Sermon for 8/30/26: Proper 17a

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Priceless Crosses
Matthew 16:21-28
 

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

 

Consider this statement: “Christianity teaches that salvation from sin, death, and hell is a gift of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone, without any good works or effort on our part.” Is that statement true or false? Of course it is true! This is the fundamental teaching of the Christian faith; this is the Gospel, the doctrine that separates the Christian faith from all others. And yet, a number of recent surveys have indicated that less than 50% of those who identify as Lutherans answer this question correctly. Why is this clear teaching apparently not getting through? Is it poor teaching and preaching by pastors? No doubt, that is part of the problem. Is it careless listening on the part of those sitting in the pews and in the classrooms? That is also an important factor. But the overarching problem the Church faces is a “culture war.”

This battle is especially difficult because it seems the culture of the world is crowding out the culture of the Church. In a world that is oriented toward business and political matters, the Church has become enamored with programs and growth statistics; doctrine is no longer of primary importance. In a culture absolutely saturated with entertainment, most of which is ungodly, the Church has come to believe that, to be found appealing, she must entertain rather than worship; she must “schmooze” people rather than teach them; she must coddle them rather than call sinners to repentance. Some will think this judgment of the Church too harsh. But the evidence is out there if you are willing to see it.

So ask yourself: how important is the teaching of the Church to you? What is your Christian faith worth to you? These have always been important questions; that hasn’t changed. But we as the Body of Christ have to admit to priorities than have become confused. The Church is always only a generation away from losing everything. And so the education of her people, especially her children, is one of her greatest responsibilities.

Consider this matter then, in light of our Gospel for this morning, where our Lord Jesus Christ speaks to His disciples about those values that are priceless. Jesus tells you here that it will cost you to follow Him. But you need to understand rightly what that means. You cannot buy discipleship like clothes or groceries. The fact of the matter is, there are consequences to faithfully following Jesus. There are things you will give up, things you will suffer, things you will do because you are His disciples.

To follow faithfully after Jesus means to bear the cross. And that cross is painful; even as it brought crucifixion and death to our Lord, so it brings pain and affliction to you. So be sure you know and understand what this cross is. It is what you suffer and endure for the sake of Christ. It is not the heartache you bring on yourself because of your sin. For children, it is enduring the ridicule and cruelty of school mates without doing the same to them, because you belong to Christ. For adults, it is being patient with the difficult husband, the nagging wife, the obstinate child because you love them for the sake of Christ, and you want them to rejoice in the salvation He gives. It is understanding that, because the world hates Jesus, it will also hate those who are His.

And to follow faithfully after Christ means obedience to His Word. Obedience is not the most popular concept in our day, to be sure, but it is crucial to the life of faith. No learning takes place without discipline. Christians are disciplined, and their discipline is according to the Word of God. We don’t revise the Christian faith to suit ourselves or the demands of the moment. But rather, we are conformed in all ways to the Word of God.

Now, our sinful flesh might conclude that this is too high a price to pay: too much self-denial, too much pain to bear, too much obedience to endure. And so we need to learn why we can be happy to pay this price. You see, the life of faith offers an equation that, according to human thinking, does not and cannot add up. By gaining all the things you may think are important, you may lose everything. But when you lose everything for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, you actually gain everything that matters. You can be happy to pay this price because it really is the only way to live.

The great self-deception that many live with is that real life is lived for one’s self. But to really live, Jesus says, means to forget about self and personal advantage. It is to spend yourself—your energies, time, and talents—for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. And lest you think that is merely an appeal to work in the Church, what is in view here are those vocations to which all you have been called: to serve your wives and husbands, your children and family members, your friends and neighbors, your employers and employees, with the self-giving love of Christ—not because there is anything to be gained by you, but because that is how the Lord has loved and served you. He spared nothing in redeeming your lives from destruction and your souls from damnation.

These things are beyond price. The wonderful gift of this creation and the life God gives us to live here is something for which we will never be sufficiently grateful. The grace and salvation that come to us through Jesus Christ and His gifts of Word, Baptism, Absolution, and Holy Supper are such that we can never repay the goodness of God. But in faith we receive these gifts, and in faith we strive to live, day by day, according to these priceless values. In these things, God is surely glorified, and we, His Church, are blessed 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.   

Sermon for 8/23/26: Proper 16a

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Understanding God
Romans 11:33-12:8 

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; we like to think 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 or a terrible hurricane? 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?

Think about the questions St. Paul asks the Romans. “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” Do you know it? Of course, you don’t. Sure, 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?

Ask yourself this: “Who has been [God’s] counselor?” God has never talked things over with me. Does He consult you before He does what He does? But like me, there are times when 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 we think He must have been asleep—or, at least, He 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.

What about this: “Who has given a gift to [God] 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.”

What about this one: “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.

Here’s another one: “Who has been [God’s] 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, as well as His 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.

And one more question: “Who has given a gift to [God] that it might be repaid?” This is the way our world works, isn’t it? It’s called “reciprocity:” one good turn deserves another. 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 through His suffering and death in our place. And now, in faith, out of love and gratitude, we 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 cannot be understood, who defies being understood. But we don’t need to understand how God works. In Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection for us, 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!” That’s what we need to know about God. That’s what we need to understand. 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 8/9/26: Proper 14a

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In the Deep End

Matthew 14:22-33
 

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

The people did not understand the true nature of our Lord’s ministry. It was not until Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead that people began to understand why He took up human flesh. Before the Passion, the crowds were looking for an earthly king: someone who would make life easier, someone who would drive out the Romans—heck, maybe He would even restore the kingdom of David. They did not understand that Jesus came to save the entire creation from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

The events we heard about in today’s Gospel happened right after the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had just spent a day ministering to people. He healed their diseases, and then, when they got hungry, He hosted a banquet for 5,000 men and their families. The crowds began to think that someone who could heal diseases and provide free food would make a pretty good king. They did not know that they were tempting Jesus to be an earthly king; if they did know, they didn’t care.

Jesus needed to deal with the situation. He quickly sent the disciples back across the Sea of Galilee. Then He dismissed the people. After he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by Himself to pray while the disciples were struggling to cross the sea against a strong headwind.

Jesus finished His prayers and set out to rejoin the disciples. In the middle of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. On top of the terror from the storm, the sight of Someone walking toward them on the water was too much. They cried out in fear.

But then Jesus spoke. ”Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Because they were troubled, Jesus said, “Take heart.” Because they did not know who He was, He said, “It is I.” Because they were terrified, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.” He does not come to bring doom, but salvation. In His reassuring word, Jesus has given them all they need. This should be enough.

Apparently, this was not enough for Peter. Matthew does not give any insight into Peter’s mind, but he does give us Peter’s reply to Jesus. “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter wanted more proof than the simple word of God. He wanted a personal sign. So Jesus does something that is quite consistent with the actions of God throughout the Bible. Sometimes, when God’s people ask for something outrageous, God gives it to them as a learning experience. Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water. At first, everything went well. But when he saw the weather, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

We talk a lot about faith, but it is important to talk about faith accurately. It is not enough to have a very powerful and very sincere faith if that faith is in the wrong thing. Our culture tells us, “You gotta have faith.” But it doesn’t aim faith toward our Lord Jesus. The world says, “Believe in yourself.” But examine yourself in light of the Ten Commandments; do you really want to trust in yourself? The world says to trust in science, but science can be skewed by our interpretation of the evidence. For Peter, trusting science meant trusting his fisherman’s experience with wind and water. But that misplaced faith drew him away from faith in Jesus. Thankfully for Peter, and for us, Jesus is patient and merciful. Jesus took hold of Peter and brought him back to the boat.

Ever since the days of Noah and the flood, the boat has been a symbol of Christ’s Church. There are times when we are not satisfied with the Word Jesus gives us. Like Peter, we want a bigger experience. We want more emotion. We want pizazz. So we leave the Word in order to find a greater experience—something new, something a little more spectacular than what we’ve always had. We put our faith in our feelings instead of in God’s promise.

Jesus is patient. Even though we often find ourselves sinking in a situation that we ourselves created, He is always ready to rescue us, to haul us back to this nave, His Church, where He restores us with His gifts. Jesus did a lot more than walk on water to save His people. The ultimate expression of His desire to save us comes in the cross. It is on the cross that Jesus became the greatest sinner of all time—not with His own sin, but with the sin of the whole world. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus carried that sin to the cross and sacrificed Himself to remove that sin from the world. When Jesus died, that sin died with Him. When Jesus rose, He left that sin in the grave where it can have no power over us.

Jesus brings salvation to you. He comes to you in the water of Holy Baptism. When water is joined with God’s Word according to His command, the old natural Adam who was enslaved us to sin is drowned and dies. In his place a new, holy man arises who lives before God in righteousness and purity forever. In those Worded waters our Lord says to you, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” He welcomes you into His Boat, His Church, where you are safe. 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 8/2/26: Proper 13a

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Living Bread

Matthew 14:13-21 

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

After God had delivered the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, they spent forty years traveling around the wilderness. They would have soon died in that barren wasteland, except that God miraculously provided food for them: bread from heaven. Each morning they awoke to find the ground covered with “manna.” And God sustained them by this bread until they entered the Promised Land. Here in the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus compares Himself to this manna, and He says that it was actually a sign of His coming. “I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven,” He said. “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” Jesus is the Bread of God on which we feed through faith, a Bread that nourishes and sustains us in this world, a bread which gives us a portion of eternal life in the Promised Land of heaven. So when we hear of this miracle of the feeding of the 5000 in which Jesus multiplies the bread for His followers, we know that the significance of this miracle goes beyond the earthly bread. Ultimately it has to do with Jesus.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. This Bread He has come to set before His people is Bread that God freely offers in His Word and Sacraments. It is Bread that brings forgiveness and salvation without cost to us. These things cannot be earned or merited by our goodness; they can only be received as a gift from Him. Only one who acknowledges his spiritual bankruptcy before God, who recognizes that he does not deserve God’s eternal gifts, can receive the Bread of Life. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those who would try to buy their way into heaven, so to speak, bargaining with their own works and spiritual qualifications, will not be given life from this Living Bread, for they seek a righteousness of their own. Only those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ will be satisfied.

How did Jesus meet the need before Him? One of His disciples said to Him: “We have five barley loaves and two small fish.” On the surface, it appeared that this bread and fish would be useless to feed so many people—something like the criticism one occasionally hears about the Sacrament of the Altar: “What good can a little bread and wine do?” some say. But with Jesus it was more than enough to do the job. What matters is not the impressiveness of the elements, but the Lord Himself, and what He is able to do with those elements.

“He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.” Here is the great miracle: as the disciples handed out the food given to them by Christ, there was always more to give. The more they handed out, the more there was. And thousands were fed, and the food never ran out. Indeed, everyone ate their fill. Is this not also how it is with all the gifts of God? He gives them; we partake of them and use them; and their blessing is multiplied…and there is still more. In this regard, consider the Holy Sacrament that is offered to us on this Lord’s Day. In bread and wine, the Lord multiplies His body and blood, and through His ministers He distributes them to His people, that you may receive all that you want of Him who is the Living Bread from heaven, that your souls may be thoroughly satisfied. And there is always more of this Bread of Life to be given out. For His gifts of forgiveness and life are limitless and eternal. The love of our Lord is an ever-expanding love; the more that He gives, the more that He has to give.

So when you come to the Lord’s Table in repentance and faith, you need never fear that the sin you bring is greater than the Lord’s ability to deal with, for His mercy is without measure. When you receive the Living Bread from heaven in the Sacrament, you receive the fullness of Christ’s life and forgiveness. And there is always more. As Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” Truly, Jesus is the Living Bread from heaven, given to you.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Feeding of the 5000 is not merely a temporary, one-time miracle. It is an eternal miracle that is still going on in the Church, as the body of one Man feeds the spiritual hunger of all the faithful of all times and all places. It sustains you for every day of your life. It forgives your sins. It strengthens your faith. It gives you eternal life. God grant you faith to receive Him who is the “manna” from above, that having been fed with Living Bread, you, too, will be nourished unto 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.