Sermon for 10/17/21: Twentieth Sunday After Trinity

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Dressed for a Wedding

Matthew 22:1-14

 

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

 

The worst way to think about today’s Gospel is to get all wrapped up in whether or not you are chosen. When you look at yourself, you will see only your sins and unbelief. Are you chosen? Do you live as one who is chosen? Your sins say that you don’t live as if God has chosen you. You don’t even deserve the invitation to His Feast! I can understand if this identification hurts your pride a little bit. No one wants to take an invitation out of charity. If you weren’t first on the list, then it’s a slap in the face, even if there’s free food. At first glance, it looks from this story like you were God’s second-thought guests, as if it was all by chance that you ever came to faith and received the forgiveness of all your sins. 

When those who had been invited rejected the King’s invitation, He sent His servants out to the street to invite everyone to the Feast, both the good and the bad. The problem with the man who got tossed out of the Feast wasn’t that he was a sinner, but that he didn’t have the wedding garment on! He came into the Feast invited, but He wasn’t properly dressed. What mattered was the invitation and the King’s wedding garment.

So who is chosen? Instead of looking inside, look outside. The answer is outside of you. The answer is wrapped around you. How are you dressed? In and of yourself, that’s as uncertain as whether you are chosen or not. Just as there is no certainty in your own merit that you are chosen, there is no certainty in your own clothes. Your garments aren’t acceptable to God. Your clothes are stained by your sins. They are filthy rags before God.

Does that mean that we get tossed out of the wedding Feast too? We certainly deserve that. But the good news of today is that the King clothes you with His own wedding garment. He gives you His clothing! He clothed you with the righteousness won by Jesus on the cross and wrapped around you in Holy Baptism. His righteousness covers your unrighteousness. His garment covers your filthy rags. His garment is the answer to all the questions of today. Are you called? Yes, He called you and invited you to His feast. How do you know? You wear the King’s garment, which was put on you in Baptism. Those guests who were last invited relied totally on the generosity of the Host. That is what pure grace is. In the exact same way, you had nothing about you that made you worthy to receive the Gospel invitation; it was all by grace that you got in to the banquet of the Lord’s salvation.

And yet, for the rest of your life, you will face the constant temptation to throw this all away. You remain a sinner, and sinners reject the Lord and insist on their own way. They want to be independent from God. Sinners often fall for the alluring but empty promises of the devil. Like others before you who rejected the Master’s invitation—one preferred to tend to his farm, another to his business—the pattern continues today: one believes it’s more important to go to the football game; one takes the weekend off to relax; others will have their excuses. All sinners face these opportunities to gratify their sinful flesh. It makes sense to a sinner to be spiritual, but it’s just too confining to one’s style to be religious. But for you, your Lord offers to strengthen you to face these temptations. He takes away your sin, clothing you in the perfect wedding garment you inherited when you were baptized.

The heavenly banquet, the Body and Blood of Christ, is laid before you here on the Altar, though for right now it is hidden under bread and wine. You are worthy of this feast because Christ your Savior bestowed His perfect worthiness upon You by faith. Be assured that your heavenly Father loves to put on His wedding feast to end all wedding feasts, sparing no expense. And He has even dressed you for the feast in the finest garment ever: the spotless robe of His Son’s perfect righteousness, made white in the blood of the Lamb. 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 10/10/21: Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity

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First Things First
Matthew 9:1-8

 

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

 

 

There are those who come to Jesus and His Church because they want Him to fix something that is broken. Maybe it’s a bad marriage. Maybe it’s a lousy job. Maybe it’s an addiction. Maybe it’s wild and rebellious children. Maybe it’s parents who just don’t seem to love and care for their children as they should. Or maybe it’s people like those who carried this man, who come to Jesus for someone they care about, someone who means the world to them. Whatever it is, lots of people come to Jesus looking for a quick fix.

And when you come to Jesus, and He says, “My child, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven,” you can scarcely hide your disappointment. “That’s it?” you think. “That’s all I get from Him? Why did I even bother coming in the first place?” So, Jesus put the question to the Scribes and to us: “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk?’” Which do you think is easier to say? “Talk is cheap,” as they saying goes. Don’t you think that fixing whatever serious problem you have is the harder thing for the Lord to do? Maybe He is just disguising His inability to really help you by telling you over and over again, “Take heart, your sins are forgiven.”  What use is a church that only talks about forgiveness? That is what many would say, or at least think. Is that what you think? Do you want a church and a Jesus that fixes all the things that have relevance to your life right now?

“Which is easier?” As God in human flesh, Jesus could have healed the man with a word. After all, He created all things, including you. Doing a little “fix-up job” on something that has gone wrong with your life is really no work for Him at all. But forgiveness is another story altogether. You might think that is nothing. But stop and think about what forgiveness cost Jesus. He didn’t need to take on our human flesh to heal the paralytic. Jesus came into the flesh to do the hard thing: to take to Himself the entire burden and load of your sin, and to carry it in His body to the cross, there to endure the righteous judgment of the Father against all human sin. And He did it all so that He can speak the word of forgiveness to you, the word that is drenched in His own blood; signed, sealed, and delivered by His own death. “Which is easier?” To heal the paralytic, Jesus just spoke His word: “Get up!” And the man got up. But to speak the word of forgiveness to him and to you, He went to the cross. Forgiveness is anchored in our Lord’s death. Never forget what it cost Him to give it to you.

But you may still be thinking, “Sure, forgiveness is great. But what about those things that need fixing in my life?” Let’s get some perspective on this. If He heals you, you are still going to die one day and stand before the judgment seat of God. If He fixes your marriage, you are still going to die one day and stand before the judgement seat of God. If he fixes your job situation, you are still going to die one day and stand before the judgment seat of God. If He fixes every complaint you’ve got about your life, you are still going to die one day and stand before the judgment seat of God. That day may be today. And those who have not availed themselves of His forgiveness here on earth will not have the chance to avail themselves of it after this life is over. No matter what you think the big problem is, nothing comes even remotely close to the problem you have with sin. And you do not want to leave this world with your sin still on your back. You want to leave this world with the forgiveness of Christ poured all over you.

And He is waiting eagerly to do just that! He pours it over you in the water of Holy Baptism. He feeds it constantly into you with the promises of His Word. He seals that promise to you every time you come to this altar, trusting that you receive here what He promises: His body and blood, His forgiveness of all your sins; His life poured into you. Our Lord and His Church are concerned first and foremost with the only issue that ultimately matters: how you stand before God.

Wrapped in His forgiveness, you can face whatever comes your way with confidence, because you know how the story is going to turn out. The same Christ who says to you: “My child, take heart: your sins are forgiven,” is the One who will stand again on this earth, and He will call you by name from your grave and invite you into His eternal kingdom. The forgiven have an eternal home, a life in Christ that never ends. You are set free to live a blessed life of forgiveness, even in the midst of all the broken things that need fixing. Yes, He will take care of those things, too, all in His own time. But first things first—and the first thing is the forgiveness of your sins. 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 9/19/21: Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity

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“God Has Visited His People”

Luke 7:11-17

 

 

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

 

 

We hear on Christmas morning the words of the Apostle John: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” These are words of great joy to the people of God, for they tell us about the wonderful love which God has for us in providing a Savior—and more than that, how that Savior is God in flesh, living among His people, bringing light and life to a world into which sin brought darkness and death. And as we go through the Gospels—and even as we look at Old Testament accounts of God visiting His faithful children—we see how His presence among His people brings blessing, hope, and life.

What a blessing that is for us to hear, because the casket is always there before our eyes. “The wages of sin is death,” Saint Paul tells us. Every funeral is a reminder that you are a sinner. Only the person who is without sin has the power to escape the casket alive. We have all known wonderful people, people whom even the cynical world would consider to be good people. We all have heard of the wonderful work Mother Theresa did for the poor and helpless in the world. But we also know that Mother Theresa is dead. Martin Luther was perhaps the greatest witness to the truth of God’s Word the world has seen in a thousand years. But Martin Luther is dead, too. If you think you can earn life; if you think you deserve to escape the grave; if you think you can cheat death—look at the casket. Look at the names on the gravestones in the cemetery. Good works done by sinners—even the greatest works performed by the greatest people—do not merit life. Every casket is a reminder that we are sinners who have earned only death.

But Jesus visits, and He stops the death procession. The pallbearers stand still. The hearse pulls to the side of the road. Where Jesus goes, He brings light and life to “those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.” He touches the coffin. He’s not superstitious, nor is He afraid of death. He says with authority, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And, sure enough, the young man from Nain sat up and spoke. Death is powerless before the Lord of life.

You may remember that I said earlier, “Only the person who is without sin has the power to escape the casket alive.” Nothing has changed to deny the truth of that statement. But what about the young man from Nain? What about the widow’s son in Zarephath whom Elijah brought back life? What about the daughter of Jairus? What about Lazarus? People are popping out of their graves all over the place! How can this be? How can these sinners rise up out of death?

This is a wonderful foreshadowing of the resurrection. Jesus is the One who is without sin. Jesus is the One who has the power to escape the tomb alive. It takes Someone who is without sin to bring life out of death. So the sinless Jesus died the death of a sinner, bearing all the sin of the world upon Himself. And then He emerged from the tomb, destroying the power of death forever. Everyone raised by the power of God before Jesus rose was pointing forward to that day when Jesus burst forth from the tomb.

And everyone raised by the power of God was also pointing forward to the Last Day, when all flesh will be raised up, and all the faithful will dwell in the presence of God forever. The One who died a sinless death has given His death to sinners so that we would live forever. Once again, Jesus stops the death procession—only this time, it will be permanent. Every casket will be empty. Every body that has been corrupted by sin will be raised up, forever to be without sin, forever to live. Again, how can this be?

This is true because, in Jesus, “God has visited His people.” He visits us wherever “two or three are gathered in His name…” He visits us in the waters of Holy Baptism, placing His holy name upon us, wrapping us in the sparkling, spotless robes of His own righteousness. He visits us in His Supper, present in bread and wine by the power of His Word to deliver to us life and salvation. And in all these things, He gives us life. Only the person without sin has the power to escape the casket, so Jesus gives us His perfect obedience, His life without sin. He visits us with His gifts of life; and death, now powerless, bows silent before Him.

Jesus tells the widow, “Do not weep.” Sinners cannot help but mourn the death of those we love. But we do not grieve like those without hope, because we know this is not truly the end. “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain…” For in Christ, “God has visited His people.” 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 9/12/21: Fifteenth Sunday After Trinity

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Lilies, Birds, and You
Matthew 6:24-34

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

 

 

There are only two gods. One has many names and faces; as many, in fact, as you could possibly want. You can call him “god.” You can call him “Allah” or “Vishnu,” or make up a new name for him. He doesn’t mind. He’ll go by any name. He exists only to better the existence of his servants. He finds commonality amongst all religions, seeking peace and prosperity regardless of the cost. His password is tolerance. He isn’t jealous. He is quite modern-minded and enlightened. He has no strict doctrine or moral code. He is never harsh, never confrontational, never condemning. He encourages his followers to pamper and indulge themselves. And he glibly tells his servants that they can have as many idols as they like.

But of course, this so-called “god” is a liar! All of Satan’s promises are just bait. They are traps. He deceives in order to enslave, and eventually to devour. He is willing to bide his time. He lures men to complacency, all the easier to lead them to the slaughter. And yet, most of the world has fallen prey to his delusion. And that is because he is far easier to take than the other option, the God of suffering and sacrifice. That other Master is so old-fashioned; He is actually jealous. He won’t allow multiple masters. He offends the sensitivities of fallen men. He calls them “sinners.” He is not tolerant. He does not believe in freedom of religion. He won’t hear prayers in any other name. He is the God of truth, the God of Light. And if you will be His, then you can belong to no other. For no other is of any help or comfort. Jesus is the One, the only One, and He still wants you.

And so, what shall we eat? We shall eat the Body of Jesus, born of the Virgin, executed for crimes He did not commit, and raised again to glory by His Father—given for you. What shall we drink? We shall drink the blood of Jesus, the very same that flowed from His wounds, poured out for the remissions of sins. What shall we wear? We shall wear His righteousness, the baptismal garment of joy that He provides by grace. About what, then, shall we worry? Nothing! All things fade away next to this reality: God loves you in Jesus Christ and promises to remove you from this shadowy valley of pain and bring you to Himself in heaven. So what does it matter if the garage needs painting, or they make fun of you at school, or your football team loses, or terrorists are threatening the nation? God has all of these things well in hand; He knows what He is doing.

When our Lord directed His disciples to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, they lived in an occupied country. The vast majority of the people were dirt poor. Imagine having nothing to eat—and I don’t mean not wanting to eat the can of soup in the cupboard. Imagine people not living past the age of fifty and half of the children dying by age five. Imagine foreigners dragging off your adolescent sons to fight their wars. In the midst of this Jesus says: “I take care of the birds. I’ll take care of you.”

From the world’s point of view, there is always plenty to worry about. But worrying doesn’t change things. It doesn’t stop thieves and criminals any more than it prevents tooth decay. No mere man knows what the future holds for the stock market, or for America, or for this congregation. The Scriptures are silent about such things. We are more fortunate than most, but we didn’t earn it. In the same way, our Church is not the last word on orthodoxy and truth. We have certainly been fortunate to have the truth of God proclaimed among us. But it doesn’t belong to us by divine right. Despise the Word of God, and it can be taken away. There won’t be Americans or a Missouri Synod in heaven. There will only be Christians: those who were baptized into Christ, heard His Word, ate His body and drank His blood for the remission of sins. But despite the temporary nature of the things God provides for us now, we know this: Jesus is coming back. Death has been defeated. He will not abandon us to the grave.

In the meantime, lilies bloom, wilt, and die, but new ones rise up behind them to bloom again. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Eat the body of Jesus. Drink His blood. Wear the clean garments of acceptance that He provides. All things eventually pass away—all things, that is, except the Word of God. The Word of God never passes away. The Word made flesh has paid your debt. You are forgiven, clean, and whole. And on that day when He returns, He will call you forth from the grave with an invitation you cannot refuse! No man, no terrorist, no bureaucrat, no institution, no government, no devil will be able to stop Him, nor will they be able to stop you as the Lord draws you to Himself, now body and soul together, into His eternal kingdom. 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 9/5/21: Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity

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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.

         

There are Ten Commandments in God’s Holy Law; ten instructions for life that we fail to keep. Their simplicity is as sharp as polished steel, and they cut deeply and cleanly to expose our cancerous souls, to show us that we are not good; that things are not right; that we are not spiritually healthy. Ten Commandments, ten guides for our behavior, ten admonitions for decency and self-control, ten godly ideals of what we should be; we fail to keep all of them.

But is it so hard? You wouldn’t think so. Honor your father and mother? We can do that. Love your husband or wife? Of course; that makes sense. Tell the truth about others? Yes, that’s a good thing. That is what we want. That is not at all unreasonable. These commandments do not seem unattainable. They do not seem impossible. At our best, we do all of these, at least part of the time. But why not always? Why not fully? Are we so shallow, so temperamental, so afraid, so self-serving as all of that? Yes, we are. And the Law leaves us no escape. We are without excuse.

Oh, we have reasons. We are weak. We are sinful. Frankly, sometimes we are just not very smart. We do not give sin enough credit for what it does to us; we pamper the Old Adam. But there is no excuse for our behavior, no justification for our sinful self-indulgence. There is nothing—no extenuating circumstances, no once-in-a-lifetime event—that justifies our lies, our violence, our lust, our greed. After suffering the shame of behaving that way, why would someone go and do that again? Why would he do that to himself? Is he that weak, that foolish, that self-destructive? Yes, he is. Yes, I am. Yes, you are. We forget who we are as children of God, wanting to forget both our failures and our obligations. All we have to show for it is pain, sorrow, and shame. There is no excuse, and we know it. Our pride must wither and die. The truth of the Law must have its way. It must force us to our knees, to confession, and, finally, to death. For we have Ten Commandments, all of which we have failed to keep, and for which we deserve, quite rightly, to die eternally.

Our plea to heaven cannot be for justice or even fair treatment by the Law, because that is to ask for Hell. Our cry must be a plea for mercy, for undeserved pardon, for redemption by way of Someone Else’s punishment. Let us learn from those lepers who stood far off and cried out to the Son of God, who would be nailed to the cross for blasphemy He did not commit, who would be raised from death, all for the sake of mercy. Was there ever love like this? Was there ever a reprieve so sweet for criminals so steeped in guilt? Was there ever a God who joined His rebellious creation, and then let them kill Him for their sins, so they could go free? Yes! Mercy is what the lepers requested, and mercy was what He gave. All ten received mercy, a full and perfect reprieve from the guilt of their sin, a fresh washing in grace they did not earn, a healing rescue from certain death. All of them, one for each of the holy commandments of the Law, received mercy.

But, only one—and a foreigner, no less—returned to praise God. He did not simply offer a silent tribute in his mind and heart for a God of mercy and the good things he now knew; the others may well have done that. But this one went back to where he had received mercy. He came and worshiped Jesus, praising Him for the life He had restored, glorifying Him for the mercy He had shown. And in turn, this man received praise from God. Let us learn from that one what faith is and what faith does. Faith receives God’s grace and then comes back for more! It cannot get enough. It is not simply thankful, though it certainly is that. But it is also hungry for more and desires the one thing needful, the one thing that satisfies, the one thing that justifies us by declaring us righteous for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our place. Faith wants what God gives: new life, rest, hope, love, peace—all for free.

Jesus needs nothing from us. We need everything from Him. He did not come to be served by us; that is not the Gospel. He came to serve us, to work for us, to buy us back from death, to restore us to health that we might stand in His presence as His beloved Bride, His Church. That is the Gospel: that we would be His and joyfully live forever with Him.

The fire from those holy Ten Commandments has been quenched. Every single demand has been met. Justice has been served and satisfied. You are forgiven, made clean. And you have come to the right place: to the place of mercy where Jesus serves you in the Bread of His Word and the Bread of His Supper. Come at His Word and receive the mercy He gives. 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 8/29/21: Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity

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Blessed to See and Hear

Luke 10:23-37

 

 

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

 

 

Why do some believe, while others don’t? Why are some saved, and the others aren’t? How is it that one person receives the Word in faith, while another rejects that same Word? The answer to these questions is a simple one, though it is not entirely satisfying. If we reject God’s Word, it is our own fault; we cannot lay that burden at any door but our own. And if we do believe God’s Word, if we do have the faith in Jesus Christ, it is due solely and completely to the grace of God. And even the very faith itself that holds to the promises of God’s Word is a gift of grace, worked in us by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Whether or not this answer satisfies anyone’s curiosity, this is the answer.

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Our salvation consists of seeing and hearing Christ. These disciples, of course, were uniquely blessed in that their seeing and hearing was physical. They saw Jesus for themselves; they could touch Him and know that He was flesh and blood, just like them. Prophets and kings, men of God who had come before, had longed to see and hear what the disciples beheld. And the faith of those patriarchs was no less true; they had just not had the blessing of seeing its fulfillment in Christ.

But there were also those who saw and heard Jesus for whom there was no blessing. There is nothing clearer in the Gospels than the truth that Jesus had proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom for all to see and hear in Him. St. John said: “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.” Only faith receives such blessings, and that faith is God’s gift.

Your seeing and hearing is not physical, but nothing is taken from your salvation because of that. You are like those prophets and kings in one sense; your seeing and hearing is not physical, but spiritual. On the other hand, you have God’s complete revelation in Holy Scripture; you know everything that took place for your salvation. As Jesus said to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.”

The salvation we see and hear is what is shown to us in this parable of the Good Samaritan. We see that man who fell among robbers, who was stripped and beaten and left for dead—and we know that we are that man. That is what sin and Satan do to us. We have no natural defense against them. And Jesus is that Good Samaritan who does not pass us by in our need. Jesus is pure compassion. He binds up our wounds. He carries us with His own strength to this place of refreshment where we receive proper care. He will pay whatever is necessary to make us whole again. Is this not what takes place at the cross? There Jesus, like the Samaritan, was despised and rejected of men. Those without eyes to see and ears to hear the truth saw only a man who was receiving a punishment he seemingly deserved. But with eyes to see and ears to hear, we see the redemption of this world, and we hear the words of a compassion that can only be divine: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

This was what generations of prophets and kings had longed to see and hear. It is what you and I have been given to see and hear. And the place of this seeing and hearing is the Church, which is also why many do not see and hear these things. Jesus is the Good Samaritan; the inn is the Church. As Luther tells us, “Here we have the substance of the Gospel. The kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of mercy and grace in which there is nothing but a continual carrying of the lost. Christ takes our sins upon Himself and has patience when we fail. We still always lay around His neck, and yet He does not become weary of carrying us, which should be the greatest comfort for us when we are in conflict with sin.”

And that brings us back to the question with which we began: “Why are some saved and not others?” Why you or me, and not someone else? The answer is the grace of God, and because that is the answer, we cannot really ask why. God knows why, and that is enough. After all, “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” Grace is the exclusive work of God. And that grace is also promise: once the Lord has you, He will not let you go. That is why you are blessed in your seeing and your hearing. That is why you have eyes to see and ears to hear. That is why you humbly, faithfully, come to receive the true body and blood of Christ, where you see His body broken in death, but now raised to life; you see His blood shed for sin, ever pleading for you before the throne of heavenly grace. And you are blessed in your seeing and your hearing, even unto life that is everlasting. 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: Into Your Hands, O Lord of Life

I am not Paul Gerhardt or Philipp Nicolai. I do not claim to be, nor do I believe I have that kind of talent. I do, however, have persistent friends who have encouraged me to not be a lazy git while I’m here in this hospital bed with Covid. So here I am. I don’t think I’m in any particular danger or dying, though I might have welcomed that when I was first admitted on Sunday. (I jest, but I was not in good shape.) Still, I don't know what’s ahead for me or for my family, all of whom tested positive.

Again, here I am. Here is my prayer. God is good. The temporary tune is the same as “Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me.” Feedback is love, as are your prayers.

Into Your Hands, O Lord of Life

1. Into Your hands, O Lord of life,

I here commend my flesh and soul.

In deep distress and earthly strife,

Pounded by waves from pier to shoal,

Weakened, I cry, “Deliver me!

In Your great love, oh, set me free.”

2. I have no strength, no, none my own,

Nothing to serve my own defense.

I place my trust in Christ alone,

Raising my prayers like frankincense.

No matter what may come today,

My Lord, keep Satan’s hordes at bay.

3. Lord, as my body quakes in fear,

As I groan out on bended knee,

Be my Defender ever near.

I beg you, Savior, hear my plea.

My Jesus, who knows all my pain,

Shall use it for my good and gain.

4. Savior and King, with every breath,

Grant me to trust Your boundless grace.

Whatever comes, my life or death,

I shall rejoice to see your face.

Whatever You ordain to be

Will be sufficient strength for me.

(c) 2021

88 88 88

RYBURN (LSB 683)

Illness, End of Life; Psalm 31:5

UPDATE HYMN: Promised Rest Awaits the Weary

As I sit here in my hospital room, my body dealing with the ravages of Covid, a brother pastor has blessed me with a gift. He had written an original tune and arrangement for one of my original texts, Promised Rest Awaits the Weary. And what a lovely tune it is. The Reverend Robert Mayes is one of my most prolific composers, and this is, in my opinion, the best tune he has composed for me. I’ll include my text and then a picture of his arrangement. Thank you, Pastor Mayes! Perfect timing; I needed this comfort.

Promised Rest Awaits the Weary

Inspired by the Doxology Retreat in Wichita, Kansas

September 28-30, 2020

1. Promised rest awaits the weary,

Burdened by the daily test.

“Come to Me, you heavy laden;

I will give you holy rest.”

You who face the battle’s fray

Serving Christ from day to day,

Christ in mercy will befriend you,

Sending angel hosts to tend you.

2. Saints are wearied by their labor

Fighting with the devil’s horde.

You shall savor Bread from heaven 

In the Body of the Lord.

“Come and find your rest in Me

Underneath Elijah’s tree.

Rise to eat! This Bread sustains you

Through the strife which harms and drains you.”

3. “I have chosen you, My servant.

I will not cast you away. 

Trust in Me and pray in earnest.

Do not let your fear hold sway.”

Then, beneath the holy cross,

As you bear your shame and loss,

In His arms Christ will enfold you.

By His Blood He will uphold you.

(c) 2020

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REQUIEM PROMISERAT (Original Robert Mayes tune: see below) or

FREU DICH SEHR (LSB 347)

Cross and Comfort; Tentatio; Anfechtung; I Kings 19; Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 11:28

And this audio file might work, too.

HYMN: Fear Not, Fear Not, O Zion

After a bit of a hiatus, I’ve come back around to the Easter Vigil hymn project I’m working on with the Reverend Doctor John Fleischman. As I’ve said before, this isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse, but I’ve enjoyed the process nonetheless. This particular text is based on Zephaniah 3:12-20, which speaks of God gathering His people. 

Unlike my previous texts for the Easter Vigil project, I didn’t include an introductory stanza. I don’t know if this particular text needs it; I repeat the concept of God gathering His people throughout the text. Anyway, here it is. Feedback is love.

Fear Not, Fear Not, O Zion

for the Easter Vigil

The Gathering of God’s People—Zephaniah 3:12-20

1. Fear not, fear not, O Zion! 

Rejoice! Oh, shout and sing!

The mighty One will save you:

The Lord, your God and King.

Behold, the King is with you

To guard you in the fray.

No judgment stands against you.

Your foes He drove away.

2. Fear not, fear not, O Zion!

Let not your hands grow weak, 

For He shall be the refuge

Of all the humble, meek.

Their lips speak no deception.

Their deeds shall bring no shame.

No evil shall befall them

Who call upon His name.

3. Fear not, fear not, O Zion.

Oppressors meet their end.

The outcast He will gather.

On Him you may depend:

To praise you to the nations,

To calm your every fear,

To gather you together.

The Lord is with you here.

Sermon for 8/1/21: Ninth Sunday After Trinity

CLICK HERE for the audio file.

CLICK HERE for the video file.

 

Stewardship in the “Sons of Light”

Luke 16:1-13

 

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

 

 

Why would Jesus deliver this parable? Surely He did not approve of the unrighteous servant who cheated his master, whose hand was caught in the cookie jar. And when he is about to lose his job, he sees to his own future by again stealing from his master. Jesus could never approve of such behavior. So why does He set this parable before us?

The point Jesus is making here is that unbelievers are often much more adept at using the things of the world to their advantage than Christians are at using the gifts of God for love and the service of their neighbor. The sons of this world far surpass us when it comes to a single-minded devotion to gaining advantages for themselves in this life than we are in using God’s gifts for the good of our neighbor and the Church. Jesus wants His hearers to imitate that steward, of course—but not in the unrighteousness that knows how to bend the rules and beat the system. Instead, the “sons of light” are to be shrewd in recognizing that their true riches are found in heaven, and that their focus needs to be where their hope truly lies: in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

God may bless you with wealth, but not so that you can act as if it is all yours. That is how unbelievers treat the gifts of God. But you are children of your heavenly Father, and you really know better. And so, just as the unrighteous steward shrewdly obtained earthly benefits for himself, we should be just as shrewd in being assured of eternal benefits in heaven. Not a single possession we have is our own; it belongs to another, to God. The words of the Psalmist are as true as any words can be: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein...” We are all stewards, and we, too, will give an account of the gifts entrusted to us.

What is important, then, is not how much we have, but what we do with what we have. We will use the gifts of God in either righteous or unrighteous ways. When we have more than we need and refuse to use it in service to God and love for our neighbor, such things can become unrighteous. As Jesus said: “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The steward in our text was intent on providing for himself alone. Are we really any better? Just as the children of the world often set good examples for us in terms of their shrewdness and persistence, so we, who are the baptized of God, are called to do no less in the realm of spiritual things. We are to be equally shrewd in the things God gives us—not in the way of that unrighteous steward, to be sure, but in the way of Christ: not selfishly, but selflessly.

Still, this parable has something more to say to us, and this is really the most important thing it teaches us. Part of the steward’s shrewdness was his confidence in the mercy of his master. He believed rightly that his master would be merciful to him, though he was certainly under no obligation to be merciful. He believed his master to be a man of generosity and forgiveness. He staked his future on that. And he did well; it was a faith his master praised. So we, too, trust that our Master is a God of mercy. And He truly is that as He forgives all our debts through Jesus, that we may be received into our eternal home. In this our hope is certain, that God, who is both faithful and just, forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. We believe that our heavenly Father is merciful to us because of the debt paid on our behalf in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His Son. And it is that faith, above all, that our heavenly Father desires and praises.

Though we have often squandered and misused our Father’s gifts in selfishness and sin, Jesus, who is the righteousness of God, has cancelled our debt, knowing that His forgiveness will be honored by the Father because of His holy suffering and death upon the cross. Jesus made eternal friends of us, not by hoarding things for Himself, but by paying the ultimate price for us, that we might know and receive the riches of His mercy. Jesus relied on the mercy of His Father, and He was not disappointed. He trusted that His Father would honor His death in our place. And because He did, you may now take your bill and write, “Paid in full.” Your books are balanced, your account justified. You will receive an everlasting home! 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.