Sermon for 10/18/15: Trinity XX

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Right-click to save. Box has changed their interface, and I don't know how to embed anymore.


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Invited and Robed

Matthew 22:1-14

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

The parable of the Wedding Garment reminds us that those who reject God's invitation of salvation and those who would come without being dressed properly will be cast out and thrown away from the Lord. He has no use for those who despise Him and His grace. On the other hand, there is the beautiful and majestic picture Isaiah gives us: that the Lord invites us to come and to feast. He invites those who have sinned and turned away to once again cling to Him and return to Him in repentance, to know that their sins have been forgiven. Those who are sinners, who cannot save themselves, who have no hope of earning such an invitation, are brought into Christ's kingdom and made a part of this eternal celebration.

The King sends His servants out to tell people, “The feast is prepared!” Those servants who have gone out were the holy prophets of the Old Testament who called God's people to repentance and faith in His promises. Now those servants are the preachers who call us to repentance and faith. The feast that is prepared is the feast of salvation. Jesus is the Lamb, slaughtered for our celebration. It is the feast prepared the day our Lord gave His life into death for the sins of the world.

Hear the Lord's warning. There are those who despised that invitation; some assaulted the messengers and even killed them! The King will have justice. He musters his army to kill those murderers and burn their city! This is a prophecy. For centuries, the Lord sent His prophets to remind His people, the physical children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that their Savior was coming. He reminded them to turn away from false gods. But when that time finally came, rather than welcoming their Savior, they crucified Him. And even when He had been raised from the dead, those people still persecuted and killed the apostles who preached Christ. What was the result of their rejection? In the year AD 70, the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem. Oh, it's there today, but can there be any greater insult to the Jewish people than that a Muslim mosque sits where their temple used to be? This is a warning, dear Christians, of what happens to those who despise the Lord’s gracious invitation and want nothing to do with Him.

The Wedding Feast of God's Son is the feast of salvation given on the day that our Lord meets with His Bride, the Church. It is the banquet in which the Son of God is main course, who gives us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. It is this feast of which we have a foretaste in the Holy Supper of our Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ, you are invited. You have been brought to the feast, to Christ's kingdom and church. He has invited you, the good and the bad, all of us who are sinners and unworthy to be here. We don't have to earn our place. We don't have to create some kind of holiness. All is prepared by the Lord Himself. He offers His Son as the sacrifice. His Son gives Himself as the main course. And yet the Son is the Bridegroom for whom the Feast is given! You don't have to cook or clean or get your life straightened out in order to be in attendance! The Lord has brought you here to celebrate with Him the marriage feast of His Son, your Savior. Our Lord gives His church the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation for free! You don't have to earn it. You don't have to pay for it. There aren't any conditions or qualifications. He's accomplished your salvation on Calvary. He brings you into His church to receive and enjoy His salvation. He prepares you for the Last Day when the final and eternal Wedding Feast begins. There is nothing for you to do but live in it.

When you were baptized, you were brought into the Lord's kingdom and given a wedding garment. But there was a man at the wedding who wasn't wearing one. There's no reason he shouldn't have had one on. But he didn't. Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord gives us everything! Only in our sin would we cast off the baptismal robe of Christ’s righteousness. The Church on earth is full of people who have been brought in but who refuse to wear their wedding garment. They want to be members of the Church, but they don't want to learn God's Word, receive the Sacrament often, confess their sins and trust in Jesus. On the Last Day, the Lord will ask them and they'll have nothing to say, no confession to make. The Lord doesn’t make anyone wear the righteousness He died to give them. But He gives it freely. The wedding garment is already yours! Don't ever take it off or throw it away! Rejoice to stand before you heavenly Father dressed as Christ!

Everything is ready! The Lord all prepared. Come and eat and drink without cost! Come and receive Jesus and the forgiveness of sins! Come and rejoice to be the Bride of Christ. Come and receive all of the gifts Christ has for you with no strings attached. You've been given the invitation. You've been brought to the Wedding Feast of Christ! Rejoice! You are welcome here. 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.           

HYMN: Behold, the Lamb's Own Wedding Feast

I'm continuing to work my way through the Sundays of the LSB 1-year lectionary, writing hymns as I go along. I seem to be working behind, but there's no rush. Anyway, the Gospel appointed for the Twentieth Sunday After Trinity is Matthew 22:1-12, the Parable of the Wedding Feast. I chose to focus on the wedding garment especially, the baptismal robe of Christ's righteousness which covers our unworthiness. Here it is. Any feedback is appreciated.

Behold, the Lamb's Own Wedding Feast

1. Behold, the Lamb's own wedding feast
Prepared for bad and good.
All praise to Christ, the Groom divine:
To Christ, the holy Food.

2. The King in mercy sends His slaves
To call and bring me in.
He does not ask my piety.
He does not seek my sin.

3. I am a poor, unworthy guest,
No holiness to trust.
My deeds and words are filthy rags.
They rot and turn to dust.

4. But now I dress in holiness,
No longer smeared with mud,
For Christ, my Robe of righteousness,
Has washed me in His blood.

5. The wedding banquet is prepared,
And You have honored me
By making me a welcomed guest
To feast eternally.

6. O holy Father, mighty King;
O Christ, the Bridegroom Son;
O Holy Ghost: all festal praise
While endless ages run!


(c) 2015 Alan Kornacki, Jr.
CM (86 86)
Tune: Consolation (LSB 348)
Occasion: Trinity XX (LSB 1-year)  

Ten Years

October 12, 2005 was the worst day of my life. I've told the story before: how my district president called me aside at the end of the district church worker conference to tell me he was placing me on Restricted Status with the possibility of removing me from the clergy roster; how the senior pastor called me on the way home to tell me I was required to be present at a meeting; how the president of the congregation told me the congregation's elders voted to demand my resignation, and how they'd withhold any severance if I were to resist; how I called my wife, 28 weeks pregnant with our twins, and decided with her to resign; how, with my wife 32 weeks pregnant, we moved out of the church's house at their demand, making the long trip to Louisiana from Ohio; how I remained on Restricted Status for 10 months, even though the district president made the decision that my offense was an error in judgment, not gross misconduct that merited removal from the clergy roster; how I spent four years, seven months, and four days without a parish to serve.

That was ten years today. That's a quarter of my life so far, give or take a few months. My life and the circumstances in which I find myself today have improved dramatically over the course of those ten years: the birth of the twins; my eventual employment at the Amelia Community Center; preaching in numerous churches in Louisiana (and one in Mississippi); receiving the Call to serve as pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois; the love my family and I have received in our five-plus years here. I am, to put it mildly, content to be serving and living where I am.

Nevertheless, there are scars that remain from those dark days. My cynicism toward and distrust of Synodical bureaucracy remains, though it has been tempered at least some through the faithful service of my current district president. My discomfort on the days of congregation meetings is palpable, though the leaders and members of my current congregation have never given me reason to worry that they intend to seek my departure--if anything, the opposite is true, and the threats to keep me superglued to the pulpit should I try to leave are heartwarming. My anger and hurt and shame regarding the events that transpired with the leaders of my previous congregation, though less heated, crop up unexpectedly. (I saw a picture yesterday which was taken in the fellowship hall of that church, and my reaction was visceral. That was the room where the meeting took place, where I was forced to resign. That's what I call fellowship!) Fighting that anger is a common battle for me. There have been times I've felt I've won the battle, let it all go, but then the anger roars back. It is a common topic when I visit my Father Confessor. And those are just my issues. My family has their own to deal with as a result of our years in exile. You'd think that after ten years, after spending more than five of those years back in parish ministry, these things would just go away. Then again, as my friend Sandra said, "PTSD is the gift that keeps on giving."

Still, hindsight being what it is, I can see blessings now from those days that I was blind to back then--or if not blind, I did not appreciate them as I should have. I was able to be a full-time father to my twins for nearly a full year. When I finally did find a job, it was one in a field in which I had experience, one which kept my mind active, one which allowed me to accept the invitations I received to preach. And those invitations were plentiful--indeed, I think the pastors and congregations occasionally invented opportunities to ask me to visit. I won't spend the day enumerating each blessing--there are too many to count!--but I'm in a position to appreciate them more now than I had graciousness to do so at the time.

And now I'm also in a position to do some good. I wrote a book about my experiences (and the experiences of other pastors who, like me, found themselves on the outside looking in). Though Lutheran Purgatory: Pastors Without Calls has been ignored and in some cases ridiculed by many of those who most need to take it to heart, it has brought awareness of the greater problem of how we as members of the body of Christ treat our brothers and their families in these difficult circumstances, and the sale of this book has allowed me to raise some money to support my brothers and their families in times of need. I was asked by the Association of Confessing Evangelical Lutheran Congregations to present at their annual conference on this subject, and as the opening speaker I had the opportunity to set the table for the rest of the presenters. (You can listen to my presentation by right-clicking this link and saving to your own computer.) This is a subject our Synod now realizes is a troublesome one, one that gives lie to the idea that we're in koinonia (fellowship--what we've taken to calling our "life together"), that we are earnest and quick to display our diakonia (service--what we call "mercy") toward each other. I hope that our Synod in convention next summer will act to address these issues and will respond appropriately to what the Synod's task force on this issue brings to the table, whether their report deserves praise and action or rejection and re-tasking.

Ten years. It's strange to think of how my life and the lives of my family members has changed over that time, how our time in exile has affected us. But one thing that has remained constant in all of this, the good, the bad, and the ugly, is that God has remained good to us. Whether or not the wounds fully heal here in time, the Day is coming when the wounds will be healed, when we will finally be fully at peace with the events and the people. God grant it for the sake of His Son, Jesus.

Sermon for 10/11/15--Trinity XIX

Please ignore the part of the audio where I completely space on the meaning of the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed.

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Forgiveness Is Like This

Matthew 9:1-8

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

Jesus looked at the paralyzed man and said, “Take heart! Your sins are forgiven you!” Did the man ask for forgiveness? Did he tell Jesus he was sorry for his sins? No. Jesus just forgave him. The Pharisees exploded. “This man blasphemes!” Blasphemy is lying in God’s name. They made this charge because they believed Jesus had no business forgiving sins. Only God can forgive sins. Forgiveness is between a person and God, and they believe you have to go through the routine to get your forgiveness. Some people believe that if a person sinned right before he died, and he didn’t have a chance to ask forgiveness, he would go to hell. They act as if Jesus isn’t really a Savior! God doesn’t work that way. But that’s how people believe who live as slaves of the Law. It sneaks into the church, too, where people believe that the forgiveness Christ gives has conditions and requirements, that forgiveness isn’t yours until you ask for it or decide you want it.

Look again at that paralytic. He can’t get up and walk to Jesus. His paralysis is an example of our standing before God. We don’t come to Jesus. We don’t approach Him. We must be brought to Him by the Holy Spirit so that He can speak His Word of forgiveness. And Jesus does His forgiving without consulting us or drawing up a list of demands. “Your sins are forgiven you.” From the cross He says, “Father, forgive them.” In fact, the whole cross and Good Friday work of Jesus is this forgiveness for which we do not and cannot ask. God doesn’t wait until the world realizes it needs a Savior. Jesus doesn’t wait until we ask nicely. He comes and does what He does, suffering and dying and being the Lamb of God without our asking. He accomplishes our salvation before we even knew we needed saving. We like our sins too much to think they need forgiving. So Jesus comes and pays for our sins before we even knew they needed to be forgiven.

And that’s how we come into the church. We’re brought like the paralytic. We are carried to the font—either by our parents and godparents, or by the Holy Spirit, working through the pastor who speaks God’s Word. You are brought in here like the paralytic, and at the font, maybe even when you didn’t understand a word of it, your Lord declares, “Your sins are forgiven.” You are here in the Divine Service. The pastor declares that your sins are forgiven. Maybe you don’t remember all your sins. Maybe you weren’t even paying attention when we confessed our sins. But Jesus gives it to you freely: Absolution and the Supper, given for sinners without any merit or worthiness in you. This is not a party that you can sneak into; this is a meal, a feast, given for sinners, given by Jesus to forgive your sins—each and every one of them: the ones you know and don’t know; the ones you ask forgiveness for and the ones you don’t remember.

You can live as if that forgiveness isn’t true. You can live as if that forgiveness needs to be asked for first. You can live as if your sins don’t belong to Jesus. That’s the way the Pharisees work. That’s true blasphemy. Real unbelief is to think your sins don’t belong to Jesus. But they belong to Him now. He took them from you. That’s why He tells you they are forgiven. And that is what church is all about. That’s what the Christian life is all about. It’s not that we don’t sin, but that we live knowing our sins are His. He’s taken them; He will never give them back. He will never condemn you for them. He gives you forgiveness before you wanted it or asked for it. He comes to where, like Adam and Eve, you hide in your naked shame, and He says to you, “Your sins are forgiven you.” That’s how Jesus works. 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 10/4/15: Trinity XVIII

Forgot I hadn't posted this yet. Sorry for the delay.


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Hanging

Matthew 22:34-46

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

People want to be religious because they think that, by figuring out some law and rules and commandments, they can live their lives the right way. People want a religion that spells out exactly how they should live. They want rules and guidelines so they know how to stay on God's good side. So Jesus boils it all down to two: Love God and love your neighbor. So how is that going? We like to say we love God, but there is usually a long list of people we can't stand. The thing is, you can't love God if you don't love your neighbor. That’s why the world can't stand religion: it's got too many rules we can't keep! We believe wrongly when we think that the Bible is about the Law and how we can live a good life. Now don't get me wrong: the Bible certainly gives us the Commandments, and the Commandments teach us how to live. But they don't give us the ability or the power to do keep them. When we break them, all they do is condemn us!

It’s important to understand our Lord’s words the right way. He says that everything in the Law and the Prophets hangs on these two commandments. When Jesus says "the Law and the Prophets," He means the Word of God, Holy Scripture. He means Himself. So when Jesus says that the Law and the Prophets—which mean Jesus—all hang on the commandments, He's talking about His own death on the cross. The Law itself says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." So Jesus does not mean that the Bible tells you how you can save yourself. He means that He Himself will hang on the judgment and curse of the Law against sin when He hangs on the cross. The cross is death. Death is the curse, the sting of the Law. Jesus receives that curse when He hangs on Calvary. This means the Bible and true religion are not about the Law teaching us how to live. They are all about Jesus living and dying for us upon the very Law that we could not keep! This is why He asks those Pharisees whose Son the Christ is. To save us, Jesus can't just be some guy. Only the Son of God, the one who is true God, begotten of the Father, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary, can save us from our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, since Jesus hung on the cross, since He hung upon the judgment and damnation of the Law, since He hung on the tree of death to give us life, do not hang your hopes on the Law! Don't try to think of a way to please God by how you live! Instead, hang your hopes upon Jesus! Hang your faith and trust upon Him. Jesus hung on the Law in your place. At the holy font, in the water and word of Holy Baptism, the Lord Himself hangs His name on you to mark you as His own, one who is redeemed by Christ. In the Absolution, our Lord hangs on you His Word that declares you are forgiven and your guilt has been pardoned. In the Sacrament, Christ Himself takes the same body that hung on the cross and the same blood that poured out on the cross and gives them to you as the sure and certain promise of forgiveness, life and salvation, upon which you can hang all your hope and faith.

The Law will sound good only as long as you can keep it. The moment you break God's commandments, the Law will leave you hanging. But Jesus was nailed to the tree to hang on the Law for you, and you are saved. No longer do you have to figure out which commandment is most important; no more trying to figure out how much good you have to do. You have Christ, the Son of God, who hung on the cross for you. Upon Him everything hangs. Upon Him everything depends. Your salvation hangs on Jesus, who sits at the Father's right hand, and who makes a place for you there with Him. 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. 

HYMN: Rejoice! Rejoice, O Heaven

I'm currently at the Southern Illinois District fall pastoral conference. Our worship during this event is based around the readings for the observation of St. Michael and All Angels. An idea popped into my head, and I ran with it when I had some free moments. This hymn is based primarily around the Epistle appointed for the day, Revelation 12:7-12. This isn't one of those mighty hymns dealing with the glory of the angelic band. We have those already. Anyway, here it is.

Rejoice! Rejoice, O Heaven

1. Rejoice! Rejoice, O heaven
And all who dwell therein,
For Satan is defeated;
Thrown down is death and sin.
(refrain) O holy Lamb, our praise,
For You have sent Your angels
To guard us all our days.

2. Saint Michael and his angels
Have quelled the dragon's might,
And Satan, ancient serpent,
Is banished from the light.
(refrain)

3. No longer can he harm us
With any charge or lie.
Salvation and the Kingdom
In glory have come nigh.
(refrain)

4. Though Satan's wrath is burning,
Behold, his time will cease.
Fear not! The day is coming
Of everlasting peace.
(refrain)

5. O Triune God, all glory!
Our gratitude we sing
With martyrs, saints, and angels
To Christ, the angels' King!
(refrain)


(c) 2015
76 76 6 76
Tune: ES IST EIN ROS (Isorhythmic) (LSB 383)
Occasion: St. Michael and All Angels

HYMN: Hear, O Lord, My Anguished Cry

Between the mass-murder in Oregon and other events yesterday and lately, my heart and mind have been heavy. I was brooding over Psalm 86, particularly verses 1 and 14. This is the first draft resulting from those broodings:

Hear, O Lord, My Anguished Cry

(written on the occasion of the mass-murder 

at Umpqua Community College in Oregon)

1. Hear, O Lord, my anguished cry.
Sin and death have brought me grief.
To Christ's holy wounds I fly:
Water, blood, my great relief.
Send Your Spirit! Dry my tears!
Answer me, O God who hears!

2. Hear, O Lord, my fervent prayer
For my neighbor and for me.
Evil seeks me everywhere.
My own flesh won't let me be.
I am weak; temptation nears.
Strengthen me, O God who hears!

3. Hear, O Lord. My own words fail.
In Your Word I find my rest.
Do not let the world prevail.
Do not leave Your child oppressed.
Shield me from the demon jeers.
Shelter me, O God who hears!

4. Hear, O Lord. I call Your name.
You alone I trust for peace.
Though the devil seeks my shame,
You cause all my fears to cease.
Even when my own death nears,
I will praise the God who hears.


(c) 2015, Alan Kornacki, Jr.
77 77 77
Tune: GETHSEMANE (LSB 436)
Occasion: Persecution, Temptation

Sermon for 9/27/15: Trinity XVII

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Text:

Go Up Higher

Luke 14:1-11

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

The Virgin Mary knew the kind of God her Son was, even before He was born. She sang: “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.” She was right. Our Lord is not interested in those who are only interested in themselves. He came to put the self-important in their place and to seek the lost and humble, those who claim to have nothing but sin and wretchedness. Jesus shows us this by who He is and what He does. He is Son of the Most High. He is exalted above heaven and earth. He is the Ruler of all things. But He humbles Himself. He takes on flesh and comes to us. He through whom all things were made takes on a human nature. He who stands above the Law subjects Himself to its judgment and condemnation. He who is Life itself gives Himself into death on the cross, pouring forth His blood in a humiliating spectacle of shame and sin. He who is God Himself dies as a miserable man on Calvary. He does this so that, by conquering sin, He would be lifted up on the Third Day. He does this so that we who are made low in our sins may be lifted up by His salvation and forgiveness. Jesus is humbled so that you are exalted. Jesus is then exalted so that you may be lifted even into the heavenly places, seated with Him at the right hand of the Father!

It is Jesus who lifts you up; repent of lifting yourself up! Repent of exalting yourself in front of God and showing off in front of your neighbor, thinking God must be pleased with you because you go to church and volunteer your time here. Isn't this how we live? Don’t we try to get ahead of others? Don’t we try to get the last word in? Don’t we try to keep up with others and even pass them? Over and over, just as the Pharisees did, we exalt ourselves. We think we sparkle in God's sight because of how good we are, how holy. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let yourself be humbled. Let us who have exalted ourselves be brought low in the dust and ashes of repentance! Let us fall down before the Lord and plead guilty of all sins and put all of our hope and trust not in our own works, but the works and merits and wounds of Jesus. Fall down in repentance. Cling to Jesus who raises you up.

For indeed, the Lord exalts the lowly. He raises you up! He lifts you on high with Himself. He who was humbled by the cross and exalted on Easter now raises you up from the ashes and pit of death. Jesus, humbled and exalted for you, now humbles you in repentance and exalts and raises you up. He who healed on the Sabbath Day now comes to heal you in His gifts. At that font, you are raised up from death with water and the Word. In Holy Absolution, you are exalted and stand before the Lord as one whose sins are covered. At the altar, though you kneel in humility, you are raised up by the body and blood of Jesus that was raised up from the dead. In all of these holy gifts, Jesus is exalting you, raising you to God's right hand. By the forgiveness of sins, the Lord strips away your guilt and shame and gives you in their place His glory and righteousness. This, by the way, is why we practice Closed Communion: to teach us this very repentance and trust as Christ lifts us up. Many would presume to walk in the door and walk to the altar and take the high place at the Lord's altar. Don't do that! Let the Lord call you forward in repentance and faith to take your place—not because you choose it, but because He invites you. The Lord teaches you to sit at the lowly spot and be invited up to the place reserved for the guest of honor through His Word. And He never fails to invite you, to welcome you to this highest of places: into His presence. The Feast of Christ’s body and blood is ready. Friends, “go up higher.” 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.

HYMN: Jerusalem, Christ Weeps for You

Since I like to work well ahead of the need, here's my latest hymn. It's based on the readings for Trinity X in the LSB 1-year lectionary--especially the Gospel text, Luke 19:41-48, where Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and then clears the Temple of the moneychangers. Since this past Sunday was Trinity XVI, there's nearly a year to make changes if you have any suggestions for improving this text. Anyway, here it is.

Jerusalem, Christ Weeps for You 

1. Jerusalem, Christ weeps for you.
Behold your visitation!
Your debt for faithlessness is due
In awful devastation,
For Christ alone can bring you peace.
From blood has purchased your release.
But lo, you would not know Him.

2. Lord Jesus, with baptismal tears
You bathe us for salvation.
You are the Christ, the God who hears
Our ev'ry supplication.
O visit us with lavish grace,
Do not avert Your holy face,
But hide us in Your shelter.

3. Children of God, repent and live,
For Christ has come to save you.
Cry out to Him. In faith receive
The blessings which He gave you.
O hear the judgment of the Lord.
Do not reject His holy Word.
He is your vindication.


 (c) 2015 Alan Kornacki Jr.
87 87 887
Tune: AUS TIEFER NOT (LSB 607)
Occasion: Trinity X (LSB 1-year)

Sermon for 9/20/15: 125th Anniversary of the Founding of St. Peter Lutheran

This past Sunday, St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois, celebrated the 125th anniversary of her founding. We welcomed the Reverend Mark Buetow of Bethel Lutheran Church in DuQuoin, Illinois, as our guest preacher. Here's what he brought to the faithful.

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Text:

The holy, Christian church. It was there long before. It was there in Solomon’s day. He rejoiced that his Father David was a part of it and he called upon the Lord to continue it. And that was long before there was ever a St. Peter Lutheran congregation in Campbell Hill. And it will be there until Jesus comes again, even if this particular congregation is gone. It will be forever, for St. John saw it in his vision of things to come: the holy church, prepared as a bride for her Bridegroom, Jesus. And when Solomon prayed, the Lord was there, right there, among His people, in that Temple. And in the resurrection and the age to come, St. John sees in his vision that the dwelling of God is with men. God Himself, right there among His people. That’s how He did it in Solomon’s day. That’s how it will be in the new heavens and the new earth. That’s how God rolls. He dwells in the midst of His people. That’s why the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. So there it is long ago, the holy church. In the age to come, the holy church. And for this little slice of the past 125 years, the Lord, dwelling among His people in THIS place, Campbell Hill, Illinois, St. Peter Lutheran congregation. That is a gift. Today we give thanks for the these 125 years but not ONLY for those 125 years. We give thanks for the Lord who is here among us as He has always been for His people, long before this congregation was gathered and, we pray, still until He comes again on the Last Day.

It was Peter who, by the Father's leading, confessed that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." So, he's a good one to name a  congregation after. For 125 years, St. Peter's confession has been, well, St. Peter's confession. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is the confession upon which Christ builds His church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Think of that! The Jesus whom St. Peter confessed and who St. Peter's has confessed for these 125 years is the same Christ longed for by the Old Testament people of God. He is the same Son of God who was present in the flames of glory at Solomon's Temple. He is the same Jesus who took on flesh in time and was born of the virgin. The same Jesus who was handed over, mocked, beaten, spit upon. The same Jesus who was scourged and crowned with thorns. The same Jesus who was crucified on Calvary and laid dead in the freshly cut tomb. The same Jesus who rose the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father. The same Jesus who did all that for sinners. For you. For the people of St. Peter who have gone before. For you here now and for those yet to come. That's the Jesus Peter confessed and it's that Jesus who is among His people in His church. That's the same Jesus who established this church here, 125 years ago, built on that confession. And it's a congregation against which the gates of hell can't prevail. The Kaiser going to war couldn't destroy it. Neither could a Great Depression. Or Nazis. Or the threat of nuclear bombs. Or terrorists. Or bad farming years or synodical crises or anything else. Because this is Jesus Christ's little flock and He Himself is here among you.

Now the temptation is to look back and make this gift about yourselves. This is YOUR church. It may have been your PARENTS' church. Even your GRANDPARENTS' or GREAT-GRANDPARENTS' church. There is the lure to look back and say, "Yes, we built this. We have taken care of it. We have preserved it. Pastors have come and gone, people have joined or left but we, here, the members today, this is our church." You would be wrong to say that. Christ built this church. It is His church. YOU are His church. And He built it through His Word which was delivered by faithful preachers over a century and a quarter and by which He called and gathered His saints here. And He cared for this church through its members and their offerings and gifts so that the pastors were cared for and the building and grounds maintained. All gift. But a gift from Christ, not the reason for the gift. There is also the temptation, as there is in everyday life, to look back on the "golden age" and compare it to today. To say that the congregation is shrinking or dying or wasn't what it used to be. That would be wrong too, because that still makes it about you. And about people. Instead of about Jesus. Here we repent of making the church about us at all and learn to believe that where His gifts are, Christ’s church is, Christ is and whether there are two or three hundred or just two or three, there He is dwelling with them in His Word and gifts and smashing in Hell's gates and overthrowing the devil's kingdom. Repent of making the church YOUR church; rejoice that because it is CHRIST'S church, it cannot be overthrown.

And so it goes. Jesus dwells here. Right here in little ol’ Campbell Hill, Illinois. For 125 years, He has been coming to this font to wash away sins by water and His Word. For 125 years He has been telling sinners, “I forgive you all your sins.” For 125 years, He has been coming to this altar in His body and blood to forgive sinners and promise them that He will raise them up on the Last Day. For 125 years, the Lord has been joining men and women in holy marriage, comforting the loved ones of those who have fallen asleep in Jesus, teaching the Faith of Christ, catechizing the young and old, comforting sinners who are in distress and who mourn and who struggle and who need the Lord’s Word to instruct and guide them. And, for the next however many years--the Lord grant that it’s 125 and more!--He will continue to wash away sins, absolve sinners, and feed His church with His flesh and blood. And so we ask with King Solomon: Can God indeed dwell on earth? Yes He can and He does! In the womb of the Virgin, in the flesh of His human nature. And until He comes again, He dwells in His church, where the water, Word and Body and Blood are. And of all the many places around the world that He is, it is also right here. St. Peter Lutheran Church, Campbell Hill, Illinois, where not even the gates of hell prevail against it. Because this church is Jesus Christ’s. HIS house. HIS gifts. And you, HIS people. For 125 years and counting. Happy Anniversary in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Sermon for 9/6/15: Trinity XIV

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Mercy and Faith

Luke 17:11-19

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

           

“Faith alone.” “Faith saves.” These statements were foundation stones of the Reformation, and they are most certainly true. But they are also often misunderstood. The point of ‘faith alone” is not that faith is alone, but that faith saves without works. Works are the fruit of faith, not the cause. Love doesn’t form faith. Faith forms love. The thankful leper returns in love. But Jesus does not say to him, “Your love has made you well.” His faith saved him. Still, having faith, he could not opt out of having love because faith always loves. Faith is never alone. His love was evidence of the faith that caused it, a joyful response to being saved by faith.

And thus, faith made him well, and we rightly say, “faith saves.” But even that, on its own, can be misleading. Faith in itself is nothing. Saying “faith saves” is like saying “forks feed.” That is true only when forks convey food. Faith saves only when faith confesses Christ. To say that another way, faith is the instrument of God’s grace. Faith is not a work. It is not something we do. It is not intellect or understanding. It is not conscious thought or will or even a decision. Faith is that trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ, trust which God creates by grace to give His grace to us. In other words, He gives the fork along with the food. Holy Baptism is the perfect example of this. Baptism creates faith in the one being baptized as God bestows His grace and forgiveness, and the faith God creates then receives what He gives.

Those nine lepers who were cleansed but did not return, did they have faith? We cannot answer that question with absolute certainty, for we cannot read the hearts of others, but it would seem that they didn’t. It seems they did not confess Jesus Christ as God in the flesh who had come to save them. They might have thought that cleansing them of leprosy was all He could do or all they needed. Perhaps some even thought that they had cleansed themselves. That’s not as strange as it may sound. All over the world, people will be fed by the generosity of God, with the food and the forks He gives. But how many of them will recognize the source of their sustenance? How many will give Him thanks? How many will, instead, take the credit themselves? Only one leper in ten returned.

The one who returned did so because he recognized that Jesus is God. He came back to worship Him. And that is what faith does. Faith always comes back for more. That is what faith always wants. It is nothing in itself, so it seeks to be filled with Jesus, with His grace, with His forgiveness, with His mercy. Faith is sustained and remains through Jesus.

But we should also notice this. These ten lepers stood off in the distance, as the Law demanded, and cried out to Jesus for mercy. They just wanted help. They were beggars, and they weren’t about to be choosy. They would beg from anyone who might be able to help them. Whatever it was they wanted, and whatever it was they meant when they asked Jesus for mercy, it must have been disappointing to them when His response was, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” What kind of mercy is that? If you know the Levitical Law Jesus was applying here, then you know that He was sending them to where God promised to be present in His mercy. But even so, when do we ever pray for God to provide for us through means over time? When we stand at the bedside of a loved one and ask for healing, aren’t we praying for God to answer that prayer immediately? “O Lord, grant me patience by putting me through long, hard years.” “O God, make me wise at the end of my life through lots of suffering and poverty?” Even if we are too cynical to expect it, we want a miracle! That’s not to say that God no longer works miracles, but we all know that is not His normal way of getting things done.

Things were probably much the same for these lepers. They wanted help right away. They wanted something done immediately. But Jesus sent them to the priests. Is it all that surprising that they had difficulty believing it was Jesus who healed them? But that is the way our Lord works. He is the Lord of creation. He works in and through creation. He has come in the flesh to restore His creation, not to overthrow it. And faith alone is able to recognize that the Lord is the provider, the giver, the healer, through all of these means. Everyone who eats a meal today will do so by the providence of God. But who will recognize it as such and receive it with thanksgiving?

Such faith saves and heals. It comes not by our efforts; it comes from above. It comes through hearing. It is spoken into us by the Word of God in the water of Holy Baptism. It is fed and sustained in the Lord’s Supper. What God reveals is that He is our God; He is for us. He has paid the price of our sin in His Son, to make us clean and to make us well. That faith alone saves. It saves because it receives the grace of God. Faith receives what God gives: forgiveness of sins and the fullness of life with Him. 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 8/30/15: Trinity XIII

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Justified

Luke 10:23-37

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

Most people think the account of the Good Samaritan shows that we're supposed to help people in need. When they think of the Christian faith, they think this story is the whole story: be good to other people and you'll get to heaven. “Do this and you will live.” But the Word of God isn't there to condemn you, but to save you. His Word doesn’t teach you how to earn eternal life. His Word is given to teach you how He saves you. Jesus doesn't tell the story of the Good Samaritan to teach the guy how to be nice to people. He tells him the story to save him from trying to save himself.

The Gospel says that when Jesus answered him, the young law expert, "wanting to justify himself," asked, "Who is my neighbor." There's the key. He wanted to justify himself. To justify means to show why he's right. He wanted to save himself. And it's our problem too. We want to justify ourselves. To God, "justify" means to "be right and make right." For us, though, "justify" seems to mean "make up excuses." The Law of God is simple, as the young law expert knows: You love God above all things. You love your neighbor as yourself. In fact, you can't love God without loving your neighbor, as Jesus taught him. But we, like the lawyer, want to justify ourselves. The Law says, "Love God. Love your neighbor." We say, "But I can't do it." The Law replies: "Love God. Love your neighbor." And we say, "I can't do it. But I have a good reason for not doing it." And the Law replies: "Love God! Love your neighbor!" That's what the Law says. That's all it says. You can't make excuses. You can't get around it. Either love God and your neighbor, or you are doomed.

That is why, when the man in the story gets beat up and robbed and left half dead, the priest and the Levite pass by on the other side. What Jesus is teaching this lawyer who wants to justify himself is that he, the man, is the guy who is beaten up and robbed. His righteousness is stolen by the devil; he is mauled by sin. When the Law comes, what does it do? It can't help. It can't save. It can't rescue. It just tells us what to do and what will happen if we don't do it. That is why the priest and the Levite, who represent the Law in the story, just go on their merry ways. They can't help. But a Samaritan does. He has compassion on the man. He cleans and bandages his wounds and takes him to the inn to recover. He pays the expenses. So when the Law doesn't save you, the Lord has compassion. And God's compassion doesn't mean that He sits up in heaven feeling sorry for you. He suffers Himself to be arrested and mocked and beaten and spit upon and jeered and hated and crucified. He carries our sins on Himself and dies for them on the cross. That's the Lord's compassion! The compassion of our Lord is not in His somehow taking pity when you get weepy. His compassion is to come to half-dead sinners, beaten and robbed by the devil, and to save you.

But the Samaritan's compassion doesn't stop there. He carries the man to an inn and puts him in the care of the innkeeper and provides for all his expenses. Jesus doesn't just die for you and then go away. He pours His oil and wine from His own wounds into the wounds of your sins, washing you in the waters of the holy font. He carries you by the preaching of the Gospel to the inn of His church. There he puts you under the care of his pastors, his innkeepers, that you would have rest from your sins. He covers all the expenses with His precious blood. That is why in the Christian church there is no limit to the forgiveness you receive in baptism, no limit on how many times the absolution can be spoken or Jesus' body and blood be given and received. The Law will pass you by and leave you dying. But the Savior gives His life to save yours. You will not die because Jesus has gone through death and suffering for you, in your place.

That is what it means that God truly justifies you: not your excuses, but the wounds of Jesus; not your works, but the Word and Sacraments of Jesus. You can't justify yourself. But Jesus does by what He has done for you. He has done it in your place. That's God Himself justifying you in Jesus. That's Jesus being your neighbor. 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 8/23/15: Trinity XII

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The Word Comes In

Mark 7:31-37

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

Why do we worship the way we do? Why do we follow the liturgy week after week? Why don't we just take turns saying what we feel about God? Why is it that we worship according to the holy liturgy? We worship the way we do because Jesus does for us in the Divine Service what He does for the deaf and dumb man. He opens our ears to hear His Word. He unties our tongues to speak rightly, to speak His Word. One of the great things about our hymnal is that you see the Scripture verses listed next to the words. It teaches us that when we speak and sing as we worship, we are speaking, singing, and hearing God's Word. It’s not our own thoughts, nor is it merely the stuff the pastor likes to say. We hear the Word of God, and that Word opens our ears and loosens our tongues.

Like the world, our ears are so full of our own ideas that we can't hear God. We have all sorts of things to say about Him, but that's just the witless mumbling of tongue-tied sinners. When people talk about God, they say things like, “Oh, He's a nice guy.” “He's loving, and people are basically good, so He just ignores bad things you do.” The world does not know God. But what about you? When you talk about God, do you say what the Lord says? Or do you just make up things that sound good? If you're like me, at the first chance you get to talk about the Lord, you just kind of mumble something. So Jesus must open our ears and loosen our tongues.

Jesus saves you by taking you aside from the world and opening your ears and untying your tongue. But what can get through the sin filling your ears and loosen tongues that are stiff with silly talk? In the healing of this man, our Lord shows exactly how He saves you. Why does he stick his fingers in the man's ear and touch his tongue with spit? Why does He lift up His eyes to heaven and sigh? Remember that Jesus is the Word made flesh. When He sticks His fingers in the man's ears, He is putting the Word into them! When He spits and touches the man's tongue, He is showing that the only thing that should be in your mouth is His Word! By putting His fingers in the man's ears, Jesus is plugging them to anything else. By opening His ears and loosening this man's tongue, the Lord gives to Him the Word of salvation. “Ephphatha! Be opened!” The man's ears and mouth are opened! The Lamb of God let His blood spill forth for the salvation of the world. This sacrifice opens the Father's ears to your prayers. This sacrifice opens His mouth to speak forgiveness and blessing.

With fingers in ears and spitting and touching his tongue, Jesus heals the mean of his deafness and silence. These actions all point to what we call the external Word of God. Your salvation and forgiveness and righteousness are all outside of yourself. The world is full of preachers whose message to you is to look inside your heart to try to feel whether Jesus is there. They will point you to your intentions and your efforts and your good works. But Jesus opens the ears and mouth of this man. This man could not hear what Jesus says, nor could he repeat it. He cannot change himself. He cannot make himself hear or talk. Only Jesus the Word can do that. Don't go looking for Jesus in your heart! He comes to you at the font with the water and word of Baptism, the very spit of Jesus! He comes to you from the pastor who delivers the forgiveness of sins in absolution and preaching, saying, “Be opened.” He comes to you at the altar where His body and blood are put into your mouth, just as His fingers and spit were put into the deaf and mute man. You will not find Jesus or hear Him or speak rightly from within yourself. But He comes to you, from outside yourself, in these holy means of grace. It is the Word which opens your ears and the Sacraments which fill you with Jesus.

Isaiah prophesied that the deaf would hear God's Word. When Jesus shows up, the deaf do hear! But this is much more than a miracle for a deaf man. It teaches you that Christ opens your ears and mouths so you may hear His Word and speak and sing His praises. With this Word, given at font, altar, and pulpit, have no doubt: your sins are forgiven; you are the Father’s dear child in Christ. As He has taught you in His Word, boldly pray: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise.” And He is gracious to answer, “Ephphatha! Be opened!” 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 8/16/15: Trinity XI

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Like Other Men

Luke 18:9-14

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

You’ve probably heard the story. A pastor sits down in a restaurant or a hospital waiting room or wherever. Someone sits down near him and, noticing the pastor’s clergy shirt, says to him, “I don’t go to church because you Christians are too judgmental.” This person claims that they condemn no one…but in saying so, they condemn everyone. How did the Pharisee address the Lord? He said, “I thank you that I am not like other men.” 

How easy it is to fall into the camp of those to whom our Lord is speaking, those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” We Lutherans easily become smug and superior. And there’s a certain amount of justice to it. If we believed we weren’t teaching and practicing according to the Word of God, then it wouldn’t matter where we went to church. We could happily worship at any church, take communion anywhere, and it wouldn’t matter. However, in our churches, the Gospel is preached purely and the Sacraments are administered rightly. Because this is so, we think we’re better than other churches. Dear Christians, if that is how we treat our straying brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are sinning. It’s important to preach as our Lord taught, and it’s important to practice what we preach. But we must not forget that we are still sinners who need forgiveness for our own errors.  

You’re not so judgmental, are you? You’re not so closed-minded as to think that we’re the only ones who have it right. When you visit other churches, you pretend there’s no difference. It doesn’t matter if they have women pastors. It doesn’t matter that they approve of homosexual marriage and ignore heterosexuals living together before marriage. Maybe you even commune! If you have ever wondered why we Lutherans think we’re better than everybody else, you too have fallen into the trap of the Pharisee. 

The trap of spiritual smugness and superiority is all around us. We Lutherans do fall into it. I certainly do! I look at other churches and think, “How can they not get it? The Lord makes it so simple. Thank God I’m not like those who do not seem to get the Gospel!” The minute you think like that, even if you are right, you are lost. Have you ever thought, “The Church sure seems to be filled with a lot of hypocrites”? You are lost. Have you ever thought, “Why aren’t more people involved, like I am?” You are lost. Have you ever thought, “Why does Pastor take this doctrine so seriously?” If God should justify you as your hearts deserve, you would be lost. If you stand in condemnation of anyone and think you’re any better, more likely to be saved on your own merit, you’ve fallen into the trap from which Christ wants to rescue you today. Fall to your knees before the Lord. Acknowledge your sin. And then, like the tax collector, pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 

And for the sake of Jesus, the Father does have mercy! Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was justified. The other was not. One could see that he was special. The other could only see his sin and beg God for mercy. One hopes that God can see some his sincerity, his devotion, his faith. The other is only sure of this: he is a sinner, and God is full of grace. God does not teach the way we would want to teach. The doctrine Jesus gives the Church is this: You have a God Who came to be like you, even though He had no sin. Even though He was tempted and did not falter, He did not thank the Lord that He was different from the rest. Instead, He was baptized, just like any other sinner. He received the Holy Spirit, just like anyone who needs God’s help. He fasted and prayed. And then, instead of a mere tithe, He gave Himself into death for your salvation. In none of that did He exalt Himself. In fact, the Scriptures say that He Who knew no sin became sin for us on the cross. Jesus died like any other sinner. What saves is not that God is different from the rest of us, but that He’s more at ease with being counted as a sinner than we are admitting our sin. 

No one gets saved by not being a sinner—not even little babies. See why Christ’s doctrine is so important? No baby is saved by being different than you. Like anybody else, a child is only saved through faith in Jesus. That’s why we baptize babies. We’re all sinners! That’s why we urge our people toward private confession and absolution. You need confession and absolution to return you to your baptism. You need daily reading in God’s Word. You need daily prayer. You need the body and blood of Jesus. You need these things because you are, indeed, a sinner. 

And then, because you are a sinner like everyone else, come. Come and hear His word of forgiveness, spoken to you by the pastor as by Christ Himself. Come and be instructed and confirmed, and continue to study. Partake of Christ’s body and blood in bread and wine for your forgiveness. He is always ready to teach you true repentance, faith, and humility. He is always ready to raise you up with the forgiveness He won for you on the cross, so that you may thank Him—not that you are unlike other men, but that He made Himself to be like you, so that you would in turn be like Him. 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 8/9/15: Trinity X

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Making Peace

Luke 19:41-48

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

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He cried. He was coming into the city to save the people from their sins, and they didn't care. They didn't believe. They did not know the things which would give them peace—the Son of God dying for sins on the cross. They didn't know the time of their visitation, when God Himself showed up to save them. Jesus cried because God in the flesh saves the world from sins, but God's own chosen people refused to believe it. When the Holy Spirit gathers us in the church, when we celebrate the Divine Service, God Himself is present. Here in this place, the Lord stands among you to serve you the gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation. Here in this place, Christ comes to bring the things that bring you peace. Here in this place, our Lord is with you to shelter you from His wrath and to give you eternal life. The water of Holy Baptism; Absolution spoken by your pastor; preaching and teaching; the body and blood of your Lord Jesus: these are the things which bring the peace of God to you. Do you know them? Do you believe that Christ is here and visits you for your good and blessing?

Jerusalem didn't know the things that will bring it peace! The clergy especially, along with the Pharisees and leaders, wanted a Savior who comes to do what they want, not one who suffers and dies for their sins. Over and over, as Jeremiah reminds us, the Lord has called to His people and they want nothing to do with Him. Jesus then predicted what will happen to Jerusalem. If they don't want God's Word, then the Lord won't have them! In 70 AD the Romans laid their siege against Jerusalem and destroyed the city. Brothers and sisters in Christ, don't miss this warning about what happens to those who reject Christ and want nothing to do with His Word. How long will God be patient with you before He brings you to utter shame and ruin? Do you know the things which bring God's peace? Do you know the time of God's visitation? Are God's Word and promises the very thing which give you peace? Or do you despise them and see the consequences in a life full of frustration and heartache and turmoil?

The visitation of God, the things that bring peace, are all there in Christ. Jesus comes to Jerusalem—God Himself. Over and over He sent prophets like Jeremiah to warn Jerusalem to stop worshiping false gods, to repent and cling to the Lord's saving promises. Now God has come Himself in the flesh to save and rescue His people. Jesus goes to the cross and suffers and dies for the sins of a world that doesn't know Him and doesn't want to know Him. He dies for His own people who don't want anything to do with Him. He dies for you and me—people who often put little importance on learning His Word and receiving the true peace which comes from sins forgiven. But He goes to the cross to bring an end of your enmity with God. He goes to the cross in your place as your sacrifice that takes away your sins. Believe that, dear people of God! Believe that all that Christ is and has done by His death and resurrection is for your peace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let Jerusalem serve as a warning, a wake up call that God's Word is not to be treated lightly or with contempt! Instead, hear again the things that are for your peace: the Son of God dying on the cross and rising from the dead; the washing of water and the Word at the holy font; the speaking of forgiveness into your ears by your pastor; the forgiving feast of Christ’s body and blood at this altar. These are the things for your peace. You don't have to look anywhere else in the world to have your sins forgiven, to be made right with God, to have peace with your neighbor. Though you have despised God's Word and gifts, your sin has been blotted out by the blood of Jesus. Do not fear that you have neglected God's Word and promises! Don't be afraid of your sins! They have been answered for, covered by Jesus. He has come to Jerusalem for the salvation of the whole world. And now He comes to His Church, in this Divine Service, to give that salvation to you. These are the things that make for your peace. 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 8/2/15: Trinity IX

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Enduring Riches

Luke 16:1-13

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

Jesus says the world is so much smarter using its mammon than we are using ours. He says, “The children of this world are wiser than the children of light.” To prove it, He uses the example of an unjust steward, a scoundrel who gets himself fired and then uses his master’s money to gain friends for himself when he is unemployed! It’s a shrewd business decision. The people of this world know how to use the things of this world—and work harder at it—than the people of God do with the things that are ours! Take a drug addict. He risks life and limb to get his fix. He doesn’t let friends or family stand in his way. He doesn’t care if the police are a constant threat. He is a skilled liar, able to get others to believe that, if only they help him one more time, this will be the end of it. His friends are only his friends when he brings them money for more drugs. They will cut him off in a moment, beat him up and throw him out, if he gives them the slightest cause. Yet, he visits them often. Nothing they do turns him away.

How different from the children of light. Who among us risks life and limb to come and receive the Gospel in our ears and mouth? Which of us shows the same devotion to the Word as we do to our favorite treats or activities? Who will go to such great extents to gain friends for heaven with our eternal mammon as the world influences people with its mammon of sin? The world’s mammon passes away. Our mammon, the forgiveness of sins, remains forever. We have the Bread of Life come down from heaven! We have God in human flesh, Who spent all He had to gain a heaven full of friends in you and me! We have His shrewdness for us, earning forgiveness of sins, life and salvation! We have His Baptism to deliver that to us, His Absolution to return us to Him over and over, and His body and blood to eat and drink in bread and wine. These fill up heaven with God’s friends!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, use the stuff that belongs to Jesus. Use the unfair, unrighteous, undeserved mammon which God gives you freely! It is no more yours by right than the master’s wealth was for that steward. Yet he used what wasn’t his. As for you, use what rightfully belongs to God: His good favor, His peace, His forgiveness, mercy and love. That’s how God wants His treasure—His forgiveness—being used! Our Father delights when you share the gifts His Son won for you.

Instead of writing off your neighbor, enjoy God’s forgiveness, and write off anything another owes against you! Say, “I forgive you, as the Lord has forgiven me!” What friends that gains for you in heaven! Can you do that? Yes, you can! Do you need help? In that case learn more of what God does and says to you in Holy Baptism. Come to private Absolution and hear how God writes off your sins through a pastor, who speaks as if God doesn’t mind when we act so freely with His blood-bought Treasure! When your pastor tells you, “I forgive you all your sins,” say, “Amen!” And then, go and share that forgiveness with poor souls who need it as much as you.

We are so shrewd when it comes to stuff that passes away, and so foolish with what will not! We pursue our hobbies with a religious zeal, and our religion with a passing nod—one whole hour once a week! We are anything but shrewd when it comes to the Gospel. Look at the evidence. The devil is far more successful getting his children to work hard than God is with His. Yet God is our helper. He is our Friend Who will not be put off, even by how shabbily we treat Him! Already, heaven is full of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are all happy to greet you—so much so they took what they possessed and they invested it in you! The Father sent His Son. The Son took what His Father said and made it known to you! He took our flesh and blood and then He spent them to gain a heaven full of friends in you and me! All this the Spirit teaches freely in the Church. Our God uses all He has so you and I are gathered up with angels, archangels and all the company of heaven.

How much more you have than the children of this world! God has called you by the Gospel, enlightened you with His Gifts, and here, through His Word and Sacraments, He sanctifies and keeps you, together with Jesus Christ and all His friends, in the One True Faith. Our Lord is not teaching us to earn our way into heaven. He is saying: “You’re already there, and all of heaven is now at your disposal. Your sins are forgiven! Don’t let the world outdo you when it comes to using what is Mine! God has wiped out all you owe and all your neighbor has against you!” That might not go into your bank account so well, but it fits nicely in your neighbor’s ears. That is true riches, riches which endure for you 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.