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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.

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Pentecost 15 – “Partiality and Works” (James 2:1-10, 14-18)

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.

For as long as we have been a people, we have shown partiality to others. Often times, partiality is shown to men over women in the workplace. Our own nation showed great partiality with regards to Caucasians over African Americans in the 1950s and ‘60s. As we look at our text today, the words of James indicate that we should not look down upon people of any group as being inferior or inherently bad. This includes preference based on gender, age, or in the example James refers to, preference based on how rich a person is.

As sinful people, we look up to others, almost at times making them gods, while we look down upon others because of their sex, color, vocation, or any number of things. That’s where man and God have a problem. In God’s eyes, no one is inherently inferior. All were created in His image. All have equally fallen from that image into sin and guilt. All who are redeemed are justified by the same holy blood of Jesus, and are equally forgiven. Even those whom we find disgusting may be the saints of God.

God’s Word shows that He is no respecter of persons, that He shows no favoritism, no partiality, no bias, and no preferences. His loving Gospel proclamation embraces all nations, tribes, races, languages, social classes, economic classes and both genders alike, and so should Christianity.

As we see in our text, James zeroes in on the issue of money and favoritism, how a congregation might shower wealthy members with attention, flattery, and other perks while treating the poor with contempt and making them less than second class citizens of the congregation.

In our modern society, the way of the world is to rub shoulders with those who can do things for you, to be nice to those who are nice and to brush off those who need your help or cannot contribute anything to you and your well-being.

James, in writing his letter to the twelve tribes, reminds them that we should not promote the wealthy to a better position over the one who is poor. Rather, we see how God Himself has shown special honor to those of lower estates. Jesus says in Luke 6: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God…. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.” St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” The point is that our salvation is based not on any human achievement, human wealth, or human power but on God’s grace and mercy in the blood of Jesus.

If that were the only problem that James was having, then this would be a very simple thing to resolve: everyone has equal status in the eyes of God as His baptized and redeemed children. However, there was more going on that James addresses, something that is even more at stake than showing favoritism in the church. The bigger issue here is works.

James writes, “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” We see here an ongoing debate that has plagued the Church throughout her history: is a person saved by their works?

Many a denomination today says just that, that a person is saved by Christ AND their works. That debate is one that fueled the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church taught that a person is saved by the work of Christ and the works that they do. Luther, in his studies of the Scriptures, could not find anything that justified the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching. Rather, what Luther did find was this: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

For us Lutherans, ours is a tradition based on faith alone, grace alone, and Scripture alone. Works do not count for our salvation. We are saved only through the righteousness of Christ, a righteousness that is carried out in His suffering, death, and resurrection and given to us by the grace of God in our Baptisms.

Sometimes when people hear the Gospel for the first time, the good news that Jesus Christ gives comfort, forgiveness, and everlasting life to all who repent and believe in Him sound too easy. They think that all they have to do is come to church or call themselves a baptized Christian gives them the right to live anyway they want. It is this false notion that James speaks of.

Our own attempts at good works are nothing but filthy rags in the sight of God and do nothing to earn our salvation. However, the good works we do are intended not for God but for our neighbor. We do our good works as our “thank you” for what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.

Our faith and our works cannot have a separate existence. They are bound together. Faith always produces good works; works that are good in God’s eyes always come from faith. James is writing to those who are self-secure and lazy, those who say they have faith yet feel no need to do good works. They say that salvation is free, so good works do not matter at all. In reality, good works are necessary for the Christian life, even though they do not earn you salvation. The life we live is the life God has worked for us in Christ. He is the content of our works.

So, we do good works. Not because we have to, but because Jesus has set us free to.

Once again, we are to beware of favoritism. Out there, God gives people different gifts and stations, and some people need more help than others. We’ll always want to help those who are friendly, nice, clean and able to return the favor. We’ll want to help those who can help us. Our Lord would have us help those in need, even as He has helped us undesirable sinners in our greatest need.

For this is true: God shows no favoritism, but has given His Son to die for all; you can be certain, then, that you are not excluded from that redemption. When you were baptized as one among all nations, Jesus said, “I baptize you.” When you heard the Absolution today, Jesus said, “I forgive you all of your sins.” And still today, He gives His body and blood for you, for the forgiveness of sins. And so your Savior shows no partiality or partial forgiveness. For His sake, you are His child. For His sake, 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.

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Pentecost 14 – “God’s Armor” (Ephesians 6:10-20)

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.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Christianity is no picnic. It is not for the faint of heart. It does not guarantee a life of riches and success—of peace and tranquility. In fact, here Paul is preparing the Baptized of God for quite the opposite. Every day we face a battle with an unholy trinity: the devil, who loves nothing more than to wrest us away from our loving Father; the world, that wants company in its misery and separation from God to justify itself with numbers and to avoid seeing its own guilt; and our own sinful flesh, that wants what it wants when it wants it, no matter the harm it may do to others or even itself. If you are going into battle, you need to make sure that you are properly armed or else you will find that you quickly become a casualty of war.

Our text can be summed up in two words today: “Be strong.” The Christian life will always be a struggle. Attacks on the faith will take the form of temptations and moral lapses. There will be temptations to yield on points of doctrine. There will be temptations to judge those who do not meet your holy standards. The list could go on and on, but the point is clear: we need to be strong against temptations. However, this is something that children of God cannot do by themselves. They need help, God’s help. That is why Paul writes, “Put on the whole armor of God.” Notice who is the one who is providing the armor and strength. It’s not you and me. It can’t be you and me because we don’t have the means to clothe ourselves in righteousness.

This is an epic battle that we are engaged in as Christians. Just who are we fighting in the war? Paul says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” We are battling spiritual forces bent on doing us harm, forces that seek death for the Christian.

William Tecumseh Sherman, in his address to the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy in 1879 was quoted saying, “War is hell.” Anyone who has fought in battle would most likely agree with Sherman’s statement. However, this war is truly hell, as it is the battle between heaven and hell, good and evil, life and death, God and Satan.

We are at war with none other than Satan himself, and truth be told, Satan likes the way that the war is going. When Satan started the war back in the Garden of Eden, it was the shot heard around the cosmos because at that very moment, Satan started and ended a war with a single piece of fruit. He rejoiced in his victory because he forever separated man from God. As far as Satan was concerned, this was a well-fought war; however, God was ready to begin His own war to regain His creation.

While the war has ultimately ended with Satan being defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection, the battles still rage on today in all of our lives. That is why Paul tells us to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” We continue to be assaulted by Satan and his evil ways every day. It can be very easy to surrender in our daily battle, but this is why Paul tells us why we need the full armor of God and not just bits and pieces of it.

God instructs us to put on the armor of God that He has provided. What is this armor? First there is the belt of truth. No matter how bad the situation gets, we remain grounded in the truth of who Jesus Christ is, our Lord, our Savior, the true divine person of God come down to earth in the body of a man to offer Himself up for our salvation. Together as true God and true man Jesus reigns today from heaven over His church.

The next piece of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. The key to this is that it is not our righteousness. If it were our righteousness, then we could never stand against Satan because our righteousness, our works, the best we can do, is nothing but filthy rags. We cannot rely upon ourselves, but that is what we hear from the world. We hear how we are capable of achieving or earning our own salvation through our own works or other merits. The truth is we cannot rely upon ourselves; we must rely solely upon Christ. Christ’s death upon the cross and His laying down His life and His ultimate resurrection gives us that protection from whatever Satan can throw at us because we are no longer children of Satan but we have been made children of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

For our feet, we have nothing short than the gospel of peace. God is at peace with us, and we are at peace with one another. Our sins are forgiven, so we know that whatever rocks and sharp things underfoot we encounter in the battle, God is not against us, nor are things out of control and hopeless, but we are at peace with God and He with us.

We next arm ourselves with “the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the faming darts of the evil one.” These flaming darts are constantly around us. They are in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. The shield of faith is God’s gift which gives to us salvation, effects the forgiveness of sins, grants access to God, and assures eternal life by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Again, this is not our shield, but the shield that is given to us by God. No shield that we bring to the battlefield can defend us. It is trust in God and in His promises that can extinguish all the flaming arrows of doubt, of guilt and of fear that the devil can send against us. We can shout, in faith, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

The helmet of salvation that we wear is salvation that has been won for us. In the ultimate battle of the cross and the grave, Jesus defeated the devil and broke Satan’s power over God’s creation. Satan fired all his fiery arrows and spent all his weapons and has nothing left. Christ has given us the victory of His death and resurrection.

Our armor against Satan is complete, minus one thing: a weapon, the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Only the Word of God, which is Jesus Christ made flesh, could defeat Satan. It was He would come into this world, not at our asking, but of the Father’s will. It was Jesus Christ who lived a life without sin for all of us who are sinful. It was Jesus Christ who died a death that no one else could die on our behalf. It was Jesus Christ, by His resurrection from the grave that defeated Satan, not us.

God has given us the armor, and He has given us the power, and He has given us the weapon for the battle. We must also remember that He also has given us the ultimate victory as well, in Jesus Christ, so we have no need for fear. If we belong to Christ, we will not be able to avoid the battle, for the enemy will bring it to us. But the victory is ours if we stand with Christ and stand ready. So, be prepared: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” 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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Remembering 9/11

Note: a reprint from 2009

On September 11, 2001, it was my second day of classes in my first quarter of studies at Concordia Theological Seminary.  As I was leaving my class and heading to Kramer Chapel, people were talking about a plane accident where a plane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.  Shortly thereafter, a second plane crashed into the second tower.  Needless to say, we were stunned by the morning’s events.  Our chapel service that day was led by Rev. Richard Radtke, then senior pastor of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The following is his sermon which he preached that day.

Text: Luke 11:25-35

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The news this morning is very grim.  A commercial airliner crashed into one of the buildings of the World Trade Center in New York City.  A few minutes later, another airline crashed into the second World Trade Center building.  Then another commercial airline crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C.  Just a few minutes ago, we heard news that one of the World Trade Center building collapsed.  There is a great deal of confusion and horror about all this.  In the midst of this tragic news, we ask: How can this be?  How can this happen in our own land – in America?  Yet, this terrible tragedy shows the brokenness of this world, and how this world is truly a culture of death.  This means that today we can see even more than ever the need for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is why you are here – as professor, student, staff, or pastor.  In his words of comfort before the service began, President Wenthe said that the work of the seminary will go on because of what has happened this morning.  Nothing else can give us the true hope that we need other then the word of our Lord.  And so, in my homily this morning, I will spend a few moments on today’s Gospel, which is our calling to follow Jesus, and then apply our calling to this morning’s tragic events.

The call to follow Jesus surpasses all else.  But on our own, who could qualify?  Not one of us here, or anywhere, for that matter.  Because of our sin, we are all not only spiritually impoverished, but the Scriptures call us spiritually dead.  The call to follow Jesus is serious and severe.  We must renounce all to follow Him – and not depend on family, possessions, works, or self.

But the One who calls us is gracious.  The One who is sinless became sin for us, and carried our sin in His flesh to the cross.  In Jesus Christ we find our life and our hope.  His gospel. is our invitation.  He invites us to come to Him and find rest for our souls.  He invites us to come and follow Him.

The call to follow Jesus is especially meaningful for us today as we witness the horrifying events of this morning.  We know that the evil one, satan, is working ever so hard to silence the word of God.  He is working evil in this world to confuse and mislead all people, even the people of God.  He wants us to take our eyes off the gospel and the Lord Jess.  And so, we must trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord our God has promised in His word: “I will never leave your nor forsake you.”  Our Lord Jesus invited us to come to Him with these words: “Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  The Scriptures are filled with words of comfort that remind us of the presence and power of our Lord at all times, and especially when we face these difficult and perilous times.

Things will never be the same in the United States.  More tragedies may yet happen this day.  It will be “a day of infamy.”  I would urge all of us to pray for our nation, for President Bush, and for all our leaders, that God would give them strength and courage for today and for all the days to come.

In a few moments, we will have the opportunity to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion.  We so need the strength that God gives in the true body and blood of His Son Jesus Christ.  We so need the presence of our Lord among us as we struggle with questions about this national tragedy.  Here at this altar we will be nourished, and we will receive the strength that only our Lord can give – strength for the moment and for the days that are ahead of us with all the uncertainties of these times.  Therefore I commend you to our gracious and loving God, and I pray with you for His strength for our nation and all our leaders and for those who proclaim the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.  May His peace be with you.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Pentecost 13–“On That Day” (Isaiah 29:11-19)

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 Old Testament, which was read earlier.

Last week, I finally watched a movie that I had wanted to see for a while: 2012. The premise of the movie is this: according to the Mayan calendar, the end of the world will be December 21, 2012. Scientists had discovered that the end of the world as we know it is quickly coming and they have just a matter of a few years to figure out how to save the human race. Unfortunately, the end of the world comes sooner than December 21 and the beginning of the end of the world commences.

Now, if you are wondering, the end of the world will not come on December 21, 2012. We do not know when the end of the world will be, not even Jesus Christ. That is information that only God the Father knows. However, this movie is a good reminder for us that we are living in the last days, that period of time that we await the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we look at our text, Isaiah is doing what Isaiah does best: prophesying. Prior to our text, Isaiah tells the people of Israel of how God mercifully delivered His people from Assyria. Those in Jerusalem lived to see the dramatic events and rescue, but failed to see beyond the disappearance of the Assyrian armies. They failed to recognize the work of God in all of this and instead continued in their rebellion and unbelief. He revealed to them the unhappy truth about the spiritual blindness of the people of Jerusalem. For those people who were spiritually blind and drunk, the message of God was a sealed book they could not understand. For all who remained in unbelief, the book was sealed. Those who could read couldn’t, because the message was sealed, that is, it was impossible to understand. Those who could not read could not penetrate the meaning of the words.

Why would God cause His Word to be sealed for His people? Isaiah tells them it because their hearts were far from the Lord. They would speak the right words, go through the motions, but at the end of the day, their hearts were as far from God as could be. They had lost the essence of God and His revelation to His people. They did not understand His grace and the promises of the coming Messiah. They were a people who had more or less developed a religion made up only of rules taught by men.

How fortunate for us today living in these last days that we are a people solely centered upon God and His Word, focused on the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ. Oh wait, we’re not that people. Instead, we are a people that are fractured when it comes to who God is. We are a people who say that God can be anyone or anything. We are a people who say that you can have your god, lowercase g, and I can have my god, lowercase g, but even though they have different names, we’re talking about the same god and that both are equal in stature.

Instead of focusing on the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ, we focus on the salvation that our works earn for us. Instead of focusing on the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ, we look to the various other avenues in which we can be saved, all just as equal or greater to the salvation accomplished for us by Jesus Christ on the cross.

The prophesying words of Isaiah not only speak of people whose hearts are not in their religion, but also speak of those whose hearts are sincere and devout, but whose beliefs are wrong and without Christ. Such people believe that they are worshiping the true God when they follow rules taught by men. Many are devout and zealous in their beliefs, but they are without Christ.

Even those within the visible Church of Christ can have hearts that are far from the Lord. When they abandon the message of the cross and adopt social issues, they begin to adhere to rules taught by men. Whenever the free and gracious gifts of God become rewards earned by man, worship and religion become hollow and we find ourselves separated from that communion with God.

Isaiah speaks to those who know they oppose God and who persist in their unbelief and rebellion. Such people sought to hide their evil and perversion from the Lord, just as Adam and Eve tried to. Unfortunately, we cannot hide our evil from the Lord because our God is an all-knowing God and knows all that we do, including our evil acts. Instead of hiding our evil from God, as if He would not be able to see what we have done, we must confess our sins and repent of them in order to receive that blessed forgiveness our Lord desires to grant to us.

However, there is good news for us and for all people. Even though we still sin and even though we still die, our Lord has sought to grant to us a Savior. Jesus Christ has redeemed us from sin and death and hell. His death on the cross is our death, and His resurrection is our resurrection, shown to us in advance, to comfort us in the face of the dangers of life and the terror of death. God addresses those truths through Isaiah. He says, “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.”

We live in that day, spoken of by the prophet. We are the deaf. We are the blind. In and of ourselves, we cannot hear the Word of God. We can physically hear it, but without the working of the Holy Spirit in us, we automatically reject it as false, old-fashioned, or absurd superstition.

Our Lord rescues, redeems, and reconciles us to Himself, not out of our worthiness but out of His grace. He turns our sins into salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. This message that the deaf shall hear is none other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of His life, death, and resurrection for us. It is the story of how He atoned for the sins of the whole world in order that you and I might have the free gift of everlasting life. It is the story of how you have become one of God’s beloved children.

We rejoice in our forgiveness. When all else fails, we have eternal life ahead. We shall rise from our graves and live with the Lord forever! But even while we live here, our sufferings are not pointless and endless and hopeless. God is with us, and He has a plan. He will guide us and keep us, and He will not allow us to bear more than we are able, but will provide us with a way of escape and bring us through. That is His promise, and that is our faith and our hope. And believing that we can rejoice, and increase in our gladness in the Lord.

We live in that day spoken of by Isaiah. And on that day, the promise is true, and it still brings comfort and hope to the chosen people of God! On that day we do hear the words of a book that we are not naturally able to hear, and we do see though the gloom and darkness of a fallen and utterly corrupt pagan world. Our gladness is increased because we who are needy have our needs met: our sins are forgiven, and we have received that gift of everlasting life. 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 12–“Children of Light” (Ephesians 5:6-21)

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 been deceived before, whether it is by purchasing something or buying into something that someone has said? It’s not a good feeling when you realize you have been deceived and often times, there’s nothing you can do to undo it. You are left feeling jaded and disappointed at what has happened. Once you have been deceived by a particular person or company, you learn not to associate with them again, for fear of being deceived in the future.

As we look at our text today, that is the warning that St. Paul gives to the Ephesians. The old Adam in sinful man will try to deceive us with “empty words,” those things that we may want to hear or that sound good to our itching ears, but are none the less false and deceiving, going against God and His Word. These arguments will not hold up before God’s final judgment. Paul’s message is clear for all: “do not associate with them.” The reason is because in associating with them comes the danger that we too will fall into the lies and deception and fall away from God and revert to our pagan ways.

Paul’s call for us Christians is clear: “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light….” This is both good and bad, for it reminds the Ephesians just what kind of people they used to be. Not only were they misled and under the influence of wicked paganism, they themselves were a bad influence. They were the darkness that misled others to practice and even enjoy gross immorality and wickedness.

What a sad and unfortunate time it must have been for the Ephesians before they came to know Christ. They were led to believe and practice the popular things of the day, without questioning as to whether or not this was God-pleasing. They were deceived into thinking that what they were doing was ok and that there were no consequences to their actions. However, St. Paul knew better. He knew from his own life that his actions indeed had consequences, and they weren’t earthly consequences. He knew that because of who he was and what it was that he was doing, he was separated from Christ and His forgiveness and glory. He knew that eternal death was his when his eyes were opened on the Damascus Road. He did not want the Ephesians to face the same eternal spiritual consequences that he was going to face. Because of this, St. Paul set out to make sure that the Ephesians knew Christ and knew Him to the fullest extent possible.

The Ephesians were not only enlightened by knowing Christ; they themselves have become light. Not only were they influenced by the Gospel of Christ, but they themselves are now the influence that builds up their brothers in the church and wins new converts for Christ.

Lest we get too far ahead of ourselves, these words ring true for us as well. At one time in our lives, we were the ones who were both deceived and doing the deceiving. Before we became God’s children through Holy Baptism, we were deceived by the father of lies, Satan. We brought into his lies that it didn’t matter what we did, that there would be no consequences. However, there are eternal consequences to our actions, namely death. St. Paul writes to the Romans, “For the wages of sin is death.” You and I are sinners in the darkness. We deserve nothing but death, but because of what Christ has done for us, we have been redeemed.

Because of what Christ has done for us, we are able to “walk as children of light.” The light that we reflect is that light of Jesus Christ. By virtue of being light, God’s people are both a positive influence toward those things that please God and also a strong deterrent against those things that do not please God, namely, the unfruitful works of darkness.

So that we might know the truth about sin, God gave us His Law. The Ten Commandments reveal that because of sin we become idolaters, counting other things as more important than the one true God. Because of sin, we use God’s name only to condemn others or justify ourselves. Because of sin, we ignore, even despise, God’s Word and do not worship Him as we should. Because of sin, our relationships with others – mother and father, wife and husband, enemies and friends, coworkers and strangers – all these are disrupted and destroyed.

We live in a world still entangled and deceived, enslaved by sin. For as many ways as people have tried to redefine it, excuse it, redecorate or hide it, the fact of the matter is sin is still at the bottom of what makes life and relationships difficult, breakable, sick and dying. It is that sin that separates us from one another and from God, but it is Christ that unites us with our Father.

Because of the slavery of sin and our inability to free ourselves, God in His infinite mercy determined to save us. His mercy shone line a bright beacon of light, of hope, just as He had promised to Adam and Eve a Savior from sin. This light of salvation burned as hope in God’s people through the centuries until “the Word became flesh.”

Jesus said of His followers, “You are the light of the world.” By our Baptism into Christ, He lives in us, enlightening the eyes of our hearts, awakening us to be able to walk in newness of life. And so Paul is now able to say in our text, “Now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

Suddenly, we see things in a whole new way. We see God for who He really is: not distant, way up in heaven, disinterested in or irrelevant to our lives, but here, present, eager to have a relationship with each one of us. That’s what Jesus lets us see in His light. God is not angry and keeping score on how well we keep His Commandments, but rather is forgiving, not counting our sins against us, because Jesus took them upon Himself on the cross. That’s what we see as children of light.

As children of light, we are to avoid sin and evil. However, that is hard to do since we are sinful to the core. Even as children of light, our sins become exposed. When it is exposed in us, we return to the promise of our Baptism in daily repentance and faith. When sin is exposed around us in others, then we have the opportunity to extend the same forgiveness and salvation we ourselves have received from God.

Walking in the light of Christ is to walk as children of God with purpose; it is the walk of repentance and faith. We live in the forgiveness of all our deeds done in darkness, with no wholesome purpose, and we invite the world to the glorious light of salvation in Jesus Christ, just as we have received. 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.