Sermon for 6/26/22: Second Sunday After Trinity

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Wisdom

Proverbs 9:1-10

 

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

 

God’s wisdom is unlike the wisdom of this world. God’s wisdom is higher and deeper; it is pure and undefiled. The book of Proverbs focuses on godly wisdom as the proper pursuit of every child of God. There are two “characters” portrayed consistently throughout the book—“Wisdom” and “Folly”—and the book describes their words and their works. In this reading, Wisdom builds a house and throws a feast. It is an invitation for all to hear and to learn the wisdom of God. St. Paul, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, refers to Jesus Himself as our Wisdom. No doubt, the apostle has this text from Proverbs in mind. What can be wiser than knowing and believing in Him? What can be better than being fed by His Word and Sacraments? True wisdom, and the key to understanding the Proverbs, is found in Jesus Christ.

But this text reveals that the wisdom of God is sometimes a word of correction. In other words, true wisdom takes God’s Law seriously in all its severity. And a truly wise Christian will heed the Law. That doesn’t mean we do what it says, for we are sinners, rotten to the core. But the Law shows us our sin and drives us to despair; we recognize that we are lost and dead in sin. The Law tears down the walls of self-righteousness, burns down our flimsy house of excuses, exposes us as frauds, and drives us to our knees.

It is then that the Gospel does its work. Only when we are stinging from the Law does the balm of the Gospel soothe and heal. Only when we have tasted the bitterness of our own sins can we savor the sweetness of forgiveness. Jesus through His death and resurrection rescues us from the fires of hell and carries us on the wings of His mercy to our eternal home with Him. The Gospel, the wisdom of God, begins with faith in Jesus Christ; or as Proverbs puts it: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” True wisdom is to fear the Lord; true wisdom is to know the Holy One.

In John’s Gospel, there is an account that illustrates the difficulty of this divine wisdom. Jesus spoke hard words to a crowd of increasingly skeptical followers; these words were so hard, in fact, that many deserted Him. By the way, this ought to be of some comfort as we attempt to share the Gospel; even Jesus couldn’t convince everyone. Then He asked the twelve if they wanted to leave Him, too. But Peter confessed: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Wisdom starts with Jesus. Do you want to be truly wise unto salvation? Then fear, love, and trust in Jesus Christ, the One whose wisdom flows in the face of common sense. You don’t think so? Think on this: Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Forgive your brother when he sins against you, even 70 times 7. Take up your cross and follow. This is foolishness to human wisdom. When Jesus started talking about His cross, Peter rebuked Jesus and tried to talk Him out of it. But Jesus rebuked Peter, even calling him Satan. The wisdom of this world says we should avoid suffering at all costs. This is not the talk of faith; it is the language of unbelief!

It is hard to hear those wise words of correction without becoming scoffers ourselves, without hating the message or the messenger. The Lord calls me to be the messenger, and there are times I don’t want to hear or deliver the message. But true wisdom accepts the discipline of God’s Word; true wisdom humbly confesses our sins and seeks to do better. This is wisdom: to know the Holy One of God who took our punishment and guilt and shame, and who now gives us the new life of the child of God.

Such wisdom and instruction can be found only in God’s Word. We will, of course, be tempted to look for wisdom elsewhere. We will make all sorts of appeals to all sorts of other things. We will rationalize and excuse; we will listen to the advice of learned men; we will give ear to the tune the world around us is singing. As someone once said, “The gray areas are the devil’s playground.” We tell ourselves, “I know God’s Word says this, but...” And so the devil sows his seeds of doubt and destruction.

God warns us for good reason. The easy way is so appealing. Hearing the correction of God’s Word and knowing true wisdom is the hard way. It is all too tempting to do what you want instead of what God’s Word commands. The truth is, the Old Adam in you hates to turn away from sin. He has no desire to believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. But the Holy Spirit calls and enlightens you to do just that. And while there may be no sinful fun, there is great blessing: the blessing of a clear conscience; the blessing of God’s approval because Jesus claims you as His own; the blessing of knowing God’s promises that, while life is often full of suffering and misery, you have a mansion in heaven that bears your name; the blessing of serving your neighbor with the love of Christ; the blessing of receiving His gifts of peace and certainty. And you have the greatest blessing of all: knowing the true Wisdom of God in Jesus Christ, who gives you the words of eternal life. Remain in Him and with Him always. 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 6/19/22: First Sunday After Trinity

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Temptation and Faith

Genesis 15:1-6

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

 

Several times, St. Paul uses this story of Abraham, his faith, and the promises God made to him, as a proof that we are justified, put right with God, through faith in Jesus Christ. But more than that, these words unpack an important chapter in the spiritual history of the patriarch Abraham, the “father of many nations.” Even after his call from God to leave his homeland and go to the land that would be his inheritance, his life was full of severe temptation. And Abraham, unfortunately, failed often before those temptations. But by the help of God, he was eventually able to overcome them. And now, even as Abraham’s call to faith is a picture of our own call into the kingdom of God, so we also find here great truths which still hold firm in the life of those whom God has called by faith into His kingdom.

Abraham faced temptation. We, too, face temptation. Facing temptation is not sin. We can’t avoid facing it in a world that is so corrupt and evil. The question is, what do we do? How do we respond in the face of temptation? The Church is the free-born daughter of heaven; the New Testament makes that abundantly clear. And yet, she was hated and abused in those early days, and still is, though, perhaps, less overtly so. She is a source of blessing for the whole world, but, to this day, she must submit to oppression and persecution. Just consider the attempts being made to curtail the religious freedom of Christians to live their faith in the daily lives. Consider the many ways, and how rapidly, the societal norms of morality have changed, and how “in your face” many of the practitioners of such evil are. Oppression and persecution, and the temptations that follow, don’t have to be physically violent to be effective. Mental and emotional persecution, the oppression of the mind and heart, can be equally devastating.

And what is true of the Church as a body is also true of Christians individually. The Christian and the cross belong together. Jesus said it: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Whatever form temptation takes, ultimately it is an attack on our faith in the faithfulness of God. Luther called this “anfechtung,” being attacked by the devil! When blinded by temptation, our confidence in the truthfulness of God begins to waver. God’s promises do not harmonize with our present condition—at least, not as we see it. And that is where sin breaks in to steal away our hope and our joy.

There is a pastor’s prayer in which the pastor prays, “Lord, You know that I am not the strong man of God my people think I am...” Every honest pastor must admit this is true. I deal daily with demons which you know nothing about. They try to lead me to give in to doubt and despair; and, more than I care to admit, these demonic temptations are successful. You, too, are afflicted by temptations that lead you into sin. You, too, have sinful thoughts and desires that eat away at your soul. Perhaps they have not become sins of action, but they are sin nonetheless. And Satan keeps throwing it in your face, trying to convince you that God will forsake you. What do you do? What did Abraham do? He appealed to God. “Lord, what will you give me?” Or, as the father of an ill child said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!”  

Why do temptations come? As contrary to reason as it may seem, temptations come so that we might see the loving purposes of God that are hidden within them, and that we, by the grace of God, might overcome them. As odd as it might seem, temptation comes so that we might learn of the comfort God promises us in the midst of temptation. So it was with Abraham. The Lord took Abraham outside and pointed to the stars in the sky and promised that Abraham’s descendants would be like those unnumbered stars.

And so it is with us. When we are surrounded by our own doubts and fears, the Lord comes to us in His Word and says, “Fear not, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” He opens our eyes of faith so that we may see the great things He has already given us: countless spiritual blessings as well as daily bread. And then the Lord admonishes us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

It is written: “[Abraham] believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” What is the nature of faith? Faith is not something we do; faith is a gift, something that comes from outside ourselves. It is a gift of God which allows us cling solely to the almighty and gracious God who offers Himself to us in His Word. This is just what Abraham did. All he had was the promise of God. But Abraham believed that promise and, by faith, he had the consolation and comfort of God and the strength to overcome temptation. And, more importantly, He had the promise of the forgiveness of God when he was defeated by temptation. And so it is for us. Faith expects all help to come from God alone. Faith relies only on His Word. And in this way, your heart is filled with comfort; rest returns to your soul; temptation is overcome. You can joyfully say, “If God is for me, who can be against me?” 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 6/12/22: The Feast of the Holy Trinity

My apologies. It seems I forgot how to speak words this week, if these recordings are any indication.

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Understanding
Romans 11:33-36

 

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—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? 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?

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?” Do you know it? Of course, you don’t. Oh, 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?

“Who has been His counselor?” God has never talked things over with me. Does He consult you before He does what He does? But 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 He must have been asleep—or, at least, 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.

“Who has given a gift to him 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. Amen.”

“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.

“Who has been his 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, and the 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.

“Who has given a gift to him that it might be repaid?” This is the way our world works, isn’t it? One good turn deserves another. It’s called “reciprocity.” 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 in our place. And now, in faith, out of love and gratitude, we are able to 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 not only cannot be understood, but defies being understood. But we don’t need to understand. In Jesus Christ, 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! 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 6/5/22: The Feast of Pentecost

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Pride and Pentecost
Genesis 11:1-9

 

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

 

The Tower of Babel was raised as a monument to man’s unbelief and spiritual arrogance. The godless purpose of its builders is quite clear: “Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” They wanted to build a tower that would reach into the sky as far as the eye could see. They desired fame and a reputation of their own making. Like Adam and Eve, they wanted to be comparable to their Creator. They were very much like the great King Nebuchadnezzar, who looked around himself with an ungodly pride and said: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

When such pride possesses man, we see no need for a Divine Provider, no need for a gracious Savior from sin. And we still haven’t learned this lesson all these centuries later. Leaders and rulers of every description, even some within the church, still try to build their own kingdoms around themselves, as if this is the answer to every need. We continue to be surrounded every day with claims that not only must we save the world, but that we can do just that if we only apply our strength and intelligence. We can even create heaven on earth, if that is what we desire, if only we put our minds to it and put in the work to make it happen. We may be fooling ourselves, but we cannot fool God.

The people of Babel were defying the will of God, and they knew it. They knew the will of God had been expressed in the command God had given to Noah following the flood to fill the earth again with a righteous, God-fearing people. Until now, God had been exceedingly patient with them. He had allowed them to go on in their sin, hoping they would turn from their folly. But now the time had come for Him to intervene. The Lord, who is always merciful, even in judgment, could see that their efforts would only strengthen them in their defiance. But if their prideful unity was destroyed, then their ability to carry out any further ungodly plans would be permanently crippled.

And as is always the case when God decides to intervene in those plans of men that would defy His will, He was completely effective. They were compelled to carry out His will, even though that was what they were trying to prevent. It takes only a little imagination to picture the hopeless confusion that resulted.

Pride is often touted as a good thing. But when it comes to matters of the spirit—and how many matters in life aren’t spiritual in nature—pride is ultimately destructive. We are proud, even arrogant, in our rebellion against God. We mock and reject His gifts of life. That was certainly the case with those building the tower. The higher they went, the farther they took themselves away from the God of grace. In order to be rescued by God from their spiritual ignorance and arrogance, they had to be put in a condition where they were absolutely helpless. And so it is with us. We refuse to see the rescuing hand of God’s mercy until we realize that we can do nothing for ourselves.

So at Pentecost, God did something only He could do. He turned what had been a curse into a great blessing. The confusion of languages now became an instrument of God’s grace. The God who confused the language of the builders now overcame that confusion by His gracious power. He took unlettered disciples and made them instruments of salvation. He gave them the ability to speak in other human languages so that they could proclaim the Gospel to those who had come from all around the known world.

And this was, indeed, a rescue of the most extraordinary kind. These people heard Peter’s Pentecost sermon in a language they could understand: that the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ is the Savior and Lord of all. He who was so shamefully treated by the authorities had actually given His own life as the redemption price for the sins of the world. Unlike the tower builders of old, those who heard Peter that day were led to repentance. They were led to see the seriousness of their sin. And they could see that God’s judgment would ultimately deal with those who refused to believe in the Savior He had sent.

And this rescue offered for their salvation made no appeal to their wisdom, to their goodness, or to their strength. The burden was placed where it must be placed: on the grace and goodness of God. Peter later told them: “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”  This remains God’s method of rescue. As extraordinary as it may seem, God has taken the salvation of the world upon Himself. He has met His own righteous demands for us. And we are blessed with a rescue that spares us from the grip of spiritual arrogance, from unbelief, and from everlasting bondage in hell. For this, we thank and praise our gracious God. 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.