Trinity 21 Sermon

 

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

    Alright Pastor, we're ready. You've warned us that we are entering the end of the Church year, that things are going to get rough – fire and brimstone and away we go... with Jesus healing an official's son. Really? Shouldn't there be something more dire in the text, something more drastic? Can't we get a little wailing and gnashing of teeth in here if we're going to be all doomy and gloomy? Now, I said things were going to be rough – I didn't say I was going to have to go to Spirit Halloween and get stuff for special effects. I will submit to you that our Gospel lesson actually shows what is drastically hard about being a Christian, what makes the Christian life incredibly difficult for us today. The reality is that God knows what He is doing, and He is in control... and as sinful people we hate that.

    Consider how our Gospel lesson begins. He came again to Cana in Galilee, where He had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Well, what's so odd about this? A guy has a sick son, and he goes to Jesus for help – isn't that the way things ought to go? One might think so, on the surface, but Jesus gives a rather curt response. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Jesus sees that there is something wrong here. Jesus sees that there is something about this set up that isn't quite right – that's why we have that “So”. So. Therefore. Because of this set up Jesus chides the fellow for his unbelief. You don't really believe yet. You're still looking for signs and wonders, you don't get what is going on here.

    Isn't that harsh Jesus? Isn't that overly critical? Surely this is a decent guy! Well, let's examine the situation again. Jesus returns to Galilee, and he heads back up to Cana. You know, where He did His first sign at the wedding – look and see, Jesus brings goodness, water to wine, there is celebration, and it was good. Jesus makes all things good – just like we heard in Genesis 1. And it was good – and look, Jesus is here, so again, all things are good. And this official, this big-wig, hears that Jesus is up in Cana, and what does he do? He goes to Jesus in person, and then he “asked Him” to come down to Capernaum. There's a tone here. If a police officer shows up at your door and says, “I'm going to have to ask you to come down to the station” that's not a polite and humble request. There's weight, there's oomph in it. The word there for “ask” isn't just the normal word for asking a question – it's the word you might use if you were interrogating someone. This official is basically saying, “What in the world are you doing up here in podunk Cana; I've got a sick son back down in the big city, so You're going to stop what You're doing, You are going to change Your plans, Jesus, and You are going to do things my way.”

    And so you know that I'm not making a mountain out of a molehill here, I want to compare this set up to what we hear in Matthew 8, where Jesus heals a leper and a Centurion's servant. We hear in Matthew 8 -  And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Note how this leper does things. He kneels – which is the word for worshipping – in the ancient world you always knelt in worship. The leper simply states a fact – You are able to heal me if You want to Jesus – it's about what You think is best. Or the Centurion - When He had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Him, appealing to Him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” Again, there's no demand, no insistence – in fact, it will be the Centurion who says that Jesus doesn't need to come; rather simply speak the word. And what's great is that word “appealing” - it “paraclete-ing” - it's that Holy Spirit word. Do you see the distinction here? This official in today's text is coming at this from a position of personal power and authority; the leper and the centurion knew that Jesus was in control.

    Hence Jesus saying if you don't see you won't believe. But this official still thinks he's the one in charge. The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Do you hear the tone of command, the assumption of authority? Jesus, I don't have time for your spiritual hippie-dippie jibber-jabber, my son is going to die unless You do what I say right now. This man is so sure of himself, so sure he knows what is going on, what is going to happen, how things will play out – and Jesus just needs to hop to it.

    Now, now the hard part. Now the question. How often do you expect, do you demand that things be done your way or else? How often do you act as though you think you are the one in control? We love control, we are control sick, control mad. If something doesn't go our way, how often will we seethe and rage? Last week in Ephesians we were instructed that we should be “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” We should be happy and willing to follow someone else's lead, do things their way – because we respect Jesus, we respect the fact that Jesus has put people in our lives, and we can orient ourselves around them, around their need. It's all good, Jesus is in charge, it will be fine. Is that the way we live... or do we think things hinge on whether or not we get our way? There's a bunch of elections coming up – come November 6^th and all the dust is mostly settled, are we all going to say, whatever happens, “Ah, well, for Thine is still the kingdom,” or will we look at everything in terms of what we wanted, how we think things should have been done.

    But the kicker, the place where the screw really turns on our dastardly desire for dominance – it's not just that we think to boss our neighbor around. It's not just that we want our way right away over them – no. We are tempted to treat God this way. We are tempted to saunter up to God just like this official and start saying, “Here's what you need to do God.” We're tempted to second guess God – why did you do X instead of Y? I wanted this, why did You do that, God? We forget the third petition – Thy will be done. What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also. How is God's will done? God's will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God's name nor let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will. This is the temptation we face constantly. To not let God be God. To want our will over our things, rather than seeking Christ's will. To do things our way, forgetting that God is good. He made all things Good – and He makes all things Good.

    So what is Jesus' response? What is His response to this official's insolence, to our insolence? Listen. Jesus said to him, “Go, your son will live.” I'd actually translate this as, “Go, your son lives.” Oh official, you thought you knew everything, you thought you saw how things were going, you thought you knew how to fix it. You think I need to jump through hoops? Nope. I don't need to dance to your tune; what I'm going to do is something better. I'm going to do what I always do, and that is be the good and gracious God that I am, and I will speak My creative Word and make all things good. You think your son is dying – well, I say he lives. Right now, he lives – he lives because I say so, and I am God almighty. And the Word of God is a wonderful thing. It creates. It creates life, but it also creates faith. Did you catch this? Jesus speaks His creative Word, and then: The man believed the Word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” The roles are reversed; no longer is the man telling Jesus where Jesus needs to go and what Jesus needs to do. Nope – Jesus speaks, and the official listens. He listens and believes and simply does what Jesus says. And it goes well, because Jesus is good. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. They told him, literally, your child lives... they tell him the exact same thing that Jesus had said. Jesus said, “Go, your son lives.” The servants say that his child lives. The Word of Jesus proves true. The Word of Jesus does what it says, right here and now.

    And this is true for you today. There are so many fears and desires and wants and worries that batter you and bruise you. There are so many things that try to make you think that unless you get your way everything will be dire and doom. And in the face of that, in the face of all your foolish, fearful plans, Jesus says to you, “Go, you live.” Right now, you live, you live in Christ, a forgiven and redeemed child of God. You were once dead in the tresspasses and sins in which you once walked, and those sins and tresspasses still call out, trying to dominate your life, trying to make you dominate others, but you live, for by grace you have been saved through faith in Christ Jesus, and He says to you today that you are forgiven, that you have life in His name, that you live, that you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (and it was good!) for good works that you will simply walk in, so, “Go, you live.” You live in Christ, you live in His forgiveness, His strength, His might. You live covered by His truth and His righteousness and His Gospel and His peace and His faith and His salvation.

    And this is true. You live. And no danger, no trouble, no strife in the world can change this. The official demanded, come down before my child dies. Later on in the book, Jesus tarries – He doesn't head to Bethany before Lazarus dies. And Martha confronts Jesus – Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died. He'll rise. Oh, I know he will come the last day. And Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Don't even worry about death, Martha. I say you live, I say Lazarus lives, and so he does. See – Lazarus, come forth. Even dying, you live. Living in Me, you never taste death – death just becomes the doorway to the resurrection. Jesus knows what He is doing, and He says to you, Go, you live.

    And you do. You live now, and you will live eternally in the life of the world to come when Jesus has finally made all things good again, and every drop and dreg of sin has been dredged away from creation. But you do live now, and Christ lives in you, and He works in you and through you to do His good. And His doing good through you, well, it might disabuse your sinful flesh of some of its silly ideas. So be it. Jesus has spoken and He speaks again. Because He has died and risen for you, Go, you live. Amen.

Trinity 20

 

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

    Well, it's that time of the Church Year where we start shifting our focus towards the end of this world, to Christ's Second Coming, to the resurrection of the Body and the Life of the World to come. And our lessons start to prepare us for the harder parts of the Christian life, the things that are perhaps darker or dangerous – putting up with hardship and trial and tribulation yet remaining faithful to Christ amidst these things. And at the base, today, all of our lessons revolve one idea, one theme. In this life, you will be confronted by temptations and schemes that seem to be wise but are in fact deadly. So the instruction for today is this: Dear Christian, don't be stupid.

    Don't be stupid, Pastor? Really? Well, yes. Don't be stupid. Until Christ returns you are going to be tempted in this world to jump into all sorts of harebrained idiocy, so don't be stupid and dive on in. Okay, if you want it to sound more formal, consider the Epistle Lesson. Paul says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish.” Don't be unwise, lacking wisdom. Don't be foolish, literally without a mind. Don't wander off into all sorts of nonsensical schemes and plots and fights, because swirling all around you in this world full of evil will be the worst ideas imaginable, things that will do you harm, harm to your body and harm to your soul. So use your head, use your God given wisdom, and don't blunder on into them.

    Our Old Testament even gets on this theme, although it comes at it with some lovely poetic rhetoric. Isaiah writes, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food.” It's a poetic image lamenting folly and stupidity. You waste your money, your hard work – you get so busy and caught up in all this drama and for what – for “not-bread” - for non-fulfillment. Why do you strive and strive after these silly games in the world? You're never filled up by them, you're never satisified by them, and yet you keep slaving away and breaking your back, and it's all for nothing. Okay, Isaiah's not saying, “Don't be stupid” - he's flat out saying, “Stop being stupid.” There's a chance, there's a way out of this stupidity – Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord that He may have compassion upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

    Seek the Lord while He may be found. This is one of the harder phrases of the Old Testament for us to understand in modern English, because it uses a Hebrew verbal trick we don't have. Hebrew has what is called a causitive mood – where the verb isn't just what you do, but what you make happen, what you cause to happen. When we hear “seek the Lord while He may be found” - this isn't saying that Jesus is playing Hide and Seek with us we've counted to 20 and now we have to go find Him. No, seek the Lord while He makes Himself present for you so that you can find Him – while He may, while He is able to be found. Seek the Lord while He's jumping up and down saying, “I'm over here. See, I'm here, I want to forgive.” When Jesus is calling, when Jesus is present for you, for your good – don't be stupid and run off after other things and miss out on Jesus and His forgiveness.

    This idea, the utter stupidity of rejecting and ignoring Jesus and instead chosing and serving folly is the background theme of our Gospel lesson, of the story Jesus tells in Holy Week to all the people in Jerusalem who were grousing about Him. Jesus says, “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.” So let's ponder the set up here – here we have a vineyard, and the vineyard needs to be tended to – but note, the hard work has already been done. The infrastructure is all set up – the vines are set up to go, it's protected, the wine press is there – it's all ready to go, all that's left is to gather the grapes, make wine, make money, and enjoy. And tenants are brought in – given grand opportunity – this is set up on a tee, this is a great gig, now knock it out of the park.

    Alas, they decide to be stupid. When the season for fruit drew near, [the master] sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Now, we live in an agricultural area – some of you work leased land, some of you lease land – the Church itself leases out land to be worked. What's to be gained here by these wicked tenants? Not much – you want to keep the rent price, and so you engage in murder. You don't really gain anything, why? Well, they keep at it. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe they thought they were defending the vineyard from bandits, it was dark... no, no, this is just foolish wickedness. But the master is patient. Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.” And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Oh, and the plot is revealed. We will kill the heir, and then instead of just being tenants, we'll get to be the owners, we'll get to inherit the land. Instead of simply being tenants and enjoying the sweet job we have and all the benefits there of, we will plot and murder... to inherit the vineyard. That's not how anything works. What, is the master going to say, “Well, they killed my son – better scratch his name out of my will and write theirs in.”

    No – Jesus asks the very people who reject and complain about Jesus to finish the story. “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to Him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Everyone knows that this story will end badly for those wicked tenants. You're done, you're out, you're dead – and someone else can enjoy that lovely vineyard and that nice set up instead.

    Of course, Jesus isn't telling a story about how to run a vineyard – Jesus is addressing the very people who are plotting to kill Him and will have Him killed by the end of the week. Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The Stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. Y'all are being stupid, and the consequences are come. You fight against Me and my preaching, and for what? Power in the temple – in God's house, that place given to you to be a blessing to you, and you turn it into a den of robbers, a petty political prize – all the while ignoring God's Word, ignoring forgiveness, ignoring love? Because that's the fruit of God's Word – forgiveness and love – and you don't care about that – so you won't get it. You won't get the temple, you won't get God's House anymore – other people will be there, and they'll have forgiveness and love to the full, and you, in your folly, in your stupidity, you'll get nothing but death and destruction.

    Whew. Ouch. Tell us what you really think, Jesus. This is the last call that Jesus gives to these Scribes and Pharisees and Chief Priests to abandon their silly plans, to not partake in this planned assassination of Jesus. Some hear Jesus; most don't. And Jesus knows He's speaking rough words, words that are hard to hear. And the one who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. Jesus is here – and He calls the shots. Jesus is in control of reality – and the reality is this. You are caught up in sin and temptation, and while the big wigs and the movers and shakers and the smarty-pants reject Christ, He is the Cornerstone. You are trapped in sin and death, and the only way out of sin and death is this. Jesus dies, and Jesus rises. Jesus takes up sin, Jesus takes up the penalty for sin, and Jesus gives life. That's the way it goes. It has to go through Jesus. And whenever one believes this, whenever one falls upon Jesus – well, it will be painful sometimes. The Word of God will call you to the carpet for your sin. It will call you to repent, it will pull you away from the stupid things that are bad for you, the things that your sinful flesh calls out to you to get trapped in. God's Word will often break you, it will break you of your stupidity – because we're all sinners, and all sin is stupid, and we're all called away from the stupid, dumb, idiotic things that don't do us or anyone any good that we keep stumbling into. You know, all those “sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended God, and justly deserved God's temporal and eternal punishment” that we confess. We confess, we fall upon Christ – because Christ Jesus makes Himself to be found, to be found here in His Word of forgiveness, His Font, His Supper – found to forgive us, to renew us, to give us blessings now – real blessings, not the sham ones our temptations dangle in front of us – and to give us eternal life. The other option is to ignore Christ, to run after folly, and in the end to be crushed.

    And Jesus here is admitting something that is hard for us in the Church to hear. We here will need to confess real sins. There will be things in God's Word, in His Law, that hit really close to home, that aren't comfortable, that call us and our sin and our temptations out. The ones we like, the ones we hide. The light of God's Word will be shined upon them. There will be sermons here that make you a bit squeemish – and you think it's no fun sitting in a pew when the preacher does that, you try preaching a sermon when you yourself are squirming. But that's the way it has to be – sin has to be confessed with, sin has to be confessed – that's how forgiveness happens, that's how our rescue from sin happens. The chains that bind us must be broken, even when we find those claims appealing. Because Jesus doesn't want you crushed. Jesus doesn't want you terrified when He returns – He wants you forgiven and ready to be restored.

    So, don't be stupid. Don't wantonly wander into wickedness; instead be in Church, be in the Word. And when the Word of God calls out your sin, don't plug your ears, don't take your ball and go home, don't huff and puff and say, “Why I'd never.” Let the Holy Spirit do His job of conviciting with the Law, and confess your sins... and then there's the fruit. Then there's the fruit of forgiveness. There's the fruit of love – love and joy and peace and all those good things, truly good things that Jesus gives to you and works in you and through you to your neighbor. Jesus' plans for you are better than the pipe dreams that Satan and the world pedal to you. Live in Christ – He is here for you to find Him, to receive Him, to delight in Him, here in His church and in His Word of life. Amen. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

Trinity 19 Sermon

    It was love, pure and simple. It was love that motivated these people to bring this paralyzed man to Jesus. These nameless people in the text – we don’t even know if they were family or friends – whoever they were – out of love and concern they bring this man who can no longer walk to Jesus. In our Gospel lesson today, we see an incredible story of love – love shown to a poor paralyzed man. But we also see a tale of how often God’s love isn’t desired by man, how God's love is despised and rejected. So that is what we will do – we will compare our thoughts about love and about how to love with God’s Word and see what we learn about God’s love for us.

    And behold, some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.” When we hear this, we can think that there is something wrong. We can think that the solution doesn’t fit the problem. Your sins are forgiven? Jesus, the guy can’t walk! Who cares about his sin right now – heal him, make him walk! We can almost, if we dare admit it, get slightly annoyed with Jesus – oh, Jesus, just get to the point and heal the poor guy! You know what this means? It means that often our expectations of God’s love are wrong. We can think, “the chief problem here must be that the guy's body is broken – so fix it.” But note something from the text. And when Jesus saw their faith – when Jesus sees the faith of these people, the faith of this paralyzed man – sees their heart – that’s when Jesus tells this poor man that his sins are forgiven.

    Before this account, Matthew records many miracles – it seems almost routine. Jesus heals lots of folks of lots of things. Chapter 8 itself has a leper, the Centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, and two demon possessed men. Jesus is not shy about addressing the physical issue at hand, so maybe it’s not a case of Jesus missing the point here, but Jesus hitting things spot on. Think about, for a moment, the times when things go badly in your life – when things go wrong. How often does that thought creep in – “maybe I did something to anger God – maybe this is my sin coming back to bite me”? Remember not the sins of my youth, O Lord! How easily we can become burdened with guilt and shame! This was the case with this paralyzed fellow. The popular Jewish understanding what that if something bad happened to you, some tragedy, it was directly your fault. In John, when they see a blind man, the disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” So here you have this paralyzed man – and Christ sees his faith – sees the faith of the man’s friends – and our Lord speaks. Take heart – be enheartened – your sins are forgiven.

    This is the sadness of our day and age. We so often only see things in terms of this life – how much stuff we have, how good or poor our bodies are – we think with our stomachs and plan with our pocket books – and we so often miss the more important reality. This paralyzed man of faith didn’t have our weaknesses; he knew what was important. He was concerned that his sin condemned him, not just to a life stuck on a mat, but to an eternity of damnation and hell. And so Christ speaks a word of forgiveness to him, and he is enheartened! Would that our approach be the same as this paralyzed man! Would that our faith, our desire for forgiveness dominate our lives, whatever comes down the pike, be it sickness or health, wealth or poverty, droughts or floods! But too often we don’t think this way, we let the cares and concerns of this life push the things of faith and eternal life to the back burner. We let ourselves be filled with worry about this world instead of simply trusting God to remain God for us. So Christ says to you the same thing as he says to this paralyzed man. Take heart, your sins are forgiven. Take heart. Be encouraged – let nothing take your joy from you, for your sins are forgiven – and all these trials, all these troubles – they are temporary, they will pass away, but God’s love for you never passes away, the peace of forgiveness and the joy of Christ never pass away – for they are eternal, they are the things of eternal life. No tragedy, no trial of this life can overshadow this truth.

    But Satan will still try to overshadow this. This is what happens in the text. Some people clutch their pearls because Jesus asserts that He can forgive people. And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” There was a good reason they said this. One of the things we can forget about sin is that sin is always against God. If someone sins and it hurts us, we complain about what they have done to us. You’ve sinned against me. Yes. . . but that’s not the main thing. The main thing is that sin, all sin, is against God. When David gets caught in his adultery and murder, he doesn’t say, “Boy, I sure sinned against Uriah by killing him – boy, I sure sinned against Bathsheba by dragging her into adultery.” He had, I suppose, but that’s not the angle David takes. Instead, he says, “I have sinned against the LORD.” David then writes in Psalm 51 “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight” and then begs for a clean heart and a right spirit. Sin is always, first and foremost, against God. When your neighbor sins against you, that isn’t primarily a sin against you – it's against God. When you sin against your neighbor, when you think poorly of them or speak ill of them or harm them in any way – that isn’t a sin primarily against your neighbor, but you are first and foremost sinning against God – the God who told you to love that person. This is what those Scribes knew – sin is always against God – and this is why they are shocked by what Jesus says. Sin is against God – so therefore, only God can forgive sins. If Jesus were just a man, this would be most blasphemous!

    So Jesus will respond to this. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – He then said to the paralytic – “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. Jesus knows what these scribes are thinking – He sees their doubts, and He seeks to alleve them. Yes, Jesus can forgive sins, yes He has this authority. But how to show it, how to demonstrate it? Well, watch this. Hey guy, get up and go home. I am Christ Jesus, I have authority over the Body, and I have authority over the soul as well. The healing here – the man being cured of his paralysis, is only done to show that the Spiritual healing which Christ proclaimed was real. Christ wants to prove that when He says sins are forgiven that He has the authority to do so.

    Authority is a big, important word in Scripture, and in the New Testament authority is almost always tied to being able to forgive sins. And here is the thing – the idea that just confuses and shocks so many folks out there – Christ Jesus gives this authority to His Church in order that even to this day people would receive forgiveness here on earth and know that it is true and valid in heaven. For example, think about the Great Commission. Before Jesus sends out the Disciples to do their work, what does He say? All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Do you see how it works? Christ says, “I have authority to forgive sins, and now I am sending you out to go forgive sins. You have My authority now, you speak My Word and act in My Name – go baptize people for the forgiveness of sins in My Name. Authority to forgive sins. Or in John 20 – what does Jesus say to the disciples? Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven.” Again – Jesus sends out the disciples, His Apostles – for that is what Apostle means – it means “sent one” – with a very specific mission – to exercise this authority to forgive sins.

    And this is what God’s Church is to be about to this day. This is why in the Nicene Creed we call it the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church – it’s the Church that does the same thing the Apostles did – shower out forgiveness upon people. And this is a marvel – that forgiveness is available. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. That’s what we do even to this day – we glorify the God who gives forgiveness. You see, this is the heart of God’s love for you. Not in the temporary things that fade away, but in the fact that He constantly provides you the forgiveness won for you upon the Cross by Christ Jesus so that you may be cared for, not merely for a day or two, not just until the next crisis, but that you may be cared for for all eternity! God’s love for you is eternal. His love isn't fleeting but is for the long run; and thus He will focus your eyes upon His forgiveness and strengthen your faith so that you may stand and remain strong in the face of all trials in this life, large or small. His forgiveness is real, His love for you is real, and His Cross overshadows all things in your life. You are His, and nothing shall separate you from His love in Christ Jesus.

    And I mean that seriously. What is there in this world that can undo the promise that He made you to at the Font when by His authority you were baptized in the Name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit? That's a promise to you sworn by God Himself by His own name – what tops that? What has more power than that? Nothing. Jesus has His Word of forgiveness proclaimed to you today – the Word that called forth creation itself. What in this created world is going to top the Word of God that created it? Nothing. Jesus comes to you today, gives You His Holy Body and Blood for your forgiveness, as a pledge and token that yes, He has died and risen for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. What could tower over that? Nothing. So, whatever came at you this week, whatever sins clawed at you again, whatever fears loom large in this week to come – however serious and heart rending they maybe (let's face it, being paralyzed isn't a petty problem) – Jesus still reigns, and Jesus still loves you, and He says to you, take heart, my friend, your sins are forgiven. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit + Amen.

 

St Michael and All Angels

 

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

    So we have come to a Church Holiday that is interesting: St. Michael and All Angels'. It is the church holiday where we give thanks to God for His angels who work to guard, to protect us from the assaults and attacks of Satan and his demons that we today so often aren't even aware of. Now pause, for a second – I said the words. I said the words angels and demons – and as modern Westerners living in the 21^st century, we can be almost embarrassed by such words, by speaking about the so-called “supernatural”. We can be embarrassed on the one hand by thinking about the educated elite and all their know how and their “oh, that's so silly” smugness. And on the other hand, there's all sorts of wild, fly by night nut-jobbery that gets thrown around, too. So how are we to handle this, how are we to handle this topic, this idea – indeed, how are we to be comforted by it and give thanks aright to God for it? Well, by considering what the Scriptures and the Creed teach us, and relaxing in God's goodness.

    To start, I want to look at a simple little line from the Nicene Creed that explains the whole set up, or at least prepares us to understand what is going on around us. You all know it – I believe in One God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things... all things what? All things visible and invisible. God has made everything – the universe, and in this universe there are things that we in our normal course of life get to see, get to study, get to examine and manipulate with more or less success. That's what the Creed sums up as the visible world – I can see it, and I can manipulate it. Our arts and sciences seek to understand all that stuff from the visible world. But the Scriptures teach and work with the understanding that there is also an invisible reality, that all around us there is an unseen, spiritual world. That we are surrounded by angels. Even Jesus says in Matthew 18:10 - “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” That little person of no repute that you might think is lowly – nope, they have Guardian angels (did you hear it, plural – their angels) who worship before God. And the simple fact is we don't see this directly – well, normally.

    Every week in worship we reference one of the times where someone got to see the angels that are always present. In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! This is where we get the line “Holy, Holy, Holy” from in the Sanctus, which we claim we are singing along with “angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.” Right here, right now, this place is filled with angels and the hosts of heaven, singing with us, praising with us, hearing God's Word with us. And we don't see it – and I'll even say thankfully – because whenever someone gets to see the angels, it's too much for them to handle. Isaiah here thinks he's a dead man. The Shepherds hit the dirt when the angels show up. We are not equipped yet, and we don't be until the resurrection and the new heavens and the new earth, to handle dealing with the invisible and spiritual world on a regular basis. And that's fine. The angels exist.

    And we should remember what they exist for. The Angels are servants. The name “angel” means messenger – they're God's runners, they're God's gophers – go here, go there, do that, do this. And they are God's servants for our good; indeed, they are our servants, created by God to serve and protect us. This is why Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 6 - Do you not know that we are to judge angels? When you die you don't become an angel – you're a brother, a sister of Christ – your brother Jesus is the King of all creation. You will reign with Christ; you don't get demoted to maid or butler. You are of the Royal priesthood! And this is where a lot of the modern Christian-ish blather and speculation about angels goes off course. Yeah, they are wondrous... but they aren't above us – they are there to serve us. Of course, the Church has long had to deal with people going off into the weeds with their speculations on angels – the first 2 chapters of Hebrews are basically telling people to quit with all the palaver on angels and rather just focus on Jesus.

    So angels exist, and they are servants of God for your good. That's where we are at so far. Now, the third point. We need the angels to serve us, to protect us, and why? Well, there are demons, there are evil angels who have fallen, who did not want to serve, and they have rebelled, and there's all sorts of evil and chaos unleashed as a result. And again, here today we don't generally see these things openly and obviously – the invisible remains typically invisible, and when it doesn't it's frankly terrifying. And to a certain extent, we have been spoiled. We have grown up and been raised in a country that was relatively Christian, where daily prayers would resound, and the awkward freaky stuff was restrained to where it was viewed as just myths and rumors from far away places. Maybe if a missionary came back from Papua New Guinea or Haiti we'd hear stories, but then we'd ignore them. That's shifting, and wickedness and evil is becoming far more apparent, far more welcomed, far more celebrated here. But even without spooky manifestations and the like, there's always been spiritual, demonic stuff that's around. We've lost our understanding – we forget where temptation comes from, what drives it. Yes, our sinful flesh, yes the world, but also Satan. Luther can say, Let us learn carefully what kind of spirit the devil is and how much harm he does to body and soul – to the soul with false teaching, with doubt, with evil desires, etc., all of which he does in order to snatch away faith and draw us into wavering or into lazy, weak thoughts. I certainly feel the devil's [temptation], but I cannot treat them as I would like. I would gladly be more fierce, heated, and serious in what I do, but because of the devil I cannot [do it]. Even saying that our modern attitudes creep in and jeer at us for even thinking that there's spiritual, that there's “invisible” forces around us and outside of our control. Yet the Scriptures teach just that. We are familiar with the “Armor of God” passage from Ephesians 6, yet we forget how Paul sets it up.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God... The Scriptures constantly remind us of the reality of Satan, the reality of evil, of this present darkness, yet in our “modern wisdom” we keep being surprised when evil happens.

    So what is it now, Pastor, are you trying to terrify us? Well, no actually. I just don't want you caught off guard by what goes on in the world around you. I don't want you surprised by false teaching, doubts, or evil desires. It's going to happen – as Luther would have us sing, “This world's prince may still scowl fierce as he will.” Satan will be prowling around like a roaring lion, and we must not forget or ignore this as we have been want to. However, there is the other ditch that we can fall into. Yes, it is bad to forget that Satan is powerful – that “with might of ours can naught be done” against him. But don't over-correct and fall into the other ditch when you do become aware of evil and Satan and such. That other ditch overestimating Satan's power. One of the old, ancient heresies is that good and evil are evenly matched – that the spiritual battle is in doubt. You know the pictures – Jesus squaring off against a big, burly red devil Satan and whose going to win this match.

    Um, no. It's not a battle in doubt. Jesus wins. Hands down. Crucified and raised from the dead. It is finished. Satan might be more powerful than us, but He doesn't hold a candle to Christ Jesus. And we shouldn't be surprised at this. Our Gospel lesson had one of my favorite “Well, duh” moments in the Scriptures. Jesus sends out 72 folks in pairs to preach the word, heal, all sorts of neat stuff. And when they come back the first thing they say to Jesus is, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” Do you get the excitement? The wonder? To which Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Well, duh. I mean, I'm God Almighty. You know – almighty. When I kicked Satan out of heaven it wasn't like it was a tough battle where we were on the edge of a cliff and Satan lost his footing and he fell back windmilling his arms, “ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.” No, I flicked my little finger and he flew faster than lighting down out of heaven. It was never in doubt. And we shouldn't be surprised at the power of Jesus. He's God almighty, of course He's got power – duh.

    But here is the wonder, my friends. Jesus is mighty, and He is mighty for you. This is why Jesus says, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Don't miss the bigger point, people. Yes, you outrank the angels, and even the demons will have to flee when you speak in My Name as I have bid you to. Rather, rejoice that your names are written in heaven – rejoice that you are baptized, saved, redeemed children of God. This is the point and wonder of Baptism, in fact. What benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe.... You've had God's almighty power placed upon you, You've had His Name placed upon you at baptism – where Jesus told Satan to take a hike because you belong to Jesus. And the reason why I still formally ask what the kid's name is, and why I state their name as I baptize them is because yes, look, this person's name is literally written in heaven – here we are and the angels and archangels of heaven are all around us and yes, this person right here with this name is Baptized, so note it down in heaven – and it is. Again, one of those invisible realities that we just don't see but is happening all around us – you know, that the good old art with paintings of angels all around the sanctuary, it confessed and taught that reality. This is why I make the sign of the cross on people when I baptize them, why I make it over myself at the Baptismal Name, at “deliver us from evil” in the Lord's prayer – why I make it over you all the time when I bless you. It's just a physical reminder of those invisible truths that are real but we can forget.

    So yes, there is more to this creation than we typically see. There is that which is visible and there is that which is (and typically remains) invisible. And rejoice that even among all the things unseen, which we don't notice, that Jesus is still your Lord and Savior, and that He sends His angels, His servants, to protect and defend you from the power of the Evil One constantly and continually. And this is not in doubt – Jesus has it all in hand, and it is for your good, O Baptized child of God.

Trinity 17

 

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

    So last week we saw Jesus take on sin and death, the sin and death that had messed with His creation. And Jesus did this is an obvious way – He raised a guy from the dead. But that's not the only time Jesus fights sin and death – Jesus always sees the impact of sin and death messing with His creation, and He always works against that sin and death. And that's what we see today – in reality our text today is Jesus fighting sin and death, but sin and death that might not be as obvious a dead body. Let's watch Jesus and learn from Him.

    “One Sabbath, when He went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching Him carefully.” Now, here’s something that is interesting to note. There you have Jesus, and He is a guest at a Sabbath diner. Remember, if you are a good Jew, you don’t do work on the Sabbath, you don’t cook, everything had to be made before hand – so it was a fine and good thing to invite people to rest at your house and be served your preparations. Don’t do work – yet, what’s going on? What are the Pharisees doing? They were “watching Him carefully” – this isn’t paying attention to see if He will teach, this isn’t gladly hearing preaching and Word of God and holding it sacred. No – this is referring to examining Jesus, checking Him over for any mistakes that He might make, for any reason that they could then say, “A ha! He is a fraud, ignore Him!” A death is being planned. The Pharisees themselves are working this Sabbath day – in their self-righteousness they are working hard, getting ready to kill Christ’s reputation, to put the worst construction on everything, to explain nothing in the kindest way. Again, sin and death are at work – gone is simple love and service – in its place is scheming and contempt.

    This is further shown as the plan unfolds. “And behold, there was a man before Him who had dropsy.” And lookie here, there’s a sick man. And here’s something to note about this man – there’s no reason for him to be there. He’s not a Pharisee, he’s not a man of note. He sticks out like a sore thumb – this sick man is nothing but a test. Ah, those Pharisees are working hard with their plots and their traps – what will you do, Jesus? Will you heal on the Sabbath – will you dare to do work on the Sabbath in front of us… because then we will go to work pointing the finger at You and shouting how horrible You are! It’s a neat little trap. Two deaths are laid before Jesus – on the one hand, there is this ill man, who has a horrible, painful debilitating disease – that’s death. And so the Pharisees set up another death – if you heal him, Jesus, we will kill your reputation! We will slay Your popularity, we will turn the people against You!

    So now there are two problems, two pitfalls before Christ. And He will deal with them both. “And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?’ But they remained silent.” Jesus deals with the lesser death, the lesser threat first. You Pharisees, you lawyers think to trap me, to slay my reputation – alright, with the measure you use, so it shall be measured back to you. What should I do – how would you act in the trap you have set for Me? And they cannot answer. Why? If someone says “heal the man” – then he would be open to attack and being lambasted for ignoring the Sabbath. If someone says, “No, you cannot heal”, then again they would be open to attack and being lambasted for not loving the neighbor. Jesus calls them on their little game – He says, ‘Your petty game is foolishness and harmful, and I am putting an end to it by turning it around upon you – now you will be silent, and none of you will kill anyone with your hurtful words.” The attempted character assassination, the planned death is put to an end. And with that out of the way, Jesus can move on.

    “Then He took him and healed him and sent him away.” Again, seeing illness, seeing creeping death in this man – Jesus deals with it simply. The man is healed and gets to go home. You don’t need to hang out here where you aren’t really welcome, you don’t need to stay here with these accusing eyes all around. Be healed, and go home, rejoice with your friends and family – rejoice with those who want to see life, rather than death. And that’s what Jesus then points out to the Pharisees. “And He said to them, ‘Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?’ I’m in the business of life – if I see life threatened by death – if I see pain and suffering, I will fix it. Indeed, the point of the Sabbath is so that you can rest from the weariness of fighting death, so that you might have life spoken to you once again in God’s Word so that you might be ready to show forth life and love again in the coming week – the point is life, life over and against sin and death. The point is care and service and fighting against sin and death.

    But these people are trapped in sin, trapped in self-righteousness, trapped in death. “And they could not reply to these things.” They couldn’t reply to His question. Jesus has taught them; He has shown them that life and forgiveness and salvation is the key – and yet they are so wrapped up in death – constantly looking to kill another to elevate themselves, always worried that someone else might kill their reputation to get ahead, so that even when presented with life, they can say nothing.

    This is shown in the next part of our Gospel lesson – the musical chairs scene. “Now He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they chose the places of honor…” Again, what is Christ seeing? He’s seeing death. Instead of people there simply to enjoy God’s good gifts of food and friends and community and joy – what do you have? You have people striving and fighting after honor – after their own elevation at another’s expense. That seat is too good for you, move down and let me take it – die a little bit in everyone’s eyes, scum, for I am better than you. It’s cruelty, it’s domination, it’s terrible. And so Jesus tells a parable – and really, it’s nothing new to these folks – Jesus is just playing off of what King Solomon had taught in Proverbs, in our Old Testament lesson.

    “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.” You guys have it backwards. If you seek to take honor for yourself, what good is that? All you will do is step on another, all you will do is assert dominance in the middle of a terrible social scrap – and chances are you’ll be humiliated as well. Death and pain is your way. No, instead, be humble, and then let someone else come to you and give you life – receive respect and honor as a gift – not as something you have to scramble and fight for – “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” If you are playing the self-honor game, if you are exalting yourself… that’s just the way of death. That’s the way that leaves you unfulfilled and empty, it’s the way of sin and death to where you don’t even recognize a good thing when it’s right in front of you. There Jesus had healed a man of a terrible disease, and they weren’t sure how to react because they were worried about exalting themselves. What a terrible life! No joy, no real honor, no real respect – just simply waiting and watching to knock someone else down a peg, all the while worrying that someone is going to knock you down. No, against that Christ preaches humility – be a servant, be lowly, and when you are exulted by the host, then you will have joy, then you will enjoy the blessing and honor that is given you – then you will have life instead of death.

    So then, let’s consider what we should learn from what Christ teaches us today in this text. Let us stop thinking like the Pharisees – let us abandon the social dance of death where we try to place ourselves above our neighbor. That’s just death – it robs us of our joy, our delight, our contentment. It makes us miserable when we play that comparison game, when we nitpick each other and live in fear of being nitpicked in return. No, that is not good for you, that’s death, that kills joy, that kills blessings. No – rather this. Know that your God loves you. Know that Christ Jesus has humbled Himself for you, humbled Himself even to the point of death upon a cross – and why? So that He would be raised from the dead, so that He would be exulted – and that as He is exulted, you are exulted as well. His resurrection is your resurrection, His life is your life. And so He calls to you today, He calls you away from death and worry and despair, and He says to you, I give you forgiveness and joy and peace – I give you life instead of a dog eat dog death.

    Sin, fear, this world of death – they call out to us, try to entrap us, to make us miserable. Sin and Satan will try to get you to elevate yourself, to try and make you place yourself above others, to fill your life with fretting and worrying. Over and against that, Christ Jesus has said this – you are forgiven for His sake. Even if the world sees you as dirty and wrinkled, He has declared you to be His bride without spot or wrinkle or blemish – you are clean and holy, washed in the waters of Holy Baptism – He has elevated you to His side, and there isn't a thing that anyone can say to you or about you that will change that fact. He has said that you don’t need to sit back in the corner, no, come to the head table, to His table – take and eat, this is My Body, take and drink, this is My Blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins, shed for you that you might have life, and have it abundantly.

    This week, my friends, you will see sin and death, and sin and death will be tugging at you, trying to make your life one of fear and worry and social scrambling. And sometimes that sin will hit you hard. But over and against the ravings of sin, its attempts to kill you and your joy – remember this. You belong to Christ, you are His, He is yours, and He has given you life, He has made you to know His life – He has given you His Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, and nothing this world throws at you can change that. Be at peace in Christ and His love for you, for you are baptized into Christ and have His life always. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

Trinity 16

 

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

    We're going to do something slightly dangerous today. I want you to try to put yourself in Jesus' shoes. And I say this is dangerous because all too often when we “put ourselves in Jesus' shoes” we don't actually strive to think like Jesus, like the real Jesus, like God Almighty become man to redeem His creation – we rather just end up turning Jesus into a nicer, cleaner version of ourselves – where Jesus thinks just like I do and of course my Jesus is going to support all my political ideas while wearing a Cubs hat. That's not what we're going to do, we're going to consider Jesus here remembering that He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. Jesus is operating at a level beyond what we do; He is coming at our lesson from a different angle than we normally do. Consider.

    Let's see how our Gospel text sets up. Soon afterwards [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a great crowd went with Him. As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Jesus comes across a funeral procession. We know those. We've been to those. We know to pull over when the hearse and line of cars drives by. It's familiar to us. We know and understand the tragedy. It's just a part of life, it's just a part of nature. We hear this set up, this story of death, and we think it's sad, but it's not shocking. It's not surprising. If anything, it's inevitable. After all, even Jesus noted last week that our anxieties can't add an hour to our life. Death and taxes. That's just the way it is. That's just the way the world works.

    And to a certain extent, we see clearly. More clearly than most. There are a lot of people in the world who try to fight and pretend that death will never come, that the ravages of age or lack or ill fortune could ever happen to them. How many pop songs have the phrase “forever young” or “young forever” in them? There is a lot of denial, and pretend, and we're probably no strangers to that ourselves. But in reality, we know how the story goes. We know how nature runs its course. We know death.

    But that's not quite what Jesus sees. Partially it is – Jesus does see death as a horrific tragedy, yes. But you have to remember that Jesus has seen something that none of us here have seen yet. Jesus saw creation. Jesus saw Adam and Eve, saw the world before the fall. Jesus saw the world without sin, without death in it. Jesus is the very Word of God that called that creation into being. So when Jesus comes across this funeral procession, when He sees this corpse, it isn't just another check mark in Death's long list of natural record keeping. This death isn't “natural” - at least not as Jesus had created this world and its nature to be. This death isn't “inevitable” - because it needn't have been this way. No, Jesus sees the wrongness of it, Jesus sees the sin unleashed, the consequences of the fall, the “Adam, what have you done” of it all.

    Jesus sees the consequence of sin unleashed. Jesus sees the Fall at work. This is not “natural” - it is fallen. And while we're so used to this fallen, decaying world, while that's all we've known and experienced – that's not where Jesus is coming from. That's not the limits of His experience, and He knows far more than we do. And so for us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven and entered this world to put an end to this unnatural, anti-natural “nature” that we've gotten used to.

    So Jesus does a couple of things that if any of us today were to do them would seem utterly rude, if not insane. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion upon her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still.” We know the story, we're used to Jesus, so we can miss, we can forget how shockingly impolite this is. Let's rephrase it. Let's say you're at a funeral, a funeral of a loved one... and some random stranger just walks up to you and says, “Hey, stop with the crying.” Think how mad you'd be. Gentlemen, if someone barged into a funeral where your wife was sobbing and walked up to her and said, “Stop crying” how many of you would deck him right then and there on the spot? Or how about if you're riding out to the cemetery, and some blithering idiot not only doesn't pull over or slow down, instead he drives right in front of the hearse and parks his car blocking the entire procession? Think for a moment how shocking, how enraging those actions would be. We know that death is serious business and you don't mess around with death like that. And that's because we're sinful people, trapped in slavery to sin and death - And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. Sin and death constantly remind us that by nature, by our sinful fallen nature, we are born captives to sin and death - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me – that's David's lament about the state of our lives, our existence. By “nature” sin and death are our master, and you don't taunt your master. You don't play around with death and his ceremonies.

    But Jesus knows that you cannot serve two masters, and that He is your True Master, not death. Not sin. Not even fallen nature. No, Jesus is your Creator, and He has come to undo the Fall, to do away with sin, to undo death. Is Jesus telling the woman not to cry impolite? Is Jesus stopping this funeral procession rude? Well, for any fallen sinner doomed to die, it would be; but this is Christ Jesus, God Almighty. This is the Word of Life incarnate. So Jesus does what Jesus always does, what He did even from Genesis chapter 1. The Strong Word speaks, and there is life, there is creation, there is abundance. The One who is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think opens up His mouth and life pours out. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” Arise, wake up, get up sleepy head. I didn't create you to lie around like a lump of lifeless clay all day. And when Jesus speaks, it happens. And the dead man sat up and began to speak – of course he began to speak! O Lord open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise! This is just Jesus being the Word of God by Whom all things were made. This is who He is. And then Jesus does what He always does when He creates. Consider Adam's creation. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Here you are, My son; now tend to the rest of My creation. And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Here you are, my son; now tend to the mother whom I created for you. Do you see, it's the same thing, the same pattern, Jesus being Jesus, Jesus still being and remaining the Creative Word in the face of sin and death and over and against them and defeating them – coming Himself into the world to undo the fall. Just like He told Adam and Eve He would. Just like He promised Abraham and Moses and Joshua and David and all the patriarchs and prophets of old.

    Often we think of Jesus' miracles, the things He does, as being “supernatural” - as being “above and beyond the laws of nature.” I guess that's sort of accurate from our fallen perspective, because we're stuck in a sinful, fallen creation where things fall apart and death runs a-muck and entropy reigns and things fall apart and the center cannot hold. But that's not quite what Jesus is doing. His miracles aren't “supernatural” - they're just what He has always done, even before the fall. They are “pre-lapsarian” if you want the fancy word (where “lapse” is the term for the fall). And they are now contra-lapsarian, contra-death, contra-sin – because not the fall, not death, not sin will stop Jesus from being Jesus, and they will not stop Jesus from being Jesus for you, for your good. Which is why Jesus does the most shocking, impolite, crazy thing ever – He goes to His own death. He takes up our sin, He takes it away, He who knew no sin became sin for us. He dives on in to the wretched mess of this fallen world to undo the fall by going to the Cross, by going to the heart of death, the domain of sin, and stopping it all in its tracks. Jesus dies, and Jesus rises. And the power of sin, death, and the devil are destroyed.

    And here we speak of His promises to you. You are baptized. That means that Jesus Himself has made a promise to you, sealed with His own name, with the name of the Triune God, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, that your sin is taken away by Jesus, that you have life in Him, and that even when you die, no, no, you shall live for you are joined to Christ and you share in His resurrection. There's going to come a day in your life, in your existence, when Jesus will say to you, “Arise, awake up, get up” and you will. Whenever the second coming happens, whether you've been long since buried or if Jesus comes again while you're still alive in this walking death world, Jesus will say to you, “arise” and you will, and you will rise to life, real life, eternal life, life freed from sin, life where all this junk of the “laws of nature” will be forgotten, where it won't be the wild law of the jungle or the barren dust of the desert, but rather it will be the new creation, the garden restored with far more abundance than we can conceive of, abundance that always brings life, that always gives daily bread without lack, that delivers from evil – Jesus will say to you arise, and that's what you'll do, and that's what you'll see. He's promised you; you're baptized, so it will happen.

    Do you see, do you understand what Jesus is doing? We can't wrap our heads around it fully yet, and that's okay. That's expected. As Paul puts it: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. You and I might not know yet, but Jesus knows, and He knows you – fully, and He will know you for all eternity and know you freed from sin and death. Amen. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

Trinity 15

 

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

    No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. So who, O Christian, are you going to listen to? Because that's really where “service” starts. It starts by listening. There are so many people and things clamoring for your attention, trying to get your focus, begging you to listen to them. We are bombarded by voices and billboards and music and videos and social media and texts, a relentless barrage of sound and fury. So who, O Christian, are you going to listen to? Because they all want something, they want you to do something, to act in a certain way. There's always people wanting something, wanting you to do something – otherwise they'd not say anything. Vote this way, buy this product (not that product), dress this way, behave like this, be part of this crowd. They're all voices demanding that you follow along.

    And the truth, a blunt truth that we as Americans don't like to hear – you're going to serve someone. You're going to follow someone. We aren't nearly as independent as we think we are – even loving independence means you're happily following in the footsteps of the founding fathers. We're wrapped up in tradition and fashion and trend. And we shouldn't be surprised by this. Even back in Genesis 2 God notes that it is not good for man to be alone – we were created to be with others, to follow their lead, to work along with them. We have to follow, that's just what we do, who we are. And if we do become isolated and alone, we become miserable. So understand as we move into this lesson, you are always following, listening to, serving someone. And there are so many voices out there, and we try to balance who we listen to, and sometimes we do, but when push comes to shove, there's always something that we'll choose over another. Something we have to put over another, elevate over the other thing. We can't serve two at the same time when they both want something different.

    And so Jesus throws down the gauntlet. You cannot serve God and money. I don't quite like the translation there that reads “money”. That's sort of right but it's not full enough. Jesus isn't just talking about cold hard cash, about the Almighty Dollar... it's bigger than that. A lot of older translations just kept the Greek word “mammon” - which I like. Mammon is a great word, and if I were to translate it with a single English Word, I would use a very, very technical and precise word. Stuff. You cannot serve God and “stuff”. Whether it's money, that lets you buy stuff, or power and influence that lets you control stuff, or when you objective people you know and basically turn them into stuff – that's what Jesus is contrasting here. You can serve God – the Creator, the One who made you and redeems you, or you can serve Mammon, stuff, the things God created. Which comes first – the Creator, or the created stuff?

    And the answer for us sinful folk so often is that we choose mammon. We choose stuff. That's basically what all sin is. We serve things, we serve money, we serve stuff – to where we make these things our priority and then run roughshod over God's Word and the rest of His creation. And we do serve mammon. Think of how driven you are, how hounded you are. Maybe by work. And I don't just mean if your boss is on your case – it's worse when you're your own boss and work consumes more and more of your life. Maybe by family, where you've just got to keep doing this and that and making everything just so and you're utterly worn out. Maybe it's your image, what people think of you – putting up pretenses. That's a mammon as well, and it's a harsh one. Oh, being constantly worried about what everyone thinks of you, all the wild and random fears about what other people are saying. That drives so many people most miserably. This is why the Scriptures will talk about us being enslaved to sin – these things become our masters, and they abuse us. Listen to the language Paul uses in our Epistle today – Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression... Caught. Trapped. Bound up in that constant anxiety over what's in it for me, how is this going to impact me, what's going to happen to my stuff.

    There's a lot of varieties of mammon out there in the world, but it's all trying to be your master. That's the sad twist of a fallen, sinful world. All these things, all these fine gifts from our gracious God get warped, and we abuse them, and we're bound to them in dour, fearful ways... and we lose the enjoyment of them, the delight of them. And into this world Jesus speaks words like a thunderbolt – Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. Pause for a second. Do you understand how bold and brash Jesus is being right here? You can't serve two masters, you can't serve God and mammon – therefore I, Jesus, and going to talk, and you're going to listen to Me, and why? Because I'm God Almighty, I'm the Word of God that called all of creation in to being, and I am going rescue you from this slavery to sin and stuff. You see, the One, Christ Jesus, who is Spiritual is going to restore us folk caught in transgression. He's going to take charge again, become the new head of humanity, and put all things under His feet. This is what Jesus does with His life, death, and resurrection – He takes everything into Himself. Sin – oh, I'll take the weight of that up, all of it, there on the Cross, it's Mine now. Good works – oh, I'll do them all, and I'll do them through you. Don't worry about them, they're Mine. Death – yeah, been there, done that – don't have the T-shirt, though, because I prefer the white robes of Revelation, and because of Me you're going to get one of those in the resurrection too, so don't fret over that.

    But what about stuff, Pastor, what about Mammon? Oh, well, yeah, that all belongs to Jesus too. He's in charge of it. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Christ Jesus has created you, He has given you life. Your existence. Your being. Do you understand how grand that is, how it is so much more than these temporary things that we get caught up in. Food and drink – important, but it's here today and gone tomorrow. Clothing – quite useful, I'm glad you're all wearing clothes right now... but it does wear out here and we have to get new ones. And that's fine, because the Lord provides all that we need to support this body and life (that was the catechism, by the by).

    And really, all of these things that drive us, they're temporary. They all pass away. Job, money, power, influence, youth, beauty, even family (as we think of it) moves along in the streams of time. Think back ten or twenty years, or think back 40 or 60 if you can, and think of the things that were just so vital, that you were breaking your back over... how much of it isn't even an issue now? And I'm not saying that these things are bad – no, many of them are grand, beautiful even. The lilies of the field were good and gorgeous – but just for a time. But if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith. God gives us gifts now, to enjoy rightly now, to delight in now, to find satisfaction in now... but they're temporary. And if we cling on to them, if we greedily grasp them, if we live in fear and anxiety afraid to let go while forgetting that God continually gives us more and more... we turn these things into idols. They stop being gifts from God and become mere mammon. They become our master, and our longing after them makes us miserable.

    So in a move most profound, Jesus calls you away from listening to and worrying about your stuff, because He wants you to actually be able to enjoy the things, the blessings He gives you – and if you turn any of them into idols, if you have to serve them, it robs them of their goodness, it steals the joy that they should bring. If you constantly worry about how much things cost, you'll never enjoy anything you buy. If you constantly worry about the kids, about mom getting older... you'll miss out on the joy you ought to have with them right now. If you're constantly worried about power, you'll never enjoy going what you're able to do now. So Jesus says no – don't worry about it. Rather – this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. This, right now, what you have, they're wondrous gifts from God. Enjoy them... and tomorrow enjoy tomorrow's gifts.

    And I will note one other thing. When Jesus says “Don't worry” He's not being some hippie telling you to tune out. No – He gives gifts, receive those gifts rightly – and do the work that they require. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. There are going to be hardships and difficulties that come with everything in life, and those difficulties are made much more rough because of sin – don't go biting off trouble you don't need, but also don't ignore the tasks that are given to you. We live, we work, we do stuff – but not as slaves to the work, not as slaves to our stuff, but as forgiven children of God. We receive it all as gift.

    And how does one receive it as gift? Well, by remembering who is our Master – or maybe it's more accurate to say by being constantly reminded by Christ in His Word that He is our Master. That He is our priority. This is why we get that famous line from Jesus here – But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. The first, the priority, the highest priority is Jesus. It's Jesus and His righteousness, the fact that Jesus is King and He rules His kingdom in righteousness – righteousness that rescues and redeems and forgives you. Righteousness that takes away your sin with His death, and righteousness that gives you life. Righteousness that gives you daily bread, righteousness that gives you every blessing of body and soul, righteousness that gives you things that are good for you right now. Righteousness that does not fail. Righteousness that you don't have to butter up or kowtow to or play the game to influence or manipulate. Jesus is righteousness, and unlike all the voices of mammon, He does right by you, not for a day, but for all eternity. Thanks be to God that He has called you out of this miserable darkness and into His kingdom of light. Amen. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +