HYMN: With Angels and Archangels

Pain, suffering, and loss often drive the creative process. While I do not recommend losing one’s child to aid the production of art, it certainly sharpened my focus last night as I tried (and failed) to go to sleep for quite some time. With very little editing, I wrote four of the stanzas of this text, which was inspired by the Proper Preface in the Communion liturgy, in which we confess we join our song with that of “angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven.” 

I wrote this in memory of my beloved Michael, who has himself joined the company of heaven.

With Angels and Archangels

In Loving Memory of Michael Alan Kornacki

1. With angels and archangels,

They gather ‘round the throne:

The company of heaven,

Whom God claims as His own.

They sing the hymn of triumph

To Christ, the Savior true,

Who died and rose victorious

That man would live anew. 

2. The saints, the dear departed,

Now rest, their labors done.

These servants, true and faithful,

Whose race in life is won,

Receive their crowns from Jesus,

For with their final breath,

They made the good confession,

Yes, even unto death. 

3. The Patriarchs and martyrs,

Apostles, prophets, kings:

They praise the Lamb forever.

Their hymn of glory rings!

They long to hear the trumpet,

To rise to life again,

To live with Christ forever

In His eternal reign. 

4. The day is surely coming.

Our Christ is coming soon!

With eager expectation,

On Him we now commune. 

This holy host of heaven

Shall join us at the rail

With Christ, our risen Savior,

Our peace in death’s dark vale. 

Δ 5. We glorify you, Father.

Lord Jesus, endless praise.

O Spirit blest, the Helper,

Be worshiped all our days. 

Like those who went before us,

We sing Christ’s victory

And pray for faith unshrinking

Until we rise, set free!

76 76 D

Temporary Tune: ELLACOMBE (LSB 906)

All Saints; Sacrament of the Altar; Funeral

+ Michael Alan Kornacki +

 “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; 
Blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

My son is dead.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had to produce a harder sentence in my life. One sentence, four words, and yet the ramifications of those words have irrevocably altered my life and that of my family. 

Michael was, in a very real sense, the center of our lives. We all understood that his needs would affect us all, and we all accepted that sacrifice with varied amounts of grace and patience—me least of all. He could be a handful, and sometimes more than one. And yet, nobody loved the way Buggy loved. His all-too-rare smile was beautiful, even more so for its rarity. His cuddles and hugs were a gift from God Himself. He had this deep little laugh that never failed to bring an echo from me. He never said much, his words swallowed by his autism, but he was always able to make us know what he felt and what he needed. He was a beautiful boy, and my life won’t shine as brightly without him. 

Michael is a baptized child of God. It was my privilege and everlasting joy to be the one who dunked the little sinner. There is very little that can give me real comfort right now, but what I do have is promise of Jesus through the Apostle Paul: “…According to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7). Furthermore, as Paul wrote to the Romans (6:3-5), “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection…” Michael was marked with the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He was marked with the sign of the cross. I don’t have to worry that Michael has done enough to merit eternal life. Michael’s eternal life doesn’t depend on Michael; it depends on Jesus for Michael; my eternal life depends on Jesus for me; your eternal life depends on Jesus for you. “The promise is for you and your children,” St. Peter writes, and I am clinging to that baptismal promise right now with all the strength I possess…and when that strength inevitably and repeatedly fails, my Lord Jesus is clinging to me with strength that cannot fail.

My son—my sweetest boy, my beautiful Buggy—is dead. My heart is broken, and it won’t ever fully heal in this vale of tears. But I do not grieve as do those who have no hope. I know that Michael has received his holy rest from the Lord. I know that he will be raised on the Last Day, no longer in a body that betrays him, no longer with a voice stilled all too effectively by autism. I know that Michael’s Redeemer—my Redeemer—lives. I know that I am reunited with my son every time we receive the body and blood of Jesus “…with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven…” and I know that we will be eternally reunited when the Lord calls me to my own rest. For now, he rests with his PopPop, PawPaw, and all those we love who have gone before us in the one true Faith. He rests with his Jesus.

Michael was a wonderful gift from God for me, for Faith, for Alexis and Molly, his twin, and for all of us who were blessed to be part of his life and to have him as part of their lives. God is good, even now, and I wouldn’t trade the life we’ve had with Buggy for anything, even knowing what we know now, even grieving as we grieve now. There’s a beautiful hymn by possibly the preeminent hymn writer of all time, Paul Gerhardt, called “Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me.” The third stanza reads as follows:

God gives me my days of gladness,
And I will
Trust Him still
When He send me sadness.
God is good; His love attends me
Day by day,
Come what may,
Guides me and defends me.

I am trusting God right now in the midst of this agonizing anguish. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! God is good, and in the days ahead, in the midst of my grief, He will sustain me. He will give me joy. He will renew my soul. He will remind me of the joy I had in Michael, a joy I can carry with me for as long as I live.

For now, like King David after the death of his son, I will get up, wash myself, and go into the house of God to worship the One through whom Michael received life and will receive life again. As David confessed, “Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12:23‬). ‬I shall go to Michael in the Lord’s time. Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Rest in peace, Buggy. I will always love you, and I will see you again soon.

Sermon for 9/25/22: Fifteenth Sunday After Trinity

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Sowing and Reaping
Galatians 5:25-6:10

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

Seed companies carry on extensive research, take great care, and spend a sizeable amount of money, all to produce the best possible seed. And then you pay a handsome price to purchase the right kind of seed, because you know that sowing inferior seed produces an inferior crop. All other things being equal, the quality of the seed determines the quality of the harvest. You know a lot more about this than I do, of course, but this isn’t brain surgery; it just makes sense.

By contrast, how foolish we can be in spiritual things! We imagine that we can sow one thing, but harvest another. We mistakenly imagine that we can live according to the works of the flesh and yet still harvest eternal life. Those who make these works of the flesh their way of life—those who live without repentance, satisfying their Old Adam—they will have no place in the kingdom of God.

If we sow to the flesh, St. Paul says, we shall reap only corruption. In this reading, the apostle is simply furthering the discussion from last Sunday’s Epistle, where he described the battle that goes on in the Christian between flesh and spirit. Either we are guided by the flesh and live only for the gratification of the flesh, or we are guided by the Holy Spirit and live with a desire to be faithful to the Lord and His Word. We are either fleshly-minded or spiritually-minded. A divided service of the Lord is impossible. Jesus Himself warned us of this. We heard it in today’s Gospel. “No one can serve two masters....Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...” We are either servants of God or servants of sin. Like everything else, this, too, becomes a matter of the First Commandment. Who or what do you worship? Who or what is your God?

The result of all spiritual error is corruption, an inner spiritual decay that leads to eternal spiritual death if it is not dealt with through repentance and forgiveness. It is from the flesh, and from those works of the flesh, that a vain and mistaken opinion of self is born. It is from the flesh and those works of the flesh that all spiritual error and falsehood come. This province of Galatia, where these Christians lived and where Paul had worked, had been overwhelmed by false teachers who were really interested only in themselves and their personal well-being. And those works of the flesh inevitably stifle any and all faithful acts of unselfish love, the real desire to care for one’s neighbor.

But if we sow to the Spirit, Paul says, we shall reap everlasting life, and that is because sowing to the Spirit means relying on the grace and mercy of God for everything and on ourselves for nothing. The Spirit, of course, guides us by means of the Word of God. In that Word He leads us to see our sin, to see that we are desperately and incurably sinful. But through that same Word, the Spirit also leads us to repent of our sin and to see that we become righteous before God only by faith in the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ.

The Spirit, then, through that same Word of God, produces in us the fruit of faith and love. And that love is gently poured out on the brother or sister in Christ who has been burdened and broken by their sin. It is lovingly extended to those brothers and sisters in Christ who are crushed with the burdens of life, whose spirits are weighed down and breaking under the pressures of simply living and dealing with the troubles of living. And, indeed, as Paul says here, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

In these ways, sowing to the Spirit results in life everlasting, though it is not that we save ourselves by faithfully using these spiritual fruits, of course. This, too, is the free gift of God’s grace, in no way earned by what we do. But it is that we use these gifts of God to live life in Christ now, life whose eternal dimensions are already making themselves known to us. And that is one of the great blessings of the Sacrament of the Altar, for here in the receiving of the Savior’s holy body and blood, we are given a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come, in the presence of Jesus Himself, before the everlasting throne of our heavenly Father.

Living and walking in the Spirit in our daily lives prepares us for eternal life. And so it is that, as we sow, so shall we reap. But what are we sowing? Is it to the flesh or to the Spirit? God grant us His Holy Spirit, that our sowing would indeed reap 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 9/18/22: Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity

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Mercy and Faith

Proverbs 4:10-23

                                                  

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

 

The readings in the Trinity season of the Church Year tend to focus on the Christian life. The Gospel speaks of faith and gratitude. The Epistle compares the life lived by the Spirit of God and the life lived for the sake of the flesh. One could assume that the Old Testament reading would address those same conditions, and what results from them, and that is just what it does. The results are likened to two paths: the path of the wicked, and the path of the righteous. These are two distinctly different paths that one might choose to follow, but only if he is a child of God. It is important to understand this point. The proverbs of Solomon are written for the believer. They are not bits of generic wisdom that might apply to anyone. Note the intimate, fatherly way Solomon proceeds: “Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.”

Solomon was not directing these words to his own son specifically; the wise man was playing the kindly father for us all. He calls us “son” just as the New Testament calls all Christians “sons of God.” You see, this term is not gender specific; all believers are counted as sons of God. There are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God; all are full heirs of all the blessings of life and salvation. We are encouraged to take these words to heart, for God speaks through Solomon to His chosen people. If we will pay attention, we can live a good and godly life.

Solomon says, “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” Solomon is not referring here to just any instruction, but to instruction in the true faith, and the godly morality that flows from that faith. This is the kind of instruction our world wants to have nothing to do with. The worldly don’t want to hear that they are wicked or that their conduct is sin. We’ve all heard them tell us, “Don’t you dare impose your beliefs on us.” Since they will not place their trust in Jesus Christ, they don’t want to hear that salvation is in Him alone. And whether they will admit it or not, human nature understands what the alternative to salvation actually is.

This instruction in the faith is your eternal life, and yet it is also useful and effective and beneficial for daily life. That is really the substance of this text. Through Solomon God warns us: “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.” Note that there is no detailing here of what this wicked path involves. We all kind of know what it is, and we are simply told to avoid it. Do not enter the path of the wicked; do not proceed on the way of the evil. Turn away from it and keep moving.

Jesus said: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.” But our text doesn’t tell us to choose the path of righteousness, or to decide for it, or to even walk on it, as though it depended on us. That is because it doesn’t depend on us. Our text describes the path briefly. The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn; it shines brighter and brighter until it is like the fullness of day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they stumble and do not know why. The path of the righteous is bright and clear-sighted, and it only gets better and clearer as you go. But it is a path which we are given, a path that we are placed on, not a path which we may choose. You can only choose to depart from it.

The path of the righteous is the path that Jesus walked. He walked it perfectly because you and I could not. We are far too easily drawn to the path of the wicked. He walked that path alone, and He was hated as He did. And He died, not for walking that path, but because that path is the way of life for us—the narrow way that few find. Jesus, however, found it, and He gives it to us. We cannot choose this path, but we can choose to remain on it once we have been put there; we can flee from the paths of the wicked. And this is the instruction to which you are to cling and never let go. These words of God’s love and grace are life and health for soul and body, both now and into eternity.

Wisdom tells you to turn away from the broad path to destruction, to flee in the opposite direction, to part company with the wicked. God will give you strength to do so. He has already given you the instruction and the faith; that is what His Word and Sacraments have accomplished. And so, when you face the two paths, confidently and joyfully walk the path of Christ, faithfully following after your Savior. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

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

Sermon for 9/11/22: Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity

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The Law and Righteousness

Galatians 3:15-22

 

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

 

 

Paul had brought the Gospel to the Galatians on the first of his three missionary journeys through the Mediterranean area. He had preached grace and peace through Jesus Christ, who had given Himself into death for the sins of the world. This Gospel had created faith in the hearts of many in that place, and they had rejoiced in the grace of God. But sinful human nature being what it is, they had wavered. They had been “bewitched,” according to St. Paul, by those who had come after Paul with the message that righteousness was something to be earned by performing the works of the Law. And now, Paul had some reclaiming work to do.

The Law, at least in written form, was given over 400 years after the promise of a Savior had been given to Abraham, and then confirmed to Isaac and Jacob. And that Law was not to be a substitute for the Gospel promises, nor did it replace those promises. The Law, Paul says here, was “...added because of transgressions.” Its purpose was not to reveal a new and different way of salvation, but to show the need for salvation. To be sure, our conscience, if we will listen to it, will convince us that our conduct is imperfect, marred by endless faults and failings. And as we continue to sin, our conscience becomes more and more dulled and darkened to sin’s dreadful consequences.

From all of this, it is evident that the Law cannot give life, and is not the way to salvation. Rather, the Law locks us up under sin. There is no liberation from sin, no forgiveness of sin, no salvation but through Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Law, and “...the end of the Law for righteousness to all who believe.” Just previous to our text, St. Paul had said, “For all who rely on works of the Law”— that is, all who want to earn or merit salvation by their own deeds, their own efforts—“are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, and do them.’”

But instead, the apostle proves from the origin of the Gospel in the Old Testament that righteousness before God is the free gift of God’s grace in Christ. It was freely given to Abraham by promise, and the promises of God are as sure and certain and inviolate as a man’s last will and testament. When a man’s will is properly executed, it cannot be set aside nor can changes be made. If that is true of a man’s testament, then God’s testament, His promise of grace in Christ, is even less subject to change or annulment!

And when God gave His promise of grace to Abraham, He set no conditions that Abraham had to meet; He demanded no service that Abraham had to render; He set no time limit after which the validity of the promise would lapse. God’s promise of salvation is not contingent on a number of things, or on a number of persons, but on one only; on the eternal Son of the Father, the seed of Abraham, the promised Messiah, who, in the fullness of time appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, the God Man.

Righteousness, then, is the gift of God, bestowed not on the deserving; not on those who have achieved some merit; not as a reward or as wages for services performed. God bestows the gift freely for Christ’s sake, through grace and mercy that is undeserved. And this gift is for all; no one is excluded. God said to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that in their offspring—which is Christ—all nations and all families of the earth would be blessed. Just as God’s Law has put all people under sin—“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”—even so, the promises of God grant righteousness to all, all “...being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” For this reason, then, the apostle declares: God’s good and gracious will is “...that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” God’s promise is indeed like a will and testament.

Yes, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting their trespasses against them...” The truth is, all men are the “missing heirs” of God’s promise. They are all the heirs of salvation, though they do not know it. And so, all believers, the whole Church, have the solemn duty and privilege to tell those “missing heirs” that the promise is God is for them, as well, and for their children, and for all who are near and all who are far off. “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” That is the promise of the Lord. And so to them, and to you, and to all is the encouragement of St. Paul: “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to 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.

Sermon for 9/4/22: Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

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Humble Servants

II Corinthians 3:4-11

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

 

Pride lurks in every heart. It is the tragic heritage of our first parents. But it troubles especially those who are, or imagine themselves to be, above the average in personality, or talent, or achievement. Christians, even the ministers of the Church, are not immune to this. It takes very little to nurture pride and to bring it out into the open. A little success, a little recognition, a few compliments, some good publicity, an election to office, and a person can begin to strut arrogantly in the presence of God and exalt himself proudly above others.

Such pride is never a virtue or an asset. It is always a liability and, often, the forerunner of disaster. Pride demonstrates that a man really does not know himself and that his attitude toward God and his neighbor is not what it should be. Pride is not only sinful; it is also utterly unrealistic and even foolish. In a Christian, pride is proof of spiritual immaturity. Because of this, Holy Scripture continually warns us against pride and urges Christians to weed it out of their hearts and lives.

St. Paul was certainly an inspiring example of Christian humility. In spite of his great success, he was prepared to say, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God...” Elsewhere in his first Epistle to these Corinthians, he had declared that he was not even fit to be an apostle, and yet that was what he was, with all of its godly power and importance. Paul knew himself to be nothing more than a sinner, and not only because of the original sin that marks all human beings, but also because of his own very open and awful transgressions. The memory of his past sins haunted him, especially his brutal persecution of the Church in its infant days. But even after he had become an apostle, Paul freely acknowledged, “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.”

Paul’s humility was the direct result of his faith in Jesus Christ. He said: “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.” Paul’s humility did not come by way of the knowledge and practice of the Law of God. No one knew that Law better than Paul, and no one had been a greater advocate for that Law. But in spite of this, he had developed into a proud and exceedingly self-righteous Pharisee, devoid of any real humility. The truth is, like all who are overwhelmed by pride, he did not really understand the Law, for when he read it, he felt he was keeping it perfectly. But when he was brought to faith in Christ, he understood the Law as God intended it to be understood. He saw himself as he really was. He saw his sin, especially his pride, in the bright light of the Law. And in that way, a godly humility came to St. Paul.

Humility is a Christian virtue. It is a fruit of faith in Jesus Christ. Of course, an unbeliever may possess a certain kind of humility. But genuine humility, the kind that will stand the test of the divine Law, can only be ours though faith in Jesus Christ. And it can be cultivated only by the prayerful and faithful use of the Holy Gospel and Sacraments, something our sinful nature steadfastly wants to reject. Perhaps this is why it is not just difficult, but even painful, for us to cultivate a true and godly humility.

Paul’s humility was deepened by his recognition of the fact that his qualifications, his ability, and his success was from God. He said, “Our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant.” He was always conscious of the fact that God had made him what he was. “By the grace of God, I am what I am,” he said. God had created him; God had redeemed him in Jesus Christ; God had made him a Christian, endowing him with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, calling him to the apostleship, equipping him with the gifts necessary for his high office. Through Jesus Christ, however, he had the confidence that God would make him fully sufficient as each situation arose. And so, Paul would find himself helpless, except for the merciful sufficiency of God.

The world sees helplessness as weakness. It equates it with cowardice and failure. Paul knew better. You and I know better. Helplessness is where God does His best work. Paul told the Romans, “For when we were still without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.” That grace, a gift that meets our helplessness and saves us in Christ, enables us to serve God and our neighbor in humility, but also with confidence.

Paul is an inspiring example of true humility, a humility that is coupled with a confident outlook on faith and life, all because it is in Jesus Christ. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, may we find in Paul an example so that, no matter how impressive our qualifications and accomplishments may be, we may always know them to come from the sufficiency that comes of God and so remain humble servants of 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.