Sermon for 9/29/24: Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

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Holy Angels and Little Ones
Matthew 18:1-11

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

          Every year on September 29, the One Holy Christian and Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. Today we remember with joy these created beings who protect us at the Lord's command. 

        When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would be the mother of the promised Messiah, Mary sang of the Lord, “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.” God rightly humbles those who would puff themselves up with their own words and deeds, as He did to the people of Babel who attempted to raise themselves up to be equal with God; and He lifts up those who have been brought low in sin, who kneel before the Lord to confess to Him that they are poor, miserable sinners.

          It seems as though the disciples of the Lord have always had the bad habit of exalting themselves. Whether it’s James and John asking to sit at the Lord’s right hand, or the whole collection of the disciples rebuking those who brought children to Jesus for His blessing, or when they all inquire as to who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, they’re all quite interested in lifting themselves up and pushing others down. And we who consider ourselves to be faithful don’t seem to mind that very much. We take pride in our doctrinal faithfulness—and this is a particularly dangerous temptation for the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod—as if our faithful adherence to the Word of God alone puts us in an exalted position in the kingdom of God.

And that brings us to the holy angels, the holy beings created by God to serve Him and His people. The high and mighty of the Church can see no need for angels. Surely only the weak need to rely on these invisible beings. Angels, they say, are for children. Angels, they say, are for those who are childish in their spiritual development, those who childishly believe that some higher being lovingly shapes our destinies.

God grant us such a childlike faith and humility, so that we acknowledge our weakness before God and thus pray in faith, “Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.” Viewing angels as something only necessary for children or for weak people misunderstands what the word “angel” means. Angels aren’t merely heavenly commandos; the words in Hebrew and Greek from which we get the word “angel” both mean “messenger.” These heavenly soldiers come armed mightily with “the sword of the Spirit, which is Word of God.” Angels are mouthpieces who repeat what the Lord says back to Him in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. They speak against the devil in defiance, for the protection of the children of God. Angels speak the Word of God. The Word is their weapon…and it is a most effective weapon. Consider our appointed Epistle. St. Michael and the angelic band fight with Satan, and they cast him down. Their weapon is nothing else than the Word of God. John tells us, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their witness.” Satan fights by using words of deception, always his most effective weapon against the faithful. Saint Michael and the angels, on the other hand, fight by speaking the Word of God.

The Lord continues to send messengers today. They do not have golden wings or halos. They do not resemble the cute little cherubs you see in the Hallmark store. In fact, they look a lot like you do. They stand at the altar and in the pulpit, wearing collars that mark them as slaves of Christ, as blood-soaked dogs who protect the sheep from the wolves. They wear black to demonstrate that they, like their hearers, are sinners who have been humbled before the Lord. And they cover that black with a robe of white that demonstrates the righteousness of Christ upon them through the waters of Holy Baptism…the very same righteousness that rests upon their hearers. Pastors do not lift themselves up. Instead, with the angel who talks to John in Revelation, they say to their congregations, “I am your fellow servant… Worship God!” And like the heavenly messengers, these pastors come among us armed only with the blood of the Lamb and the Word of God—but these weapons bear the power of God to overcome Satan as effectively as they do for Saint Michael and the holy angels.

Those whom the Word converts become as little children.  They are humbled, and, in turn, humble themselves as children. But those with childlike faith are exalted to the highest place in the Kingdom of God. Everyone in God’s kingdom relies on and takes to heart that angelic Word, whether it is spoken by invisible messengers named Michael and Gabriel or by the visible messengers who preach the Word from this pulpit and feed the flock with the body and blood of the Lamb. And when that Word of God brings even one lost sinner to repentance, St. Michael and all the holy angels of heaven rejoice. God grant that we welcome His messengers, receiving the Word with repentance and faith, so that the angels would rejoice over 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 9/22/24: Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 20b)

No sermon audio. The recorder malfunctioned. Sorry. It's a shame too, as the delivery was much better in the second service.

CLICK HERE for the service video. The sermon begins at 49:10.

Finding the Real Jesus
Mark 9:30-37

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

          Sinful man does not readily receive the things of God. He does not comprehend the message of a Lord who suffers, bleeds, and dies like a common criminal, hanging naked from a wooden stake in the ground outside the city walls. To the sinner, such a God is weakness, and the notion that such a death has lasting meaning is pure idiocy. To the sinner, the Gospel itself is utter foolishness. “My god is great,” says the sinful heart. “My god is the one who is all powerful and yet would never punish me for anything. He is love when I want him to be love; he is hate when I want him to be hate.” The god of sinful humanity is our own belly. Mankind creates a god in our own image—a god we see when we look in the mirror—to suit our own needs.

Because our flesh still clings to our sin, Christians also try to put Jesus in a box that suits our own desires. We confess Him as Lord and Redeemer, and then we relegate Him to a moral example. We allow Him ro be the Savior who forgives sin, but we ignore Him when He declares, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” He is either the righteous and merciless Judge who is eager to condemn, or He is our buddy who is more concerned with good intentions than the impurity of our hearts and deeds.

In our heart of hearts, we want the Jesus who will triumph over those who hate us and give us our every whim. He is the God to whom we render thanks and praise in times of joy, but whom we question and even curse in our pain and sorrow. We come to Him in prayer, but we neglect to include that most vital part: “Not my will, O Lord, but Your will be done.” We live in defiance of His commandments and then attempt to make ourselves look better by pointing out the sins of others. We allow Jesus to be either Lord or Savior, but we will not allow Him to be both.

Sinners do not readily receive the things of God. We do not hear the Word and see that it is reasonable and therefore deserving of consideration. The sinful heart is so blackened and marred by sin that only God himself can change it. Not even the disciples were able to receive the news of God’s Kingdom. They heard the heart and core of the Gospel—Christ’s death and resurrection—and they were afraid to ask what it meant. Does it not seem a little strange that Jesus speaks of His impending betrayal, death, and resurrection, and His disciples have no idea what he is talking about? How could they not comprehend what must come to pass for the Son of Man? Surely they, of all people, could put two and two together! They surely were familiar with the words of Jeremiah from our Old Testament reading of the lamb being led to the slaughter—and they most certainly could have connected that with John the Baptist pointing to Jesus and saying, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

No, like the rest of the Jews, the disciples desired the Jesus who would defeat their Roman oppressors. Even Peter, James, and John did not comprehend what must happen, and they had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration in the presence of Moses and Elijah. They could only imagine with horror a betrayal of Jesus into the hands of men. Along with Peter, they all swore they would never let such things occur. They did not want to deal with what Jesus was telling them; they did not even want to ask.

Our text for this day is not a mundane repetition of what everyone already knew. Jesus speaks of His betrayal, which came at the hand of Judas, and His crucifixion at the hand of the Romans, and His disciples were scandalized beyond belief! God tests the faith of his people. Part of that testing is withholding knowledge of certain things. He withheld from the disciples a clear comprehension of His betrayal and death to test them. He withholds no such knowledge from us, for we have been taught the Scriptures and the meaning of His death. And yet, we need to hear that message continually, because it is not what we read in the imagination of our hearts.

The Lord tests the faith of his people in many and various ways, but in so doing, He draws them to Himself, under the shadow of His wings. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. You will receive tests from the Lord during your earthly pilgrimage. And there will be times that you question what He is doing. “Why are things turning out for me this way?” “Why didn’t I get the scholarship I expected?” “Why is my health the way it is?” “Why doesn’t my worship and prayer life make me feel a certain way?” “Why doesn’t my witness to other always make believers out of them?” In such times of uncertainty and trial, you must look to what God has promised and not dwell upon what He has not promised. He has already promised you that He works all things for your benefit and for your eternal good. He promises that He will always be there to comfort you in distress and be your oasis in the wilderness of this sinful world. But He only does these things in the ways He has promised: through the cleansing waters of Baptism, in the word of Absolution, and in His body and blood in the bread and wine of the Supper.

Seek the Lord where He has promised to be. This won’t any easier for you than it was for the disciples, but His promises are the same, and He does not falter in keeping them. Receive His gifts and be continually fed by them, for your Lord is there to give you rest from the burden of your sin and to strengthen you in His love and mercy. 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.