Luke 18:18-27 - Inheriting Eternal Life - October 23, 2022

You often find them in locker rooms and classrooms. You’ve probably seen them posted on social media or tacked on the office bulletin board. They are usually set to majestic backdrops of mountains, rivers or oceans – to give the impression that they are conveying something profound – and they are printed with phrases like: “If you just put your mind to it, you can do anything!” “When we work together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish!” “If you believe in yourself, there’s nothing you can’t achieve!” They are motivational posters. And while a precious few might actually find these posters motivational, they are also a vivid reminder of the proud mentality that lurks deep inside every human being. It’s the mentality that there is nothing we can’t do if we try hard enough, work long enough, or want something bad enough. And, yet, from the beginning of time there has been nothing man has tried harder to achieve than immortality. Adam and Eve had it, lost it, and then had to be driven out of the Garden of Eden to prevent them from regaining a cursed version of it in this fallen world (Genesis 3). Around 200 B.C., the self-declared first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, obsessed over finding immortality in the form of a magical elixir. As fate would have it, his elixir of choice was mercury, which not only failed to give him immortality, but wound up shortening his life considerably. [1] More recently, many people have chosen to have their bodies cryogenically frozen in the hope that a future technology will be able to revive them from death. It’s a tragic irony, isn’t it? As humans we love to imagine that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to, and yet we have been 100% unsuccessful in preventing the only thing besides taxes that is absolutely guaranteed in this life; the one thing we fear most: death.

One day, a certain ruler came to Jesus searching for the secret to immortality: Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? This man was likely a leader in one of the local synagogues. He had been taught by the rabbis that the way to eternal life was through obedience to the laws of Moses. Jesus played along, saying: “why ask me, you know how to get to heaven – keep the commandments: you shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.” According to rabbinical (not divine) law, a male was not obligated to keep the law until he turned 13. [2] This man was certain he had been perfectly obedient since then: I have kept all these since I was a child. Which begs the question: if he was so confident he had kept God’s law, why would he come to Jesus asking about eternal life? Wouldn’t he already have earned it by virtue of his perfect obedience? Didn’t he know that God promised in Leviticus 18:5: Keep my regulations and ordinances. Anyone who does them will have life through them. I am the LORD. According to this man’s own confession, he was well on his way to achieving eternal life on his own. But something brought him to Jesus, something was bothering his conscience; he could sense that despite his supposed obedience, he needed something more.

Jesus agreed with his self-assessment: you still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. Now, Jesus’ answer was not at all what we would consider today to be a politically correct or properly sympathetic response, was it? Our politically correct world would probably say: what a jerk, I thought Jesus was supposed to be loving and kind, this man is trying his best, why not encourage him rather than command him to do something impossible? The truth is: Jesus was acting out of love. Mark tells us Jesus looked at him [and] loved him (Mark 10:21). This man thought he could earn eternal life by obeying the law and he needed to realize how badly mistaken he was. So Jesus aimed an arrow of law at his Achilles’ heel. And this arrow had its desired effect: when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad, because he was very rich. Wealth had become this man’s idol. This man walked away sad because, perhaps for the first time in his life, this man realized that he had failed to obey the most important commandment: You shall have no other gods (Exodus 20:3). By making this seemingly impossible demand, Jesus was showing the rich ruler that he had been fooling himself all along, that far from earning eternal life by his obedience, he had forfeited it by his idolatrous greed.

“Well. Thank God I’m not rich then, right? Fortunately for me the issue is having too little, not too much of the green stuff.” The thing is, this encounter isn’t really about money. Scripture never says money is the root of all evil. 1 Timothy 6:10 does read: the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. Being wealthy is not a sin. Loving wealth more than God is. And we might argue, we might try to justify ourselves, saying: I don’t love money. I don’t spend every waking moment thinking about it. I don’t spend most of my energy in gaining more of it and storing it up. I don’t trust in money to provide for my every need and help me in every trouble. Maybe not. Maybe it’s not money for you. But what do you cherish most in this life? What is the one thing in this world you could not live without? What if Jesus was standing here, looking at us, taking aim with the arrow of the Law, saying: you still lack one thing. Give up all those hours you spend in front of the TV; give up that hobby that so often comes before time with God’s Word; give up your nice home, your pension, your nest-egg; give up your children or your spouse; give up social media; give up thinking that you are better and smarter than other people; give up your fear of death – give up those things, and you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus focuses on wealth in this story because the ruler before him idolized his riches. But if Jesus was taking aim at the idols in our hearts, would we walk away any happier than this man?

“How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus understood perfectly what is so difficult for mankind to recognize and remember: it is impossible for anyone – you, me, rich, poor, man, woman, old, or young – to enter the kingdom of God on our own. This is what the picture of the camel and the needle is all about: as impossible as it would be for a camel to go through the eye of a needle it is even more impossible for any sinner – wealthy or otherwise – to enter the kingdom of the holy God. Why? For the same reason that ruler walked away sad – God doesn’t demand that we give it our best effort – he says be perfect (Matthew 5:48); he doesn’t demand to be in the top 5 in our lives – he demands 1st place; he doesn’t expect us to love [him] with all [our hearts]…[souls]…strength…and…[mind] (Luke 10:27) only when it’s convenient – he demands our absolute loyalty 24/7, 365. And when God shoots an arrow of his law at our hearts, when he holds up the mirror of the law to show us how wicked and idolatrous we have been; we can’t help but walk away sad like that rich ruler. We can’t help but realize that we haven’t lived up to God’s demands. We can’t help but tremble in terror and cry out with the disciples then who can be saved?

And with that, we are back to the rich ruler’s question, aren’t we? The question that has captivated people since the beginning of time, the most important question that can be asked in this life: what must I do to inherit eternal life? It’s the right question – but wrongly phrased. What I mean is that this question is contradictory on its face, isn’t it? How can a person earn or do something for an inheritance – isn’t an inheritance, by definition, a free gift? This man was so close to his answer, in fact, he was speaking with the Answer, but the things of this world had clouded his vision. He was bound by the worldly opinion that if you want something you have to earn it. And that has been the flawed condition of mankind ever since the fall into sin. Adam and Eve longed to take a bite out of the tree of life; many have spent fortunes searching for an elixir of immortality; others have had their dead bodies turned into popsicles; and countless masses hope that when Judgment Day comes God will give them a pass because they tried their best to be good little boys and girls.

But the point of the 10 Commandments and the point of this lesson is simple: It is impossible for us to earn eternal life no matter how hard we try. God demands perfection, and we are far from it. But God didn’t give us his law to make us despair of ever reaching eternal life – he gave it to us to lead us to despair of achieving it on our own; to show us that we need a Savior; the Savior that is standing right before us this morning: [Jesus] replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” Our almighty, immortal God knew from eternity that his most treasured creation, mankind, would plunge from perfection into the depths of sin. But he wasn’t going to let Satan steal our souls so easily. He wasn’t about to let his precious creation perish eternally in the fire of hell. So he did something about it. He started right away in the Garden with Adam and Eve, where he first sowed the seed of eternal life: I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel (Genesis 3:15). And then, over the course of thousands of years God protected his promise, he nurtured and sheltered the Eve’s seed within his chosen people of Israel. For thousands of years, God guided the entirety of human history with one goal in mind – to fulfill his promise to redeem all people from the death their sin had earned them (Romans 6:23). And then, 2000 years ago he put his plan into effect – when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons (Galatians 4:4).

What was impossible for man, God made possible all by himself. God threaded the camel through the eye of the needle. God came to this earth and was born as a baby in Bethlehem. Baby Jesus grew and was tempted and suffered just as we do – yet he never sinned. Never once did he let his family or friends or job or wealth come before his Father in heaven. Never once did Jesus ever lose his focus on his mission of redemption. Never once did Jesus have to walk away sad because he was too busy, too proud, or too selfish to serve God and fallen mankind with all his mind, soul and strength. In fact, just the opposite, Jesus gave up everything to save us: he gave up his Father’s riches in heaven, he gave up his seat of power at God’s right hand, he gave up his position as judge over all the earth – and Jesus was anything but rich and powerful when he lived on this earth; he didn’t have a penny to his name or even a place to call home. Jesus did the impossible not once but three times: he lived a sinless life, paid for the world’s sin by his death, and then overcame death itself by rising to life three days later. Jesus is the answer to life’s most important question: who can be saved? By God’s grace and through faith in Jesus’ merit, anyone can be because what is impossible for people is possible for God.

Motivational posters might be useful when it comes to building morale and self-confidence. The mentality “there’s nothing you can’t do, if you just put your mind to it” might be true when it comes to shooting rockets into space, curing disease, and all sorts of wonderful and beneficial inventions. But when it comes to defeating death, mankind has struck out. But where man failed, God succeeded. Jesus did what no other man could do: he lived under the law but never broke it; he died but didn’t stay dead. And he gives this elixir of immortality to us regularly through baptism, absolution and the Lord’s Supper – the means of grace which confirm that because of Jesus, while you may die, you will live eternally (John 11:25-26). What must we do to inherit eternal life? Nothing but receive it as God’s free gift through Jesus! Amen.

[1] https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170411-the-army-that-conquered-the-world

[2] https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2957494/jewish/Why-Are-Bar-and-Bat-Mitzvah-at-13-and-12.htm

Luke 18:1-8 - Always Pray and Do Not Lose Heart - October 16, 2022

It’s a situation familiar to most of us. You’re running late but you still have to pick up the last few ingredients for supper. You grab a cart, scramble through the aisles and hurry back to the register. At the register, you have everything ready – your Fresh Perks number, your coupons, your credit card. With a quick ‘have a nice evening’ to the cashier, you run back out to the car. But then, as you’re going, you happen to glance at the reciept – they overcharged you for the milk. What do you do? There are two different types of people in this world with two radically different responses: 1) You run back in to customer service, demand a refund – and won’t take no for an answer no matter how much it will delay dinner; or 2) you shrug your shoulders, decide the money you would save isn’t worth your time, drive off, and make the mental note to hide the receipt from your spouse when you get home. Which one are you? In the end, it doesn’t matter how persistent you are or how valid your demand – your refund doesn’t depend on your pleading and begging but on the willingness and ability of the customer service rep to help you, to give you justice.

In a continuation of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a more serious, but similar situation. He sets the stage: there was a judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not care about people. Just like today, in ancient Israel, disputes between citizens were decided by a third party: an independent judge. Unlike today, there was very little red tape – there were no lawyers, no class action lawsuits, no appeals courts. But in the parable before us, we are told something unexpected about the judge. He was an unbeliever; he did not fear God. Now, taken by itself, that’s not a big deal. There are plenty of unbelievers who are perfectly honest judges. Earthly justice doesn’t depend on faith, it depends on reason. But this judge’s unbelief makes the second part even more troubling – he did not care about people either. He didn’t care what others thought about his decisions and judgments. Care – or better here ‘respect’ – for men is an essential quality for a judge – an honest judge is one who is concerned for the weak in society, who stands up for their rights against powerful oppressors. But this judge was neither fearful of God nor a respecter of men; he was – as Jesus puts it – an unjust judge.

Then Jesus takes us to the other end of the spectrum. There was a widow in that town, and she kept going to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my adversary!’ Why would Jesus pick a widow to be the protagonist in his parable? Well, we know that Jesus always showed special concern for the weak and powerless in society. Jesus spent much of his time on this earth with children, the sick, the handicapped, and widows. A widow, by definition, had lost her legal protector when her husband died. She didn’t normally have the assets to bribe her way to justice. She was an especially easy target for those who prey on the helpless. Jesus picks a widow because a widow was powerless to get justice for herself – she needed the help of a just judge.

But this widow wasn’t getting the justice she demanded: For some time he refused, but after a while he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God or care about people, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not wear me out with her endless pleading.’ Although this widow may have appeared helpless, she had one tool at her disposal – persistence. The phrase translated wear me out is literally ‘give a black eye’ – this widow was coming close to giving a judge a black eye. Not physically but metaphorically. If it became public knowledge that this judge was ignoring the pleas of a helpless widow – he ran the risk of having his reputation tarnished – he might even lose his job. (Incidentally, how many elected officials do the right thing only for the same reason – because they may damage their reputation or lose their job?) This judge may have been shamelessly crooked and godless, but he had to keep that fact hidden, he had to keep up at least a façade of honesty to keep his job, and this widow was a threat – so he finally gave in and gave her justice.

A nice story, right? But what’s the point? What does it mean for us? Unlike many parables, we don’t have to go searching for the point of this parable – Luke gives it to us directly: Jesus told them a parable about the need to always pray and not lose heart. Ok, Amen, we can all go home now, right? We should be like that widow and pray persistently until we get a favorable response from God. Point taken Jesus, see you next week! But Jesus isn’t done applying this parable to our lives. Maybe you have begun to put the dots of this parable together in your mind – it’s easy enough to see how we are like the widow; we often feel weak and helpless to get answers and justice from God – but that second part, the part about the godless, shameless, unjust judge – what is that about?

And this is the crux of the parable. We’re pretty familiar with the places in Scripture where Jesus invites us to come to him in prayer: keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep seeking and you will find. Keep knocking and it will be opened to you (Luke 11:9); therefore I tell you, everything that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24). In hard times – for that matter, at all times! – we know we should pray. When things beyond our control take over our lives or cause destruction and pain around the world, we know that God invites us to talk to him about it. If we are the ones undergoing pain or trial, we might even have friends and family who try to help us out by encouraging us to pray, saying: I know you’re going through a rough patch, but God has a plan for you, even in this. And isn’t it a great comfort that you can take all your cares to God in prayer? But when you are sitting on rock bottom, it can be difficult to see the point of prayer, instead we think: you know, prayer doesn’t seem real helpful right now, I’ve been praying for years, my family has been praying – it hasn’t helped in the past, why would it help now? Even with prayer, things don’t get any better, they just keep getting worse.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever decided that God is going to do what he’s going to do and nothing you say or pray will change it? If so, you’re not alone. I would wager that just about every Christian has, in a time of crisis, experienced such feelings of helplessness and despair. Fortunately for us, our Lord Jesus, was a true man who knew and experienced every emotion we feel, also knew that we would feel this way sometimes. That’s why he tells us this parable.

But, at least at first glance, Jesus’ interpretation doesn’t seem very comforting, does it? The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God give justice to his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night? Will he put off helping them? “So…God is like that wicked judge – he doesn’t really care about me or upholding justice – but he does care about his reputation? So I should keep praying because if he doesn’t answer that makes him look bad, and he can’t allow that to happen? Is God afraid of losing his job?” Not at all. Jesus’ lesson is a lesson in contrast. He’s saying that if even an unjust judge who doesn’t care about God or widows will grant justice in order to protect his good name; how much more will the Lord who loves his children dearly, and who is very much concerned with upholding justice, and who, by the way, has a flawless name to protect, help his chosen ones from affliction when they cry out to him for help? What kind of mother ignores her crying baby? What kind of father stands idly by when his child is suffering and they’re crying out to him for help? Only terrible parents – the very worst kind. But here’s the thing: when we give up on prayer, that’s what we’re accusing God of being. That’s also what we’re witnessing to the world when we neglect worship and prayer: Hey, why don’t you become a Christian? It’s wonderful! We have an awful God who plugs his ears to our prayers and can’t be bothered when we’re suffering. Christians who fail to pray are breaking the 2nd commandment and need to repent.

But that’s not who God is. That isn’t who he’s revealed and proven himself to be. And that’s the point: our attitude toward prayer (and worship) is directly connected to who we believe God to be. If you imagine that he is a villain on par with that unjust judge, then by all means, go ahead and give up praying, it’s not doing you any good anyway because the God you “believe” in doesn’t exist. But if you believe, as Jesus taught us (Matthew 6:7-13), that you have a Father in heaven who loves you, who always wants what’s best for you, and who is so deeply concerned about every detail of your life that he has numbered the very hairs of your head (Luke 12:7), then pray knowing that your Father hears you and that whether his answer is yes, no, or not yet – that is the best answer for you.

Prayer is above all an act of faith (which incidentally, is why we don’t pray with people of other faiths). Prayer is an expression of your belief that God is who he says he is. It’s in this context that Jesus asks: when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? If Jesus were to return this instant, would he find this kind of faith in the world, in our country, in our community? Would he find it here, at Risen Savior? Jesus is asking if people like you and me will be ready and waiting for His return; praying for it; confidently expecting that the Lord who promised to come again will indeed come to answer our prayers and rescue us from this broken, sinful world. If that’s who you believe the Lord to be, then you will be persistent in prayer.

Now, we might argue: but often, when I pray, I don’t always get what I ask for. No, you don’t. But you can be sure of this: the Lord always gives you what you need. And he’s a whole lot wiser than you are. So if he doesn’t give you what you want, you can be sure there is a good reason for it. A better question is: what good things could you have that you’re not asking for? James writes: you do not have because you do not ask (James 4:2). And he’s not talking about the things we think are so important in this life; relief from pain, a happy family, an easy retirement, or job security. No, the Lord is more interested in giving us the gifts of the Spirit: things like faith, patience, peace, kindness, wisdom, and love (Galatians 5:22-23). The Lord wants to give us these gifts – but how often do we ask for them? If our wise God sees fit to send trials and hardship into our lives – our knee-jerk reaction is to pray that he would remove them immediately. And sometimes he does – but sometimes he doesn’t. Maybe it would be better to ask for the faith and strength to endure them and to be a faithful witness of the Gospel in the midst of them.

But back to the question: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? On that day, there will be only two kinds of people: those on our Lord’s right (believers) and those on his left (unbelievers). And on that day, the most important thing won’t be how persistent you have been in prayer; it will only matter whether God is an unjust judge or a benevolent Father. What do you believe about Him? And if we believe what he says about himself won’t we wait for that Day patiently and hopefully? Won’t we wait for the Lord to answer our prayers like young children waiting for their parents to put supper on the table? And it won’t matter what it is because we trust that whatever it is – it is for our good. So keep on praying, keep on asking, knowing that the Father will give you justice and he will give it quickly – Jesus promises it!

And that’s how it has to be – because it’s only through Jesus that we can have that kind of faith. It’s in the Son that we see the full extent of our Father’s love for us. We can be certain that our prayers will be answered for Jesus’ sake – because his most desperate prayers went unanswered. Jesus begged his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane to find another way to save us, so he wouldn’t have to drink the cup of eternal suffering that we had earned (Luke 22:42). God denied his request. And while Jesus was hanging in our place on the cross, his cry my God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34) was answered with deafening silence from heaven. There, on the cross, Jesus received his Father’s cold shoulder in our place – and that’s the greatest proof that our Father will never give us the cold shoulder. In fact, properly understood, you could even say that on Good Friday, God did play the role of the wicked judge: ignoring the plea of his innocent Son who made himself helpless for our sake, while we who are wicked prospered at his expense. That is the Savior we have. That is the Father we pray to. That is how much he loves us.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter what kind of shopper you are. But the kind of God we pray to – that is eternally important. Will not the same God who did not spare his own Son…graciously give us all things along with him? (Romans 8:32) Of course he will. So we pray. We pray boldly, persistently, and confidently no matter how dark things seem to be – because we know who our God is and that when the Son of Man returns all our prayers will be answered once and for all. Amen.

Luke 17:11-19 - The Poll Results Are In - October 9, 2022

It’s election season and therefore it’s also polling season. Politicians and pundits place great value on polling data. I’m not sure I agree with them. Not only because polls have been proven to be very wrong in the recent past, not only because over 60% of Americans do not even have land-lines [1], but because right now many people will outright lie to a pollster – to just go along with the popular opinion that they don’t believe to protect themselves from being “canceled” from society. I doubt how accurate any poll can be. What does this have to do with the 10 lepers before us? Well, I think that there are some things we can learn from polling these ten lepers – a poll not based on phone calls but on Luke’s inspired record of their words and actions.

Luke tells us that as Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As Jesus was traveling through this region, ten men with leprosy met him. Standing at a distance, they called out loudly, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” It might not be obvious to we NT Christians just how bold and even radical this behavior was. In Leviticus, God had given his people this command regarding those who were afflicted with leprosy: the person with the skin disease who has an infection on him must wear torn clothes and let his hair be disheveled. He must cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” For as long as the infection is on him he shall remain unclean. He is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp (Leviticus 13:45-46). The clear majority – 10 out of 10 – of these lepers broke with OT protocol to approach Jesus and, instead of crying out “Unclean!” they cried out for mercy. Actually, their plea was stronger than a cry. It was a command: “Jesus, Master, you must have mercy on us!” A bold demand from a group that was considered society’s outcasts, right?

The question is: why? Why did 10 out of 10 of these lepers boldly break with protocol and confidently – almost brashly – demand that Jesus have mercy on them? Let’s start with what did not lead them to this action and these words. It was not because they believed they deserved healing. That comes out by their use of the word mercy. Mercy is kindness shown to someone who doesn’t deserve it. If you are pleading for mercy, then, you are admitting that you don’t deserve to have whatever you’re asking for. The criminal who pleads for mercy from the judge knows they don’t deserve it; the cheating wife who pleads for her husband not to leave knows she doesn’t deserve it. So it is here: 10 out of 10 lepers know they don’t deserve Jesus’ kindness but they demand it anyway. Why? Well, if it’s not because of something in them – then it must be something in Jesus. What did they know about Jesus? Well, they knew that Jesus had healed many, including a leper (Luke 5:12-15). They demanded that Jesus have mercy on them – only because they were unanimous in their belief that Jesus was merciful in nature! And in this case, the majority was right.

What would a similar poll taken of those of us gathered here today reveal? Would it reveal that while we all confessed earlier that [we] do not deserve to be called your child, there’s a little part of us that believes we do; that we’re just a little better than all the people out there who have been things to do than come to church; that by our sacrifices of time, money and effort we have earned God’s favor? Just realize what that would mean: it would gut the entire idea of mercy. Mercy which is earned or deserved is not mercy at all. It is a business transaction. And, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) shows that no one who believes that they deserve mercy will receive it. What does the poll of your heart reveal?

More importantly, what does that poll of your heart reveal about what you believe about Jesus? Do you come to him in your daily prayers boldly – even brashly – demanding that he live up to his reputation and have mercy on you? Or have doubts about Jesus’ reputation slipped into your heart and mind? Do you pray only rarely – do you maintain a safe distance away from him – because you don’t really believe that he will listen? Do you pray only for small things because you don’t believe that he’s really capable of solving your big problems – like an incurable disease? I’m not going to ask for a show of hands – but you know, and God knows, the results of that poll. This poll of these 10 lepers demonstrates with perfect accuracy that we should boldly expect God to be merciful to us – not because we deserve it, because we don’t – but because he is merciful (Psalm 136).

There was a second poll taken of these 10 lepers. When [Jesus] saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they went away they were cleansed. 10 out of 10 of these lepers took Jesus at his word and set out for the nearest priest to be examined and to be declared clean. Again, realize how radical and almost ridiculous this was. Jesus didn’t explicitly promise that they would be cleansed like he did with the leper in Luke 5. He didn’t lay his hands on them to cleanse them. He didn’t tell them to go wash in the Jordan River like Elisha did with Naaman in the OT (2 Kings 5). He just told them to go…and they went. These lepers were unanimous in their trust of Jesus’ mercy and in obedience to his rather unusual command.

How about us? Do we truly believe that Jesus gives us unusual and difficult commands in his Word he promises to bless our obedience? Do we trust that his reputation as merciful is more than enough reason to do whatever he commands – even if it seems radical and ridiculous in today’s world? Jesus calls us to pray for those in authority – yes, even and especially those who not only condone but even support and mandate behavior that is contrary to God’s will – do we go and do it (1 Timothy 2:1-2)? Jesus commands parents to make training in the Word of God the absolute highest priority for their children (Ephesians 6:4) – but how many other factors, activities and priorities have gotten in the way of doing that? Jesus commands us to speak up and speak out against injustice, against immorality, against anything that is against his will (Proverbs 31:8-9), and yet how often haven’t we kept quiet out of fear of offending our families or friends or the risk of losing our jobs or reputations? While the obedience of these ten lepers may put us to shame – and rightfully lead us to repentance – may it also lead us to trust that when our merciful God gives us a command he also promises to bless us when we obey it (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).

There’s one final poll taken in our text this morning. But, in contrast to the two previous polls, in this one the majority is dead wrong. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan. Jesus responded, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go your way. Your faith has saved you.” I’m sure we’ve all heard a Thanksgiving sermon on this text which make the main point of this story the lack of gratitude on the part of 9 of the 10 lepers. Is that accurate? Jesus doesn’t question their gratitude – I mean, only a psychopath could fail to be thankful for the curing of an incurable disease – but that they did not return and give glory to God. In other words, while it’s a stretch to argue that they weren’t grateful to for their healing, it’s that they didn’t return because they failed to recognize two things: 1) they failed to recognize that the God they were to worship was standing right in front of them in the flesh and blood of Jesus; and 2) they failed to realize that their need for mercy extended deeper than their skin – that while their rotten flesh had been healed they still needed healing for their rotten hearts.

What can we learn from this poll where the majority is wrong? The old saying is that there are no atheists in fox holes – meaning that when things get really bad, when there seems to be no hope, when there is nowhere else to turn, when your life is in danger, most, if not all people turn to God for help (kind of like 10 of 10 of these lepers did). While I doubt that that adage is true 100% of the time – especially in our society where God has all but been removed from the public discourse – isn’t it uncanny how many people seem to “find God” at the very moment when their lives have been shattered by some kind of tragedy, disaster or illness? We saw it on a nation-wide level when churches were packed after the 9/11 terror attack. We see it when politicians who seem to have little regard for God’s will in their policy-making suddenly announce that their thoughts and prayers are with the victims of some man-made or natural disaster. You might see it in your personal life when a friend or family member who hasn’t been to church for years asks for your prayers as they face some difficult situation. And, you know what? In many cases God does provide the healing, the help and the resources those people are seeking. Look at the legions of electrical linemen and Coast Guard personnel and Red Cross volunteers who traveled to Florida to help people in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Look at the doctors and nurses who provide help and healing on a daily basis at hospitals around the world. While we may not agree with every social safety net program our government operates, isn’t it incredible how there is no reason for anyone in our nation to starve? All of this help, all of this healing, all of these acts of mercy come from God – and in the moment of crisis, the majority usually recognizes that.

But…how many, once their prayers, their requests for mercy have been answered return to Jesus to praise him as the one, true God and glorify him for his mercy? And, more importantly, how many return to him seeking the one thing that neither the Coast Guard nor the Red Cross can provide: the forgiveness of sins? Sadly, in our country the majority of those who don’t is growing and the minority who do is shrinking by the day. Again, I don’t think the issue is one of gratitude. If you’ve seen the videos of people who’ve been rescued from their rooftops or had a tanker truck show up to fill their generators, I don’t think that there’s any doubt that they are grateful. The issue is that even though they have found relief in this particular situation – they fail to recognize that they continue to be rotten beggars in need of continued mercy from the only one who can provide it; they fail to return to Jesus – who provided the mercy in the first place.

If this story is all about gratitude and ingratitude, then mercy is reduced to a transaction – like when your mom would say “Now, what do you say…” when someone gave you a gift. Is God merciful because we are grateful? Never, because then it wouldn’t be mercy! In a strange way that can only be divine, God is merciful to us – not just to get a “thank you” out of us – but in order to lead us to beg for even more mercy! Paul puts it this way: do you have so little regard for his rich kindness, his restraint, and his patience, that you ignore the fact that the purpose of God’s kindness is to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4) In other words, God is merciful to us so that we would come to Jesus and seek even more mercy from him!

And how do we do this? Where do we find Jesus today to beg him for even more mercy? In Baptism. Paul says: as many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). In Absolution, where Jesus promises: whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven (John 20:23). In the Lord’s Supper, where the same Jesus who cleansed those lepers of their rotten skin promises that his true body and blood are present to cleanse our rotten hearts of sin (Matthew 26:26-28). These are the places you find Jesus, these are the places you find God, these are the places – the only places – where you will ever hear get up and go your way. Your faith has saved you. The majority may have received healing for their bodies; only the minority, only one received healing for his soul.

I don’t place much trust in political polling today. But I hope we all have learned something from one conducted on these 10 lepers. The majority can be right, but it can also be wrong. Where are the other nine? Polls can’t tell you, but if they’re not here at Jesus’ feet, you know where they’re headed. May the Lord help us to be found in the minority, where we recognize that the best way to thank Jesus for his mercy is to keep coming back for more! Amen.

[1] https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2021/05/data-shows-625-percent-of-american.html

Luke 17:1-10 - The Right Combination - October 2, 2022

“The right combination.” Meteorologists use that phrase when they believe that the atmospheric conditions are just right for a hurricane or tornado or some other weather event. Sports commentators say it when in their judgment a player has the right blend of speed, strength and talent to become a superstar. Political analysts say it around election time, when, in their estimation, there is just the “right combination” of sinking poll numbers, economic turmoil, and social unrest for an incumbent to lose and a challenger to win. But today we’re talking about something far more important than the weather, sports or politics. Today, Jesus describes the “right combination” of what it takes to be a Christian, his disciple.

While these verses may seem like a series of random, disconnected statements, there’s one thread that ties everything together: everything Jesus describes is (or at least seems) impossible. Its starts already in the first verse. Our translation reads: temptations to sin are sure to come – but a more literal translation would be it is impossible that death traps will not come. It’s impossible to avoid temptations and pitfalls in this fallen world, but woe to the one through whom they come. In fact, it would be better for you have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into Lake Michigan than for you to cause one of these littles ones to sin. Some Muslim nations still cut off the hands of thieves. Several states still execute capital criminals. But only mob bosses and drug lords have ever picked drowning as a fitting punishment. Yet here, Jesus is suggesting that just this type of cruel and unusual punishment would be better than leading another Christian to sin. Why? Because leading someone else to sin is putting their soul in danger of hell. Without question, we would be better off dead than leading someone to sin. So watch yourselves. Watch your words, watch your actions – because they don’t only affect you and your eternity, they affect the people around you and their eternities as well!

Then what should we do when sin inevitably raises its ugly head? If your brother sins, rebuke him. Pretty simple, right? If a fellow believer falls into sin, confront them gently but firmly and call them to repentance. But in a culture where it’s considered absolutely unacceptable to question the right of anyone to do anything – rebuking sin often seems all but impossible. “What if they get mad? What if they never talk to me again? What if it ruins our relationship? It’s not my place; let someone else do it.” That begs the question: how many of us actually obeyed Jesus’ command – even once – much less consistently? When’s the last time you called someone – be it a family member or fellow church member to repentance? And yet, Jesus says that it’s impossible for sins not to happen, so there should to be plenty of rebuking happening. Have you loved someone enough to rebuke them? If not, why not? More importantly, if we can’t even obey this simple command, do we have any right to call ourselves Christians?

Believe it or not, we haven’t even gotten to the really hard part yet. Rebuking sin is only a preliminary, preparatory duty. Just as God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:17) so our primary duty as Christians is not to rebuke sin but to forgive it. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him. Again, in a world that loves to dredge up sins from the past and use them to damage careers and reputations today, where holding on to rage seems like a political virtue, where many marriages and families and churches have been destroyed by the refusal to forgive even once – this sounds impossible. The more cynical part of us might suggest that Jesus must not know what it’s like to be married or to have children or to belong to a church that’s full of sinners. If we’re honest though, we might confess what Jesus is commanding is beyond our ability; that it seems impossible.

And we’re not alone. The apostles recognized how impossible these commands were. They realized that the duties of discipleship required something they didn’t think they had enough of: not clarity, not direction, but faith. They realized – and so should we – that it takes great faith to rebuke and forgive sin. So they say increase our faith. “Lord, you’ve got to increase our faith if we’re to do this!” And how did Jesus respond to this request? “You have enough faith.” If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Mulberry trees are troublesome. They have massive root systems. There is as much mulberry tree underground as there is above. It’s hard enough to get rid of a mulberry tree, much less uproot it and then plant it in the sea. It’s impossible. But Jesus is saying that if faith the size of a mustard seed can accomplish this impossible task – then faith the size of a mustard seed is more than enough to enable us to carry out our duties of rebuking and forgiving sin. Then why does it still feel so impossible to do what Jesus asks? Why does discipleship seem relatively easy when all we have to do is show up and sit down on Sunday mornings – but impossibly difficult when it comes to properly dealing with sin?

Clearly, Jesus’ point is that it’s not impossible. Maybe a better way to describe it would be “unnatural.” Not causing people to sin, rebuking others when they sin, and forgiving sins against us only appears impossible because it seems so unnatural. A recent court-case from Texas bears this out. Last December, a man called Jamie Jaramillo shot and killed a Mesquite, Texas police officer named Richard Houston. At Jamie’s sentencing just over two weeks ago, Richard Houston’s family, including his daughter, spoke. This is what his 19-year-old daughter, Shelby, said, “I forgive you, Jamie Jaramillo, for shooting and murdering my father. My prayer down the road is to spend time with you. Not to yell at you, not to scold you, simply to tell you about Jesus.” [1] Needless to say, even the usually heartless media was struck by this radical demonstration of forgiveness. Why? Because it was so unnatural. Because today people tend to deal with sin with cruel and senseless social media posts and destructive riots, not with grace and forgiveness.

The question is: why does it seem so unnatural and nearly impossible for us to deal with sin the way Jesus commands? Because we often do what the apostles did: we try to measure our faith. We try to measure if we have the strength, the courage and boldness to do what Jesus commands – and if we feel that we’re lacking, then we can use that weakness to justify our failure to do our duty. That’s a problem. Not a lack of faith problem, but a focus of faith problem. Here’s where Jesus’ picture of the mulberry tree comes in. His point is that even faith the size of a mustard seed in the almighty Word of God can do unnatural and seemingly impossible things. If God’s Word commanded you to uproot and replant a mulberry tree, you could do it. God’s Word doesn’t command or promise anything about mulberry trees. It does, however, clearly and frequently, command us to rebuke sin and then forgive it.

Do you have that kind of faith? The mustard seed size kind of faith that dutifully rebukes and forgives sin simply because God’s Word commands and promises it? No, I don’t either. That’s because discipleship is like a combination lock: two numbers are never enough. You need at least three. Jesus has so far covered two parts: duty and faith. There’s one more thing needed, and that’s grace. That’s where his little illustration about plowing, shepherding, and serving comes in. Jesus is saying that the only way we can do the impossible, unnatural things he’s commanding is by God’s grace.

Wait a minute…where is that in this parable? If we could all read Greek we would see this. In verse 9 Jesus literally asks “he would not have grace (χάριν) for the servant because he did what he was told, would he?” By the way Jesus asks the question he’s expecting a “no” answer. No, a master doesn’t give grace to his slave because he does what he’s been told. That’s both unnatural and impossible. You can’t get grace by doing anything – if you could, it wouldn’t be grace (Romans 11:6).

So follow Jesus’ line of logic here: faith is needed to carry out your unnatural and impossible duties as a Christian, but where does faith come from? Grace! And where does grace come from? Grace comes from God, not from you. Look for it inside yourself, look for it in the worthiness of the person or in your thoughts and feelings and you won’t find the grace, the fuel, to do what you’ve been commanded. Grace can only be received from the outside. You can’t merit grace; you can’t win it; you can’t deserve it.

I said a couple weeks ago that you can often find the Gospel in the part of the parable that seems “off”, that doesn’t seem right, that doesn’t make sense. The Gospel in this parable is that God has shattered all the norms of a servant / master relationship. God does what no earthly master ever would. He gives us grace even though we haven’t done what we’ve been told. That’s the part that doesn’t make sense. We don’t even do the most basic things we’re supposed to do as Christians – like rebuke and forgive sin – and yet, God is still gracious to us. Why? There’s an acronym that tells you everything you need to know about grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. God gives you grace only because of Jesus. He’s the only One who always did what his Father commanded him to do. He never rolled his eyes, never muttered in protest, never argued that it was impossible – he never once failed to either rebuke or forgive sin, and he certainly never caused anyone else to sin. He was the perfect man, the perfect disciple. And what was his reward? It was even worse than death by drowning – his reward was death on a cross. God didn’t hang a millstone around his neck – but he did hang all of our sins, every last one of our failures to do our duty on him. That weight didn’t drag him to the bottom of the sea, but it did drag him into the depths of hell – where God held him until he had satisfied his righteous wrath. But when he said it is finished (John 19:30), it was. Jesus had drained every last ounce of God’s wrath against us (Romans 8:1) – so that all that’s left in his heart for us now is simple, beautiful, undeserved grace. That’s why, I can say without hesitation that whether you have been dutiful or disobedient, whether your faith is the size of a mountain or a mustard seed, the only thing God has for you is rich, boundless, impossible grace.

Doing our duty as disciples is impossible. It’s impossible for us to perfectly rebuke and forgive sin – no matter how big we think our faith is. But we can be unworthy, can’t we? And when we confess that we are unworthy servants then we’re right where God wants us. That’s why we call the main things we do in church the means of grace. Baptism is grace poured out on infants who can do absolutely nothing for God. Absolution is the grace of forgiveness applied to self-confessed, self-convicted sinners. Communion is the gift of Jesus’ own body and blood offered to sinners who can never be worthy to receive them (1 Corinthians 11:29). You can’t deserve to be baptized, absolved, or communed. And yet, through these means, God gives you his grace for Jesus’ sake.

So I’ll ask one more time, do you have what it takes to be a disciple, do you have the right combination? Remember what Jesus does and doesn’t command us in this text. He’s not commanding us to plant mulberry trees anywhere, but he does command us to rebuke and forgive sin; and, finally, he does command us to say we are unworthy servants; we have only done what we were supposed to do. That’s a confession you can live with and, more importantly, die with, because it is the most basic confession of faith: that we can be disciples only by God’s grace and not by our own effort. You have God’s grace, and with that gift, you do have the right combination; you have just what you need to do the seemingly impossible duties of a Christian. Amen.  

[1] https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/slain-mesquite-police-officers-daughter-offers-convicted-killer-forgiveness/3073465/

Luke 16:19-31 - Four Myths from Hell - September 9, 2022

There used to be a show on The Discovery Channel called MythBusters. From the very name you can probably guess what it was about. The hosts would take a myth or an old wives’ tale or an urban legend and put it to the test using scientific experiments. They tested the Hollywood theory that a car can break through a locked chain link fence (it can), whether elephants are really afraid of mice or not (they really don’t like having them around!), and last but not least, whether it’s actually possible to take someone’s hat off with a bullet – like you see in the Westerns – (yes, but with the caveat that you tend to also put a decent sized hole in the person’s head, too!). Whether or not such a show interests you, the premise is undeniably true: you can’t believe everything you hear or see. While most urban legends are fairly harmless, there are many myths from hell that the devil uses to do real, eternal damage. Today Jesus busts four of those myths – not with science – but with the inerrant Word of God.

Myth #1: everyone goes to heaven. Even in our increasingly secularized society, most people believe that there is a life after this one, that it is a better life than this one, and that – apart from terrorists, pedophiles and politicians – virtually everyone will go there when they die. That’s why even when you’re at the funeral of a confessed unbeliever, you don’t ever hear “well, they died in unbelief, and now their suffering has just begun” – no, you always hear, “now they’re at peace,” or “they are in a better place.”

But it’s a myth, as Jesus demonstrates in this story. (Incidentally, despite the fact that this is often labeled a parable, it’s probably not. A parable is an earthly story which conceals a spiritual meaning. Here, while Jesus does indeed speak in earthly terms – the spiritual meaning is not at all hidden.) Not everyone goes to heaven; some, like the rich man, are suffering in agony in the fire of hell. What’s striking is that it’s Jesus who is giving us this awful description of hell. Most people think of Jesus as nice, tolerant and loving – far too nice, tolerant and loving to ever send anyone to hell. But the truth is that Jesus talks about hell more often and in more horrifying language than anyone else in the Bible. Here he describes hell as a place of torment, where people burn alive without any hope of death, a state of permanent separation from God and his love. Of course, he’s using earthly language to describe the horrors of hell – which can’t really be described – but his point is clear: it’s a myth that all people go to heaven. Some don’t. Some go to hell forever.

Myth #2: outward appearances matter. The false belief that prevailed in Jesus’ day still survives today – and it goes like this: if you’re happy, healthy, and wealthy God loves you, and if you’re not, he’s angry at you. In other words, if you are blessed in this life, it’s almost guaranteed that you will be blessed in the next life, because we all know that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Jesus busts this myth by describing two men whose outward circumstances couldn’t have been more different. At a time when people rarely ate meat the rich man enjoyed a 5-star feast daily – while Lazarus’ stomach ached for the crumbs that fell from his table. While the rich man dressed in purple and fine linen – which served no practical purpose other than to broadcast how rich you were – Lazarus was clothed in sores. Lazarus died like a beggar. No mention of a funeral. His corpse was probably unceremoniously tossed into a mass grave somewhere. But the rich man was buried. While I must confess that I didn’t watch a single second of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, I’ve heard it was quite the show. Ever been to a rich person’s funeral? Flowers upon flowers upon flowers – always with a little card so that the family knows just who to give the credit to. People fall over themselves to make themselves seen and heard at the funeral of a rich person. Even pastors, for some reason, often feel obligated to talk more about the rich, dead person in the sermon than Jesus Christ. Based solely on appearances, which of the two would you think would end up in heaven?

But then Jesus pulls back the curtain to let us see what’s really going on. First, what was the most notable thing about Lazarus? Not that he was a beggar and a cripple – that was all-too common – but that he has a name! This is the only time Jesus names one of the characters in his stories (or parables) – and that name tells us everything we need to know. Lazarus comes from the Hebrew name Eleazar which means God is my help. The rich man may not have helped Lazarus, but God did and wrote his name in the book of life (Revelation 20:12). The rich man, on the other hand remains anonymous, for the damned are not known by God (Matthew 7:23). Second, God dispatches angels to carry the Lazarus’ filthy, sore-covered body to heaven. No angels are sent to fetch the rich man because the damned don’t need any help in getting to hell. Finally, Lazarus finds eternal peace and rest at Abraham’s side while the rich man winds up screaming his lungs out in the never-ending torments of hell. Certainly, appearances can be deceiving.

There’s a warning here for us. Paul put it succinctly: let him who thinks he stands be careful that he does not fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). Don’t think that you can tell who will go where based on outward appearances. It’s not only that wealth doesn’t equal heaven and poverty doesn’t equal hell – or vice-versa; but that no outward circumstance can be used to judge a person’s eternal fate. To use a crass example: don’t assume that a mass-shooter is automatically going to hell and his victims get a one-way ticket to heaven – because appearances can be deceiving.

Myth #3: church is no big deal. One myth that prevailed among people in Jesus’ day is still prevalent today; it’s that faith is a very subjective, very mystical thing. It’s the idea that God comes to us directly, apart from external means. And so when seeking certainty for their salvation, people are directed to look at themselves, their feelings, their heritage, their circumstances. People equate faith with the emotion of “feeling” close to God. When people find out I’m a pastor they often feel the need to justify themselves and sometimes say “Oh, well I think about God all the time.” When I contact members who don’t come to church one of the first things they will say is “Don’t worry pastor, I have a bible on a shelf somewhere; I pray sometimes; my faith is strong!” The problem is that as a result of the Fall we are already turned in on ourselves far too much. By nature we are self-centered rather than God-centered. But the fact is that faith that looks inward at one’s feelings or heritage or circumstances is no faith at all.

Where do we see this in our story? Well, why did the rich man go to hell? Well, because rich people are bad and poor people are good – or, because the rich man abused and mistreated Lazarus. But the text doesn’t explicitly say that, does it? We aren’t told that he spit on Lazarus, kicked him, or yelled at him to get off his lawn. Nor are we told that the rich man went to hell because he was an idolater, insurrectionist, murderer, adulterer or thief. In fact, we are probably safe in assuming that he was viewed as a Jew in good standing from the fact that he called Abraham Father (and Abraham even called him child). No, the only sin directly named in this lesson is a sin against the third commandment: not [listening] to Moses and the prophets. In other words, while this rich man may have received a proper Jewish burial, he apparently didn’t make it a priority to listen to Moses and the prophets, that is, the Word of God, preached and taught.

Please don’t misunderstand. Faith in Christ certainly does save because faith is the open hand that receives the forgiveness, life and salvation that he won on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). But don’t for a second think that this faith can exist apart from hearing the Word of God. Faith can no more live in your heart apart from the Word than your body can live apart from eating food (John 6:53). Going to church is important because church tears your attention away from yourself, your feelings, your circumstances and places it on Christ and how Christ comes to you: in the Word and Sacraments. And you might say: “I read my bible at home,” “I pray.” Good, I hope you do. But the Bible teaches that faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). And Hebrews commands let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing. Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25). Faith is a miracle but God has decided to not create or sustain it mystically but through totally ordinary, objective external means: water and Word, bread and wine.

That’s why, if you’ve ever doubted or questioned or wavered in your faith – I have good news for you. Why? Because it means you don’t have to search for comfort and certainty in your heart or the circumstances of your life. Instead, you can find him in the clear, objective means he has given. Were you baptized? Then your name is written in the book of life in heaven (1 Peter 3:21). Were your sins forgiven moments ago in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? Then the gates of heaven are open to you (Matthew 16:19). Are you faithfully eating and drinking Jesus’ true body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins? Then God is strengthening your faith in Jesus, whether you feel it or not (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Church is important because church is where the Word is preached and the sacraments are administered. The rich man went to hell not because he neglected Lazarus (if that were the case, then all of us should be damned for neglecting the poor in our world) but because he neglected the means of grace.

Now I know where that third myth may be leading many of you. You worry about the people you know and love who neglect and despise Word and Sacrament. You wonder “if they die like that rich man, what’s going to happen to them?” You want them to be saved so badly that you run the risk of falling for myth #4, of believing that if only God would just do something miraculous in their life, they would repent. That’s the fourth myth from hell we have to bust: miracles convert people. Even in hell the rich man still believes this myth. He’s concerned about the fate of his brothers who apparently were accustomed to despising the Word just like he was. He asks Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth to warn them. He thinks like far too many Christians do today: that you need more than the Gospel to save people – maybe not someone rising from the dead but at least some kind of supernatural wake-up call.

Is that true? No. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to Abraham. Abraham states point blank that if they reject the Word of God, even if Lazarus were to suddenly show up on their doorstep and shout “Hell is Real and your brother is there!” they wouldn’t be convinced – that is, they wouldn’t believe. Miracles don’t convert people. There are plenty of miracles recorded in the Moses and the Prophets (the OT), including people being raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37; 13:20-21). Moreover, Jesus did raise another Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44) and it only made the Jews want to kill him (and Lazarus, again) even more (John 11:45-57; 12:9-10). And, ultimately, when Jesus himself rose from the dead, they paid the guards to keep it quiet rather than repent and believe (Matthew 28:11-15).

Don’t fall for the myth. Don’t think that God isn’t doing everything he can to save the people you love. He is. He’s still sending his same powerful, faith-creating Word to every corner of the earth. The same Word that created the universe (Genesis 1), converted a murderous Pharisee like Saul into the missionary named Paul (Acts 9), that calmed stormy seas (Luke 8:22-25) and fed thousands (John 6:1-15) – is still being proclaimed. God is still working the extraordinary miracle of conversion and repentance through the completely ordinary Word. And you have this Word. The Word of God spoken by you to the people you love is far more powerful than any miracle – even someone rising from the dead – because miracles don’t change hearts – the Word of God does.

Hell is no myth. Jesus has busted that myth. People do go there. But no one has to. The gates of heaven are open today for the rich, the poor, the obviously sinful and the secretly guilty. No one is so good that they can get into heaven without hearing the Word of God, but no one is so bad that the forgiving Word of God can’t bring them to repentance and faith. Mythbusters busted myths in order to entertain. Jesus busts myths in order to save souls. Don’t believe the myths. Believe the One who is telling this story; the One who suffered hell for your sake so that you might be carried by angels to heaven when you die. Amen.

Luke 16:1-15 - The Bottom Line - September 18, 2022

Today we’re going to talk about Money. I know…nobody wants to talk about money – especially at church. Church is supposed to be for “spiritual stuff.” But today Jesus doesn’t give us a choice. Plus, the reality is that Money is spiritual. Why? First and foremost because all Money belongs to God. But that’s not the only reason. It’s no secret that Money is one of the most important things in our lives. It keeps us busy during the day and awake at night. It guides many of our life choices. As Paul made clear, the love of Money lies at the root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). The love of Money has destroyed marriages and families and churches and led people to wander from the faith. Today we’re going to talk about Money, and the bottom line is this: You cannot serve both God and [money].

First, I want to make sure that you heard that right. Jesus isn’t making up an 11th commandment. He didn’t say “do not serve both God and money.” He said: “You cannot serve both God and money.” It’s not a choice but a fact. The question is: which do you serve? Here’s the lesson we all must learn – sooner than later – about money. It’s a merciless master. I know, it doesn’t appear that way, at least not at first. Money looks like those glamorous celebrities promoting the newest credit card that promises you all kinds of free miles and cash back; like the well-dressed investment advisor who guarantees to make your money work for you; like the dream education that leads to the dream job with the dream salary that promises to make all your material dreams come true. But that’s only half the story. The dark side is that when you don’t make your credit card payments on time, you don’t get any miles but you do get an astronomical interest rate. The investment advisor can’t do much for you unless you keep handing him your money. The dream education may result in debt that you will be paying for decades (or that others will be forced to pay for you) and the dream job with the dream salary may end up costing you your mind, body, soul, marriage or family. Even in the church, the laws of money can’t be broken. We confess that faith alone saves, but budgets can’t be balanced by faith alone. Money is merciless.

Why? Because no matter how you talk about it, Money management is always a matter of the Law. And, as a result, we can always be accused of mismanaging our money. We see this in our parable. The manager was only accused of wasting his [master’s] possessions. Jesus doesn’t provide any evidence and he doesn’t state whether the manager was actually guilty or not. The point is that no matter how careful, how diligent, how generous you are with your money, you can always be accused of sinning in your use of it.

And I can prove it. I think that I can make you feel guilty about your money management – without a shred of evidence. The average American spends almost 5% of their income on various forms of entertainment [1] and, in comparison, the average WELS member gives only about 2.5% of their income in offerings. [2] That’s the average – where do you stand? What does your budget reveal about who or what has first place in your heart? We live in relatively nice homes, drive nice cars and take nice vacations. Just imagine if, instead of spending those thousands of dollars on ourselves, how many missionaries could be sent to foreign lands, how many churches could be built here in America, how many more pastors could be trained. See! I have no proof that you’ve mismanaged your money, yet you’re squirming anyway. But that’s not the point. The point is that no matter how you spend your money, no matter how frugal you are, no matter how much you give, you could still be accused of fiscal mismanagement. Money is a merciless master because serving Money is slavery to the Law.

Sadly, if we’ve never thought of Money that way, as a merciless idol, it might be because of the church. At some point the church decided that it could help people navigate the impossibly narrow road between serving God and Money; teaching that there is a way to find peace in money management, that you can serve both at the same time. You’ve heard the sermons, right? “God commanded his OT people to give 10% of their income and if you do too, then you’re off the hook.” “If you just prioritize your spending in this order: 1) Church; 2) Family; 3) Taxes; 4) Charity – then you can relax, you’re good.” In general, the impression is given that as long as you give God his cut, as long as you serve Money under God’s rules, then you don’t have to feel guilty.

But it’s a lie. You can’t stand before God’s omniscient audit and be found innocent based on your money management no matter how you’ve spent your money. Why not? Because the moment you begin to believe that you have satisfied God with your money management, then you’ve fallen into an even worse sin: the sin of self-righteousness. If you hope to stand before God and say “I’ve given enough, spent my money wisely, never wasted it, spent every penny perfectly,” then you’ve placed your hope for salvation in yourself. You are lost now and will be damned on the Last Day. But what’s the alternative? And that’s the problem with serving money, isn’t it? There is no alternative. Do whatever you want with it: keep it, save it, invest it, spend it, give it away, burn it up – it will never justify you before God. See what I mean about Money being merciless?

So what’s the answer? How do you escape Money’s tyrannical grip on your heart and life? Through repentance. By repenting of ever giving Money the place in your heart and life that belongs to God alone. Money is an inanimate object; it is not God; it did not create you; it does not preserve you or provide for you; it cannot accuse you; it cannot damn you; it cannot forgive you; it cannot save you. Recognize that Money is merciless and in the end, powerless, because it is an idol.

So what’s the good news? Here’s where some might say that the good news is that Jesus died to free us from our slavery to Money so that we can now serve the Lord with our Money – and then send the offering plates shooting down the rows. After all, that’s what most people think the Church is after, right? God needs us to come here so that he can get our money and our time and our energy in order to make his Kingdom come. Is that true? Does God need anything from us in order to do what he wants? Is God angry with us unless we give him a few bucks to get him off our backs? It’s sheer blasphemy to suggest that God’s grace depends on something we do, or that God can’t possibly sustain the church without our help. God didn’t have much patience for that kind of attitude in either the Old or New Testaments. In Malachi God begged someone to close the doors of the Temple so that the priests would stop offering their sacrifices – because they thought that by merely going through the motions they were going to win God’s favor (Malachi 1:10). Paul told the idolaters in Athens point blank that God [is not] served by human hands, as if he needed anything (Acts 17:25).

So what’s the real bottom line, then? Remember that Jesus told parables to teach spiritual truths, not moral behavior – or here, proper money management. In parables, earthly things stand for heavenly things. So the point of comparison is not between the right and the wrong way to spend Money, but between the shrewdness with which unbelievers use the means at their disposal (their money) to give themselves comfortable lives in this world and how believers, the children of the light, use what is really valuable to ensure their eternity. Jesus himself gives this interpretation: the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the children of light are. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with unrighteous mammon, so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

So where’s the real good news? The good news in Jesus’ parables is often found in the detail that doesn’t make sense – that isn’t true to life. Is there anything like that in this parable? For a rich guy, this master was pretty stupid, wasn’t he? He heard that his manager was wasting his possessions, but he didn’t immediately have him thrown in jail. He allowed him to go free to settle his outstanding accounts. It doesn’t work that way today. If you get caught stealing from your boss, security tosses your stuff into a box, walks you to your car and your access to anything financial is immediately cut off. That’s how things normally go. In fact, spiritually speaking, that’s how it should go for us. When we leave here with the true riches of God’s forgiveness and continue to feel guilt and shame over past sins, when we fail to find comfort and peace in the Sacrament, when we hear God’s promise to provide our daily bread but continue to lay awake at night worrying about money – we are wasting what is really valuable. We deserve to have them taken away. But God doesn’t do that. Like the master in the parable, our Lord lets us use and receive and give away his most precious possessions for free, demonstrating an almost foolish level of mercy to us.

And our only hope for passing God’s final audit is that he will remain merciful. That was the only hope of the shrewd servant, too. And so, far from suddenly toeing the line, he doubled down on spending his master’s money to secure his own future. And how does the master respond? [He] commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. This manager had forced his master into a corner: either drag his former manager in for punishment and then demand the full amount from his debtors – and be known as an unforgiving tyrant – or allow his manager’s actions to stand and be known throughout the community as a merciful and gracious lord. Of course, the punchline is that it will cost him significant revenue to be seen as merciful. But apparently, he figured that this loss to his bottom line was worth it to maintain his reputation.

That’s the thing about mercy: it doesn’t cost the recipient anything, but it costs the giver dearly. The master in the parable had to suffer a significant financial loss to be merciful. God is merciful to us, but it came at a steep price. It didn’t cost him 20% or 50% but 100% of his only beloved Son. Rather than send us to destruction, he sent his Son to earth. Rather than demand a perfect, flawless life from us, he demanded a perfect life from his Son. Rather than demand that we maintain hearts free from greed and covetousness – which we could never do – to earn heaven, the LORD demanded that his Son be content to live in poverty for 33 years on this earth. Rather than send us to hell to pay off our debts, the LORD sent his Son to hell on a cross to pay our debts in our place. The LORD, your real master, preferred to suffer the loss of his one and only Son and be merciful than be just and lose you forever in hell. So be shrewd – serve him by relying on his mercy – trust his Word with all your heart, live in his forgiveness and let your heart rest in his peace.

This parable isn’t really about how to spend your Money but about who your Master is. The manager was commended because he knew his master’s mercy and shrewdly used what belonged to his master to ensure his future. How much more should we freely use and spend the true riches God has given us – the Gospel in Word and Sacrament – the only wealth which can secure us a place in eternal dwellings. Here’s the bottom line: You cannot serve both God and [Money]. Money is merciless – in the end, the most it can do is purchase a nice plot of dirt to put your corpse in; but God, God in his mercy gave up his only Son to save you. That’s a merciful Master, that’s the only Master worth serving. Amen. 

[1] https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/american-households-spend-2900-per-year-on-entertainment-5-ways-to-have-fun-without-breaking-the-bank/#:~:text=It%20turns%20out%20that%20entertainment,average%20household%20spends%20on%20groceries.

[2] https://wels.net/faq/church-and-expenses/

Luke 15:1-10 - This Man Welcomes Sinners - September 11, 2022

You may have noticed a trend over the past several weeks – that our sermons have been focusing on Jesus’ parables. Parables aren’t what they seem to be. Just as the parable two weeks ago wasn’t really about wedding banquets and last week’s wasn’t about how to build a tower or go to war – so the parable this morning isn’t really about how to find lost sheep and coins. Then what is this parable about? What spiritual truth is Jesus teaching us? Sadly, many see parables as an opportunity to serve their own agendas. For example, if you’re trying to raise money, you could talk about how precious even one coin is to God. Or, even more common, is the idea that these parables are outreach oriented: we are the shepherd and the woman and that it is our responsibility to get out there and beat the bushes of this world and find the lost and save them. Now, I’m not saying that the Bible doesn’t say anything about stewardship or outreach; but the context makes it crystal clear that Jesus is not talking about those things here. These parables are Jesus’ response to the Pharisees’ complaint: this man welcomes sinners. These parables about primarily about Jesus. He is the main character.

But how did we get here? Well, in context of Luke 15, the “lost” are the tax collectors and sinners who were flocking to Jesus. Throughout his ministry Jesus had a regular policy of welcoming and associating with these societal outcasts. He even called one of those hated tax collectors – Matthew – to be his apostle (Matthew 9:9-13). And later, he invited himself to the home of another tax collector named Zacchaeus where he declared that the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10). As the Good Shepherd, it was only natural for Jesus to go out of his way to seek and save these poor, lost souls.  

The problem was that Jesus’ natural love for the lost filled the religious elite with disgust. The Pharisees and teachers of the law – who were supposed to be the spiritual shepherds of God’s flock on earth – didn’t care about the lost. They didn’t preach about God’s grace but his wrath; they emphasized Law not Gospel. In other words, they taught the people that you needed to clean yourself up, stop sinning and reform your life before God will accept you. They despised and ignored these poor, lost sinners; figuring that they were simply getting what they deserved. In fact, the Jewish historian Alfred Edersheim preserved an especially appalling saying of the Pharisees: “There is joy before God when those who provoke him perish from the world.” [1] It’s hard to imagine anything more blasphemous than alleging that God rejoices when someone perishes in hell (Ezekiel 33:11).

In this parable, then, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law are the ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent. It’s not that they didn’t need to repent, they – like everyone else – had fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:22-23) – it’s that they imagined they didn’t need to. They thought they were right with God because outwardly they were better and holier than these open and obvious sinners. The real tragedy in this text is not that Jesus was associating with known sinners but that these self-righteous Pharisees didn’t see their need to join them!

Jesus drives this point home by telling two parables: Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost until he finds it? Sounds like common sense, right? You lose a sheep – you go and look for it. Here’s the twist: no good shepherd would do that! You can almost picture the shepherds in the crowd whispering to each other, “This guy better stick to carpentry – because he doesn’t know a thing about shepherding! You don’t risk your entire flock to save one. You write that sheep off as dead and cut your losses.” Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? Do you put your life on hold and turn the house upside down if you lose, say, a ten-dollar bill, even though you still have nine in your wallet or purse? Well, maybe for few minutes, but there comes a time when you forget about it and get on with your day.

So what’s the point? The point is that Jesus doesn’t see things the way the religious elite did. Jesus didn’t come to earth to seek out the good, the righteous, the powerful – those who appear to have their lives together, the good who are getting better; he came to seek out the weak, the sick, the lost. He doesn’t consider the cost vs. benefit analysis of abandoning the flock to seek out just one lost sheep. Again, this parable is not really about shepherding, finding lost coins, financial stewardship, or even outreach. It’s about Jesus’ irrational, outrageous grace that seeks and saves the lost without regard to the cost or the logic. He seeks those who don’t want to be found. He loves the ungodly, the unrighteous, those who are lost in sin and can’t find any way out. He dies for sinners, not saints; for his enemies, not his friends (Romans 5:10). Jesus is the Good Shepherd who doesn’t stop searching; he’s the one who turns the whole house upside down, moves the furniture and tears up the carpets until he finds that lost coin. The lost are the sole object of his attention. Nothing else matters to him.

While these parables applied most directly to Jesus’ ministry to the tax collectors and sinners of his day, the underlying truth of these parables transcends time and space. In a way, it takes us all the way back to Eden. The lost sheep is Adam, the first representative of mankind, who brought sin and death into the world (Romans 5:12). He was the lost sheep and coin, the one who wasted the perfect life God had given him, who was so lost in shame and guilt that he tried to hide in the bushes and cover his guilt with fig leaves. And yet, God searched for his wayward child and didn’t give up until he found him and brought him to repentance (Genesis 3). And, like it or not, we are all like Adam. We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). We are all the lost children of God. We fall for Satan’s deceptions daily. We think and do and say things that violate God’s Law. We have strayed from the path of life and stumbled onto the wide road that leads to destruction. Left to our own devices we are and would remain lost.

You can sense this lostness in the world around you, can’t you? You see people desperately trying to “find” themselves, to find life’s meaning in their careers, their treasures, their accomplishments, their fame and popularity and good works. You can see it in the distractions and medications mankind has invented for itself – all designed to silence the voice of conscience, to dull the persistent drumbeat of guilt and shame and fear of future judgment. And yet, after it all, they’re still lost – because they’re still not right with God. But it’s not just out there in the world, either, is it? We feel that lostness too, don’t we? Yes, even believers feel it, perhaps more acutely because we know better: we know we should be perfect – and we’re not; our consciences agree with the Law’s verdict that we deserve nothing but pain and punishment (Romans 2:15); we know that there is nothing we can do to take our guilt away. Most of all, we long for the peace and safety our Father’s home but we can’t get there. And some days, we just want to sit on the ground and cry like a lost child, our lost condition leaves us depressed, despairing, weak and helpless.

And that’s what makes this chapter – which some have called the heart of Luke’s Gospel – so beautiful! We got ourselves lost. We have no one else to blame. Jesus would have been perfectly justified in writing us off as a lost cause, as not worth his time or effort. But he didn’t! Jesus came to our wilderness, leaving behind the glory of heaven to seek and save our lost race from sin and death. He came as the second Adam (Romans 5:19), taking on our flesh, wandering in our wilderness, suffering our temptation, dying our death. He lost himself, his blood, his life to find us. To be clear: Jesus found us, not the other way around. He wasn’t lost, we were. Jesus didn’t come to earth to be welcomed by righteous and powerful leaders, he came to dig through the gutters and search through the trash to find his sheep who didn’t even know they were lost. So great was his love for us that he didn’t care what condition we were in when he found us. He wasn’t worried about what he could gain or benefit from us. He didn’t wait for us to meet him halfway, to make a decision for him, to shape up and straighten up our lives before he would welcome us. He found us like Hosea’s unfaithful wife and loved us anyway (Hosea 3:1). He found us in the filth of our sin and brought us to his house to clean us up with his forgiveness. He searched for us with his Word and Sacrament before we even knew we were lost; often, when we didn’t want to be found. And every time Jesus finds another lost sinner all of heaven rejoices over the ridiculous, irrational, outrageous love of a Good Shepherd who loses himself to find the lost.   

Which leads to our final question: what does it mean to be “found”? What is it that causes heaven to rejoice? Is it your commitment to living for God? Is it when you bring him a generous offering? When you do more good than evil? That’s not what Jesus says. He says there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. We don’t see it in translation, but in the original Greek repents is a present participle – which means that heaven rejoices when sinners are continually repenting, repeatedly coming to Jesus for forgiveness and peace. Here, it’s not your good works that makes heaven rejoice but the confession of your sins. That sounds backwards, doesn’t it? Who is more pleased with their child when they confess that they broke the lamp than when they report that they’ve done their homework and cleaned their room? Again, Jesus doesn’t see things the way we do; he shows that in God’s kingdom everything is upside down. Heaven rejoices when we come regularly and repeatedly to lay our sins at Jesus’ feet because that’s why he came. As Paul says Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) – NOT those who think they have done enough, served enough, given enough to please God on their own. There are no parties in heaven for the proud and self-righteous who don’t think they need Jesus’ forgiveness because they can please God on their own – but for sinners who know they can’t!

And so, if you heard this text and figured that these parables are about the people out there who don’t go to church, who lead openly wicked lives, or perhaps a member who hasn’t been here in some time, you still don’t understand. Jesus’ parables often invite us to find ourselves in them. Where do you and I fit? Are we the owners of the sheep and coins? No, Jesus claims that role for himself. This text is not about us seeking and finding the lost! Are you the lost sheep and the lost coin? You might not want to think of yourself as lost – but here’s the thing – if you don’t see yourself as the lost sheep and coin, there’s only one role left. Then you’re one of the ninety-nine righteous people who don’t think they need to repent. If that describes you, then I have only bad news: you’re the one who’s truly lost. If you’ve become so comfortable in yourself, your goodness, your lifestyle compared to others that you don’t think you need to repent, then you’re no different than those Pharisees who sneered at the tax collectors and sinners, because the hymn was right: Jesus receives sinners not the self-righteous (CW 304).

It’s become common in some circles to teach that Christians aren’t sinners anymore and that they shouldn’t call themselves sinners. Heretics like Joyce Meyer openly declare that they are no longer sinful and that to suggest otherwise is a lie from hell. [2] They would be horrified by our confession of sins, disgusted that only confessed sinners are welcome to receive the Lord’s Supper. She would say that we need to think like winners if we want to attract winners and if we keep talking about sin we will only succeed in drawing the world’s losers. The fact is that heaven doesn’t throw parties for winners, but losers; those who are eager to lose their sins in Jesus’ outrageous, irrational mercy and forgiveness. So if you identify as a lost, despised, wretched sinner – that is, if you are penitent – then I have good news: Jesus is here for you! Amen.  

[1] Edersheim, Alfred The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (U.S.: Hendrickson Publishers) 652

[2] https://carm.org/joyce-meyer "I am not poor. I am not miserable and I am not a sinner. That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is what I were and if I still was then Jesus died in vain. I'm going to tell you something folks. I didn't stop sinning until I finally got it through my thick head I wasn't a sinner anymore. And the religious world thinks that's heresy and they want to hang you for it. But the Bible says that I am righteous and I can't be righteous and be a sinner at the same time." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dmHJdM63hk)

Luke 14:25-33 - But Who's Counting? - September 4, 2022

“But who’s counting?” is a phrase often employed in a sarcastic or passive aggressive manner. For example, your spouse might say, “I’ve washed the dishes five times this week to your zero…but, hey, who’s counting?” Your boss may say “that’s the 3rd day in a row you’ve been late…but who’s counting?” That’s the way this phrase is normally used: sarcastically, passive aggressively, to not-so-subtly expose someone’s failure. But today we’re going to steal that phrase and change it a bit. Instead of asking it passive aggressively, we’re going to ask sincerely: who’s counting? There’s no question that the cost of discipleship – that is, following Jesus – needs to be counted and paid for. The question is: who’s responsible for the counting and paying?

If you were simply reading this text at home, what would you understand Jesus to be saying in this lesson? What would your takeaway be? I am willing to bet that you would read this as the third use of the law. The third use of the law is as a guide – to show Christians how they ought to live out of gratitude for everything God has done for us in Christ. If you read this text through that lens, you end up hearing Jesus saying that if you don’t hate your family, carry your cross, calculate the full cost of a lifetime of following Jesus, fight and win every battle against spiritual enemies that have you vastly outnumbered, and give up everything you own – and do it perfectly, you can’t be his disciple. If that’s what Jesus is saying this morning, would you even waste your time trying? I’m not sure I would, because it sounds impossible.  

I’m not denying the legitimacy of the third use of the Law. The Bible itself establishes and validates this use. Psalm 119 says your words are a lamp for my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105). Paul was applying the Law in its third use when he appealed to Philemon to take Onesimus back as a brother in faith (Philemon 8-10). The third use of the Law is like a set of “how to” instructions. It’s like when you open a box from IKEA and, seeing the instructions, think, “Instructions, who needs instructions?” And after six frustrating hours you finally and shamefully pick up the instructions in order to figure out which pieces go where. C. S. Lewis compared the third use of the Law to stepping onto a firm road surface after being bogged down in a muddy field. [1]

And in that sense, like a clear set of instructions or a firm place to walk, the third use of the Law does provide necessary guidance to Christians as they navigate life in this world. It lights a path through the darkness of this world. It teaches us how to live and think and act. It clearly defines right and wrong, good and evil in a world which is lost in a fog of demonic gray. But because there’s a little part of us that imagines that the entire Bible is a ‘how-to’ guide, we are tempted to read these words that way. Here’s Jesus’ guide for discipleship: first, hate your family and your life; then, pick up your cross and follow me. And if that’s the way you understand these words then you would rightly expect worship to be a spiritual pep rally where we chant “Onward Christian Soldiers” and the role of the sermon is to verbally smack you on the butt and tell you to get out there and win one for Jesus. For those who would have that interpretation of this text, the main objective of the Church is to tell people how to build a Christian life and how to win on the spiritual battlefield. But is that what Jesus is really saying here? No.

The first tip-off is in the very first verse: large crowds were traveling with Jesus. In other words, Jesus isn’t only or directly addressing his disciples, believers; but potential disciples, including unbelievers. As we learned in confirmation class, the third use of the Law is only for believers, not unbelievers (2 Corinthians 5:15). The second tip-off comes in the two parables. He’s telling potential disciples to sit down and consider whether they have what it takes before they make the commitment to the building or battlefield, not after. Jesus is not using the law in its third use but its first use. Not as a guide but as a mirror. If paying the cost of discipleship and salvation is up to you and me – then Jesus is telling us what it will cost and demanding that we examine ourselves to see if we have what it takes to pay the price.  

So let’s be very clear: if you intend to follow Jesus under your own power to heaven, this is what you must do, without fail, for your entire lifetime: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. You must not allow anyone in your family, at any time or for any reason come before Jesus in your life. Neither their words nor their lifestyles can ever lead you to doubt or question God’s Word, falter in your faith or fall into sin. You must fear God’s wrath more than your spouse’s rage or your child’s temper tantrum. You must love your relationship with God more than your relationship with your siblings. You must trust God’s Word more than your own wisdom, experience, and emotions – when it doesn’t make sense, when it’s hard, when it’s unpopular, and especially when it doesn’t feel right. But that’s not even the hardest part. You must hate your own life. You must be ready and willing to sacrifice anything: your job, reputation, health, wealth – yes, even your life if faithfulness to Jesus demands it. Sound daunting? It is. Which is why Jesus continues: whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciples. Today we fashion bright and shiny crosses to decorate our homes and hang around our necks. But in the Roman Empire, the cross had only one purpose: to kill. That’s Jesus’ point here. If you want to follow him you must put to death everything that belongs to your sinful flesh: your thoughts and feelings and desires and pleasures – yes, even your natural affection for your family and your close attachment to your life. All of it must die. The particulars will be different for each of us, but one thing remains the same: Jesus expects you to carry this cross – without question and without complaining. So the question is: having counted that cost, are you even going to start building the tower? Are you going to run onto the battlefield or surrender before the battle has even begun? Do you have what it takes to be Jesus’ disciple?

If the third use of the Law is like stepping onto solid ground, then the first use of the Law is like a knife through the heart. It kills everyone it touches. It exposes the sins in my heart and life that I would rather not see. We could recite these words every day of our lives and we still wouldn’t be able to carry out these demands, would we? How many times have we determined to build a magnificent tower of a Christian life – only to realize that we don’t have the resources to complete it? How many times have we committed to keeping our words and thoughts pure only to have that commitment go out the window the moment we get on the Beltline or step into the office or start swiping on our smartphones? How many times have we resolved to be different, promised to never do that again, sworn to try harder, be better, make the right decisions? How many unfinished towers are lying in ruins in our past? And what does our record on the spiritual battlefield look like? How many times have we said that we’re not going to let the devil, the world, or the flesh trick us this time – only to surrender by giving in to temptation? How many times have we let our natural affection for our families and friends lead us to break our commitment to our Savior? (Let’s get specific here: if you are tolerant or accepting of a loved one leading an immoral lifestyle or willfully and persistently neglecting the means of grace – you’re not only not doing them a favor, you are disobeying your Savior’s command (Luke 17:3); you are loving your family more than him!) If I read these words as a guide, then there’s always hope for me, I can always do better tomorrow (which is why we’re drawn to that interpretation). But if I read them the way my Lord intended me to – as a mirror – all hope is dashed. Jesus can tell me “how to” be his disciple until his kingdom comes and I still wouldn’t be able to do it.

So what should we do? Just give up? Well, yes. Seriously. Isn’t that what Jesus said in the last verse: any one of you who does not say farewell (or give up) to all his own possessions cannot be my disciple? (He’s not really referring to your stuff, but your everything, including your determination to follow Jesus and all the blood, sweat and tears you’re willing to put into discipleship – because everything you have will never be enough!) I believe the main reason so many people misread these words is that there is an altogether false definition of what it means to be a “disciple” in the church today. The tendency is to think that a “disciple” is someone who does what Jesus commands. Is that true? If it is, who here qualifies? Who does everything that Jesus commands? No, as the account of Mary and Martha makes clear, a disciple is not someone who does everything Jesus commands but rather someone who believes that Jesus has done it all (cf. Luke 10:38-42)!

Give up trying to follow Jesus under your own power and listen to the good news of what he has done for you. Sometime in the hidden depths of eternity Jesus sat down and counted the cost of saving humanity (Ephesians 1:4). Jesus calculated what it would take to save the unsavable, to redeem the unredeemable, to take people who were fit only for hell and make them suitable for heaven. What was that cost? I think Jesus spells it out pretty clearly in these words. Did Jesus hate his family? Well, he left his Father’s side in heaven and then abandoned his mother as he hung on a cross because he loved you more. His family thought he was crazy (Mark 3:21) and his own brothers didn’t believe in him while he was alive (John 7:5) – but that didn’t deter him from carrying out his work of redemption. Did Jesus hate his own life? Well, he had no reputation, no friends he could count on, no place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20) and soldiers divided up his only earthly possessions in the shadow of his cross (John 19:23-24) – he certainly didn’t place much value on his life compared to our eternal life. Jesus shouldered a cross that was weighed down with our sins, our guilt, our shame, our repeated failures to take up our crosses and follow him. Jesus stepped onto the battlefield against enemies that seemed to have him outnumbered and overpowered – sin, death and the devil – and he refused to surrender, even though the devil offered him an easy way out (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus gathered up his infinite resources as the Son of God and built the only tower that reaches to heaven. Jesus counted the cost of our discipleship and – knowing that it would cost him nothing less than his life – he willingly paid it.

If you want to be a disciple, then give up. Give up the idea that discipleship is all about you: you getting better, working harder – and everything that belongs to that mindset: your determination, your pride, your power, your self-righteousness. You can never build the tower of a Christian life; that’s the whole reason Jesus came to earth: to build it for you. That’s what Luther meant when he paraphrased Psalm 46 and wrote a mighty fortress is our God (CW 200:1). When you think it’s all about you and your effort – you do not qualify as a disciple. In fact, true disciples do just the opposite, they retreat regularly to the fortress Jesus built. When you run back to your Baptism, the fortress gates open for you because you are clothed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Proverbs 18:10). When you run to hear the Absolution which offers you forgiveness for your sins, you’re taking shelter inside the walls of God’s grace. When you run to Holy Communion you run into a tower built of Jesus’ sacrificial body and blood. And no one, not even the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18) can ever blow this tower down.

So if you want to be a disciple of Christ, there’s really only one thing you have to do: give up. Give up thinking that Jesus might have cracked heaven’s gates open – but that the rest is up to you. Give up the illusion that you can pay the high price of discipleship yourself. Stop trying to defeat sin, death and the devil with your own paltry resources and strength. You can’t do it – and neither can I. We can’t even accurately calculate the cost of discipleship, much less pay it. Thank God that Jesus both counted the cost and paid it in full by his life, death and resurrection. This is the only counting left for us to do: count Jesus as your substitute, your righteousness, your Lord and your Savior – because that, that faith, is precisely what it takes to be his disciple. Amen.

[1] Lewis, C.S. Reflections on the Psalms (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2017) 72

Luke 14:1-14 - You Don't Understand - August 28, 2022

“You don’t understand” might come off as a rather condescending theme for a sermon. The truth is that I was just reminiscing about my teenage years – you know those years when you were smarter than your parents? My parents never understood why I had to play my music so loud, why I had to stay up late and wake up even later, why these hands were made for playing video games and throwing baseballs – not washing dishes or taking out the trash. Know what I mean? Parents never seem to understand anything when you’re a teenager. In the Word of God before us, Jesus reveals that we don’t really understand our God.

The thing you have to understand about this text is that there’s more here than meets the eye; it’s not really about showing mercy to the sick or proper party etiquette or that if you’re proud you’re going to be humbled and if you’re humble, sooner or later you will be exalted. How do we know that? First, because Jesus’ miracles are never about the miracle – they are always signs pointing to something bigger (John 20:30-31). Second, Luke explicitly says that Jesus was teaching them by means of a parable. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But before we get to the parable, we first have to understand the context. The context is that of a Sabbath day dinner party thrown by a Pharisee. There are two things you should understand about this dinner party: 1) the Pharisees weren’t being kind to Jesus, they were trying to catch him breaking God’s law, they were watching him closely; and 2) they apparently sat Jesus next to a man who was suffering from swelling of his body as bait for their trap. Would Jesus heal this poor man – even on the Sabbath? He’d done it before (Luke 13:10-17; John 5:1-15). Now they’re daring him to do it in front of plenty of witnesses. Jesus exposes their trap by voicing the question that’s on their minds: is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they were silent. So Jesus answers his own question by [taking] hold of the man, [healing] him, and [letting] him go. Unlike his other Sabbath day healings, this time he puts his hands on the man, making it clear that he was doing “work” on the Sabbath.

Why? Why did Jesus throw this allegedly Sabbath-breaking miracle right in the Pharisees’ faces? To show them how wrong they were about God – specifically God’s heart. They believed that God was an unforgiving slave-driver who found his joy in telling his slaves what they could and could not do. They believed that they could earn God’s favor by doing nothing on the Sabbath. Jesus came to expose their misunderstanding. He teaches them that the 3rd Commandment is about God’s compassion, not his judgment. This miracle shows that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). He came to show them that God gave the 3rd commandment for their sake, not his; a day to physically rest without fear that they would starve; a day to find rest and peace in God’s Word; a day to remind them of the eternal rest the Savior would bring.

I think we too have a hard time understanding God’s heart. We tend to think that God has commanded us to come to worship each Sunday to appease his anger and earn his favor. And maybe pastors are partially at fault here. There were some pastors who made laws regarding worship attendance when you were going through confirmation class. No worship – no confirmation. And it worked, right? 7th and 8th graders were in worship every week. But then what happened? Not long after confirmation they stop coming. (It’s hard to blame them; what’s the first thing you did when you didn’t have an assigned bedtime? Stay up as late as you wanted!) It’s the same reason why it’s so tempting to believe that attending worship and Bible class and receiving the Lord’s Supper are things we do for God. If that’s what you think, then you don’t understand! In fact, you need to repent; to change your mind. Sermons and Bible classes and communion are not ways in which you please God – they are ways in which God comes to serve you to strengthen your faith and save you from your sins! The 3rd Commandment and the means of grace they direct us to reveal the pulsating heart of our God – that he wants to meet you here to give you his mercy, not demand some kind of sacrifice (Matthew 9:13).

The Pharisees misunderstood God’s heart. They didn’t understand that God’s way of looking at everything was different from theirs. It’s different from ours, too. We naturally read the Bible through the lens of the Law – that it’s about what we should do – rather than about what God has done for us. That’s why we have trouble with Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet. This parable cannot be about seating etiquette at wedding receptions. Why not? Well, first, if you take the lowest place fully expecting to be upgraded, isn’t that obviously false humility – the sin of hypocrisy? Second, if this parable that being humble in this life will earn yourself a place of honor in heaven – isn’t that just work-righteousness? Parables are many things, but they are not guidebooks for life in this world. Jesus didn’t tell the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin to teach us what to do when we lose something (Luke 15:1-10). He didn’t tell the parable of the shrewd manager to help us find a new job after we’ve been fired for negligence (Luke 16:1-18) – and he didn’t tell this parable to teach us how to choose a seat at a wedding reception.

How can I be so sure that this parable isn’t really about what we should do? Well, let’s go back to the text. After healing the man, [Jesus] noticed how they were selecting the places of honor, tells the parable, and then proclaims this axiom: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. The point is not that your humility now earns your exaltation eternally – that’s just legalism cloaked in piety. The point is that God’s kingdom operates in a way that is radically different from the way the world works – God humbles the proud and exalts the humble. I could cite many examples from Scripture, but just consider this one: where was Jesus seated at this banquet? Right across from a man who was suffering from swelling of his body. (Incidentally, at that time, dropsy, or the accumulation of fluid in the body was viewed as a punishment for sexual immorality (Numbers 5:11-28). Would you want to sit next to someone with monkeypox today?) Do you think the Pharisees – who prided themselves on their ceremonial purity (John 18:28) – would even consider sitting next to him? They picked seats as far away from him as they could – but not Jesus. Jesus wasn’t ashamed to sit next to this man and then, without even being asked, Jesus healed him. He exalted him from the shame of a stigmatized physical malady. That’s grace. God exalts by grace, not merit. He exalts freely, unreasonably, outrageously.

Do you understand that? Do you understand that God doesn’t think in terms of merit but in terms of grace? (Note that even in the parable, the person who is invited to move up to a seat of honor did nothing to deserve it – his exaltation was a free gift from the host!) By way of application, we might say that God’s greatest pleasure is not in exalting those who boast of their perfect worship attendance, their generous offerings, their selfless service in his kingdom. Nope, God’s greatest pleasure is in exalting the one who is terrified to even step through those doors because they are painfully aware of their unworthiness, who know they really have nothing to offer God than their sins, who willingly acknowledge that they have not served God as his dear children.

And that’s because God exalts only people for Jesus’ sake. God exalts worthless sinners only because his sinless Son humbled himself. Jesus, who rightfully deserved a place at the head of the table, humbled himself to take the lowest place – the place we deserved; a place of shame, sin and punishment in hell; a place on a cross. But then, as Paul says, God then exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9). Because Jesus took the lowest place, God comes to us and freely offers us forgiveness and life and salvation, saying, in other words friend, move up to a higher place. This is what you have to understand about God’s grace: he doesn’t grant it to those who deserve it, but those who don’t; to those who realize that not only don’t they deserve the place of honor – but that they don’t even deserve an invitation. Understand that only those who confess that they deserve only punishment now and forever will ever be lifted up to a place of honor in heaven – because that’s how grace works.

We don’t understand God. Our thoughts aren’t his thoughts; his ways aren’t our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). We think Law, he thinks Gospel; we think works, he thinks grace. Which leads us to the third and final act of this little dinner party. He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, do not invite your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or rich neighbors, so that perhaps they may also return the favor and pay you back. But when you make a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.

Now, at first glance, you might think that Jesus is legislating a new law: invite to your parties only those who can’t repay the favor. But, again, Jesus didn’t have to teach the Pharisees about good works – they had that down pat (Matthew 23:13-39). Jesus isn’t teaching us about how to formulate our guest list for next week’s Labor Day party – he’s teaching us about God. Specifically, he’s teaching us about the one thing God fears above all things. God is afraid? What’s he afraid of? Payback. God is afraid of people trying to pay him back for his gifts and his grace. That’s not only unnatural and unreasonable to us; we would probably consider it not only impolite but unjust. We expect to be paid back. Our world revolves on the principle that if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. We don’t understand this seemingly irrational fear because we tend to believe that what’s true in this world is true in God’s kingdom. We think God invites us here to his house just so that we can be instructed and directed on how we are to go out there and work for him. That God is like a slave owner who only feeds his slaves well so that he can get the most out of them. If this is how you understand God, then no wonder coming here each week to feast on Word and Sacraments feels like such a burden!

Certainly, we confess with Luther that in view of all of the blessings God has given us we “ought to thank and praise, to serve and obey him” (Luther’s Explanation of the First Article). But that’s not the main reason God invites us to take time each week to come here, to come to his table. He invites us for our sake, not for his. Consider how you’re dismissed after you have received your Savior’s body and blood in communion. Do you hear: “Now get out there and serve God better!” No! “Now this body and blood will strengthen and keep you steadfast in the one truth faith to life everlasting. Amen.” Or consider the words that close our services. It’s not “Now get out there and heal the sick, feed the hungry, make this world a better place” but “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace” (Numbers 6:22-26). You come to this banquet to be served, not to serve.

God has a fear of being paid back, and this is comforting. If God doesn’t want to be paid back for his grace to you, then you don’t have to feel guilty because you can’t. If you feel that you have nothing to give to God but your sins and needs and worries, the fact that you come here each Sunday begging for forgiveness, expecting him to listen to your prayers and petitions, and pleading for his blessing – that’s ok! In fact, that’s good! That’s the way God wants it. You should view coming to church like coasting into a gas station on only fumes; hoping and pleading to be filled up – because the whole reason God wants you to stop and sit and rest and listen is to refill you with his grace.

While it’s probably true that parents don’t understand teenage logic, it’s even truer that we don’t really understand our God. We don’t understand his heart – that the 3rd commandment, the Sabbath, is not for us to serve God but for God to serve us. We don’t understand his grace – that God doesn’t exalt those who deserve it, but those who don’t. We don’t understand his fear of being repaid – because he gives the greatest gifts to those who can’t. Don’t misunderstand: I’m not saying that you should – or can – understand God. But I do hope you understand – and believe – that he is even better than you ever imagined! Amen.

Luke 13:22-30 - The Narrative of the Narrow Door - August 21, 2022

According to the internet, the first recorded use of the phrase, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” was in a book written by a man called Herman Koerner in 1898. It’s first recorded use as the set-up for a joke was in 1966. [1] It’s usually framed as a choice: “do you want the good news or the bad first?” Today, I have good news and bad news, but I’m not giving you a choice.

First, the good news. According to Jesus, there is a feast going on in the kingdom of God. Well, Jesus doesn’t literally call it a feast, he calls it [reclining] at the table in the kingdom of God. In the first century, people didn’t normally recline when they were eating a typical meal; they sat upright like us. When one has the time and security and provisions to “recline” for a meal, you’re not just eating, you’re feasting. What’s the point? You can stop thinking about heaven as something completely alien from life here on earth. You can stop imagining what it will be like to float around on a cloud playing a harp all day. You can stop thinking about it as one endless church service. From the descriptions of heaven we have in Scripture, it would be more accurate to picture heaven as a giant wedding reception, a feast with good food and fellowship (Isaiah 25:6-9; Luke 14:15-24; Revelation 19:6-10).

That’s good news. But there’s more. It’s good news that those who have been invited and are in attendance aren’t only the heroes of faith. Sadly, sometimes we think that way, don’t we? “Sure, the famous, outstanding heroes of faith – those who contribute lots of time and effort and money, those who teach Sunday school and play the organ and preach the sermons – will be there; but what about me – who doesn’t know the Bible as well as I could or should, who hasn’t led a squeaky-clean life, who struggles with sin and faith and doubt?

There are two reasons you should be comforted today. First, Jesus says that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets [will be] in the kingdom of God. They may sound like super-heroes of faith; but 1) if you know your Bible history, you know that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were hardly paragons of virtue – they were cheating, lying, dishonest sinners just like us; and 2) Jesus emphasizes that people will come from east and west, from north and south. This is one of the major themes of the book of Revelation. People of every nation, tribe, people and language will be in heaven – both the extraordinary and the absolutely ordinary (Revelation 7:9).

There’s one final piece of good news: not only is there a feast going on in heaven and not only will people from all walks of life be there, but there’s an open door to this feast – a door that is not an “it,” but a “he.” Jesus is the door into the kingdom of God. He says so himself: I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me (John 14:6; John 10:9). Now, many hear that verse and think, “Well, that’s pretty narrow, pretty exclusive, pretty intolerant of other philosophies and faiths.” Yes, it is. But it’s just as inclusive as it is exclusive. No one can enter heaven except through Jesus – but anyone and everyone can gain entrance through faith in him.

That’s the good news. Ready for the bad news? It boils down to one blunt reality: a lot of people aren’t getting into heaven’s banquet. But before we get there, let’s step back for a second. Someone asked Jesus a question that has intrigued people for centuries – especially people who want to appear very spiritual and theologically wise: Lord, are only a few going to be saved? It’s a question that could only come from a proud and presumptuous heart, right? From someone who presumes they are “in” and so has the spare time to speculate about everyone else. Notice that Jesus doesn’t answer the question that was asked, instead, he answers the question that should have been asked: “Will I be saved?” He does this by answering in a very direct, very personal fashion: He said to them, “[You (plural)] strive to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able…And he will say, “I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

People elbow and hip-check others to be first in line to eat, to board a plane, to get into a Brewers game or a Black Friday sale. But is there the same urgency in people striving (literally: “agonizing”) to get into the feast in God’s kingdom? And I’m not talking about the people you saw walking their dogs or towing their boats to the lake or sipping their coffee on their porch as you drove in this morning. I’m talking about you; to you. Do you agonize, do you suffer and sacrifice and prioritize entering this narrow door by daily confessing your sins and pleading for forgiveness? Do you organize your life around getting through this narrow door – not just your Sunday morning, but all your mornings and evenings, your career decisions and where you choose to send your child to school? Striving to enter through this narrow door to heaven is agonizing because it means defying and denying the desires of our sinful flesh. It means prioritizing God and his Word above everything else in life – and it’s not easy.

The devil will make it seem like this striving isn’t all that important – at least not now – that there will always be time later to prioritize Word and Sacrament, but consider this: Jesus does here what the Holy Spirit chose not to do in Genesis. Genesis 7 does not describe what must have been a horrifying scene outside of Noah’s ark as thousands of people pound on the door until their knuckles bled as the flood waters rise around their necks. We don’t hear their anguished screams, the desperate pleas for a second chance. We don’t see the torrential rain sweeping them away to certain death. As horrific as that must have been, the scene on Judgment Day will be even worse. Not only will they face an eternity of torture, they will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown outside. In other words, on Judgment Day, many will see people they knew streaming into heaven while they are locked out. The despair they will experience in that moment is unimaginable.

Martin Luther said that this text is enough “to frighten the greatest saints.” [2] Are you frightened? Not in the haunted house sort of way where fear is fun, but in the way where your heart is racing, your throat tightens up, your stomach clenches. Well, if you’re not frightened yet, then the finer details of this account might send you over the edge. First, the door is narrow. If you think that you’re guaranteed entry because you come to church faithfully, because you’ve been confirmed, give your offerings, try to do good and love others, or are Lutheran – you won’t fit. No one who tries to pack all that stuff on their backs will be able to squeeze through this door. That’s what Jesus meant when he said some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Many who appear to be “in” because of their good lives will be left out and many who appear to be “out” because of their sinful lives will be welcomed in. Second, you never know when this door will shut. Sure, the Lord may give us 70 or 80 years on this earth (Psalm 90:10) – but he may not. One or more of these chairs might be empty next Sunday. We might not wake up tomorrow morning. And anyone who hasn’t entered through the narrow door through faith before death will find it closed and locked forever. If that thought doesn’t frighten you, then nothing will.

Do you still remember the good news? Probably not. It’s not because the bad news negated the good news but because I made the mistake many preachers make: I talked about the Gospel but I didn’t proclaim the Gospel. What’s the difference? The difference is that the Gospel is only truly good news, news that will create and sustain saving faith, when it applies to you. For example, for years now politicians have been tossing around the idea of forgiving student loans. Is that good news? Well, clearly yes if you’re still paying of your student loans. But if you didn’t go to college or if you managed to either pay your way or pay off your loans – that’s not really good news, is it? In fact, it might sound like bad news; it make you resentful of the fact that your tax dollars are going to pay off someone else’s loans. Good news is only really good news if it applies to you.

Thank God then that I have really good news that applies to all of us. Jesus is the door to the kingdom of God; to the feast in heaven – and that door isn’t closed to anyone, not even to you, not even to me. No matter where you’ve been; not matter what you’ve done; no matter how many times you’ve put other things before this open door – as long as your heart beats, this door is still wide open to you. But I thought the door was narrow? It is. The door to heaven demands perfect obedience to the Law; it’s impossibly small – but Jesus came from heaven to keep the Law and squeeze through that door on your behalf. When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law (Galatians 4:4-5). Whenever the devil, your conscience or someone else tries to remind you of all the good you should have done but did not do – remember that Jesus has done it all for you, in your place, for your salvation.

What about the death and hell we deserve for all the commandments we’ve broken, all the people we’ve hurt or let down, all the times we’ve imagined that we’ve earned or deserved heaven? The good news for you is that Jesus paid that price in full, too. He willingly carried all your sins through the wide gate to hell where he paid for them and then, having left them there, he came back through a door so narrow that only one person could fit; only a perfect person; only a man who is also God. Jesus, and Jesus alone, earned the right to pass through the door from death to life. This fact – the fact of the resurrection – is the door stop that props heaven’s feast wide open. Make no mistake: this door is narrow. It’s as narrow as one person: the God-man Jesus Christ. But it’s never been too narrow for anyone who confesses their sins and trusts in Jesus’ blood and righteousness to get through – not even you, not even me!

But I saved the best news for last. You may have noticed in Jesus’ story that it didn’t matter if those pounding on the door claimed to know the master as much as it does whether the master knew them. The master, of course, is Jesus. Does he know you? Yes! I don’t think it’s possible to overstate how comforting this is. The infants and little children we hold in our arms can’t confess their faith – but Jesus welcomes them into his arms and blesses them – he washed them in baptism, he knows them (Mark 10:16; 16:16). There are times in all of our lives when we forget all about Jesus, we stray from the narrow path, and we can start to think that he could never forgive us for what we’ve done, we can begin to think that we are beyond saving – but when Jesus through his called servant forgives your sins, they are forgiven (John 20:23)! We might think that, covered in the tattered robes of sin as we are, we are unfit to recline at heaven’s banquet. In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus tells us, “here, take my robe of righteousness” (Revelation 22:14). The day may come when we don’t know our spouse, our children, or even what day it is. Even then, Jesus says I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep…I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:14, 28). Does Jesus – the door into heaven’s feast – know you? Through these means of grace – through baptism, absolution and communion – he assures you that he does!

The narrative of the narrow door contains both good news and bad news. As those who are simultaneously sinners and saints, we need to hear both. But most importantly, I pray that you cling to the best news – that even though the door to heaven may be narrow, through faith in Jesus, you’re in! Amen.   

[1] https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/258235/origin-first-known-use-of-the-phrase-ive-got-some-good-news-and-some-bad-news

[2] Lenski, Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Columbus, Ohio: The Wartburg Press. 1946) 755

Luke 12:22-34 - Anxious? - August 7, 2022

When you’re really anxious or worried about something, what’s the last thing you want someone to tell you? And I’m not talking about some silly thing that might cause anxiety, like the possibility that the Packer’s kicker will miss the game-winning field goal or that it might rain on your party. No, I’m talking about those times when you’re seriously anxious about a very serious thing: when your child has spiked a fever in the middle of the night, when you’ve lost your job, when the bills seem overwhelming, when the doctors don’t have any answers. Have you ever been anxious about these things and had someone tell you, “Don’t worry about it”? How do you want to respond? “Oh, just shut up.” But today it’s not just anyone telling us not to worry, it’s Jesus. And he’s not just offering up empty words or a useless cliché, he’s telling us; commanding us: don’t worry about it – but please fight the urge to tell him to shut up, because unlike anyone else who says those words, Jesus has answers for our anxiety.

Why is the worry, the anxiety that plagues us all in one way or another such a serious problem? I could point to studies that document the harmful psychological and physical effects anxiety has on a person: the sleepless nights, panic attacks, heart disease, inability to focus. Ours is an anxious culture. It’s probably no coincidence that anti-anxiety drugs are among the most prescribed medications in our country and the leading OTC medications are for sleep and stomach disorders. Anxiety is ruining our minds, our stomachs and our sleep. But I’m not a doctor or a psychologist. We’re here to deal with the far more serious spiritual effects of anxiety. Spiritually speaking, anxiety is idolatry. It is the worship we offer to false gods, the idols that promise us health, wealth, happiness, identity, security and meaning for our lives – and the liturgy consists of sleeplessness and restlessness and ulcers (among other things). Like all other idols, the idol of anxiety consumes its worshipers. Anxiety is a cancer of the soul.

How did we get here? Our text follows the Gospel lesson from last week: the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21). Knowing that his disciples likely suffered from the same misplaced focus on earthly wealth and security as the rich fool did, and who were likely wondering how a person living in this fallen world could possibly not worry about those things – Jesus addresses the problem directly: “For that reason I tell you, stop worrying about your life, about what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Why not? Certainly life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Jesus’ logic is bulletproof, isn’t it? Food might energize and sustain life – but it’s not life itself (people die every day surrounded by food). Clothing covers and protects us, but you are not what you wear, no matter what social media or the fashion industry says.

Worry is illogical for believers. Consider the ravens, Jesus says, they do not sow or reap; they have no warehouse or barn; and yet God feeds them. The birds of the air don’t plant or harvest their own food; they don’t store it up in pantries or bank accounts – they are utterly reliant on God for their food on a daily basis. In this way, they are a picture of faith. Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. The flowers of the field don’t spend hours shopping online, trying to find just the right article of clothing at just the right price. They don’t carry wads of Kohl’s cash around. They don’t have walk-in closets bigger than many 3rd-world homes. And yet God makes them more beautiful than any fashion designer ever could. Like the birds, they are a picture of faith.

From these illustrations Jesus draws his grand conclusion: if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith? Do not constantly chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about it. (It’s kind of tempting to just tell him to shut up, isn’t it?) But just think: does your anxiety put food on the table? Does it clothe you or your children? Can it add one minute to your life? (It might shorten your life, it that were actually possible (it’s not – Psalm 31:15), but does your anxiety add anything to your life except sleepless nights, restless days, headaches and heartache and heartburn?) Up here, we get it, right? Intellectually, we understand that worrying is foolish and useless. It makes sense that the God who takes such good care of birds and flowers would take even better care of us, the crown of his creation. But the question still stands: why, then, are we so anxious about food and drink and clothing and shoes?

Jesus’ question contained the diagnosis. Did you catch it? Little faith. Our anxiety symptomatic of the littleness of our faith and the largeness of our unbelief. That’s what really doesn’t make any sense, right? We trust God for the big things – forgiveness of sins, resurrection from the dead and eternal life. Those are things so big we can’t wrap our minds around them – much less do anything to achieve them (which is probably why we trust him with those things – kind of like we trust airline pilots to know what they’re doing, because we don’t have a clue). But what doesn’t follow is that we don’t trust the same God who has taken care of the big things for the little things; for food and clothing and shelter. Why don’t we trust him for these small things? Why do we let anxiety crowd God out of our hearts?

First and foremost, it’s because we lack true repentance. Now stick with me here. Because worry and anxiety are so ubiquitous and universal – everyone worries about something – we are tempted to not even view it as sin; “Everyone is doing it, it can’t be that bad.” We may confess it as foolish and pointless, but how often do we recognize it as a sin against the 1st Commandment. Anxiety is the very worst kind of idolatry – that of idolizing ourselves in place of the one, true God. Anxiety is the idolatry of raising ourselves above God; of exalting ourselves as gods when we imagine that our daily bread is provided by our blood, sweat and tears rather than by our good and merciful Father in heaven (James 1:17). The sin of anxiety is no less serious than the sin which got Satan kicked out of heaven and banished to hell forever (Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-9). It’s a form of pride. It’s faith in ourselves rather than faith in God – and for that we must repent.

But that’s just one side of the coin. It’s not just that we fail to recognize anxiety as a sin against the 1st Commandment; as the sin of idolatry – but that we fail to trust that our Father in heaven really loves us and will really provide for us. As Jesus said, we get caught up with the rest of the world in chasing after all these things – failing to recognize that [our] Father knows that we need them. God really does love us and really will care for us! That’s a promise that we can stake our lives on. More than anything in the world, that is what we should be sure of even though we may not see it the moment (Hebrews 11:1). But there’s still a problem, isn’t there? We may understand logically that we are more valuable than the birds of the air and the flowers of the field; we may confess our anxiety and worry as idolatry and know that we should trust our Father’s promises – but…the worry and anxiety are still there, aren’t they? Why? Because the antidote for anxiety isn’t found in our minds, our lips or our hearts. (Just consider our introduction – when someone tells you not to worry, isn’t the result that you end up worrying more?) The law can diagnose the problem, but it can’t solve it.

So what is the perfect prescription? Let’s rewind for a minute, back to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. While they don’t sow or reap or store up or labor or spin or worry – that doesn’t mean they’re lazy. The birds are constantly busy flying around gathering the food the Lord provides. The flowers of the field reach down into the soil and up to the sun – gathering in the nourishment the Lord provides. In other words, faith (which is the opposite of anxiety) isn’t idle. It’s living and active. Ironically, you could say that the cure to worrying about the wrong things is worrying (or focusing on) the right things. And Jesus points in two directions in which this faith is living and active.

First, continue to seek the kingdom of God. Two questions arise: 1) what is the kingdom of God; and 2) how do you seek it? God’s kingdom not a nation with borders and laws and armies. The kingdom of God is his rule in the hearts of believers. And God’s reign is focused on Jesus, on how he broke into this anxious and worried world and conquered it with perfect faith in his Father. Consider how many things Jesus could have been worried about. To the naked eye, he was born out of wed-lock (Luke 3:23) – he could have worried about his image and reputation. He lacked food in the wilderness for 40 days while he was tempted (Luke 4:2) and he never really had a place to lay his head, a place to call home (Luke 9:58). Jesus could have worried about how severely his friends would be tempted and whether or not they would fall from faith – just as we do with friends and family – but instead, he prayed (Luke 22:31-32). Unlike us, Jesus knew exactly how he would suffer and when he would die – and yet instead of idly worrying about it, he poured out his heart to his Father (Luke 22:39-46). In other words, Jesus had every reason we do to be anxious and worried – but he wasn’t – and his worry-free life is now yours. When God looks at you he doesn’t see an anxious idolater who has wasted countless hours trying to knock him off his throne – but his Son’s life of perfect fear, love and trust.

And when the King of creation ascended the throne of the cross, not only did he have nothing to eat, but he thirsted for just a drop to wet his tongue (John 19:28). He was stripped of every scrap of clothing, so that, unlike the flowers, he had no attractiveness and no majesty (Isaiah 53:2). And yet, in allowing everything to be stripped, ripped and taken from him, Jesus gave us everything; everything the kingdom of God contains: forgiveness, life and salvation. For Jesus’ sake your Father is pleased to give you [this] kingdom. And you seek and find these blessings in God’s kingdom right here. In baptism he gives you the passport which proves your citizenship in his kingdom. In Absolution he rips off the tattered rags of your anxiety and worry and clothes you with the fabulous robe of Jesus’ righteousness. In the Lord’s Supper he feeds you with food that will never perish or run out. And if your Father gives you those big, eternal things, how could you ever doubt that he will take care of the little things like clothing and food and shelter?

But I mentioned that anti-anxiety faith is active in two ways – rather, Jesus did. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide bags for yourselves that do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. Now, it seems counterintuitive that giving your things away could alleviate anxiety, but the last sentence explains the preceding. By your charity and generosity you are exercising your faith, your trust that your true treasure is already locked away safely in heaven. When you can allow earthly possessions to pass through your hands like water or wind, trusting that your Father will continue to provide day by day, then it will become clear to you that God has double-vaxxed and boosted you against that deadly virus called anxiety; that you believe and trust that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I don’t know about you, but when people tell me not to worry, I usually want to tell them to shut up. Today is different. Jesus diagnoses why we worry and explains why we shouldn’t. We worry because we lack repentance and faith. Worry is looking inward instead of outward to the God who loves us and has promised to care for us. But we shouldn’t worry and we don’t have to – because our Father has not only proven his love by caring for birds and flowers but by sending his Son to take the root cause of our anxiety – our sins – away. This doesn’t mean that sources of anxiety won’t continue to surround you every day; it just means that you don’t have to worry about them. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2; 2:1-11, 17-26

Have you ever tried to catch the wind? Sure, maybe you’ve caught some of the things carried by the wind: butterflies, lightning bugs, Covid-19 – but catching the wind itself; that’s impossible. Wind isn’t the only thing rushing past us in this life – pleasure, wealth, accomplishments are all rushing past us every day – have you ever chased after them, tried to grab on to them and store them up, thinking that at some point, when you have enough of them, you will finally be happy and satisfied? In the Gospel Jesus taught that it doesn’t matter how big your barns are and how much stuff they are filled with – because when God comes for your soul, someone else will get all that stuff you worked so hard to gather (Luke 12:20). I would argue that this text from Ecclesiastes goes even further, arguing that apart from God all earthly pursuits are meaningless. “Nothing but vapor,” Ecclesiastes said. “Totally vapor. Everything is just vapor that vanishes.” Havel havelim [1], declares King Solomon. When Hebrew writers repeat a word, it’s a superlative; “the vaporiest of vapors.” Emptiness. Nothingness. Worthless. What’s he talking about? Anything and everything; life itself. And if anyone would know, it would be Solomon – because he had it all and more – and yet, probably writing as an old man, he looks back and calls it all meaningless, as meaningless as chasing after the wind. Aren’t you glad you rolled out of bed this morning to hear that? Why would the Lord inspire Solomon to tell us that everything we do, work for, strive for in this life is as meaningless as vapor? It’s because our Lord loves us too much to let us chase the meaningless winds of this world now and learn the truth only when it’s too late, when our eternity is already determined.

While Solomon appears to have learned this truth by the end of his life, each generation must learn it for itself – and in our generation, these are fighting words. Whether we realize it or not, we’ve been conditioned to measure our lives based on wealth, fame, power, beauty, accomplishment – and a host of other worldly measures. We’ve been taught to study hard so that you can get a good degree with which you can find a good job which will make you appealing to a good spouse who can help you find the perfect house in which to raise the perfect children until you enroll them in the ideal college and find them an ideal spouse – at which point you can crack open that giant nest-egg you worked so hard for in retirement, take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12:19). That’s the basic American dream, right? But on a deeper level, this is the delusion spawned by our sinful nature – that true happiness is out there, just around the corner, you just need to find it, work for it and grab ahold of it. And it’s not going to let go of its delusion easily. The sinful nature can’t be persuaded or converted – it must be killed. And that’s the job of the Law – to expose the sin in our hearts and put it to death (Colossians 3:5). It’s an ugly and painful death – but it must be done to escape the hellish eternity which awaits all who set their hearts on worldly things. So, for the sake of your soul, listen as Solomon drains the life out of the American dream.

I thought in my heart, “Go ahead, test yourself with pleasure to see what is good.” But, oh, that too is vapor. About laughter, I said, “Madness!” About pleasure, “What good is it?” As my heart kept guiding me with wisdom, I put it to work researching how to relax my body with wine and how to grasp why people do stupid things…I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives great pleasure to men – one concubine after another. “Work hard, party harder” is not just a slogan found on T-shirts and bumper stickers, it’s the philosophy many – maybe even many of us – live by. And it’s not new. The Lord condemned the Israelites for lounging on their ivory-embroidered beds and drinking wine by the bowlful (Amos 6:1-7). The Epicureans of Paul’s day lived by the motto let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15:32). There’s no doubt that the hedonistic, Hugh Hefner philosophy of chasing pleasure is attractive – the question is: does it work? Does it satisfy? You can fill your belly with the very finest food and drink – and make no mistake, these are good gifts from God (Psalm 145:15) – but if these gifts are enjoyed apart from thanksgiving to the Giver, then you’re no different than livestock; you’re just a well-dressed food processor. Well, sex then. Sex is satisfying, right? Not outside of the boundaries God has drawn around marriage – color outside of these lines and all you get is loneliness and emptiness, broken hearts and broken families. Younger generations are known for pursuing pleasurable “experiences” – thus the rise of adventure vacations, escape rooms, and Airbnb’s. Does it work? No, there’s always one more adventure to have, one more niche restaurant to “experience” and one more exotic place Facebook says “you just have to visit.” Chasing pleasure is just chasing after the wind.

Ok then, how about accumulating stuff? I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted every kind of fruit tree in them. I made reservoirs of water for myself to irrigate a forest of sprouting trees. I acquired male and female servants. I also had slaves that were born in my own house. Livestock too! I had more herds and flocks that anyone before me in Jerusalem…But when I turned my attention to everything that my hands had done and to how hard I had worked for it – note this – it was all vapor, all chasing the wind. There was no benefit under the sun. Can piles of wealth give meaning to life? Jesus calls the person who believes that a fool who has forfeited his soul (Luke 12:20). Sooner or later, everyone realizes that death will rob you of every last penny you worked so hard for. But it’s even more important to see that wealth doesn’t bring happiness even when you’re alive. To the illusion that says “If I can only make enough to buy this, to find financial security, then I’ll be happy,” Solomon responds, “don’t bother, I’ve tried it, it doesn’t work.” Have you ever known anyone who earns enough? Who has saved enough? Has a car that’s new enough? Gadgets that are cutting-edge enough? You may not be a king, but you build your own little kingdom only to have someone eventually give it all away to Good-will. It’s meaningless: as meaningless as chasing after the wind.

Well, if it’s not the destination, then it must be the journey: life’s meaning must come from work. To this proposal, Solomon responds, what does a man gain through all his hard work, through all the turmoil in his heart, as he works so hard under the sun? Pain fills all his days. His occupation is frustration. Even at night his heart does not rest. This too is vapor. Ah, but that’s not what that seductress named “the American Dream” wants you to believe. She transforms the quiet wisdom of “work ethic” into the shrill scream of a slave-driver: “Work, work, work. Learn, earn, compete, build your resume, plan, sacrifice, worry, lose sleep, skip vacations, add hours, climb the corporate ladder, scratch the right back, invest, buy low, sell high, save, risk, work, work, work!” After all this, your life will have meaning and fulfillment – right? Wrong! Solomon says that all the hours he worked, all the plans he made – even after building a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself – all his toil brought him nothing more than frustration and sleepless nights. And if you think his experience was unique, consider that 13% of Americans take medication to fight off depression and anxiety [2] and over $800 million dollars per year is spent on sleep aids. [3] What will all your hard work amount to after you retire, after you hand it over to someone else who tears it all down and starts over? Nothing. Apart from God, even work is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

It’s depressing, isn’t it? It’s depressing to think that all your hard work, all the blood, sweat and tears you’ve spilled to acquire wealth and experience pleasure is nothing more than chasing after the wind. But it’s the soul-crushing truth. It’s why many people today struggle to summon the energy to get out of bed in the morning, why others just live for the weekend when they can drown their despair in meaningless activities and substances, why so many need the constant distraction of music, movies, and social media – anything to escape the dark, silent emptiness of life under the sun. That’s idolatry for you, and idolatry when viewed from that perspective is pretty horrifying, isn’t it? It’s empty. It’s hollow. Idols consume their worshipers from the inside, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell. This is life without God, life without Christ at the center. Why? Because it’s not who you are. You are not the sum total of what you own and what you’ve done. You’re so much more than that. You were created by God, redeemed by God, adopted by God to live forever with him. But without God at the center of your life, your being, your identity, all you do and all you have under the sun is utterly meaningless. Thankfully, God offers us a better way. In spite of our futile attempts to find meaning and happiness apart from him, God graciously gives us a new way of life. He enables us to see beyond the horizon of life under this sun, to find the true meaning of life in his Son, Jesus.

In the final verses of our text, Solomon points us in the right direction: There is nothing better for a man than to eat and to drink and to find joy in his work. This too, I saw, is from God’s hand. For who can eat or enjoy himself apart from him? Hang on, I thought Solomon just established that pleasure, wealth and work are meaningless; now he says that there is nothing better than eating and drinking and working? Did you catch the key phrase? Apart from him – apart from God – no one will find contentment or happiness, but with him we can be joyful whether we are rich or poor, whether the meal is the chef’s special or Chef Boyardee, whether we are running our dream business or just counting the minutes to 5 o’clock. Why? How? Because Jesus did the most meaningful thing of all by taking up the seemingly most meaningless task of all (Isaiah 49:4). Because Jesus came specifically to destroy the one thing that makes it all meaningless: death. He left his place at his Father’s right hand, he emptied himself of his glory and power as the Son of God, he became poor so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). He despised all other earthly pursuits apart from his pursuit of your salvation; which led him to the cross where he willingly suffered the horrifying wrath of God and the miserable, meaningless death and hell we deserved for our sins of idolatry, greed, gluttony and lust. The blood he shed won for us the greatest treasure of all: the forgiveness of sins. When you have this treasure, then death is not the end, but the beginning of true life. When you have this treasure you can be certain that – unlike the rich fool – you will pass the test on the night God summons your soul (Luke 12:20) – because you have Christ and his righteousness. Through baptism this treasure is yours – which means that you don’t have to waste your time chasing your best life now because your best life is still to come, when you will finally be free from sin and the futility of chasing the wind of meaning in this life.

And that’s the secret to a meaningful life here and now. The secret is not having a better life, but rather a better perspective on life. Knowing that Jesus has secured eternal life in heaven for you frees you to actually enjoy life now. While the unbelieving world tries to squeeze meaning out of pleasure, wealth and work, believers understand that the good things of this life are just that: things of this life – to be used, enjoyed, and, eventually, left behind; just like the wind. Don’t believe the lie that happiness is something that lies just over the horizon, after just a little more work and a few more years of saving – because if you do, you won’t just find yourself continually disappointed – you will miss the wonderful gifts God has already given you. Instead see that the meaning of the pleasure and wealth and work you have today lies in the simple fact that the God who created and redeemed you has given it to you – nothing more and nothing less.

The meaning of life isn’t the sum total of the pleasure we’ve experienced, the wealth we’ve accumulated or the hard work we’ve completed. The meaning of life is that God loved us so much that he gave us life, gave us his Son, gave us faith to believe in him, and has promised to give us a place in his heavenly mansion. Try to grasp hold of what this life under the sun has to offer and you will find yourself empty handed, like trying to catch the wind. But open your hands to receive Christ in faith and God promises to fill those hands with everything you need for this life and more (Matthew 6:33). The Christian life is the simple life: 1) trust in God to take care of the big picture – now and forever – and 2) enjoy the life under the sun he has given you – because Jesus has already earned the one thing we could never catch for ourselves: the never-ending joy of eternal life in heaven. Amen.

[1] Incidentally, havel was the name of Adam and Eve’s second son (Abel), whose life was so meaninglessly cut short by his brother Cain (Genesis 4:8)

[2] https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/22/new-study-challenges-value-antidepressants/

[3] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11058925/Experts-warn-melatonin-use-America-control.html

1 Timothy 2:1-6 - First of All: Pray - July 24, 2022

In my Bible, the heading for this section of 1 Timothy is Instructions about Worship. If you were to write a list of instructions regarding Christian worship, what would be at the top of your list? That the setting, the building, the chairs all be clean and comfortable? That the music is pleasant and the sermon is captivating? That Jesus be at the center of everything? That the service lasts no longer than 60 minutes so you can get on with your day? Paul says: First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. Now, I’ll admit that when I was younger, I didn’t really understand why we spent so much of the service in prayer. It seemed like an awful lot of standing and listening, and very quickly my mind began to wander to thoughts of what was for lunch and my eyes to the people around me. But wandering thoughts and eyes are not at all what Paul has in mind when he urges us to pray when we gather for worship. Paul considers prayer an absolutely essential part of Christian worship. He says, first of all, pray.

Why? Why is prayer so essential to our worship services? Because prayer is a reflection of reality; it’s a reflection of the reality that we are powerless, that we have little or no control over anything, that we are all beggars coming to God with empty hands pleading with him to give us what we need. Paul uses four words to bring out the wide-ranging nature of Christian prayer: petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings. We are to bring to God our petitions – that is, we come to God like a child comes to his father to ask for whatever we need both physically and spiritually. Prayers is a very general term indicating any kind of devotion or praise to God – it can be as simple as praising God for his glory, for his works, for his gifts. When we make intercession to God, we are boldly asking God to guide and protect and bless others. For example, when our children go off to school or get their driver’s license or start dating – we parents tend to flood God’s throne with intercessions (but don’t worry, Jon and Breanna, with two big brothers, I’m sure you won’t have to worry about Addison). When we see others suffering or in pain, we ask God to intervene on their behalf. Finally, Paul says, we offer thanksgiving: this brings our prayer full circle, so that the blessings we have already received from God return to him again in the form of appreciation.

Paul is primarily talking about prayer in public worship – but his guidance for what we do here on Sundays is also helpful for our personal prayer lives. Sometimes we get into a rut that is anything but model prayer. We treat prayer like a right rather than a privilege. We pray for ourselves but forget to pray for others. We ask God for earthly blessings but neglect the spiritual ones or fail to thank him for the family, house, car, job he has already given us. Our prayers can begin to sound like a child’s Christmas list: God, I want this and this and that. (Or as we noted last week, like Martha we can be tempted to arrogantly tell God what to do, rather than humbly ask according to his perfect will.) One easy way to remember the basics of God-pleasing prayer is to follow what is called the A-C-T-S model. Adoration. Confession. Thanksgiving. Supplication. Following this simple outline helps us to keep our focus and serves as a reminder to first bow in humility and praise before our holy God, then confess our sins, and offer thanksgiving before we present whatever requests we may have.

When we pray, our leading thought is: “what should I pray for?” Paul’s answer is not what but who: for all people. That’s kind of overwhelming – how can we possibly know what almost 8 billion people need, how would we ever have time to intercede on behalf of every one of them? But the fact is, that this prayer is fairly straight-forward. We pray that God would carry out his will for all people, a will which Paul spells out: God our Savior…wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Whether you know it or not, you’ve already been doing this, you’ve already been praying for all people. Whenever you pray the Lord’s Prayer you are praying that God’s name, kingdom and will would come to everyone on earth. At the same time, if you are aware of certain people who continue to stumble in the darkness of unbelief – and you can and should name them in your prayers. In either case, our prayer is that God would bring everyone to a knowledge of the truth. What truth? The two-fold truth that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24).

Praying for everyone obviously means that we exclude no one. But Paul encourages Christians to specifically pray for kings and all those in authority. I don’t think I’m alone in confessing that government officials haven’t always been at the top of my prayer list. And yet, Paul tells us to make the conscious effort to pray for the leaders God has appointed (Romans 13:1). This was certainly no easy task for those early Christians. Those Christians saw their friends and family dragged into coliseums throughout the Roman Empire where they were tortured and sacrificed as entertainment for pagan Roman crowds. Those Christians found themselves targeted for persecution by the Roman government which falsely blamed them for all kinds of problems in society. Given the situation, you’d think that Paul would tell Timothy to call down hell-fire on the governing authorities, or at the very least urge civil disobedience. But Paul encourages Timothy to do just the opposite: he urges those Christians to pray for the very leaders who hunted them down and tortured them for their Christian faith. 

Even though the governing authorities in America are not hunting us down or banning Christianity…at least not yet…it’s still not always natural or easy to pray for our national, state and local leaders, is it? It doesn’t seem right to us to ask God to bless leaders who create and enforce laws that contradict God’s will – who not only condone but praise violence and sexual immorality and the murder of the unborn. It’s hard to pray for politicians who are revealed to be corrupt and immoral in their public and personal lives. But Paul supplies a very good reason for us to pray for all those in authority – even for the unbelieving and immoral ones: so that we might live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and dignity. History teaches that it is far easier for Christians to lead quiet, God-pleasing lives when there is peace than when there is strife and war. Examples abound: think about how Jeremiah encouraged the Israelites exiled in Babylon to pray for their city of exile – rather than rise up against it – because then they too would have peace and prosperity (Jeremiah 29:7)); remember how Peter folded under the pressure when mob-rule overtook the rule of law (Luke 22:54-62); think of how hard it would have been to live for God during the Revolutionary or Civil Wars. Consider our Christian brothers and sisters who are enduring unspeakable horrors in Ukraine this very moment. Wars and rebellions and anarchy and unrest – even those undertaken with seemingly righteous motives – can lead Christians to do some terrible, evil things – to live anything but godly and dignified lives. Worst of all, times of war and unrest can lead us to doubt God’s love and care. We pray for the leaders God has placed over us so that we might live peaceful and Godly lives, and at the same time, we pray that God would shine the light of his Gospel into their hearts so that they too might know Christ as their Savior. Why? Because this is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior. There are many good reasons to pray – but the most important one of all is that God wants us to. It pleases God when we bring all our thoughts and concerns and praise and thanks to his throne.

But, as important as it is to understand how to pray and whom to pray for, it’s even more important for us to understand that the power of prayer isn’t the how or the who. Prayer is not powerful because our prayers are so frequent and eloquent and proper – because quite often, they’re not. No, prayer is powerful because of the One we pray to. Paul says that there is only one God. We don’t pray to some unidentified, mysterious being. When we pray, we pray to the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth. We pray to the God who orders the sun the shine and the rain to fall and numbers the very hairs of our heads. We pray to the God who raises and crushes leaders and nations like pawns on the chessboard of history. Practically speaking: we are praying to the One who can and will watch over little children like Addison, even when you can’t, even when you’re sleeping; the One who can provide food and fuel and shelter even when the bank account says you can’t; to the one who has the power to control inflation and disease and conflict – when the smartest and most powerful people in the world seem powerless. When we pray, we bring our petitions before the throne of the king of Heaven and the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25).

But…sometimes we forget that, don’t we? We forget that when we pray, we aren’t shooting the breeze with a friend or posting our stream of consciousness to social media – we are addressing the one, true, holy God. We sometimes forget that when we come into church – we are daring to walk into God’s presence. We’re not walking into a movie or a concert – we’re walking into a courtroom where we know that the verdict ought to be guilty as charged. When we come here we stand before God, and the only thing we bring to the table is our sins, and the first thing we do is openly and honestly confess how sinful, how unworthy we are to be here. It is an awesome and awful thing to come before the one, holy God. Throughout Bible history, people were shaken to the core when they witnessed the glory of God. The people of Israel shook with fear when God descended on Sinai with flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder (Exodus 19:16). Isaiah recognized that he deserved to be ruined because he was a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). Peter, James, and John fell on their faces when Jesus was transfigured before them (Matthew 17:6). Even the mob in the Garden of Gethsemane fell on their knees when Jesus told them who he was (John 18:6). When we come here to stand before God and then dare to call on him by name, it should be with all humility and sorrow, because we know our sins and how they have ruined our relationship with Him. May we never forget that on our own, we cannot pray to God or expect that he will hear us; we cannot even stand in his presence dressed as we are in the tattered rags of our own sinfulness (Isaiah 59:2).

That’s what makes the last verse of our text so important. Paul writes: there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all. We cannot come to God on our own, and – the good news is – we don’t have to. We come in Jesus’ name; at his invitation and with the guarantee of his mediation. We come dressed in the robes of holiness that Jesus earned for us by his perfect prayer life as our substitute. God answers when we knock because Jesus reestablished our line of communication with his Father by his death which served as the ransom price to free us from our sins – symbolized by the tearing of the curtain in the temple the moment he gave his last breath (Matthew 27:50-51). God hears our prayers because our risen and ascended Savior still stands before him as our mediator – pleading our case and pleading for mercy. Knowing that, knowing what it cost our Savior to give us access to God, will remove any reluctance or selfishness or arrogance or presumption from our prayer life. It will instill in us a sense of awe when we come before God and will cause us to overflow with praise and thanks for all that he has done.

So, what should be the priority when we gather for worship? The building, the music, the pastor, the length? Paul says: prayer. We should offer petitions and prayers and intercessions and thanksgiving for all people – because it is God’s will that all people be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Pray for our nation’s leaders and government that they might either be converted or that their evil intentions may be thwarted so that we may live peaceful and Godly lives. Pray at all times and in all places to our Almighty God in heaven, confident that he has the power to do whatever you ask. Pray, because Jesus lived, died and rose to give you that privilege. It’s in his holy name we pray today and every day. Amen.  

Luke 10:38-42 - The Problem with Mary and Martha - July 17, 2022

At first glance, this seems like a somewhat cute, innocent, almost funny story. Who of us who has ever lived with someone else doesn’t know the frustration of busting your butt doing chores while someone else is just sitting there? But the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have inspired Luke to waste the ink (2 Timothy 3:16) to record this account if all it was only a quaint, cute story of everyday family life. This story teaches some very serious truths. This story of Mary and Martha is well-known. But that doesn’t mean that it’s well-understood. That’s because there’s a problem with Mary and Martha.

What’s the problem? The first problem is that we fail to grasp the magnitude of Martha’s sin. I mean, really, what’s the big deal? If Martha was busy trying to burn down the Roman Governor’s residence in protest of some decision she viewed as unjust; if she was busy disposing of the knife she had used to murder someone; if she was busy in the bedroom with someone else’s husband; if she was busy hiding a bounty she had stolen from her neighbor – that would get our attention; then we would see her sin as serious. But what is Martha busy doing? Well, working…and worrying. What most people would consider at least innocent if not praiseworthy. But if we view Martha’s work and worry that way – then we have a problem. Because Martha’s work and worry are symptomatic of major sins against the first three commandments.

Martha is guilty of breaking the first commandment – she is guilty of idolatry. How? Well, Luke tells us that Martha welcomed [Jesus] into her home and that she recognized him as her Lord, that is, as God. The gospels don’t explicitly report that Jesus (the Son of God) visited an individual’s home all that often. He visited Peter’s house (Matthew 8:14), Simon the Pharisee’s (Luke 7:36-50), Matthew’s (Matthew 9:9-13), Zacchaeus’ (Luke 19:1-10), and, notably, he visits Mary and Martha’s home three times (John 11; John 12:1-11). Each time, the host was very careful to take the time to listen to Jesus. The only exception is here. Even though Martha welcomed [Jesus] into her home…[she] was distracted with all her serving. Martha had a different god. What should we call this god? Maybe the god of “hospitality”? And if you’ve ever run into this false god, you know that he is very demanding. Bathrooms need cleaning; carpets need vacuuming; food needs cooking; beverages need cooling – on and on and on.

Now, you may think that it’s silly to call hospitality an idol, but God’s Word says that whatever is most important in your life at any given moment is your god (Matthew 6:24; Jeremiah 17:5; 1 John 2:15). What’s the most important thing in your life right now? I’m not suggesting that you might be worshipping Allah or Buddha in place of the one, true, triune God – I don’t think you’d be here if that were the case. Nor am I suggesting that some evil, wicked thing might be the most important thing (although, it certainly could be). No, I’m asking you to examine your heart to see if some good thing has taken the place of the one, most important thing in your life. It could be your spouse, your children, your job, your health, your wealth, your schedule, recreation, the economy, your security, politics, that problem at work or at home. Whatever is at the top of that list is your god. That’s what you worship with your fear, love and trust, not to mention your time, effort and finances. Again, in and of themselves, those are all good things – but they make for terrible gods. Her Lord and Savior had come into her home, but for Martha, he came in second place behind the god of hospitality. (Incidentally, this wasn’t a formal church service. This was more like Bible class. But Martha didn’t attend. She had other things to do that were more important. When you walk out of here, is there something more important than sitting at Jesus’ feet for another 20 minutes?)

Martha was an idolater, but she was also a blasphemer. Our Catechism defines blasphemy as “to speak of God in an evil or disrespectful way.” [1] Did Martha do that? Let’s go back to the scenario again. As Mary sits there passively listening to God’s Word, Martha is busy. She’s zooming in, out and around the place where Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Now, every household has a something I’ll call a chore code. Do you know the chore code? It consists of a passive-aggressive manner of doing the chores when you’re trying to get someone else to help you It doesn’t matter what the chore is, sweeping, dish-washing, vacuuming – everything gets louder and more obnoxious as they try to grab your attention. Apparently Jesus wasn’t aware of the chore code, so he goes on teaching – and Mary goes on sitting and listening. Finally, Martha gets so fed up that she came over and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” Tell her to help me. How is this blasphemy? According to the 2nd Commandment, the Lord has given us his name to pray, praise and give thanks (Psalm 50:15). Martha has misused the name of the Lord by using it to try to manipulate him, to tell him what to do. That’s a serious sin. We can ask God for anything – but we must never, ever think that we can tell God what to do or when to do it.

Why don’t we take Martha’s sin more seriously? Why would we find this story more interesting if Martha was guilty of insurrection or murder or adultery or theft? It’s because our nature is to assess sins against the second table of the law (4-10) more seriously than sins against the first (1-3). Those are visible, tangible sins. They’re sins that other people might see or find out about. They’re sins that even our fallen world recognizes as wrong. But just because the world sees those sins as the worst doesn’t mean they are. The worst sins are those against the first 3 commandments – that’s why they’re first. Martha’s idolatry and her blasphemy ultimately led her to break the 3rd commandment – which could, arguably, be considered as her greatest sin. Why? Because when you don’t listen to or despise God’s Word you’re sinning against the only cure for sin (Matthew 12:30-32). Apart from the Word how could Martha be rescued from her idolatry and blasphemy? If you or I despise God’s Word, how can we be saved from our sins against all 10 Commandments?

Underestimating the magnitude of Martha’s sin is the first problem with Mary and Martha. But it’s not the only one. The contrast that runs throughout this account is between one and many; between one Lord and many distracting idols; between being upset about many things and content to receive the one thing needed. Far from being merely quaint, cute or irrelevant, doesn’t this story speak directly to our lives in 21st century America? We’re all always in a rush, always busy, always behind and always tired. The harder we work, the less seems to get done. There really are too many things to do and too little time to do them. The devices and apps that were supposed to make life easier only create further distractions and obligations.

Contrast the frantic chaos of our everyday lives to Mary. Mary clearly understood the good, gospel-oriented goal of the 3rd commandment. She heard the divine command to “Stop and listen!” when Jesus came through the door. She put everything down. For her, nothing was more important than Jesus. Compared to Jesus all the things demanding our worry and anxiety and sleeplessness and endless busyness are not needed. Life today calls you to be worried about so many things. By sitting at Jesus’ feet, Mary was confessing the reality that worrying, working, planning and speeding can’t make your life one minute longer, sweeter or richer (Luke 12:22-34). Isn’t that magnificent? We are free to ignore the threats and commands of the idols of busyness and worry. “If you don’t do this, you’re in trouble.” “You better get this done, or else.” When those threats and commands come, remember the magnificent Gospel promise: your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:32-33). Or, as Jesus put it: one thing is needed.

Jesus’ Gospel message stands in stark contrast to what is proclaimed in most churches today. While the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone may be implied and even referred to – too often the main focus is on us and what we are to do and give or how we are to behave. Have you ever heard a sermon that went like this: Law – you’re a sinner; Gospel – you’re forgiven; and now, get out there and do a. b. and c. Now that kind of sermon is not necessarily wrong – but when that’s what you’re hearing every week, what part gets the emphasis; what part sticks in your mind? When a church’s main message is that you must be doing more to help the poor, giving or volunteering more, that you should be doing more to fight racism or sexism or any other “ism” out there – then the magnificence of the Gospel of Christ crucified gets dulled and obscured. Whether it’s intentional or not, the message given is that you can trust in Jesus for your eternity, but until then, it’s up to you. You can rest in Jesus on the day you die, but not today. Here’s the thing: I know I’ll have plenty of time to rest from work and worry when I’m dead, but I really need some rest here and now, don’t you?

To give rest is why Jesus was at Mary and Martha’s house. And it’s why he promises to be here with us in this house as we gather in his name (Matthew 18:20). It’s why he gave us the third commandment, to remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8-11). It’s all designed to keep our attention on the one thing…needed. Jesus is that one thing. And he’s come. The one who never had another god, never misused the name of God, never despised the Word of God and, therefore, never worried once; paid the price for Martha’s sins and for yours and mine too. Jesus was holy, but he was punished for Martha’s idolatry, your blasphemous prayers where you tried to tell God what to do, and my despising of the Word. Those sins against the first three commandments are serious. They deserve punishment in hell that never ends. And that’s exactly what Jesus suffered in our place on the cross. He suffered for each and every one of our sins against the first three commandments until he could say it is finished (John 19:30). And, unlike us, who will all die with much unfinished business – when Jesus finishes something, it’s really finished.

One thing is needed, Jesus says, and he’s present to give it to you here and now. Jesus has come and he continues to come to give peace and rest to frantic, weary, worried sinners like us through Word and Sacrament. His Baptism doesn’t quickly drain to empty like your gas tank does – the well of grace you have in Baptism will never run dry. His Absolution isn’t like those bills you paid last month – only to have them show up again this month – the debt of your sin has been paid once and for all (John 19:30). Supply-chain issues will never remove Jesus’ body and blood and the forgiveness and strength they provide from this altar and inflation will not make them too expensive to buy (Isaiah 55:1). These are the free gifts Jesus dispenses to you every time you listen to his loving 3rd Commandment which essentially says “Stop! Listen! And find your peace and rest not in your work but in mine!”

Only when we take the time to stop, listen and rest can we realize the magnificence of the good news in this account of Mary and Martha – good news for all sinful, idolatrous worriers. Jesus says that Mary has chosen that better part, which will not be taken away from her. Do you realize what that means? It means that all the distractions, all the “things” of this life, all the worry and anxiety will eventually be taken away. That’s the peace of heaven that every Sunday service, every family devotion and every personal meditation points us to. And when we take the time regularly, weekly and daily, to turn away from the many distractions and worries of this life to focus on the one thing needed – Jesus, his life, death and resurrection – then the problem with Mary and Martha (and us) disappears – and we can finally rest. Amen.  

[1] 2019 WELS Catechism, 375

Galatians 5:1, 13-25 - Stand Firm in Your Gospel Freedom - July 10, 2022

Have you ever noticed that many of life’s biggest milestones are marked by the achievement of some level of freedom? From getting your first bike or your driver’s license – which free you from relying on your parents for transportation; to moving out of the house – which frees you from the house rules; to paying off your home – which frees you from monthly mortgage payments; to retirement, which frees you from the demands of the workweek. At the same time, when you achieve these freedoms, does that mean that you are then free to do whatever you want? Hardly. (Just ask any of the retirees here.) In fact, with freedom often comes greater responsibility. Up to this point in his letter to the Galatians, Paul has argued adamantly that salvation comes by grace through faith alone not by works of the Law. Now, Paul addresses the criticism hurled against all who teach and confess salvation by grace through faith alone: “It’s dangerous to say that people don’t have to obey the Law to be saved – because if people realize they are freed from the demands of the Law then they will just go back to their sinful ways.” And, logically, this criticism seems to make sense, doesn’t it? If you’re free from the Law – totally free – then you’ll just go back to sinning, right? In the face of this criticism, Paul doesn’t waver from his original premise:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not allow anyone to put the yoke of slavery on you again. Commentators are torn on whether this verse belongs with the section that precedes or follows. The chapter and verse numbers are not inspired, so there is room for argument. But at least one commentator suggests that this is a Janus verse. Janus was the Roman god of gates and doorways – he’s depicted as having two faces, one looking to the past and the other to the future. Before we look ahead to what it means to live as a liberated child of God, we must remember that we were slaves. Jesus said: Amen, Amen, I tell you: Everyone who keeps committing sin is a slave to sin (John 8:34). If we lie, lust, covet, hate, hurt or steal – we are slaves. Apart from Jesus we were enslaved by our sins because we can’t get rid of them, can’t remove them; apart from Jesus they control us, define us, and determine our eternity. Tragically, those who attempt to free themselves from their sins end up in an even worse form of slavery: slavery to the Law. Trying to overcome sin by trying to be a better spouse or parent or friend, by striving to be more honest and diligent and selfless is futile because try as hard as you might, you can’t do it. You can have the 10 commandments memorized and strive every day to keep them and you will wind up 6 feet under long before you actually do. As natural born sinners we can’t overcome sin nor can we keep the Law and so we were slaves to both – powerless to free ourselves.

But Christ has set us free. He set us free by virtue of his active and passive obedience. Actively, Jesus set us free from the Law by keeping it perfectly as our substitute – by lifting that burden off of our shoulders and crediting his obedience to us through Baptism (Galatians 3:27). And having kept the Law for us, Jesus turned toward Jerusalem and carried the burden of our sins to the cross, to passively absorb God’s wrath and sin’s punishment as our substitute. And, as of Good Friday, his work is completely, absolutely, finished (John 19:30). As a baptized believer you must stand firm in this message of freedom: you stand before God completely righteous, completely justified – free from the consequences of sin and the demands of the Law – through faith in Jesus. Don’t let anyone rob you of that freedom. Don’t let anyone tell you that you must do this or that, you must have this experience, you must be better to be saved. Don’t rob yourself of that freedom by turning back to your good works, your charity, your effort as your confidence for salvation – because if you do, you’re becoming a slave all over again. Instead, stand firm in the freedom Christ suffered, died and rose to give you. At the same time, this verse not only looks behind but it looks ahead. You are freed from sin and the Law but you are not free to use this liberty however you choose. In other words, the road of Christian freedom is narrow; and having warned us of the ditch on one side – the ditch of legalism; Paul now looks to keep us from slipping into the ditch on the other side.

Paul describes this ditch in detail: After all, brothers, you were called to freedom. Only do not use your freedom as a starting point for your sinful flesh…now the works of the sinful flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, complete lack of restraint, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things similar to these I warn you, just as I also warned you before, that those who continue to do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. The ditch on the other side of the narrow road of Christian freedom is using that freedom as license to sin. Paul says that these works of the sinful flesh are obvious. Do you think so? I mean, they are clearly spelled out as sins in God’s Word. But is that the way they are regarded today? Half of American Christians polled in 2020 considered casual sex between consenting adults to be acceptable. [1] There are many Christians who secretly think that homosexuality is a defensible lifestyle, that living together outside of marriage or getting an easy “no-fault” divorce is ok because God just wants us to be happy. Then Paul mentions sins against the 1st commandment: idolatry and witchcraft. Whatever you fear, love and trust the most – that is your God. And as for hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition – who of us can claim to be innocent? And Paul’s warning is clear: those who continue to use their Christian freedom as a license to sin will not inherit the kingdom of God.   

Because the freedom which Christ died to give us is not freedom to serve the sinful flesh but freedom of another kind: to serve one another through love. In fact, the whole law is summed up in this one statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I know it sounds paradoxical, but the Greek literally says that we are freed to be slaves – slaves to one another. So, Paul spends 4 chapters arguing that we are free from the Law, only to tell us now that we are once again slaves to the Law? How does that work? We are free from the Law – as far as our relationship with God goes. Jesus has satisfied God in our place. But we still owe a debt of love to one another (Romans 13:8) and the Law still serves the crucial role of defining and guiding what love for others looks like (the third use of the Law). In other words, while we are freed from the Law as a means of salvation – of pleasing God – that frees us to serve one another through love.

What does this look like? Paul says: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There are four things to note about this verse. First, Paul doesn’t use imperatives (commands) but indicatives to describe this life of freedom. He doesn’t say you shall do these things, he says you will do these things, naturally, inevitably. We don’t love others to become Christian or to remain Christian, we love others because we are Christians – because we know how God has loved and served us in Jesus! Second, note that in contrast to the visible works of the sinful flesh; the fruit of the Spirit consists of changed attitudes – because where the heart is changed, where the tree is made good, good fruit will inevitably follow. Third, these fruits are not the product of our hard work and effort, but the work of the Holy Spirit in us. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 by the grace of God I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10). And, lastly, against such things there is no law. That’s a major understatement – but you get the point, right? No law in the world forbids or restricts these fruits – you are absolutely free to be as loving, joyful, patient, kind and self-controlled as you want.

But here’s the rub: if we are free to produce as much fruit of the Spirit as we want, why do we so often find ourselves serving our sinful flesh? The reality is that the sinful flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful flesh. In fact, these two continually oppose one another, so that you do not continue to do these things you want to do. The fiercest war raging in this world is not in Ukraine, it’s not being waged in any courtroom or legislative chamber, it’s one that will never make the headlines – it’s the war going on in the heart and mind of every Christian between the Old Adam and our New Self. Unlike the rest of the unbelieving world which remains completely enslaved to the sinful nature, we Christians are torn – so that [we] do not understand what [we] we are doing, because [we] do not keep doing what [we] want. Instead, [we] do what we hate (Romans 7:15). And this war will not end until God kills this flesh once and for all and takes us to heaven.

But just because the battle rages on within doesn’t mean the outcome of the war is uncertain, because those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful flesh with its passions and desires. No respectable Roman would ever cast crucifixion in a positive light. Crucifixion was such a brutal, gruesome and shameful form of execution that it was reserved only for non-citizens, slaves and those guilty of the very worst crimes. So why does Paul cast crucifixion in a positive light here? His point is that there is no reforming, no rehabilitating, no reasoning with the sinful flesh – the only thing to do with it is kill it without pity or mercy. That’s what the Holy Spirit did for you through Holy Baptism. He nailed that sinful flesh to the cross to die (Galatians 2:20). But one of the most horrible things about crucifixion is that death doesn’t come immediately. The sinful nature will claw and struggle to get down, to regain control of your life – and Satan will tempt you to pull the nails out yourself. The only solution is to return to baptism through repentance. When you hold out your sins to God and cling to Jesus in repentance then the nails are driven ever deeper – and the sinful flesh loses more control over you.

This life-long process will produce visible results: if we live by the spirit, let us also walk in step with it. These are military terms. He’s picturing a military parade where a disciplined squad of soldiers marches down the street in perfect lock-step with one another. This is what the Church looks like that is standing firm in Christian freedom. We walk in line with the Spirit and with each other, not out of fear or guilt or obligation, but because we have been set free by Christ to serve one another. Yes, we will continue to stumble and fall along the way – but, freed by Christ from our sins of the past frees us to look forward in service to others – and that’s what it means to stand firm in your Gospel freedom.

Martin Luther summarized these verses beautifully when he wrote: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” [2] You are free; free from sin and the Law; you are free to serve others in love. Stand firm in that freedom because that’s the freedom Jesus died to give you. Amen.  

[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/31/half-of-u-s-christians-say-casual-sex-between-consenting-adults-is-sometimes-or-always-acceptable/

[2] AE 31:344

Ezekiel 2:1-5 - A Different Kind of Vocation - July 3, 2022

It’s something you probably don’t think about too often as you go about your life. It’s something that you may have never really considered at all. But it’s something that every single one of us in this room (and in this world) have in common (Acts 17:26). Every single one of us has a vocation. (Vocation is a fancy word for the place to which God has called us in this life.) For example, being a child or parent, a man or woman, a husband or wife, an employer or employee are all vocations. And yet, even though God has given each of us a unique calling in this life, there is one vocation that is particularly unique. One which is not given to everyone and yet does have application for every Christian. As we consider a portion of the LORD’s call to Ezekiel to be his prophet this morning, we will see that the Gospel ministry is a different kind of vocation.

The first difference has to do with the origination. Most earthly vocations are chosen or applied for – they originate in you: you choose a career path, to get married, to have a child, etc. However, if you read through Ezekiel 1-3, there is no evidence that Ezekiel was seeking or had applied for the job of prophet. Ezekiel’s call did not originate in him but in the LORD who appeared to him on the shore of the Kebar Canal while he and many of his fellow Israelites were in exile in Babylon. The LORD appeared to Ezekiel in a glorious vision of his majesty which forced Ezekiel to fall flat on his face in fear (Ezekiel 1:28). Immediate destruction was what Ezekiel knew he deserved for his sin, but God gave him the opposite of what he deserved: Son of man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. The Spirit entered into me as he spoke to me and brought me up to my feet. Then I heard him speaking to me. Clearly, Ezekiel’s call into the ministry originated in God and his grace and was delivered through his spoken Word.

Now, I’ve never been to the Kebar Canal and the LORD has never appeared to me or to any other WELS pastor in a majestic vision of glory (that I’m aware of). But any and all of you who have ever participated in the Call process (specifically the WELS process of assigning and moving pastors from church to church) know that the Call to a particular congregation does NOT originate in the pastor – it originates in God (every Call meeting begins with prayer and petition) and is mediated through you, the members of the congregation. This is comforting for both pastor and people. The pastor can be absolutely sure that this Call has come from God and the people can be absolutely sure that the pastor has not appointed himself but is sent from God.

And yet, while the Divine Call is clearly unique in many ways, the same is true for every Christian – no matter your vocation. Whether you were baptized as an infant or an adult – the sacrament which initiated you into the Christian faith didn’t originate with you – it was instituted by our Lord 2000 years ago as the instrument through which he promised to gather disciples from all nations (Matthew 28:19). Regardless of how you remember or feel you came to believe in Jesus, Jesus himself says definitively: you did not choose me, but I chose you (John 15:16). I don’t say this to be condescending but first of all because it’s true – faith is a gift of God, not the result of human effort (Ephesians 2:8-9); and then second, to comfort you with the knowledge that the Lord was thinking of you, wanting to save you, even when you couldn’t or wouldn’t or didn’t want to think about him – and the fact that you believe today is evidence of that (Ephesians 1:4).

The second difference has to do with the audience. While every vocation has its difficult people that we’d rather not serve, most vocations generally involve willing participants. Whether you’re a nurse, a salesperson or a mechanic, you’re generally dealing with people who want your help. Consider Ezekiel’s call: Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to disloyal nations, who have been disloyal to me. They and their fathers have rebelled against me to this very day. These children of mine are brazen-faced and hard-hearted. By way of contrast, in chapter 3, the LORD tells Ezekiel that if he were sending him as a missionary to a foreign people, they would listen (Ezekiel 3:5-6). But Ezekiel was called to preach to God’s chosen people – a people who seemed to have rebellion embedded in their DNA. They had rebelled and been unfaithful over and over and over – to this very day. What makes this even more tragic is that they had tasted and seen that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8) in the Promised Land – and yet still rebelled and rejected him. They were stubbornly defiant of the LORD who had graciously chosen to save them. They were an audience which the Lord told Ezekiel beforehand would not receive or believe his message.  

I’ll let you in on a little “pastoral” secret: the LORD has revealed something to me about you that you either may not know or may choose to suppress or ignore: You are a sinner. You have been sinful from the moment of your conception (Psalm 51:5). You – like me – are incapable of not sinning (Romans 7:14-25). While I don’t think any one of us would put “rebellious,” “disloyal,” “brazen-faced,” or “hard-hearted” in our social media descriptions, that’s precisely how Scripture describes us (Romans 3:9-18). Even after our conversion, who of us doesn’t have to confess with Paul: what a miserable wretch I am (Romans 7:24)? The LORD knows this. Others around us know this. But we often try our best to ignore this fact. That’s why the LORD calls his ministers to preach the Law in all of its wrath and fury faithfully and regularly – yes, even (and especially) to “good” Christians. The hard truth is that you and I are natural born sinners and will remain so until the LORD buries this flesh in the ground and takes us to heaven.

According to God’s Word, I know this about you. But you are also know this about the people the LORD has placed in your life. No matter who you’re dealing with, you’re dealing with a sinner. Parents, don’t be surprised when your children rise up in rebellion against you – they are only being what you made them: original sinners. Children, don’t be surprised when your parents lose their tempers – that’s their nature as sinners. It doesn’t matter how wonderful your spouse seemed while you were dating, never forget that you willingly married a sinner. No matter your occupation, never forget that your customers, clients, coworkers and employers are all natural born sinners. And, while this comes as no surprise to those of you who know me, I, your pastor, am a sinner. And what do sinners do? The point is that whether you’re a pastor, parent, child or church member, you can fully expect that the people you’re dealing with are a rebellious, disloyal and hard-hearted people – people who by nature are opposed to God and his will. That’s the audience.

Now that we’ve ripped the ugly scab of original sin off, we can turn to the third difference: the message. I am sending you to them, and you are to tell them that this is what the LORD God says. As unappealing as Ezekiel’s call may have seemed – at least he could find peace in the fact his message would not be his own. And yet, the LORD’s message through Ezekiel to the people of Israel was not exactly what anyone would consider to be “good news.” The Babylonians had attacked Jerusalem and carried Israelites off into exile several times before the final destruction of the city in 587/586 BC. Ezekiel had been carried off in one of those earlier attacks. The LORD commanded Ezekiel to tell the people that they should not hold out hope for Jerusalem, that things would get worse before they would get better, that the people remaining in Jerusalem would starve (Ezekiel 4:17), that the land would be devastated and her people would be brutally and savagely killed (Ezekiel 5:17); that terror is coming. They will seek peace, but there will be none (Ezekiel 7:25); and that the Temple of the Lord will be desecrated (Ezekiel 8). This message that the people wouldn’t want to hear was precisely the message the LORD wanted them to hear through Ezekiel.

You probably didn’t wake up this morning hoping to be reminded of the original sin that you inherited from your parents. You probably didn’t expect to be called out as rebellious, disloyal and hard-hearted in public. Many in our world would consider such preaching to be repugnant and offensive. They would call me arrogant and bigoted. In fact, many pastors would never lay down the law in such a blunt fashion out of fear of offending his listeners. But here’s the thing: like Ezekiel, the LORD has not called me to preach my own ideas or a message that tells people what they want to hear, the LORD has called me and every other Gospel minister to preach only what the LORD God says – no more and no less (Revelation 22:18-19). While the dual truths that we are damned sinners who are saved only by the grace of God in Christ doesn’t seem to scratch itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3) – it is what the LORD God says. The fact that the message is not my own gives me comfort and confidence and it should for you too.

And the same is true of you who have been called into his kingdom of priests. No matter your vocation, the LORD does not expect you to come up with your own ideas, to tailor the message to your audience, to adjust your words based on your feelings – he expects you only to declare “what the LORD God says.” In other words, don’t talk about yourself or your faith; talk about God. And there is probably no simpler summary of who God is than what is found in what we refer to as the Conclusion to the 10 Commandments, found in Exodus 20:5-6: I the LORD your God am a jealous God. I follow up on the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments. Whether you’re a pastor, a parent, a friend or an employee, the call is the same: declare only what the LORD God says.

The final difference involves the measure of success. The world measures success in purely external terms: grades, income, likes, retweets, job titles, etc. How are we to measure the success of the Gospel ministry? One of the more common questions I hear when someone learns that I am a pastor is: “Is your church growing (meaning numerically)?” Ezekiel likely would have been tempted to judge the success of his ministry based on how many Israelites listened to and believed his message, but the LORD simply wouldn’t allow it. He told Ezekiel whether they listen or do not listen – for they are a rebellious house – then they will know that a prophet has been among them. There are two key points here: 1) first, when what Ezekiel proclaimed to the people came to pass – namely, the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple – then the people would know beyond all doubt that he was a prophet of the Lord. And, second, 2) until then, Ezekiel was called not to measure his success by the response of the people, but by his faithfulness to God’s Word.

When someone asks me if Risen Savior is growing, do you know how I respond? I say, “Yes, every week we are proclaiming the Word of God and administering the Sacraments and God has promised that wherever his Word is proclaimed, it will achieve the results he desires (Isaiah 55:10-11).” The world measures success in visible, numerical terms – but not the LORD! Success in his Church is measured by faithfulness to his Word. When we baptize infants and adults, teach and catechize, preach and absolve, distribute and eat and drink according to God’s Word – then this little corner of God’s Kingdom is growing, whether it can be measured numerically or not. Faithfulness to his Word is what God demanded of Ezekiel, what he demands of all Christians, and what you should demand of me.

So where is Jesus in all of this? Everywhere! His vocation was and is the most unique and important of all! Where did Jesus’ vocation originate? His Father sent him to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). Who was Jesus’ audience? To a world that preferred the darkness of unbelief over the light of the Gospel (John 1:9-12). What message did he proclaim? Not his own, but only what his Father commanded him to speak (John 12:48-50). Was he successful? Well, he got himself hung on a cross. Does that count as success? Yes! For those of us the LORD has called to faith through the means of grace, Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection are the only measure of success that matters – because through him we have been forgiven for all the times we’ve failed to faithfully carry out our vocations and can be certain that when this life ends the LORD will call us straight to eternal life with him in heaven.

How do you measure success in your life? How do you measure the success of a pastor or our success as a congregation? This morning God redefines success and replaces our standards and measures with his. The Gospel ministry is different not only in regard to the origination, audience, message and measure – but most importantly, in the fact that our ultimate success – our salvation – doesn’t depend on us, but on the fact that Jesus carried out his calling, his vocation as the Savior of sinners perfectly. Amen.

Numbers 6:22-27 - The Trinity's Blessing Leaves You Lacking Nothing - June 12, 2022

There are certain occasions in each of our lives when we speak and we must – more than usual – mean what we say. When you were confirmed, you vowed before God and man to “reject the devil along with all his lies and empty promises” and “to continue steadfast in this teaching and to endure all things, even death, rather than fall away from it.” If you are married, you again stood before God and man and promised “to be faithful [to your spouse] as long as [you] both shall live.” If you’ve ever been asked to testify in court, you swore to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” There are certain moments in life when we want everyone to know that we really mean what we are saying. There’s a problem though. Whenever we, as sinful humans, make a promise or take an oath or swear to tell the truth; whenever we speak – there’s always something lacking. Raise your hand if you’ve never doubted or wavered in your faith since you vowed to endure all things for the sake of Christ. Raise your hand if you’ve never been unfaithful to your spouse in thought, word or deed. Raise your hand if you believe you can ever really know the WHOLE truth. No matter how sincere we are when we speak, we are always lacking; lacking in commitment, determination or knowledge. In the end, our words are always lacking because we are fickle, sinful human beings. But the triune God is neither fickle nor sinful. When he speaks he always has the power to do what he says. And when God blesses you, he leaves you lacking nothing.  

I.                    The Father’s Providence

The words before us this morning are very familiar. In the course of the church year, you will hear these words dozens of times; with the result many of you have heard them hundreds of times, and a few of you thousands of times. There’s a danger in this familiarity though, isn’t there? The danger is that we might start to believe that these are just words; just words that mark the end of church; just words intended to give us a warm, fuzzy feeling as we leave God’s house. The law for today is this: if you have ever taken these words for granted or have found your mind wandering as these words are spoken or have left with this blessing but then allowed the worries and troubles of life cause you to forget them: repent. Repent for treating the blessing of the triune God as just empty words. Repent for failing to recognize that these words are God’s promise to you, his guarantee, his contract that he signs with his own name. Repent and be forgiven so that you may always treasure this incredible gift the triune God gives you as you leave his house.

These aren’t just words. God first gave these words to Moses and Aaron around 1500 BC as Israel was preparing to set out from Mt. Sinai for the Promised Land. At God’s command, Aaron and his sons were to speak this blessing over Israel every morning and every evening. For more than 3500 years God’s servants have placed his name on his children by repeating these words. Even though I’ve spoken these words countless times, I was reminded of something interesting as I was studying them this past week: these words allude to and spell out the work of each person of the Trinity. Not just in the threefold repetition of the name LORD, but in the particular blessings each part contains. The Israelites could not have seen this clearly, they were still looking forward to the fuller revelation of God in the person of the Messiah – but as NT Christians who have the fuller revelation of God in Jesus, we can see clearly how this blessing reveals what God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have each done and are doing for our salvation.  

The LORD bless you and keep you. In Hebrew the word “bless” means to bestow – to actually give – someone something. It’s more than a wish; it’s God the Father’s promise to act. We see an example of this in Genesis 1:28 where God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” God blessed Adam and Eve – and what happened? They were fruitful – today their descendants cover the earth (almost 8 billion of them!). They ruled over creation – and today we have more food than we can eat. The point is this. When God speaks, it’s not an empty wish. His Word carries the power to do what he says. Maybe this becomes even clearer when you consider the opposite: God’s curse. In Genesis 3, God cursed the ground – and even now our gardens are filled with thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:17-19). In Genesis 19, God cursed Sodom and Gomorrah and all that remains of them is scorched earth (Genesis 19). When God speaks, things happen. When God blesses you, he is promising to provide everything you need for life – your body, your talents, your abilities, your health, your home and job and family are the result of this blessing. But the Father doesn’t only provide for you, his promise to keep you means that he will watch over you every day of your life. Everything you are and have, your past, present, and future are in your Father’s hands – and he promises to use every moment of it – the good and the bad, the joy and the sorrow, life and death – for your eternal good (Romans 8:28). God’s blessing leaves you lacking nothing and the Father’s special work is that he will provide for you and protect you. We call this his gracious, undeserved providence. Let us thank the Father for his providence by confessing our faith…

II.                  The Son’s Grace

I’m willing to bet that among the many communications you receive every week are at least a few requests for a donation of time or money. When you receive those requests, see that there are people in need and decide to help them without asking for or expecting anything in return – that’s called charity. That thought of helping someone in need comes out in part two of the Aaronic blessing. The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The first question is: God has a face? I thought he was a spirit (John 4:24)? This is called an anthropomorphism – that is, applying a human attribute to God. When you turn your face toward someone or something, you are giving it your attention. And that’s the point here. Even though our sins have separated us from God and prevent us from coming into his presence (Isaiah 59:2) he turns his attention to us. His gracious attention. When you hear the word grace you probably think of the classic confirmation definition: undeserved love. But the Hebrew uses a different word meaning “to grant a favor” or “help someone in need” [1] - much like you do when you give to charity.

How did the LORD most clearly demonstrate that we have his attention and help in our need? Here’s one place the classic Sunday school answer is the right answer: Jesus! We needed something and he provided it. We needed a perfect life to cover our absolutely imperfect lives; we needed the forgiveness of sins; we needed someone to save us from the fire of hell. We needed help, and Jesus was the only one who could give us what we need. When the virgin Mary conceived and gave birth to a baby boy long ago in Bethlehem (Luke 2:6-7), God made his face shine on the world. As that baby boy grew and learned and taught and healed and lived and loved –Jesus was weaving together the robe of perfect righteousness that covers all our unrighteousness. And when that grown man climbed Calvary and surrendered himself to the worst punishment that God and man could dish out, the Son of God paid the price for our sins with his blood. We were in need, we are still in need, and so as we leave God’s house we are assured that Jesus came and lived and died and rose again as proof of God’s attention and grace.

Too often when people think about receiving blessings from God they are only thinking of earthly, material blessings – in other words, our prayers tend to focus on 1st Article blessings. But when you set the first two parts of this blessing side-by-side, an interesting thing happens: you realize that the Father’s material blessings would be worthless apart from the spiritual blessings Jesus won for us. A job, a career, a steady income is a wonderful blessing, but no amount of work can earn the righteousness God demands from us. Only Jesus can. Jesus provided for our lack of righteousness by living a flawless life under God’s law as our substitute. A roof over our heads is a wonderful blessing; but it cannot shelter us from God’s wrath over our sin. Only Jesus can. Because Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath on the cross his blood shelters us from God’s judgment. It’s certainly a blessing to live in a country where we can speak and worship freely, but neither the constitution nor the judiciary can free us from death’s prison. Only Jesus can. Jesus robbed death of its sting when he burst out of his three-day prison and rose from the dead. When God blesses you, he leaves you lacking nothing; and the unique work of the Son is to give you his undivided and undeserved attention and grace that frees us from the eternal consequences of our sin. Let us thank him for his grace by confessing our faith…

III.                The Spirit’s Peace

You know how whenever there’s a mass shooting or a natural disaster or a political scandal, people always act shocked and surprised – as if these things have never happened in our world? It’s almost as if people assume that peace is the normal status quo in this world. You don’t have to be a history major to recognize that this is not the case. Peace is not the norm; war, violence, corruption, terror is. If we have a moment peace in our lives, we should never take it for granted, because it is a rare and precious gift.

Given the way that many people seem to coast through life without ever giving a thought to God or repentance or forgiveness or judgment or eternity – you might get the impression that we are simply born into a peaceful relationship with God. On balance, this is a far more dangerous mistake. Peace is not our natural relationship to God; by nature we are God’s enemies who are in open rebellion against him and his Word (Romans 8:7-8). That’s why it’s so remarkable that in the third part of his blessing, God promises us the opposite of what we deserve: the LORD look on you with favor and give you peace. Our world has a warped understanding of peace. To the world, peace is having enough money in the bank to pay the bills; peace is having a family that always gets along; peace is the absence of crime and war; peace is looking on the outside the way you feel on the inside. The dirty little secret is that you can have all those things – and still not have peace. True peace, the peace that Jesus died to win for you is the peace of forgiveness, the peace of a clean conscience and a heart free from guilt, the peace of knowing that this fallen world is not your real home – in short, true peace is peace with God.

Jesus created true peace between you and God once and for all when he died and rose, but because you can’t go to the cross or the tomb to pick up this gift, they must be delivered. The Holy Spirit is the delivery man. He first delivered this peace to you when you were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. On that day, the Holy Spirit transformed you from God’s enemy into God’s child. As Paul writes in Galatians: you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ…And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:26-29). But the Holy Spirit’s work didn’t end there at the baptismal font. Daily and weekly the Spirit delivers God’s peace to you – in the words of absolution, in the body and blood of Jesus you receive in the Sacrament, in your own personal meditation on the Word of God – wherever and whenever the message of forgiveness in Christ is taught or offered or read, the Holy Spirit is delivering God’s peace to you – even (and especially) when your life is anything but peaceful. God’s blessing leaves you lacking nothing; and the Spirit’s special work is to deliver true peace; God’s peace, the peace Jesus earned, to you through simple human servants and the simple means of grace – the Gospel in Word and sacrament.

How can we respond to our God’s blessing of providence, grace, and peace? Before we close with Luther’s explanation of the third article I want you to take something to heart. How do we respond to the Aaronic blessing of our Triune God? With “amen,” a Hebrew word meaning “Yes, it shall be so.” Every Sunday, and every day for that matter, God promises to give you everything, leaving you lacking nothing, and what does he want in return? Only faith that believes and receives his promises. So whenever you hear this blessing, know that they’re not just words; they are the Holy Trinity’s oath to give you everything you need, so that you can sing and speak and live with the conviction that: “Yes, it shall be so.” Amen.

[1] Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, p 302

John 14:23-27 - Preparation for Separation - June 5, 2022

Preparation for separation. Is that how those of us with children think of parenting? Probably not. Being permanently separated from your children is not a pleasant thought. But it’s true nonetheless, isn’t it? Why do we teach our children how to read and write and add and subtract and balance a budget and, in general, deal with life in this world? In the end, because we’re preparing them for the day when we won’t be here to lead and guide and advise and care for them. And this isn’t only true of parents. This is true for all of us who are committed to sharing the saving Gospel with a world in desperate need of it. Why do we spend so much time and effort and money teaching the Gospel to the next generation and training pastors and teachers? Because the day will come when we won’t be around to do it; when preaching and teaching will be their job. We are preparing them for when we will be separated from them.

That’s what Jesus was doing in the upper room on Maundy Thursday. He was preparing his disciples for life after his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension; preparing them for a new reality (the only reality we know): life without his physical, visible presence. Here’s the context: he’s just told them that he’s going away (John 13:33). And the disciples are shaken to the core. They’re troubled and confused. They’re full of questions. Peter wants to know why he can’t follow Jesus (John 13:37). Thomas asks Lord, we don’t know where you are going…so how can we know the way? (John 14:5) Judas, not the betrayer, asks Lord, what has happened that you are going to show yourself to us and not to the world? (John 14:22) In answering these questions, Jesus prepares his disciples and us for life separated from his visible presence.

As the first step in this preparation Jesus brings up the dreaded “d-word.” The word that many find to be dirty and divisive today. That word? Doctrine. If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word…the one who does not love me does not hold on to my words. Why is Jesus’ teaching, his word, his doctrine, so important – to the extent that a person’s relationship to his word indicates either faith or unbelief? Because the word that you are hearing is not mine, but it is from the Father who sent me. And not only that, but the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.

Why was Jesus so adamant that his disciples hold onto his word when he was gone? Well, while Jesus was with them, he was their source of comfort and counsel; he revealed God to them. When some horrible tragedy happened in the news (Luke 13:1-5) Jesus interpreted its meaning for them. When the disciples were paralyzed with fear on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee (Matthew 8:25), unable to understand his parables (Matthew 13:36), or worried about their daily needs (Matthew 6:25-34), Jesus personally counseled them. But now Jesus was returning to heaven. Troubling things would continue to happen. There would be tragedies, disasters, illnesses and deaths – and they would wonder what God thought about these things. Jesus here promises that they would never have to wonder what God is thinking because he would send the Holy Spirit to comfort and counsel them in his absence.

In the midst of problems, tragedies, sickness, when you don’t know what to think or where to turn for help, the Holy Spirit still brings Jesus’ comforting words to mind. Words like: come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28); seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33); surely I am with you always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). We know these words. But the devil is always right there. He wants you to believe that Jesus’ words are insufficient; that Jesus’ words are “ok” but for real comfort you need to know what the Father thinks. He wants you to ask “did God really say?”; to doubt and dismiss the simple, clear, black and white words of Scripture and try to reach into heaven, into God’s unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16) to find out what he has to say, how he feels about you, what his plans are for you. This is why so many people are so drawn to preachers who claim a special connection to God, to books that claim to contain brand-new revelations, to searching for God in their hearts instead of their Bibles.

But what does Jesus say? How does he prepare us to deal with the temptation to separate God from his Word? He says, unequivocally, that his words are the Father’s words. Have you ever heard someone say that “God works in mysterious ways”? Did you know that that phrase is not in the Bible? Certainly, the Bible reveals that God’s ways and thoughts are far above our ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:11) and it is true that God is hidden from our sight (Isaiah 45:15) – but the good news is that God has revealed himself, his heart, his mind, his thoughts, his will to us. Where? In Jesus! Jesus says the one who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9). God’s ways are only dark and mysterious if you ignore or disregard Jesus. So instead of speculating, feeling or trying to reason out what God is doing or thinking, bind yourself to Jesus’ words – because that’s exactly what the Father has done.

This truth is so important that it demands further examination. We’ve all heard of people who believe that God has spoken to them in some sort of dream or sign. Maybe you’ve wondered yourself: “What about my dream, my feeling, that coincidence in my life? Is that the Holy Spirit? If I don’t listen am I disobeying God?” Talk to anyone who has lived this way. This sort of thinking is downright demonic and leads to a fear-filled and anxious life. “If I don’t follow this hunch, this vision, this vague feeling I might miss out on God’s perfect plan for my life; or even worse, something awful might happen to me or someone I love!” That’s no way to live.

The best antidote for this sort of tortured existence is the sola Scriptura of biblical, confessional Lutheranism which forcefully declares: “We must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one except through or with the preceding outward Word (Galatians 3:2,5). This protects us from the enthusiasts (i.e., souls who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word)…Therefore, we must constantly maintain this point: God does not want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. Whatever is praised as from the Spirit – without the Word and Sacraments – is the devil himself.” [1] You don’t have to search your feelings, the strange coincidences of life, or your dreams for God. In fact, you absolutely should not – because as Paul told the Galatians: if anyone preaches to you any gospel other than the one you received – a curse on him! (Galatians 1:9)

Isn’t that arrogant on our part, though? How can we be so dismissive of dreams and feelings and visionary preachers when so many Christians believe that’s how God works? How can we be sure that we aren’t the ones missing the Holy Spirit? Because of how Jesus describes the Holy Spirit and his work. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Counselor. (Literally “paraclete” – “one who stands beside.”) This word can also be translated “comforter.” The Holy Spirit wouldn’t be very good at his job if he communicates in ways that can be interpreted a thousand different ways. That dream, that feeling, that urge may just be the result of a fever, the consequence of a spicy Mexican meal, a side-effect of some medication, or even the devil himself – and how would you ever know the difference? Where is the comfort in that kind of uncertainty? It’s like letting a fortune cookie determine your future. (Not to mention that much of what people claim to “hear” from the Spirit is contrary to Scripture!)

So what do you say to the person who says “God spoke to me…”? Tell them what Jesus said: the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things. And what will he teach? Jesus says that he will remind you of everything I told you. The only time we can be sure it is the Holy Spirit speaking (and not a demonic imposter) is when he is leading us to remember and consider the definite, clear things Jesus said while he was on earth. Things like unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5) (Baptism); whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven (John 20:23) (Absolution); take, eat, this is my body…drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:26-28) (Holy Communion). Jesus didn’t ascend into heaven to leave you mystified, struggling to decipher what God’s will for your life is. And so he promises to send the Spirit, the Counselor, to teach and counsel you with his own words.

The Spirit’s work leads directly to the second step in Jesus’ preparation for separation: his gift of peace. The peace Jesus gives is not of this world. The world equates “peace” to having what you want: money, family, health, home, security, etc. But we all know people who have all these things and yet still lack peace (for example: do Johnny Depp and Amber Heard – two of the richest and most famous people in the world – seem to be “at peace”?). And that’s good news for us – because that means that you could lack any or all of those things, you could be struggling financially, be laid off from your job, be sick or even near death and still have peace. The peace Jesus leaves is peace between God and sinners. Sin is our real problem, the reason we don’t have peace in our hearts and lives. Our sinfulness made us God’s enemies (Romans 8:7). Our sins separate us from him (Isaiah 59:2). But Jesus lived a perfect life in our place and died an atoning death to pay for our sins, to remove them from our record. By doing what God demanded and absorbing his wrath, Jesus has ended the war between heaven and earth; has restored peace between sinners like us and God (Romans 5:1).

If you’ve ever had someone mad at you – especially someone who has power over you – you know what this means. As long as they’re mad you’re looking over your shoulder, avoiding their presence, wondering and worrying if and when the other shoe will drop. That’s how many people view God. They believe that he’s angry, he’s bitter, he’s just looking for an excuse to crush them. By his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension Jesus guarantees that God is not angry anymore, he’s not looking to damn us – because Jesus was damned in our place. Because of Jesus you are in a right relationship with God right now; you stand justified and holy in his presence through faith. That’s the peace no one but Jesus can give and that no one and no circumstance of life can take from you.

That’s why Jesus says do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid. It’s not a suggestion; it’s a command. Why do you think Jesus had to command us not to be troubled and afraid? Because we’re so slow to believe that he meant it when he said it is finished (John 19:30). Because Jesus knows that we still tend to picture an angry, mysterious, threatening God standing behind every medical issue, family problem and economic crisis; that we tend to be troubled because we still think the Gospel is too good to be true, that there’s no way God could ever forgive us for what we’ve done; or, we still imagine that there’s something we must do to earn a ticket to heaven. When we forget Jesus’ words and work we are robbed of peace. Thankfully Jesus sends the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament to remind us that because Jesus suffered, died and rose again we have peace with God.

Day after day and week after week the devil, the world and your own sinful nature will work together to give you a fearful and troubled heart. They will make you anxious that you are separated from Jesus. The good news is that God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20). And today Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to remind you of his comforting words: peace I leave with you. My peace I give you…Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid. Amen.  

[1] SA VIII: 3, 10

Luke 24:44-53 - Where Can We Find the Ascended Lord? - May 29, 2022

There is one particular situation in life that has the ability to change people in an instant. It has the potential to make peaceful, upstanding citizens behave like raving lunatics. It can make even the most laid-back among us do things we wouldn’t normally do. It affects young and old, men and women, black and white, republican and democrat, rich and poor. What’s the situation? Losing something. The adorable sleeping baby loses her pacifier and suddenly turns into a midnight terror. The child who can’t find the last piece to his puzzle or Lego creation turns into an insufferable monster. The pleasant young lady loses her engagement ring and is transformed into a sobbing, inconsolable wreck. The employee who misplaces his car keys will tear apart the house frantically looking for them. Losing things flips a switch in our brains that changes us into completely different people. It makes us panicked, sad, angry, hysterical, frantic – and a whole list of other emotions. Losing things changes people.

On that first Easter evening, the disciples thought they had lost something. Something precious; something that couldn’t be replaced; something they couldn’t live without – they thought they had lost Jesus. They thought the Jewish leaders had succeeded in killing their friend, their teacher, their Savior. And they were right. Jesus did die on Good Friday and his body was sealed in a cold, dark tomb. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Dead Jesus didn’t stay dead. Lost Jesus didn’t stay lost. But even when the risen Lord appeared to his disciples that night, Luke tells us that they were frightened and thought they were seeing a ghost (Luke 24:37). Losing their friend had changed them; they had forgotten Jesus’ promise to rise from the dead after three days (Luke 18:31-33); they were panicked and frightened, worst of all – their faith was shaken. Jesus saw their terrified expressions and sympathized with their panicked hearts. And then he did something about it – he reminded them that he wasn’t lost and he showed them where they could find him. 

The first place Jesus directed them to look was back. These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Every word, every comma and period, every story and detail of Scripture was given by God to his inspired writers for one purpose – to point sinners to their Savior (John 5:39). With laser-like precision, God predicted the most important events in the life of his Son hundreds of years before they happened. Already in Genesis 3 God promised that Jesus’ death would bring about Satan’s destruction: he will crush your head and you will crush his heel (Genesis 3:15). In Psalm 22, David put on paper the words that Jesus would speak from the depths of hell: my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1) And thousands of years before Jesus died Job knew what would happen three days later: I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the end of time he will stand over the dust (Job 19:25). It was all there in black and white: Jesus lives, Jesus dies, Jesus rises victorious. 

The disciples should have known that their Savior wasn’t lost – because Scripture said so. But they didn’t. They didn’t understand that their Savior had to die so they could live. And what’s worse – they couldn’t understand, they couldn’t find Jesus in the Old Testament on their own…and neither can we. That’s because every human is born with the terrible disease of spiritual blindness (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). We are blind to the eternal consequences of our sin and to the saving message of the Gospel. But that was something Jesus wouldn’t stand for, so he did something about that, too: he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 

Without that gift, we would see the Bible like so many still do; as an irrelevant and outdated book of myths and fairytales. But Jesus has opened our eyes to see, he has enlightened our minds to understand, and opened our ears to hear the repentance and forgiveness of sins [that] will be preached in his name to all nations. Repentance and forgiveness. Those are the dual operations God performs on us to cure our spiritual blindness. He stands us in front of the mirror of his law to see the sin that stains us (Romans 3:20). He shows us that on our own we are the ones who are lost. That image we see in the law’s mirror is not pretty; when we see our sins; when we see how we lack even a hint of the perfection God demands, we lose it, we panic. It’s a picture that leaves us no choice but to turn to God with empty hands, confess our sins, and beg for his mercy. That’s repentance. That’s the change of mind and heart God performs in us. But then the image in the mirror immediately changes. We no longer see our ugly, sinful selves looking back – no, we see Jesus’ smiling, merciful face; we see the nail-pierced hands and feet that endured suffering and death to wash away our sins. That’s forgiveness. That’s the good news that although we were lost, Jesus found us and saved us. That’s the message Jesus has opened our minds to understand and believe. That’s the Savior we still find in the pages of his Word.

But promises and prophecies are empty without fulfillment, and (like a tree falling in the forest) fulfillment is useless if no one is there to witness it. We were lost and would still be lost if Jesus couldn’t verify that he was the promised Messiah. But he did – as he reminds his disciples: you are witnesses of these things. “You’ve seen my miracles and heard my sermons and witnessed my resurrection. So be what I’ve made you: witnesses of my words and works.” What does a witness do? A witness testifies to what he has seen and heard – no more and no less. In fact, the entire NT is just that: a living witness to the person and work of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are all the proof we need that Jesus has fulfilled every one of the OT promises about him.

The disciples did their job – they faithfully witnessed to people of all nations that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. Now it’s our turn. Now we are the witnesses. Does the thought of proclaiming repentance and forgiveness make you anxious or apprehensive? You’re not alone. Satan wants to prevent us from witnessing the truth of Jesus at all costs. He makes it seem like a job better done by someone else. He wants us to think that we aren’t smart enough or well-spoken enough or charming enough to tell others about Jesus. But what does a witness do? He testifies to what he has seen – no more and no less. It doesn’t have to be clever. Witnesses don’t have to deliver carefully formulated theological essays. Witnesses aren’t even bound to convince people that what they are saying is true: that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. Witnesses simply tell others what they have seen and heard. That’s our job – that’s the essence of the gospel ministry. That’s the second place we find Jesus still today: on the lips of his witnesses.   

For 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his chosen witnesses, he coached them, he gave them the words they should say and encouraged them to remain faithful. But now His earthly ministry was over. It was time for him to return to his Father in heaven and take his rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). The location Jesus chose for his Ascension is significant. He led his disciples to the hillside near Bethany called the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12). From this mountain Jesus could look down on the high place where the devil tried to bribe him with all the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:9). In the garden located on this mountain, Jesus struggled with his Father in prayer and was betrayed, arrested and hauled off to be crucified (Luke 22:39-46). That significance couldn’t have been lost on the disciples – the same place where it seemed like Jesus wouldn’t and couldn’t win was the very place he chose to demonstrate his ultimate triumph over sin and Satan by returning victorious to his throne in heaven. 

But before Jesus left, he gave his church one final gift: he lifted up his hands and blessed them. This was more than a symbolic gesture. This was Jesus’ promise to his disciples that he would always be with them, always watching over them. With this blessing, Jesus effectively bestowed on the church his blessings of joy and peace – bought and paid for by his death and resurrection. Notice also that Jesus continued to bless his disciples even as he ascended into the sky. It means that Jesus left this earth blessing us, when he returns it will be a blessing for us, and even now, even though we can’t see him, he is holding his powerful hands over us, blessing us with his guidance and protection. (Which we are reminded of every time we close a service with the blessing.)

With that he parted from them and was taken up into heaven. What kind of reaction would you expect from the disciples at this point? Wouldn’t we expect to see tears streaming down their faces? Wouldn’t we expect mourning and sadness from these men who appeared to have lost their best and truest friend? We get sad when loved ones depart after a reunion. Our hearts are heavy when we say goodbye to a fellow believer who has passed away. That first Easter evening, the disciples were distraught and inconsolable when they thought their Savior had been taken away from them in death. Now he is physically leaving them and they know they won’t see him or walk with him or eat a meal with him again until he returns in glory. We would expect to see sorrow; but we see just the opposite. They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

Finally, the disciples understood. Now, they knew better, they knew that they had lost nothing and had found more than they could have ever hoped for. Now they understood that Jesus had to suffer and die in order to save them from their sins. Now they understood that Jesus had never intended to set up an earthly kingdom, but rather to rule in his people’s hearts through the Gospel. They had walked and talked and listened to Jesus for three years – and now he would be at their side forever. Jesus’ presence, which had been limited for a time to a single, physical location, would now fill the universe – so that wherever two or three people gather in His name, he would be there with them (Matthew 18:20). In other words, by leaving this earth Jesus is actually closer to us. He is present whenever a man, woman or child come to his font to be washed with water and the Word. He is present to offer his true body and blood every time we receive the Lord’s Supper. And whenever you hear the gospel proclaimed in Jesus’ name, the voice you hear may be that of a mere mortal, but the message is that of your risen and ascended Lord. Jesus is as close to you as your Bible and is ready to hear your prayers – wherever you are. No, Jesus isn’t lost; he is right here among us constantly blessing us by his presence in Word and Sacrament.

Losing something changes people. It can make perfectly sane people behave like lunatics. On Ascension it may seem like we’ve lost our Savior. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Jesus isn’t lost. He is exactly where he should be: at his Father’s right hand ruling the universe for the good of his church (Ephesians 1:20-22). The next time you find that missing pacifier or puzzle piece or keys, rejoice that God has opened your eyes to find your ascended Lord in the pages of scripture, on the lips of his witnesses, and in the joy of his blessing. Amen.

John 16:16-24 - Do You Understand the Kind of Joy Easter Brings? - May 22, 2022

It’s been six weeks since we celebrated the biggest festival in the Christian church year and the most important event in human history: Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Do you remember that day? The breakfast, the fellowship, the music…the fact that this building was packed with over 120 people? I have a question: where are all those people? Have you ever wondered why churches that are packed on Easter are not only six weeks later? Where did everyone go? What changed? Is Jesus not risen? Why is the joy of Easter lost so quickly? Actually, it’s not a mystery at all. Jesus explained it pretty clearly in the parable of the Sower. With some, the Gospel simply bounces off their hard hearts and then the devil steals it away from them. Some joyfully receive the Word but when trouble and persecution come, they fall away. For others the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out their faith (Matthew 13:1-23). For various reasons, many are prevented from understanding the kind of joy Easter brings. But they’re not the target audience for this sermon. You are. Do you understand the kind of joy Easter brings?

Clearly, on Maundy Thursday in that upper room, the disciples did not understand. But it’s hard blame them. Put yourself in their shoes: they’re celebrating the Passover meal when Jesus tells them a riddle in a little while you are not going to see me anymore, and again in a little while you will see me, because I am going away to the Father. If Jesus intended these words to be cryptic, he succeeded. The disciples discussed among themselves whether anyone understood what this meant; finally concluding: we don’t understand what he’s saying. They didn’t understand. Do you? Given the benefit of 2000 years of hindsight, we can be pretty confident in identifying the two “little whiles” Jesus is referring to. 1) The first “little while” is the time between when he spoke these words on Maundy Thursday and his death and burial on Good Friday when they would not see him. 2) The second “little while” refers to the time – the three days – between his burial and resurrection, after which they would see him alive again. To disciples who would soon be overwhelmed with sorrow, Jesus identifies the first “riddle” of Easter joy: that it is joy delayed; it will only be theirs in a “little while.”

Just as interesting as this riddle is where this joy would come from: amen, amen, I tell you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. So Jesus explains one riddle with another? Jesus swears that his disciples will mourn while the world rejoices – but then, somehow, their sorrow will turn to joy? How is that possible? Jesus uses the familiar (especially recently here at Risen Savior) example of a woman in labor to illustrate. I wouldn’t dare try to describe the pain of childbirth to those of you who have experienced it first-hand – that would only get me into trouble. But I have been there to witness my wife experience the pain of child-birth five times, only to watch that pain (in a sense) melt away the moment she heard our children’s first cry. That’s what Jesus is describing here. That’s the kind of joy Easter brings; a delayed joy, one preceded by pain and sorrow. Jesus puts it this way: so you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

Enough with the riddles and illustrations. What exactly is Jesus talking about here? Again, in hindsight, it’s pretty clear. The world certainly rejoiced when Jesus was dragged out of the Garden of Gethsemane, wrongfully condemned by a gleeful Sanhedrin and a spineless Roman governor, hung on a tree and mercilessly mocked and taunted by soldiers, passers-by and criminals alike (Mark 15:29-32). We don’t know what the apostles – other than John (who was present at the cross (John 19:26)) – were doing or where they were hiding during Jesus’ anguish on the cross, but it’s not a stretch to assume that they were weeping and wailing at the thought of their Lord’s brutal crucifixion. But Jesus kept his second promise too: your sorrow will turn to joy. Jesus was not making some flippant statement like “time heals all wounds.” (Anyone who has been deeply hurt by sin or the death of a loved one knows that is not necessarily true.) No, he was saying that the very same thing that caused their deepest sorrow would become the source of their greatest joy. That is, once they understood that Jesus had to suffer and die to save them from their sins, they would rejoice in his death on a cursed cross. Still today we gather on Good Friday, to commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross. With tears, yes, not tears over Jesus’ death but over our sins which put him there. But also with joy – joy in understanding that Jesus willingly went to that cross in order to redeem us from death and give us eternal life – which is why we call that day “good.”

But back to our original question: do you really understand the kind of joy Easter brings? Do you understand why the Lord allows you to suffer and be sorrowful for a “little while” here in this world? Why he lets you struggle to pay your bills and fill your gas tank; why he allows the deviancy of homosexuality and transgenderism and the tragedy of abortion to not only be legal, but celebrated in our society; why, sometimes, pregnancies don’t end with the joy of a child but the tears of a miscarriage; why so many people you know and love have absolutely no interest in trusting Jesus as their Savior from sin; why instead of granting healing to your body and mind he allows them to break down in painful and frustrating ways; why you’ve had to stand there, tears streaming down your cheeks, as the body of someone you love is lowered into the ground? Do you understand those things?

If you don’t understand, then it’s my job to tell you that it’s not God that you don’t understand; it’s yourself. The root of those things; of all sorrow in this life is no mystery. It’s all rooted in sin. If you want to know why pregnancy and parenthood and providing for your family are hard, look no further than Genesis 3 (Genesis 3:16-19). If you want to know why nations invade nations, 18-year-olds open fire on grocery stores, perverse behaviors are celebrated, look no further than Matthew 15:19: out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies and blasphemies. And, if you want to know why it hits so close to home when you’re standing at the graveside of a loved one, just remember Romans 6:23: the wages of sin is death. There’s no mystery as to why there is so much misery and sorrow in this world and in our lives; the problem is you, the problem is me, the problem is that we are sinful, rotten to the core. The real mystery is not why we have pain and sorrow – that’s obvious and deserved; no, the real mystery is why sinners like us should have any reason to rejoice.

That’s really what Jesus wanted his disciples – and us – to understand. Where will we find joy during this “little while” of sorrow in this world? I will see you again. Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. This is the real reason so many of the people who were here on Easter Sunday aren’t here six weeks later: if you don’t understand that the real source of sorrow in this life is inside of you; that it’s your sin, then you will never understand that the source of lasting joy must be outside of this world and outside of us: in seeing Jesus. Understand this properly. Yes, the disciples did see Jesus with their own eyes many times in the 40 days between his resurrection and ascension, but it would be a stretch to describe them as joyful on these occasions. Afraid, filled with doubt, anxious, confused – yes, but joyful? Hardly. When did the disciples finally rejoice? Not until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to really see Jesus with eyes of faith: that he was crucified for their sins and raised to life for their justification (Romans 4:25). In the end, that’s why we’re still here six weeks after Easter – because Jesus died for our sins and rose to life to secure our forgiveness, our justification before a holy God, and – after a “little while” of sorrow in this world – a life of unending joy with him in heaven. That is the joy that no one [can] take away from you.

You still have questions, though, don’t you? You still don’t understand any number of things – like why Jesus would say in that day you will not ask me anything. What? The disciples wouldn’t have any questions for Jesus anymore? What does this mean? For these first disciples, after Easter and Pentecost he would reveal through the Holy Spirit exactly what his cryptic statements about “a little while” and joy out of sorrow meant. We know this too – that while Jesus’ suffering and death would cause sorrow for a “little while” – out of that sorrow would come the source of our greatest joy: his resurrection from the dead. In other words, neither those disciples nor we need to wonder anymore about Jesus’ identity or work; he is the Son of God, the Messiah who came to earth to purchase our salvation by his life, death and resurrection.

But Jesus knew that even though they wouldn’t need to wonder about him anymore, they would wonder about his plans for them. So he tells them: amen, amen, I tell you: whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete. Don’t misunderstand, Jesus is not telling us that the Father will give us literally anything we ask for; this is NOT “name-it-and-claim-it” theology. Jesus limits our requests to those asked in his name. This is not some magic formula. He’s telling us to pray according to his name, his will – as revealed in his Word. In other words, he’s telling us to focus our prayers and requests on the things he has commanded and promised to give us. When we ask for those things he has promised us in his Word, we can rejoice because in Jesus, God’s answer to those prayers is always yes (2 Corinthians 1:20).

What do these types of prayers sound like in reality? Well, not coincidentally, it sounds a lot like the Lord’s Prayer. We pray to “our Father in heaven,” who loves us and is able to do whatever we request. We pray that his name, his Word, may be kept holy among us. We pray that his kingdom would come, to continue to change hearts and minds – especially when we see all of the deviant and perverse behavior that is celebrated in our world. When we suffer some personal tragedy or setback, we pray “your will be done” trusting that God works all things – even bad things – for our eternal good (Romans 8:28). When we’re struggling financially, we pray “give us this day our daily bread” and when we’re feeling guilty and ashamed we pray “forgive us our sins.” Pray for the things God has promised to give you – certain that he will hear and answer – and your joy will be complete!

I don’t know where everyone who was here six weeks ago is today. What I do know is that I need to be here, because not only does the world have a way of draining the joy out of life but because there’s still so much I don’t understand. But today Jesus helps us better understand the kind of joy Easter brings. It’s a “in a little while” joy – meaning that even though we weep in this life, it’s only a “little while” until we will rejoice for all eternity. It’s “sorrow turned into joy” – meaning that the saddest day on earth – Good Friday – is now the source of our greatest joy in the forgiveness, life and salvation Jesus won for us there. It’s “joy completed in prayer” – trusting that when we pray in Jesus’ name to our Father, he will hear and answer according to his perfect will. That’s the kind of lasting joy Easter brings – it’s the kind of joy that nothing and no one can take away from you. Amen.