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Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost–“Everything and Nothing” (Philippians 3:4b-14)

A-80 Proper 22 (Mt 21.33-46)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

How much is nothing worth? It’s a silly question, I know, because nothing is worth nothing. How much is everything worth? Again, a silly question, because everything is worth everything, or so it would seem. Zeroes are worth nothing, but we would never give up those “nothings” when they appear on our $20 or even $100 dollar bill. Since God’s ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts, nothing is not always worth nothing, nor is everything really worth everything. In fact, God wants to give you the nothing that is everything. In Christ, God replaces the nothingness of self with the everything of Himself – the very righteousness of Christ and all its benefits.

We strive to “have it all”, everything under the sun. But when we focus on “having it all,” it focuses on the self. It focuses on one’s life, one’s possessions, one’s experiences and accomplishments, giving little thought to one’s relationship with God, because in the end, it’s all about you anyways, right? It’s all about your happiness, your feelings, your worth, etc. But as we see in Philippi, having it all wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

There were those in Philippi who took great confidence in the flesh, that is, in their own achievements under the law. For them, they had it all. They could look at themselves and see how great they were, how holy they were, how much better they were over everyone else. As far as they were concerned, they had everything. There was no one else better than they were and they let everyone know it. But if you were to take a step back and really look at them, you would uncover their errors.

For the Judaizers, those people who “had it all,” they compared themselves to others by the keeping of the Law, that is the Law of Moses and their own invented laws. They were the ones who were truly righteous because they were able to keep the Law in all its entirety. That fact alone made them better than everyone else. But in the end, they had nothing. They might have had the worldly possessions, the wealth, the power, the prestige, but there was one thing that they truly lacked: that was God. They had taken themselves to God by their own actions rather than allowing God to come to them through Jesus Christ.

Still, there others of Paul’s day who were more consciously “religious.” For them, it meant they were accountable to “Law” in general, whether it be God’s Law or the invented laws of religious man. To them, “having it all” focused not so much on material possessions, but on one’s relationship with God. That is where they differed from the Judaizers. However, it was presumed that if you were “right with God,” then material blessings would follow.

How much different is today’s society from that of Paul’s day? Aren’t we consumed as a culture of “wanting and having it all?” We focus on gratifying ourselves through materialism and experience. It’s all about how much you have – money, power, wealth, stuff. Money can buy you whatever you want, whatever you need. If you have enough of it, you can buy whatever you want, even happiness, or so we tell ourselves.

Whether it be Paul’s world or ours, “having it all” is never enough. In terms of worldly possessions or experiences, “having it all” is never enough – which means that “all” is not everything.

Think about when you were growing up. How many toys did you have? How many did you “have to have?” When we get older, the need for toys hasn’t changed; it’s just that our toys are a lot more expensive and more high tech than they were when we were kids. We think that we need the new car, the new house, the new whatever to make our lives complete, that if we just had this item, then we would have everything; that is, until the next thing that we “need” catches our eyes. Eventually, we learn, sometimes very quickly and very painfully, that what we had set our hearts and minds on are things not capable of delivering lasting contentment.

Paul realized that. He says, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” What bold words Paul spoke! Everything he had formally put his confidence in—his heritage, his zealous keeping of the law, his persecution of the church—Paul now considered as nothing more than rubbish. Not only were they not for his profit, they stood to cost him everything; they were a loss. Jesus Christ and the righteousness that comes through faith in His life, His cross and His empty grave were far superior and the only thing worth keeping. That was the real profit. That was where his salvation would come from.

It is important to realize that some of the things that we often regard as a real advantage and to our “profit” can actually be to our disadvantage if we regard them as a meritorious work, that is, something we do to earn favor in God’s eyes. Boasting over the fact that one has been baptized and confirmed, that one has received a Christian education through a Lutheran elementary or high school, taking pride in one’s church attendance and “all that I’ve done” for the church—this stands in the way of relying on Jesus Christ alone for salvation. The sad thing is: it’s very easy to do. It’s so easy, most of the time, we don’t even think about it. By our thoughtless actions like that, we distort what Christianity is. We take the focus off of what Christ did for us and put the focus on what it is that we did for ourselves. That was exactly what Paul was trying to end: “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

The “stuff” that we have, “having it all” means absolutely nothing if we do not have Jesus. I don’t mean the Jesus who rewards us with “stuff” when we ask or who blesses us with our great material possessions. I mean the Jesus who went to the cross and suffered hell for our sins to give us a gift greater than all the “stuff” that we have or could ever hope to possess. We need the Jesus who gave His life in exchange for our life. We need the Jesus who willingly shed His blood as a sacrifice to win for us the forgiveness of sins.

At the end of the day, all the “stuff” that we have is just stuff. You can “have it all” and still have nothing at all. But through the work of Jesus Christ, through His life, death, and resurrection, we have received everything. 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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Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost–“Unity” (Philippians 2:1-4, 14-18)

A-79 Proper 21 (Mt 21.23-32)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

As we continue to look at Paul’s words to the Philippians, we see him continuing his earnest desire for them to remain in the fellowship of Christ Jesus. However, just remaining in the fellowship is not enough for Paul. There is something else that Paul strives for: unity. He writes, “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of the one mind.” Having unity in the body of Christ is extremely important. If there is no unity, then there is no common confession of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.

Paul could not have made his call for unity more emphatic if he tried. Notice how he piles up the terms, one on top of the other: “being of the same mind”, “having the same love”, “being in full accord and of the one mind.” The kind of unity God wants is one which involves the whole inner and outer life of his believers. God wants a unity of thoughts, feelings, will and actions.

What is this unity that Paul speaks of centered upon? It is centered upon nothing else but the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what makes the unity, that confession of Jesus Christ, because if you have Jesus wrong, everything after that is wrong as well.

Such a unity is not natural; it goes against the grain, that is, against our sinful human nature. We could never hope to manufacture it on our own. Consider this: who can perfectly control his actions, much less his thoughts? This unity is a supernatural gift coming from our God. It is He who by His Spirit gives us the ability to think and act in line with Jesus Christ. True unity is created and maintained by the pure Gospel, and only insofar as we are faithful to that Gospel can we hope to remain one in Christ.

The words of our Epistle lesson are a wonderful framework for verses 5-13 which are omitted in the appointed readings of our text. That is the “dot, dot, dot” at the end of verse four. When we look at those verses in light of our text, we see words like service and attitude; those are two words very prevalent in society today. We have a service oriented economy. Most jobs are focused on servicing the wants and needs of the American people. And when we go somewhere, we want good service. When we go out to dinner, we expect good service. And if we don’t get good service, they might experience a little bit of our attitude.

That is the way of the world. But that is not the way of God’s people. St. Paul tells us, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”; in other words, your attitude should be that of Jesus. He continues, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Unfortunately, when we look at today’s society, we tend to do the opposite of what Paul says. We tend to focus on Number One, that is, ourselves, because we need to make sure that our needs are met. Then, and only then, can we begin to look at the needs of our neighbor.

Christ says that is not the way that it should be, for Jesus Himself is the great example of service to our neighbor since “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Paul tells us that our Lord took on “the very nature of a servant”, “made himself nothing” and “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” As Christ’s followers, we are called to go and do likewise.

That’s where the rubber meets the road, isn’t it? We don’t want to serve our neighbor; we would rather be served instead. There is one thing that is missing: sacrifice. Sacrifice is what Christ came into the world to bring. Not only was it a sacrifice, it was self-sacrifice, a sacrifice that was paid for with His own life. The power of self-sacrifice is really the power of love: real love, Christian love. In fact, self-sacrifice is the center and content of genuine love, the kind we see in the crucified Christ.

The sacrifice that we make on behalf of our neighbor is what Paul is speaking of in our text. It is what Christ did for His Church. This idea brings out an aspect of humility which is often overlooked. Humility does not say, “I am absolutely worthless; I have no gifts, no abilities which could possibly help anyone.” Rather, a truly humble person will use whatever gifts he may possess in a way which serves his fellow believers. Humility expresses itself in service, in being “the one for others,” as was Christ.

Paul says, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Christ is the supreme example of a person who spent His life in service to others. We ask what humility meant in His case. He was Lord of all, and He knew it. But He made Himself the servant of all. He had all power in heaven and earth; He said as much to His disciples. But we see His humility in this that He was willing to use His power to benefit others. His death on the cross was the most unselfish act ever recorded in history. Though He shrunk back from death with the natural horror anyone would feel, He put our interests – the interests of all mankind – ahead of His own and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Paul says to us, “You ought to have that same way of looking at things.”

Paul’s desire for the Church at Philippi was one of joy and peace in Jesus Christ. He doesn’t merely give us joy, He is our joy. He doesn’t merely give us peace, Jesus Himself is our peace. He reminds the Church who they are, “children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.” The Church throughout the ages has had to be reminded of that, that we are children of God. We have had to be reminded that Christ bought us with His very life. We have had to be reminded that we have God’s holy name placed upon us through Baptism, marking us as His redeemed children.

Christ has come to save. His love and sacrifice have transformed the nature of power, of our hopes, and of our minds. Today, His Word bids us to give as He did, to love as He did, and to live before the throne His sacrifice has won. He calls us away from the destructive, self-serving, pleasure-seeking patterns of the sinful world to a life won through the power of sacrificial love. He calls us to see the power of love outpoured and to rejoice in the survival of the forgiven. That is our role as members of the body of Christ. 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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Marriage of Kelly McMahill & Mitch Heimer

LSB Icon_049Mitch and Kelly, believe it or not, the day has finally arrived. The day which you have been preparing for, looking forward to, is now here. I have one piece of advice for you: Be careful where you build your house.

I’m sure you are wondering what I mean by be careful where you build your house. Maybe this will help you understand.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” –Matthew 7:24-27

Think for a moment of kids playing at the beach. After splashing in the ocean, they go back up to the beach and sit with their buckets and shovels and make sandcastles. But right when they are about ready to put the finishing touches on the sandcastle, the waves would come up and knock down what they had worked so hard to build.

So it is with your marriage. You and Mitch have gone to great lengths to ensure that this marriage will last. You’ve gone through premarital counseling. You have both committed to each other that this is what you eagerly desire, to become husband and wife. But let me tell you, the waves will come and they will hit your house.

There has never been and never will be a storybook marriage. They do not exist. You can try to make a storybook marriage, but I guarantee you that life together won’t always be “and they lived happily ever after.” Why is that?

Our first parents, the first wedding couple experienced what could have been the storybook marriage. But something changed that. Satan entered the marriage and it crumbled. No, it wasn’t the marriage between Adam and Eve that crumbled; it was the marriage between Adam, Eve and Christ.

I’m sure you’ve heard before that marriage is a give and take relationship, that you enter into it 50/50. I’m here to tell you that is wrong. Marriage is not 50/50; 50/50 means that you’re only investing half of yourself into the marriage. Marriage for the Christian is 100/100/100. It is 100% husband, 100% wife, 100% Christ.

Here you stand before God today asking Him to bless your marriage. Christ will indeed bless your marriage. Through your union as husband and wife through Christ, He will strengthen and keep your marriage. Why is that? It is because of the love and the faithfulness that Christ has in His bride, the Church, which you are a part of.

You will always have love for one another, though at times you may not like each other. You may say words which you do not mean. You will probably say things which you would give anything to take back. You may even be tempted at times to say “I don’t want to do this anymore.” Remember how Christ loves the Church, how Christ loves both of you.

Forgiveness is the key to a healthy marriage. Always reflect on the love of Christ for His bride. Christ made the ultimate act of forgiveness when He sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world, including the two of you. In turn, you too should forgive the sins of each other and be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the other, just as Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.”

Mitch, heed these words from Martin Luther. Understand fully what it is you are receiving this day: a gift. “A good wife is not found accidentally and without divine guidance. On the contrary, she is a gift of God and does not come, as the heathen imagine, in answer to our planning and judging.” Take this gift in Kelly, love her, comfort her, honor her, and keep her in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, be husband to her as long as you both shall live.

Kelly, I have no words of wisdom from Luther regarding a husband and him being a gift. However, that doesn’t make Mitch any less of a gift of God for you. Take this gift in Mitch, love him, comfort him, honor him, obey him, and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be wife to him as long as you both shall live.

The vows that you make to each other are not only to each other but also to God. They are more than just mere words. They are a covenant which you make, a covenant which is sealed with God’s blessing. Combined with Christ, they take the two of you, separate and distinct, and make one flesh.

Mitch and Kelly, I leave you with these words from the author of the book of Hebrews: “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.” You have been careful where you have built your house. You have built it in the Church, the Church which God has sent His Son to redeem. May God bless this house which you have built. The almighty and gracious God abundantly grant you His favor and sanctify and bless you with the blessing given our first parents in paradise that you may please Him in both body and soul and live together in holy love until your life’s end. Amen.

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Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost–“Fellowship” (Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30)

A-78 Proper 20 (Mt 20.1-16)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Christian fellowship is important in the work of the Church. When I say Christian fellowship, I don’t mean sitting around eating cookies and drinking coffee, though that is nice. When I speak of Christian fellowship, I mean the times when the Church is centered around what makes the Church the Church – namely the Word and the Sacraments.

As Paul writes to the Church at Philippi, he is ready, if necessary, to face death, for he knows that because he has been faithful in the declaration of the Gospel, that should this be the end of his life, that Christ would be magnified. It was his concern and his desire that the brothers and sisters at Philippi would also remain faithful to the fellowship that they have in Jesus Christ.

One has to ask themself why Paul would be writing to the Philippians to remain in the fellowship of Jesus Christ. The reason is simple: there were those within the Church who were withdrawing or who had left that fellowship. For some, they left the fellowship of Christ because of suffering they were enduring. If there was anyone who knew suffering, it was Paul. Paul suffered from being imprisoned three different times in his life. Paul suffered from being shipwrecked on the island of Malta for three months on his way from Caesarea to Rome. Needless to say, Paul suffered during his life; this was just the suffering that he faced once he became a Christian following his Damascus Road conversion.

Suffering for the Christian is nothing new. It’s not something that the Christian looks forward to, yet it is something that the Christian will face during their life. Not only is it something that we face, it is nothing short of a gift from God. We know that faith is a gift from God, for Paul says that faith is a gift, “granted” to us “for the sake of Christ.” As hard as it may be to understand, suffering for the sake of Christ is indeed a gift.

Like faith, we see that suffering is a gift, though not a gift like you and I would think of. Faith is something given to us for our benefit; no one would deny that fact. But can we say the same about suffering? Is suffering given to us for our benefit? The answer is yes. It is granted to us, as Paul says.

Most would not consider suffering a gift. When one thinks of a gift, they think of money, jewelry, a new car, but not suffering. If you had the choice between a gift of one-million dollars or suffering, your choice would be a no-brainer: you would take the money.

Following his conversion, Paul suffered many a thing. However, he did not count it as a curse, but rather as a blessing. This conversion left Paul with one simple message: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul’s suffering, while it was difficult at times, furthered the work of the Gospel. Early in our text, Paul makes mention of his imprisonment. It was not punishment for disobeying God, but a result of faithfully speaking the Word of God. That suffering for speaking the Gospel was bearing fruit. The imperial guard and all the rest had heard of Christ as a result of Paul’s suffering. Because of the message of Christ which Paul was preaching, others were becoming confident in speaking of Christ because of Paul’s suffering. Suffering like Paul talks about here is echoed throughout his epistles. We see Paul’s suffering instrumental in the founding, the upbringing, the doctrine, and the chastisement of congregations in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae.

Our text today is Paul’s encouragement to them all of the importance and blessing of remaining in that fellowship. Staying faithful to that fellowship of Jesus Christ may mean good times and it may mean bad times. It may mean a life that is worry free and it may mean a life of suffering. Regardless, more than anything in this life is to be faithful to fellowship that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

We are called to “preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season.” We are called to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” We are called to live out our lives as “little Christs,” that is, a reflection of the love that has been shown to us by God our heavenly Father. Listen again to the words of St. Paul: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…” Whether Paul lives or dies, he wants the Philippians to stand fast in the Gospel. His concern also is the fellowship as it stands before the adversary. The adversary, Satan himself, desires to sift the fellowship as wheat. And God has promised that not even the gates of hell can prevail against the fellowship that is in Christ Jesus. That being said, the fellowship of Christ, that is, the Church on earth, the Church Militant, will indeed suffer for the sake of Christ.

Suffering for the sake of the Gospel leads us to one thing and one thing only: trust in Christ and Christ alone. Christ has suffered our same sufferings, as well as sufferings that we can never suffer. He became man and suffered what you and I were meant to suffer. Because of your sins and mine, He was harassed, humiliated, abandoned by friends, and excluded by Jewish leadership. He was arrested, imprisoned, beaten and killed, all for the sins of the world. He was damned, rejected by His Father, and suffered the torments of hell; not for His behalf, but on behalf of you, the people whom God was making His own by the work of His Son. It is by His life, suffering, death, and resurrection that you and I have received a prize: that prize is everlasting life. That is exactly what we hear from the Gospel of John: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Christ has laid down His life so that we would have fellowship in Him and the blessings that He gives – forgiveness, life, and salvation. We do as Paul says, lead a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ, for it is Christ and Christ alone who gives us the greatest gift – the gift of Himself. 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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Remembrance of 9/11–“In Memory”

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

There are those dates that are forever etched in our minds. We remember where we were and what we were doing. Some may remember where they were on December 7, 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. That day sparked for our nation our entry into World War II and our declaring war upon Japan. Most of you remember November 22, 1963 – the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. July 20, 1969, famous words were uttered: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” For those of the younger generation, that is the day that the first American landed and stepped foot on the moon.

As we gather together this morning, we remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001. On that day, we experienced an attack on American soil that we have never experienced before. That day and its events will forever be etched in the minds of Americans for as long as we live. We all remember where we were and what we were doing when our lives came to a screeching halt. For myself, it was the second day of classes at Concordia Theological Seminary. As we left the classroom buildings and made our way to the Chapel hearing of the events for the first time, we were speechless, as was the entire nation. Details were sketchy. All that we knew was a plane had flown into one of the world Trade Center towers. Shortly thereafter, a second plane flew into the other tower. As the morning’s events continued to unfold, we saw two more planes crash into the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field and the collapse of both towers.

In the midst of this tragic event, we ask ourselves, “How can this be? How can this happen in our own land?” The events of that day, of all of those tragic events that happen in this world are because we live in a sinful world. This tragedy shows the brokenness of this world, and how this world is truly a culture of death. This was not the way God had intended His creation to be. When God created the world and all that is in it, He created it to be perfect and without sin. Unfortunately, through the work of Satan, the perfection that God had created became infected with sin. Sin brings with it death, sin’s ultimate result.

One thing that we must always remember is that God does not cause evil to occur, He only allows it. The evil that occurs in this world is not by God’s doing, but it is the work of sin, brought into this world by Satan. He is the one who causes such tragedies to occur. He is the one who brings devastation. He is the one who brought death into this world.

Nearly 3000 men, women, and children died as a result of that day. I suspect the images of that day have somewhat faded but certainly have not been lost ten years later. That day, those images wrenched our hearts and subdued our lips and stirred our souls. We were brought to our knees at the days’ events.

Many people asked then and continue to ask today, “Where was God on September 11?” The question itself is age-old and has been asked many a time in moments of crisis. In the Old Testament, great men of faith from Jacob to Joseph and from Job to Jonah asked it. God is where He has always been – the Lord and Giver of Life, who reigns from His heavenly throne. He was with those in the Twin Towers and the Pentagon as they were being rescued; He was with those who perished; He is here with you. He is here this morning with us, gathered around His Word. He is there on the cross – giving His life in order to forgive and redeem His people.

The writer of the book of Hebrews says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” But man can indeed do a lot to us in our earthly lives. All one has to do is read the newspaper to see the wickedness of man: theft, murder, war, and the list goes on. But the Scriptures remind us of the love that God has for us, a love that goes beyond our human understanding. It is the love that God has for us that gives us something to look forward to; looking beyond this veil of tears that we live in and look to the eternal glory that God has prepared for us through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

During our earthly lives, we are called to follow Jesus. The call to follow Jesus is especially meaningful for us today as we remember those events that occurred ten years ago. We know that Satan is at work, doing all that he can to separate us from God, to silence God’s Word to His people. He is working evil in this world to confuse and mislead all people, even the people of God. His goal is to get us to take our eyes off of Jesus, to turn to the world or to turn to anything but God, for Satan knows that through God and His means, we receive forgiveness, life and salvation. He knows that our redemption is made only by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Satan is ever at work because he knows that God is the One who has and who will prevail.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 28, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Our Lord invites us to come to Him. He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The Scriptures are filled with passages such as these, passages filled with words of comfort that remind us of the presence and power of our Lord at all times, and especially when we face difficult and perilous times like we did as a nation on September 11, 2001.

Today, as we remember the tragedy and the horror of September 11, we are reminded of Paul’s words to the Romans: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God our heavenly Father does indeed love us and cares for us, providing for all of our earthly needs, as well as sending His Son Jesus Christ, to provide for our heavenly needs.

God’s perfect love for us is just that, it is perfect. It desires the salvation of all of mankind. It desires to have that saving relationship between God and His creation. The power of God’s love sustains us, strengthens us, and supports us, surely as it did throughout the weeks and months following 9/11, and even today. May the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord be with you all. 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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Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost–“Greatness” (Matthew 18:1-20)

A-75 Proper 18 (LHP) (Mt 18.1-20)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Gospel, which was read earlier.

If you had a choice of either being the greatest at something or the least at something, which would you choose? Would you want to know everything there is to know about something or know nothing at all? Obviously if you could choose to be either the greatest or the worst at something, you would choose to be the greatest, right?

The Gospel that we just read from Matthew 18 is very rich in a wide variety of topics: the serious nature of sin, the generosity of God’s forgiveness, the love God has for His little ones, and the serious consequences of leading His little ones astray. Of all these topics, the one topic that seems to underlie most of the Lord’s teaching in Matthew 18 is the topic of Christ’s little ones.

Matthew 18 begins with one of those teachable moments in which the disciples plant their feet firmly in their mouths and ask Jesus a question.  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” This question tells us that the disciples don’t get it. They are still trying to figure out which post they will have in Jesus’ cabinet once He takes over.

We might think that the question that the disciples ask is a rather strange question, because if you really stop and think about it, what does it matter if you are the greatest in the kingdom since you will be in heaven! However, for the disciples, they didn’t see it that way. They knew that someone would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and they wanted to know who; specifically, would it be them.

Jesus’ teaching defuses the thoughts of the disciples. He doesn’t answer, “It will be ‘insert disciple name here.’” He doesn’t come out and say a particular disciple’s name. Instead, he calls a child to Him. Now if you’re a disciple, you’ve got to be on pins and needles wondering what Jesus’ answer is and then out of nowhere, He calls for a child to come to Him. One has to wonder if Jesus is trying to dodge the question. Then, Jesus answers the question: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself likes this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

How can a child be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? If there was going to be anyone who is the greatest in heaven, it would be one of the disciples at the very least. They were the ones who followed Jesus, who did the work of Jesus. How is it that their greatness would be usurped by that of a child?

Yet again, the disciples miss what Jesus says. Look at a child for a moment. Children are often seen as signs of hope for the future and gifts of God. In themselves, however, children are ignorant, unfit to rule, cannot choose between good and evil, are not able to count, cannot defend themselves and are readily deceived. They are needy. They require someone to provide for them. Left to themselves, they will not be able to care for themselves. If you are a disciple, you have to be scratching your head at Jesus’ answer. But if you look deeper into Jesus’ words, then you will see what He means by child.

Regardless of how old you are, you are still a child. That’s right; I said you are a child. I don’t mean because of your attitude or your behavior. You are a child because God has made you a child; a child of God. Why is this so important? Left to our own sinful self, we will never be able to provide for our redemption. There is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation and so it must be earned for us. In your Baptism, you received God’s name. At that moment, you became His redeemed child and all that God has to offer you became yours.

If you want to know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, all you have to do is look in the mirror, for you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. It might be hard to believe that you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, that surely there must be someone who is greater than you. But you are wrong. You are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, because God the Father has created you, God the Son has redeemed you and God the Holy Spirit has sanctified you. You are God’s beloved creation and God has sent Jesus for you, so that you would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

For the disciples, and unfortunately, for all too many, greatness is something which they think they have earned or accomplished for themselves. In this world, you can achieve greatness; greatness in the eyes of the world. You can be the greatest athlete. You can be the greatest musician. You can be the greatest in your line of work. You can even be the greatest parent and earn the coffee mug that proves it. But all of this is measured in the eyes of the world’s standards. Greatness in the eyes of the world can come and go. You might be remembered after your death for something of greatness that you did during your life, but again that greatness is measured by worldly standards.

Ironically, greatness in God’s eyes is not because you’ve done anything special, because you haven’t. It’s not because you’ve done anything great, because you haven’t. Your greatness is because it is Christ-earned greatness. Jesus Christ, through His atoning death and sacrifice, gave to you what made you great in the eyes of God the Father. He gave you His holiness. He gave you His righteousness. He gave you forgiveness of all of your sins. He gave you everlasting life. He gave all of this to you, and because of Christ and Christ alone, you have been made the greatest in the kingdom of heaven because God has made you His beloved child. 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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A Divine Call

Trinity Lutheran, Gillette, WyomingFor the last 6 years, I have served as Assistant Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Gillette, Wyoming. In April, the Senior Pastor received and accepted a Call to another congregation within the District. From mid-April until now, we have been operating with a single pastor. During these last few months, we have looked at and evaluated our needs to see if we wanted to call a second pastor or remain a single-pastor congregation. On August 7, it was decided to be a single-pastor congregation. A special Voter’s Meeting was set up for August 21 to determine who the congregation wanted to extend that Call to.

On the evening of August 21, I received and accepted the Call to serve as Sole Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Gillette, Wyoming, where I have been serving the last 6 years. I am privileged to continue God’s work in this place and minister to His people that He has entrusted to me.

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Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost “Deny Yourself” (Matthew 16:21-28)

A-74 Proper 17 (Mt 16.21-28)Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning is the Gospel, which was read earlier.

It was in last week’s Gospel lesson that Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”, and it was Peter who said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” By the grace and knowledge of God, Peter was right. Before him stood Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh. Imagine the thoughts and reactions of the disciples: their Teacher has gotten off to a humble start, what with this walking from town-to-town and teaching. Nevertheless, He’s the long-awaited Christ. Things are going to get better, aren’t they? He’s only going to grow in popularity and power, and gather the love of the many, right? It’s only a matter of time until He sits on a throne and begins to rule…isn’t it? And how wonderful for the disciples, to be in this on the ground floor and going along for the ride. All of this must appeal greatly to the disciples’ human minds and thoughts.

But then all of a sudden, the mood changes: “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Jesus is going to Jerusalem to suffer and be killed? How can that be? How could the Son of God allow Himself to die? Why would He? This doesn’t fit in with the disciples’ preconceived notions.

Ever the spokesman, it’s Peter who pulls Jesus aside. “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” How could Peter have said this, given his great confession of who Jesus was just a few verses earlier? Peter’s intentions were good. He could not bear to think of such terrible things happening to his Lord. He spoke without considering what he was saying. The man who had just acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, now presumed to contradict Jesus’ very plain words. Christ came to save lives by losing His.

Christ has come into a dying and broken world with a single goal and purpose: to save it, but our idea of saving lives is usually quite different from what Jesus had in mind. The people of Jesus’ day were looking to Jesus to be a great earthly king who would save them from oppression and restore Jerusalem to glory days of old. Their salvation was merely focused on the here and now.

But no matter whom Peter or anyone else wants Jesus to be, Jesus is Jesus. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God who has become flesh to die on the cross. Peter and everybody else shouldn’t expect any different.

Jesus’ salvation was not focused on the here and now, but it was focused on the people’s eternal salvation. He has something completely different in mind than Peter and the rest of the people. He issues a stern warning to Peter, and in essence, all who would oppose His saving work: “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

What does this mean for us? If you’re going to follow Jesus, deny yourselves. Reject who you think Jesus is supposed to be, and submit to His Word. If you think that following Jesus is all about glory and power and an exalted life on earth, you’re not going to follow Jesus. You’re going to abandon Him with the crowds who don’t like His teaching, or you’re going to run away when you see Him arrested, suffering and crucified. If you run away from Jesus to save your life, you’ll lose it. Deny yourself, confess your sin and be His forgiven people, and you’ll live forever. Never forget the reason that Jesus is going to that cross – He is going for you; that’s why He’s going to exchange His holy, precious blood for it, that you might have grace and life forever.

If your primary concern is to save this life, to get the most out of this life in pleasure and satisfaction and enjoyment, you will end up losing everything. But if you lose your life for Jesus’ sake, if you dedicate all to Him, follow His Word, you will live a meaningful life and God-pleasing life in this world and enjoy all the blessings of everlasting life in heaven. That is what Jesus desires for you – life everlasting with Him and the Father.

Jesus had to bear His cross, and all who follow Him have their crosses to bear too. The crosses Christians bear are the hardships and sufferings and persecutions they endure as a consequence of faithfully following Christ. These crosses vary from person to person, but every Christian must expect to bear a cross.

Today, Jesus redefines your life with His own cross. Since you have been redeemed by Jesus’ great sacrifice, you bear His mark. The cross inscribed on your head and heart in Baptism has become the very signature of your life. It marks you as “one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” It places the very name of God on you and says that you belong to Him, that His Son has paid for you with His very body and blood, that wonderful gift that Christ Himself gives to us at His Table.

Because Jesus has made His cross your own, therefore you are forgiven. And you are forgiven for all of your sins. Thus, when you doubt His faithfulness to you in your sufferings, He declares, “Remember how I delivered people from sickness and grief on My way to the cross. As I healed and delivered them, I will also heal and deliver you from all your afflictions. It will be in My time, which is best for you; and in the meantime, you can be certain of My faithfulness because I have already delivered you from sin and death and hell by My own death on the cross.”

Though you will still fall far short of making your life a perfect, living sacrifice to your Lord, you are not forsaken. The living God declares to you this day, “My Son has died your death and made His cross to be yours. Because He has taken your sin away, I do not hold your sin against you. For His sake, I see you wholly acceptable before Me, because all of your sin is taken away.” What joy you have to deny yourself and confess your sins daily, knowing that the Lord sees you perfect and righteous for the sake of His Son.

And so you have joy and glad confidence in this world of suffering and death. By the grace of God, you daily deny yourself and confess your sins before the Lord. Daily, you live with the sure comfort that Jesus has borne His cross for you to take away your sin, and that He makes His cross, your cross. In Him, your life is found, because He has exchanged His own lifeblood to gain your soul for eternity. Because He has done it, you bear His cross: and you are forgiven for all of your sins. 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.