The Tenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 10)

(Audio)

Luke 19:41-48; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Jeremiah 8:4-12

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

On the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Temple Mount, stands a small, teardrop shaped church called Dominus Flevit, a Latin name meaning “The Lord Wept.” From that location, near ancient tombs and the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord Jesus wept as He gazed upon Jerusalem and the temple because His people did not know, they did not recognize, the time of their visitation.

It was Palm Sunday. Jesus rode on a colt, a young unbroken donkey. As He descended from the Mount of Olives the crowds received Him as their Messianic King, laying down their cloaks before Him and waving palm branches in the air shouting, “Blessed is the King who comes in the Name of the Lord!” But, they praised Him for all the wrong reasons. They imagined the restoration of the worldly glory of Israel under King David, but they remained blind to the kind of King the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, was to be. King Jesus did not come to set His people free from bondage and slavery to worldly powers nor to restore glory to earthly Israel, but He came to set His people free from bondage and slavery to sin, death, and Satan.

“And when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it” – Dominus Flevit, “The Lord Wept.” Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of their spiritual blindness, because of their spiritual deafness, because their hearts were hard and their necks were stiff. They had not hearkened to the word of the Prophets who called them to repentance, but they became secure and proud and self-righteous, believing that they had achieved peace with God by their obedience and works, or because of their bloodline. This is what their pastors and teachers, the scribes and Pharisees taught them. And, because of their false peace, they did not know Jesus. They did not recognize their Messiah and King whom the Prophets had foretold for centuries. And, they did not know the time of their visitation.

Their visitation was very much akin to the accounting we heard about last Sunday. King Jesus was paying His people, His Church, a visit to take an account of their management of His gifts. God made a covenant with this people. He promised them blessing and forgiveness if they would only trust Him and keep His Word holy and sacred. But, not only had they abandoned His Word and commandments, but they taught others to do the same. This was a gracious visitation, for there would still be time to repent and receive true and lasting peace with God. Yet, Jesus foresaw their persistent rebellion, idolatry, and apostasy, and He foresaw their coming destruction at the hands of the Romans. Therefore, Jesus wept. Dominus Flevit.

Jesus did not come to condemn His people, but to call them to repentance that they would be saved. He compares Himself to a hen seeking to gather her chicks under the protection of her wings, but they were unwilling. That very image is depicted in a mosaic upon the altar in the Church of Dominus Flevit. Above the altar is a window overlooking the Temple Mount, but the cross in the glass resides over, not the place where the temple stood, but over the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the place where Jesus was crucified and buried, the place where true Peace with God would be secured in Jesus’ shed blood and death upon the cross. This brings to mind another avian image, that of the Pelican in Her Piety. In times of drought, famine, or great distress, the mother pelican is known to pluck feathers from her breast and tear her own flesh that she might feed her brood with her own blood – a fitting and powerful image of our Lord Jesus’ selfless sacrifice for all.

The crowd that received Him that day praised Him for all the wrong reasons. They were seeking glory and power instead of forgiveness and peace with God. And, in the temple courts Jesus found the money changers and vendors of sacrificial animals extorting their own people, making filthy lucre off of people coming to worship their Lord. Therefore He drove out those who had made His Father’s house of prayer a wicked den of robbers. Still, He taught daily in the temple and many hung upon His every word so that the chief priests, the scribes, and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy Him. This was a gracious visitation. There was still time. However, time was running short.

This was nothing new. Jeremiah prophesied to the Lord’s people six centuries earlier saying, “Why has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.” It was Jeremiah who also denounced the teachers in his day for telling the people “Peace, peace; it will be well with you,” while they were rebelliously disobeying the LORD’s Word and commandments, following the visions of their own minds and the deceits of their hearts. Even then they did not know the things that make for peace, for true peace with God. Jesus, and Jesus alone, was and is peace with God, and He was in His temple to cleanse it, a precursor to the once-for-all cleansing from sin which He would accomplish in the temple of His own body on the cross.

Dominus Flevit, “the Lord wept.” Our Lord wept over Jerusalem for the destruction that would soon come upon her. For she did not recognize the time of God’s gracious visitation in Christ, who had come to bring her peace. Destruction was not what the Lord desired. Destruction was not the purpose for which He was sent. But, they rejected and killed the Prophets who came before Him, and they would reject and kill Jesus too. Jesus did not weep for Himself. Willingly He went to the cross out of love for His Father who loves you so much that He gave His only Son unto death that you might live. No, Jesus did not weep for Himself, but He wept for the children of Israel, and He wept for you and me, His children even now. Jesus wept because we are so easily deceived by the desires of our flesh, by our fallen reason, and by the devil. We so easily believe that we are righteous and justified by what we do or how we feel. We are lulled into believing we are at peace with God because we go to church or behave better than others. But, if our peace is not in Christ, and in Christ alone, then we have a false peace, which is no peace at all. The Lord has visited His people in the Messiah Jesus, in humility, mercy, and compassion. Repent; be turned, and find true Peace with God in Jesus.

For, the Lord is visiting you, His people, now in His faith-creating, forgiveness-giving, and life-bestowing Word, Baptism, Absolution, and Supper. And the Lord will visit His people once again in power and great glory, and then every eye will see Him, and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. He has come. He comes. And, He is coming. Therefore, cleanse the temple of your soul from all self-righteousness, from trust in money and worldly possessions, from whatever idols you have created for yourself and submitted yourself to. For, today you stand in His forgiveness, at peace with God through Jesus Christ. He is unchanging, faithful, and true; He will never leave you or forsake you or break His covenant promise with you. Only you can reject Him, for He will not, and He cannot reject you.

And, His gracious visitation amongst you now is for the purpose that your faith would be renewed and strengthened and that you would be preserved in His parousia, His presence and His gracious visitation this day, and every day, until He reveals Himself in glory for all to see and know. For, the peace that He brings to you, the peace that He is for you, is not a light peace, peace as the world gives, but it is true peace, peace with God who, in and through Jesus, is not your enemy and judge, but your loving Father who graciously gives you all things needful for your body, life, and soul. You are members of His body of which He is the head. You are blocks in the walls of His holy temple of which He is the cornerstone and foundation. Your Lord Jesus was torn down in your death so that not one stone was left standing upon another, and He was raised again on the third day to life that never ends. He is present for you now in this house of prayer. His gates are open and His feast is prepared. Come and eat at His banquet and know His peace.

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.

So, it appears that in today’s Gospel reading Jesus commends dishonesty, or at least a “by all means necessary,” “whatever it takes,” “get ‘er done” sort of pragmatism having little concern for moral righteousness. Afterall, the protagonist in His little tale is a dishonest manager of someone else’s money who, to serve his own interests and to save his own skin under-collected from his master’s debtors, essentially robbing his master of the wealth he was hired to manage and protect. That’s the way it appears, but is that truly what our Lord is doing?

No, our Lord Jesus is not commending dishonesty. However, He is making a strong point: We can be quite shrewd and wise in managing our worldly goods, which are unrighteous and passing away, to profit us. Are we, in contrast, so shrewd and wise in managing the spiritual things that are righteous and do not pass away? You remember our Lord’s teaching: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” This is the very same teaching! Your Lord Jesus is calling you to take account of what your treasure truly is and where your heart truly is: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The dishonest manager was desperate. He was very much aware of his perilous situation and that he had no hope for saving himself by his own means. Therefore, he was shrewd, he was wise, in doing what was necessary to secure help for himself by means of someone else’s wealth, good will, charity, and grace. He slashed the debts of his master’s debtors. He spent his master’s money – which is dishonest in terms of worldly wisdom and righteousness. Nevertheless, it was a shrewd plan for one in dire desperation. For, you see, that is problem with us spiritually: We do not truly recognize, believe, or confess how desperate our true spiritual condition really is. If we did, we would be just as shrewd to secure help for ourselves spiritually and eternally. But, the truth is that we do not: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.”

We take God’s grace for granted. We take our Lord Jesus for granted. We think that because He died for us and was raised that we can do whatever we want, live however we want, and tell others its ok to live however they want because God has forgiven us all in Jesus no matter what. But, that’s a damned lie! That’s what Satan wants us to believe. And, on a day we cannot know, the Master will return and we will be called to give an account of our management: “What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management.” Now is the time to take account of your management of all the Lord has blessed you with: your wealth, your possessions, your health, even your life. These are all the LORD’s, and you have been entrusted with the management of these unrighteous things, this mammon, that is passing away. “If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”

It is with the merciful that the LORD is merciful. It is with the blameless that the LORD is blameless. It is with the purified that the LORD deals purely. And, it is the humble that the LORD saves. Indeed, mercy, blamelessness, purity, and humility are among some of the most important gifts you have been given management and stewardship of. But the eyes of the LORD are upon the haughty to bring them down. We must not put Christ to the test by squandering our heavenly Father’s possessions in selfishness and sin. The Old Testament provides us countless examples of those who desired evil and engaged in idolatry, sexual immorality, and grumbling and experienced the Father’s wrath against their sin.  “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

Yes, the end of the ages has come. St. Paul penned those words in the middle of the first century, but they are no less true today. The day of accounting is coming, if not today, then tomorrow. No servant can serve two masters. Take account: What master are you serving by your management? You cannot serve God and mammon, money, worldly wealth and possessions, your health, your life. If you think you stand secure, take account of where your security comes from? Does it come from your fear, love, and trust in the LORD, or does it come from your love and trust in worldly things? What do you truly treasure? Where does your heart reside? When your worldly possessions are at risk, when you are tempted to fear that you do not have enough and might lose what you have, when illness afflicts your health, your body, and your life, and the lives of those you love, remember that “no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptationHe will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it.”

Did you catch that – with the temptation; that you may be able to endure it? Do not believe that there is a way around temptation, a way around suffering, a way around the cross. Jesus never promised that. In fact, Jesus promised you precisely the opposite: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” “If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.” “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” These temptations are a test of your management, a test of where and in whom you truly place your fear, love, and trust. Indeed, they are little, blessed accountings that you might repent and return to the LORD whose way is perfect, whose Word proves true.

As the dishonest manager was shrewd in using oil and wheat to provide for his earthly welfare, so also do these earthly elements aid us when pressed into heavenly use in the anointing of baptism and the wheat of the Lord’s Supper. Those who have the Sacraments will have an eternal home when their earthly home fails. These provide us aid in times of temptation. For the Lord is our strength and a shield to all who trust in Him.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 8)

(Audio)

Matthew 7:15-23; Romans 8:12-17; Jeremiah 23:16-29

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

If Jesus spoke the words of today’s Gospel lesson in today’s public square He would most certainly be accused of fear-mongering. For, Jesus warns you to watch out for false prophets and false teachers who, wouldn’t you know it, are going to look just like the true prophets and teachers. But, He says to you that you will know them by their fruits, that is, by what they teach and by what their teaching produces. However, is it not the case that what is bad for us often seems the most attractive to us? So, how are we to know the good from the bad? What exactly then would Jesus have us do, live in continual paranoia, trusting no man, but considering all suspect of deception and false teaching? Would He have us live our lives in constant fear?

Well, yes, if that is understood in the correct way. That is, Jesus would have you put your complete faith and trust in no man but rather in God alone. Also, Jesus would have you fear no thing and no one in this life or world but God alone. However, He would nothave you live in paranoia and fear, for, indeed, that would be the fruit of unbelief and godlessness. But rather, believing that our God is not a God who is far off, but that He is near to us, and that He fills heaven and earth,we are to be discerning and cautious, but we are not to be without hope, despairing and afraid.

Jesus says that you will recognize a prophet by his fruits be they good or bad. The fruits of the prophet, in this case, are not so much works, or even outward piety and righteousness, but rather they are the prophet’s preaching and teaching. Does the prophet’s teaching accord with God’s Word or not, particularly about the person and the mission of Jesus Christ?  Does the prophet preach and teach from the mouth of the LORD, or does he speak a vision of his own heart? The prophet is sent to preach and teach God’s Word; his preaching and teaching is his fruit. It is as impossible for a trueprophet to preach and teach contrary to God’s Word as it is for a good tree to bear bad fruit, or a grapevine to bear something other than grapes, a fig tree to bear something other than figs. Likewise, it is as impossible for a falseprophet to preach and teach God’s Word in its truth and purity as it is for a diseased tree to bear good fruit. Such does not and cannot happen, thus you will know them by their fruits.

Still, due to our own fallen and sinful flesh, it can be difficult to discern the false from the true, to discern good fruit from bad. This is especially true since a false prophet will intentionally try to deceive you by appearing, in all external ways, to be a true prophet of God. False prophets, says Jesus, will come to you as wolves in sheepskins so that they appear to be a part of the sheepfold, the flock. Thus, the sheep are not alarmed by the presence of the false prophet and they are lead into a false sense of security, safety, and comfort. This is precisely what a false prophet desires, that you, the sheep, are comfortable and happy in your present sinful condition. For example, a false prophet will preach and teach that sexual relations outside of the marriage of a man and a woman is not sinful. And, in turn, instead of calling sinners to repentance, the false prophet blesses their sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. Likewise, a false prophet will preach and teach that it is not sinful to terminate an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy and, instead of calling sinners to repentance, they bless murder and the destruction of God-created life. This is to say that a false prophet will preach and teach in such a way that you remain comfortable and at peace with your sin, when the truth is that unrepentant sinners are under God’s judgment and wrath. As the true prophet of the LORD Jeremiah puts it, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you’” and they say “‘Peace, peace’ when there is no peace.”

Fearmongering and paranoia? No. An exhortation to watchfulness? Yes. How can you tell the true prophet from the false? You will recognize them by their fruits. The fruits of the true prophet are not outward righteousness or success, but faithfulness in proclaiming the Word of the LORD. For, there is no other measure of a prophet than the Word of the LORD. You are not to consider his appearance, his personality, his age, or even his own piety and righteousness, but you are to consider only this: What are his fruits? Is he faithful in his proclamation of the Word of the LORD.

“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth,”thus sings the Psalmist. That is to say, hear the Word of the LORD always. Whether it be a Word of Law or a Word of Gospel, hear the Word of the LORD. Whether it strike you to the heart and call you to repentance or shower you in gracious comfort, peace, and forgiveness, hear the Word of the LORD. Whether it be a Word that unsettles you and calls you to change your lifestyle or a Word that confirms you in the path that you are traveling, hear the Word of the LORD. And whether it be a Word that calls you back to the flock or a Word that shepherds you on your way, hear the Word of the LORD.

And the Word of the LORD is very near you; it is in your mouth and it is in your heart.And the Word of the LORD made flesh, Jesus Christ, is present with His Word and with His Wounds to forgive, renew, strengthen, and keep you in the one true faith unto life everlasting to the glory of the Holy Triune God.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Christian Funeral for Lola Ann Keith

(Audio)

Mark 10:13-16; 1 John 3:1-2; Jeremiah 31:15-17

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

Do you believe in unicorns? Lola did. Now, you might expect that from a four-year-old girl, but, it might surprise you to learn that, in fact, unicorns are real. Unicorns are mentioned in the Bible no fewer than nine times (!), but you’ll have to go to the King James translation in order to find them; more modern translations typically say “wild oxen” or something similar. In the Bible, unicorns are wild, undomesticated, powerful, and dangerous animals; therefore, unicorns are to be feared. But, unicorns are real. And, there’s a great big, wild, undomesticated, powerful, and dangerous unicorn right here in this sacred space, right now. Of course, I am playing off of the saying, “There’s an elephant in the room,” by stating that there is a unicorn in this room. What I mean is that there is something that everyone of us is thinking, but that no one is talking about. For, the unicorn in this room is the desperate question, “Why?” Why did God allow this to happen to sweet, precious, little Lola?

Now, there is an answer to that question, but I’ll be honest with you, it’s probably not what you want to hear at a time like this. Why did God allow this to happen to sweet, precious, little Lola? Well, that question is bound up in and with a bigger question, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people at all?” The answer to that question is sin – not any specific sin, and certainly not any sin specific to Lola, but sin in general. From the original sin committed by our First Parents in the Garden to the latest sin of thought, word, or deed you or I committed even this morning. And, the wages of sin – that is, what we deserve and earn for our sin – is always, and only, death. God is not the author or the creator of death, but He is in control of it. Not a sparrow falls the ground apart from His knowledge and will. So, while we cannot blame God for illness, suffering, tragedy, or death, for these are the fruit of our sin and our sinful rebellion, nevertheless, it is most certainly true that God does permit suffering and death to befall us, His children.

But, why? Strangely, from our perspective, it is because He loves us: For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and chastens every son or daughter whom He receives. Those of you who are parents know that this is true. You discipline your children because you love them, not because you hate them. Sometimes you cause them pain, sometimes you make them to drink medicine that tastes bitter, not because you hate them and want to hurt them, but because you love them and want only what is best for them and to protect them from true danger and harm. So, the LORD uses the sinful brokenness in this world, and that which we ourselves contribute daily to it, ultimately, to undo the devil’s schemes and to deliver His children, not around death, but rather through it, into life that cannot die.

In order to do this, God had to become one of us and suffer and die as one of us. God so loved the world in this way: He gave His only Son into death on the cross so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Because His children share in flesh and blood, God Himself became flesh and blood, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Because there is no way around sin and its wage of death, the sinless one Jesus died for all, thus destroying the power of death. Now, for all who believe in Him, who trust in Him for forgiveness and salvation, death cannot hold them, but Jesus will raise them up to everlasting life on the Last Day.

The Lord has seen fit to call precious Lola home. We do not, we cannot, know why. But, we trust in Him and in His love and in His word of promise that He will raise her up on the Last Day, and that we will see her again with our own flesh and blood eyes, hear her voice with our own flesh and blood ears, and hug her with our own flesh and blood arms. And, even now, in the midst of grief, sorrow, and tears, we are comforted that Lola is with Jesus, safe from sorrow, pain, suffering, and death, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as Lola, says Jesus, for she received it freely, as a child, in childlike faith, as a free and perfect gift of God’s grace, and grace alone. Indeed, Jesus says, all who would enter His kingdom must have faith like that of a little child like Lola. What kind of faith is that? Simple trust. That is it. Childlike faith trusts Jesus and His Word, even when eyes and ears and human reason suggest otherwise. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, trusting only Thee; trusting Thee for full salvation great and free. Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones, to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong.

Precious Lola learned about Jesus from Mom, Sarah, and from Grandma, Kathy, and many others, but she also learned about Jesus from brother, Lucas, who loved to give her advice about how to act in preschool chapel: “Now, you have to behave. Be quiet. Sit still.” Lucas would sing out, “Who built the ark?” to which Lola would sing in response, “Noah! Noah!” And Lucas would tell Lola stories from the Bible. At chapel, all the preschool children sit in that first pew right over there. There Lola sat quietly and learned about the life, teaching, and miracles of Jesus, the Lord’s Prayer, Luther’s Morning Prayer, how to live as a child of God, and several simple hymns about God and Jesus, three of which we are singing this morning. Let us give thanks to God for all the Christian people He put in Lola’s young life. And, thanks be to God for St. John Lutheran Preschool and Miss Melissa and Miss Lisa and chapel, through whom Lola learned and came to know her Lord Jesus even more fully. Lola believed and confessed Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Lola told others about Jesus. Lola, a precious little child had her childlike faith in Jesus, and now Lola is with Jesus in His kingdom. Thanks be to God for His love and mercy to Lola, that He keeps His promises in and because of His Son Jesus, Lola’s Savior, and the Savior of us all.

We know where Lola is. We know that she is safe. We know that we will see her again. We know this, not because we can see it, explain it, or understand it, but we know this because the Lord has promised it, and He who has died and has risen victorious over death and the devil keeps His promises. Yet, still, we miss Lola desperately. We miss her beautiful face, her sweet smile, and her sparkling eyes. We miss her painted nails, braided hair, and ballerina dresses which she wore as she mucked horse stalls and cared for her pony Beauty Girl, her stallion Henry Unicorn, and as she fed Peppa Pig. Lola was a little redneck farm girl hiding a diva underneath, and a saint underneath that. And we will miss her when we celebrate her favorite holiday Christmas, with all its sparkling lights, and when we eat cupcakes with shiny sprinkles or chocolate of any kind.

The LORD knew Lola when He knit her together in her mother’s womb. The LORD wrote Lola’s name in His Book of Life, which is Jesus. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, called His little lamb Lola by name. Lola believed in Jesus and trusted in Jesus. Jesus knew the number of Lola’s days when there were yet none of them – days she now enjoys without number, that have no end. As hard as it may be to say in our time of grief, we must confess, we should not so much want Lola back as to be with her where she is. That, too, our LORD has promised in Jesus Christ, who loved His Father so much that He loved Lola, and He loved you, and He loved all the world that He laid down His own sinless, holy, righteous, and innocent life into death to have you as His own. Jesus loves you, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is with you always, and nothing can separate you from His love.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 7)

(Audio)

Mark 8:1-9; Romans 6:19-23; Genesis 2:7-17

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

In paradise, the LORD provided everything our First Parents needed for their bodies and lives. They didn’t have to work to eat, but “out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” Yet, Satan tempted them to think that paradise a barren wilderness, and that God was holding out on them. The LORD had forbidden them only one thing, to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. To that tree and its fruit the LORD attached this curse, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” The curse was death, not because the tree was bad or evil, but because of the LORD’s command to not eat of its fruit. It was not the fruit that brought death, but it was sinful rebellion against the LORD’s holy, righteous, and life-giving word.

God wasn’t holding out on them. That was sinful pride, jealousy, and greed already at work in them even before they took the first bite. St. James explains in his epistle, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Our fallen, sinful desire blinds us to what is truly good, but we regularly call evil things good, and good things evil. Thus, at the Feeding of the 5000 and then again at the Feeding of the 4000, all that the disciples and the crowds could see was their hunger and need, their poverty and lack of resources to satisfy their hunger and need. Although the Lord was with them, although He had already demonstrated for them in the Feeding of the 5000 that He knew their need and would satisfy them, they grumbled, lost hope, and despaired. They did not believe, or they forgot, that the Lord is good and merciful, perhaps believing Him unable to help, or unwilling, but most likely they were so preoccupied with their need and despair that they didn’t consider Him at all.

Feeding stories abound in the Holy Scriptures. The LORD fed our First Parents in the Garden. The LORD provided food for Israel in Egypt during the seven-year famine. The LORD fed the children of Israel in the wilderness with manna and quail for forty years. The Passover was a meal of remembrance of the LORD’s gracious providence and deliverance. Jesus’ ministry was marked by meals, invoking the wrath of the scribes and Pharisees concerning whom Jesus ate and drank with. Many of Jesus’ miracles involved food and drink, from the Wedding at Cana, to the feedings of the 5000 and the 4000, to the Last Supper, to Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance to His disciples where He ate bread and made them breakfast by the Sea of Galilee. Food is a fundamental sign of God’s providence, that He knows and cares about our needs, and that He graciously provides for all of our needs of body and life. The problem is that, because of our sin, we do not often appreciate what He provides us, we sometimes even consider His good gifts to be evil, while we fill and satisfy ourselves and our sinful desires with what is truly evil. You will remember when the children of Israel grumbled against the LORD and His providence saying, “there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” They were like children standing before a pantry full of food crying, “There’s nothing to eat!” So too do we take the LORD’s gracious providence for granted and often consider the good things He provides for us to be bad, even evil.

Want and weakness, meagerness, and need come in many forms. Perhaps hunger is chief, but there is also the weakness of the flesh when sickness and disease afflict us, and there is grief and mourning and the loss of independence, be it physical or financial, or at the loss of those we love when the wage of the garden’s curse is finally paid out in full. Our Lord’s miraculous feedings are a reminder to us that His word and promise to us remains true despite what we think, see, or feel. Indeed, they are a reminder to us that we are in bondage to sin, that our eyes, ears, reason, and all our senses are not to be trusted completely, for they often deceive us and are open to Satan’s lies and deceptions: “Did God really say?” “You will not surely die.”

Take note, however, that Jesus knew their need: “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” Jesus knows your need. God knows your need. No matter how needy you believe yourself to be, no matter how desperate you believe your situation to be, do not forget, and do not be deceived: The LORD knows your need, and His promise remains true to you, despite what you see, think, or feel. And, He will use the things you already have, meager as they may be, along with faith to satisfy you, to provide you what you need, which most likely will be different than what you think you want.

The Lord’s Supper we celebrate and receive together each Lord’s Day is an ongoing and living reminder of our Lord’s gracious providence. In, with, and under the humble and foolish forms of tasteless bread and inexpensive wine, our Lord provides us with so much more than food for the body, but also complete and total sustenance for our souls, forgiveness of sins, salvation, and immortality in Jesus Christ. More than that, the LORD provides abundantly more: Twelve baskets of leftovers in the Feeding of the 5000, seven in the Feeding of the 4000. With the LORD there is always more. As He fills you to the brim with His blessing, even so He keeps on pouring so that you overflow with His blessings, that you might be a blessing to others, promising that with the amount you give, so will it will be measured back to you. Come, eat and drink and be satisfied. The LORD graciously provides you with what you need. May what you want, what you desire, be conformed to what the LORD wills, and not the other way around, and the LORD will bless you and make you a rich blessing to others to the glory of His Name.

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.

The word “law” has a negative ring in our ears. Naturally, almost instinctively, we don’t like it. Laws limit our freedoms. Laws tell us what we cannot do, and laws tell us what we must do that we don’t want to do. As children, we heard the words of our parents as law. And, as adults, we are still bound by the laws of men, be they the laws of federal, state, and municipal government, military law, the laws of our employer, or the laws of our bridge club, even as we create and enforce laws for those subordinate to us to obey. Yes, the word “law” has a negative ring in our ears, but that is not because the law is bad, but it is because we are bad, we are sinful, and the law exposes our sinful badness to ourselves, and to others, and to God.

But, the Law of God is good and wise. The Law of God is the will of God, and it is perfect, holy, righteous, good, and eternal. The Law of God exists eternally, long before it was written by the Holy Spirit upon tablets of stone. The Law of God was in the Garden and was known and loved by our First Parents even before the first command to not eat of the fruit of the tree in its center. And, as our Lord Jesus has said in today’s Gospel, “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” or, literally, “until all has come to pass.” The Law of God cannot pass away any more than God Himself can pass away, therefore it must be satisfied, it must come to pass, it must be fulfilled, it must be kept. And, that is precisely what our Lord Jesus has done for us and for all men by His perfect obedience and with His innocent suffering and death. Jesus did not remove, nullify, or abolish God’s Law, but He fulfilled it for you and for me and for all men so that, through Jesus, our relationship to God’s Law and to God Himself has been changed – it has been restored and renewed; we have been reconciled.

But, what does it mean that Jesus has fulfilled the Law? It does not mean, merely, that Jesus has obeyed the Law perfectly, although it certainly includes that, but that Jesus has fulfilled the Law means that it is completely satisfied both temporally and eternally in Jesus – but, only in Jesus. Thus, while the Law has not, will not, and cannot pass away, our relationship to it has changed, because it has been fulfilled. You see, there is a saying in the Church, “Lex semper accusat,” “the Law always accuses.” Because we are sinners, even forgiven sinners, we hear God’s Law as an accusation and threat. And, because we are sinners, we are right to hear the Law as an accusation and as a threat, for, indeed, it accuses and condemns us to death. However, that was not the Law’s original and eternal purpose, for, again, the Law is nothing more and nothing less than the good, righteous, and holy will of God. The problem is not with God’s Law, but the problem is us.

Jesus teaches that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. You see, despite the bad rap the scribes and Pharisees get for their legalism and lack of mercy and forgiveness, and justly so, they really did keep the letter of the Law better than most. Indeed, the scribes and the Pharisees were admired by all for their piety and obedience to the Law. However, what the scribes and the Pharisees failed to understand and believe was that Jesus was the promised Messiah and Christ of God who came to fulfill the Law’s demands and die in our place, thus making complete and total satisfaction for our sins against God and His Law, restoring a right relationship between God and man and between God’s Law and man. When Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said…,” He was speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, the teachers of the Law. They were the ones teaching the people the hard, inflexible, and uncompromising letter of the Law while fully missing and omitting the spirit of the Law, which is love – love for God, and love for brother – which was being fulfilled in Jesus. The Law, alone, always accuses. It cannot save, but it only condemns. But, the Law has been fulfilled – it has not passed away – but it has been fulfilled by and in Jesus Christ. That truth and fact the scribes and Pharisees did not see, understand, or believe. And, sadly, that is a truth and fact that Satan seeks to confound and obscure still today so that men either despair of their salvation or, perhaps even worse, trust in themselves and their keeping of the Law for salvation.

The Law always accuses because, even if you could keep the Law perfectly you would still be damned, for everyone who lives was conceived and born in sin, from the newly conceived infant in the womb to the most aged person who still draws breath on this earth. The Law always accuses, and it always condemns, but thanks be to God that we are not saved by our obedience under the Law, but we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ who has fulfilled the Law for us! Thus, St. Paul rightly confessed, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” However, apart from Jesus Christ there is only salvation by obedience to the Law which always accuses and condemns, and there is no hope but only eternal death and damnation apart from God.

You must come to terms with your accuser while you are going with him to court, Jesus says. Your accuser, ultimately, is not your brother whom you have wronged, but your accuser is the Law of God. You must come to terms with God’s Law before it hands you over to the Judge – and the Judge is Jesus in the fulness of His glory when He comes again on the Last Day. To come to terms with your accuser, the Law, means to confess that you are a sinner and to repent of your sins, falling upon Jesus’ mercy alone and not your feeble attempt to keep the Law. You must trust in Jesus’ perfect obedience, satisfaction, and fulfillment of the accusing Law and put no trust in your own obedience, works, or righteousness. Even the very good piety and obedience of the scribes and Pharisees according to the letter of the Law cannot save, but only accuses and condemns. Indeed, Jesus teaches that your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees; you must have the righteousness of Jesus, received freely as a gift of God’s grace. Only Jesus’ righteousness saves, for Jesus alone is the fulfillment of God’s holy, good, and righteous Law.

Thus, Jesus is your rest. Jesus is your rest from all your striving to keep the Law and failing. Jesus is the Sabbath rest of the LORD that He commanded all men to keep holy when He rested from His completed work of creation. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,” Jesus says, “and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus spoke these words just before teaching about the Law to keep the Sabbath day holy saying, “the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Jesus is the lord of the Sabbath because He is its fulfillment. In the same way, Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God’s Law. It was the scribes and the Pharisees, once again, who chided Jesus and His disciples for transgressing the letter of the Sabbath law by plucking heads of grain to eat. Jesus answered them saying, “If you had known what this means, […], you would not have condemned the guiltless.” Guiltless; that is what you are before God and His righteous, good, and holy Law, through Jesus Christ who has fulfilled it for you and for all.

Indeed, the capstone of Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law was His own rest in the tomb on Saturday, the Sabbath. On Good Friday, Jesus’ dying word was tetelestai, it is finished, it is fulfilled, it is complete. What was finished? What was fulfilled? What was complete? All the work of re-creation, of fulfilling the Law of God and paying the penalty for our failure to keep it. Then Jesus rested, thus fulfilling even the Law to keep the Sabbath. His saving work complete, the Law fulfilled, Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, the Eighth Day, the new day of a new creation upon which the sun will never set. It is into this Jesus that you were baptized, and it is in this Eighth Day that you have been raised anew from that watery grave to new and everlasting life that cannot die. And, today – Sunday – is that day. Everything that came before pointed to Christ and Christ has fulfilled it all. “Therefore,” St. Paul proclaims to the Colossians, “let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” The substance belongs to Christ. Come, eat and drink of His substance given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Through Him, and through Him alone, your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees, for Jesus Christ alone is righteous, and He is your righteousness.

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.

To be a Christian is to be a little Christin this world as His disciple, for a disciple is a student of Christ who, through the discipline of study and correction, is being shaped and molded into the image of his teacher. And, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be like your teacher and to take up the cross that the world will place upon you as a little Christ, a cross that God the Father will permit the world to place upon you, so that, in being Jesus’ disciple, you will be a witness and a martyr to Him before the world.

So, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if anyone tells you that being a Christian is easy, he is a liar. If anyone tells you that being a Christian will win you friends and popularity, he is a liar. And if anyone tells you that being a Christian will make you successful and wealthy, or even happy, he is a liar. Indeed, your Lord and teacher Jesus never told you such things as these, and He is not a liar, but He is the Truth incarnate, in your flesh. And, through your Holy Baptism and the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith, you are made to be a little Christ, and, through repentance and faith, all that is rightly His is also yours including sinlessness and holiness, righteousness, true and eternal life, and sonship with the Father. However, rightly yours also are meekness and humility, sacrificial service to your brothers and neighbors, and hatred, persecution, and suffering at the hands and words of the world.

Does this shock or surprise you? Do you think of me as a pessimistic preacher of gloom and doom for saying such things to you? I am sorry. I am sorry that so few have been honest with you before. I am sorry that you have been deceived by the world, our culture and media, and even by so-called Christian preachers and teachers to believe that, if only you try your best, God will be pleased with you, that, if only you think positively, then things will go well for you, and that, if only you had greater faith, then you would achieve health and wealth and prosperity. These are all lies! For you can see with your own two eyes, and you can hear with your own two ears that too often the wicked prosper while the humble suffer! And, because you have believed these lies, when trial, tribulation, and suffering come – and they always will – to you, or to those you love, you are tempted to blame God, you are tempted to lash out at Him in anger, or you are tempted to lose your faith altogether believing that there must not be a God, for God would not allow His children to suffer.

When Jesus calls His disciples, He calls them out of the world. They do not come to Him, they will not come to Him, and they cannot come to Him. But, He calls them, He chooses them, and He catches them like fish in a net. Jesus calls His disciples out of their comfort zones, away from their livelihoods and away even from their friends and their families. He calls them to discipleship and a new life, in the world, but not of the world. And, as fish cannot live outside of water, those Jesus calls and captures struggle as they leave behind the things they believed constituted their lives and they learn to breathe and live a new life, true life, life that never ends. When Jesus calls His disciples, He calls them to leave behind their boats and their nets, the tax collector’s booth, the weaver’s loom, the accounting books, the medical kit, etc., and follow Him. But, in following Jesus, His disciples return to their vocations and through them serve their brother and neighbor and glorify God. When Jesus called the fishermen to be His disciples, they died to themselves, they confessed their sins and their unworthiness, and Jesus absolved them and He raised them up to new life saying to them, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch men alive.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. 

To be a Christian is not to be perfect, but it is to be humble and repentant and to be made perfect before God in His grace and mercy through faith in Jesus Christ. And, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is not necessarily to live in poverty and celibacy, but it is to live anew in your God-given vocations, your callings, in selfless and sacrificial service to your brother and neighbor to the glory of God. You don’t have to be anyone special to be a Christian. For, the Church is not a memorial for saints, but it is a hospital for sinners. Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners, and, you are called to find healing in Christ’s wounds. Jesus is not merely the Great Physician who heals you in your body and soul, but Jesus ishealing, Jesus islife, and in Him alone are you healed.

Jesus doesn’t ask about your faith when He calls you, He just calls you; He catches you, like a fish in a net. He makes you His disciple, and a disciple trusts in and follows Jesus. And He makes of you fishers of men, catching men alive, in the net which is the message of the cross, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has brought you into the boat of His Church, and in your holy vocation He works with you and through you to bring others into the boat of His Church.

Though all around the Church the nets are breaking and many who hear the Word do not believe, we continue to let down the nets into the deep waters of the world and men of all ages, races, languages, nationalities, and economic strata, both notorious sinners and tellers of white lies are caught together in Christ’s net and find themselves saved in the boat of His Church to the glory of God.

And, in the Church, Christ our Servant Captain is present to raise men to new and eternal life through the washing of His Word and Spirit in Holy Baptism. And, our Great Physician is present with His healing Words and Wounds to recreate, restore, and resurrect our weary souls, feeding, nourishing, and strengthening us with His Holy Body and His Precious Blood, the very Medicine of Immortality. And, on the Last Day, when Christ our Captain calls His Church to safe harbor in Heaven, He will crown you with eternal life that will never wane, and the life that we know now but through a mirror dimly, then we shall know face to face.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Why be baptized? A response to Rev. Erin Bird of Riverwood Church

Why be baptized? A different answer.

By Rev. Jon M. Ellingworth – St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Waverly

Pastor Erin Bird of Riverwood Church in Waverly wrote about baptism in the July 11, 2019 Waverly Democrat.

In answer to his question, “Why be baptized,” Pastor Bird rightly states, “God expects it.” Indeed, while true, that is an understatement, for our Lord not only expects that His people be baptized, He commands it (see Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38)! 

Pastor Bird also rightly stresses that “our salvation is ONLY the work of God,” referencing Ephesians 2:8-9. While that is the clear teaching of Holy Scripture, Pastor Bird incorrectly understands baptism as OUR work when it is truly the LORD’s work. Even if we were to grant that the acts of pouring water or submersing under water and of being baptized are our work, the spiritual work occurring in baptism is “ONLY the work of God” as the Scriptures make clear (see Ephesians 5:25-26; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 3:21; 1 Corinthians 6:11; and numerous others).”

Truly, this is where Pastor Bird’s thinking, and Baptist baptismal doctrine in general, are simply incorrect: Baptism is NOT OUR WORK. Indeed, a close reading of the well-known baptismal text John 3:1-12 [13-21], from whence the phrase “born again” is taken, proves this clearly. In this text Jesus uses the analogies of birth and the wind to teach how the Holy Spirit performs the work of creating faith when and where it pleases Him, wholly apart from the work, will, reason, understanding, and even faith (!) of the individual. In telling Nicodemus that he must be “born again,” or “born from above,” Jesus intended for Nicodemus to consider what it means to be born in the first place. Did you choose to be born? Did you understand what it meant to be born? Did you choose your sex, race, nationality, mother, father, sisters, brothers, or anything at all concerning your birth? The answer is, of course, “No.” Being born is not a choice or a decision that you make, but in fact, you are completely passive in birth. Being born is something that happens to you. And, that is precisely Jesus’ point in saying “You must be born again.” Jesus continues the analogy, next shifting to the wind: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes (John 3:8).” You cannot choose to make the wind blow upon you anymore than you can choose to make it stop, but the wind blows freely wholly apart from your personal choice, will, or understanding. Again, this is precisely Jesus’ point concerning the work of the Holy Spirit and being “born again” in Holy Baptism. Baptism is NOT OUR WORK, but it is “ONLY the work of God.”

Not only does Pastor Bird consider Holy Baptism to be our work, but he believes that Jesus’ baptism was merely an example for us. Why be baptized? Pastor Bird’s answer to his own question seems to be, because “Jesus did it.” “Jesus didn’t need to be ‘saved’ since He was the sinless Son of God,” says Bird. That’s true! However, Jesus wanted to be baptized, and He submitted to be baptized even though He was sinless, even though John tried to prevent Him. Jesus wanted to be baptized, and He was baptized, because it was “proper” and “fitting” “to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:14).” It was at Jesus’ baptism that heaven was opened and the Father spoke, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased,” and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove and remained with Him. The Scriptural testimony concerning the baptism of Jesus hardly makes it sound like an arbitrary or unnecessary thing that Jesus simply did as an example for us to follow. In fact, the testimony of the Apostles in the rest of the New Testament ascribes astounding gifts of God to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism: Baptism bestows the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16); Baptism rescues from death and the devil by uniting us with Jesus in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:11-12; Galatians 3:27-29; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 12:13); Baptism gives eternal salvation (1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:5-7). Thus, we do not get baptized merely because “Jesus did it,” but because God actually does something to us and gives to us the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation through Holy Baptism in and for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ.

Pastor Bird says that “you don’t ‘need’ to be baptized in order to be saved,” presumably because we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Well, that is true, though it sets up a false dichotomy, and a dangerous one at that. Would one who professes faith in Christ refuse to be baptized, since the Lord commands it and has attached His blessings to it? I would surely pray not! Truly, to refuse baptism would seem to be active and intentional disobedience and proof that faith is not living. The Evangelist Mark links faith and baptism inexplicably together in salvation saying, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16).” Further, Pastor Bird makes the audacious statement, “Getting baptized doesn’t make you any spiritually cleaner,” in direct contradiction to the clear teaching of Holy Scripture! (1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:5-7; Ephesians 5:25-26).

Truly, when we consider the sad reality that Christ’s body the Church is divided into countless denominations, sects, and factions, nothing can be clearer than the variance in teachings on such fundamental doctrines as Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and Justification – all of which come down to a misreading of God’s Word in Holy Scripture. Baptist denominations typically boast about their literal adherence to the Word of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and yet they almost universally interpret and explain away the clear words of Scripture when they run contrary to human reason and wisdom. For example, Pastor Bird says that “you don’t ‘need’ baptism in order to be saved” and “baptism doesn’t make you any spiritually cleaner,” whereas Mark states, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16),” and Peter states, “Baptism […] now saves you (1 Peter 3:21) and “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).”

It all comes down to God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures. What does the Lord say in His Word? Will you believe it and confess it, even if it runs contrary to your reason and wisdom, which are corrupted due to sin and the weakness of the flesh? Jesus said over the bread at the Last Supper, “This is My body,” and over the wine, “This is my blood.” Are these eight words unclear? No, they are so clear a little child could state what they say and mean. It is only human reason that scoffs thinking, “That is not possible! It has to mean something else.” Faith – true faith – answers, “No. Our Lord means what He says, despite my inability to understand how.” Likewise, the Scriptures say, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” and “Baptism now saves you.” Are these words unclear? No, again, they are so clear that a little child could state what they say and mean. It is only human reason that scoffs thinking, “That doesn’t make any sense! Surely one must be able to rationally understand and confess their faith in order to be saved! It can’t be that easy!” Faith answers, “No. Baptism is the work and gift of ONLY God. I am but the passive recipient of His gracious action.”

There are so many denominational choices out there today. Waverly alone has no fewer than twelve Christian congregations. What is a Christian to do? Well, perhaps ask yourself, what does this denomination or congregation teach concerning baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and other core doctrines? Do they teach what the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures actually say? Let us follow the example of the Bereans: “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts 17:11).”

The text of Rev. Bird's article follows below:

Why be baptized?

By Rev. Erin Bird – Riverwood Church, Waverly

July 11, 2019

I want to talk this week about the topic of Baptism. If you follow Jesus, but haven’t been baptized yet, here are four reasons why I think you should get “dunked”:

1. God expects it.

If you read Romans 6:1-4, you see that Paul (writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) assumes that if you follow Jesus, you’ve been baptized. He sees baptism as full identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

While there are some church denominations that say you aren’t “saved” or truly forgiven of your sins until you are baptized, I personally believe that according to Ephesians 2:8-9 our salvation is ONLY the work of God.

Baptism simply reveals outwardly the inward work God has already done and is doing in us through the gospel.

But while baptism isn’t like a magic ceremony that guarantees you heaven, it is a deeply reverent sacrament that gives evidence our life is found in Christ.

So I believe God wants us to “go public” with our relationship with Him through Jesus by being baptized.

2. Jesus did it.

The four gospel accounts of the life of Jesus highlight different stories and teachings, giving us a well-rounded view of Jesus’ life and theology. But there are only a handful of stories that all four gospel accounts share.

The most well-known is the death & resurrection of Jesus (no surprise there). But another one is His baptism!

Jesus did not need “saved” since He was the sinless Son of God.

Yet he was baptized by his cousin John to launch the public aspect of his ministry. It is after this point that Jesus recruited disciples and began to travel around the Palestinian region proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

If we are to “live like Jesus lived,” then we should also go public via baptism as well.

3. You need it.

No, you don’t “need” baptism in order to be “saved” or to prove anything to God. Getting baptized doesn’t make you any spiritually cleaner, nor does it gain you super-saint status.

But baptism does help you put a “stake” down in your spiritual journey. We are all on a spiritual journey, and as we walk this path through life, occasionally we need some markers, some “stakes”, that we put down on our path to remind us where we’ve been, where we are going, and who we belong to. Baptism is a moment when you say to yourself and others, “I follow Jesus, and will follow Him no matter what the future holds.”

Just as a married couple going through tough times need to remember their vows, we need moments where we remember that we knew the truth and knew what we believed, so we can look back at those moments when the doubts and struggle come crashing in.

Your baptism can serve as an anchor in your spiritual journey, so that no matter how the winds blow, you know your life is tied to Jesus and His gospel.

4. We need it.

Baptism is an incredibly beautiful moment in your spiritual journey. But it isn’t JUST for you.

By being baptized during our Worship Gathering, you are helping your church family worship God through your story and your decision to publicly declare your faith in Jesus.

Also, by being publicly baptized, you are letting your friends and family who are not part of your Riverwood family (nor possibly part of God’s family) know about your faith in Jesus.

Your baptism might be exactly what God uses to help someone else find Jesus and begin to follow Him. So it’s not just you and the Riverwood family that needs your act of worship by being dunked, but your spiritually disconnected friends as well.

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 4)

(Audio)

Luke 6:36-42; Romans 8:18-23; Genesis 50:15-21

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

If there is one verse from the Bible that nearly everybody knows and regularly quotes from memory, whether they go to church or not, whether they are a Christian or not, whether they even know it is from the Bible or not, it is the second verse from our Gospel reading today where our Lord Jesus commands us to “Judge not.” In truth, it would be no exaggeration to say that “Judge not” has become the one universal law and religion that binds us together in our world and culture today. You can pretty much do anything and think anything and say anything and wear anything you want, but the one thing that is universally forbidden, that is unconditionally not to be tolerated, is to judge others.

Indeed, you will be condemned for judging when you even suggest that it is improper that a young couple should live together outside of marriage. You will be condemned for judging when you suggest that someone you care about is engaging in behavior (drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, pornography, etc.) that is threatening to their health and to their relationships with others. You will be condemned for judging when you suggest that abortion is the killing of a human being and is morally wrong. You will be condemned for judging when you suggest that homosexual acts and homosexual marriage are morally wrong, even though such things are clearly condemned by God in His Word. You will find that those who have absolutely no regard for God’s Word and Commandments suddenly become great scholars of the Holy Writ as they condemn you with Jesus’ words – completely misunderstood and stripped of their context – “Judge not.”

However, Jesus did say that, didn’t He? Yes, indeed He did! But, what do those words mean? You will undoubtedly be surprised if you too have misunderstood those words because you have taken them out of their context. As I noted earlier, Jesus’ words “Judge not” are taken from the second verse of today’s Gospel. They are not to be separated and interpreted apart from Jesus’ words that immediately precede them in the first verse, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” Indeed, “Be merciful” is the command of our Lord that defines what He means in commanding “Judge not.” Mercy means overlooking or not counting one’s sins against them, but it absolutely does not mean denying that sin is sin. I typically teach that the difference between God’s grace and God’s mercy is this: Grace is when God gives us good things that we don’t deserve. Mercy is when God doesn’t give us the bad things that we do deserve. You see, we deserve only bad things for our sin, and not the good things God actually gives us by grace. You confessed precisely this just a few moments ago: “I, a poor, miserable sinner […] justly deserve Your temporal and eternal punishment.” Thanks be to God that He doesn’t give us what we deserve! Rather, He graciously gives us what we don’t deserve – forgiveness, for the sake of, and because of, Jesus. God doesn’t say that we are not sinners, or that our sin doesn’t matter; rather, God is merciful and He chooses to overlook our sins and not count them against us, because He has laid all of our sins upon Jesus and has crucified and killed Him in His wrath against our sins upon the cross. And, that is why Jesus commands us to “Judge not,” because God has judged Jesus guilty in our stead, has condemned Him and sentenced Him to death, and He has carried out the execution. And, because God has been merciful and has overlooked our sins, we too must be merciful and overlook the sins of others – even though they are still serious and damnable sins.

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven,” Jesus commands. Our Lord treats the words “judge not,” “condemn not,” and “forgive” as synonyms for “be merciful.” Indeed, they are the same in the eyes of our Lord; indeed, they are descriptive of and essential to who our LORD is and what He has revealed Himself to be as we heard in our Old Testament reading from Micah last Sunday: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression.” Can a blind man lead a blind man? Is a disciple above his teacher?These are rhetorical questions Jesus asks to which the unequivocal answer is understood to be no. Jesus’ point is that, because we have been given eyes to see that our LORD is merciful by the mercy He has shown to us, and because he has taught and revealed His mercy to us in His Son Jesus, we now can show and teach others of His mercy, that He overlooks our sins and does not count them against us for the sake of His Son Jesus. Jesus intends the same in His teaching, “Give, and it will be given to you,” for you can only give to others what you have first received yourself; and, if you have so received, you must also give, lest you forfeit what you have graciously received.

To illustrate all of the aforementioned points, Jesus asks, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” Once again, many know this passage and quote it from memory while completely misunderstanding it and taking it out of its context. Jesus does not teach that you are not to “see the speck that is in your brother’s eye,” but that first you must “notice the log that is in your own eye.” That is to say that you must first acknowledge, confess, and repent of your own sins, receive forgiveness, and humble yourself before God and your brother so that you may able to seeingly lead him and teach him as you have been taught to find the same mercy and forgiveness that you have graciously received from the LORD. For there is a sinful speck in your brother’s eye that must be removed, even as there is a sinful log in your own eye that must first be removed if you are to assist your brother. The hypocrite is not the one who points out his brother’s sins, but the hypocrite is the one who points out his brother’s sins while denying his own sins. Indeed, the LORD would have you teach and guide other sinners and lead them to repentance and God’s mercy and forgiveness as you yourself have received and known them. But, to do this, you must first yourself repent and receive the LORD’s mercy. Then, but only then, you can, indeed you must (!), help others to acknowledge, confess, and repent of their sins that they, too, may receive the LORD’s mercy and forgiveness.

This truth is illustrated well in our Old Testament lesson in which Joseph forgave his brothers who had meant only evil against him. Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me.” You see, Joseph did not deny their sin; he did not falsely tell his brothers that they were not sinners, but he plainly said, “You meant evil against me.” Joseph truthfully pointed out the sinful speck in their eyes. However, Joseph also acknowledged his own sinfulness and the sinful log in his own eye, and in repentance and humility, as the recipient of God’s mercy himself, he forgave his brothers and overlooked their sins, all the evil they had done to him.

When the Lord commands you to “Judge not,” He is not commanding you to be laissez-faire with the sins of others, telling them, either actively or passively, that they are ok and no sin at all. That is precisely what the Prophet Jeremiah warned against saying, “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” No, but you are duty bound by love for God and for your brother to help him to acknowledge, confess, and repent of his sins so that he may receive the LORD’s mercy and forgiveness. However, just as you are not to ignore your brother’s sin and leave him in it, neither are you to condemn him and consign him to the LORD’s judgment and hell. Being a forgiven sinner yourself, you have no righteous foundation from which to do so, but only the LORD can condemn a soul to hell. Therefore, the Lord invites you to acknowledge and confess the sinful log in your own eye this day, and every Lord’s day, that you may receive His mercy and forgiveness anew, and that you may see clearly to remove the sinful speck from your brother’s eye that he might receive the same. And, in so doing, the LORD is glorified and His kingdom is filled as you share with others the mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness you have yourself received from His gracious hand. So, now He has prepared this meal for you to fill you with His mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness that you may have an abundance to share as these overflow out of you into the lives, hearts, and minds of your brother, your neighbor for whom Jesus also died. Come, and be filled with His good measure, pressed down, shaken together, His body and blood poured out for you and into you, running over, with His promise that, with the measure you use, you will not be depleted, but it will be measured back to you in abundance.

In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.