Sermon for 7/24/22: Sixth Sunday After Trinity

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“Death and Life”

Romans 6:1-11

 

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

 

 

We often talk about an emergency as “a matter of life and death.” But as logical as that order may seem—life and death—St. Paul begs to differ. For you, for me, and for all the faithful of Christ, death precedes life. You die…and then you live. But how can this be? The evidence speaks rather powerfully to the contrary. We have all known faithful Christians who have lived, and then they have died. We have seen their lifeless bodies, perhaps even seen those bodies lowered into their earthly resting places. In response, St. Paul says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried, therefore, with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Throughout this text, St. Paul speaks much about our death as Christians. He speaks of crucifixion; he speaks of burial. And these things sound very strange to our ears because we don’t consider ourselves dead at all! To the contrary, we feel very much alive! Those among us who are few in years are full of energy and vitality, with no thought about ever dying. And those of us with more years, even more than we may care to acknowledge, still cherish life and prize it, and seek by all means to preserve it.

Still, St. Paul insists that death is the first order of business for us. Listen to what he says: “We were buried, therefore, with Him...” “We have been united with Him in a death like His...” “...our old self was crucified with Him.” “...we have died with Christ.” “So you must also consider yourself dead...” Of course, St. Paul is not referring to death in a merely physical sense. He means that Christians, through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, are dead to sin and even to death itself. You are no longer under death’s awful power; no longer under the sway of the devil and his power of darkness, the ruler of the realm of death. And how has this happened? It has taken place in Holy Baptism. That is what Paul says. In Baptism you enter into the death of Jesus and receive from Him everything that His death has accomplished. And this is not just some symbolic dying on your part, but a real death that takes in everything that is Christ’s death!

What great comfort is found in your Baptism! Recall those wonderful words from the Small Catechism: “What benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Which are these words and promises of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: ‘Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’”

Baptism works the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness means that sins are gone, every last one of them, never to haunt or hurt you again. Baptism rescues from death and the devil. Baptism spares you from the consequences of death. Because you have gone through death with Jesus, you need never fear death again. Yes, you will experience physical death. After all, as Scripture clearly teaches, the wages of sin is death. Your body must enter the realm of physical death where it will rest, awaiting the call of Christ at His return to come out of the grave. But for you and for all the faithful of Christ, the death of the body is nothing more than closing your eyes to this world, only to open them again in your heavenly home, where the devil can never again reach you to taunt you and tempt you and hate you. Baptism gives you eternal salvation, a salvation that not only will not end, but will enjoy the unending presence of Christ Himself in all His fullness and with all the richness of His gifts! All of that is death for you! All of that is dying with Christ and being buried with Him in Holy Baptism, and all so that you might then rise to newness of life. And while that newness of life is certainly known in its fullness only in eternity, there is newness of life to be known now and to be lived now.

Newness of life is to be “in Christ,” to be truly alive with Him now! It is to faithfully walk with Him here and now because, after all, He is already walking with you. There is not a single step you take in this life that He is not with you. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” That is His promise to you. And that is true above all when life and livelihood are threatened. Paul said: “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” And that’s not just life hereafter. That promise is our present reality as well as our future hope. Present or future, it is all one life because there is but one Christ, who lives and reigns to all eternity.

And the very fact that we are united with Christ in His death and in His life means that we daily share in the blessings of His resurrection, even as it raises our lives now above mere routine existence. It makes of our lives something glorious, even though that glory might, for now, be hidden by suffering or affliction. It makes every day an opportunity to rejoice in that life which is the creation of the Holy Spirit, to open our ears to the life-giving and comforting Word of God, to raise our voices and our hearts in prayer to our heavenly Father who has given us His sure and certain promise that He will hear and answer our prayers.

And all of this is what makes life worth living and death worth dying, for death and life now means that there is life to come that surpasses anything we have known, anything we can now comprehend. Christ’s death is ours, and His life is ours, too. And we live eternally because He died and then rose to life again. 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 7/17/22: Fifth Sunday After Trinity

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Where Is God? Where Are You?

I Kings 19:11-21

 

 

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

 

Is anyone surprised that Peter falls down in repentant fear when he realizes he is in the presence of almighty God? It’s kind of difficult to ignore when your boat is sinking beneath your feet under the weight of the largest catch of fish you’ve ever seen in your life. Is anyone surprised that Peter left everything sitting on the shore and immediately began to follow Jesus? After witnessing such a powerful miracle, how could you not?! Well… not so fast.

In the Old Testament text, Elijah had just triumphed over 450 prophets of Baal in a huge God vs. Baal showdown; an all-consuming, fire-from-heaven display made it abundantly clear that God was completely in charge and Lord of all. Unfortunately, though, even after such a huge display of power and might, some people still refused to believe. That powerful miracle didn’t change a thing for some folks. In fact, wicked queen Jezebel sent word to Elijah, letting him know that by the same time tomorrow he would suffer the same deadly fate as those 450 Baal prophets he had just slaughtered. If something as powerful and miraculous as all-consuming fire from heaven and the subsequent slaughter of 450 false prophets won’t convince people to turn from their evil and turn back to God, then what hope does he have for any kind of evangelistic success in this foul and wicked place? In sorrow and fear, Elijah heads for the hills, eventually hiding in the cave. Elijah cries out to God and asks that God just end it now and kill him.

But you know the rest of this story. It’s when Elijah finally settles down in his little cave hiding spot that the very Word of God comes to Elijah and asks why he is not where God called him be. God frames it this way so that Elijah might repent. But Elijah didn’t repent. He wasn’t sorry for running away. When things didn’t go the way he had planned or thought they should go, he lost it. “Israel has rejected me and rejected You. They’ve torn down the altars and killed all your faithful prophets and are worshiping false gods. Now they want to kill me. There’s no hope for these people! There’s no point!”

This is when God tells Elijah to go stand outside on top of the mountain so that God can show him something. By means of mighty miracles and terrifying displays of power, God teaches Elijah a lesson about Himself and how He works. God very clearly demonstrates that He’s not in the mighty things that man looks to. He’s not in the mighty rock-shattering winds. He’s not in the terrifying earthquake. He’s not in the fire. God wasn’t in any of those huge, awe-inspiring, terrifying things. Instead, God whispers to Elijah in the faintest whisper.

We understand what God is telling Elijah, but do we understand it in our own lives? Might we miss the almighty presence and peace of God because we’re too busy looking for the mighty and miraculous instead of the lowly whispers already in our midst? You may not want to admit it, but it’s very easy to become weak in the faith when things aren’t going as great as we think they should. We always seem to need a sign or proof from God. His Word and Promise is never quite good enough for us. You may not want to admit it, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

It’s easy to point the finger at all those hypocrites. But what about you? Would the exercise of your faith in this fallen and sinful world be somehow different if God just gave you some kind of powerful miracle or display? Do you need a sign before you will fully commit to trusting in Him?  If you need proof, look no further than this cross! Here is where God in the flesh died! Here in the midst of all this terrifying tragedy and tribulation is the love that God has for you, on full display for all the world to see! Here is almighty God in the flesh, in the absolute last place you’d think to look for the Almighty. Yet here He is! “O, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.”

Where does God call you to be? Maybe the better question is: Where do you flee when the trials and tribulations hit? Does God ever have to tap you on the shoulder and say, “What are you doing here?” Look to the font, the altar, the pulpit, and the lectern. Here is this same almighty God who conquered sin, death, and the devil. Here He is, in the lowest, simplest, and most unexpected, over-looked places. Here is where your God and Lord is! He’s right where He calls you to be! He’s right where He Himself promises to be. He’s right where He points you and directs you; He draws near to you in order that you would draw near to Him. Wars, rumors of war, plagues, fears of getting sick…none of that has ever kept God from His people.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: Here is Immanuel, God graciously present even now in your midst…for you. May this real presence and peace of Christ be your desire, your assurance, and your peace all your remaining days and into all eternity. 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 7/10/22: Fourth Sunday After Trinity

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Greatness

Genesis 50:15-21

 

 

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

 

 

How do you measure greatness? What is your standard? Do you examine the sports reports? Do you look for greatness in the lives of those who have achieved high office in the country, the community, or even the Church? Can you measure greatness by popularity or good grades in school, by a job or salary earned? Do you measure greatness by academic degrees or impressive sounding titles? When you consider the twisted standards by which we tend to measure greatness, if you reflect on the struggle any undertake to attain greatness—in which even Christians are sometimes engaged—there surely can be no doubt that we have much to learn about how to measure true greatness.

“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil we did to him.’” They remembered all too well their plotting to get rid of Joseph all those years ago. It had been impossible to tolerate the seeming favoritism their father had showed to Joseph. How could they forget the plans they had spun from their jealous minds; the deep hole, the plot to kill him, and the final compromise to sell him to those traveling merchantmen? The intervening years had done nothing to dim their guilty memories. They remembered it all. There was no greatness to be measured that day.

With their father gone, and Joseph with so much power, anything might happen. Perhaps Joseph would now even the score. The paralyzing fear that grips them is the bitter tragedy of evil and the high cost of sin. And isn’t it still that way for us? Our evil, our misdeeds, our harshness with others, our deliberate deceiving of ourselves and others, our scheming and our unholy plans that turn to dust and ashes—how frequently they come home to roost. And when they do, fear seizes our hearts.

The brothers, terrified for their lives, fall on their knees before Joseph. This whimpering, this twisting of arms, this persuasion by pressure and intimidation: this is not the measure of greatness. You must look to Joseph for that greatness, where the text says, “And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.” It may seem like a strange measure of greatness, because we have allowed ourselves to be persuaded that real men should never cry. Tears are the measure of weakness in those who are too soft for their own good.

Joseph wept, even as our Savior wept at the death of Lazarus. What need is there to suppress and hide honest feelings? Does God expect us to live in a world of make believe as though we were unaffected by life and death, by joy and sorrow, by pain and well-being? The Scriptures speak about your life as a child of God who lives by faith. “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!” St. Paul wrote to the Philippians. And in his letter to the Romans, He offered this advice: “Weep with those that weep.”

Perhaps the most evident measure of greatness in Joseph is his readiness to forgive. He opens wide the door of reconciliation to his brothers by a genuine word of forgiveness that he speaks to the hearts of his brothers: “Do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” How different this world’s history might have been if more men and women, more children and young people, would have been willing to speak kindly, to offer words of forgiveness to others. So often, however, our pride, maybe even a desire to hurt, keeps us from speaking such good words to wounded hearts of our families, friends, and neighbors.

The life of our Lord Jesus Christ was, and continues to be, a demonstration of real greatness. He forgave those who wronged Him, whose hearts were troubled because of their own foolishness. Even from the cross, in spite of all the pain and agony, His first word was a word of forgiveness. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Today it is the same cheering word He still speaks to our worried hearts and guilty consciences. “Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven.”

How do you measure greatness? It is always a pertinent question for preachers and teachers, for parents and children, for men and women, for old and young. It’s a meaningful question at all times, especially given the many confusing standards people want to use. Those to whom God has given newness of faith and life in Christ have eyes that can see the smallness of people for what it is, but who refuse to be made small by it. If you are looking for greatness, look for it not in those who are great by the standards of this corrupt world; look for it in those who possess the mind of Christ: who are not undone by adversity, but trust in the God whose judgments are right and who triumphs over evil. This God, who forgives so much, is the One who, through His Holy Spirit, creates in us the readiness also to forgive, just as He did in Joseph. That is the measure of greatness. May it please God that others would see that greatness in us. 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 7/3/22: Third Sunday After Trinity

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Faith and the Narrow Way

I Peter 5:6-11

 

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

It is the common theme among the unchurched—and even among those who claim to be Christians but refuse to attend worship—that the Church is full of hypocrites. “Yeah, you Christians talk a good game, but when the rubber hits the road, you don’t live your lives according to the Bible.” The accusation is that we don’t live up to the standard set before us in the Ten Commandments; that we don’t fear, love, and trust in God above all things; that we don’t love our neighbors as ourselves. And if we examine ourselves according to the Law of God, we have to admit the truth of the accusation. We are poor, miserable sinners. We sin in thought, word, and deed, by what we do and by what we fail to do. And sinners, even with the best of intentions, cannot perfectly live what we believe.

In the epistle, Peter is telling you that you must walk the walk of faith, that you must strive to live as the redeemed children of God, not as a spoiled child who takes advantage of a doting and doddering Father who allegedly refuses to show the discipline you deserve. No, the good works you do will not save you, nor will your refusal to do the evil works that tempt you. Nevertheless, you are supposed to live your faith in your daily life. You are supposed to display the love of God in Christ to your neighbors.

Jesus describes the way a Christian walks as a narrow and difficult path. Even the most gifted gymnast has difficulty walking on a balance beam. Anyone who has tried walking on a curb knows how difficult it can be to stay on a narrow path. Sometimes I can’t even stay on a sidewalk. And the daily walk with Christ is even more perilous because of the dangers on the way. St. Peter says that you must walk humbly, that you must remain alert, because Satan is always lurking about, ready to push you off the road and snatch you away. The writer of Proverbs says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” God has made you in His own image, and He wants to keep shaping you in His image, while the Old Adam wants you to be proud of your sin. If you are not constantly aware of that Old Adam, you will be so busy looking at a god who looks like what you see in a mirror that you will wander from the path God has set before you.

These dangers are real, and they may come when you least expect them. There are many who call themselves Christians, but they have stepped away from this narrow path, many without even realizing it. They may even continue to worship and do good works. But they no longer order their lives according to the Word of God. They have deceived themselves into believing they can serve both God and their own agenda. They have believed the lies and distractions Satan has set before them. They have looked at the Word of God and have tossed away those teachings that don’t harmonize with their own ideas and goals.

Do you hear those words and wonder if St. Peter is talking about you? For me, it would be a joy to toss away what the Bible teaches about gluttony. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Many…are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly…” The Old Adam wants me to believe that I can fill my plate as many times as I want. Satan even tells me that I am honoring God’s First Article blessings by overindulging in the gifts of daily bread. But in reality, I am destroying the body God has given me, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. What idol, what false god, is trying to lead you from the narrow path?

Standing firm in the faith and resisting Satan and your Old Adam will be uncomfortable. Peter acknowledges that as he says, “…The same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” It is true that such suffering is unpleasant on the narrow way, and your wisdom and power are never enough to perfectly resist the trial or endure the suffering. But your suffering is not permanent. God will end it in His good time. Meanwhile, He has given you the power of Christ. He has placed your feet on the path. He has prepared you for the journey by washing you clean and covering you with the robe of baptismal righteousness. And Christ has even become the Way for you.

And when you stray from the path, when you fail to live as you believe, He seeks you out and brings you back. He says to you, “Cast all your cares upon me, because you belong to me. I have won the victory. For the sake of My own suffering and death, I forgive you all your sins. I will always welcome you back to the path, and I will see you through that narrow gate. I give you new life, eternal life.” The God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, washes you with the bloody water from our Savior’s side and feeds you with His own body and blood to “perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” Through these gifts, and with His Holy Spirit who has been given to each believer, God will guide and strengthen and bless and keep you unto that final exaltation on the Last Day. In thanksgiving we pray, “To Him be the glory and dominion 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.