Category: Sunday

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Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Readings: 1 Kings 19:11-21 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 | Luke 5:1-11

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Persecution was a daily reality for third-century Christians in Rome. And in 258, the Emperor Valerian began another massive round. He issued an edict commanding that all bishops, priests, and deacons should be put to death, and he gave the Imperial treasury power to confiscate all money and possessions from Christians.

In light of the news, Pope Sixtus II quickly ordained a young Spanish theologian, Lawrence, to become archdeacon of Rome. The important position put Lawrence in charge of the Church’s riches, and it gave him responsibility for the Church’s outreach to the poor. The pope sensed his own days were numbered and therefore commissioned Lawrence to protect the Church’s treasure.

On August 6, 258, [Emperor] Valerian captured Pope Sixtus while he celebrated the liturgy, and had him beheaded. Afterwards, he set his sights on the pope’s young protégé, Lawrence. But before killing him, the Emperor demanded the archdeacon turn over all the riches of the Church. He gave Lawrence three days to round it up.

Lawrence worked swiftly. He sold the Church’s vessels and gave the money to widows and the sick. He distributed all the Church’s property to the poor. On the third day, the Emperor summoned Lawrence to his palace and asked for the treasure. With great aplomb [poise], Lawrence entered the palace, stopped, and then gestured back to the door where, streaming in behind him, poured crowds of poor, crippled, blind, and suffering people. “These are the true treasures of the Church,” he boldly proclaimed. One early account even has him adding, “The Church is truly rich, far richer than the Emperor.”

Unsurprisingly, Lawrence’s act of defiance infuriated the Emperor. Valerian ordered his death that same day via grilling on a rack.[1]

            To the unbelieving ear, it would sound as though Lawrence, featured on our bulletin cover today, was mocking the great Emperor. When he had demanded treasures, he was expecting to find gobs of money swindled from unsuspecting people in service to their foolish deity. But St. Lawrence made a “fool” out of Valerian by showing him that the foolishness of God is wiser than him.

            Who in our world have been the biggest fools for the longest time? Is there anyone else as foolish as a Christian who takes their faith seriously? We’re a punchline because of what we confess. We’re a bad joke that the world has long since gotten sick of, because we hold onto our Scripture. Our faith is a scandal of the highest order. And it always has been because of Jesus’ cross. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

            When St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the fact that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, died on a cross was absolutely crazy. He called that fact a stumbling block to the Jews. We actually might understand it better from the Greek word Paul used, σκάνδαλον (skandalon). It was scandalous that the most holy and perfect God, Creator of all things, would ever be found on a cross, because to be crucified meant that you had obviously done something so bad that you had been cursed by the Lord. After all, it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” (Gal. 3:13) Even if it wasn’t what the Romans you were accused of, God still let it happen to you. So obviously, you must have done something terrible. To say that this was God hanging here? That was unthinkably scandalous. Blasphemous, in the worst of ways!

            Likewise, it was absolute foolishness to the Greeks. The Greeks had grown up with all the stories about Zeus and the like. And it wouldn’t be a big deal at all for a god to come down looking like a man, and do all kinds of amazing miracles. And it wasn’t even surprising that such a god could get into trouble as well. Those weren’t the problems they had with Jesus. The problem was that Jesus died. Our God died. Silly Christians! Gods can’t die! Whoever heard of something so foolish in all their life? At the point of death, the gods would pull the mask back and show who they really were. And their immorality and power would be on full display. If your God dies, then He can’t be much of a God now, can He?

            If you’re going to put the Messiah on the tree, then He’d better give a powerful sign, like coming down off of it, if you wants us to believe in him [Matt. 27:42]. If you’re going argue that God dies, then you’d better get some wisdom, and argue for something else. Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block [scandal] to Jews and folly to Gentiles.

            In two thousand years, some things have changed. And yet, nothing has changed. It may no longer be a scandal that Jesus was found in the place of sinners when He hung on a tree. But there is not much that is more scandalous than the Cross. The scandal now is that God would glorify such violence, and let His people celebrate it. If us Christians were truly good, we’d hide that cross away where no one would have to see it again.  Is that cross you wear around your neck beautiful because of the artist’s design or because it is where God shows His wisdom and love?

It may no longer be foolish to believe that God dies (after, think of Friedrich Nietzsche words, “God is dead…and we have killed him,” which have been used as a soundbite to justify and describe secular philosophy[2]) But the cross is still the height of folly. For only a great fool would believe that a man killed on such a cross could ever rise from the dead on the third day. The dead stay dead. Death is permanent. Everyone who knows anything knows that. And so, the world laughs at us. And when they’ve had their fill of it, they then get angry with us. Our belief, our confession, our faith in such a cross has gotten old. And it’s time to grow up.

            And you know what? We want to follow the wise. We want to be written about by their scribes. We want the debater of this age to debate on our behalf instead of against us. We want to be where they are. We crave their approval. And to get that approval, we must stop with the scandal and the folly. We must stop with this Cross. Only then will the world finally recognize us. Only then will the world finally pay attention. Only then will we get the world to come through our doors and hear us.

            The cruel irony is that those who gave up that cross in order to get the world’s approval, never actually got it. Instead, they lost their very reason for even existing. It turns out you don’t actually need to go to Church to be a nice person. You don’t need to go to Church in order to help people in your community. You don’t need to go to Church to sing your favorite music. You don’t need to go to Church to feel good about yourself. And you certainly don’t need to go to Church to be spiritual.

            However, there is only one place on the whole earth that preaches Christ crucified for you. And that is the Church, wherever she is found. And to us who are being saved [that Word of the cross] is the power of God. In fact, that’s how you know where the Church is. We confess that “The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.” (Augsburg Confession, Article VII) It’s the Gospel itself which delivers to us that immense foolishness of God that is His cross.

Listen to how the Church father, Origen, explains it:

The name of the cross is thought to be a stumbling block. But if someone opens his ears to the word of God and to grace, he will see that this too is a great mystery [Eph. 5:32]. Even the Gentiles hand on traditions that severe plagues or heavy rains or droughts often ceased when a person sacrificed himself for the sake of the community. Why, then, does it cause amazement that, when the whole world was suffering a plague of error, it was necessary for one man to die [John 18:14] in order to end this plague of ignorance, darkness and destruction? But who could undergo this sacrifice? Not a prophet, not an apostle, not any other righteous person. It was necessary for a divine power to descend from heaven, a power capable of taking upon itself to die on behalf of all [2 Cor. 5:15] in a way that involved public shame, so that through that death a victory over the devil might be won. And in fact, worldly victors who lead their enemies in triumphal procession (see Col. 2:14-18) are accustomed to set up trophies of victory over the defeated in the form of a cross. The cross, then, is a sign of victory over Satan.[3]

            There is no other worldly way to describe the actions of Christ except as utter folly. Who would ever leave a perfect heaven in order to take part in my suffering? Who would surrender perfect holiness in order to bear my sin? Who would think that taking nails in His spotless hands and feet would ever rescue me from the hell I’ve earned for myself? Who would ever exchange His eternal life for my death? Who would ever believe that the sheer proclamation of these events to me could ever save me from my fate? Jesus has indeed come down from heaven. Incarnate by the Holy Spirit. Born of the Virgin Mary. Was made man. All for you. Jesus has indeed left His holiness behind in order to become sin on your behalf—to become your sin. And as such, He endured hell itself on that cross for you. Jesus has indeed taken those nails in His hands and feet for you. And by them, He has pulled you out of the depths of hell itself.

            And even though those scars will remain on him forever, so you will remain forever with Him. Jesus has indeed sacrificed His life in order to put an end to death forever. Death is beaten. It cannot hold anyone for long, even though it does its very worst. Yet, it cannot stop the resurrection on the Last Day from coming. And He is indeed on His way with it soon. But here is the most foolish promise of all: That simply by speaking the report of these events to you, you actually receive them in their fulness.

            And in this way, God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. The foolishness of a cross. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. the weakness of a man nailed to a tree. God chose what is low and despised in the world. A man condemned to death. Even things that are not, like a dead God, to bring to nothing things that are. Sin brought to nothing. Death brought to nothing. Hell brought to nothing. All througph the utter folly of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus…. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

[1] Brandon Vogt, “St. Lawrence and the True Treasures of the Church.” Word on Fire, August 10, 2016. https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/st-lawrence-and-the-true-treasures-of-the-church/ (accessed 5 Jul 2023)

[2] The context of the quote is a lament where Nietzsche is reflecting on our common denial of God, on the lips of a man who is dubbed mad for calling people to account for this: “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?” (The Parable of the Madman, 1882)

[3] Claude Jenkins. “Origen on I Corinthians.” Journal of Theological Studies 9 (Jan 1908): 235.

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The Feast of the Visitation

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

Text: Luke 1:35-46

God has created each of us in His Image and Likeness to live by His grace through faith in His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. He was conceived and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because of this, your entire life in body and soul—both now and forever—depends entirely on Him, on His Word and Holy Spirit. This is what you and I were created for.

But our sin at its root is a matter of self-worship and selfishness, whereby we make a god out of ourselves, we rely upon ourselves, and we love and serve the Unholy Trinity: Me, Myself, and I above all.  All of your sinful thoughts, words, and actions flow out of that underlying cesspool of self-worship.

And the consequence of that is: the more we try to make a life for ourselves and to “live for yourself,” the more you are actually killing yourself.  This is what our Lord is warning about in John 12: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.” Your sin is deadly and damnable, not so much because it is “naughty,” but because it turns you away from the only True and Living God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It cuts you off from Him who is your Life and your Salvation.  When you reject and disobey the Word of God, you reject and spurn the Holy Spirit, the Author and Giver of Life.  And the more you persist in your sin, the more dead you become, and the further removed from Life.

How, then, shall we be saved and live?  How shall you receive and bear the Spirit of God in your fallen and perishing flesh, in your hostile mind and hardened heart? 

Everything depends entirely on God.  It is not for you to save yourself from sin and death.  Indeed, left to yourself, apart from the Word and Spirit of God, you are at the heart of the problem and your own worst enemy.  But the Lord who loves you, who created you in love, has taken every initiative to save you and redeem you.  He seeks you out and comes to you, heals you from the inside out, and gives you His own Life.

God the Father bestows the Holy Spirit upon you by the preaching of the Gospel.  He calls and brings you to repentance by and with His Word, and He breathes the Spirit into your heart, mind, body, and soul by the forgiving of your sins.  He recreates you in the Image and Likeness of Jesus Christ [Colossians 3:10], and raises you up from death to Life in His Body.

By this work of God, the Lord turns you away from yourself, away from your self-idolatry, and away from your helpless captivity to sin and death, and He brings you to Himself, to the true worship of faith, and to eternal Life with Jesus.

This Way of repentance, faith, and Life with God has been opened to you and to all in Christ Jesus, your Savior, conceived and born of St. Mary, condemned and crucified under Pontius Pilate, put to death and buried, risen and ascended, now given and poured out for you and for all.

He has fought sin, death, and devil, and He has won for you!  He bears your sins in His Body to take them away from you; He is the true Scapegoat who takes your sins away [Lev. 16:7-10].  He also bears the Holy Spirit in His Body in order to bestow the Spirit upon you.  He has not been ashamed to become your Brother, in order to not just save you from your sin, but also to share His divine Life with you.

That is the very thing we celebrate with joy and thanksgiving at the Feast of the Visitation.  His visitation in the womb of the Blessed Virgin is a pattern for how He comes to His Church even to this day and to this place.  The Lord Himself comes to visit you here with His Word and Spirit, Flesh and Blood.

St. Mary is a living icon of the Lord’s Church, because she hears the Word of God, she is anointed by the Spirit of God, and she receives the very Son of God in the Flesh.  He is received within His Holy Church on earth by the same Word and Holy Spirit, so that each of us, with faith created in us by the Spirit say, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be to me according to Your Word.” (Luke 1:38).  Through this powerful Word, Mary became the Mother of God in the Flesh. That flesh was conceived and born for you and is now “for you” in the Sacrament of the Altar.

This is how God works.  This is how He comes to you—in this humble and hidden way. Recall the ways that the presence of the Almighty was visible for people before the Incarnation—in a pillar of fire and cloud, in glory so bright and so holy that no one can see His face and live [Exodus 33:20], as the Commander of the Lord’s army [Josh. 5:13-15]. Now this same Almighty Lord has humbled Himself to come to you, not in terrors, but in grace, mercy, and peace.

You cannot see Him, any more than Elizabeth could see Him when Mary, barely in her first trimester, came to visit her elderly cousin.  But Elizabeth saw Mary and heard her greeting, and by this Word of the servant of God, she believed.  Indeed, not only Elizabeth, but the babe in her womb believed.  She and her unborn son rejoiced in the Gospel and gave thanks to God for Mary, and with Mary.  And Elizabeth praised God for the Fruit of Mary’s womb, for the Child in her body, “How has it been given to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?”

We shouldn’t be jealous of the disciples and Apostles, that they got to see Jesus with their own eyes.  They were given no better Jesus than we are given!  Rejoice with Saints Mary and Elizabeth, that one and the same Lord Jesus Christ — in the same Flesh and Blood — is also here with you and given to you!  He visits you in hiddenness and humbleness within His Holy Church on earth.

Do not be ashamed of, or despise, the simple Means of Grace by which He visits you.  Do not be scandalized that He comes through the Cross [Rom. 6:3-4] and with the Fruits of His Cross.  Do not turn up your nose at His sacred Flesh and Blood.  Do not dismiss this Liturgy of the Gospel for its apparent foolishness.  It is never boring, unless we come in unbelief.  Rejoice because the Lord Himself comes to you within His Church to bless you with His Peace!

The Lord comes to you and deals with you in this way, that you should learn to live as a child of God the Father and as a member of the Bride of Christ.  God the Father trains you, not only to love and serve and care for others (as you are called and given to do within your own vocations) but He trains you first of all to be and to live as His own dear child, living by grace through faith within His own household and family. Likewise, He also teaches us each how to be living and thriving members of the Bride of Christ, hearing His Word and receiving the Holy Spirit.

The Lord your God thus catechizes you to live, not by your own works and efforts, as though you were your own god, but by His gracious providence, by the hearing and receiving of His Gifts.

Yet even in emphasizing this hearing and receiving is far from saying that we are not given anything to do. As you receive the Lord in His meekness and mercy, who comes in such humble and hidden ways within His Church, so welcome and receive Him and care for Him in His lowly ones.

Recognize and serve Him in the poor, despised, and afflicted, and in your brethren, who are the brothers and sisters of the same Lord Jesus Christ.  Receive Jesus in their needs and serve Him in their needs.  Provide for Him and love Him by providing for and loving His family, as Mary and Elizabeth loved and served each other and their infant sons.

Do unto others as Jesus does for you.  Do so for them, not because they have earned it or deserved it (they haven’t, any more than you have!).  Do it by the grace of God.  Do it for Jesus’ sake.  And know that, in loving your brother or sister, you are loving the Lord who is your very Life. And if your whole life is spent in doing so, yet shall you live.  You serve in the confidence of that great Salvation which God has gained for you and all people.

He will not send you away empty-handed.  He will not leave you unclothed or naked in the street.  He will not allow you to go hungry forever.  If you are despised by the world, you are honored and exalted by God in Christ Jesus, your crucified, risen, and ascended Lord.  If you are hated by others, you are loved by God.  If others do not forgive you, nevertheless, God has forgiven you all your sins and trespasses at the cost of His own Body and Life upon the Cross.  If others take your life, even so, God gives you Life.

Receive the Lord Jesus, who is here with you and for you with His Word and Holy Spirit.  Truly, He is here present in and with His very Flesh and Blood like your own, conceived and born of St. Mary, given and shed out for you, for the forgiveness of all your sins, unto the Life everlasting for you—body, soul, and spirit.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Original sermon by Pastor Richard Stuckwisch, edited by Pastor Michael Miller.

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The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession

Readings: Micha 7:18-20 | 1 Timothy 1:12-17 | Luke 15:1-10

Text: Luke 15:1-10

What God says about Himself makes all the difference. If we start with the idea of what we think God is like, or what we think He would or should do, we will quickly fall into error.

The Church is perpetually plagued by this. From the early errors of the Valentinians (Gnostics) who try to impose their mythology on the true God, the Arians and Muslims who deny that the Son can be true God, to the Pelagians who say that man is spiritually better and more capable than God says he is. During the Middle Ages in western Christendom, God’s teaching us had been covered over by doctrines of men, which said what the Son of God did on the cross wasn’t everything; you had to contribute your own works to really have assurance of salvation. Contrary to what God tells us in His Word, it was taught that man had some residual bit of good left in him, by which he could respond to God and cooperate in being saved.

The parables of Luke 15 show us plainly who God is and who we are in our sin. They show a God who “receives sinners and eats with them.” Manmade religions from around the world show that this is abhorrent: a holy God is angry with the sinner and rewards those who choose the path of obedience—sacrifices, karma, and holy works appease God and prove to Him that we are worthy.

This is not the true God. The true God is the one who seeks the lost sheep, who by its own foolishness has wandered, and who by its own feebleness cannot bring itself back. The sinner cannot find his way back to God, but must be brought by the Good Shepherd.

Mankind is thoroughly wicked in God’s sight, that “every intention of his heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21) and we “have all turned aside; together [we] have become corrupt” (Psalm 14:3). Nevertheless, as a woman who has 10 silver coins and has lost one, our lives are precious and valuable in His sight. He seeks us, He rejoices over us being brought to repentance and being restored to Him.

from Wikipedia

The Confession made at Augsburg in 1530 (493 years ago today) was a great reset on doctrines of men that had been formulated, codified, and even propped up by plausible quotes from Scripture and revered Fathers of the Church. That sort of reset is constantly needed, not because God’s Word doesn’t speak to people of our own generation. Instead, it’s because we sinners are constantly prone to disbelieve what God says, insert our own appealing thoughts, and wander off into myths about God above and ourselves.

Our own day is no exception in the history of God’s people. There are the gross errors of those who stand outside the faith, and teach that sinners have not sinned and so make God a liar. There are also subtle errors which hinder and poison faith: Repentance is our work to pray the “sinner’s prayer” and give Jesus our heart; that baptism is something we do to demonstrate how we have heard and obeyed; that correct doctrine isn’t important just so long as you feel love for Jesus; that the Lord’s Supper is a matter of our own personal interpretation and so everyone ought to be allowed to commune.

Reset and let God’s word be true—“that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment” (Psalm 51:4) and “Let God be true, though every man were a liar.” (Rom. 3:4) And we will see the true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who loves and saves sinners like you and me, so that we may rejoice in Him and give Him glory forever.

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

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Second Sunday after Trinity

Readings: Proverbs 9:1-10 | Ephesians 2:13-22 | Luke 14:15-24

Text: Luke 14:15-24

Lutherans are known for their potlucks (or “covered dish dinners” if you don’t want to mention luck). It brings people together at church. Eating is something we all have in common, regardless of differing opinions or backgrounds. In fact, it’s a widely-known church growth practice that handing out food will get people to come to your church…at least the building.

In an effort to connect with people, many a church have fallen into a dependency on being a place that gives handouts. By itself, it’s a beautiful expression of the Lord’s command, “Freely have you received, freely shall you give.” (Matt. 10:8) But the other side of handouts is when they offer to people what they did not have to work for. This plagues Indian Reservations, DHS offices, and pandemic aid because people flock to it. They grow to rely on it. They rave when it’s threatened to be taken away.

Isn’t it interesting, however, that as soon as the Word of God says, “Come, for everything is now ready,” people begin to make excuses about why they can do without? “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’”

That’s when we realize it’s not just a matter of physical nourishment. Yes, people will flock to the earthly handouts because they satisfy the belly. But when the Gospel is freely given, then something else takes over: our sin.

Nonetheless, we can use the language of meals to understand what our Lord is teaching us here. What would cause someone pass up an invitation to a meal for which all that’s required of them is to be the recipient?

They’re not hungry – Who wants to go to an all-you-can-eat banquet on a full stomach? Similarly, a self-righteousness that fails to understand or acknowledge the darkness of one’s sin. What’s being offered on the menu—forgiveness, life, and salvation don’t taste good. Consider this analogy of Martin Luther in the Large Catechism:

Suppose there were a physician who had such skill that people would not die, or even though they died would afterward live forever. Just think how the world would snow and rain money upon him! Because of the pressing crowd of rich men no one else could get near him. Now, here in Baptism there is brought free to every man’s door just such a priceless medicine which swallows up death and saves the lives of all men. (Large Catechism, Article IV “Baptism” para. 43)

Taking a detour on the road of bodily health, consider what funds and sacrifice we pour into the medical complex. It promises to relieve our temporal suffering, and often doctors are successful. But the truth remains that no man can cure death. Only Christ can, and has done that for us! How do we receive such a healing? “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16) “And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.” (Acts 16:32-33) This perfect and eternal healing of body and soul was delivered in humble water, and the lips of the pastor—whoever he was: “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” [Matt. 28:19] If you’re not hungry for forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, it’s likely because you imagine your sin isn’t that serious, you’re not all that dead, and you think salvation comes to those who try hard enough.

They’ve got more appealing things – I have a wife and earthly affairs that need my attention more than my soul. In this case, it’s not necessarily that forgiveness doesn’t sound wonderful. It’s just that the things of this life sound more appealing and capture our time and attention. Someone from our congregation pointed out when Pop Warner Baseball started having games on Sunday, it made a change in the congregation. It’s not just that baseball games alone caused unbelief, but it allowed an outlet for those whose hearts were more devoted to the things of this life. Never underestimate our power to harden our hearts against God’s clear Word and even tangible evidence [Ex. 7:13].

What is offered doesn’t satisfy immediately – In the weakness of our mortal, sinful flesh, we are drawn toward what brings fulfillment here and now. How can I feel and touch the kingdom of God? Well, if it won’t come on my terms, then I’ll find assurance somewhere else that does. Be it popularity, or health, or a life free from struggle—these are the temptations we have to forsake the faith and turn toward the promise of immediate payout of the lies.

Back to the topic of handouts, there is a protest when people might lose these gratis benefits. And we know that our sin can cause an indifference to the gift of the Gospel. But where’s the protest when the Christian congregation is threatened? When the ministry of the Word falls into disuse, and the house of God is in disrepair? We are presently suffering some of the consequence of many who have “begun to make excuses.” But now that we’re here, shall we just throw up our hands, and say, “I guess that’s how it goes?” What has taken the fight out of us, the zeal, for the “food and drink” which truly satisfy, for our Lord says, “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” (John 6:55)

This parable a warning to us who are hearing this Word of Christ and holding fast to Him: Beware, lest we also miss the Kingdom of God in our midst, and give in to earthly things over heavenly. God’s Word will fill His banquet hall. God shows no favorites toward us or those who came before us. Apart from a steadfast faith, we have no promise of a place at His table.

It won’t be by our own strength that we remain steadfast in this faith until the end. It will be where our gracious Lord grants it to us. And where we find this spiritual zeal, let God the Holy Spirit do His good work! Do not let this vine which the Lord planted by the hand of our predecessors bear thorns or die out [Isa. 5:1-7]. Lord, let this congregation be roused from our complacency, our satiation to the hunger we’re supposed to have! Save us, Lord Jesus, from putting our hope and trust in the things of this life. Rather, let our fear, love, and trust, be in You alone. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

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First Sunday after Trinity

Readings: Genesis 15:1-6 | 1 John 4:16-21 | Luke 16:19-31

Text: Luke 16:19-31

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Last week, we confessed in the Athanasian Creed, “Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith.  Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.”  Today, we see the application of this biblical truth—The rich man is in hell, while Lazarus is comforted at Abraham’s side.

So, the biggest question from the Gospel reading today is: What shall we do, “lest we also come into this place of torment” where the rich man finds himself? At first glance, the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus seems to say that rich people go to hell and poor, sick people go to heaven. Wouldn’t that make it easy?  Then the Marxist ideology would be right which says struggling, disadvantaged people are more noble than “fat cat” CEO’s.  That’s the message we hear all the time, so much so that it seems to be evil simply to have money.  If you don’t believe me, just ask any Christian what kind of looks they got when they drove to church in a Tesla.

But it’s not that simple.  The point of this story isn’t found in purple robes and feasts or starvation and open sores.  In the Athanasian Creed and the Last Judgment in Matthew 25, we confess, “Those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.”  What St. John says his first epistle is true, “whoever loves God must also love his brother.”[1] But there’s more to it than the outward actions.

Despite the first blush of this story, our lot in life doesn’t determine our place in heaven or hell.  If you’re young, healthy, and everything is going well, it doesn’t mean God loves you any more than a middle-aged woman who suffers with chronic pain.  If you can barely make ends meet and live with an endless stream of trouble, God’s love is undoubtedly yours because of Christ.  What you have or don’t have in this life where to look for God’s love.

The more important issue is, Where is your faith?  Jesus illustrates a rich man who believed in his material blessings and was comforted by them.  On the other hand, Lazarus despised his earthly life and looked only to God for comfort.  But it doesn’t have to be just deluded rich people and God-fearing poor people.  St. Paul writes to Timothy and to us, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”[2]  Yes, there are wealthy people who boast in the comfort of their wealth.  But there are also poor people who look to money as if it were their savior.  There are millionaires with messy divorce fights over property and there are poor people who scrape and fight to get every last dollar they think they’re entitled to.  But before God they are all alike: “Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.”[3]  Whether you’re comfortable or lacking, if you believe your help comes from the things of this life, your faith is in the wrong thing.

In Colossians 3, St. Paul writes, “1If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1–2) This is where your Lord wants your faith to be: in Him, who made heaven and earth, who adopted you as His dear children, and who gladly and freely gives you all that you need to support this body and life.

And if that’s where your faith is, what flows from that is contentment.  The unnamed rich man had faith in his prosperity. He was content with having everything his heart could desire—a fully belly, fine clothes, and people to wait on him.  Lazarus, though he had nothing, he was content with it.  That’s not to be confused with being happy about it.  But how can we make such a claim that he is content with his condition?  Because, in the Gospel, the Lord tells us something we don’t normally have knowledge of: Lazarus had faith in God, and thus went to paradise.

Faith in God brings about contentment with whatever your earthly lot gives you.  Again from Colossians 3: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)  The trouble really isn’t what stuff or how much stuff people have; it’s our earthly sinful hearts that are filled with jealousy and covet that Tesla that our brother or sister drove up in. 

But you have been crucified with Christ and were put to death with Him.  All that fills you with discontentment has died on the cross.  Your true God, the maker of heaven and earth, has given you a new heart and His Spirit, so that you trust in Him for all things.   With your faith you acknowledge Him as your loving Father who always and forever cares for you, His child.

Whether you have much or little—it is enough.  You might have good health or poor health—it is enough.  Your living situation might be ideal or lacking—it is enough. Whether He gives or He takes away—it is enough.  It is enough because it is what your Heavenly Father has given you for today.

With a right faith and contentment in Him, He sends each believer out to love His neighbor.   The faithful who are amply supplied now get to share in something amazing.  St. Paul writes to Timothy, “17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share”[4] He has freed His children from the “American Dream,” which is the pursuit of affluence that ensnares so many. In its place, whatever we have is a gift from Him for serving your family, your brother or sister, and whatever need He brings before you.

But on the other side, if you’re the one in need, your place in this economy is no less important.  While you might not be able to be generous the same way someone who has more can, God has also given you empty hands to lift up to Him.  Receive whatever good things God gives you by the hands of others, giving thanks and praise to Him.  The Holy Spirit who has been given to you also will guard you from trusting in and hoarding these gifts from God, delivered by the hands of His faithful.

            When our journey is over, and God brings us from this valley of sorrows to Himself, these differences will pass away.  In the Kingdom of God, none are lacking and all are fully comforted.  And this amazing inheritance is yours through God’s gift of faith.  Therefore, it is our duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him at all times.

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

[1] 1 John 4:21

[2] 1 Timothy 6:10

[3] Psalm 62:9

[4] 1 Timothy 6:17-18

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The Holy Trinity

Readings: Isaiah 6:1-7 | Romans 11:33-36 | John 3:1-17

Text: John 3:1-17

You may think that faith is just a mental activity. It all happens in the mind, which assents to the proposition that there is a God, that this God is so favorably disposed toward us that He decided to send His Son into the world to seek out those who would agree to this eternal truth. Yes, we may allow this thought to seep into our emotions and evoke joy, happiness, and contentment. But at the end of the day, all of this takes place in the conscious mind.

This is Christianity according to modernism, the child of the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution. All that’s truly important can be grasped with the mind, measured by the caliper, and viewed by the microscope or telescope. But the modernist has a problem with the faith which clings to a God for whom “the whole three Persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.” (Athanasian Creed) Again, when one approaches the one true God with the mind, he ends up saying with St. Paul,

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33)

This leads many to despair of ever knowing the God who Created all things, who Redeemed the world, and who Sanctifies us and brings us out of sin and death into eternal life. They say maybe it’s an elaborate fabrication, or maybe such a complex deity has no interest in foolish little people like us.

But know that this God really does want to be known by us, and the proof is as close as our five senses.

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
    “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
    the whole earth is full of his glory!”
        (Isa. 6:1-3)

Isaiah saw with his eyes the throne room of the Almighty. He heard the song of the angels proclaiming God thrice holy. But when he despaired of life because his eyes had seen the King, the Lord of Hosts, the seraphim touched his lips and spoke this word into his ears: 

“Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

In the Holy Gospel, Nicodemus came to Jesus under the darkness of night, where shadows play and obscure the sense of vision. He came with the assumption that what his eyes and mind were perceiving were the whole truth of the Almighty.

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

The Son of God taught him that the Almighty makes Himself known in the sense of touch—the new birth of water and the Spirit. By this He also gives us perception in our vision, that we may see the Kingdom of God and where He is at work. Just as the wind rushes against the skin and makes its sound in our ears—not giving perception as to where it comes from—so the Spirit gives assurance that He has come near to bring His hearer into the Kingdom of God.

Again, the eyes are employed in the reminder of the serpents in the wilderness. After the people’s disobedience of the heart, grace and salvation were given to those who looked upon the serpent Moses fashioned at the Lord’s command (Number 21:4-9). Yet more potent is the gaze of faith upon the event where the Son of God Himself is lifted up. All future generations, who hear this news with their ears, whoever faithfully looks upon Him may not perish, but have eternal life.

Our God makes use of our senses so that we may perceive and believe. So far, we’ve seen how He has come in sight, in touch, in hearing. He doesn’t neglect our sense of smell and taste either. The sense of smell was in the sacrifices offered up to the Lord—a recognition of the deadly price of our sins. On earth, it is the smell of death, but before God, He calls it a pleasing aroma. Hear the account of Noah:

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” (Gen. 8:20-21)

Likewise, the sense of smell filled the worship of God’s people through the fragrant incense. This smell was to connect them to this place, where prayers ascended and were graciously heard by the Lord. Thus, David sung in Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” In many places where the faithful gather, incense marks the worship with this potent reminder of our fellowship with our Triune God. Yet, even our sanctuary has a smell imbued by the burning candles and the smell of Holy Communion.

The Lord also made Himself known through the taste. For His people in the wilderness who ate the manna, “the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” (Exod. 16:31) In the sacrifices, the peace offering was eaten before the Lord, where that taste wasn’t just the savor of the roasted meat, but one of joy in having been reconciled to God (Leviticus 3).

As people living in the New Testament, the words of the Psalmist ring true, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Ps. 34:8)  God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The only-begotten Son says to the believer, “Take; eat. This is My Body given for you.” “Take; drink. This is My Blood of the new covenant, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

So, you see that the Holy Trinity, which is too high for our minds to comprehend, descends to us so that faith may take hold of this mystery even with our lowly senses. Thanks be to the Triune God who makes these truths known to us in our bodies! This gives us so many opportunities to reminder His work:

  • With water, we remember our Baptism into the Name of the Holy Trinity.
  • With the hearing and reading of His Word, we embrace His speech to us with repentance for our sins and joy at how He restores and gives us new life.
  • With the smell of church—the burning of candles or incense—call us back to where He gathers us together around His cross
  • With touch, as for centuries, Christians have made the sign of the cross upon themselves in remembrance of Baptism.
  • And today, with the taste of Holy Communion. It’s not so much about the appeal of the simple bread and wine, but faith believing that this bread and wine are our Lord’s own Body and Blood for us.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

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Day of Pentecost

Readings: Genesis 11:1-9 | Acts 2:1-13 | John 14:23-31

Text: John 14:23-31

Have you ever pondered how the message of the cross reaches you and me today? Every generation has to go through a period of learning. It’s not that we have to completely start from scratch. However, how could this message of Jesus’ death and resurrection be carried down through the generations? It’s the belief of many that the Christian faith is just a matter of traditional belief being handed down.

In the time of Hitler, he believed that he could eradicate the Jewish faith both by separating families and making it dangerous to be a professing Jew. In the time of the Roman government, they believed by persecution that they could convince people to not be so foolish to follow this Jewish sect called The Way. Perhaps if Hitler and the militant Caesars had been right about faith merely being a matter of personal determination, then they could have succeeded in exterminating it.

Now, the Jewish religion may be the leftover of God’s work before the Messiah, but it was once God’s work which formed them. How much more is Christianity God’s work for the people of every nation!

But how did those events of the first century reach us? After all, if it were lost to antiquity like so many figures, or distorted by word-of-mouth recollection, then the Gospel would be a pale shadow of the events. In fact, we could be so bold as to say that if we did not know of Jesus’ sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection, all would be lost. Jesus could have died a thousand times, but if it did not reach us in 2023, it would be to no avail. The Apostle to the Hebrews writes along this vein of thought,

“Then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:26)

Jesus only had to die once to take away the sins of the world. Everything which follows draws us back to that one, single event. (This is also the simplest way to view the Old Testament and New Testament: Everything before Christ comes anticipates His coming, while everything after points people back to the death and resurrection of God’s Son.)

Pentecost, the day when the first fruits were gathered in for Israel, was the day which the God of Israel chose to gather this first fruits of the Church. And that gathering continues generation after generation. Oh, how the faithful wish that such large changes could be worked by the Word of God in our own day! What would it look like if there were three-thousand baptisms in Lebanon, or even in larger cities? The Church on earth would go wild for this miracle.

But any farmer knows that not every year is a bumper crop. Despite all the best techniques, the most meticulous attention, it all depends on what comes down from heaven. The success of the preaching of Christ crucified does not hinge on our methods, because the success comes down from heaven, as the rain which waters the earth, making it bring forth and sprout (Isa. 55:10-11).

So, consider what we asked God in the collect of the day:

O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

We believe what happened on the first Pentecost is true, just as true as the tomb is empty and Jesus is not there. We also believe that God has not stopped loving the world for which He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

So, our prayer to God is that, just as He once created and kindled faith in those who heard the Gospel, that He would do the same in our own day. Will it mean 3,000 baptized in one day and at one place? We haven’t seen such a watershed moment since. However, God’s saving will is unchanged. God’s Spirit is no less powerful. And His Word is no less potent in our day as it was in the accounts we have in Scripture—from the day He spoke, “Let there be…” (Gen. 1:3, et al) to the day that same “Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (John 1:14)

Since Christianity is not simply a study of what God once did, but how our Lord God continues to act today as He did in the past: What does the Holy Spirit do and how is He at work today?

I pray that you not be deceived by those who claim human achievements as the work of the Holy Spirit. The modern idea of “speaking in tongues” or performing miracles really is not the Holy Spirit’s work. Tongues were truly displayed on Pentecost when the Gospel was spoken by Aramaic-speakers but heard by people of so many disparate nations. That’s what the Holy Spirit did, not the meaningless babble that is said to be “tongues” today. Those signs were given that day as echoes of what God had done in the past—the rushing wind recalling Elijah and the encouragement to preach even in a time of popular apostasy (1 Kings 19), the burning bush to Moses where God promised that He would fulfill His promises (Exod. 3), the languages once confused now reunited by the Gospel for people of every nation (Gen. 11), the Spirit being poured out so that the darkened sky of Golgotha (Matt. 27:45) so that sons and daughters, young and old, call upon the Name of the Lord and are saved.

The Holy Spirit is not interested in drawing attention to Himself; it’s all for and about the Incarnate Son of God.

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.

The Spirit is sent to teach us to know Jesus, to bring to remembrance all that He has said and done. His work is clear wherever the Word of Jesus is believed and lived by—”If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” But where do we find that? Is it just a world-wide scavenger hunt to locate those who love Jesus and keep His word? Not at all!

The Apostles’ Creed gives us a simple guide to where to look for the Holy Spirit’s work: “I believe in the Holy Spirit: the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

In the simplest terms, the holy Christian (or catholic) Church is this: “This is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.” (Augsburg Confession, VII). The Holy Spirit gathers believers together. He’s not a divine lightning bolt which zaps individuals. He works in the hearts of people to seek out other believers and bring them together around the Word of Jesus.

The communion of saints is both the unity we have with all Christians—despite differences due to weakness of faith or heterodox teachings—and which is tangible in the Sacrament of the Altar. Even while not all Christians may not commune together because of false teaching, we do all rejoice in the Lord’s work.Because of the Holy Spirit, we are “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” That’s because He has taught us this: “4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:3-6)

We sinners all together bask in the forgiveness of sins. It’s not that we are people with an overactive conscience. We are people who recognize the hot wrath of God, which we have deserved! But the Holy Spirit has taught us even more to receive a peace which the world can never give—a peace which cannot be wrought by our best efforts.

The resurrection of the body…this is our hope! What we see now is only death, decay.

The life everlasting—What we look forward to. It’s not fantasy, but reality. What changes is how willing we are to accept this truth. Is the death and burial of your husband, your friend, more powerful that Jesus resurrection? Is your own declining death and march toward death more than the Holy Spirit can handle? I think not.

Rejoice today and always in what God’s Holy Spirit has done and does do, for the salvation of you and people of every nation and language. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

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Sixth Sunday of Easter

~ Rogate ~

Holy Baptism of Maria Regina Cleveland

Readings: Numbers 21:4-9 | James 1:22-27 | John 16:23-33

Text: John 16:23-33

The name for this Sunday, Rogate, derives its name from the Gospel lesson, instead of first word of the Introit. Rogate in Latin means, “Ask (all of you), and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24) In this part of John, Jesus is preparing His disciples for the time of His ascension and visible departure from them.

Really, this is all we’ve ever known as Christians. We are the ones about whom our Lord says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29) But the only way that we, nearly two millennia later, can receive such a blessing, is because Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father, to fill all things (Eph. 4:10). He has sent us the promise of His Father, the Holy Spirit, who has worked faith even in us, who heard the Word, and received it, “not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thess. 2:13)

What our Lord Jesus is teaching us here though, is about prayer: “In that day, you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you…Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” That is to say,

IN THE DAY OF THE JOY OF THE RESURRECTION, THE CHURCH IS CONSTANTLY AT PRAYER.

I. When we think about prayer, we often think about the action of it—the folded hands, being on the knees, the certain words we say. But what does the Lord in the flesh actually teach us about prayer?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you”

1. The main thing of prayer does not start with us. Prayer is inspired and empowered by God.

a. We can misunderstand what Jesus says– whatever you ask the Father in my name—thinking of God has our “heavenly grandpa” who gives us whatever we want because we know how to melt His heart. Some think of “in Jesus Name” like a magic formula which unlocks whatever we want to happen. But that’s far from what “in Jesus’ Name” means.

b. Prayer through Christ is so much different. It is not self-centered, because it is not our old sinful flesh demanding. It is the new man in each of us, being conformed to God’s way.

i. Today’s Collect summed this up: O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

c. Prayer is not a method to manipulate the Almighty to kowtow to our wishes. He refuses to be our genie in a bottle. Rather, in this asking in the Name of Jesus, we have been formed and are being formed into those who ask for the right things.

2. Prayer “in the Name of Jesus” is asking according to our new birth.

a. In Jesus’ Name is what we are in our Baptism. We have received the holy Name of God—the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s a sacred mystery of faith is that God doesn’t only forbid misuse of His name (taking it in vain), but through the Son of God, He has given us the access of sons and daughters.

b. Because we are God’s children, born again to a living hope, living together in that hope, we can’t help but ask. In the day of the joy of the resurrection, the Church is constantly at prayer.

II. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

1.This is a gift which none of us could claim for ourselves, unless we were unimaginably haughty.  To God’s face, who would be so haughty as to claim that they were a child of God and deserving of such benefits?

2. But we receive this status as a gift, that’s how we come to know our God and Father. It doesn’t come automatically like a download of information. It comes through experience.

3. The disciples would soon face their own weakness, and learn what it means to know how to call upon the Father as dear children.

III. 29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

1.The disciples we so sure they had mastered the lesson Jesus had for them. They were ready for a kind of graduation, but they were naïve.

2. It was painful experience which taught them how much they must rely on Him. We’re often not aware of this weakness until it humbles us. The Church, with Peter, John, James, and all the rest of the Apostles, was not ready for the crucifixion and resurrection. It was not ready for the coming persecution, for the writing of Scriptures, and the martyrdom.

3. What can such an incapable people do, but pray? Go to the very Father who created all things and upholds them. We are weak, but He is Almighty. We are powerless, but “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to [Him]” (Matt. 28:19).

Finally, this means that prayer is a thoroughly natural thing for the Christian. In our new creation, we are constantly praying. The world says, “You are in our thoughts and prayers” which is ultimately powerless. What can your thoughts do? But the thoughts of a Christian, because we belong to Christ, the Holy One, are prayers because they can’t help but bring these impossible things to the Almighty, not on the basis of our actions, but according to His own. In the day of the joy of the resurrection, the Church, with all her members, is constantly at prayer.

So, let us pray: O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

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Fifth Sunday of Easter

~ Cantate ~

Readings: Isaiah 12:1-6 | James 1:16-21 | James 1:16-25

Text: James 1:16-25

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!

From the moment we’re born and placed in our mother’s arms, we’re growing and learning. We learn from sights, sounds, and smells. We learn from things we do, and things that happen to us. At home, at school and work, and wherever we go, we learn from experience. Throughout our lives, we come to know more and more.

For all of the experiences we have in life, however, there is one thing that experience will not teach us. St. James writes, “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  Through all of our days on this earth, experience can’t teach us how true this is. Experience will teach us that sometimes God is evil. He lets us suffer hurt and loss. He lets marriages break apart, leaving children caught in the middle. He doesn’t stop school shootings and Muslim extremists.

Experience alone will teach us that God is fickle, blessing us at some times and cursing us at others. What did I do to deserve this? How come my family is so messed up? Why can’t my job be easier or simpler? After working hard for so many years, why did I get laid off? We’re left to guess what God’s plan is, because we think it changes with His mood.

There’s only one way that God teaches us His unchanging goodness: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”  Our sinful birth into a sinful world can only give us a dim view of God. But, He has given us another birth by the word of truth, through the waters of Holy Baptism. The Lord says, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”[1]  God has called us out of the darkness of experience and enlightened us by His Holy Spirit. Our experience in this world would deceive us, but the Word of truth enlightens us to know that He is not a cruel and moody Deity; He is an Almighty Father. He is our Father in heaven.

            More than that, He shows us that we are the firstfruits of His new creation—a new heavens and a new earth.[2]  There’s no denying that this life is broken and sickly. We are surrounded by evil and even see it at work within us. In Romans 8, St. Paul writes, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for…the redemption of our bodies.”[3]  Yes, this world is groaning, but because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have hope! This is what our Good, Perfect, and Unchanging God has given us. We have eternal birth in the Name of Jesus. We’re not left to grope in the dark to figure God out or what His plans are for us. He tells us plainly: I love you and I have made you my child forever.[4]

            So, we grow up in this life as God’s children. But this has nothing to do with age, since some become mature after many years. (I know a certain pastor who was confirmed at age 24.)  As we grow as God’s children, our heavenly Father teaches us about dangerous things to avoid:

Romans 16: “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”[5]
Colossians 3: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”[6]
1 John 2:16-17: “All that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires.”

Our Father also teaches us what’s good to do:

Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man…[whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”[7]
1 Thessalonians 5: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances”[8]
Ephesians 4: “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”[9]
Proverbs 31: “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”[10]

Therefore, James writes, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”  Our heavenly Father wants us to be quick to learn how to live from Him. He also wants us to know where to look when we sin. Jesus says, “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life.”[11]

            Yet we would be deceived if we thought the Bible was nothing but a rule book. James says, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”   People railing against other people, using God’s Word as a club, is not God’s will. God desires the righteousness of faith, and it’s never come by force or emotional manipulation. Too many churches believe that sermons are powered by a peppering of Bible verses and a guilt-driven appeal at the end. If this were all that Christianity had to offer, no wonder people “give up on religion.”

            God’s Word is also abused if His children become proud of their faithfulness. Indeed, the Lord says, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”[12]  Jesus has this rebuke for diehard conservatives: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”[13]Some become far too proud of how orthodox they’ve think they’ve been, but they neglect love, mercy, and humility.

            Instead of “trusting in ourselves as righteous and treating others with contempt,”[14] God teaches us about true righteousness. James writes, “Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”  None of our righteous living or confessing saves us, but Jesus does! He is God’s Righteous Man,[15] and His righteousness is a gift to you. “Receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls.”  God put it there in you. Various people have watered it—parents, pastors, and others—but “God gives the growth.”[16]  And in that way, as St. Paul also writes, “you gain Christ, and are found in Him, not having a righteousness of your own…but that which comes through faith in Christ.”[17]

            Finally, James sums up what it means to be a mature child of God—a child who is ready for confirmation—who confesses Jesus as Lord, God as his Father, and has the gifts of the Holy Spirit. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”  All through confirmation class, the students are called catechumens, which is Greek for a “hearer” of the Word.[18]  In being confirmed, the “hearers” echo back what they have heard from God. In Baptism, the Creed was spoken for you, and today, you will speak back the Creed. As a child, God’s Word was read to you, and now you take it to heart and read it for yourself. God’s Word has formed you to the degree that you are no longer merely hearer—a catechumen—but a doer of the Word.

            This is what it looks like to be a mature child of God. We began when He brought us forth by the Word of truth, we grew through receiving His implanted Word, and now we each continue as hearers and doers of His Word. And on such a life, God promises blessing: “The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

[1] John 3:3 – Truly, truly is Amen, amen

[2] Revelation 21:1

[3] Romans 8:22-23

[4] 1 John 3:1-3

[5] Romans 16:17

[6] 1 Peter 1:15-16

[7] Psalm 1:1-2

[8] 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

[9] Ephesians 4:15

[10] Proverbs 31:8-9

[11] John 6:40

[12] Luke 11:28

[13] Matthew 23:23-24

[14] Luke 18:9

[15] Psalm 24:3-5

[16] 1 Corinthians 3:7

[17] Philippians 3:9

[18] From κατακούω, “hear and obey, give ear”