Homily for the Second Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 2)

(Audio)

Luke 14:15-24; 1 John 3:13-18; Proverbs 9:1-10

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

Today’s Gospel lesson from St. Luke is often called The Parable of the Great Banquet. In context, in Luke’s Gospel, however, today’s pericope is one of four teachings of Jesus that occur during a single meal at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. Throughout that meal, Jesus had occasion to teach about how love is the fulfilling of the Sabbath Law, how humility is a virtue as opposed to the vice of pride, and about the virtue of charity and grace, selfless giving without thought of recognition or compensation.

But, what occasioned our Lord’s teaching in The Parable of the Great Banquet was the exclamation of one of those who sat with Him at the meal: “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” The man was most likely thinking of the type of banquet that would typically be held by the Jews following a great victory in battle. Many Jews of Jesus’ day held the false belief that the Messiah would be a great king like David who would free Israel from bondage and captivity to the Romans. Even if the man were thinking about a spiritual victory, feast, and kingdom, he was sighing for something he believed to be far off, while the Bread of Heaven Himself sat there before him.

Parables are funny things, they seem so simple on the surface, and yet their meaning eludes and confounds so many, so that seeing, they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear. Often this frustration is expressed “Why doesn’t Jesus just speak plainly? Doesn’t He want people to understand and believe?” Well, of course He wants people to understand and to believe. Nevertheless, He will not force Himself on anyone. Jesus preaches to the Law inscribed on all men’s hearts even while He extends to them the Gospel invitation. Only those who feel the conviction of the Law and drop their facades of pride and self-righteousness will turn in repentance and receive forgiveness and life. Ironically, how often a pastor is told by his parishioners, “You should just preach like Jesus, you know, simple stories, and parables. He was always so clear, a child could understand Him.” Such a comment, however, brings to my mind something one of my seminary professors is still known to regularly say: “You know not the Scriptures or the power therein.” God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the parables were constructed by the Wisdom of God incarnate, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is Wisdom that speaks when Jesus speaks, and the truly wise among men bring nothing to the table but humility and repentance.

The Church’s lectionary has wisely paired the wisdom of Proverbs this day with the wisdom of The Parable of the Great Banquet. Recorded nearly a millennium before the advent of Jesus, our pericope from Proverbs is The Parable of the Great Banquet told in the high form of wisdom literature: Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” In both Proverbs and in the Parable, the great feast is fully prepared and many are invited simply to come, eat, and drink. Yet, how so very many refuse! In the Parable, those who refuse offer worldly and fleshly excuses or justifications. These betray their pride and self-righteousness and expose their false religions and idolatries. In Proverbs, those who refuse are scoffers and wicked men. It is the humble and selfless man who accepts reproving and instruction that is wise and righteous. In accepting reproving and instruction, the wise man becomes wiser still, for, to the one that has, more will be given, and to the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away; for, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Let us now turn directly to the Parable. The “man” is God the Father and the “great banquet” He has prepared is the fulfillment of the Passover Feast in the flesh and blood of the Lamb of God, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. All was fully prepared and “many” were invited to the feast, so God “sent His [Suffering] servant to say to those invited ‘Come, for everything is now ready’. But they all began to make excuses.” One has purchased a field and must attend to it. Another has bought five yoke of oxen and must examine them. And another has married a wife and cannot come. All three excuses sound reasonable enough to fleshly ears and worldly wisdom. In fact, at least two of the excuses were counted as reasonable exceptions to military service in the Old Testament (Deut. 20:6-7). However, this story being a parable, and parables being what they are, there is at the same time a literal and true meaning and a deeper, spiritual meaning. Spiritually, the excuses offered by the three invitees had to do with their preoccupation and love of worldly, physical, and fleshly things over and against the spiritual gifts of God. Here, the Fathers of the Church, especially Augustine and Gregory, offer us insight as to how the early Church understood this parable.

Augustine writes: In the purchase of the farm, the pride of dominion is signified. For to have a farm, to hold it as their possession, to occupy it, to have it subject to them, to rule it, delights men. The first man wished to rule, and wished no one to have dominion over him. And what does having dominion mean but taking delight in one’s own power?

Augustine and Gregory both understand the five yoke of oxen as a symbol for the five senses of man, which also are yoked in pairs: two eyes with which to see, two ears with which to hear, two nostrils with which to smell, a tongue and palate which work together to taste, and a sense of touch, paired in a concealed manner, being both internal and external. The five senses are creaturely and of the earth; they can only perceive what has been made by God and according to God’s own design. Yet, men trust in these creaturely senses and not in their Creator. They will not believe anything unless what they can discover by the fivefold perception of the body. They regard these five senses as the sole norm of their decisions. Such a man was the Apostle Thomas who famously insisted “Unless I see with my eyes and touch with my hands, I will never believe.” Such a man also was the guest at the meal who exclaimed “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Again, this man was sighing for what he believed was far off, while the Bread of Heaven Himself sat there before him. For, it is not what is seen that feeds us, but what is believed. Indeed, what faithlessness and idolatry that our God-created and God-given senses should be loved and trusted more than our Creator and Giver God!

Augustine and Gregory alike also see the man who has taken a wife as a symbol for the desires of the fleshly over and against the spiritual. Augustine summarizes all of the excuses of the invitees, saying “Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

But, are not these the excuses that serve all men who decline to come to the Lord’s Banquet? The invited guests offered these excuses to justify their absence, to justify their refusal to come to the feast that the Lord had prepared for them. And, their excuses demonstrated their belief in their own self-sufficiency, that they had no need of handouts from the Lord. The owner of the farm viewed himself as the owner of his own life, dependent only upon himself and his own works and labor. The owner of the five yoke of oxen, likewise, has made himself the judge of what is real and what is true; but the reality is that man is slave to his senses, created by God, perceiving only what God has created them and allowed them to perceive. It is the Lord who is Truth, not what can be perceived by our God-created and given senses. The man who has married a wife and cannot come is one who is completely enslaved to fleshly desires and passions. For him, the sensations of the flesh have become all important and above the One who created the flesh and its sensations that He might be worshiped and glorified as the Lord and giver of all things.

And, the Master was angry with the invited guests and their excuses. He ordered his servant to bring in those people who were unable to provide for themselves, people like the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. These are set in contrast to the invited guests who made excuses. For, the truth is that the invited guests should have seen that all the material and worldly things that they valued and loved were gifts from God; they should have gone to the Master’s feast out of love, reverence, and thanksgiving. But they refused. For, they did not truly love the master. They believed that their fields, oxen, and marriage were the fruits of their own labors. They did not respect, love, or thank the master for his kindness, grace, and mercy. And, none of those invited, offering their own excuses and justifications, will taste of the Master’s banquet, but even today the invitation is extended to all those pilgrims on the highways and the byways of this world who will receive and not refuse the Lord’s gracious invitation.

For, God the Father’s Suffering Servant has called you by His Word to the Master’s Banquet where He is both Host and Meal. His invitation will not be rescinded, it can only be rejected. All is prepared for you, the finest of meats and the choicest of wines, that you may eat His flesh and drink His blood and live. There is no need to covet dominion, power, and control, for the Lord knows what you need and He willingly and lovingly gives you all things. Must you see and touch, taste, hear, and feel to believe? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. Nevertheless, the Lord graciously meets you where you are in Word, Bread, Wine, and Water that He might dwell in you, flesh, blood, and Spirit, and you in Him. Have you a spouse to love you and to give you physical comfort and security? They are a gift of God to you that you might have a glimpse of the love and comfort you will find in the Lord. And this feast, at which we recline this day and every Lord’s Day, is but a foretaste of the Feast that is to come, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom which has no end. For, blessed is everyone who eats bread in the kingdom of God. “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Are You Done?

The following is an excellent post critiquing our contraceptive culture’s view on the purpose of marriage and children and provides a solid, Christian answer to that wrong-minded question “Are you done?”. The post was written by Rev. Ben Ball and was posted to the blog Lutherans and Procreation.

From what I understand mothers are asked this question all the time following the births of their children, sometimes even in the delivery room. Until today, I have never been asked.
This morning I went to my Doctor for a regular checkup. The Lord blessed us with our third child and first son in April, so the receptionist, nurse and doctor all greeted me with congratulations - very nice. Everyone in there knows I'm a pastor and I look like one too when I arrive, dressed in clericals and such - currently too hot for a cassock to wear 'round town.
As I was getting my blood drawn (lousy cholesterol) the nurse asked, "So, now that you have the boy are you done?"
I honestly did not know how to respond other than, "I certainly hope not. The Lord has given us these and I pray He gives us more." No reply to that.

The contraceptive mind must run like this. One has children to get what he wants. Now that I have a masculine child there be no need for anymore, right? I have the BOY, my hunting buddy, the guy to teach how to play baseball, football etc. MY little man, MY guy. There can only be so much attention and love (AND MONEY) to go around. Happy! Content! Finished! Desires Fulfilled! So, Done! Time for the snip snip appointment, or perhaps get my wifey to her doctor to get the tubes put in a knot or whatever other method the human mind has concocted to disrupt or destroy.

Note also the assumption that the Christian pastor must have the mentality of everyone else. He and his bride can only take so much - 2 girls, 1 boy, enough is enough. Done. But then why the question- "Are you done?"

I think it has to be the law written on the heart of all these people who ask. They know that they should not be saying, "I'm done." It has been put into their conscience by the Lord Himself to be fruitful and multiply. Let it be said once again, as with all posts of this nature, we are not dealing with the hard and difficult cases. And so that denial of Life must have company, not only with the spouse but with everyone else. If only we all say that we are DONE, than it will be OK. If only we all together reject the gifts that God Himself gives we will be OK. Safety in numbers; safety then in our choices. Choices that reject God's gift of the lives of human beings. Choices that say "No thanks God, I'm done with You giving me things that you call blessings. I am done with you creating life, people, human beings, children that you fearfully and wonderfully make through the means of the union of husband and wife. I'm done with your Son Jesus wishing the little children to come to Him. Done with Him putting His hands on them and blessing them at the font. I'm done with the very purpose of marriage itself, not by your choosing but by mine. No thank you God, I AM DONE."

I say no thanks to that. The Blessed Holy Trinity is the giver of Life, so let's let Him decide when we're done. No thanks to saying "no thanks" to the Father, (the Maker of Heaven and Earth) to His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, (In him was life; and the life was the light of men) and to the Holy Spirit, (the Lord and Giver of Life). Let's let it be up to the Blessed Trinity whether we are done, or not. Or whether we'll be given sick children, or healthy children. Let's let Him decide whose going to be living and who is going to be born. Let's even let Him decide when we should die. Let's let Him decide when our parents should die. Let's even let Him decide when our children should die - long after we are dead, d.v. Let's let Him be God, and us be creatures. Let's believe that He really is the one who makes children, that they really are His, and He seems not to be done yet. As of this writing, the Father has not sent His Son to return on the clouds with all His Holy angels.

HT: Rev. B. T. Ball

Lutheran Mythbusting: Lutherans Avoid Others They Disagree With!

The Lutheran doctrine of church fellowship is frequently misunderstood, both those who are not Lutheran, and by Lutherans. Here are some clarifying remarks from one of the Missouri Synod’s presidents:

“To be sure, we should not hate and persecute those who adhere to a false faith. Nor should we avoid civil association with them. We should all the more in all things show them complete faithfulness, love, and friendliness. But God has not commanded us to maintain church fellowship with them. He has, in fact, strictly forbidden it. And we should certainly not think that all who belong to false-believing fellowships are stiff-necked enemies of the truth and children of perdition. We should certainly not forget that where the Word and Sacrament still essentially remain, where something of the sweet Gospel still resounds, there also children will be born to the Lord as the morning dew. Indeed, we can and should rejoice that we stand in the innermost and sweetest fellowship with all those who have saving faith in the heart, hidden before God, even though out of weakness they may be burdened by all sorts of error. But we cannot enter into church fellowship with such persons. Indeed, we do not know who they are, but the Lord knows those who are His. Where we establish public church fellowship, there must also be present public unity in the faith and Confession.” (pp. 511-12)

Schwan here strikes the right balance, doesn’t he, between broad Christian kindness and firm confessional faithfulness. Our insistence that church fellowship be based on agreement in doctrine–this is often caricatured as though we think that only Missouri Synod Lutherans will be in heaven! Schwan shows this is not the case.

One other brief and timely quote from Schwan, this one from his 1896 Synodical Address:

What is it to us, then, whether our Synod is large or small, honored or despised, in the eyes of the world? She will remain under God’s blessing as long as she honestly stands for God’s Word and honor. Nor do we wish for a longer existence than that. Therefore, we commend all this to God! (p. 554)

HT: McCain

Homily for the First Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 1)

(Audio)

Luke 16:19-31; 1 John 4:16-21; Genesis 15:1-6

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

Today we enter the Trinity / Pentecost season of the Church’s Year of Grace, otherwise known as “that long green season”. But there’s a reason for the color green, for, green symbolizes growth, and the Time of the Church is the time of the Church’s growth by the Holy Spirit sent on Pentecost. For it is the Holy Spirit that grows the Church, not men, no matter how pious or earnest, not evangelism programs, no matter how well intentioned, not ecclesial bureaucracies, no matter how much they might appeal to human pride and wisdom. And, providentially, for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this time of the church year coincides with the Gregorian calendar in terms of seasons so that we are in the middle of Spring approaching Summer and have finally progressed beyond the last killing frost. Now is the time of sowing seeds, of planting, watering, nourishing, fertilizing, weeding, of growing. There is work to be done while the daylight is long and the conditions are good, the work of spreading the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection of the life of the world. This time of the Church Year focuses and directs our attention upon, and teaches the Church anew, how the Holy Spirit accomplishes this work through the body of Christ, the Church. Now is the time in which the Church remembers and learns anew Who She Is and why She is, that She exists for the sake of the people Jesus died to save, that She exists for the life of the world. But, it is the Holy Spirit’s work, the sowing, planting, watering, nourishing, fertilizing, weeding, and growing, through the Church, while there is yet time. For, the harvest is coming, today, tomorrow, or the day after. Pray that when the Lord comes to reap His harvest, the Church may be found actively leavening the world with the Gospel Word and Holy Sacraments.

But, the Enemy tempts the Body of Christ to grow complacent, to become fat and lazy, lethargic, self-righteous. The Enemy lulls the Church to sleep saying, “Your Bridegroom is delayed. Perhaps He’s not coming at all. Take a little rest, you’ve been faithful in much, you’ve done well, you’ve earned it. After all, those people out there, they’ve had their chance to hear, but they’ve closed their ears and cursed you. You’re much better than them. Take some rest, you deserve it.” Or, the Enemy tempts the Body of Christ to take matters into Her own hands, believing that it is men who must grow the Church. And, so, men create program after program and build towering bureaucracies rivaling the Tower of Babel, treating the Church of Christ like a business, utilizing marketing and strategic planning aimed at selling a product to fickle and self-serving consumers. “If people aren’t filling the pews and the coffers, then we need to redesign, repackage, and remarket our product.” The questions become “What do consumers want? What do consumers like?” Rather than “What do sinners need?”

In the first case, the Church becomes self-serving and unconcerned with those outside Her walls. We become like the Rich Man in the parable, feasting sumptuously on the feast of God’s Love and forgiveness in Jesus, but greedily keeping it to ourselves, passing by and disparaging the Lazarus’s outside our doors. But, as the Apostle warns, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” Do not be deceived, every tree that does not produce fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire. The Time of the Church is a time to be reminded and instructed anew who the Church is and why the Church is. The Church is the Body of Christ consisting of all believers, and She exists on earth today to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and devil for the life of the world. This is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church, through you, in your divine vocations, to forgive sins, have mercy, show compassion, grace, and charity, to love your neighbor, your brother, with the love of God, in Christ Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. And, this work starts when you leave this place, for, the Spirit goes with you, in you, and through you, that you might be a leavening agent, a light, in this world of sin, darkness, and death. What happens out there matters! We are not here to serve ourselves. You are not here for yourself alone.

In the second case, the Church, again, becomes self-serving, but, by being overly concerned with those outside Her walls. That is to say, the Church becomes an end in Herself; the most important thing becomes, not faithfulness to God’s Word, but the growing the institution. The bottom line, numbers, is the Gospel of such a church, and, the bottom line is to be increased by any means necessary. If the Name of Jesus is offensive, then it must be removed. If liturgical appointments, altars, pulpits, crosses, liturgy, hymns are offensive, then they must be removed. If the preaching of the Law is offensive, it must be removed. If Sacraments are seen to be tired traditions not relevant to today’s culture, they must be removed. Give the people want they want, no mind to what they need. Entertain them, make them feel good, give them the latest self-help advice, a practical do-it-yourself therapy, something positive and self-affirming. If you build it, they will come…, for a while, then it needs to be redesigned, repackaged, remarketed, “New & Improved”, “the Church 2.1”.

This is a powerful temptation today. We look at the empty seats and we wonder “Where is everyone? Are we doing something wrong?” Add to this concern the financial concerns of the Church and we are tempted to alter our message or change our ceremony, or develop some new program, marketing approach, or whatever, to make people come to church. We become like Abram who, in his old age, despaired that he had no son, no heir, that his line would end with him. “What was it all for?” he thought. Even though God promised Abram that he would have a son, an heir of his own flesh, and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, he took matters into his own hands and went into his wife’s maidservant Hagar, and she conceived and bore him a son, Ishmael. The Lord made Ishmael into a great nation, but He did not give Ishmael his blessing and much wickedness and strife came from, and still comes from, the descendents of Ishmael. Church growth tactics, taken from the business schools, may produce growth in attendance and money in the coffer, but they are quite often at the expense of faithfulness to God’s Word and in contradiction to, and denial of, the workings of the Holy Spirit in and through the Bride of Christ, the Church.

For, the bottom line is this, the Church of Christ is the Church of Pentecost, born of the Holy Spirit, birthing Christians by the fiery Word of the Gospel and the watery womb of Holy Baptism, feeding, nourishing, forgiving, and strengthening those born again of water and Spirit with the flesh and blood of the incarnate Word of God Jesus Christ. By the workings of the Holy Spirit, over three thousand souls were added to the Church on the Day of Pentecost, and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. And the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, in and through you, His Church, continues to add to the number day by day those who are being saved.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Memorial Day Benediction

The following is the Benediction I was supposed to deliver at the American Legion – Hasler Camp, Post 215 Memorial Day ceremony in the Village of Pawling, New York. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding and the ceremony concluded without a Benediction.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Gift of Your love poured out for us in the selfless sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. As we remember this day those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, we think of how they have followed in the footsteps of Your Son. We thank You for those men and women who have laid down their lives in loving, selfless, sacrifice for us, for our nation, for our freedom, for our families, and for our children. They are an image, a reflection, and an extension of Your love, grace, mercy, and compassion for all people.

A life given in love is never given in vain. Help us to honor their sacrifice by cherishing the freedoms they died to preserve. Help all citizens of this great nation to sacrifice themselves in humble service to their neighbors, recognizing that all we have comes from Your gracious hand and that we are but stewards and managers of Your boundless providence.

Grant our nation humble and faithful leaders who bear the sword You give them for the good of those under their charge and make this nation, under God, a beacon of light of charity, mercy, hope, and peace for the world that those dwelling in the darkness of sin and death may know true Peace in the Light of Your love, mercy, and forgiveness.

Hold our service men and women in Your strong arms. Cover them with your sheltering grace and presence as they stand in the gap for our protection. We also remember the families of our troops, and ask for Your unique blessings to fill their homes and Your peace, provision and strength to fill their lives. May the members of our armed forces be filled with courage to face each day and may they trust in the Lord's mighty power to accomplish each task. Let our military brothers and sisters feel our love and support.

May the Peace of God that passes all understanding, that peace which the world can neither give nor take away, abide with us to bless us, this day, and even forever more.

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

Homily for the Feast of the Holy Trinity

John 3:1-17; Romans 11:33-36; Isaiah 6:1-7

(Audio)

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

The Liturgical Church Year is a precious gift of God. No, I’m not suggesting that it’s divine and infallible, dropped down from heaven as it were, but, rather, that it is the pious creation of God’s faithful people, the Church, evolving over time in accord with the Church’s faith and confession, doctrine and practice, from Her infancy. The Liturgical Church Year serves as a loving nursemaid, gently reminding the faithful and teaching us about important points of doctrine that, without it, left to our own devices and imaginings, might likely recede into forgetfulness. And, so today, on this Festival of the Holy Trinity, we are reminded of, and are instructed in, the awesome holiness of the Lord God, His awesome glory, the depth of His riches, wisdom, and knowledge, His unsearchable judgments and His inscrutable ways that we might fear, love, and trust in Him above all things.

And, this is a thankful reminder, for we often do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Especially, today, Christians desire to not fear God. In popular Christianity, God is perceived to be your “buddy” or your “friend”. Though you can’t see Him or touch Him, He is believed to be “out there somewhere” watching over you, like a ghostly “big brother” or something similar. But, God, as He has revealed Himself in Holy Scripture and in the incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of His only begotten Son Jesus, and in the pouring out of His Holy Spirit upon His Church, is not so popular today, nor politically correct.

But, this was the God that Isaiah beheld in his vision – perfect, righteous, and thrice-holy. And, Isaiah was overcome with fear, crying out that he was lost, undone, because he, a man of unclean lips, a sinner, had beheld the glory of the Lord, and he knew that he must die, not just physically, but spiritually, eternally – for that is the force of the word that is translated “lost” or “undone”. Those tainted by the stain of sin cannot stand in the presence of the holy God anymore than darkness can exist in the presence of light. Thus, did Isaiah rightly fear the Lord before whom even the holy angels hide their faces. Such fear is the right and reverent worship of the Holy Lord God, and Jesus teaches us to fear, not those who can kill only the body but not the soul, but to fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. And, that one is our thrice-holy Lord God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Our cultural aversion to fearing God is reflected in our family relations as well. Today, fathers long to be buddies and friends to their children. They are loathe to discipline or even to say “no” to their sons and daughters. But, a child does not need parents who are buddies or friends, what they need are Fathers and Mothers that are to be feared and respected for their discipline and wrath against wrong doing, but even more for their selfless, sacrificial love, mercy, and forgiveness.

Though Isaiah rightly feared the Lord, believing that he was lost, undone, he would come to fear the Lord also for His selfless, sacrificial love, mercy, and forgiveness. Isaiah could not make his own lips to be clean; he could not remove his sin, uncleanness, and impurity. So, the Holy Lord God acted in love and forgiveness, sending a seraphim with a coal from the altar to touch Isaiah’s lips and to purge away his sin and make him clean. Then Isaiah could stand in the presence of the Holy Lord God. What awesome holiness! What awesome love and mercy!

And, what the Holy Lord God did for Isaiah is what He has been doing for his children, His Church, ever since the fall of our First Parents into sin – providing a way for His fallen children to enter, once again, into His holy presence. For this reason, above all others, God is to be feared, because He loves His rebellious children, His creatures, so much that He will not let them perish, but, in selfless, sacrificial love, takes their sins, their impurities and uncleannesses upon Himself, that we might live with Him in everlasting holiness, righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

But, where is the fear of the Lord today? Our culture, even our Christian culture, has effectively neutered God, making Him sterile and impotent. For many, He has been made to be, at best, a spiritual “buddy” looking out for you, and, at worst, a “watchmaker” god, detached from, and uncaring of, the world and the creatures he has made, content to watch from a distance, but not to get involved. This is not the Holy Lord God of the Scriptures. This is not the Holy Lord God revealed in the God-Man Jesus Christ. This is not the Holy Lord God who poured out His Spirit on Pentecost, giving birth to the Church, a holy people, who may enter His holy presence once again through the blood of the Lamb He provided, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

Only God is holy, and only the holy God can make you holy. And, this He has done: Holy God sent forth His only begotten Son in holy love to lay down His life unto death to atone for the sins of the entire world. Holy God poured out His Holy Spirit into and upon His Church that people might receive the free gift of Christ’s atonement through baptism and faith. It is all the work of the Holy Lord God. Only God is holy, and only the holy God can make you holy. And, this He has done: You are holy, set apart, sanctified in the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ. In Holy Baptism you received the Holy Spirit and the gift of faith. God’s Holy Spirit will sanctify and keep you in the faith unto life everlasting. For this reason, God is to be feared, loved, and trusted above all things.

And, today, people of God, your Holy Lord God continues to call you into His holy presence, making you holy by touching your lips, not with a live coal from the altar, but with the holy, innocent blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Blessed be the Holy trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to Him because He has shown His mercy to us.

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

They Once Were LOST…, but now they have found each other.

Six years ago, Oceanic 815, flying from Sydney to Los Angeles, broke apart in mid-air and tumbled to an unknown island in the South Pacific in three pieces. Incredibly, providentially (?), over forty passengers survived. The survivors soon discovered, however, that this was no ordinary tropical island. From polar bears to strange electromagnetic forces, to a malicious “smoke monster” and hostile unknown natives (“Others”), to a group of utopian hippie scientists from the 1970s called “The Dharma Initiative” and seemingly ageless, demigod personages Richard Alpert, Jacob, and “The Man in Black”, the survivors were soon asking, in the immortal words of Charlie Pace, “Guys, where are we?” Six years later, the television series has come to a closure, and fans are still asking that same question, along with countless others.

LOST was unique in television history: it was epic in narrative scope, cast, setting, even in time and space. The closest series comparable to it has to be David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” (early 1990s). Moreover, LOST was a product of our postmodern times and culture and, I believe, evolved over its six seasons into a critique of these. Chief amongst the postmodern themes in LOST include the island itself. An island has the appearance of being disconnected from other land masses, seemingly floating in the ocean. I believe that LOST utilized this idea as a critique of postmodernism, a primary tenet of which is that there are no absolutes (absolute truths), but that truth is subjective, being the product of a culture’s narrative or collective story. In the end, just as an island in reality is connected to a land mass hidden under water, it was never the island that was LOST, but it was the survivors who were lost in their lives even before being brought to the island.

In LOST, the island appeared to be disconnected, time and space appeared to be disconnected, good and evil, right and wrong, even life and death appeared to be disconnected – this is to say that LOST was thoroughly postmodern, leaving the viewer, and our survivors, awash in uncertainty of where they were, when they were, who they were, and why they were. Is that not a reflection of the world we live in today? The postmodern delusion of our time has seen us devolve into fragmented families, often separated by great geographical distances and by even greater relational distances. We have believed the lie that by eliminating absolute truth and connectedness we will truly be free. But, free to what end? Free to float alone with no meaning, no purpose, no relation to others, etc.? Many gladly court such disconnectedness, as did some of the survivors on the LOST island. In the end, however, LOST critiques this idea, I believe, by suggesting that the survivors, who were already disconnected and lost in their real-world lives, were brought to the island, not to revel in their postmodernity, but to have an opportunity to rediscover who they were, where and when they were, and even why they were in relational connectedness to each other. These strangers came to care about each other and even to love each other unto the point of sacrificing their lives, in some cases, for each other. In LOST’s end, it is relationships and connectedness that are truly important and that truly set the LOSTies free.

There were many religious themes in LOST coming from all sorts of faiths, philosophies, and traditions: good and evil, right and wrong, repentance, contrition, forgiveness, redemption, sacrifice, resurrection, and reincarnation are but a few. LOST was thoroughly pluralistic (equality of all religious views) and often Unitarian (all paths lead to God), but in the end, despite the many and varied religious symbols and motifs represented, I believe that a general western Judeo-Christian view won out. To put it simply, no one is brought into this world to live for himself alone. We are born into families, tribes, communities, and nations and are dependent upon each other. This gives us each an opportunity to die to ourselves and to live to God by loving service of our neighbor. I believe this idea was encapsulated in the oft repeated LOST mantra, “Live together, or die alone.”

Jesus teaches us that love is the fulfillment of the Law, for love does no harm to a neighbor. Further, Jesus teaches that the greatest act of love is to sacrifice one’s self for another. Postmodernists can do this as well as followers of Jesus “the way, the truth, and the life”, but ultimately their sacrifice has no meaning. Your selfless sacrifice of love, forgiveness, charity, mercy, peace, etc. is motivated by and flows from Christ’s own sacrifice of love for you. Jesus Christ is the Truth incarnate (in human flesh and form), and by knowing Him, you know the Truth, and the Truth truly sets you free.

Like passengers on an airliner, we all come into this world with the baggage of sin. Also, like travelers, we pick up a lot more baggage along the way. Jesus took that baggage upon Himself and died for our sins upon the cross. We don’t have to carry that baggage anymore. And, now that our load has been lightened, Jesus will work through us to help others believe that He has taken away their baggage to. We see that we are not alone, that we need each other, that we are not lost, and that is to be truly found.

There Is No Reason Why Lutherans Should Not Be Lutheran

“Because of the confessional position of the Lutheran Church, there is no reason why Lutherans should not still be Lutheran. Espousing the catholic and apostolic faith with Christ as center and Scripture as source, Lutherans are part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Therefore, they do not have to ask whether they should be part of a church body with a name other than Lutheran. They do, of course, need to be concerned about the barriers that divide Christians from each other and must listen to other Christians for what the Holy Spirit may have to say through them. But they do not need to be concerned, as some other Christians have insisted they should be concerned, that they are somehow not the true church of Christ.”

— A. C. Piepkorn, The Sacred Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, pp. 195, 196. HT: Weedon McCain

Homily for The Day of Pentecost

(Audio)

Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21; John 14:23-31

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?

Pentecost is the Festival of the Church commemorating the sending of the promised Holy Spirit upon the Church of Christ. Pentecost is a transition point in the Church’s Year of Grace bringing to a close the Festival Half of the Church Year, which focuses upon the life of Christ, and beginning the Time of the Church, which focuses upon the life of Christ in and through His Church. Sometimes Pentecost is referred to as the birthday of the Church, for, by the gifts and working of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and the young Christians in that early Church finally began to understand the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection and were equipped with powerful, holy words and signs to bring the gifts of Jesus by the proclamation of the Gospel Word and the administration of the Holy Sacraments to Jerusalem, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

The work of the Holy Spirit is called Sanctification, which means, literally, “to make holy” or “to set apart”. To be holy means to be like God, righteous and without sin; God commands that you be holy as He is holy. To be set apart means that you are not to be conformed to this world and its prince, the devil; you are to be in the world, but not of the world; you are to be leavening agent in the world effecting it by the leavening Gospel of Jesus Christ and scattering the darkness of sin and death by His Light.

But, that is not all that the Holy Spirit has to do. The Holy Spirit creates faith in Jesus Christ where and when He pleases. Through faith, the Holy Spirit delivers all that Jesus won for you by His suffering, death, and resurrection, particularly the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. And, the work the Holy Spirit begins, He does not abandon, but He feeds, strengthens, sanctifies, and keeps believers in the faith until He brings it to completion in the resurrection of your body.

The Holy Spirit creates faith in Jesus, joins you into Jesus’ death and resurrection, teaches you about Jesus, and nourishes you with Jesus’ body and blood in the Holy Church that is the body of Jesus, through the proclamation of the Gospel Word and the administration of the Holy Sacraments. That is to say that the Holy Spirit calls you and the whole Christian Church by the Gospel, enlightens you with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps you in the true faith, and, in the Christian Church He daily and richly forgives you all your sins and the sins of all believers.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit; that is what the Spirit does. And, where does He do it? The Holy Spirit does His work in and through the Holy Christian Church. Now, I suspect that some of you might be a bit uncomfortable with this doctrine. For, our post-modern culture insists that such absolute claims of truth are untenable and not politically correct. And, Pietism within the Church balks at this doctrine, maintaining that the Holy Spirit cannot be limited to such a narrow sphere of operation. And, Christians and unbelievers alike cry out “Which church? The one with the pedophile priests? Or, the one with the thieving evangelists? Or, the one filled with hypocrites?”

Yeah, that’s the One! For, there is only one holy Christian Church that will remain forever, and that Church is the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered. The Gospel Word and the Holy Sacraments are the Means of God’s Grace in Jesus Christ; that is, the Preaching of the Gospel, the administration of Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and the Sacrament of the Altar are the means by which and through which the Holy Spirit creates faith and sanctifies and keeps in the true faith. The Gospel Word is the Means of Grace by which the Holy Spirit calls you to faith in Jesus and the Holy Sacraments are Means of Grace by which the Holy Spirit seals, nourishes, and keeps that Spirit-created faith in Jesus Christ. These gifts were poured out upon the Church on the Day of Pentecost. These gifts gave birth to the Church. And, it is by these gifts, and around these gifts, that the Church continues to gather today, and every day, until the Day of Resurrection when the Church Militant will be shown to be the Church Triumphant.

It is faith alone (sola fide) in Jesus Christ alone (sola Christus) that saves, and that saving faith is the creation and gift of the Holy Spirit – I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. Further, the Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father through the Son to work through the means of grace established by Jesus, the preaching of the Gospel Word and the administration of the Holy Sacraments, in the communion of saints, the Church, called by, and gathered around, these gifts. This is not a limiting of the Holy Spirit’s work by man, but it is a promise from God where His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation may be found. For, the gifts of God, won for us by Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, are found in the Holy Christian Church and nowhere else. Thus the Church of all times and in all places has always taught and confessed Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, “outside the Church there is no salvation”. And, Dr. Martin Luther concurs with this doctrine, writing in his Large Catechism “outside of this Christian Church, where the Gospel is not found, there is no forgiveness, as also there can be no holiness.”

Just as there is no life without conception and birth, so the Church is the holy mother of those conceived by the Holy Spirit of God, born from the womb of the Church, the font, in Holy Baptism. In Holy Baptism, the Spirit of God creates faith in Jesus Christ, wholly apart from human reason or strength. And, that is why Jesus points to a little child, even a newborn infant, as an example of how faith is completely and totally the work of the Holy Spirit. A person chooses or decides to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord no more than he or she chooses or decides to be conceived and born. We are the passive recipients of God’s grace in Jesus Christ through the workings of the Holy Spirit.

However, faith that is born of the Spirit does not remain passive, but such faith is alive and active and bears the fruits of righteousness: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And so, the Church grows as Her children bear the fruits of the Spirit in their God-given, divine, and holy vocations, in loving service of the neighbor to the glory of God in Jesus Christ.

This is exemplified today as Kristen Figliola is confirmed in the faith. A confirmation is not a beginning of faith, but it is, as the word implies, a confirming of faith that already exists. When Kristen was baptized thirteen years ago, she was given the gift of faith in Jesus Christ as a free gift by the working of the Holy Spirit. As an infant, she was the passive recipient of God’s free gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. But her infant faith did not remain passive, for faith is living and active.

Her faith has been built up and nourished by the Holy Spirit in Christ’s Church. She has studied the Holy Scriptures and the Catechism and now can confess with her mouth what she has believed in her heart. Her faith is not new, but it now uses voice, reason, and strength to confess and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And, just as confirmation is not a beginning, so neither is it an end. Confirmation is not graduation. The faith given by the Holy Spirit, born in Baptism, continues to grow and mature through the Means of Grace in Christ’s Church. His vehicle is the Word of God, Christ Jesus, spoken forth from the mouth of God. And the Word has gone forth from the mouth of God and does not return void, but it brings about what He has said. The Holy Spirit gives what Jesus died to give you, and the Holy Spirit brings to remembrance all that Jesus has said and done. It is finished, you are forgiven, go in peace. And the Spirit and the Church cry out, “Amen, come Lord Jesus; come quickly, come. Amen.”

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Homily For Exaudi (Easter 7)

 1 Peter 4:7-11 (12-14)

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

Beloved in the Lord, “The end of all things is at hand” – Thus warned the Apostle Peter just shy of two thousand years ago. And, what with the Roman occupation and persecution of Christians by both Jews and pagan Gentiles alike, it must certainly have seemed as though the end of all things was very near.

So how are we to understand Peter’s warning today? Taxing wars against non-defined enemies have stretched our resources, patriotism, and patience to the breaking point. Horrific natural disasters, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis seem to occur with ever-increasing frequency. And now there’s a hole in the ocean floor spewing 200,000 gallons of oil a day that seems beyond man’s ability to stop. Add to these car bombs in Times Square, unemployment, rising fuel prices and taxes, uncertainty about healthcare and social security, homosexual marriage, and abortion … for many it must seem as though the end of all things is very near. What can we do? What should we do?

“The end of all things is at hand,” warns the Apostle, “therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” Is this an exhortation to not panic? Yes, but it is more than that. It is an exhortation to fearless, selfless, sacrificial love and service; it is an exhortation to die to your self and to live to God. That is, keep on doing what you’ve been doing, what Christians always do, and, at the end of all things, do it all the more in sobriety and in self-control. And then Peter begins his stewardship sermon: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Are you surprised that Peter’s instruction for what to do as the end of the world draws near is essentially “Keep on doing what you’re doing”? You shouldn’t be, for this is why you are here in the first place. This is why the Church is here at all. This is why the end has not yet come. There’s still work to do: selfless, sacrificial, loving work for the good of others to the glory of God in Jesus Christ. And, when the world is running down, do we just make the best of what’s still around? No, on the contrary, the people of God work, serve, sacrifice, and love all the more in everything, that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

That is why Peter instructs you “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly.” The most important thing that you are to do at the end of all things is to keep on loving one another. And Peter adds to his exhortation that “love covers a multitude of sins.” Does that sound surprising? It shouldn’t. Love is the fulfilling of the Law. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Love always gives and forgives. Love lays down His life for friends and enemies alike. Jesus Christ is the love of God for you, poured out in sacrificial love on the cross, resurrected, and ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven. God has so loved you in His Son that He now sends you to love others with His love that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Loving one another isn’t always easy; sometimes it’s difficult even to like one another. Imagine what it must be like for our holy and righteous God to love us hate-filled, rebellious sinners, who too often put their fear, love, and trust in created things and not in the Creator of all things, and to love us so much as to sacrifice His only-begotten Son for us. If God has loved us in this way, how can we not love one another? People sometimes say that to love someone doesn’t mean that you have to like them. That may be true to a point – Peter exhorts you to love one another, not to like one another. However, I suspect our understanding of like is a human contrivance to pare down or to simplify God’s universal command to love. It’s like the lawyer who sought to justify himself by asking Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” It’s like tween-age girls asking each other “Do you like him, or do you like-like him?” We like to think that we can love our neighbor without liking them – do you hear how childish that sounds? What Peter is saying to you is that you must first love a person, and, if you truly love them with God’s love in Jesus Christ, then liking them simply is not an issue.

It is your enemy, Satan, who tempts you to make petty distinctions between love and like, and he afflicts the Church of Christ severely. In the realm of stewardship in the Church, which is supposed to be the loving management and distribution of God’s gracious gifts of time, talent, and treasure, Satan tempts you to be petty and territorial, to view your brothers and sisters in Christ as being critical of you and agenda-driven against you. He tempts you to view your service in Christian Education, as an Elder, Properties & Grounds, Finance, Missions, Music, Fellowship, even making the coffee as your own personal little fiefdoms that you must defend from all attackers. In such a way the devil would destroy your love in your service and he fills Christ’s Church with bitterness, resentment, conflict, and strife. But Peter exhorts you that you are to use your gifts to serve one another, in love, as good stewards, good managers, of God’s grace.

Again, this is why you are here. This is why the Church is here at the end of all things, to keep on loving earnestly and using the gifts that God has given to you, gifts of time, gifts of talents and skills, gifts of financial treasure, as good stewards and managers, in service to one another in love, that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The Church of Christ is a beacon light shining in the darkness of sin and death, guiding those lost in the darkness to Jesus, the Light of the world. The Church of Christ is a city on a hill that is to be visible to all the world as a sanctuary for rest from labors and a hospital for souls sick unto death. The Church of Christ is the loving heart of Jesus displayed in humble, selfless and sacrificial service to the world. The Church of Christ is the spiritual womb that gives birth to children of God in Holy Baptism by the life-creating power of God’s Word. And the Church of Christ is the sheepfold in which the Good Shepherd gives unto you His sheep living water that refreshes and enlivens parched souls unto eternal life and feeds His sheep on the best of meats and the finest of wines, laying down His own life, in sacrificial and selfless love, for you.

This is why you are here. This is why the Church is here at the end of all things. And this is why, above all else, you must love one another. “Show hospitality (graciousness and kindness) to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards (good managers) of God’s varied (and multitudinous) grace […] in order that in everything (you do or say or think) God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and Dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

In Jesus’ + Name. Amen.