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.
Friday, October 31, 2008
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.
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