Sermon for 9/2/12--Trinity 13

“Do This and You Will Live”

Luke 10:23-37

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


“‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” That is the summary of the Law of God. Love God; love your neighbor. “Do this and you will live.” There are lots of preachers out there who will tell you that if you have faith and if you try hard and if you learn the life-enrichinging principles they teach, that you'll be able to keep God's Law. We like to think it's just a matter of making good decisions so we'll be able to love God and love our neighbor.

But to see what the Law apart from Christ looks like, just look at the priest and the Levite. Seeing a guy half-dead in a ditch, they pass by on the other side of the road. When we take the Law—love God, love your neighbor—and we give it a go apart from Christ, this is where we end up. Like the young expert in the Law, we try to justify ourselves. We show God how good we are by doing the commandments. But when someone falls into a ditch by their sins, we don't pull them out. We pass by on the other side. Husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, dear Christians: do you think that you can despise each other and still claim to love God? Do you think that you can hold a grudge and be angry at someone and still say you love God? You can't love God. You can't love your neighbor. You can't get yourself out from under the judgment of the Law. When you think you are demonstrating love as you are commanded, Satan beats you up, robs you, and throws you in a ditch. The Law won't do you any good there.

But then, along comes the Samaritan. The Samaritan, despised by the Jews, sees the poor man in the ditch and saves him. Who is that Samaritan? Who could possibly live the Law like that? That's Jesus keeping the Law. He comes to rescue sinners who have been tossed aside by the Devil, robbed of righteousness and left for dead. Jesus comes to keep the Law to save us. He comes to love God and to love His neighbor.

How can that be? Look at what the Creed teaches us about Him. Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father, and He also true man, born of the Virgin Mary. That makes Him both God and neighbor. When the Father commands the Son to save sinners, Jesus does it. He goes to the cross for you. He hangs there for you. He dies there for you. Jesus is crucified, bearing the wages of sin, perfectly loving God in His obedience and perfectly loving His neighbor in His sacrifice. The Law is fulfilled. There, on that bloody cross, God and neighbor are loved perfectly by the Savior who is God and Man. He perfectly keeps the Law. He saves the man in the ditch. It is Jesus who loves God and loves His neighbor.

That perfect obedience, that salvation, that perfect love is given to you. It is given when Jesus, the Good Samaritan, pours His healing medicine on you in the waters of Holy Baptism. He carries you to the Inn, His holy church, where puts you under the care of His innkeeper, the pastor who Jesus sets apart to care for you until He comes again, leaving your pastor the Word and the Sacraments to provide for your health.

Have you loved God and your neighbor as you are commanded? Of course not. The Law shows us so. But Jesus kept the Law perfectly. He loves God the Father and He loves His neighbor. He has put His perfect obedience on you in Baptism and has fed you that obedience in His body and blood in His Holy Supper. Do you love God and your neighbor? In Christ, the answer is yes. Christ within you has kept that Law. This is what St. Paul means when He says that the Law kept us under sin until the time of the Promise. By itself, the Law condemns us. But in Christ, the Law is kept. Your sins are forgiven. That's the rescue the Good Samaritan has given you. To tell you, “Do this and you will live,” is now nothing more than to tell you that Christ lives in You for the benefit of your neighbor and the glory of God. 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 8/26/12--Trinity 12

Opening Ears and Lips

Mark 7:31-37

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

There's a reason Jesus needs to open our ears and loose our tongues. The healing of this deaf and mute man shows us what we are in our sin: unable to speak and unable to hear. Of course, we already practice selective hearing. When we hear a juicy story we can usually repeat it pretty accurately. When we hear a sermon, we'd be hard pressed to say what it was about much past lunch on Sunday—and that’s true of the one who preaches the sermons, too. We are deaf to the Word of God and can't repeat it clearly.

The Lord opens the ears of this deaf man and looses his tongue. Jesus does it to show this man and us that He is the Savior. Part of what we need saving from is being deaf and dumb when it comes to God and His Word. The world around us is that way. The world closes its ears to God's Word, and it can't say anything understandable about God's Word either. One the one hand you have the so-called "experts" and "scholars" that can say all kinds of nothing and use big words to do it. On the other hand you have the charlatans and frauds, the false preachers who do nothing but babble nonsense. And of course there's our sinful flesh, which just loves to cover our ears and drown out the Word with childish noises.

We need Jesus to open our ears and loose our tongues. And He can do it because He's the Lord. He's the One who was not deaf to our cries but heard them and answered them. Jesus healing this deaf man is about more than just showing He can do it. It's about showing that He can do it because He's the Son of God who came to save sinners. Since it is our sin which makes us deaf to God and unable to speak clearly what He says, He takes away our sin—and in doing so, He opens our ears and looses our tongues.

Jesus is the only one who can open our ears and loose our tongues. We can't hear God's Word by trying to pay close attention. We need Him to stick his fingers in our ears and to spit and touch our tongues! How does He do it? The Apostle John called Jesus “the Word made flesh.” Whenever we hear His Word, whenever the Word goes in our ears, that is our Lord, touching our ears to open them. In Holy Baptism, in the preaching of the Word, Jesus opens our ears. And when He gives us His body and blood to eat and drink, there He touches our tongues to loose them so that we might confess His Word and speak and sing His promises! It is by Christ's Word and through His forgiveness that He gives that our ears are opened and our tongues are loosed to speak.

But such clear speaking only comes from hearing Christ's Word. If the deaf man's friends didn't bring Him to Jesus, his ears might never have been opened! Just so, if we cut ourselves off from Christ's Word, our ears are shut and our tongues just babble nonsense. If your children had a speech impediment, you'd do everything to make sure they got therapy to help them to speak clearly. If they were deaf, you'd seek medical help or teach them sign language or seek another avenue of help. How much more do you need to bring them to hear God's Word so that Jesus will open their ears and loose their tongues to hear and confess Christ and His forgiveness! The Divine Service, Sunday School and Catechism and Bible Study: those are the places where Jesus opens your ears and teaches you to speak plainly. If your confession of Jesus isn't clear, then be where He opens your ears so that the Word that goes in will come out of your mouth clearly.

In the order of Matins we pray, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” Jesus opened the ears and looses the tongue of a deaf man. According to the prophet Isaiah, this identifies Him as the true Savior of sinners and healer of those who are under the curse of sin in this world. This Jesus is the One who has also opened your ears by His Word, who has touched your tongue and loosed it. Because of this, we can confess: “He has indeed done all things well.” 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 8/19/12--Trinity 11

We Are Beggars
Luke 18:9-14

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


Two days before his death, almost as if he somehow knew his end was near, Martin Luther wrote: “We are all beggars, it is true.”  What a strange way to add up a life, especially his life!  This was the man who stood up to kings and councils and popes and not only survived but thrived!  This was the man whose written work compromises dozens of volumes, whose translation of the Scriptures actually shaped the German language, and whose courage helped to reshape the geography of Europe.  Surely, at the end of such a life there must be time for a bit of boasting.  Yet, like St. Paul, his boasting was in his weakness and, above all, in the power of the cross.

“Not worthy.” Those words are almost like a liturgical refrain on the lips of all the beggars that inhabit the pages of the Scriptures, and indeed, the history of the Church.  There was Zacchaeus, who was content to merely get a glimpse of Jesus as He passed by, and received infinitely more.  The woman who suffered from massive hemorrhages did not dare to ask of Jesus.  “If only I can touch the hem of His garment,” she thought.  Mary, who sat at the feet of her Lord soaking up every word He spoke, was also one of the humble.  At his death, the thief on the cross chastised his cynical companion and humbly asked Jesus to remember Him.  Unworthy beggars, all of them, and yet each of them ended up more wealthy than they could ever dream.  They received those precious gifts of healing, forgiveness, and the presence of the Lord.  They received grace upon grace.  As surely as the exalted are humbled, the unworthy who come to Christ in faith are exalted.

And so it was that two men, one a Pharisee, the other a publican, a tax collector, came before the same altar of God.  Each of them prayed.  The Pharisee, no doubt a sincere man, thanked God that he was not like so many others, especially that tax collector over in the corner.  He laid out his many accomplishments for God to see.  Not only did he avoid dishonesty in his business and unfaithfulness in his personal life, but even exceeded the legal requirements in piety by fasting twice a week and figuring his tithe before taxes.  The publican, however, could find nothing worthy of boasting.  His only plea was for mercy.  And both men received what they asked for.  The Pharisee asked for and received nothing; He had no need for God.  The publican received just what he prayed for: mercy.

In a world that attempts to eliminate guilt, if not deny it altogether, and where most efforts are not aimed excusing sin or denying that sin even exists, the publican seems unnecessarily hard on himself.  It is difficult, if not nearly impossible for most people, maybe even some of us, to really understand the publican’s repentance, or when Luther described himself as “poor stinking maggot fodder.”  That is beggar language, and in most circles such language doesn’t get it.

But in the kingdom of God, the picture of a beggar is one with profound meaning.  It is an eloquent description of your relationship to God.  You come to God with nothing; neither morality nor religious affiliation mean anything to Him.  You come to Him poor and humble and empty, or you do not come at all.  You enter the waters of Holy Baptism as strangers and aliens, and that flood washes away everything to which a sinner would cling.  You emerge washed, cleansed, and named children of the Father in heaven, a gift that gladdens the heart of every beggar, large or small.  If being children of God depended on what you do, or how well you have performed, or even how sincere your faith happens to be, you can never be certain whether you have done enough.

You can read all of the best-selling pop psychology books you like, and everything that has been written about the power of positive thinking, and you will look in vain for anything that will help you deal with your greatest need; the need for mercy.  What happens when broken human beings find the “gospel of self” just one more burden to bear?  What happens when the great movers and shakers of this world falter?  When you have tasted the bitter tears of failure and have grown weary of trying to save your own life, there is little hope found in “positive thinking.”  That is when you turn to a Gospel for beggars, and learn of a gracious God who understands your weakness, and lifts your burdens, and delights in showing mercy.

When you gather for the Divine Service, the first thing you do is beg. It’s not pretty, but you have no choice—you are beggars. And so you say, “O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment.  But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.” And when you come before God as beggars, He graciously gives you what you need. He speaks His Word of forgiveness and life to you, and then He feeds you with the body and blood of our Savior: a meal filled with forgiveness and joy and hope.  It is a feast of victory, a foretaste of the eternal banquet where, after a lifetime of begging, you will gather to eat as sons of the King, receiving all that is His.

Until that day, uplifted by His Word, filled with His Supper, you come to Him with empty hands awaiting His gifts to make things right, to make you right with Him, and to sustain your lives.  In all of life, as Luther said, “We are beggars, it is true.”  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 8/12/12--Trinity 10

Knowing What Makes for Peace

Luke 19:41-48

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

The deepest longing of the human heart is for peace.  And that is really the same thing as saying that our deepest longing is for God Himself.  St. Augustine put it this way: “Our souls were made for Thee, O God, and they find no rest until they rest in Thee.”  Peace was the condition of our first parents in paradise before they fell into sin and set this world into chaos.  And peace is where the faithful of Christ are heading, because there is nothing in heaven that will upset the peace of eternity.  In the meantime, however, peace is not a word that we would often use to describe our present condition.  Life is anything but peaceful.  It is disturbed all too often by disappointment and regret, by pain and grief, and we know too well that the storms that “rock our boats” are often of our own making.  Instead of peace, we have opted for chaos.  Instead of God, we have chosen ourselves.

It is enough to make a man cry, which is just what Jesus did.  He wept because He knew what could have been, and what should have been; and He knew what now would be.  Jerusalem, the holy city, had chosen the way of wickedness.  Instead of peace with God, she had chosen to turn God away at the gate by rejecting the very Messiah He had promised.  She did not know the things that made for her peace.  How much of this description fits the Church today? How well does it describe us as individual Christians?  Do we know the things that make for our peace?

Christ gives Himself and His peace to us in particular ways.  He gives to His Word the power to do more than merely inform but to give us the fruits of His peace made with the Father in heaven for us: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.  In Holy Baptism our sin is drowned in the death of Christ, and we are pulled out of those waters into a newness of life that is full of the peace of God which surpasses all understanding; so far beyond our understanding that we often fail to realize that it is there.  In the Sacrament of our Savior’s body and blood we are given the remission of our sins, and there is nothing more conducive to a godly peace than to know that our sins have been taken away.  These are all simple things really: Word, and water, and bread and wine.  These are things we can hear, feel, and taste.

But there is also a complexity behind these things that defies our understanding and tests our faith.  What is in the mind of God?  Why would He do what He has done, and say what He has said?  When we question God’s ways, we question God Himself.  And we have all done this.  We have questioned God’s timing in taking a loved one from us.  We cannot seem to get it though our heads that there is a profound peace that is given in the death of a Christian; he is now with Christ forever.  We have questioned God’s wisdom in putting us where we are in this life.  We fail so often to see that all of life is a gift from His hands, and thus is a part of the peace He offers.  But often, all we see is a difficult job with difficult people, or children who test not only our patience but our sanity, or those many circumstances over which we have absolutely no control.  And, sadly, what frequently happens is that peace with God is broken.  We forget what makes for our peace.  We let our fear and frustration, our pettiness and anger, get in the way of God pouring out His peace on us in measures we would never expect.  We forget that the peace of God does surpass all understanding, and that it is present wherever Christ is with His grace and His gifts. But we tend to come at such things the opposite way.  If only we can understand something, then we will be able to accept it.  If only I can understand why this death occurred, then I will be able to accept it.  If only I can understand why these terrible circumstances have hit me now, then I will be able to accept them.

But that is not the way God works with us, nor is it the way He works with His Church.  We are called to faith first; then understanding, as much as we are able, will follow.  It is only when we first believe God’s Word of promise to us that it begins to make sense to us.  It is only when we believe that water joined with the Word of God cleanses us from all sin that we will begin to understand, as much as we able, how powerful the ongoing blessing of Holy Baptism really is.  It is only when we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ gives us His very body and blood with the bread and wine for the remission of sins that we will begin to understand, as much as we are able, that this blessed Sacrament is “the medicine of immortality,” as early Christians loved to call it, the food of eternal life.  It is only when we know that God has made peace with us, through the blood of Jesus Christ, that we will begin to understand what makes for our peace.  It is only when we know that God has visited us in Jesus Christ, His dear Son, that we will begin to understand that He continues to visit us in His Word and His Sacraments, that He gives us Himself there; that He is really present with us when we gather in His house of worship and prayer to receive the gifts He has invited us to receive.  It is only when we know that this same visitation of grace is what sustains and strengthens us in the midst of grief, and pain, and suffering, that we will begin to see the gracious hand of God in everything, even in that grief, and pain, and suffering.

And when we know and accept these things, then we will begin to understand one other thing of supreme importance.  When peace has been broken, when sin has brought its stain into our lives, God is also in the business of restoration.  And He restores peace in the very same way He makes peace; He gives, and gives, and gives beyond our understanding.  Even as He gave His own Son into death for the sins of this world, He continues to pour out the gifts of this salvation for the life of the world.  He continues to visit this world with His peace and will until the end of days, until He has restored His peace to all His people, that they might have it unto eternal life.  In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

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

Sermon for 8/5/12--Trinity 9

Unrighteous Mammon
Luke 16:1-13

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


This servant is ripping off his boss, and he gets caught. He's about to lose his job. So he does the only thing he knows how: he rips off his boss some more, but this time to the benefit of his boss's clients. Then his boss praises him? And Jesus tells us that Christians can learn from that? Just what exactly is Jesus trying to teach us from this? The answer is this: the people of this world know how to spend what belongs to others better than we Christians know how to spend what is the Lord's for the benefit of others. Jesus is teaching us to stop being stingy with what is His and to spend it like there's no tomorrow. Because of what Jesus has done, we have been given unrighteous mammon to spend lavishly—unrighteous because it's not ours.

The steward knows what God's people seem to have a hard time grasping. He takes what belongs to someone else and uses it for the benefit of others. Do we do that with what belongs to the Lord? Jesus is talking about a currency that isn't earned but that is given—the forgiveness of sins. Think about what our Lord does. He's Lord of heaven and earth, but He lives as if all the glory and righteousness the Father has given Him is His to give away! On the cross, He is so free with that righteousness that He even forgives those who nailed Him there! And by that death, Jesus piles up such a treasury of forgiveness for you that it will never run out. The debt of your sins has been paid in full. Your death has been overcome.

Through baptism, like young Carter, you have been made dead to sin. You have nothing left to lose. You can live by spending what is the Lord's to make the lives of others better. That means you can dish out forgiveness as if it's yours to spend! When someone wrongs you, sins against you, hurts you, goes against you, then you forgive them. The forgiveness for your sins that is given by your Baptism, which you receive in Christ's body and blood, is for you to give away to others. It’s an embarrassment of riches that you can share by refusing to hold the sins of your neighbor against him, by refusing to hold grudges, by treating him as if he has not sinned against you!

That's what it is to live by spending what belongs to Jesus. You see, when you think the forgiveness is yours, you hoard it for yourself. You might, if you thought they were worthy, give a little bit to your neighbor, like you might to a charity. This is why Jesus says the sons of this world are more shrewd than the sons of light. The world knows how to spend other people's money, but we Christians can be really stingy with the Lord's forgiveness, withholding it from those who don't deserve it in our sight. It's not your forgiveness; it belongs to Jesus! Spend it foolishly! Dole it out like it costs you nothing. After all, it didn’t. The Lord has more forgiveness than the world has sins.

Jesus says that His people can't serve both God and mammon. By dying and rising for you, by washing you and feeding you, He replaces the mammon of this world with the riches of His forgiveness. He rescues you from the idolatry of worldly mammon by dishing out His forgiveness. He rescues you from a life lived for yourself to a life in which you have His goods to spend on others, to better their lives with the forgiveness that was first shown to you. Jesus knows that the world is good at spending what belongs to others. So He gives you something even better to spend on others: His forgiveness. And with such a gift, you will be more shrewd than any of the sons of this world. 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 7/29/12--Trinity 8

The Gate of Life Immortal

Matthew 7:15-23

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

The Bible is full of texts that make even Christians uncomfortable.  This is one of them.  False prophets and bad fruit; the fires of judgment rendered against hypocrisy; the Lord closing the door of eternal life to those who are unfaithful to Him—these are fearful things, unsettling things.  It would be so much easier if Jesus had said none of this.  But the Church cannot ignore it, and Jesus won’t take it back, so the Church must read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest these things by faith. These are words that the Church must hear in faith with the understanding that they are for your good.

The Lord knows well the difficulties presented by His teaching, but that knowledge never leads Him to compromise the truth of what He is saying. On the contrary, Jesus at times said things that were so difficult to accept that He lost many of His followers.  And while that, no doubt, troubled His loving heart, it never moved Him to change what He said.  He would have been unfaithful to His own divine nature as the living Word of the Father if He tried to accommodate divine light to weak, sinful human eyes.  Rather than accommodate, He tried to enlighten those who heard Him.

To really get a sense of the urgency of these words, we need to back up a bit.  In the verses that just precede the text, Jesus said: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  Jesus is speaking about the way that leads to the Kingdom of His Father, the gate of that fold over which He watches as Shepherd.  The gate is narrow because the sheep go in one by one to make sure there are no goats or sheep from other folds that have been mixed in.  The Shepherd knows each of His sheep.  As they enter the gate they recognize Him even as He does them.  And inside the fold of the Great Shepherd there is life and joy, all gathered around their common Shepherd, in the safety of His protection.

False prophets want to undo all of this.  They are wolves who disguise themselves as sheep in order to pass as one of the flock.  “Listen to us,” they say.  “Don’t you see that we are just like you?”  They come dressed as sheep to appeal to everything in the nature of sheep that would cause their ruin, were it not for the shepherd.  Wolves want the sheep to follow their own instincts, which will unfailingly lead them astray.  Far from their shepherd, who cannot protect his sheep when they are so far away, the wolves prepare for their own diabolical feast; the death of the sheep.

Jesus says that these fake prophets try in every way possible to look and like the real article. They deceive the unwary with a teaching that brings death rather than life.  They offer a way to the kingdom that is broader and less difficult than that of the true Shepherd.  And yet, the narrow path and the difficult teaching have always been the way to God. The Word of God is life itself.

And so Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  The one who does the will of the Father in heaven is the one who enters by the narrow gate.  Above all, Jesus is the One who has done the Father’s will, and He makes you able to walk that narrow way and enter through that gate.

It is a difficult path. You enter the kingdom of God only by following Jesus through the gate. We all wish to enter through the narrow gate.  The alternative, the judgment that follows, is unthinkable.  The true prophets speak the Word of God; false prophets would pass off their own words as God’s Word.  What is the Christian to do?  Does God leave you to try and sort out all of this yourself, to distinguish the good from the bad, the true from the false?  Hear again the words of St. Paul from today’s Epistle: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” The Holy Spirit bears witness to you, so that you may cry out, “Lord, Lord!”—not in fear or doubt or deception, but in the boldness of faith.

Our Father in heaven does not forsake His children. He gives His Holy Spirit to you to convince you that you belong to Him, so that you may know that it’s the voice of Christ you are truly hearing and following, keeping you on the narrow way.  He put you on that narrow path in Holy Baptism, where He first put His name on you.  He gives you food for the journey in His body to eat and his blood to drink, given and shed for you for the remission of sins.  And he gives you a picture of what to expect when you go through that gate, the narrow gate which is the entry to the Kingdom of heaven, when He says: “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give You rest.”  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 7/22/12--Trinity 7

Paradise Restored

Mark 8:1-9

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

God placed man in the Garden of Eden. Man could eat freely of every tree of the garden. Only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was off limits. The tree was there as a way for man to honor God as his Maker, to acknowledge the holiness and the greatness of God, to show love for God by holding to His Word. This was man's worship. For him to eat of the tree would be to put himself into the place of God, and that meant death for man. "In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die."

We all know the story. Man succumbed to the temptation. Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Mankind's rebellion brought a curse on him and on the creation God had given him. And yet it might appear to the casual reader that what God said would happen didn't. The Lord had said, "In the day you eat of it, you shall surely die." But Adam and Eve were still alive and kicking for many years and decades after they ate, even if life had become much more difficult. So what's going on here? Did God's judgment fail?

Of course not. Death from the eternal perspective has to do with a lot more than just the body giving out and the heart stopping and the brain no longer functioning. Death ultimately has to do with being separated from God, being cut off from His presence and His goodness. That's why hell is rightly called eternal death: it is the place where God and His grace are absnt. That's the place for those who think they can live without God. So while physical death is indeed the earthly consequence of sin, spiritual death is the ultimate consequence of sin. In the day that they ate, Adam and Eve did die. They were only hollow shells of what they once were.

When the Epistle reading says that "the wages of sin is death," we know it doesn't only mean that death will be coming to us someday in the future. We're already experiencing it. We experience it in our bodies in various troubles and sickness and aging. And we experience it in our spirits, too. Every sin brings death with it. Laziness brings boredom with God's creation and dissatisfaction His blessings. Lust and sexual immorality diminish people and ruin families and sear consciences. Overindulging in food or drink produces health problems and a sluggish spirit. Self-centeredness and impatience lead to destructive anger. Greed overwhelms good relationships. Don't ever think those pet sins of yours are no big deal. They're killing you. Indeed, the wages of sin is death, even before we die.

However, that's only the first half of the verse. The last half trumps the first half when it declares, "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!" Notice the difference in terminology. The first half talks about wages; the second half talks about a gift. The first part talks about what we have earned; the second part talks about what God has freely given. Our working has led to death, but God's working leads to life through His Son.

In the Gospel we see a wonderful picture of how God worked to save us from death and bring us back into His life. We see Jesus in the wilderness with the people. After three days they were feeling the effects of sin's curse, being hungry and weary with no food around to refresh or sustain them. Man's sin had turned the world from the abundance of Paradise into a bleak and harsh place, and so Jesus entered into that harshness as a true man in order that He might undo the curse and restore all of creation. The Son of God took on your human body and soul and put Himself smack dab into the middle of this fallen world in order to rescue you and raise you up.

Jesus said, "I have compassion on the multitudes." That word, "compassion," in Greek has to do with the deepest possible empathy and feeling. So fully does Jesus empathize with you that He went so far as to suffer with you and to suffer for you in order to take your suffering away forever.

You can begin to see that taking place already in this miracle of the feeding of the 4000. Jesus produces bread in abundance apart from any sweaty or tiring labor. In this moment He restores the bounty of the Garden of Eden, where food is received in full measure from the gracious hand of God. Here you see God the Son beginning to break the curse of death and overcome the fall into sin. You see a glimpse of how it was in the beginning and how it will be even more so in the new creation of the age to come.

Jesus would complete His work of undoing the fall and breaking the power of the curse on the cross. That is where the deathly wages of sin and the abounding gift of life come together. The wages that you had earned by your sin Jesus suffered to death in His body. The judgment you had coming, He took on your behalf. Because of His sacrifice, the gift of life now flows to you and to all who believe in Him. Sin has been undone, and so have the wages of sin, namely death and hell. All that leaves for you is life.

Jesus took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. In the same way still today, Jesus speaks His words of thanks and consecration and His ministers distribute the Sacrament of the Altar. The seven loaves were multiplied to feed and fully satisfy 4000 people. In the same way today, Jesus uses seemingly insufficient bread to multiply His grace and feed and fully satisfy the church with His very life-giving body. We have a glimpse of Paradise right here. As you receive the bread of life, you are being given a taste of heaven. Heaven is where Christ is; and Christ is here for you. 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.

Love and Saying No

I made the mistake of reading an opinion piece from the New York Times . I usually don't read from the Times, whether it's what they call news or what appears on the op/ed page, as I wouldn't even trust it as fish wrapping for fear of food poisoning. Anyway, in this piece, the writer attacks a political figure for things she said based on the Christian Faith which is formed by the Word of God.

The source isn't important, really, since the Times is by no means the only rag that considers it their "journalistic" (and I use that word loosely) and editorial duty to attack the Christian Faith and those who cling to it. And the target isn't all that important, either, as the world is fond of calling the Church a collection of hypocrites and vilifying Christians because we do not blindly accept every travesty of humanity--things like the GLBT agenda, abortion (in the name of the feminine agenda), et cetera and ad nauseam--in the name of "love." After all, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." "Love your neighbor." "Love bears all things..." 

In the end, sometimes the Church has to love someone so much that it says, "No." No, we cannot abide what the Word of God calls sin. No, we cannot look the other way. That doesn't make us homophobes. That doesn't mean we hate women. Rather, it means we love them so much that we do not desire to see them abide in sin. Jesus said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me" (John 14:23-24). That means that Christians do not--or should not, rather, though it happens--choose indiscriminately what teachings of the Word of God that we keep and which ones we discard. If you consider yourself a Christian but don't take seriously what the Word of God says, maybe you shouldn't call yourself a Christian. "Be thou faithful unto death" doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room.

Do you love your child enough to say "no" when he reaches for a knife or a pill bottle? Do you love your friends so enough to keep them from climbing in a car when they're drunk? How can you then love someone so little that you'll let them live in a way that leads to their eternal death?

The world can keep what it calls love. I'd rather have the real thing.

Sermon for 7/13/12--Funeral of Dave Young

Depart in Peace
Luke 2:25-31

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


My brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord works in mysterious ways.  Given the opportunity, each of us could tell of a time when the Lord worked in some strange, unexpected way in our lives.  Simeon in our text was no exception.  We don’t know a lot about Simeon.  All our text says is that Simeon was “just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.”  The same could be said of many people throughout the Old Testament, those who waited for the Messiah promised to Adam and Eve, to Abraham and to his children.

But then our text tells us of the extraordinary work of God in Simeon’s life.  Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the anointed one of God.  And suddenly, that promise was fulfilled.  Mary and Joseph enter the Temple with the Christ Child, and Simeon is actually given the wonderful privilege of holding in his arms the Savior of the world.  What the universe cannot contain, one man held in His arms. Who in the world, looking at an infant, would consider the possibility that the child could be the Salvation of the world?  But Simeon knew.  Even as he held the Child in his arms, Simeon knew that the Holy Spirit’s promise to him had been fulfilled. The Lord does not work this way anymore, does He?

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I tell you the truth, David, our dearly departed brother in faith, received the same promise from the Holy Spirit.  Do you find that hard to believe?  If so, then what I say to you now will be even harder to believe: you have received that same promise from the Holy Spirit, as well.  This is a strange and wonderful idea, but it’s hard to believe.  Let me explain. The Lord looked down from above, and He knew that David would not die until he had seen the Christ.  And David did see Him.  I can tell you this for a fact.  Do you need evidence?  One: Dave was a Baptized child of God.  In Baptism, Dave beheld his Savior.  Once he had received that washing of regeneration, David could have departed in peace as a baby.  But that was not God’s will.

Two: David frequently confessed his faith in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Having seen the Lord for himself in the Word, in the preaching of his pastor, and in the words of the worship service, David was able, with his family and his congregation, to confess his faith in his God.  Having seen his God in all of those things, he could have departed in peace.  But again, this was not God’s will.

And Three: Two days before he died, David took part in the very mystery in which Simeon was blessed to take part.  We knelt at this rail and before this altar, and through the wonder and mystery of the Word of God, we actually held in our hands and tasted the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. David knew very well what he received that day. He had confessed it all his life, and when his life was nearing its end, he continued to confess it. And having seen his Lord once again, he was again ready to depart in peace.

So when would it be?  When would the promise to David be fulfilled?  None of us knew until Tuesday, when the Lord finally took Dave from this world of pain and sin, taking him to Himself for rest.  Of course, God knew all along when David’s time would be.  He had promised David that he would not die before he saw His Lord.  And sure enough, when the time was right, the Lord kept His promise.

This is not meant to be an account of how good and just and righteous a man was David Young.  Like the rest of us, David was a sinner.  Even until his dying breath, David was a sinner.  But the Lord forgave him those sins.

So what about you?  Do you still find it hard to believe?  Believe it or not, the promise is for you and for your children.  Whether you believe it or not, Jesus died for you.  If you have been baptized, you have seen your Savior.  Like God brought Simeon to the Temple, God calls you to be where He is, even today in your grief.  Even in grief, ours is a life of faith.  Living by faith means believing in the Word even when we feel cold and dead inside, when our minds have gone numb with grief.  Even then, we live by faith, and we trust the Word of God.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, time is not without an end, and neither is your sorrow or your pain without end.  Jesus lives.  He is coming back.  For now, while we wait, He is here for you in the places where He promises to be.  And even as you mourn, you see your Savior Jesus Christ: even as He promised you; even as He promised Simeon; even as He promised David.  And so with Simeon, and with Dave, we can rejoice: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”  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 7/15/12--Trinity 6

Shallow Righteousness 

Matthew 5:17-26

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


When you walked into church this morning, were you carrying a grudge? Did you bring with you some anger against someone that has hurt you? Did you come to the Lord's house this day seeking His forgiveness while having secretly tucked away anger toward someone in your life? What grudge against another person or disagreement is clinging to you as you come here today? What proof might be laid against you that you killed someone this week—if not with a gun or knife, then with your angry words and vicious looks?

The Lord has given us His holy Law, the Ten Commandments. They're summarized by saying "Love God and love your neighbor." The words of Jesus expose and lay bare our self righteousness. We who walk with our heads held high while casting a nasty glare at those we don't like—we are robbed of any excuses before God for our murderous behavior. Jesus illustrates this by showing us what the Fifth Commandment really means. The Lord tells His hearers: "Until heaven and earth pass away, not one little bit of the Law will pass away.  Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there's no way you're getting into the kingdom of heaven." The scribes and Pharisees have an outward self righteousness. Look at the example Jesus gives of the Fifth Commandment: “You shall not kill.” The religious and holy people of Jesus' day figured they kept that commandment as long as they didn't cause the physical death of their neighbors. If you don't take a life, then you haven't killed and thus have kept the Fifth Commandment. One down; only nine to go to be holy!

But Jesus won't stand for shallow righteousness. If you're going to keep the Fifth Commandment, then keep it all the way: have no hatred or anger and bear no grudges against your neighbor. You break the commandment when you are angry and hateful towards others. You murder when you speak words that pierce and wound. So look at your life again. Have you murdered your husband or wife this week? How about you kids? Have you murder your brothers or sisters this week? Parents, have you been killing your children? If that is the kind of righteousness without which we won’t get into heaven, we're all doomed. We're all murderers and deserve the death penalty ourselves—not just for now but for all eternity.

So what hope is there for murderers? There is only one hope: the One who comes to keep the Law and fulfill it. Jesus, the Son of God who came not only to keep the Fifth Commandment but the other nine as well; Jesus, whose perfect life is demonstrated in His perfect fear, love and trust of God the Father and His unwavering and pure love for His neighbor. He knows you cannot keep the Law. He gave these commandments to bury you under the judgment of sin. But then He came Himself to keep them in your place. And He even overcomes death by rising the third day.

What wonderful news! You are forgiven because Jesus died on the cross! Now you can treat each other like dirt; you can hate and despise and speak badly toward others and it's all forgiven. You can go on sinning, knowing that it's all been taken care of, right? Not so fast! St. Paul asked that question of the Romans: "Should we go on sinning so grace will abound? Certainly not!" Rather, Paul explains that by baptism into Jesus, you have died to sin. Because you are baptized into Christ, His death and His resurrection are your death and resurrection. Sin has no power over Jesus; and because you belong to Jesus, sin has no power over you.

My brothers and sisters, the salvation Jesus accomplishes for murderers is delivered to you at the font in Holy Baptism. It's also given in Absolution and the Supper. But in Baptism you are united to the death and resurrection of Jesus in such a way that His death is now yours. You are dead to sin because you have died in the water and the Word with Jesus. You have risen from the dead because at the font, Christ's Word and promises have given you new life. Sin simply has no power over you. It no longer owns you. It can't accuse you. It can't convict you. Jesus, who has lived perfectly and died under God's judgment has given Himself to you at the font and therefore you have been justified, redeemed, rescued from sin.

You know that you cannot perfectly keep the Law. You fail miserably! So confess it! Acknowledge it! Plead for God's mercy to such a murderer as you! And then get to the altar, where the verdict of "not guilty" is declared to you once again. Come to the Lord's house where you will hear over and over that your innocent Savior Jesus has taken your guilty place. Live daily in your Baptism which declares that you are dead to sin and alive with God. Rejoice that Jesus has kept the Law for you. Rejoice that His righteousness is far beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees. And rejoice that His death is yours, His life is yours, and His righteousness is yours in the waters of the font. Rejoice in that good news which for you. And now, when you leave church today, the forgiveness of Jesus means all that you'll leave with today is what you can carry in your hand.  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 7/8/12--Trinity 5

At Christ’s Word
Luke 5:1-11

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


The first time you look at it, fishing and preaching don’t seem to have a lot to do with each other, do they?  One involves praying, writing and speaking God’s Word; the other involves bait and tackle, and nets.  In our Gospel, though, our Lord Jesus proclaims to Peter that he will become a fisher of men.  He won’t fish for men with nets and fishing rods and the like, but Peter would become a fisher of men by casting out the Word of Christ through preaching, and then waiting to see what the catch would be.  This is a picture of how God works in the world through the Church, and it is also a picture of how to hear the Word of God.

The crowd pressed in on Jesus, listening to Him as He was standing by the lake.  He stepped onto Simon’s boat, asked him to push off from the shore, and sat down to preach.  Peter’s boat became the first Christian pulpit.  After He finished preaching He decided to give Simon a visible demonstration of the power of His Word.  He told Simon to put out into the deep and lower the nets for a catch.  Any self-respecting fisherman of that day would know it was crazy!  You catch fish at night, and along the shore—not out in the deep. Peter covers himself by saying, “Master, working hard through the whole night, we took nothing; but at your word I will lower the nets.”

Imagine Peter’s surprise when they caught so many fish that they had to signal their partners in the other boat to come and help them with the catch!  The Lord who spoke the world into being had spoken a word and they had more fish than they could handle.  It is no wonder that Simon and the others were amazed at this.  What was Simon’s response?  He fell to his knees and said, “Depart from me, because I am a sinner, Lord.”  In the sight of God’s holiness and power, Peter falls to his knees and cries out that he is not worthy to be in the presence of God.

The Word of God has great power.  By the Word God created the heavens and the earth. By His Word all the earth was filled, and Adam and Eve were made.  By His Word the flood came over the earth, and afterwards the rainbow.  By His Word the Son of God was prophesied to come into human flesh.  By His Word He crushes and kills with the Law, as we see with Peter here.  Peter has caught but a glimpse of the awesome power of God, and it terrifies Him that He can do nothing to save Himself.  He realizes that his entire life is in the hand of God. What a frightening thought that could be.

It is a strange thing, isn’t it?  On the one hand, Christ commands you to work, and on the other hand shows that your work accomplishes nothing.  If the work of the disciples had accomplished anything, it would have happened during the night, when the fishing was good.  Christ commanded them to let out the nets in broad daylight, to show them that all of their so-called work was useless without the grace and presence of God.

So what is the purpose of the work that you do, day in and day out?  Jobs, home life, school, whatever it may be: the temptation is always there to put your trust in what you’ve done.  “I take care of my family, so I’m a good Christian.”  “I do well in school, and I don’t get into trouble, so I must be good.”  Or whatever.  Add to that is the fact that the world would have you believe that all life is really about is making choices, good or bad.  If you make better choices, then your life will be better.  But you know that’s not true!  Peter and the disciples made all the right choices.  They had done everything right to catch the fish; but it amounted to nothing without Christ and His Word.

Christ here shows you that all works are as nothing without Him, and so it is no wonder that Peter was terrified.  It’s terrifying!  And it should be.  The Law crushes and kills. It forces the pitiful sinner to see himself as he truly is: nothing without Christ.

But thanks be to God that the Lord does not leave it there.  After Peter’s cry of despair, Christ says to him, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching men.”  Christ absolves Peter, and gives him an amazing promise: not only is Peter forgiven, but also Christ will use Peter to forgive the sins of others.  This is really a foretaste of Christ’s commission to the apostles in John chapter twenty: “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

And so you see the perfect picture of what Christian preaching is all about.  Preaching is about delivering Christ and the forgiveness of sins.  The purpose of preaching is to catch men, to get them caught up in the net of the Gospel and into the boat.  It is no accident that the portion of the church where you are sitting is called the nave, because nave is the Latin word for boat.  The boat is where Peter and the others come into the forgiving presence of Jesus…and so it is with you.  Just like Noah and his family in the ark, so also you are kept safe in this place.

It is so easy to get caught up in the ebb and flow of the waters of the world.  Apart from Christ, your life has no purpose; you drift and go back and forth without knowing finally where you are.  The preaching of the Gospel is the net that brings you into the boat where Christ is with His people.  Just as the Word performs for the sake of the disciple, so the preaching of the Gospel will bring many people into the Church, but not all.  Like Peter, the pastor can only let out the net and see what catch the Lord will give that day.

The office of preaching is the net that draws you into the boat where Christ is to be found.  We are all the fish who are caught in this net of Christ’s forgiveness.  You are caught, not to be food like the fish in the text, but to be fed at His Table.  Here Christ gives Himself to you for food.  What a glorious mystery and blessing God has given to you, that you should be caught in the net of the Gospel!  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: Holy! Holy! Holy Lord!

After my liturgical nap after the Divine Service this morning, I opened my Bible to a random spot. Perhaps it's because I've read from this particular chapter quite often, but what turned up was Isaiah 6:1-13. It's one of my favorite portions of Scripture for a couple reasons. First, it shows a beautiful picture of heaven: the holy Lord on His throne being praised by the hosts of heaven. Second, it shows the dichotomy between the holy Lord and the sinful Isaiah--and yet the Lord chooses sinful Isaiah as His prophet to preach to a sinful nation. "Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."

Having just come from receiving and distributing the Lord's Supper to His people this morning, and having sung the Sanctus, these things were fresh in my mind. I was pointedly reminded that I am a sinner, and I was reminded that the body and blood of Jesus are the coal which purifies my lips to preach the Word, to speak Holy Absolution, and to sing His praise.

With all this in mind, I sat down with my handy-dandy notebook (thank you, Steve and Blue's Clues!) to work on a hymn for the first time in months. (I've written two novels since I wrote my last hymn!) It's not a long hymn, but it doesn't have to be. I envision this as a Sanctus substitution a la Divine Service Four in Lutheran Service Book or as a Communion hymn. Feedback is appreciated.

Holy! Holy! Holy Lord!

1. Holy! Holy! Holy Lord!
Lord of hosts in glory shining,
Be by heav'n and earth adored
On Your mighty throne reclining.
Bless-ed be the One who came
In the Lord's most holy name.

2. Hail! Hosanna, David's Son!
Save this lost and sinful creature.
Woe is me! I am undone:
Fouled, my lips, and fouled, my nature.
Wash my soul of ev'ry sin.
Touch my lips and make me clean.


(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
78 78 77
Tune: MEINEN JESUM LASS' ICH NICHT (DARMSTADT) -- LSB 609

Sermon for 7/1/12--Trinity 4

Mercy

Luke 6:36-42

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

Would you dare to have mercy upon someone who doesn't deserve it? Would you do good to someone who couldn't pay you back? Jesus tells us today, "Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful." Jesus teaches us what it means that God the Father has mercy on us sinners and He calls us as His disciples to learn that mercy for our neighbor, for the people who are in our lives.

“Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful." And how is our Father merciful? Our heavenly Father is merciful in this way: Rather than giving us what we deserve for our sins, He sends His Son to take our sins away. Rather than punishing us, He sends the Son to take the punishment for us. Rather than give us what we've got coming, He sends Jesus to arrange eternal life and salvation for us. God's mercy is that He saves us from our sins when he doesn't have to. God is under no obligation to forgive us or save us. He doesn't owe us anything. But He is merciful. That means we don’t get what we have coming. It means we get Jesus instead, who obeys the Father and accomplishes our salvation by dying for sinners.

"Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful." How do you do that? Jesus tells us: Don't judge. Forgive others and don't complain about your neighbor's speck while you've got a plank sticking out of your own eye. When Jesus says not to judge, we need to listen closely. This doesn't mean that parents don't judge their children and pastors don't judge doctrine and call people to repent when they're doing wrong or that actual judges don't condemn and sentence prisoners. No, when Jesus tells us not to judge, He's telling us not to treat others as if their sins are greater than ours. As if we are holier than they are. As if they deserve what they've got coming and we don't. Are you merciful? Or do you deny mercy to your neighbor and those around you? We love to come and receive forgiveness for our sins, but we just as easily turn around and withhold that same forgiveness from others. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this must not be! With all of His words, Jesus calls us to repentance for wanting forgiveness for ourselves but not passing it on to others. You should know this: If you want forgiveness but you refuse to forgive, if you want God to turn away from judging you while you judge someone else, then don't claim that you are a Christian. Repent of that hypocrisy and cry out to the Lord that He will be merciful and take the plank out of your eye.

To have your plank removed is to be baptized and washed clean of all your sins. To remove the plank is to confess your sins and receive Holy Absolution by which those sins are declared no longer held against you. To remove the plank is to kneel at the Lord's altar and receive the body and blood of Jesus through which God is merciful and forgives your sins. That is how our Lord takes the plank out of our eye. He continually pours out His mercy upon us, continually showers His mercy upon us in Jesus Christ.

"Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful." That means now you are clear of the plank in your eye to deal with the speck in your brother's eye. How do you do that? You deal with them as God has dealt with you: with mercy—mercy like the Father's mercy. My brothers and sisters in Christ, mercy means that, just as you have been forgiven and God does not hold even one sin against you in Jesus Christ, by the same Lord Jesus Christ you don't hold anything against anyone else. Don't hang on to their sins. Let them go. Treat them as they do not deserve, just as your Father in heaven deals with you in Jesus Christ. But what if they sin? Gently, with love and patience, correct and teach as you need to.

"Be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful." With those words, Jesus destroys our self righteousness and delivers what we don't deserve: mercy and forgiveness. With those words, "Be merciful," we learn what sort of mercy our heavenly Father has for us in Jesus Christ. And with those Words, Christ calls you to exercise that same mercy toward others, to forgive as you have been forgiven. How else does someone live who has Christ dwelling in them? And when we fail at mercy, as we surely will? Come back to the Lord's mercy poured out from font, pulpit, and altar. It is mercy that pours into you, forgiving you all your sins, and then spills out of you onto your neighbor. That's the kind of mercy that God the Father gives you in Jesus Christ. 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. 

Sermon for 6/24/12--Trinity 3

     

Joy in Heaven

Luke 15:1-10

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

It must have been strange for the scribes and Pharisees, watching Jesus. Eating with sinners and tax collectors? Hanging out with them? What does He think He's doing? Maybe Jesus doesn't know they're sinners. The scribes and Pharisees certainly know. Maybe Jesus should hang out with the righteous so He can learn who the right people are. Jesus is causing a scandal!

The sad thing is, sometimes we think the Pharisees and scribes are right. Jesus shouldn't be with those people. He should be teaching why those people shouldn't get to eat dinner with everyone. We think that way because that's how we treat sinners. You know who the sinners are. They are the people who do you wrong, who hurt you. You have no time for those who sin against you. They had their chance and they blew it. More than that, they probably keep doing it. No sitting down to dinner with them. Instead, shun them. Give them the silent treatment. If it were a sheep, we'd go find it. If it were a coin, we'd sweep in every corner. That's because we treat our stuff better than we treat our people. We take better care of our things than we do our neighbor. We get along well enough until someone does or says something we don't like, and then we're done with them. We label them as sinners and have nothing to do with them anymore.

So why are you here today? You are here today because Jesus receives and eats with sinners. You are here today because Jesus seeks lost sheep and searches for that lost coin. You are here because you wandered off like a sheep or rolled into the corner like a lost coin and the Lord spared no effort in finding you. He became man to go after you. He was baptized and took your sins to the cross to bring you back. He gave His life to bring you back. That's why you're here today: because Jesus comes to find and save sinners. That's what He does. Jesus leaves the righteous to themselves. Those who think they are good enough for God are no concern of Jesus. He comes for sinners, for those who can't save themselves. That's you and me.

And why is there joy in heaven? Why do the angels rejoice? They rejoice when a sinner repents. And that's not about you. They don't rejoice because you did something. They rejoice because the Lord did something. He searched and He found you and saved you. They don't look at you and say, “Wow, you repented and really turned your life around. Let's party!” No, they rejoice because the Lord whom they serve day and night became man and went to find and bring back sinners. That's what repentance is: Jesus finds you. Have you repented? That’s a hard question, because you can never be sure that you’ve fully turned away from your sin. But has Jesus found you? Yes. You were found by Him the day you were baptized and brought into His kingdom. Jesus receives you when your pastor absolves your sins. And then the Lord brings you home to His church and eats with you. And He's not just here as the guest with us; He's the food, too! Why would He do that? The scribes and Pharisees say, “Jesus receives sinners and eats with them!” What does it mean? It means that the One who is worthy also makes you worthy to sit with Him.

Jesus came for all people, but those who are sinners are the ones He receives and eats with. Tax collectors. Sinners. You. So what does Jesus think He's doing eating with tax collectors and sinners? He's saving them. So what are you doing here today? The Lord has come to save you. He has saved you. He brings you to His feast. Are you a sinner? If so, then you are the one Jesus receives and eats with. His meal is the meal of salvation. Jesus has come to save sinners: to find lost sheep and coins. He has found you. He has saved you. The scribes and Pharisees don't like it, but that's what Jesus does: He saves sinners and eats with them. And He does it again here today.  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 6/17/12--Trinity 2

The Feast of Love
Luke 14:15-24

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

Have you ever given someone a gift, and they didn’t want it? It hurts when you put a lot of thought into what to get, only to have that effort rejected. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Lord who has prepared the great wedding feast is angry with those who reject it. Parents, you know the feeling when you do something for your kids and they don't even care that you did. Imagine how much more terrifying the wrath of God will be against those who tell Him, “Sorry, I have other plans. I can't make it.”

So what's your excuse? What is it that keeps you from constantly demanding to receive the Lord's gifts? What keeps you from rejoicing in His feast of salvation? Is it that you bought some new property you've got get it ready for a crop? Have you found that spot where the fish bite at 9am on Sunday morning and you can’t miss it? Have you gotten to the point where you no longer need it? You’re probably thinking, “Pastor, I’m here. You’re preaching to the choir.” But the Word of God has become something that only matters on Sunday morning—and then only for an hour. And that’s if something better hasn’t come along, or if no one from the church has caused you offense. The excuses are endless as to why we don't crave Christ and His Word more than we do. This Gospel lesson causes us to pause and ask ourselves what excuses we have for not more highly treasuring God's Word.

The master in our text told his servants to go out into the highways and byways and bring in the crippled and lame and blind and whoever else—to drag them in! That's you: lame, blind, poor. The Lord drags you in to be a part of His church. You are not here because the Lord said, “Come” and you replied, “Well sure I'll be there. It'd be an honor.” You are here because the Lord has sent His servants to bring you in: to baptize you and make you a part of His church and kingdom. You are here to enjoy His feast not because you've earned a place. No. You are here by grace. The Lord has brought you to the feast.

And what a feast! It's not just Holy Communion. It's everything the Lord has prepared for you to enjoy. It is the Lord's salvation by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. It is the forgiveness of sins that He won by His perfect life, suffering and death. This feast is the washing of water and the Spirit in baptism; it is the declaration of the forgiveness of your sins; it is the preaching of the Word which teaches you repentance and faith. And of course, the feast is also the Body and Blood of Jesus which we eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins. All of Jesus and His gifts—this is the feast prepared for you.

The feast of salvation that Jesus is speaking about is more than just the Divine Service on Sunday morning. It's all of the Word and faith to which the Lord has brought you. But that feast is celebrated here in Christ's church, here at His font, altar and pulpit. Here is where these gifts are given out as we look forward to the great eternal feast that we shall have on the Last Day. Brothers and sisters in Christ, you have been brought in! You don’t belong here; you didn’t earn a place here. Yet the Lord has gone out by coming into this world Himself and sending His preachers out to bring you into His heavenly feast. The celebration is for you. Your heavenly Father endless blessings He wants you to enjoy, and it is His delight to see you enjoy His feast of forgiveness, life and salvation. We receive a foretaste of that great feast in the Supper of Christ’s body and blood. The Lord has spared no expense to give all this to you. Come, for all things are now ready. 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 6/10/12--First Sunday After Trinity

Idolatry
Luke 16:19-31

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

Let us start by making this thing clear: The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich, and Lazarus didn't go to heaven because he was poor. Having a lot of stuff in this life is not a sin, and having nothing isn't necessarily a virtue. Jesus did not come in the flesh to be a social or economic crusader. So this text has to be about repentance and faith, like everything else Jesus teaches. And here is the repentance that is preached: Jesus warns His hearers about taking the gifts of God and turning them into idols. The rich man made wealth the most important thing in his life—his idol, his god. Instead of giving thanks to God for what he had and using it to help and serve his neighbor, the rich man hoarded it for himself. But there is a worse sin rebuked by this story. Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, men who had taken God's Word and turned it into a book of rules so that they could save themselves and show everyone else how righteous they were. Rather than receive the gift of the Savior whom the Scriptures promised, they instead turned God's Word into a false religion where they were their own saviors.

What is it, then, that saves Lazarus? Why does he end up in the bosom of Abraham? To be in the bosom of Abraham means to be on the receiving end of God's promises. God had promised to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, and a Child would come of that nation to save all people. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. St. Paul later writes that all who believe in Christ are sons of Abraham and heirs of the promise, the promise that you don't have to save yourselves from sin and death. God Himself will do it by sending His own Son in the flesh in the person of Jesus. He is born into this world to fulfill the promises God made to Abraham by taking your sins upon Himself and bearing them on the cross. The promise of a Savior from Abraham's line is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who rescues you from sin, death, devil and hell. So for Lazarus to be in the bosom of Abraham means nothing other than that Lazarus trusts in Christ. We know this also because Lazarus has a name and the rich man doesn't. To have a name given by God is to be baptized, to be named by God Himself as His own child.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, do you hate your neighbor? The simple fact is that if you see them in need and do nothing for them, you hate them. Do you take what is given to you and horde it in case you can't make ends meet? Or do you look around for people to help with what you're given? If you don't love a person you can see, how can you claim to love a God that you can’t see? It's all well and good to say you "feel for" someone. But if you can help and you don't, if you hang onto what you have just so you can be "safe and secure", then watch out! The rebuke Abraham's speaks is a strong one: “You had your good things in life, but now you are tormented!”

But there’s more. You have enough to repent of when you fail to serve others. But when you do good works, do you suppose that God is pleased with you? That’s how the Pharisees operated: they took God's Word as a guide to how they should live, and when they lived that way, they were proud of themselves. They claimed that if a man was poor, it was his own fault for not following God's Law the right way. We hear that today from televangelists today who tell you that if you believe enough and are a good person with lots of faith, God will bless you and give you all kinds of goodies. But that makes an idol out of God Himself, turning your heavenly Father into just a rich benefactor who only blesses you when you do good and live right and believe enough. Whenever some good comes along, it’s easy to suppose you have earned it by your hard work and persistence. There is no end in the sinner’s ability to take what good comes as an indication of God’s favor. You know the saying: "God helps those who help themselves." But that’s not how the Lord works!

Brothers and sisters, you must learn that you are like Lazarus. You have nothing in this world: no rights, no riches, no claim on God. Lazarus had nothing in this world going for him. All he had was the Lord. All Lazarus had on the whole earth was faith and trust in God's promises. And that certainly didn't get him anything in this life, did it? But it brings him to eternal life. You have nothing but what the Lord gives you. Whether it's material goods or forgiveness and eternal life, everything is His gift to you. Even if you have nothing in this life, you have His water and His word; you have His Gospel; you have His absolution; you have His body and blood. Poor Lazarus begged for scraps from the rich man, but here, in Christ's church, you have a feast laid before you, a feast that is your certainty against all suffering and misery in this life. Here you have a religion in which God doesn't reward you for doing good, but instead does not hold your evil against you. Here you have the Good News that you are not cast into hell as you deserve. Here, in Christ's church, poor beggars are laid at the gate of a Rich Man who does not ignore you, who instead brings you in, heals you, feeds you, restores you, and makes you members of His own house and kingdom! The truly Rich Man, Jesus Christ, became poor for your sake, so that by His poverty and misery and suffering and death, you would become far richer than anything on earth could make you!

It's easy to take the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus as some kind of moral lesson about how being rich is bad and being poor makes you somehow more blessed in God's sight. But that’s not the case. Here you learn that the true Rich Man, Jesus Christ, has given you eternal healing. Here you learn that, in Christ, you are safe in the bosom of Abraham now and 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. 

Sermon for 6/3/12--The Feast of the Holy Trinity

Looking for Good News
John 3:1-17

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


Not everything the world says about God is Good News. "God is great!" That's not Good News. It just means He is God and you are not. "God is Love." That's also no Good news. If God is love, does that He loves you? How do you know? "God is everywhere.” “God is almighty.” “God knows all things.” “He can do all things." Still no good news yet. Just because there is a God and He is all-powerful that doesn't mean He's going to do you any good! So then…what is the Good News? The Good News is exactly what Jesus teaches us: "For God loved the world—God loved the world like this—that He sent His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through Him." That is the Good News, dear Christians: God loves you so much that he sent His Son to rescue you from everlasting wrath and condemnation.

The world is full of people trying to get a handle on God. The religions of this world work very hard trying to figure God out and then figure out how to get on His good side. Some say God is like a heavenly Santa who is supposed to give you whatever you want. Others think of God as an impersonal Force that has to be learned and manipulated. It doesn't really matter who or what people suppose God is. The end result is the same: the religion of this world asks the question: What do I have to do to manipulate God so he or she or it will be nice to me and let me live forever? This is what Nicodemus came to Jesus at night to ask. He thought that Jesus must have some secret knowledge, some special teaching, some hidden insight, some kind of "in" with God. That’s what Nicodemus is looking for. Nicodemus, like the rest of the world, wanted to know what sort of piety he was supposed to practice in order to be acceptable to God. If that is what brought you to worship this morning—to figure out some trick to getting on God's good side—you're going to be disappointed. You’re wasting your time if you think your pastor has some clever insight into God's mind so you can make Him happy with you. Brothers and sisters in Christ, if your religion is an attempt to find some secret to obtaining the love of God, repent! Repent and hear Jesus' words that rescue Nicodemus and us from such thinking and believing that will damn us.

"Unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot go into the kingdom of God." With these words, Jesus has shut the door to all of your calculations. With these words, the Lord rescues you from worthless, man-made faith. With these words, Jesus saves Nicodemus and you by teaching you that it is God who saves you by giving you a NEW BIRTH, a birth from above which is through water and the Spirit. That's Holy Baptism! Holy Baptism is your salvation from the judgment of God which no man can escape. Consider Isaiah: He saw the Lord on His throne and in all His glory! It terrified him. The glory of God is not good news. But the Lord sends a coal from the altar to touch Isaiah's lips. Now Isaiah is clean, forgiven. Only the Lord can do that. In the same way, Jesus tells Nicodemus and us: your self-made religion ends with me. You are born of water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism—water applied to you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. By water and the Word, the Spirit gives you Jesus, and you become a child of the heavenly Father. There, in the waters of salvation, the Triune God into Whose name you are baptized saves you from sin and death.

There is no big secret that man can figure out to obtain God. God comes to you and gives His life for your sins. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save it through Him. Jesus Christ is the only way in which you can talk about God's love. Apart from Christ, the world cannot know the Father. It cannot have the Spirit. It cannot be saved. It stands condemned. But in Christ, to Whom you have been joined through your Baptism, your sins cannot condemn you. The Spirit has given you Christ by water and the Word of God. Christ has made you a child of the heavenly Father. In Christ, no sin, no iniquity, no trespass can condemn you. He was lifted up on the cross to pay for your sins. He shed His blood so that you will not have to shed yours for your sins. He lays down His life for you and takes it up again so that you can now be born of water and the Spirit at the font. And you were, the day you were baptized!

That's what the Feast of the Holy Trinity is really all about. It's not about figuring out God. If you want to know what is right and wrong to say about God, then just pay attention to the Creeds that we confess or the Te Deum which we will pray shortly. That will keep you from saying something about God that isn't true. But recognize this: the faith you confess isn't just words; it expresses the very love of God which is yours in Christ Jesus. Baptized into that Triune Name, you have been given the very salvation and forgiveness accomplished by Jesus. And that is the Good News about God. 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.

BOOK RELEASE DAY!

It's been in the works for ages, it seems. The wait has been interminable. But after long months of wishing, hoping, and cursing the snail's pace of the author, finally--FINALLY!!!--book two of the Thy Strong Word series, A Great and Mighty Wonder, has been released!

Romance and Lutheran apologetics come together as Pastor Justin Corwin and his wife, Detective Bethanne Harrigan McCarthy Corwin of the Carousel Police Department, return from their honeymoon to a hefty dose of reality. Justin's predecessor at St. Michael Lutheran Church is stirring up trouble, while the teen who stabbed Beth is on trial for his crime. A tragedy in the St. Michael congregation raises a ghost from Beth's past, one which will change their family forever.

A Great and Mighty Wonder is currently available in Print and Kindle formats.

 To order a print copy, click this link: https://www.createspace.com/3895928

To order the Kindle version, click this link: Amazon Link

Thank you for your time and consideration! Feel free to share this information with your family, friends, congregation members, and the creepy guy who stares at you at the bus stop!



Book one of the series, Love Divine, is also available in Print and Kindle formats.

To order a print copy, click this link: https://www.createspace.com/3748643

To order the Kindle version, click this link: Amazon Link

The Nook version of Love Divine will be released next month. My apologies for the delay.



Oh, and just so you know, book three, All My Heart Again Rejoices, is in progress. I'm about 10,000 words in at this point, and I'm hoping for an early December release--in time for you to purchase the series as a Christmas gift!

Sermon for 5/13/12--Sixth Sunday of Easter

Once again, next Sunday I will be on vacation. When I receive the sermon from Pastor Fish and his permission to post it, I will do so.

Audio:



Text:

Ask in My Name 

John 16:23-30 

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

Some Christians teach and believe that if you ask for anything in the name of Jesus, no matter what it is, if you just pray hard enough, then you will get it no matter what. Robert Schuller taught it. So did Norman Vincent Peale in The Power of Positive Thinking. The most recent version of this whole idea is the so-called “prosperity gospel” preached by men such as Joel Osteen. You ask God for it, and He’ll make sure you get it. God will do whatever you ask, if you only ask with the right words. So how is the Christian to understand prayer? Why does God want you to pray? What is the benefit you receive from such prayer? 

Prayer is a conversation that God starts. That’s what Jesus means when He says, “Whatever you ask in My name.” When you pray in Jesus’ name, you pray as one of God’s children. Furthermore, when you pray, you are never alone in your prayers. Do you remember when Jesus gave the disciples what we call the Lord’s Prayer? The disciples went to Jesus because they see others praying, and they rightly wanted to learn how to pray. Now Jesus could have said to them: go off on to a mountain by yourself and pour your heart out. Tell God everything you want! And if you’re sincere enough, or persistent enough, then maybe God will hear you. That’s how many think of prayer. 

But Jesus didn’t do that. What he said was, “When you pray, pray like this: ‘Our Father who are in heaven.’” Jesus gave them the very words to pray, so that by praying in His name and with His words, they would learn how to pray and what to pray for; and God would shape their hearts and minds to His will. When you ask someone for something, you are saying that you need something they have. By praying, you are confessing to God that you can’t do it alone, you need Him for all things. Remember: in the Lord’s Prayer you pray for all things. By praying, you are confessing that you need God; and that is something only God Himself can teach you. 

 But the fact of the matter is, for most Christians, prayer is one of those things that becomes optional. How often do you pray? Do you pray before and after meals? Do you pray when you get up in the morning and when you go to bed? Do you pray at all during the day? For many, the answer is no. Christians are like the two year old that insists, I have to do it myself! That’s what you’re saying to God when you refuse to pray. You are telling God that you don’t need Him, that you are in this alone, be it good or bad. The devil continues to seek to drag you away from Christ and His work for you. Satan wants you to believe that prayer is a useless waste of time. Satan wants you to believe that real Christians don’t pray; they work. This is kind of like saying, “I don’t have time for God’s Word; I have more important things to do.” Martin Luther once said that he had so much to get done during the day that he had to pray for two or three hours. For Luther, prayer didn’t mean presenting God with a laundry list of things He should do for His children. Prayer meant conversation with God, where God speaks in His Word, and you in faith and trust respond to that Word of God in prayer. But Satan wants you to believe that in prayer, you’re on your own; so either you don’t pray, or you turn God into a divine Butler who is meant to respond to your every whim. But God will have no part of this false piety and prayer. 

The foundation of Christian prayer is that you are not alone. You are never alone. Perhaps you’ve noticed this thread running through the readings this Eastertide. It’s very deliberate on our Lord’s part. He died for your sins and rose again from the dead for you. This Thursday the Church commemorates His ascension into heaven, but this is not a time for mourning for the Christian. The Lord does not leave you alone. He sends the Holy Spirit to you, who preaches to you, baptizes you, forgives your sins and gives you the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you are made bold to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven.” Notice that first and important word: Our. When you pray in Christ’s name, you are never alone. There is no such thing as private prayer, as if you are having a super secret conversation with God. All of the hosts of heaven pray with you. The whole Church prays with you. Your voice is added to the voices of all time and throughout the world. Struggling with temptation? You’re not alone. All of heaven watches out for you and prays for you. Do you long for forgiveness? The angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents. Need the comfort of God’s Word? There is no greater rejoicing than over the sinner who recognizes His need for God’s mighty hand. 

Never doubt that our Heavenly Father hears your prayers. Think of those words you learned in Catechism class: God would by these words tenderly invite us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that we may with all boldness and confidence ask him as dear children ask their dear father. So have no fear, my brothers and sisters in Christ! The Father of Jesus your Father, and He will hear you. He put His name on your in Holy Baptism. You are His child. Ask in the name of Jesus; for He has promised to hear and answer your prayers. 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.