Sermon for 2/27/18: Midweek Lent II (Hands series)

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Hands That Provide

Matthew 14:19-20

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

            Luther tells us in his Small Catechism, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.” Luther also tells us, “He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.” When God showed the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, they saw a magnificent garden with more than enough to provide for all their needs of body and soul, and this garden was set apart by God to be their dwelling place. The hands of the Savior are the hands of God Himself, who made us and who bound Himself to provide for all He had made in creation. The feeding of the five-thousand clearly demonstrates this divine truth: that humanity’s Savior is also humanity’s Maker and the One who provides for His creation.

            But in truth, our Lord had no obligation to do what He did for this crowd, especially after our first parents misused the gifts He gave them. The people He fed were responsible for their own situation. They had followed the Savior without thinking ahead for their own well being, and now they were hungry. The disciples suggested that the people should pay the price for their lack of foresight. “Send the crowds away,” they said. But Jesus provided for them. Our Lord’s hands make up for human failings. In the Garden, God’s creation bit the hand that fed them, so to speak, but God decided He would continue to care for them. He went so far as to provide for their greatest need: a Savior. It is that plan on which we focus during the season of Lent. The Savior covers our sins and foolish errors, even as He fed the multitude who, by all rights, should have starved. Only one boy thought to bring food—five loaves and two fish. Jesus took them, gave thanks, blessed them, and made a great feast with baskets of leftovers to spare.

            The Lord of creation continues to provide for His people. From His generous hands we have more than just bread for the body: we receive the bread of life, which is Jesus Himself. He tells us to eat this bread, to have Him as part of us, so that He gives us a life of peace with the Father that is bound in faith to Christ, so that we who partake of this holy Meal will have eternal life. With the same hands that fed a crowd, our Savior prepared a special meal for us to cherish and enjoy. By setting apart ordinary bread and wine to be His holy body and blood, He gave us a new covenant. Whenever we eat this bread and drink this wine, we remember His death for us until He comes again. Jesus is in our hearts and minds and understanding. Our body becomes His dwelling place. We dwell in Him because He dwells in us. And in a very special way, our Lord has restored to us the bounty of the Garden of Eden, for He is now the Fruit of the Tree of Life by which we shall live forever.

            And remember, these hands of our Savior, hands that provide, are also hands that invite. He wants you to come and eat His body and drink His blood. This food is of such great spiritual value that we will never die. In all the struggles we face in this life, spiritual starvation never has to be one one them, for we have a redeemer with hands that provide! We will never grow weak from spiritual hunger as we battle Satan, for the bread of life sustains us in the fight.

Our Lord prepares His table for the Church, the family of God, to gather. And as we gather, we are strengthened in our resolve to meet and overcome Satan and his demonic minions. When temptations come, we are sustained by our Lord’s body and blood, for He Himself has overcome our fiercest enemy when He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” And thanks be to God, for He provides that Word for us by His gracious 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.

POEM/PARODY: Lying in Bed in the Middle of the Night

There's a joke of sorts in the Kornacki house, something about how we know it's Saturday night because Michael will mess with our sleep, knowing I have to be up early on Sunday for worship. Well, last night was one of those nights. As I was getting ready to head to the church this morning, this idea popped into my head.

My apologies to Robert Frost.

Lying in Bed in the Middle of the Night

I went to bed at ten, you know.
I cannot seem to slumber, though.
I hate to just keep lying here.
It seems my head is full of snow.

You must admit, it seems quite queer.
I thought at least a nap was near.
I should be dreaming of a lake
Which freezes up this time each year.

I toss and turn, I moan and shake.
I want to sleep--make no mistake.
Perhaps I should get up and sweep
The dust and dirt and dandruff flake.

And all I want is slumber deep.
I have appointments I must keep,
But Michael will not let me sleep.
Oh, Michael will not let me sleep.


(c) 1923, 1969, 2018  Robert Frost, Alan Kornacki, Jr.

Sermon for 2/25/18: Second Sunday in Lent

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Pride and Hunger

Matthew 15:21-28

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

Whenever the devil comes at us “like a roaring lion,” we are to “resist him, steadfast in the faith.” And how do we resist him? Turn to the Lord in prayer. Cry out, “Lord, help me. I am too weak, and I am no match for the devil. His temptations overwhelm me. So I beg you, have mercy on me and help me.” Only pride keeps us from saying such a prayer. And pride is the delusion that we have the ability, the wits, and the strength to lead ourselves out of temptation and deliver ourselves from evil.

The woman who threw herself at our Lord’s feet seems to suffer no such pride. Her begging is shameless. She embarrasses the disciples and, as we see her in our mind’s eye, it embarrasses us. She prays without caring about what others think. And that is good. We should imitate her, for “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” So we must resist not only the devil, but also our own pride—the notion that we can make do, that God is just waiting for us to prove our worth.

The God who wants to save you from believing in yourself rather than relying solely on Him must Himself crush your self-belief. He may even use Satan to do so. And so, while you pray, God Himself might put you to the test—never to harm, always to strengthen your soul. He must overcome the Old Adam within you by killing your pride. He did so with Job. He did so with Abraham. And He does so with this poor, pitiable woman.

What is so pitiable about this woman is not that her daughter is demon-possessed. What is most pitiable of all is what she says. She cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me.” On me!? Why was she thinking of herself first? You’d think she would say, “Never mind me; have mercy on my daughter!” She prays only for herself because she feels put upon by having such a burden. Do you see where your pride leads you? Do you see the result of self-belief? It leads you to think only of yourself. It leads you to complain to God about your problems, to blame others for your troubles. And it leads you to feel sorry: not for others, not for your sins, but only for yourself. Is it any wonder, then, that our Lord seems to ignore her prayer? He even refuses to hear the intercessions of the disciples. Finally He seems to dismiss her. Our Lord treats her the way He does not out of disgust; not because of anger; but out of mercy—a mercy that we can barely see, yet a mercy that is so sweet only because it looks so harsh.

And where is that mercy? Jesus says that He would never toss the children’s bread to the little dogs. With those words, Jesus throws this woman a crumb, a tiny morsel of His mercy. And with that, the Light shines in her heart. True faith arises, and it dawns on her how it really is with our Lord. He has treated her this way because she is as much wracked with the devil as her daughter. The only difference is that everyone could see her daughter’s demon-possession, while this mother hid her pride and self-belief so much that she even hid it from herself.

Now she begins to see the Light. Quickly, without letting a second go by, she lunges for the crumb of mercy that Jesus shows her. “Yes, Lord,” she says. “You have told the truth about me. I am like those selfish little dogs. I am one of them, and worse than all of them. Yet, like a kind master, You have held out a crumb so that I might taste more of Your unending mercy.”

There is no shame in being a dog, especially when your Master is the Lord. He will not leave you hungry. He provides for you—not just daily bread, but also His holy body and blood. These seem like meager crumbs, but they are a feast which will sustain you for this life and for 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.

UPDATE: Augustine the Hippo

Last year, I posted a children's story called "Augustine the Hippo." It was just a silly idea that popped into my head. Well, the one thing I heard more than any other is that I needed to expand it a little bit, especially when talking about how Augustine and his friend Ambrose had fun together as they learned about Jesus. Well, I finally got around to that with all my free time during Lent. Here it is. Enjoy. And if anyone wants to illustrate it, that would be cool. I can do a lot of things, but I'm no artist.

Augustine the Hippo

There was once a hippo. His name was Augustine. Everybody called him “Gus.”

Gus was a smart hippo. He knew his letters. He knew his numbers. He listened to his mom.

Then his mom said, “Gus, you’re a smart hippo. You know your letters. You know your numbers. You listen to you mom.”

“Now I want to teach you the best thing of all. I want to teach you about God’s Word. I want to teach you about Jesus.”

But Gus said, “Mom, I AM a smart hippo. I know my letters. I know my numbers. I don’t need to know about Jesus. I need to have fun.”

And Gus went to play with his friends.

One day, Gus met Ambrose. Ambrose was a smart hippo too. He knew his letters. He knew his numbers. He listened to his mom.

Gus and Ambrose became friends. They played together all the time.

Then Gus saw Ambrose reading his Bible. Gus said, “Put that away! I want to have fun!”

Ambrose said, “I have fun reading God’s Word. I have fun learning about Jesus.”

Gus was surprised. He said, “You can have fun learning about Jesus?” And Ambrose showed Gus how he had fun reading God’s Word.

And Gus and Ambrose had fun together learning about Jesus.

They read the Bible together.

They went to Sunday School together.

They sat together in church and listened to the pastor.

They sang hymns together.

Gus went home and said to his mom, “Mom, Ambrose and I had fun learning about Jesus.”

His mom hugged him and said, “Gus, that makes me very happy. Jesus is the best thing of all. You are a very smart hippo!”

The End

© 2017, 2018, Alan Kornacki, Jr.

Sermon for 2/20/18: Midweek Lent I (Hands series)

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Hands that Heal

John 9:6-7

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

            Our Lord is called “the Great Physician.” And it’s no wonder: no matter where He went throughout His earthly ministry, He was healing. He healed the blind, the lame, the leper, the deaf, those who could not speak. It didn’t matter what the disease was. If Jesus wanted to heal someone, they would be healed. Jesus came into this world to extend the hand of His Father’s mercy to everyone. Often He healed with words alone. But in many cases, He healed with His hands.

            The man born blind was sightless with his eyes, but he was also spiritually blind. He did not know his Maker, and he did not know that his Maker was standing right in front of him in the person of his Savior, Jesus. This was a controversial healing, because the priests taught the false idea that a person’s blindness or other birth defects were the result of grievous sins committed by this person or his parents. People still think this way. Prosperity preachers want you to believe that illnesses, diseases, birth defects, and other ailments are God’s way of punishing those whose faith is weak. But our Lord silenced this myth Himself when He said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” God uses hardship to draw us closer to Him. Or as Paul wrote to the Romans, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

            So Jesus set about to heal the blind man. He spat on the ground, making mud. And then He placed the mud on the man’s eyes and ordered the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam. And when he did as Jesus told him, the man could see! Faith led to obedience, and obedience led to healing. The hands of the Savior gave this man an entirely new perspective: the ability to see with his eyes for the first time.

            But there was more healing to come. The man who had been born blind had no idea who had healed him. He addressed the Man who healed him as “the man they call Jesus.” Then he referred to Jesus as a prophet. But when the Pharisees questioned him, the man born blind insisted that it was Jesus who had healed him, at which point they became angry and threw the man out of the temple. Jesus asked him—and we must all face this question at some point—“Do you believe in the Son of God?” Still the man didn’t know the answer; he didn’t know who healed him. Jesus told him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” And finally the man gratefully confessed and worshipped Jesus, saying, “Lord, I believe!” The man received two great and powerful gifts. First, the Lord restored his sight. Second, he was brought to faith in Jesus as his Savior and Redeemer.

            This is an outstanding parallel to how we received our spiritual sight. Thanks to the sin we inherited from Adam and Eve, we were born blind to God and His Word. And as He did for the blind man, Jesus sought us out. Jesus loves us so fully, so completely, that He would allow His healing hands to be nailed to the cross. What wondrous love! Just as the man who was born blind was given his sight by the saliva of Jesus, we are given faith to see Jesus present in His Word through the waters of Holy Baptism. Just as the man who had been born blind was cast out of the earthly temple by the self-righteous Pharisees, only to find himself face to face with God in the flesh, we are separated from the self-righteous prosperity preachers, brought face to face with our Lord who gives us His body and blood to eat and to drink at His holy altar. He touches us, and we are healed.

            Jesus has given you the sight to see Him, not as a mere prophet, not as some guy who happens to be named Jesus, but to see Him as your Lord and Savior. The hands that healed the blind man are the hands that were nailed to the cross. And there on that cross, those hands won the healing of your soul from the death your sins would bring to 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.

Sermon for 2/18/18: First Sunday in Lent

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Ready for War

Matthew 4:1-11

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

Beware, Christians! The devil, the ancient accuser who so easily led our first parents into death, has been honing his craft for a very long time. Repent. You are no match for him. Return to the Lord. Too often the devil’s lies have found upon us willing ears and wayward hearts. Repent. Now is the Day of Salvation. Tomorrow may be too late.

Repent, but do not be afraid, for there is an escape by the grace of God. Our Lord Jesus, born of Mary, your Brother, is like you…but not like you. He obeyed. He did not fall. He did not succumb to temptation. He overcame the Tempter—and not merely in the desert, but in the city, in the back-water Galilean villages, at the sinners’ tables, in the synagogue, in the Temple. Then, at last, He faced that old serpent in the fiercest showdown of all time on a hill just outside of Jerusalem called the Place of the Skull.

And there it seemed as though the whole thing had been for nought! Surely Christ led a blameless life and never sinned, but there on the cross, with brutal force and undisguised glee, in malicious violence, Satan through his evil agents drove the nails into the hands and feet of Immanuel and put Him to death! It seemed as though Satan had won. It seemed as though the victory in the desert did not last. It still seems that way today, when sinners perpetrate great evil—things like mass shootings in schools and public places; things like abortions performed in numbers far exceeding the number of people murdered in the holocaust; things like the normalizing of immorality in the name of “love.” The devil and his demons work hard at making evil seem like good, making fiction seem like reality.

But the Truth is this: in that dark hour of God’s death, the ransom was paid! Heaven was opened! The Son of Man was glorified and crowned as our King. He rose the Victor. And after parading through Hell to show Satan that Christ had won, the Lord appeared to His people. He ate with them. He taught them. He blessed them. He forgave them. He gave them His Victory, for He had won it for them. He had won it for you.

And so it is, that even as Our Lord battled the devil in the desert; battled him across the Promised Land; battled him through death and into Hell that those prison bars which held us in were broken down; so still, He wages this holy war for us and in us. And still the battle is fought, as it always has been, with the Word of God.

Temptation is always enticement to break God’s Word, to go against it. God gives commandments. The devil calls God a harsh taskmaster who doesn’t really care; who, if He really loved His children, would let them do as they pleased. This is the way he attacked Eve in the garden. It is the way he attacked Our Lord in the desert. It is the way he attacks us here and now. Eve could not bear the assault. Adam failed to protect her. They gave in and became children of Satan, and you are the spawn of their loins. But the Second Adam, the perfect Adam, suffered these temptations also. And He did not fail. He overcame. He lived the perfect life of faith. And with nothing more than the Word, He drove the devil back.

He did not need to do this for Himself. He did it for you. He removes the sting of death and the victory of the grave. The roaring lion who once terrified you now has no bite. He cannot have you. He cannot harm you. For you have a Master, a King, a Benefactor, a Protector. You bear the Name He placed upon you in Baptism. You belong to Him, not just because He made you, but also because He bought you.

So be forewarned. Be prepared for warfare. Make yourself ready by eating and drinking the medicine of immortality, the body and blood which He has given and shed for you. Open your ears. Hear the Word of God. Pray that He would strengthen and sustain you in the days to come. Pray, lest you fall into temptation. Pray the prayer He taught you. And pray as the early Church so fervently prayed: “Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly!” 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 2/14/18: Ash Wednesday (Hands series)

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Redeemed and Rewarded

Matthew 11:28-30

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

            It is not at all unusual for us to use our hands when we talk. In fact, in some cases, it’s almost comical and can certainly be distracting to watch a person talk who can’t help but gesture wildly with every sentence. But when used sparingly, a well-timed gesture in a conversation can be an aid to understanding what the speaker is trying to convey. It can add emphasis to an important point; it can bring the hearer into closer communication with the speaker. (As you’ve probably noticed, I’m not very comfortable making gestures with my hands when I talk. My hands sort of flop around unless I’m trying to make a point, or unless the flow of the liturgy invites the pastor to gesture to the congregation.)

            Throughout His ministry, our Lord’s hearers couldn’t help but remark, “He has done all things well.” And that would certainly be true of His ability to convey His message clearly and with great emphasis. So when our Lord says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” you can picture Jesus spreading wide His merciful arms to welcome the burdened sinner into His embrace. “Come to me,” He says; and when you hear that, you know that our Lord has a place set aside for you in His presence where you will be welcomed with love and compassion and rest for the weary soul. He invites you to come to Him because He wants you to lay your burdens upon Him.

            As it is today, so it was during our Lord’s earthly ministry. People had stress and pressure in life: the stresses of family, of work, of heavy taxes and oppressive laws and cruel and ruthless authorities. And to top it all off, the religious leaders of the day—men who should have been speaking the comfort of God to a weary people—were laying burdens on the people that did not come from the Word of God but from the imaginations and machinations of the priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes, and the other religious leaders. We experience those burdens ourselves from those who call themselves pastors and church leaders, but who are really wolves in sheep’s clothing. They tell you that the life of the Christian is a life without suffering. They tell you that, if you just believe enough, you will never get sick or poor, and will never experience any kind of hardship. They tell you that, if only you will just give them your money, you will be blessed.

            It is in the midst of these false preachers and their greedy fear-mongering that our Lord stretches forth His hands. “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” He invites you to bring your burdens to Him—the weight of the cares of family life, the heavy load of work responsibilities, the burdens of emotional and spiritual distress—and lay them in His outstretched arms. He invites you to hide in His embrace, where you will be guarded from the teeth of the wolves who would pull you away from Him with their false piety and their false promises. He gives you a place free from fear, free from the false preachers, free from your guilt.

            You know this is true, for He voluntarily stretched wide His arms on the cross—in fact, He allowed them to be nailed wide open. He did it for you. In the midst of your fear, your doubt, your distress, He invites you with outstretched arms to lay your sins upon Him; to trust Him for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life with your heavenly Father; to call upon Him when Satan wants you to doubt your Savior’s work; to return to the waters of your Baptism through the words of Holy Absolution, where He speaks through the mouth of His called servants to give you the peace only He can give you.

            And this evening, He invites you to this table, where He welcomes you with open arms to the eternal wedding feast of His body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. “Come to me,” He says. He’s here, fully present in this meal. “Come to me.” Come and partake of the body and blood of your Savior. Be refreshed from the burdens the world places upon you. And then, having received your rest, return to the world, strengthened to bear the easy yoke, the light burden of service to the Lord. He will bear that burden with you, as well. “Come to me,” He says, His pierced hands outstretched. Come and receive Him. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

           

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

Sermon for 2/4/18: Sexagesima

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The Seed Within You

Luke 8:4-15

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

            Just now, as you heard today’s Gospel, the devil was using many things to distract you and tempt you. Some of these things were questions or thoughts or ideas that came into your mind. Some were noises or movements that caught your attention. Whatever it was, whatever he could find, the devil used it. He will continue to do this throughout the entire service, and at every Divine Service, and every time the Lord’s Word is preached and spoken and read and prayed and sung. “Pay no attention to that preacher. Forget what the Psalm says. Who cares about that Scripture reading? It’s just words. And they’re no better or worse than any other words. Besides, those words really won’t change anything. They don’t matter. They don’t make things better. It’s just words.” That’s the devil speaking.

The devil wants to distract you. He wants you to lose focus. His goal is to keep you from hearing and listening to and heeding the Lord’s holy Gospel. His goal is to snatch the Lord’s Word out of your heart; to make you question the Word of the Lord; to choke it with your worries and fears as well as your ambitions and passions. Resist him—not by yelling or glaring at someone else, and not by arguing with him. Resist him with prayer and contemplation—by making the Lord’s Word your own, saying back to the Lord what He has first said to you.

But how can you do this? How do you resist? How do you outmaneuver his temptations and block out the distractions he uses? Certainly you cannot do it by yourself, not with your own wits and will. We can never rightly put our trust in anything that we do. But the Lord is our trust. He promises to defend us against Satan and all his ways. He is our protection against all adversity, against every temptation and evil, against every tactic the devil employs to undermine our faith.

So how do we resist? Recall that the Word of God is like a seed. Within the little seed is the power to break through cement and stone, to split wood, to rise above the strongest weed. And within the seed are the branches that the birds nest in, and the food that sustains all manner of life. The seed, though small, is mighty—especially when nourished and fed by the waters of heaven and the warmth and light of the sun. The seed is the Word of God. The Lord’s Word already has within itself all that you need to resist the devil and all his works and all his ways. For this is no ordinary seed, just as it is no ordinary word.

This seed is the Lord Jesus Himself. He comes into the world, in our flesh, in our hearts, looking as insignificant and helpless as a small seed. Yet within Himself He has the power to beat back Satan and his lies and to break through our stone-cold hearts. He alone is able to be trampled down so that He might raise us up. He alone is able to break up the rocks and stones that hinder our life in God. He alone is able to suppress our fears and satisfy our desires by holding out to us, not a better life, but life as it truly is. He alone is able to give us the life we can never live apart from Him. Our heavenly Father is the farmer who sent the Seed: to be born of the Virgin, and also to be born in our flesh in Holy Baptism. That Seed within us is nourished with Christ’s own body and blood. Here, then, is our strength and power to resist the distractions and temptations of the devil. It is found not in ourselves alone, but in communion with God and all the faithful in Christ.

So what, then, if the devil continues to pester and annoy you? The Father, by the Spirit, has planted within you His life-giving Seed. And by that same Holy Spirit in the Holy Supper, He nourishes and sustains and grows that Seed within 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.

Sermon for 1/28/18: Septuagesima

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Mercy and the Kingdom

Matthew 20:1-16

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

It is easy to believe that heaven is due payment for having to live through the misery of earth. We walk in danger all the way. It often feels like we are careening from one heartache to another, that we’re only one misstep away from disaster and ruin. So the more we suffer, the harder our life, the better we are at controlling ourselves, the more we help others, the oftener we go to church, the more we do right—then the more we are sure we deserve the payment and reward of heaven.

Certainly, the crown of righteousness has been laid up for us, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to all who have loved His appearing. And there is no doubt that this heavenly reward awaits all those who walk worthy of the calling—those who live their baptism with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. With all confidence, we can and should expect to receive this crown, this reward, this heavenly life. Our Lord has promised it to us. And by His Spirit, this incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away is reserved in heaven for you.

But does this mean we have deserved it? Will we get heaven simply because we’ve paid our dues with the coin of grief, sickness, and death? Have we earned it because we’ve given our best years to a futile cause? And is it ours because we’ve worked and sweated to do the right thing, to turn our life around, to make the best of our rotten luck? Beware of such thoughts. They tempt us to take pride in ourselves, our work, and even our misery. And they tempt us to compare ourselves with each other, to see how we measure up, and to determine who’s really deserving and undeserving. But most of all, when we are convinced that we have earned our place in heaven, we belittle and dismiss the Lord’s mercy and grace. We live, not in gratitude for God and love for others, but selfishly.

That is what we see in today’s Gospel. Those laborers who cry “foul” at the end of the day are not grousing about unfair labor practices. Rather, they are thinking only of themselves. And they are more concerned with getting what they deserve than they receiving their denarius with thanksgiving. This story is not about workers and management. It’s about the kingdom of heaven. And in the kingdom of heaven, the coin—the denarius—is our Lord’s mercy and kindness.

Our Lord’s mercy is called that precisely because it is undeserved. It is His kindness, His love, His compassion extended to us who have rebelled against Him, who live as if He doesn’t matter, who abuse His creation, who think little of His gifts, and who are quick to believe the worst of Him; those who are convinced that the Lord’s will is never done and that His kingdom will never come; those who are sure that the Lord has abandoned them or is against them—they are the ones to whom our Lord extends His mercy. For no good reason whatsoever, our Lord also invites us into His kingdom, His vineyard, so that we might not be destroyed by idleness, but would live in Him by tending to the good fruits He has planted for our use and enjoyment.

So let our eyes focus not on what we think we deserve. If we do, we will miss what our Lord has already given us. His mercy endures forever. Let us fix our hearts and minds, our efforts and desires, our prayers and affections only on this—that our Lord Jesus once again, and without fail, has mercy on us by speaking into us His healing forgiveness, and by feeding us with the Blessed Sacrament of His body and blood. 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 1/21/18: The Transfiguration of Our Lord

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No Myth

Matthew 17:1-9

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

Peter wants to stay on the mountain. But Peter has a problem: he’s full of it. He’s a fake. He claims to have left everything for Jesus, but he can’t stay awake an hour. He claims he will never deny Him, but he curses the woman who recognizes his accent. He claims he will feed Christ’s lambs, but he tries to deny the end of the dietary regulations. He wants to stay on the mountain with Moses and Elijah, but he has not earned that place. He wants to pretend as though he loves Jesus when he really just wants to save his own skin. He is a phony.

We are all phonies. We all calculate to deceive. We all tell other people’s stories as our own. We all exaggerate. That is what drives urban legends. We tell the stories, and we even get angry when we’re called on it. What is so wrong with us that we lie like that? We pretend we did and said things we didn’t. We deny what we did say and quibble about what we meant. We spend more time worrying about appearances than the truth, more interested in our own public relations than with our neighbor’s reputation. We say what we think we are supposed to say and hope no one can see into our hearts where we even lie to ourselves. We’ve lied so much we can’t keep track. Repent. Go and lie no more!

Peter was a phony. But Jesus loved him anyway. Moses was a murderer and a coward. But Jesus loved him too. Elijah was full of self-pity and despair, but Jesus still loved him. Here is the truth: God is love. His mercy endures forever. He paid the price to redeem them. He paid the price to redeem you. He laid down His life in your place, to set you free and forgive your sins, to make you whole and give you hope. Peter’s bravado and posturing did not stop our Lord. He loved the real Peter, the one that Peter was afraid to let men see: the lying, cowardly, lusty, greedy, lazy Peter. Jesus loved him and wanted him for Himself. He wanted Peter to be His perfect son, His immaculate, clean, and innocent Bride, to be with Him forever in a new paradise, free from Satan and temptation, free from his own betraying heart. Jesus also loves you, despite your lies and your faults. He loves you no less that He loves Peter, Moses, and Elijah.

But that love will not be accomplished by staying on the mountain. God in the flesh must go to Jerusalem and face the full force of man’s hatred and brutality. He must endure the lies of the Sanhedrin and the cowardice of Pilate. But this is why He came. He has taken man’s flesh to be a sacrifice. The serpent must bruise His heel. The Messiah must pay with His life. And Moses and Elijah love it. They rejoice in it. This is what they longed to see, what they had preached and prayed for. This is how God loved the world, how He showed mercy. The crucifixion of Jesus is where He draws you to Him. This is where the serpent that bit Eve’s heart is overcome.

Do not let this make you feel sad or guilty. The Son of Man has authority to lay down His life. No one takes it from Him. This is who He is and what He wants. This is the will of His Father; this is the work of the Spirit; this is the love of the Son. The day He dies is a good day, the best day. For the day He died, He took death to the grave. That is why the dead emerged from their graves on Good Friday. Death lost its hold. The serpent’s head was crushed. The battle was won.

This is no myth. This is no exaggeration. This is reality. This is the truth. And this reality changes you. Peter, despite his flaws and weaknesses, is now, by grace in Jesus Christ, Saint Peter. He is forgiven, perfected. You, also, by the grace of God, bear that same title, written upon you in the waters of Holy Baptism. And by the grace of God, you will bear that title 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 1/14/18: The Second Sunday After the Epiphany

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Let Us Pray

John 2:1-12

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

The holy Apostle Saint James reminds us to pray to the Lord for one another because “The prayer of a righteous man has great power…” Prayer is one of the many gifts God gives to us, and in today’s text, we see that prayer has real power. Mary speaks to the Son of God on behalf of those who attend the wedding at Cana. And yes, this is a prayer. It’s not a long prayer. It’s not an eloquent prayer. But it is a prayer nevertheless when Mary says, “They have no wine.” Her prayer is no different then when we pray, plead, sigh, or cry out to the Lord and say, “Lord, we’re in a tight spot. We don’t know where to turn or what to do next. We’re trying hard to do the right thing—to live as you want us to live. But we’re weak; we’re at our wits end. Have mercy, Lord, and help us.” And what happens when Mary prays? The Lord answers her prayer. He says, “Yes.” He turns plain water into the finest of wines, in quantities large enough to keep the wedding feast going for days.

But He doesn’t give His final answer right away. He says to His mother, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” We hear that answer, and we often misunderstand. We believe that Jesus is saying no. And we think that way because impatience corrupts our prayers. It’s as if we haven’t prayed at all. The Psalmist writes, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.” We don’t trust the Lord; we don’t trust His timing; we don’t trust His mercy. We dare say that, when He doesn’t answer our prayers in what we consider a timely fashion, He is reluctant to help us. We dare suggest that He’s toying with us.

Why, then, does He delay? After all, our Lord’s mercy and kindness and help are not like ours. He does not give reluctantly or tightfistedly or even bitterly. Our Lord’s mercy always flows from a tender heart. Our Lord’s mercy always flows without any reluctance or second thought. Our Lord’s mercy always flows freely, generously, without any strings attached. And our Lord’s mercy always flows without any regrets. So why the delay?

He answers prayer in His way and in His time so that we might be led to greater faith. And it’s not just that He desires for us to have a stronger faith. He leads us to believe in the right things. And the right thing in today’s Gospel is not merely some wine for some party. The right thing in our lives is not simply for the things we believe will make our lives better. The right thing in today’s Gospel—as it was from the beginning and remains to this day—is to trust the help, the comfort, the deliverance, the mercy, the kindness, and the salvation we receive from the water and blood that poured from Our Lord’s side—into the baptismal font and into the holy chalice.

Our Lord wishes us to set our sights, not on the wine in which we drown our sorrows or create our momentary happiness, but on the wine which is His holy precious blood—the blood of the Son of God which which was given and shed for us to drink for the remission of our sins. This is the sign of our salvation: the sign of the Lord’s mercy; the sign that God the Father has not abandoned us; the sign that He has sent His Son for our deliverance, and that, by His Spirit, we are united to Him and restored to communion and fullness of life in the Holy Blessed Trinity.

So Mary prays, “They have no wine.” By saying this she means, “Lord, they need the full abundance of Your all-availing mercy.” And our Lord, as He always does, comes through. He provides richly—all we need to support this body and life, and all we need for the life of the world to come. 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: My Soul, O Magnify the Lord

Sometimes a hymn idea just jumps out at me from nowhere. I was sitting at the table with my tri-circuit pastor brothers yesterday, just having returned from the Divine Service, and the words of the Magnificat (the song of Mary in Luke 1:46-55) popped into my head with a tune. It's a very rare treat when an idea comes to me so quickly and with a fair amount of flesh to it, even if the rest of the text seldom does. Anyway, here's a cleaned-up just-barely-beyond-first draft of my Magnificat versification. Yes, I know it's been done before, and by far greater writers than me. But that's okay; I won't complain if they won't. *wink* Feedback is love.

My Soul, O Magnify the Lord

1. My Soul, O magnify the Lord,

Rejoicing in my Savior God,

For He has seen my lowliness.

All peoples now shall call me blessed.

2. Behold, the mighty One has done

Great things for this unworthy one.

His name is holy. Those who fear

Will find His mercy ever near.

3. His strength He has made manifest.

The proud are scattered east from west.

The mighty from their thrones are cast;

The humble, lifted up at last.

4. And all who hunger have been stilled;

The rich are exiled, unfulfilled.

In mercy He remembers well 

And helps His servant Israel,

5. Just as He spoke to Abraham,

Providing him the thicket ram.

His grace to Abram’s seed is sure

And to our fathers evermore.

∆ 6. All glory to the Father sing;

All hail the Lamb, our Savior King;

All praise, O Spirit. Endless praise

Unto our triune God we raise.

LM (88 88)

Tune: DEUS TUORUM MILITUM (LSB 401)

Occasion: The Visitation 

Text: Luke 1:46-55 (Magnificat)

Sermon for 1/7/18: The Baptism of Our Lord

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Bloody Water

Matthew 3:13-17

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

Can you imagine if every Baptism was like the Baptism of Jesus? Can you imagine, as the water has been applied to the baby, the Holy Spirit swoops down like a dove to settle on the newly baptized? Can you imagine the voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved child, whom I love”? What a wonder that would be. What a thrill, what a blessing it would be to have visible and audible signs from God that each person who is baptized, whether child or adult, is now washed by God Himself and is now pleasing in His sight. Those who doubt the power of Baptism; those who doubt that the words “all nations” apply even to infants; those who believe that a sinner must make a decision to give their heart to Jesus before they can be baptized—surely they would recognize what a blessing Baptism really is. Surely they would know without a doubt that Baptism is God’s work to wash away our sins, not our work to show how much we love Jesus. Surely they would recognize that Baptism is not a sign of our faith, but that it creates faith within us. Surely they would recognize that Baptism opens the Kingdom to us. God’s Word tells us these things, but maybe if the doubters saw the Spirit and heard the Father’s voice, they might change their minds.

It is precisely because they cannot see or hear the evidence that the unbeliever denies the power of Baptism. It is precisely because there is nothing visibly miraculous about Baptism that some within the Church teach that Baptism is our work instead of God’s work. “Surely there must be something more to this,” says the person who believes Baptism is a decision we make, something we must understand before we can accept it.

But water itself is a powerful thing—just ask Pastor Buetow, whose house and office in New Orleans were devastated by the flood waters caused by Hurricane Katrina; ask the people in Indonesia whose homes are ruined with every tsunami; ask someone who is literally dying of thirst. And when the power of the Word of God is added to water, it is “not just plain water”; it “works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.” Anyone who asks more than that from Baptism must not think that forgiveness and salvation are the greatest gifts God gives.

And that’s especially true when you consider where Baptismal water comes from. Baptismal water is bloody. The same Christ who went into the Jordan to fulfill the Law for sinners? He then went to the cross, where that baptized body was stripped, whipped, nailed down. At His death, the ones who nailed Him to the cross shoved a spear in His side, and water and blood flowed out. That bloody water is what washes you clean from your sin. It covers you as a robe of righteousness, so that, when the Father looks at you, all He sees is His holy and sinless Son. He looks at that righteousness, and He welcomes you just as He welcomes His Son.

So no, you don’t hear the voice of the Father from heaven. No, you don’t see the Holy Spirit swooping down like a dove to settle on the newly baptized. But our Lord does speak to you: in His Word and through the mouths of His called servants. The Holy Spirit does rest upon you. And when you emerged from those Baptismal waters, the name of God was written upon your forehead and upon your heart. You are His child. He feeds you with the body and blood of Christ. And by these gifts, the Father declares Himself “well pleased” with 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.