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.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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).
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