Sermons

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Last Sunday of the Church Year (Matthew 25:1-13)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR

Last Sunday of the Church Year + November 25, 2018

Text: Matthew 25:1-13

            We can all agree that being prepared is important.  If you are prepared for something, it will be easier to meet when it comes.  This is true of things we know when to expect, like Christmas, bills, school assignments, or retirement.  But it’s also true of things we don’t have a date on, like natural disasters and when the car will break down.

            Despite how important it is, preparing for the future is often shuffled to the bottom of priorities.  Bankrate.com released a study indicating that 36% of American workers have absolutely nothing saved for retirement.[1]  We all know that earthquakes and floods can and do happen, but how many of us actually have stores of water and food for these events?

            In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, our Lord is talking about preparation.  We may not have a date on it, but we know—because God’s Word is true—that Christ will return.  Even tomorrow is not promised to any of us, but the Lord’s coming in glory is.  His coming will be like a “thief in the night”[2] but for those who are prepared, this will not be a shock.  In order to prepare us, so that we will not be caught off guard, Jesus tells this parable: 

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

After nation has risen against nation, famines, earthquakes, great tribulation, false prophets, and frightful signs in the heavens,[3] the return of Christ will be a relief for the God’s people.  At last our Savior has come! They will shout, “This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”[4]

But then comes the shock: not everyone who is waiting for the Lord enters into the Marriage Feast!  Haven’t all ten been prepared?  All have dressed themselves for their Bridegroom’s return.   They all have their lamps handy.  They even all fell asleep in waiting for the Bridegroom.  So why are five wise and five foolish?

It’s has to do with the oil.  The five wise had oil to last the wait, but the foolish only brought enough for the moment.

6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’

It seems that the wise are coldhearted toward their companions.  How can this be an example of charity?  The virgins have oil and they are not willing to share!

The real trouble is they are not able to share because the oil is living faith, and each must have his own.  Verse 1 in Greek makes a special point that that each has her own lamp.  To be sure, Christians are commanded to share material things with those in need, but faith is something that one person cannot give to another.  As Martin Luther began one of his sermons,

The summons of death comes to us all, and no one can die for another. Every one must fight his own battle with death by himself, alone. We can shout into another’s ears, but every one must himself be prepared for the time of death, for I will not be with you then, nor you with me.[5]

The reality is that each of us must be prepared with his or her own faith.  Faith is a gift from God, but it is one that each needs to have and treasure above all else in this life.

            Jesus tells this parable to His disciples.  He speaks to those in His Church, not to those outside.  The ten virgins stand for the whole of all who consider themselves Christians.  Enough has been said by the Lord to those who reject His Word for themselves—Muslims, Hindus, agnostics, and atheists.  But Jesus is our Lord and He has every right to our attention.

            It is also fitting that He has our attention now, because the time is coming when we will all grow drowsy and sleep.  None of us can escape death (which the Lord calls sleep more than once).[6] He tells us that the sleep of death will come to us all before His return.  As the Apostle Paul says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”[7]

             The virgins are decked out for the Bridegroom’s return.  No doubt they are all beautifully clad and full of anticipation.  As Psalm 45 foretells, “All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.”[8]  The Church, the Bride of Christ is waiting eagerly for His return.

            But it turns out for all their preparations, the foolish virgin companions have run out of oil.  They would have been fine if the Lord had come back immediately, but He delayed in returning. 

Now, this has a lot to say to us as Lutherans, who move heaven and earth to get our children baptized, but then never bring them to church again.  It speaks to parents who could care less about the Divine Service until 7th grade hits, and suddenly their junior high student must be confirmed.  Pastor Mark Surburg calls confirmation the “magic talisman of the Lutheran Church,” that parents and children go to great lengths for a moment in time, but neglect training in godliness for the rest of life’s journey.

            The Lord also warns everyone who would trust in virgin garments.  Even though you rarely miss a Sunday at Church, and though you gave generously in the offering plate, and though you sponsored every one of the pew Bibles, none of this will win you the Bridegroom’s eye.  The Apostle to the Hebrews and St. Paul both agree, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” and “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”[9]

            The wise virgins know this, but the foolish virgins, like the goats from last week, think they can make an appeal to seniority and that their dedication counts for something.  Once fed at the rich table of Law and Gospel preaching and the comfort of the Sacraments, they leave to subsist on scraps at their friend’s non-denom church.  They move to college, get divorced, or lose their job and decide that church they were at is what’s wrong with their life.  They marry an unbeliever and think they’ll save him by sitting next to him on the couch.

            Empty lamps with the flame burning out is what all of us become unless we are regularly filled by the Lord.  If the Lord brought us to heaven immediately, we might be fine.  But He doesn’t.  He tarries, and the journey of life is long.  “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”  Be prepared for the whole span of your life.

            When it comes to preparing for things like retirement or an upcoming trip, the emphasis is on our work and our decisions.  If we don’t save or we don’t pack, we’ll be sorry.  But when it comes to being a wise virgin, the Lord prepares you. He gives you a heart of wisdom to number your days,[10] so that you see your desperate need for the gifts He freely gives.  We come to the Lord like an empty vessel, needing to be filled.  He gladly does this!  He is filling you right here in the Divine Service.  In faith, you hear His Word, receive His forgiveness, and taste His Body and Blood.  He fills you in Bible study, so that as you spend time meditating on His Word, He fills you with eternal riches.

In being filled, you sometimes might miss out on sleep, or watching a football game, or your kids might not be the basketball star you wish they could be.  But the wise virgins know that what her Bridegroom gives—and still has laid up in eternity—far outshines anything on this earth.  Unless He comes before, you will grow drowsy and your earthly life will ebb to a close.  You will be with Him until that final trumpet sounds and all the virgins rise.  Those wise, prepared virgins will rejoice and sing in the words of Psalm 45:

6     Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

      7           you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

                  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

And “with joy and gladness they will be led along as they enter the palace of the King.”[11] Amen.

[1] http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/08/18/zero-retirement-savings/14070167/

[2] 1 Thessalonians 5:2 (Epistle reading)

[3] An overview of Matthew 24

[4] Isaiah 25:9

[5] Sermon for Invocabit Sunday (1st Sunday in Lent), March 9, 1522

[6] Let us not laugh at Him like those at Jairus’ house or be ignorant like the disciples at Lazarus’ death  (Matthew 9:24; John 11:11-15)

[7] 2 Corinthians 6:2

[8] Psalm 45:13-14

[9] Hebrews 11:6, Romans 14:23

[10] Psalm 90:12

[11] Psalm 45:6-7, 15

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Second to Last Sunday of the Church Year (Matthew 25:31-46)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR

Second to Last Sunday of the Church Year + November 18, 2018

Baptism of Nathan L. Vasquez

Text: Matthew 25:31-46

It’s no myth from the past or a method of keeping people in line.  Every person will appear before the judgment seat of Christ.  “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Cor. 5:10)

But that brings up the question, what will people be judged by? 

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

And to those bound for hell, He says,

For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

This sounds like they will be judged by their works, and that those works are the basis for whether someone placed on the right (going to heaven) or the left (going to hell).

But if that’s the case, this would seem to contradict the rest of Scripture which says, “The righteous will live by his faith” (Mal. 4) and “by works of the Law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16) and the King’s own words to the sinful woman: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:50)

If we’re to believe that He will judge us by our works, a performance-based review, who tips the scales?  How would anyone know if they had worked their way over to the right side of the King?  If you go down that road too far, you’ll wind up in the ditch on either side.  On one side of the road is pride, where you’re sure that all your hard work for God must amount to some kind of reward.  This is the ditch that we see Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr in heaven simply because of all the good they appeared to do.

Then there’s the other ditch which is filled with despair.  How could I ever hope to measure up in God’s sight?  I’ve got such a load of sin that I could never make it up to Him!  I couldn’t possibly hope to do enough good to be called “a saint.”  Incidentally, this is also the ditch people wind up in when they think the Church will fall down the minute they walk through the door.

If our eternal destination depended on how well we measured up against God’s standards, then no one could be saved—not Mother Teresa, not Saint Paul, not you or me.  Even King David himself prays, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.” (Psalm 143:2)

Listen to these words again:

And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food…

The key is in what He says before the works: Inherit kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.  I know some of you in the congregation have worked all your life, but I don’t know any person who has worked since the foundation of the world.  I also don’t know how many inheritances have to be worked for—unless you have a sadistic relative.  No, an inheritance is something that is bequeathed to you after someone dies.  So now put those two together—works and inheritance.  The only one who has been working to prepare from the foundation of the world is the Son of God, who “for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven…and was made man.” (Nicene Creed).  He is also the one who died, and who made us His heirs—“This is my Blood of the New Testament which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20) 

So Christ has worked and Christ has died, and the sheep receive what He earned and what He willed them to receive.  It is true—“by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

But what about the works?  After all the King says they have done all these marvelous things—fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and imprisoned.  But the righteous seem to have a memory block and can’t remember doing all that.  That’s because this is what faith is.  Faith receives the perfect, righteous life of Jesus.  Through faith in the Perfect Man, the faithful are counted as perfect, acceptable in God’s sight.  That’s why it’s such a shock on that day, because they are not judged only by their deeds; they are judged on the deeds of Jesus Christ and receive a perfect passing grade.

Now lastly, it sounds like those on the King’s left, the goats, are judged by their works—“Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?”  And it’s true.  The goats, the wicked, are those who refused the way of faith and chose the way of works.  They tested God by saying, I’m sure there will be an exemption for people like me.  Surely God would let the decent people go to heaven.  But because they refused Christ, they are judged exactly by their works, and found wanting. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and that’s what they find out by the time it’s too late.  But to you who hear the Word today, believe the rest of the verse: “and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24)

But the works are mentioned for a reason.  When the Lord talks about works, he doesn’t let His people off with a free behavior pass to do whatever they please.  Scripture speaks very strongly against the idea that faith exists in a vacuum.  Works are the fruit of a heart that actually has faith.   The Apostle James, not being up on Lutheran lingo says, “So faith alone, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17)  And he’s right.  If we claim to be Christians, but it makes no difference in how we order our life, then we have a faith problem. 

Jesus endured His bloody suffering and death because our sin went to our heart.  The heart is where our will is ruled, and that’s where all actual sin comes from.  But because Christ’s sacrifice in which we believe starts in the heart, the heart must change.  Today, we witnessed the power and promise of God for Nathan, because St. Paul writes, “He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:4-6)  While everyone who believes in Jesus has this power, Baptism confirms God’s work to make us new people.  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10)  Through Baptism, God answers this call by giving the gift of the Holy Spirit who mightily works to crucify our old self and the wickedness in our heart, and raises us with Christ to walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4).

So yes, as far as good works, Christ-like, sacrificial, loving works toward God and our neighbor—God does expect those because He puts them in our new heart.  And whatever still rears its ugly, evil head, He forgives.  But on the Last Day, we will be judged on account of our faith—whether we believe in Jesus from the heart or whether we choose a do-it-yourself alternative.  Out of His boundless mercy, and according to His wonderful promises, may we be found on the King’s right hand.  Amen.

Works are also the fruit of faith, the visible evidence of the difference between the saints and the wicked.

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Third to Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trinity 25)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR

Third to Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trinity 25) + November 11, 2018

Text: Exodus 32:1-20

Waiting is hard.  I don’t know anyone who is perfectly patient about rising above their present troubles.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could always do what the Apostle to the Hebrews admonishes us to do: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross.” (Heb. 12:2 NIV)  Would that we had such undivided devotion to our Lord and the unshakable kingdom He has prepared for us.  But the reality is, we get impatient waiting on God’s timing when He doesn’t work on the schedule we’re so convinced is right and reasonable.

How true this is also of the Church as a whole.  After the Ascension of Christ, believers were in eager expectation that Jesus’ return was right around the corner.  Apostles were martyred—that’s okay; Jesus is coming back soon.  They had all things in common and nobody lacked within the tight-knit Christian community (Acts 2:44-45).  Doctrinal controversies came—circumcision and early Gnosticism,[1] but the Apostles were present to clear up the confusion.  When the Galatians had false teachers come to them, they got a personal letter from the Apostle Paul himself!  Take heart, brothers, this is only for a short time; the Lord is at hand!

Then the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and, the believers remembered His words like those in Matthew 24.  This is happening just like Jesus said!  Surely, Jesus will return is in a few years!  Then over twenty years pass, and the last apostle, John, dies of old age.  Now we’re starting to get worried.  By the time the generation of the resurrection eye-witnesses fell asleep, waiting started to get real hard.

Over the next two hundred years, persecution and martyrdom were commonplace.  Compromisers got off scot free, and false teaching was rampant at times.  Then the public church came in 312 AD.  By now people were pretty sure that the Lord’s return wasn’t immediately around the corner.  The down side of this is that the Church began to get complacent.  When Christians received public approval, when they built large buildings, and the Church became an institution with earthly property and influence, there came with it the temptation to get comfortable with this life.  Now, that is a big generalization, and certainly not true of every Christian, but it’s a lot easier to be in it for the long haul when you can look at church buildings, bishops, and large assemblies as affirmation of what the Church is.  The church is the hierarchy under the pope, the church is the building, the church is how many believers we can count, the church is long-standing tradition!

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

It had been all of 40 days since Moses went up on the mountain.  They had seen the smoke and the thunder, and been terrified by the peals of trumpets and the threat that no creature must touch Mount Sinai.[2]  But I mean, it’s been over a month now, and we don’t know what happened to this Moses fellow.  In their impatience, they took matters into their own hands.  You know what would really help this group stay together?  A cast image!  Every great nation has its idols, and that really brings unity.  We’re the people the Lord has brought out of Egypt, so let’s make a god[3] to go before us!

Now at this point, we know that what the Israelites did, and asked Aaron to do was clearly idolatry and against the plain command of God.  But there’s something to this request of the people: “Up, make us gods who shall go before us.”  The word there in Hebrew is asah which means to manufacture (in contrast, God is the only one who can create banah out of nothing).  It’s the work of human hands, a creation by a creature.[4]  The people were asking for something tangible that they could put their trust in, and they wanted that something to be what their hands built.

In Romans 1, St. Paul explains what sin does in the heart of man:

21 Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things… 25 they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.”

They worshiped and served the creation over the Creator.  The creation for them became more significant, more worthy than the Word of the Creator.  That’s what happened when Eve saw that the fruit of the tree was beautiful, good for food, and desirable for wisdom.[5]  Those attributes of a created thing became a higher pursuit than fidelity to God and His command.

As all things in the Scripture are written for our learning, what’s the lesson from the incident of the Golden Calf?  Of course, don’t copy pagan worship practices, making an idol and ask it to save you, as if you could treat a crucifix like a lucky charm.  But more to the point for us: We are waiting, have been waiting, and likely will continue to have to wait for the Lord’s return.  In our waiting, the Church collectively and as individual souls, need to be watchful that we don’t start worshipping the Church instead of our Lord, or the things that serve the Church at the expense of our devotion to the Word of the Lord.

How much different the Church today would be if all of us actually believed that Jesus’ return was imminent!  We might actually take His Word seriously and not have our hearts weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness (Luke 21:34).  We would have a much clearer focus of what the Church is, and what she is to be busy doing as she waits.

“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19): We would be more interested in sinners who repent and believe than if they’re the kind of sinners we want to sit next to in the pew.  But there’s a world of difference between the law-based weeding out that ICE does and the soul care that happens in the Kingdom of Heaven.  What makes the difference in God’s eyes between someone who is “deported” versus a citizen of heaven is whether they hear the Word of the Lord, confess their sins, and believe that only Jesus is able to save their sorry self.

“Preach the Word in season and out of season…with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2)  Have you ever thought about why pastors give sermons?  It’s not the same as a stump speech from a politician, or a keynote address from an expert in the field.  What happens from the pulpit is God’s Word being applied to His people—both Law and Gospel.  A wise homiletics professor told his students to preach every sermon like it’s the last your people will ever hear.  While the Lord’s return may not be next week, your death might come before next Sunday.  And for your part, listen to the servant the Lord has sent you.

From the Gospel today: “If they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” (Matt. 24:26)  If we truly believed that the Lord’s return was imminent, we wouldn’t take doctrine and Bible study so lightly.  It’s a matter of spiritual life and spiritual death which Christ you follow.  When you are confirmed in the apostolic faith, you can be sure that you have the real Christ because He is the one who speaks from the Scriptures.  If ever you are tempted to leave the Church where this true Christ is proclaimed because you are turned off by outward fluff like music, I beg of you consider the health of your soul!

So it’s clear that we sin and put our trust in the wrong things just as much as our forefathers.  Holy and mighty God, have mercy upon us sinners!  We truly deserve to have You sweep us away and give Your kingdom to others.  But that’s where the other part of the story of the Golden Calf applies to us: Moses interceded (vv. 11-14).  He implored God to not give the people what they deserved for their disobedience and foolishness.  And that is what Jesus Christ does for you and me.  St. John, the Apostle who died in old age penned these words for us before He entered glory:

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

We have an intercessor better than Moses, one who has offered Himself on behalf of our sins.  While many make take advantage of God’s grace and take His patience for granted, may we believe and appreciate the wrath of God which Jesus has saved us from.  The reason God is so gracious to us today is because the blood of Jesus is so powerful.  Brothers and sisters, let the Spirit move you to greater devotion to your Lord.  When you are called out for something that is not God-pleasing in your life, repent immediately; don’t put it off to tomorrow.  When you are offered forgiveness, run, don’t walk to the altar of the Lord.  What we believe is no trifling game, and the Lord truly is coming soon.  Against all that our slothful, proud, and arrogant flesh tells us, live each day as if tomorrow you will face the Judgment Throne of Christ.  Now, in terms of the readings, you will have to wait till next Sunday to hear that Gospel.  In the meantime, go in the peace which Christ has purchased for you, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord.  He who calls you is faithful and He will surely do it.  Amen.

[1] 1 John 5:4-12, Heb. 10:19-25

[2] Exodus 19:10-15

[3] The name for God in Hebrew is Elohim, a plural.  It’s possible that the people weren’t asking for multiple gods, just a single god after the manner of pagan worship.

[4] Isaiah 44:9-17

[5] Genesis 3:6

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Hymn Notes (3rd to Last Sunday of the Church Year)

LSB 655 Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word is a children’s hymn that Martin Luther composed in 1541-42. At that time, the Evangelical (later called Lutheran) church was under ongoing threat by those loyal to the pope. In addition, the advancement of the Turks into the region of Budapest brought war to the eastern border of the Empire. In the original text of stanza 1, we beseech God to “curb the Turks’ and papists’ sword” (later a more general and mild “by deceit or sword”) so that the Gospel of Christ may be preached and believed in spite of its devilish enemies.

LSB 496 Holy Spirit, Light Divine was written in 1817 by Dr. Andrew Reed in London. During his ministry in the Congregational church, Dr. Reed had a heart for orphans and the mentally ill. This hymn was penned as a prayer to the Holy Spirit, who alone can enlighten the darkness of our guilty hearts and sanctify us to fully know and trust in Jesus Christ.

TLH 650 Joseph Grigg was a Presbyterian pastor in London and composed this hymn in 1765.  Behold, a Stranger at the Door, based on Revelation 3:20 expands on the Lord Jesus’ call for spiritual renewal and perseverance within His Church.  Aware of how easy it is for us sinners to become spiritual indifferent and not pay attention to our Shepherd’s voice, this hymn rather bluntly admonishes us to realize this and repent of it, and then to be forgiven and renewed in devoted serve to our Lord and Savior.

LSB 718 Jesus, Lead Thou On, composed in 1721, has long been a favorite among Lutheran Christians.  Nicolaus von Zinzendorf, its composer, was born of royalty and had strong roots in the Pietist revival movement in Halle, Germany. He zealously left everything to become a missionary and travelled around Europe, the British Isles, and America. Although during his lifetime, von Zinzendorf caused trouble by inserting himself into established congregations, he left a beneficial legacy of several hymns and spiritual songs.

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Hymn Notes (All Saints Day)

Jerusalem the Golden, written by Benedictine monk, Bernard of Cluny (France), echoesthe hope of all the faithful. Based on visions from Revelation 21 and 7, “we know not what joys await us there,” but it will be our eternal Sabbath rest andhome with our God.

In Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, we sing of the angel hosts of heaven (Eph. 1:19-21, 6:12; Col. 1:16), whom we are privileged to join in adoration and praise of God. The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the Feast in Revelation 19, therefore the preface says, “with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven…”

For All the Saints, though a relatively recent hymn (19th century), depicts the great cloud of witnesses with which we are surrounded (Heb. 12:1-2).  On earth, the church “feebly struggles; they in glory shine,” but though hidden from our eyes for now, the same hope awaits all who have hoped in Christ in every generation.

Onward Christian Soldiers, an American favorite, emboldens us for the journey and spiritual warfare that still await us in this present world. Our victory over sin, death, and the devil belong to our Lord, and He calls us to follow Him as His cross goes before us. (Exod. 14:13)

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All Saints Day (observed) (Revelation 7:9-14)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR

All Saints Day (observed) + November 4, 2018

Text: Revelation 7:9-14

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

All Saints is a holiday in the true sense of the word—a holy day—because it commemorates what God calls holy, distinct from that which God calls profane.  God separates us from the multitude of unbelievers.  “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:15) and from today’s Epistle: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)  For now though, it doesn’t look like it.  It looks like Christians and Muslims and Jews and dogs and cats all die the same.  Their flesh lies rotting in a box, or incinerated at 1500 *F.  But even though that flesh has perished, the Last Day will reveal quite the distinction.

In God’s eyes there is a difference as significant as the first day when He separated light from darkness.[1]  Jesus says, “An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29)  But this difference is on hold until the Last Day.  For now, the Lord says, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:28) and “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

This future has not come.  But don’t be foolish like the people who say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4)  So, they lump Christians together with other religions and look down their noses and think, ‘Isn’t that quaint! They comfort themselves with some bright hope of an afterlife. Whatever helps you sleep at night!’  But because they do not believe, they don’t understand that no Word of God ever fails.  The Lord Jesus did not get lost in the clouds on His way back, nor did God sleep through the day and hour of His Son’s return.

At God’s appointed time, this hum-drum cycle of days and years and seasons will suddenly end.  Creation will come unraveled and then the Lord will return for His people and to mete out judgments against His enemies.  None of this was fabricated in some pious person’s imagination; this the Word of the Lord and the Church says, “Thanks be to God” for this.[2]

From an earthly perspective, death is death.  It’s all the same.  Your body wears out and you die.  It’s sad and painful when someone dies, and eyes are filled with many tears.  But death in God’s sight continues to be life: “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26).  It is deliverance, as the faithful pray, “but deliver us from evil.”  God even goes to the point of saying in Psalm 116: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (v. 15)

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So God has turned death into life and a precious deliverance.  Also from God’s perspective, what we now live in is a tribulation, even though unspiritual eyes will just ask why you’re making such a big deal of your religion.  We may call it ordinary life, but God calls it a pilgrimage.  Many say that whatever faith you are is just a matter of opinion, but God says it makes the difference between eternal life and eternal death.

We live in both realities—before God and before man.  We have eyes of faith and eyes like the rest of mankind.  We have hearts that belong to Jesus, but we also have hearts which can be enticed by God’s enemies.  This is what calls for perseverance among the saints.  It would be great if the Lord took the baptized immediately to paradise, but in His wisdom, He leaves us “to struggle, [while] they in glory shine.”[3]  Perhaps that’s the hardest part of being a Christian, that we don’t always have tangible confirmation of our trust.

But we are not alone while we wait with longing hearts.  The Apostle to the Hebrews writes, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…[and] we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” (Hebrews 11:1, 12:1)  We are called to a hope that we cannot now see, but one which is precious, eternal, and certain.

As we live straddling these two worlds, we have fleeting moments where the beatific vision is clearer, like when we read a favorite passage in God’s Word, or hear an inspiring song.  Yet something surpasses the elation of personal spiritual highs, when the faithful are called together in assembly.  In that gathering, heaven does touch earth.  Here in the Divine Service, we are gathered in the Name of the Lord, and He is among us.  That’s also why it’s here that we remember and receive the Lord’s Supper.

The Lord’s Supper brings us the closest to our heavenly reality that we can share in this side of glory.  That’s because it brings the heavenly reality in the Flesh.  Most of the Christian life happens in the heart and is unseen.  When we try to share our faith with others, if they don’t have the Holy Spirit, our words fall flat and it’s like we’re speaking a foreign language.  If we share our Christian faith with another believer, it’s a beautiful thing and there’s a special connection with fellow believers on this earth.  At the same time, we long for something tangible in our fellowship with God.

This He gladly and freely gives us in His Supper.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8)  In this place, it is the Lord Jesus who personally invites us to His Table to feed us with His Body and His Blood.  His Body, once broken and now risen victorious over death, is on your tongue.  His blood, once poured out for your sins now flows eternally to give life to you under the shadow of death (as the Scripture says, “the life is in the blood,” Lev. 17:14)—and it is this very blood on your lips.

Saints, fellow heirs of the kingdom of heaven, your inheritance is very great.  Even as we bear the tribulation of this life, our Savior stands among us and pours out the strength and perseverance which we need on our pilgrimage.  Come again—and come often—to the Table where your Risen Lord feeds your mortal body with the Bread of immortality.  Come and be renewed in what is eternal.  The world in its present form is passing away, and what now troubles you will also pass away.  But what God has worked for your life and salvation is eternal.  In this we have hope; through Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

[1] Genesis 1:4

[2] 2 Peter 1:21

[3] LSB 677, “For All the Saints,” st. 4

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Reformation Sunday (Matt. 11:12-19)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR

Reformation Sunday + October 28, 2018

Text: Matt. 11:12-19

In the 1730’s, there began a movement in the Colonies that was later called The Great Awakening.  It came with convincing preachers, stirred spirits, changed morals, and huge revival meetings.  It transformed the religious and moral landscape of the soon-to-be American colonies.  Some even consider the religious fervor it ignited as one of the causes of the American Revolution.  It had a huge impact, but the effects eventually wore off.  By 1790, there was a Second Great Awakening, filled with a whole new round of hellfire and brimstone sermons, new converts, and more moral reform.  This too, faded away until there was a Third Great Awakening in the 1850s.

This pattern of revival and indifference is nothing new to the church on earth.  There is a tide that ebbs and flows of reform and unfaithfulness that washes through the generations of the fallen sons of men.  So, on this Reformation Sunday, we will consider the wisdom the Lord Himself teaches about the success of His Word in the hearts of mankind.

The very first big reform for the Church happened in the Exodus.  The descendants of Jacob were suffering under the yoke of slavery in Egypt.  God sent them Moses to deliver them with mighty acts of judgment against Pharaoh and Egypt’s idols.  In the very first Passover, all of Israel carefully obeyed the Lord’s instructions, and they were preserved from the final plague of death of the firstborn [Ex. 12:23].  Moses brought them through the Red Sea on dry ground, and the sons of Israel became a people for God’s treasured possession [Ex. 19:5].  The whole assembly took part in God’s rescue, as St. Paul much later wrote, “Our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink”[1]  But that ideal picture of God’s people didn’t last long.  They soon succumbed to grumbling against God, rejecting His called servants [Ex. 16], and even outright pagan worship practices [Ex. 32].

This cycle of faithfulness and apostasy continued, generation after generation.  There were glimpses of a perfect company of God’s people, and then hopes would be dashed.  It even seemed that some final victory had come under the reigns of King David, and his son, Solomon.  But even their reigns came to an end in division among God’s people.[2]

            When John the Baptist finally appeared in the wilderness, a reformation of a different kind erupted.  It wasn’t different because of the participants, because they were just as sinful and stiff-necked.  It was different because of what the Lord Himself was going to do.

“12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Evangelist Matthew tells us earlier, “Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to [John], and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”[3]  Even the Pharisees and Sadducees went out to the big revival at the Jordan.  It appeared that all of Israel was in the process of a final reform.  John really was the Elijah to come, of whom the Prophet Malachi spoke: “5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”[4]

            It seemed even more like that was the case once John announced, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”[5]  Great crowds flocked to Jesus and followed Him as He preached and healed, and countless people were forgiven of their sins, healed of their diseases, and cleansed of their leprosy. 

            Yet, even during His ministry, there was the old familiar unbelief.  It may have been that many followed Jesus, but it didn’t continue like that. That happened after the Feeding of the 5,000.  That massive crowd, after listening to Him teach more, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”[6]  To which Jesus added the still more unpalatable word: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”  And at that, “many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”[7]

            So, what is reformation about, if not numbers and success stories?  If it isn’t about the droves of partially, temporarily cleaned up sinners, then what?  Reformation is about what the Church has always been built on: the pure preaching of God’s Word.  Our Lord says in the Gospel,

“To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,      17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”[8]

Yes, there were great crowds who followed Jesus and believed in Him.  But that isn’t reformation in the Lord’s sight.  The kind of reform which God has always been after is those who listen to His Word, not those whose hearts are far from Him.  The real reformations which cause joy before God’s throne take place every time a sinner repents.[9]  That’s when His Word accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it.[10]

            This kind of reformation is based on faith, and continues by the work of the Holy Spirit, when and where it pleases God (John 3:8).  There may be a huge initial response, and the appearance of the whole world being converted, but those things will pass.  What was visible for a time will become invisible.  Yet, the reformation will continue in those who “have ears to hear” (v. 15).

Surely this is disappointing to witness, especially as we sit in naves (sanctuaries) that are far from filled to capacity.  But this doesn’t mean the purpose of the Lord is not and has not been fulfilled.  When I talk to people who haven’t been at church for a while, they ask me, how’s the attendance at church?  Stupid me, I give them numbers.  As if the attendance numbers really said anything about the Church, the creation of Holy Spirit.

The trouble is, we are so susceptible to thinking of the Church in terms of our work.  After all, the devotion is ours, our hands did the work, and we’re the ones who have spent time in and among this congregation.  I mean, I wrote this sermon.  There’s a certain comfortability with measuring the success or failure of the Church in things that can be observed and quantified.  So, if the attendance is down or the finances aren’t what we expect, it’s so easy to think that we’ve failed.  Why won’t people come to our church?  When it gets really bad, we start pointing fingers and assigning blame.  As the Lord’s servant, it’s my duty to tell you that is a losing game.  Losing not just in the sense that it might become a failed venture, but if that’s the aim of our hearts, then we are likely thinking of it as something besides Christ’s Church, a visible gathering of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Think about it this way: On the Last Day, what is the Lord going to say as He welcomes His own into glory?  “Well done, you made the church grow threefold…you got 3/5 of your grandkids to come to church…”  No, He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matt. 25:21)  He calls each of us to faithfulness as servants.  God grant that our labors be done in service to Him, because He will give the increase as He sees fit.  So, for us servants, we need to stop worrying about attendance numbers and quit fretting over sustainability for individual congregations.  Because it’s His Church and His work, it might go in a direction we don’t expect—even down—and that’s fine, so long as we have been faithful servants.

What truly matters is God the Holy Spirit gathering the faithful around their Lord, and He will do that in spite of all earthly obstacles.  He will do that when and where it pleases God.  All of the praise and the success belongs not to us; it belongs to Him!

            Twelve years ago, on Reformation Sunday, a revival and reformation happened in a man who grew up knowing nothing of God and His Son.  Although several times the Word came to him, he was unmoved.  But in God’s timing, that man came to know the Lord and he confessed his faith before Trinity Lutheran Church in Bellingham, Washington.  Again, by God’s continued grace and the powerful working of His Spirit, that man stands before you as your pastor.

            This Reformation Sunday, we are privileged to witness the Word of the Lord at work in the hearts of Jerimiah and Natasha, as they will soon publicly declare their allegiance to Christ their Lord and in His continued grace, pledge their ongoing faithfulness to Him.  This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

“12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  The Kingdom of heaven will continue to advance in the hearts of those who receive it.  Whether it is visible for a time, or hidden from our sight, God’s will is done in every generation until our hopes are fulfilled when He comes again and makes all things new. Amen.

[1] 1 Cor. 10:1-4, emphasis added

[2] 1 Kings 1 and 12

[3] Matt. 3:5-6

[4] Mal. 4:5-6

[5] John 1:29

[6] John 6:60

[7] John 6:63, 66

[8] v. 16-19

[9] Luke 15:7

[10] Isaiah 55:10-11

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Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity (John 4:46-54)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR

Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity + October 20, 2018

Text: John 4:46-54

God created His world good in six days.  It was not just a snow globe to be kept on the shelf, but it was made to sustain and provide for life on earth.  Our planet, placed in perfect distance from the sun, with an atmosphere and ecosystem that are self-sustaining and able to bounce back even from adverse conditions.  What a wondrous place earth is, and what an amazing thing life is here.  Our human observation can only scratch at the surface of God’s creation with the disciplines for studying the stars, makeup of the earth, animal life, and the human body.

But who is able to understand what has happened to God’s good creation since Genesis 1 and 2?

“46And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.”

Why are there eyes that do not see, bodies that do not form right in the womb, wasting disease that overcomes internal organs, etc.?  Why was this official’s son ill, and why when he says “ill” do we have an endless list of maladies that could have brought him to the point of death?

The Epistle reading from Ephesians 6:10-17 exposes what happened to God’s good creation.  The Evil One, Satan happened to it.  Within God’s beautifully-created world, and likely without delay, the devil tempted Eve and Adam and brought sin and death into this creation.

In a sense, we are collateral damage in Satan’s prideful war against God.  The most potent way for Lucifer to get back at the God against whom he rebelled was to go after the crown of God’s creation—man.

But God is not bested by a fallen angel, either in the Garden of Eden or in Capernaum.

48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.

The war is now waged within human hearts.  Satan attacks to destroy any true hope in God.  He would rather hold our hearts in slavery, captive by the fear of death and an aversion toward the true God.  Within the heart, he arouses demands that the Almighty bow down to our command: Unless you show me a sign, I refuse to believe. Unless you change to meet my criteria, I cannot have you as my Lord.  Unless you make my life the way I want it, I won’t trust in you.  Lord, if you don’t do this my way, all will be lost.

Although it’s a battle between God and the Devil, we are on the front lines, and our salvation is on the line.  Certainly we witness the consequences of sin and death, but we can become a much greater tragedy if Satan has his way with our heart.  And we are not left defenseless:

 “14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:14-17)

We are equipped by our Lord for the spiritual fight against the Devil, the world, and our own weak, sinful flesh.  With temptations to lies, self-righteousness, guilt, and doubt Satan wages war against our souls.  The Lord, therefore, arms us against these through His Word and the Sacraments, the Means of Grace.

See this at work in the official coming to Jesus about his son.  He came in deep distress to be sure, but only a vague knowledge that Jesus might be able to heal his son.  With His Word, Jesus exposed the lies that were at work within his heart—don’t rest your faith seeing a miracle or in circumstances turning in your favor.  Jesus sends him away and simply says, “Your son lives.”[1]  Let your peace come from the Word of God, and the official left believing that Word.

51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son [lives].” And he himself believed, and all his household.

So by the end, the most important thing wasn’t that his son was healed, but that He believed the Word of Jesus in spite of the Evil One’s schemes.  Whether his son was alive or dead, the official and his household were adorned with salvation.

So how can you be similarly equipped?  By being immersed in the Means of Grace.  Come to worship often and hear the Word spoken, preached, and sung.  Make Bible study a priority over sleeping in or other things.  Remembering your Baptism every morning and throughout the day as you are met with your own failings and lose sight of God’s calling to you.

Here in today’s service, you are being adorned with the Armor of God: In confessing your sins and receiving the absolution, you are fitted with the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness.  In hearing the Word throughout the service—and believing it—you have the belt of truth.  At the end of the Divine Service when you are sent out with the Benediction, you walk out readied by the Gospel of peace.  But since this is only one hour out of the week, do not neglect the shield of faith, no matter what the circumstance, whether good or poor health, riches or poverty, ease or turmoil, because the Evil One has you in his sights and if your faith fails, any of circumstance can become a trap.

God’s creation has become a battlefield, but one where He has won the war against all the powers of darkness.  He has purchased and won you from the devil and given you His Spirit so that you believe Him at His Word.  Go from this place at His Word.  You will live because He has said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26) And it will surely be. Amen.

[1] The English translations make a future out of it, but the Greek is present tense.

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Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity (Matthew 9:1-8)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity + October 7, 2018

Text: Matthew 9:1-8

So, which is it?  Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Rise and walk”?

Jesus leaves us with this two-edged question, because if we say it’s easier to forgive sins, then we risk thinking too little of what that forgiveness cost. If we say it’s easier to say rise and walk, then we might wonder why God doesn’t seem more active in the world for good.

Which is easier?  The answer to the question is “Both.”  God is able to do all things, but the thing that scandalized the scribes and led them to accuse Jesus of blasphemy, is that God was doing His work the “wrong” way.  How could God put His powerful Word on the lips of a man?  How could God perform miracles through human touch?

But this is the mystery of our faith, that God does do these great wonders, and through a Man, Jesus, who is the Son of God.  That fact is the difference between the Christian faith and all man-made religions: God brings salvation through human flesh, we come to know God and His will through His Son, and that the way to paradise and eternal life is a gift which is ours by faith in the merit and works of Jesus alone.

Now if we’ve been Christians long enough, we start to become familiar with these things.  As the proverb goes, familiarity breeds contempt.  What I mean is we believe the word of forgiveness, the words of institution easily enough.  But, why do we struggle to believe that God is able to take care of the mundane things of life?

There is a tendency for the well-known Bible stories that we learn in Sunday School to become fairy tales when we grow up.  Take for instance the Walls of Jericho: “So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.” (Josh. 6:20)  Our sophisticated adult minds think, how could blowing trumpets and shouting cause city walls to fall flat?!  There must be some other explanation like an earthquake and sandstone.

This reveals what is still lacking in our faith.  We find ourselves believing in God in theory, but not so much God in fact.

Where is God when the rubber hits the road in life?  We just confessed that we believe in Him who created heaven and earth, visible and invisible.  But He is right where He has always been.  He continues to make Himself known and act for the good of His elect with a mighty hand and outstretched arm.  To His children, He gives His Holy Spirit, Who brings us to lament our breaks of faith with God.  It’s the Spirit who convinces us that the stories we read in the Bible are not just pious dreams about a fictional God.  They are the story of our very same God at work in the world we live in today.

Our God also strengthens our faith to believe that He is not only able to do great things for those who love Him, but He is also able to breach the greatest gap (between God and man) and cleanse even the filthiest heart and mind.  Which is easier to do, forgive sins or heal broken bodies?  Listen to His Word from Romans 8:

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If God is for us—and in Jesus Christ, He is—what power remains in the world to oppose Him?  If it’s a powerful disease like cancer, He is the one who knit us together in our mother’s womb (Ps. 139:14-16) and He is the One who broke the power death has over us.  If it’s abuse from a person, remember that He is the one who rescued David from the hand of Saul multiple times (1 Samuel 18-31)—“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Ps. 118:6)

Believe His holy Word, believe that He does exactly what He says, and the right response is Amen.  Rolled into that is the promise that nothing in all of life—on earth, in the body, even against spiritual evils—is greater than God who wills good for you.

It’s seemingly easier that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins, but if we believe that (and we do), then let us also believe the rest of our heavenly Father’s love and care by which He will bring us through the passing trials of this life to Paradise.