cried, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” And it was so. And the Creator of the universe hung upon a tree that he had created. And He died. Before He died, he said these words, “It is finished!” And it was so. And God saw that it was Good. God accepted the punishment for the sin of all of humanity in the death of Jesus. “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
God’s Word is still a creative Word even today. Where it is spoken things happen. On the day of your Baptism, God said in the Words of the Pastor, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and Holy Spirit.” And it was so. And God saw that it was good to call you His own dear child. In Confession and Absolution God says to you, “I forgive you all your sins.” And it is so… and God sees that it is good. In the Holy Sacrament, God says, “This is my Body… this is my Blood Given for you for the forgiven of sins. And it is so… and God sees that is Good.
IN the Name of Jesus. Amen.
And God said, “Let there be… And it was so… And God saw that it was good.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
God said. And it was so. God spoke and He created the heavens and the earth. God spoke and the earth that was without form and void… took shape and was filled. There was nothing in heaven or earth that existed before He spoke it into being. There was only the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit from all eternity. And when the fullness of the Godhead spoke… things were created out of nothing… and God saw that it was good. The Psalmist says it this way, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.”
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. No there was no sun or stars on the first day. But there was light. And God said that the light was good. There was evening and morning, the first 24 hours of creation.
God said, “let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from waters,” and there was an expanse that God called Heaven. This heaven might be called a vault or simply, “the sky.” God created it to separate the water in the sky from the water on the face of the earth. And God saw that it was good. There was evening and morning, and the world was 48 hours old.
God said, “let the waters under the heavens be gathered together and let dry land appear.” The land was called Earth and the water spots were called seas. And it was so. God also said, “let the earth sprout forth vegetation,” and every annual and perennial came to be. God saw that it was good. There was evening and morning, and the world was 72 hours old.
God said, “let there be lights in the expanse,” and the sun and the moon appeared to join the light that was already there since the first day of creation. God saw that it was good. There was evening and morning, and the world was 96 hours old.
God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly…” And it was so. Now the lakes teemed with all kinds of fish and water fowl… and there were panfish and gamefish in the water and doves and sparrows in the sky… even dragons of the sea and pterodactyls of the sky. God saw that it was good. And God said, “be fruitful and multiply…” and God created them to have babies. And there was evening and morning, and the world was 120 hours old.
God said, “Let the earth bring forth livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth.” And it was so. So the earth was full of full of sheep and cattle and bugs and even alligators and brontosauruses. And God saw that it was good.
Then God made the crowned jewel of everything in he had made. He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” And Adam was made first and Eve was made from Adam’s rib. He commanded them to rule over the earth. They were created to love God’s creation by caring and tending to creation’s needs. God saw all that He had made and it was very good. It was completely perfect and holy and without sin. And there was evening and there was morning and the world was 144 hours old.
And on the seventh day God rested and made it a holy day, a day set apart to rest in Him.
By Chapter 3, one of the angels that God had created perfect and holy had rebelled against Him. He tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. And so the curse that God had given came to be, “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” And the curse of death came upon all of creation. Sin came into the world.
The Lord God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Some 2000 years ago, the woman’s offspring was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. God said through the Angel Gabriel, “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus… the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the spirit of the Most High will overshadow you.” And it was so. And God saw that the Word had become flesh and dwelt among us. “The Word was in the beginning with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” God saw that the Word was good, very good. And there was evening and morning the day Mary conceived, and the world was only 4000 years old.
The Word made flesh was given the name, “Jesus” for He would save his people from their sins. He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and even made dead people rise again. Jesus did it all by His Word. When Jesus “said”… it was so… because He is God.
Jesus came to His own, but His own would not receive Him. His creation cried, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” And it was so. And the Creator of the universe hung upon a tree that he had created. And He died. Before He died, he said these words, “It is finished!” And it was so. And God saw that it was Good. God accepted the punishment for the sin of all of humanity in the death of Jesus. “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
God’s Word is still a creative Word even today. Where it is spoken things happen. On the day of your Baptism, God said in the Words of the Pastor, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and Holy Spirit.” And it was so. And God saw that it was good to call you His own dear child. In Confession and Absolution God says to you, “I forgive you all your sins.” And it is so… and God sees that it is good. In the Holy Sacrament, God says, “This is my Body… this is my Blood Given for you for the forgiven of sins. And it is so… and God sees that is Good.
IN the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Renewal of Vows - Meg and Brian Anderson
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Dear Megan and Brian… parents and grandparents… other family members, friends, and fellow saints of Zion congregation…
The text chosen for this service of celebration is from Ecclesiastes 4 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil… a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
King Solomon was of the wealthiest men that the world has ever known. He was also one of the wisest. The Bible says that “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” (I Kings 4:29) Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.
Brian and Megan, you have chosen some of Solomon’s wise words to be the text for this service. And while it was Solomon who spoke them; Solomon simply repeated the Wisdom of the LORD.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is a Word of God that reminds us that we often make much of things that are really not very important… while at the same time making little out of things that are really important. We might call it, “making majors out of minors” or “making mountains out of mole hills.”
In chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s uses the illustration of a man who chooses to have no friends. He works and works. Day in and day out. His life is void of every relationship. WORK… WORK… WORK. Oh, his work might make him wealthy, but his wealth won’t give him true happiness. There is no happiness because there is no one receiving the fruit of his labor. So Solomon says, “two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil.”
The world in which we live would lead us to believe that a successful person who is someone who has enough money to do whatever he wishes. Already in elementary school and high school you were taught to think about your future career. “What will you be when you grow up?” But here is the most disturbing part: immediately we look at the list of possibilities and pick the one which will earn us the most money. Never mind which one might best serve my neighbor, my family, my children, my husband or wife. We are programmed to think of “value” in terms of money rather than what will best serve God and those in my family and community.
Vanity! Vanity! All is vanity. That’s what Solomon thinks of that.
God is the creator of Marriage. He designed marriage for one man to be united to one woman until death do they part.. Without Him… vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Your love for each other will fail without Him and in its place you will put anger and sadness and heartache. In marriage, God has joined you two together so that you are no longer two but one. But there will be times when what God has joined together you will put asunder. In marriage, God will bless you with house and home and family. But there will be times when God’s good blessings lose their beauty and money and pride and worldly success will seem more precious than God’s good gifts. You will be tempted to think that “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” When you are tempted in these ways and fall into the Devil’s trap, you will be like “one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?”
A friend from high school who had been divorced and remarried several times asked, “What’s the secret to a life-long marriage?” After thinking a moment, I wrote back to her and said, “It’s no secret. I’ll tell you in one word: Forgiveness.”
Solomon wrote that a threefold cord is not quickly broken. You might think of that threefold cord this way: The two of you and Jesus Christ. The three fold cord where Jesus Christ hasn’t been unraveled from the cord will not be quickly broken. Jesus Christ is the One who was crucified, died, resurrected and ascended for you. In Baptism He has justified you. Jesus is the forgiveness of sins. Don’t dismiss Him from your marriage. He wants to be there. He won’t leave. And please don’t kick Him out. It’s easy enough to pull Christ out of the cord. You unravel Him from the cord when you avoid Him on Sunday mornings thereby despising preaching and His Word… when you refuse to confess your sins and to hear His absolution… when you stay away from the Lord’s Supper.
No, the threefold cord is the only cord that is not quickly broken. That cord is a cord that is strengthened through Word and Sacrament. It’s a cord that is strong and sturdy where there is the forgiveness of sins. The cord made in Christ is a cord that will last you until death do you part.
Two are better than one… it’s true. Even better, a Christ-filled cord of three is not easily broken.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Dear Megan and Brian… parents and grandparents… other family members, friends, and fellow saints of Zion congregation…
The text chosen for this service of celebration is from Ecclesiastes 4 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil… a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
King Solomon was of the wealthiest men that the world has ever known. He was also one of the wisest. The Bible says that “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” (I Kings 4:29) Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.
Brian and Megan, you have chosen some of Solomon’s wise words to be the text for this service. And while it was Solomon who spoke them; Solomon simply repeated the Wisdom of the LORD.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is a Word of God that reminds us that we often make much of things that are really not very important… while at the same time making little out of things that are really important. We might call it, “making majors out of minors” or “making mountains out of mole hills.”
In chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s uses the illustration of a man who chooses to have no friends. He works and works. Day in and day out. His life is void of every relationship. WORK… WORK… WORK. Oh, his work might make him wealthy, but his wealth won’t give him true happiness. There is no happiness because there is no one receiving the fruit of his labor. So Solomon says, “two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil.”
The world in which we live would lead us to believe that a successful person who is someone who has enough money to do whatever he wishes. Already in elementary school and high school you were taught to think about your future career. “What will you be when you grow up?” But here is the most disturbing part: immediately we look at the list of possibilities and pick the one which will earn us the most money. Never mind which one might best serve my neighbor, my family, my children, my husband or wife. We are programmed to think of “value” in terms of money rather than what will best serve God and those in my family and community.
Vanity! Vanity! All is vanity. That’s what Solomon thinks of that.
God is the creator of Marriage. He designed marriage for one man to be united to one woman until death do they part.. Without Him… vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Your love for each other will fail without Him and in its place you will put anger and sadness and heartache. In marriage, God has joined you two together so that you are no longer two but one. But there will be times when what God has joined together you will put asunder. In marriage, God will bless you with house and home and family. But there will be times when God’s good blessings lose their beauty and money and pride and worldly success will seem more precious than God’s good gifts. You will be tempted to think that “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” When you are tempted in these ways and fall into the Devil’s trap, you will be like “one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?”
A friend from high school who had been divorced and remarried several times asked, “What’s the secret to a life-long marriage?” After thinking a moment, I wrote back to her and said, “It’s no secret. I’ll tell you in one word: Forgiveness.”
Solomon wrote that a threefold cord is not quickly broken. You might think of that threefold cord this way: The two of you and Jesus Christ. The three fold cord where Jesus Christ hasn’t been unraveled from the cord will not be quickly broken. Jesus Christ is the One who was crucified, died, resurrected and ascended for you. In Baptism He has justified you. Jesus is the forgiveness of sins. Don’t dismiss Him from your marriage. He wants to be there. He won’t leave. And please don’t kick Him out. It’s easy enough to pull Christ out of the cord. You unravel Him from the cord when you avoid Him on Sunday mornings thereby despising preaching and His Word… when you refuse to confess your sins and to hear His absolution… when you stay away from the Lord’s Supper.
No, the threefold cord is the only cord that is not quickly broken. That cord is a cord that is strengthened through Word and Sacrament. It’s a cord that is strong and sturdy where there is the forgiveness of sins. The cord made in Christ is a cord that will last you until death do you part.
Two are better than one… it’s true. Even better, a Christ-filled cord of three is not easily broken.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Trinity 20 Sermon
TEXT: Matthew 22:1-14
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The third commandment: “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” What does this mean? “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and his word but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”
I remember the first time I realized that my pastor was a sinner. I was shocked and utterly amazed. It wasn’t that he had committed some horrible sin that was laid bare before the congregation for all to see. No, I can’t remember a single thing that he had ever done that would leave a black mark on him. He was a nice fellow. He had a long tenure at my home congregation. He was generally well-liked… although there were some who didn’t care for him… even some who left the church to find someone they liked better.
There was no sinfully embarrassing moment that happened that caused me to realize my pastor was a sinner. And really, the only thing I can point to that brought me to the realization that Pastor was a “sinner” was his own preaching. Pastor preached to me that he was a sinner.
And when I came to the realization that he was a sinner, I had a problem. How can a sinner preach the inspired, inerrant word of God? How can a sinner preach a message that will do me any good? How can a sinner preach a message that will create faith in people who spiritually blind, dead and enemies of God, yes, even unborn little babies? How can a sinner preach a message that keeps me with Jesus Christ in the one true Christian faith? He’s a sinner. He’s not God. Why should I have to listen to him? Why can’t I despise preaching? Why sit through a Sunday sermon? Why go to Bible class? Why attend Confirmation class? It’s all a scandal. Don’t you know there’s a sinner in there who is preaching?
My problem with my sinful pastor’s preaching was little different from those in the parable of the Wedding Feast who had been invited but wouldn’t come. They paid no attention to the servants whom the King had sent. They refused to come. “Why should I listen to the King’s servants?” they thought. Some were too busy with a new wife and a young family. “Maybe, when I’m old and gray, then I’ll stop refusing the King’s invitation.” Some were too busy working… trying to make a living. They thought, “What does the king think? I don’t have time to accept His invitation. I’ve got work to do.” Some got mad at the servants. They turned the gracious gift of the invitation to the Feast into a law, “How dare the King expect me to come to His banquet and to eat for free, without price.” But the king only wanted to give them free gifts. He expected nothing in return. Nevertheless, these became angry with the servants of the king. They belittled the servants, made fun of them, ignored them, argued with them, did everything possible to ruin their reputation and complain about them.
The problem today is this: we too often refuse to believe that God calls out to us to receive His gifts through simple, ordinary, sinful men. That’s not the way we want God to come to us. “Send me somebody who is believable Lord. Send a nice, good-looking man. Send a preacher with charisma. Send a good story teller. Send someone with a perfect family. Lord please don’t send a poor miserable sinner to preach your Holy Law, to preach to me that I’m a sinner, to tell me about a Savior that loves me in spite of myself. I don’t have time for that. Lord, don’t plan on me giving any attention to him. I’m telling you now, I’ll refuse to come.”
Believe it. Believe that God in his mercy is so ridiculously simple, so ridiculously personal, and stoops so ridiculously to your level that he sends His lowly messengers to preach a message to you that simply says, “Come. Come to the banquet Feast. Come to the Divine Service… God has gifts for you there.” No, He doesn’t expect anything in return. He doesn’t even require that you praise Him or worship Him. “Come for free gifts.” No, there is no catch, no small print that requires something of you. “Come and hear the Word of the Lord in the Sermon.” For faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of Christ in the sermon. “Come and eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Lord Himself will be present to feed you with the medicine of immortality. Come to Private Confession and Absolution.” God wishes to forgive your sins there. ”
God hides Himself, even in sinful preachers. He hides the message of the Gospel in the voice of unworthy servants. There in that voice is where Christ and Him crucified is proclaimed. In that simple voice the Holy Spirit is busy calling, gathering, and enlightening the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In that voice the saying is true: “Faith comes by hearing. Hearing the word of Christ.”
Today, as always, I bid you… I beg you, “Come eat and drink without price. God wishes to give you gifts. Come to the banquet. Receive His Body and Blood. The Feast is ready.”
In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The third commandment: “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” What does this mean? “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and his word but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”
I remember the first time I realized that my pastor was a sinner. I was shocked and utterly amazed. It wasn’t that he had committed some horrible sin that was laid bare before the congregation for all to see. No, I can’t remember a single thing that he had ever done that would leave a black mark on him. He was a nice fellow. He had a long tenure at my home congregation. He was generally well-liked… although there were some who didn’t care for him… even some who left the church to find someone they liked better.
There was no sinfully embarrassing moment that happened that caused me to realize my pastor was a sinner. And really, the only thing I can point to that brought me to the realization that Pastor was a “sinner” was his own preaching. Pastor preached to me that he was a sinner.
And when I came to the realization that he was a sinner, I had a problem. How can a sinner preach the inspired, inerrant word of God? How can a sinner preach a message that will do me any good? How can a sinner preach a message that will create faith in people who spiritually blind, dead and enemies of God, yes, even unborn little babies? How can a sinner preach a message that keeps me with Jesus Christ in the one true Christian faith? He’s a sinner. He’s not God. Why should I have to listen to him? Why can’t I despise preaching? Why sit through a Sunday sermon? Why go to Bible class? Why attend Confirmation class? It’s all a scandal. Don’t you know there’s a sinner in there who is preaching?
My problem with my sinful pastor’s preaching was little different from those in the parable of the Wedding Feast who had been invited but wouldn’t come. They paid no attention to the servants whom the King had sent. They refused to come. “Why should I listen to the King’s servants?” they thought. Some were too busy with a new wife and a young family. “Maybe, when I’m old and gray, then I’ll stop refusing the King’s invitation.” Some were too busy working… trying to make a living. They thought, “What does the king think? I don’t have time to accept His invitation. I’ve got work to do.” Some got mad at the servants. They turned the gracious gift of the invitation to the Feast into a law, “How dare the King expect me to come to His banquet and to eat for free, without price.” But the king only wanted to give them free gifts. He expected nothing in return. Nevertheless, these became angry with the servants of the king. They belittled the servants, made fun of them, ignored them, argued with them, did everything possible to ruin their reputation and complain about them.
The problem today is this: we too often refuse to believe that God calls out to us to receive His gifts through simple, ordinary, sinful men. That’s not the way we want God to come to us. “Send me somebody who is believable Lord. Send a nice, good-looking man. Send a preacher with charisma. Send a good story teller. Send someone with a perfect family. Lord please don’t send a poor miserable sinner to preach your Holy Law, to preach to me that I’m a sinner, to tell me about a Savior that loves me in spite of myself. I don’t have time for that. Lord, don’t plan on me giving any attention to him. I’m telling you now, I’ll refuse to come.”
Believe it. Believe that God in his mercy is so ridiculously simple, so ridiculously personal, and stoops so ridiculously to your level that he sends His lowly messengers to preach a message to you that simply says, “Come. Come to the banquet Feast. Come to the Divine Service… God has gifts for you there.” No, He doesn’t expect anything in return. He doesn’t even require that you praise Him or worship Him. “Come for free gifts.” No, there is no catch, no small print that requires something of you. “Come and hear the Word of the Lord in the Sermon.” For faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of Christ in the sermon. “Come and eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Lord Himself will be present to feed you with the medicine of immortality. Come to Private Confession and Absolution.” God wishes to forgive your sins there. ”
God hides Himself, even in sinful preachers. He hides the message of the Gospel in the voice of unworthy servants. There in that voice is where Christ and Him crucified is proclaimed. In that simple voice the Holy Spirit is busy calling, gathering, and enlightening the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In that voice the saying is true: “Faith comes by hearing. Hearing the word of Christ.”
Today, as always, I bid you… I beg you, “Come eat and drink without price. God wishes to give you gifts. Come to the banquet. Receive His Body and Blood. The Feast is ready.”
In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sermon - Trinity 18
TEXT: Matthew 22:34-46
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
When I was training to be a school teacher in college I was taught that there was no such thing as a bad question. But that isn’t necessarily true. I learned the first weeks I taught school that students loved to ask questions that would distract me or get me off the topic. They would ask questions that they knew were a hot topic for me in the hopes that I would get on my soap box and go on and on, thus running short of time and forgetting to give to give them their homework assignment. Their questions were not always asked with the best of intentions. Sometimes their questions were meant to make me look foolish.
The Pharisees were no different than some of my former 7th and 8th grade students. Their seemingly seriously devout religious question was only meant to tempt Jesus.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” one of the Pharisees (lawyer) asked. The Pharisees had taken the 10 commandments and expanded them a little bit so that they were enlarged to include some 613 commandments. Many of them were ritual and dietary commandments. Different groups of Pharisees emphasized some as more important then others. The question was devised to cause trouble for Jesus.
Jesus answers them using Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” And from Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Even better than 613, Jesus two commandments were all-encompassing. To love God and your neighbor could be applied to daily living in thousands of ways. And no matter how you applied God’s command to love Him and your neighbor, there was one truth that was sure to become accusingly true: No one could ever love God and His neighbor exactly the way God commanded. The Pharisees were concerned about living a perfect life. That was their plan to get to heaven. Follow the Law. Do the 613 commandments without failing. Earn your way to heaven.
But Jesus turns them away from the Law and rather faces them squarely on the Christ. There’s a better question. Jesus asks them, “What do you think about the Christ?” In other words, “Get your minds off of yourselves and your petty commandments. Set your minds on things above, on Christ, not on these earthly silly little laws that you’ve created.”
Too many Christians today are consumed with (4 words) “I, me, my, mine.” They want to love a Jesus that will mold and bend to their needs, their likes, and their love. Never mind that Jesus wants to love us. Never mind that Jesus loves us perfectly with His whole heart, soul and mind. Sinners cry out… “that’s not enough Jesus. I want my world perfect. And I want it perfect now! And by perfect I mean I want a beautiful body with a beautiful spouse with beautiful children with a beautiful house with a beautiful garage for my beautiful car.” Sinners consider themselves beautifully moral people who really don’t need confession and absolution. Sinners see Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as foolish little church rites that really don’t mean anything but we do it because grandma and grandpa did and the pastor says we should. It is true of too many Christians, and it’s true of you and me.
Let me ask you a question, “What do you think about the Christ?” Opinions may very. Some may say that He was a Great Prophet. Others may say that He said many wise and moral things and did many socially beneficial acts of kindness. Some may think that He was a Jewish outlaw who roamed the streets of Jerusalem and was eventually sentenced to death for His crimes. May this never be true for you.
What does the Bible say of the Christ? Christ is the Son of God whose personal name is Jesus. He is the Son of David and David’s Lord all at the same. That’s because He is true God and true man at the same time. You and I didn’t love Him and all too often we still don’t love Him. But he loved you and He has never stopped loving you. Out of His great love for you, God became man. As a true man He loved the Lord His God with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His mind. He did this for me. He did this for you. He lived a perfect life under the Law for you. And even though He never sinned, not even once…. He laid down His life as a ransom for the entire world so that you might be declared justified.
The Christ is your God who has shown you love with all His heart by calling you to be His own dear child in Holy Baptism. He loves you with all His soul by giving you His own Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins. He loves you with all His mind by hearing your confession and pronouncing His forgiveness in the words of your pastor.
That’s the plain truth about the Christ.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
When I was training to be a school teacher in college I was taught that there was no such thing as a bad question. But that isn’t necessarily true. I learned the first weeks I taught school that students loved to ask questions that would distract me or get me off the topic. They would ask questions that they knew were a hot topic for me in the hopes that I would get on my soap box and go on and on, thus running short of time and forgetting to give to give them their homework assignment. Their questions were not always asked with the best of intentions. Sometimes their questions were meant to make me look foolish.
The Pharisees were no different than some of my former 7th and 8th grade students. Their seemingly seriously devout religious question was only meant to tempt Jesus.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” one of the Pharisees (lawyer) asked. The Pharisees had taken the 10 commandments and expanded them a little bit so that they were enlarged to include some 613 commandments. Many of them were ritual and dietary commandments. Different groups of Pharisees emphasized some as more important then others. The question was devised to cause trouble for Jesus.
Jesus answers them using Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” And from Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Even better than 613, Jesus two commandments were all-encompassing. To love God and your neighbor could be applied to daily living in thousands of ways. And no matter how you applied God’s command to love Him and your neighbor, there was one truth that was sure to become accusingly true: No one could ever love God and His neighbor exactly the way God commanded. The Pharisees were concerned about living a perfect life. That was their plan to get to heaven. Follow the Law. Do the 613 commandments without failing. Earn your way to heaven.
But Jesus turns them away from the Law and rather faces them squarely on the Christ. There’s a better question. Jesus asks them, “What do you think about the Christ?” In other words, “Get your minds off of yourselves and your petty commandments. Set your minds on things above, on Christ, not on these earthly silly little laws that you’ve created.”
Too many Christians today are consumed with (4 words) “I, me, my, mine.” They want to love a Jesus that will mold and bend to their needs, their likes, and their love. Never mind that Jesus wants to love us. Never mind that Jesus loves us perfectly with His whole heart, soul and mind. Sinners cry out… “that’s not enough Jesus. I want my world perfect. And I want it perfect now! And by perfect I mean I want a beautiful body with a beautiful spouse with beautiful children with a beautiful house with a beautiful garage for my beautiful car.” Sinners consider themselves beautifully moral people who really don’t need confession and absolution. Sinners see Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as foolish little church rites that really don’t mean anything but we do it because grandma and grandpa did and the pastor says we should. It is true of too many Christians, and it’s true of you and me.
Let me ask you a question, “What do you think about the Christ?” Opinions may very. Some may say that He was a Great Prophet. Others may say that He said many wise and moral things and did many socially beneficial acts of kindness. Some may think that He was a Jewish outlaw who roamed the streets of Jerusalem and was eventually sentenced to death for His crimes. May this never be true for you.
What does the Bible say of the Christ? Christ is the Son of God whose personal name is Jesus. He is the Son of David and David’s Lord all at the same. That’s because He is true God and true man at the same time. You and I didn’t love Him and all too often we still don’t love Him. But he loved you and He has never stopped loving you. Out of His great love for you, God became man. As a true man He loved the Lord His God with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His mind. He did this for me. He did this for you. He lived a perfect life under the Law for you. And even though He never sinned, not even once…. He laid down His life as a ransom for the entire world so that you might be declared justified.
The Christ is your God who has shown you love with all His heart by calling you to be His own dear child in Holy Baptism. He loves you with all His soul by giving you His own Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins. He loves you with all His mind by hearing your confession and pronouncing His forgiveness in the words of your pastor.
That’s the plain truth about the Christ.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sermon for Trinity 17
TEXT: Luke 14.1_11
14 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6And they could not reply to these things. 7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Faux pas is a French word that literally means, “false step.” We use it to describe when someone makes a social blunder which brings much embarrassment.
Faux pas brings to mind a wedding celebration I attended. After officiating the wedding, I joined the family for the usual wedding reception and meal. When the time came to pray, the DJ asked if the minister would come forward to pray. So, I got out of my seat and proceeded to the front of the banquet hall. On the way to the front the bride caught my attention and said, “Pastor, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve asked my relative who is a minister to lead the dinner prayer.” That was a faux pas… a false step. It was a blunder that brought some embarrassment. I would have done well to heed the advice of the Proverb, “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”
The Gospel reading tells of some guests who had been invited to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. It was a social event that was an opportunity to display social prowess. Some were choosing the places of honor. But Jesus said, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him saying to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.”
The basic rule of Christian etiquette is the same… put yourself last. Be Humble. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. (James 4:10)
Our Lord’s Words are more than simply a lesson on manners and etiquette. His lesson is a lesson on humility.
There is a great blessing in being last… in being humble. Look at it this way: You have good company in the lowest place; because that’s exactly where Jesus is.
St. Paul puts it this way, “Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name…” (Phil. 2:5ff)
Even while Jesus Christ is true God and Lord, begotten from the Father from all eternity and also true man, miraculously born of the Virgin Mary, He emptied Himself of everything Divine for you. He made Himself nothing for you. Even more, Jesus placed Himself under you, under the curse of the Law that is your curse not His… and makes your curse His own. Jesus hung on the cross and died the most humiliating of deaths for you, for cursed is Jesus who hangs on tree.
Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Sinners can’t help but want exalt themselves. Sinners seek honor in themselves. There’s an old Hebrew Proverb that says, “Pride goeth before the fall.” That’s true of you. Your sinful pride will always lead to a miserable fall.
Our Lord Jesus is not calling us to do a better job of being humble. That’s the job of the Law. Jesus is the Gospel made flesh. He is the Humble One who is exhorting you to believe that He is your substitute for sin. That He is the One who hung upon the cross and is your Lord. He appeared defeated. The Devil thought He had won. But Jesus is the One who rose again from the dead and will return again to resurrect all who have died. Jesus will gather the believers to the banquet feast of heaven. He is the One who ascended to the right hand of God and is truly present wherever His Word is proclaimed and wherever His body and Blood is given at the Lord’s Table for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Don’t you see it? You can’t earn a spot at Jesus’ table. And you dare not assert your right to be there. But rather Jesus tenderly invites even the lowliest of sinners to eat with Him. He invites you. He invites you and me who cannot repay Him. He seeks the lost… the humble… the social misfits full of faux pas, even the poor beggar who cries out, “Lord, Have mercy.” And He feeds them the best of heaven and earth with His Word and His Body and Blood.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
14 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6And they could not reply to these things. 7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Faux pas is a French word that literally means, “false step.” We use it to describe when someone makes a social blunder which brings much embarrassment.
Faux pas brings to mind a wedding celebration I attended. After officiating the wedding, I joined the family for the usual wedding reception and meal. When the time came to pray, the DJ asked if the minister would come forward to pray. So, I got out of my seat and proceeded to the front of the banquet hall. On the way to the front the bride caught my attention and said, “Pastor, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve asked my relative who is a minister to lead the dinner prayer.” That was a faux pas… a false step. It was a blunder that brought some embarrassment. I would have done well to heed the advice of the Proverb, “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”
The Gospel reading tells of some guests who had been invited to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. It was a social event that was an opportunity to display social prowess. Some were choosing the places of honor. But Jesus said, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him saying to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.”
The basic rule of Christian etiquette is the same… put yourself last. Be Humble. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. (James 4:10)
Our Lord’s Words are more than simply a lesson on manners and etiquette. His lesson is a lesson on humility.
There is a great blessing in being last… in being humble. Look at it this way: You have good company in the lowest place; because that’s exactly where Jesus is.
St. Paul puts it this way, “Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name…” (Phil. 2:5ff)
Even while Jesus Christ is true God and Lord, begotten from the Father from all eternity and also true man, miraculously born of the Virgin Mary, He emptied Himself of everything Divine for you. He made Himself nothing for you. Even more, Jesus placed Himself under you, under the curse of the Law that is your curse not His… and makes your curse His own. Jesus hung on the cross and died the most humiliating of deaths for you, for cursed is Jesus who hangs on tree.
Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Sinners can’t help but want exalt themselves. Sinners seek honor in themselves. There’s an old Hebrew Proverb that says, “Pride goeth before the fall.” That’s true of you. Your sinful pride will always lead to a miserable fall.
Our Lord Jesus is not calling us to do a better job of being humble. That’s the job of the Law. Jesus is the Gospel made flesh. He is the Humble One who is exhorting you to believe that He is your substitute for sin. That He is the One who hung upon the cross and is your Lord. He appeared defeated. The Devil thought He had won. But Jesus is the One who rose again from the dead and will return again to resurrect all who have died. Jesus will gather the believers to the banquet feast of heaven. He is the One who ascended to the right hand of God and is truly present wherever His Word is proclaimed and wherever His body and Blood is given at the Lord’s Table for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Don’t you see it? You can’t earn a spot at Jesus’ table. And you dare not assert your right to be there. But rather Jesus tenderly invites even the lowliest of sinners to eat with Him. He invites you. He invites you and me who cannot repay Him. He seeks the lost… the humble… the social misfits full of faux pas, even the poor beggar who cries out, “Lord, Have mercy.” And He feeds them the best of heaven and earth with His Word and His Body and Blood.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Consider the Lilies of the Field
TEXT: Matthew 6:24-3524
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Oh, to be a lily. Don’t you marvel at how they grow? They grow as a creature of God. God crafted them. They are the Divine design of the third day of Creation. God spoke and the beautiful lilies appeared.
In the springtime, it is God who causes their leaves to emerge as bright green sprouts. He causes them to turn dark green as the months pass. Then the flower comes. It’s complete with petals splashed with color. They are lovely… more lovely than Solomon and all his splendor. More lovely than any human invention. Lilies are the artwork of the Creator.
But a lily cannot credit itself with its own beauty… as if it is something that it has earned or accomplished. It’s beauty… it’s vitality… even its existence is gracious gift of a loving, living God. The lily does not desire to be a tree or a tomato plant. It is satisfied to be a lily. It is content with what God has made it to be.
Oh, to be a lily. The lily is content to trust the Creator’s will. In the Spring it sprouts up. In the Summer it blooms and adds beauty to the rest of creation. In the Fall it withers and dies. In the Winter it lays dormant awaiting its springtime resurrection.
Jesus Christ is the rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valleys Who is mentioned in Song of Songs (2:1). He was the Lily that was born in the dirty stable in Bethlehem. He grew up with little recorded of Him in Holy Scripture… a quiet maturing for some thirty years. After His birth narrative, the coming of the Magi, and His flight to Egypt, only His teaching the rabbis in the Temple is mentioned until He is baptized by John in the River Jordan.
Jesus was content to be a lowly carpenter’s son. He was a boy at school. He made friends and played games with His friends. Jesus was content to be one with man in human flesh even while the fullness of the Deity dwelled in Him. He was content to be like the lilies of the field.
The beauty of Christ would not be measured by human standards. His beauty would be measured in His love for humanity. The Lily of the Field, the Rose of Sharon, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the World would display the fullness of His glory on the Cross. With nails and blood and sweat and thirst the Son of God would be presented in full bloom as the beautiful ransom for your sin and mine.
Oh, to be a lily. No, not to beautiful or pretty like a lily. God has given mankind its own unique beauty… we are created in His image. But rather that we might be like the lily in that the lily does not serve money, or is not devoted to Mammon, or is not anxious about life. That’s the example of the lily.
The lily and the birds of the air… they don’t worry about how God will provide for them. They simply trust that He will. You know what it costs to feed animals today. On both the sheep project and the hog project my kids lost money at the county fair. It cost more to feed them than could be made at the market. I wonder what enormous amounts of money it would take to feed and water the wild birds of the air? Perhaps not even Bill Gates or some of the wealthiest in the world could afford all of them. They neither sow nor reap and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.
“Oh you of little faith,” Jesus says. You who doubt that God can provide for your family and think that you will have to do it alone. You who think that a good job with benefits is worth more than an hour in God’s House on the Lord’s Day. You who are anxious and wonder where your next meal will come from or even more, how will you live into retirement even while God has already promised you a home in the splendor of the heavenly mansions for the rest of eternity.
How do you know that God will care for you? He has already shown you in Jesus Christ. He has proven to you that He is willing to even lay down His life for you. He has justified you for Christ’s sake. He forgives your sins for Jesus’ sake… even the sin of doubt and the sin of idolatry (making money your Master and Lord). He has washed you clean in Holy Baptism and recreated you to be His Bride… a Bride without spot or wrinkle or any such thing… but a beautiful Bride adorned in the righteous white robe of Christ. He has made you the apple of His eye. He is constantly driving anxiety out of you by reminding you of what He has done for you. He chases away your fears and bolsters your faith in Word and Sacrament. The kingdom of God has found you in the Word.
God loves the lilies of the field… no doubt. He created them and still takes care of them. Don’t worry about life… Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Don’t worry about death… it has been defeated on the Cross. God loves you. Therefore, consider God’s lilies of the field.[i]
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
[i] The idea for this sermon is excerpted from Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel, (CPH: 2004).
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Oh, to be a lily. Don’t you marvel at how they grow? They grow as a creature of God. God crafted them. They are the Divine design of the third day of Creation. God spoke and the beautiful lilies appeared.
In the springtime, it is God who causes their leaves to emerge as bright green sprouts. He causes them to turn dark green as the months pass. Then the flower comes. It’s complete with petals splashed with color. They are lovely… more lovely than Solomon and all his splendor. More lovely than any human invention. Lilies are the artwork of the Creator.
But a lily cannot credit itself with its own beauty… as if it is something that it has earned or accomplished. It’s beauty… it’s vitality… even its existence is gracious gift of a loving, living God. The lily does not desire to be a tree or a tomato plant. It is satisfied to be a lily. It is content with what God has made it to be.
Oh, to be a lily. The lily is content to trust the Creator’s will. In the Spring it sprouts up. In the Summer it blooms and adds beauty to the rest of creation. In the Fall it withers and dies. In the Winter it lays dormant awaiting its springtime resurrection.
Jesus Christ is the rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valleys Who is mentioned in Song of Songs (2:1). He was the Lily that was born in the dirty stable in Bethlehem. He grew up with little recorded of Him in Holy Scripture… a quiet maturing for some thirty years. After His birth narrative, the coming of the Magi, and His flight to Egypt, only His teaching the rabbis in the Temple is mentioned until He is baptized by John in the River Jordan.
Jesus was content to be a lowly carpenter’s son. He was a boy at school. He made friends and played games with His friends. Jesus was content to be one with man in human flesh even while the fullness of the Deity dwelled in Him. He was content to be like the lilies of the field.
The beauty of Christ would not be measured by human standards. His beauty would be measured in His love for humanity. The Lily of the Field, the Rose of Sharon, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the World would display the fullness of His glory on the Cross. With nails and blood and sweat and thirst the Son of God would be presented in full bloom as the beautiful ransom for your sin and mine.
Oh, to be a lily. No, not to beautiful or pretty like a lily. God has given mankind its own unique beauty… we are created in His image. But rather that we might be like the lily in that the lily does not serve money, or is not devoted to Mammon, or is not anxious about life. That’s the example of the lily.
The lily and the birds of the air… they don’t worry about how God will provide for them. They simply trust that He will. You know what it costs to feed animals today. On both the sheep project and the hog project my kids lost money at the county fair. It cost more to feed them than could be made at the market. I wonder what enormous amounts of money it would take to feed and water the wild birds of the air? Perhaps not even Bill Gates or some of the wealthiest in the world could afford all of them. They neither sow nor reap and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.
“Oh you of little faith,” Jesus says. You who doubt that God can provide for your family and think that you will have to do it alone. You who think that a good job with benefits is worth more than an hour in God’s House on the Lord’s Day. You who are anxious and wonder where your next meal will come from or even more, how will you live into retirement even while God has already promised you a home in the splendor of the heavenly mansions for the rest of eternity.
How do you know that God will care for you? He has already shown you in Jesus Christ. He has proven to you that He is willing to even lay down His life for you. He has justified you for Christ’s sake. He forgives your sins for Jesus’ sake… even the sin of doubt and the sin of idolatry (making money your Master and Lord). He has washed you clean in Holy Baptism and recreated you to be His Bride… a Bride without spot or wrinkle or any such thing… but a beautiful Bride adorned in the righteous white robe of Christ. He has made you the apple of His eye. He is constantly driving anxiety out of you by reminding you of what He has done for you. He chases away your fears and bolsters your faith in Word and Sacrament. The kingdom of God has found you in the Word.
God loves the lilies of the field… no doubt. He created them and still takes care of them. Don’t worry about life… Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Don’t worry about death… it has been defeated on the Cross. God loves you. Therefore, consider God’s lilies of the field.[i]
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
[i] The idea for this sermon is excerpted from Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel, (CPH: 2004).
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wedding of Allison Snyder and Doug White
TEXT: Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear Doug and Allison… parents and grandparents… other family members, friends, and fellow saints of Zion congregation…
The text for this service of Holy Matrimony is Moses’ words from Genesis 2. But even more than Moses’ words, these words are the Word of God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth. In this simple phrase, God establishes and ordains marriage. No one should take this away from God and do with it as they please. It is the Father who said, “And the Two shall become One.” I must say, that I thoroughly enjoy the banners that are displayed here in the sanctuary. They beautifully and boldly proclaim this Word of God from Genesis 2
“And the Two shall become one.”
How interesting are the series of events that led to your wedding day, the day of you becoming “one.” The Father had this day planned, and nothing was about to foil God’s plan for the two of you. And while we might be tempted to point to mere coincidence or chance as the reason for this gathering today, I am here to tell you that your wedding day is no luck of the draw or chance meeting. God, the Creator, not only spoke to Adam and Eve on their wedding day and said, “and the two shall become one,” but God is here today and says to you, “Doug and Allison, you two shall become one flesh.”
Becoming one flesh is not something that the two of you have accomplished. The union of man and woman as one flesh in Holy Matrimony is something God does. Society has played havoc with God’s beautiful gift of marriage. This holy institution has been the target of many of the Devil’s schemes. The Devil loves to see God’s holy things made unholy. Doug and Allison, don’t be fooled. This wedding service of Holy Matrimony wherein God Himself joins the two of you as one flesh is something that the Devil hates… and he will do all he can to spoil it. He will provide temptations for you that will cause divisions so that you are no longer one… but two again. And he won’t stop until he’s put asunder what God has joined together.
And while you must be aware of this old evil foe, do not fear him. For remember that even as the Father has joined the two of you together as one flesh, he has already joined each of you to Jesus in that holy sacrament of Baptism. In your Baptism, God made each of you His own dear children. In your baptisms, the Father joined you to Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death. St. Paul writes, “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” In your baptism the saying is also true, “and the two shall become one flesh” because in baptism you and Jesus became one… for the Scriptures teach us that you are in Christ and Christ is in you.
To be one flesh means simply that you Doug are to be a husband to Allison… and Allison, you are to be a wife to Doug. God has said that it is good for a man to leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. But to leave father and mother does not mean that they are no longer important or should no longer be honored. No, the fourth commandment is as valid and true after marriage as it is before marriage. In marriage, you will find your parents an invaluable blessing from God in new and different ways.
To be one as husband and wife means that you are to make each other your top priority. To be one in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for the mutual help, and support that each of you ought to receive from the other through thick and through thin, to laugh with one another and to cry together. To be one means that in your married life you will find delight in one another… to enjoy each others interests. To be one means to enjoy the blessings of children and to raise them up in the fear and knowledge of the Lord.
Most importantly, to be one is to remain in Christ Jesus, your Savior. And to remain in Him simply means that you regularly participate in the profoundly good blessings that God gives to you in Word and Sacrament. As husband and wife, sincerely hold fast to the old adage to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” the Word of God. Hold fast to the salvation which is yours in Baptism and make it a regular habit to receive the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.
In this way, God the Creator, God the Redeemer, and God the Sanctifier will ever keep you two as one from this day forward and through out you married life.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear Doug and Allison… parents and grandparents… other family members, friends, and fellow saints of Zion congregation…
The text for this service of Holy Matrimony is Moses’ words from Genesis 2. But even more than Moses’ words, these words are the Word of God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth. In this simple phrase, God establishes and ordains marriage. No one should take this away from God and do with it as they please. It is the Father who said, “And the Two shall become One.” I must say, that I thoroughly enjoy the banners that are displayed here in the sanctuary. They beautifully and boldly proclaim this Word of God from Genesis 2
“And the Two shall become one.”
How interesting are the series of events that led to your wedding day, the day of you becoming “one.” The Father had this day planned, and nothing was about to foil God’s plan for the two of you. And while we might be tempted to point to mere coincidence or chance as the reason for this gathering today, I am here to tell you that your wedding day is no luck of the draw or chance meeting. God, the Creator, not only spoke to Adam and Eve on their wedding day and said, “and the two shall become one,” but God is here today and says to you, “Doug and Allison, you two shall become one flesh.”
Becoming one flesh is not something that the two of you have accomplished. The union of man and woman as one flesh in Holy Matrimony is something God does. Society has played havoc with God’s beautiful gift of marriage. This holy institution has been the target of many of the Devil’s schemes. The Devil loves to see God’s holy things made unholy. Doug and Allison, don’t be fooled. This wedding service of Holy Matrimony wherein God Himself joins the two of you as one flesh is something that the Devil hates… and he will do all he can to spoil it. He will provide temptations for you that will cause divisions so that you are no longer one… but two again. And he won’t stop until he’s put asunder what God has joined together.
And while you must be aware of this old evil foe, do not fear him. For remember that even as the Father has joined the two of you together as one flesh, he has already joined each of you to Jesus in that holy sacrament of Baptism. In your Baptism, God made each of you His own dear children. In your baptisms, the Father joined you to Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death. St. Paul writes, “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” In your baptism the saying is also true, “and the two shall become one flesh” because in baptism you and Jesus became one… for the Scriptures teach us that you are in Christ and Christ is in you.
To be one flesh means simply that you Doug are to be a husband to Allison… and Allison, you are to be a wife to Doug. God has said that it is good for a man to leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. But to leave father and mother does not mean that they are no longer important or should no longer be honored. No, the fourth commandment is as valid and true after marriage as it is before marriage. In marriage, you will find your parents an invaluable blessing from God in new and different ways.
To be one as husband and wife means that you are to make each other your top priority. To be one in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for the mutual help, and support that each of you ought to receive from the other through thick and through thin, to laugh with one another and to cry together. To be one means that in your married life you will find delight in one another… to enjoy each others interests. To be one means to enjoy the blessings of children and to raise them up in the fear and knowledge of the Lord.
Most importantly, to be one is to remain in Christ Jesus, your Savior. And to remain in Him simply means that you regularly participate in the profoundly good blessings that God gives to you in Word and Sacrament. As husband and wife, sincerely hold fast to the old adage to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” the Word of God. Hold fast to the salvation which is yours in Baptism and make it a regular habit to receive the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.
In this way, God the Creator, God the Redeemer, and God the Sanctifier will ever keep you two as one from this day forward and through out you married life.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The Good Samaritan
TEXT: Luke 10:25-37
25And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Samaritan. It’s a word of honor and glory. If you are someone who is known as a Good Samaritan it says that you have given of yourself to help someone in need. A Good Samaritan is a lifeguard who jumps in to save a drowning child or a complete stranger who pulls a baby out of a busy street. Hospitals and nursing homes are named “Good Samaritan.” And many states have passed “Good Samaritan Laws” to protect citizens, doctors, and nurses from malpractice suits when they voluntarily help those in life or death circumstances. For us in America, “Samaritan” is a word of honor.
In first Century Jewish culture, the word “Samaritan” was like dirty, 4-letter word. Samaritans had some baggage in their history that goes back to at least when Solomon’s kingdom was divided into two kingdoms. Samaria was the larger kingdom with ten 10 tribes. To keep the ten tribes from going to the Jerusalem temple, the worship of golden calves was instituted as a national religion. The great prophets Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and Hosea urged the people to return to the worship of the God of Abraham. They would not listen. For their idolatry they were exiled and replaced by a mixed race of Israelites and pagans. They were called Samaritans. Their descendants still live in Samaria, and like their ancestors, they only accept the 5 Books of Moses and practice pagan rituals. What irony then, that a hated Samaritan would be the One that Jesus would extol as an example of how you are to inherit eternal life.
American culture was not the first to give accolades to one who is a “Samaritan,” but rather Jesus. The fact that Americans extol the title “Samaritan” is a tribute to the influence of Christianity in the United States. It is a compliment unmatched… to be a Samaritan means putting all that you are and have at the disposal of an injured person, even if that person is intent on your destruction. Perhaps in the story of the Good Samaritan Jesus is asking the impossible of us. Forgiving your enemies is one thing. Helping them is another.
While it is all too easy for preachers to pick on the ineptitude of Pharisees, in one sense this Pharisee must be commended. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” At least this Pharisee had the right question. While this Pharisee was concerned about life after death, too many today are obsessed with avoiding it. The overt preoccupation with eating the right foods and with exercise might be considered a pseudo-religion. The most important question isn’t, “If I die will I live again?” but rather “Is my cholesterol under 200? Are my triglycerides under control?” Healthy living is not a sin. But when it becomes your own path to immortality… and a religious desire to live life to the fullest now…. Thoughts of God, death, life after death, salvation and mortality are made to be silly, useless things.
Death is not a disease to be caught, but a birth defect in every man, woman and child since the day of Adam. Unless we ask the question the Pharisee asked, we may never hear God’s answer of how to obtain eternal life. Jesus gives this answer - Love the Lord your God with everything you are. This simply means to have faith (believe) in the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Any other god won’t do you any good. Secondly, you must love the neighbor more than you love yourself.
Jesus preaches to you the parable of the Good Samaritan not so much to tell you how to live, but to tell you about eternal life. In Jesus vocabulary, “Samaritan” becomes a one-word summary describing all you need to know about Christianity.
Christianity is all about the ONLY true Good Samaritan. Christianity is all about who a Jew called Jesus who allowed Himself be known as a despised Samaritan… or even about a Jew who allowed Himself to assume the nationality of every man, woman, and child… red or yellow, black or white.
Samaritans may have been hated, but none of them were as hated as Jesus was and still is. Jesus, the Good Samaritan, came to His own, but His own would not receive Him. The enemy of God was sinful mankind… it was each of you. And while the sinful flesh in each of you hates the Good Samaritan and desires only the worst for Him, Jesus loved you who act as Pharisees and unfaithful priests and Levites… you who were His enemies. He loved you all the way to the cross. He loved you as He suffered for you on Holy Thursday through Good Friday. He was beaten, scourged, crowned with thorns, and pinned to a cross while priests, and Levites and even His own disciples passed Him by and would not help Him. But they couldn’t help Him, nor did He want them too. In hanging on the cross Jesus was actually helping them. On the cross He died for those who have been beaten and robbed by the Devil and His demonic thieves. The Good Samaritan’s holy precious blood became the divine currency with which He says to His Father, “I have covered all their iniquity in full.”
Today, that blood of the Good Samaritan purifies you from all sin. Drink deeply from the chalice of the Good Samaritan. In eating His Body and drinking His Blood Jesus does not pass you by, but He comes to you who are beaten down in sin and problems, and sadness. In His Holy Meal, He nurses you back to health… and He restores your soul.
What shall you do to inherit eternal life? Absolutely nothing. Jesus the Good Samaritan has done everything for you.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
25And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Samaritan. It’s a word of honor and glory. If you are someone who is known as a Good Samaritan it says that you have given of yourself to help someone in need. A Good Samaritan is a lifeguard who jumps in to save a drowning child or a complete stranger who pulls a baby out of a busy street. Hospitals and nursing homes are named “Good Samaritan.” And many states have passed “Good Samaritan Laws” to protect citizens, doctors, and nurses from malpractice suits when they voluntarily help those in life or death circumstances. For us in America, “Samaritan” is a word of honor.
In first Century Jewish culture, the word “Samaritan” was like dirty, 4-letter word. Samaritans had some baggage in their history that goes back to at least when Solomon’s kingdom was divided into two kingdoms. Samaria was the larger kingdom with ten 10 tribes. To keep the ten tribes from going to the Jerusalem temple, the worship of golden calves was instituted as a national religion. The great prophets Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and Hosea urged the people to return to the worship of the God of Abraham. They would not listen. For their idolatry they were exiled and replaced by a mixed race of Israelites and pagans. They were called Samaritans. Their descendants still live in Samaria, and like their ancestors, they only accept the 5 Books of Moses and practice pagan rituals. What irony then, that a hated Samaritan would be the One that Jesus would extol as an example of how you are to inherit eternal life.
American culture was not the first to give accolades to one who is a “Samaritan,” but rather Jesus. The fact that Americans extol the title “Samaritan” is a tribute to the influence of Christianity in the United States. It is a compliment unmatched… to be a Samaritan means putting all that you are and have at the disposal of an injured person, even if that person is intent on your destruction. Perhaps in the story of the Good Samaritan Jesus is asking the impossible of us. Forgiving your enemies is one thing. Helping them is another.
While it is all too easy for preachers to pick on the ineptitude of Pharisees, in one sense this Pharisee must be commended. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” At least this Pharisee had the right question. While this Pharisee was concerned about life after death, too many today are obsessed with avoiding it. The overt preoccupation with eating the right foods and with exercise might be considered a pseudo-religion. The most important question isn’t, “If I die will I live again?” but rather “Is my cholesterol under 200? Are my triglycerides under control?” Healthy living is not a sin. But when it becomes your own path to immortality… and a religious desire to live life to the fullest now…. Thoughts of God, death, life after death, salvation and mortality are made to be silly, useless things.
Death is not a disease to be caught, but a birth defect in every man, woman and child since the day of Adam. Unless we ask the question the Pharisee asked, we may never hear God’s answer of how to obtain eternal life. Jesus gives this answer - Love the Lord your God with everything you are. This simply means to have faith (believe) in the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Any other god won’t do you any good. Secondly, you must love the neighbor more than you love yourself.
Jesus preaches to you the parable of the Good Samaritan not so much to tell you how to live, but to tell you about eternal life. In Jesus vocabulary, “Samaritan” becomes a one-word summary describing all you need to know about Christianity.
Christianity is all about the ONLY true Good Samaritan. Christianity is all about who a Jew called Jesus who allowed Himself be known as a despised Samaritan… or even about a Jew who allowed Himself to assume the nationality of every man, woman, and child… red or yellow, black or white.
Samaritans may have been hated, but none of them were as hated as Jesus was and still is. Jesus, the Good Samaritan, came to His own, but His own would not receive Him. The enemy of God was sinful mankind… it was each of you. And while the sinful flesh in each of you hates the Good Samaritan and desires only the worst for Him, Jesus loved you who act as Pharisees and unfaithful priests and Levites… you who were His enemies. He loved you all the way to the cross. He loved you as He suffered for you on Holy Thursday through Good Friday. He was beaten, scourged, crowned with thorns, and pinned to a cross while priests, and Levites and even His own disciples passed Him by and would not help Him. But they couldn’t help Him, nor did He want them too. In hanging on the cross Jesus was actually helping them. On the cross He died for those who have been beaten and robbed by the Devil and His demonic thieves. The Good Samaritan’s holy precious blood became the divine currency with which He says to His Father, “I have covered all their iniquity in full.”
Today, that blood of the Good Samaritan purifies you from all sin. Drink deeply from the chalice of the Good Samaritan. In eating His Body and drinking His Blood Jesus does not pass you by, but He comes to you who are beaten down in sin and problems, and sadness. In His Holy Meal, He nurses you back to health… and He restores your soul.
What shall you do to inherit eternal life? Absolutely nothing. Jesus the Good Samaritan has done everything for you.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Wedding of Brian Iehl to Shayla Degner
TEXT: 1 John 4:7-12, 19
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 19 We love because he first loved us.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear Brian and Shayla… parents and grandparents… other family members, friends, and fellow saints of Zion congregation…
The text chosen for this wedding service is from 1 John 4: 19, “We love because He first loved us.”
Weddings and Love seem to go hand in hand. Two people fall in love, get married, have children and live out their lives together. Somewhere in the midst of all that is love.
Love is one of those “good” four-letter- words, that can be chocked full of meaning or have very little meaning at all. Love in marriage has traditionally included the life-long commitment or union between a man and a woman.
Contemporary problems have seemingly destroyed this basic understanding of love. Love all too often has no permanence. It doesn’t seem to stick. The wedding knot is not tied tight enough. Too many marriages end in divorce today, even when at one time the couple was supposed to be madly in love and made a commitment before their God, their family and one another that they would love, honor and cherish one another in sickness and in health until death they do part.
Maybe the problem is that when two people think they have fallen in love, they really haven’t. Or maybe they really have fallen in love; but that love is a love that will not last… it’s a weak, imperfect love.
For those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, we have been given a different love then the kind that the world gives. It’s not a love that has anything to do with being beautiful, or warm fuzzy feelings, or even being kind, gentle, or thoughtful. Neither does it have nothing to do with Valentine’s Day, red roses, or strolls along a beach at sunset.
God’s Love is a love that loves you to death. The Scriptures tell us that God loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. That means that God’s love is seen most clearly and perfectly on the cross. It’s in suffering and death that God not only says, “I love you,” but He actually does it.
The Good Friday story is God’s love story to all mankind. The Good Friday story is God’s love letter to all of humanity… God’s love is a sacrificial love. It’s a love that keeps on loving even when we in our sin are unlovable. It’s a love that never fails. It lasts for all eternity.
Brian and Shayla, you have been baptized into Christ. That means you have also been united with Him in His loving sacrificial death on the cross. Because you have known God’s love in His death and in your baptism, you know of a Love which is much greater than the kind of the Love that the world gives. God has and does love you in that He died for you. He washed away your sins. He gives to you the Divine Service where He loves you in Word and Sacrament. I know your family loves you. AND… I know that you love each other. But God loves you with a perfect Love that will never fail.
Brian and Shayla, may it ever be true of the two of you that your love is forever rooted in the Love of Jesus Christ. That you forgive one another in Jesus’ Name when you fail to keep your wedding vows. That you love one another so much that you speak Jesus to one another. That you raise your children knowing the love of Jesus. That you daily remember your baptisms and are faithful in hearing God’s Love and receiving His Body and Blood given for you in His House every Lord’s Day.
In this way, you will love each other in a way that this sinful world could never love. In this way you will love each other until death do you part because Jesus first loved you.
Amen.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 19 We love because he first loved us.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear Brian and Shayla… parents and grandparents… other family members, friends, and fellow saints of Zion congregation…
The text chosen for this wedding service is from 1 John 4: 19, “We love because He first loved us.”
Weddings and Love seem to go hand in hand. Two people fall in love, get married, have children and live out their lives together. Somewhere in the midst of all that is love.
Love is one of those “good” four-letter- words, that can be chocked full of meaning or have very little meaning at all. Love in marriage has traditionally included the life-long commitment or union between a man and a woman.
Contemporary problems have seemingly destroyed this basic understanding of love. Love all too often has no permanence. It doesn’t seem to stick. The wedding knot is not tied tight enough. Too many marriages end in divorce today, even when at one time the couple was supposed to be madly in love and made a commitment before their God, their family and one another that they would love, honor and cherish one another in sickness and in health until death they do part.
Maybe the problem is that when two people think they have fallen in love, they really haven’t. Or maybe they really have fallen in love; but that love is a love that will not last… it’s a weak, imperfect love.
For those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, we have been given a different love then the kind that the world gives. It’s not a love that has anything to do with being beautiful, or warm fuzzy feelings, or even being kind, gentle, or thoughtful. Neither does it have nothing to do with Valentine’s Day, red roses, or strolls along a beach at sunset.
God’s Love is a love that loves you to death. The Scriptures tell us that God loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. That means that God’s love is seen most clearly and perfectly on the cross. It’s in suffering and death that God not only says, “I love you,” but He actually does it.
The Good Friday story is God’s love story to all mankind. The Good Friday story is God’s love letter to all of humanity… God’s love is a sacrificial love. It’s a love that keeps on loving even when we in our sin are unlovable. It’s a love that never fails. It lasts for all eternity.
Brian and Shayla, you have been baptized into Christ. That means you have also been united with Him in His loving sacrificial death on the cross. Because you have known God’s love in His death and in your baptism, you know of a Love which is much greater than the kind of the Love that the world gives. God has and does love you in that He died for you. He washed away your sins. He gives to you the Divine Service where He loves you in Word and Sacrament. I know your family loves you. AND… I know that you love each other. But God loves you with a perfect Love that will never fail.
Brian and Shayla, may it ever be true of the two of you that your love is forever rooted in the Love of Jesus Christ. That you forgive one another in Jesus’ Name when you fail to keep your wedding vows. That you love one another so much that you speak Jesus to one another. That you raise your children knowing the love of Jesus. That you daily remember your baptisms and are faithful in hearing God’s Love and receiving His Body and Blood given for you in His House every Lord’s Day.
In this way, you will love each other in a way that this sinful world could never love. In this way you will love each other until death do you part because Jesus first loved you.
Amen.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The Healing of the Deaf & Tongue-Tied Man
TEXT: Mark 7:31-3731
Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The American educational system has a category for children with speech impediments. They call it special education. These are children who don’t talk right. They sound funny. We treat them differently. They don’t fit our definition of normal.
Now add the problem of being deaf and you have a very unusual person. IN the United States today it is estimated that 1 in 20 Americans are hearing impaired or functionally deaf. Nearly half of these are age 65 years or older.[i] Almost everyone knows someone who has trouble hearing or struggles with hearing loss themselves.
As a child I had trouble with stuttering. Children are especially notorious for picking on others who aren’t normal. It’s like the chicken that draws a little blood - the more blood it draws the more vigorously it picks.
The man who was deaf and had the speech impediment was blessed with some Godly friends. They were not typical of many who are annoyed by people with disabilities. Rather they took him to Jesus and begged Him to lay his Hand on him.
This man was a candidate for special education. He probably would have qualified for welfare and other governmental services. Most people would have overlooked him. Some would have made jokes about him. “Pretty people” would have avoided him. Few, if any, would have shaken his hand let alone touch his ears and tongue. But not Jesus.
Jesus did even more than they asked. After taking the man to the side privately, Jesus puts His fingers into His ears, and after spitting He touched the man’s tongue.
Jesus put His fingers into the man’s ear? Jesus wipes spit on the man’s tongue? If Jesus weren’t the Holy Son of God, they might have thought this was another cruel joke. But Jesus was not joking. For the Scriptures call the man who deceives his friends with jokes nothing less than a fool. (Proverbs 26:19).
And then the Lord speaks, “Ephphatha! Be opened!” In other words, “Behold, I make all things new.” Where others tear down, Jesus builds up. Where Satan destroys, Jesus recreates.
With a Word Jesus stilled the stormy seas. With a Word He brings life to little girls and grown men. With a Word, Jesus changes the configuration of nerve cells s that they would work again and the deaf and tongue tied man would hear and speak plainly. It was a miracle.
Jesus loved this many intimately. He got into his inner space, his uncomfortable zone and touched the man right where it hurt. No, Jesus didn’t destroy the man and start over. Rather, Jesus took what was imperfect and made it perfect. He made beautiful what sin makes ugly.
In 1523 Dr. Martin Luther wrote a simple liturgy for sacrament of Holy Baptism. And… as is true of all our liturgy… Luther developed it entirely from the Word of God. After reading Mark 10 (People bringing little children to Jesus so that He might lay His hands on them – hmmm…. See a resemblance to this text?), Luther instructs the priest to lay his hand on the head of the child (in the very form of Jesus) and to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Then, the Priest was to take some of his own spit and touch the right hear of the child and say the Word of Jesus, “Ephphatha, that is, Be thou opened.” Then with the same spit on his fingers he was to touch the child’s nose and left ear and say, “But thou, devil, flee; for God’s judgment cometh speedily.”
Luther saw in this miracle of the tongue-tied and deaf man the miracle of Baptism. That even as this man was physically disabled, so is every person (you and me) born in sin, unbelief, unable of ourselves to know God, unable within our own power to find God. But God finds us in the sacrament of Baptism. God calls parents to faithfully bring their children to the fount of grace just as these Godly friends brought this disabled man. And there at that font the pastor acts in the stead and by the command of Jesus. So that the pastor must decrease and Christ must increase. There in Baptism, the water is the spit of Christ and the Word of God is that re-creating, life-giving, miracle working Word which does what it is sent forth to do. “I bapize thee in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” In other Words, “Ephphatha! Be Thou opened.”
God has opened our ears to hear His Word in Baptism… so listen, gladly hear and learn it. Hear from God Himself how he has done all things well. That He makes deaf sinners hear the Word of God. That He opens the mouths of us who are confined with the lock-jaw of sin. That His perfect life, suffering, death and resurrection is given, granted, and bestowed to us as a free and unmerited gift in Baptism.
Behold! God in Christ Jesus has done all things well.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[i] http://jdsde.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/11/1/112
Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The American educational system has a category for children with speech impediments. They call it special education. These are children who don’t talk right. They sound funny. We treat them differently. They don’t fit our definition of normal.
Now add the problem of being deaf and you have a very unusual person. IN the United States today it is estimated that 1 in 20 Americans are hearing impaired or functionally deaf. Nearly half of these are age 65 years or older.[i] Almost everyone knows someone who has trouble hearing or struggles with hearing loss themselves.
As a child I had trouble with stuttering. Children are especially notorious for picking on others who aren’t normal. It’s like the chicken that draws a little blood - the more blood it draws the more vigorously it picks.
The man who was deaf and had the speech impediment was blessed with some Godly friends. They were not typical of many who are annoyed by people with disabilities. Rather they took him to Jesus and begged Him to lay his Hand on him.
This man was a candidate for special education. He probably would have qualified for welfare and other governmental services. Most people would have overlooked him. Some would have made jokes about him. “Pretty people” would have avoided him. Few, if any, would have shaken his hand let alone touch his ears and tongue. But not Jesus.
Jesus did even more than they asked. After taking the man to the side privately, Jesus puts His fingers into His ears, and after spitting He touched the man’s tongue.
Jesus put His fingers into the man’s ear? Jesus wipes spit on the man’s tongue? If Jesus weren’t the Holy Son of God, they might have thought this was another cruel joke. But Jesus was not joking. For the Scriptures call the man who deceives his friends with jokes nothing less than a fool. (Proverbs 26:19).
And then the Lord speaks, “Ephphatha! Be opened!” In other words, “Behold, I make all things new.” Where others tear down, Jesus builds up. Where Satan destroys, Jesus recreates.
With a Word Jesus stilled the stormy seas. With a Word He brings life to little girls and grown men. With a Word, Jesus changes the configuration of nerve cells s that they would work again and the deaf and tongue tied man would hear and speak plainly. It was a miracle.
Jesus loved this many intimately. He got into his inner space, his uncomfortable zone and touched the man right where it hurt. No, Jesus didn’t destroy the man and start over. Rather, Jesus took what was imperfect and made it perfect. He made beautiful what sin makes ugly.
In 1523 Dr. Martin Luther wrote a simple liturgy for sacrament of Holy Baptism. And… as is true of all our liturgy… Luther developed it entirely from the Word of God. After reading Mark 10 (People bringing little children to Jesus so that He might lay His hands on them – hmmm…. See a resemblance to this text?), Luther instructs the priest to lay his hand on the head of the child (in the very form of Jesus) and to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Then, the Priest was to take some of his own spit and touch the right hear of the child and say the Word of Jesus, “Ephphatha, that is, Be thou opened.” Then with the same spit on his fingers he was to touch the child’s nose and left ear and say, “But thou, devil, flee; for God’s judgment cometh speedily.”
Luther saw in this miracle of the tongue-tied and deaf man the miracle of Baptism. That even as this man was physically disabled, so is every person (you and me) born in sin, unbelief, unable of ourselves to know God, unable within our own power to find God. But God finds us in the sacrament of Baptism. God calls parents to faithfully bring their children to the fount of grace just as these Godly friends brought this disabled man. And there at that font the pastor acts in the stead and by the command of Jesus. So that the pastor must decrease and Christ must increase. There in Baptism, the water is the spit of Christ and the Word of God is that re-creating, life-giving, miracle working Word which does what it is sent forth to do. “I bapize thee in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” In other Words, “Ephphatha! Be Thou opened.”
God has opened our ears to hear His Word in Baptism… so listen, gladly hear and learn it. Hear from God Himself how he has done all things well. That He makes deaf sinners hear the Word of God. That He opens the mouths of us who are confined with the lock-jaw of sin. That His perfect life, suffering, death and resurrection is given, granted, and bestowed to us as a free and unmerited gift in Baptism.
Behold! God in Christ Jesus has done all things well.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[i] http://jdsde.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/11/1/112
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