Sermon for 8/30/2020: Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

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Preserved in the Church

Mark 7:31-37

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

Those who desire salvation do well to sever ties with those who encourage us in ungodly living, who tolerate anything that hurts our soul. Our Lord leads the deaf man away from the crowds to teach us that our life in Him is a life apart from what the world calls good and right. Our life in the Church is a breaking of communion with those who only want Jesus part-way or not at all.

But when our Lord took the man aside from the multitude, He was not simply separating him from others. Jesus was also pulling the man into Himself, so that He could bring him into His healing love and righteousness. Jesus did not want to teach us merely to break with our former life, but also to come into communion and life with Him. This is not some manufactured unity with Jesus. We all know people who believe that they can worship God anywhere because He promises to be everywhere. While it is true that God is everywhere, He has attached His promises to the gifts He gives “where two or three are gathered in His name.”

This is why we pray the way we do at every baptism. We pray our Father “graciously to behold” the infant or child or adult, and “to bless him with true faith in the Spirit so that…he may be separated from the number of the unbelieving, and preserved dry and secure in the holy ark of the Church.” We don’t simply want the newborn child of God to be cut off from the unbelieving. We want him kept safe in the Church. Our prayer recognizes that there is no salvation apart from the Church. And so we flee to the Church as we shun those things from which the Lord, by His Spirit, has released us. We must not return to them.

But as you well know, the pull toward wickedness, gossip, selfishness and envy is strong. Addictions of mind or body are easily formed, but they are resisted only by the Lord’s grace and the prayers of the faithful and much self-discipline and diligence. For each of us, the devil plays on what tempts us, and our society cheers us on to give in, to feed our desires, to live as we please and to do what we want. And our own mind rationalizes by saying, “God will still love me.” Yet how can God love the man who harbors anger, or the woman who loves to gossip, or the man who covets what another person has, or the woman who thinks only of herself?

The way out is given the finger of God, which is the Holy Spirit, just as the Lord healed the man in today’s Gospel. He put His fingers in the man’s ears, and He spat and touched the man’s tongue. What is the Lord’s finger but the Holy Spirit? And what is the spit and the touch, except the grace and mercy of God the Father given in the waters of Holy Baptism? And so the man is healed by God’s grace according to the pleading and prayers of his friends. And so are we.

But let us not leave it there. Again, let us not forget what Our Lord Jesus did first. First, He pulled the man aside. First, our Lord beckoned this poor man into Himself, drawing him away from those who wished to lure him back into his former ways. Our Lord brought and led the man into the safety and comfort of His own loving embrace.

And so it is with us. We have been separated from the number of the unbelieving precisely so that we might be preserved, safe and secure, in the holy Church. Our Lord has broken our ties with those who wish us harm. He has drawn us away from those who urge us to tolerate heresy, who pervert the holy Faith. And He has given us a place in His holy Church and a seat at His heavenly banquet. Let us not flee from His Church, nor let us seek compromise simply for the appearance of tranquility. Instead, let us flee for refuge to the infinite mercy He gives us in His holy Church; for that’s where our Lord is, eager to bring us more fully into communion with Him. 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 8/23/2020: Eleventh Sunday After Trinity

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Humility and Faith 

Luke 18:9-14

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

Humility and faith go together. A faithful child of God acknowledges that anything he offers or does or gives is meager and not worthy to be compared with whatever the Lord gives through His ministers and through neighbors. The humble man confesses that, apart from the Lord, everything he does is worthless and vain. It takes great humility to say, “I was wrong. I mistreated you. I abused our friendship. I am not worthy to stand in your sight.” It also takes great faith, for when you confess your sin, you are not only humbling and lowering yourself; you are also trusting that your apology will be accepted, your sincerity will be believed, your words will not be swatted aside, and your admission will not be used against you. Examine your life; is this you? Has your sin humbled you before the Lord and your neighbors?

The Pharisee has no humility, and so he exhibits no faith. Wise Solomon says, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Yet this man, who knows the Law, praises himself for all he has done. He seeks to impress God and anyone else who is listening in. But it’s all camouflage and smoke screen. The louder he boasts, the more we should pity him, because he wants to believe what he says. He desperately wants to believe that he’s not as bad as he fears.

In the end, the Pharisee does not know himself, and he doesn’t truly know God. The man who believes he is perfect also believes he has no need for God. To know God means you must confess and acknowledge and admit that all you’ve done, all your wisdom, all your worldly goods, and all you are is dust and ashes. Your every breath depends on the Father’s life-breathing Spirit. Your every heartbeat depends on the Father’s compassion, demonstrated in His Son’s innocent sacrifice.

How can the Pharisee confess God when he refuses to see who he himself truly is? How can he receive the Lord’s mercy when he demands to be loved? How can he trust God almighty when he trusts his own reason and strength? This man is not justified precisely because he seeks to justify himself. And this Pharisee has no faith precisely because he believes first and foremost in himself.

The tax collector, however, knows himself. He sees the truth about himself; he will not hide behind excuses, the opinions of others, or any work he has done. He has come to know that his only hope is to throw himself on the infinite mercy of God. He stands in the Court of the Gentiles. He lowers his eyes, not daring to look toward the Holy of Holies. He begs, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” He does not deserve forgiveness. He deserves the scorn of all his neighbors, the rebuke of the priests, the disdain of the rich, the mockery of the poor, the shunning of the righteous. Most of all, he deserves the wrath of God.

St. Paul wrote, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This man, who truly knows himself, stands among the heathen and speaks the truth about himself in God’s house. This man is humble because he believes; he believes because he is humble. And so, Jesus says, “this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Now that you’ve seen true faith, learn from our Lord by imitating this humble tax collector. He does not view himself as superior; he does not trust any righteousness in himself. He does not approach the Lord because of his righteous deeds, but because of the Lord’s mercy. I urge you in the same : in the humility of true faith, draw near to our heavenly Father, begging His mercy. Draw near in humility to receive the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, for our Father declares His almighty power chiefly in showing mercy to those who cling to Him, who live in the sure and certain hope they have through their baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 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 8/16/2020: Tenth Sunday After Trinity

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Peace in Christ

Luke 19:41-48

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

Jesus said, “Days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” It seemed preposterous. Jerusalem was the city of God, the apple of His eye. Jerusalem was the home of the Temple, where God Himself promised to dwell among His people. But everything our Lord foretold happened to Jerusalem. Barely 40 years after this, in the year 70, the Roman overlords laid their siege against Jerusalem and annihilated the holy city. Things she loves so dearly—even her godly worship and her beautiful buildings—were taken from her. This happened because the chosen people of God no longer put their trust in God. This happened because they looked for their peace in their status as children of Abraham. This happened because they looked for their peace in what they believed was their obedience to the Law. This happened because Jerusalem—the priests and Pharisees and Sadducees and Scribes and the people—did not know the time of her visitation by the Lord.

But Jesus will suffer first. He is the Temple not built with hands, the Dwelling-Place of God in flesh among His people. He will die first for Jerusalem. He will be hemmed in, surrounded by the chief priests and teachers of the Law. Soldiers will seize Him. They will level Him. He will die just outside the city, put to death for the crime of coming to save people who believe they have no need to be saved. God in flesh has come to visit His people, and they shout, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” They drive nails into His hands and feet. They lift Him above the earth on a cross. They mock Him as He hangs until He dies. Jesus is the Cornerstone, leveled and rejected by His chosen people. If only Jerusalem knew. If only they knew the cause of their peace.

You know, and still you reject Him daily and much. You have been running after false peace and false comfort wherever you can find it. Do you look for your peace in what you possess? Do you look for peace in what gives pleasure to your body? Do you look for your peace in not being as bad or sinful as others? It’s certainly understandable. After all, others are really bad; they will be the ones that go to hell. And you are basically good, right? You sin from time to time, but it's not like you do anything really bad. Is that where you look for your peace?

Jerusalem's false peace failed them, just as your false peace fails you. You cannot find true peace on your own. Only the death and resurrection of Jesus makes the peace of Jerusalem. His death and resurrection makes for your peace, as well. His death gives you peace with God—peace, Jesus tells us, which the world cannot give. That peace which He won for you on the Cross is delivered to you in His gifts: in His Word of Absolution, in His washing of Holy Baptism, in His holy Supper. There in His Word combined with water, with bread and wine—there is the peace of God.

If only Jerusalem had known. And if they had listened, if they had put their trust in what God had told them through the prophets and through Jesus in flesh, they would have known. But now you know, for you have listened. You have received. And you have rejoiced, for He has made his peace known to you, a gift of pure grace. Jesus is your peace. 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 8/9/2020: Ninth Sunday After Trinity

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The Steward of Grace

Luke 16:1-13

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

It doesn’t seem right, does it? People who spend their lives trying to do everything the right way receive no credit from the Lord for their efforts. Of course God does not approve of sin, and He doesn’t reward failure to live according to His Law, no matter how hard anyone tries. He is perfectly just, and His Law demands perfect obedience. So how does it make any sort of sense that Jesus commends the manager for his shrewd dishonesty? Does that somehow make Jesus unjust?

In reality, this story is one that Jesus tells describing the saving Gospel coming to lowly debtors. Sinners have gigantic bills. We owe the Lord more than we can ever pay Him. The wages of sin is death, and that is a price beyond our ability to pay. In the language of the parable, we are the ones who have our bills slashed. So—believe it or not—Jesus is the unjust Steward. We call it the parable of the Unjust Steward, but don’t get caught up in that. Perhaps the better title would be “The Merciful Steward.” 

The scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jews, were accusing Jesus of wastefulness. He wasted His time and energy with public sinners. Jesus would teach and eat with tax collectors, adulterers, others who had bad reputations, and even those who were unclean according to the Temple law. Jesus welcomed them in order to teach God’s Law and Gospel. He was and is the Steward of grace, tearing up their bills and freeing them of their eternal indebtedness.

The Jewish leaders were upset with Jesus, the unjust Steward, because they believe that He is not tending to those who deserve His time and teaching. They consider Jesus to be contaminating Himself by associating with sinners. But that is precisely the point. Jesus lavishly pours out His grace upon people who are looked down upon by those who see themselves as righteous, upon people who confess their sin and recognize their debt. As King David wrote, “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” He is the only one with the righteousness to pay the astronomical debt of our sin and rebellion against the rich Master, our heavenly Father. 

Thanks be to God, for He does not want us rotting in prison. He praises His perfect Steward Son who has taken your bill and actually paid it in full. When Jesus bore the scourge of the whip and the piercing of the nails; when He endured the cruel death on the cross, He was marking your bill. But it was not simply a reduction in what you owe. He eliminated it, erasing the debt with His own blood. Jesus, the great and perfectly unjust Steward, has indeed been faithful in delivering to you wealth that you have not earned. Dr. Luther knew the truth of it when he taught us to confess, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him…” In that way we confess that we don’t have to rely on ourselves. We don’t have to earn forgiveness. And we don’t have to die in our sin.

Instead, rely on His good will. Rely on the promise made true by His Son. Rely on His mercy being so abundant as to cancel all your sin and to receive you into His home in Heaven. Rely on the reasoning of St. Paul: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Certainly no one can now lay anything to your charge, you who are God's elect. Nothing shall ever separate you from His love, because the only thing that ever stood between you and Him was your debt, and His Son has shrewdly put all of your debt away. Praise God for the work of this great Steward, His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! 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 8/2/2020: Eighth Sunday After Trinity

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Fruit for Life

Matthew 7:15-23

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

There are false teachers who are obviously false. They teach that all religions are the same, that all roads lead to heaven. They teach that Jesus is only a prophet, a misguided rabbi, merely a good example for us to imitate. These obvious false prophets—the Mormons, the Jehovah Witnesses, the Muslims, the Jews, Buddhists, the various cults—these are not the people our Lord warns us about in today’s Gospel, though of course you should avoid them. But when Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets,” He is urging you to watch out for preachers who claim to be part of our fellowship. They urge unity at the expense of integrity. They let false teaching and worship live alongside the truth. They are more impressed with the world’s standard of success than with the kingdom of God. They quickly assign tradition to the trash heap and favor only newer, more modern ways. And they not only allow but encourage and even insist on innovations which sweep away what we have received from the Word of God. “Beware of them,” Jesus says. They are not obvious. They claim to seek fellowship, yet with their words they destroy it. They urge you not to get so riled, yet they rile you up. They speak of peace, but they persecute the peace-makers. You have known some of them all your life. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Beware of them.

Jesus goes on to say, “You will know them by their fruits.” You will know them by the false doctrine they cling to, by their desire to be popular with the world, by their insistence that the Word of God has mistakes or means something other than what the Church has always taught. You will know them because they welcome those who don’t believe what the Word teaches to their altars and pulpits. You will know them because they rejoice in the death of the unborn. They rejoice in those things our Lord calls sin.

How do you recognize a true teacher? Ask yourself this: Did they lead you to the Christ? Did they encourage you in what Scripture teaches instead of urging you to do your own thing? Did they provide you with true and lasting comfort in your hour of need? And did all their sermons, all their liturgies, all their ministry speak of the hope and salvation that is given only through Jesus Christ? What God used these preachers to produce in your heart—namely, a lively faith and godliness: these are good fruits, together with their bold confession of the faith and their willingness to suffer all, even death, rather than depart from the Church’s Faith. If these are the fruits, then these pastors and preachers are good trees, united to the Tree of Life.

But bad trees are like the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, a tree that offers no life and no hope, housing the devil and his lies. Evil trees cannot bring forth good fruit. In the same way, false preachers and prophets cannot produce the good fruit of faith in their parishioners. Our Lord’s warning must be repeated frequently, lest we begin to desire bad fruit.

But do not let this warning trouble you. Our Lord does not say, “Beware” to frighten or scare you, but to comfort and strengthen you. When you know that there are false preachers and evil prophets; when you know that there are pastors who speak of their own dreams rather than of the Lord’s heavenly vision; when you know that there are preachers whom Our Lord never sent—then you are more intent to search diligently for the true bishops, the godly priests, the faithful pastors who will shield you and soothe you with the Lord’s undying mercy. You cry out for the Word of Absolution. You return to your Baptism daily. You beg for the Lord to feed you with His body and blood. You recognize the Lord through His fruits to you, and you rejoice to receive them. 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.