The Feast of All Saints (observed)

(Audio)

Matthew 5:1-12; 1 Johns 3:1-3; Revelation 7:2-17

 

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

The Feast of All Saints is not what you think it is. Let me rephrase that: The Feast of All Saints is not merely what you think it is. For, you think that the Feast of All Saints is about those who have died in the Lord and are with Him now. Well, you are right! It most certainly is about that! However, that is not all that The Feast of All Saints is about, nor even, I would posit, the most important thing. For, The Feast of All Saints is about you, also. This Feast is your Feast. For, you are among the saints in the Lord that the Church celebrates and gives thanks and praise for to our Triune God for this day.

You know this because of the present blessedness that Jesus calls you to through faith in Him and His Word. For, the blessings of the Beatitudes are all in the present tense. They read, “Blessed are,” not “Blessed were,” or even “Blessed will be.” Jesus teaches that there is blessedness, right now, for those who are poor in spirit, for those who mourn, for those who are meek, for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc. Now, it is not natural for our fallen world, our fallen flesh, and our fallen reason to count such things as blessedness. But, your Lord Jesus calls you through these Beatitudes, through His Word, to see and to hear things differently.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This first beatitude has absolutely nothing to do with material wealth and possessions. It is addressed to the spiritually poor, to those who acknowledge and confess their moral bankruptcy. Blessed are those who confess that they are poor, miserable sinners and that they cannot help themselves out of their derelict condition. The spiritually poor are blessed now, in their spiritual poverty, for their treasure is not on earth, but in heaven. Their treasure is not in their works and their merit, but their treausure is God’s gift of Jesus Christ. They are blessed, they are forgiven, in His holy, innocent shed blood for them. Likewise, those who mourn over their sin and the damage it has caused in their relationships with both God and with their neighbor are blessed, and they are comforted in the knowledge that their sins are forgiven, that the breach has been healed, and that even death, which they truly merit, has been defeated, its sting taken away. And, this blessedness results in the blessed state of meekness for the spiritually poor – meekness which is truly humility and gentleness and consideration for your neighbor, and especially for those who are poor in spirit, mourning, and humble themselves.

And so, the first three beatitudes describe the repentant life of the Christian now. All that you experience in your life now is truly preparation for the life that is to come. And yet, you must not strike a harsh distinction between the two, for the life you live now in Jesus Christ will never end. Though your body will die and perish, your born again spirit will not. Your spirit, indeed, knows the blessedness Jesus describes in the beatitudes, the blessedness of poverty of spirit, of mourning over sin, and of meekness and humility, for this is the blessedness of the saints who have come out from the great tribulation that is life in this world, having washed their robes, making them white in the blood of the Lamb.

St. John reemphasizes Jesus’ teaching concerning the present reality of the blessedness of His saints saying, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.” Moreover, in this passage, St. John speaks of the now / not yettension in which the Church Militant exists and lives on earth. Truly, the Church of Jesus Christ is victorious in Him and is blessed now, but this reality has not yet been fully revealed. And so, the world looks upon the Church and Her members and sees only weakness and hypocrisy, brokenness, infighting, and irrelevancy, even while Jesus looks upon Her and proclaims, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” My Bride.

And so, Jesus continues to proclaim the blessed state of His faithful, now, saying, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for ritheousness,” “Blessed are the merciful,” “Blessed are the pure in heart,” “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” and “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” “Rejoice and be glad,” Jesus says, “for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Each of these beatitudes make it clear that unbelievers will not see your blessedness, that even the faithful will be tempted to view these blessed traits as anything but blessed. For, the LORD’s ways are not man’s ways, and the foolishness of the LORD is wiser than man’s wisdom. Your Lord Jesus did not come to establish a kingdom of glory on earth, but He came to ransom you out of this world that is passing away because of sin and death. Even now, He is making all things new, even you, by turning your hearts and minds by His Spirit through His Word that you might see and hear differently.

Therefore, the Lord granted John, and you, His Church, this revelation of the Church Triumphant in heaven – 144,000 saints, representing the Old Testament and the New Testament Church together as one fellowship in Jesus Christ. And, beyond them, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Combined, these two images represent the Church catholic, both in heaven and on earth, both triumphant and militant, of all times and of all places. This Church is revealed for St. John and for you so that you might have hope as you continue your pilgrimage through this valley of the shadow of death, surrounded by enemies – hope that the victory is already yours in Christ Jesus, and comfort that your victorious Lord walks with you, even now, through that valley as your Good Shepherd, your Reedeemer, your Lord, and your God. You tend to look at this revelation as if it were something far off and yet to come, but the truth is that it is something that is very real for you right now. In fact, the English word Revelation is a translation of the Greek word ἀποκάλυψις, which means unveiling. Thus, this vision of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church of all times and of all places is but an unveiling, a revealing, of the Church that exists even now, but is seen in the fullness of Her glory not yet.

The Feast of All Saints is your feast, for you are numbered among that “great multitude that no one could number” who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” When did you do this? Well, you didn’t, but it was something that was done to you when you were baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then, you were claimed, spiritually, out of this Great Tribulation as was Noah and his family from the flood of God’s wrath, and you were sealed in the promise by faith that your body will be raised up from death too that you may join that countless host in your glorified flesh and blood body and serve God day and night where you shall hunger and thirst no more, where the sun and scorching heat shall strike you no more, where there is no more sorrow or tears, for God Himself will have wiped every tear from your eyes and taken away every reason for tears and sorrow.

The Feast of All Saints is your Feast, for God has knit together His faithful people of all times and of all places into one Holy Communion, the mystical body of His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, you are invited to come to this foretaste of that Great Feast in heaven in order that you might be refreshed, renewed, and sustained that you might persevere during your pilgrimage through this life, through death, into eternal life and the Great Feast itself, the Wedding Feast of the Bridegroom Jesus Christ and His Holy Bride, the Church. This is not merely a meal of remembrance, but this is your spiritual food and drink in the wilderness on which you abide until you are delivered into the Promised Land of heaven.

More than that, your Lord and Bridegroom Jesus Christ Himself is present at this Festal Board as both gracious Host and life-giving Meal, “with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven.” That “company of heaven” includes all the saints of the Lord who have died in faith in Him, who are with Him now, with whom you will stand in the resurrection, not yet, in your glorified flesh and blood bodies and holy souls. This is His gracious gift to you now, that you, who cannot ascend to heaven, might join with heaven in this Feast as heaven graciously descends to you. Thus, you are invited to come and join in the heavenly chorus around the throne of God and the Lamb singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy LORD God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth art full of Thy glory! Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is He who cometh in the Name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”

Because God has reconciled Himself with all humanity in the holy innocent shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, St. Paul exhorts you to no longer regard anyone according to the flesh. Indeed, you must regard each and every human being as a soul created by God and redeemed and reconciled to Him in Jesus Christ. Thus, no man or woman is your enemy, but we each and all have but one enemy, God’s enemy, the devil, Satan, the Great Deceiver and Accuser of men.

Therefore, I exhort you to see this Feast of All Saints differently – to see yourself among the saints of God, but also to see your brother and sister and your neighbor as saints, or would-be saints needing only to hear and believe the Good News that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to Himself. This is the Good News, the Gospel, that you have been rescued from death to proclaim in your words, life, and deeds. This Feast of All Saints, let the unveiling of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church of all times and of all places enable you to see with new eyes your life and purpose in Christ and in His Body the Church. You are not alone, but you are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses! And, your very life is bound up with Christ and all His saints as a witness to the world of God’s boundless love and mercy, and His desire that all men be saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. You are not alone, but you are part of God’s mission to the world in Christ Jesus. Come to the feast and be forgiven, nourished, and strengthened in faith. Then, go, as He sends you, into the world in your vocations and let Christ’s light and love shine in all you say and do, to the glory of God the Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, through the gracious workings of His Holy Spirit.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Festival of the Reformation (observed)

(Audio)

Matthew 11:12-19; Romans 4:19-28; Revelation 14:6-7

 

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

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.” That’s a first century Judaic way of saying, “There’s no satisfying you. There’s nothing that can be done to make you content.” Jesus says that’s what the Jews of His day were like: They were like discontent and unsatisfied children. When John the Baptist came preaching to them, they thought he had a demon because he fasted and abstained from wine. And, when Jesus came preaching to them, they accused Him of being a glutton and drunkard, cavorting with tax collectors and sinners. However, Jesus says that such discontent and dissatisfaction with both John and Himself are indicative of a much more serious problem – the people and their religious leaders were inflicting violence upon the kingdom of heaven, attempting to take it by force.

What Jesus is speaking of is much less physical violence against John and Himself – though they violently opposed them and murdered them both – but Jesus was speaking of their violence against the Word of God. Both John and Jesus came preaching the Law and the Gospel of God, but like the prophets before them, and the evangelists after them, the people were discontent and unsatisfied. They reacted violently against the Word of God and the preachers of His Word. They sought to take God’s kingdom by violence, according to their own wisdom and judgment of what is right and wrong, good and evil. They would not tolerate God’s Word. They closed their ears and shut their eyes tight, making themselves to be spiritually deaf and blind. They set their wisdom and word above the Word of God. “The Word they still shall let remain nor any thanks have for it,” then, now, and always. 

This is the work of Satan, who continually inflicts violence upon the kingdom of heaven by inflicting violence upon the Word of God. Satan began his attack in the garden, tempting our First Parents to doubt the Word of God asking, “Did God really say?” Then he attacked and murdered those preachers of the Word, the Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs who undauntedly called men to repentance through their faithful and persistent preaching of Law and Gospel. Satan tempts men to prideful self-righteousness, resulting in their resentment, fear, anger, and hatred of the LORD and His Word of Truth that continually shows our sin, guilt, and iniquity and stains our conscience and enslaves us. Willfully men close their ears and eyes and hearts to the Word of God still as Satan snatches the Goodly Seed from their hearts so that they do not and cannot believe. Generation after generation of men forgot the Word of God and sought to justify themselves by their works. Whereas Satan inflicts violence upon the Word of God by distorting it and tempting men to doubt it, men inflict equivalent violence upon the Word of God by trusting in their works to justify themselves. For four hundred years before Christ the Word had not been heard in Israel. No prophet called men to repentance nor proclaimed the Gospel of the Messiah. By the time the Word became flesh in Jesus Christ, there was but a remnant of faithful watchers upon the earth.  

Over millennia, men have forgotten the Word of the LORD. Today, we do not teach it to our children. We do not bring our children to Jesus. Generations come and go and the Word of the LORD seems now an alien word, a myth, a bigoted and hateful word, foolishness and something of which to be ashamed and to discard as the primitive superstitions of an unenlightened people. That is where we are today. That is where we were in Luther’s day. That is where we were throughout the four hundred years of silence before the coming of Jesus. We do not remember the Sabbath Day or keep it holy, and so we forget. When men hear the Word of God today they hate it, and they hate you who keep it, they hate Jesus, and they hate God. Is it any wonder that our congregations are in decline? Is it any wonder that our culture and government are embracing evil and godlessness? Is it any wonder that our schools teach that there is no God but that you are gods, or the government is god?

And so, today we do remember. Despite our sin and accommodation to the fallen world and our own sinful flesh we strive to remember. Today we remember the Word of God and we keep it sacred and holy amongst us. Today we remember the many reformations the Church has undergone throughout the millennia. Luther was hardly the first to cry for reform, and, God help us, he will not be the last. Ecclesia semper reformanda est – The Church is always being reformed. How do we remember? We remember by keeping the Sabbath Day holy. We remember by gathering here at this place and time to hear the Word of the LORD and to receive His gifts. And, how do we keep the Sabbath Day holy? We “fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” The Word of our LORD is our life, apart from which we die. The Word of the LORD is the bread of which we eat and live, a spring of living water of which we drink and never thirst. The Word of the LORD is not practical advice for living, though it is good and helpful for you. The Word of the LORD does not promise you happiness or success or prosperity or health, but faith, contentment, and strength to persevere and endure. For, this world and this life is not the fullness of your life, but it is the first baby-steps of your life that will never end. The things that you believe in this life and the works that you perform in this life matter, not as works that earn and merit you forgiveness and justification, but as fruit which are the proof and confirmation of your forgiveness and justification. Those who try to earn or merit the kingdom by their works despise the Word of God and attempt to take His kingdom by violence.

How do we remember? We remember by receiving God’s Word, and His Word made visible, touchable, and tasteable in the Blessed Sacraments, the Word made flesh, Jesus. Our Lord Jesus commands us to make disciples by baptizing and teaching all He has commanded. However, Christians have forgotten this Word of the LORD and seemingly despise it. They declare people to be Christian simply because they feel that they are, or say that they are, even while they willfully and defiantly live and act in disobedience to His commands and teach others to do the same. No, in place of a steady diet of holy things, things that are truly good for us and give us life, we have indulged ourselves upon garbage, a sewer of entertainment and corrupt media, not to mention the indoctrination of the public school system which actively seeks to destroy belief in God, in the Christian faith and its doctrines, in biblical morality, values, and ethics. We do not bring our children to the altar of Jesus, but we bring them to altars of football and soccer, of television and video games, or just sleeping in, and we wonder why they don’t believe in God, why they don’t behave like Christians, why they view pornography and engage in pre-marital sexual acts, and experiment with drugs, and have short attention spans and will not tolerate anything that demands patience and attention and analysis and critique, anything that does not gratify immediately but takes work and effort. We wonder why they don’t come to church, when we their parents don’t bring them, when we their parents don’t come to church. We wonder why people leave and others do not come. It is because we, as a people, even as a people who consider themselves to be Christian, do not remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, but we despise preaching and the Word of God and crave and lust for the words of men.

And so, we despair and wring our hands and contemplate lowering our standards, modernizing, and becoming more friendly and welcoming to a culture that stands in direct opposition to the Word of God and His commandments and hates and despises them. God has given us an Ark, but we choose to stand outside its doors cursing His Name and drown in the flood of His wrath. Or, perhaps the problem is messenger? That is what Satan would have you believe. He causes your ears to itch and tempts you to find a false prophet who will scratch them preaching, “Peace, peace, where there is no peace.” Well, there is an easy and surefire way to tell if your pastor is a false teacher, but it requires your not despising and inflicting violence upon the Word of God. Check what he preaches and teaches against the Word of God – the real and true Word of God, and not some baloney you’ve heard elsewhere or made up yourself. The question that faces every Christian individually and every congregation corporately is this: Does the Word of God claim authority over me, or do I claim authority over Him? If your answer to this question is the former, then you are a Christian and God’s child. If your answer is the latter, then you are no Christian and you have made yourself to be your god.

This is my God (point to crucifix) – Christ crucified. This is your God. This is the God of all true Christians. Now, how does this look to the world, to man’s reason and vaunted wisdom, and to the culture? Weak, sad, pathetic, pitiable, humiliating, a disgrace. Well, as the world views Christ, so does it view you, O Christian. Satan tempts you to do violence to the Word of God, to do violence to Jesus Christ and Him crucified, to remove the offense and speak not of it, to hide it away in shame and speak of more seemly things. But, you are called, O Christian, to confess Christ before the world with the promise that He will confess you before His Father in heaven. But, if you deny Him before men, He will deny you saying, “Depart from me, you wicked; I never knew you.”

It's been 507 years since Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, also known as the Castle Church, effectively beginning what we now commonly call the Reformation. Contrary to what many believe and claim, Luther was not protesting anything at all. Indeed, the subject of all 95 Theses was the singular practice of the selling of indulgences by which believers were told they could purchase the forgiveness of sins for their loved ones in purgatory. This idea that you can justify yourself by your works, by following the world’s word and wisdom or your own, is violence against the Word of the God. You cannot take the kingdom of heaven by violence and force. You cannot earn or merit it by your works. But, you must receive it as it comes to you from your merciful Father through His beloved and righteous Son whom He has put forward as a propitiation for your sins and for the sins of the world. Ecclesia semper reformanda est, the Church is always being reformed. I say to you that our church must be reformed still, and that reform starts right here, right now, in repentance, which is faith, and by remembering the Sabbath Day to keep it holy – not despising preaching and His Word, but holding it sacred and gladly hearing and learning it. “Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word; curb those who by deceit or sword would wrest the kingdom from Your Son and bring to naught all He has done.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Mission Festival (LWML Sunday) at Immanuel Lutheran Church - St. Ansgar, Iowa

I was invited to preach at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Ansgar, IA for a Mission Festival / LWML Sunday as part of the congregation's year-long celebration of their 150th anniversary. Here is the sermon.

(Audio)

Luke 24:1-12, 36-49; Romans 10:9-17; Isaiah 62:1-7

 

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

Today’s Gospel is the account of the faithful women arriving at Jesus’ tomb early Sunday morning. What I think we tend to forget, however, is that the women did not expect to find the tomb empty, the stone rolled away, and their Lord Jesus’ body gone. They did not come in hopeful expectation of Jesus’ resurrection, but they came to complete the unfinished work of preparing his dead body for burial. They did not come seeking the living but the dead. However, they were greeted by two angels, holy messengers of God’s Word, who proclaimed to them, “He is not here, but has risen!” The messengers called them to remember Jesus’ words, that “the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” At their word they did remember, and they ran at once to the eleven and to all the others to tell them the Good News!

All four of the Gospels record the account of the women at the tomb, and all four accounts agree that the women did not initially believe that Jesus would rise. But that is not a slight on the women uniquely, for no one believed, hoped, or anticipated that Jesus would rise. Apart from the life-giving and faith-creating Word of God we are all like Lazarus, spiritually dead and unable to believe. However, once that Word has been proclaimed to us, the Lord willing, we are resurrected to faith and life, and our all-consuming desire and passion is to go and tell anyone who will listen to the Good News!

The Scriptures attest to this in numerous places. For example, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, some Pharisees wanted Jesus to rebuke his disciples for praising him with the Messianic titles, “Hosanna, Son of David” and “Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the LORD.” But Jesus answered them saying, “If they remain silent, the very stones will cry out!” Often when Jesus healed people, he exhorted them to remain silent and to not tell, yet they could not contain their joy and went and told everyone they could. When the man born blind was healed, he went and told everyone how Jesus had restored his sight. The ostracized Samaritan woman at the well went and told everyone in her village about the man she had spoken with, and she proclaimed that he could be the Christ. You see, faith is never silent, but it is always active, speaking, singing, praising, serving, confessing the Good News of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus.

We often wrongly think of mission work as sort of a vocational specialization that only certain people having certain skills and abilities are called to do, while the rest of us support them financially and with our prayers. While it is a wonderful gift and blessing that the Lord has raised up such missionaries in his church, it is not true that mission work is, can, or should be done only by such professionals. All who have received the gift of faith are bound, blessed, equipped, and sent to share what the Lord has done to the glory of God. St. Paul has written, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Similarly, Jesus has said, “Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.” Every Christian is a missionary, indeed a little Christ, proclaiming the Good News of what the Lord has done in word and deed. “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the good news!”

So, the women came to the tomb that Easter morning seeking the dead, spiritually dead in terms of their faithful hope and living joy. But after hearing the Word of the holy messengers, they ran, their hearts full of fear, love, and trust, and perplexed hope and joy, to tell the others! Truly, it was not only their Lord who was raised, just as he said, but they too were resurrected, and their mission became that joyful message in their lives, words, and deeds! This is the mission to which you have been called, my Christian brothers and sisters! And that is the mission of Immanuel Lutheran Church of St. Ansgar, Iowa today, even as it has been your mission these past 150 years. You have been blessed, and you ARE blessed to be a blessing! “Thank the Lord and sing his praise; tell everyone what he has done!”

Now, I was asked to speak to you this day concerning the service of Christian women in the Church. The reason I am here specifically is because I am the senior pastoral counselor for the Iowa East District of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. I was elected pastoral counselor back in 2022 and have served the District LWML two full years and am now in my third year. I will confess that I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into back then. Sure, I knew about the work of the LWML and have worked with my congregations’ local societies and zones, but what I have experienced the past two-plus years has been nothing short of revelatory and a great blessing to me personally. The LWML is truly a mission society. What I mean is that the entire organization in its mission and vision, organization, and service is mission-minded through and through.

Here’s some boilerplate background for you: The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) is an official auxiliary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Since 1942, the LWML has focused on affirming each woman’s relationship with Christ, encouraging and equipping women to live out their Christian lives in active mission ministries and to support global missions. Mission Statement: As Lutheran Women in Mission, we joyfully proclaim Christ, support missions, and equip women to honor God by serving others. Vision Statement: The LWML is the leading group for LCMS women where each woman is welcomed and encouraged to use her unique God-given gifts as she supports global missions and serves the Lord with gladness. Now, if this sounds a bit corporate, well, that’s ok, it is. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty good guiding position statement that serves to keep the organization grounded and centered in the Gospel nationally, district-wide, and locally in both zones and congregation societies.

I suspect that most everyone knows about the LWML’s chief fundraising program, the Mite. LWML Mite Boxes are inspired, of course, by the Gospel account of the poor widow who put her two last pennies (mites) into the offering box. Jesus praised her for her faith and trust in the Lord in giving, out of her poverty, want, and need, everything she had. Now, it is of course true that the pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters that typically find their way into a mite box are rarely anyone’s last two pennies, but they are more likely the change left in our pockets at the end of the day or week. Nevertheless, those mites, when combined with hundreds and thousands of other gifts from zone, district, and national LWML offerings provide hundreds of thousands of dollars which serve to support vocational missionaries and mission work, to provide scholarships for Lutheran pastors, deaconesses, DCEs, teachers, and other church workers, along with missionary efforts in our districts, zones, and congregations.

However, it’s not just the mites and the money, but women in the LWML regularly serve with their hands, hearts, voices, and prayers by collecting needed items for food pantries, schools, pro-life women’s support organizations, and much, much more. They also make quilts, shawls, and other useful items, they write letters of encouragement, make crafts that proclaim the Good News of Jesus to others and encourage them to share their faith, and, it goes without saying, prepare countless meals for funerals and congregation celebrations throughout our Synod. In the Iowa East District, our LWML has pledged to support thirteen unique mission endeavors along with several scholarships and grants totaling $90,000 over the next biennium. One of those mission grants supports the campus ministry that I and my congregation at St. John provide to students attending Wartburg College in Waverly. Others include Lutheran Family Services, Lutheran Disaster Relief, Mission Central, Lutherans for Life, and Word of Hope Suicide Prevention for Post-Abortive Women, among others.

Here at Immanuel, your Lutheran Ladies Society was first organized in 1917 under the pastorate of Rev. Paul Brammer. In 1947 your society joined the LWML. Over the years the Immanuel Lutheran Ladies Society has cared for altar paraments, banners, and vestments, altar flowers, the church kitchen and its appointments, and much, much more. Members of the society regularly visit church members, particularly shut-ins, and provide for the welfare of church members in need. A church history book ends its section on the LWML with these words: “What is the LWML all about? Being missionaries where we are! We pray the Lord’s blessings attend our efforts for Him and His church as we continue to Serve the Lord with Gladness.”

Two thousand years later, your missionary work is not really all that different than those women who ministered to Jesus and supported his ministry, the same women who sought to care for his body that first Easter morning. Those women have come to be known in Christendom as the Holy Myrrhbearers for bringing myrrh and aloes to anoint Jesus’ body in loving service and devotion. The Myrrhbearers were women who followed Jesus, served him, and witnessed his crucifixion. They were with him throughout his ministry and accompanied his body to the tomb. The Myrrhbearers represent the good and holy in the Christian faith. In loving devotion, thanksgiving, and fear, love, and trust they served their Lord in life and in death. After the angels’ announcement they served the Lord and glorified him by telling all that he was risen and all that he had done. This remains the mission of God’s people until he comes again on the Last Day.

“For Zion's sake we cannot keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake we cannot be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory” […] “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.” Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! And Christ is present with his words and wounds to forgive you anew, to strengthen your faith, to equip you for every good work, and to send you forth as his hands, feet, mouth, and voice, as little Christ’s, serving your neighbor and glorifying his name until he comes. The tomb is empty, the stone forever rolled away. Death has died and life lives, and you get to be the messengers of Jesus’ victory in your lives, words, and deeds. God bless you saints of Immanuel Lutheran Church, and the LORD continue to make you a blessing.

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.

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.