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

One of the major problems that has affected the Church throughout the ages is the doctrine of predestination and election. It says that God has predestined some to be saved and He has predestined some to be damned. If you are predestined to be saved, then good for you. If you have been predestined to be damned, then that is rather unfortunate for you. All of this has been determined since before the foundation of the world. A person’s election is not based on any good works or act of the elect, but solely on God’s grace.

The problem with the doctrine of predestination as presented here is that it goes contrary to what Scripture says. St. Paul writes to Timothy, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

As Jesus answers the question regarding salvation, Jesus gives an answer involving a narrow door. Narrow doors don’t allow a mad rush of people to enter all at once. Entrance is gained by going through the door one at a time. What does Jesus mean here? The narrow door is a symbol for Jesus Himself. One enters the gates of heaven by Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone. Our Lord emphasizes to the people that they should “strive to enter through the narrow door.”

The reason why He says that is because the people had many doors which they could enter by that would lead to salvation, at least in their own mind. You had the door of the Pharisees that was marked by keeping the Law perfectly. The only problem here was the only people who would enter through this door were the Pharisees themselves because they were the only ones who could keep the Law perfectly, at least in their own eyes. You also had the door marked by works, that somehow, you could do enough to please God and that He would grant you entry into heaven. There is also the door marked by the world. This is the path to heaven that one achieves on account of the things in this world, whatever they might be.

The many doors into heaven at the time of Christ are very much present for the Church today. Somehow, if we are good enough and nice enough, then God will allow us to enter heaven. Somehow, if we do enough to please God, He will have mercy on us and grant us entry in heaven. If we find the right thing in the world, that will be our key into heaven. But instead of being the narrow door into heaven, they all prove to be the wide way to hell. You can never do enough. You can never be good enough. There is nothing in the world that will gain a person entry into heaven. The only means of eternal life is the narrow door of Jesus Christ. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the truth is that there is one door that leads to eternal life. The rest of the Bible tells us that Jesus Himself is that door. Jesus said… “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus made Himself the way with His perfect life and His sacrificial death. He certified that He is the truth by returning to life after He died.

The narrow door is open, but the time is coming when that door will be shut forever, at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The words of John the Baptist ring ever true with regards to the message that Jesus is preaching in our text today: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Just as the master of the house, when the door is locked, will turn away those whom he does not know, God our heavenly Father does the same for those who do not know His Son. We can beg and plead all we want, but it won’t do us any good once the door to heaven is closed to us.

Jesus Christ is your sole means of salvation. The narrow door of salvation, once closed, will seal your fate. All of your good works will not open the door. Regardless of what we do to earn our salvation, we fall short of what God demands: perfection. We are not able to keep one iota of God’s law, let alone keep it all and keep it perfectly. The prophet Isaiah tells us, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” Whatever good we seek to accomplish, whatever means we try to gain access to the narrow door will, in the end, prove to be futile.

As for the man’s question, the answer to whether those being saved are few is a resounding yes, because not everyone has come to faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But you, the hearer, need not despair or exhaust yourself attempting to “struggle” through the door by your own efforts. Luke, throughout his Gospel, provides examples of those who pass through the door, not by their own merits, but solely by the grace of God. We ask the question, “What should we do?” The answer is nothing, for there is nothing we can do. Rather, the answer is what Jesus has done for you. Baptism in the name of Jesus – a Baptism of repentance to the forgiveness of sins with the gift of the promised Spirit – provides all that is necessary for entrance.

Those people who “strive to enter through the narrow door” are those who became convicted of their sins through the power of the Holy Spirit and struggled in repentance over those sins through the power of that same Holy Spirit. These are the people who had their sins washed away by the blood of the lamb and were brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ who is our door into the kingdom of God. These are the people who did not rely on their own works to save them, but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, placed all their trust in that same Jesus Christ. These are the people who recline at table in the kingdom of God.

God our heavenly Father has been gracious to you and speaks His Word upon you: “I forgive you all your sins.” As you partake of the heavenly banquet that has been prepared by Jesus Christ, you have a foretaste of the great feast to come in heaven. In, with and under the bread and wine, the Lord Jesus feeds you His own body and blood for the forgiveness of sins; there, He gives you His own holiness and righteousness. To trust in your own holiness will lead to uncertainty and despair; to trust His promise is to know that, even now, you participate in a foretaste of the feast to come. Therefore, you can be certain of your salvation: Because Christ and the cross are certain, and He promises His forgiveness for you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

Think about the greatest gift that you ever received in your life. It might have been a toy, a game, car, or house. If we are married and are smart, we would say that the greatest gift we ever received was our spouse. Believe it or not, there is an even greater gift that you have received. You have received the gift of everlasting life. So just how exactly did you receive this gift? Did you buy it? Did you earn it? Did you do something for it? The answer is no; you did nothing to buy it, nothing to earn it, and you did nothing for it. This is a gift.

St. Paul tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God….” You see, all of this is a gift granted to you by faith. Faith is the key to all of this. Faith is something that is given to you, 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.

Faith is what saved the people of the Old Testament, since they did not experience the Messiah. Instead, they had faith in the promise of the Messiah. Faith is ultimately all that Abraham had. 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.

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.

As the writer of Hebrews expounds on Moses and the people of Israel, and others, faith is all that they had. Faith is all that any of us have. Our faith is in Jesus Christ, 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. 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.

So what happens when our faith is weakened or when it seems that God has given up on us, that He has left us to our sinful vices? First, know that God has not given up on you, His beloved and baptized children. Even when Israel turned their backs on God over and over again, God did not utterly abandon them. Yes, He let evil befall them. They lost their land, their lives, even their identity, but God was still their God and would preserve them.

For you, God is still your God and will preserve you. He will lift you up when you are at your lowest point in your sinful lives. He has promised that in your Baptism, that you have His name placed upon you and that you are His forever. That promise is yours.

So, what sins do you cling to today? What weighs you down in the marathon of your life as a Christian? What sins trip you up? Whatever it is, the text is clear: lay it aside. Get rid of it. Be done with it. How do we do that? Confess it. Speak to God of your sins that He already knows: acknowledge them before Him. And rejoice: rejoice because the Lord has comfort upon comfort in our epistle to give you this day.

For one thing, this grueling race is already won. Every other religion tells you that the prize is yours if you run the race well enough. But this is not so. Jesus has already run the race. He has already become flesh to endure the cross for you. He has despised its shame—the shame of being found guilty of all the sins of all the world, for they were all heaped upon Him. Yet He has endured the cross so that you might be delivered from your sin.

For another, Jesus remains the victor. He sits at the right hand of the throne of God: He is His Father’s right-hand God-man for you. He does not grow weary or discouraged about your soul; rather, He continues to work all things for your good. He is actively preserving you in the one true faith throughout the race.

Your ultimate joy is this: knowing that you are not alone, for Christ is with you now. He is the author and finisher of your faith: it is He who is the source of the faith you have, and it is He who has completed the cross so that your faith and salvation might be fulfilled. He is the author and finisher, Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. But He is not far away: He is with you. In your endurance run, who has given you the living, life-giving water of Holy Baptism? It is none other than Christ Himself. Who continues to feed and strengthen you for whatever race remains? It is your Savior, with His own body and blood.

It’s an endurance run, this life of a Christian. Christ has run His course from heaven to the cross and back again, enduring the judgment for sin so that you might be set free. Take heart, dear friends, for your race is run and won already, because you are forgiven for all of your sins. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

One of many things in Scripture that is hard for sinful man to do is put forward by Jesus today in our Gospel reading: not be anxious about our lives. This includes what we will eat, where we will live, the type of job we will have, the amount of money we have in the bank, etc., etc. All of this falls under the category of daily bread, something which we pray for daily in the Lord’s Prayer: “give us this day our daily bread.” But what do we mean when we say daily bread? Martin Luther gives a very full explanation in the Small Catechism about daily bread. In short, he writes that “daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body….” He goes on to explain it in greater detail, but he starts off by identifying the main point of our daily bread – all that we need to support our body each day.

As Jesus is talking to His disciples, He is teaching them not to be anxious about the things of this world. We all know just how caught up we are in the things of this world that it is the rare thing to not be anxious about anything. However, that is precisely what Jesus is telling the disciples. When He sent out the twelve apostles and the 72 disciples, He told them to take no food along. They were to eat in homes along the way. Such a day-to-day existence might easily cause one to wonder where the next meal would be coming from. Jesus urges His disciples to not be anxious. Life is more than just eating and drinking. In rejecting the devil’s first temptation in the wilderness, Jesus even said as much: “Man shall not live by bread alone.”

The attitude that Jesus looks for in His disciples is one of faith and trust in the heavenly Father. This is the very opposite of the world in which we live in, a world focused on food and drink and a fear of not having enough of the “stuff” that we really need. But here Jesus gives to the disciples comfort which they desperately needed. For all of the things that we need in this world, Jesus assures the disciples, “Your Father knows that you need them.” He will provide for our needs of daily bread in His divine way and with His divine understanding.

Rather than setting one’s heart on “what you are to eat and what you are to drink,” Jesus urges the disciples instead to “seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you.” Once again, Jesus is setting up the question of right priorities. The Pharisees had their priorities. Martha had her priorities as we saw a few weeks ago. The rich man had his priorities as we saw last week. And today, we have our priorities. Sometimes they include Jesus and other times they do not.

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.”

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. 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. 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. When we worry, we are saying one of two things about God. We are either saying that God is not powerful enough to help us, or that God is powerful, but doesn’t care – or maybe He even wants to hold us back. In any case, we are saying that we cannot rely on God and must therefore rely on ourselves and on our stuff. When we trust in ourselves above all things, we are saying that we are god. When we trust in our stuff above all things, we are saying that our stuff is god. Either way, we are committing idolatry. We are not trusting in God above all things. In fact, we are not trusting in God at all.

While worry is not part of our human nature, it – like all our sins – is part of the sinful nature that we inherited from our parents. The corruption of sin that brought frustration, injury, illness, and death into this world also makes us worriers from birth. Worry is part of the package that comes with our original sin. The heart that 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.”

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.

Jesus doesn’t just tell us that life is more than food. He gives us life. Life with Jesus is more than just the years that we spend here on this earth. By calling attention to the short life of the grass of the field, He reminds us that we inherited an immortal soul from our first father, Adam – a soul that was breathed into Him by the very breath of God. The end of our lives here on this earth is not our final destination. Our final destination is in eternity.

The clothing that we seek is that of Christ, to be clothed in His righteousness. For us, that is the only clothing that matters. Christ took the filthy rags of our sins to the cross. With His sacrificial suffering and death, He earned the right for us to wear His eternal righteousness. Now He gives us the right to be adopted so that we can wear the glorious robes of His righteousness and call His Father our Father. There is no reason for us to be anxious about anything, for we know that our gracious Father does indeed care for us and provide for us beyond all earthly measures. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

There is an old adage that says what goes up must come down. Gravity sees fit to make sure that adage is true. If you throw a ball up in the air, gravity will pull it back down. Jump up in the air and you will most certainly return to the earth. Even a helium balloon must give way to that adage and when the helium dissipates, the balloon comes down. However for the Christian, we have the advantage of looking towards heaven and knowing that what goes up will most certainly remain up, for that is where Christ is.

As Christians living in a fallen world, we know that when Christ calls us to Him in death, we have the gift of eternal life in heaven awaiting us. We do not focus, as Christians, primarily on a place. Instead, in looking at things above, we look to a person, Jesus Christ. When focused on earthly things, we forfeit so much of the joy that God intends for us. Looking at the rich man in Jesus’ parable today, what is he focused on? He could care less about eternal life. In fact, the man says, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” While he may have years of abundant living on earth, what will happen when that abundance runs out? What will all the earthly goods amount to when he dies? What will they do to earn him eternal life with Christ?

Paul encourages us to keep seeking the things above, that is, where Christ is. We look forward to the glory above that is revealed to us in Christ Jesus. The whole point of Colossians is that Christ is the whole point, not just a minor point of it all. Heresies had been distracting the Church there from Christ; a focus on earthly pleasures, Jewish legalism, and empty human philosophies. Paul responds by putting Christ on the appropriate level, above all such human things. Look at what Paul says: “Seek the things that are above, where Christ is….; Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” We are to seek those things that emanate from where Christ is, “seated at the right of God.”

Just as we look to things above, we see how Jesus came from above to earth in order to redeem us here below. He came from heaven to earth in the form of a infant child, who grew in stature of a man, who kept the Law perfectly, going all the way to the cross. And just as He descended from heaven to earth, our Lord descended from earth to hell in order to proclaim victory over Satan and his corruption of mankind. And after Jesus proclaimed victory over sin and death, He would ascend to His home again, where He would prepare a place for all believers in Him.

That is the eternal destiny of believers. That is your destiny – to be with God. By your Baptism into Christ, you died to sin and were raised to live in Christ Jesus. We die to this sinful world and are born again into a new life in Christ. There in that new life, God our heavenly Father does not see our sins but sees us for who we are – those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Even though we should be focused on things above, we are often sidetracked and instead focus on things of this world; good, bad, and ugly. When things are going great in your life, when you are at the top of your game at work and the money is rolling in faster than you can count it, spiritual blessings don’t seem all that important compared to earthly wealth. When we are unemployed, when we are plagued with various sicknesses and the like, all we are focused on is an earthly cure and not so much our heavenly blessings. It is easy for us to give in to the things of this world, yet Paul reminds us that the things of this world are not what life is about.

Again, turning to the rich man in Jesus’ parable, all he was focused on was earthly wealth and riches. This was all that he was focused on. But our life is not in this world. Our life is in Christ. Even while we are in this world, we are not to be of this world. Who we are is revealed for us in Christ.

Listen to these words that Paul writes to the Romans: “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” There is another reason to set your mind on things above: that is where your life is hidden. “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” That’s an astounding statement. A more joyful reason to rejoice in things above is because that is where your life truly is. Once upon a time, you only had life for this world—you were among the things passing away. But you have died: in Baptism, you were buried with Christ and raised with Him. Already now, you have eternal life. Already, your name is written in heaven, in the Lamb’s book of life. The treasures of heaven are yours. The Lord does not call you a fool and require your soul. He calls you His beloved child, and declares your life is already hidden with Christ in Him.

This is what it means, that our lives are “hidden with Christ in God.” We are not able to see this new reality with our eyes. But “we walk by faith, not by sight.” Our eyes of faith, now opened for us by the Holy Spirit on account of the Lord’s resurrection, now see that our identity is located in the risen Christ. We see this as the Scriptures are opened to us, as the Holy Spirit has opened our minds to see the risen Christ among us in His Word and Sacraments.

St. Paul is certainly pointing us to things above, but setting our minds on things above has everything to do with the way we live now. The rest of our text encourages us today to live above earthly things, in those things where Christ isn’t. And what might that look like for the Christian? Paul spells that out in verses 5-10 of our text. There he lists sins which were very common among the Christians there at Colossae, sins that are very much commonplace in the Church today. Each of these sins are a gratification of some earthly desire.

As Christians, we have a wonderful reason to be different from a life of these sins, and that is because Christ is above them. We are to seek the things above, where Christ is. Christ is not in this kind of behavior because it is sinful. In order to redeem us from our sins, He had to be above these sins and the only way that was possible is by being the perfect Son of God who would go to the cross on our behalf.

The life of things above means living the opposite of earthly life. It means turning away from ourselves and earthly possessions or means as a way of salvation. It means that we turn to Jesus Christ, for He is above all things. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

Everyone knows how to pray. Most of us do it multiple times a day. We pray before meals, after we receive the Lord’s Supper, to watch over our family. Those are all perfectly acceptable prayers. But what about the more selfish prayers? You know, the one for the new car, the million-dollar mansion, a high-paying job, a beautiful spouse hanging off of your arm. Then again, maybe your prayer life has been nonexistent, even disappointing. Perhaps you’ve even wondered why anyone should bother praying in the first place.

In today’s Gospel, the Lord not only teachers a prayer God loves to hear, but He also encourages a persistent and expectant prayer life in His disciples and in fellow believers. It is not because of who we are or what we bring to the table, but because He gives us the perfect prayer and because God loves to give good gifts.

So why should we pray? If God knows all, He surely knows what our wants and needs are, so there really is no need to pray, right? Wrong! The first reason is simple: Christians are people of prayer. Jesus teaches us to pray by His example and by His words. A quick reading of the text indicates that Luke has two things in mind in this prayer lesson. In the part of the text which presents the Lord’s Prayer, the emphasis is on what God’s children should pray for. In the parable part of the text, the emphasis is on how God’s children should pray.

To remind ourselves as to what we should pray for, we turn to the words of the disciples. “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’” Jesus’ disciples had plenty of opportunity to watch Jesus pray. They all knew that John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. But now, they wanted Jesus to teach them to pray.

Why would they need Jesus to teach them to pray? You just close your eyes, fold your hands and start praying, right? That is why the disciples asked to be taught. They knew that their praying was weak and they needed more. Their request reminds us that good praying is something which we learn. We need God’s help to learn to pray properly.

When Jesus taught them to pray, the words were simple. The pattern was simple. There was nothing hard to it. “And he said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’” Not hard, is it? It consists of five simple petitions and contains three types of requests. The first is for spiritual blessings for all men, the second for material blessings for all men, and the last are requests for spiritual blessings for the people of God.

Jesus immediately answered this prayer by teaching the way and the very words to say in prayer. You can be sure this prayer pleases God and convers everything needed in a prayer. Jesus Himself gave it and spoke it for you to pray – the very Savior who suffered on the cross for you, shed His blood to blot out your sins, and rose again from the grave to lead the way for you into heaven.

Instead of asking for things that we think we need, it contains petitions which seek God’s blessings for all men and petitions which seek His blessings for all Christians. None of its petitions ask anything just for me or for my own. That is part of the pattern Jesus intends to teach us for our prayer life.

Isn’t it interesting that in the Lord’s Prayer, there is only one petition for material blessings? The only thing that we ask for ourselves is daily bread. We ask for what we need to get by in this day, nothing more and nothing less. God will give to us what He deems necessary for our daily bread. Luther says that “daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body….” We do not need to worry about whether the rent gets paid this month or if there will be food on the table tonight at dinner. The Lord provides and He will give to us what we need as He sees fit.

When one learns to pray the Lord’s Prayer, one learns how God has established His hospitality with us in His name and His kingdom and how we respond to this welcoming God by petitioning Him for those things that we need to keep us faithful and from falling into unbelief. When one prays, one enters into a relationship of hospitality where God is the giver of all things and the petitioner is the recipient of the gift of His Holy Spirit. By that Spirit’s power God’s kingdom comes among us as we “believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.” That Holy Spirit keeps the whole Christian church on earth “with Jesus Christ in the one true faith,” and in that church “He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.” The grand promise – that the good Father gives the Holy Spirit through Jesus – assures a gracious answer to every prayer.

The rest of today’s text is a parable that helps God’s children understand how they should pray. Imagine it in today’s terms. A friend comes to your house at midnight and asks for food for his friend who just showed up. You’re in bed, the house is locked up and the alarm is set. The local grocery store is closed and so you are the only one who is able to help. He keeps asking you for food, ever persistent until you give him some food. You give him the food but why? Is it because he is your friend? No, you do it because he keeps banging on the door. You help your friend not because of your friendship, but because your friend is persistent to the point of being rude. So the point is to be rude when you ask for something, right? In a sense, yes. Persistence pays with God. God urges us to pray, already welcoming our requests, loving to hear and to answer our prayers. God is more than a friend to us. He is a loving Father.

Every prayer a Christian prays always gets an answer. It isn’t always the answer we are looking for, and it doesn’t always come when we expect it. It may come at the most unusual time, but the answer comes. The answer God gives is always the answer of a wise and loving Father. He gives His answer, not when we see fit, but when He knows best. His answer is how it should be, not how we want it to be. God will not play tricks on us, His children, when we come with a simple request. When we ask for something good and necessary, He will not give us something harmful. God’s promise to answer prayer encourages confidence as well as persistence. We continue to pray with all earnestness because God is the heavenly Father who loves to give us much more than we ask or expect, and we pray because we are now His precious children by faith in Christ Jesus. With a loud voice, we can all say “Amen,” and amen. Now the peace of God, that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

Time. It is a constant. We have the same amount of time each day: 24 hours. Some days it seems as if we have too much time on our hands, while other days it seems as if we don’t have enough time. In the end, we’re left with the same amount of time. What differentiates one person from another is how they use the time that is given them.

Looking at our Gospel reading for today, we see it start out so wonderfully. Martha opens her home to Jesus as He travels by and through her village. Her sister, Mary, is also present and spends time with Jesus at the house. The Lord has stopped in and will stay for a meal. Nothing could be better than that, or could it?

Now, both sisters face a choice as to how they will spend their time with Jesus. Martha hustles and bustles in the kitchen, arranging pots and pans, firing up the stove to prepare a meal. Her time is devoted to preparing the table, the food, or the many things necessary to serve Jesus. It’s possible that some of the other disciples were there and hungry also. For Martha, her main priority when Jesus visits is preparation for serving a meal.

Mary, on the other hand, just sits. She is nestled in the comfort that is found sitting at the feet of Jesus. She is there, listening to every word that Jesus speaks and she is all ears to what is being said. It is quite rare that one would have such an intimate visit from Jesus like this and Mary was not about to squander such an opportunity.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a nice and pretty picture of Jesus’ visit because Martha was bothered at doing all the work while Mary sat and did nothing. Mary’s choice appears so self-centered to Martha that she can’t contain herself any longer. She finally blurts out, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” There it is. Martha feels a little better because she finally got it off of her chest. What she wants is help from Mary and she’s not getting it. Surely Jesus will be hungry enough that He will tell Mary to go into the kitchen and help Martha prepare the meal. Surely Jesus will get through to Mary that she’s being lazy.

Instead of siding with Martha, Jesus sides with Mary, and with good reason. He tells Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” You see, this is the time appointed for both Mary and Martha to hear Jesus, to listen to His Word, and nothing else is more important. That Word of Jesus is the one necessary thing at this moment.

What is Martha’s problem and often as our problem as well? It is not understanding the purpose of Jesus. Martha seems determined to serve Jesus while He is with them, regardless of what Mary is doing. But Jesus isn’t there to be served. Remember what Jesus says: “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” What is Jesus bringing Mary and Martha? Jesus comes not to receive a free meal from Mary and Martha, but to bring to them His Word.

Why do we come to the Lord’s house? Do we come to do something special for God, as if our coming is some good work that we do for God? No, we come to be served by God. We come to receive from God’s bounteous hand. We come to receive Jesus – to receive forgiveness, life, and salvation that only Jesus can bring. We come to receive gifts, gifts which we can receive nowhere else.

Believe it or not, you are here this morning to be fed. I don’t mean being fed by eating treats between services. You are here to be fed with the gifts of God. Jesus is speaking of being in the Word. He says in John’s Gospel, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” Here Jesus teaches that the best way to get to know Him is to get to know the Scriptures. Really, isn’t that why we’re here?

However, for Martha, she missed Jesus’ true reason for being there. While Mary seemed lazy, she was doing exactly what Jesus had wanted: she was sitting at His feet and listening to His Word. That is what God desires of His people, that we gather around His Word. We should all be familiar with the Third Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” And we should also be familiar with Luther’s Explanation: “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”

When focused on the wrong thing, Jesus shows to Martha her spiritual danger. He calls her by name twice, showing love, compassion and deep concern for her spiritual well-being. He wants to feed her, not be fed by her. He wants to give her Himself, for it is Jesus alone that brings salvation.

That is exactly what Jesus does for us. When we have sinned, when we have turned away from Him, Jesus doesn’t leave us in despair. He doesn’t turn His back on us. No, instead of leaving us to our sinful ways, He comes to us and says, “I forgive you. I died so that you might live.” Listen to the words that we sing: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” These are the words of St. Peter directed to our Lord. Our Lord promises us, “If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” That is exactly what our Lord has done for all who believe in Him. The truth, His truth, the truth about the work of Jesus Christ for us, has set us free.

The promise that Jesus made was not only intended for Mary and Martha, but it was intended for you as well. By His death on the cross, He defeats death; by the shedding of His blood, he cleanses us from all sin and blots out every transgression; by His resurrection, it is declared that God has accepted this sacrifice in your place.

How can anything or anyone be more important than the gift which our Lord gives to us? How can you and I neglect such eternal blessings that come from Christ and His Word of forgiveness? With everything that our Lord says and does, you would think that we would flock to Jesus and the salvation that He grants to us. But instead, we find that the opposite is true. We flock towards those things that bring earthly pleasure and make us happy. We flock to those things which may promise eternal life in heaven, but in the end, fall flat on their empty promises. The promise that Jesus makes for you is one that is indeed most certainly true. This is not like any other promise that you have ever heard or will ever hear again, for this promise of Jesus will give to you eternal life.

When being a Christian may seem unpopular, when following Jesus is ridiculed, we humbly sit at the feet of Jesus and listen. We receive the riches and treasures of heaven, for Jesus has promised, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God.” In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

Have you ever stopped to think what makes you qualified to do something in life, whether it be a job or something far greater, like being a parent? Using myself for instance, in order to become a pastor in The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, I had to meet certain demands. I had to have a college degree. I had to attend one of our two seminaries and receive a Masters of Divinity. I had to be examined by members of the faculty in order to be certified to receive a call. Once all of that was complete, I was qualified to become a pastor.

Take for instance a new parent. You bring home the child but there is no instruction manual. There are no nurses to change diapers or monitor vital signs of the child. As you lay the child in the crib for the first time, the truth sinks in that this child ultimately depends on you and your care. How often do new parents feel inadequate and not qualified for the task at hand?

St. Paul knew the feeling of inadequacy well. He struggled with his own adequacy as an apostle of Jesus Christ, and he constantly reminded his readers, and himself, that his calling was from God. The Church at Colossae also struggled with feelings of inadequacy. Paul referred to them as “saints and faithful brothers in Christ,” but they were starting to doubt the sufficiency of Christ to make them holy and faithful, beginning to feel inadequate in their beliefs.

False teachers were convincing the Colossians that Christ alone was insufficient to guarantee their salvation, and they began to rely on the works of the Law for assurance. Their faith was shifting from Jesus alone for salvation to Jesus and the works of the Law for salvation. They sought to supplement the ministry of Christ with works of the Law.

As the Church has seen throughout her history, we are filled with this fallacy that works will save. It was what the Church taught during the time of Jesus; it is what the Roman Catholic Church taught at the time of the Reformation; it is what is still taught in Christianity today by many Christian denominations and pastors even now.

When we feel deficient, we try to make up that deficiency. We turn to our works or something inward about us. Paul directs us not to ourselves and our own works but to God, who alone is sufficient for all our needs.

We, along with the Colossians, have something going for us: our faith. But what is it about our faith? Where did it come from? What is it in? The faith comes not from us but from the working of the Holy Spirit upon us. The faith is not in ourselves, our works, others, or anything else we can think to fill in the blank. True faith is faith in Jesus Christ and no one or nothing else. Fortunately for the Colossians, they had not given up on their faith in Jesus Christ while flirting with the false theology of salvation by works.

Because of all the confusing ideas that were being preached in Colossae, Paul prayed for them, asking that their faith would be increased, that God would fill them with the knowledge of his will. Paul prayed for them so that they would be able to discern between God’s Word and the false teachers. He prayed for them so that as they heard the Word of God, their faith in Christ would increase and be strengthened so that they would be able to withstand the attacks upon their faith from these false teachers. 

Paul’s prayer for the Colossian congregation is that they would return to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and leave behind the false teachings that have entered the congregation. One has to commend Paul. He is not on the scene, only receiving reports of what has been going on. Now he encourages them to hold faithful to the faith they have in Jesus Christ, for that is the only thing that will save them.

What Paul writes to the Colossians can just as easily be written to the Church today, perhaps even our own congregation. We have before us the means of salvation, Jesus Christ, and we also have those things of the world which work counter to the Church’s teaching of salvation and promote other ways of salvation. On any given day, Christians are given the option of Jesus Christ for salvation or other means of salvation, and they get to choose what they want for salvation. That right there is our problem. There is no other means of salvation than Jesus Christ, but we are told contrary to that.

So what do the Colossians do? What is the Church today to do? What happens when you feel as if you are too far gone for God to love you? What happens when you leave God behind and adopt the ways of the world? What happens when you just feel all the way around inadequate to be a believer in Christ? You do what the prophet Joel says: “Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” You see, even when we are far from God or have turned away from Him, He graciously invites us to return to Him. That is what He did for the Colossians and that is what He does for you and me as well. God has called us by the Gospel and placed His name upon us in our Baptism, forever marking us as His beloved children. While at times that may not mean much to us, it greatly means something to God. He sees the love that Christ has for Him that He would lay down His life, only to take it up again in the resurrection, in order to win for us forgiveness and salvation. That isn’t something to take lightly and God does not take us lightly.

At the times in our lives where we think that we need to do something to earn our salvation or feel as if Jesus isn’t sufficient for salvation’s work, we turn to the closing words of Paul’s introduction to his letter: “He [Jesus] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” God’s formula is not Christ and the works of the Law for salvation, but it is Christ alone.

Our adequacy before God and man is not the result of our works but God’s alone. He alone brought us out of darkness into light. He alone cleansed us of all our sins. You and I are not qualified for salvation on our own. God does not call the qualified. Rather, it is Jesus who does the qualifying for us. He alone makes you called to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Rejoice in knowing that you have been qualified to share in the gifts that God has given you through Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

To be captive is not something that anyone desires. With that being said, you and I are captive to the Law. The Law that Paul speaks of is the Law of God. Jesus, when preaching one of His sermons says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” God’s Law is one of complete obedience to His Word and man proved at the outset that we were unable to keep His Law. However, the Law did serve its intended function.

The special instructions given to the Israelites in order to control their worship life and the laws regarding clean and unclean food that controlled their eating patterns served to separate them from the pagan world. These regulations served as a hedge and protected them as God’s special people. But more importantly, these regulations were a constant reminder of how things stood between the Israelites and their God. Every breaking of the Law, every neglect of the many individual precepts was a testimony to the thoroughgoing sinfulness that marred their relationship to a just and holy God. God’s Law showed Israel its sin and it shows us our sin as well. The Law could teach the need for righteousness, but it could not give the required righteousness. There was the problem: the Law could not provide salvation as the Judaizers and the Pharisees claimed. It could only point to and prepare for the salvation that needed to come from another source, namely, the promised Savior.

We can’t understand what freedom is unless we know what living is like without freedom. St. Paul is writing to the Galatians warning them not to come under the power of legalism. He reminds them that before they learned of the grace of God in Jesus Christ life with God was full of demands they were obligated to fulfill. The law of God was their guide. They had to eat the right foods, marry the right person, offer the right sacrifices, and fulfill thousands of requirements which were their religious code of conduct. God gave these laws so His people would know they were different. They were set apart to worship Him with their whole lives and He would be the God taking care of them. When they were unable to obey all the requirements, they were to ask for God’s forgiveness and look forward to the time He would send a Savior to forgive them.

The Judaizers of Paul’s day, of which he was one in his previous life, gave strict rules for salvation. You had to keep the Law perfectly and you had to be a Jew. But now Paul comes and he brings with him a new message contrary to that of the Judaizers. He says, “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s message was definitely not expected. These aren’t words that he would have uttered as Saul. These are words that speak 100% contradictory to what he and the other Judaizers taught regarding salvation. Salvation was not for the heathen Gentiles, meant to be only for the Jew, but that is exactly who Paul says that salvation is for. Salvation is meant for all people. Unfortunately, that was a point that was missed on the Judaizers.

Things changed when Jesus came. He did not come to abolish the Law of God, but to fulfill it. Jesus lived a life different from all other people. He was without sin. He obeyed the requirements in every aspect as they were originally given. We believe that when He offered up His life on the cross, it was a sacrifice to substitute for us. He kept the Law for us. Every detail was perfect. Salvation was now achieved for all peoples because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, not because of our keeping of the Law.

Because of Jesus Christ, you are made an heir. You are adopted by God the Father. You have full rights of inheritance. This is exactly what Paul talks about when he speaks about your adoption. When he speaks about being in Christ, he is pointing to what happens in Holy Baptism, for it is in Baptism that we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness. It is in Holy Baptism that the “fullness of time” that was brought by Jesus comes to you. Your adoption happens when water is poured on your head along with God’s name. And all that Jesus did in the “fullness of time” is yours.

We are justified by faith, not by the Law. If we are justified by the Law, then we are doomed from the start because we cannot keep the Law in its smallest bit. So what is our faith in? Is it faith in our works? Is it faith in our sincerity? Is it faith in myself? The faith that we have is in the promise of God. It is faith in Jesus Christ. It is faith in that His life, death, and resurrection are all that is necessary for us to be saved. If we have faith in anything else other than that, then we are doomed in our trespasses and sins.

By faith, we are made sons of God, clothing ourselves with Christ in our Baptism. Because we are baptized into Christ’s name, we have all that is His: His holiness, His righteousness, His perfection. That is how God our heavenly Father sees us. He doesn’t see the depravity of our sin, but rather the fullness of Christ’s righteousness. This applies to all who are baptized in Christ.

St. Paul gives to us a blessed assurance that because of Jesus Christ, we have been adopted as sons of God and not by the works of the Law. The Law did its work in preparation for the promise of God to be fulfilled. Now that the promise has been fulfilled, we are no longer a slave and captive, but set free by the salvation that has been won for us by Jesus Christ. We are saved by faith, not works. The reason for our salvation will never change.

Rejoice in this Good News! The Law has brought us to Christ, and Christ has saved us from our sin! He gives us faith: Faith to believe that He has died to redeem us, and faith to believe that we are now His children. We are no longer slaves under the Law – through Baptism, Christ has clothed us with His holiness and made us His holy people. And if we are His holy people, we are heirs of the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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

Whenever you deal with a Pharisee, you have to be on your toes. They are ruthless and are only concerned about keeping the Law according to their own standards. No one else is able to keep it as perfectly as they can and they will be the first ones to tell you that. Our Lord had His fair share of run-ins with the Pharisees and they never turned out the way that the Pharisees had intended it to turn out. Today’s Gospel account from St. Luke shows once again the type of people the Pharisees were and where their intentions lie.

Everything begins rather innocently in our text. Jesus receives an invitation to a meal. It seems that Jesus did not turn down many invitations to a meal. He went to the wedding at Cana. He accepted the invitation of the tax collector Levi to attend the banquet in his home. At that banquet, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law found fault with Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This was the complaint against Jesus voiced by many of the people of His generation. What makes this one unusual is that the invitation comes from a Pharisee. If you are receiving an invitation from a Pharisee, all sorts of red flags should be going up.

It does not surprise us that Jesus was willing to have dinner at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Rather, one is more surprised that Simon would extend such an invitation. There is the likelihood that it was not out of love for Jesus or with the desire to learn from Him. Rather, he may have wanted to add to that list of items for which Jesus might be criticized. The unsocial reception that Jesus received from Simon indicates that he felt no deep affection for Jesus.

Instead of giving us more of a glimpse at Simon’s real reason for inviting Jesus, Luke tells us that a “woman of the city,” after hearing that Jesus was going to be at Simon’s house, decides to crash the party. Rather than immediately throw out this woman, Simon uses this to his advantage. Don’t forget, Simon is a Pharisee and trapping Jesus in word or deed is at the top of the list.

Luke identifies her for who she is, a sinner. If Jesus were smart, He would have insisted that Simon kick her out of his house right away for her lifestyle. Instead, Jesus does nothing except sit there. As far as Simon is concerned, that’s strike one against Jesus. She proceeds to cry and wash the feet of Jesus with her tears and anoint them with expensive oil. Simon knows that Jesus will surely act now, perhaps in rage because a sinner touches Jesus. Instead of going off in a violent rage, Jesus wants to tell Simon something. This is the second strike against Jesus. One more and He’s out.

Knowing what Simon was thinking, Jesus tells him a story of two men who owed money, one five hundred denarii and the other fifty denarii. Both men shared the same problem: they couldn’t afford to pay off their debts. While the amounts might not sound so bad, you have to know what a denarii represented. This was the equivalent to a day’s wage. So for the man who owed 500 denarii, this was about a year and half’s salary and the man who owed 50 denarii owed nearly two month’s salary. Do any of you guys have an extra year and a half’s salary laying around collecting dust? Yeah, me either.

Fortunately for these men, they weren’t dealing with the modern day Las Vegas loan shark who demanded their debt be paid or else. The moneylender was a compassionate man and forgave both men their debts with no questions asked. Jesus asks Simon a simple question: “Now which of them will love him more?” This was a no-brainer. Obviously the man who owed the larger debt. Simon caught the point of the parable, but missed its application to his own life.

Jesus now addresses the sinful woman in the room. Up until now, Jesus makes no acknowledgment of her. He tells Simon of the loving acts that this sinful woman did to Him while highlighting the fact that Simon has failed to show any act of love toward Jesus. By her love she demonstrated the abundance of the forgiveness that she had received.

Jesus is beginning to grow even more unpopular with Simon and the other guests, presumably other Pharisees. So to drive home the point to Simon and the other gathered guests, Jesus tells them, that even though her sins are many, she has been forgiven much. Here it comes. This is going to be the nail in Jesus’ coffin. He says to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” There it is, strike three! Jesus is out! Those gathered begin to argue amongst themselves, saying, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” Jesus isn’t anyone except a rebel rouser. Only the priest has the authority to forgive and Jesus isn’t a priest. But Jesus isn’t done yet. He adds insult to injury for the Pharisees. He tells the woman, who is a sinner, lest we forget, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” That’s strike four. Jesus was already out but he’s not ready to leave just yet.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has granted forgiveness to all persons, not some as the Pharisees thought. Jesus granted forgiveness to the rich and the poor, the young and the old, those who have sinned a little and those who have sinned a lot. Our sins are many, just as are the sins of the woman at Simon’s house.

Jesus left His throne and took on our humanity because, even though we are sinners, He still loves us and extends to us His forgiveness. He knows that if He were to do nothing, we would all suffer the condemnation required by God’s justice. Because He loves us, He took all of our sin onto Himself. He took the punishment of God’s justice onto Himself as He suffered and died for us on the cross. With His suffering and death, He took away all of our sins. This is the Gospel for all sinners. This is the Gospel for the sinful woman and this is the Gospel for you and for me. It is the message of a forgiveness that far exceeds and surpasses anything we could ever imagine.It is the message of a loving Father who His one and Son to die so that you would have life and have it abundantly.

The message of Jesus is most important: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” It is not our faith in ourselves that saves us. It is not our faith in our works that saves us. It is solely our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us: namely His saving act on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

You sins have been forgiven. The act of forgiveness has already been declared in heaven and applies to you now. The free gift of forgiveness is there. You receive it by faith that has been granted to you. Christ’s word of absolution makes you sure of that. This has already been done and given to you. You may now go in peace, knowing that your sins do not separate you from God.No greater words can be spoken than knowing that our sins have been forgiven, and because of that, you have I have peace with God forever. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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 is the Gospel which was read earlier.

Two large processions are slowly moving toward each other. The one was the parade of life as Jesus walked into the city. The Master, who taught both by His marvelous, life-giving words and by His amazing, life-sustaining deeds, led a large throng along the way. His disciples walked with Him, for that is what disciples do. He was also accompanied by a great crowd of people. At the gate of the city there was joy, life, and excitement in this royal procession, for Jesus had, just the day before, healed a centurion’s servant. Prior to that a leper had been cleansed at Jesus’ Word. A paralytic rose up and walked, having been both healed and forgiven by the Son of God. Jesus had demonstrated the power and authority of His own divine nature when He cast out demons on one occasion and helped bring in a full net of fish on another. The other procession, the parade of death, has at its head the coffin of a “dead person,” the only son of his widowed mother, who followed with a crowd of fellow townspeople.

An important event was about to take place. Two processions met at the gate of the town. In those days the towns were often surrounded by a wall, and people had to go in and out through a large gate. Was it by accident that the two processions happened to meet at this place and at this time? Jesus knew that this meeting would take place just this way.

Don’t you wish that would happen to you when you are on the way to the cemetery to bury your loved one? Where is Christ then, when you so desperately need Him? Why doesn’t He do as He did here, suddenly appear, halt the funeral procession, command the funeral director to open the hearse and bring your loved one’s coffin forth so that He might speak the reviving words: “I say to you, arise.”

At that moment, the boy was called from death to life. At that moment, the boy had new life in the name of Christ. We too, have been called from death to life by the waters of Holy Baptism. We who were spiritually dead have been called to new life in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, when the water, combined with the Word of God touched our forehead.

Shortly after creation, Adam and Eve sinned, and in turn, we sinned. We became children of Satan, eternally separated from God. It could be very easy to stop the story right there and say, “Woe is me.” But the story doesn’t end there. What Jesus tells the weeping woman He tells us as well: “Do not weep.”

We remain children of Satan until we are called by the waters of Holy Baptism to become children of God. We are strengthened as children of God by His Word and His Sacraments. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel, enlightened us with His gifts and sanctified and kept us in the true faith for no other reason than that we are God’s beloved creation.

Jesus’ words, “Do not weep” seem to be strange to whoever hears them, for there was no more appropriate time for weeping than at the time of death. Jesus’ words imply that there is no cause for grieving, for the young man will yet live. These are strange words to our ears, as well. It is only natural that we mourn the loss of a loved one when they pass away. Now, Jesus is telling the woman not to mourn. But the reason why she should not mourn is because Jesus is going to raise her son.

At that moment, the funeral procession stopped and Jesus touched the coffin “and the dead man sat up and began to speak.” The joy of all this is that what happened here is not a single isolated event but the glad pledge and promise of things to come. St. Paul writes, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Remember that famous self-designation of Jesus, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Notice, He does not call Himself the “resurrector,” but the “resurrection.” In Him, in His Easter conquest of the coffin and triumph over the tomb, the resurrection of all men has already begun. And what God begins, God finishes.

The people are so amazed by what Jesus has just done that “fear seized them all, and they glorified God.” The miracle of Christ had the effect upon these people that they were filled with awe and reverence. They cried out that “God has visited his people!” Why don’t we cry out like that today? Instead we put Jesus on the shelf, we ignore Jesus or we change Jesus to fit our wants and needs. Indeed, God has visited His people through His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He visited His people when He came in the form of a baby. He visited His people when He grew up, only to die for you and for me. He visited His people when He rose again and joined our Father in heaven to prepare a place for you.

The visit was redemptive. He comes to bear the burden of a cross to the little lonely hill of Golgotha; there to die that God might blot our offenses from His sight and mind forever. Christ visits Calvary and God does not visit us for our sins. God now comes to visit us who have been made clean by the blood of the Lamb. For three days, He visits a garden grave and then bursts the bonds of death by His Easter rising. And now we are but temporary visitors in the prison of the tomb. For His is coming for a final visit, to free and liberate us from our shut and sealed coffins, to give us new and immortal bodies and to take us to God’s presence and a new world where all sorrow and sighing will have departed forever.

It is no wonder that fear – proper, Godly fear, came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. The Parade of Death stopped that day. For there was absolutely no more reason for it to continue. The son is risen; risen indeed. Death was defeated and stopped dead in its tracks. “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” Death has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christ’s death and resurrection opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. It opened the kingdom for the widow’s son who was dead. It opened the kingdom for Adam and Eve and it opened the kingdom for you and me.

On the Last Day, the Lord’s Word will touch this coffin known as Earth and the dead in Christ will rise with body and soul then re-united. For the Lord God Almighty, the One Who created you in the first place, will, on the great and wonderful Day of the Resurrection, raise up the bodies of all and reunite them with their souls. There is no reason for us to weep, because our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given to us forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. 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.