Sermon for 6/26/22: Second Sunday After Trinity

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Wisdom

Proverbs 9:1-10

 

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

 

God’s wisdom is unlike the wisdom of this world. God’s wisdom is higher and deeper; it is pure and undefiled. The book of Proverbs focuses on godly wisdom as the proper pursuit of every child of God. There are two “characters” portrayed consistently throughout the book—“Wisdom” and “Folly”—and the book describes their words and their works. In this reading, Wisdom builds a house and throws a feast. It is an invitation for all to hear and to learn the wisdom of God. St. Paul, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, refers to Jesus Himself as our Wisdom. No doubt, the apostle has this text from Proverbs in mind. What can be wiser than knowing and believing in Him? What can be better than being fed by His Word and Sacraments? True wisdom, and the key to understanding the Proverbs, is found in Jesus Christ.

But this text reveals that the wisdom of God is sometimes a word of correction. In other words, true wisdom takes God’s Law seriously in all its severity. And a truly wise Christian will heed the Law. That doesn’t mean we do what it says, for we are sinners, rotten to the core. But the Law shows us our sin and drives us to despair; we recognize that we are lost and dead in sin. The Law tears down the walls of self-righteousness, burns down our flimsy house of excuses, exposes us as frauds, and drives us to our knees.

It is then that the Gospel does its work. Only when we are stinging from the Law does the balm of the Gospel soothe and heal. Only when we have tasted the bitterness of our own sins can we savor the sweetness of forgiveness. Jesus through His death and resurrection rescues us from the fires of hell and carries us on the wings of His mercy to our eternal home with Him. The Gospel, the wisdom of God, begins with faith in Jesus Christ; or as Proverbs puts it: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” True wisdom is to fear the Lord; true wisdom is to know the Holy One.

In John’s Gospel, there is an account that illustrates the difficulty of this divine wisdom. Jesus spoke hard words to a crowd of increasingly skeptical followers; these words were so hard, in fact, that many deserted Him. By the way, this ought to be of some comfort as we attempt to share the Gospel; even Jesus couldn’t convince everyone. Then He asked the twelve if they wanted to leave Him, too. But Peter confessed: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Wisdom starts with Jesus. Do you want to be truly wise unto salvation? Then fear, love, and trust in Jesus Christ, the One whose wisdom flows in the face of common sense. You don’t think so? Think on this: Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Forgive your brother when he sins against you, even 70 times 7. Take up your cross and follow. This is foolishness to human wisdom. When Jesus started talking about His cross, Peter rebuked Jesus and tried to talk Him out of it. But Jesus rebuked Peter, even calling him Satan. The wisdom of this world says we should avoid suffering at all costs. This is not the talk of faith; it is the language of unbelief!

It is hard to hear those wise words of correction without becoming scoffers ourselves, without hating the message or the messenger. The Lord calls me to be the messenger, and there are times I don’t want to hear or deliver the message. But true wisdom accepts the discipline of God’s Word; true wisdom humbly confesses our sins and seeks to do better. This is wisdom: to know the Holy One of God who took our punishment and guilt and shame, and who now gives us the new life of the child of God.

Such wisdom and instruction can be found only in God’s Word. We will, of course, be tempted to look for wisdom elsewhere. We will make all sorts of appeals to all sorts of other things. We will rationalize and excuse; we will listen to the advice of learned men; we will give ear to the tune the world around us is singing. As someone once said, “The gray areas are the devil’s playground.” We tell ourselves, “I know God’s Word says this, but...” And so the devil sows his seeds of doubt and destruction.

God warns us for good reason. The easy way is so appealing. Hearing the correction of God’s Word and knowing true wisdom is the hard way. It is all too tempting to do what you want instead of what God’s Word commands. The truth is, the Old Adam in you hates to turn away from sin. He has no desire to believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. But the Holy Spirit calls and enlightens you to do just that. And while there may be no sinful fun, there is great blessing: the blessing of a clear conscience; the blessing of God’s approval because Jesus claims you as His own; the blessing of knowing God’s promises that, while life is often full of suffering and misery, you have a mansion in heaven that bears your name; the blessing of serving your neighbor with the love of Christ; the blessing of receiving His gifts of peace and certainty. And you have the greatest blessing of all: knowing the true Wisdom of God in Jesus Christ, who gives you the words of eternal life. Remain in Him and with Him always. 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 6/12/22: The Feast of the Holy Trinity

My apologies. It seems I forgot how to speak words this week, if these recordings are any indication.

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Understanding
Romans 11:33-36

 

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

 The God with whom we deal, the One in whom we believe—the blessed Holy Trinity—not only surpasses understanding; He defies understanding. He fits into none of those pre-conceived notions we may have about who or what kind of God He is. We like to think that we are sophisticated people—that, with all of our technology and our ability to find and retrieve information almost instantaneously, there is nothing we cannot know, nothing we cannot do, nothing we cannot manipulate, if we just have the proper information and the right equipment. But how do you stop a massive earthquake? How do you halt seemingly inevitable flood waters? And, more difficult still, how do you explain such things? For what precise reason do they happen? And why do they happen over and over again?

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?” Do you know it? Of course, you don’t. Oh, there is much you can know about God. This wonderful creation all around us reveals many things about Him. As David joyfully confessed in the Psalms: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” Creation reveals a marvelous order, and the genius behind it, that tells us a good deal about God. But, do you know the mind of God? Are you able to search into the deep recesses of the divine mind to see what is there and to evaluate not only what He thinks, but also the way He thinks?

“Who has been His counselor?” God has never talked things over with me. Does He consult you before He does what He does? But you think He should, don’t you? Don’t you think that, given the things that have happened to you, He must not really understand what is going on with you? The Psalmist wrote: “He that keeps Israel neither slumbers not sleeps.” But don’t you wonder sometimes how true that is? There have been plenty of times when He must have been asleep—or, at least, wasn’t paying attention. Things have happened to you that brought pain and suffering, sorrow and grief. Many have been the troubles that could have been avoided if God had only talked to you first.

“Who has given a gift to him that it might be repaid?” Have you ever tried to make a bargain with God? How did that work for you? But God who gives to all life and breath and all things, without whom we can do nothing; we cannot place Him under obligation to us. There is no possibility for the human mind to search out the mind of God, to understand God’s ways and judgments. And so, we really are helpless; we are completely dependent on the goodness and the mercy of God. Left to our own devices, we will only make things worse than they were. But are we hopeless? That is another matter altogether. St. Paul’s words that close out this reading speak of the hope we have: “For from him and to him and through him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.”

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?” We certainly haven’t, but our Lord Jesus Christ came for that very purpose. Philip said to Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” And Jesus replied, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” All that we need to know of the mind of God has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ and in all that He has done for us. His willingness to suffer and die, to lay down His life for us that we might be redeemed from sin and death—these reveal the mind of God to be one of love and mercy and goodness toward us.

“Who has been his Counselor?” God certainly has no need of our advice on how to take care of His world. What advice could we even give? What He has given us is the privilege of prayer, and the promise to hear and answer us when we pray. This is one of the great mysteries of our faith. Holy Scripture teaches us that, in His infallible foreknowledge, God knows all that will happen before it happens. But as the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah: “Before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” It is not for us to understand how these things can all be reconciled. That is in the mind of God! It is only for us to believe that, as irreconcilable as this may seem to us, it is true.

“Who has given a gift to him that it might be repaid?” This is the way our world works, isn’t it? One good turn deserves another. It’s called “reciprocity.” But while we have God to thank for all that we are and have, He requires nothing from us! Instead, He has received the payment in blood by His own Son. The justice required by God was offered up by His Son in our place. And now, in faith, out of love and gratitude, we are able to return to the Lord praise and thanksgiving, together with all the gifts He has given us, that they might be used to serve Him.

And still, God remains the One who not only cannot be understood, but defies being understood. But we don’t need to understand. In Jesus Christ, the Triune God revealed all that we need to know, and all we need to believe for life now and life forever with Him. Truly, as Paul said: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! 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 6/5/22: The Feast of Pentecost

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Pride and Pentecost
Genesis 11:1-9

 

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

 

The Tower of Babel was raised as a monument to man’s unbelief and spiritual arrogance. The godless purpose of its builders is quite clear: “Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” They wanted to build a tower that would reach into the sky as far as the eye could see. They desired fame and a reputation of their own making. Like Adam and Eve, they wanted to be comparable to their Creator. They were very much like the great King Nebuchadnezzar, who looked around himself with an ungodly pride and said: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

When such pride possesses man, we see no need for a Divine Provider, no need for a gracious Savior from sin. And we still haven’t learned this lesson all these centuries later. Leaders and rulers of every description, even some within the church, still try to build their own kingdoms around themselves, as if this is the answer to every need. We continue to be surrounded every day with claims that not only must we save the world, but that we can do just that if we only apply our strength and intelligence. We can even create heaven on earth, if that is what we desire, if only we put our minds to it and put in the work to make it happen. We may be fooling ourselves, but we cannot fool God.

The people of Babel were defying the will of God, and they knew it. They knew the will of God had been expressed in the command God had given to Noah following the flood to fill the earth again with a righteous, God-fearing people. Until now, God had been exceedingly patient with them. He had allowed them to go on in their sin, hoping they would turn from their folly. But now the time had come for Him to intervene. The Lord, who is always merciful, even in judgment, could see that their efforts would only strengthen them in their defiance. But if their prideful unity was destroyed, then their ability to carry out any further ungodly plans would be permanently crippled.

And as is always the case when God decides to intervene in those plans of men that would defy His will, He was completely effective. They were compelled to carry out His will, even though that was what they were trying to prevent. It takes only a little imagination to picture the hopeless confusion that resulted.

Pride is often touted as a good thing. But when it comes to matters of the spirit—and how many matters in life aren’t spiritual in nature—pride is ultimately destructive. We are proud, even arrogant, in our rebellion against God. We mock and reject His gifts of life. That was certainly the case with those building the tower. The higher they went, the farther they took themselves away from the God of grace. In order to be rescued by God from their spiritual ignorance and arrogance, they had to be put in a condition where they were absolutely helpless. And so it is with us. We refuse to see the rescuing hand of God’s mercy until we realize that we can do nothing for ourselves.

So at Pentecost, God did something only He could do. He turned what had been a curse into a great blessing. The confusion of languages now became an instrument of God’s grace. The God who confused the language of the builders now overcame that confusion by His gracious power. He took unlettered disciples and made them instruments of salvation. He gave them the ability to speak in other human languages so that they could proclaim the Gospel to those who had come from all around the known world.

And this was, indeed, a rescue of the most extraordinary kind. These people heard Peter’s Pentecost sermon in a language they could understand: that the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ is the Savior and Lord of all. He who was so shamefully treated by the authorities had actually given His own life as the redemption price for the sins of the world. Unlike the tower builders of old, those who heard Peter that day were led to repentance. They were led to see the seriousness of their sin. And they could see that God’s judgment would ultimately deal with those who refused to believe in the Savior He had sent.

And this rescue offered for their salvation made no appeal to their wisdom, to their goodness, or to their strength. The burden was placed where it must be placed: on the grace and goodness of God. Peter later told them: “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”  This remains God’s method of rescue. As extraordinary as it may seem, God has taken the salvation of the world upon Himself. He has met His own righteous demands for us. And we are blessed with a rescue that spares us from the grip of spiritual arrogance, from unbelief, and from everlasting bondage in hell. For this, we thank and praise our gracious 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 5/22/22: Sixth Sunday of Easter

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Testing God

Numbers 21:4-9

 

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

 

For over 400 years, the people of Israel had lived in Egypt, much of that time in a bitter slavery. But that was over. In a unique and remarkable way, God revealed His presence to them in the pillar of cloud that led them by day and the pillar of fire to light up their night. And all along the way, the Lord provided for them. He fed them with manna. He protected them against the many perils of their journey. Still, their courage failed them frequently. They became disheartened and put God to the test. Why this change of heart toward God? Why did they begin to question God’s wisdom, mistrust His guidance, and discourage one another? Why did they become despondent and test God?

Why do we do the same? We, too, are God’s people. By the grace of God, we are making our journey from this earthly home, which seems so often like a kind of bondage, to our eternal home. God is gracious to us for the sake of Jesus. He daily and richly forgives all our sins; He guides and protects us and provides for us. In many perils, even some we don’t recognize as perils, He graciously preserves us. Through His holy Word and blessed Sacraments, He preserves and strengthens our faith. As we weekly gather here where His Word is proclaimed and taught to us, we also pray for grace and for guidance. As the Small Catechism says, “For all this…we thank and praise, serve and obey Him.”

But at the same time, there is no day in our journey to heaven in which we are not confronted with the danger of testing God. There is no experience in life—no joy or sorrow, no success or failure—that does not lead us to put God to the test. The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh frequently entice us to test God. However disguised and clever the sin of testing God may be, however timid or bold it may be, however learned and courageous it may even appear to be, its consequences bring only ruin. The result described in our text is as certain as it is sudden.

“The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.” This response of God reminds us of the words of the apostle Paul: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked.” It clearly shows that God is jealous and protective of His honor, and that this unusual way of dealing with the sin of testing Him is to be a warning, even to the end of days. But God, who warns us in His Word against testing Him, also graciously provides the necessary tools against testing Him. We can and should use these tools daily.

The people of Israel said to Moses: “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you.” The children of Israel repented of their sins. True repentance is a tool in our struggle against testing God. When we sincerely repent of the sin of testing God and seek His mercy and forgiveness—which He gladly and freely gives—there is also the implication that we intend to amend our sinful lives, to carefully watch over our hearts in regard to this sin. Repentance is responding to the pleading of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God. It must not simply be put off.

Again, our text says: “And Moses prayed for his people.” Moses did this at the urging of those people that he pray to the Lord to remove the serpents. As He anticipated their need, God had told Moses to make a fiery serpent and lift it up on a pole, and promised healing and life to all that were bitten if they would but look at the uplifted serpent. Prayer is another tool in our struggle against the sin of testing God. In our prayers, we ask God for help and strength. In times of severe affliction or trouble, we ask Him for a special measure of His grace. And we also pray for others, knowing that others, too, are in danger of testing God.

Just as Moses’ proclamation to Israel was to look to the serpent on the pole and receive healing, so too we are to look up in faith to the Christ lifted up on the cross. Faith is the only way to lay hold of the blessings of our Lord’s work of salvation: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Faith grabs hold of these promises as a blessed possession. Faith in God’s mercy was what Israel needed then; it is what we need now so that we may have the peace and the strength to resist the sin of testing God.

In our present age, the mockery of things holy and righteous, the ridicule of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, reaches new heights almost daily, it seems. And it is fearfully easy to succumb to the feeling that God is abandoning His world, and us, as well. Resisting the sin of testing God is, therefore, increasingly more difficult. The only answer, the only hope that we have, is to look to Jesus, to behold again what He has done to redeem us from sin and death, to know that the only way to resist the sin of testing God is to acknowledge that sin. Our only hope is to receive again the forgiveness Jesus has provided through His cross and His glorious resurrection. Thanks be to God for this priceless gift! Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

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

HYMN: The World Is Full of Torments

As I said, I’ve drafted two texts for the Easter Vigil project while I’ve been on vacation. I head back to Faith and the kids tomorrow, so I’ll get the second one posted before I go. 

I’ve worried about what I’m going to do with the Job 19 text in the Vigil for a while. I mean, one doesn’t just rewrite “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.” Some texts are just too iconic to mess with. So I didn’t try. I went for a nail-on-the-head paraphrase of Job 19. I’ll leave it to my readers to determine if they think I’ve succeeded. As always, feedback is love.

The World Is Full of Torments

1. The world is full of torments.
My allies seek my shame.
The hand of God has touched me;
My flesh sticks to my frame.
Have mercy! Oh, have mercy!
From sorrow do I flee.
Like God, their words pursue me;
Why do they follow me?

2. Pay heed to my confession.
With confidence I cry:
He lives, my great Redeemer!
And even when I die,
I know that I shall see Him.
Yes, I myself shall see!
On earth He will be standing.
How yearns my heart in me!

HYMN: The Evil Seek the Downfall

At the urging of my wife—and because I really needed it and needed to do it—I’ve taken some vacation time and have returned to my childhood home to spend time with my mom. Between my father’s death in February and my father-in-law’s death this past August, it had been about a year since I’d taken a real vacation. So Faith sent me off on my own, and I’ve enjoyed my time back in Western New York so far, hanging out with Mom, spending time with friends, and enjoying not having to think very hard for a few days.

I’ve also been somewhat productive. I won’t be posting a sermon this week, but I’ve drafted another two hymn texts for the Easter Vigil project. I’m not quite ready to debut the second one, but the first is one I’ve been working on since the Southern Illinois District Convention in February, where I wrote the first verse. Life happened, and so the progress stopped for a while. Then I wrote the second verse during the Southern Illinois District Pastors Conference (funny how that works!), and I thought maybe it would work better as a short stand-alone hymn text instead of part of the Vigil project  Then I decided that it needed more than just the two verses (even if I divided the two verses into four verses), and I reverted back to the original idea, a hymn based on the Daniel 3 text in the Easter Vigil. If you look at verses 1 and 10, you can probably see what made me think they might stand along as a text, especially considering the virulent protests for the right to murder infants in the womb after the leak of the Supreme Court document which could undo Roe v. Wade. And with events like the supermarket shooting in Buffalo yesterday, we see evil manifested clearly in the acts of sinful mankind. 

Because this is a project I’m working on with another writer, I haven’t done anything about tunes yet. That’s something that can be worked on when the texts are all completed. Anyway, here it is. Feedback is love.

The Evil Seek the Downfall

1. The evil seek the downfall 

Of all who will not kneel 

Before the golden idols

Of silicon and steel.

Man’s sin-perverted reason 

Confuses wrong from right. 

God’s children must be faithful 

To walk within the light. 

2. The king produced an idol,

An image formed of gold.

He ordered his officials

This idol to behold.

The king said, ”O my peoples,

Bow down at my command

And praise the golden image

Commissioned by my hand.”

3. The people knelt in worship.

But three did not pay heed.

Three Jews refused the order

The king himself decreed.

Chaldeans then came forward.

“O king,” they said with zeal, 

“These Jews refused to listen.

These men refused to kneel.”

4. The king called out with fury,

“Young men, now answer me.

You saw my god, all golden;

Did you not bend the knee?

What other god could save you?”

The king commanded, stern:

“Now kneel before my idol,

Or you will surely burn.”

5. “O king,” the young men answered,

“Our God is strong to save. 

The flames will not consume us.

We shall not face the grave.

Our God will guard and keep us;

His might He shall reveal. 

We will not bow to idols.

O king, we will not kneel.”

6. The king became indignant. 

The men he ordered tied. 

The soldiers stoked the furnace

And threw the men inside.

Those soldiers died in torment,

By heat and flame were doomed;

The Jews, instead of burning,

By grace were not consumed. 

7. The king was thus astonished.

“Did we condemn just three?

Behold the great inferno:

Now four men do I see.

The flames have failed to harm them. 

What is this awesome sign? 

My people, see this wonder:

The fourth man looks divine!

8. “Come forth, young men, I pray you,

Who serve the Lord Most High.”

The governors, the prefects

And council gathered by.

They saw, unburnt, the clothing.

They smelled no smoke or flame.

The hair, not singed, bore witness

Unto the young men’s claim.

9. “My people, hear my order. 

Pay heed to my decree:

The Jews in flesh gave service

To God most faithfully.

The Lord has sent His angel

To spare them from the rod.

 Give honor to their master; 

Blest be their mighty God.”

10. The day is surely coming 

When truth will be a crime. 

The Gospel, still a scandal, 

Remains our light sublime.

God grant that we be faithful 

To face the fiery test,

To stand in bold confession 

When faith is sore oppressed.

Sermon for 5/8/22: Fourth Sunday of Easter

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No video recording. My apologies.

 
Freed for Submission
I Peter 2:11-20

 

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

 

One of Martin Luther’s earliest and most influential works is called The Freedom of the Christian. In that work, Luther laid out the Biblical case for the Christian life as one that is lived in the joy and freedom of the Gospel, but which at the same time carries certain holy responsibilities. At the very beginning of that work, he says: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” These two statements—and Luther acknowledged this—would seem to contradict each other. However, through a careful reading of Holy Scripture, they are found to be true. As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.” And this was based on that great truth that, though Jesus Christ was Lord of all, He came as the Servant of all, to redeem this world from sin. In our Epistle reading, Peter is making the same case. We are free Christian people, but our freedom also binds us to an obligation of love for God and for our neighbor.

To be sure, it is a different freedom than we usually think of. For Americans, the word freedom has always had a unique charm about it, something for which we have long been willing to sacrifice much. Christian freedom, however, has to do with another important truth: according to the words of Holy Scripture, Christians are actually “strangers and pilgrims” on this earth, meaning that we are free from certain things to which the children of this world are still bound. We are free from the bondage of the Law, because Christ perfectly kept the Law for us. Salvation is in Christ, whose obedience to the Father’s will is placed into our account. And then, through faith in Him and what He has done, we are accounted as righteous before God.

We are also free from any bondage to sin, for the blood of Christ has cleansed us from sin! Yes, sin remains because we remain bound to these mortal bodies as long as life here lasts. But we live always in the forgiveness of sins. Sin’s condemning power was fully absorbed by Jesus at His cross. And now, for that reason, there is no longer any condemnation for all whose faith is in Jesus Christ and all that He has done to save us.

We are free from bondage to death, for Christ has overcome death. That is what our Lord’s resurrection was all about. How comforting that is. At some time or another, we must all stand at the graveside of a loved one. How final that can seem. To the eyes of our flesh, it appears there that death has won the victory. But eyes of faith see in that grave the tomb of Jesus and the knowledge that His grave did not hold Him. He defeated death. Our graves will not hold us, for on the day of our Lord’s return, He will call us out of those graves to enjoy unending life with Him.

And we are free from the bondage of the devil, for Christ has crushed his power. And that is vitally important to know, isn’t it? As we look around us in this world, we see that the devil’s influence is still significant. Though he has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and though he will be finally consigned to the hell which has been prepared for him and all who serve him, it is evident that he is still very much a factor in this world. But you and I need not fear this. We are free from his bondage, and we will remain free so long as our faith is fed and nourished by God’s Word and Sacraments. We are free from bondage to these things.

But while we have been set free so that we may avoid the things that are evil, we are also set free to do the things that are good. Peter lays this out very nicely for us in his Epistle. Our freedom in Christ enables us to avoid those dangerous fleshly lusts that wage war against our souls. Peter puts it this way: “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

And now we are free to do all those positive things Peter describes as good and glorifying to God. We can freely and truly fear God and stand in awe and wonder at both His grace and His power. We can freely, and with good conscience, be subject to all governing authorities and all proper earthly ordinances, knowing that God desires to govern His world in these ways. We can freely honor all people as fellow creatures of God, whose lives are invested with a value and dignity only God can give. We can freely love our fellow believers as the wonderful gifts of God they truly are. We can freely serve those who are placed over us in the various walks of this life, even those whose ways with us may leave something to be desired. We can freely and even joyfully endure affliction, even when such afflictions are endured unjustly.

So, then, out of gratitude to God, let us serve God and man, avoiding evil and doing good. This is for the glory of God, the welfare of our neighbor, and even our own good, as we await that day when the glory of the Lord will finally be eternally revealed in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

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

Sermon for 5/1/22: Third Sunday of Easter

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Sheep, Shepherds, and the Good Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:11-16

 

 

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

 

The words “leader” and “leadership” have become buzz words in the language of the Church. You can read plenty of books about church leadership, but they sound more like instructions for operating a business than providing pastoral care to the people of God. Scripture uses the actual word “leader” only a handful of times, and almost never to refer to those who are called to spiritual office in the Church.

In this text from Ezekiel, it is clear that God wanted His people to be served by something more than mere leaders. He showed this when He called both kings and prophets “shepherds.” And through His prophet, the Lord told His people in captivity in Babylon that their shepherds had failed them. These bad shepherds cared more about themselves than the sheep. Therefore, the Lord said He would replace them. He Himself would become their Shepherd and take the place of those wicked shepherds.

When the Lord said He wanted His people to be shepherded, He was comparing them to sheep—and it is not a flattering comparison, because sheep are stupid. It is said that a mother sheep sometimes will not recognize her own offspring. Can you mothers imagine not recognizing your children? Sheep can be kept in a pen even when the gate is open; lay a pipe or rod on the ground across the opening, the sheep will usually not pass it. Sheep rescued from a burning barn have been known to try to run back into the flames.

Do you sometimes feel like a sheep? Please pardon the directness of the language here, but sin makes people stupid. As the prophet Jeremiah said, “Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But my people do not know the judgment of the Lord.” Ignorance is not bliss. Sin makes us stupid, like sheep. Left to ourselves, we stumble around defenseless and lost, in need of help and hope that we can never generate. No wonder the Lord was angry at those shepherds who did not care for the flock. And their biggest failure? They did not feed the sheep.

As this text makes clear, feeding the sheep is the chief duty of the shepherd. You can gather the straggling sheep and bandage the wounded, but if you don’t feed them, those things will not make a difference. And so the Lord declared that He would be the Shepherd of His people. Everything the others did that was wrong, He would do right. He would take care of His sheep, gathering them and binding up their wounds and, yes, He would feed them. He would be their Shepherd, and they would want for nothing.

In light of today’s Gospel, we understand that Ezekiel’s words are a prophecy of the coming of Jesus. Jesus is God, but He did not hesitate to become our Good Shepherd. He did the dirty work involved in being a shepherd. The Good Shepherd “lays down His life for the sheep,” Jesus said. On the cross He was protecting us from the peril of our sins by taking those sins upon Himself and dying to pay for them. And then this Good Shepherd rose from death, and He lives to keep on protecting and guiding us. And now He lives to feed His Church, His flock, on His Word.

How great is His love for us! Not only did He do the work of salvation; not only has He sent His Word into the world, even by inspiring the prophets and apostles to write it down; but He has also given to His Church those men who now preach that Word for Him. He has given His Church pastors, under-shepherds of the Good Shepherd. St. Paul told the pastors in Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God, which He obtained with His own blood.” Pastors feed the flock on the Word of Christ. That is the essence of their work; all that they do involves feeding the sheep.

And what about the sheep? If you read on in this 34^th chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet issues warnings. One was about the sheep carelessly trampling the food. Thus, the Lord warns us about false teaching in the Church; He wants us to retain the standard of healthy words that come from Him. The Lord also warned the sheep not to trample one another or push each other aside from the food. How do we treat each other? It’s a fair question to ask. Is anyone disregarded in this church? Do we have unloved sheep who are pushed to the side by others? It is amazing how insensitive we can become without realizing it, without even meaning to do it.

But these reminders simply bring us back to the fact that we are sheep, and sheep are stupid. That is what sin does to us. We need Jesus, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, and then took it up again. We need Him to pay for our sin— which He has done—and to see to our safety forever. No other Shepherd will do! And the good news is that the Lord does not forsake us; He is pleased to be our Shepherd. And He is the Shepherd who is just right for us. He is the Shepherd we can live with, and the Shepherd we can die with. For sheep like us, none other but the Good Shepherd will do. ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

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

Sermon for 4/24/22: Second Sunday of Easter

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Video link to come.

Water, Blood, and Spirit

I John 5:4-10

 

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

            This Sunday following Easter is something like what the disciples experienced following the Transfiguration: it’s back to those every day realities. It’s not that we forget about Easter. The resurrection of our Lord is that great hope that is always in front of us. We know our resurrection is a certainty; we will eventually experience that for ourselves. But for now, we are still bound to the realities of life this side of paradise. And those realties are sin, repentance, and faith, and the knowledge that our bodies will one day return to dust if Jesus has not already returned.

Our lives look more like Holy Week than Easter Sunday, and that is as it should be. We are given reminders of this in today’s readings. The Old Testament reading reminds us of Israel’s demise because of sin and their need to be revived by the Spirit of God. Today’s Gospel sets Thomas before us, with his all too human desire to see before he will believe. And the Epistle takes us to the cross and the body of our Paschal Lamb hanging dead, having given His life to cover the sins of the world. St. John saw for himself that of which he now speaks; we have a reliable witness.

Pilate had his soldiers check to see whether any of the condemned were still alive. When they came to Jesus, they found Him already dead. There was no need to break His legs to hurry His death by suffocation. Instead, one of the soldiers took a spear and pierced His side, and from His side flowed water and blood.

But what does it mean? Listen to what John says: “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only, but by the water and the blood.” And then John tells you who is at work in the water and blood: “And the Spirit is the One who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”

John is telling you why water and blood flowed from the Savior’s pierced side. Water, blood, and Spirit testify—together they give witness that Jesus is indeed the Son of God! Just like the sky going black, the earthquakes, the rocks splitting wide open, the temple curtain torn in two from top to bottom, and the tombs of many of the saints breaking open—so, too, the water, the blood, and the Spirit cry out that Jesus is truly the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

And still today, water, blood, and Spirit testify to Jesus. The Spirit, always at work in the Church through the Word, proclaims that Jesus did the job of accomplishing salvation for you. Do you remember our Lord’s promise to His disciples on the night before His crucifixion? He said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare the things to you that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” And today, the holy Office of preaching is the very office of the Spirit. Through this Office, He calls you by the Gospel and enlightens you with the gifts of Christ—all the benefits of Calvary! The water of Holy Baptism and the blood of the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, connected to God’s Word, are the Spirit-filled witnesses to the Savior who died for you on that Friday before the Resurrection. These Holy Sacraments are the Spirit’s own witness that you are forgiven, redeemed, saved only for the sake of Christ. Indeed, they are the very means, the instruments, by which He grants you the benefits Jesus won for you at the cross.

Water and blood from the side of Jesus: the Holy Spirit uses these two Sacraments in the Church to wash and cleanse you from all sin, to quench the thirst of God’s wrath against you. You are saved through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit in the Baptismal flood. And now you are sustained in that baptismal faith through the cup of the New Testament which holds the very blood shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.

After all, the water and the blood that flowed from our Lord’s side are the water and blood of God’s own Son, that One in whom all the fullness of the deity miraculously dwells. Life-giving water and life-bestowing blood, together with the Word, the faithful witness of the Holy Spirit: in these gifts, you receive the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternity with your Lord. This was all included when Jesus said from the cross: “It is finished!”

These are the ways the salvation He won for all are delivered to you. Jesus says that this is so. “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” All of this—water, blood, and Spirit—are for you, for your salvation! ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! 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.