Advent 4 Sermon

 

Advent 4 – December 17^th and 18^th, 2022 – Luke 1:39-56

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. Thus far the text. As we begin, I'd like to ponder just two very important words that shift how we understand the setting for our Gospel lesson. With haste. If we do something with haste, that means that there is an urgency, a quickness to it. A desperation. It needs to be done and it needs to be done now. Next Saturday afternoon many husbands will be shopping with haste – for there is no more time, and woe be unto them if they incur the Christmas wrath of their wife. And generally, haste isn't a good thing. When it comes to making a decision we are told, “let's not be hasty.” “Haste makes waste” is old, old wisdom. Better to be able to take your time, contemplate, and work well.

And yet, here we see young Mary going with haste. Mary is high tailing it to the hill country – and why? Well, just before our text the Angel Gabriel had come and visited her – told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah, that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would be the mother of God. And Mary piously and famously says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Fantastic, faithful words. God has said it; that's how it will happen to me. And yet, consider who Mary is as she says this. A young girl, engaged to be wed but not married yet. And she's pregnant, and not with Joseph's kid, and this is in a day and age when they would stone people for that. We hear in Matthew that Joseph is worried about this – that he thinks he'll have to divorce her, call off the marriage – and he's worried about how he can pull of the divorce without getting her killed. And then, just beyond that – even when Mary and Joseph are sorted out after Gabriel visits Joseph, too – you know your relationship is in an odd place when God has to send an angel to both of you – even when Mary and Joseph are good... there's still the simple fact that she's going to give birth to the promised Messiah. The whole of human history has been leading to this moment – all the promises of the Old Testament, promises to Eve, to Sarah and Abraham, to Judah, to David, to Solomon, promises to all the heroes of the Old Testament – and they are happening now, they are being fulfilled inside of Mary. There in her womb, He is growing every so slowly – Jesus, the Savior, God become Man, Emmanuel. Can you imagine how heavy, how intimidating that would be? We get nervous just handling things around the altar, did I light candles the right way, oh, don't let me spill something at communion – now put yourself in Mary's shoes.

And so with haste, off to visit Elizabeth. Gabriel had mentioned that her cousin, her relative, Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant with John when she was already old. And so Mary runs to her cousin – she's older, she's wiser, she's had 6 months to deal with a miraculous pregnancy of her own – maybe she can put this in perspective. And Elizabeth most certainly does! And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. So Mary gets to the door, peaks her head in quietly - “Auntie Beth?” And then, wherever in the house she had been, suddenly Elizabeth springs into action. John in her womb starts preaching and kicking – go mom, go! And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit – I told you last week John was a good preacher – he preached a humdinger of a sermon to his mom before she was even born – and she exclaimed with a loud cry. Okay, pause. This conversation that follows between Elizabeth and Mary sounds so... formal. So pristine. So... bible-y. And that's simply because we speak English and not Aramaic and Greek, and the Scriptures are read in Church where in there's some decorum and primness and you better be on your best behavior. This is not a prim and proper moment. This is Elizabeth bubbling over with joy and excitement and the words spilling out 100 miles a minute with joy and delight. We've all seen it – the two hand grab oh I'm so excited for you this so great firehose of joy, possibly some bouncing around with excitement. That's the loud cry that is going on here.

And what does Elizabeth say? Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! First off, Elizabeth sets the stage perfectly. You are blessed. You might be scared, you might be nervous, you might have all the typical fears and more besides, but let me spell this out. You are blessed. Let's frame this properly, Mary – scary or not, problems or not, hardships or not – this is nothing but an unbridled blessing from God to you. Period, end of story. God grant that the women who find themselves with child in our day and age would be so well reminded that they too have been blessed to be bearers of new life. But even beyond that, Elizabeth says: Mary, you are more blessed than any other woman whose ever found herself pregnant, more blessed than me even. Because your baby is the Savior, is the Messiah. This Kid's not just a blessing for you, He's not just going to be a blessing for His town for a few decades – He is a blessing for every man and woman that has ever lived or ever will live because He is the Messiah.

And Elizabeth gushes a bit – And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my LORD should come to me? I can't believe this is happening – the Messiah – right there Mary, your Baby, the Lord – how did I live to see this amazing thing happen? This is not refined talk, this is bubbling over. For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. The Pharisees and the Scribes thought John came kicking when he was preaching by the Jordan – that's old hat for John. This is God's plan of salvation kicking in sort of stuff, and it is dumbfounding.

And to wrap it up Elizabeth exclaims – And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the LORD. A fulfillment. Mary, you and I, we're passive. This isn't because of what we do – but God has spoken, and He has spoken a wonderful promise, a promise to you and to me for all people, and God is doing it. His Word is being fulfilled, because God is awesome – and we benefit from that, we get all the goodness of God being awesome.

And there in that hill country town, Mary hears precisely what she needed to hear. Mary had seen fear and trouble and confusion – and Elizabeth just slides it all into place. It's good, it's blessing. Why? Because God has spoken, God has promised, God is at work doing great things for you and for me. The Messiah is coming. Jesus is coming, and it is good. And hearing that, Mary is ready to respond, her faith refreshed and bolstered by the Spirit and the Word – My soul magnifies the LORD, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. It's all God. It's all stuff that Jesus has done and is doing. I'm humble – He has elevated me. People will praise my name, but that's because His name is holy. And He comes with mercy, with strength to save and rescue, to fulfill the promises of God. The Magnificat – Mary's song here, it's all praising God for His goodness. And then we hear And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. Mary hangs out and helps Elizabeth for the rest of her pregnancy, and then she heads off to handle the rest of her own pregnancy along with Joseph.

So, what do we make of all this? Let me say this. Sometimes we today are assaulted by a wicked and demonic idea that Satan has sowed among the church today – the idea that if we only had enough faith we would always be happy and joyous and we would always be confident and rearing to go... all on our own. And so when we see fears and doubts, there's that push, that temptation to curl into ourselves, to pretend that there are no fears, to bury those fears, to never share, to never get help, to struggle and try to do it all by ourselves and get stuck alone and isolated and crushed. That's a horrible lie of Satan. The Christian faith, the Christian life, is never mean to be an isolated thing. It is not good for man to be alone. You see, when we are in a situation, we are overwhelmed by what we can see of the situation, the fears, the troubles, the doubts that have grown. We need to hear what others have seen – we need commiseration, we need encouragement, we need the experience of those who have gone before – and most importantly, we need faithful Christians to speak the love and mercy of God to us. Which is what Elizabeth, guided, filled by the Holy Spirit, does for Mary.

And that is indeed the purpose of this place – my job as your Pastor is to be that person who you can know will speak Christ's Word of forgiveness and life whenever you see the burdens of life. That's why we confess our sins and receive forgiveness here, week in, week out. We need Jesus. But this pattern isn't supposed to be just a once a week in this room thing. It's also training. Worship is training you for every day of your life – training you to confess, to be honest about the hardships in your life, whether they are because of sins you have committed – where you've messed up - or whether it's because stuff has happened to you and the messes of others land on you. Be honest about that all week long. And worship is training you to know, to speak the Words of Christ's Jesus comfort to whoever's confession and lament that you hear in this week. When someone comes to you, and their heart is rent in two, or the burdens of life weigh upon them – you don't have mere platitudes – you have Jesus and His Word. You have the Holy Spirit. No, your suffering doesn't mean that God hates you – Jesus came and He suffered too, He knows and is with you. Ah, you have sinned – well, Jesus went to the Cross to take away that sin from you and crucify it, so that's not your sin, it's Jesus', He took it from you, and you are forgiven. Yes, this is scary – but Jesus is with you, and He will support you with what you need for all the days He gives you. When people see all this junk, you get to speak forth Jesus, so they hear again Jesus... because faith always comes by hearing. Even for Mary and Elizabeth.

This is why Jesus came. This is why we celebrate His coming in Advent. Because Jesus continues to come – He comes to you here in His Church – in preaching, in the Supper – but He comes to you also by the Word proclaimed to you by faithful friends, and He comes through you when He has you speak to those in need. And Jesus keeps on coming, the Holy Spirit keeps working through the Word – and this is what it will be, even until He comes again on the Last Day and we all exclaim with wonder “why is this granted to me, that the Lord should come to me” and enter into the joys of life everlasting with Mary and Elizabeth and Adam and Eve and all the saints of God. Jesus is coming to give you this gift, this victory. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

In Praise of the Theology of Glory

 One of the Lutheran terms that has been recently (for the Church) reintroduced into the Lexicon is that of the idea of the "Theology of Glory" - an idea that Luther brings out in the Heidelberg disputations on 1518, where this theology of glory is contrasted with a theology of the cross.  The theologian of glory craves earthly success and power, thinking that faithfulness will have tangible success here and now; the theologian of the cross knew that there would be suffering but rather we are to remain faithful to God and His Word of forgiveness.

Back in the early 2000s when Confessional Lutheranism wasn't exactly dominant in the LCMS, and the Church Growthers and the libs were running the show, this distinction was quite popular.  It was a great comfort when we would suffer defeats in elections at convention.  It was a great contrast over and against the touting of numbers and Ablaze counters and all that corporitized, business based "leadership" swill that we all knew was unscriptural.

However, in the past decade, there's been a shift.  Surprise of surprises, the Confessionals won elections.  The Synod isn't moving in as liberal a direction.  Of course, this is in direct opposition to what we see in the US, where there's been a massive swing towards liberal, progressive policies.

And now, in this setting, the "Theology of Glory" has fallen out of vogue.  It's been abandoned by many.  Discarded.  It's not trust worthy since it was found and publicized by those in that evil ELCA, and besides, Luther doesn't keep using the term later on - so we should get rid of it!

This is a foolish idea.  First of all, the idea that gems from Luther would be lost and not used for a while is utterly typical.  The rediscovery of Luther at the 300th anniversary of the Reformation is what sparked the revival of "Confessional" Lutheranism in Germany and led to our own synod's founding in the US.  We should never be surprised when something from that deep well of Luther's thought bubbles to the top.

But what of the fact that Luther doesn't use the phrase later on?  Answer: who cares?  It's not like Luther was really big on coining systematical phrases and demanding their use.  But does Luther still hold the idea throughout his work - that a desire for earthly glory, an expectation of earthly victory is utterly dangerous theologically and false?  

Consider the end of the Small Catechism - Christian Question 20 - "Second, he should look around to see whether he is still in the world, and remember that there will be no lack of sin and trouble, as the Scriptures say in John 15-16 and 1 John 2 and 5."

Consider his hymns.  They aren't full of "Onward Christian Soldiers" or "Battle Hymn of the Republic"  earthly triumphalism.  No - you know that for the faithful things will go lousy.  "This world's prince may still scowl fierce as he will... and take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife." "Fast bound in Satan's chains I lay."  "Support us in our final strife and lead us out of death to life."

His lectures on the Scriptures are all replete with warnings and laments of how the world is twisted and evil.  His comment on the Gospel being like a passing rain shower certainly isn't triumphalistic.

So this warning against a "theology of glory" remains steadfast throughout his life... (really only wavering when it came to how Luther handled the Jews.  His own personal dream of glory was that the Jewish people would convert en mass having heard the Gospel and his own clear reading of Christ in the OT; when this didn't happen and his own glorious dreams were shattered, it fueled his well criticized rantings that we condemn to this day).  The idea remains - in this life there will be wickedness and hardship, and being a Christian doesn't get you out of it.

So why is this idea so abhorrent to some now when it wasn't 15 years ago?

I don't wonder if we haven't taken victory in Church politics and think that this ought to mean earthly political victory.  I wonder if we aren't being lured in by that drug of "winning".

"Winning" is dangerous.  It was the high of winning the Battle for the Bible that let us start playing footsie with the Evangelicals and starting to ape their worship styles and lusting after their numeric success.  "Evangelical Style, Lutheran Substance" was widely understood to be a theology of glory 2 decades ago, after all.

Winning is intoxicating (ask Charlie Sheen, if you are old enough).  And as Americans we're used to winning, to success, to more and more wealth.  The current economic troubles are the worst we've seen in 40 years -- only the oldest of us remember before WWII and real economic hardship.  We're accustomed to ever increasing luxury, power, and convenience.  The idea that we might actually have to face suffering for the faith is utterly antithetical to the Americana that we've grown up with.

Ah well.  

Now, a few more notes from Luther, just pulled quickly from "What Luther Says".

35 - Afflictions Actually Proofs of God's Love: "The more terrible the sufferings are, the greater and more admirable are their effects in the saints.  The fact that Christians are exercised by the cross and by afflictions is a proof that divine grace and benevolence rest upon them.  For when they persevere in faith in the promise and hold out, very great and incredible blessings follow."

43 - Removal of Afflictions Often Makes Man Worse: "Those who by their importunate pleadings are freed from the chastisement and castigation of God almost invariably become worse, so that it seems as though God would thus convince us of our folly, namely, that we do not understand that when He is chastising us, He is healing us; and when He withdraws His hand in answer to our pleasing, He is rather letting us become sicker.

48 - God's Purpose: Strengthening Us By His Word: "The ultimate purpose of afflictions is the mortification of the flesh, the expulsion of sins, and the checking of that original evil which is embedded in our nature.  And the more you are cleansed, the more you will be blessed in the future life.  For without a doubt glory will follow upon the calamities and vexations which we endure in this life.  But the prime purpose of all these afflictions is the purification, which is extremely necessary and useful, lest we snore and become torpid and lazy because of the lethargy of our flesh.  For when we enjoy peace and rest, we do not pray, we do not meditate on the Word but deal coldly with the Scriptures and everything that pertains to God or finally lapse into a shameful and ruinous security."

1011 - The Grass on the Other Side is Not Always Greener: "There is no position on earth in which a man does not have to put up with much that is painful both from those who are his - his wife, child, servants, and subjects - and from neighbors and all kinds of accidental mishaps.  When he sees and feels this, he soon tires of his position and becomes discontented with it or flares up in impatience, scolding, and cursing.  And if he cannot avoid, or get rid of, this annoyance, he will want to change his position, thinking everybody's position and condition better than his own.  but after much changing he finds that he has gone from bad to worse; for changes are easily and quickly made, to be sure, but to improve matters is a doubtful and difficult undertaking. 

1623 - The Lust for Glory is Deeply Rooted in Man: "No one is so firm in repelling the most deadly vice of vainglory that he does not need constant prayer in order to be able to do so. For who, even when he is pious, does not delight in the praise people accord to him?  The Holy Spirit alone is able to keep us from being infected with this pest."

 3300 - Endure or Flee. Do Not Resist: "Where the governmental authority is an enemy of the Gospel, we withdraw, sell, relinquish everything, and flee from state to state, because no tumult should be stirred up by resistance for the sake of the Gospel, but everything should be endured."

3304 - Ease is a Greater Danger: "We should not fear harsh treatment, but prosperity and good days we should fear.  These may harm us more than fear and persecution Nor should we fear the wisdom of the world, for it can do us no harm.  In fact, the more the wisdom of the world rises up against the truth, the purer and clearer the truth becomes.  Therefore nothing better can come to the Gospel than the opposition of the world with its might and wisdom.  The more my conscience, sin, and the devil assail me, the stronger my righteousness becomes.  For the sins that oppress me cause me anguish.  So I persist more earnestly in prayer and crying to God; and in this way faith and righteousness become constantly stronger and stronger.  This is what St Paul means when he says (2 Cor. 12:9): 'Strength becomes stronger through weakness.'  Since, then, we have a treasure which becomes stronger through temptation and adversity, we should not fear but be of good courage and rejoice at the tribulation, as St. Paul says to the Romans (5:3), and as the apostles did who left the courthouse with great joy and thanked God for having been worthy to suffer shame for the sake of Christ's Name (Acts 5:41).  If the devil were wise enough to be silent and let the Gospel be preached, he would sustain less harm. For when the Gospel is not attacked, it rusts, and has no opportunity to reveal its power and might."

4443 - Dwell on the Word, Not on Your Worries: "Whatever temptation may be disturbing the heart, the best remedy is to take to reading Holy Writ and meditating on the Word of God. But if the heart should also dislike reading the Word of God and meditating on it (for Satan tries to hinder this and instills a dislike of reading), then you must force yourself to do so, that, if not the heart, at least the tongue, the ears, and the eyes may be occupied the while with seeing, hearing, and doing something different from what the heart thinks.  But you will certainly feel that when the external senses are occupied with the Word of God, the heart will then easily come to rest."

4948 - Children of Heaven Should Be Otherworldly: "Conduct yourselves as those who are no longer citizens of the world, for your possessions lie not on this earth but in heaven; and although you may have lost all temporal goods, you still have Christ, who is more than all else.  The devil is the prince of this world and rules it. His citizens are the people of this world. Therefore, since you are not of the world, act as a stranger in an inn, who does not have his possessions with him but merely procures food and spends his money for it. For this world is merely a place of transit, where we cannot stay; we must travel farther. Therefore we should use worldly goods only to shelter and sustain ourselves before we depart and go to another land. In heaven we are citizens; on earth we are pilgrims and guests."

4972 - The World is Bad, Whether Good or Bad: "It is really disgraceful, the way the world carries on: it may be pious, or it may be wicked; but either way it is worthless. Either it tries openly to be a devil with its wicked works, or it tries to be God Himself with its good works. And both of these are intolerable."

4973 - The Difficulty of Helping the World: "The world resembles a drunken peasant; when you lift him into the saddle on one side, he tumbles off on the other. There is no helping the world. No matter what attitude you take, it wants to belong to the devil."

Yes, the warnings against a "theology of glory" (or whatever term you prefer) and its love of earthly success and power and comfort carry all throughout Luther.  And wisely so!

Advent 2

 

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Part of living, part of survival, is the ability to pick out danger. It's really one of the things our senses are good for. Hmm, this milk smells off, maybe I shouldn't drink it. Oh look, there's a coiled up snake, oh, listen there, there's an angry rattle – maybe I better not go step on it. This was the basis of the old defensive driving classes we had – eyes up on the road, see potential threats, be prepared to respond. Of course, you also learn what threats aren't really threats at all. No, there isn't a boogey man under the bed; no, that's just the draft ruffling the curtains. This is what we do as we grow – we learn what is dangerous, and we also learn what isn't really all that big of a threat. In our Gospel lesson, this is what Jesus does. He is teaching us how to see, how to understand what threats and dangers there are around us and also what isn't really that big of a deal. Listen.

There will be signs in the sun and the moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the seas and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. As we get closer to “the end” - as we get closer to His return, this is what Jesus tells us we will see. And man, if it doesn't sound scary. Signs in the sun and moon! Distress throughout the world! Big, giant waves, the sea is rising. People freaked out with fear – oh no the sea level might rise 3 feet in the next hundred years, we're all going to die. There is terror, there is a dread foreboding over what coming upon the world, where there's a sizable chunk of people who are convinced that they should never have children because this world is just too horrible and hard pressed to handle it. And the thing is, Jesus isn't just describing our day and age – it's every day and age. There's always some disaster that we are worried about that is going to destroy the earth – there's another ice age coming – that was popular just before I was born. There's always nations in distress, people riled up, fighting, panic over everything. This is the story of the fallen world – people seeing dangers and panicking. And some things are quite dangerous – if there's war, that's deadly. If there's a natural disaster, a flood, a fire, don't mess around with it. But these things always come and go and they always will until... the end.

The end. Well, what is the end? What is the conclusion of all these things? For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. What the world doesn't grasp, what the world doesn't understand is this – And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead. That's how this world will end – not by disaster, not by CERN in Switzerland splitting the wrong atom – no, this world will still be impacted by sin and troubles and problems of the typical and normal kind right up until the day when Jesus comes back. Because Jesus is coming back – He's the Lord of creation, He still cares for and maintains this creation over and against the destructive powers of sin, and He will return to bring forth the New Heavens and the New Earth – and of this Kingdom of His there will be no end.

If you don't know Jesus and that He is coming, there's going to be nothing but panic over the future. There's going to be nothing but fear and foreboding – because you will see more and more the danger and evil in the world, but without seeing Jesus you don't see life and salvation, you don't see hope. That's why the world is constantly panicking – they don't see Jesus, they don't know that He is coming. They can't see accurately. However, thanks be to God, you do know Jesus, and Jesus knows you by name, O Baptized child of God, and thus your reaction to all the things in life, even the wild and woolly disasters is different. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Come Lord Jesus! Come and interrupt this meal and take us to the heavenly feast! And we're ready. Look up, straighten up. Hark the Glad sound, the Savior comes! And it's a good thing when Jesus comes – He is your redemption – you're being freed from sin and death.

Because the scary part has already happened. Well, for us. Jesus in this text, which He preached during holy week, just before His crucifixion, isn't just pointing to the Last Day – He is also pointing to His Crucifixion. And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” That Friday, on Good Friday, what would the people of Jerusalem see? They would see a strange and dreadful tree leaf out – the tree of the Cross, and on it the Lord of Life. And when Jesus was crucified, there were signs in the sun and moon and stars – there was darkness over the land from noon until three. And there was great roaring and distress – the earth shook, the tombs opened, the temple curtain torn in two. And there upon the Cross, with a loud voice Christ Jesus declares with words that will never pass away “It is finished” and He gives up His Spirit and dies. Your redemption draws nigh. The kingdom of God is near. And even the Centurion in fear and wonder declares that this surely was the Son of God. And come the third day, Jesus rises. Sin and death and the world cannot defeat Him – He has won. Jesus lives, the victory's won – death no longer can appall me! And if you see this, if you know the death and resurrection of Jesus – everything changes. Let the wind rattle the leaves on the trees – you know what is coming. Whatever comes, whatever tragedy, whatever terror, even your own death – Jesus is coming, and when He comes, you will rise and be with Him, so all this junk in the the world can sit on a tack, you're with Jesus.

See, not so scary. See, that's something you don't have to worry about. And no, Jesus isn't telling us to be risky or foolish – I'll have some extra lead with my water – no, don't be dumb, and indeed, be good stewards of creation, that's part of why you're here. But all these things that the Christ-ignoring and Christ-hating world freak out about – they aren't a threat to you, because Christ Jesus is bigger than all of them.

However, there is a danger. There is a threat to you that Jesus says you need to look out for. But watch yourselves lest you be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you like a trap. The threat, the danger isn't out there – it's right in here. Watch yourself. Why? Because by hook or by crook Satan seeks to distract you away from Jesus, to rip you away from Him, and that's how you get trapped, that's how you get caught up in the dreck of the world and get lost. And so Jesus here wants to teach you what you really should be on the lookout for, what really is a danger. It's not a natural disaster that's a real threat to you, it's not war, it's not even death. So you die and and we bury you – we did that to Jesus and He rose, and guess what, you're with Jesus, what happens to Him is going to happen to you, it's all good in Christ. So watch out for how Satan tries to get you out of Christ.

Satan and the world will use dissipation and drunkeness. Okay, y'all know that I like words, and I love this word “dissipation” although it's a word that I really only use this time of year. It's the idea of being spread so thin that you evaporate – and really the idea that you are spread so thin celebrating and partying that you are just worn out and miserable. It's basically the ancient world's word for being hungover. The world will try to run you and work you so hard in a quest for fun and excitement that you are either dissipated – too worn out and miserable to actually enjoy anything – or drunk – so overwhelmed by what you are doing that you aren't actually aware of what's going on. And both of those are dangerous times. You don't want to be driving when drunk, and really, it's not good to be driving when hungover because both are utterly distracting. And so the world will offer its so called fun but offer it in a way that it isn't all that it's cracked up to be and leaves you vulnerable to all sorts of calamity, sin, and vice. Watch out, that's the world trying to shake you off of Christ.

And then there's the other side – if Satan can't lure you with “fun” he'll try to drive you with worry and fear. Satan will use the “cares of this life”. You see this, you see that, there's this thing to do, and then there's that thing to do, and oh, I forgot that... and there's weight upon weight and burden upon burden placed upon you – and none of them really important, but Satan will make you think they are vital, and all joy and all time and all peace is squished out of you. That's all an attempt to make you too busy for Jesus, too loaded down to pause and rest and be still and know that He is the LORD and that He has won you forgiveness, life, and salvation.

So grow, Christian! Learn to spot the actual dangers. Use the Word that Christ has spoken to you so that you know what actually is going on. The world will throw so, so much at you, all in an attempt to terrify you, to distract you, to drive you away from Christ. But Christ Jesus has already won – Satan could not and cannot defeat Him. All Satan can do is try to distract you away from Jesus. But you know what all this means – it's just a reminder that Jesus is coming, coming for you, for your good, to be your Redeemer. So straighten up, don't let Satan bog you down. In Christ it is all good for you! In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Advent 1 Sermon

 

Advent 1 – Matthew 21:1-9 – November 26^th and 27^th, 2022

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

This world is broken. Has been ever since the fall. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, the world has been broken. We as people – broken. We are now prone to hatred and anger and envy and strife and sorrow and sadness. We are no longer pure and whole, and even if we were, even when there are times when we are not at fault – our neighbor still is broken too – and pain and suffering still comes anyway. Broken. And the world itself – broken. Nature itself seems out to get us half the time, to ruin itself with storms and natural disasters, animals tearing each other to shreds. All broken. Nothing works right. And indeed, God does spare us from some of this brokenness, gives us blessings and joy here in this life – but still, here in this world, things all fall apart eventually. There is anger and pain and terror and suffering – all of which flows from, all of which is a consequence of sin.

The prophet Jeremiah thus sounds the call for this Advent season, speaks out to us in this broken, fallen world that lies in the grasp of sin. The prophet calls out, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” There is a promise, given by God, that someday the King will come, and what will this King do? He shall be wise, and He will do justice, He will see that things are righteous. He will fix things, He will make things to be the way they ought to be. Now this, this is a thing to wait for, to watch for with eagerness! That is what Advent is – where we of the New Testament Church pause and wait to celebrate our Lord’s coming at His birth, where we watch and ponder what our Lord’s coming was for, what it means, how it happened, so that we might give God thanks aright for it.

Some 600 years after Jeremiah spoke these words, we see the events of our Gospel text. We see Christ Jesus ride into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey there on Palm Sunday, and here we learn how our Lord comes. This is the promised coming of the King, a coming that is lowly and humble, a coming for justice, and a coming for righteousness. Christ comes to be all these things, to win for us salvation and forgiveness, to fulfill all the Scriptures spoke of Him, and to prepare heaven for us and us for heaven. This is what He does when He enters Jerusalem.

It’s not what the broken world expects. Back then, the crowds had something else in mind. The crowds had wild expectations for what would happen once Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Many were expecting the casting off of the hated Roman overlords. But Jesus doesn’t revolt. Many were expecting miracles galore. But that isn’t what Christ Jesus, who reigns wisely does. Jesus goes to the temple and teaches, and then Jesus goes to the cross. And the world is befuddled. Same thing today. The broken world doesn’t understand the coming of our Lord that we celebrate at Christmas. The broken world thinks that the coming of the King should mean 50 days of great sales at the stores - the broken world expects the Savior to save our lagging economy. The broken world thinks that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are happy during these cold months. The broken world is content to have its parties and its festivities, and then pack up whatever passing thoughts of an infant laid in a manger they had until next October when they can start making a profit off of it again.

But Christ never acts in the way the broken world wants Him to. Christ our King comes humbly – mounted on a donkey. When Christ enters Jerusalem, He does not come upon a charger of war, He does not come leading a host of zealots ready to storm Pilate’s quarters, slaying Romans. No, He comes humbly, and He rides His donkey up not to the worldly seats of power, but to the temple, and He fixes things there, focuses people upon God and prayer. Christ our King comes to bring Justice – but not the justice the broken world craves. The broken world thought Justice meant punishing the wicked harshly and severely – driving the Romans before them. They thought Justice would mean more cash in their pockets, just like the world today thinks justice means giving reparations to the right people, making sure this political program is just so. But when Christ comes to execute Justice, He slays no one, He butters no political bread. Rather – He Himself goes to the cross to see Justice done – to see the sins of the broken world punished in Himself. When you behold the Cross, you see Christ Jesus executing Justice, you see Justice done by the King, as He Himself takes up the sins of the world. And Christ our King comes to bring and to be righteousness – but not a righteousness the broken world expects. The broken world expects righteousness to mean that things are the way they want things to be. The broken people of Christ’s day would have expected a righteous world to be ruled by them, where the other peoples of the world all acknowledged their superiority and served them – that would be nice! But that isn’t the righteousness that Christ brings – when He wins for us forgiveness upon the Cross, He also pours out His Spirit upon us, enlivening us. Christ’s righteousness is not that He makes things to be the way we want them to be, but He comes to us and makes us to be the way God wants us to be. He fixes our brokenness, pulls us away from our own sin, strengthens us to resist temptation, makes us to be those who show forth love, who are humble and just and righteous again by the power of His Word.

What Christ did then, back on Holy Week, is the same thing He does for us today. He shatters our broken expectations of Him, and shows us indeed who God is and God’s great love for us. Today the broken world thinks a Christian life ought to be one of success and wealth and power where we finally win some political battles and set things right. Yet how does Christ come? He comes through His Word – He calls us not to a life of Champaign toasts and caviar dreams, but to a life of contemplation, where we hear His Word and mediate upon it, think about it – and then speak it back to Him in prayer, sing it back to Him in hymns. He calls us to worship, where we are no longer focused upon ourselves, but are focused upon God and His love for us. He calls us to a life of service, where we care for the neighbor, show them love, make their life better than than ours. This is humility, to focus not upon yourself but upon God and upon your neighbor. This is precisely what our Lord does when He rides into Jerusalem on that donkey, when He comes to us in His Word. Our Humble Lord teaches us humility.

And Christ comes to us today to teach us what justice is. The broken world today still expects justice to be about the slaying of our enemies, where the neighbor who has wronged me will get his just deserts. Christ though, teaches us what justice is – He teaches us and gives us justice through His gift of Baptism. He says, “I will slay your enemy, your true enemy – and your true enemy is your desire to sin – behold My justice as I drown your sins and your Old Adam by water and the Word.” When we ponder Baptism, we see what Justice truly is, what it entails. At your baptism, God Almighty connected you to our Lord’s Crucifixion – tied you to Christ’s own death to be the proof and assurance that when Christ died for the sins of the world, yes, indeed and truly, He died for your sins – that when Justice was done to Him, it was done also for you. God’s Justice means that you have forgiveness on account of Christ, that your sins are washed away. And again, this is not of ourselves – we have this gift of justice and forgiveness not because of our boldness, not because of our worth – but because Christ Jesus is the King who does justice, who gives out justice, who does all that is needed to see that justice is done. We do not come to faith as spiritual vigilantes, taking God’s law into our own hands by our own decisions – but Christ comes, and He is just for us, and He makes us to be just – He justifies us.

And of course, Christ comes to show us righteousness. The broken world is selfish, is focused upon itself. Christ comes to draw our eyes off of ourselves and rather to make us righteous people who show love to their neighbor, Christ makes us to be whom He created us to be in the first place. This is what He accomplishes through His Supper. Christ comes to us in His Body and Blood to forgive our sins and also to strengthen our faith, to fill us with His love so that we might do righteousness, so that we might show forth His love in the coming week. This is why we give thanks to God upon receiving this Supper, praying – “we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith towards You and in fervent love towards one another.” And that is what God does, what God accomplishes through this blessed meal. God works upon you – when you are here, when you hear His Word, receive His Supper, God is active – the Holy Spirit acts upon you, heals you, restores you. He makes you to show a right and holy life.

Whenever Christ comes, He comes teaching us humility and giving us justice and making us righteous. The season of Advent, which we now enter, is nothing else than a call to remember this, to focus upon this, to see this. The broken world would distract us, dazzle and blind us to Christ – but our Lord tells us to be patient, to watch and wait for His coming and His deliverance – a coming and deliverance we celebrate and remember at Christmas, a coming and deliverance we have now whenever Christ gathers us to His Church, and a coming and deliverance that we shall have in full for all eternity when He comes again. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Thanksgiving Service

 

 Thanksgiving Day Service – 1 Tim 2 and Luke 17

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
    What does it mean to be thankful?  I ask this question, because our society today really doesn't know what it means to be thankful.  And no, I'm not going off on a rant about how people are spoiled and ungrateful – rather this; what does it mean to be thankful?  What does it mean to be full of thanks?

    Too often, we use “gratitude” and “thankfulness” as though they are exactly the same thing.  I can have gratitude inside me, I can be very grateful for something just in my thoughts.  But thanks, thanks have to be said.  Thanks have to be given.  Thankfulness is never silent, but rather thankfulness is always spoken, shouted, or sung. Or written out on a card.  Or conveyed.  We get so caught up today in our feelings and emotions – “you better think about what you are thankful for today” - well, what good is that if you never actually give thanks?

    This is why Paul instructs Timothy and us as follows: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.  The first thing on Timothy's to do list as a pastor, the priority for the church under his care is this: pray.  And there are a variety of prayers that Paul encourages Timothy and us unto.  There are supplications – where you ask God for something.  Heavenly Father, bless our homes and families.  Supplications are the requesting of a benefit, asking God for His favor.  Then there are “prayers” - and this is the word for the normal prayers of worship.  In peace let us pray to the Lord – Lord have mercy.  Ask for blessings, worship God, and then a third sort of prayer: Intercession.  To intercede is specifically to get between God and another person and ask God to not smite them even though they deserve it.  It's the prayers for mercy that we pray for those outside the church – to turn the heart of our enemies, to do good to our enemies.  We know the impact of sin, we know what evil does – Lord, defend our neighbors, forgive them for they know not what they do.

    And then, at the end, after all of these other sorts of prayer, Paul brings up thanksgivings.  We are to pray to God for kings and all in high position, we are to pray that we might have a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified – and we are to give thanks to God for the fact that we have had such peace and quiet in our lives.  We are able to gather here today in safety.  Even in the midst of turmoil and economic stress that we've not seen in decades we are able to celebrate and feast with our friends and families this day.  And while the world might be all messed up, at least we are still allowed to carry on in godly dignity here – this is a wonderful thing.  And indeed, we should give great and wondrous thanks to God who has preserved us in the face of so many strange and various dangers and oddities.  So yes, we are this day going to give thanks to God for all these wondrous 1st article blessings that He has preserved for us.

    Thinking on this – I use that phrase “1st Article Blessings” perhaps a little too often, it's a comfortable short hand, but to be specific, when I say “1st Article Blessings” I am referring to the explanation of the 1st Article of the Creed in the Small Catechism.  And just in case you can't just rattle it off on demand, let me refresh your memory: I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.

    You have that long list – and the focus is that it is all given by God.  And then, at the end there is that tie between thanks and praise – it is my duty to thank and praise.  That's what we hear in our Gospel – when the 1 leper returns and gives Jesus thanks, Jesus says, Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?  Do you see that tie there between thanks and praise.  They go hand in hand.  If you are thanking someone for something, you are at the same time praising their actions.  This is why praise, why proclaiming what God has done, is always part of our worship – in the liturgy, in the creed, in the hymns.  We proclaim what God has done, thanking and praising Him.

    But I don't want this day to just be a first article day.  We aren't merely focused on temporal, physical blessings.  God has done far more.  Christ Jesus has come and with His death and resurrection He has won you forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation.  He has won you your body not just for a few decades until the grave swallows you, but but this body that He has given you, He will raise and have you keep it.  He will restore it unto eternity.  This is why He says to the healed leper – Rise and go your way, your faith has” - made you well is a bit soft of a translation.  The word there is sesoken se – has saved you.  It's the same word that is the root of the word Savior.  It's the same word as in 1 Tim 2 – This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved.  Christ Jesus is your Savior, and He has brought this salvation to you, He does so today in His Word, in His Supper where He gives you His own Body and Blood.

    And that's the cycle, the pattern of worship – God's love and our response.  God gives, and we receive while returning thanks and praise.  This is why in a few minutes I'm going to say, “Let us give thanks unto the LORD.”  In fact, one of the earliest and even still a common name for the Lord's Supper is the “Eucharist” - which is just the Greek word for Thanksgiving.  We see what God has done for us, the blessings of body and soul, and we come to His house, we ask for mercy, for continued physical blessings, we give thanks for what God has done, we hear His Word (thanks be to God), we taste and see that the Lord is good and then we thank the Lord and sing His praise.  Thanksgiving, my friends, isn't mere gratitude – it is prayer, it is praise, it is worship, it is receiving again the good gifts of God that Christ Jesus has won for you and proclaiming again His death and resurrection, His victory over sin and death.  This is why Paul tells Timothy – tend to the prayers – tend to the worship – because the rulers need our prayers so that our lives can be peaceful and quiet enough for us to gather for worship to hear the Word of God, to come to the knowledge of our salvation again hearing that Word and preaching, that we might give thanks to Jesus as He gives Himself to us in His Supper.

    Every time you enter this house for worship and praise, it is truly thanksgiving.  A blessed thanksgiving day to you in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Last Sunday of the Church Year

 

Last Sunday of the Church Year – Matthew 25:1-13 – November 19^th and 20^th, 2022

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Coming Lord +

You aren't wise. Well, thanks a lot Pastor, and you're a blithering idiot too. Well, yes – you, of yourself, are not wise, nor am I, of my own self, wise. Left to our own devices all of us in this room would happily run headlong into every sin and vice that tickles our fancy – we'd play the fool with zeal. Any of us can look at our lives and see plenty of times when and where we've been the fool – and if we are honest and humble we can probably find plenty of places where we were kept from doing something foolish by God – those “there but for the grace of God go I” moments. Of ourselves, we are not wise.

I bring this up today because before we get into our Gospel text we need to remember what it is to be wise in the Scriptures, where wisdom comes from. If we don't, we will drastically misunderstand the parable of the wise and foolish virgins – we'll be tempted to look at ourselves and say, “See how wise I am, how ready I am – unlike those people.” That's not wisdom, that's arrogance, that's damnable pride and folly! No – in the Scriptures what is Wisdom? Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit that He works through the Word. Wisdom isn't an attribute that we possess, it isn't a statement about how sharp we are, the power of our own reason or strength – it's always a gift that comes from the Holy Spirit through the Word of the LORD. The Spirit works in us the fear of the LORD that is the beginning of wisdom. The Spirit is the Spirit of Wisdom, and the Word is what gives us wisdom.

So with that in mind, let us listen to Jesus. The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. As a reminder, the most common depiction of “heaven” - of the life of the world to come – is that of a giant celebration, a feast of victory, a wedding celebration. So Jesus gives us a tale about preparing for heaven, for the new creation. And in this story, you've got 10 virgins who have a spot in the wedding – they'll be part of the procession where the groom comes in like a hero, and they'll be following after him with their lights and they'll be beautiful and it will be all romantic and they'll catch the eye of a guy and this is great. There is nothing that could be better.

And yet, we hear – Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil for their lamps. Every year I try to find a modern analogy to explain just how stupid this would be – so here it goes. Imagine you were going camping, and you were told to bring a flashlight, and you show up and someone's brought a flashlight, but there's absolutely no batteries in it. “Well, you didn't say to bring batteries.” This is utter folly; it is utterly moronic (the literal Greek word for foolish here is moron). It's not getting the point. You are there to provide light, so why would you come utterly unprepared to let your light shine? You've missed the point of the whole party and your place in it.

As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' There's a long delay, and then suddenly, unexpectedly, it is go time. No man knoweth the hour. And this is one of the places where we can mishear this – why can't they share. Sharing is nice. No, doesn't work. Hey Jim, my flashlight doesn't have any batteries – can you pop one out of yours and lend it to me. No, Bob, I can't. What the wise say here is the right answer – if you need oil, you go to the oil vendors. That's the perfectly correct answer – that's where you need to go.

But alas, there is no more time. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with Him into the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterwards the other virgins came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But He answered, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” They miss it. There are deadlines, there are times when things just have to be done and if they aren't, you miss out. Make an exception for me! No, sorry, it doesn't work that way. This is something we have a hard time understanding in our rich, lazy, spoiled society. We are so used to accommodations being made to cater to us, we're so used to getting extensions on our projects or leniency at work – it's okay if I'm just a few minutes late, right boss – today this hard and fast deadline sounds utterly cruel and unfair. The harsh truth that not everything is about us just seems... cruel. Well, not everything is about you. You are not, in fact, the center of the Universe. That would be Jesus. Colossians 1:16 - For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. You exist for Jesus, not the other way around.

And if I may carry on here – did you note how pushy and entitled these foolish virgins were. Give us some of your oil – why should you have it, give it to me. Open to us – who cares that we missed your party, you need to open up to us. Be wary of this attitude, this foul spirit at work in our present age where we think we get to pick and choose and customize everything according to our own liking. That's not the way things work with God. That's not the way things work with His Word. That's not the way things work in Jesus' Church – in the Church we are to subm[it] to one another out of reverence for Christ as Paul teaches in Ephesians 5. We don't demand others cater to us, we cater to them, we adjust ourselves to them so as to help and serve them as though we were serving the Lord – that was last week, as ye hath done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye hath done it unto Me. Watch and be wary of how the world is driving you and playing up to your pride and ego in these latter days.

Our Lord continues – Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Watch, be prepared, because you do not know what tomorrow or next year will bring, or even if there will be a next year. Do not delay, be prepared for our LORD's Coming, because whether it's His second coming or the day of your death, you will meet your LORD, and you don't know precisely when. So, don't act like an entitled fool, presuming upon Jesus and thinking that He answers to your beck and call. Don't push things off like the foolish do. Rather, be wise.

Now Pastor, not to be too picky here, but didn't you start this whole sermon by saying that we are all fools? Yes, I did say that none of us of ourselves were wise. We all say that every time we confess our sins here – we say that we are by nature sinful and unclean, that we constantly sin in thought, word, and deed, and that this is our fault. This isn't about your wisdom. The call here to watch, to be ready, is nothing other than a call to be in the Word of God in the Church where the Holy Spirit works upon you, where He enlightens you with His gifts, where He sanctifies you and prepares you for the life of the world to come. By the Word the Holy Spirit is at work, giving you life and salvation, This is what we learn in 2 Timothy 3 - But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Be in the Word, know the story of salvation, know your place in it so that you are prepared to receive it all and delight in it. The wise virgins knew their role in the wedding, they valued their place, and they were prepared. The foolish didn't, and they missed out. Likewise, O Christian, you know the story of the Scriptures – that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. By grace you have been saved through faith, not by works, so that no one may boast. Continue to hear that Word, that Story. Continue to be in the Word where the Holy Spirit makes you wise unto salvation, where He comes and works faith in you and works love through you unto your neighbor. Because there's no other place for salvation – there is no other name than Jesus whereby there is salvation. He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – Salvation isn't a choose your own adventure book – it's the story of Jesus. Watch, therefore – watch Jesus, hear His Word – and He will prepare you for His everlasting feast.

Because while you and I might be foolish in and of ourselves, God Almighty isn't. The Father knew what He was doing when He sent Jesus into this world to be your Savior, to be born and die for you, to rise for you. Jesus knew what He was doing when He had you baptized, the Spirit knew what He was doing when He called you by the Gospel. And if the world out there thinks this Church stuff is nuts, oh well - For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. The Spirit of God has come upon you by the Word, and He has given you Christ Jesus, the Light of the World, and thus you are prepared for the everlasting feast in Christ. Rejoice, rejoice believers, and let the light of Christ worked in you by the Spirit appear!

2nd Last Sunday of the Church Year

 

2nd Last Sunday of the Church Year

Some of you may not realize this as I wear contacts, but I have terrible, terrible vision. Without my contacts in I cannot see clearly more than a foot in front of my face. When I wake up in the morning, everything is a blur, until that moment when I put on my glasses. I can try to squint and pull on my eyelids and get fleeting glimpses of things, but nothing is truly crisp until I put my glasses on. Then all those colorful blobs became clear and sharp. For you, O Christian, the end times should hold no more fear than simply putting on a pair of needed glasses does – because what Christ describes in the Gospel here, when He describes the end times, is simply Christians and non-Christians both seeing clearly who God is and seeing clearly how this impacts their earthly life. Everything Christ goes over here in this text, we know now. Of course we know it now, He’s told it to us! But what He says, what He teaches, we don’t see clearly all the time, and indeed, we will see it most clearly on the last day. But let us learn and remember our Lord’s Words this day.

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And this is why we call the Last Day “Judgment Day.” This is what we refer to when we confess that He will come to “judge both the living and the dead.” God will look upon us, and decide whether we go to His right with the sheep waiting for green pastures, or to His left with the goats awaiting the fires of hell. Does that make you nervous? Does the idea of separation between the sheep and the goats make you a little on edge? It shouldn’t, not in the slightest. Whenever there is a judgment, whenever there is a competition, it is vital to know what the criteria of judgment is. If I were to suddenly decide to raise a sheep for the county fair, I’d do horrible, because I’m a city boy who has absolutely no idea what the standard of judgment is. But you, O Christian, you do know what God’s standard of Judgment is. What does Scripture say that Christ is separating here? It says He separates the sheep from the goats. It’s a simple distinction in life, and it’s simple in the text.

The question here, the basis of division at the end, is simply this. Are you a child of God, brought into His Kingdom, washed of your sins? Simple as that. Do you believe on Christ, who has purchased you from all sins? Are you His baptized child? Then you are a sheep. You see, the fact that Christ describes this as a separation between sheep and goats is such a comfort. It’s not a matter of good and bad, it’s not a matter of have I done enough stuff to earn my way into heaven. Simply, are you a sheep, or are you a goat? And this isn’t a matter of anything you do. A goat can’t do anything to suddenly become a sheep. Rather this – this whole image describes Christ simply calling His own, His own people whom He has redeemed and forgiven, the Shepherd calling His sheep to His right hand. And that’s what you are. So the day of Judgment should hold no fear for you. Hasn't Christ already declared you to be His own? He claimed you in Baptism, He sees you preached to, He feeds you His Supper. You are a sheep – relax, rejoice, and give thanks to God for His blessings to you.

Listen again to the words the Christ will speak to you on the last day, and hear how they focus on what He has done for you. Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Do you hear the comfort in those words? Why are you a sheep? Because you are blessed, you receive blessings from God. Because you inherit, you receive as a Gift the benefits of the works of Christ, His life and death and resurrection, you receive a kingdom which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. Do you note that? At the moment God creates the world, He knows already and is preparing already eternal life for you. This says so much about God and His love for you – that it is utterly unconditional, that even before you exist He has such great love towards you. It is a wonder and a marvel, and one that we will only see clearly and fully at the End. Christ tells us, and so we know now, but then we will see face to face.

And it is not only Christ’s love that we will see and understand, it will be the love that we show in our own life, at the end we will understand this fully as well. Now listen to one of the most wondrous verses in all of Scripture. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.” Christ then begins to describe the life of the sheep. He says, “Look, O My sheep, My own forgiven ones, at what your life was. Look at the love you showed forth to Me all your days, at which I, God Almighty, rejoice.” And all the sheep say, “Huh?” Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You a drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?” When? When did we do these things that You find so pleasing, Jesus? When did we do all this great stuff? Christ paints a picture of just dumbfoundment here – one sheep asking another, “You remember doing this Bob?” “No I sure don’t Jim. You know what He’s talking about Tom?” “Nope.” And here comes the kicker, when Christ explains it. And the King answered them, “Truly, I say unto you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to me.”

Do you see what Christ’s answer says about your life? Do you see, just for a moment the truth that we forget, that slides on by us so often? Every action, every kind word you say, every bit of love that you as a Christian show – even the simple things, indeed, especially the simple things that we over look, are done unto Christ and give Him great joy. The simple moments of care that you show your family, your friends, and indeed, which you ought to show strangers, are good works done to the glory and pleasure of God. And these are so often simple things – yet Christ points them out with praise. How many of you have ever fed an infant, or changed a diaper? Well done, good and faithful servant. You have served Christ. How many of you have ever put food on your family’s table, or cleaned the dishes off of that table? Well done, for you have served Christ. How many of you have shown simple kindness to a stranger, opened a door, offered to carry a bag, been polite? Well done, for you have served Christ. How many of you have done your job, studied in school, or even sat and let another show their love to you by their good works? Well done, for in this you have served Christ.

This is the image, this is the wonder, this is what we will understand fully on the last day. That our lives are really and truly lives of Good Works, works that flow without our notice, works that come forth and come forth, over and over. That while we are still sinners, that while we sin and mess up all the time, yet what does God see, what does God do with our lives? He brings forth from us mountains of Good Works that we rarely even notice or think about, He works in us and through us and is well pleased. Your entire life, everything you do, is shaped by Christ. And we get little bits and glimpses of this now, but it is only at the end when we will fully understand and appreciate and realize the impact that Christ has upon our life now. And indeed, while we are still here in this world of struggle, we will continually ask God for more strength, ask that He might work in us and through us more and more, ask that He might strengthen us by His Word and Sacraments so that we might continually live out the life here and do the works here that He has prepared for us – works that are not a burden or harsh – but works that simply come, that we simply do, as naturally as breathing, without any fanfare, without any note – simply because that’s who we are in Christ.

I do want to bring up one more thing – there is a whole other section in our Gospel, where Christ addresses the goats, the unbelievers. And I’m not going to go over this in full detail – even though there’s nothing wrong with a 20 minute sermon, I’m not going to preach one today. But just a simple thing to think about this week for when you have to deal with people who in some way hurt you. In the text, we have Christ lay the charge against the unbelievers – you didn’t do any of this good stuff. And they say, “when did we see You and not help You?” And this is how Christ responds. Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. When someone sins against you, when they do you wrong, when you feel hurt, when you feel anger – rather than holding on to that hurt, rather than acting out in anger – remember this. It was not done against you, that sin is against God, and let God deal with it how He will. This is another reality that we only glimpse briefly. We have no need to hold on to hurts, to anger – we can let all of these slide off of us – because we are attached to Christ, He is our strength and our shield – and He will handle it. Remember that all this week when things go against you, when people are harsh and cruel. So be it – it’s hard and rough in this world – but it doesn’t change the fact that you are a forgiven child of God who shows forth love and awaits eternal life. Try to keep your eyes focused there, and let no one here blur your vision of the everlasting realities.

So dear friends, in this life, we so rarely see, so rarely ponder the actual reality of our lives – that we are God’s own children, and that everything, this life, the afterlife, both in heaven and earth, are shaped by Christ and His love for us. Be at peace, O sheep, your Shepherd knows you by name. Amen.

All Saints' Sermon

 

All Saints' Observed – November 5^th and 6^th, 2022 – Matthew 5

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

So much. There's so much dreck and dross in this world. There's the times when we are just crushed by life, when we mourn loved ones who die, when self control doesn't seem worth it anymore. We look out and we see wickedness all around, where people don't even seem to make a pretense of being a decent person. We forgive people and get stomped on. We try to behave and get insulted for it. We try to calm things down, stop the fighting, bring people together, and that just means everyone gets mad at us. And if we bring up Jesus, Katie bar the door, they'll be after us with their verbal guns blazing. So much. There's so much of it going on around us.

And as much as we might lament our days, that's the same way things have always worked, really. They were the same way that things were working on that day when Jesus sat down on the side of a mountain and began to teach. His disciples came to Him, and Jesus looked at them, saw them in this world that's just so filled with sin and wickedness and death, and He says something that sounds so utterly bizarre. Blessed. You who are stuck in all this muck and mire – you are blessed. And actually, it's a stronger word than just “blessed” - this isn't some nice southern gal saying, “Well, bless your heart, sugar” - no, this is Makarioi! Blessed – fortunate, happy, you've got it in the bag. It's great to be you. That's what Jesus says. That's what Jesus says to all these people. And we're used to the Beatitudes – some of you might even have them hanging on your wall at home – and we can hear them as nice, safe platitudes. They aren't. They sound astonishingly crazy and insensitive. Oh, you're poor in spirit – fantastic! Oh, just come from a funeral – well, what a great day. They're going to persecute you and kill you – sweet! Do you get how just off the wall this would have sounded?

Why? Why would Jesus start off His preaching, His sermon on the mount with something this brash, this seemingly insane? Because He's Jesus. He's God become man to be with you – to be Immanuel, God with us. He's God become Man to take on sin and death and Satan for you, for your good. And because of Jesus, because Jesus has come down and He's on that mountain right there preaching to those disciples – yeah, it is fantastic, it is wonderful, you are fortunate and blessed, and there's not a thing Satan can do about it.

Consider what is going on with everything that we see around us. Go back to the beginning, where this junk started. You know, the Garden, Satan slithering on up and tempting Eve. What is Satan trying to do? What is He trying to accomplish in tempting Eve? To get her and Adam to sin – yes, but why? Why does Satan want Adam and Even to sin, to fall? So they'll die – yes, but why? Why would Satan want a bunch of dead people? Satan's goal is this – he desires to separate Adam and Eve from God – he desires to take that relationship between God and man and just tear it to shreds. It's the 10^th commandment – that desire to see a relationship that God has established and trash it, tear it down. Sin separates. Sin divides. That's what all sin does – it takes what God has joined together and tears it asunder. The first three commandments all deal with your relationship with God, and how sin breaks that. The rest deal with the neighbors that God gives you, the gifts He gives, and how we break those apart. Satan's goal is to separate you from God, to pull you away from Jesus, to rip the Holy Spirit out of you and leave you an empty, lifeless husk.

And when we see the world and sin and see our own hearts and the sin there and all the things that make us poor in spirit or that make us mourn, that make us hesitant and long for things that are better – that's Satan using sin and suffering to try to separate us from God. And He seriously and deeply drive us into the pit, and it's wretched and horrible, and we feel isolated and alone... and Jesus sits on down right next to us and says, “Hi there – it's Me, God. Immanuel. God with you – and yeah, I'm here with you even now, it's all good. I've got this, I've got you. Satan thought he was going to separate you from Me – stupid Satan. Daft bloke never knew Me. I created you to be with Me, and that's how it's going to be, and it's going to be good for you, and no satanic detour is going to stop that, no matter how twisty it is – so you just hold on, relax, and I'm going to rescue you.” And Jesus, God Himself, just dives right on in to all of the worst of life to be with you, to change the way that you see this life. Because you don't just see the world, you don't just see sin and death – you see Christ Jesus, your Lord and Savior, with you. Through it all.

So, are you pour in Spirit – do you see the world around you stink on ice? That's why Jesus is with you and says, “I get it, that's why I give you the kingdom of heaven and will bring you to a new heavens and a new earth that Satan won't mess with. It's all good.”

So do you mourn – do you feel and know the impact of death? That's why Jesus with with you and says, “I get it – literally, I got My own death – went there Myself – and I blew apart death by My resurrection – and you are going to be with Me even through death unto the resurrection. It's all good.”

Are people trying to drag you into the fight, the muck when you know you should sit it out (because that's what meekness is – it's keeping your sword in its sheath, it's keeping your mouth shut instead of pouring gasoline on the fire when you really want to)? That's why Jesus is with you and says, “I get it, there's a ton of wickedness out there – let Me handle it. Vengeance is Mine, because I handle it far better than you. So don't you worry about making anyone get their comeuppance – you just sit back and enjoy My gifts to you. It's all good.”

Are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness? This is why Jesus is with you and says, “You want righteousness – here, have Mine. Yours would never be enough anyway – take your fill of Mine. I forgive you. I wash you in My righteousness. I'll even give you Myself – take and eat, take and drink – righteousness over abounding. It's all good.”

Are you seeking to show mercy? This why Jesus is with you and says “You know, that mercy you show is My mercy that I've given to you, that I've filled you with – and you know what? I'm right here with you, so keep on being merciful – because I'll keep filling you up with mercy faster than you can dish it out. Because that's why I've got you here in this world – to hand out My mercy. It's all good.”

Are you there trying to make peace? This is why Jesus is with you and says, “I've made peace, peace between you and God, and so when you are giving out peace, you're declaring what I've done for you and for those folks trapped in sin. I'm with you, I've baptized you – hey, you're a child of God too now – declare My peace – seriously, it's the first thing I tell the disciples after I rise – I love giving out peace, and I'll gladly be with you and give peace out through you. It's all good.”

Do you get persecuted? This is why Jesus is with you and says, “Oh yeah, I know. That's really lousy. I'm still with you. See My cross, see what they did to Me? And I could have bailed, I could have run away, but I didn't, because I am with you even now, and no matter how deep and dark it goes, no matter how evil and revile-y it gets, I'm with you and you're with Me. Nothing can separate you from Me and My love. It's all good.”

Do you see, my dear friends? Everything that Satan uses to try to separate you from God, everything that he throws at you – Jesus simply says, “Nope – won't work Satan. You don't get them; I'm with them. You might distract them, you might confuse them – but that doesn't work on Me. I'm with them, they are Mine, and they are truly blessed no matter what you do, so scurry on back to hell you old goat.

And Jesus means all of what He says here in the Beatitudes. His victory over Satan is complete and full – we're the ones who get distracted, we're the ones who pull away, we're the ones who forget. Jesus doesn't. He never gets distracted from redeeming you, He never pulls away from you; He who has you engraved on the palms of His hands will never forget you. And part of the reason we hear this text on All Saints' Day is we're rejoicing today for and with all those saints who have gone before us. Because you know where they are? They're with Jesus – and there's not a distraction or trouble pestering them. They don't see the junk we do – they see only Jesus. And when He returns, they'll be with Him, and we all will see Jesus as Jesus is, and He will make us to be as He is – you are going to be like Jesus, holy, righteous, pure, loving – for all eternity. Because when Jesus says that He is Immanuel, God with us, He means it. Jesus is with you, and because He is, it really is all good. Amen.

A Seminary Interview Question

 When I was in college preparing to go to the Seminary, I had to go through my district interview.  There was a bit of a question as to where I should do it - I had been from Nebraska, but was attending school in Oklahoma, and then my dad had taken a call to Southern New Mexico which was part of the Rocky Mountain District with it's headquarters in Denver.  It was finally decided that I could interview through the Oklahoma District just to make everyone's life easier.

And so there I sat in a room at Trinity Norman, next to Rev. David Nehrenz (now the Oklahoma District President) across from VP Hartman (who would shortly be the Oklahoma District President) and a few other high ranking and respected pastors.  And they interviewed me, asked me questions to see if I would be fit for a spot at the Seminary.

The question was asked of me: What does a Pastor do?

I responded quickly and simply, "Preach the Word and administer the Sacraments."

And stopped.

And there was a pause.  

It was slightly awkward.  I could tell the district officials were wanting more; Pastor Nehrenz was next to me grinning slightly in anticipation.

Finally I expanded.  Yes, I knew that Pastors did a lot of other things, but all those other things were things that the laity could do and ought to do as well.  Visit, pray, works of service.  But the key thing for the Pastor is this: Preaching the Word and Administering the Sacrament.

That answer sufficed for the district officials... though one of the guys there wanted something probably a bit more flowery and glowing about the joys of ministry or some such thing.  

I don't remember much else, but I remember the contrast - how simple and focused the answer was that I gave - preach the Word and administer the sacrament.  Quick, to the point, the things that distinguish the Pastoral Office from the other duties of Christians.  And I remember how almost disappointed folks were with that simple distinction... they wanted there to be more.

But there isn't.  This is the beauty of the priesthood of the baptized.  That we all, lay and pastors alike, have the great gifts of God, the treasures of Christ Jesus, as our inheritance.  Pastors are simply placed into an office whereby the have the responsibility to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments for the sake of all the people.  Administer the gifts.  Steward the mysteries.  Simple servants.

And you end up reading things like Luther's Letter to the German Nobility and you get this spelled out in such detail.

I just get to do what I've called to do... and that's a lovely thing.