Ephesians 2:13-18 - Jesus Comes to Bring Peace - December 18, 2022

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind (Luke 2:14). In a few moments these children will echo the words of that well-known angelic hymn. Think about the key words of that hymn: peace and good will. Would you describe 2022 as a year of peace and good will? Or do those words ring hollow when you look at your life and the world around you? Does it ever seem like peace and good will are things that can be printed in Christmas cards and children can sing about, but the rest of us know to be just an impossible dream? Do you ever look around at your life or your family or the world around you and think “peace? No, I don’t see much peace. I see worry, frustration, hatred, jealousy, murder, terrorism and war?” That’s the reality, isn’t it?

And because of that reality, the obvious absence of peace, many are tempted to think “let’s just skip Christmas, it’s just a contrived distraction from a far from peaceful reality anyway.” If that thought has ever crossed your mind, you’re not alone. In fact, the leader of the largest Christian church in the world – Pope Francis – said something similar just a few years ago. “Christmas is approaching: there will be lights, parties, Christmas trees and nativity scenes…it’s all a charade. The world continues to go to war. The world has not chosen a peaceful path.” [1] Is he right? Were the angels lying? Is Christmas just a charade? Should we just skip it this year?

First, we need to take an honest look at what really causes unrest and destroys the peace in our lives and in the world. The devil is very good at leading people to all sorts of mistaken conclusions as to why they lack peace in their lives. “If I could only afford to buy my kids what they want this year, we would have a peaceful Christmas.” “If only my family would lend a hand with getting everything ready, I would have peace.” “If only inflation would ease up, if the price at the pump would go down, then I would have peace.” “If only the political parties would work together instead of constantly bickering; if only everyone or no one had a gun; if only we would open or close our borders; if only Russia and Ukraine would stop fighting – then, we could have peace.”

I’m not saying that those issues aren’t real. They are. But they are only symptoms of the underlying problem. The underlying problem is much deeper and far more widespread. The real reason we don’t have peace in our lives is because as sinners we don’t have peace with God. And that problem is rooted in here, in my heart and yours. Jesus says that out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies (Matthew 15:19). Isaiah says that your sins have hidden God’s face from you (Isaiah 59:2). If you find no joy, no comfort, no peace in Christmas – the problem isn’t with Christmas, the problem is with you. The real, root problem for the lack of peace in our lives and our world isn’t family or inflation or religion or politics – it’s the sinful heart that beats in my chest and yours that makes us fear and hate our God. And no gift, no card, no treaty, no law – and no, not even canceling Christmas this year – can fix that problem.

So instead of ignoring the problem or hiding in the basement until the lights and trees go away, we need to embrace the real message of Christmas. Hear again Paul’s words. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace…And he did this to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by putting the hostility to death on it. He also came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

At Christmas, we can’t overlook the real, deeply rooted problems of our sinful hearts and our broken relationship with God – but neither can we forget that that’s exactly why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The angels weren’t lying – Jesus came to bring peace. When the Son of God put on human flesh – he also took all of our selfishness and anger, all of our resentment and grudges, every sin, every hurtful word and loveless action on his shoulders. He carried that load from Bethlehem, through his ministry in Galilee and Judea, all the way to the cross – where he paid for every ounce of that sin with every ounce of his precious blood. By paying for the sins of the world – including yours and mine – he created peace by tearing down the wall of sin that separated us from God. And this Christmas, His gift to all who believe in Him is just that: peace for our minds and hearts – even if there is no peace out there – because he gives us peace that reconciles us to God!

Now, the more cynical among us might think “if that’s true, why, after 2000 years of Christmases, is our world as broken and filled with hate as ever? Where is this peace that Jesus promised to bring?” Here’s where we need to reorient our understanding of peace. Our minds tell us that there can only be peace when we have enough money. Our emotions tell us that peace means everyone being nice to each other (often, at the cost of ignoring sinful behaviors and lifestyles). Our government tells us that to get peace, every threat must be neutralized. Our media tells us that peace is Republicans and Democrats getting along. Charities argue that there can only be peace when no one is cold or hungry this Christmas. Activists say that there can only be peace when there is perfect equality among people of every age, race, gender, etc. Otherwise, they say, there can be no peace.

Paul wrote to people who were at each other’s throats just as much as our families, our coworkers, our politicians and our world often are. The Jews were God’s chosen people and made sure everyone knew it – they thought of the Gentiles as filthy dogs. The Gentiles weren’t obligated to keep the seemingly silly Jewish ritual laws and despised them as arrogant and self-righteous. This hostility even led to war and terror attacks just as bad as we’ve seen in our world in recent years – in 70 A.D. the gentile Roman destroyed Jerusalem and razed the temple to the ground. And yet, what does Paul write? Christ Jesus…made the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility that divided them.

When you observe the issues that cause not just differences but hostility and division between people today – it quickly becomes clear that no amount of money, presents, charity or diplomacy can fix those problems. There’s only one thing – or rather, one person who can: Jesus. Only when broken, sinful hearts have been reconciled to God through Jesus can they truly be reconciled to one another. Only when I remember that God has forgiven my mountain of sin, can I forgive the sins of another. Only when I know that God has forgiven my imperfections for Jesus’ sake can I be patient and compassionate with the imperfections of others. For a world broken by unrest, terror, hatred and hostility – the solution is not to cancel Christmas, but to hold on even tighter to – and sing even louder – the good news the angels preached to those shepherds that night long ago: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind (Luke 2:14). It may seem too good to be true. It’s not. In Paul’s day, in spite of the previous hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles, they eventually stood side by side to worship their Jesus Christ as their Savior. During WWI, German and British soldiers declared a truce on Christmas in 1914 and sang Christmas carols and even played soccer together. [2] I didn’t watch a second of the FIFA World Cup this year, but I heard reports that some of the teams (namely, the team from Fiji) sang Christian hymns before and after their matches [3] – that’s a glimpse of the peace Jesus brings to this sin-broken world.

And I challenge you this Christmas season, to look for and take advantage of the gift of peace Jesus came to give to this world. Look around your Christmas gathering and see the friend or relative or coworker who has hurt you in the past – remember that forgiveness is Jesus’ gift to you and can be the most precious gift you could give to them. Look at these children, listen as they – instead of talking about a fat man in a red suit or a reindeer with a red nose or what they expect to find under the tree – are proclaiming with joy the good news that a Savior has been born to us – he is Christ the Lord. And, as you worship Jesus this Christmas, notice how people from all different backgrounds, all different ethnicities, all different political parties unite at the manger in Bethlehem to worship Jesus in peace and unity. This baby really is God in human flesh. This man really is the Savior of the world. He really is our peace! Should we skip Christmas this year? No. Because only this baby in the manger in Bethlehem can bring peace to our sin-broken hearts and peace to this sin-broken world. Glory to God in the highest! Merry Christmas! Amen.

[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3327115/Pope-says-Christmas-charade-atrocities-like-Paris-massacre.html

[2] https://www.history.com/news/christmas-truce-1914-world-war-i-soldier-accounts

[3] https://twitter.com/themiddleborne/status/1594354912036786177

Matthew 1:17-25 - Jesus Is the Son of Mary - December 14, 2022

This Advent we’re asking the single most important question in the world: who is Jesus? It’s also one of those questions that seems to have nearly as many answers as there are people willing to answer it. Some say that Jesus is a therapist – he helps us cope with life’s problems, and forget about the past; tells us how special we are and not to be so hard on ourselves. Some say Jesus is basically a stereotypical millennial – he drinks fair-trade coffee, enjoys spiritual conversations, proudly drives a hybrid and goes to film festivals. Some say Jesus is a coach – that if you call on him and point to heaven, he will help you catch touchdowns and drain 3-pointers. Some say Jesus is a spiritual guru – that he hates the structure of religion, the confessions and denominations, the pastors and doctrines – and would rather have people searching for god in nature – or silently meditating and searching for the god within. Some say Jesus is merely a good example – he shows us how to be better people so that we can make the world a better place. But we’re interested in the real Jesus – the Jesus of Matthew 1. Matthew has told us that Jesus is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham and, tonight, the Son of Mary.

So altogether there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to Christ. Matthew summarizes salvation history in three sets of fourteen – or, perhaps, counted another way, in six sets of seven. This theory argues that if you happened to be a native speaker of Hebrew – this last detail would make you cringe. (It would be like me leaving out the last line of “Happy Birthday.”) In the Bible, seven appears to be the number of completeness – starting with the seven days of creation (Genesis 1); the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:7-13); the seven words of the cross; the seven churches of Revelation (Revelation 2-3); etc. But regardless of whether we accept that theory or not, the story of salvation Matthew has described so far in chapter 1 is clearly incomplete – this story lacks an ending. And maybe that’s Matthew’s point. Jesus is the one who will usher in the final act of God’s plan of salvation. Jesus completes the story of salvation – and the names given to this Son of Mary show us how.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found (presumably by Joseph) to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her. So he decided to divorce her privately. This is really a remarkable series of events. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes for a moment. He wasn’t dumb. He knows that babies aren’t conceived spontaneously. It’s hard to blame him for deciding to divorce her – but it’s also to his credit that he wanted to do so quietly, because God’s Law mandated that adulterers were to be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). But what’s even more amazing is what happened next: as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

By the power of the Holy Spirit Joseph believed the angel’s words and took Mary home as his wife and then named her son Jesus. Jesus means “the LORD saves.” From what? He will save his people from their sins. Let that sink in for a moment. When you think of Jesus, look to Jesus, call on him in prayer – what are you asking him to save you from? Certainly, we all have problems – be they financial, political, psychological, medical, or interpersonal – and Jesus is certainly capable of saving us from those problems – he proved it by his words and works on earth. But that’s not the primary reason he came – and we should repent for thinking so little of his saving power. Jesus came to save us from much more than those issues. That’s why the angel didn’t tell Joseph to give Mary’s child a name that would indicate his expertise in medicine, economics or psychology. Those are issues we can work on, we can learn from experts to deal with, we can plan for and find treatment for – but sin, what can we do about that? That’s why the angel left no room for misunderstanding what the job of Mary’s Son would be: he will save his people from their sins.

Mary’s Son is Jesus – the one who saves us from our sins. But he’s only that because he’s more than that – he’s more than just the Son of Mary. Matthew continues: All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14]: “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” “God with us” is one of the major themes of Matthew’s Gospel. It first appears here; it appears in the middle, when Jesus promises that where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am among them (Matthew 18:20); and then, in the last verse of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus promises surely I am with you always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Sure, Big Brother may be tracking us everywhere – but only in Jesus is “God with us.”

Jesus is our Savior because he is also Immanuel, “God with us.” Jesus – that little, helpless baby in Mary’s arms – is God entering our muck and mire, our chaos and confusion. He’s with us in the manger, yes. He was with us for thirty some years on this earth, yes. But we see God not only with us – but for us – most profoundly on the darkest day in human history – that day when humanity grabbed hold of Mary’s Son, arrested him, mocked him, condemned him, tortured him, and then nailed him to a tree – all of which were really just expressions of the attitude first exhibited by our first parents in the Garden of Eden after they had eaten the forbidden fruit – which can all be summarized by the statement: “Get away! Leave us alone, God!” Ever since then, the world has been telling God to get away. Why do businesses forbid their employees from saying “Merry Christmas”? Why have the Ten Commandments been torn out of public places and Bible reading and prayer banned from public schools? Why does our world want to stuff Christmas back into a box and shove it into a closet as soon as the last present is opened on December 25th? These are all manifestations of the sinful nature screaming: “Get away! Leave us alone, God!” But a better question might be: why do we, by our words and actions, make it clear that we want nothing to do with God? Why do we make up all sorts of excuses to avoid reading our Bibles, praying, worshipping or giving up our pet sins? Aren’t we also telling God to get away from us? And that, truly, is what we deserve: to have God abandon us forever in the depths of hell.

Which is precisely what makes the birth of this child to Mary so important and so worthy of our time and attention and worship and praise this Advent season. Mankind, from the beginning, has been telling God to stay away. God, from eternity, knew that the crown of his creation wouldn’t want anything to do with him. And yet, God loved us too much to let our story end unfinished in hell. He not only sent his Son to come to live with us and among us; he sent him to live for us – to never fail to fear, love, and trust in God above all things; and to die for us – for each and every time we have expressed our failure to fear, love and trust in God above all things by our thoughts, words and actions. But, most importantly, he rose again for us – proof that not only are our sins forgiven but that in Jesus, God is with us each and every day – not to hurt us but to help us. And through the means of grace – the Gospel in Word and Sacrament – God is still with us to deliver the forgiveness and salvation his Son won by his life, death and resurrection to us.

In these final days before Christmas, casual conversations with our friends and family – and even perfect strangers – often consist of discussing how your preparations are going; if you’ve finished your shopping, cooking, travel, etc. And, unless, we’re delusional, I don’t think any one of us will be able to say that we’re finished until December 26th, when the cleanup and thank you writing starts. If you find yourself in a conversation like that, take a moment to remind yourself – and maybe that person – that Christmas isn’t really about us or our preparations – it’s about the Son of Mary, whose names reveal his identity and work. He’s Jesus – because he will save us from our sins and Immanuel – because he is God with us, was the one person able to say it is finished (John 19:30) from his cross. Matthew’s genealogy left God’s story of salvation unfinished – but Jesus finished it. In Jesus your sins are forgiven and God is with you – and that’s all you really need for a happy ending to your Christmas story this year and to your life story eternally. Amen.

James 5:7-11 - Good Things Come to Those Who Wait - December 11, 2022

Is there anything harder for sinners like us to do – and do well – than wait? Especially this time of year, and especially for children, waiting is a real challenge. And it’s hard to blame them, isn’t it? Christmas trees, lights, and yard decorations have been up for weeks already. The mailbox that’s normally just filled with junk mail and bills is now filled with glittery Christmas cards and mysterious packages show up on the porch. Christmas carols fill the air and Christmas movies fill the TV. It’s no wonder kids get so impatient – they are surrounded by the signs of what is to come and they want it to be here now. But it’s not just kids, is it? Maybe as adults we’re not fixated on Christmas presents, but we’re always waiting for something. We wait for test results. We wait for the end of the work week. We’re waiting for a raise, waiting for retirement, waiting for our children to grow up and move out. Waiting is difficult in a whole host of situations. This morning James helps us find patience in the most important waiting game: waiting for our Savior’s coming. James teaches us that Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Why, do you think, it seems to get easier to wait for Christmas the older you get? Is it because instead of fun toys we get to open up ugly sweaters or compression socks? Is it because we know how much we still have to do? Is it because we’ve come to understand that Christmas can never live up to the hype? Or, is it because when you have some years under your belt you have a better perspective on what Christmas means in the larger scope of life? Having the proper perspective makes a big difference in how we wait.

That’s James’ point: therefore, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. In other words, take the long view. We’re anticipating the day we meet our Lord…so let’s fast forward and see what that day will look like. When he returns, he will divide all of humanity in half – the sheep on one side and the goats on the other. The sheep he will take to heaven and the goats he will cast into the fires of hell (Matthew 25:31-46). On that day, the list of what really matters grows very short. When a person is standing before their Judge only one thing matters: the presence or absence of saving faith in Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16). All the things that consume our time and attention now: wealth, possessions, prestige, power, pleasure, presents are put in their proper place – they either aided our faith or detracted from it. That is the end we all are looking forward to, a conclusion to life that no one will be able to avoid. Viewing all of life in light of that serious and significant moment will help us keep the present in its proper perspective.

In that sense, according to James, we’re all like farmers: see how the farmer waits for the valuable harvest from the ground, patiently waiting for it, until it receives the early and late rain. There are no shortcuts in farming. A farmer can’t do much to speed up the growth of his crops. In 1st century Palestine, the farmer counted on rain around the end of October to soften up the land so he could begin his plowing and planting. Then in March or April, when the crops were blooming, the farmer watched for the spring rains to come, to provide the moisture that would fill the heads with fruit. If either rain failed to fall, both crop and farmer were doomed. Therefore, the farmer learned patience. He learned to recognize that the timing was out of his control. He worked hard, but when he was done working he put it in the Lord’s hands. He knew that worrying and questioning God’s care and control wouldn’t squeeze even one drop out of the clouds – so, in view of the valuable crop that was coming, he was patient and waited for the Lord.

Likewise, James writes you be patient too. Strengthen your hearts because the coming of the Lord is near. We know that the Lord is coming. We know it because he has promised it (Revelation 22:20). We know he will keep this promise because he has kept all of his other promises. We know he’s coming and we anticipate it more than any Christmas party or present. But worrying about it or questioning God’s wisdom and love will not make it come any faster. We need to have the proper perspective. We need to take a page out of this farmer’s almanac and leave the timing up to God. We need to see life now from the perspective of our Lord’s coming – because we know, like the farmer, that good things come to those who wait.

But waiting often leads to other problems, doesn’t it? When people are stuck waiting in line at the restaurant or grocery store, their tempers get short and they get annoyed at little things. When children are idly waiting for Christmas Day they start to pick on each other and whine and complain. Is it any different as we Christians wait for the second coming of Jesus? Not in James’ experience, and, if we’re honest, not in our experience either. We know the Lord is coming. We don’t know when. We know we should be busy carrying out his work. We don’t always agree on how that should be done. We each face our own unique pressure that comes from anticipating something that most of the world regards as a ridiculous myth. And what happens? We grow impatient and frustrated. All day long at work we restrain ourselves only let loose on our families when we get home. We expect patience and understanding when from others but we hold our fellow believers to an impossible standard of perfection. Instead of building one another up and encouraging one another when they face trouble in life, we tear each other down.

Knowing human nature, James writes: Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the doors! James warns us against even the grumbling and complaining that we might consider minor. (“How could they do that, not do that; how could they say that to me, how could they not talk to me?”) Grumbling and groaning is the opposite of joyful and eager waiting. In fact, when we grumble against other believers, we are effectively pushing Jesus out of his place as Judge – which is what we are supposed to be waiting for together. When we are casting a critical eye towards others, do you know what we’re not focused on? Christ. To put James’ warning in different terms, he’s saying: “Hey guys, Jesus is coming back very soon and he’s bringing amazing gifts. When he does, do you think he wants to see his children fighting with each other when they’re supposed to be building one another up as members of his body, His Church? He’s almost here. Be patient – especially with one another.”

I think we all like to imagine that we’re patient people, and maybe to those who don’t know us well, we may even appear to be patient. But just ask those who know us best – our parents, spouses and children – they will likely paint a very different picture. If patience is such a rare virtue, what’s the secret to getting it? I hate to sound like a broken record, but the secret to patience is the Law and the Gospel. Law and Gospel that might be summarized in James’ words: the Judge is standing at the doors! How many times should that Judge have knocked down those doors, grabbed you by the throat and tossed you into hell this past week for your moaning, groaning, complaining and impatience with others? Did he? Your presence here today proves that he didn’t. But that doesn’t mean that the Judge hasn’t issued his verdict. He did. On Good Friday God the Father lost his patience with mankind and unleashed his rage on Jesus. God was far less patient with his own perfect Son that he is with us. He allowed him to be betrayed, denied, tortured, nailed to a tree and tossed into the depths of hell. That’s what it looks like when God’s patience runs out. The good news is that Jesus endured that impatience in our place – so that all that God has left for us is an enduring patience, yes, even though we continue to sin and rebel against him every minute of every day.

That’s why we need to be in the Word – in the Law and Gospel – every single day! In the Word we are reminded that the LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy…he does not treat us as our sins deserve. He does not repay us according to our guilty deeds…as distant as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us (Psalm 103:8-12). If our holy God, faced with the enormity of our sin, is patient with us, putting up with our failures and graciously waiting to forgive us when we repent (2 Peter 3:9), then who are we to grow impatient with the weaknesses of others? Jesus has not come yet, not because he’s testing our patience, but because he is exercising extreme patience with us. As we wait for him, let us be patient with one another, building one another up, not tearing one another down – for good things come to those who wait…patiently.

Finally, waiting in a world that loves to persecute Christians demands perseverance. James has help for us here, too: brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering with patient endurance. See, we consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and have seen what the Lord did in the end, because the Lord is especially compassionate and merciful. When you think about the OT prophets, it’s hard to think of one who didn’t face persecution and yet, by God’s grace, persevered. Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc. But the example James cites is Job. Job, the most righteous man on earth at his time (Job 1:1), persevered in faith even as Satan unleashed his fury on him. Satan robbed Job of his property, his health, and his family. His suffering was made worse as his friends and his wife tempted him to curse God and die (Job 2:9). And yet, even in the midst of almost unimaginable suffering, Job trusted God’s wisdom and love and handed his troubles over to God: the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be blessed (Job 1:21).

The difficulty for us is defining the suffering we as Christians living in 21st century America actually face. We can freely worship our Lord and Savior without fear. We can talk about Jesus with our family and friends and they probably won’t chase us out of town. Being open about our faith won’t lead to a prison sentence. We can’t really imagine life in the early church where Christians had to be careful about who they worshipped with for fear that they might be a government spy who would hand them over to be tortured and murdered. We aren’t black-listed from employment or refused service because we believe that Jesus is coming again to take us home.

But Job’s confession still serves as a pretty good summary of the struggles we face today: the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Sometimes the Lord gives us challenges to face. He gives us an immoral boss or back-stabbing coworkers, a rebellious child or financial struggle. Other times he allows comforts to be taken away. He takes away our dreams, our jobs, our loved ones. He takes away our hearing or sight or health or wealth. And, we face a trial that believers in the OT and the early NT didn’t: it’s been 2000 years since Jesus promised that he was coming back soon! Soon? 2000 years? This world of instant gratification teaches us to think that patient, perseverant waiting is for suckers. To silently endure pain and persecution, trusting that Jesus is coming soon to take us out of this world, sounds to most like utter foolishness. Satan pelts us with doubt; leading us to wonder if Jesus is ever going to return. In the face of it all, by God’s grace, we persevere. Not because we have super-human faith. Not because we completely understand God’s hidden hand in our world or our lives. We wait and we persevere because we know the good things Lord has brought about in the lives of the saints in the past, because he comes to us here and now in Word and Sacrament to give us good things, and because we know when he returns he comes bearing the gift of heaven. We wait and we anticipate the Lord’s coming and until that happens, we rest in his grace, because we know the Lord is especially compassionate and merciful. We persevere because of who God is. He gives us perspective. He sows patience in our hearts and gives us the strength to persevere.

Whether you’re 7 or 70, waiting isn’t easy. James reminds us that good things come to those who wait. It starts with perspective. View everything in life in light of the end – when the Judge returns in glory – for then you will be able to see what is truly important now. It continues with patience. Be patient with each other because God, our merciful Father, has been patient with you. And, right to the end, persevere. Trust that God has never left his children hanging and he won’t start now. May Jesus give us this rare combination of perspective, patience, and perseverance so that he finds us eagerly waiting for the good things he will bring when he returns. Amen.

Matthew 1:1-2 - Jesus Is the Son of Abraham - December 7, 2022

More attention, more devotion, more praise; and more criticism, more opposition and more hatred have been directed at Jesus than any other person in human history. There’s really no comparison. Every recorded word that Jesus spoke has been sifted, analyzed, scrutinized and debated – letter by letter – by both believers and deniers – more than all other kings and queens, authors and artists, philosophers and scientists combined. Even 2000 years after his death, there isn’t a moment on earth that millions are not studying what Jesus said and did. Here’s a man who was born in the little town of Bethlehem 2000 years ago, and yet his birth still marks the dividing line of human history: BC – “before Christ;” and AD – Anno Domini, “the year of our Lord.” Just who is this person? Who is Jesus? That’s the question we’re asking during this Advent season. Matthew is serving as our guide. Tonight he informs us that in addition to being the royal Son of David, he is also the Son of Abraham.

While Jesus is clearly the most famous and important son of Abraham – he wasn’t the first famous and important one. That title belongs to Isaac. The story of Isaac is one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah had been trying to have children their entire marriage – and rightly so, for God had promised Abraham that he would have a son from whom would spring a people too numerous to count and through whom all people on earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3; 15:5). Roughly 25 years after God had first made his promise, at the ripe old age of 100 for Abraham and 90 for Sarah, he kept his word and Isaac was born. Isaac in Hebrew means laughter. No doubt the birth of Isaac gave great joy to Abraham and Sarah – as the birth of any child does. But it wasn’t long before God gave this horrifying command to Abraham: now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you (Genesis 22:2).

While God has never commanded us to do anything remotely close to sacrificing our only son (the son through whom the Savior would come, no less) – we can imagine what he felt, right? We’ve all had those days when the world seems to be coming apart around us; when our lives seem to be falling apart. When the OBGYN tells us to sit down and proceeds to tell us that the child we are so eager to welcome into this world has a severe birth defect – and may not survive. When our employer calls us into his office and tells us that cuts have to be made for the good of the company – and we are one of those cuts. When the burden of PTSD or depression seem to get heavier day by day. When our – or our children’s – marriage is on the rocks and it doesn’t appear like it will survive. When the doctor calls to say that tests confirm it is cancer or Alzheimer’s or dementia. When we get the call that yet another friend or relative has died…and we have yet another funeral to attend – it can feel like your world, your life is falling apart around you.

And at those times in life, it’s easy to get lost. We’re tempted to lose ourselves in our jobs or hobbies or social media or Netflix or substance abuse. We express our pain by lashing out in anger and hatred and revenge. Satan tempts us to believe that the pain will go away if we destroy our marriages, rip apart our families, abandon our friends, or even put an end it all. But, as dangerous and damaging as those temptations are, none of them are his ultimate goal; his ultimate goal is to lead us to blame God for the pain and the hurt – and to walk away from him in unbelief. Let’s not be so naïve as to pretend that we haven’t been there (or at least close) – and, if you haven’t, you will. But it’s at those times that we need Jesus the most. It’s at those times that Jesus’ words and work are most important. Because Jesus knows what it’s like – he knows what it’s like to have your life turned upside down.

Before we get there, let’s remember the context of this test. This text didn’t come out of the blue. Some time later God tested Abraham Genesis 22:1 tells us. God had prepared Abraham to face this test by making – and keeping – many promises. He had carefully and safely guided Abraham from his birthplace of Ur to Haran and then to Canaan – just as he promised (Genesis 12:1-3). God had made Abraham a very wealthy man – just as he promised (Genesis 13:2). God had shown Abraham the land of Canaan which his descendants would eventually inherit (Genesis 15:18-20). God had given Abraham and Sarah a son when they both were well beyond child-bearing years (Genesis 21). God had given Abraham comprehensive preparation for this test.

God has prepared us, too, for the tests we will face in our lives – like those we mentioned before. Through baptism, absolution, the Gospel and Holy Communion God regularly delivers to us the grace, faith and power he has promised us. Through these means of grace, he gives us courage and confidence, insight and wisdom. These means of grace – these ways in which God reaches down out of heaven into our lives to assure us of his presence and promises – also remind us that whatever test we’re facing – it’s not random, it’s not an accident. Every trial we face is, in fact, ultimately a test administered by God our Father.

Theoretically, I think, we can all agree with that premise, that fact: that God never sends a test into our lives that he hasn’t prepared us for. But that doesn’t answer the larger question: Why? That’s the question we ask most frequently when we’re going through a period of testing, isn’t it? Why do we have to undergo this testing at all? Why me? Why now? Why this? Do you know what God’s answer is? We aren’t told that Abraham asked this question – but Job certainly did (Job 42:1-6). It’s the classic parent answer: “Because.” Satisfied? No? Well, God’s answer doesn’t end there. Peter explains: because of this you rejoice very much, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various kinds of trials so that the proven character of your faith – which is more valuable than gold, which passes away even though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7). Why does God test us? “Because,” he says, “because I love you right where you are but I love you too much to leave you where you are.” The tests God puts us through refine us; they mature us; they season us; they humble us – in the end, they lead us to despair of life in this world and to long for heaven. In other words, God tests us to strengthen us – that is, to strengthen our faith in him – so that we will be saved – that’s a good purpose for testing, no?

God’s testing of Abraham shows us that God prepares his people for the testing he gives and the purpose for the test. Finally, it teaches us that God provides provision for the test – he provides a way out. Back to Genesis 22: Abraham looked around and saw that behind him there was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham called the name of that place “The LORD Will Provide.” So it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided” (Genesis 22:13-14). In times of testing, this is what we need to remember – the same God who spared Isaac’s life on that mountain and provided Abraham with a way out is our God – a God with a proven track-record of providing for his children in times of testing. Our God saw Joseph sitting in Pharaoh’s prison and provided a miraculous way out (Genesis 41). He saw the people of Israel enslaved in Egypt and provided a way through the Red Sea (Exodus 7-14). He saw a teenager named David facing off against a giant named Goliath and provided a stone to strike him down (1 Samuel 17). He saw Daniel thrown into a lion’s den and provided angels to close their jaws (Daniel 6). In every test, God provides a way out. Paul says God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability, but when he tests you, he will also bring about the outcome that you are able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Of course, God has provided the ultimate provision for us in Jesus. Jesus also willingly took the wood of his sacrificial cross and carried it up a mountain – a mountain which some believe was the same on which Isaac was almost sacrificed – now referred to as Calvary. There would be no substitute this time. Well, more accurately – there would be no substitute for Jesus because he was that ram, he was our substitute. We were the ones who deserved to be marched out to Calvary and nailed to a tree – but Jesus took our place. He was arrested abruptly. Tried unjustly. Sentenced callously. Mocked repeatedly. Abandoned ruthlessly. Beaten brutally. Crucified barbarously. But then Jesus passed the ultimate test – he rose from the grave victorious! God reversed the curse. Jesus is alive – never to die again. Death has no power over him – or over any who belong to him! Jesus lives to provide what we need when we are faced with even the hardest tests of life. Once more, back to Paul: my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Whatever test you’re facing in this moment, Jesus’ selfless sacrifice on the cross is proof that God will provide.

Thinking back to the account of Abraham and Isaac, there’s one thing that’s always struck me as strange, maybe even shocking: Abraham’s attitude after it was all over. He wasn’t bitter or angry or resentful that God had put him through this test. He didn’t call the mountain Mt. Resentment or Mt. Bitterness or Mt. Don’t Every Do That Again, God. He called it The LORD Will Provide (Genesis 22:14). In other words, Abraham was strengthened in his conviction that wherever God guides us he will provide. He will provide for us wherever he guides us, too. How do we know? Because we know Jesus, the Son of Abraham, the Son of sacrifice. Under God’s mighty hand, whatever trial you’re facing right now is for your good – and you will look back one day – although it may not be until the day you’re in heaven – and say: “Thank you Lord for the preparation, purpose and provision of those tests that strengthened my faith in Jesus, the Son of sacrifice, the Son of Abraham.” Amen.

Romans 15:4-13 - Where Is the Hope in This Holiday? - December 4, 2022

If you were forced to choose a single word to describe your mood in these days before Christmas, what word would you choose? Frantic? Underprepared? Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Impatient? Going broke? What about hopeful? Advent is a season of hope. The question is: what are we hoping for? Sure, most children – and even many adults – may be waiting to receive gifts, but even the unbelieving world recognizes that gifts aren’t the ultimate holiday hope – just consider any of the silly Christmas movies that will be playing nonstop until December 25th. The greatest hope (and perhaps the greatest fear) most people have this time of year has to do with relationships. This time of year we spend more time with others than any other – work parties and family gatherings, checkout lines and soup suppers. And, I would expect that we all hope to engage in these interactions as loving, accepting and understanding people. How’s that going for you? Certainly, we won’t ignore error, false teaching or immoral living as we gather with coworkers, family, friends, and fellow members – right? – but who doesn’t hope that this year there won’t be any bitter arguments or slammed doors or nasty social media posts? We hope for unity and love and friendship. The question is: where is the hope for that in this holiday, where is the hope in Christmas?

Before we can find the hope, we need to recognize the source of the hopelessness that seems omnipresent in these days before Christmas. The world might blame its hopelessness on inflation or the war in Ukraine or on supply chain issues that make it difficult or impossible to find the gifts you want to give to the people you love. But the reality is that the source of hopelessness is not out there – it’s in here. And we Lutherans are good – I might even say the best – at articulating the real source of hopelessness – at least if you remember Luther’s explanations of the first, second and third articles of the Apostles’ Creed from confirmation class. In the first article we confess that everything we are and have is a pure gift of God’s grace and not because [we] have earned or deserved it. In the second we confess that we are lost and condemned creature[s]. In the third we confess that there is nothing we can do to change this situation. These are the hopeless realities that are true of every human being from conception – but which only a precious few acknowledge and confess. But it’s there. Every year at this time you see stories about the “Christmas blues” – how more people are sad, lonely, depressed, and even suicidal during the holidays – because they have no hope.

And when people feel hopeless, they tend to give up – even when rescue is near. In 1945, when the USS Indianapolis, the ship that carried crucial parts for the atomic bomb that was eventually dropped on Japan which ended WWII, was ripped in half by Japanese torpedoes, about 900 of the almost 1200 sailors aboard were left stranded in the ocean. Only about 300 survived. The shocking thing is that after waiting days and nights in the open ocean many of them gave up and drowned themselves even as the rescue planes were circling. They gave up hope even when rescue was in sight. That’s what happened to Judas – even as Jesus was willingly sacrificing himself for his sins, he gave up hope and ended his life at the end of a rope (Matthew 27:5). That’s a very real temptation for very many people – even us or the people we know and love – this time of year. That’s because if we hope that we or the people around us will suddenly change because the calendar says December 25th, we are bound to be disappointed. That’s a holiday myth that’s preached by Hallmark movies and advertising professionals – but it isn’t reality. And so, as shocking as this may sound, I’m telling you to let go of that hope for this holiday.

But that doesn’t mean that you should give up all hope. Paul writes that whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we would have hope. In other words, Paul is encouraging us to recall the hopeless situations in Scripture into which God injected a powerful dose of hope. ESPN used to air a segment called “You Had One Job.” That’s how I think of Genesis 3 and Adam and Eve – they had one job: don’t eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:17). But they ate and the moment they ate they realized the hopelessness of their situation. They futilely tried to hide from God and cover their shame with leaves. But God hadn’t lost hope. God came to them and promised that one of Eve’s descendants would crush the serpent’s head once and for all (Genesis 3:14-15).

And there are more examples in Scripture. When Abraham and his wife Sarah were old – and, in regard to fertility – their bodies were as good as dead (Romans 4:19), God promised to give them a son – and through faith in this promise, Paul writes in Romans 4 that Abraham [hoped] beyond what he could expect, he believed that he would become the father of many nations (Romans 4:18). King David’s sins were, according to his own description in Psalm 32, killing him physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually – and yet, when he confessed those sins, do you remember what his pastor, Nathan, said? The LORD himself has put away your sin. You will not die (2 Samuel 12:13). Israel seemed like a hopeless wreck of a nation in Ezekiel’s day, and yet the LORD showed him how he would raise that wreck to life again by the power of the Spirit (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Peter denied Jesus three times in the temple courtyard (John 18:15-18) – and yet weeks later Jesus came to him to restore him to his place as his apostle, encouraging him to feed my sheep (John 21:17). In other words, with God it’s never hopeless.

And that’s why – while you may think I’m a kill-joy for dismissing the hope offered by the world out there – our focus this season (and every season) must be on the God of hope and what he has done to inject hope into our otherwise hopeless lives. He could have given up hope on this fallen world but instead he sent his Son to be born of a woman, to be born under the Law in order to redeem all those under the Law (Galatians 4:4-5). While Jesus never grew impatient or irritated or lashed out at either friend or foe in a sinful way – as our substitute, by the way – God handed him over to sin, death and the devil to receive the punishment that we deserve for all the sins we’ve already committed and will commit this holiday season. There was hell to pay, and there is no better description of hell than the absolute hopelessness that Jesus expressed when he cried out my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). When God turns his back on you – gives up hope in you – that’s true hopelessness. But Jesus paid it. As Paul puts it: Christ became a servant…to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs. Jesus submitted himself to hopelessness so that you could have hope.

The reason that there is so much hopelessness this time of year is that so much of the world’s hope is built on a foundation of sand. You hope your grandchild will like that present, right? You didn’t know that something newer came out just last week. You hope that the whole family can be together this year – after all the fuss over Covid has passed – right? Well, welcome to the so-called “tri-demic” of flu, RSV and Covid all in one convenient and annoying package. You hope that you won’t lose your temper or think or say some nasty things under your breath about your in-laws – well, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. If our hope for this Christmas is grounded in us, we should give up all hope.

Are you feeling hopeless this season? Have you lost hope that you will be able to cover all the bills this season creates? Have you lost hope that your health or the health of someone you love will recover? Have you lost hope that your children or grandchildren who have wandered from the faith will ever return? Have you lost hope that that relationship that was broken so bitterly and permanently can ever be repaired? Then you’re in the right place, because here is where hope is restored – not in ourselves or in the people around us, but in God – and his endless hope in us.

Paul refers to God as the God of hope. If you’re the God of something, that means you own it; you control it; you can’t lose it. God never loses hope with this world – or with us. And, again, I think we Lutherans articulate this hope more clearly than almost anyone in Luther’s explanation of the Apostles’ Creed. In the First Article we confess that God the Father provides clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home – so if you have those things, know that God hasn’t lost hope in you. In the Second we confess that even though we were hopelessly lost and condemned creatures, Jesus redeemed us not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood. In the Third we confess that even though we could never choose to believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has called, gathered, enlightened and sanctified us by the Gospel. While our hope in ourselves and others is uncertain – the hope we have in God’s loving, redeeming, protecting care is absolutely certain – it’s set in stone in the words of Scripture – and distributed regularly through the means of grace.

And this hope has practical implications for us – and our relationships – in these days before Christmas. Paul was writing to a church in Rome that was struggling with division between Jewish and Gentile Christians – and reminding them that in Christ, they are one. He writes may God, the source of patient endurance and encouragement, grant that you agree with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that with one mind, in one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, accept one another as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. If your greatest hope this season is for peace, joy and unity in your personal relationships - then here’s the key: start and end with Jesus, at his manger, his cross and his empty tomb. Because where Jesus and his cleansing blood are – there all of those bitter arguments, those nasty words, those years or decades old sins melt away. In Jesus, we can be united in hope – because he accepted us – sins and all – we can accept each other – sins and all – and worship God with one mind and one voice. I pray that is our greatest hope for this Christmas season.  

And so, while you watch the rest of the world scurrying around, frantically trying to drum up hope in gifts and decorations and cookies and their own efforts to be nicer and kinder – we rest in the fact that our hope is not based on us but on what God has done for us in Christ. Your hope for this Christmas and for eternity is firmly grounded – not only in the fact that our God is the God of hope; not only in the fact that Scripture proves that those who placed their faith and hope in him were never disappointed – but in the fact that God has and continues to deliver the ingredients for our hope here through Word and Sacrament. This water, this Word, this bread and wine prove that God has not given up on us (and that he hasn’t given up on your coworkers, friends or family, either). And that is one hope that will never disappoint! Amen.

Matthew 1:1-17 - Jesus Is the Son of David - November 30, 2022

According to a recent report distributed by the United Nations the population of planet earth reached 8 billion people on November 15. They also projected that in 2050 there will be almost 10 billion humans on earth. [1] Since the dawn of time, somewhere between 60 and 100 billion people have walked on the dust of this earth. But, of those billions, only a handful have made any real, lasting, permanent impression – whose names are still spoken around the world. And of that handful, one stands far above the rest. His name is Jesus.

Think about it: Jesus never wrote a book – and yet millions of books have been written about him. Jesus never painted a picture (that we know of) – and yet the world’s greatest art has Jesus’ words and works as its inspiration. Jesus never raised an army – and yet millions of his followers have fought and died for him. Jesus never traveled very far from his birthplace – and yet word of his life and work has reached every corner of the globe – even those places that have tried to ban it. During his lifetime, Jesus only had maybe a few dozen dedicated followers – and yet today over 30% of the planet’s population confess to follow him. [2] The most important question that any of the earth’s 8 billion citizens can ever ask, then, is who is Jesus? That’s our question this Advent season: Who is Jesus? And today Matthew reveals him as the Son of David – that is, as a King.

However, what many people in Jesus’ day – and many people today – don’t understand is what kind of King Jesus came to be. Most expected him to be a “political” King – whose primary purpose would be to make their lives happier, safer and more prosperous. Would we really want Jesus to be that kind of King? Politicians of all stripes and all times have promised to be that kind of “king.” In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson promised not so send American boys to Vietnam to fight a foreign war. He lied. In 1988 George H.W. Bush told Americans to “Read his lips: No new taxes.” He lied. [3][4] In 2008 Barack Obama promised that his so-called “Obamacare” healthcare plan wouldn’t raise rates. He lied. [5] And I didn’t even mention anything said by anyone running in the latest election cycle. In America we’re used to leaders who say what people want to hear. No one’s campaign slogan is, “Slow, arduous change,” or “realistic compromises,” or “it’s going to get worse before it gets better.” No. We want leaders who promise the moon – and so that’s what they promise. And you don’t have to live through too many elections to become cynical about such promises.

But when we look at Jesus, we see a completely different kind of leader – a different kind of king. First, we see that Jesus is the Promised King. Matthew begins his Gospel this way: a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Even this heading tells us a lot about who Jesus is. Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Christ is a title. It’s the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah which means “anointed one.”

The Old Testament – God, in countless places, starting already in Genesis – promised to send a Messiah – a King who would accomplish God’s mission. God left a breadcrumb trail of prophecies throughout the OT which would lead people to the Messiah. He promised that the Messiah would come from the line of David (2 Samuel 7:12). He would be born in David’s city (Micah 5:2) and sit on David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7). And part of Matthew’s purpose in providing us with this extensive genealogy – and the rest of his gospel – is to prove that Jesus is this king – the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of David. When Matthew wrote his gospel, Israel hadn’t had a legitimate king for hundreds of years. Now, Matthew declares, “a king has finally come to sit on David’s throne. And his name is Jesus!” Matthew drives this truth home by citing no few than 15 OT prophecies which were fulfilled in Jesus.[6] Jesus is the promised King.

He is also the compassionate King. Jesus didn’t come to lead a rebellion against Rome or hand out welfare checks. He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). We see hints of this truth in the structure of Matthew’s genealogy. First, in contrast to genealogies found in the OT, where a person’s descendants are listed (which makes sense – if there’s no Abraham, there’s no Isaac!) – here, Matthew lists Jesus’ predecessors (with the implication that those who went before Jesus were dependent on him!) Second, while the Israelites traced their ancestry through male ancestors, Matthew also mentions four women: Tamar (Matthew 1:3), Rahab and Ruth (Matthew 1:5), and Bathsheba (Matthew 1:6). All four of these women were outsiders. Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites (Genesis 38:2-6; Joshua 2:1-13). Ruth was a Moabite (Ruth 1:1-4). And Bathsheba was likely a Hittite like her husband – Uriah (2 Samuel 11:3). Moreover, each of these women were stigmatized. Tamar, after her brother-in-law refused to do his duty to provide her with a child (Genesis 38:10) tricked her father-in-law, Judah, into sleeping with her in order to have children (Genesis 38). Rahab was a prostitute (Joshua 2:1-13). Bathsheba committed adultery with King David (2 Samuel 11). Ruth once worshiped an idol called Chemosh (1 Kings 11:7) and was a widow (Ruth 1:5).

What’s the point? The point is that while the Jews of Jesus’ day expected a Messiah who would come to drive out their Roman oppressors and reestablish Israel’s power and status and independence, Jesus came instead to bring the outcasts to God – in large part, by removing the shame of marginalized, alienated people like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. The rest of Matthew’s gospel bears this out. Who does Jesus spend his time with? Outcasts and rejects. With those who had done terrible things or were afflicted with terrible diseases. But I think that what stands out to me most is the fact that three of the four women listed in Jesus’ genealogy were burdened with a shameful stigma. And yet, God was not ashamed to include them in his Son’s genealogy and Jesus is not ashamed to associate and save those who may bear some shameful stigma.

In the end, no matter what we’ve experienced in the past, this includes all of us. We all have plenty of ugly shame from our past that haunts us to this day. We tend to focus – and rightly so – on how Jesus takes away our guilt – that is, the debt of the sins we have committed. But he also takes away the shame – the sin done to us. We don’t have to try to wash our shame away, work our shame away, explain or eat or cry or drug our shame away. Because Jesus isn’t a king who sits on his throne and demands that you serve him; Jesus is a king who descends from his throne, filled with compassion wanting to serve you. Jesus knows what it’s like to live with a shameful stigma (remember, the Jewish leaders mocked him as an illegitimate child (John 8:41)). At our darkest point – when we feel the ugliest and most unloved – Jesus says, “I love you – no matter what!” He reminds us through Word and Sacrament that neither the sins we have committed nor the sinful things others have done to us define us. We don’t have to live with guilt or shame. We aren’t worthless. We aren’t damaged goods. We are clean. We are whole. We are his. Jesus is the compassionate King.

But in order to be compassionate, Jesus also had to be rejected. To the Jewish elites of his day, Jesus was the wrong kind of king. He came from the wrong place, associated with the wrong kind of people, preached the wrong message, gathered the wrong disciples, carried out the wrong mission, and waged the wrong kind of war against the wrong kind of enemies. (In fact, incidentally – and maybe ironically – in Matthew’s Gospel, apart from Matthew’s calling Jesus the “Son of David” here and the crowds on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:9), the only people who hailed Jesus as King – often far less than sincerely – were Gentiles and rejects – including the Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12), blind men (Matthew 9:27), a demon possessed man (Matthew 12:23), a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:22), Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:29), and Pontius Pilate (Romans 27:37).) But God’s chosen people – the Jews – almost universally rejected him as their King. It all came to a head on Good Friday. Matthew wrote about it: above his head they posted the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37). Pilate posted this sign – over the objection of the Jews – likely as a sarcastic shot against them: “See, this is your king…see what I, the Roman governor, can do to your supposed King!” The Jewish leaders – like so many people today – rejected Jesus, the promised and compassionate King. But more importantly, because we deserved to be rejected by our holy God – Jesus had to be rejected by him in our place. When Jesus cried out my God, my God, why have you forsaken me (Matthew 27:46) from Calvary’s cross, he was describing hell – that is, his Father had rejected him, turned his back on him, disowned him. Jesus was rejected by God for our broken promises, our failure to show compassion, our lack of faith and love and hope – so that we never would be.

But that’s not how the story ended. Three days later, after Jesus had risen from his grave, he proclaimed that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18). That’s what we would expect of a king, right – to have all authority? Jesus has all authority over everything in the universe – politicians, economies, natural disasters, down to the minor things that happen in our lives every day. He also has the rightful authority to command us how to live. He has every right to demand anything and everything from us. But that’s not why we hail him as king. We hail him as king because he gave everything for us – to save and redeem us.

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Son of David, the promised, compassionate – and rejected – King that we follow through this life and into the next. Amen.

[1] https://www.un.org/en/desa/world-population-reach-8-billion-15-november-2022

[2] https://www.kentuckytoday.com/baptist_life/7-encouraging-trends-of-global-christianity-in-2022/article_6a1f9336-861a-11ec-aab8-dbfeb19c7929.html

[3] https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/22/politics/gallery/presidential-promises/index.html

[4] https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jun/26/broken-presidential-campaign-promises-1916/

[5] https://www.budget.senate.gov/newsroom/budget-background/obamacares-five-biggest-broken-promises

[6] https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/how-does-matthew-prove-that-jesus-is-the-messiah.html

A New Year with Jesus: A Walk Through the Christian Church Year - November 27, 2022

Time. It shapes and structures (and in many ways controls) the rhythm and pattern of our lives. From our first breath, time forms the framework on which our lives are hung. Time isn’t just about watches and clocks and history books – it’s about birthdays and graduations and anniversaries – and, eventually and inevitably, obituaries. Time is precious and every second of every single human life is precious for one reason: it’s one chance we have to come to learn about and believe in Jesus and be saved. As precious as time is, it’s also the one thing in life none of us can stop or control or store up. It slips away. It gets spent. Sometimes it’s wasted. And once it’s gone, you can never get it back. In general – unless you’re at work or school – how you use your time is up to you…it’s all about personal preference. And while that may be fine in everyday life, it can be disastrous when it comes to the life of the Church. If the way we spent our limited time here was up to you or me, we might spend it all talking about football or politics or movies or the best way to use the leftovers from Thanksgiving or some other subject that might be interesting but is spiritually irrelevant. That’s why we thank God and the believers who have gone before us for developing and passing down to us the gift of the Christian church year. Not only because it helps us make the most of the time we spend here each week together, but because it helps us keep the main thing the main thing. What is the main thing? Jesus is. Jesus and his redemptive work for us is at the heart of every Christian’s life – and, therefore he is the heart of the Church’s life. And so, today we are going to take a deeper look at the Christian church year and how every season of it keeps us focused on Christ – his work for us, his words to us and his work in us.

Advent – Christ’s Coming                                                                                                                                                                       Micah 5:2

The first season of the Christian church year is Advent. Advent means: “coming.” During the season of Advent we wait and watch for three “comings” of Christ. 1) We wait for his coming in the flesh – Christmas. These four weeks remind us that OT believers waited roughly 4000 years for God to send the promised Messiah. Today, while many people are simply waiting for a few days off of work or some presents, we are waiting for a Savior from sin. 2) Jesus comes to us today in Word and Sacrament. The Savior who once came in lowliness as a helpless baby still comes to us in the seemingly ordinary means of grace: the Word, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 3) Finally, we look for Jesus to come again in glory at the end of time. In Micah chapter 5, we are reminded how God chooses to reveal his mercy and his power most often in humble ways: most importantly, by becoming one of us in lowly, insignificant Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 - 2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, from you, will go out the one who will be the ruler for me in Israel. His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity.

Hymn 1                                                                                                                                                           The Advent of Our King (st. 1-2, 4-5)

Christmas – Christ’s Incarnation                                                                                                                                                      John 1:1, 14

In the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas comes at the darkest time of the year – just 4 days after the winter solstice (the shortest “day” of the year). This timing is fitting, given that Jesus was born into a world of darkness, a world of sin, despair, loneliness and hopelessness. Into this world, Jesus came to bring light. Certainly all children brighten the lives of their families – but this baby came to lift the gloom of sin that hung over the whole world – because this was no ordinary baby, this was the Son of God. Christmas is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions because on Christmas God became one of us, flesh and blood. Why? Only as true man could Jesus take our place under God’s law and die; only as true God could he live a perfect life and take our burden of sin to the cross to pay for it. Christmas proves that Jesus is true man – he was born of a woman. Christmas proves that Jesus is true God – he was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). In simple but profound words, John describes the mystery and majesty of Christmas.

John 1:1, 14 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Hymn 36                                                                                                                                                    A Great and Mighty Wonder (st. 1-2, 4)

Epiphany – Christ’s Appearing                                                                                                                                                              John 2:11

You’ve probably heard the song The Twelve Days of Christmas (partridges and pear trees and so forth). But do you know where that song came from? It resulted from the fact that the better part of 2000 years the Christian church celebrated Christmas for 12 days, from December 25 to January 5. January 6, then, marked Jesus’ Epiphany, literally his “appearing” or “unveiling.” The church celebrates two “appearances” of our Lord. 1) First, He appears as the Savior of all people, not just the children of Israel. This is recognized when the Magi – those mysterious Gentiles from the East, come to Jesus’ home to worship him as their king (Matthew 2:1-12). 2) The second appearing is the revelation of Jesus as the powerful Son of God. On Christmas, Jesus appears in deep humility: born in a manger, wrapped in strips of cloth, acknowledged only by farm animals and shepherds. But during Epiphany, Jesus’ true nature as the Son of God is revealed by his baptism, his authoritative preaching and his powerful miracles. Epiphany will have served its purpose in our lives when what happened to the disciples happens to us:  

John 2:11 - 11This, the beginning of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Hymn 90                                                                                                                                          The People that in Darkness Sat (st. 1-2, 4-5)

Lent/Holy Week – Christ’s Suffering and Death                                                                                                                         Isaiah 53:5-6

Lent, the season that stretches from Epiphany to Easter, is 40 days long, beginning with Ash Wednesday and concluding with the Holy Week festivals of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. For Christians, the season of Lent is a time to meditate deeply on Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation as well as a time in which to concentrate on the continuing importance of confessing our sins and finding forgiveness in our Savior’s cross. The darkness of Lent is the reason for the light of Christmas – the eternal Son of God took on our human flesh and blood so that he could bleed and die for our sins. In Lent we see God’s eternal plan of salvation worked out in human history as the Lamb of God suffers as our substitute. In Lent we stand with Isaiah at the foot of the cross and confess:

Isaiah 53:5-6 - 5but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced. He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.

Hymn 113                                                                                                                                                           Upon the Cross Extended (st. 1, 5)

Easter – Christ’s Resurrection                                                                                                                                      1 Corinthians 15:17, 20

Easter is the climax of our annual journey with Jesus. On Good Friday our Savior’s lifeless body was laid in a grave. It left unanswered questions: Is he the Son of God or a delusional madman? Are our sins forgiven or are we still guilty before God? Will we ever see our loved ones who have died again? What will happen to us when we die – will we rise again or will our bodies turn to dust and stay that way? Do the Word and Sacraments matter at all? Easter answers those questions. When the disciples returned to the tomb early on Easter Sunday morning they found it empty. Later, the risen Savior appeared many times to dispel their confusion, doubts, and fears (1 Corinthians 15:1-11) – to tell them and show them that he had risen. Easter removes any hint of uncertainty regarding our faith, our forgiveness and our future. Easter proves that Jesus is God’s Son, he is our Savior, our sins are forgiven and our future is in heaven. Paul lays out the truth of Easter simply and beautifully in 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:17, 20 - 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Hymn 145                                                                                                                                                Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won (st. 1, 5)

Ascension – Christ’s Coronation                                                                                                                                            Ephesians 1:22-23

For 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples to convince them that he had indeed conquered sin, death and the devil once and for all. They needed to be certain because he had appointed them to serve as his witnesses to the world once he was gone. At the end of those forty days, he ascended out of sight into heaven. But though he was gone from their sight, he did not leave them alone, he promised them: surely I am with you always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). That same Jesus is still with us today, reigning at God’s right hand, where all authority in heaven and on earth [have been given to him] (Matthew 28:18). Today, as we live and witness for our Savior – as we carry out his commission to go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them…and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you (Matthew 28:19-20), Ascension reminds us that we go with the assurance of his presence and his power that he controls all things and rules the universe for the good of his church…for the good of believers like us.

Ephesians 1:22-23 - 22God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church. 23The church is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Hymn 169                                                                                                                                                                Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (st. 1, 3)

Pentecost – Christ Sends the Holy Spirit                                                                                                                                        Acts 2:32-33

Pentecost is derived from the Greek word meaning 50. 50 days after his resurrection Jesus sent the promised Holy Spirit to his disciples accompanied by amazing signs and wonders. The disciples desperately needed the Spirit’s power and guidance because they were to be witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection throughout the world – but, as they proved in the days following Jesus’ resurrection, they were often paralyzed by fear, they were often slow to believe and hesitant to speak. Paul explains the Spirit’s power and purpose in 1 Corinthians 2: what we received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the blessings freely given to us by God. We also speak about these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12). In other words, Jesus didn’t send the Holy Spirit primarily to perform signs and wonders, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit so that we would know and believe the Gospel – and have the courage to share it. In Acts 2, Peter embodies the power and work of the Holy Spirit by his clear and fearless proclamation of the Gospel:

Acts 2:32-33 - 32“This Jesus is the one God has raised up. We are all witnesses of that. 33So, after he was exalted to the right hand of God and after he received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out what you are now seeing and hearing.

Hymn 183                                                                                                                                                             Holy Spirit, Light Divine (st. 1-4)

Sundays After Pentecost – Christ in the Lives of His People                                                                                                   Romans 12:1

The Sundays after Pentecost might be summed up in one word: “therefore.” One of my seminary professors told us that whenever you see that word in the Bible, you should ask yourself “what’s it there for?” That word appears often in Paul’s letters. He frequently uses it to form a bridge between the so-called doctrinal and practical parts of his letters. “Therefore” invites us to look back at all God has done for us in his mercy; it reminds us that God chose us to be his own, washed us in the blood of his Son and keeps us in faith by his Holy Spirit. “Therefore” also asks us to look at our own lives and ask that uniquely Lutheran question: what does this mean? What does all that God has done for me mean to me and for my life? Paul gives us the answer. While in the OT believers offered a lamb to the Lord as a sacrifice at the beginning and ending of each day, we offer ourselves, our bodies and souls, our working and studying and parenting – even our eating and drinking – everything we do (1 Corinthians 10:31) – to the Savior who died for us so that we should no longer live for ourselves, but for him who died for us and was raised again (Galatians 2:20). In other words, during the Sundays after Pentecost, the seed of faith the Holy Spirit planted in us through the Gospel of Jesus is watered and fertilized so that it might grow and produce fruit. Paul puts it this way:

Romans 12:1 - Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship.

Hymn 462                                                                                                                               Oh, that the Lord Would Guide My Ways (st. 1, 4)

End Time – The Christian Waits for Christ’s Return                                                                                                        Revelation 22:20

The last four Sundays of the church year are sometimes referred to as the season of End Time. This season reminds us that our time in this world is not all that there is, that we are eagerly waiting for Jesus to return to make all things right, to punish unbelief with the never-ending fire of hell and to deliver believers, once and for all, to the endless glory of heaven. Since perhaps no part of Christian doctrine is more misunderstood and falsely taught today than the doctrine of the end times, we also take special care during this season to understand what God himself has revealed about the signs and nature of the end of time – instead of relying on the dreams and opinions and predictions of mere men. When we understand what God wants us to know about the end, whether we are looking to the end of the world or the end of our own lives, we will look forward to being reunited with all the believers who have gone before us – including those believers we dearly loved – and, even more important, we look forward to seeing Jesus face-to-face. Therefore we pray: Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)

Revelation 22:20 - 20The one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Hymn 214                                                                                                                                                                 Jerusalem the Golden (st. 1, 4)

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - In Everything Give Thanks - November 23, 2022

Tomorrow Americans will recognize one of the three most universally celebrated holidays of the year – along with Christmas and Easter. Outwardly, these holidays all look pretty similar: family and friends gather for food and fellowship. However, theologically speaking, there is one thing that sharply distinguishes Thanksgiving from the other two. Do you know what it is? In contrast to Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving is 100% law. When you boil it down, Thanksgiving Day is essentially an annual ritualistic obedience to our mothers’ persistent demand that we say “thank you” when we receive something. Kind of a strange thing to celebrate, isn’t it? Even in the Bible, and especially here in 1 Thessalonians, thanksgiving is a matter of the Law. Listen to the verses preceding our text: brothers, we ask you to take note of those who work hard among you, who exercise leadership over you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love, on account of their work. Live at peace with each other. We also encourage you, brothers, to admonish those who are idle. Encourage those who are discouraged, help those who are weak, and be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil with evil, but instead, always strive to do good to each other and to everyone else. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:12-17). Law, law, law. And after all that, now Paul says in everything give thanks? My response is: really?

In everything give thanks? Paul’s original Greek allows for no exceptions. It’s just what it sounds like. We are to give thanks in everything – in every moment and every situation. He’s not just telling us to sit down at the table tomorrow and count our blessings. He’s not only telling us to say thank you when the surgery is successful, he’s telling us to say thank you after the doctor informs us that we have stage 4 cancer or early onset dementia. He’s telling us to be grateful not only when our children come to visit but when we find out that our daughter had a miscarriage or that our son is getting divorced. He’s telling us to be just as thankful in times of poverty as we are in prosperity; in times of pain as we are in times of pleasure; in times of sickness and of health – equally.

And if that doesn’t sound hard enough, Paul uses a little preposition that might push you over the edge: ἐν – that is, in everything give thanks. Right in the midst of sickness, sorrow, problems and pain we are to give thanks. Our world will talk about finding the silver lining in the storm clouds, of taking lemons and making lemonade, of making the best of a bad situation – but typically they’re talking about after the trial or challenge has passed. But right in the middle of it? Who can do that? Have you? I’m not sure who’s able to do it – I only know that God commands it. This is not a suggestion; it’s a command: in all things you must give thanks. It’s a present active imperative. This is a behavioral policy God demands from his children. It must be your policy to be thankful in everything, every situation, every circumstance – no matter how hard or painful. Really?

Now, there are those who try to stuff the breadcrumbs of this difficult command into the turkey of mankind’s natural religion. They say, “Yes, of course, you should give thanks to God in everything – because if and when you do, he will turn that curse into a blessing; that pain into pleasure; that sadness into joy; that poverty into prosperity.” You’ve heard that before, haven’t you? If you’re suffering, it’s just God snapping his fingers to get your attention, saying “what’s the magic word?”, to count the blessings he’s given you and throw some gratitude in his direction. Yep, just like when your mom made you say thank you when someone gave you something – because otherwise you may not receive a gift next year – so you have to give thanks to God from time to time if you expect to continue receiving his blessings. But that’s not true and that’s what Paul says. He doesn’t say to give thanks in everything as a way of manipulating God into turning the clouds into sunshine. He’s not giving a Christian veneer to the pagan concept of “the power of positive thinking.” He simply commands: in everything give thanks.

Really? Why? Why should I give thanks in all circumstances, even the bad ones? Paul cites three reasons. First, he says that we must give thanks in everything because this is God’s will. In other words, we give thanks because God says so. And that’s the reason why most people will be gathered around tables giving thanks tomorrow – well, maybe not because God says so, but because the government does. But there’s a danger in this motivation. There’s a danger in giving thanks simply because you’re told to. I’ve called Thanksgiving Day as the most idolatrous day in America. Why? Because many, if not most, people – sadly, even Christians who don’t want to offend their unbelieving family members – will give thanks to no one and nothing in particular – which is idolatry. And this idolatry is the root of the distinct lack of gratitude most people have the other 364 days of the year: it’s easy to give thanks to an idol when you’re sitting in a warm house eating good food with your family – it’s not so easy to give thanks to an idol when you’re laying in a hospital bed or standing at the graveside of a loved one. In the end, if the only reason we give thanks tomorrow is because God or government says so, then we might as well forget it, because mere lip service is not pleasing to God (Matthew 15:8).

Which is why Paul adds this is God’s will…in Christ Jesus. What is God’s will as revealed in Christ? Paul spelled it out in his first letter to Timothy: God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). This means that whatever happens to you, whatever you’re going through in life – the good, the bad and the ugly – comes from God as he revealed himself through Jesus with the goal of the salvation of your soul – more on that later.

Let’s flesh that out a bit: how are God’s will for our salvation and our thanksgiving related? Well, there’s one thing that will be absent from many – if not most – Thanksgiving tables tomorrow: that even as we give thanks for what we have, we forget what we deserve. If we were to honestly review our thoughts, words and actions of the past year, we’d have to confess that we deserve nothing but punishment now and forever. What did our worrying about things that are outside of our control – which is unbelief – deserve? What did our lust and greed and pride and despair – and the millions of other sins we committed over the past year – deserve? Giving thanks to God in everything, every situation, is sheer nonsense until we realize that we don’t deserve anything but his wrath and punishment.

So tomorrow, as you give thanks for the blessings God has given you this year – consider taking some time to thank him for what he didn’t give you; what he gave to Jesus instead of you. He sent Jesus out of heaven’s never-ending feast to this earth to live a perfect live in a fallen world in your place. He sent Jesus to suffer thankless people, the torture of a Roman whip and cross, and the darkness of a damned death in hell for your sins and mine. Tomorrow, thank God for giving Jesus what we deserved for our ungrateful lives of sin and thank him for giving us what we don’t deserve for Jesus’ sake.

Paul cites one final reason to give thanks in everything. 3) In the original Greek, the words for you come last. That means they receive emphasis. “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will in Christ Jesus for you.” We give thanks to God in everything – because in Jesus, everything that we have and experience in this life is for us! The sun shines, the rain falls, the fields produce grain, there is food at the grocery store and gas at the gas station for you – but, in the same way, the physical, financial, and psychological troubles are for you. Why? Because God wants to do more for you than feed, clothe and make you happy in this life. He wants to save you for eternity. If he was willing to hand his own Son over to sin, death and the devil in order to save you – don’t you think that he’ll do anything to save you, even if it means making you hurt for a while (Romans 8:32)? Hebrews tells us to endure suffering as discipline. God is dealing with you as sons. Is there a son whose father does not discipline him? …we have earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them…they disciplined us for a little while, according to what seemed best to them, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may have a share in his holiness (Hebrews 12:7, 9-10). And even if it takes a little bit of poverty or a little bit of pain to save you eternally – isn’t that a reason to give thanks in any and every situation?

And to prove that no matter what is happening in your life out there – he comes to you here to assure you of his continued care and love and guidance. He points you to the baptismal font as a guarantee that you are his child – and that nothing can change that. He absolves your sins daily and weekly – his assurance that even if you are suffering pain or loss in your life, it is not a punishment for your sin – because Jesus already suffered for your sins. He offers you tangible proof of his love in Holy Communion – an appetizer for the feast that he has prepared for you in heaven. Incidentally, you may have heard some of your Catholic friends refer to the Lord’s Supper as the Eucharist. That comes from the Greek eucharisteo – which means “thanksgiving.” Think about that for a moment. Is there anywhere that our loving Lord can’t or won’t come to us with his true body and blood to assure us that whatever we’re facing in this life is for our good? He comes here regularly. He will come to your house when you can’t come to his. He will find you in the hospital room, the nursing home, the death bed – even in jail. Which reminds us that no matter where we are or what we are going through – in everything – yes, literally everything – we can and should give thanks.

In everything give thanks, Paul says. Really? We’re tempted to respond. Really! He says, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Whatever you have experienced over the past year (good or bad), whatever is on the table tomorrow (or whatever is not because you can’t afford it) and whoever you will gather with (or won’t for whatever reason) – these are God’s gifts to you to keep you on the narrow road to salvation. We don’t give thanks just because the government tell us to. We give thanks in everything for this is God’s will for you in Christ. Really? Really! Happy Thanksgiving! Amen.

Luke 12:32-40 - We Can't Handle the Truth - November 20, 2022

“The truth? You can’t handle the truth,” was a line spoken by the character played by Jack Nicholson in the 1992 movie A Few Good Men. [1] He was referring to the truth of how hard, and sometimes horrifying, decisions need to be made by the leaders of our armed forces in order to keep America safe. He meant that the truth was too ugly for Tom Cruise’s character, the prosecuting attorney, to handle. We’re going to borrow the phrase, but change the meaning a bit this morning. We’ll use it in the sense of a story told about a young Christian boy and his mother. On the ride home after Sunday school a mother asked her son what he learned today. He tells her that he learned about Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. Like any good mother, she wants details. So he goes on to describe how Moses built a huge bridge for the people to cross on. The mother pauses, and, knowing better, asks, “is that what really happened?” Her son answers, “No, but if I told you what really happened, you would never believe me!” In the same way the underlying truth of Jesus’ words today are hard for us to handle – that is, they are hard for us to believe.

We will start with the hard truth. Jesus gives some simple, direct commands: sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that do no become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. Simple, easy to understand command, right? Here’s the thing: how many of us have actually sold something precious to us in order to give the proceeds to the poor? Yeah, me neither. On the contrary, how many of us have far more than we can ever use, and yet we give to the poor only what is left over after we use what we want? (For example, which of your possessions do you give to Twice as Nice or Goodwill – the stuff you use or the stuff you don’t want anymore?)

The truth is that we don’t sell anything in order to give to the poor and neither are we eagerly waiting for Jesus’ return. We don’t have our noses pressed to the window, all dressed, ready for service, with our lamps burning, expecting Jesus at any moment. No, we’re waiting for Thanksgiving and Christmas, for some time off of work and school, for the next hunting or shopping trip, for a pay raise or better job or a new house or for retirement – those are the things we are anxiously waiting for. We’re not like people waiting for their Lord but like people looking the wrong way. We’re eagerly waiting for the “next thing” in this life.

If you confess with me the truth that we haven’t sold our possessions and given to the poor and we aren’t eagerly waiting for our Lord’s return, then you’ll have to admit the hard truth that our treasure is in the wrong place. Jesus says where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. To figure out where your treasure is, just ask yourself, “where is my heart?” Scary question, isn’t it? Too often my heart, my thoughts and attention are on money, things, politics, fitness, sports, this life, this world – how about you? And Jesus reveals an obvious, but hard truth, about treasuring the things of this world: thieves can take it and moths can eat it. I can be fully focused on saving for my kids’ education and our next vacation and retirement – and inflation can rob it right from under my nose. I can exercise and eat healthy and do everything my doctor tells me in order to live a long life – and cancer or a car accident can devour the years I figured I had left. It’s the truth, isn’t it? Our treasure is in the wrong place – in Power Ball jackpots and Christmas gifts; in our kids gymnastics classes and basketball practices; in the stuff and experiences of this life. The truth is that we’re not eagerly waiting and watching for a Lord who will put a sudden and unannounced end to all those things we consider so precious.

So where is the hard truth of this text supposed to lead us? Well, clearly, to reassess our investments and shift our focus, right? We need to dump our stock in earthly things in order to gain a heavenly dividend. We should sell our new cars, our new clothes, and cancel our vacations and give the proceeds to the poor. And, in doing so, we’ll begin sewing money bags for ourselves in heaven with our dollars here on earth, right? We’ll start eagerly waiting for the Lord’s return. We’ll dress like people who expect to be taken to heaven rather than like people who expect to win fashion shows here on earth. We’ll shine our lamps (that is, our attention) on the path that leads to eternal life, rather than on the one that leads to temporary happiness and pleasure. We will try our best to keep ourselves watchful and awake every minute of every day. Do you know where that leads? It leads to living like Martin Luther did – as a monk. He – and many men and women like him – took vows of poverty and prayed for endless hours daily hoping that by suffering in this life they would earn and gain the next.

The sad truth is that the interpretation I’ve just given is how this text is preached in countless churches around the world. The truth of this text is that you must do a better job of serving God and others with your possessions and that you must double-down on waiting for Jesus’ return. You know what? None of us could handle that truth. Why not? Because no sooner will you resolve to give away your possessions than you will keep saving for a vacation, a car, a home, retirement. (And, even if you followed through on giving every last one of your possessions away, you’d quickly find yourself wanting it all back!) No sooner will you resolve to really watch for Jesus’ return than you will find yourself fixated on some relatively insignificant facet of this life – like sports or politics or money. We can’t handle the hard, Law truth of this text. Oh sure, we can understand it – but we can’t do it.

And the good news is that we don’t have to – but that’s a hard truth for us to handle too! In fact, I would be willing to wager that many of us didn’t even hear the good news. Did you? Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. The truth is that your Father in heaven is not waiting for you to sell your possessions, give to the poor, get dressed, light your lamps and stand watch before he gives you the kingdom. Nope. He says, “It’s my pleasure to give it to you.” Actually, Jesus literally says that your Father has been pleased to give it to you. The past (aorist) tense indicates that from a point in eternity – from before you were conceived, before you had the chance to sin, before you repented, before you came to faith – God decided that his greatest pleasure would be to give you his kingdom (Ephesians 1:4-6). The shocking – and wonderful – truth we have a hard time handling and hearing is that heaven is NOT something the little flock needs to worry about getting.

You know what it’s like to look at this from God’s perspective, don’t you? Haven’t you ever been really excited to give a gift to someone? You just couldn’t wait for their birthday or for Christmas – for that moment that they would tear through the wrapping paper to see what you gave them. The last thing you would want is for them to worry about getting the present or trying to earn it. You were simply happy to give it.

The reason we can’t handle this truth – and often can’t even perceive it – because the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh have drowned it out with their deafening chorus that there is no free lunch; that if you want something, you’ve got to earn it; that heaven is only for good people who give to charity and faithfully stand watch. This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote that no eye has seen and no ear has heard and no human mind has conceived…what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). The sinful flesh cannot imagine God sitting in heaven, rubbing his hands together, saying to himself, “I just can’t wait to give them my kingdom.” But this is the truth of Scripture. The central message of the Bible and the central job of the church is not to beat people over the head with the Law but to invite them to taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8). Just consider God’s work in your own life. What did you do to deserve to hear the Gospel from a parent or friend or pastor? What did God demand of you before he baptized you into his family? How much did your absolution this morning cost? There is a transaction that takes place in Holy Communion – you give Jesus your sins and he gives you his righteousness. Isn’t God good? And, the truth of this text is that he wants to give you even more. To quote Paul one more time: God is willing and able to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

The inconceivable, unimaginably wonderful truth is that our heavenly Father is pleased to give his Son what we deserved and to give to us what he alone deserved. We have never sold enough, gave enough, watched enough or worked enough for God to do a single thing for us other than damn us to hell for all eternity. But Jesus, who sold his home in heaven for a life of poverty on earth, who freely gave away health and healing to the sick, whose entire focus – even as a 12-year-old – was on carrying out his Father’s business (Luke 2:49), accepted the hell we deserved so that we could receive the kingdom he alone deserved. As Thanksgiving nears, we often hear encouragements to count our blessings (and rightly so, but if we started now, we wouldn’t be done until Thanksgiving 2050!) – but the truth Jesus reveals here is that the Father doesn’t just give us some money, food and shelter to get through this life – he’s pleased to give us his entire Kingdom! This is the wonderful truth that sinners like us find so hard to handle.

But, you might be thinking, “what about the part where Jesus clearly commands us to sell our possessions and keep watch?” These things do enter the picture but only after the Holy Spirit has convinced you that the kingdom of God is already your possession. Only once you see your Father in heaven rubbing his hands together, saying to himself, “I can’t wait to give them my kingdom” can you handle the rest of these verses. Only then will you see how it all fits together.

Here’s how to handle these truths. If you already have an eternal kingdom; why worry about this temporary, passing one? Maybe you heard the news that last weekend Jeff Bezos gave $100 million dollars to Dolly Parton to distribute to charities of her choice. [2] It’s hard for most of us to conceive of that amount of money – much less giving it away. How could he do this? Well, he’s worth over 100 billion dollars. The same is true of us: in Jesus the kingdom of God is ours, now and forever – we have the golden ticket – which allows and enables us to give freely to others in need. In other words, grace gives birth to grace; generosity and charity are characteristics peculiar to Christians because they know that the kingdom is already theirs.

What about waiting for the Son of Man? If you read these verses as a threat, as a warning that if you’re not alert enough when Jesus returns then you might not get into the wedding or he might scold you and send you to hell – then you’ll hear this waiting as a burden and you’re hearing it the wrong way. But if you hear these verses as Jesus’ promise to return – at an unexpected time, to be sure – but to return with the gift of his Father’s kingdom in hand – how could we not be joyfully and eagerly waiting for him? My birthday falls somewhere around a holiday each year (the date is on a need-to-know basis – and you don’t need to know!). But when I was growing up in Nebraska my grandparents would drive out to celebrate that holiday and my birthday with my family. Whenever they arrived, I knew they came with gifts in the trunk for me. Knowing this, I would ride my bike up and down the block for hours watching for their car in whether it was raining or snowing or below zero. It wasn’t a burden, but a joy. In the same way, waiting and watching for a Lord who is bringing us the best gift of all – heaven – is not a burden, but a joy. That’s a wonderful truth, right?

The proper way to handle the truth of this text is to read it in the order Jesus spoke it. Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. If he starts by telling you not to be afraid, you can be sure that the next words out of his mouth aren’t meant to strike fear into your heart. And if he starts by telling you that the Father decided to give you his kingdom even before he created the world – then you can’t possibly think that the next thing he says is about how you must give your stuff away and keep watch in order to deserve it. Best of all, he doesn’t even demand that you handle this truth – it really is more than we can ask for or imagine – he wants this truth to handle – and comfort – you. Amen.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FnO3igOkOk

[2] https://www.npr.org/2022/11/14/1136454716/dolly-parton-jeff-bezos-imagination-library

Luke 21:5-28 - Last Words on Last Things - November 13, 2022

A prominent 20th century philosopher once made a brilliant observation. He said that “it’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” This philosopher’s name was Yogi Berra – who also happened to be an all-star catcher for the New York Yankees. Now, whether he actually said those words is debatable. What is undebatable is that they are true, right? The future is unpredictable – as we can all attest to. Meteorologists prove every day that their weather forecasts are at best, educated guesses that are often inaccurate. Two years ago, did you hear anyone predicting that we’d be paying close to $4 for a gallon of gas today? Just five days ago, every political pundit was predicting what they called a “red wave.” Tuesday’s election was barely a red trickle. And, last but not least, who in their right mind would have predicted that the Vikings – the Vikings! – would be in command of the NFC north division? (It’s so bad that I’m considering the unthinkable: asking my wife if there is anything on her “honey-do” list just so I don’t have to watch the Packers!) The future is unpredictable – and, therefore, it is unwise to make predictions about it. And yet, that’s exactly what Jesus does this morning: he predicts the future. And unlike any meteorologist, economist, or political or sports commentator – we’re going to see why we should take Jesus at his word about the last things.

We’ll start towards the end of our text where Jesus predicts that before the end of time there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And on the earth nations will be in anguish, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the surging waves, people fainting from fear and expectation of the things coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Seeing pictures and videos of war-torn Ukraine and the aftermath of hurricane Ian may serve as a kind of a “snap-shot,” a “teaser” of what the end will look like – but they are nothing compared to what is coming. It will be like nothing this world has ever experienced or anyone could ever imagine.

The question is: how do we know we can trust what Jesus says about the future? I thought the future was unpredictable? Fortunately, the Bible provides us with a litmus test. In Deuteronomy the Lord says if a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, and the thing does not come about and does not come true, the LORD has not spoken that word. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him (Deuteronomy 18:22). Easy enough, right? If what the prophet predicts comes true, he comes from the Lord. How does that test fit with Jesus’ words? Well, Jesus is in fact making two predictions here – and the first was a short-term prediction regarding the city of Jerusalem and the temple. The people in Jesus’ day thought that the city of Jerusalem was invincible. It was God’s city, the home of his temple. They couldn’t fathom that God would let his city and his temple be destroyed. And yet, as they were busy ogling the temple’s beauty, Jesus warns them that these things you see here – the days will come when there will not be one stone left on another – every one will be thrown down. Jesus told them what to do when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies: let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are inside the city get out. Let those who are in the country not enter the city. When the Romans razed Jerusalem and the temple to the ground in 70 AD, Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled with pinpoint accuracy. Jesus’ warning saved many Christian lives. They knew to flee when the Romans began to surround the city. The truth of Jesus’ short-term prediction about Jerusalem is proof that we can trust his predictions when it comes to the end of time.

The disciples ask for a sign indicating that these things are about to happen. Jesus doesn’t describe a sign (singular), but signs (plural). Broadly speaking, Jesus warns about signs that will occur in four areas of life: 1) political; 2) natural; 3) religious; and 4) personal. 1) Politically, nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Not only have we witnessed a war in Ukraine and saber-rattling between many other nations – including the very real threat of another world war – right here in our own nation we just lived through another contentious election, where it became crystal clear how politically, culturally and morally divided our own nation is. 2) In nature, there will be horrifying sights and great signs from heaven. This past Tuesday people all over the world were able to witness a total lunar eclipse: the moon went dark. It was a sign. Not necessarily a sign that the end will arrive tomorrow – but that the End is coming! 3) Religiously, Jesus says that before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, handing you over to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. While, for the most part, we still enjoy religious freedom in our country – millions of Christians around the world do not. And, in recent we have experienced how easy it is for the governing authorities to prevent us from gathering for worship and how our right to freely speak the truth of Scripture – especially those that fly in the face of the current moral revolution – is under attack. 4) But Jesus saves the most troubling sign for last: you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends. They will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all people for my name’s sake. Perhaps the most powerful temptation that anyone of us will face to forsake our faith in Jesus will come from our families – from those who turn away from him, even though they’ve been baptized and confirmed in the faith; from those who hate us because we hold to the truth of Scripture even as our society spirals down the drain of immorality; from those who threaten to disown us because we point out and rebuke their sin. But whatever form these signs take in the political, natural, religious or personal realms, Jesus’ point is clear: it’s going to get worse as the end gets closer.

Aren’t you glad you rolled out of bed this morning to hear such a happy, cheerful message? Where’s the good news in Jesus’ last words on the last things? How and when are things going to get better? We’ll get there, but first we need to remember why this is all necessary. Jesus spoke these words on Tuesday of Holy Week, just three days before he would be nailed to a tree to die as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). (Jesus was perhaps alluding to this when he talked about the Temple being destroyed – in that he had earlier referred to his body as a temple that his enemies would destroy, but which he would raise again within three days (John 2:19)).

And, in predicting the hard and troubling signs of the end in this section, Jesus is making clear that what was true for him will be true of each and every Christian. Just as Jesus suffered political and religious and personal persecution – so will all who follow him. That’s why the cross (and the sign of the cross) plays such a prominent role in genuine Christianity. Jesus was nailed to a cross to pay for our sins – and so we are baptized under the sign of the cross placed on our heads and hearts, we are absolved under the sign of the cross, we receive Jesus’ sacrificial body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins with the sign of the cross, we begin and end our worship with the cross. There’s a reason for this: everything we do, every minute of our day, we wake up and go to sleep under the cross. Christianity isn’t so much a way of life as it is a way of death. It’s dying with Jesus in order to be raised with him. It’s dying to sin and self and this world so that we can be alive to God (Galatians 2:20).

And, in a way no one would have ever expected, the troubling things that Jesus says lie in the future help us on that path. Now we might be skeptical of this. How can unrest between nations and in nature; how can religious and personal persecution help us on our path to heaven? Well, when the framework of this world begins to fall apart right before your eyes, where does that drive you? Doesn’t it drive you deeper into the Word of God, to search the Scriptures for some promise, some word of comfort and assurance? Did you catch the word of comfort Jesus gave here? No matter what happens politically or in nature; no matter how badly you are persecuted personally, Jesus promises that not a hair of your head will perish. By patient endurance you will gain your lives.

That’s the comfort hidden in these last Sundays of the church year and in considering the end of the world as we know it: the world as we know it must pass away before the true life Jesus won for us can be revealed. Picture it like the scaffolding that surrounds a building under construction. That ugly, relatively flimsy scaffolding hides the work that’s going on underneath. But when the work is done and the building is complete, then it’s time to tear down the scaffolding and reveal what’s been built. Jerusalem was a visible, historical example of this. Jerusalem certainly had a place and purpose in God’s eternal plan of salvation. It was the dwelling place of God with man until the coming of the Christ. But when Jesus appeared, it was time for the scaffolding to come down. The temple was no longer needed. Not only was the curtain in the temple which hid the Most Holy Place from view torn the moment Jesus died (Matthew 27:51), but forty years later, not one stone of the temple was left standing – and to this day the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim Mosque, stands where the temple used to.  

The same is true of the “scaffolding” of the world we live in today. The nations and institutions, the laws of nature and even our personal relationships – everything we see and experience in this life – is the scaffolding of history under which God is carrying out his plan of salvation; in which he is making everything new through Jesus. So when the nations are in turmoil and creation seems to be groaning in earthquakes and floods and famines and disasters, when the sun, moon and stars go dark – those are all the tearing down of a temporary structure to reveal the permanent, eternal kingdom of God.

More important, the same is true of the scaffolding of our lives individually. Did you notice that Jesus’ first warning sign concerning the end was not political or natural or personal – but spiritual? Watch out so that you are not deceived! For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. Jesus’ greatest concern is not for our earthly comfort but the preservation of our faith. Under the sinful flesh we all wear is hidden a saint by virtue of our baptism. But the flesh must die in order for the saint to be revealed. Whether that happens through political or religious persecution, through natural disaster, through being alienated from friends and family, or through death itself – the old Adam has to die in order for the New Man to be revealed. In other words, God uses these troubling and painful signs of the end to draw us away from this world – which is passing away; and to draw us closer to himself. That’s good news!

So whether it’s the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, the death of Jesus on the cross, the end of the world on the Last Day, or the day you breath your last, it’s all part of God’s plan to bring about the salvation of his people. So, when everything seems to be getting worse, when you see the signs of the end, when it seems as if the whole world is headed to hell in a handbasket, when the church appears weak and persecuted and so do you, then you know exactly what to do: stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near. You know this because the Son of God and your Savior promises that even if heaven and earth…pass away…my words will never pass away (Luke 21:33). Amen.

Revelation 7:9-17 Two Questions about All Saints - November 6, 2022

In the words of the Nicene Creed we confessed that “we believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church.” There is only one Christian church. This is true in two senses. First, in the sense that despite the fact that Satan has sown countless doctrinal and, as a result, denominational divisions in Christ’s Church, in the eyes of God, there remains only one Church: that is, the Church consists of all who believe in Jesus as their Savior – regardless of their denominational label. There is also only one Church in the sense that all believers of all time – past, present and future – belong to one Church – although it consists of two distinct divisions: the Church militant – those still living, struggling, and suffering in this fallen world; and, the Church triumphant – those whom the Lord has rescued from this fallen world and now live in God’s presence in the glory of heaven. Revelation 7 speaks of both, but today we focus on the latter, the Church triumphant, and the two questions our text raises about them.

The first is: where are they now? When you lose someone you love, don’t you ask yourself that question? Where is the person you loved and laughed and lived with for so many years? If you were forced to answer that question right now, what would you say? You’ve heard the world’s sentimental (and mystical) answer, right? They’re not six feet under; they’re not in heaven; they’re in your heart. Whether it’s a Disney movie or a television drama – or even an interview with someone who’s mourning the loss of a loved one – they all seem to be convinced that when people die, they don’t go away; they go in here (your heart).

You can understand why that belief would be attractive, can’t you? No ugly grave; no pressure to consider that this person you loved, who was formed from dust, is now returning to dust because they had earned the wages of sin – which is death (Genesis 3:19; Romans 6:23). No, none of that ugly stuff, just the pleasant memories you hold in your heart. People hold to that belief because it seems comforting. It excuses you from having to explain to your children the harsh realities of death; of heaven and hell. It’s a way of avoiding the nasty little fact that death has created a permanent loss; that as long as you live, you will never see, speak to, or hug that person again. But is it really comforting to believe that your loved ones are only living on in your heart and memory? Certainly we can remember notable events and quotes from their lives, we can dust off the photo albums – and today, we can even watch little clips of their lives recorded on our smart phones. But is that eternal life? If it is, then our great, great grandparents are eternally lost – because who remembers them now? Many who have lost loved ones are incredibly troubled when they find that they can’t remember the sound of their loved one’s voice anymore. Is that loved one lost when you can’t remember their voice or the photo album burned up in a fire or Google didn’t actually save that one precious video? Is there any comfort in believing that our loved ones only live on in our hearts?

Where are they now? Outright unbelief – as articulated today by the theory of evolution – has an answer, too. They’re just buried six feet deep or, as is more and more common today, contained in an urn. Either a furnace has burned them to dust or they are well on their way to dust. They will never be seen, heard, or touched again. Unbelief says that we are nothing but a random blend of chemicals and minerals. There is no mind – just a collection of brain cells. There is no heart that loves – only hormones that make you feel a certain way. There is no eternal soul – only a physical body that ceases to be once its organs shut down. Again, is there any comfort to be found there? In thinking that the people you truly did love were really only dust in the wind (and so are you!) and this brief moment of life we experience together is all we get? I don’t think so. But that’s not even the most important question. The most important question is: is it true?

Well, let’s go to the source of truth: God’s Word? Now, our knee-jerk reaction might be to say, “Well, whatever the unbelievers believe, we believe the opposite.” That is, unbelief points at the grave or the urn, and says, “There and there alone is your loved one. Buried six feet under or burned up by fire.” And we’re tempted to say the opposite: “That’s not them anymore.” But it is. That’s why the patriarchs in the OT purchased caves in which to bury their loved ones (Genesis 23:12-20). That’s why the Church has always carefully cared for the bodies of the dead. That’s why many Christian churches have their own cemeteries. That’s why we spend a small fortune on funerals and headstones. They serve as tangible confessions of our faith that this isn’t the end of the body that rests there; that they are only sleeping, awaiting God’s final creative – or maybe better, recreative – act: the bodily resurrection of the dead.

Those lifeless remains are your loved one. Their DNA says so. More importantly, God’s Word says so. Job testified that even after my skin has been destroyed, nevertheless, in my own flesh I will see God. I myself will see him. My own eyes will see him, and not as a stranger (Job 19:26-27). Jesus proved it by physically raising the dead during his ministry (Luke 7:11-17; 8:49-56; John 11:1-44) and again on the day of his death; when the moment he gave up his spirit…tombs were opened, and many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised to life (Matthew 27:50, 52). You didn’t just love a soul – you loved a body. And so did God. That’s why he didn’t just send his Son into the world to redeem souls but bodies; that’s why Jesus lived, suffered, died and rose with a physical body. God created us with bodies and souls, and the fact that he promises to raise our ashes to life means that our loved ones are there in the grave or urn we laid them in.

But the Bible says more than that. It says that our loved ones who died in faith are also in heaven. Again, that’s not my opinion; that’s God’s Word. Just as Jesus told the thief on the cross today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43), so the countless multitude stands around God’s throne in paradise. As the Jews were pelting the life out of Stephen’s body with stones, he cried out Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! (Acts 7:59). That’s where your loved one who died in the faith is right now: with Jesus. Just as you stand before Jesus here in the church militant singing his praise, so Revelation shows our loved ones standing before the throne of God, singing: salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb.

But there is a difference. They have escaped the great tribulation called life on this earth; you haven’t. You get hungry; they don’t. You get thirsty; they don’t. The sun beats down on you – that is, many things make life on this earth hard for you as a result of sin’s curse (Genesis 3); there’s no hardship in heaven. You cry; they don’t. God doesn’t just wipe away the tears from their cheeks – as we do; he wipes the tears from their eyes – meaning, he takes away any reason they could have for tears. Isn’t the Bible’s answer in Revelation to the question “where are they now” infinitely better than the baseless, mystic sentimentality of the world or the cold and comfortless answer of unbelief?

But that brings us to the second question: “how did they get there?” – and, relatedly, “how do I get there?” Once again, the world and unbelief have their answers. The world says that the dead live on in your hearts. How do they get there? By doing memorable things. By writing novels and starring in movies; by scoring touchdowns and pitching perfect games; by sacrificing for others and donating hospital wings. The reality is that our children will never really know or care about Bart Starr or Rollie Fingers; they will probably never read Mark Twain or watch Gone with the Wind; and, honestly, who even notices the names on the plaques that cover the walls of the hospital you’re walking into? If such famous and impactful people can be so easily forgotten or ignored, what hope do you or I have to live on eternally in the memories of other people by virtue of our words and actions?

Unbelief claims that the dead are gone. That once the chemicals and minerals which evolution arranged that enabled you to think, move and talk stopped sparking and moving, that’s it. Here’s the thing: do you know anyone who actually believes that? The idea of an afterlife has appeared in every civilization that has ever existed. That’s not a coincidence, Solomon says that [God] has put eternity in [every human heart] (Ecclesiastes 3:11). And most believe that there is a good afterlife and a bad one. And what gets you into the good one? Good works. Effort. Blood, sweat and tears. Good people and those who die a hero’s death go to a good afterlife. It’s in songs and books and movies. You hear it at funerals: “They worked hard, were a good mom or dad or brother or sister, they loved to help others – and, so, now they’re in a better place.”

Is that what you want people to say at your funeral? I don’t. Because if the requirement for getting into heaven depends on me being a good person, a loving husband, a caring father, a faithful pastor – then I’m toast – and so are all of my, and your, loved ones who have died. If you doubt this, just compare the names listed in Hebrews 11 – the so-called Hall of Fame of Faith – to their OT biographical accounts. They were far from “saints” during their lives on earth; they were liars and deceivers, murderers and prostitutes. If getting into heaven depends on good works, pure thoughts and loving words – where does that leave your grandparents and parents? Where does that leave you and me? On the outside looking in. It leaves you looking at the headstone and remembering the time grandma let a naughty word slip and thinking that maybe she didn’t have what it takes to get into heaven.

Thank God for Revelation 7. What does it say? Does it say: “These are the ones who have made their dirty robes white by the good works they did on earth?” Does it say: “These are the ones who earned a place there by their unshakable faith, bold confession and tireless efforts in God’s kingdom on earth?” Does it even say: “These are the ones who confessed their faith to the point of death so that their blood made their robes white?” No, it says they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

That the saints in heaven did good works on earth is undeniable. But their good works didn’t get them into heaven. No one, not any of your loved ones or any of mine; not even any of the famous saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Peter or Paul had possessed the righteousness needed to stand in God’s presence on their own. So how did they get into heaven? The same way your Christian loved ones did and the same way you will. Through the blood of the Lamb; through the blood Jesus shed for your sins on the cross; through the blood he poured out which covers your sinful life. It’s the blood of Jesus that washes away any and every sinful stain on your robe. Even if someone you know who died in the faith hurt you in a way you struggle to forgive and forget – Jesus can and Jesus did. Even if you hurt a loved one and never had the chance to repent and receive their forgiveness – Jesus can and Jesus did. No sin can stick to a robe that has been washed white through faith in the blood of the Lamb – and that’s the only reason that that great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, could be standing in front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palm branches in their hands – including your loved ones and mine. If you want to see them again, then know this: the blood of the Lamb is the key. This is the blood he puts in the water of baptism for sinners; the blood he uses to wipe your slate clean in the words of Absolution; the blood he gives in Holy Communion to sinners to drink – for forgiveness and, therefore, eternal life and salvation.

On All Saints’ Day, Revelation 7 answers the two big questions we have regarding those who have died in the faith: where are they now and how did they get there? Right now their bodies are resting in the ground awaiting resurrection and the souls are singing God’s praises in heaven – and they got there by his good works and the blood he shed which was offered to them and received by them in baptism, absolution and communion. And, as a bonus, now you know how you can join them there. Amen.

John 8:31-36 - Jesus has Set Us Free! - October 30, 2022

This time of year our mailboxes and email inboxes are filled with political mailings and messages. Often the candidates who are asking for your vote promise to give you freedom of some sort in return. And rightly so, since our nation was established on the principle of freedom – freedom we still enjoy today. In 9 days, we can exercise our freedom to vote. We enjoy freedom of speech (although as Christians we will always use that right to edify others and glorify God). We enjoy freedom of the press – MSNBC or FOX, the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal – we are free to consume all of them or none of them. Most importantly, we enjoy freedom of religion. Unlike thousands – perhaps millions – of Christians around the world, we don’t (or at least shouldn’t) have to worry that the government will persecute us because we confess Jesus Christ as our Savior. As Americans, we are free in any number of ways – and let us never take our freedoms for granted. But today, let us cherish the most important freedom we have – one not granted by the Constitution but by Jesus.

Many Americans today take their freedoms for granted. So do many Christians. That’s because you can only appreciate freedom when you’ve known and experienced the opposite: slavery. The first part of John 8 provides a prime example of what this slavery looks like. As Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, the scribes and Pharisees dragged in a woman who had been caught red handed in the sin of adultery. The Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus to see if he would support the Law of Moses which said that she should be stoned to death for her crime (Leviticus 20:10). This woman knew what it meant to be enslaved to sin. Lust controlled her. Wicked, angry, vengeful men surrounded her, and on the other side of her only apparent escape – death – stood Satan, cackling with delight in the fact that he had wrecked another home, ruined another life, and trapped another soul for eternity.

The Galatians in our second lesson also knew what it meant to be slaves. Some of them were literal slaves – a grim reality for many in the Roman Empire. Many of them had, at one time, been slaves to idols – false gods with eyes that couldn’t see, ears that couldn’t hear, and hands that couldn’t help. Behind every one of these false gods stood Satan – who had succeeded yet again in convincing humans created in God’s image to worship blocks of wood and statues of silver. It was pure insanity. Pure satanic slavery!

But before you spend your pity on that woman and those Christians in Galatia, listen to what Jesus has to say: Amen, Amen, I tell you: everyone who keeps committing sin is a slave to sin. All sin is slavery. Sometimes this slavery is easy to spot. The addict who lies and steals to maintain his addiction – his slavery is obvious. The husband who spends his time, money, and creativity deceiving his family and friends to maintain a secret affair – his slavery is obvious. When pastors reach out to members who haven’t attended worship in months or years, they often hear the rattle of sin’s chains in the excuses given: busy schedule; gotta work; it’s the kids and their sports or academics; it’s my only morning to sleep in; I’m young, I’ll have time for Jesus later, etc. Wrecked bodies, destroyed homes and lives, greedy hearts and starving souls – all of it is slavery, slavery to sin and slavery to Satan.

Other times it’s harder to spot – especially when you and I are looking in the mirror. There’s one important thing to remember: slavery to sin isn’t only what we do, it’s who we are. We just admitted that, didn’t we? I confess…. that I am a miserable sinner, guilty of every sin… Pick a commandment, any commandment – and when you look into it as a mirror, your slavery and mine will become obvious. The 4th – sure we respect those in elected office, those called by the church, our parents and employers – to their faces; how many of us would have to blush with shame if our private thoughts and conversations about them were made public? The 5th – it’s easy to refrain from pulling a trigger on a gun. It’s not so easy to keep from pulling the trigger of hatred in our hearts. The 6th – it’s fairly easy to stay out of our neighbor’s bedroom. It’s not so easy to keep our eyes to ourselves. The 8th – I doubt that many of us have had the opportunity to commit perjury in a courtroom – but the times we’ve told lies about neighbor, betrayed him, or given him a bad name; those are innumerable. Jesus says, everyone who keeps committing sin is a slave to sin. The hard truth is, then, that because we sin we are slaves to sin.

When we learn this truth, we don’t like it. So we try to escape. Generally, in one of two ways: 1) We try to work our way out of it, or 2) we deny it. The Galatians had chosen to try to work themselves out of their slavery. They did so by confusing Law and Gospel. Some false teachers had wormed their way into the Galatian congregation. They were essentially Pharisees in Christian clothing. They said that it was fine to believe that the Gospel made you a Christian, but that if you wanted to stay a Christian and be certain of your salvation, you still had to obey the Old Testament laws: you had to be circumcised, not work on Saturdays, not eat bacon or pork chops. Paul could hardly believe it: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, which is really not another gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-7). Paul is shocked that these Christians would even consider giving up the freedom they had in Christ for the chains of the Mosaic Law.

Martin Luther tried a similar route 1500 years later. He gave up a promising career in the law to become a monk. He gave up ownership of earthly possessions. He slept on a stone floor, became a priest, named and confessed his sins seven days a week and prayed seven times a day. He did all this in an attempt to free his conscience from guilt and his soul from slavery to sin. And yet, his path of freedom through works quickly became another form of slavery. I saw many who tried with great effort and the best of intentions to do everything possible to appease their conscience. They wore hair shirts; they fasted; they prayed; they tormented and wore out their bodies so severely that if they had been made of iron they would have been crushed. And yet the more they labored, the greater their terrors became. Especially when the hour of death was imminent, they became so fearful that I have seen many murderers facing execution die more confidently than these men who had lived such saintly lives (LW 27:13). Attempting to work your way out of slavery – whether that means fasting, giving, praying, working, serving, preaching, or just trying harder tomorrow – is simply trading slavery to sin for slavery to the law. And slavery never leads to freedom.

Option 2: deny, deny, deny. Israel’s history was one of slavery beginning, middle and end. Egypt. Babylon. Rome. It was undeniable. And yet they claim: we are Abraham’s descendants…and we have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be set free’? They were in denial. “We can’t be slaves. We’re children of Abraham. We’ve got the right blood flowing in our veins – so God has to give us a pass.” Sadly, these Jews forgot that the fact that their forefathers wandered and died in the wilderness for their rebellion and unbelief (1 Corinthians 10:1-13) shows how serious God is about sin – no matter who you’re related to.

That’s why we don’t let our celebration of the Reformation turn into Lutheran pep rally. “We’re sons of Luther – and we’re WELS (that’s the good kind of Lutheran) on top of it! God must be happy with us.” The truth is that belonging to a confessional Lutheran church and synod doesn’t earn us a thing in God’s eyes. If we imagine that we are free because of our Lutheran pedigree – because we were baptized, confirmed, married and plan to be buried Lutheran – we are in denial, and we end up losing the one person with the pedigree that really matters: Jesus. That’s why we don’t celebrate the Reformation to worship Martin Luther, or to place our trust in our Lutheran heritage as if that somehow earns our spot in heaven; no, our celebration of the Lutheran Reformation is nothing more and nothing less than an opportunity to thank God for using Martin Luther to bring back to the forefront the one true solution to our problem of slavery: Jesus!

Obedience to the law cannot set us free. Being Lutheran does not set us free. Only one thing sets us free from sin: If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples. You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free…a slave does not remain in the family forever. A son does remain forever. So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

The big question is: who is this Son who claims to have the power to set sinners free? There is no more important question and answer that Satan tries harder to confuse and cover up. The world at large is too distracted by the pursuits and pleasures of this life to be bothered with this question. The visible church has mutilated the Son’s identity, with many saying that Jesus can be whoever you want him to be. But salvation doesn’t depend on who you want Jesus to be, it depends on who Jesus proved himself to be. Thank God that Jesus has proved beyond all doubt that he is God’s Son and our Savior – but he did it in a rather unorthodox manner. He proved his power to free us from our slavery to sin by voluntarily becoming a slave in our place. He freed us by giving up his freedom. He left his majestic throne in heaven to become a servant on earth. He came preaching and teaching the truth – but no truth has been more frequently and completely rejected than His saving gospel. Jesus came to bring light to people living in darkness, but most preferred to stay in the darkness of sin and unbelief (John 3:19-20). Jesus was omnipotent, all-powerful; but in humility he allowed himself to be arrested, mocked and beaten by his creatures. Jesus, the King of Justice, suffered the ultimate perversion of justice – the guilty Barabbas walked free while he was nailed to a cross. The Author of Life died (Acts 3:15). The one who fills the universe was sealed in a cold stone grave. But…that wasn’t the end of the story: the One who died rose and now lives forever!

Because God’s Son broke the bars on death’s prison, not only is he free – he has earned the right to set us free. Slaves can only make other slaves. If we trust our own obedience to set us free – we will be slaves forever. If we look to Luther to set us free – we will find that heaven isn’t the only corner of eternity with a special section for Lutherans (there’s a section of hell for all who falsely claimed to be Lutheran, too). But if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. Through the conquering work of the Son, you are free from slavery to sin. Through the Lord of Life, you are free from the fear of death. Freed from Satan’s chains by Jesus’ blood, you are free to be sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.

That’s freedom you enjoy right now. How? Lutherans (especially Lutheran pastors) love the answer to that question. If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples. We hold to the Reformation creed of Scripture alone because Jesus tells us that it is only through his Word that we are truly set free. Jesus ties the gift of freedom – not to our genetic heritage, not to our church membership, not to a feeling in our hearts, not to our obedience or good works – but to His Word. Jesus connects true freedom, not to an army representing the red, white, and blue but to the blood-stained Gospel. If you want to be free; if you want to experience true freedom – hold onto Jesus’ teaching, treasure every doctrine in it, take every opportunity to hear and dig into God’s Word, remember your baptism daily and receive the Sacrament as often as you can – because through that Word Jesus sets you free to be children of God.

As people blessed by God to live in the land of the free, may we never take our freedom for granted. Don’t forget that our freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion were bought and paid for by American lives. Thank God for the freedoms granted and guaranteed to us by the Constitution. But more importantly, on this Reformation Day, rejoice in the freedom you have as a child of God. It was purchased and won for you, not by American soldiers, but by the blood of God’s one and only Son. That freedom comes to you through Word and Sacrament. That freedom can’t be taken from you. That freedom will ring loud and clear forever. Amen.

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