The Festival of the Reformation (observed)

(Audio)

John 8:31-36 / Matthew 11:12-19; Romans 3:19-28; Revelation 14:6-7

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Or so reads the motto carved in granite inside the main lobby of the old CIA building in Langley, Virginia. That institution’s use of these words of our Lord is somewhat telling. It is telling in that it reveals how men feel about the truth. The truth is a means to an end. The truth is something that is to be discovered. It has to be discovered because there are men who desire to keep it hidden. But, of course, the men who desire to discover the truth themselves desire to keep certain truths hidden, to withhold certain truths, and to dispense as truth what are actually half-truths, and, sometimes, not truth at all.

Less than a century ago, men still believed that there was truth underlying all observable things and phenomena. That was the great Modern Age when science and human knowledge replaced the need for superstition and religion, for God. As men formulated and tested their theories, little by little, year after year, the space for God seemingly became smaller and smaller. It was believed that, ultimately, a single theory for everything would be formulated and that then men would finally know the truth of all things and would be truly free at last – free from the tyranny of God, and free from the unenlightened simpletons who believe in Him. Today, however, in these so-called Post-Modern times, it is popular to believe that there is no universal or absolute truth, that there is no possible theory of all things, but only personal truth or emotional truth, that is, subjective truth. Indeed, it appears that the truth did not set us free, but, rather, we have set ourselves free from the truth.

For, the truth is this: Men don’t care much for the truth. The truth is, the truth makes men uncomfortable, because their deeds are wicked. For, the truth is a rule, the truth is a measure, outside of oneself, that judges men’s thoughts, words, and deeds and condemns them. So, wicked men flee from the truth, the way cockroaches flee from the light, for fear that their wicked deeds be exposed.

And Jesus knows this about you. He knows how you fear the truth too, how you seek to hide from the truth, to bend the truth, to deny the truth. And that is why He says to you “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus knows that you are not free, but, that you are in slavery to sin and death. And Jesus knows how this truth terrifies you. But Jesus speaks of another truth, a truth that sets you free from all that, a truth that is known by abiding in His word. And Jesus isthe Word, and Jesus is the Truth, and Jesus is the Truth that sets you free from slavery to sin and death. The Jews to whom Jesus spoke these words wouldn’t believe the truth standing right there before them in their very presence. They were afraid of the truth, so they told themselves half-truths and false truths to comfort themselves. But the truth is, they remained in slavery to sin and death, while Truth Incarnate, Jesus Christ was present to free them from all that.

Nearly fifteen hundred years later, men continued to fear the truth, to hide from the truth, to bend the truth, and to deny the truth because their deeds continued to be wicked. Some things never change. But, even worse, men also feared, hid, bent, and denied the Truth that had in truth set all men free from sin and death, Jesus Christ. For fear of losing power and influence to both foreign and regional political forces, and for a multitude of other social, cultural, and political reasons, the Church had covered over, had hidden and made conditional, the Gospel Truth of men’s justification by faith in Jesus Christ. They exchanged the Truth for a lie and kept men in slavery to sin and death. It was this long social, cultural, and political process that set the stage for the Reformation in the 16^th century.

There had been numerous reformers before Martin Luther including John Wycliffe and Jan Hus. Most of them and their efforts had been stamped out and some of the reformers were even executed. But all of them were martyrs, that is, witnesses, for the Gospel Truth. They were sowers of the Gospel seed who would not live to see the fruits of their labors. But, when the time was right, God, and God alone, saw that His message would ring out to the ends of the earth.

Again, the reasons for the Reformation were multitude. Politically, the Holy Roman Empire was in decline and was threatened by the Turks and barbarians from without and by territorial unrest from within. Socially, there was increasing strife between peasants and landowners. And, then there was spiritual strife within the Church as the forgiveness of sins was being sold as a commodity through the sale of indulgences and even the sale of the holy sacraments. Arguably, however, the greatest factor in the rapid spread and success of the Reformation was the invention of the movable type – Gutenberg’s printing press of the mid 15^th century.

For, what did the printing press serve to do but to spread the Word of God? Likely, were it not for the press, Martin Luther would be but another footnote in pre-Reformation history. Indeed, the Reformation was God’s doing, in His way, at His time, in the place of His choosing. And, as hard as men may strive in fear to hide, bend, and deny the truth, the Eternal Gospel of the Truth still stands and will continue to ring out to the ends of the earth. Again, Jesus said “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Ultimately, it was the truth of the word that was uncovered in the Reformation and, thanks to the press, rapidly spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Wycliffe had translated the entire Bible into English and Luther translated it into German. In addition, numerous commentaries and theological tracts were read by more and more people. The Word of the Truth was out of the bag, proclaimed, as it were, by one of God’s holy angels to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

“The hour of his judgment has come,” for, God has judged men to be righteous in Jesus Christ – and that is the truth. So, there is nothing to fear from the truth unless what you fear is losing your enslavement to sin and death. The truth is that you are set free from all your secret sins, from having to hide them and cover them up, from having to fear their being exposed, from having to bend the truth to make yourself look better in the eyes of men and of God. Therefore, confess your dark sins, expose them to the light of the Truth, and watch them disappear like vapor in the full light of the sun. Be free from sin and death and do not submit yourself again unto a yoke of slavery. For, the Son has set you free, and you are a son, not a slave. The righteousness of God has been shown in that He is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. So, you are free from performing works of the Law to merit salvation through the blood of God’s sacrificial Lamb. You are free to worship Him without fear, holy and righteous in His sight all the days of your life to the glory of God the Father.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 22)

(Audio)

Matthew 18:21-35; Philippians 1:3-11; Micah 6:6-8

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Do you not find it ironic that your Lord tells Peter to forgive seventy times seven and then tells a parable about a king who forgives only once. What’s with that? You are to forgive endlessly, but God forgives only once? But then, this is a parable of the kingdom of heaven, which is not like the kingdoms of men.

In the kingdoms of men you think that you want justice, what’s right, above all else. Therefore you sympathize with Peter in his desire to limit forgiveness. A repeat offender deserves justice, punishment, you believe. However, when the king exacts such harsh punishment upon a servant who owed him a debt, most likely you sympathize with the servant and feel that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, that it’s not right or just. But, then, when the king entirely forgives his servant’s debt out of pity for him, don’t you feel that that is unjust as well? No one is supposed to get somethin’ for nothin’. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, after all. Do you see how twisted your thoughts about justice are? By what measure or barometer do you decide what is just, what is right, and what is fair and good?

Jesus knows this about you, and He is a master storyteller. He tells you this parable to expose your hypocrisy and your self-righteousness about justice. As He continued His parable, next He had the servant who was mercifully and graciously forgiven the entirety of his debt literally wring the neck of another servant who owed him a pittance in comparison. Though the servant pleads with him only for a little more time, he had him arrested and thrown in prison until he could pay back every last cent. Of course, in prison he could not earn a wage, therefore, he would never get out. How does this twist in the story affect your sense of justice? Are you not outraged that the servant who was forgiven so much could then refuse to forgive, or at least be merciful with, a servant who owed him so little? Do you not now empathize with his fellow servants who witnessed this wickedness and went and reported to their master what had taken place? From what high place do you stand in judgment? Did you not sympathize with this man before, and now you condemn him?

Remember, this is a parable about the kingdom of heaven. What then is Jesus teaching you about the kingdom of heaven? Is it not as it was with King David when the Prophet Nathan exposed his murderous sin by telling him a story? When David heard that the rich man had taken the poor man’s ewe lamb and killed it, he was filled with rage at the injustice and shouted that the man deserved to die! Then, the Prophet said to him, “You are the man!” When you hear the Prophet’s story, when you hear Jesus’ parable, like David, you are quick to judgment, filled with self-righteous anger, ready to condemn. However, what is truly exposed is the truth that you are the man. It is as if Nathan is pointing his finger at you, saying, “You are the man.” You are the unforgiving servant. For, if you had been forgiving, you would not have desired condemnation in your heart for the wicked servant. You would not have snitched on the unforgiving servant, wishing that the king would exact punishment. You would have forgiven. You would have gone to him, exhorted him to repentance, and brought him back into the community, restored him.

But you are also the other servants in Jesus’ parable who told on the wicked servant, who refused to forgive and wanted him to get what he deserved. You want justice. You want people to pay for the evil they do, and not just in this life. You want them to pay eternally. You condemn them. And so the Lord says, be careful what you ask for. If it is a God who condemns and exacts justice for others that you are asking for, you will have a God who condemns and exacts justice also for you. If that is the sort of king you want, that is the sort of king you will have. If that is the kind of God you want, that is the kind of God you will get, for you, too, will pay for all your evil. Therefore, humble yourself before the king because He, and only He, is the greatest in the kingdom. Do not suppose that you can demand justice for everyone else but yourself. You’re not unique. You, too, have been forgiven much. You, too, have received God’s compassionate mercy. You have received forgiveness seventy-seven fold.

Thus, you are each of the debtors in Jesus’ parable: the forgiven debtor, the debtor who wouldn’t forgive, and the debtor whose forgiveness was revoked because he wouldn’t forgive. And, your sense of justice is shown to be imperfect, changing, and biased. God’s justice alone is perfect and unchanging. Repent, and receive forgiveness. Then, forgive as you have been forgiven. Give, as you have been given to. And, do not condemn, as you are not condemned.

For Jesus’ sake, alone, God has forgiven you, once, but for all. The only way that can be revoked is by your refusal to accept it. When you refuse to forgive others, when you choose to judge and condemn, then you put yourself back in God’s debt, you throw off His forgiveness and re-shackle yourself under the burden of your sin, with its judgment and condemnation. When you pray in The Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,” you are confessing that your own forgiveness is linked to your forgiveness of others. If you will not forgive others, then you place your own forgiveness in jeopardy. For, in truth, it is only with Jesus’ forgiveness that you are able to forgive others. You have no ability to forgive of your own, nor reason that you should be forgiven. That is why Jesus says that you should forgive seventy times seven. That is to say, there is no limit to your forgiveness of others, just as there is no limit to God’s forgiveness of you. For, your forgiveness rests in Jesus Christ, the once for all, and for all time, sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross for the sins of all people, of all times and all places. For the sake of His Son, God will never revoke His forgiveness. But, if you will not then forgive others, you have rejected God’s forgiveness of yourself.

God’s forgiveness was at great cost, the cost of His only-begotten Son. But, His sacrifice was necessary so that you could be judged righteous through faith in Him. God’s forgiveness of you is for Jesus’ sake alone. It is yours, free, without any cost or merit. When you forgive others, it is at no cost to you. But, when you refuse to forgive others, you rob God, reject and refuse Him, and thus willfully choose to cast yourself outside of His forgiveness. May the Holy Spirit guide you and counsel you to forgive as you have been forgiven. May He continually draw you to Jesus’ Words and Wounds that your forgiveness may be renewed, your faith strengthened, and your salvation confirmed. “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” May He grant it to you, for Jesus’ sake.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Christian Funeral for Leo Donald Everhard

(Audio)

John 14:1-6; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; Isaiah 43:1-3a, 25

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Leo shared that singular focus on Christ expressed by St. Paul. What Christ’s crucifixion meant for St. Paul, what it meant for Leo, and what it means for you is that everything that was necessary to make you right with God has been accomplished, has been fulfilled in Christ’s selfless, sacrificial, substitutionary death upon the cross. In His own words, “It is finished.” Therefore, God is for us. Who can possibly be against us.

It's not surprising that Leo would be drawn to such a verse as this, so focused, exclusive, and singular, for that’s the way Leo approached nearly everything in his life. Leo was a man who had very strong convictions. Don’t hear me wrong, he was very kind, patient, loving, and gracious, but if Leo believed in something, if Leo was convicted that something was right, wrong, true, or false, then you weren’t going to budge him, no matter what. He would hear your argument, he would listen to your advice, but if he was convicted, he couldn’t be swayed. If he was convicted, then Leo was resolute and confident. And Leo was convicted, resolute, and confident that he was right with God, that God loved him, and that upon his death he would be with Him, all because Leo believed, knew, and confessed that Jesus Christ was crucified for him and that nothing could separate him from the love of God that He poured out in His Son.

The past several months Leo struggled with bouts of pneumonia, becoming gradually weaker and weaker, requiring constant supplemental oxygen, to the point that his lungs hurt nearly all the time. Throughout it all Leo remained resolute, not one to complain, but ready for it to end whenever the Lord knew best. He was not despairing or defeated, but he was confident, resolute, hopeful, and ready. Leo was ready to be freed from weakness, loneliness, and suffering, to be sure, but ready to meet his Lord Jesus and to be reunited with his wife Marie, his parents, and his brothers in heaven. There was no doubt in Leo’s mind or heart because he knew, he believed, and he trusted that Jesus Christ died for him and for all, and that He lives, the first fruits of those trust in Him.

Leo was born in rural Emmetsburg, Iowa and was baptized on a neighbor’s farm because the church hadn’t been constructed yet. He was raised in a faithful Lutheran Christian home and was confirmed when he was aged sixteen, a bit later than others, because he had to wait until one of his younger brothers could be confirmed as well, killing two birds with one stone, as they say. As a boy, Leo loved baseball and he could hit like Ted Williams, left-handed, tall, and thin. Leo was a starter on his eighth-grade varsity team. The boys on the team all called him “Slim.” Leo was a fast runner too and hurdled fences in the pasture. But Leo only completed one and a half days of high school, leaving to help his parents on the farm. One wonders what might have come had he continued to play baseball. After that, Leo’s love for the game was mainly as a fan of the then Brooklyn Dodgers, because of Joe “Lefty” Hattan from Bancroft, IA, while Jackie Robinson was still with them, and then cheering on Rich, who was a pitcher, and playing catcher for him. Leo also enjoyed gardening and canning. He and Marie had a 30’ x 90’ garden. Rich and Laurie didn’t purchase a single green bean the first ten years they were married. And Leo loved his yard and landscaping. Rich wasn’t allowed to play on the lawn, but only on the sidewalks and drive.

Leo was probably the most social self-proclaimed anti-social guy you’ve ever met. He would say that he didn’t much care for crowds and small talk, and that he had very few close friends, yet you could find him any day at Burger King with the guys talking sports, at Hy-Vee for breakfast, or coffee at McDonalds, having conversations with people everywhere he went. Leo enjoyed going out to lunch with Luke and Adam and attending their concerts and other school activities. When Marie was in the Shell Rock Nursing Home, Leo met Dale whose wife was there as well. The two talked in the hallway every day and they continued to talk every night on the phone for the next ten years. In fact, Dale was trying to get a hold of Leo Thursday evening and couldn’t reach him. Perhaps you noticed that Leo always mispronounced names. He called Wal-Mart “Walmark” and the Dodgers pitcher Clayton “Kerschev.” Leo spoke two languages: English and “Leo.”

Leo was a creature of habit. He was meticulous in his care of home, regularly replacing filters, checking the furnace, replacing smoke detector batteries, etc., and he was meticulous in his care for his automobiles, changing the oil and fluids, tires, battery, etc., even to the point of driving the car around a bit before a trip in order to warm it up, and then driving it around a bit before putting it away after a short trip in order to keep moisture from building up in the exhaust system. Leo loved routine and order. He vacuumed and did laundry every day. He also prayed his devotions every day. He loved to read Portals of Prayer daily. Leo loved worshipping with his family and with his family of faith at St. John. And, when he could no longer come to church, Leo loved to worship on Thursday mornings at Bartels where he told me only a week before he died, “Pastor, I so enjoy coming to church. If I couldn’t go to church, then I wouldn’t want to be here anymore.”

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Leo had decided to know nothing except that Jesus Christ was crucified for him, and that, when he died, he would be with Him in heaven. Leo’s heart was not troubled, and neither should your heart be troubled. Leo believed in God, and he believed in His Son Jesus Christ who was crucified, died, and buried, descended into hell, and on the third day rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven where He prepared a place for Leo, and He promised to come again to take Leo to Himself. Our Lord Jesus has kept His promise to Leo, and He will keep His promise to you as well.

Leo was ready. I know we hear people say this all the time, but you should have no doubt of any kind that Leo was really, truly, sincerely, and completely ready to go home. There are few people that I’ve ministered to over the past twenty years that were more content, at peace, and simply ready to die in the Lord and be with Him than Leo. And that is because, spiritually, Leo died in the Lord a long, long time ago, when he was baptized. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.” In a sense, throughout his long life, Leo lived having one foot planted firmly in heaven while the other was planted here on earth. Now Leo stands with both feet firmly planted in heaven, “with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven,” where they hunger no more, nor thirst anymore, where breathing is easy there is no pain or suffering, sorrow, or death, and where God Himself wipes away every tear from their eyes.

Leo was convicted in this belief; he was resolute and determined. Leo’s faith provided him immense comfort, contentment, and peace in his last years, months, days, and hours, because that faith was focused on and clung to something that was outside of himself, unshakeable, and certain – Jesus Christ and Him crucified. God so loved the world; God so loved Leo; and God so loves you in this way – He gave His only Son to be crucified. It is finished. Yet there’s more: Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Thus, there is comfort for days, months, and years to come, and hope for eternity.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 21)

(Audio)

John 4:46-54; Ephesians 6:10-17; Genesis 1:1 – 2:3

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Why didn’t Jesus do as the grief-stricken father pleaded with Him to do and come to his home on the spot and heal his son who was dying? Why didn’t Jesus come immediately to His friend Lazarus when He received word that he was dying? Why didn’t Jesus just heal the paralyzed man on the spot instead of proclaiming his sin’s forgiven? Why doesn’t Jesus answer your prayers in a direct, obvious, and satisfying way and heal your cancer, mend your broken marriage, or reform your rebellious teen? Time and time again you come to Him in prayer and nothing happens, nothing changes. Maybe He isn’t listening? Maybe He cannot help? Maybe He doesn’t care? Maybe He isn’t even real? Or, maybe, you are not so unlike the people of Jesus’ day, refusing to believe unless you see signs and wonders?

Jesus performed numerous signs and wonders during His earthly life and ministry, and an even greater number in the times before then as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, exacting astounding plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, parting the Red Sea and the Jordan River, providing manna, quail, and water from the rock to sustain the children of Israel in the wilderness, guiding them in their journeys in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, appearing in a burning bush and with fire and smoke and an earthquake upon Mount Sinai, and more. You have all these signs and wonders and still you refuse to believe Jesus’ Word and promise to you. If He says that you are healed, then why do you not believe? If He says that you will be raised, then why do you not believe? If He says that you are forgiven, then why do you not believe? If He says that He is with you always, even to the end of the age, and that He will never leave you or forsake you, then why do you not believe? If He says that you have died with Him in Holy Baptism and that you will be raised with Him in His resurrection, then why do you not believe? If He says that He is present with you in this Holy Meal that you may eat and drink and commune with Him in flesh and blood and spirit, then why do you not believe? O, you of little faith? Do you, like Thomas, refuse to believe unless you see and touch?

No, you are not alone in this, your weakness and smallness of faith. Though Abraham believed the LORD so strongly at first, when Sarah did not conceive according to his timeline he took matters into his own hands and conceived a son with Hagar, his wife’s maidservant. But, Ishmael was not the son of promise, and the LORD provided still a natural son for Abraham and Sarah in Isaac, through whom all the nations of the earth are blessed in Jesus. Likewise, Moses and the Israelites, who had witnessed many signs and wonders, failed to trust in the LORD and obey His command to travel around the land of Edom for fear that they would perish of starvation. Because of their sinful unbelief the LORD sent fiery serpents to bite the people, and many died, that they might turn in repentance and be forgiven and healed. Even then, many refused to look upon the bronze serpent to which the LORD had attached His Word of Promise and healing. Though forgiveness and healing were provided them, they chose unbelief and death over faith, repentance, and life in the LORD. And, then there was Peter, who gave a bold confession in reply to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” answering, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” But, then, Peter was overcome with fear and doubt when Jesus explained that the Son of Man must suffer and die, and on the third day be raised. Peter refused to believe Jesus’ Words, and Jesus rebuked him saying, “Get behind me Satan.”

They had seen so much. They had come so far, lead and fed, cared for and protected by the LORD and His Word. And, still they struggled, at times they failed, to believe. And, so do you. “Unless you see signs and wonders you will never believe.” This Word of Jesus was at once a rebuke, a statement of fact, and a commiseration, for your Lord Jesus is a flesh and blood human just like you, experiencing the temptation to fear and doubt and unbelief that come with hunger and thirst, pain and sorrow, and ultimately death, just like you. Jesus knows what it is like to be you. The LORD your God knows what it is like to be you. Therefore He grants you signs and wonders that you may hear with your ears, see with your eyes, touch with your hands, and taste with your mouths that He is good, that He cares for you and guides you and protects you, because He loves you and He does not desire to see you perish. God loves you, and God loves the world so much that He has given His Son into your fleshly weakness, has suffered temptation and overcome Satan by faith and trust in the Word of the LORD, and has submitted to death on the cross, the death you deserve, that you might have, in exchange, His life that cannot die, that you might be restored to sonship with His Father as you were created to enjoy in the beginning.

It happened in Cana, where Jesus had performed His first wondrous sign changing water into wine at a wedding feast. He did not do this simply to bring pleasure and joy, but Jesus changed the water into wine that His weak-faithed people might see and believe. And, many did. One of those who saw and believed that day may very well have been the official in today’s Gospel who, hearing that Jesus was near, came to Him and pleaded with Him to come to his home and heal his son who was near death. The official had faith, though it was small faith. That is why he came to Jesus. However, Jesus desired to strengthen his faith, just as He would strengthen Thomas’ faith saying, “Do you believe because you have seen? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus told the official, “Go, and your son will live.” Though he was surely disappointed and struggled to believe, the official “believed the Word that Jesus had spoke to him and went on his way.” “As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.’ The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ And he himself believed, and all his household.”

The Word might seem weak as a foundation for faith unless it has something visible, physical, and tangible with it. But the Word is sufficient by itself. Compare Jesus’ Word to Jesus Himself and you’ll see how true this is. Jesus seemed like a weak foundation for salvation. His strength was beaten out of Him. He stood helpless before His accusers. He was too weak to carry His own cross all the way up Golgotha. He died quickly as far as crucifixions go, letting go of life long before the criminals crucified on either side of Him did. Is this seriously your foundation for salvation? Yes! Yes it is! Jesus may have looked weak, but that’s how He chose to defeat sin, death, and the devil.

What we were set up to expect in today’s Gospel indeed came to fruition: Jesus did another sign in Cana, and more believed. Jesus did not go to the official’s home, and yet He healed the man’s son by speaking His Word. In the end, the official’s faith depended on Jesus’ Word, and not upon his sight. Faith that believes without seeing is stronger faith. This your Lord would have for you. Faith that believes the Word of the Lord without accompanying signs and wonders is faith that cannot fail. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Now, you have heard countless sermons and teachings on the importance and power of the Word of God, and this is yet another. However, I will attempt to simplify things and get right to the point. The Word of God is not a word like you and I speak, a word that changes in meaning over time, a word that effects nothing true or lasting, a word that can be spoken falsely, insincerely, or in deceit, but the Word of God is a person, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God, even the Word made flesh Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word God spoke in the beginning by whom everything was made and is still sustained. When God said, “Let there be Light,” Jesus was the Word that God spoke even as He is the Light of the world. God’s Word, Jesus, is a creative and performative Word, a Word that actually brings into being what it says. When God says, “Let there be Light,” there is Light. When Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven,” your sins are forgiven. When Jesus says, “This is my body; this is my blood,” they are precisely what He says. And, when Jesus says, “I will raise you up on the Last Day,” you can trust that He will. So, when your Pastor tells you that you must believe and trust in the Word of the Lord, this is what he means by the word “word.”

Therefore, the Bible is not just a book full of words, written by men, therefore containing errors and myths and prejudices and agendas that our task today is to weed through and discard the chaff while ascertaining the wheat. No! The Bible is the Word of God, breathed by His Spirit through His inspired writers, testifying to all that God has done, is doing, and will do in and through His Son, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord, the Bible, is authoritative and unchanging, true and without error, and Jesus Christ is the interpretive key and the revelation of its fulfillment and meaning. The Word of the LORD is sufficient for you. It is all you need. Whether or not the Lord provides you signs and wonders, you can trust His Word and promise that will not and cannot fail. And yet, your God is not a God who is far off, but a God who is near, even a God who has become a man, flesh and blood just like you. And, your God is present with you now, not only spiritually, but in signs and wonders that you can hear and see and touch and taste. Your God would have you believe without seeing, but to strengthen your faith and to lead you there, He washes your sins away in Holy Water, He absolves you anew through the mouth and the hands of your Pastor, He comforts, strengthens, and equips you through His Word of Law and Gospel proclaimed in the Church, and He feeds you and communes with you, filling you with Himself in the Holy Supper of His real and true body and blood. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” Believe it for Jesus’ sake.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 20)

(Audio)

Matthew 22:1-14; Ephesians 5:15-21; Isaiah 55:1-9

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a party, a festive wedding banquet, in which everything is prepared, ready, and free, to which you are invited, so that you need do nothing at all but come. You don’t even have to buy a new suit or gown, for wedding clothes are included in the invitation. And yet, you refuse to come. You make excuses. Or, you insist on paying for your dinner, wearing a suit or gown of your own purchase and choosing. Haven’t you heard the saying, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?” The kingdom of heaven is a gift to you. You cannot buy it. You cannot earn it by your works. And, you certainly don’t deserve it. But it is yours for the taking, absolutely free, no strings attached, as a gift. You are in, by the Father’s, by the King’s gracious working. Only you can make yourself to be out.

But, this is a parable, an analogy. The kingdom of heaven isn’t really a wedding feast, although there will be a feast and a wedding, but the kingdom of heaven is a relationship of love between a father and a son. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” Long before the invitations were sent, the guests invited, the beasts slaughtered, and the dinner prepared, long before all that, there was a father and a son. The son is getting married, and the father is going to throw a wedding feast for his son whom he loves. It’s all about the son. The banquet is for him and his bride whom the father loves. Indeed, the father’s love for his son is what makes the wedding feast to be the incomparable free gift of grace that it is. For, the father has done everything for the sake of his son because he loves him. And, that’s why absolutely everything that is necessary is already prepared and there is nothing for you to do, nothing for you to bring, nothing for you to buy, nothing for you to earn or to deserve, but it’s all free, absolutely, completely free by grace, and by grace alone, because of the father’s love for his son.

Yet, this isn’t any ordinary wedding banquet, for the kingdom of heaven isn’t any ordinary kingdom, and the King of Heaven isn’t any ordinary king. Likewise, the invitation isn’t any ordinary invitation, but it’s more like an offer you cannot refuse. Of course, you actually can refuse it, and, sadly, many do, but what I mean is that you shouldn’t refuse it, you shouldn’t want to refuse it, and, if you truly knew the nature of the invitation you have received and the implications of its refusal, you wouldn’t want to refuse it. No, this is no ordinary banquet, but this banquet is life, and its refusal is death. To refuse the King’s gracious invitation is to say, “No thank you, I’d rather die first.” Be certain of this, you will! This is why Jesus warns you of the grave implications of refusing to come to the wedding feast, or of insisting that you come on your own terms. Twice the king appealed to the invitees to come to the wedding feast, but they refused. Some even killed the king’s messengers! Therefore, “the king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” The wrath of God is not His proper disposition towards us, but rather His alien, or foreign disposition towards those who refuse and reject Him, but it is nevertheless real and uncompromising. Yet, no one need face God’s wrath against sin, for the invitation is to all through Jesus Christ – It is His wedding feast, and the Father, the King, would have His banquet hall filled.

Thus, the king said to his servants, “Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find. And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.” You see, badness or goodness are not conditions for participating in the wedding feast, but it is acceptance of the king’s gracious invitation. It was, and it is, by the king’s grace alone, for love of his son, that anyone is invited. It is by grace alone that you are saved, it is by grace alone that you must be saved, for it is by grace alone that you can be saved. Those initially invited were found unworthy because they refused and rejected the king’s gracious invitation. However, those invited later were not found unworthy even though some of them were bad. It is not badness that condemns you, or goodness that saves you, but you are saved by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Still, one of those guests gathered from the highways and the hedges was found by the king in the wedding hall without a wedding garment. The king had him bound hand and foot and cast into the darkness outside the gates. Why such harsh treatment to one who had responded positively to the king’s gracious invitation? Well, again, it is by the king’s grace alone that anyone enjoys his banquet, which includes, not only the invitation, mind you, but the proper attire as well. In order to demonstrate the totality and completeness of his grace upon his invited guests, the king in Jesus’ parable even supplied the proper wedding attire. His guests need not purchase, borrow, or worry about having the proper clothing, for all would be provided by his grace alone. Free means free – period! Thus, the king asked the man, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” To put it another way, “What arrogance and disrespect, to reject and to refuse the wedding garment I have provided for my guests!” Grace is the only way in. You are invited by grace, and you must be clothed by grace. Anything that you do and put your trust in will surely put you out.

But, again, this is a parable. Therefore, we’re not even really talking about a wedding or a banquet, and we’re certainly not talking about the proper tux or gown! The wedding garment is Christ’s righteousness, given to you by grace alone in Holy Baptism. The only way that you can enter into the kingdom of heaven is through Christ: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” Christ’s righteousness must cover you. Jesus’ blood must cover you. And, holy Baptism gives this gift to you, purely and freely by grace alone – no strings attached. You don’t even have to understand it. You don’t even have to believe in order to receive this gift. But, this gift gives all that is required: It forgives sin. It clothes you with Christ’s righteousness. It even creates faith that clings to Christ alone. It’s a gift of God’s grace – perfect, pure, and holy, unlike any other gift you could ever imagine or receive! That’s what the man who was cast out had refused and rejected. He had refused and rejected God’s gift. He had refused and rejected Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, he had no standing before the King, and necessarily, he was cast into His alien wrath.

But, here’s the real kicker: You’re not just guests at the wedding. You’re the Bride! The wedding garment of Holy Baptism isn’t a tux or a gown, but it’s a wedding dress, pure white and spotless. Jesus says that “many are called, but few are chosen.” Indeed, only one is chosen – You, His precious Bride, the Church! “From heaven He came and sought Her to be His Holy Bride. With His pure blood He bought Her, and for Her life He died.” Though you are many, you are one body, His body, flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone. He will never leave you or forsake you, and nothing can separate you from His love. His Father loves you because He loves His Son. Graciously He gives you all things, for He sees you as one flesh and one body with His Son. In Him, nothing is spared or reserved, but all things are yours. But, apart from Him, you have nothing.

That’s why Jesus warns, “Whoever is not with me is against me” and “You cannot serve two masters,” for you are wholly His by grace alone, or you have no part with Him at all. That is why the Prophet exhorts you to “seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near,” for the time is coming when the gates to the wedding hall will be shut, and outside there will be darkness, weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. But, the good news, the Gospel is this: No one need be found outside! The invitation is to all, whether Jew or Gentile, good or bad, believer or unbeliever. It is delivered by the Holy Spirit through the Word of the LORD and it has the power to create faith when and where He pleases. But, don’t try to buy or to work your way in, and don’t try to wear your own garment of works and pride – you will be cast out. But, come without money. Come without works. Just, come, and receive. For the LORD is good, and He graciously gives to all whose eyes look to Him, to those who desire the goodness of the LORD.

Come, now, and receive His gifts. The invitation is for you today to feast on this foretaste of the Great Wedding Feast of the kingdom of heaven. All is prepared for you, the Bride, to receive the goodness of your Groom. “Our Bridegroom and our Lord is He, who gives us our identity; and He whose promise can’t grow old has nothing that He will withhold. For this is He who did ascend and preaches still to all earth’s end through all His preachers who proclaim salvation in our Savior’s Name.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 19)

(Audio)

Matthew 9:1-8; Ephesians 4:22-28; Genesis 28:10-17

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus saw their faith. What did Jesus see? What does faith look like? We shouldn’t be surprised that faith can be seen. It was St. James, Jesus’ brother, who famously wrote in his epistle, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” What Jesus saw was some people bringing to him a paralytic so that He might heal him. Their faith was shown forth in their works. Their works were an outward confession of what they believed in their hearts. Clearly, they believed that Jesus could and would heal the man. Clearly, they loved the man enough to bring him to Jesus for healing. Because they believed in Jesus, they had faith in Jesus, they also produced the fruit of good works in their love for Jesus and for their neighbor. Jesus could see their faith. Their faith was evident in their good works towards both God and neighbor.

Because He saw their faith, Jesus’ response was different than what we might expect. Jesus spoke to the paralyzed man and proclaimed that his sins were forgiven. We might have expected that Jesus would address the man’s illness, his paralysis, and tell him to get up and walk. No doubt, that’s what the people who brought the man to Jesus expected. But Jesus didn’t say that. Instead, Jesus proclaimed that the paralyzed man’s sins were forgiven. Notice, however, there is no indication that the paralyzed man, or even those who brought him to Jesus, were dismayed or disappointed. They may very well have been disappointed, but it is not recorded for us. Let’s be honest, even though we believe, the LORD doesn’t answer ever request we make in the affirmative, nor in the timeline we might desire. The LORD’s ways simply are not our ways, and the foolishness of the LORD is wiser than our wisdom. Truly, the LORD has not promised to give us what we want, but what we need, which, let’s be honest once again, is often not what we truly need or even want. In fact, because He saw their faith, Jesus gave the paralyzed man precisely what he needed, which is precisely what we all need, Jesus gave Him the forgiveness of his sins.

Because He saw their faith, because they believed, Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter, sin. Sure, the paralyzed man believed that his paralysis was his chief problem, and likely so did those who brought him to Jesus, just as you and I likely believe that our diseases, marital and relationship problems, financial problems, and so much more are our chief problems, but the paralyzed man and his friends, along with you and I, all share a common problem that is the very worst and ultimate problem we have – sin, which leads always and only to death. Paralysis, diseases, marital and relationship problems, financial problems, and everything else we suffer are not the disease, but only the symptoms. Sin is the common disease we all share, and sin leads only and always to death. All the people whose diseases Jesus healed, even those He raised from death, died, or died again. And even should we recover from our present ailments, not a one of us will enter heaven before passing through death.

What does faith look like? Faith looks like calm in the face of uncertainty, contentment in the face of want, peace in the face of trial, tribulation, disease, and even death. And because faith looks like this faith is free to act in love towards others, bringing others to Jesus, sharing all things with those who need it, never fearing we will not have what we need, living freely without fear and resentment, peaceful and content. Faith is not lifeless, but it is a living faith. Faith is always acting outward, at once receiving and giving and therefore living.

However, there were some present who were scandalized and offended by Jesus’ words. Some scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” They believed that only God could forgive sins. Notice that they had no quarrel with Jesus that the paralyzed man was a sinner, but only that Jesus could forgive sins. Neither were they concerned that Jesus did not heal the man’s paralysis. They were only concerned only with Jesus’ proclaiming forgiveness. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus asked them, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” Again, Jesus equates the disease, paralysis, with its cause, sin. It is no easier to say one rather than the other. However, the scribe’s rejection was less about the nature of sin than it was about who can forgive it. Theirs’ was a question of authority, and they maintained that Jesus didn’t have it. One group of people believed and trusted in Jesus’ authority. Jesus saw their faith. Another group of people did not believe and trust in Jesus’ authority. Jesus knew their thoughts, that they were evil. Nevertheless, to demonstrate that He indeed has authority to forgive sins, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When they saw it, the crowds were afraid, and they glorified God who had given such authority to men.

The scribes were right, only God can forgive sins. However, they refused to see with the eyes of faith that God was in their midst, in and through Jesus, to forgive sins and to heal the sin-sick unto death. The scribes could not see what the people who brought the paralytic to Jesus could see. The scribes could not see that God was with them because their eye was evil, and they refused to believe.

We cannot ascend to heaven. Therefore, heaven has descended to us in Jesus. That is what Jacob came to realize in his dream. He envisioned a ladder set up between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending upon it. The ladder was a type of Christ, God reaching down to earth and humankind in grace, mercy, peace, love, and forgiveness. When Jacob awoke, he exclaimed, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” The LORD was present with Jacob, though he did not know it, and He renewed the covenant promise with Jacob that He had first made to his father Abraham. And because the LORD descended from heaven to bless Jacob, the LORD was also present to bless, forgive, and heal the paralytic. The LORD was present in Jesus who, in His incarnation, has forever bridged heaven and earth, God and man. Wherever Jesus is, there is also God and His kingdom. Wherever Jesus is, there is also grace, mercy, peace, love, and forgiveness. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it,” Jacob exclaimed. “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Jacob’s words are as true today as they were in his time and in the time of Jesus. The Lord still has power on earth to forgive sins. In holy absolution He raises up the new man and bestows the healing medicine which will bring about our resurrection on the Last Day.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.