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.

Genesis chapter one is the account of God’s creation of the universe, “In the beginning….” God created everything ex nihilo, that is, out of nothing, by the life-giving, creative power of his Word alone: “And God said…; and it was so.” In his Gospel, St. John takes us back to the beginning to make it clear that the Word of God is not like a word spoken by men, but is in fact God’s eternally begotten Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity: “In the beginning,” writes John, “was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” It was the life-giving, creative Word of God, through whom God created everything that has been created, His only begotten Son, who became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and made his dwelling amongst us: “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

That was Genesis chapter one. In Genesis chapter two we hear of the unique creation of humankind, male and female. God created the man, not by speaking, but from the earth he had made, and then he breathed his own life-giving breath into him and the man became a living being. It was to this first and only human man that God spoke his Word and Commandment concerning the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Then God put that man under a deep sleep and removed from his side a rib. God made from the rib of the man a woman and brought her to the man who immediately recognized her to be flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. The man then proclaimed to the woman, his wife, the Word that God had spoken to him before she was made.

Genesis chapter three is the account of our First Parent’s rebellion and fall from grace. The serpent tempted the woman to question and doubt the Word that God had spoken which she had heard from her husband. You must note that the enemy didn't tempt Adam & Eve to murder, to steal, or even to tell a lie, but he tempted them to question and to doubt the Word of God: “Did God actually say…?” Up until that moment they had never known or considered another word. They were completely and perfectly content and at peace with the Word that God had spoken. The temptation was not immediately to disobey God, but it was to question and doubt what he has spoken, his Word. You must understand, his tactics haven't changed.

It's all about the Word of God, always and forever. In the beginning there was God, period. And then God spoke; God spoke his creative and life-giving Word, his Son. Everything that is, is because of him, the Word, and everything continues to be and is sustained by that very Word. The first temptation was to question and doubt what God had spoken, and ever since that first sinful rebellion humankind has been at enmity with God and with creation and with each other. God’s Word is good, orderly, creative, and life-giving; any and every other word is evil, chaotic, destructive, and brings death. The woman was deceived, but the man chose freely and willfully against his better knowledge to rebel against the God who made him and who spoke to him his Word and so plunged humanity and all of creation into darkness, sin, and death.

God could have destroyed it all and wiped the slate clean. By all right he should have. But he didn’t; that’s not God’s proper nature. Instead, God proclaimed a Gospel promise: A seed from the woman who was first deceived – not from the man who willfully and intentionally rebelled – would crush the serpent’s head. This covenant promise was restated again and again, though men continued to reject God’s Word and rebel, and it was believed and trusted in by the patriarchs, and was proclaimed by the prophets, until it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Though men rejected, mistreated, and killed the prophets of God’s Word, surely they would receive God’s Son. But no, they thought, this is the Son, the heir, if we kill him then the kingdom will be ours. And so they crucified the incarnate Son of God. But the Word of God cannot die. Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, reigns at the right hand of God, and is coming again as King and Judge on a day no man can know. The righteous One died for the transgressors, the innocent for the guilty. Jesus fulfilled the Law that Adam and his children failed to keep, and he suffered and died in their place. He rose again triumphant over sin and death, having crushed the serpent’s head, the firstborn of all who will believe and trust in him.

Still, the enemy tempts you to disbelieve God’s Word. His tactics haven’t changed. What is a Christian to do? Well, only the Word of God is good. Only the word of God gives life. You must stand firm in the Word of God. You must be clothed in the Word of God. You must trust in the Word of God, no matter how tempting the deceiver’s voice might be, how much your sinful flesh desires to seek pleasure in that which is contrary to God’s Word, how much the words of godless men seem like wisdom to your fallen reason. Thus does St. Paul exhort you: “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Paul speaks of armor. Armor is like clothing, something you put on. Armor is not part of you, but it comes from outside of you. Moreover, armor is defensive, not offensive; armor is not used to attack, but its purpose is to defend you from attack, the fiery darts of the evil one. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the readiness of the gospel as shoes for your feet, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation: This armor will protect you from the attack of the evil one. It is nothing other than being clothed and armored by the Word of God. How do you acquire this armor? Well, you cannot buy it, that’s for certain. Neither do you deserve it, nor can you earn or merit it, but you must receive it as a free gift of God’s grace for the sake of the Word made flesh Jesus Christ who suffered and died and shed his holy, righteous, innocent blood for you. This armor is Christ’s righteousness which covers you, his blood which cleanses you and speaks a better Word concerning you than the blood of righteous Abel. You receive it when you are baptized and believe, and you maintain it by returning to your baptism through repentance, confession, and absolution. You keep it clean and strong by regularly hearing the Word of God, by taking Sabbath rest in his Word and Sacraments, just as you are doing this day.

You are at war, dear Christian. To be more accurate, you are under spiritual attack, and the devil will use deceit and lies, and he will tempt your fallen reason, corrupted desires, and weak flesh to question and doubt God’s Word. But God’s Word is the only thing that can protect and shield you from his attack. The last piece of armor Paul names is the sword of the spirit. Now, I know that a sword seems like an offensive weapon, but it is not; the sword of the spirit is the Word of God itself, and it is a defensive weapon by which you can stand against the devil’s attack. This is precisely what Jesus did when he was tempted by the devil forty days and nights in the wilderness. The devil tempted Jesus to question and doubt the Word of God. The devil even used the Word of God as a weapon against Jesus, taking it out of context, omitting parts he didn’t like, twisting its interpretation and meaning in order to lead Jesus astray. But Jesus stood firm on the Word of God and nothing else. He leaned not on his own reason, wisdom, strength, and understanding, but put all his fear, love, and trust in God and His Word. The devil fled from him and angels came and ministered to him. No, you cannot fight the devil using the Word of God as an offensive weapon; the devil knows God’s Word better than you do and he will use it to deceive you. But you must trust in God’s Word and in the Word made flesh Jesus Christ and flee to him for refuge when you are under attack. Do not despise the preaching of God’s Word but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.”

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.

You are invited. Only, you can say “No, thank you”. You are in. Only you can make yourself to be out. Such is the nature of kingdom of heaven. Everything is prepared. God has done it all. He has slaughtered His Lamb. He has done what was necessary so that you could come. He has sent His servants to you with this Gospel, this Good News, that you are invited, that you are in. It’s done! It’s finished! Only you can say “No”. Only can make yourself to be out.

The invitation was sent first to the King’s chosen ones, those ordinary, sinful, idolatrous people upon whom God chose to show His mercy and shower upon His grace. The invitation went to Abram and to his descendents, a people who were no nation, whom He made to be a nation, even His own children, by grace. Their history has been one of faith and prosperity followed by betrayal, idolatry and denial, leading to judgment, repentance, restoration, repeat. But then, when the time was right, God sent His only-begotten Son to end that vicious cycle by fulfilling God’s holy Law and by suffering and dying in the place of men. It’s done! It’s finished! God, the King, sent His servants to call His children to the feast, but they would not come. Some were distracted by the pleasures of life and they paid no attention. Some were embroiled in their work, their wealth, and their possessions. Some violently opposed Him, and treated His servants shamefully and killed them. The King was angry. He sent His troops and He destroyed those murderers, and He burned their city. They were invited. They said “No, thank you”. They were in. They made themselves to be out.

But the King did not prepare the feast for nothing. His only-begotten Son did not suffer and die in vain. His wedding hall will be filled. Therefore, He sent His servants to the main roads to invite as many as they would find there. And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good, for the wedding invitation is not based on the qualifications of those invited, but it is based upon the grace and mercy of the King and the merit and work of His Son. The feast is free, as the Prophet Isaiah declared saying, “he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” You are invited. Only you can say “No, thank you.” You are in. Only you can make yourself to be out.

Thus far, this parable of our Lord Jesus proclaims the universal grace and mercy of God the Father, and the universal atonement accomplished by the selfless, sacrificial, and substitutionary suffering and death of His Son. There is no one who has ever lived, or who will ever live, that is left out of the LORD’s gracious invitation. There is no one for whom the Lord Jesus did not suffer and die. There is no one for whom is not provided the wedding garment of Christ’s holy, innocent, and righteous blood. But that garment is necessary. Jesus’ blood is necessary for admittance into the wedding hall of heaven.

It is here that our Lord’s parable takes a slightly unexpected turn. There was a man there in the hall that had no wedding garment. He had been invited. Likely he was one of those good or bad found walking on the main roads. He was there at the LORD’s invitation and as His guest. But he was not wearing the proper wedding garment. Perhaps to your ears this seems a light, pardonable offense, and perhaps you are taken aback at the King’s response to the man found without a wedding garment? The King said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” You see, the man was not even expected to come wearing the proper garment, but wedding garments were provided all of the guests. The implication is that this man refused to wear the garment. He insisted on participating in the feast on his own terms, according to his own will, desire, and wisdom. Can you now see the great offense this was to the King? However, the offense is seen even more clearly when the spiritual meaning of this parable is understood, that the wedding garment is the sacrificial blood and righteousness of the King’s Son, Jesus Christ. Through Jesus’ atoning blood, you are invited. Only you can say, “No, thank you.” You are in. Only you can make yourself to be out.

The ungarmented man had no answer, he was speechless. Then the King said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is the King’s righteous and just judgment. Does it seem harsh. Yes, indeed it does. But, as much as we misjudge the breadth and depth of God’s mercy, grace, love, compassion, and forgiveness in Jesus, so too do we misjudge His holiness, righteousness, and justice. God’s holiness and righteousness cannot permit even the smallest sinful imperfection – that’s simply the nature of who God is, His holiness, and what it means to be God. Yet, He has made it possible for all of us and everyone to stand before Him without fear by covering us with the cleansing, holy, innocent, and righteous blood of Jesus. This is the garment that is absolutely necessary to enter His presence. You receive that garment when you believe what God has done for you in Christ Jesus and do not reject Him. Baptism is a sacramental sign and seal of God’s promise made and kept for you in Jesus. To reject Jesus, or to attempt to enter God’s presence apart from Jesus, without His cleansing blood, is to stand before God naked in your sin. Thus, it is not wickedness on God’s part that casts you out, but it is your own refusal and rejection of the atonement He provided for you at great cost in the blood of His own Son, Jesus.

And, what of the weeping and gnashing of teeth? Is this not the fruit of the knowledge of what could have been and what should have been? Those who reject the LORD’s gracious invitation and the garment of Christ’s righteousness, when they find themselves locked outside of the feast in the wedding hall of heaven, they will weep and gnash their teeth in the full knowledge of what they gave up entirely of their own free will and of their own fault. As the time will be too late then to repent and receive God’s gifts of love and forgiveness, grief and sorrow over their self-chosen fate consumes and contorts them so that they are bound hand and foot in anger and fury and grief in the darkness of separation from the God of light, holiness, and righteousness. For many are called, but few are chosen. Indeed, all are called through the chosen One, Jesus Christ. And rejection of Him alone is the cause of being cast into darkness.

So, what are you to make of this parable? What does it mean for your lives today? Well, you can take great comfort in the breadth and height of God’s love for all mankind in Jesus Christ, that He has invited all to the wedding feast in heaven and that He has provided in His Son Jesus all that is necessary to stand in His holy and glorious presence. And, you know that His invitation is for you today, now, as St. Paul has taught you, “Now is the day of salvation.” Further, Isaiah teaches you, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near,” and St. Paul exhorts you, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” For, if you are invited – and you are, and, if you are in – and you are, then what do you have to fear? Nothing! What do you have to be anxious about? Nothing! All that you need, all that is necessary for your eternal life and salvation has been accomplished for you, and no one can take it away from you. You are sealed and clothed in Christ’s holiness and righteousness, cleansed and purified in His innocent shed blood – You are in!

What does this mean for your life now? Live like you believe and know that this is true! Live like you already have one foot in heaven and that you’re patiently looking forward to standing there with both feet, body, and soul. That is to say, live like the Christ you have been given, the Christ you have received, and, indeed, the little-Christ you have been made to be – now! – making the best use of the time, because the days are evil, not being foolish, but understanding what the will of the Lord is, not getting drunk with wine, but being filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.For, the time is short, and while the Enemy seeks to lead men astray by means of lies and deceit, let yourselves, people of God, work to lead your brothers and sisters and your neighbors to believe and receive the LORD’s gracious invitation and live, now, and forevermore.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

(Audio)

Matthew 18:1-11; Revelation 12:7-12; Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3

 

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

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Those were Jesus’ final words last Sunday, spoken to a bunch of Pharisees who wished to condemn Him for healing a man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees despised the man with dropsy because they were proud and self-righteous. They considered the man beneath them, socially and spiritually; therefore they thought themselves justified in not extending to him love, mercy, and compassion. The Pharisee’s pride had enslaved them, for pride is in continual need of maintenance to keep it high and lofty and full. Pride is insatiable and will not bear the slightest diminution. And, because pride must be maintained, satisfied, and protected, the proud are inhibited from loving others. Pride is the epitome of self-love, selfishness, and self-righteousness. The proud will not, and cannot, enter the kingdom of heaven, for the kingdom of heaven cannot be obtained by effort, decision, or choice, but it must be received as a free gift by grace through faith.

And so today we heard Jesus’ disciples question Him about greatness in heaven. It was a wrong-minded and backward, though innately human, question. Our fallen humanity’s predilection to selfish pride, self-justification, and a belief in the merit of our works is definitive of our fallen nature, the Old Adam in each of us. Try as we may, we simply cannot shake off the beast entirely or crucify our flesh and its desires and passions. And yet, that is precisely what Jesus calls you, exhorts you, and commands you to do, every day of your life. Every day you awake, remember your baptism by making the sign of the cross “In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Confess your faith by praying the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. And confess your sins and pray for God’s absolution and protection throughout the day using Luther’s Morning Prayer. And then, at the end of the day, before you retire, remember your baptism by making the sign of the cross once again, “In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit,” confess your faith and your sins, and pray for absolution and protection through the night using Luther’s Evening Prayer. Bookending each day of your life in remembrance of your baptism, in repentance for your sins, and in the confident assurance of God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ helps you to crucify your flesh and its sinful pride. It keeps you humble. It keeps you in Christ. It keeps you in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus answered His disciples’ wrong-minded and wrong-hearted question about greatness by teaching them about the necessary Christian virtue and fruit, humility. Jesus placed before them a child, a paidion, that is, a young child, a helpless child, maybe even an infant. Such a child, like the widow, the unclean, Gentiles, or known sinners had absolutely zero social standing in the first century Jewish culture and religious community. Such a child was the epitome of humility. And yet, Jesus taught His disciples that, if they did not become like that little child, they could never enter the kingdom of heaven. This was a continual theme in Jesus’ teaching. He told Nicodemus that he must be born again, and Nicodemus was confounded asking, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” However, Jesus was talking about baptism, being born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Truly, being born is the most humble human experience there is. You did not decide to be born. You did not deserve to be born. You had no right to be born. You did not choose your sex, your race, your parents, your nationality, your financial or social status. Being born is not a decision or a choice, but it is something that happens to you in which you are completely passive. Jesus would have you understand that this is how you are in relation to your God. This is how it is that you come to faith and are saved: Passive. God causes you to be born again by the creative work of His Holy Spirit through His Word made flesh Jesus Christ. No one comes to the Father except through Him – period.

You must humble yourself like a little culturally and socially and spiritually irrelevant child. You bring nothing to the table with God, not a one of you, which means that you are no better than anyone else when it comes to your standing before your Creator. Therefore, you must view your brother and sister in Christ, you must view your neighbor, the stranger, and even your enemy as being no less than yourself. You must receive them and respect them and love them and forgive them as God, in Christ, has received, respected, loved, and forgiven you. Only when you humble yourself and repent of your sinful pride, selfishness, and self-righteousness will God declare you great in the kingdom of heaven.

God’s holy angels look after His humble, repentant, little children. That is why there is rejoicing in heaven over a sinner who repents. God’s mighty, powerful, holy angels guard, protect, and defend His children from the Evil One and his demonic horde. And woe to you, therefore, if you cause one of His little ones who believe in Him to sin. Woe to you if you present before them a stumbling block by your arrogant, prideful, selfish, and self-righteous treatment of them. So serious is the Lord about this that He says to you, “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away,” and “if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.” “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” Jesus says, “For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

Yes, God’s majestic angels, so mighty and powerful and holy, were created to serve Him and, perhaps surprisingly, they were created to serve you, His humble children. And, that was something one particular angel, Lucifer, could not handle. As I suggested last Sunday, Lucifer’s immense pride was, in large part, the cause of His fall. Lucifer could not accept the fact that God had placed Adam and Eve and all humanity above him and the holy angels. Lucifer perceived this as a slight to his pride and he was filled with anger and hatred for God, and for you whom God loves so very much. Therefore, since he could not harm God, his wrath was poured out against the object of God’s love, you His precious children. Truly, Satan hates you because he hates God. He doesn’t care if you worship him, but all he wants is for you to reject God and His Christ. He wants to destroy you, to murder you, to see you suffer the pain and eternal torment that he suffers. He knows that this is the only thing that can hurt God, to cause you to reject Him and burn in hell forever. Therefore, Satan tempts you. He tempts your pride, so that you look down upon others and judge and condemn them. He tempts you to selfishness and self-righteousness, to lovelessness and lack of mercy and compassion. He tempts you to justify yourself in your anger and hatred against others, to be merciless and unforgiving, to harden your heart so that you cannot love and, consequently cannot receive love or be forgiven. You will become like the hard packed soil of the path, and Satan will snatch the life-giving, faith-creating Word of the Gospel from you, and you will die.

There was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the great dragon Satan and defeated him. But he was thrown down to the earth in a great rage where he now afflicts the children of God. He is filled with great and desperate wrath because he knows that his time is short. He is a liar and a deceiver and a murderer. But he is defeated. His power to keep you in death was destroyed when the sinless Son of God Jesus Christ died in your place. Then the “Seed of the Woman” crushed the head of the seed of the serpent. Therefore, do not fear the one who can kill the body, but fear only the One who can kill both body and soul in hell. That One is NOT the devil, but that One is God.

There was a war in heaven, but now that war has come down to earth, and your soul is the battlefield. The truth is, your Enemy has been defeated, but still he tempts you and deceives you to despair that he is the victor and to destroy your faith in Christ. Do not give into him by being fearful and prideful and unmerciful and unforgiving. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Pray. And, repent, daily, in all humility. Return daily to your baptism and put on the armor of God by which you may withstand the fiery darts of Satan. Do not be afraid. You are not alone, but God’s holy angels watch over you, protect you, and defend you. God commands His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. And, do not, by your pride and arrogance, selfishness and self-righteousness, and lack of mercy, compassion, and forgiveness despise any of the LORD’s little ones who believe in Him. But, come, now, and be cleansed and forgiven, nourished, strengthened, equipped, and sent in the precious and holy body and blood of Jesus Christ that you may persevere and endure. To God alone be all glory, praise, and honor.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

IED LWML Westgate Zone Fall Rally Matins

(Audio)

Luke 21:1-4; Romans 12:1-2; Genesis 2:7-9, 15-25

 

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

Well, I hate to break it to you ladies, but the hymn that is your theme for this rally is not a Lutheran hymn. Sure, it’s appeared in several Lutheran hymnals: the LSB, LW, TLH, LBW, SBH, and the ELH to say the least. It’s been doctrinally approved, and you all pretty much have known it, well, forever. Still, it’s not a Lutheran hymn. “Take My Life and Let It Be” was written by Frances Havergal, an Anglican. She wrote both the text and the tune. What inspired her to write the hymn was a brief visit to Areley House in Worcestershire where Frances prayed that the ten persons in the house not merely be converted, but that they would be made rejoicing Christians. “Lord, give me all in this house!” she prayed. And, as the story goes, He did. Frances recounted, “Before I left the house everyone had got a blessing. The last night of my visit I was too happy to sleep, and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration, and those little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my heart one after another, till they finished with, ‘Ever, only, all for Thee!’”

The consecration Frances mentions here refers to an experience she had December 2, 1873, while reading a devotional book titled “All for Jesus!” which set forth “a fulness of Christian experience and blessing exceeding that to which she had as yet attained.” “Although she had loved the Lord and served Him for many years, upon reading this book she realized her ‘experience was not up to the standard of full consecration and spiritual power, or of uniform brightness and continuous enjoyment in the Divine life’.” This yearning for an ever deeper spiritual experience was typical of the evangelical fervor of her day and, perhaps, of our day as well. Typically, it goes by the name Enthusiasm or Pietism.

Is such yearning for a fuller Christian experience and blessing somehow bad? Well, it certainly can be, as in the case of Enthusiasm and Pietism, but it doesn’t have to be, if understood in the right way. The LORD personally created our First Parents in His image having a holy desire for righteous communion with Him. After the Fall, that desire remains, though corrupted. As another popular hymn has put it, we’re “looking for God in all the wrong places; looking for God in too many faces.” People are want to say that we all have a “God-shaped hole in our hearts” that we’re desperately trying to fill. Suffice it to say, it is the human condition after our Fall from grace.

Frances states her desire for consecration plainly in the first stanza of the hymn: “Take my life and let it be / consecrated LORD to Thee. / Take my moments and my days; / Let them flow in ceaseless praise.” This pious and holy desire resonates with the language of the Psalms, particularly Psalm 139: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Frances goes on to pray that her hands and feet, voice and lips, intellect, heart, and love might all be consecrated to the service and glory of the LORD.

Consecration isn’t really a Lutheran word, at least when it is used in this manner. We often refer to the Words of Jesus spoken or chanted over the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper in the Divine Service as the consecration, but when we speak of using our bodies and minds, our lives, our intellect and talents, and our material resources to serve and glorify the LORD, the word we typically use is sanctification, a work of the Holy Spirit. Our sanctification is a pious and holy desire created in us by the Holy Spirit who “calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps us in the one true faith.” Once we are justified, converted, through baptism and faith, we are also sanctified. The LORD declares us holy in Christ, and the Holy Spirit begins the lifelong work of making us to actually be holy, a work that is completed only in the resurrection of our bodies on the Last Day. Our sanctification, however, is not a feeling or an emotion, although it may evoke feelings and emotions, but our sanctification is a proclamation of the LORD and the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus, St. Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

To present your bodies as a living sacrifice is act of gratitude. When you recognize and confess that all you have, your body and soul, your reason and all your members, your time, treasure, and talents, the totality of your life, is a gift of God’s grace, then your sacrifice of these to the LORD is an act of confession and gratitude as you give back to God a portion of what He has given to you, and as you selflessly share your gifts with those the LORD puts before you to serve without hesitation, sadness, or resentment, but with Christian love and joy.

Which brings us to the story of the Widow’s Mite, the inspiration behind LWML’s most well-known symbol and source of revenue for National and District Mission Grants. “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, ‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on’.” It is immediately apparent that what we give as an offering is much less about the amount than it is a matter of the heart, the motivation, the love. Jesus praised the widow for her offering because it was literally all that she had. Let’s be honest, if it came down to paying the mortgage, the utility bill, or buying groceries as opposed to putting money in the offering at church, for most the offering would be sacrificed. But the widow did not do that, but she gave her last two pennies. But why? Well, we’re not told precisely, but Jesus’ praise suggests that the widow gave all she had because she trusted in the LORD who had been faithful and good to her in the past, that He would continue to be faithful and good to her in the future. And she gave all that she had, not grudgingly or with resentment, but with contentment, peace, and joy. “Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.”

So, the idea of the Widow’s Mite is that you give out of your poverty, want, and need. The idea of LWML Mites is that you give out of your abundance, leftover pocket change. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Jesus doesn’t chide the rich who gave their offerings out of their abundance, but rather he praises the widow who gave all she had out of her poverty. A living sacrifice is, well, a sacrifice. LWML Mites are more akin to a fund-raising effort than an offering, but that’s okay. A whole lotta good is done when Lutheran women nationwide pool their resources to support mission endeavors of all kinds. Truly, giving back to the LORD is a personal confession of what you believe about the LORD: That He is good; that He is faithful; that, whether He is giving, or He is taking away, nothing has changed; that He works all things for the good of those who love Him.

Frances Havergal wanted to give her whole self, as much as possible, to the service and glory of the LORD. That is what “Take My Life and Let It Be” is truly confessing. Your living sacrifice is an outward confession of what you believe in your heart.

To God alone be all the glory.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 17)

(Audio)

Luke 14:1-11; Ephesians 4:1-6; Proverbs 25:6-14

 

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

“Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” That is the Third Commandment. That is why we are here today. No, it’s not Saturday. It doesn’t really matter what day it is, but we gather on this day because it is the Lord’s Day, the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Sabbath doesn’t mean Saturday. Sabbath means rest. The Sabbath Day is a day to rest in the Lord. Yes, it is true that the LORD commanded His people, and you, to not work. There is even an account of a man who was caught gathering sticks on a Sabbath who was put to death for His contempt. That is why some sects of Judaism are prohibited to even flip on a light switch or to punch digits into a microwave oven on a Sabbath. To perform any labor, regardless of how menial, is thought to be a violation of the Sabbath law. Therefore, you can plainly see why Jesus fell so quickly out of favor with the Pharisees. Jesus regularly helped and healed people in need on the Sabbath. He encouraged His disciples to pluck grain and eat on the Sabbath. But, should we therefore conclude that Jesus had contempt for the Sabbath? Did Jesus have contempt for the LORD? No, of course not. But, once again, we see that the Pharisees believed that they practiced the letter of the law, which they truly didn’t, while they knew nothing of the spirit of the law, which is love. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Doing the godly loving thing is always the lawful thing.

The man who was executed for gathering sticks on the Sabbath was doing so, not out of loving service, but out of contempt for the Sabbath and for the LORD. Those who willfully neglect taking rest in the LORD, time to hear His Word and receive His gifts and return to Him thanks and praise do the same. Thus, Luther explains the Third Commandment in His Small Catechism saying, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” You see, there is absolutely nothing in this commandment about not working, not serving, not doing what needs to be done to care for yourself and others, but the Third Commandment is all about receiving – about setting aside sacred time to rest in God’s Word and Gifts, to thank and to praise Him. If your ox falls into a well on the Sabbath, by all means, help the poor beast and pull him out! And, if anyone has need and you have the means and opportunity to help them, even on a Sabbath, not only are you not prohibited by the Third Commandment, but you are actually commanded to do the godly loving thing, to do the lawful thing, and to help that person. As Jesus taught, “Just do it!” 

And so it was that Jesus was dining with the Pharisees in the home of a Pharisee on a Sabbath day. You can be certain that some goy (Gentile) prepared the meal, lit the lamps, and even opened the door for the guests. The Pharisees were watching Jesus carefully. That is to say that they were hoping to catch Him in some transgression of the law that they could accuse Him and condemn Him. It was a trap. “And behold, there was a man before Him who had dropsy.” Dropsy would be called edema today, a swelling of the limbs due to excess water. One who suffered from dropsy in the first century would have been considered to be especially unclean, both due to the disfigurement it caused and due to the assumption that dropsy was a result of immoral behavior. St. Luke introduces the man with dropsy saying “And behold!” It almost sounds as if he miraculously appeared before Jesus; and maybe he did. The Pharisees would not have permitted him in because of his uncleanness. Perhaps Jesus saw him outside the window or passed him on his way in. However he appeared there, the man with dropsy became an object lesson by which Jesus would catch the Pharisees in His own trap.

When the man with dropsy appeared before Him, Jesus turned to the lawyers and Pharisees and He asked them, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” They could not answer Him a word, so they remained silent. Though they wanted to say, “No, it is not lawful to heal on the Sabbath,” they could not, for the law that was written on their hearts and in their conscience convicted them. They knew that the spirit of the law was to love, that godly love is always lawful. This was an opportunity for the lawyers and Pharisees to repent, to be changed in their hearts and minds, and to be cleansed, healed, and restored from their sin-sickness-unto-death. And, over the course of Jesus’ ministry several did including Nicodemus and Saul. However, most did not, but they hardened their hearts against Jesus and against God’s law, against God Himself. In the end, they stood in firm opposition to the LORD, even though they knew in their hearts that He was right and true and innocent. They condemned Him and sent Him to the cross and murdered Him rather than risk losing their power, wealth, and influence among the people.

Jesus did not hesitate. He was not ruled by fear and coercion under the law, but was free in the spirit of the Law and the grace of the Gospel that He embodied and which He was proclaiming to all who felt the burden of their sins and uncleanness and cried out for mercy in humility and repentance. “He took him and healed him and sent him away.” Then Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the lawyers and Pharisees by reminding them how they would without hesitation help their son or daughter or a beast of burden that was in distress on a Sabbath, but they would not lift a finger to help the man with dropsy, claiming obedience to the law of God as an excuse for their lack of love, mercy, and compassion. Once again they had nothing to answer. They remained silent, convicted by the truth and righteousness of the Word of the LORD.

However, this incident wasn’t about the law at all, at least, not for Jesus, but it was about the Gospel. That is why Jesus quickly turns to teach about humility. Jesus knew the hearts of the lawyers and Pharisees. They were filled with pride and self-righteousness. Their reading of the law permitted them to judge and condemn others and to justify themselves. They believed that they kept the law exceedingly well, and they did in some respects, but, in truth, they had lowered the bar of the law in order to make it more do-able, and yet kept that bar high enough that most others fell short. It’s rather easy to keep the Sabbath if all it means is to sit on your butt and not lift a finger to do anything or help anyone. However, that is NOT what the Third Commandment commands. The Third Commandment, like all the Commandments, commands love for God first and, consequently, godly love for the neighbor – for all neighbors, at all times, without exception or discrimination, even on a Sabbath, perhaps especially on a Sabbath.

Jesus knew that the lawyers and Pharisees enjoyed and coveted the honor and prestige they had among the people. Therefore He told them a parable about not seeking the highest places of honor when invited to a feast or a banquet. Jesus instructed them to take the lowest place that they might, perchance, be invited by the master of the feast to move up higher, and then be honored in the presence of others since that means so much to them. Jesus doesn’t care about the honor of men, but He knew that the Pharisees did. Still, there was a barb in Jesus’ parable, for the entire situation placed the Pharisees in a passive and receptive position: They were invited to a feast. They might be invited to move up to a higher place. This was not the way the lawyers and Pharisees imagined themselves. They were proud. They assumed that they merited and deserved the invitation, that they merited and deserved the place of honor. Their pride blinded them. They couldn’t grasp the concept that, before the LORD, they were no more worthy, meritorious, or deserving of honor than were notorious sinners – tax collectors and prostitutes – or the unclean – lepers, Samaritans, Gentiles, the woman with the flow of blood, or even the man with dropsy whom Jesus had just cleansed and healed before them on a Sabbath. Indeed, that man was not invited to the feast by the lawyers and Pharisees, but he was welcomed and honored by Jesus in their presence and given the highest place – the love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, healing, and cleansing of Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, the fulfillment of the Law of God, the Lord of the Sabbath and of us all.

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” I suppose this is a law statement to those whose hearts are proud and hard like the lawyers and the Pharisees, but to those who are humble and broken, to those who confess and acknowledge their sinful weakness and unworthiness before the LORD, it is pure, beautiful, glorious, and liberating Gospel. And, that is what the invitation is in Jesus’ parable – Gospel. You do not get into the Wedding Banquet of King Jesus by your merit and worth, but you are invited by grace – grace alone, received through faith alone, in the Word of God Jesus Christ alone. And, though you do not merit a place of honor, you are honored with a place – a place Jesus has prepared for you in His Father’s House, to which He will come and raise you from death to reside forever with Him on the day of His return in glory.

It is said that the cause of Lucifer’s fall from grace was his pride, hence the phrase, “Pride goeth before the fall.” I suspect that there was more to it than that, but there is no doubt that pride was a significant part of his fall. However, pride takes many forms: Self-righteousness, self-importance, selfishness, arrogance, rudeness, insensitivity and lack of compassion and mercy, impatience, lack of self-control, wrath, intolerance, lovelessness. Therefore St. Paul exhorts you to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” This begins in your home with your husband, wife, and children, and in the church, your family of faith in Christ. Here is where you are given to love and endure and forgive, so that you may be a light, leaven, and salt when you leave this place and witness to Christ and the glory of the LORD in the world. Right here, in this place and in your homes, more than anywhere else, you must humble yourself and serve your brother and sister in Christ so that you may be equipped to love and show mercy, compassion, and forgiveness to your neighbor in the world, be he friend or foe. For, “there is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” The man with dropsy, the lawyer and the Pharisee, the tax collector and the prostitute, the homosexual, the tax cheat, the liar, the divorcee and the adulterer, the petty thief, the gossip and the backbiter, the fearful and the hateful, the unforgiving, and, yes, even you, are invited to the Wedding Feast. However, do not come with your prideful and arrogant expectations of self-worth and self-importance, but come in humility, in broken-heartedness, contrition, and repentance and you will be honored. You will be honored with forgiveness and healing and restoration and life that never ends with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For, all are one in the LORD, “there is no distinction: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This is His gracious invitation to you. As you have received, so must you also share, for this is the fruit of repentance and love to the glory of God.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Christian Funeral for Kathleen Marie Janssen

(Audio)

Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 12:1-2; Isaiah 61:1-3, 10

 

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

A good nurse is a force to be reckoned with. They can be stern, strict, and no-nonsense, and caring, compassionate, and empathetic, all at the same time. My mother was an LPN in surgery and recovery for thirty-five years and she has told me numerous stories of how she or another nurse saved the life of a patient by correcting doctor who was about to make a serious mistake. Personally, as a Pastor, I’ve witnessed nurses correct a doctor with a kind, but firm, word and a glance that said all that needed to be said. Nurses like that take their vocation very, very seriously. They are servants, not employees, and they do what they do out of love, compassion, true empathy, and not a small amount of faith. Our sister in Christ Kathleen Marie Janssen was such a servant, as a nurse, as a wife, as a mother, as a Christian, as a friend, and in countless other ways. Kathy was a force to be reckoned with, a force for great good, and we give thanks to God today for His good gift to us as we remember Kathy’s life and faith, and as we commend her to our gracious and merciful Lord who died and rose again to make Kathy and all who will believe and are baptized His own.

Kathy graduated the top of her class at Wellsburg High School in 1952. She immediately enrolled at Allen Memorial Lutheran School of Nursing where her lifelong passion for nursing began. She graduated in the fall of 1955 as an RN and began working at Allen Hospital. Within a year she was promoted to Head Nurse for the medical surgery floor. She was only twenty years old! Kathy counted becoming an RN one of the greatest accomplishments of her life. Doctors get all the attention and the credit, and usually the dollars as well, but anyone who has spent time in a hospital and observed what is going on knows that it’s the nurses who do the really difficult and necessary work: Drawing blood; hooking up IVs; dispensing medications; getting patients to the toilet and back; cleaning them up when they don’t make it; etc. Being a nurse is being extremely close to, even enmeshed in, what it means to be human: Laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, elation and suffering, life and death. Not everyone is cut it out for it, but Kathy was. Grace under pressure, a servant’s heart, strengthened and guided by her faith, an image of Christ and His love and mercy.

But Kathy’s servant heart was larger than that. There was room for a husband and family. Kathy married the love of her life Alfred Janssen on September 1, 1956. Al was as much a servant of the Lord as was Kathy. That force to be reckoned with had become a power couple! Together Al and Kathy served in numerous ways, most notably, for our purposes, in the church. Al & Kathy were members here at St. John for over sixty years! Kathy served on every single church committee there was, but without a doubt what she enjoyed most was serving in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. Locally, the St. John Dorcas Society, our congregation’s society of the LWML, serves the St. John congregation in numerous ways, but probably most noticeably by preparing and serving luncheon receptions at funerals, just as they will be doing today. Kathy helped to prepare and serve countless luncheons, and she was happy and joyful to do it. In fact, one of Kathy’s requests was that the luncheon for her funeral be catered, because she didn’t want her friends in the Dorcas Society to work so hard for her. However, they all feel the same way as Kathy; they want to do it, and they want to do it for her! So, the ladies will be preparing Kathy’s luncheon, and I know that Kathy would understand, because they share her servant heart and they want to serve, remember, and give thanks for Kathy by serving her family and friends in this way. But Kathy also served the LWML at the District level as a District Board member and as Vice President of Mission Projects and as District Historian. Kathy also worked on the Constitution Review Committee and served as a delegate to the International Convention in 1987. Along with nursing, Kathy counted this service as one of her greatest joys.

Together, Al and Kathy had three children, Marcia, Laura, and Daniel, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Laura said that she remembers how her Mom was always there when they got home from school. Marcia recounted the fresh baked treats Kathy prepared for the kids for when they came home after school. Other kids had Ding-Dongs and Ho-Hos, but they tasted like plastic compared to Kathy’s homemade cookies, bars, and banana bread. Kathy used her skills as a seamstress to make costumes for the kid’s school plays, many of them becoming part of the permanent costume department. Marcia, Laura, and Dan, all three, were into music and theater, and Kathy would attend every performance and tried to sit near the front. She would record the show on a tape recorder so that the family could listen to it again together later. All three kids remember how their mother exuded calmness and grace under pressure no matter what the crisis might be. She was a rock of stability and comfort. She would listen and offer advice if asked for, or she would remain silent and simply be present when her radar indicated that was what was needed most. If she didn’t know what to do, or there was nothing that could be done, she was there, nonetheless, radiating a quiet strength that was comforting and reassuring.

Now, if Kathy were here in person, I’d be getting a stern glance about now. Why? Because I’m probably doing, in her eyes, precisely what she didn’t want done: She didn’t want her funeral to be about her, but about her Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I would argue with her that this funeral is precisely about her Lord, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong in giving thanks to the Lord in these few memories and anecdotes which demonstrate the fruit of Kathy’s faith, Jesus’s fruit borne in and through Kathy, which has served others, and by which service the Lord is glorified. Where did Kathy’s servant heart and servant nature come from? It came from her faith in her Suffering Servant, her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who made her fruitful with His gifts and blessings that have served you and countless others and have served to glorify His holy Name.

Kathy’s confirmation verse was Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” I believe without any doubt, and I believe that you will agree, that Kathy lived this verse in her life and deeds, and this is what gave her such a servant heart and that grace under pressure she exuded. As she ran her race, the race that was her life, she kept her eyes on her Savior Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Not only that, but she drew confidence and strength and courage from God’s Word which accounts for the faith of a “great cloud of witnesses” who have run that race before her, who encouraged her for her own faith-race-and-life, and yours as well. And, at the end of that race is the Sabbath, rest in Jesus Christ who beckons, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Marcia, Laura, Dan; beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren; friends, neighbors; brothers and sisters in Christ; both Kathy and Al were a force to be reckoned with. You couldn’t know them without knowing their faith. You’d know it first because they would tell you, particularly Al. But you’d know that they weren’t blowing smoke at you because they’d also show you in their love, mercy, grace, and compassion, and most of all, in their service to you and to others and to the Lord in everything they said and did. They were branches grafted into the True Vine Jesus Christ, and Jesus made them fruitful in His abundance. Now he has called them to Himself where the Good Shepherd’s sheep may safely graze. I know that they don’t want you to grieve their absence, but rather to praise and give thanks to their Savior. And, perhaps more than anything else, they want for you to be where they are when you finish the race that is your life. Nothing would make them happier. Indeed, they have joined that great cloud of witnesses who have finished their course in faith, who now continue to serve as encouragement to you to not give up, to not lose hope, to not let the darkness and sin of this world keep you from serving others and praising and thanking our God who loves us, our Savior who has redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit who continues to sanctify us and keep us in the true faith. To God alone be all the glory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 16)

(Audio)

Luke 7:11-17; Ephesians 3:13-21; 1 Kings 17:17-24

 

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

Back on August 10, The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, you heard the Gospel account of Jesus’ visitation of the Holy City Jerusalem. Then Jesus wept over the city because of its unbelief and apostasy, and for the destruction that He foresaw would befall it but thirty years later at the hands of the Romans. For, when Jesus entered the temple courts in visitation He found moneychangers and vendors of sacrificial animals extorting the faithful and stealing from them. In His righteous anger Jesus cleansed the temple of this corruption and disease, overturning the tables of the moneychangers and vendors, crying out, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Back then I explained to you that the word visitation meant ecclesial oversight, such as a bishop conducts when he visits the parishes of his diocese. Jesus had visited His people in grace, but what did He find? Greed, selfishness, lack of mercy, compassion, and love. And, what will Jesus find when He visits His people, even you, on the Last Day, in judgment? What will you be found doing? Will you be found extending His love, mercy, grace, compassion, and forgiveness, or will you be found robbing and stealing from Him, and selfishly and unmercifully withholding, even stealing, from others, especially the weakest among you and those in greatest need? Truly, Jesus may come in visitation on any day, at any hour. What will you be found doing? Will you be found waiting, watching, and prepared? Therefore, keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith and you need not fear His visitation, for you will be found doing the loving, the merciful, and the compassionate thing, for even your imperfect and sin-corrupted deeds will be counted as righteousness through faith in Him. Therefore, always show mercy and compassion, always love and forgive, for love covers a multitude of sins: your neighbors’, and comfortingly, your own as well.

The people of Jerusalem did not recognize the time of their visitation. But, the people of Nain did. When Jesus entered the city with a procession of His disciples and followers, He met another procession on the way out of the city carrying a dead young man, the son of a widow, on a funeral bier. It was literally a collision of two processions – a procession of life, lead by Jesus, and a procession of death lead by the mourners and family of the dead young man. “It was a strange and dreadful strife when Life and death contended. The victory remained with Life, the reign of death was ended.” When Jesus raised the dead young man and restored him to his mother and his family, the crowds glorified God saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us! God has visited His people!”

Once again, your Lord was moved with compassion – a gut-wrenching empathetic grief. The widow’s loss was His loss, one for which He was even then making His own journey to death on the cross. Jesus approached the woman directly and He said to her, “Do not weep,” or, more literally, “Stop weeping.” You see, there was no need for her to weep, for, in the presence of Life Incarnate, the Word of Creation and Life made flesh, the boy was not dead but only sleeping. Then Jesus did the unthinkable in her mind, and in the minds of the crowds, He reached out and touched the funeral bier. The law forbade such a thing, for the body and the bier were unclean, and to touch either would make you unclean and in need of ceremonial purification before you could be restored to community and to worship in the temple and synagogue. However, that was of no concern for Jesus, just as it was of no concern for Him when the ten lepers approached Him, or when the Good Samaritan ministered to the man left beaten, bloodied, and left for dead in the ditch. It is not that the law did not apply to Jesus, but it was that His love was the fulfilling of the law. The loving thing is always the lawful thing.

It was a desperate situation the widow was in. She had lost her husband to death, and now she had lost her only son to death as well. In that culture, at that time, the widow herself was, socially, as good as dead, having no source of income, protection, or even a voice in her community. She was nearly as desperate and hopeless as the nothing into which God first spoke His Word, “Let there be light.” But, Jesus was that Word in the beginning, and Jesus was that same Word spoken to the dead young man. Jesus raised the young man by speaking His creative Word, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” As it was in the beginning, so it is now, and so it ever shall be, world without end. In fact, no one even asked Jesus to help this time. No one cried out to Him in faith and pleaded for mercy. No one in the funeral procession seems to have even noticed or recognized Him. But, Jesus came to the dead young man. Jesus came to this desperate situation. Jesus was moved by compassion for His people because they were lost and hopeless, like sheep without a shepherd. Mercy is who Jesus is. Mercy is who God is. Mercy is what Jesus shows, and what you, His people also show to others because you are in Him and He is in you.

Then Jesus reached out and touched the funeral bier. Yet, He did two things at once: He reached out and touched the bier, and He spoke His Word, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” Jesus often used His hands along with His Words. He put His fingers in the ears of the deaf-mute, and He spat and touched His tongue. At His Transfiguration He raised up His fearful-unto-death disciples by touching them and speaking, “Rise, and have no fear.” And, Jesus rebuked His disciples who forbade that their Master should be bothered by little children saying, “Suffer the little children to come unto me,” that He might bless them with His holy hands and absolving Word. Even still, your Jesus comes to you in your weakness, sin, and death and He speaks to you, and He touches you with cleansing water, His precious body, and His holy blood, ministering to you in your body and in your soul, in your flesh and in your spirit in which He created you, that you may be forgiven, cleansed, and healed, strengthened in faith, equipped for service, and sent to love and to show mercy and compassion to the most desperate and hopeless bodies and souls He places before you.

Jesus touches and He speaks. Forgiveness, healing, and cleansing come to you from outside of you. They come to you from God the Father, through Jesus His Son, in His most Holy Spirit. They come to you through the Gospel preached and through the Sacraments administered. They come to you here, in this holy house where the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps you in the true faith until Jesus returns for you on the Last Day to take you home. Jesus came to Nain. Jesus came to the mourners, to the widow, and to her dead son when all they could think about was their grief, their loss, and their sorrow. Jesus came to them with His Words and His touch and He spoke into being a different reality. “Let there be light.” And there was. “Young man, I say to you, arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.” “Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’  ‘God has visited His people!’”

Truly, God visits His people still, even now. Your God comes to you in your sinful uncleanness and death. He comes from outside of you to raise you from death to new and eternal life, to heal you, to make you clean again, and to restore you to a right relationship with the Holy Trinity and with Christ’s body the Church. More than that, He enters you and He abides with you, He communes with you, He fills you even as He sends you, He goes with you, “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Indeed, He answers your prayer that His grace may always go before and follow after you, that you may continually be given to all good works, through Jesus Christ, His Son.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 15)

(Audio)

Matthew 6:24-34; Galatians 5:25 – 6:10; 1 Kings 17:8-16

 

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

Jesus says to you, “Do not be anxious about your life.” Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Easy for Him to say,” right? After all, there are an awful lot of things to be anxious about in your life, aren’t there? Money: Will you have enough of it when you retire? Will you have enough of it to send your kids to college? Will you have enough of it to buy groceries for the next week? Health: Will you develop heart disease, diabetes, or cancer? Will you maintain a sound mind into your old age, or will you suffer from senility, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease? If you suffer a stroke or a completely debilitating health incident, who will make decisions concerning your treatment, whether you are given life support or whether they pull the plug? Kids: Will they remain safe from predators and abusers? Will they make smart and moral choices concerning sex, drugs, and alcohol? Will they get into a good college, find a good spouse, continue to practice their faith and attend church? And that’s just a smattering of personal, home and family life anxieties. That’s not to mention things like terrorism and war, crime, taxes, politics, etc. “Do not be anxious about your life?” “Right, easy for You to say, Lord!”

And, besides, you think, isn’t anxiety natural? Isn’t it irresponsible to not worry? Why, then, does Jesus exhort you to not be anxious? He exhorts you to not be anxious because anxiety and worry are a type of worship and bondage to a false god, an idol. He indicates this by saying, “No one can serve two masters.” Now, have you thought of anxiety and worry as a master? Likely not, but they most definitely are. Anxiety and worry can be all encompassing and enslaving. They can rob you of contentment, peace, and joy in your life, and they can be serious distractions to the work that you should be doing, the care that you should be giving, and the love that you should be sharing. Moreover, Jesus asks, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” You can’t, and you don’t! So, then, what’s the point of being anxious? Why worry? What does it benefit you? Absolutely nothing! Rather, instead, anxiety robs you. Worry kills you, little by little, each and every day of your life that you are consumed with fear of what tomorrow will bring, each day of your life that you live and love for fleeting, worldly pleasures and possessions, and each day of your life that you place your trust in people and things that do not, will not, and cannot last.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Well, is it? For some of you, food and clothing are a pretty big part of your life and what gives it meaning and purpose. However, for others of you it’s success, your own, or your children’s. For others of you it’s sports, health, material possessions, the right car, the right house, the right husband or wife. But, are these things truly your life? Are they the meaning and the purpose of your life? Do they give definition to your life? If you are honest with yourself, and you might as well be, they probably do, at least in some small way. You see, Jesus didn’t teach against this because it was an uncommon human temptation and sin. Jesus would have you see that these created things are gifts of His Father, your Creator. If you are anxious and worried about obtaining them and keeping them, then you have placed your fear, love, and trust in created things, God’s gifts to you, instead of giving Him thanks and praise for them and receiving them as gifts, rich and abundant, to meet your own needs and to share with others. These gifts are for you, but they do not define you and give your life meaning. You are created in God’s image, therefore He must define you and give your life meaning.

Moreover, you are of much more importance to Him than the created material things He has made. Jesus’ point is that, “if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” The irrational beasts of the earth crave these things and are consumed with their pursuit, but God has created you and blessed you with a rational soul that you may be self-aware and aware of God. Therefore, you have the ability to see and to know that, not only does God provide you all that you need for your body and your life, but He provides these for you in abundance. You have enough for yourself, and surplus to share with others. You can freely give your last “handful of flour” and “a little oil” trusting that the Lord will provide for you and yours. For, when you give to others, your Lord promises that it will be given back to you, “a good measure, shaken together, pressed down, running over” which will be poured into your lap.

It is in this regard that Jesus makes a distinction between the faithful Jews and the uncircumcised Gentiles. He speaks of the Gentiles here much in the same way in which I did of the carnal beasts – they are driven by fleshly, carnal instincts to pursue carnal desires and passions. But not so you, Jesus teaches; not so you, children of the New Israel, who place your fear, love, and trust in Him. To you, Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow.” You see, it’s all about faith, which is, itself, a gracious gift of God your Father. God the Holy Spirit creates faith within you through the Word of God. It is faith that trusts God to keep His promises. It is faith that fears God’s righteousness and holiness and what it would mean if God were to renege on His promises. It is faith that loves God, His Law, His Will, and His Word, love that flows from His love for you poured out in His Son, Jesus Christ.

You do not live in continual pursuit of carnal desires and passions, but you live “by the Spirit” and you “walk by the Spirit.” Therefore, worry and anxiety over mammon – that is worldly, material goods and fleshly desires and passions – these are not your masters. Yet, you do have a master, the Lord. Here is where some Christians try to straddle the fence. While they try to shun worry and anxiety over worldly and fleshly things, they also remain unwilling to surrender completely to God and to submit to and confess Him as their Lord and Master. However, Jesus doesn’t speak this way, and neither does He allow for fence-straddlers. Indeed, He says, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” No, Christ has not set you free to fend for yourself, but you still have a master, the Lord, and, in a sense, you are a slave. Yet, though you may be a slave, you are truly free in Christ. You are freer even than the birds of the air who neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet are fed by their heavenly Father. And, you are freer even than the lilies of the field who neither toil nor spin and yet are arrayed more than Solomon in all of his glory. This is similar to Jesus’ teaching, “He who is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” You either belong to God in Jesus, or, well, you don’t. But, if you don’t belong to God in Jesus, don’t bother kidding yourself that are free. Indeed, apart from Christ is the worst kind of slavery, even death.

St. Paul has words for you today about what it means, and what it looks like, to walk by the Spirit, to have the Lord as your Master, to be a slave of Christ. You must have a spirit of gentleness towards all, especially your brothers and sisters in Christ, bearing each other’s burdens, tolerating, enduring, and even suffering each other’s boorish behavior and annoying idiosyncrasies. You must seek to restore a brother who is enmeshed in sin, showing him mercy and compassion and forgiveness, keeping watch yourself that you are not tempted. You must be humble, for we are all slaves together under the same Master, members of the same body, brothers and sisters sharing the same Life and Breath, and “if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Let your work be of and for the Spirit, doing good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Herein St. Paul describes the life of the Christian – you are an extension of Christ to others in this world, His hands, His heart, His voice, to the glory of His Father.

But, in your life and in your labors, do not worry and do not be anxious, for the Lord is working with you, and in you, and through you that you will be fruitful, having enough for yourself and abundantly more to give to others. Therefore, do not permit mammon – the world and your flesh – to distract you from the task at hand and the one thing needful, but in faith, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” This is especially important to remember at this time of the year, even this very day, as children return to school, vacations are over and you return to your busy, work-a-day lives – remember what is the purpose and meaning of your work and your striving: Are you sowing to your own flesh, or are you sowing to the Spirit? Further, has the fruit of your labors become the thing in which you place your fear, your love, and your trust – the thing that you worry about having enough of and are anxious of losing? If so, then repent; return to the Lord in contrition, asking forgiveness. He will restore you and give to you and bless you that you might be a blessing to others, always, to the glory of His holy Name.

But now, come and receive of His gracious plenteousness. Be still and let the Lord work for you. He is present to pour into your lap a good measure, shaken together, pressed down, running over – His grace, mercy, love, and compassion in Jesus Christ. Come, eat and be satisfied. Come, drink and be renewed. The Lord feeds you with wholesome food and clothes you with His righteousness. He blesses you, that you might be a blessing – and you are.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.