Category Archives: Sermons

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Pentecost 21 – “Jesus For You” (Mark 10:23-31)

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.
Today’s text is the continuation of the encounter of the rich young man from last week’s Gospel reading. As we left that man, Mark records, “Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” That’s the last we see or hear about this rich young man, for the man went away sorrowful because he was not able to fulfill Jesus’ command. How sad it must have been for the young man, but what is even more sad is how many more people are just like him. ;
As sad as the interaction was with the man, Jesus continues teaching the disciples, saying, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” This was not only a problem for the man who left Jesus, but it is an important lesson for us today as well. Jesus explains how wealth makes it difficult to enter God’s kindgom. He then generalizes this statement to include all people. While there is nothing wrong with being wealthy or having lots of possessions, our riches cannot and will not earn us entry into heaven, nor will they earn us everlasting life. This is the point that Jesus was trying to make to the disciples and to the rich young man a few verses earlier who went away sorrowful. Our earthly riches will do us no good when it comes to the gift of salvation, for this gift cannot be bought or purchased for any amount, other than the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
To stress the point of just how hard it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus tells them that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” So just how does one go about making a camel go through the eye of a needle? Imagine pulling hair by hair out of the camel through the eye of the needle, then someone disassembling the camel on one end, pulling the camel through and somehow reassembling the camel back together and giving it life again. Obviously, it is a ridiculous notion that Jesus is putting before them, making something so huge go through a hole so small. The disciples knew this and were left with the same question that we all have: “Then who can be saved?”

We go back to the question that the man asked last week, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Right away, we’re saying that there must be something that we can do. But sadly, even though the question is wrong, there are plenty of people who will be happy to give you an answer, albeit a wrong answer.
In more than one church and from more than one pastor, the answer is that you must do good works in order to inherit eternal life. You must lead a good life. You must keep all the commandments of God, or at least as well as you can, and the Lord will graciously open the gates of heaven to you. This is such a popular doctrine among us today, that as long as we go to church x number of times a year, we’ve done enough and eternal life is ours. Or better yet is the notion that as long as we do our best each day, what more can God ask for from us. Doing the best you can isn’t good enough in God’s book, for Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” ;
These answers are appealing to our sinful nature – it means that we can do this on our own. It means that we don’t have to get it all right and God won’t punish us. It means whatever you want it to mean and God will grant you everlasting life regardless of what you have done or haven’t done. The easy answer is good works. But how many good works are necessary? What constitutes a good work? Can you ever do enough good works? The answer to this question is that good works will not earn you salvation.
When Jesus turns His full attention to the disciples, His words are centered around salvation, but the disciples focus on some sort of human-achieved salvation. Jesus has just explained about the camel and the needle and Peter is quick to respond that they have left everything and have now chosen to follow Jesus. In his thinking and logic, they have done exactly what Jesus told the rich man to do: go and sell all their possessions and to follow Him. Yet again, the disciples miss the point of Jesus’ teaching.
It is humanly impossible for a rich man to enter heaven. It is humanly impossible for the poor man to enter heaven. It is humanly impossible for any man to enter heaven on their own accord. To gain heaven by our works, we must walk that tightrope of God’s Law, without wavering and without breaking any of His commands. Because of that reason, St. Paul writes in Romans, “No one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
We as God’s people would do well to remember that also; that we all have turned aside from God and that we are not capable of doing good. Only by fulfilling the Law of God are we saved. However, there is one problem with that: we can’t keep God’s Law. Paul tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That includes you and I. We have all failed in keeping God’s Law. Our salvation could never rely upon us. Paul continues by saying, “[we are] justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus….”

So where does that leave us? How is it then that we able to be saved? We’re left asking the same question that Peter asked. The answer is Jesus. It is Jesus who died for our sins. It is Jesus who gives eternal life. This isn’t about what we do, but it is about what Jesus does for us. It’s not about you – it’s about Jesus for you! What is impossible for us is completely possible for Jesus. ;
Through our Baptism, we are joined to Christ. His perfect life, His suffering, and His death all become ours. That means that when we stand in judgment, we stand not in our sin, but in Christ’s righteousness. We receive full credit for what Christ has done. Because of Christ’s work, we will rise again to new life. ;
Nothing in us is capable of our salvation and so we rest solely on Christ and what He has done for us. Eternal life is impossible when left to us, but all things are possible with God; and because we have Christ, we have the One who sacrificed Himself because He was and is and will always be about us. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen. ;
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Pentecost 21 – “Jesus For You” (Mark 10:23-31)

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.
Today’s text is the continuation of the encounter of the rich young man from last week’s Gospel reading. As we left that man, Mark records, “Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” That’s the last we see or hear about this rich young man, for the man went away sorrowful because he was not able to fulfill Jesus’ command. How sad it must have been for the young man, but what is even more sad is how many more people are just like him. 
As sad as the interaction was with the man, Jesus continues teaching the disciples, saying, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” This was not only a problem for the man who left Jesus, but it is an important lesson for us today as well. Jesus explains how wealth makes it difficult to enter God’s kindgom. He then generalizes this statement to include all people. While there is nothing wrong with being wealthy or having lots of possessions, our riches cannot and will not earn us entry into heaven, nor will they earn us everlasting life. This is the point that Jesus was trying to make to the disciples and to the rich young man a few verses earlier who went away sorrowful. Our earthly riches will do us no good when it comes to the gift of salvation, for this gift cannot be bought or purchased for any amount, other than the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
To stress the point of just how hard it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus tells them that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” So just how does one go about making a camel go through the eye of a needle? Imagine pulling hair by hair out of the camel through the eye of the needle, then someone disassembling the camel on one end, pulling the camel through and somehow reassembling the camel back together and giving it life again. Obviously, it is a ridiculous notion that Jesus is putting before them, making something so huge go through a hole so small. The disciples knew this and were left with the same question that we all have: “Then who can be saved?”

We go back to the question that the man asked last week, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Right away, we’re saying that there must be something that we can do. But sadly, even though the question is wrong, there are plenty of people who will be happy to give you an answer, albeit a wrong answer.
In more than one church and from more than one pastor, the answer is that you must do good works in order to inherit eternal life. You must lead a good life. You must keep all the commandments of God, or at least as well as you can, and the Lord will graciously open the gates of heaven to you. This is such a popular doctrine among us today, that as long as we go to church x number of times a year, we’ve done enough and eternal life is ours. Or better yet is the notion that as long as we do our best each day, what more can God ask for from us. Doing the best you can isn’t good enough in God’s book, for Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 
These answers are appealing to our sinful nature – it means that we can do this on our own. It means that we don’t have to get it all right and God won’t punish us. It means whatever you want it to mean and God will grant you everlasting life regardless of what you have done or haven’t done. The easy answer is good works. But how many good works are necessary? What constitutes a good work? Can you ever do enough good works? The answer to this question is that good works will not earn you salvation.
When Jesus turns His full attention to the disciples, His words are centered around salvation, but the disciples focus on some sort of human-achieved salvation. Jesus has just explained about the camel and the needle and Peter is quick to respond that they have left everything and have now chosen to follow Jesus. In his thinking and logic, they have done exactly what Jesus told the rich man to do: go and sell all their possessions and to follow Him. Yet again, the disciples miss the point of Jesus’ teaching.
It is humanly impossible for a rich man to enter heaven. It is humanly impossible for the poor man to enter heaven. It is humanly impossible for any man to enter heaven on their own accord. To gain heaven by our works, we must walk that tightrope of God’s Law, without wavering and without breaking any of His commands. Because of that reason, St. Paul writes in Romans, “No one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
We as God’s people would do well to remember that also; that we all have turned aside from God and that we are not capable of doing good. Only by fulfilling the Law of God are we saved. However, there is one problem with that: we can’t keep God’s Law. Paul tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That includes you and I. We have all failed in keeping God’s Law. Our salvation could never rely upon us. Paul continues by saying, “[we are] justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus….”

So where does that leave us? How is it then that we able to be saved? We’re left asking the same question that Peter asked. The answer is Jesus. It is Jesus who died for our sins. It is Jesus who gives eternal life. This isn’t about what we do, but it is about what Jesus does for us. It’s not about you – it’s about Jesus for you! What is impossible for us is completely possible for Jesus. 
Through our Baptism, we are joined to Christ. His perfect life, His suffering, and His death all become ours. That means that when we stand in judgment, we stand not in our sin, but in Christ’s righteousness. We receive full credit for what Christ has done. Because of Christ’s work, we will rise again to new life. 
Nothing in us is capable of our salvation and so we rest solely on Christ and what He has done for us. Eternal life is impossible when left to us, but all things are possible with God; and because we have Christ, we have the One who sacrificed Himself because He was and is and will always be about us. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen. 
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Pentecost 20–“Eternal Life” (Mark 10:17-22)

B-90 Proper 23 (LHP) (Mk 10.17-22)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.

Today’s Gospel tells us about a man who came to Jesus for advice. He wanted something very good – eternal life. He thought he knew how to get eternal life, but he wanted some assurance, some sign that he was on the right trail. From all outward appearances, this man seemed to be an example of righteous living, but something was still nagging at him. Something about eternal life still left him uneasy. He wanted Jesus to tell him what was missing.

How many of us ask that same question that the rich young man asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Our society today has any number of answers to that question and the answer always involves us. It requires that we do something or that some sort of contribution on our part be made and then, if by magic, eternal life is ours. It’s one of those “If this, then that” equations. The equation reads, “If I do this, then I receive that.” It sounds good, doesn’t it? It sounds good that you do something to inherit eternal life. The problem is using the words “I do” with the word “inherit.” You do not inherit anything because of what you do. You inherit something because of what someone else did. You inherit something because someone else included you in their will. The heirs really have no say in the inheritance. The person who makes the will determines who inherits what.
The problem this man had was that he thought that if he dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s, he could force God to love him enough to put him in the heavenly will. This man felt he had done everything he was supposed to do, but he still felt uncertain. He wanted Jesus to assure him either that he had already done enough or tell him what sort of task or behavior he still needed to do to guarantee eternal life. Like many people, this man thought that he just needed some special knowledge or that he needed to do some special task. If he could just learn the secret, he could guarantee his place in eternity.

Herein lies the problem. There is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life. To go back to the earlier equation, “If this, then that,” we need to fill in the variables to see how the equation works out. If we fill it in where it reads, “If I do this, then I inherit that,” what is the “that” that we inherit? The “that” that we inherit is hell, because there is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life. Everything we do is tainted by sin and so we can do nothing to earn eternal life. The rich young man deceived himself into thinking that there was something that he could. In fact, he had done everything that Jesus had said. Jesus had laid out Commandments 4-10 as that which needed to be upheld. There is God’s Law clearly presented, something that none of us are capable of keeping. However, the rich young man is the exception, as he has kept them from his youth.

It must have been good to be this man, since he had done something that no one since before the Fall has done – keep God’s Law perfectly; in other words, not sin. When we properly understand the full meaning of these commands, the proper response is to realize that we have broken them all. When we understand that the Bible considers hatred to be a form of murder, we must admit that we are all murderers. When we realize that even the smallest lustful thought about someone who is not our spouse amounts to adultery, we must admit that we are all adulterers. The least bit of laziness makes us into thieves. Even if all we do is listen to gossip, we are liars. The number of ways that we can break these commands is limited only by our creativity. As God Himself said, “The intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”

The man in today’s Gospel did not understand that. For when he heard Jesus’ response, he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” The context of this passage leads us to believe that this man truly believed these words. Jesus had piled up a collection of commands that should have had this man begging for mercy. Instead, this man actually thought he had kept these commands.

It is at this point in the conversation that Jesus pointed out the man’s true failure. Jesus said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” With these words, Jesus revealed the man’s heart. He did not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Instead, his fear, love, and trust were all based on his money and possessions. In spite of all his good works, this young man had gold for a god.

When we come to the honest understanding that there is nothing that we can do, then we hear these words from God: “In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” “The blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.” We are justified by faith apart from works of the law. This is the central teaching of the Christian faith. All the doctrines of the Bible depend on the doctrine of justification. Everything in the Bible points to the fact that we do not inherit heaven based on what we do. Instead, we inherit heaven based on what God has already done.

Through that faith we constantly receive the forgiveness of our sins, God declares us holy in his eyes, and we inherit eternal life. We stop asking the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Instead, the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus and declares, “Look what God has done to give you eternal life.”

For us, the equation is and always will be “If Jesus died for us, then we inherit eternal life.” What we do know is that we – like the rich young man – have an empty place inside of us. We hunger for the assurance that we have eternal life. If we try to find that assurance on our own, we will fail. Only the Holy Spirit can fill that empty space inside of us. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the faith that receives the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation that Jesus earned for us on the cross. He does this by convicting us of our sin with the Law and then comforting us with the good news of the Gospel. In this way, the Holy Spirit makes us children of God and heirs of eternal life.

For us, we don’t have to ask the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” because it’s the wrong thing to ask. For us, it’s not about what we must do, but it’s about what has been done for us, all because of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Funeral for +Don Bates+

LSB Icon_040The text that I have chosen for Don’s funeral comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Here ends our text.

Donna, Gail, family and friends of Don, funerals and grief go together. Sadness and bereavement are normal when a loved one dies; but there is a significant difference in the type of grief evidenced at funerals.

On the one hand, there are many funerals where the sorrow of the bereaved is inconsolable, where widows or widowers and children of the deceased weep and lament without hope. Nothing anyone says or does can dispel their grief. On the other hand, at Christian funerals, the bereaved also experience great sadness, but mixed with their sadness is their Christian hope, which enables them to dry their tears and even smile in the midst of their sorrow.

St. Paul speaks of this significant difference in grieving when he writes in the words of our text, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” The apostle goes on to say that believers in Christ, by contrast, grieve with hope! This hope is expressed in the closing words of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in . . . the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Today, as we come together in a time of grief, we remember a father, a friend who is no longer with us. To say that we are saddened is an understatement. We know that death is that unnatural natural, a result of man’s sin. As we see a loved one advance in age, see their health begin to deteriorate, we begin to try to mentally prepare ourselves for that day that our Lord calls our loved one home, but it doesn’t make it any easier when it happens. There is no way that we can truly prepare ourselves for the moment of death, but there is One who does and has prepared us for death: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Lord came into a sin-broken world in order to make things right once again with God. Because of Don’s sin and the sin of the entire world, our Lord took on human flesh so that He could live the perfect life that Don and we could not. Our Lord went to the cross, taking Don’s sins and ours with Him so that we would not have to bear them. Our Lord died the death that was meant for Don and us and in turn, gave to us the gift of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

We grieve with hope because we do not have to fear death. There is probably nothing in life that people fear more than death. This fear is demonstrated in the fact that we avoid the noun death and the verb die. In medical circles, a patient doesn’t die; instead, he or she “expires.” In daily conversation, we often employ the euphemism “passed away” rather than say that a person has died. But for us believers in Christ, we need not fear death. In fact, we embrace death when it comes because we know that death is not the end, but rather, it is eternal life in heaven with God our heavenly Father. That is the joy that Don now experiences. He is enjoying that everlasting life where there is no sickness and no pain. He is enjoying that everlasting life with those who have departed this life in the faith, including his wife Elsie and his son Donald.

We turn to the words of Jesus for our comfort at death: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” For those who trust and believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and life, death is but the door into heaven. By His death and triumphant resurrection, Jesus has made complete payment for all sins, including that of Don. And so now our departed brother rests from his labors in the fullness of heaven.

St. Paul uses the wonderful language of those who have “fallen asleep.” What a wonderful experience sleep is, especially if one is tired after a long day of work. That is what happened to Don early Sunday morning – he fell asleep in Jesus. I’m sure that in the last days of Don’s life when he knew that his life was coming to an end, he did not fear death because he knew what was in store for him – he knew he was going to receive the crown of life. Don had great faith in the words of David: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” When St. Paul refers to death as a sleep, he is saying in a very powerful way that you and I who believe in Jesus do not have to be afraid of death any more than we are afraid of falling asleep at the end of the day.

Today, we grieve with hope because we can look forward to eternal life. This was something that Don was very sure of for a very long time. He knew that on account of what Christ had done for him and not what he had done, that he had been granted that gift of the forgiveness of sins and that he would receive everlasting life. I know Don believed that because he spoke so fondly of what Jesus had done for him. For you, his children, he wants you to know that as well. Because of Jesus Christ and His life, death, and resurrection, all of your sins, past, present, and future have been forgiven. They have been atoned for and you have been declared not guilty.

We who believe in Jesus Christ do not grieve without hope because Christ our Lord gives us hope because He gives us everlasting life. And what a glorious day that will be for us when God our heavenly Father calls us to Him, just as He did for Don on Sunday. As St. Paul says, “…and so we will always be with the Lord.” In these coming days of grief and sorrow, know that you will always have at your side a Lord who cares for you. This is His promise to you: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Know that the Lord’s care for you gives you power by God’s grace to wait for that great reunion of the saints when Christ comes in glory.

I leave you with these words of the psalmist David: “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” As you grieve, grieve as those with hope, because that is exactly what you have. Trust in God, grateful for the earthly life that he has granted to Don and the many memories we have. Rejoice in knowing that now he lays safely in the arms of Jesus, who is our good shepherd. Amen.

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Funeral for +Loren Brenden+

LSB Icon_040The text that I have chosen for Loren’s funeral is Isaiah 49:13-16.

13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. 14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Here ends our text.

Kathy, Bev, and Diana, Monday was a day that had been at times long coming, while at times seemed sudden. Regardless of whether it was sudden or long coming, it doesn’t make today any easier. The fact of the matter is that we are gathered to mourn the loss of a father, a brother, a grandfather, a great-grandfather and a friend.

At age 82, it is safe to say that Loren lived a long and good life. However, that wasn’t always the case. To bury a spouse is something that can be expected, but to bury a child is the most of unnatural things to do. Loren had to do this not once, but four times.

All of this can be devastating to a person. It can take a toll on a person, both physically and mentally. The prophet Isaiah experienced hardships and difficulties in his life. He brought good news to the people of God’s promise of salvation while at other times, he was the bearer of bad news and judgment from God to the people. As we look at our text, we see how distraught Israel was in thinking that God had forsaken and forgotten them. The reason why Israel felt this way was because of the many grievous sins they had committed. But throughout the many and various sins the people of Israel committed, God never forgot them. God could never forget them because Israel was His chosen people.

Just as God did not forget Israel, so did God not forget Loren. In all of his adversity, he still had a promise from God. In His Baptism, God placed His name on Loren and made him His beloved child. He forgave him all of his sins and granted to him the gift of everlasting life. This was a promise that God made to Loren and it was a promise that God kept, just as He keeps every promise He makes to His people.

Death comes upon us all because of our sinful condition. We all are mortal, meaning that one day, we too, will die. The reason is because we inherited our sinful, mortal condition from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Not only do we have that original sin, we also are guilty of that sin that we ourselves commit.

Even in our wretchedness of sin, God did not abandon us. God saw fit to send to us a Savior in the person of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been redeemed; our sins have been forgiven. All are wiped clean by our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered on the cross for the sins of all people, including Loren. Jesus died. Death came to Him as a member of the human race, though He was without sin. His resurrection from the grave is our comfort and our hope in all aspects of our Christian life and especially at this time.

The words that Isaiah records from God are words that indeed bring comfort to us because they are a promise to us: “Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” Focus your eyes and look closer into our Lord’s hands. On the palms of our Lord’s hands something is engraved. The Lord says, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Inscribed in the two palms of the hands of the Lord God Almighty, you are there! St. Paul writes, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” From eternity you have been in the mind of God and inscribed in the palms of His hands and that is where Loren has been.

God is not a God of “cheap grace,” easy forgiveness. The payment for our sins cost Him the life of His Son—our Savior. But by Christ’s death and resurrection, we are forgiven people. God declares us righteous—made right again in His eyes—through Christ’s atoning work for us. We cannot save ourselves. Christ did save us. And He wants the assurance and peace and comfort and hope of that forgiveness to be a living reality in our daily lives. God says: “I have redeemed you . . . you are Mine.”

Loren believed that. He was baptized and knew he was a forgiven child of God. And that’s what he has right now: life with God. Three words sum up Loren’s state right now. These three words are “with the Lord.” That’s what life eternal is: being in the presence of the eternal God who is love. That is joyful bliss beyond all description.

As you grieve today and in the days to come, rejoice in the fact that your Lord has called Loren home to be with Him and the children that God saw fit to call unto Him. Amen.

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Pentecost 19–“Let the Children Come” (Mark 10:2-16)

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.

Once again, we see Jesus on His way to Jerusalem. There, He was about to shed His lifeblood as the sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the world. Prophesied by the inspired prophets of God for years and years, the fulfillment must have been on our Lord’s mind.

His reputation had been well-established by this time. His miracles attested to His power, His teaching to His gracious wisdom. People flocked to see Him wherever He went. His popularity had also increased among the people of Israel and so had the opposition and hatred of the religious establishment, the scribes and the Pharisees. The Pharisees followed Him and tried again and again to challenge Him and His work. In our text, Jesus taught them and answered their questions – He tells that God brings couples together; He guides their lives together that they might live their lives for God. And with the disciples He urged the sanctity of marriage. Then He teaches us that God not only loves husbands and wives, but that He loves the products of these marriages, their children. They are indeed beloved by God, and they are important to our Lord, for Scripture is clear that Jesus came for all.

All of this was prompted by people bring little children to Jesus in order for Him to touch them, to receive a blessing from Him. This was not necessarily a bad thing. This was actually a good thing, because it showed the love of the Savior that they had. They recognized that Jesus had come not only for them but also for their little children. They went to have their children receive the blessing and love of the Savior.

This is one of the most delightful and comforting, and at the same time saddest stories in the synoptic Gospels. By preventing people from bringing their children to Jesus, the disciples revealed that they considered children too immature to profit from the Lord’s attention and were not yet in need of a Savior. If anything, they were a bother to Him. But Jesus took the side of the people who brought their children, not that of the disciples.

In Mark’s Gospel, only one other time does he record that Jesus became indignant or angry. That time, it was directed against the Pharisees. This time, it is directed against His own disciples. It is hard to believe that Jesus was angry at His disciples, but here He was, angry at them for what they had done. Jesus had righteous anger and proceeded to show the disciples how wrong they were in their actions.

The reason why Jesus was so angry towards His disciples was because they were turning away those whom Jesus had come for. Jesus came for all people. His life, death, and resurrection would earn salvation for all peoples, whether they were young or old. Jesus indeed came to seek and to the save the lost, and here in this instance, it included the little ones. He showed that even the little children were precious in the eyes of His heavenly Father and they were precious in His eyes as well.

For the disciples, they saw the children being brought to Jesus as a bother because they were just that, children. Jesus was intended for the adults, for it is only the adults who could believe and have faith, or so the disciples thought.

What a sad thing for the disciples to believe. With that mindset, all children are outside of the grace of God. All children are excluded from the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation. In short, children are excluded from the forgiveness that Jesus Christ has won for them and for all people.

Unfortunately, that same school of thought continues even today. Baptism is excluded for children, especially for infants, because they are either born sinless or they are incapable of making that decision for Jesus and choosing to be baptized on their own. But here’s the truth that they don’t want to admit: children are born sinful. We are all born sinful and remain sinful until our Lord calls us to Himself. That is our original sin at work, that sin which we are born with. But the other thing to acknowledge is that children, if left to their own devices, would not choose to come to Jesus. If that isn’t shocking enough, I’ll let you in on a secret: if left to your own devices, you wouldn’t come to Jesus either. None of us ever would because we are born enemies of God and want nothing to do with Him. Martin Luther wrote, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him….” It’s not us who comes to Jesus but it is Jesus who comes to us.

Ultimately, the disciples failed to understand why Jesus came and what His kingdom was all about. So Jesus proceeded to teach His disciples and us adults two important lessons.

First, God’s kingdom is also for children. Faith is not a matter of the intellect or will, but a matter of trust in Jesus and in the promises of our gracious Father. That trust in Jesus and God’s promises is granted to us by the Holy Spirit, who works saving faith in us, granted to us in our Baptism. That is why we practice infant Baptism, because children are born sinners and need the forgiveness of sins just as much as you and I do as adults. The Holy Spirit can work saving faith in the heart of an infant or child, just as it does for adults. We heed the words of Jesus, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder for them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

The second point that our Lord teaches His disciples is not only are children part of God’s kingdom through faith in Him, but also, it is precisely that kind of faith that God looks for in all of His believers: simple, humble, trusting faith that looks only to Him. By nature, just like little children, we’re unable to save ourselves. We truly are dependent on God; we can’t make a decision to follow Christ, but the Holy Spirit comes and creates this faith in us. This faith is a gift of God and it is by this faith that we receive the kingdom of God, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Despite what others teach, the truth remains that there is original sin. Children receive the guilt of their parents by nature and need salvation. Children inherit that sin from our first parents, Adam and Eve. They need forgiveness and that is why Jesus bids them to come to Him. Through Baptism, He gives His gracious forgiveness of sins to everyone, from the youngest of the young to the oldest of the old.

In the gift of Baptism, God graciously welcomes all into His saving faith, bestowing upon them the Holy Spirit. He grants them forgiveness through this gracious gift of water and the Word. He bids us all to come to Him, to trust in Him as a child, with a faith that takes His Word to heart, completely trusting in Him and His love. In Jesus name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Pentecost 18 – “Hell or Heaven” (Mark 9:38-50)

        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.
When it all comes down to it, you are either for something or against something. We can’t toe the line, walking that fine line of neither agreeing nor disagreeing about something. At some point, we will be required to give an answer, either in the affirmative or in the negative. In looking at our Gospel for today, the disciples are in for a rude awakening when it comes to the work of Christ’s kingdom.
Everything starts out with John, one of the disciples, tells Jesus they saw someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name and they tried to stop him because he was not a follower of Jesus. More than likely, the disciples probably felt pretty good about what they had done, knowing they had done the right thing. However, that is not how Jesus interprets their actions. Instead of praising them for what they had done, He chastises them. That the man drove out demons in Jesus’ name proved he was a believer, unless of course there would have been specific evidence to the contrary. Such a man would be rewarded by the Lord even if a person’s deed was no greater than giving a cup of water in Jesus’ name to those who were His.
What this means is that we will never seek to prevent others from preaching and proclaiming Christ, even if they are not Lutheran. We must leave the final judgment to Christ Himself. However, we must be watchful lest by word or deed we lead anyone astray, or we are led astray by someone else’s preaching and teaching. Christ here even includes the little ones who believe in Him in this category. We must always ask ourselves: does my word and deeds lead others to Christ or lead them into sin? If it is the latter case, then Jesus gives a strong warning to us: it will be better that before we ever lead anyone into sin that we forfeit our lives. To sin is indeed dreadful with consequences all of their own, but to lead someone else into sin is far greater.
Our Lord uses very graphic expressions to teach His disciples and us how important it is to fight sin. Sin leads to death, just as it did for Adam and Eve; just as it does for all of us. Death is that eternal separation of man from God. Sin leads to hell, and that is what Jesus tells the disciples. He gives them graphic displays of how it would be better to be maimed, crippled, and half-blind than to be thrown in hell.
There are no words in any earthly language that can exaggerate the horrors of hell. Language, while it can be very descriptive in defining emotions, people, places, and things, also has it short comings when defining emotions, people, places, and things as well. The limits of language mean that any description of hell must be an understatement. That is the reason that Jesus is so serious about sin. Sin is more serious than simple death on this earth. Sin leads to eternal death in hell, a hell that Jesus describes with horrible words: “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” It is a wretched existence where death never ends and an eternity without God. And as horrible as this all sounds, it is an understatement of the eternal tortures of hell.
As Jesus is describing hell as the results of sin and the disfiguring of limbs, we ask ourselves if hacking off body parts really keep us from sinning. Does sin really originate in the hand, foot, or eye? Can we prevent sin by drowning in the sea? The answer to those questions are no. There is nothing that we can do this side of heaven to prevent ourselves from sinning. Sin does not originate in our limbs. Sin originates at our very conception. The psalmist David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” There is nothing that you and I can do about our sin. We were doomed from the moment of our conception to a life of sin and ultimately death as a result of our sin. Our only hope must come from outside of ourselves, for we are not capable of saving ourselves from our sins.
That’s where Jesus comes in to the picture. It is through Jesus taking on human form and living that perfect life in our place that we are able to have life. It is by Jesus and His death and resurrection that you and I are able to stand before God with sins forgiven. St. Paul writes, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” You see, it was Jesus who did the work of salvation, not you. Praise be to God that it’s not us who does the work of salvation or else hell would be a very crowded place, as that would be where we all would be. 
Jesus carried our sins to the cross. Through His perfect life without sin, His sacrifice means something. It means that He could offer Himself up to God for our sins and that sacrifice would be accepted. It means that through His death we have forgiveness. It means that by His resurrection, we have everlasting life with God in heaven. 
Christ Jesus went to the cross for you. He went to the cross and died to atone for all of your weaknesses and all of your failings. He took all of your poor behavioral examples, all of your indifference, all of your lacking, and nailed it to that cross. He hung a great millstone around all the things you do as a sinner to cause His little ones to sin, and has cast them into the deep.
Our Lord not only sacrificed Himself to save us from hell, but He also promises a new eternal life with Him in His resurrection. Even though Jesus said that it was better to enter heaven crippled than to enter hell with all our body parts, He promises to raise our bodies in perfection. He promises to raise our bodies so that sin is the only thing that will be missing.
Try as we might, we cannot fully understand the total depravity from God that hell is. What we do understand is that hell is a destination to be avoided at all costs. Because of our sin, we have done everything we could to earn an eternity in hell. We were conceived in sin. We were born in sin. Every day of our lives we sin. We die as a result of our sin, but we are not left in our sin. For us, we have a Savior. For us, we have Jesus, the One who took our sins upon Himself in order to give us everlasting life in heaven. We are justified by God alone; that is, declared righteous and holy by God, because of Christ alone. He has promised to raise us and He alone is the only one who can keep such a promise.
Rejoice this day and always in the joy that comes in knowing that you are a baptized and redeemed child of God, and that because of Christ and His sacrifice, you have the gift of everlasting life in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.
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Pentecost 17–“Who is Great?” (Mark 9:30-37)

B-87 Proper 20 (Mk 9.30-37)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.

This summer, our eyes were glued on our televisions as we watched the Summer Olympics in London. We watched as athletes competed to earn the gold medal in their respective events. Each athlete would jump as far as they could jump, swim as fast as they could swim, run as fast as they could run, all in order to have that gold medal placed around their neck. It indicated that they were the best athlete in the world in their respective sport.

As we see in our text for today, the disciples are arguing amongst themselves who is the greatest. On the way to Capernaum, Jesus noticed the disciples had been arguing among themselves. Because He knew that something was amiss with them, He wanted them to put the question to Him, to ask it out loud rather than discuss it amongst themselves. When He approached them, they at first remained silent and felt guilty. But urged by the Lord, they put the question to Him.

Why were they concerned about the matter of greatness? Not only was it very human, but perhaps Jesus’ own actions suggested it. For the second time, He had taken three of them aside as special witnesses – first when He had healed Jairus’ daughter and then on the mountain of Transfiguration. This must have intrigued the remaining nine disciples, since the three did not report what had happened there. And then there were Jesus’ own words to Simon, calling him Peter, a rock. All of this was puzzling to the disciples who did not yet know the full story as we do. At the same time, it also revealed their sinful hearts, and Jesus was concerned about that.

You and I are not all that different than the disciples of old. We like to think of ourselves as better than the next person, that we’re greater than they are or that we’re more special than the next person is. And really, aren’t we greater than the next person? All you have to do is ask us and we’ll tell you how much better we are or how much more important we are than the next guy.

What the disciples failed to realize is that there is no one who is greater than another in the kingdom of God. Jesus gives them an answer entirely different than what they had expected. In the kingdom of heaven, greatness is not a matter of titles and authority. To be first means to be last, to be a servant. That was what Jesus was trying to tell the disciples earlier, but they did not hear him. Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” They didn’t understand what Jesus was saying. They didn’t understand that He was speaking of His death and resurrection, the greatest act off self-sacrifice. Jesus wasn’t great in the eyes of the people. He was seen solely for who He was, the son of a carpenter. He wasn’t anything more than that, definitely not the Messiah. Even for being with Him, the disciples didn’t grasp what it was He had been saying all along, and this conversation is no different.

Instead of focusing on the words which Jesus had just spoke with regards to His being betrayed and His impending death, all the disciples cared about was who was going to be the greatest among them. They were afraid to ask the specific questions. The answers might get them in too deep. They needed to ask questions for their sake so that they would be able to understand what they had seen and heard Jesus do. Was Jesus really the Son of God? What happened to the idea of Jesus being the kingly Messiah on whom the people and the disciples had pegged their hopes for the restoration of Israel? Could He really do what He has promised to do? If He is the Messiah that He says He is, then why is He speaking about His death?

Instead of focusing on the teaching that Jesus had presented to them, all the disciples were focused upon was greatness, namely their own. None of the disciples were willing to share with Jesus the subject of their conversation because they were ashamed. Their discussion had wandered into a very distant place from the area which He had suggested. Jesus had hoped that they would reflect upon His death and resurrection. Instead, they were conversing about greatness without reference to the cross. True greatness would not be found in what the disciples had done or were going to do; rather, true greatness is found in what our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross.

By nature, the almighty God of heaven and earth is a servant. He created Adam and Eve so that He might care for them. He created them in His own image to be servants to one another, to creation and to their children. When they sinned, He did not respond with raw power and blot them out. Instead, He promised a Savior; in other words, He promised that He would serve them by doing all the work to deliver them from sin and hell to grace and everlasting life. Therefore, it was in service to all that Jesus was born to Mary. God continues to serve by providing all we need for this body and life. He also continues to serve by making sure that His Word is still proclaimed and His Sacraments are still administered, because that is where He gives the forgiveness that His Son Jesus has won.

The idea of what Jesus was saying is completely contrary to everything our selfish world is about. How are we to get ahead, how can we progress, how can we win this way, serving all, settling for last place in order to help others be first? How are we going to get to work on time pushing through crowded roads and streets, giving place to others? We shall be late and we shall be last.

For the disciples and for us, greatness is not about what you and I do, but about what has been done for us. For us, Christ lived. For us, Christ died. For us, Christ rose again. Solely because of the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are granted “greatness.” It is not greatness as the world sees it but it is greatness as God sees it: we are great because we are baptized and redeemed children of God, made holy by the blood of Christ shed for us.

Jesus Christ, our Savior who was once dead, but now lives forevermore, serves us today. He serves us with the forgiveness of our sins. He serves us with His Word, the Holy Scriptures. He serves us with His life giving body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine of the sacrament. He continually serves us with His living presence.

Ultimately, it is the desire of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to serve us with new, holy bodies that will rise from the dead just as He rose and then our service will be perfect as we serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. In that place, it won’t even cross our minds to ask who is the greatest. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Memorial Service for +Norma Drovdal+

LSB Icon_040The text that I have chosen for Norma’s memorial service is 1 Corinthians 15:12-26.

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Here ends our text.

Sharon, Douglas, Paul, Linda, Kari, Peggy, and Bryce, friends of Norma, we are here because our sister in the faith has died. Friday, her family and friends faced the loss of Norma from their midst. Now we are here together. Each of us bears a sadness. Each of us feels an emptiness that comes when someone near and dear to us is suddenly gone. While some may seek comfort in the hope that time heals all wounds, as Christians we turn to the Word of God, where we find comfort and joy as God’s people.

One thing that we all share in common with Norma is our sinful condition. Each and every one of us is a sinner. St. Paul says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That is not something that any of us want to hear or even acknowledge. However, it makes it none the less true. That statement is an all-true reminder of who we are. That statement means that we are separated from God and His glory. It means that we are separated from His righteousness. That is the result of our sin. That was the result of Norma’s sin. Fortunately for Norma and for us, that is not the condition in which we find ourselves today – eternally separated from God.

Because of all of this, we sit here today, mourning the death of one of God’s beloved children. One question that we ask ourselves is this: is death final? Is this all that there is for Norma or for any of us? How do we handle the possibility of death? Some people believe we can overcome its intrusion, that surely the medical advancements of today postpone death; but every medical doctor admits that 100 percent of their patients eventually die. Others believe life is a matter of sheer will. Still others ignore the possibility of death or shrug their shoulders and say, “It’s fate.” No human answer is satisfactory.

The answer that we have is this one from Romans: “For the wages of sin is death.” Death is inevitable. Death is the ultimate result of our sin and there is no way to get around it, at least not from anything that you and I could ever do. God saw it fit to redeem His creation from the Fall into sin. He sent to His creation the means of salvation from the effects of sin and death. He sent to us His Son Jesus. Because of Jesus, we have life. Because of Jesus, Norma has life.

In our text, St. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, who grew up disbelieving in the physical resurrection of the dead. For them, death was the final statement in any person’s life. Paul responded with the Good News of the Gospel. First, that God’s Son took the sins of the world upon Himself and died to pay that terrible debt. But death was not the last word in Jesus’ life. Second, God raised Jesus from the dead as acknowledgment of His Son’s payment. Because Jesus was raised, His death for our sins was accepted. Jesus was raised for our justification, that is, we are made right with God through Jesus’ payment.

What Paul is proclaiming is truth. Our faith, which hears these words and accepts them, is not useless; it holds solid comfort. We are not still in our sins, stuck in the dead-end direction of damnation. Those who die in the hope of their Lord are not lost. They live in Him.

Today, we celebrate the fact that our sister in Christ now enjoys the full joys of heaven. Norma clung to the promises found in God’s Word. It was God’s Word that called Norma to receive the gift of life in the promises of her Baptism. She confirmed her belief in Christ as a young woman. She bore witness to her faith in Christ by worshiping the Lord. She heard and responded to the promise our Lord made in His Last Supper, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus was the living bread in her life, and in Jesus she knew she had eternal life. God worked grace in Norma’s life through the Word, and by the power of the Spirit Norma received the gift of life in Jesus’ name. Norma believed her sins were fully paid for on the cross and that her dear Lord won for her eternal life by grace through faith. This was Norma’s witness, what she believed. And this was her hope that he shared with you her children.

For us, we are left in this world grieving at the loss of a mother and of a friend. We do not grieve as those without hope. We do not have to wonder if Christ has been raised from the dead. We do not have to wonder if there is a resurrection of the dead. The fact that Jesus is risen from the dead declares that He did, in fact, die. He has paid the price for your sins and for Norma by His suffering and death—and He has been raised from the dead for our justification. You need not ever wonder if God the Father has accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for you. You know that the Father is well-pleased with His Son, for He has raised Jesus from the dead. And if the Father is well-pleased with His Son’s Passion and death, then you can be certain that forgiveness is yours—because Jesus is risen from the dead. While we mourn today, we look to that joy that we have forever because of Christ, a joy in knowing that we will be with those who have died in the faith, but more importantly, a joy where we will be with Him. Sharon, Douglas, Paul, Linda, Kari, Peggy, and Bryce, look to Jesus, for He alone can give victory, a victory that He has granted to Norma and a victory that He grants to you as well. Amen.

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Pentecost 16 – "Faith and Unbelief" (Mark 9:14-29)

B-85 Proper 19 (LHP) (Mk 9.14-29)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.

What do you suppose it would be like to have to witness your child suffer from demon possession? The thought itself is chilling, isn’t it? The demon periodically throws your child into the fire trying to burn him to death. It throws him into the water trying to drown him. Destruction, death, of course, is the goal! Your son or daughter rolls around on the ground and foams at the mouth. The demon has taken away his ability to hear and to speak. You awaken each day wondering what the day will be like. Despite all of your previous disappointments, your hope remains because you are a child of God by grace. Not only are you His by grace, your child is His too by grace too. Though God seems to have forgotten His child, your child, you continue to believe that He has loved him unto death, even death on the cross.

That is what we see in Mark’s account of Jesus casting out a demon of a young boy. The father of the child goes to the disciples but they are unable to cast out the demon. The father then goes to Jesus in hopes that He would be able to free his son from the grasp of the demon. The request that the father makes is not one that shows great faith. He says, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” The father’s faith had taken a nose-dive because the disciples had been unable to help him. By the time Jesus and three of the disciples returned to the village, the man was spent. Frustrated and disappointed, this father was losing hope, losing his faith.

The troubled faith that the father experiences is no different than the troubled faith that you and I experience. When we receive bad news from our doctor, we wonder how that could happen to me, an every-Sunday church goer. When a loved one is taken away from us, we blame God for not keeping that person in our life. But just as Jesus encourages the man, so He encourages us as well. Jesus tells the man and us, “All things are possible for one who believes.”

Without skipping a beat, the response of the man is one of anxiousness and great anxiety: “I believe; help my unbelief!” Such desperation like that of this father, if not answered, can lead to unbelief, taking many forms. There are many explanations to a person’s unbelief, but few if any are good excuses for lack of faith and unbelief. Unbelief is no respecter of persons and it doesn’t play favorites. It plagues all kinds of people, even that of Jesus’ disciples.

One the best examples of this is Judas. After following Jesus for three years, he was enticed to betray his Lord, our Lord, for thirty pieces of silver. As Christians, we do confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord of all, that He can do anything, and that He will always provide us our daily bread. Do we believe it though—wholeheartedly? Does our faith waver like that of the father or is our faith steadfast in the Lord, 24/7? Don’t be too quick on your answer, for your fruits of faith betray your confession of faith. You can fool everyone else, including yourself, but you can’t fool God.

We are helpless without God. The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to say it this way, “You were dead in the trespasses and sins.” Dead people can’t do anything. They can’t even believe for themselves. Jesus Himself said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

As we see this scene play out, this scene is the greatest help, for this is where our Lord comes upon a situation and takes command. In whatever dire circumstances, desperate and frustrating, we are never out of reach of our Lord, never beyond His presence. In other instances, we see that the disciples had cast out demons, but not today. It seems that the disciples may have slipped out of faith into unbelief at the fact they were not successful. The disciples asked Jesus in private why they could not cast out the demon out. After all, Jesus had given them authority to do just that when He sent them out and they had in fact driven out demons before, but why not now? Jesus responds by saying, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” When the disciples’ first attempts had proved futile, they should have realized they needed to seek the Lord in prayer. This was not a power that was inherent to them, and it is not a power that is inherent to us either.

Our faith is not a gift that is inherent to us. It is a gift that is given to us, not something that we are born with, not something that we earn. It is faith in Jesus that gives us this hope. At another time and place, Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” From this we learn that only faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself, saves us from condemnation. Any other faith condemns us to eternity in hell.

Just as Jesus was the only solution for the demon-possessed son, so also Jesus is the only solution for us. Just as Jesus dealt with the demon in today’s Gospel, He also deals with the sin in us. He does not ask us to work off our own sin. Instead, He worked off our sins for us. He took our sins onto Himself and then carried them to the cross. He took the punishment of our sins on Himself so that we do not have to suffer for them. He conquered sin with His suffering and death and then conquered death by rising from the grave. Now He offers the cure for sin to all mankind.

We receive this cure by faith, but even here, the forces of sin try to deceive us. The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature try to convince us that this faith is something we produce in ourselves. Unfortunately, there is a popular song that starts with the words: “I have decided to follow Jesus.” Just think how detrimental that is to our salvation. We are the ones doing the work. What is worse is if you haven’t decided to follow Jesus, then what?

For us, we pray as did the father: “I believe; help my unbelief!” When we Christians pray this prayer, we acknowledge that our faith is weak and we can do nothing to maintain it, let alone strengthen it. We are crying out to God from our utter helplessness and begging Him to keep us in the one, true faith until He comes to take us home to Himself in heaven.

You have been given faith. This faith is yours as a gift, not because you earned it but because God has granted it to you through the Holy Spirit. It is your means of coming to God, in the sure and certain truth that because of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, your sins have been forgiven. It is your promise that in times of doubt and despair, God has not forsaken you but has placed His name upon you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Through this faith, He calls you to believe in Christ, who has earned for you the gift of everlasting life. Even in those times where you feel that you are far from God or that God has abandoned you, you have nothing to fear because your Lord has promised you, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 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.