Month: October 2019

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Reformation Sunday (John 8:31-36)

Albrecht Durer - The Crucifixion (1498)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR

Reformation Sunday + October 27, 2019

Text: John 8:31-36

We’re accustomed to evaluating things on the basis of what we can see.  If you go to the dentist, how good or bad your teeth are can be observed.  If you’re buying a house, the home inspector looks for red flags of what could be a serious issue.

But how can you tell if someone is a slave?  You’d look for a master, a contract establishing their right of control, some kind of power relationship of obedience that they’re locked into.  What if you can’t see these things with your eyes or feel them with your heart…or what if you can sense them, but you don’t know what to call it?  That’s the way it is with slavery to sin. There are no signs that are obvious to us, except the one that comes too late to do anything about, which is death.

Jesus speaks to those who believed in Him, but they are still very weak in that faith.  Jesus offers liberty, and they say they’re already free. On what basis do they say that?  Because they don’t have a master to face with threats and whips? Are they free in that they decide where to go and what to do?  What they don’t yet understand is that every person is born a slave with sin and the devil as their masters. How can you know this?  There may be signs here and there—a bad behavior you can’t kick, periods of doubt, various ways you’ve hurt others. But only a holy God can truly expose your slavery, and He does that by His Word.

The Reformation was a glorious event in Church history because, together with the Printing Press, it meant that more people than ever before would be able to read God’s Word for themselves.  Sometimes this is pictured as a great “liberation” from the hierarchy and control of the Roman church. But in fact, it meant greater liberation from sin and the devil’s absolute power over humanity.  Romans 5:14 says, “Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.” This reign of death was disrupted because God gave Moses the Law, the holy Word which exposes and identifies the marks of sin’s bondage.  Death reigns through the ignorance of God’s Word, and reigns unchallenged, so long as we believe the scientists today who tell us life is no more than chance chemical reactions.

When the whole Word of God was put into the hands of many, it had a liberating effect.  It exposed the ungodliness of paying indulgences for forgiveness, refusing people the Blood of Christ in Communion, praying to the saints, forbidding marriage to priests, requiring penitents to list every sin in confession, and compelling people to fast on certain days. The Reformers studied the Scriptures and found that in fact they preached against putting our trust in man’s works or teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.  “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”

It’s easier to put your finger on what bondage is once you’re freed from it.  Take, for instance, when the children of Israel were brought through the Red Sea.  They had languished under heavy burdens laid on them by cruel Pharaoh, and now they were freed—The Song of Moses declares, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.” (Exodus 15:1)

Yet, three days into their wilderness journey, those same people started complaining: “The people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” (Ex. 17:24)…[and about a month and a half later:] “The whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’” (Ex. 17:2-3) Even though they had been loosed from Pharaoh’s yoke, they still found themselves slaves. Not slaves to a master they could point at and blame, but slaves to their own passions within them.  They truly were slaves to sin.

Likewise, Christians freed from the yoke of the papacy found that they were still slaves.  Certainly, they were free from the fear of purgatory and mandates about fast days and confession. Yet, having the Scriptures in our own hands exposes much sin in each of us.  We justify ourselves against the Law, and sometimes claim that’s just man’s opinion. Now that we’re not compelled by force and guilt-trips to go to Mass, our laziness and neglect of our spiritual wellbeing is evident.  “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”  We were freed from heavy manmade burdens, and found that we were still yoked to Master Sin.  

“But if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We’ve often heard this in our country: ‘Freedom is not free.’ How much truer this is of freeing slaves to sin.  The Son of God did not set you free by merely speaking a royal decree. He bought your freedom—“The Son of Man came to serve and give His life as a ransom for the many.” (Matt. 20:28)  He is both God’s Passover lamb who shed His blood to buy our release, and the firstborn son who died that sons of Israel might live (Ex. 12:29—13:1).  Yet all this, He did in love toward you, when you were still slaves, still His enemies (Rom. 5:10).

But that freedom is not as the world views and abuses freedom—using it as an excuse to do whatever you want.   The freedom which the Son gives you will cost you your life. Yes, your life: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)  The Son hasn’t just freed you and let you loose; He has freed you from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

In Romans 6, St. Paul writes, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Rom. 6:15-18)

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  This is the freedom of a Christian.  You are not freed to serve yourself, but to serve God and your neighbor.  But if, in this life, we find ourselves still slaves of sin, we should not despair as though this Word of God were not true.  “You will be truly free,” the Lord says.  As with all the words of Christ about us, it’s a statement that is true, and effective through faith.

“The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.”  The slave He is talking about here is your sinful flesh, the heart from which proceeds all manner of evil.  It does not remain forever, dear Christian. You are free from its power over you in death. “The son remains forever”—“For if we have been united with him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” (Rom. 6:5)

But even while you are harassed by our former masters, you have freedom from them.  Your Lord and Master says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  The Word of God definitely had the power to expose slavery, but even more it displays Christ’s glorious saving work.  In that, it has the power to set you free. “Abide in My Word,” your Lord says.  Immerse yourself in it, as David says in Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law [instruction] of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Ps. 1:1-2)  If you desire this freedom, hold this word sacred, and gladly hear it and learn it.  It is your very life, for everything else will not remain forever.

Thank God that we live in the wake of the Reformation because the Word of God is in our hands, in plain English.  Avail yourself of it, and by God’s power, pray that you may overcome the slothfulness of your flesh!

We are at the same time son and sinner, saint and sinner.  But we live as those who are free from sin, if not always in fact, certainly in faith.  May the Son, who through His almighty Word freed you from sin, death, and the power of the devil, keep you as His disciples today and to eternity. Amen!

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Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity (Matthew 22:23-33, 34-46)

18th Sunday after Trinity

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity + October 20, 2019

Text: Matthew 22:(23-33) 34-46

The Pharisees knew who they were, and they knew who the God of Israel was.  They knew His Word thoroughly, and unlike those fools who don’t even believe in angels, the afterlife, or the resurrection (the Sadducees), they held steadfast to God’s Word.  They kept all the commandments, plus the “oral Torah”—the traditions of the elders—which were a hedge lest anyone transgress the Law and they lose the land again.

They studied the commandments, but more importantly, they obeyed the commandments.  Chief among them was the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” (Deut. 6:4-6)  And how shall they be on your heart?  By repetition, by “binding them as a sign on your hand…as frontlets between your eyes…by writing them on the doorposts of your house and your gates.” (Deut. 6:7-8)  

So, when these Pharisees hear that Jesus has silenced the flimsy and proud Sadducees, they are ready to test this Rabbi’s mettle.  Following the tradition of the respected rabbis of the past, they asked Rabbi Yeshua ben-Yosef [Jesus, son of Joseph] a question: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  They ask this, fully expecting the answer quoted above.

But this Rabbi adds more: “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [Lev. 19:18] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”  And that’s quite a statement to make!  Certainly others like Hillel the Elder had recognized this second great commandment before, when he said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah while the rest is commentary; go and learn it.”

What this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees boils down to is a difference in how you approach the Word of God.  You see, there’s a difference between seeing the Bible as something to be studied and mastered, and seeing it as the living and active Word of God.

The Pharisees were a group that had learned to approach the Word of God under a microscope.  Its instructions were largely prescriptive, and anyone who followed its rules would be blessed, while the disobedient would be cursed.

What this attitude also allows is for one to come at the Word as a judge.  Another display of this came immediately before today’s appointed reading. It would be helpful to follow along in the pew Bible, page 828:

23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” 

The Sadducees approach Scripture with preconceived truths.  For them, there are no angels, there is no afterlife, and there is no resurrection.  Now, with these parameters firmly in place, they go to Scripture and try to make it fit their views.

This Rabbi—as they supposed—responds to the Sadducees, 

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. 

He combats all of their high-handed ideas and wraps up a rebuttal into a Scripturally-authoritative package: resurrection, angels, God of the living after death.

Now, back to the Pharisees, Jesus’ response to them is a question of His own:

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,  saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”  He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? 

If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word…

For them, all the Bible’s contents fit into neat little dogmatic packages.  Everything had a reasonable explanation, and one or two opinions about what might be less clear.  But when Jesus asks them about the very prominent Psalm 110, written by King David, they are forced to admit defeat.  They don’t have an answer for this part of Scripture. They must admit that they are not the judges of Scripture, but God will be their judge, and not on the basis of how many commandments they can enumerate and obey, but on whether the Word of God has been kept with their hearts.

The Sadducees and Pharisees represent problems that are still widespread today.  Like the Sadducees, some approach the Bible as skeptics with their mind already made up.  They find so-called controversial verses or look for seeming inconsistencies. They are people who have already made up their minds about the origin of the universe, what God is like, what ought to be priorities in life, whether it’s okay to live together apart from marriage or whether divorce is sinful.  They come to the Bible with reservation (if they read it at all), and subscribe to it “in so far as” it agrees with their own worldview.

The Pharisees represent those who strive to study the Bible and master it, to memorize numerous passages and never miss an opportunity to grow in knowledge.  And as we sit here with Bibles in our laps, we think this is the preferable option. If knowing the Bible is wrong, I don’t wanna be right. But the desire for knowledge and learning is not the problem; it’s the motive.  It’s what Jesus said in John 5:39-40: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”  God’s Word is not something that we master and become experts on; it’s God acting upon us and declaring to us who He is and recreating who we are in Christ.

The approaches to Scripture illustrated by the Pharisees and Sadducees—the experts and the skeptics—is really one of terrible insecurity.  The experts are afraid of losing the footing they have by information about God. If they get swept away by this living God, they will then be the ones studied by Him, and they will be at His mercy.  The skeptics are insecure because their conscience accuses them. They know that they think and live at odds with God’s revealed will, so they put up the mask of the unconvinced cynic. Both are terribly afraid that if they let God have an ounce of power over them, He might actually change who they are.  He would make them into something of His choosing, not theirs.

What is this which God would change us into?  He tells us what His intentions are: He is powerful, even able to raise the dead, for “He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”  He is the Son of David, and yet David’s Lord, who will trample His enemies.  He is the God who desires us to know Him in both His power and the holy Scriptures.

And if we will abandon our weak attempts to know or repel God, we will at last discover that He is not to be discovered and studied by us.  He seeks us out. He gives His commandments, that we might first know how far we have fallen short (Rom. 3:23). But the Son of David also became a priest after the order of Melchizedek, to offer what no human being could—a life without deceit or any stain of sin.  It is only when we hang on this Christ, that we can sincerely (and in a God-pleasing way) love God with all of our heart, soul, and might; and our neighbor as ourselves.

God grant that we continue to be astonished at His teaching, for He has the words which are able to save, to count us with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—not dead, but living forever more. Amen.

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LWML Sunday

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR

LWML Sunday (Proper 22C) – October 13, 2019

Text: Luke 17:1-10

Today is LWML Sunday. The theme of the day is from the Gospel reading, where Jesus says, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”  It is that gift of faith in people’s hearts which is so precious in the Lord’s sight.  Today, we recognize and celebrate the support which dedicated women from all across the country give to spreading the Gospel, so that He, through the means of His Word and Sacraments, increase faith in people’s hearts and bring unworthy servants into His household.

To understand what Jesus is saying about faith and mustard seeds, we’re going to have to dig into the Greek a bit.  Our Lord uses some pretty powerful language to make His message clear to us.

First, He says some things which sound familiar and pretty basic:

And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

You know what the most difficult part of living on earth is?  People.  You’ve often heard it said and probably thought it yourself, This world would be great if it weren’t for all the people.  Well, the same goes for the Church too.  Being in the Church and following Jesus would be great, if it weren’t for all the other people!  Think about it: The thing that is our biggest source of frustration is the people we live with (sometimes even other Christians!).  It’s hard not to take the perspective of one popular song: “I’ve got one less problem without you!”

Jesus says something shocking though, not just that “temptations are sure to come”, but “It is impossible that temptations should not come.”  It can’t be any other way, which means that all the things we hate—the deadbeats who lure our children away from what they know is right, the abuses and injustices we suffer—are unavoidable.  It also means those people you get annoyed by the most, the people who tick you off, those who you loathe to speak their name because of the memories it brings up…Yeah, God put them in your life.  It can’t be any other way.

Now that’s no free ride for the creeps, because God pronounces “Woe!” to them who cause one of these little ones to stumble, who scandalize faith.  But don’t underestimate the almighty power of God to bring good even out of the evil of others. (Genesis 50:20)

But the Lord doesn’t support us just denouncing the world and bemoaning how corrupt it is.  He says, “Pay attention to yourselves!”  He is speaking to each of us personally, not just that guy we really think needs to hear it.  Listen up, dear Christian, He is talking to you and applying this to you as you follow Him.

If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

This series of statements use a special construction in Greek called a conditional statement.  The gloss is, “Whenever this happens, this is what the result will be.”  So it reads not “if” but “When your brother sins, rebuke him”  It’s not a matter of if he sins, because he will.  (The same message is being preached to him about you, by the way.)  So, whenever your fellow Christian sins, you are to rebuke him.  This is unpopular, especially because we would rather make people happy and like us than have to be the bearer of “negativity.”  But, this isn’t an optional thing for the Christian.  It’s a basic part of being part of God’s family, that we actually speak to our brother or sister about their sin.  It’s not judgmental; it’s loving:  “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:1-2).

“Pay attention to yourselves!”  When you rebuke your brother for his sins, you don’t do it from a high horse. You do it, realizing you are just as dirty. He may have this sin that needs to be called out, but you have your own. The motivation for rebuking another Christian has to be because God loves them, and you love them enough to tell them when they are mixed up with sin.

The next part is also crucial: “If he repents, forgive him.”  Without Peter even having to ask (as he does in Matthew 18:21) Jesus drives home how important this is, saying, “If he sins against you seven times in a single day [emphasizing the Greek], and turns to you seven times saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”  If you claim the name of Christ, this is absolutely how you are to conduct yourself.  Anything less profanes God’s Name—even the name of Jesus which means “He saves His people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21)  The Christian Church is a community of repentance and forgiveness.

That’s not the way we like to operate, though.  It’s much more satisfying to see people have some sort of consequences.  We figure they need something to teach them a lesson and keep them from doing it again.  But doling out consequences is not a vocation that God gives us with respect to our brother or sister (unless we hold a civil office).  Truth be told, we often find ourselves avoiding the person who has sinned against us, rather than to do what the Lord commands here.

That’s when the disciples, like us, realize how spiritually bankrupt we’ve been, and cry out, “Increase our faith!” or literally “Add to our faith!”  That’s when Jesus throws them another humbling reply: “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” He says this because it’s not that things would magically be better if we just tipped the scales on the “right amount” of faith.  He points to the mustard seed, and says if you had even the tiniest speck of faith, you could command a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea.

Here is another place, where the Greek tells us more: This is what’s called a contrary-to-fact statement, like, “If you had blue hair, you would look like Marge Simpson.”  But you don’t have blue hair, so neither is the other part true.  “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed (which you don’t), you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted.’…”  But the point is you don’t.

Boy, what a downer, Lord.  I thought you wanted everyone to have greater, bigger, stronger faith?  I mean, your prophet, Habakkuk even said, “The righteous shall live by his faith.” (Hab. 2:4)  It sounds pretty important.  But Jesus isn’t diminishing our faith; He’s diminishing us.  He’s humbling us, so that we realize this immense work of living reconciled with God and those around us isn’t our work.  Having faith is being humbled to realize all that dwells within us is desires to see the wrongdoer have their comeuppance and for God to vindicate our worthy case.  But those are not God’s ways, because they are higher than our ways and thoughts (Isa. 55:9).

Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”

The final humbling statement comes with the illustration of a house servant.  This doesn’t make much sense to us today, as I don’t know any of us rich enough to have domestic servants.  But we can still understand it from the employer—employee relationship.  If you have an employee, would thank him for doing what was already his job?  I’m so glad you came in on time today, and answered the phone! Splendid! I think we’ll make you employee of the month! Well, what this means is that it is our basic duty as Christians to rebuke our fellow sinners with God’s Word, and when they recognize their sin, forgive them with God’s forgiveness.

This is the work which the LWML supports.  But it’s not just about the money they raise for missions; it’s about the way these women dedicate their lives to living out their faith.  But that is really nothing over the top: “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”  All Christians, from the least to the greatest, are called to this amazing-and-humanly-impossible work of steadfast reconciliation.  That is our witness to those who don’t know Christ—not just that we get walked all over by people who never understand, but that our lives witness to the grace of God in Christ to fellow broken people who need God’s grace.

But it’s not about us; it’s God’s work through us.  So, when we find ourselves loving those who have wronged us, thanks be to God!  This is what our Lord has commanded us: Love one another; forgive your enemies (Matt. 5:46-48, Luke 6:27-31).  This is what faith does: it puts God’s love into us so that we love as He does.

So today is really about Jesus who has loved us while we were still sinners, whose love sends His Holy Spirit to add to our faith, to put into our cold hearts a divine love which witnesses that in Christ, there is peace with God and peace with our fellow man.  And we thank God for the support of the LWML both in sharing and living this Gospel.  To God alone be the glory, forever and ever! Amen.

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Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (Rev. 12:7-12)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR

Feast of St. Michael and All Angels – September 29, 2019

Text: Revelation 12:7-12

We often thank God for the dedicated service of the members of the armed forces.  We thank Him for giving these men and women such dedication to their country and its citizens.  That peace we enjoy in our nation as a result of their service is something we should rightly be thankful for and never take for granted.

While as Americans, we do enjoy liberty day to day, there is another nation with which we are familiar because we are also citizens of it.  That nation is the Christian Church.  God calls us a holy nation, a people for His own possession [1 Pet. 2:9].  This nation also has an army—although its service is mostly unseen.  There are those dedicated soldiers who work tirelessly to defend the citizens of God’s nation—the army of God’s angels.  Today, on this Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, we remember the faithful service of these angels to us.

But we might ask, What does the God of Peace need with an army?  The very fact that the angels are God’s army means that there is an enemy to be fought and defeated.  This is what we learned from the 2nd reading, from Revelation 12:

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (vv. 7-9)

This war is between powers in the heavens, between the angels of God and the angels who follow Satan, who we know as the demons.  Satan and his demons are determined to destroy God’s people, as they have been since the beginning of creation.  This is the true battle between good and evil: It isn’t between warring political parties, social ideologies, or nuclear powers.  It is a war between the Creator of heaven and earth, and a rebellious faction of His servants who threaten the crown of His creation—mankind.  The stakes are not merely the rise and fall of an earthly nation, but the difference between an eternity in hell for us or God’s goal of bringing us into eternal fellowship with Him.

The battle lines are drawn upon the salvation of sinful men and women.  For this, immortal creatures clash as Satan and his army vies for dominance.  As the prophet Isaiah alluded to, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isaiah 14:12-14).  Satan desired the glory that belongs only to God Himself.  He wants man to worship and serve him.  He wants the majesty of God to be his own, though he is not God.  Then, he planted that same deceit in the heart of Eve, and then Adam.  How he rejoiced when we became convinced of our own ability to become like God, judging for ourselves what was good and what was evil.

But God would not let such a victory be had.  He would not let His glory be given to another [Isa. 48:11].  So, He swore to trample that serpent, to crush his uplifted head, and to unravel the corruption Satan had incited in man.  And because God swears to do it, no creature—not even the most powerful of angels—can overturn God plans. 

That plan of God was carried out with the birth of a “male child” (Rev. 12:5).  Yet this male child was no ordinary son of Adam.  He was not simply another human, conceived in sin and ripe for deception and accusation.  No, this was the One who would turn the battle in favor of God and the salvation of man.  From the beginning, the angels of God have had a heavenly, eternal commander-in-chief: known as the Angel of the Lord and the Lord of Sabaoth.  “Sabaoth” is Hebrew for armies, as we sing in the Sanctus—“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of Sabaoth.”  He is the Lord of God’s Army.  This One entered the battle Himself when He became man and was born that male child.

In this way the battle was swayed in our favor, because the commander of the Lord’s Army, God’s Son Himself, fought for us by taking up our cause in the flesh.  He entered the fray with His almighty power, at which the demons cried out: “I know who you are!  You are the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24) and they cringed at His presence.  No enemy can withstand His power, because He commands even the angels who have rebelled against Him.

Yet it wasn’t only with His might that He fought for us.  His most effective weapon against Satan and the demonic host is His human flesh.  Satan and his army had brought corruption and death to the sons of Adam.  All their flesh had followed in the image of Satan, so that there was none righteous, no not one and all had turned aside to this angel posing as God [Ps. 14:1].  Then came the Lord of Hosts in the same flesh—yet without sin.  The Accuser had nothing to accuse, and try as he might, he could not tempt and deceive this Second Adam [Matt. 4:1-11].  Yet Jesus bore these accusations on behalf of man.  He bore the punishments in our place.  The Lord of Sabaoth died in lowly grief and shame.  And on the Third Day, this same Lord rose victorious over Satan’s greatest weapons against man—sin and death.

Because of this victory, the song rings out in heaven, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:10-11).  This is the victory which guarantees the success of every battle fought until the Last Day.  The commander of the Lord’s army Himself has won in the fight, laying down His life for man and taking it up again [Jn. 10:18].

This battle continues, as it says, “Woe to you, O earth and see, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short!” (12:12).  For this reason, the angels of God still fight the devil and his angels.    The battle is far greater than any human being could win.  The proud devil has been thrown out of heaven, and instead, we have been promised a place there.  But he will not rest until he is cast into hell on the Last Day.

We have heard it in so many Gospel accounts of demon possession, yet we see it in our own day how the devil has deceived a whole generation into only watching out for visible dangers.  The Prince of Lies has convinced the masses that stories of angels and demons were invented by primitive people who had no better way to explain the world around them.  But this plays into his power over us.  As true as the rest of God’s Word, Satan and his demons are a very real threat.  But even more so, the angels of God are a very real help against these enemies!

Satan’s wrath is great against God and against those who belong to Him.  Ever wonder why unbelievers have it so easy?  It’s because Satan and his demons aren’t fighting against them.  They are right where Satan wants them—lost in unbelief.  But we belong to God.  He redeemed us out of the devil’s house with the blood of His only-begotten Son.  Through the waters of Holy Baptism, God brought us into His Kingdom.  But Satan always wants us back.  He fights to regain us as hard as he can, and he’s got a third of the angels fighting with him.

All armies seek the defeat of their enemies, but the devil’s army fights for the damnation of every human being.  It is against this kind of army that God and His holy angels fight.  And, unlike earthly battles, what’s at stake isn’t land or power over people.  As I said before, the outcome here is the difference between eternal life or eternal death. In the Gospel, Jesus says, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v. 20).  This shows us what the Lord and His hosts fight for.  He isn’t out to defeat Satan just to show that he’s more powerful.  It’s not a war for the sake of bragging rights.  The Lord is seeking the salvation of all people.  Our boast is in the Lord, not only because He is mighty, but because He is mighty to save us in body and soul forever.

So, it’s for you and me that God’s angels fight.  The Lord Jesus Himself commands these forces to defend us against the devil’s attacks, whether these attacks come to our bodies or our souls.  Satan tries to destroy our souls by fillings us with doubts and telling us lies about God.  Demons cannot dwell alongside the Holy Spirit in believers, but they certainly come pounding on the door.  But God sends His angels to defend us against these attacks.  As Psalm 91 says, “He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Ps. 91:11-12).  They guard your path, so that you can stay on the narrow path which leads to life [Mt. 7:14].

But the devil also seeks the harm of our bodies because he wants to catch us off-guard.  In one of the ancient prayers of the Church, God’s people pray for deliverance from “sudden and evil death.”  A sudden and evil death is one where we are caught at a time when we’ve been lazy in defending against satanic attacks and perhaps we’ve even hung the Armor of God up in the closet.  But even in these times of blindsided attacks, the Lord sends His angels to watch out for us.  We may or may not know what’s happening, but the help is still there.

The Lord of Hosts and His angels are a great army, always watching out for us.  They fight for us, against an enemy far stronger than any human being.  They fight for God’s people, always keeping vigil for our safety.  They carry out God’s commands with swiftness, accuracy, and without question.  All this they do because of the incredible love of God in Christ Jesus.  Though they already see God face-to-face, they gladly leave His presence to come to our aid.  This they do for us, so that we too can behold Him face-to-face when we will arise in the glorious resurrection.  Through the labors of the holy angels, you and I will enjoy that peace which never ends.  Thank our God and Savior for the faithful service of His holy angels!  Amen.

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St. Matthew the Evangelist (Matt. 9:9-13)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR

Feast of St. Matthew (observed) + September 22, 2019

Text: St. Matthew 9:9-13

Jesus says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  The Lord said this about Matthew, the Apostle and Evangelist.  Really it’s one of the main themes of the Gospel that Matthew wrote.  From the very opening verses, it’s a Gospel for sinners—law-breakers like Tamar, prostitutes like Rahab, outcasts like Ruth, adulterers like David and Bathsheba (1:1-17).  Jesus receives John’s baptism for sinners in the Jordan (3:13-17).  He invites good and bad alike to eat with Him (22:1-14).  He goes up to Jerusalem not to be hailed and adored, but to suffer at the hands of evil men and give His life as ransom (16:21, 20:28).  At the end of the Gospel, before He ascends to the Father, He commands that all nations be made disciples, being baptized into Him and being taught His Word that saves sinners (28:16-20).

And all along the way, we think God must have it wrong.  John the Baptizer said, “I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?”[1]  The Pharisees said, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[2]  Peter said, “[Suffer and be killed?] Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you!”[3]  There must be some mistake with the Christ, the Son of the living God!

Everyone expects God to call the righteous and to keep company with the good people.  Businesses open close to their clientele.  There’s a reason all the pawn shops spring up by Walmart.  So also, if you were in 1st century Jerusalem, looking for the Messiah, you would think to watch for Him in the Temple or with the most devout Jews.  That’s where any self-respecting Messiah would spend time.

But the Messiah says, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”[4]  So Jesus should keep company with those who have never used the Lord’s name as a curse, who have never despised God’s Word and worship, who haven’t angered their parents and civil authorities, who have never had a hateful or unchaste thought, and so forth.

And Jesus would be entirely alone: “There is none who is righteous, no not one.”[5]

Jesus wasn’t born for godly people.  His very Name says it all, “He saves His people from their sins.”[6]  If He had wanted to avoid the ungodly, He would have stayed in heaven like the god of Islam.  But He didn’t.  He came to the very creation filled with sin, and to the very sinners who fill it.  The surprise of God’s Messiah is that He walks right into the tax collector’s booth and says to Matthew, “Follow me.”

But what about the Law?  We know our unholiness and what we deserve from God. “My punishment is more than I can bear,” cried Cain the murderer.  “Woe is me! For I am lost,” cried Isaiah before God’s throne.  “Our hope is lost,”[7] cried the sons of Israel.  And this is all the devil wants us to believe.  There couldn’t be hope for someone as miserable as you.  You’ve gone too far down, wandered to far from the fold.  You’ve messed up one too many times for Jesus.  You’re not good enough to come to church—maybe a biker church, but not a formal one.

But the true Jesus, the real Messiah, “preaches peace to you who are far off and peace to those who are near.”[8]  It is impossible to be too bad for Jesus.  He “came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  He came to call sinners, no matter how guilty, depraved, wretched, and naked.  No matter how long you’ve denied Him, what you’ve done years ago or this morning, Jesus is your Savior.

The problem isn’t being too sinful to have a Savior, but rather of thinking you’re good enough.  Jesus also says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”  The question for each of us is, when have we thought ourselves healthy enough to get by without Jesus?

Nobody goes to the doctor if they’re feeling fine.  We’re practical and busy people, and if there aren’t any symptoms, then why be bothered?  This is so much the case that some insurance companies use incentives to convince people to have preventive checks.  But if we’re feeling fine, there must be no problem, right?  Enough of us have had experiences that have showed that can be a false sense of security.

So also with our spiritual health.  Everything seems alright from our viewpoint.  Sure, I’m a Christian because I was baptized and confirmed.  I’m a member of that church…or I was one time.  But then our Lord, the Great Physician, starts asking diagnostic questions:

Have you loved everyone with whom you’ve crossed paths, always honoring, protecting, and doing everything you can to build them up? (4th-10th commandments)

Do you love God’s Word and are grieved to miss church? (3rd)

Do you always tell the truth, letting your yes be yes and your no be no?[9] (2nd)

Have you feared or loved in something on earth as if it were a god? (1st)

As you sit in the exam chair of the pew, things aren’t as fine as you think.  Then He orders lab results.  The results of that are even bleaker: “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth”…“God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away.”… “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”[10]  We may not have the symptoms of someone who is terminally ill, but the test results are there in black and white.  Truly we are all sick to the point of death.

               But what treatment is there for such ill patients?  Some will try home remedies.  After all, it’s so much hassle to go to church and the people can be overwhelming.  The pastor might say something that hits too close to home.  Better just to stay at home and watch a church service on TV, or read the Bible in the privacy of your own home.  If you have a question about something, just ask an Internet forum and there’s sure to be an answer that makes sense to you.

               Another option is to get a second opinion.  Take your illness to another pastor and church and see if they give you a different answer.  Maybe you’ll find one that silences your guilty conscience and lets you live the life you want.  Even better, you could find a church where nobody knows you, and  you can fly under the radar.

               But if neither of those options sounds good, you can always just ignore the diagnosis until really bad symptoms manifest.  The Great Physician hasn’t given you a prognosis on how long you’ll live, but wouldn’t it be better to live out your days enjoying the time you have left?  Check off your bucket list!

               There is only one Physician who can treat and heal this sin-sickness.  If you recognize your terminal condition, He is always ready to heal.  Here’s what the treatment will be like: You may see some immediate results, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t see them.  There are no side effects from the medicine, but your disease will definitely respond adversely to it—like the raised bumps on your arm after a TB vaccination, only worse.  In the pamphlet called the Book of Romans, St. Paul teaches us what signs to watch for: “For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.” (Rom. 7:7-8)

               The medicine that Jesus gives to sin-sick people is His Word. “He sent out His Word and healed them,” says Psalm 107[:20], “and delivered them from their destruction.”  His Word kills and brings to life because its active ingredient is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, is in that Word to raise sinners up from spiritual (and one Day also bodily) death.

               What’s more, the Great Physician has more than one way to administer this saving Word.  He applies it with water: “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  With water and the Word He washes our hearts and gives us a good conscience before God.[11]  He gives us the Holy Spirit to confirm and strengthen us in faith.  It is vital for everyone who desires salvation to receive the medicine in Baptism—“for the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”[12]

               The Lord also applies His Word in Confession and Absolution.  He puts His Word on His people’s lips with the amazing reality: “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”[13]

He also gives His medicine in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper.  He “earnestly desires” to share His Body and Blood with us,[14] because of how He heals and strengthens us.  Taking bread, “…he gave it to them saying, ‘This is my Body, which is given for you.’”[15]  Taking a cup, “he gave it to them saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is sacrificially poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”[16]

               And in this congregation, we have the profound opportunity to receive these treatments weekly—well not the last one, but if anyone wants to help out on altar guild, we can look at that.

               It is a mysterious treatment that our divine Physician gives because it doesn’t work a full cure until the resurrection on the Last Day.  You may see improvements in symptoms here and there, but you will still see yourself moving toward the grave.  Fear not and don’t stop His treatment.  His Word is effective, for by it the heavens were created.  And, as St. Paul writes in Romans 8, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.”[17]

               Fellow sinners, you are all beloved by God.  He came down from heaven with you in mind.  He sought out Matthew in the tax collector’s booth and He is seeking you now.  “Follow Me,” is His call, for He is fully able to absolve you and bring you to His eternal Kingdom.  Amen.

[1] Matthew 3:14

[2] Matthew 9:11

[3] Matthew 16:22

[4] Matthew 5:20

[5] Psalm 14:1-3

[6] Matthew 1:21

[7] Genesis 4:13; Isaiah 6:5; Ezekiel 37:11

[8] Ephesians 2:17

[9] Matthew 5:37

[10] Genesis 8:21, Psalm 53:2-3, Matthew 5:48

[11] Ephesians 5:26, 1 Peter 3:21

[12] Acts 2:39

[13] Matthew 18:18

[14] Luke 22:15

[15] Luke 22:19

[16] Matthew 26:28

[17] Romans 8:11