Sermon for 9/20/26: Proper 20a

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Heaven Is Not Fair
Matthew 20:1-16

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

The Kingdom of heaven is not the kingdom of men. That may seem as if it should be a “no-brainer,” as they say. But the way these two kingdoms are often confused tells us that we don’t understand this as well as we should. The Kingdom of heaven is not ruled by fairness, or equity, or even normal common sense. The fair thing, as the kingdom of men sees such things, is that you get what’s coming to you; you get your fair share. The world is enamored with the idea of karma. But the Kingdom of heaven doesn’t work that way.

Now, there is a place where everything is fair. There is a kingdom that is ruled with total equity. In Hell there is punishment for every sin. The fair wages of sin is eternal death; the Bible teaches that, doesn’t it? And so in Hell, things are always fair and equitable. In Hell you always get exactly what you have earned. And if that is what you demand, if that is the kind of kingdom and lord you desire, then that is what you will get.

This brings us to the parable of the vineyard owner and his laborers. The strange thing that happens here is that the vineyard owner pays more than his employees actually deserve. What wise employer ever paid his workforce, even if they were his own family, so foolishly? But that is precisely the case in this parable. And it is typical of the characters in our Lord’s parables, especially those who represent Him or the Father: they tend to behave in seemingly outrageous and even foolish ways. And that is because the wisdom of God confounds the wisdom of man. But however foolish he may appear, the owner of the vineyard is no fool. He knows exactly what he is doing. His actions are deliberate. It is not foolishness that causes him to overpay; it is generosity.

The lesson of the parable, the point of comparison, is that God is generous; He is merciful and gracious. He does not give us what our labors deserve. Instead, He gives us His own Son. He lavishes upon us that which we have no right to demand or even expect; though He is the Father’s beloved Son, His most precious possession, nonetheless the Father gives Him to us so that we might live. The Father is not foolish. He knows full well the cost of our salvation. He pays it willingly. He pays it deliberately. Indeed, this is His good and gracious will. He pays us, He rewards us, not according to the work or the deeds which we have performed—for it is not by works of our righteousness that we are saved. No. He pays us, He rewards us, according to His mercy. He pays us with His own abundant love, with boundless grace. After all, it is His to do with as He desires. And He desires you to have it and live it. And this is no exaggeration, as outrageous or foolish as it may seem. God forgives you in Christ Jesus, and He loves you as His own.

Let us consider ourselves under the terms of this parable. When the time comes for you to be paid, what will you have earned? What have you deserved? Will pay-day be a day of reckoning? Shall you, at last, be responsible for paying for your sins? No, it will be a day of grace. It will be day of reconciliation with your Father in heaven because of the death of His Son. Do not be troubled by this, as the world is troubled with what it considers foolish behavior on God’s part. Do not be scandalized by this, by the fact that God welcomes the worst and most notorious of sinners. Rather, be glad to join in! God is merciful, loving, and kind. He is patient, steadfast, and generous. He is gracious and faithful. He loves to love; that is His very nature. He loves to forgive. And so, look not to your own works. Do not look at the sins of others. Make no comparisons. Look only to the mercy of the Almighty God who came in human flesh, who loves to love you. Rejoice and take delight in the company of your brothers and sisters, a sinful-but-forgiven people, who have been brought out of the bondage of sin to freedom in Christ. Revel in the joy of grace that is not fair. Bask in the wages paid, the reward given, which you have not earned but have received from His lavish and unfailing love. Yours is a cup that is full to overflowing! There is nothing left to be concerned with, nothing left to complain about. What you have is better than fair!

Consider these things as you should come to the altar today. Come and receive what He desires to give you: the very body and blood of Christ. It is now the eleventh hour; no one knows when the clock will strike twelve. We are all beggars, as Luther said. We cannot save ourselves, and we have no right to make demands. But His love is His to do with as He pleases, and He wants you to have it. In grace and mercy, He treats you not as a hired hand, but as His own beloved, holy child. He pays you the wages owed to His perfect and worthy Son: life and salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and unity and peace with Him. These are the wages He has set apart for you even from eternity. So come and eat. Receive grace that you have not earned and do not deserve. Be joined to Him. You are the chosen. This is the inheritance of your Baptism. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price; you belong to Him. So come. Eat and be satisfied. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

 

HYMN: How Blest, the Man Who Finds Delight

You would think that, with all the free time with which I find myself afflicted, I would be writing hymns constantly. Sadly, that has not been the case. My mind has been whirling lately with all sorts of not-useful thoughts, and that's not exactly conducive to good writing. 

Nevertheless, there's something in me that wants to write, even if my brain and heart have not been particularly cooperative. I've got a Psalter sitting on the shelf next to my recliner. While I haven't opened it as much as I should, I opened it recently to the logical starting place: Psalm 1. I was tempted to turn to others--Psalm 25, for example, though it seems my "enemies" have been winning victory after victory lately--but my obsessive compulsive tendencies sometimes make me take things in order.

I don't know that it's particularly good, and it doesn't really say anything new. But I wrote a metric version of it, and I share what I write, good and bad. So here's Psalm 1. We'll see if this is the start of a long-term project. 

Feedback is love.

How Blest, the Man Who Finds Delight

1. How blest, the man who finds delight

And meditates both day and night

In God's great Law. He will not stand

With sinners, that ungodly band.

2. He stands, unwithered, as a tree.

His work shall prosper gloriously.

Refreshed in that baptismal stream,

With sweetest fruit his branches teem.

3. The godless shall be blown away

Like chaff upon the judgment day.

They perish there before the Lord,

While saints receive their great reward.

LM (88 88)

Tallis' Canon

Psalm 1

Sermon for 9/13/26: Proper 19a

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Forgiven
Matthew 18:21-35
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

It seems like Peter always knows what is truly in the sinner’s heart, and he is never afraid to say it boldly. This time he says, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” In other words, how long do I have to put up with my neighbor? What is the bare minimum I have to do to love my neighbor as myself? Yeah, I know that God is merciful to me, but how long must I be merciful to my brother? This is a dreadful way of thinking! And yet we all debate within ourselves hoe much to forgive our brothers. We must all learn some repentance today, before we are thrown into hell’s prison forever.

That’s what Jesus says. But don’t try to make Him say that God’s forgiveness really depends on how well you forgive your neighbor, as if you could forgive your neighbor as much as Jesus forgives you. Jesus knows that God’s mercy rests entirely on the Father giving His Son over to death, and He applies that work to you through Word and Sacraments. God has paid the penalty for sin by killing Jesus on the cross. All your debt is paid. What you owe, Christ bought with His innocent blood as the price. Though you deserved to be cast into the fires of hell until you’ve paid every last cent, Jesus bore the punishment in your place. He paid the whole amount of debt for every man, woman and infant: from the vilest murderer to the meekest child. Jesus rescued you from ever thinking there is anything you have to do or give or show to gain a place in God’s kingdom. So do not believe for a moment that your Savior will withhold God’s grace until the sinner makes full repayment for his sins. That’s already been made.

But also don’t believe that He wants you to cast off a repentant brother or make someone suffer even a moment longer before you give them forgiveness. Jesus speaks today the way a king would if, having forgiven one servant an incredible amount of money, he then finds out that that same servant turned around and had a fellow servant put in prison for a debt far less than what was owed the king. If you tell a repentant brother or sister in Christ that you cannot be reconciled to them, in essence, you’re saying that one of you belongs in hell. Be careful who you say that to, because it might not be your brother who belongs there.

It is the pastor’s lot to stand in the middle of these two errors. Pastors hear the sins that people confess. They watch the lives of God’s people fall apart because of sin. They hear criticisms and accusations and complaints, sometimes against the pastor himself, against his family, against the ways in which he faithfully performs the duties God sets before him. Still, a pastor stands before the altar and says: “I forgive you all your sins.” He hears your sins and he forgives, admitting poor sinners like himself to Christ’s altar. By the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ in bread and wine, your sins are done away with, forgiven and forgotten by God. Learn from the Ministry our gracious God provides for you! Pastor Williams will faithfully speak those words to you, as I did this morning. Learn from how God deals with you; learn from Him how to act toward one another, how to love one another, how to forgive one another. Learn from your Savior as He takes your sins, dies for them, and pours out His forgiveness.

Pay attention to the Gospel that has been set before you. Has there ever been a time when a sinner comes with repentance and confesses and does not receive absolution from God? If you don’t know the answer to that, you have not been paying attention. Every pastor who has served you—both those who have served you full time and those who have filled in during vacancies and illnesses—every pastor has promised to forgive repentant sinners, and a pastor should and must be removed from the Holy Ministry if he doesn’t forgive repentant sinners as Jesus has commanded him to do. So come and learn the Gospel of Jesus. Learn that, when you sin, the Lord will use your pastor to hear your confession and speak forgiveness. He will use your pastor’s mouth to preach to you that Jesus died so that you will live. Your sins now belong to Jesus, and He calls them all forgiven. He will feed you with His body and blood, bringing forgiveness, life, and salvation to your lips. From these, you learn to use your lips to forgive others.

Like Peter, your pastor is under orders to forgive as often as you come repenting. And if you are not yet strong enough to let go of the sins someone has committed against you, confess your weakness and your lack of faith and love. For the sake of Jesus, and in His stead, your pastor will say, “In the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins.” He will urge you to receive the Holy Supper. And with such forgiveness, we, who ought to pay forever, will “sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us,” no matter how many times we have to do it. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

Sermon for 9/6/26: Proper 18a

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Greatness in Weakness
Matthew 18:1-20
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Last week, we heard Jesus tell His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer and be killed, and on the third day be raised. Shortly after, Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, His face shining like the sun, His clothes as white as light. A few verses before today’s Gospel begins, we have another Passion prediction, when Jesus said, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.”

After all that, one would be tempted to think that the disciples would have questions about His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. But that is not what they asked. Instead they asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Some of them had seen Jesus shining brighter than the sun, talking with Moses and Elijah. All of them had heard Jesus talk about His coming suffering, death, and resurrection. And this is the question that comes to their minds?

Jesus knew a good teaching opportunity when it happened. Calling to Him a child, He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus took the opportunity of their question to teach them that greatness in the kingdom of heaven is totally different than in the kingdoms of this world.

You might be tempted to think, “Ah, the innocence of youth. That is what Jesus is teaching. He is pointing to a child because children are so innocent.” When they are all decked out in their Sunday best, children can look pretty innocent. But any parent will tell you that you must teach children to tell the truth because children are natural liars. You must teach children to share because they are selfish by nature. Children may look innocent, but they are not. As King David wrote, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

So why did Jesus use a child as an example of the greatest? What is so special about them? What can they do for the kingdom? What can they do for Jesus? The answer of course is nothing. That’s just the point, isn’t it? Children have no capacity for entering the kingdom of God. We think of Jesus with the children, but those children never came on their own. Scripture tells us that people brought even infants to him that he might touch them. Someone brought the infants. They didn’t crawl up on their own. And that’s the point. When it comes to the Kingdom and a right relationship with God, there is no room for human initiative, effort, self-promotion, or self-justification—none at all!

So Jesus taught His disciples that the one who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one who needs the most help. The one who is totally helpless is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This is the opposite of this world, where the one who gives the most help is the greatest. The one who is the most helpless comes under God’s protection. Jesus said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” The holy angels themselves defend God’s children. Our Father gladly answers says, “Yes,” when we pray with Luther, “Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.” So the helpless are the greatest; they are perfect candidates for grace.

This sinful world seeks greatness through power. Jesus Himself said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.” That is the way of the world: get power and use it to control others. The one who uses power most effectively is the greatest. But Jesus points to a helpless child as the standard of greatness. The one who is the most helpless, the weakest, the humblest, the lowliest, the most reliant on Jesus: that one is the greatest.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, beloved of our Father: last week we heard that followers of Christ bear the crosses set before us. And there are and always will be times when the burden beats you down. The flaming darts of the evil one are especially fierce. Those who suffer these attacks are the little ones of whom Jesus speaks, the ones who are the greatest in the eyes of our Father. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Yours is the kingdom of heaven.

So how do you become like a little child? You are born from above, born anew, in the waters of Holy Baptism, where God makes you His own child, where the Spirit works faith in you. He restores your childlike faith: faith that relies on Jesus alone instead of on your own reason or strength. And our Father gladly feeds that faith with the body and blood of His Son for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of that faith. In this way you are able to bear your burdens with courage and patience. As the Lord said to St. Paul in the midst of Paul’s suffering, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And Paul answers, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”

When you were at your most helpless, when you were dead in trespasses and sin, our Lord treated you as the greatest in the kingdom. He took on your weakness, carrying your sin. He died so that you would live. And He rose so you would have eternal life with Him forever. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

Sermon for 8/30/26: Proper 17a

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Priceless Crosses
Matthew 16:21-28
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

 

Consider this statement: “Christianity teaches that salvation from sin, death, and hell is a gift of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone, without any good works or effort on our part.” Is that statement true or false? Of course it is true! This is the fundamental teaching of the Christian faith; this is the Gospel, the doctrine that separates the Christian faith from all others. And yet, a number of recent surveys have indicated that less than 50% of those who identify as Lutherans answer this question correctly. Why is this clear teaching apparently not getting through? Is it poor teaching and preaching by pastors? No doubt, that is part of the problem. Is it careless listening on the part of those sitting in the pews and in the classrooms? That is also an important factor. But the overarching problem the Church faces is a “culture war.”

This battle is especially difficult because it seems the culture of the world is crowding out the culture of the Church. In a world that is oriented toward business and political matters, the Church has become enamored with programs and growth statistics; doctrine is no longer of primary importance. In a culture absolutely saturated with entertainment, most of which is ungodly, the Church has come to believe that, to be found appealing, she must entertain rather than worship; she must “schmooze” people rather than teach them; she must coddle them rather than call sinners to repentance. Some will think this judgment of the Church too harsh. But the evidence is out there if you are willing to see it.

So ask yourself: how important is the teaching of the Church to you? What is your Christian faith worth to you? These have always been important questions; that hasn’t changed. But we as the Body of Christ have to admit to priorities than have become confused. The Church is always only a generation away from losing everything. And so the education of her people, especially her children, is one of her greatest responsibilities.

Consider this matter then, in light of our Gospel for this morning, where our Lord Jesus Christ speaks to His disciples about those values that are priceless. Jesus tells you here that it will cost you to follow Him. But you need to understand rightly what that means. You cannot buy discipleship like clothes or groceries. The fact of the matter is, there are consequences to faithfully following Jesus. There are things you will give up, things you will suffer, things you will do because you are His disciples.

To follow faithfully after Jesus means to bear the cross. And that cross is painful; even as it brought crucifixion and death to our Lord, so it brings pain and affliction to you. So be sure you know and understand what this cross is. It is what you suffer and endure for the sake of Christ. It is not the heartache you bring on yourself because of your sin. For children, it is enduring the ridicule and cruelty of school mates without doing the same to them, because you belong to Christ. For adults, it is being patient with the difficult husband, the nagging wife, the obstinate child because you love them for the sake of Christ, and you want them to rejoice in the salvation He gives. It is understanding that, because the world hates Jesus, it will also hate those who are His.

And to follow faithfully after Christ means obedience to His Word. Obedience is not the most popular concept in our day, to be sure, but it is crucial to the life of faith. No learning takes place without discipline. Christians are disciplined, and their discipline is according to the Word of God. We don’t revise the Christian faith to suit ourselves or the demands of the moment. But rather, we are conformed in all ways to the Word of God.

Now, our sinful flesh might conclude that this is too high a price to pay: too much self-denial, too much pain to bear, too much obedience to endure. And so we need to learn why we can be happy to pay this price. You see, the life of faith offers an equation that, according to human thinking, does not and cannot add up. By gaining all the things you may think are important, you may lose everything. But when you lose everything for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, you actually gain everything that matters. You can be happy to pay this price because it really is the only way to live.

The great self-deception that many live with is that real life is lived for one’s self. But to really live, Jesus says, means to forget about self and personal advantage. It is to spend yourself—your energies, time, and talents—for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. And lest you think that is merely an appeal to work in the Church, what is in view here are those vocations to which all you have been called: to serve your wives and husbands, your children and family members, your friends and neighbors, your employers and employees, with the self-giving love of Christ—not because there is anything to be gained by you, but because that is how the Lord has loved and served you. He spared nothing in redeeming your lives from destruction and your souls from damnation.

These things are beyond price. The wonderful gift of this creation and the life God gives us to live here is something for which we will never be sufficiently grateful. The grace and salvation that come to us through Jesus Christ and His gifts of Word, Baptism, Absolution, and Holy Supper are such that we can never repay the goodness of God. But in faith we receive these gifts, and in faith we strive to live, day by day, according to these priceless values. In these things, God is surely glorified, and we, His Church, are blessed forever and ever. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.   

Sermon for 8/23/26: Proper 16a

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Understanding God
Romans 11:33-12:8 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The God with whom we deal, the One in whom we believe—the blessed Holy Trinity—not only surpasses understanding; He defies understanding. He fits into none of those pre-conceived notions we may have about who or what kind of God He is. We like to think that we are sophisticated people; we like to think that, with all of our technology and our ability to find and retrieve information almost instantaneously, there is nothing we cannot know, nothing we cannot do, nothing we cannot manipulate, if we just have the proper information and the right equipment. But how do you stop a massive earthquake or a terrible hurricane? How do you halt seemingly inevitable flood waters? And, more difficult still, how do you explain such things? For what precise reason do they happen? And why do they happen over and over again?

Think about the questions St. Paul asks the Romans. “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” Do you know it? Of course, you don’t. Sure, there is much you can know about God. This wonderful creation all around us reveals many things about Him. As David joyfully confessed in the Psalms: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” Creation reveals a marvelous order, and the genius behind it, that tells us a good deal about God. But do you know the mind of God? Are you able to search into the deep recesses of the divine mind to see what is there and to evaluate not only what He thinks, but also the way He thinks?

Ask yourself this: “Who has been [God’s] counselor?” God has never talked things over with me. Does He consult you before He does what He does? But like me, there are times when you think He should, don’t you? Don’t you think that, given the things that have happened to you, He must not really understand what is going on with you? The Psalmist wrote: “He that keeps Israel neither slumbers not sleeps.” But don’t you wonder sometimes how true that is? There have been plenty of times when we think He must have been asleep—or, at least, He wasn’t paying attention. Things have happened to you that brought pain and suffering, sorrow and grief. Many have been the troubles that could have been avoided if God had only talked to you first.

What about this: “Who has given a gift to [God] that it might be repaid?” Have you ever tried to make a bargain with God? How did that work for you? But God who gives to all life and breath and all things, without Whom we can do nothing; we cannot place Him under obligation to us. There is no possibility for the human mind to search out the mind of God, to understand God’s ways and judgments. And so, we really are helpless; we are completely dependent on the goodness and the mercy of God. Left to our own devices, we will only make things worse than they were. But are we hopeless? That is another matter altogether. St. Paul’s words that close out this reading speak of the hope we have: “For from him and to him and through him are all things. To Him be glory forever.”

What about this one: “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” We certainly haven’t, but our Lord Jesus Christ came for that very purpose. Philip said to Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” And Jesus replied, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” All that we need to know of the mind of God has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ and in all that He has done for us. His willingness to suffer and die, to lay down His life for us that we might be redeemed from sin and death—these reveal the mind of God to be one of love and mercy and goodness toward us.

Here’s another one: “Who has been [God’s] Counselor?” God certainly has no need of our advice on how to take care of His world. What advice could we even give? What He has given us is the privilege of prayer, as well as His promise to hear and answer us when we pray. This is one of the great mysteries of our faith. Holy Scripture teaches us that, in His infallible foreknowledge, God knows all that will happen before it happens. But as the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah: “Before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” It is not for us to understand how these things can all be reconciled. That is in the mind of God! It is only for us to believe that, as irreconcilable as this may seem to us, it is true.

And one more question: “Who has given a gift to [God] that it might be repaid?” This is the way our world works, isn’t it? It’s called “reciprocity:” one good turn deserves another. But while we have God to thank for all that we are and have, He requires nothing from us! Instead, He has received the payment in blood by His own Son. The justice required by God was offered up by His Son through His suffering and death in our place. And now, in faith, out of love and gratitude, we return to the Lord praise and thanksgiving, together with all the gifts He has given us, that they might be used to serve Him.

And still, God remains the One who cannot be understood, who defies being understood. But we don’t need to understand how God works. In Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection for us, the Triune God revealed all that we need to know, and all we need to believe for life now and life forever with Him. Truly, as Paul said: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” That’s what we need to know about God. That’s what we need to understand. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 8/9/26: Proper 14a

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In the Deep End

Matthew 14:22-33
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The people did not understand the true nature of our Lord’s ministry. It was not until Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead that people began to understand why He took up human flesh. Before the Passion, the crowds were looking for an earthly king: someone who would make life easier, someone who would drive out the Romans—heck, maybe He would even restore the kingdom of David. They did not understand that Jesus came to save the entire creation from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

The events we heard about in today’s Gospel happened right after the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had just spent a day ministering to people. He healed their diseases, and then, when they got hungry, He hosted a banquet for 5,000 men and their families. The crowds began to think that someone who could heal diseases and provide free food would make a pretty good king. They did not know that they were tempting Jesus to be an earthly king; if they did know, they didn’t care.

Jesus needed to deal with the situation. He quickly sent the disciples back across the Sea of Galilee. Then He dismissed the people. After he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by Himself to pray while the disciples were struggling to cross the sea against a strong headwind.

Jesus finished His prayers and set out to rejoin the disciples. In the middle of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. On top of the terror from the storm, the sight of Someone walking toward them on the water was too much. They cried out in fear.

But then Jesus spoke. ”Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Because they were troubled, Jesus said, “Take heart.” Because they did not know who He was, He said, “It is I.” Because they were terrified, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.” He does not come to bring doom, but salvation. In His reassuring word, Jesus has given them all they need. This should be enough.

Apparently, this was not enough for Peter. Matthew does not give any insight into Peter’s mind, but he does give us Peter’s reply to Jesus. “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter wanted more proof than the simple word of God. He wanted a personal sign. So Jesus does something that is quite consistent with the actions of God throughout the Bible. Sometimes, when God’s people ask for something outrageous, God gives it to them as a learning experience. Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water. At first, everything went well. But when he saw the weather, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

We talk a lot about faith, but it is important to talk about faith accurately. It is not enough to have a very powerful and very sincere faith if that faith is in the wrong thing. Our culture tells us, “You gotta have faith.” But it doesn’t aim faith toward our Lord Jesus. The world says, “Believe in yourself.” But examine yourself in light of the Ten Commandments; do you really want to trust in yourself? The world says to trust in science, but science can be skewed by our interpretation of the evidence. For Peter, trusting science meant trusting his fisherman’s experience with wind and water. But that misplaced faith drew him away from faith in Jesus. Thankfully for Peter, and for us, Jesus is patient and merciful. Jesus took hold of Peter and brought him back to the boat.

Ever since the days of Noah and the flood, the boat has been a symbol of Christ’s Church. There are times when we are not satisfied with the Word Jesus gives us. Like Peter, we want a bigger experience. We want more emotion. We want pizazz. So we leave the Word in order to find a greater experience—something new, something a little more spectacular than what we’ve always had. We put our faith in our feelings instead of in God’s promise.

Jesus is patient. Even though we often find ourselves sinking in a situation that we ourselves created, He is always ready to rescue us, to haul us back to this nave, His Church, where He restores us with His gifts. Jesus did a lot more than walk on water to save His people. The ultimate expression of His desire to save us comes in the cross. It is on the cross that Jesus became the greatest sinner of all time—not with His own sin, but with the sin of the whole world. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus carried that sin to the cross and sacrificed Himself to remove that sin from the world. When Jesus died, that sin died with Him. When Jesus rose, He left that sin in the grave where it can have no power over us.

Jesus brings salvation to you. He comes to you in the water of Holy Baptism. When water is joined with God’s Word according to His command, the old natural Adam who was enslaved us to sin is drowned and dies. In his place a new, holy man arises who lives before God in righteousness and purity forever. In those Worded waters our Lord says to you, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” He welcomes you into His Boat, His Church, where you are safe. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen. 

Sermon for 8/2/26: Proper 13a

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Living Bread

Matthew 14:13-21 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

After God had delivered the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, they spent forty years traveling around the wilderness. They would have soon died in that barren wasteland, except that God miraculously provided food for them: bread from heaven. Each morning they awoke to find the ground covered with “manna.” And God sustained them by this bread until they entered the Promised Land. Here in the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus compares Himself to this manna, and He says that it was actually a sign of His coming. “I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven,” He said. “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” Jesus is the Bread of God on which we feed through faith, a Bread that nourishes and sustains us in this world, a bread which gives us a portion of eternal life in the Promised Land of heaven. So when we hear of this miracle of the feeding of the 5000 in which Jesus multiplies the bread for His followers, we know that the significance of this miracle goes beyond the earthly bread. Ultimately it has to do with Jesus.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. This Bread He has come to set before His people is Bread that God freely offers in His Word and Sacraments. It is Bread that brings forgiveness and salvation without cost to us. These things cannot be earned or merited by our goodness; they can only be received as a gift from Him. Only one who acknowledges his spiritual bankruptcy before God, who recognizes that he does not deserve God’s eternal gifts, can receive the Bread of Life. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those who would try to buy their way into heaven, so to speak, bargaining with their own works and spiritual qualifications, will not be given life from this Living Bread, for they seek a righteousness of their own. Only those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ will be satisfied.

How did Jesus meet the need before Him? One of His disciples said to Him: “We have five barley loaves and two small fish.” On the surface, it appeared that this bread and fish would be useless to feed so many people—something like the criticism one occasionally hears about the Sacrament of the Altar: “What good can a little bread and wine do?” some say. But with Jesus it was more than enough to do the job. What matters is not the impressiveness of the elements, but the Lord Himself, and what He is able to do with those elements.

“He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.” Here is the great miracle: as the disciples handed out the food given to them by Christ, there was always more to give. The more they handed out, the more there was. And thousands were fed, and the food never ran out. Indeed, everyone ate their fill. Is this not also how it is with all the gifts of God? He gives them; we partake of them and use them; and their blessing is multiplied…and there is still more. In this regard, consider the Holy Sacrament that is offered to us on this Lord’s Day. In bread and wine, the Lord multiplies His body and blood, and through His ministers He distributes them to His people, that you may receive all that you want of Him who is the Living Bread from heaven, that your souls may be thoroughly satisfied. And there is always more of this Bread of Life to be given out. For His gifts of forgiveness and life are limitless and eternal. The love of our Lord is an ever-expanding love; the more that He gives, the more that He has to give.

So when you come to the Lord’s Table in repentance and faith, you need never fear that the sin you bring is greater than the Lord’s ability to deal with, for His mercy is without measure. When you receive the Living Bread from heaven in the Sacrament, you receive the fullness of Christ’s life and forgiveness. And there is always more. As Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” Truly, Jesus is the Living Bread from heaven, given to you.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Feeding of the 5000 is not merely a temporary, one-time miracle. It is an eternal miracle that is still going on in the Church, as the body of one Man feeds the spiritual hunger of all the faithful of all times and all places. It sustains you for every day of your life. It forgives your sins. It strengthens your faith. It gives you eternal life. God grant you faith to receive Him who is the “manna” from above, that having been fed with Living Bread, you, too, will be nourished unto eternal life. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

       

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen. 

Sermon for 7/26/26: Eighth Sunday After Trinity

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Free Fruit

Matthew 7:15-23

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

When our Lord issues a warning, He means it to be taken seriously. “Beware of false prophets,” He says, and we need to beware because they are all around us. The trouble is, they look and sound good; they do and say good things; many of them, no doubt, even mean well. However, do not be fooled—not by church titles, by fancy decorations, or even by official church pronouncements, for those can be sheep’s clothing. To be sure, there are true sheep of Christ wearing such things—your own pastor faithfully wears a collar and a stole, and you rightly call him “Pastor”—but these things may also be worn by false prophets. And you will not know if they are true sheep or false prophets simply by what they look like or what they call themselves or even how they behave. They will all look and act the same: like sheep.

Instead, Jesus said, “...you will know them by their fruits.” What are the fruits of a prophet? They are not his good works, nor even his apparent success. The fruits of a prophet are the words he speaks. The fruits of a preacher are his preaching, and not what his preaching accomplishes. What does he say about God? Above all, what does he say about Jesus Christ? If he does not preach Christ crucified, if he does not call you to repentance and faith, if he does not bestow on you the forgiveness of sins won for you by Christ and feed you with your Savior’s body and blood, then he is a false prophet, and he is dangerous and even deadly to faith.

And here, you see, is the great irony: false prophets, who dress in sheep’s clothing, preach good works. They try to get bad trees to bear good fruit. And that would seem to be a good thing. But Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Prophesying in His name, casting out demons in His name, performing many wonders in His name—all would seem to be good works; they would seem to be the fruit that good trees produce. But bad trees cannot bear good fruit! Even when their fruit looks good, it is not. And those without a true faith, despite their good intentions, are cast out. God accepts only faith in Jesus Christ, and the justice of God requires that, without that faith, you be cut down and cast into the fire. Your works are not enough. They cannot save you.

Only those who do the will of the Father enter the kingdom of heaven. But the will of the Father is not something you do. That’s the shocking thing, and you, too, may be shocked by that. In all the religions made by men, the best you can ever hope for is good works. But the will of the Father is that His Son would drink the cup of His wrath and then spill His own blood on Golgotha’s ground, that you might then drink that life blood in the cup of blessing and live! That is His will. And in this way only, bad trees are declared good as only God is good. For bad trees are grafted into the good Vine, Jesus Christ, and into His works, His faith, His submission to the Father’s will; and it all counts for you. He declares bad trees to be good, and He welcomes them to Himself in divine grace and mercy. From the Savior’s brow, pierced by the crown of thorns that pressed into it, flows wine to make glad the hearts of men, to give them a joy and a peace words can never fully express—a joy found only in the forgiveness of sins and a cleansed conscience.

Without the death of Jesus Christ for all of us, and His defeat of death, Hell, and Satan in His resurrection, there are only bad trees. And without exception, bad trees produce only bad fruit. This is a serious warning from our Lord because it truly is a matter of life and death: spiritual life and death. Do not let yourself be tended by false prophets. Cast them out if they would lead you away from the crucified Christ. So be watchful; listen for the voice of your Shepherd as you hear it from your faithful pastor. But do not be afraid. Instead, confess your sins to God, express to Him your heartfelt sorrow for your sin and your desire to amend your life. Trust that Jesus has paid your debt. You are forgiven all your sins. You are loved, and blessed, and cleansed by Him.

There is no one to accuse you. You are now a good tree with good fruit according to His Word and blessing. He blesses the work of your hands, whatever that is, and uses it for the good of the whole world. He gives you good works to do because He gives you a part in His kingdom; because He loves you. You will never enter the kingdom of heaven because of your works, but because of His! But, amazingly, His works now belong to you. And that is because everything He has, He gives to you. You are free: free to believe, free to serve, free to live. In the name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 7/19/26: Seventh Sunday After Trinity

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A Free Gift

Romans 6:19-23

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

All things considered, the Bible is fairly easy to understand. All you have to do is read it as if it’s all talking about Jesus, and you’re doing fine. So if this is the case, why are there so many different interpretations of it? The thing is, the Bible is clear, but we are not. What God says in the Bible is clear, but we don’t think the way God thinks. In the book of Isaiah we hear, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Clearly God reveals His thoughts to us when He writes them down in Scripture, so of course we can know them. The problem is, we disagree with them. This is why there are so many different interpretations of God’s clear biblical teaching. People disagree with God because He doesn’t think like they do. For example, people disagree with God regarding the consequences of sin. He says, “The wages of sin is death.” People hear what God says, and they understand it, but they then reject it. They think they may do as they please without paying the consequences for their sins. They think that, since they can make excuses, change the subject, point the finger at others, and avoid confronting their own sin, the wages of sin don’t have to be paid. They are wrong. What God says, goes. They all die. They all face judgment. 

People also disagree with God on how to get to heaven. They think that the road to heaven is paved by their own good deeds. They ascribe this opinion to God. But God says, “The gift of God is eternal life.” They hear what He says, but they assume He cannot mean it. “Surely there must be something we can do or think or say to earn our place in the Kingdom of God,” they think. So they try to figure out some way to change the plain meaning of God’s Word so it will teach what they have already decided God must think.

The reason people reject what God says in the Bible is because they elevate their own reason or feelings or experiences above what God clearly says. They think they are Bible-believing, but they reject what the Bible says. This is why people deny that babies sin and so need to be born again in Holy Baptism; this is why they deny that Jesus clearly says that the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper really are His body and blood; this why they deny that Jesus can set a man apart so that he can speak words that give Christ’s forgiveness of sins. The Bible clearly teaches these things, but sinners cannot understand how they can be true. So they deny what they cannot understand.

Some people reject the Christian faith after suffering the loss of a loved one, especially in tragic circumstances. How could a kind and loving God permit such a thing? But when St. Paul writes, “The wages of sin is death,” he is not ascribing cruelty to God. God is kind, loving, and full of mercy. But “the wages of sin is death.” People die because they are sinners, because sin dwells within them from conception until the day they die. Sin isn’t God’s fault; He didn’t create us to be sinful. He created us in His image: to know Him and to love Him and to be like He is. Sin comes from ignoring the Word of God and trusting lies instead.

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul wrote this to the Romans in response to the false idea that the free gift of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life is an encouragement to disobey the law. Nobody who understands sin would make such an argument. Sin isn’t freedom to do as you please. It is slavery to the darkest passions of the sinful heart. Sin kills you. Sinners die.

This is why the death of Jesus is such a wonderful event. It couldn’t have been for His own sin that he died. After all, Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Law; He committed no sin. He died for us; He died to pay the price for our sin. He paid the wages of our sin with His innocent life. Life is not cheap. The purchase price for our lives was the blood of God’s only begotten Son. “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You cannot buy it. You cannot earn it. You do not deserve it.

Take what He gives you. Believe Him when He tells you that He has removed your sins from you as far as the east is from the west as He washes you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Believe Him when He tells you your sins are forgiven, even we He speaks it through the mouth of a sinful pastor. Believe Him when He tells you that the body and blood that you eat and drink in the bread and wine of the Sacrament of the Altar take away your sins and give you eternal life.

Jesus earned the gift of eternal life for you by His holy obedience and sacrificial death. God gives the gift of eternal life to you in His Word and the Holy Sacraments. You receive the gift of eternal life by faith, which is another gift from God. You need do nothing to earn it; indeed, there is nothing you can do to earn or deserve it. It is a gift. It is for you: a free gift to give you life in His name. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.