Sermon for 2/22/23: Ash Wednesday (Lord's Supper series)

This opens our sermon series for the season of Lent: our series on the Lord's Supper. It is never a bad thing to return to the Catechism so that we may continue to grow in faith toward God and appreciation for His gifts to us. 

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

No video; I forgot the camera. Sorry!

Heavenly Treasure
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

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

 

Jesus told His hearers in the Sermon on the Mount, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” That’s why we are here this evening: to receive heavenly treasures from our Lord Jesus Christ—to hear His Word; to receive the forgiveness of our sins; to receive life and salvation in His body and blood. And we need these treasures precisely because they are the gifts our Old Adam fears most. “Poor miserable sinners” that we are, we seek earthly treasures: money and possessions, the acclaim of our bosses and teachers—really anything other than those things that draw us near to our loving God. We turn away from the gifts that edify and nourish our souls.

That is what sin really is: a turning away from God and His gifts, relying on what we can get or do for ourselves. This means that repentance is turning away from ourselves, our self-centeredness, our wants and desires and what we think is best, and receiving in their place our Father’s gifts again. God gives and we receive.

That’s how it has been since the beginning. God made everything. He created a perfect world for His children. But they turned away from His gifts: gifts of life, of good and abundant food, of each other in marriage, of being in His image, of a right relationship with Him. They turned away from all that to the allure of getting something for themselves. And the result of turning away from God and His gifts was death.

But God would not leave it at that. Death would not have the final word. Our Father’s answer to them, His response to their turning away, was that He gave again. While the residue of the forbidden fruit was still on their breath, while they were still ashamed because of their nakedness, He gave to Adam and Eve the promise of a Savior, a Seed of the woman to crush the head of the satanic serpent. 

With all this in mind, consider the Holy Gospel we heard tonight. Consider how it speaks of taking the gifts of God and turning them into something they were never intended to be. Righteousness is a gift of God. Prayer is a gift of God. Helping others is living out the forgiveness we have received by sharing it with others. So what happened? The Pharisees, like all sinners, took these gifts and perverted them into opportunities for themselves: the chance to be seen, to be praised, to get the admiration of others. They turned the life of faith into a three-ring circus. Repentance was needed. 

So what about us today? Do we fall into the same trap? Do we turn away from the gifts of God to something else? We want to say no; we want to deny it with all the indignation we possess. But the truth? The truth is that we do. We turn away from God’s gift of Absolution: instead of repenting and confessing, we try to justify ourselves, to explain and excuse our actions, to blame others for our sin. We turn away from the gift of God’s Word: we believe what the world says, instead of clinging to what God said is true; we judge things by what seems right to us rather than by what God said. We turn away from the gift of Baptism: instead of clinging to our identity as children of God, we measure our value by the numbers in our bank accounts, by our positions on the corporate and social ladders, by what our grades are, by what the world thinks is important.

And we turn away from the gift of our Lord’s Body and Blood. Sometimes we claim that Jesus made a mistake in using bread and wine as the elements, seeing how gluten makes some people ill, seeing how addicts can be harmed by the intake of any alcohol. Sometimes we claim that it can be offered too frequently, because taking it more often might make it seem less special somehow. And sometimes we forget that the body and blood of Jesus is our family meal, meant to bring us together in the fellowship of this Table. We refuse to live as the Communion of saints, a family.

So tonight the cry goes out once again: Repent. “Be reconciled to God.” Turn away from the decaying wealth of this world to welcome His gifts. Receive Christ again, for the Father “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Christ was made sin for you. He became your turning away. He cried from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” Instead of turning away from us as we deserve, the Father turned away from His sinless Son. In place of forsakenness, we are given Christ’s righteousness, a true heavenly treasure.

That is our focus as we journey to our Lord’s cross again this year. Tonight—starting tonight—turn back. Turn back to Christ. Turn back to His gifts. Receive the love, the forgiveness, the life, the hope, the strength, the comfort, the promises, and the joy you need. Receive Him, for He is here: present in His Word, present in His body and blood, for you. He is your Treasure that endures forever. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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