Sermon for 7/23/23: Seventh Sunday After Trinity

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A Free Gift

Romans 6:19-23

 

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

 

 

All things considered, the Bible is fairly easy to understand. All you have to do is read it as if it’s all talking about Jesus, and you’re doing fine. So if this is the case, why are there so many different interpretations of it? The thing is, the Bible is clear, but we are not. What God says in the Bible is clear, but we don’t think the way God thinks. In the book of Isaiah we hear, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Clearly God reveals His thoughts to us when He writes them down in Scripture, so of course we can know them. The problem is, we disagree with them. This is why there are so many different interpretations of God’s clear biblical teaching. People disagree with God because He doesn’t think like they do. For example, people disagree with God regarding the consequences of sin. He says, “The wages of sin is death.” People hear what God says, and they understand it, but they then reject it. They think they may do as they please without paying the consequences for their sins. They think that, since they can make excuses, change the subject, point the finger at others, and avoid confronting their own sin, the wages of sin don’t have to be paid. They are wrong. What God says, goes. They all die. They all face judgment. 

People also disagree with God on how to get to heaven. They think that the road to heaven is paved by their own good deeds. They ascribe this opinion to God. But God says, “The gift of God is eternal life.” They hear what He says, but they assume He cannot mean it. “Surely there must be something we can do or think or say to earn our place in the Kingdom of God,” they think. So they try to figure out some way to change the plain meaning of God’s Word so it will teach what they have already decided God must think.

The reason people reject what God says in the Bible is because they elevate their own reason or feelings or experiences above what God clearly says. They think they are Bible-believing, but they reject what the Bible says. This is why people deny that babies sin and so need to be born again in Holy Baptism; this is why they deny that Jesus clearly says that the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper really are His body and blood; this why they deny that Jesus can set a man apart so that he can speak words that give Christ’s forgiveness of sins. The Bible clearly teaches these things, but sinners cannot understand how they can be true. So they deny what they cannot understand.

Some people reject the Christian faith after suffering the loss of a loved one, especially in tragic circumstances. How could a kind and loving God permit such a thing? But when St. Paul writes, “The wages of sin is death,” he is not ascribing cruelty to God. God is kind, loving, and full of mercy. But “the wages of sin is death.” People die because they are sinners, because sin dwells within them from conception until the day they die. Sin isn’t God’s fault; He didn’t create us to be sinful. He created us in His image: to know Him and to love Him and to be like He is. Sin comes from ignoring the Word of God and trusting lies instead.

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul wrote this to the Romans in response to the false idea that the free gift of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life is an encouragement to disobey the law. Nobody who understands sin would make such an argument. Sin isn’t freedom to do as you please. It is slavery to the darkest passions of the sinful heart. Sin kills you. Sinners die.

This is why the death of Jesus is such a wonderful event. It couldn’t have been for His own sin that he died. After all, Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Law; He committed no sin. He died for us; He died to pay the price for our sin. He paid the wages of our sin with His innocent life. Life is not cheap. The purchase price for our lives was the blood of God’s only begotten Son. “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You cannot buy it. You cannot earn it. You do not deserve it.

Take what He gives you. Believe Him when He tells you that He has removed your sins from you as far as the east is from the west as He washes you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Believe Him when He tells you your sins are forgiven, even we He speaks it through the mouth of a sinful pastor. Believe Him when He tells you that the body and blood that you eat and drink in the bread and wine of the Sacrament of the Altar take away your sins and give you eternal life.

Jesus earned the gift of eternal life for you by His holy obedience and sacrificial death. God gives the gift of eternal life to you in His Word and the Holy Sacraments. You receive the gift of eternal life by faith, which is another gift from God. You need do nothing to earn it; indeed, there is nothing you can do to earn or deserve it. It is a gift. It is for you: a free gift to give you life in His name. 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 7/16/23: Sixth Sunday After Trinity

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The Perfect Life

Exodus 20:1-17

 

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

 

 

Imagine a world in which everyone gave honor and praise and glory solely to our God and Father in heaven. Everyone would be united in perfect love, receiving true love from God, honoring His name. We would pray in perfect unity and never misuse God’s name to promote lies. We would find spiritual rest together by receiving the Word of God in pure faith, never doubting His goodness. Parents and other authorities would be respected and obeyed. There would be no fighting, no murdering, no abortion, no euthanasia, and no hatred. Marriage would be between one man and one woman, and every couple would remain faithful to their vows. Theft would be unknown. Nobody would deal in lies or gossip, and we would be happy recounting the many good and wonderful things others have done. Everyone would be content with what he had and would not try to take advantage of his neighbor. What a wonderful world this would be, if only we would obey the Ten Commandments.

You don’t need to be a Christian to see this. People who don’t know Christ still know that a good life is a life of humility, mercy, purity, generosity, self-control, and faithfulness. People have by nature a basic understanding of God’s Law, and we call that knowledge “conscience.” God’s Law is written on the hearts of all people. It resonates with people of every religion. They know that these commandments are just; if we would only obey them, we would be living righteous lives.

The Law and the Gospel are the two main teachings of God’s Word. The Law, which we just heard summarized, tells us what we must do if we are to enjoy God’s blessings. The Gospel, which is revealed in Christ alone, tells us what Christ has done to win for us God’s eternal blessings. The Law shows us our sins and rightly condemns us for them; the Gospel shows us our Savior and gives us forgiveness of sins. The Law must be preached to sinners who hold on to their sins and refuse to repent of them. The Gospel must be preached to those who admit their sins and want to be rid of them. The Law can only accuse and condemn. The Gospel always forgives and saves.

We need to hear both of these. Without the Law, we cannot know or learn of our need for a Savior. Only when our sins have been exposed to our conscience can we receive through faith the forgiveness of sins that God gives us in Christ Jesus. The Law that God gave Israel on Mount Sinai is not what set Israel free—not from slavery in Egypt, nor from bondage to sin and death. Not one of us present today can perfectly keep God’s Law, and only in perfect obedience to the righteous Law of God would we be able to save ourselves.

This is why St. Paul calls us back to our Baptism: we live holy lives only as we are joined to the death and resurrection of Christ in Holy Baptism. God washes away our sins. This is how He sets us free. He places His name upon us in Holy Baptism. He kills our sinful flesh, drowning the Old Adam within us. He removes our sins from us as far as East is from West. It is precisely when you recognize your inability to keep God’s Law and place your trust instead in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus that you begin to do what the Ten Commandments tell you to do.

So look at these commandments God has given to you. Does your life correspond to what God says in these commandments? It does not. Do you perfectly love God? Do you perfectly love your neighbor? Of course not. So repent. Return to your Baptism, where you will find the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. It is the righteousness of Christ. It is reckoned to you. Jesus is your God; He is your brother and your Redeemer. He obeyed the law you disobeyed; He suffered the death you deserved for your sins. This good news, this Gospel, is God’s Word to you. It is His Word to you when your heart condemns you because the Law rightly judges you to be a sinner. The Gospel silences the judgment of the Law. Of course you can’t perfectly obey, so Christ did it for you.

Listen to the Gospel. Cling to your Savior with all the might you possess. Cling to your Baptism. Because you have been washed and covered with the baptismal robe of your Savior’s perfect righteousness, God sees none of your sins. Christ has covered them with His blood. He looks at you, and all God sees is His own dear child who pleases Him in body and soul. That’s the life of the Christian. It is the life God has given us in Holy Baptism, and it is a life worth living. 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 7/9/23: Fifth Sunday After Trinity

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Defending Your Hope

I Peter 3:8-15

 

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

 

 

Jesus Christ instituted and established the Ministry of the Word when He sent out the apostles as His first pastors. The duties of this Ministry are simple: Christ’s pastors are to preach His Gospel and administer His Sacraments. This is the net that brings people into the church. The pastor must faithfully preach and teach the faith he has received from Christ. This teaching is from heaven. It is from the Holy Spirit. The Gospel and the Sacraments are the means by which the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the Holy Christian Church on earth. The Word does not come from men; it is Christ Himself coming to His people and serving them through His Called pastor.

When you receive the Word of God through faith, you have a hope living within you. It is true that we live with doubts, and sometimes the doubts can cause us real spiritual pain. But the Holy Spirit brings us confidence through the Means of Grace. When you begin to doubt your faith and wonder about your future and even question your salvation, the last thing you should do is to fade away from the Church. Instead you should run to worship every Sunday. The Gospel is not a dead letter or a myth devised in the hearts of men; it is the power of God to save you. God overcomes your doubts and replaces uncertainly with true faith.

The fact that God chooses to live within us in the midst of our sins and doubts shows us how much He loves us. He won’t abandon you in your need. We waver; we wonder; we doubt. But God keeps on coming to us in the Gospel. Baptism keeps on washing us; it remains the washing of rebirth throughout our lives. We aren’t born again only when we are baptized; we are born again daily when we drown all our sins and doubts in the life-giving washing with which the Holy Spirit has washed us.

This is also how you “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” It may sound strange to sanctify God, as He is already holy. But God teaches you here to confess Him for who and what He is. And before you can confess what you believe to others, you must know yourself what you believe and in whom you trust.

Your faith ought to be the topic of the daily conversations of every Christian. It is not only pastors who ought to be interested in theology. When we talk about what we as Christians believe, we are talking about what’s most important. Are you ready to defend the faith when called upon to do so—even when a gun is pointed at you? Do you know why you believe what you believe? Where does your hope rest? How do you know you are going to heaven? Are you sure? There is nothing wrong with going to your pastor with questions about what the Word teaches. He’s your servant to speak the Word to you. But your pastor cannot believe for you. Faith is always personal, and it rests on the Word, centered around the death and resurrection of Jesus for your forgiveness. It rests on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Everything God teaches you is important. He doesn’t talk to hear His own voice. He wants you to receive His teaching as if you were hungry for it.

When Christians become fat and satisfied in their faith, they begin to lose interest in learning God’s Word. They take the truth for granted and even begin to despise the Word. They want something different, something to tickle their ears, something new and exciting. They tire of repenting of their sins; they tire of crying out to the gracious God who forgives them for the sake of Christ. They tire of the same old Law and Gospel preaching. They tire of the daily contrition and repentance to which God called them in Holy Baptism. There are so many unfaithful preachers today—so many Joel Osteens and Joyce Meyers and Benny Hinns, ELCAs and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons and Muslims—because we sinners demand them. St. Paul predicted this when he wrote to Timothy, saying, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will raise up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

In the face of these enemies of the Gospel, God calls on every Christian to defend the faith. It is your duty to ensure your pastor preaches only the pure Word of God, to make sure you and your family hunger and thirst for this Word. God calls on every Christian to defend the hope God has given him. It is our duty to confess Jesus Christ and His holy Word. When we do this, God speaks through us, just as surely as He speaks through pastors. We must speak not in a spirit of arrogance or pride, but in humility and fear. After all, we live by mercy, and it is only by God’s grace that we know the truth.

What is the reason for your hope? You must confess, even in the face of death, that your Savior, Jesus Christ, took away your sin on the cross and gives you eternal life in His Word and gifts. Do you believe that, dear Christian? Then confess it, defend it, and don’t ever back away from it. 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 7/2/23: Fourth Sunday After Trinity

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Forgiven, Forgiving

Luke 6:36-42

 

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

 

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is really giving a variation on the Golden Rule. Instead of saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” He says, “Do unto others as you would have your heavenly Father do unto you.” If you do not want Him to judge and condemn you in your sinfulness, then don’t you be judging and condemning others in their sinfulness. If you want God to forgive your sins and give you richly all things to enjoy, then let go of those grudges and put stinginess far away from you. That’s what it all boils down to.

But there is something inside us that doesn’t like this Word of God at all. There is something in us that enjoys judging and condemning others. There is something in us that is reluctant to let go of wrongs suffered, that enjoys playing the scene repeatedly in our mind’s eye to fan the flames of resentment and keep the bitterness burning. There is something in us that thinks Jesus surely got it wrong when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

That something inside us is the Old Adam. He like to judge and condemn others because he is filled with pride. He thinks better of himself than he has any right to think. And the one sure way he has of raising himself up is to knock others down: to point out the failings of others, to gossip about and condemn our neighbors. And the old Adam wants to hold grudges and refuses to let go of the wrongs he has suffered because he is selfish. He thinks in his heart that, if he doesn’t look out for himself, who will? He doesn’t want to be a doormat that others will wipe their feet on. The Old Adam does not trust that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and that He will repay, as St. Paul teaches. Does that old fellow sound familiar to you? He should. He prowls around inside of you, like just he lives inside of me. And he wants to boss us around. He wants to run our lives. And he wants us to ruin our lives and the lives of our neighbors.

But we have been claimed by Another. We have been marked with the sign of the holy cross. Bearing that sign, soaked in the waters of Holy Baptism, we belong to the New Adam, to the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. We’ve been baptized into Him. His life has been given us as our own. Jesus did not come into this world to judge and condemn; He came to rescue us, because we were judged and condemned by the law as worthy of death. “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” He did not come to pay us back for the countless times we have risen up in rebellion against Him; He came to separate us from our sins by taking them from us and bearing them Himself under His Father’s judgment as He hung on the cross. “Father, forgive them...” was His cry. And all who take shelter under His cross in faith are forgiven, just as He said. His cross is like a great fortress that shields us from the righteous wrath of God.

Unlike the Old Adam with his distrust of God, our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the work of salvation by trusting His Father. And His trust was not disappointed. Our Lord Jesus—the One who had not judged and had not condemned; the One who had forgiven everything, even to the point of laying down His own life—our Lord was raised on the third day, vindicated as the Righteous One, raised to the right hand of the Father to rule over all things.

His perfect life of trust is the life He has given us in our Baptism. He calls us to drown that Old Adam and his distrust of God. He calls us to confess that we have logs in our own eyes: logs of pride, resentment, stinginess, and—behind all of those—distrust. As you confess this to God and receive His forgiveness, you “take the log out of your own eye,” and you can finally be of some use to your neighbor. When you see yourself as a justly condemned prisoner who has now been given an undeserved pardon and reprieve, then you are a sinner who can serve others. You even get to carry the good news of that free pardon to other sinners, telling them of the forgiveness which the death of Christ has won for them. You get to be merciful, just as you have received mercy from God. You get to do unto others as your heavenly Father has done unto you” in Christ. We go out from this place with joy to live out the forgiveness we have received in our Lord 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. Amen.

Sermon for 6/25/23: Third Sunday After Trinity

 

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No sermon video this week. My apologies.

Truth to Trust

Micah 7:18-20

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

We are living in what has come to be called the post-modern era. One of the principal characteristics of post-modernism is its insistence that all things are relative—that there is nothing that is universally true or false, nothing that is essentially good or evil. It is a pretty dark and desperate picture of our world. But if you examine honestly what is going on in the world around us, I think you can see how this very kind of thinking is operative in much of what is being said and done.

There is no place in such thinking for Christian faith. It’s no wonder that Christians struggle mightily at bringing their influence to this world. And it doesn’t help that we live in that age we were warned of, when the world considers evil what God calls good, when the world calls good what God calls evil. Authorities in the government and even in parts of Christendom condemn those who live according to the Word of God. It’s hard to know who to trust. If there has ever been a time when you might be tempted to say, “I don’t believe in anyone or anything,” it might be now.

But over 2700 years ago, the prophet Micah spoke a word to those who are disenchanted with God, those who doubt His goodness. This is a faithful word that points to the God who can be trusted and whose words are honest, whose Word can be trusted, whose mercy in Jesus Christ is renewed to us with every day.

“Who is a God like you...?” What a crucial question that is, because Micah knew well that there is none like our Lord. He alone had brought their fathers up out of the bondage of Egypt and watched over them like a mother watches over her children. But in Micah’s day, the people stood under judgment before this God. There was no place to hide. Their rebellion was plain for all to see. Like men chasing harlots, they had gone after the gods of their heathen neighbors. The Lord was not mistaken as He assessed their condition. Through His prophet He said to them, “Your rich men are full of violence, and your inhabitants speak lies.”

The Lord searches the hearts of men, and His judgments are honest and accurate. You may completely fool yourself about the times and the people of our age. You may even lie about yourself. But the Lord sees us for what we are. We run after the gods of this age. Our appalling morals, both public and private; our dishonesty in low and high places alike; our fading integrity and slowness to speak the truth—none of this escapes the Lord’s recognition or His judgment. We stand before Him, stripped and uncovered, with no place to hide. Our hands are stained with evil. We need a way of escape. We need someone to believe in.

And God Himself gives that to us. He shows Himself as the God who delights in showing mercy. Micah confesses as much when he says, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance. He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. You cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Here is a God to believe in: the God who delights in mercy.

People in Micah’s time were not especially noted for their readiness to show mercy. It’s still a problem for the faithful today. We can be so slow to pardon the misdeeds of others. We delight in making others pay for their errors. We hold grudges against those in our home, our congregation, and in the places where we work and study. We throw the past into the faces of those who have sinned, never letting them forget what they have done.

How different it is with God. He has a much better way of dealing with us. He delights in mercy. He really is pleased when He can show His kindness to those whose sins have gone over their heads, whose abuse of His commands threatens to swallow them in despair. Showing mercy, passing over our sins, not dishing out the punishment deserved—that’s the way God works. In Jesus Christ, He makes the dawning of each new day of mercy possible for us. Jesus takes on Himself the full load of those who are crushed and dying in their rebellion. He carried our griefs and sorrows all the way to the cross. It was there that every sin that troubles us, every trespass that has made life miserable for others was buried, left in our Lord’s grave, never to rise up to accuse us again. We have a God who delights in this kind of mercy. We have a God we can believe in.

There is a desperate need for words that we can believe and trust. And they are here in this text. When everyone else may be breaking theirs, the Lord keeps His word. You can trust the God of Holy Scripture, whose judgments are faithful and true, whose mercies in Jesus Christ never fail, whose words never change. You can rest your faith on Him. You can sink the roots of your life deeply in Him. On Him you can build your hope for each and every tomorrow He gives 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 6/11/23: FIrst Sunday After Trinity

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God’s Word, Not Man’s Wish
Genesis 15:1-6

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

Wishing is not the same as having a blessing. Wishes originate within our hearts, and wishing focuses on what we think is the best, the way we think life ought to be. But the way we think things should be and the way God designed things to be can be as far apart as east is from west. Instead of praying with faith, “Thy will be done,” we seek the desires of our sin-blackened hearts. And so, wishing produces disappointments that evolve into growing doubts. But a blessing always benefits you. A blessing always revolves around God’s will for your life.

Abram was not especially filled with joy at the events of his life, particularly as he thought about one empty spot: a son. Abram, whom we know better as Abraham, had been promised by the Lord God that he would be the father of a great nation and that, in Abram, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Yet he was without a son; his heir was Eliezer of Damascus, one of his servants. So he continued to wait, though not especially patiently. After all, waiting can be hard, especially when we think God is withholding a blessing.

But then the Word of the Lord came to Abram. The Lord God knows exactly what fears and questions go on in the minds, hearts, and souls of His people. You are sinning if you think, “I wish God knew what I was going through.” “I wish He was here.” “I wish He knew what suffering and dying were all about.” The Word of God tells us that the Lord knows your fears, your hurts, your pains—and not just from having a distant view of them, but from actually living them Himself. Our Lord Jesus experienced the pain and anguish of body and soul when He suffered and died on the cross in your place.

So the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Abram.” Though He did not initially refer to Abram’s specific dilemma, the Lord knew exactly what plagued Abram’s days and haunted his nights. God told him, “Fear not. This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Here the Lord God Almighty reminds Abram that His Word shall accomplish His purpose. The promise is certain, even though it seems impossible to man that it could ever take place. From our limited human perspective, consider the creation of the universe in six days; a flood to cover the face of the whole earth; God being born in flesh; Jesus being present in and under bread and wine; God dying to win forgiveness for all people of all times and places; the Resurrection. Apart from faith, man views these historic events as absurd or impossible. They would place limits on God. They would place the wish of man over the Word of God.

But through the Word, Abram believed. Abram believed in the Lord, and the Lord accounted it to him for righteousness. That, dear people, is the promise of God for the salvation of all those who believe: salvation by the grace of God through faith in Christ as the Redeemer. Isaac believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Moses trusted the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Paul believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. So did Timothy. So did Augustine. The truth of this Good News came to a wretched man named Martin Luther. By the grace of God, he believed the Lord God, and it was reckoned to Luther as righteousness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Abraham, has become a blessing to the nations. God’s promise of a Savior was fulfilled in Christ. God’s promise that Abraham would be the father of many is being fulfilled each time He works faith in the heart of an unbeliever.

The Lord brought Abram outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” God promises that Abram will have more descendants than there are stars in the sky. But Abram is not ordered to wish upon a star. He is not to search for a genie in a lamp. Instead he is to behold the goodness of God, the fount of blessing, where he will receive more blessings than he can count.

We are sons of Abraham—not because of who Abraham was, but because we believe what he believed. We are Lutherans, not because of who Luther was, but because we believe, teach, and confess the same Gospel, the Good News of God in Christ. So I will not say, “I wish you would believe this”—for this would be a man’s expression of desire. Imagine a pastor making a hospital visit with a man with terminal cancer and saying, “I wish you healing of your body.” Whatever ails you, whatever weighs on your heart, I do not wish healing for you. Instead, hear the Good News: “I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These words are not the wish of man; they are the Word of God, and they bring to you the perfect healing of your body and soul, both now and for eternity. 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 guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 5/21/23: Ascension of Our Lord (observed)

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Ascended for Us

Acts 1:1-11

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

For forty days, Jesus suffered in the wilderness. He endured hardships greater than any other man has ever known or survived. He resisted the temptations that we did not and could not. For forty days, He fought the devil in that barren place. He overcame Satan, “the old evil foe,” simply by not giving in, suffering the abuse and the attacks. And that passive resistance led to His torturous death. Of course, He could have stopped it at any time, but it was necessary for our sake that He endure it all. That was the price of our rebellion. So the devil did his worst. He had his way with Jesus. He raised up the cross of hatred and drove in the nails. He mocked the Lord and heaped abuse on Him. All of that Satan did through men: the apostate vessel Judas; the devil’s willing vassals in the Sanhedrin; his servants in the Roman army; his minions throughout the city.

The Lord of life died. But then He rose! The grave could not hold Him. Satan lost, though he thought he had won. Death is now dead, and life lives! Sinners great and small go free. And then, for forty more days, our Lord walked the earth in His body and soul. He ate with His disciples. He invited Thomas to touch the wounds in His hands and side. But during those forty days, He no longer denied Himself the divine attributes that were rightly His. In that same body born of Mary, He passed through the stone that closed the tomb; He passed through the locked door to the room that held His fearful disciples…for this Man is also God. God comes to us as a Man. This God-Man breathed the Holy Spirit upon His disciples. He gave them the authority to preach, to baptize, to forgive sins. And then, finally, all things being complete, He ascended to the Father as God and Man, forever elevating human nature and opening heaven for us and all believers. He ascended so that we would ascend with Him! In fact, this is why we celebrate the Ascension so fervently: our Lord has gone before us to prepare a place for us, and He goes before us to prepare our way there!

After the Ascension, it was still ten days before the Holy Spirit would rest upon the apostles in tongues of fire. Even when the Spirit had anointed them for this work, it was still not given to them to know the day and the time of the Lord’s choosing. It was given to them to be martyrs, to be witnesses to Christ even unto death. They could not know that the Epistles they would write would be heard and read by billions. They could not know that huge cathedrals would be built in their honor. They could not know that godly parents would call their own sons by their names. They could not know all the good their preaching and their suffering would accomplish. They simply followed in the way of the cross. They lived their lives in frequent hardship. They were rejected by their contemporaries. Most of them, tradition says, were killed for their faith—only John died a natural death, and it wasn’t because the enemies of the Gospel didn’t try to kill him. It was not their place to question why. It was their place to preach. It was their place to make disciples, teaching their hearers everything Jesus taught them. That was their charge. Again, they were to be martyrs, witnesses to Christ even to death.

The kingdom would not be restored to Israel. The Kingdom of God is no longer aligned with any of the nations of this world. His Kingdom is not of this world; that was what Jesus said. Instead, the Gospel calls forth a new Israel. He makes men who hate Him into citizens in His Kingdom of grace. The sons and daughters of generations of unbelievers and despisers are welcomed. He even raises up praise from stones if need be! The holy apostles and their pastor successors were sent to the ends of the earth—to the highways and byways, to the greatest and to the least, to the beloved and the despised, to Jews and to Gentiles alike. The invitation of the Lord is not picky. The apostles were not concerned with strategic planning sessions. There was no vision casting for the future, no programs, no objectives, no websites, no brochures. They just preached and taught. “I planted,” Paul said, “Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” It didn’t matter if they were simple fishermen like Peter and James and John, or educated Pharisees or tax collectors like Paul and Matthew. They preached and taught and baptized. God did the work.

That Word of God continues to go forth. The Word does what God says it will do, to the amazement of those who preach it. The apostolic Word is breathed out again and again, and the Holy Spirit changes the hearts of those who hear. The Word proclaims the death our Lord died and the life He now lives. And this preaching is the power of God unto salvation. It raises up new people, forgiven by the love of God in Jesus Christ. The Church, a newer and greater Israel, is born.

And you are set free, even while you yet endure the bonds of this fallen creation and suffer under its temptations. You live even though you die—and the great wonder is that you actually live the most and the fullest when you have died. You do not belong here. Your kingdom is not of this world. You, too, will rise and ascend. Our Lord bids you, “Follow Me!” And where He bids, even to heaven, you will go! Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

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

Sermon for 5/14/23: Sixth Sunday of Easter

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

CLICK HERE for the sermon video.

Law and Liberty

James 1:22-27

 

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

 

 

James writes, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” This is a call to deliberate Christianity. It suggests that there are at least two kinds of people who fill the pews in our churches. There are those who come as spectators, and there are those who come as participants in the faith.

Spectators merely hear the Word. They may even believe it, in the sense that they consider it to be accurate or true. But because they do not take it into themselves and live by the light of it, they merely “hear” the Word of God. They hear it as one hears a song. It is pleasant to the ear, even familiar, but life is unchanged by the Word they have heard week after week. They hear about sin but do not repent. They hear about temptation but not resist it. Many hear the Word about the forgiveness of sins, but they do not take it to heart. They hear about the great of love of God, but they still approach life with fear and worry and despair.

Participants in the faith take to heart what they hear. They find comfort in their troubles, and they find peace and joy in the love of God for them. They are the ones who “look into the perfect law law of liberty.” Of course, we hear the word “law”, and we assume it means some sort of rules. Happily, it doesn’t mean that here. Here, it means something more like a guide or a principle. The law of liberty is not code of behavior to which one must conform. The law of liberty describes our freedom in Christ.

The problem with being a mere spectator in the Church is that you end up deluding yourself into thinking that you don’t need what God offers, that it doesn’t apply to you—that you are forgiven, so nothing else from the Word of God matters for you. You end up thinking that all that talk about forgiveness and salvation doesn’t affect how you live your life. But if the Gospel doesn’t change anything for you or in you or about you… Think about what that means. If the Gospel hasn’t changed anything, it means that you are still stuck where you were before you heard the Gospel. If it hasn’t changed anything, then you are still lost and condemned.

The truth is that the law of liberty changes everything. The Gospel is not merely about forgiveness, although that is the heart of it. The Gospel is about how much God loves us and how far He is willing to go on our behalf and for our blessing. Most of us understand how the love of our parents—or the lack of that love—has affected us. That honest and warm love of our parents for us as little children is a mere shadow, a tiny taste of God’s love for us. We have a loving heavenly Father who looks out for us, who watches over us, who protects us and blesses us. He proved that love by sending His Son to become one of us, to endure all that Jesus Christ endured on our behalf in order to redeem us and rescue us from sin and death and hell.

We can live in the light of our Father’s love toward us, in the light of forgiveness and eternal life. If we hear and believe the Word of God, if we place our trust in the One whom our Father has sent to win our salvation, we will live in the light of that Word. That’s what James means when he says to be a “doer.” One who lives in the light of the Gospel “will be blessed in what he does.” True faith is marked by love, compassion, and holiness. We have abundant opportunities to do works of compassion, and we often have abundant resources to do them. True faith will drive the Christian to doing the compassionate thing, to follow in the example of our Lord.

Let me emphasize this one thing for you: one thing the Gospel should work in you is trust toward God. Even though you do not live up to the standards you know are right, even though you do not perfectly love God, even though you do not perfectly love and serve your neighbor, our Lord Jesus Christ has died for you; your sins are forgiven. The Law works fear, because the Law condemns you of your imperfect love. But the Gospel answers and says to you, “Do not be afraid. Your sins are forgiven in Christ. Your Father loves you. In Holy Baptism, He now counts you as His own.”

As you believe and take hold of the Gospel, the love of God in Christ becomes the reason you live your life under His grace. It becomes the reason for confessing Christ boldly, the reason for your stewardship of all that God has given you to use for this life. In short, as one “who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,” then you are a participant in the faith and not merely a spectator. As James tells us, being a participant also carries a great promise with it: you shall be blessed in what you do. What a gift that is, both to you and to your neighbor. 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.

The Easter VIgil Hymn Project

 For a year and a half now, I've been working on writing a hymn text for every reading in the Easter Vigil. It started as I wrote a hymn based on an ancient homily for Holy Saturday. After speaking to the Reverend Doctor John Fleischmann about his hymn text for the Exsultet chant for the Easter Vigil, we decided we would work on a text for every reading in the Vigil service. As I usually do, I leapt in head-first to take on the project, and late last month I wrote the final text.

I also decided upon completion of the final text that I wanted to have truncated versions of those texts, knowing that not everyone wants to sing numerous hymns with ten stanzas. This blog post is the result of that desire for shortened texts. I will list each reading, and then I will post the stanzas for each text that I feel would give a good summary without singing the whole of each text. I hope this is helpful for those of you who lead the Vigil or desire to take up this ancient and salutary service.

Each text is written in the 77 77D meter. While I'm debating whether to seek our new tunes, one particular new tune, or one or several familiar tunes to fit the texts, there are numerous familiar tunes associated with that meter.

The Easter Vigil

Exultet text by Rev. Dr. John Fleischmann

Exultet: Rejoice, You Choirs of Angels (with an original tune)

Homily text

The Earth Is Still and Silent

The Creation: Genesis 1:1-2:3

O Father of Creation

1. O Father of creation;
O Word, begotten Son;
O Holy Spirit, brooding:
By You is all begun.
By water You have washed us,
Creating us anew.
Now bless Your new creation.
Conform our lives to you.

9. The seventh day, God rested,
Creation’s work now stilled,
His mighty work completed,
Accomplished as He willed.
As we await the new Day,
The “very good” restored,
We praise You for creation,
Our great Creator Lord.


The Flood: Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13

O Lord, You Made the Waters

1. O Lord, You made the waters

And sent them to the earth.

Though water brings destruction,

It also gives new birth.

Oh, pour on us a wellspring,

A great baptismal flood,

To drown old wretched Adam

In Christ’s own watered blood.

 

9. Oh, grant us faith, dear Father,

Through this baptismal tide,

To trust Your Word of promise

And in Your grace abide.

Protect Your chosen children

Who shelter in Your nave,

Who bear Your name forever,

Who trust Your might to save.

 

The Testing of Abraham: Genesis 22:1-18

The Sacrifice Appointed 

1. The Sacrifice appointed
Is Christ, the Paschal Lamb:
The Substitute most pleasing,
The self-appointed Ram.
He let Himself be captured
In thickets of our sin,
And in His cross and Passion
Our ransom He would win.

Israel's Deliverance at the Red Sea: Exodus 14:10-15:1

Lift Up Your Eyes, O People

1. Lift up your eyes, O people.
Your enemies draw near.
Cry out to God for mercy.
Fear not! The Lord is here!
He never will forsake you
To perish in the dust.
He hears your plea and answers,
In Him alone you trust.

Salvation Offered Freely to All: Isaiah 55:1-11

O Christ, the Living Water

1. O Christ, the living Water

Who satisfies our thirst,

Who cleanses hopeless sinners

By sin and death accursed,

Oh, bathe Your whole creation—

A great baptismal tide—

Where holy blood is mingled

With water from Your side.

 

4. “My thoughts and ways are higher

Than your ways,” says the Lord,

“For powerful in purpose

Shall be My holy Word.

Like rain to feed creation

From heav’n above shall spill,

My Word returns not empty,

But works My holy will.”

A New Heart and a New Spirit: Ezekiel 36:24-28

 

Oh, Draw Us from the Nations

 

1. Oh, draw us from the nations

And gather us to You.

Pour out baptismal waters

To cleanse like morning dew.

Create in us a new heart;

Cut out our heart of stone.

Remove our love of idols;

Lead us to You alone.

2. Within us put Your Spirit

To be Your dwelling place,

And make Your Law our pleasure,

Obeying by Your grace.

Grant us to be Your people;

Our God forever be!

Yes, gather us together

Unto eternity.

 

God's Faithfulness to Israel: Deuteronomy 31:19-29 (and 32:1-43)
 

The Lord Our God Is Faithful

 

1. The Lord our God is faithful.

His Word is sure and true;

It always will accomplish

What He sets out to do.

His people, as He promised,

At last to Canaan came,

The land of milk and honey.

All glory to His name!

 

8. O faithful God, we praise You.

Your sacred song we sing.

You blot out our transgression.

From You all graces spring.

Oh, lead us to that country

With milk and honey blest.

Christ’s holy blood and body:

Our endless Paschal Feast.

 

 

The Valley of Dry Bones: Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Word Gives Life and Spirit

 

1. The Word gives life and Spirit

To people dead in sin.

It draws us to the Church doors 

And welcomes us within.

Lord, breathe on Adam’s children,

That we may rise and live.

Send forth Your faithful prophets,

Your holy Word to give.

6. “These bones, O man, are Israel.

Oh, hear My children cry:

‘In exile we are hopeless;

Our bones are very dry.’

But I, their God, shall call them

To raise them from their graves

And bring my people homeward.

I am the Lord who saves.”

Job Confesses the Redeemer: Job 19:19-27

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!

 

 

Jonah Preaches to Ninevah: Jonah 3:1-10

 

Send Forth Your Faithful Preachers

 

1. Send forth Your faithful preachers,

And call us to repent.

Grant faith that we may listen

And heed the one You sent.

With sackcloth and in ashes 

We call, O God, to You.

Oh, turn us from our evil;

Our steadfastness renew.

 

 

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

 

Fear Not, Fear Not, O Zion

 

1. Fear not, fear not, O Zion! 

Rejoice! Oh, shout and sing!

The mighty One will save you:

The Lord, your God and King.

Behold, the King is with you

To guard you in the fray.

No judgment stands against you.

Your foes He drove away.

2. Fear not, fear not, O Zion!

Let not your hands grow weak, 

For He shall be the refuge

Of all the humble, meek.

Their lips speak no deception.

Their deeds shall bring no shame.

No evil shall befall them

Who call upon His name.

3. Fear not, fear not, O Zion.

Oppressors meet their end.

The outcast He will gather.

On Him you may depend:

To praise you to the nations,

To calm your every fear,

To gather you together.

The Lord is with you here.

 

 

The Fiery Furnace: Daniel 3:1-30

 

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. 

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.