Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Epistle which was read earlier.

On November 10, 1483, a woman in Eisleben, Germany, gave birth to her and her husband’s first child – a son. The next day, that child was taken to the basement chapel of St. Peter’s Church in Eisleben to be baptized. Because it was the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, these new parents, Hans and Margarethe Luther, named their firstborn child Martin – Martin Luther.

As they held this baby boy in their arms, little did Hans and Margarethe realize the tremendous impact he would have, not only on the history of Germany, but also on the history of the whole world. Little did they know the role their son would play in restoring to the Church of hid day the truth of God’s Word and retaining that true for believers still today. Little did they realize that more than five hundred years later, all over the world, men, women, and children would be assembling in special worship services such as this one to say, “Thank you God, for the birth, life, and work of Dr. Martin Luther and for the Reformation of the Church.”

On October 31, 1517, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed a paper to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This in itself was not unusual. In those days, the church door served as the town’s bulletin board. If someone wanted to debate an issue publicly, he would make it known by nailing a note on the church door. But the particular notice written by Luther was quite unusual compared to the commonly accepted beliefs and practices of that time. That paper began the Reformation, a worldwide revolution that continues to have repercussions today.

Luther was a learned monk of both the Old and New Testaments. When he read the words of our text today, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law…”, Luther knew who it was referring to. It referred to him. It referred to those in Germany. It referred to all people. Before God the judge, all mankind stands guilty of sin and liable for punishment because of their many transgressions. Luther knew this and this became a foundation to his theology.

Throughout his days in the monastery, Luther saw more and more of his shortcomings. He tried to pray harder, spend more time of the day reading Scripture, because by doing this, he would be a better Christian. The law demanded deeds – holy thoughts, attitudes and works – to fulfill it.

Reading the words of our text for today, Luther saw how off the mark he really was: “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Far from earning God’s declaration of righteousness, the law only produced a clear knowledge in man of how far he had missed the mark of the holiness God really demanded.

The Roman Catholic Church was very skewed in their interpretation of Scripture. They believed in the practice of grace AND good works for salvation. Luther scoured all throughout Scripture and could not find what the Roman Catholic Church was teaching.

Luther read passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9 which read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Those passages don’t support the doctrine which Rome is teaching. Luther could only do one thing: hold fast to Scripture and not the teaching of man.

Luther saw beyond the smoke and mirrors of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. God declares a sinner not guilty of sin. Free of sin, guilt and punishment, the acquitted can enter the joys of heaven. This is the result of Christ and Christ alone. It is not the result of good works which we do. If salvation depended on good works, when would enough be good enough? Would one good work a day be sufficient? Would one good work an hour be enough? Would we have to do a good work every minute of every day, in hopes that we would be saved? Luther could not accept that. He repeatedly went back to Scripture and the answer was singular, not plural. The answer was Christ. Paul makes that abundantly clear in our text that “righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

The avenue by which God’s declaration, “not guilty of sin,” becomes ours is faith in Jesus Christ, not by trusting in our observance of the law or our good works to earn heaven. That is why Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses. That is why Luther wrote pamphlet after pamphlet. The more that the Roman Catholic Church said that we had to do something to receive salvation, the more adamant Luther was in his writings against the Church.

Many people, in their sinful rebellion against God, continue to cling foolishly to the hope that their character, their life, their morality, and their good works have some worth or value that might enable them to gain heaven. People today continue to cling to the hope that their good works will outweigh their evil works, that their goodness is superior to their sinfulness, or that even though we fail miserably, God might in the end reward us at least for our efforts, if not for our accomplishments.

There is absolutely nothing that any of us can do to gain heaven. Salvation is entirely a gift of God. A gift is something freely given, which the giver expects no payment. The Roman Catholic Church wanted to put a price tag on salvation, namely the indulgence. The indulgence, as Webster’s Dictionary puts it, is a “remission of participle or all of the temporal and especially purgatorial punishment that according to Roman Catholicism is due for sins whose eternal punishment has been remitted and whose guilt has been pardoned.” That indulgence would spare you some time in purgatory and get you one step closer to salvation, which had already been given to you; however, you need to work at getting it.

When one hears that, how can they accept that? How could you accept that God sent His very Son to take on human form, to live a sinless life, to die for your sinful life so that you may receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, BUT, in order to receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, YOU have to do something to earn it! That is not a gift! That is something which you yourself earn.

Salvation, by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, as found in Scripture alone, is the basis of our daily Christian life.

May we be as bold as Martin Luther: “Unless I am convinced by the teachings of Holy Scripture or by sound reasoning – for I do not believe either the pope or councils alone, since they have often made mistakes and have even said the exact opposite about the same point – I am tied by the Scriptures I have quoted and by my conscience. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither safe nor right. Here I stand. God help me! Amen.”

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Reformation C 2007

        Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for today comes from the Epistle, which was read earlier.

        “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus…” This is what Paul writes to Timothy at the beginning of our text. These were words which were very ironic for St. Paul. As he awaited execution in a Roman jail, despite all that Paul was facing – death, the end of his ministry, abandonment by most of his friends for fear of persecution – he faithfully directed his spiritual son Timothy to the hope that is in Christ. He didn’t care about his own life right now; he was focused on the young pastor Timothy and his church at Ephesus.

        That is the message of every pastor of the Gospel: “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” That is the message which we need to hear day in and day out. That was one of the three solas of Martin Luther, sola gratia, grace alone. The basis for Luther’s sola gratia were two verses which St. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

        Why the focus on these two verses in all of Scripture? Why did St. Paul, when facing his own death, instead focus on Timothy and Ephesus? The answer to this question is two-fold. First, because of God, we have grace. All of this goes back to the Garden of Eden. When God made man, there was one simple rule which Adam and Eve were to follow: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” One simple rule for eternal paradise and Adam and Eve broke it. They were tempted by Satan to become like God. Because of that temptation, Eve broke the law of God. When she gave the fruit to her husband Adam, he broke the law of God. From that moment on, instead of becoming like God, they feared God. Instead of becoming closer to God, they became separated from God.

        For Adam and Eve, they deserved death, wrath, and eternal condemnation. Instead, they received forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. What they received was true grace – unmerited divine assistance given for regeneration or sanctification. That is what you and I have received. Do we deserve it? Absolutely not! Did we receive it? Absolutely yes! Where did we receive it? We received it at the cross of Jesus. We received it through the waters of Holy Baptism and we continue to receive it each and every time we come to the Lord’s Table to receive Christ’s body and blood, given for you, for the forgiveness of sins.

        That is why Paul tells Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead…” Isn’t it taken for granted that Christians remember Jesus Christ? Paul knows, however, that in the stress of life on earth and even in the noise of religious work it is all too easy to forget Jesus Christ. Christians need to be encouraged to have Jesus and His saving work in mind continually. We need to remember at all times and in all places that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead. It is a constant remembrance of who Jesus Christ is and what it is that Jesus Christ has done: that He is the very Son of God and that “he has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil.”

        These words which Martin Luther wrote are not just mere words. These are words which every Christian needs to hear because they say exactly what it is that Jesus Christ has done for us. Words which sound so simple to us were words which meant a great deal to Luther. When the Roman Catholic Church was insisting that our salvation came from Jesus Christ AND the works which we did, it caused Luther to question the faith. Is Jesus truly the Son of God? If He is, then His life, death, and resurrection is all sufficient for salvation. If He is not, then salvation depended on Luther to some extent and he knew that he was a sinner and could not, as he says, “by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him.”

        The resurrection assures us that our sins are paid for and we are forgiven. It guarantees that Jesus has saved us!  Romans 4:25 says, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” For this reason Paul regularly puts the resurrection of Jesus in the spotlight, not just as a reminder of what Christ did for us, but that it was Christ and Christ alone who could bring about true salvation.

        As Paul writes this letter to Timothy, he is “bound with chains as a criminal.” He is no longer able to pastor a congregation. He can no longer preach the Word of God to the people as he once did. That responsibility now lies with men like Timothy. While Paul is bound, he makes a statement to Timothy which sounds like a no-brainer: “But the word of God is not bound!” Paul says much about the power of God‘s Word in this one little sentence. God will see to it that His Word does its work in spite of human opposition! The evangelist may have a ball and chain on his leg, but the message of Jesus is off and running. We need not become discouraged when it looks bleak for Christianity. God’s Word is still at work. No human power can suppress it.

        For Paul, he knew what was at stake: the salvation of the Church. He risked his own life, time and time again to preach the Gospel. He went on three missionary journeys for the Gospel’s sake. He faced prison time on multiple occasions. Now, his life has culminated in another prison sentence. However, he doesn’t care. He reminds Timothy why he has done what he has done: “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Concern for the salvation of these elect is for Paul another motive for perseverance in Christian ministry. He has the eyes of Jesus toward the lost. He has a love for the lost that moves him to be a slave to everyone and to become all things to all men. He is more concerned with evangelizing the world than with his own personal comfort, safety or wealth. He truly has the Christ-like concern for those who have come to faith in Christ and for those who have not.

        Can it be said of us that we would endure everything for the sake of the elect? Or, are we likely to be cool toward mission work when there is a personal cost or sacrifice? Are we willing to forsake our own life for the lives of those outside of Christ, just as Paul did? I’m sure that the answer to the question is no, we aren’t willing to preach the Gospel if a personal cost or sacrifice is needed on our part. Even if we are not, there was one who was willing to preach the Gospel, regardless of a personal cost or sacrifice.

        Jesus Christ, willingly preached the Gospel. He was, is, and always will be the Gospel. He is the Good News sent from God the Father. He came to bring life when we were meant to inherit death. He came to bring salvation when we were meant to inherit wrath. He knew the risks involved in His mission, that of the Father, to bring all mankind to Him. He knew that this would require people to reject Him. He knew that this would require Him to be beaten and scourged. Ultimately, He knew that this would end in His death, yet He continued to do the Father’s will.

        We persevere in our faith, just as Christ Jesus persevered in His. We persevere because of the final words of St. Paul: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him…” We have the faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, given to us by the Holy Spirit at our Baptism. Let this be focus of our lives, for now and for all eternity. In the name of Jesus, amen.

        Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Pentecost 20C 2007

            Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.  The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Gospel, which was read earlier.

            Preaching at a funeral service, a pastor made the statement, “My friends, we are living for two worlds.”  He was challenged afterwards by a successful businessman who said, “We are living for one world and one only.  We do not know of any other world than this one.”  The pastor thought for a moment and then asked, “If you did believe in another world, would it make any difference to you?”  The reply came without hesitation: “Of course it would.  If I had the slightest suspicion that we are really living for any other world than this, I should change every major business policy I have before the end of the night.”

Where do we put our trust?  Do we put it in our family, our friends?  Do we put it in the bank?  Do we put it in ourselves?  It is very easy to put our trust into the things of this world as the business man did; it’s something which we are very good at.  But at the end of the day, what can this world do for you?  We think that the world will do everything for us.  It will provide us with what we need, the necessities, like the new Mercedes or the half-million dollar house.  Putting our trust and seeking our pleasure in the things of this life can cause us to forget about God and to suffer eternal punishment in the life which is to come.

            With just a few words in our text for today, Jesus describes two men for us.  First He tells about a rich man.  The rich man dressed himself in purple, a color associated with royalty, and in linen, the most expensive cloth of those days.  The rich man was not what we would call a bad man.  He was very likely a respected man in the community.  But his goal in life was set too low.  He honestly believed that the important thing in life was to enjoy the good things life has to offer.

            The picture of Lazarus is the exact opposite.  He was poor and living from the rich man’s table scraps.  He was sick; he suffered from painful sores.  Since he was unable to help himself, he was carried by others who unloaded him at the rich man’s gate as though he were an unwelcome burden.  The rich man’s busy life and his constant search for enjoyment didn’t allow him any time to be concerned about the needy man at his gate.

            The rich man, according to Luther, “is not punished because he indulged in sumptuous fare and fine clothes, but because his heart was attached to them, sought them, trusted in and chose them, and because he found in them all his joy, delight and pleasure; and made them in fact his idols.” 

Luther goes on to say in the explanation to the First Commandment in the Large Catechism, “Many a person imagines that he has God and everything he needs, provided he has money and property.  He relies upon these, boasts about them, and feels so immovably secure that he cares about no one.  But look, he too has a god, named mammon, that is the money and property to which he has given his whole heart.  Mammon is the world’s favorite idol.  One who has money and property has a sense of security and feels as happy and fearless as if he were sitting in the middle of paradise.  On the other hand, one who has nothing is as insecure and anxiety-ridden as if he had never heard of God.  Very few can be found who keep a cheerful spirit and neither fret nor complain when they are without mammon.  The desire for riches sticks glued to our nature right up to the grave.”

            Here one traces the secret sins of his heart.  For the rich man, he had his idols of wealth and property.  As long as he had those, he had everything else; he didn’t need anything else.  Faith didn’t enter into the equation for him.  Look on the flip side of the coin.  For where faith is, there is no anxiety for fine clothing and sumptuous feasting; there is no longing for riches, honor, pleasure, influence and all that is not God himself; but there is a seeking and a striving for and a cleaving to nothing except to God, the highest good alone.

            We don’t want to be the rich man, but more often than not, we are.  We may not necessarily go looking for the riches, but the riches find us in one form or another.  We put our trust into the things of this world because, at least for the here and now, that’s where our faith is.  The more we have, the better we are.  The bigger we have, the more important we are.  That’s what our American way of life tells us.  However, our spiritual life does not depend on the earthly goods that we have.  When we live for our own pleasures, we’re left with nothing.  People “feel” or “know” they are in the faith – however, they find themselves outside of the faith.  We put our faith in money, possessions, etc.  When we put our faith in our possessions, they can keep us from heaven and send us to hell.

            In our text, both the rich man and Lazarus, the poor man, died.  Lazarus was carried away to Abraham’s side, while the poor man was buried and found himself in Hades.  When the rich man died, undoubtedly his wealth was able to provide an elaborate funeral for him.  But what good did that do him in the grave?  During his earthly life the rich man had been too concerned with the affairs of the day to devote much thought to life beyond the grave.  But now he knew the awfulness of an eternity without God.  He was experiencing the punishment by fire of which the Bible speaks.

            In Lazarus, we see a complete opposite with regards to one’s thought process regarding this life and our eternal home in heaven.

            Weakened by his disease, by lack of proper nourishment and medical care, Lazarus died.  He did not have many people interested in him during his life, and nothing is said to indicate that it was any different at his death.  Although he may not have had people waiting on him during his life, angels, the servants of God, served Lazarus in death.  He was received into the rest and comfort and companionship and love of heaven.  He was taken to Abraham’s side where he would be with God.

            Lazarus’ focus wasn’t on earthly possessions; he didn’t have them.  Instead, he lived a life of suffering.  He not only suffered, but he was patient under suffering, submitting to the will of God, whom he had learned to know as his heavenly Father. Lazarus knew how to do without what are usually considered the good things of life, but he enjoyed his Father’s assurance of forgiveness and peace of conscience.  In this faith he fell asleep, and in this faith he woke up in heaven in the presence of the Savior in whom he had trusted.

            The rich man found himself in Hades.  He found himself forever separated from God.  He found himself in forever torment.  What could be worse than that?  What could truly be worse than not being with God?  Looking up at heaven and seeing those in heaven.  Jesus tells us in our text that from hell you can see heaven.  That alone is shear torment, seeing the heavenly bliss that could have been yours. 

Looking up, he saw the poor man Lazarus.  He sees Lazarus whom he disdained before now lying in Abraham’s bosom, like a mother holds her child in her arms.  Before, Lazarus was a nobody; now, he is someone special in the eyes of God.  For the rich man, it must have been hard to accept.  How could this poor man be in heaven while he, the rich man, is in hell?  It should be the other way around. 

            Jesus is teaching a hard lesson for all to hear.  There are only two possibilities. Either a person is like Lazarus forever with the Lord and with the saints made perfect, or like the rich man forever separated from the Lord.  This lesson is not one which is easily accepted by people, especially people like the Pharisees, nor is it an easy lesson accepted by us as well. 

      There is truly a hell.  Hell is truth seen too late.  That is what happened to the rich man.  He realized the truth too late.  The truth is your eternal reward cannot be found in earthly gains.  When the rich man realized that, he feared for his five brothers because they were living the same way he was.  Once again he showed his unbelief and tried to invent a new means of grace for his brothers—the appearance of one returned from the dead.  Abraham is quick to point out that they have the Moses and the Prophets, the words of the Old Testament.  More was needed for the rich man than that.  He wanted a visit from the dead to his brothers because that would be more convincing.  If you want a visit from the dead to convince you, listen to the resurrection words of Jesus.  “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”  Abraham simply reaffirmed that sinners are saved not by supernatural appearances from the dead but by hearing and believing the Word of God. Luther emphasized, “The Holy Ghost does not wish to work in us in any other way than through the Word and sacraments.” 

            Jesus Christ gives to us His Word, His body and His blood as means of grace.  The Holy Spirit gives to us faith so that you and I will not go to hell, but instead have a resting place in heaven, with the angels, the archangels, and all the company of heaven, including Christ Himself, with God the Father. 

            We may be rich in this life, and there is nothing wrong with earthly riches.  But when you place your faith and trust in the things of this world, you will always be destined for the road of hell as the rich man was.  Only when you place your faith and trust in the Word of God will you be given the keys to everlasting life.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

            Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting, amen.

Pentecost 18C

            Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.  The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Epistle, which was read to you earlier.

            When you hear the term “law,” what do you think about?  Do you think about the police?  Do you think about what it is that you are not supposed to do?  Do you think of the good of the law, for your protection?  Or do you think like the song of Judas Priest, Breaking the Law?

            Most of us think of the negative connotations of the word “law.”  We rarely think of the good of the law.  We don’t think that because of the law, we are protected from harm and danger.  If it weren’t for the laws like speed limit, laws against drinking and driving and laws requiring you to wear a seat belt, there would be a lot of unnecessary deaths.  Laws are not made to punish us or to take away our freedom; laws are put in place for our protection.  Laws usually come about because of a negative experience, such as the loss of life.  It is because of that negative experience that the law is put into place.

            For the Church, we too have the Law, to show us what it is that we need to do and what not to do.  While you have the Law with a big “L” in place, you will always have those who twist the Law, make it say things that it doesn’t really say.  Paul says that “certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”  These were people who want to be law teachers but they have no idea what it is they’re teaching.  They declare certain things without understanding what they declare, and pronounce with great confidence on what this and what that signifies without even understanding what these things are on which they make such pronouncements.  It would be for us today to have someone who has watched Grey’s Anatomy to perform major surgery on you.  They have no idea what they’re doing, but they have seen it on TV – therefore that makes them certified to operate.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Gospel which was read earlier.

Olive Garden. Outback Steakhouse. Red Lobster. Texas Roadhouse. O’Charley’s. These are some of my favorite places to eat. Whether it is by myself, with my wife or family and friends, these are places that I enjoy. When I go there, I’m not looking to be harassed or have my every move scrutinized under a microscope; I’m just looking to enjoy a nice meal. That’s what happens when you or I go somewhere to eat: we just eat. There are no strings attached and we’re not harassed. However, if your name is Jesus Christ, you’re not going to have that luxury.

Our text begins with an innocent setting: Jesus having dinner at the house of a rule of the Pharisees. So far, so good. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary here. He’s ate dinner at many people’s houses throughout His days: Matthew, Mary & Martha, Zacchaeus, and others, just to name a few. However, this time, they were watching Him. They did what any doubter would do: they put Jesus to the test. As Jesus has set His face toward Jerusalem, there has been opposition. Now, those watching are watching Jesus carefully, even maliciously, to put Him to the test and to see how He will act. Their intentions are to find something of which to accuse Him. But in the end, Jesus is ultimately testing them and pointing to their own sinful motivations.

We have several key players in the “witch-hunt” of Jesus. We have the ruler of the Pharisees, lawyers and Pharisees. The Pharisees were the good people of their day. They never missed a religious meeting, they studied the Scriptures, they tithed, and they set the moral standard for their cultures. Jesus did not choose the guests but accepted an invitation to join them. He was likely invited because “they were watching him.” They thought He was being tested, but they were the ones who were having their values checked. Lawyers here were more like contemporary Bible scholars than modern attorneys. They interpreted the Scriptures and applied them to social and religious behavior, while Pharisees did not distinguish between the two.

Now that the players are in place, it’s time to set the trap for Jesus. A man appeared before those at dinner who had dropsy. Dropsy is a condition of swelling, called edema today. It is caused by water retention in the body. It was considered grotesque because of the disfigurement it caused. One who had dropsy was considered unclean according to Levitical law.

Just by this man appearing, the food and all present would have been considered unclean. Would Jesus expel the man or allow him to enter? Jesus’ first strike was allowing the man to enter the house. By doing so, all those present knew that Jesus did not abide by Levitical law and customs.

When Jesus asked those present a question, Jesus began the first of His tests: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” Those watching Jesus are asking themselves the same question, and they have given no answer, only silence. Previously in Luke, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, criticism came: “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” The men saw the need of this man; they saw his illness, they saw his pain, they saw someone with a problem – but that is all they saw. They didn’t see someone they loved. They didn’t see someone for whom they cared for or would sacrifice for. Because of this, they saw no reason to help the man.

Jesus goes straight to the heart of the matter: you’re not going to help the man because he’s not important to you. If it were your son or your ox, you would see no problem because it’s someone who is important to you; it’s someone you love. Jesus brings it to them on a level which they can understand. Now that it is someone they’re connected to, will you sit and watch and do nothing, claiming that it’s the Sabbath? Instead of answering Jesus, by acknowledging that what Jesus said is right, they continue to sit and say nothing.

For Jesus, this man with dropsy was someone important to Him. It was someone who Jesus loved. He must act immediately – there is no waiting until the Sabbath is over. Jesus heals the man and sends him away healed. Jesus doesn’t wait; He doesn’t delay; He acts because He loves the man.

We are no different than the man with dropsy. We have a need of healing. Sin has infected us and is running rampant in God’s creation, a creation that was once good. Jesus sees us and acts. He does not delay in healing us. He does delay in restoring us. He does not delay in forgiving us. He does not put off our needs, our pain, or our problems until a later date. This is because Jesus acts out of love on our behalf. He willingly gave His perfect life for our imperfect life. He made a sacrifice which we could not make. He died so that we would live.

The second test which Jesus gives is one which the guests have started for themselves, though they didn’t realize it. The test was in the form of how they seated themselves at the table.

Jesus observes them as they seat themselves, each trying to get the seat of highest honor. They look at what they have done: their accomplishments, their actions, and their work, and they see a great deal to love and a great deal of accomplishment. They love themselves and show that by how they sit.

When you love yourself, you don’t see other people as people. The Pharisees don’t see others; they simply see themselves in relation to others and their standing. Loving themselves and wanting to show it off by where they sit, they one again do not look at others in love. They don’t see others as people to love, but either as those they surpass or those they strive to surpass. They are objects, not people.

Jesus’ instructions to the guests are about humility. One should never recline at the first couch at the table, lest the host shame the aggressive guest by placing him in the last place. Rather, recline at the last place so that the host may elevate you to a spot of honor. Their own lack of love does not simply involve a demotion; rather, it is a complete humiliation. They are removed to the lowest place – a place where there is indeed shame, because they have loved themselves and have not shown love to others.

The proper way is not to love yourself, but to love others and put others before yourself. In this way, there can be no embarrassment or humiliation. This is the life of sacrifice that Jesus leads. Jesus looks at others with love and sacrifices Himself for them. That is what Jesus is all about; sacrificing Himself for us because of His love for us.

The final test which Jesus gives is directed to the host of the dinner. However, the host is not really interested in hearing Jesus and listening to His words. He invites Jesus expecting that Jesus will do something for him. Simply having Jesus there adds prestige to the host’s event. Even more, if Jesus did something “wrong” at the dinner, this would only make the hosts’ standing go up in the eyes of Jesus’ enemies. The host is acting in such a way as to show love for himself, using others for himself.

Again, Jesus shows true love in that He expects no reward, no return, no reciprocation with His love for us. His love asks nothing and expects nothing; He loves purely and simply to help others. The help He offers us is the love of God that led Him to send His Son for our salvation. This is the love of God from which we will never be separated. In this love, we see the gracious salvation that is indeed ours now. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Now the peace which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus until life everlasting, amen.

Pentecost 14C

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Faith. It’s a broad topic with many definitions to the word. One can walk into any Christian bookstore and find a broad range of books on the topic. We talk a lot about faith, but what is true faith and where is true faith found?

A simple explanation of faith is “the active principle by which the individual enters into that right relation to God which the all-atoning work of Christ has established for the entire world.” Another definition of “faith is also conceived as a state. In this respect faith is reviewed as the continued possession of the gifts and blessings of God, in and through Christ, through an enduring, abiding confidence in His all-complete and all-sufficient redemption.”

When one hears those definitions, one might see a problem with them. Nowhere does it talk about us and what it is that we do. Nowhere does it talk about putting trust in the things of this world. How can you have faith when you don’t have us involved with it?

That’s where the rubber meets the road. Faith is something which is given to us, not something which we make or create. Paul makes that clear in his letter to the Romans: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Faith is something which comes from the outside, not from the inside. There isn’t anything that we can do to have faith; it must be given to us. Faith is given to us by the Holy Spirit. It comes to us in the Word of God. It comes to us in Holy Baptism. It comes to us in the Lord’s Supper. It comes to us through Christ, who died for our sins. Only through these means does true faith come.

What is the true faith? The writer to the Hebrews tells us at the beginning of chapter 11: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” All throughout our text for today, we read about those people who lived throughout biblical times and the faith which they had, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Each and every person whom the author of Hebrews mentions was a person of great faith. You have Abraham, Moses, the prophets and patriarchs. All were great people of faith, yet each of them experienced pain in their lives, all stemming from the faith which they had in God.

Abraham is often called “the father of the faithful.” It was promised to Abraham that it would be his descendants who would inherit the kingdom of God. However, even the father of the faithful had his share of trials and tribulations and pain along the way. His most painful moment came in Genesis 22 where God commanded him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, to God.

Here God promises to Abraham that his descendants would inherit the kingdom of God, yet God wants him to sacrifice his only son. For us, we would probably scoff at the idea that we have to sacrifice something as valuable as our firstborn. Instead of scoffing at God’s request, Abraham took his only son and went to the land of Moriah to offer him as the sacrifice, just as God had told him to do. When Isaac questioned about where they would find the lamb for the sacrifice, Abraham told him, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Instead of losing or questioning his faith, he continued strong in his faith, even in the face of what was to happen, that God would provide. In the end, the faith of Abraham did not waiver. Abraham focused on God rather than on the circumstances of the impending sacrifice.

The second example which the author of Hebrews sets before us is Moses. Moses may not come to mind immediately when you think about suffering and pain, yet Moses faced both in his unwavering faith. Moses was a highly cultured person growing up in Pharaoh’s house. His compassion for his people led him out of Pharaoh’s palace and into the desert of Midian where he tended sheep. Moses suffered because he trusted God more than he loved his position and power. He looked forward to what was ahead of him rather than what was behind him.

Moses is probably one of the best examples of faith in the Old Testament because he forsook all for God. How many of us would leave a position of comfort and security to tend to sheep? While Moses tended to sheep, he also tended to another flock of sheep, God’s people. He continued to be their shepherd through all of their needs, in the good times and in the bad. He had faith that one day, God would provide for Moses and all of the flock which God had entrusted to him, a home. Through faith in God, God provided to the Israelites the Promised Land.

The third example of our text is the prophets and patriarchs. Who would want to be like any of these people? Who would voluntarily want to be stoned? Sawed in two? Scourged? Imprisioned? Mocked? Wear clothes of goatskins? Live in a cave? Be tortured? These are just some of the things which many people in Scripture did as a testament to the faith which they had in God our Father.

All of the people mentioned above suffered pain in this life, some more than any of us could ever imagine. Through all the pain they suffered, they still held to the faith in God and His Word and promises. However, they “did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better.” What could be better than having your descendants be the very inheritors of the kingdom of God? What could be better than entering the Promised Land after forty years of walking around the desert? Jesus is better.

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the greatest of all promises. This promise includes the resurrection and the glorification of our bodies when Christ shall appear in His second coming to those who are expecting Him for salvation. This promise is a promise for you and for me and for all believers in Christ Jesus.

For us sinners, we have been given faith by the Holy Spirit in our Baptism, just as little Kyia was given faith this morning. We who are sinners have been united with God forever as His beloved children through what Christ has done for us, through Baptism and through His life, death and resurrection. We have the fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus Christ.

We can look back to the cross of Christ to see our pain dealt with once and for all. As we look back, we remember what the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” Our pains are nothing compared to the pain He bore on our behalf.

As we continue our race, there will be pain. How can we endure it? By looking to the cross, to Jesus, who now is seated in heaven at the right hand of God. When we focus on Him, our pain doesn’t go away, but our faith is strengthened. Through faith in the things above, we can bear it because we see what Jesus did for us and we see what’s coming as well: the second coming of Christ, to end all pain on this world and to take us all to be with Him forever in everlasting righteousness. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Pentecost 12C

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Gospel, which was read earlier.

Everyone take a look at your watch. We need to hurry things up today because I know that everyone has a busy schedule. We have places to be, things to do. Our appointment books are overflowing with meetings and doctor appointments and little league games, sporting events and the like. We are on the go 24/7 and it doesn’t seem like things will be slowing down anytime soon. We try not to worry about our busy schedules and making sure that everything gets done in a timely manner, but it’s hard to do. There are many burdens, many concerns, and many worries of this world that are laid upon us. Not to mention the various concerns of this world clamoring for our attention, often bringing anxiety. Regardless of all that is going on around us, there is no need to be anxious for anything, for Jesus points us to God’s creation and says, “Will God not care for you?”

It’s easy for us to become over anxious in our world. However, Christ points us to creation all around us in our text and asks us a simple question: “When you see creation, don’t you see my Father’s care? Don’t you see the concern my Father has for everything all around you? Then surely you know that my Father is concerned for you as well.”

Christ begins with ravens: “they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.” It’s safe to say that we are higher on the evolutionary food chain than ravens. Regardless, they show us a very important lesson. While we might detest ravens and see them as unclean and nasty birds, God provides for all of their needs. He provides them food. He provides them the materials that are necessary for shelter.

God the Father does nothing less than provide for us as well. It may not be what we want or desire but it is what we need to live. Martin Luther, in the explanation to the Fourth Petition writes, “What is meant by daily bread? Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.”

However, when we look at the world around us, we get conflicting information. While God provides for our needs, we also see such destruction and devastation. Tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, collapsing bridges – how many of these have touched our lives? All of this seems to go against God’s care in creation. How is it that God provides for His creation when He allows His creation to suffer like this? We look for answers, but often than not, we don’t look to God for the answers. We look to ourselves for answers or we look to the world for answers.

We become anxious about everything. We become anxious about what things we have in our lives, or better yet, the things we don’t have in our lives. We become anxious about the way we live our lives. In essence, our greatest anxiety is for improvement.

We are bombarded by the claims which society places upon us concerning what we ought to be worried about. Commercials tell us what we need to make our lives better, things which we cannot live without. We see these things and they convince us of what we should want and that our life is incomplete without them. They want us to see what is lacking in our lives. The problem is not with our eyes seeing things, but with our eyes loving things too much.

The major problem that we face is not relying on God to provide for our needs. Jesus makes it very clear that we are to rely on God to provide for our needs and not the things of this world: “And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

The heart does not see Jesus tries to build up treasure for itself. It places trust in the things of this world, something which is easy for us to do. It’s easy because we think that the world can provide us the comfort we need, especially in difficult times. However, that is not the case. While the world may seem to bring comfort to us now, it is only temporary at best. Jesus gives to us a warning – short and simple, but a warning nonetheless: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

This is a truth that applies in all matters. If your “treasure” is worldly goods, then your desires, your plans, and your actions will be directed toward getting earthly riches. If your treasure is human power, your heart will devise ways to get it. Likewise if your treasure is in heaven, your heart will seek ways to use your time, your abilities, and your earthly treasures toward obtaining and securing heavenly things like spreading the good news of forgiveness in Christ Jesus. In doing so your heart will be strengthened in the treasures which we receive in the assurance of the gospel.

When the heart is treasuring the wrong things, then creation and the world does not bring the comfort that Jesus speaks of; the problems of the world weigh upon us rather than being lifted, and anxiety and fear burden us. The only way to change what our heart sees is to change the focus of what our heart is seeing. Instead of focusing on the things of this world which give us great joy now, we need to turn our focus to what matters: Jesus Christ and what He has done for us.

Because of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, He has made us a wonderful treasure to God. Our sins have been forgiven; not once, but for all times. God doesn’t see the way we used to be, a creation marred by our sins. Now, He sees us as His

blood-bought sons and daughters, free from all our sins and where only the brightness of Christ’s holiness is reflected in us.

Where God’s treasure is, there is His heart also. That is why He sent His Treasure to earth, as His one and only Son, who left His place in heaven to become human so that He may die for your sins and mine.

Notice that God’s treasure is not in the things of this world, but in the One who came to redeem the world. Since God has given His Son to us as His treasure, we can put our hope and our trust in Christ, who is our treasure.

That is the message which Jesus tells to the disciples: “Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” Little did they know He was referring to Himself, for they were focused on things of this world. They were focused on trying to figure out how to feed 5000+ people instead of trusting in Jesus to accomplish such a feat. They were full of anxiety over what was to happen.

In a world full of schedules and the like, we should have no anxiety. We are to be anxious for nothing for God has promised to provide us with all that we need for this life, in both body and soul. The greatest of all promises we have is faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived and died so that we may live forever. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, amen.

Pentecost 11C 2007

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Epistle, which was read earlier.

I think it would be safe to say that we’re all different. We come from different places, different status in life. We have different jobs. We have different likes and dislikes. Though we share some similarities, for the most part, we’re different. However, we each share one common thread: we are all sinners living in a sinful world. It’s not something that we care to acknowledge about ourselves, but it’s true nonetheless.

We think that overall, we’re pretty good, for the most part, maybe. That’s where we’re wrong. We are not good people. We’re not even close to being good people. We can try to be good people, but we’re not. Even the apostle Paul, chief of sinners in his own eyes, is the first to tell you that you’re not good. He looked at his own life, that of the chief killer of Christians until his eyes were opened by Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road. When the scales fell off of his eyes, he saw his sinfulness. He knew that he was a sinner. Everywhere that Paul went, his message was the same: that the people he visited were sinners and were in need of salvation. The salvation which you need cannot be found in you or in the things of this world. True salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Paul was not one to mince words. Paul knew what he had learned from Jesus and he did not back down from that teaching. In our text for today, Paul gives the Colossians a history lesson, a reminder from where they came and a picture of what is to come: “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard…”

Paul reminds these Christians of the gravity of their former state. Satan’s evil power had so manipulated them that they had lived in a state of alienation from God. This alienation had revealed itself in their hostility and hatred of the Lord; and they had suppressed the truth revealed in nature and their consciences. Paul points out that their alienation and hatred had been especially apparent “in the sphere of” their lives, their evil behavior. There was certainly nothing in them that could have contributed in any way to a change in their former relationship to the holy God.

For some reason, there are those who think that the Bible is irrelevant, that it doesn’t apply to today. It was written 2000+ years ago. All the letters which Paul wrote to the churches applied to them and the state they were in; they don’t apply to us because this is a different time, this is the 21^st century! All the things which Jesus spoke about sin, all of that applied to different people. We’re not like them. We’re good people. The ironic thing is that what Paul wrote to the churches and all the things which Jesus spoke about do apply to us because, like it or not, we are not good.

There was only one time that we were good. At the time of creation, when God made man, He declared us to be good. All of that changed once Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When that happened, our status went from good to evil. From that moment on, we became something which we had never been before: sinners.

That is something which we don’t like to be reminded of. It ruins our perception of us being good people. But Paul knew that he wasn’t a good person. When his eyes were opened, he saw that he was sinful. But more than that, he knew who Jesus Christ was: the very Son of God who came to be our Savior.

Before, our relationship to God had been characterized by hatred and hostility; but now, that relationship is characterized by reconciliation and atonement with God, a “return” to what the relationship between God and his people was intended to be and what that relationship was in Eden. It was worked out in the all-sufficient suffering and death of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the Son’s reconciling work was to endure all to present the Colossians and all people holy, cleansed from all sin and separated to God; without blemish, as a perfect sacrifice; and free from accusation” by anyone, and especially by the arch-enemy Satan.

In other words, in God’s presence, there is absolutely nothing left against us. The slate has been wiped clean. Christ, who is the power holding everything together, brings it all back to God, and clears away the guilt and self-dissatisfaction in the atoning process.

These are words which you think we might enjoy hearing. These are words which you think would bring comfort all of us who are sinful creatures. But these aren’t words which we want to hear. It strikes a blow to our ego. It somehow makes us less of a person to acknowledge that we are a sinner. Paul wasn’t out to make friends or to stroke a person’s ego. He definitely is not doing that here. His goal was to bring the church at Colossae to Christ and turn them from the “better way,” a false philosophy which denied the all-sufficiency of Christ and His work.

The purpose of Paul, of myself and Pastor Firminhac and all ministers of the Gospel, is to preach to you the Gospel, “to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.” You are His saints, the church. You are the beloved children of God which were dead in sin. You are the ones for which God sent His one and only Son, to redeem and make sinless.

The point of Paul’s message is in three simple words: “Christ in you.” The same Christ who created and redeemed all that we know (and all that we can neither see nor know), the same Christ who rules with a supremacy we cannot begin to fathom, can also be localized in the heart of any and every believer! The “riches of the glory of this mystery” is every believer’s connection to the wider scope of God’s creative and redemptive work. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news in knowing that Christ was born, lived, died, and rose again for you and for me.

The words of Paul, though they may be tough to hear, are important words. Paul’s letter to the Colossians is a reminder to all who hear it of wisdom: where we were without God’s wisdom, “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” While we were still in that state of being, Christ died for you “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach.” His words are a reminder of what God’s wisdom is doing for us now, “[making] the word of God fully known” to us through Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection for us. Because of the Word of God, it reminds us what God’s wisdom holds out for the future: “the hope of glory” in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith until life everlasting, amen.

Pentecost 8C