The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 14)

(Audio)

Luke 17:11-19; Galatians 5:16-24; Proverbs 4:10-23

 

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

There were ten lepers. All ten were healed. But one leper returned to give thanks to God. Now, you, go and do likewise. Amen. Have you heard that sermon before? I know I have. I’ve probably even preached that sermon before. And to be sure, there’s a bit of that teaching in the story of the ten lepers. However, if that is all that you take away from Jesus’ teaching today, then what you will have received is but a nice lesson in morality, a teaching in the Law that says to you, “You, go and do likewise,” a command that you do not and cannot keep, but you will have missed out on the rich and profound Gospel that Jesus would lavish upon you today. For, the story of the ten lepers is about thanksgiving only in a secondary, or even a tertiary, way. But what the story of the ten lepers is truly about is finding life in death.

For, the ten lepers in the story were dead. Because of the disease which ravaged their skin and made them unclean, they were dead to their families, they were dead to their friends and their community, they were dead to all manner of livelihood and providence, and they were dead to worship and prayer and making the necessary sacrifices at the temple. In fact, their flesh was literally dead and dying, for leprosy is a disease caused by an infection which deadens the skin to feeling, particularly pain. Thus, lepers would accidentally cut, tear, and puncture their flesh without knowing and the wounds would become infected. In some severe cases, lepers became living, stinking, decaying, corpses of men.

But what should get your attention immediately in this story is Jesus’ response to the lepers’ cry for mercy. Jesus doesn’t acknowledge their leprosy, He doesn’t wave His hands or touch them or do anything physical at all, He doesn’t even give them His typical “I am willing, be healed,” but He tells them to go and show themselves to the priests. Now, showing oneself to the priests is what the law required after one had been healed from leprosy. A healed leper must show himself to the priests in order to be pronounced clean and thus restored to their families, communities, and the rites of the temple. But Jesus didn’t heal the lepers. Rather, He instructed them to go, in their leprosy and uncleanness, and present themselves to the priests. What must they have been thinking? What would happen when they appeared before the priests? Wouldn’t they be sent away in disgrace, maybe even arrested, or worse?

Nevertheless, away they went. What faith they must have had in Jesus to go, in their leprosy, to show themselves to the priests as He commanded? Yes, it appears that all ten lepers trusted in Jesus despite what their eyes and their ears told them. I posit to you, however, that these ten lepers could only place such faith in Jesus because they were effectively dead to this life and this world. That is to say, they had nothing to offer, they had nothing to boast of, they had nothing to fall back on, therefore they had nothing to lose. The ten lepers were so lost that they had nothing to lose by trusting in Jesus with all their heart, all their soul, and all their mind. They were brothers in faith with both the Good Samaritan of last week’s Gospel and the man left half-dead in the ditch. Did they know that they would be healed on the way? I don’t think so. But, you see, it didn’t matter! They couldn’t be any worse off by trusting Jesus and obeying His command. What, would they become even more leprous, more cut off, more dead than they already were? No, of course not.

But then the story takes a turn. As the ten lepers journeyed to show themselves to the priests, all ten were cleansed and healed. Then, one leper, when he realized that he has healed, returned to Jesus and fell at His feet giving thanks and praising God. Presumably the other nine continued on their way to show themselves to the priests and return to their lives and livelihoods. And therein lies the crux of the story. Jesus doesn’t raise the dead so that they can return to their old way of life, living to themselves and to the flesh and the world, but Jesus raises the dead to live a new life in Him. All ten lepers believed and trusted in Jesus. All ten lepers went at Jesus’ command to show themselves to the priests despite what their own eyes and ears told them. But when they discovered that they were healed and clean once again, nine of the cleansed lepers thought to themselves “Hallelujah! I’m free! Now I can get back to living once again!” But the one leper realized that, despite his healing and being made clean, he was still a leper – a cleansed leper, to be sure – but a leper nonetheless. That is to say that his cleanness and his healing was because of, and dependent upon, Jesus, even still. Alone, he knew that he was nothing, that he was dead in his sin and uncleanness. But in Jesus alone, and still, was he clean and whole. And, because of this, the cleansed leper returned to Jesus and laid down his life before Him, thanking Him and praising God. He would not return to his former life, for, there was no former life to return to. Only by confessing his deadness could he receive and live a new life, Jesus’ life, in the world but not of the world.

You see, to understand the story of the ten lepers as a story about giving thanks is really to miss Jesus’ point altogether. As wonderful and precious to God as thanksgiving is, thanksgiving is but a fruit and a response to the even greater and more precious thing that has happened, which God Himself has worked, faith itself, bringing life out of death. The thankful leper returned to Jesus because he knew that he was alive, in every way that you can understand that word, in, through, and only because of God’s Word in Jesus Christ. Now, I’m fairly certain that the other nine lepers were very thankful for their healing and cleansing too. But the difference is that they thought that they had been raised from death to live a life like their old life, to continue to love all the same things they used to love and to desire all the same things they used to desire, to live as if this life were our own to do with as we please in amassing possessions and pleasures and platitudes and power. In contrast, the thankful leper knew that he shouldn’t be alive at all, thus the life he lived, he lived to Christ, and his death was, and is, and will be, only gain.

But are you not often more like the nine healed lepers who did not return to give thanks than you are like the one leper who returned and fell at Jesus’ feet? Do you not treat your forgiveness as the beginning of a new life, a second chance to go forward and live a better life in this world much like the life you had before you believed? Do you give thanks for the mercy and forgiveness shown to you, for the life given you, or do you take that for granted? How have you lived differently from when you first believed? How have you lived differently from when you last received absolution?

Do these questions make you uncomfortable? Good! They should, for that is the Law of God reflecting how far you fall short of what the He in His Law demands. That is why you should focus much less on the giving thanks in this story and much more upon the deadness of the leper who returned. For, the leper who returned was truly grateful because he realized how dead, how truly lost he was, and he realized how found, healed, and alive he was made to be. Likewise, you are found lost sheep, healed and cleansed lepers, and raised dead. That is to say that you always live in Christ as forgiven sinners and that you carry your failings, even after mercy and forgiveness, as glorious scars. Along with the thankful leper at Jesus’ feet you may see yourself whole: dead and risen, an outcast and accepted, a leper and cleansed.

Ten lepers received life that day two thousand years ago, but only one recognized that the life He received was Jesus’ life. Nine of the lepers understood their new life as a second chance to try do better. Only that one leper was willing to confess that he was still dead, still a leper and an outcast, but that, despite this, by grace alone, he was blessed to live a new life that was not his own, not merely a second chance to better himself, but a chance to live to Christ and in Christ, and through Christ to his neighbor.

The Samaritan leper returned to give thanks to Jesus and to praise God. This was not the first work of his new life, but it was the first fruit of his death. Only those who are truly dead to themselves can bear the fruit that the True Vine Jesus causes them to bear. One of those Christ-borne fruits is thankfulness, but the first fruit to be borne in death is faith itself. You are carried to Jesus as helpless infants. You are found by Jesus as lost sheep. You are raised by Jesus out of death. And you are restored by Jesus to sonship with the Father even though you are prodigal sons and daughters. And, as St. Paul teaches, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires and have died to themselves, for whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake will save it.

For you to live is Christ and to die is gain, for, Christ and His Word are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. And, your Jesus, who is Himself alive out of death is present for you now in His life-giving Word and healing Wounds for the forgiveness of your sins, the strengthening of your faith, and for your communion in His holy and perfect life. Return to your Great High Priest who has raised you from death to His most glorious life and has washed you clean in His precious blood. Give thanks to Him in this Holy Eucharist and live in Him who is life today, tomorrow, and forevermore.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 13)

(Audio)

Luke 10:23-37; Galatians 3:15-22; 2 Chronicles 28:8-15

 

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

The Gospel lesson assigned for this day is the so-called Parable of the Good Samaritan. I imagine that about half of you will soon tune me out and begin thinking about today’s football game, where to have lunch, or what you need to pick up at the grocery store because you’ve heard this parable many times before and you believe that you understand it well enough. But I say to you, you’ll want to pay attention to this sermon today, for I venture that you haven’t heard it taught quite this way before.

As for the other half of you, I imagine that you will be listening extra attentively today because you love this parable and you receive a considerable amount of comfort in believing that you imitate the Good Samaritan in the parable pretty well and thus obey Jesus’ command to “Go, and do likewise”. But I say to you, you’ll want to pay attention to this sermon today, not because it will confirm you in your justification by works, but because it will teach you how to receive and to give grace.

For, this so-called Parable of the Good Samaritan is not a parable of the Law and judgment, nor is it a lesson in morality concerning how you should treat others, but it is a parable of grace – free and boundless grace. And, contrary to popular opinion, the so-called Parable of the Good Samaritan is not really about the Samaritan at all, but it is about the naked and beaten half-dead man lying in the ditch.

No, the parable is not about the Law, for the Law cannot help you. The Law must, and will always, leave you alone, naked, and dying in a ditch. The Law cannot help you. That is why the Priest and the Levite pass by on the other side of the road. It’s not necessarily that they don’t want to help you, maybe they don’t, but they probably do. Either way, it doesn’t matter, because they represent the Law and they can’t help you. They can’t even help themselves.

And there’s the crux of the situation: Because of the Law, we are all like the poor fellow in the ditch, wounded, bleeding, dying, and utterly alone with no ability to remedy our situation. If we’re going to get out of the ditch, be bandaged up, healed and restored to life, someone’s going to have to help us, someone’s going to have to lift us up out of the ditch and carry us and care for us at their own expense. Thus, the crux of the situation is this: Do you confess that you are the man in the ditch? Do you confess that you are dead in your sins and trespasses, unable to change your dead and sinful condition? Do you depend and trust upon the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ to step into your sin and death and to raise you up to new life? Or, do you insist upon your self-righteousness and good works, believing that you are not dead in your trespasses, but that there is at least something about you that makes you better than others and more worthy in the sight of God? That is to say, do you identify with the good, pious, and self-righteous Priest and Levite? Or, do you identify with the selfless Good Samaritan? I say to you today, it doesn’t matter, either way you remain in your sins. For, the Law cannot help you. And, no works, no matter how good they may be, no matter how pure and selfless your motives may be, no works can save you from sin and death. No works can raise you from the ditch of the grave to new and eternal life. Only Jesus can do that. And Jesus has done that, not because He was the Good Samaritan and was better than most, but because He became what you are, the man in the ditch, and He died your death and God the Father raised Him to life because He loves Him, because He laid down His life for you.

Now, I recognize that this is a somewhat unorthodox treatment of the so-called Parable of the Good Samaritan, but I make no apologies for that. For, despite what you’ve heard, despite what I’ve heard, Jesus is not teaching you in this parable to imitate the Good Samaritan when He says to you, “You go, and do likewise.” Rather, Jesus commands you to imitate Him and Him alone. Yes, Jesus did indeed act like the Good Samaritan many times throughout His life and ministry. Yes, He most certainly did step down into the ditch with unclean sinners with absolutely no concern for himself and lift them up, care for, and heal them. But Jesus never saved anyone by His selfless acts of kindness anymore than you can save anyone, even yourself, by imitating the Good Samaritan. Rather, Jesus saved the man in the ditch, and Jesus saved you and all men, by becoming what you are, by becoming that man who fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. And it is that kind of selflessness, it is that kind of good works that Jesus calls you to imitate and to go, and do likewise.

For, the way of Jesus is not the way of good, pious, or even gracious and merciful works, but the way of Jesus is the way of death and resurrection. Jesus came to save sinners, and only sinners can be saved. Jesus came to seek the lost, and only the lost can be found. And Jesus came to raise the dead, and only the dead can be raised. In fact, Jesus Himself exemplifies the least amongst men, the poorest amongst men, the weakest amongst men, the most pitiable amongst men, and the most unrighteous amongst men as men and the world count these things. He came from the heights of the heavenly Jerusalem into the ditch of our Jericho and there He fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and left him half dead upon the cross. But He did this willingly, He did this selflessly with no concern for Himself and His own well-being. He had everything to lose and He willingly lost it all for you.

Now, what keeps you from going and doing likewise? Is it not that you believe that you do have something to lose? Is it that you have your money to lose? Your health? Your reputation? Your life? What is it that you love more than you love God? What is it that you love more than you love your neighbor? Jesus invites you to lose it. Jesus invites you to become a loser like Him. For, Jesus’ “You go, and do likewise” is not a command of the Law, but it is an invitation to receive grace like the naked, half-dead man lying in the ditch. When Jesus says, “You go, and do likewise,” it is tantamount to the call, “Take up your cross and follow me.” No, this is not a parable meant to inspire us to go out and do good and then feel good about ourselves because we have been good neighbors. This is a parable about entering the way of Christ.

In baptism you died with Jesus and in baptism you have been raised with Jesus. The life you now live is His life and you live it to God and to your neighbor. Jesus sends you out to your neighbor as lambs in the midst of wolves, that is, He sends you out to die to yourselves for the sake of your neighbor. He has not called you to good works. He has not called you to virtuous worship. He has not called you to outward piety. But He has called you to die with Him and to live with Him in selfless, sacrificial service.

As St. Paul writes in today’s Epistle, “promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring.” One of those promises was that an heir of Abraham’s own flesh would inherit the blessing of the covenant God made with Abraham that in him all the nations of the world would be blessed. Abraham believed God and God counted it to him as righteousness. Thus, Paul writes, the righteous will live by faith. When you confess that you are in the ditch, naked, helpless and half-dead, then you sinners will be forgiven, you lost will be found, and you dead will be raised. Only when you have lost everything are you in a position to receive everything by grace. Only when you have received everything by grace are you in a position to lose everything for your neighbor. The man in the ditch had nothing to lose and everything to gain. The Good Samaritan had everything to give because he had nothing to lose. To embrace Jesus (the biggest loser) is to be lost to the world and to everything in it. But the promise remains that “He who loses his life will find it.” And, your lostness is the one thing no one will ever be able to take away from you.

Losing is the name of God’s game, and it’s the only game in town: follow Me, or follow nothing. Following Jesus does not mean imitating the Good Samaritan, but it means taking up your own cross and dying to yourself. It means being so lost that you have nothing to lose so that you can be truly merciful to your neighbor. Don’t worry about imitating the Good Samaritan and his works, as good as they are. Rather, spend your time and energy losing the things that keep you from being lost, dying to the things that keep you from being dead, and then join Jesus in His Passion for sinners, the lost, and the dead. For, the highest worship of God is not in your praises, thanksgivings, and works, but the highest worship of God is in receiving His gifts. Then, when you have died to yourself, repeatedly, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 12)

(Audio)

Mark 7:31-37; 2 Corinthians 3:4-11; Isaiah 29:17-24

 

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

If you listened closely to the Lessons today, if you truly prayed with me the Collect, if you chanted with me the words of the Introit, then you have heard with your ears and you have confessed with your own lips the fundamental ailment of our human race: We are not open to the Word of the Lord to hear it or to speak it, unless the Lord Jesus uses His finger the Holy Spirit to blast away our deafness and to open our mouths to speak His praise.

It is no coincidence then that the opening words of the liturgy for Matins, the traditional morning prayer of the day, come from Psalm 51, the confessional Psalm of King David: O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. These are indeed appropriate words to begin the day for if we are to praise the Lord this day, or any day, if we are to glorify Him in word and deed by selflessness, service, and sacrifice, then He is going to have to open our closed lips. Apart from His gracious activity by the Holy Spirit we are like the man in St. Mark’s Gospel, deaf and tongue-tied, unable to hear or to speak.

The lesson the Lord offers us today is perhaps the most difficult for us to hear and to believe, for it says to us that we cannot hear or know the Lord, that we cannot praise His Name unless He opens our ears and looses our tongues. We cannot hear the Lord, we cannot praise the Lord, we cannot know the Lord, let alone chooseHim, on our own. To be sure, this is not a new lesson. You have all confessed in the words of the Catechism: 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. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies, that opens ears and loosens tongues, that creates faith in Jesus our Lord. Not you, not me, not by anyone’s own will and volition.

And that’s what makes this lesson so hard. And that’s what makes this lesson, once learned, so liberating. Honestly, this lesson is what makes one a Lutheran. Faith in Christ Jesus is not a work that you do or a decision that you make. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, the finger of the Lord, given to you as a free and perfect gift. Your ears were closed, He has opened them. Your tongue was tied, He has loosed it. You were unbelieving, He has called you and given you faith. You were spiritually dead, He has raised to you to new life. You could not, would not choose Him, so He chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.

Why is this lesson so hard for us? Well, as enlightened Americans of the 21^st century, we consider ourselves independent. We don’t want to have to depend on anyone for anything. We like to believe that if we study hard and work hard that we’ll be able to get good jobs and earn an honest living, purchase our own home, purchase our own car, put our own food on our own table, etc. That’s essentially the American Dream, right? And, in itself, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, as self-centered, self-serving sinners, what we really want is to be our own god. At the very least, we’d like to think that our faith is the result of our own decision and choice.

How then can learning this lesson, that only by the Holy Spirit can we truly hear the Word of the Lord and speak His praise, indeed, even believe in Him, how can learning this lesson be liberating, even make us Lutheran? Because it restores the proper relationship between Creator and creature, between your Lord and your self. You see it’s nothing less than a First Commandment issue: When God is truly your God, then you can realize and receive what it truly means to be His beloved. And that, my friends, is liberating, for it releases you from the bondage of the Law. Now you can serve the Lord and your neighbor, not in fear and guilt or under compulsion, but in response to His love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Now you can truly love God and truly love your neighbor, because your Lord loves you, and it is with His perfect love that you love.

Christian faith begins in passivity – it is the Lord who creates, opens, resurrects by the Holy Spirit. We are as fruitless as soil until the Sower sows His Seed. We are as lifeless as Lazarus until the Lord calls to us with His life-giving Word. But we do not remain lifeless, fruitless, or passive, for He who has chosen us has also appointed us to bear fruit. More often than not, the fruit of the Spirit is not quantifiable or countable, but it is a way of being, a way of life – for it is nothing less than, nothing other than, the life of Christ lived in and through us.

What does this Christian life look like? Well, what does the life of Christ look like? What are the qualities that mark the life of Christ? Are they not mercy, love, compassion, forgiveness, grace, charity, peace, humility, selflessness, sacrifice, and the like? These you have received from the Lord in abundance; these He gives to you even now. Your ears have been opened to hear His Word. Your tongues have been loosed to speak His praise. By His finger the Holy Spirit, through the Word of the Gospel, the Lord calls, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps you. And He who is the True Vine has appointed you His branches to be fruitful. There is nothing for you to do, but there is something glorious for you to be – for you are a member of the very Body of Christ, His Church, His beloved and you have been called to share His life, His love.

Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your faithful people render true and laudable service. Help us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 11)

(Audio)

Luke 18:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:1-10; Genesis 4:1-15

 

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

The scene in Jesus’ parable is played out week after week, each and every Lord’s Day, in this modest temple of the LORD and in Christian churches, basilicas, and cathedrals large and small, glorious and humble, throughout the world. Two men go to church to pray, one a self-righteous Pharisee of a Christian, the other a humble and repentant sinner and beggar of a Christian. The former trusts in his own righteousness by his works and so stands condemned in his sins; the latter boasts of nothing in himself but instead confesses his sins and unworthiness and pleads for God’s mercy. And, as in Jesus’ parable, it is this latter man who leaves church today justified, that is, made right with God, and not the former.

Each and every one of you must come into this temple each and every Sunday, and each and every day, were it offered, to confess your sins and your unworthiness and to plead for mercy from your God and Father through Jesus Christ. For just as there is no distinction between the Pharisee and the tax collector, so there is no distinction between the disobedient child, the petty thief, the adulterous husband, the murderer on death row, and the outwardly pious, respected, and obedient Christian – there is no distinction when it comes to justification, being made right with God. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and [all] 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.

However, what you must understand is that the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable was telling the truth. All the things that he boasted of before the LORD were true and they were good. He wasn’t an extortioner, a blackmailer, or a thief. He wasn’t outwardly unjust, he wasn’t an adulterer, or even a tax collector. Rather, he was faithful in his prayers, he fasted twice a week, which was more than what was commanded by the law, and he gave tithes on all of his income. He was pious and he was fervently religious. He kept the law better than anyone else and everyone respected and revered him as a faithful and pious man of God. Indeed, the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable is the kind of man every pastor would gladly have in his parish despite his sometimes boorish arrogance. He is the kind of man you would look up to as an outstanding example of godliness, faithfulness, and piety, even if he did look down his nose a bit at the hoi polloi of obvious and notorious sinners.

But the tax collector, in contrast, I wouldn’t invite him into my home, and I’d watch him closely around the collection plates, my wife, and the children of the parish. The tax collector is the kind of man that you’d pass by on the street, likely crossing to the other side to avoid. You might even report him to the authorities. He made his living and a whole lot more extorting people by charging whatever he wanted in taxes he collected for the hated Romans. He likely lived in luxurious squalor at the expense of his own people, spending the peoples’ hard-earned money, which he stole from them, on wine and women and worse. Though he wins the day in Jesus’ parable because he is humble and repentant, and Jesus says that he, and not the Pharisee, went home that day justified, don’t you suspect that the next day, and every other day of the week after that, the tax collector was right back at his old ways? And then, the next Sabbath, there he is once again in the temple in humility and repentance, beating his breast in sorrow over his sins, pleading for mercy from God? And you know what? God will forgive him again, and again, and again, and again.

But why? That’s unfair! That’s unjust! Yes, it is, thanks be to God! Thanks be to God that He does not give us what is just. Thanks be to God that He does not give us what we do deserve, what we have earned, and what we have merited. For, there is no distinction between the Pharisee and the tax collector when it comes to justification. Indeed, despite all of the Pharisee’s good and pious works, and despite all of the tax collector’s wicked works, there is no distinction between them. And, likewise, there is no distinction between you and the worst sinners you can imagine. For, as St. Paul writes, “There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and [all] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

What this means is that your righteousness, your right relationship with God, does not depend upon you, or upon anything you do, or even upon your repentance or what you believe, but it depends upon one thing, and one thing only, Jesus Christ’s atoning death and resurrection. This St. Paul also writes in what can only be described as a creed, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Thus, the reason that the good and pious Pharisee went home that day still in his sins and not right with God is because he could not see that he was dead in his sins. The Pharisee believed in a God that would work withhim and his good works, cut him some slack and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But what the Pharisee truly needed was not a God that could work with him, but a God who could raise Him out of death to new life. In contrast, that is exactly what the tax collector was looking for. He knew that he was a sinner. He knew that he had nothing to offer God. He knew that the best of his works were worse than filthy rags. He could not begin to look up to heaven, but he bowed himself down in the dust and cried out, not for grace, not for leniency, not even for forgiveness, but the tax collector cried out only for mercy, fully believing that he didn’t deserve even that! He likely knew in his heart that he’d fall right back into the same sinful wickedness tomorrow. That only served to drive him deeper into the hopelessness of being saved by his works so that he depended all the more on God’s mercy alone. The tax collector didn’t need a God to pat him on the back and send him on his way. He didn’t need a God who would overlook his failings and say, “That’s ok.” He needed a God who could raise him from the death of sin and from eternal death. And that’s the God the tax collector had. And that’s the God that you have too. You have the one and only God of Life who alone can raise you from death to life.

For, in death, as in life, there is no distinction. Indeed, death truly is the great equalizer, is it not? The good and the bad, the rich and the poor, it matters not, we all die. Each and every descendent of Adam and Eve is conceived and born in sin, and the wages of sin is always and invariably death. “Who can deliver me from this body of death?” asks St. Paul. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” For, Jesus Christ your Lord did not come to reform the reformable or to improve the improvable, but Jesus came to raise the dead. Jesus came to raise those dead in their sins to true and eternal life in Him. But if you insist that you have no sin, or that your sin is not so bad as to be fatal, you deceive yourself and you remain in your sin and in death. For, only the dead can be raised, and only sinners can be forgiven. Therefore, empty yourself of your pride and your arrogance. Confess your sins and repent. Throw yourself daily before God’s mercy and trust that, through Jesus Christ, God is merciful, and God has forgiven. And live a new life, Jesus’ life, to the glory of the Father. But beware of the complacency of measuring your goodness against others. Rather, measure yourself against God’s standards—then repent. For, God is ready to justify the worst of sinners, even you, by His generous grace in Jesus Christ.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 9)

(Audio)

Luke 16:1-13; 1 Corinthians 10:6-13; 2 Samuel 22:26-34

 

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

“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words to His disciples but a little before today’s Gospel text. The point is this: What will you do throughout this time of your life in which you have been given management over His blessings and goods? And what will you be found doing when He returns at a time and an hour you cannot know? Do these questions unsettle and distress you? If so, repent of your pride and idolatry, for you have clearly forgotten that all you have, even your life, your reason, and your strength, are not yours, but they are the Lord’s, over which you have been given management, stewardship, throughout the days of your life. In truth, you have often made these gifts and creations of the Lord to be your idols and gods, and you have lusted and coveted for them, and have greedily clung to them, placing your fear, love, and trust in them before the LORD who has given them all to you.

No, Jesus’ Gospel should not unsettle and distress you, but it should bring you great comfort, contentment and peace. For, Jesus is the “faithful and wise manager” whom His Father, the Master, has “set over His household.” Jesus has done all things necessary and well that you may cease from your striving to acquire and to preserve and to protect what you have, both material and spiritual. Jesus has set you free from slavery under His Father’s Law to live in the freedom of the Gospel, freely showing mercy and freely giving of what you have freely received, to all, without distinction, without loss or resentment or sorrow. For, the one who humbles himself and is merciful will be exalted, and the one who loses his life in this world will keep it in eternity.

The Parable of the Unjust Steward, if it is indeed a parable at all, is one of the most challenging of Jesus’ teachings that we have. Let’s face it, it is challenging to understand Jesus’ meaning in commending a man who squandered his master’s wealth and then dishonestly reduced his debtor’s bills in order to win their favor and save his own skin. What could this possibly mean? Well, here is a case when the titles we have given pericopes (stories) in the Scriptures often do us a disservice. Truly, this parable is much less about honesty than it is about showing mercy. Indeed, one of the most important details in this pericope is that, when He learned that his manager had wasted his possessions, the master did not cast His manager into prison, but he merely terminated him from his position. Thus, this parable is very much like the account of our First Parent’s sin in the Garden when the LORD gave Adam an opportunity to confess his sin and be forgiven. The LORD did not destroy Adam and Eve, but He banished them from the Garden and from access to the Tree of Life. This was an act of mercy on the part of the LORD then, and an act of mercy on the part of the master now.

As in the Parable of the Prodigal Son – another misnamed parable – both of the main figures in the story do unexpected things. The prodigal son shockingly treats his father shamefully, but his father, even more shockingly, forgives him and restores him. In today’s parable, the dishonest manager shockingly cuts deals with his master’s debtors, and the master, even more shockingly, commends him. What is going on here? Well, first, we must consider the actions of the dishonest manager. This man had been caught red-handed squandering his master’s possessions. In fact, the very same word, squandered, was used also in regard to the prodigal son. He knew that he had no way to rectify his situation with his master and that he deserved imprisonment or worse. He was soon to be out on the street and penniless, a pariah among his peers. Holding no faith or trust in his own works and aware of his own weakness and inability, he confessed that he was not strong enough to dig and that he was too proud to beg. Like the prodigal son, he had hit rock bottom. But, that’s when he came up with an idea – an idea based, not upon his own works and merit, but upon his master’s goodness and mercy.

The manager went to each of his master’s debtors and told them to sit down and quickly write a fraction of the debt they owed. He had them do this quickly so that they would not think that he was the one granting them the reduction, but his master. The manager was counting on two things: By showing mercy to his master’s debtors, he was hoping that they in turn might show mercy to him when he was penniless and unemployed. And, he was counting on the goodness and mercy of his master, that, because his debtors would think well of him, he would honor the reduced debts. What he was not counting on, however, was that his master would commend him for his shrewdness.

But, why did the master commend his dishonest manager? Jesus explains saying, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you in to the eternal dwellings.” The manager is not being praised for his dishonest and illegal activities. Rather, he serves as an example of how one may use unrighteous wealth to make friends for oneself. We are all managers, stewards, of unrighteous wealth – the material, monetary, and even spiritual “stuff” of this life and world. None of it belongs to us, but it is all the Lord’s and we are but managers and stewards of the Lord’s goods.

We are the manager in this parable [as we are the prodigal son in that parable]. We have been entrusted with the Lord’s possessions to manage, to steward, on His behalf. But we have squandered and wasted them. We have managed them poorly. We have put our fear, love, and trust in them before our LORD who created them and us and have made them into false gods and idols. We have greedily sought to acquire them and have fiercely clung to them. We have covetously desired those things that belong to others and secretly wished that we would have them and that they would not. It is not that we have been dishonest with our management, but we have been utterly merciless, and that is by far the greater sin.

The Prophet Samuel confesses, “With the merciful You [O LORD] show yourself merciful, with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.” The LORD desires mercy from you before obedience and sacrifice. The LORD desires that you show mercy to others as He has been merciful with you, for mercy is faith, hope, and love in action, and love is the fulfilling of the Law. When you show mercy, you show love for the LORD and for your neighbor. Mercy is also faith, hope, and trust because the merciful love not their lives or the things of this world more than they love the LORD and their neighbor, and they are free so to do because their hope and trust are not in men or in possessions, but in the LORD alone.

However, while we are the manager in this parable [and the prodigal son in that parable], there is someone who is the manager and the son with us, and before us, and in our stead, and that is God’s Son and Steward Jesus Christ. Jesus became these men for us and redeemed them and us. As God’s Manager and Steward, Jesus didn’t merely reduce the debt we owed to our God and Master, but He paid it off in full in His own holy, innocent, shed blood. Therefore, our God and Master has commended Him and has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth and the Name that is above every name. And, as God’s Prodigal Son, Jesus took all of our sins upon Himself and placed Himself into the mercy of His Father who has restored Him, and us in Him, to full and complete Sonship and has blessed us with an eternal inheritance. “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?” That one is Jesus.

We are called as managers, stewards, to use what has been given to us to help and to support our neighbors in need. By aiding them with our financial and spiritual resources, we make friends of them. But rather than being received into their houses, as the manager had hoped, we will be received into the eternal dwelling of our heavenly Father on the day when unrighteous wealth fails, that is, death. What will you do throughout this time of your life in which you have been given management over His blessings and goods? And what will you be found doing when He returns at a time and an hour you cannot know? Show yourself merciful as you have received mercy from the Lord. Keep yourself blameless and pure in the absolution of Jesus’ blood. Humble yourselves. Die to yourselves and to the passions of your flesh. Live in the freedom of the Lord’s mercy and grace and permit these to flow through you and from you to your neighbor. This is what it means to be a manager and a steward of the Lord’s possessions. This is what it means to be a Christian.

And do this quickly. Do it now! Do not procrastinate as men are want to do. For, a day is coming when you will be called to account for your management of the Lord’s possessions. But do not be afraid! You are not asked to give of anything that you have not freely received, only not to fear, love, and trust in it so that it becomes your idol, your god, and you become enslaved. That is to say, be as shrewd in your use of unrighteous wealth in the service of others as you are tempted to be in service to yourself. In this way you serve your true Master, your Lord and your God.

Yet, you cannot serve your neighbor, and consequently your Master, Lord, and God, unless you are first served by Him. Therefore, also be as shrewd in obtaining the heavenly things of forgiveness, faith, and the Spirit as you are in obtaining material wealth, for the heavenly things are certain and do not fade away, while the things of this world are perishing day by day. And behold, your Master’s Steward and Manager Jesus is here now to forgive your debts anew, to strengthen your faith, and to equip you for service in His kingdom to the glory of His Father. Jesus summons you and proclaims to you that your debt is paid in full. To God alone be the glory.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 6)

(Audio)

Matthew 5:17-26; Romans 6:1-11; Exodus 20:1-17

 

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

What is a Christian to do when the culture seems to be at odds with Biblical faith? Generally, there are three possible courses of action: Separate, regenerate, or accommodate.

Separatist Christians are easy enough to identify; they are those individuals, sects, and denominations that try very hard to not engage in the parts of culture and society they deem to contradict Biblical teaching. I am not referring to those who merely abstain from physical pleasures and entertainments (drinking, television and theater, gambling, etc.), but, rather, those who isolate and remove themselves altogether from the secular culture and society. While groups like the Amish and some conservative Mennonites have established separate, parallel societies, even more mainstream Christian groups and denominations have created their own Christian “Yellow Pages” of businesses and services that they might, as much as possible, interact, do business with, and support only other like-minded people.

Quite the opposite in approach, other Christians believe that it is their Biblically mandated purpose to actively regenerate our fallen, broken, and sinful culture and society. Perhaps, in the United States, Christians of this stripe are most represented by the Christian Religious Right and by mainstream conservative Protestant Evangelicalism. Such groups actively work in and through the secular government to create and pass laws that they believe are in accord with Biblical doctrine, morality, and ethics. Most likely, they would say that the United States is fundamentally and intentionally a Christian nation, while the most zealous might desire a theocracy (a nation ruled by God’s Law).

The third approach, accommodation, is the chief approach of mainstream liberal Protestant Christians and church bodies. Such Christians appeal chiefly to the Gospel of Jesus Christ with little or no regard for God’s Law. Jesus is understood as having fulfilled and thereby having abolished the Law so that all things are good and permissible when they are done in love, or at least not to the direct harm of another – even things that were previously forbidden by the Law of God. God’s Word, as recorded in the Bible, is understood to be the work of fallible men with particular limited understandings and knowledge about science, the world, and human development and who were often culturally, racially, and sexually biased. Therefore, the Bible is to be interpreted critically in light of thought and opinion today in order to find meaning and application today.

Now, it is my intention to demonstrate to you, from God’s Word, and particularly from the Scriptures appointed for this day, that all three of these courses of action, beliefs, and approaches to our culture and society are incorrect and are misinterpretations of God’s Word and will for Christians in the world, but not of the world.

Today’s lessons speak most directly against the third and last approach I discussed – accommodation. Once again, this approach is typically justified by an appeal to Christ’s own teaching in the Gospel about loving your neighbor, even your enemies, and doing good to all. These are indeed Jesus’ teachings, and all Christians are to strive to do this with the grace and help of God by the Holy Spirit. However, proponents of accommodation seemingly overlook many of Jesus’ other teachings, or they explain them away by an incorrect interpretation of Jesus’ Words such as we have in today’s Gospel lesson where Jesus says: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Proponents of Christian accommodation of the culture seemingly believe that Jesus did away with all that Law-talk of the Old Testament. But, clearly He did no such thing. For, Jesus Himself says that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it, and that not a letter of it has passed away. What does this mean? This means that the Law of God is no longer a fearsome thing to those who believe and are baptized into Christ Jesus, because He has fulfilled all its rigorous and unwavering demands, perfectly, for all humanity. Yet, the keyword here is fulfilled, not abolished. The Law is still there, but it’s not a threat any longer, that is, to those who will repent and believe that they are saved by God’s grace, through faith in Christ Jesus, who alone has fulfilled the Law’s demands. For, when something is fulfilled, it is not abolished, it does not disappear or go away, but it is still present and active, but satisfied.

In fact, not only does Jesus not abolish the Law, but He actually expands it, saying: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder.’ […] But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” And, likewise, Jesus teaches: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus even taught that, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Wham! Now, the scribes and the Pharisees get a bad rap for their hypocrisy and misunderstanding and unbelief of the Gospel, and justifiably so, but, don’t kid yourself, they were righteous in the eyes of men, and they kept the Law of God better than anyone, better than you! They prayed more than you pray. They worshipped more than you worship. They gave tithes of their income more than, and more faithfully than you do. They were the best of the best when it came to faithful Jewish practice, and everybody knew it. Therefore, if Jesus says that you must be more righteous than even them, what hope is there for you?

Thanks be to God, in Christ, there is every hope for you, for, in Christ, your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. And, that is precisely Jesus’ point. That is what it means that Jesus has not abolished, but has fulfilled the Law and the prophets, for you. You are free! You are free from the impossible burden of having to fulfill the Law of God perfectly as it demands – a task that neither you, nor any Christian, nor even the scribes and the Pharisees in all their righteousness could ever do! Jesus has done it for you, and He has set you free, not from the Law, which is still in force, but from the burden of having to do it in order to be righteous before God. But, the Law has not passed away, and you have been freed, not from the Law, but you have been freed to do the Law in love for God and for your neighbor in and through Jesus Christ.

That is why a Christian cannot simply accommodate the culture in which he lives. Jesus did not abolish the Law of God, nor did He override it with the Gospel, and neither did He lower the bar on the Law of God, but, rather, He fulfilled it for you. Jesus has freed you from the fear and curse of the Law that you may do it freely, and boldly, in love. What this means is that, as you strive to do God’s Law faithfully, knowing fully that you will at times fail and at all times fall short of the perfection it demands, you may do it, nonetheless, without fear of judgment and condemnation, for Christ has perfectly fulfilled it for you, and even your weakest good works, God the Father looks upon as holy and righteous through His holy and righteous Son.

You see, you, as God’s child of His own creation, you were made for good works. This is why the first approach I named earlier, separation, is incorrect. God’s people are not to separate and isolate themselves from the world, society, and culture, but they are to remain distinct within it and for the benefit of it – that is to say, we are to live in the world while remaining not of the world. You do this through your God-given vocations, callings, in which you serve your brother and neighbor and glorify God.

Similarly, under the same dictum, “in the world but not of the world,” the second approach I named, regeneration, is also incorrect, for you do not, and cannot, regenerate anyone, or anything, but the Holy Spirit alone regenerates where and when He pleases through the proclaimed Word of God and the Blessed Sacraments. Moreover, Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, therefore, though He will work to provide for and to protect His people through vocations in government and bureaucracies, He will do this even through unbelievers and despite any godless or wicked intent or purpose they may have.

Therefore, the answer to the question, “What is a Christian to do when the culture seems to be at odds with Biblical faith?” is, negatively stated, none of the former mentioned approaches – not separation, not regeneration, and not accommodation. But, rather, positively stated, what you are to do is love, by living in the love and life-giving freedom of the Law of God fulfilled by and in Jesus Christ. While, being free in Christ may be different than the kind of freedom the flesh, our world, and culture values and desires, it is, nonetheless, the greatest and the only true freedom. It is not a freedom that permits you, or anyone, to do whatever you want, even in contradiction to God’s Law; nor is it a freedom that comes from all things being permissible. Rather, the freedom you have in Christ is the freedom to live a new life, a baptized life of daily dying to sin and living to God in Christ Jesus. For, when you know that the Law no longer judges and condemns you, then you are freed to no longer judge and condemn others, but, rather, to show them the love, mercy, and forgiveness you have received, whether they receive it or reject it.

However, as St. Paul writes, you are not freed to keep on sinning as if the Law of God was no longer in effect – that is the way of the old man who has died. The way of the new man is to do the works of the Law without fear of judgment and condemnation, but in the spirit of love to the glory of God in Christ Jesus. For, the truest and only freedom is to be a slave of Christ. Thus, St. Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set you free." "Therefore, stand fast in your freedom. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, to pursue its sinful lusts and desires. But live by the Spirit, in Christ, in fervent faith toward God the Father, and in fervent love for one another."

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, your Christian vocation is not to separate from, to regenerate, or to accommodate to this world and  culture, but you are to be the hands, heart, ear, and voice of Christ in this world, but not of this world. As St. Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” For, the Law of God has not passed away, but it has been fulfilled. Therefore, you are free to obey the Law and to do the Law in love, without fear – in love for your brother and for your neighbor, to the glory of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Fifth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 5)

(Audio)

Luke 5:1-11; 1 Peter 3:8-15; 1 Kings 19:11-21

 

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

There is nothing particularly attractive or exciting about Christianity when you get down to its nuts and bolts. After all, as Americans, we extol freedom – and, by freedom we mean the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want, so long as it doesn’t hurt or harm or interfere with someone else’s freedom, for the most part. However, Christianity actually inhibits that kind of freedom. There are explicit things that Christians are commanded to not do. Christianity goes against the grain of our permissive culture and even our own flesh.

Moreover, the doctrines and beliefs of Christianity are, well, quite simply, absurd to human reason. We worship a God whom we confess to be one, but also three. And, for a God who is supposedly all-powerful and good, He sure doesn’t seem to do much to prevent evil and suffering in the world. And, where is He anyway? Why doesn’t He make Himself visible and demonstrate His power for all to see? Then we’d believe in Him, right? Of course, Christianity teaches that He did make Himself visible once. But, consider the circumstances: He was born of a virgin mother who had never had sexual relations with a man. Yeah, right. He spent His time hanging around the low-life and the riff-raff of society – prostitutes, tax collectors, the poor, and the diseased. He kept talking about a kingdom that He was ushering in. Oh, they crowned Him king alright; they put a purple robe on Him, beat Him, crowned Him with thorns, then stripped Him naked and nailed Him to a cross for all to see. Pathetic. Unattractive. Foolish.

And, the same goes for so-called Christians themselves. They preach about meekness and humility, being charitable and forgiving, and loving their enemies, but look at how so many of them live. They chase after wealth and possessions, power and prestige just like everyone else, except they are hypocrites about it, play-acting like they’re so noble and pious and it’s everyone else that is selfish, self-serving, ambitious, and cut-throat. What’s worse, though, is how they are so quick to judge and condemn others when they lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want, when their marriages end in divorce at the same rate as non-Christians, when they give in to their passions, desires, and lusts for drug and drink, food, sex, power, money, and whatever else. Then, they are so quick to judge what’s right and wrong, good and evil, and to make rules and laws that limit or take away the freedoms of others, all the while crying that their own precious religious freedoms are being threatened and attacked. Pathetic. Unattractive. Foolish.

Satan knows this about you, and he uses it as a lure and as a weapon to get you to take his bait and to choose to listen to a voice and a word other than God’s. That’s what he did to Eve in the garden: “Did God really say?” “Hmmm? Now that you ask the question, I know what God said, but somehow, now it just doesn’t sound right.” That’s what he tried to do to Jesus in the desert: “Go ahead! Throw yourself down from the temple spire. God’s angels will catch your fall.” “Yeah, well, you kind of left out that part about walking in God’s ways and not putting Him to the test.” The question, the doubt, exposing the absurdity – that’s the lure. When you choose to listen to a voice and a word other than God’s – And, I ask you, whose voice and word would that then be? – you take Satan’s bait, hook, line, and sinker, and you choose to act upon your will – which means that you are not acting upon God’s will – and you break the First Commandment: You worship a false god before or in place of the true God; you worship yourself, and by worshipping yourself you worship Satan.

Alright, so maybe that sounds a bit dramatic. I just want you to think about the seriousness of those sins that you like to think of as “little,” “minor,” or “white.” While the only un-forgivable sin is unbelief – the outright rejection and refusal of the Holy Spirit’s work in you – there are no little, minor, or white sins. Sin is sin, period, and a single sin of thought, word, or deed merits you eternal death and damnation. This is why St. Paul says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and, quoting the Psalmist, “There is none righteous, not one.” Indeed, the purpose of God’s good and holy Law is to show you just that – that you are a sinner, curved in upon yourself, whose every thought, word, and deed before God’s grace is corrupted by evil, unholy, and unclean. The Law is meant to break you, to crush you, to kill you so that you stop trying to justify yourself, stop trying to make God’s ways fit according to your ways, stop trying to force His wisdom to submit to your fallen and corrupt wisdom. For, only then can you receive the Gospel – the Good News God loves you anyway and that He forgives you and restores you to holiness, not because of anything good, or evil, that you do, but because of the perfect and holy good that He has done for you in His Son’s selfless, sacrificial suffering and death upon the cross.

I know. Your flesh, your reason, your wisdom, and the so-called reason and wisdom of the world cries out, “Foul! It can’t be that easy! It doesn’t make any sense! That’s ridiculous! That’s absurd! That’s not fair! That’s not how justice works!” Indeed, thanks be to God! All that thinking and offense, all that scandal – that’s the way of your fallen sinful flesh which, at once, hates the Law of God, but also seeks to justify itself according to the Law. That’s why the flesh seeks out any other gospel but the Gospel of Jesus Christ – not that there is any other gospel. That’s why most of the denominations of Christianity other than confessional, orthodox Lutheran doctrine, work in just a little bit (or a lotta bit!) of your own work, your own choice, your own merit, your own decision, and your cooperation with God in your justification and salvation. But these are the teachings of demons, says St. Paul. They are the lies, deceptions, and temptations of Satan to lead you back into the bondage of sin and the Law and to keep you in chains there forever.

By nature, man is a theologian of glory, because Satan is a theologian of glory. “But, I thought glory was a good thing? What’s a theologian of glory, and why is that a bad thing?” Good question! A theologian of glory refuses to accept things and believe things the way there truly are, the way God has ordained them to be. To use Luther’s words to Erasmus in the Heidelberg Disputation, “A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil.” Thus, a theologian of glory looks at the Trinity, which is good, and calls it preposterous, ridiculous, foolishness. Likewise, a theologian of glory hears God’s command to not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and says that God’s command is unfair, unjust, even evil. And, worst of all, a theologian of glory looks at God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ crucified and dead upon the cross and exclaims, “Pathetic. Unattractive. Foolishness.”

All of you, according to your fallen and sinful flesh are, by nature, theologians of glory. In contrast, God calls you to be theologians of the cross who do not call evil good and good evil, but who call a thing what it is. The fall into sin was rebellion, apostasy, and real and damning sin. Jesus’ crucifixion and death was Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and Satan, and the glory of God. The kingdom of God is not powerful and glorious according to the wisdom, reason, and reckoning of the theologian of glory, but to the theologian of the cross it is a glorious kingdom and reign of grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

The theology of the cross does not come easily to us theologians of glory. Indeed, when Jesus began His ministry and called His first disciples, they were theologians of glory too. They vied for positions of honor, power, and glory in Jesus’ kingdom and they asked when Jesus was going to restore glory to Israel. Yet, even His disciples were not honorable and glorious in the eyes of their contemporaries, but they were fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and others of common, ordinary, and even low estate. Still, the Lord worked through them and with them to establish His kingdom and reign of grace and mercy and to establish His Church, which remains to this day and will remain until the day of His return. They often stumbled over Jesus’ ways, trying to send away the children, the women, and others in need who were drawn to Jesus. They refused to believe Jesus when He taught them about His Passion and resurrection. They all abandoned Him when He was arrested and crucified. And, when He died and was buried, they were despondent and without hope, believing that they had made a great mistake in following Him. They were theologians of glory, calling good evil and evil good. But, at Pentecost, Jesus made them to be fishers of men and theologians of the cross when He poured out His Holy Spirit upon them and His Church.

There isn’t much that is attractive or exciting about you, O Christian, or this little outpost of Christ’s Church in Waverly, IA to which you belong and worship. However, you have been given a new mind, new reason, new eyes, ears, mouth, and soul to know the kingdom of God for what it is, the power of the God for the salvation of all who believe. Your fallen reason and wisdom, the world’s ungodly theology of glory, looks at Christ’s Church and cries, “Pathetic. Unattractive. Foolish.” But you, O theologian of the cross, call a thing what it is, God’s kingdom of grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness breaking in and spreading throughout this world, reclaiming it for God in Christ Jesus.

Do not be afraid or dismayed. The Lord is with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Audio)

Luke 1:39-56; Romans 12:9-16; Isaiah 11:1-5

 

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

Often the blind have better vision than those who can see. Often the deaf comprehend more than those who hear. For, the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom. And, His ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. Indeed, we live in a time when only that which we perceive is believed to exist. What supreme arrogance, even foolishness, to think that this enormous and, apparently, expanding universe must operate according to the limitations of our five senses and our reasoning. For, what are they in comparison to the impenetrable depths of our galaxy, let alone what lies beyond? And, what are they in comparison to that of which they are made of, let alone the one who made them, upon who’s speaking the foundations of the universe were made and all things came to be and are yet sustained?

When God speaks His powerful, creative and life-giving Word, stars and planets find their course, mountains and oceans take their place, plants and trees begin to grow and to bear fruit, hearts and lungs begin to circulate life-giving blood and air, eyes and ears begin to see and to hear His handiwork, and minds begin to know their Creator through His creation, even through their very own selves, and they are attuned to His voice and to His Word, even if they try not to hear. For, the Word of God has gone out into the world and it will not return to Him void, but it will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.

And so, when God’s life-giving and creative Word was spoken by an angelic messenger into the ear of a young virgin maiden, chosen by God by His unique grace, mercy, and wisdom alone, that Word accomplished what it said, and Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Son of God, the same way that she, and Abram, and all the faithful, had conceived their faith long ago – by hearing. Though she did not understand the how and the why, Mary believed the Word of the Lord and she said “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Henceforth, all would call her blessed because she “believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And, to this day, Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, is rightly remembered and venerated, not because of her unique holiness or her important works, but because of the unique grace and mercy the Lord showered upon her and because of the unique faith He created in her, faith that simply received, clung to, and even conceived the Lord’s life-giving and creative Word. To this day, Mary remains for us a premiere example of the childlike faith Jesus calls us all of us to, faith which He says enters into the kingdom of God.

The Church calls Mary Theotokos, which means, the “Mother of God”, for the child she conceived, carried, and bore was not only a man, though He was truly a man, but He was the Son of God – perfect God and perfect Man. Her womb had become the ark and temple of God, yet greater, for abiding therein was much more than the glory of God, but the glory of God as a man, fully alive. God had visited His people to redeem them. This, Mary’s aunt Elizabeth, herself six months pregnant with a son who would be called John the Baptist, acknowledged and confessed by the Holy Spirit upon Mary’s greeting saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” She couldn’t help herself. The Word of God had located Himself in the womb of Mary, and in His presence, and at His command, faith is created, life is given, the sea roars, the rivers clap their hands, and the hills sing for joy together before the LORD.

Dear Christians, receive the clear and constant teaching of the Holy Scriptures that life and faith come from God’s life-giving, creative Word. We are the passive recipients of His gifts even as our eyes receive light, our noses receive aromas, our hands receive sensations, our tongues receive tastes, and our ears receive sounds. So are we the recipients of God’s gift of faith and knowledge of Him, even as we are the recipients of His gracious gift of life itself. The Word of the Lord alone has the power to open deaf ears to hear and blind eyes to see, to release the mute tongue to speak and to sing praises, to release from the bondage of sin and guilt, and to raise the dead to new and eternal life. When the LORD speaks, people listen – even the mountains, the oceans, and the stars listen – unless you willfully stop your ears. Yet, even then, you cannot silence the Law of God that is written upon your heart and neither can you refrain from observing God’s handiwork in creation and His sustaining providence for all, even those who reject Him.

John the Baptist could not help but leap for joy in his mother’s womb, for the Word of God, even God Himself, had entered His presence. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and confessed God’s presence in Mary, and she confessed the blessedness Mary had received in humble faith. And Mary confessed that she was the humble recipient of God’s gracious visitation, a servant and a magnifying glass for the glory of the LORD. She confessed the external and objective workings of God to bring righteousness and justice to His sin-wrecked people and creation as He had continually promised to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

As Jesus taught in the Beatitudes, there is blessedness in being poor in spirit, meek, and humble. There is blessedness in hunger and in thirst for righteousness. There is blessedness in showing mercy and in making peace, even in the face of persecution. These qualities are means of blessing, not because they are meritorious works, but because they restore a right relationship between yourself and the Lord. He is your God, who desires above all else that you receive His good gifts. And, the less that you have of the qualities and distractions that the world and the flesh value, the more your God and Lord can, and will, shower upon you His grace, mercy, and love.

What we celebrate on this The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not Mary’s greatness or holiness, or even her strong and humble faith which, nevertheless, is a great example for us, but what we celebrate is the LORD’s gracious visitation of His people to redeem them from their sins and to restore us to communion and life with Him. This Mary believed and received in humble faith. This Elizabeth acknowledged and confessed upon Mary’s greeting. And this caused John the Baptist to leap for joy and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that he might proclaim the coming of the one whose sandals he was not worthy to untie – the shoot from the stump of Jesse, upon whom the Spirit of the LORD rests and remains – the Messiah, our Lord, our Savior, and our Redeemer Jesus Christ.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.