tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18671776990283333402024-03-13T08:25:02.733-05:00The RAsburry PatchRandom pickings from a Lutheran pastor devoted to the life of Christ in the Body of Christ for the life of the world.Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.comBlogger1022125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-87084293102340589142022-01-30T13:00:00.005-06:002022-02-03T10:08:39.750-06:00Homily for Epiphany 4 - 2022<p><b>Authority to Calm and Restore</b> </p><p>Matthew 8:23-27</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB_y7uB_AG-m3AuYyeZWAHnk-wC3vQcslGxCcbwCb13FjLngqjCOQPrsbppJkGcaKQxGrdLZeFDMxYfiAHyU-wRsWHWRGm7wG2xS8KgAtzwh0sS3dQ9q-K-ct4bnYn5jsK-n99FryfsMLPFgPwLNip4X0vBt6-LziUMG2n7ZNdQGPFS-zOIvmuYDy0XQ=s1200" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1200" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB_y7uB_AG-m3AuYyeZWAHnk-wC3vQcslGxCcbwCb13FjLngqjCOQPrsbppJkGcaKQxGrdLZeFDMxYfiAHyU-wRsWHWRGm7wG2xS8KgAtzwh0sS3dQ9q-K-ct4bnYn5jsK-n99FryfsMLPFgPwLNip4X0vBt6-LziUMG2n7ZNdQGPFS-zOIvmuYDy0XQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div>When Jesus reveals Himself to be the Son of God in human flesh, He also reveals our frailty and our fears. It’s something like opening the curtains or blinds on the window to let in the bright sunshine. Not only does it brighten up the room; it also reveals all that dust on the furniture. Remember how we prayed in today’s collect. God knows “we live in the midst of so many dangers.” We admitted that “in our frailty we cannot stand upright.” So we pleaded with our Epiphany Lord to “grant strength and protection.” Only with His strength and protection can we find “support in all our dangers.” Only He can “carry us through all temptations.”<br /><br />Matthew, chapter 8, introduces us to the authority of Jesus and how people react to that authority. Last week, we heard how He had the authority and will to cleanse the leper. That was followed by healing the centurion’s servant simply by speaking His powerful word (Mt. 8:1-13). Then He authoritatively healed Peter’s mother-in-law, helped many who were oppressed by demons, and healed other illnesses. He fulfilled the prophecy that said, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Mt. 8:17; Is. 53:4). <br /><br />Then came a scribe. He wanted to follow Jesus wherever He would go. Jesus had to warn him: unlike foxes and birds of the air, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Mt. 8:20). The scribe could not conceive that Jesus was not about self-promotion or His own comfort. Nor could the scribe comprehend that following Jesus means surrendering all guarantees of a comfortable, secure existence in this fallen world. He missed it on the purpose of Jesus’ authority. That authority will lead Jesus to sacrifice Himself upon a cross. Those who follow Him may expect the same cross-shaped life of self-sacrifice.<br /><br />Then came another of Jesus’ disciples. “First, let me bury my father,” he instructed Jesus. Sounds reasonable. But who knows how long until that would happen? This guy was putting family obligations above allegiance to Jesus. He missed it on the priority of Jesus’ authority. So Jesus gave a stern command: “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Mt. 8:22). Translation: Jesus calls those who follow Him to make their allegiance to Him the first and top priority. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt. 10:37), He would also say. <br /><br />Now we come to today’s Gospel. It answers the question: what is the extent of Jesus’ authority? Jesus reveals He has authority even over storm and sea—in fact, over all creation. He also reveals the frailty and fear of His followers, yes, including you and me.<br /><br />They’re all in the boat. A great storm arose. Great waves swamping the boat. Literally, the boat was hidden or covered by the waves. How did the disciples react? Remember, some of them were fishermen on this very lake called the Sea of Galilee. You’d think they would know the waters, the weather patterns, and how to handle the waves. Their reaction this time? “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” In Mark’s account of the same event, the disciples cry out, “Teacher, [don’t you] care that we are perishing?” (Mk. 4:38). <br /><br />It’s what happens when you’re not so sure about the extent of Jesus’ authority. You conclude Jesus doesn’t care. You fear He’s not always there for you. You wonder if you will even survive. It could be a wind storm on a lake or a snow storm on land. It could be a personal diagnosis of illness or a global pandemic of a disease that still, after two years, has a survival rate of 99 percent. It could be the stresses of family conflict or the confusing, ever-changing policies and practices at work. It could be the constant drumbeat of fear by the news media or the arrogant antics of power-hungry magistrates. When your fear and frailty come out of the closet of your heart and mind, you too echo those disciples in the boat. “Lord, we’re dying here! Don’t you care? Do something! Save us!”<br /><br />Where has Jesus been all this time during the boat-tossing storm? Sleeping. As though He had not a care in this blustery, tempestuous world. Calm in the midst of chaos. Actually, let’s thank Him for this revelation. This One truly is human. He got tired and needed rest, just as He got hungry and thirsty and needed food and drink. This is also a wonderful contrast. Winds blowing, waves crashing, boat floundering, sailors frantically flailing about. Yet Jesus sleeps with great calm. Even in sleep, Jesus is still in control. Soon enough, He would reveal His divine, almighty power and authority over winds and waves.<br /><br />First, though, let’s ponder what He said after His fearful followers woke Him from His peaceful slumber. “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’” His comment about “little faith” is not so much a measurement of their faith itself. It’s more of a “divine insult,” if you will—appropriate and accurate in revealing their frailty. He called them “little-faiths.” <br /><br />What led them to being “little-faiths”? They were afraid. No doubt, we can relate. This is a curious term in the Greek. It’s not the usual term, phobos—the common Greek term for “fear,” which we use for our various “phobias.” When you look up this term in the dictionary, you get a different, perhaps deeper, slant with some related words. “Why are you cowardly, craven, vile, worthless, miserable, wretched, or unhappy?” It’s what fear will do to you—make you cowardly and miserable, wretched and unhappy. <br /><br />After rebuking His cowardly Christ-followers, Jesus “rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” The creation responded to its Creator. No, this Man is not the Father, nor the Holy Spirit. But He is God, nevertheless. “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Jn. 1:3). Since He made it, He can and does control it…and calm it. He rules over it and preserves it, even in its fallen, frequently dangerous, chaotic state. <br /><br />The creation itself groans because it is subject to futility. Who subjected it? Adam in his original sin. Because of Adam’s sin, all of creation was also subjected to bondage of decay, danger, and death. No, the creation is not the “very good” place that God originally made it to be. Even the brightest noon-day sun and the most stunning evening sunset are actually muted and dull, compared to what they should be. And all because of us sinful humans. But, as St. Paul says, “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19). <br /><br />And Jesus in the boat has revealed Himself to be the very Son of God who will set free both the creation and you, His followers. When Jesus calmed that storm, He also made a promise to you, me, and all who trust Him. Not only can He still a storm on the Sea of Galilee, not only does He still the storms of sin, doubt, and cowardice within you, but He will one day also restore the whole creation to God’s good design. <br /><br />This Jesus—this Man who is God; God with us; Emmanuel—He has the authority to repair the creation, undo the damage caused by sin and death. In fact, He has already begun His “fixer-upper” renovation project. You can see it begun in His death and resurrection—on the cross, in the tomb, and as He came out of that tomb on day three. “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt. 12:40). Just as Jonah was thrown into the sea and “the sea ceased from its raging” (Jonah 1:15), so also Jesus was thrown into the sea of our sin, the depths of our decay, the chaos of the cross, the tomb of our death. And He calmed the storm of God’s judgment raging against us. Not only does your Lord have the authority to calm storms, but He also has the authority to forgive your sins, calm your craven fears, and restore you to life with Him. <br /><br />So you enter the boat of His Church through the peaceful waters of Baptism. You hear the calming words of His Absolution. You feast on His Body and Blood under bread and wine to be strengthened and sustained in the face of all things that cause cowardly fear. You may take courage and be brave. You live under Jesus in His kingdom. You “serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.” What does this mean? You belong to Him. He grants you His strength and protection. He supports you in all dangers. He carries you through all temptations, especially temptations to craven fear. It also means that we “look forward to the day when sin, death, and the devil will no longer hinder us from serving Him with complete devotion in peace and joy forever” (Expl. of SC, #179). Amen. <p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-56465781034758627802020-11-03T13:54:00.002-06:002020-11-03T13:54:21.886-06:00Homily for All Saints' Day - 2020<p><b>"Jesus' End is Our Beginning"</b></p><p>Revelation 7:2-17; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ax6hy-HA4h3KRE9VMcbCTM_YXXE7OA7aTF78INYLcJWaRj8M7Z6AH0Gh2URehrDI5n7BqnN74bRZnUJG0OI4Nvd5v2ehpYp7Np2d_K9wXH_m5rhBKzRLrsDiNoLgTOlmEiGvqjW37kXP/s640/Jesus+on+Throne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ax6hy-HA4h3KRE9VMcbCTM_YXXE7OA7aTF78INYLcJWaRj8M7Z6AH0Gh2URehrDI5n7BqnN74bRZnUJG0OI4Nvd5v2ehpYp7Np2d_K9wXH_m5rhBKzRLrsDiNoLgTOlmEiGvqjW37kXP/s320/Jesus+on+Throne.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />A pastor friend once said: “On All Saints’ Day we preach the parish’s funeral sermon.” That’s most fitting. This time of year our hearts and minds naturally gravitate toward the end of things. We experience shorter days and longer nights. Weather gets colder and leaves fall from the trees. We anticipate the so-called “death” of winter.<br /><br />When we celebrate All Saints’ Day, we name those from our congregational family who have died since last All Saints’ Day. Today we remember Don, Leslie, Doris, Viola, and Jean. This also draws our attention to our own end, to our own death. It’s what we fear and fight at all times. In fact, our many other fears, no doubt, are manifestations and outgrowths of our fear of death. Why do we fear COVID so much? Ultimately, because we fear dying. We also fight and fear our own sins, our own sinful desires, the world’s contempt, the world’s persecutions. Now we are not being morbid or doom-and-gloom. We’re simply being realistic. In our realism we also learn to persevere. As we will soon sing:<br /><br />Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine!<br />We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;<br />Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.<br /><br />And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,<br />Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,<br />And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. <br />(LSB677:4-5)<br /><br />Keeping our eyes focused on the end, on the goal, helps us persevere. On All Saints’ Day, our Lord Jesus gives His end-time promises to comfort us and strengthen our faith for our “new beginning” as His holy people.<br /><br />Our first reading gives us a glimpse of heavenly glory to sustain us in our earthly pilgrimage. In the first portion, we get to see God’s view of His Church on earth. The living God knows His saints. No matter how bad things get for us and from our perspective, our Lord gives us His point of view. One hundred forty-four thousand are sealed—12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. It’s not a literal number; it’s the symbolic number of perfect completeness. When you hear the term “sealed,” think Baptism and the sign of the cross made on your forehead. It’s the mark of ownership and protection. God knows His own and keeps His own—the perfectly complete number of them. <br /><br />In the second portion of this reading, we get a sneak peak of the Church in eternal triumph. God’s saints know their God. It’s a vast “multitude that no one could number.” More than that, this entourage is “standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” As you can see depicted on our wall, they are wrapped around with white robes. In the reading, they also carry palm branches of victory. They joyfully cry out with a loud, unified voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” In Christ, salvation’s victory is an absolute certainty.<br /><br />You who now live in the great tribulation have a promise that gives you hope and courage to stare down all fear. Those robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb will be your glorious dress. The life you now have—life from God and with God—will be fully seen and enjoyed. Keep your eyes on the goal; it helps you persevere.<br /><br />Our second reading gives us a personal promise to calm and purify us as we wait. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” True love begets true children. God declares it and makes it so, even for us who are so fearful and fatigued in the fight. What kind of love is this? St. John later says, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 Jn. 3:16). Our Lord engaged in the same fierce fight we must endure, and more. His struggle took Him to the long warfare of the cross—battered by betrayal, mocking, and isolation; injured by thorns, lashes, and spikes; and finally finished by giving up His own spirit. It was all love because it was all endured for you. And once He rose on the third day, it became clear for all to see. Your Lord, the Lamb, laid down His life and took it up again for you—to conquer your fears, your sin and sins, and your death.<br /><br />It’s what makes you “God’s children now.” Oh, sure, you may feel more like an orphan, out of place and without a home in this fallen world. Your own doubts, trials, and fears may cloud your vision, and you may not always see yourself as God’s child. Don’t rely on your eyesight, though; trust your Lord’s promise. You will see clearly when He appears. And “we know that when he appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” As John also tells you today, “Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.” You have been made pure in your Baptism—as pure as Jesus is—and you will get to see that when He appears. Keep your eyes on the goal; it helps you persevere.<br /><br />Our Gospel reading gives us Jesus at the beginning of His ministry. He begins His teaching by giving us end-time promises to sustain us in our journey to new life. With your eyes on the goal, you can persevere. First, Jesus promises to fill all who suffer from innate emptiness. Note the words He uses to describe you, me, and all His followers—poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting. Your innate empty condition leads to the result of how you live. Because you are spiritually bankrupt—because you have absolutely nothing to offer to God—you live all of life mourning your own sin and the sin that infects the world. Because you are meek and lowly—truly in need of deliverance—you hunger and thirst for Jesus’ rightness. <br /><br />Only Jesus can fill your innate emptiness. He does this in both the now and the not yet. Now He promises and assures you that His heavenly reign, with all its blessings, belongs to you. Now, by faith, to be sure. What lies ahead in the “not yet”? You will be comforted. You will inherit the earth, the new creation. You will be satisfied. All of that because you now have and will then have Him—your Savior, the Lamb who purifies you by His blood.<br /><br />Then Jesus promises to transform His disciples with His very own life. Jesus’ mercy shown on the cross makes His Christians merciful. By His shed blood He creates in you a new and pure heart so that you will get to see God face-to-face. Since you are thus made a child and heir of God Himself, you now get to live, move, and have your being as a peacemaker. That’s another way of saying, “a bringer of the Gospel” to those around you. And when you are persecuted and reviled for belonging to Jesus, confessing Him, and being His faithful follower, you have a very real and powerful promise in the here and now: His heavenly reign, with all its blessings, still belongs to you. There’s no room for triumphalism in Jesus’ Church. Just as He reigns and blesses from the cross, so too you and I get to live under the cross. That’s what helps us persevere even as we keep our eyes on the goal promised by Him.<br /><br />So come and be filled at His Table. Come and be transformed by Your Lord’s very Body and Blood. Here, at this Table, in this Meal, your Lord gives you the blessings of His heavenly reign: forgiveness, life, salvation, peace, and hope. <br /><br />All Saints’ Day is not only the day of preaching the parish’s funeral sermon. It’s also the great Easter feast of the second half of the Church Year. On Easter we celebrate our Lord’s resurrection from the dead, His victory over death itself. On All Saints’ Day we celebrate and anticipate the coming fruits of His resurrection for us, His Church. <br /><br />The golden evening brightens in the west;<br />Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest;<br />Sweet is the calm of paradise the blest.<br />Alleluia! (LSB 677:6)<br /><br />Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-41133683048089000842020-10-26T10:53:00.002-05:002020-10-26T10:53:49.717-05:00Homily for Reformation Day (Observed) - 2020<p><b>"Free Indeed"</b></p><p>John 8:31-36</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzE3aqNNLNMh-vwk33A9Hl1k9D6b43fdzgB1jaJ_uon-D9TyvrFNSD1sAnZXwS_ngc_i_ZRRyXYfHaXlcgWANQdB9J5-1M2r2sfrbvbGRmcHbE56DqgGfwviZmKWvl9ORFNDh3rLbizHu/s1500/Free+Indeed-Jn8-36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzE3aqNNLNMh-vwk33A9Hl1k9D6b43fdzgB1jaJ_uon-D9TyvrFNSD1sAnZXwS_ngc_i_ZRRyXYfHaXlcgWANQdB9J5-1M2r2sfrbvbGRmcHbE56DqgGfwviZmKWvl9ORFNDh3rLbizHu/s320/Free+Indeed-Jn8-36.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Jesus says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” <br /><br />Talk of freedom resonates with us Americans; our ears perk up. We love our liberty. Freedom is our national middle name, our country’s heart and soul, our very DNA. Everything from the year 1776 to the Fourth of July every year to freedom of speech and religious liberty proclaims our love for liberty. But when we talk of freedom, we must ask two crucial questions: 1) Free from what? and 2) Free for what?<br /><br />In our national experience, our love of liberty is rooted in freedom from government tyranny—that is, from government presuming it knows better than you how to run your life for you. Think King George, Great Britain, and burdensome taxes and regulations in the late 1700s. Building on the notion that all people are created equal, our American founders built a governing system “of the people, by the people, for the people,” as Abraham Lincoln would say a century later. Think freedom for living by the God-given rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” which means keeping your property.<br /><br />In our Gospel, we hear of a different, deeper freedom. Jesus teaches some Jews who had believed Him. They’ve heard His teaching and they believe that He is God’s promised Messiah. Exactly what they understood that to mean may be up for debate. So Jesus begins His sermon: “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” At that all ears perked up. “Will set you free?” These good Jewish believers thought they were already free. We good Americans think that we are already free. What does Jesus mean by “free”? Free from what?<br /><br />The Jewish believers who listened to Jesus could not stomach being told they were slaves. They pushed back: “We…have never been enslaved to anyone.” On the surface we might say, “Oh yeah?” Had they conveniently forgotten their forefathers who lived in Egyptian slavery for 400 years? What of their ancestors who lived in Babylonian exile for 70 years? Must have slipped their minds. Did they have blinders on to the Roman Empire occupying their backwater little country even as they spoke? <br /><br />Or they may have been thinking of something else. Even when they were enslaved in Egypt, they could claim they still belonged only to the God of Israel. Even when they were exiled in Babylon, they still belonged to and served Yahweh. Even as they lived under Roman rule, their self-proclaimed allegiance was to the true God. <br /><br />Either way, Jesus had to redirect their focus. They were forgetting one undeniable truth—slavery to sin. We also conveniently forget that we are, in fact, slaves to sin. As Jesus says, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” We all commit our sins—insensitive words or deeds, uncaring, spiteful thoughts and feelings, neglecting to care for family or friends, gossip, greed, and so on. Jesus wants us to “abide in His word,” His word of truth. But we succumb to the slavery of our society and question if there is such a thing as absolute truth. We say with our fellow slaves in society, “What’s true for you is not true for me.”<br /><br />Jesus wants us to abide in His Word. He wants us to remain in His truth. He wants us to dwell in His message of the liberated life. But all we need to do is examine our daily routines and priorities. Daily routines of work and school tend to crowd out time spent dwelling in Jesus’ Word. Our slavery to our schedules drives us to say, “I don’t have time for worship, for Bible study, for family prayer.” We are slaves to thinking we are in control of all things in life. We are slaves to our calendars, our commitments, and our self-imposed goals and priorities. We are slaves to the very computers, devices, and smart phones that are supposed to make life more free. We are slaves to ourselves—to imagining that we must control everything in life, even God Himself.<br /><br />So Jesus says, “the slave does not remain in the house forever.” No slave—no sinner—gets to dwell in God’s house—that is, no sinner-slave who is not freed by Christ Himself. Our sins hang around our necks and weigh us down. Our guilt for putting ourselves in the place of God shackles us down. We cannot move. We need help. We need Someone to liberate us. <br /><br />So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Jesus Christ, true Son of God in the flesh, comes to set you free. How so? By taking the chains of your sin and your guilt off of you and putting them on Himself. And He takes not only your chains, but also the chains of the people around you, the chains of all people of all times and all places. These chains of sin shackled Jesus to the cross. And bound there by His eternal love for you and for all people, He was crushed under the burden. But then He rose from the dead. And you are free. Free from what? Free from sin, free from a guilty conscience. <br /><br />Now we can ask: Free for what? Luther and the Reformation give us a great blessing: the Church always refocusing on God’s unshackled grace in Christ Jesus. In Christ we have all of God’s boundless mercy and love. In Christ Jesus we have freedom from sin, death, and hell. Now what? Now that we no longer have to impress God, butter Him up, or buy Him off, how do we go about life? For what are we free?<br /><br />It’s sad but true that in our liberty-loving land of America, freedom has come to mean “free to do whatever I want.” Many in our land love freedom so much that they trash and defame the very country that gives them freedom. It’s even sadder that we Christians do the same with God’s rich, sweet, life-giving mercy. How often do we use the freedom of our Lord’s forgiveness to slip back into our sinful ways? What of the times when we either think or act as though hearing our Lord’s Word and receiving His Body and Blood were somehow optional, rather than necessary for life? <br /><br />St. Paul captured this dilemma. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” (Rom. 6:1-2) Shall we use our freedom from sin to sin all the more? Of course not! St. Paul goes on: “Having been set free from sin, you become slaves of righteousness.” (Rom. 6:18). Yes, you are freed from sin for living a better life, a different kind of life. You are freed from service to self so that you may live as God designed you to live.<br /><br />Luther expressed it this way during the Reformation: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” Here’s the paradox of our freedom in Christ. We are free before God—free from sin, guilt, and eternal death. We are completely free to relax in God’s presence. At the same time, we are also free for living as God’s servants. We are completely free to practice the kind of humanity that God designed for us. That means trusting God above all things and serving our neighbors in love.<br /><br />For what has Christ set you free? He has set you free for service to other people. You are free to serve one another. Parents, you are free to serve your children, especially by teaching them God’s life-giving Word. Children, you are free to serve your parents by honoring and obeying them. Workers and students, you are free to put your best efforts into your work. Supervisors and managers, you are free to take care of your workers. As Christians—God’s free forgiven people—you are free to be slaves—slaves to people around you, free for service.<br /><br />By God’s grace, may it be so for you—free from sin before God, free for service to your neighbor. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Amen.<p></p><p> <br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-79388752363706991932020-10-19T10:44:00.003-05:002020-10-26T10:48:54.285-05:00Homily for St. Luke, the Evangelist - 2020<p><b>"Physician of the Soul"</b></p><p>Luke 10:1-9</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZ3l_KUrukZhuJdIuIvaAzsB3v9KB5dRxpcX1Q4jwtj1cwS1djwipepVfeHuQ8dl_O-EO48aIOVVMCSfnLbIcYg6UfdYpKsb1fIYUheubtEJ1lHL4cC1_IvIyOcK7Opc43r6GDztF9XPT/s327/St+Luke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZ3l_KUrukZhuJdIuIvaAzsB3v9KB5dRxpcX1Q4jwtj1cwS1djwipepVfeHuQ8dl_O-EO48aIOVVMCSfnLbIcYg6UfdYpKsb1fIYUheubtEJ1lHL4cC1_IvIyOcK7Opc43r6GDztF9XPT/s320/St+Luke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />“Neither you nor I could ever know anything about Christ, or believe on Him, and have Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel” (LC II:38). So writes Martin Luther in his Large Catechism on the Third Article of the Creed. The Holy Spirit’s work is to sanctify and heal us by bringing us to Christ and Christ to us.<br /><br />This is what St. Luke, the Evangelist, proclaimed by his words and his vocation. Luke, of course, wrote the Gospel bearing his name as well as the Acts of the Apostles. He gives us the beloved Christmas story, many powerful parables, and the encouraging accounts of early Christians. He traveled with St. Paul on his missionary journeys, and the Bible calls him “the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). <br /><br />In our Gospel reading, St. Luke fixes our eyes on Jesus and His healing for our souls. As we prayed in the Collect, Jesus called “Luke the physician to be an evangelist and physician of the soul.” The Church and her pastors have a singular task—to bring us “the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacraments” so that Jesus Himself “may put to flight the diseases of our souls that with willing hearts we may ever love and serve [Him].”<br /><br />Early Christian tradition says St. Luke was probably one of the seventy-two whom Jesus sent out. These men were in addition to the Twelve Apostles. Jesus sent them out “two by two” to establish the evidence of their witness. He told them not to take moneybag, knapsack or sandals, because they were not going on a vacation. He said not to greet folks on the road because their mission was urgent. <br /><br />Jesus sent them out to do what He Himself would do. They were to proclaim, “Peace be to this house!” They were to stay in the house that received them, not going on progressive dinners searching for the best cook in town, because “the laborer deserves his wages.” They were to “heal the sick” and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near you.” Jesus also told these pastors-in-training that they would be sacrificial “lambs in the midst of wolves.” When we read on in Luke 10, Jesus even prepares His evangelists and ministers that some stubborn souls just will not receive them or their message of peace and healing. When that happens, He says, just wipe the dust off your feet and move on.<br /><br />Jesus ties Himself to the work of these pastors and evangelists. “The one who hears you,” He tells them, “hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me, and the one who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:16). <br /><br />You see, Jesus knows what you need most. What you need is healing—in your soul. You need peace—in your soul. You need to hear, believe, and know that “the kingdom of God has come near to you.” And when Jesus says, “kingdom of God,” He’s referring to Himself. <br /><br />You and I need Someone—the only One—who can come and put to flight the diseases of the soul. Remember, Jesus called Himself a physician: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk. 5:31). <br /><br />So what diseases of the soul do you have? Consider the times you doubt God and are not sure that He loves you and does everything for you in mercy—even in times of widespread sickness and chaos. Consider the times you neglect to call upon Him in trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. Consider the times you grow cold or indifferent to holding His Word sacred and gladly hearing and learning it. Consider the times when your neighbor—at home, at church, or at work—taxes your patience and stretches your ability to love to the point of snapping. Consider the times when you truly are sinned against and end up wallowing in victimhood or stewing in the juices of anger. As Jesus said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Mt. 15:19-20). Such are the diseases of the soul.<br /><br />The Augsburg Confession calls this “concupiscence”—“a disease and original vice that is truly sin” (AC II, 2). On the one hand, we are inclined to live our lives “without the fear of God, without trust in God.” On the other hand, we feverishly seek to live our lives “with the inclination to sin” (AC II, 1). <br /><br />So St. Luke, the evangelist, the beloved physician, gives you the Great Physician, your Lord Jesus. When He was born, the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Lk. 2:14)—uniting heaven and earth with His peace and healing. He is your Good Samaritan who binds up the wounds of your soul, pours on the oil and wine of His Word and Sacraments, and brings you into the inn of His Church where you may convalesce and receive His healing (Lk. 10:33-35). He is the loving shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the pen to go looking for you. And when He finds you, aching and hurting in your diseased soul, He takes you up in His arms, He rejoices, and He restores you to His Father and His flock (Lk. 15:3-7). <br /><br />And when your Great Physician hangs on the cross, wounded by lacerations and spikes, by mockings and betrayals, He utters the most healing, peace-giving vaccine we can ever hear: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34). Yes, that includes you! There’s your healing medicine! “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:4-5). <br /><br />Now you can rejoice with the thief crucified next to Jesus. You get to hear the same hopeful, peaceful, soul-healing words: “You will be with me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43). Oh, you say you still have doubts about God, His Word, or His will for you? You still struggle to call upon Him, praise Him, or give Him thanks? You still have dry times in hearing and learning His Word? And loving your neighbor is still difficult? You still have diseases of the soul? That’s what the promise of Paradise is for! “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (Is. 35:5-6). That’s when the full and final healing will come. <br /><br />It’s also why your Great Physician gives you His Body and Blood as healing medicine for your soul. It’s “a pure, wholesome, comforting remedy that grants salvation and comfort. It will cure you and give you life both in soul and body. For where the soul has recovered, the body also is relieved” (LC V:68).<br /><br />Speaking of the body being relieved, we also thank our Lord, the Great Physician, for His gifts of health care workers. As we thank our Lord for St. Luke the physician, we also thank Him for our brothers and sisters here at Hope who serve as health care workers—Gabrielle, Colin, Sally, Donna, Chad, Joel, and Christina. (If I have accidentally missed someone, please forgive me!) During this time of pandemic, our health care workers have been serving on the “front line.” At least two of our Hope members have served patients suffering from COVID. In a few minutes we will publicly thank our Lord for you and give you our own heartfelt “Thank you.” <br /><br />Your Great Physician Jesus comes to heal you. He sends His ministers, such as St. Luke, the beloved physician, to deliver His divine healing medicine in water, words, and meal. That’s why today we thank our Lord for His servant Luke, as well as others who practice the art of healing the body. It’s also why we praise Him that, even in our day, He gives servants who dispense and administer the healing medicine of Jesus, our Physician of the soul. Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-24454166360186922832020-10-12T10:36:00.003-05:002020-10-26T10:43:36.900-05:00Homily for Trinity 18 - 2020<p><b>"Where Does Your Love Face?"</b></p><p>Matthew 22:34-46</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rldZTTuV-gSWVcYy1Mqpg5ZV1cGFc3VLmVWPLEfiI35jrZ8QYjsgmMDRjNsSB3E22nWuWK9vI4_1Nhc8q8eiYsN3jNqPSU9y6pJ0XaiELKua8IIKsCkP7WjELqx1JRwfjsTAReXotOrZ/s350/Greatest+Commandments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rldZTTuV-gSWVcYy1Mqpg5ZV1cGFc3VLmVWPLEfiI35jrZ8QYjsgmMDRjNsSB3E22nWuWK9vI4_1Nhc8q8eiYsN3jNqPSU9y6pJ0XaiELKua8IIKsCkP7WjELqx1JRwfjsTAReXotOrZ/s320/Greatest+Commandments.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />It’s been a rough few days for Jesus! On Sunday, He rode into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!” and then cleansed the temple. That angered the religious leaders. On Monday, He cursed the fig tree and taught some Greeks. Now, on Tuesday, He’s had His authority questioned. He’s had to teach some hard things by means of parables. And He’s been peppered with gotcha questions to test Him. Would He pay taxes Caesar? Does He really believe in the resurrection? <br /><br />Now some self-righteous teacher of God’s Law tests Him about the greatest commandment. It’s the ultimate gotcha question: “Which is the great commandment in the Law?” Would they finally catch Him or trip Him up? Would they confirm that He’s actually on their side against the Sadducees? Jesus gives a “two-for-the-price-of-one” answer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The two go together, hand in glove—love your God and love your neighbor.<br /><br />What does this mean? Bible commentator Frederick Bruner gives a helpful picture. When Jesus gives this “love command” as supreme, Bruner says, “he opens the hearts of believers, like flowers to the sun, to their living posture. We were made for love…. [Jesus] does not so much give us an activity that can be calculably done as he gives a direction to face.” (Churchbook, 794). When our Lord commands us to love our God and love our neighbor, He does not so much give us things to do; He gives us a direction to face. Of course, that direction to face bears fruit in things to do.<br /><br />Where does your love face? In the first and greatest commandment, Jesus says your love must face God-ward. <br /><br />That’s easier said than done, though. You see, you and I are so accustomed to looking in the mirror and taking selfies. We’re quite efficient at looking out for number one. Martin Luther used the Latin phrase “incurvatus se”—being curved in on oneself. We might also call it “navel gazing” or “belly-button-itis.” And what happens when you walk around in life with your face directed toward your belly button? You run into lots of things and get hurt.<br /><br />We are accustomed to the “love God” command showing us our sin. As our catechumens learned last week, when God gives His commandments, He demands full compliance, perfect completion, no exceptions whatsoever. In God’s grading scale 100% is the passing grade; everything else—even 99.99%—is a failing grade. We do not love God as we should because we cannot. It’s rather difficult to face God-ward when we are so prone to facing self-ward.<br /><br />When Jesus says, “Love God,” He says, “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” We can also say, “With all your will, with all your emotions, and with all your reason.” If you love God with your whole heart, you make God’s will your will. If you love God with your whole soul, you fully desire God more than anything else. If you love God with your whole mind, your every thought is continually directed toward God. <br /><br />Whoever loves God with the heart but not with the whole heart is straddling the fence. That’s not love for God, because God wants to fill a person’s whole heart. Whoever loves God with the soul, but not the whole soul has a lukewarm love. God will spit that lukewarm love out of His mouth. Whoever loves God with the mind but not the whole mind does not yet know God as their highest good. That person may suppose to love God, but really only loves God’s gifts and creatures.<br /><br />Where does your love face? In the second greatest commandment, Jesus says your love must face neighbor-ward. This is the pure extension of love for God. As Paul said, “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” <br /><br />Again, this is easier said than done. Just reflect on how every human being loves himself or herself—on how you love yourself. You do not merely love yourself, but you love yourself sincerely; not coldly or lukewarmly but ardently. You never seek your own hurt but always your own safety and benefit, even when it’s most difficult to achieve.<br /><br />So to love your neighbor as yourself, you must think the same way toward every other human being—whether he’s a friend or enemy, whether he’s godless or devout. Your Lord commands you to love each person as sincerely, as ardently, and as continually as you love yourself. He calls you to defend your neighbor from all harm, just as you would protect yourself. He summons you to seek the profit and benefit of your neighbor as though it were your own profit and benefit. A person loves his neighbor as himself only when his whole life and all his actions have the purpose of serving the neighbor, even to the point of giving his life for the neighbor. <br /><br />Where are the Christians who can say that nothing but God’s love dwells in them? Where are the Christians who can say that their whole life is only and always a joyful service to their neighbor? Where are the Christians who first face only God-ward and second face only neighbor-ward? When you examine yourself and are honest with yourself, you must join David in falling on your knees and confessing: “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you” (Ps. 143:2).<br /><br />So it’s a good thing we have another question before us today: Where do you face God’s love? The first part of our Gospel reading is all Law; the second part is sheer, sweet Gospel. The first part of our reading brings us a gotcha question from the Pharisees to Jesus. The second part gives us a gotcha question in the other direction—from Jesus to the Pharisees. He asked them: “Whose son is the Christ?” They thought the question was too easy: “The son of David,” of course! Okay, then, why does David also call Him, “Lord”? “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’”? <br /><br />Yes, the Christ is David’s Son, fully flesh-and-blood human. That means He’s also your neighbor who loves you as Himself. He has faced you in His incarnation, in His life of love and humble service, in His crucifixion and in His resurrection. “See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down” (LSB 425:3). He is also David’s Lord, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God” (Nicene Creed). His perfect, divine love has also faced His Father from eternity and for all time. It’s the same love that led Him to come down from heaven for us and for our salvation. It’s the same eternal love that meets us face-to-face in the washing of rebirth, in the words speaking forgiveness, and in the meal giving His very Body and Blood for healing and living in love.<br /><br />Where does your love face? Both God-ward and neighbor-ward. Of course, you and I are most imperfect in loving God with our all and loving our neighbor as ourselves. That’s why we seek our refuge not in our love, either for God or for our neighbor. No, we seek our refuge, our comfort, our confidence, our very peace in His love for us. “Love so amazing, so divine,” it “demands my soul, my life, my all” (LSB 425:4). Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-80141934872918050702020-10-05T11:33:00.000-05:002020-10-05T11:33:14.266-05:00Homily for Anniversary of a Congregation - 2020<p><b>"That We Might Have Hope"</b></p><p>Revelation 21:1-5</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKx_3x0Whxpm-wu-fEkzUowEYFGLJnR1UYoc9c6vTdIB8wRa1CSShluDiKoXpFZuT3S8v6ctHz1IqLAu0QcWmJjoafTnBNnSytm_xioMnJqGF7agPNyVEiyQYPZx61Haje_CdaWeFj6tP/s2048/Service30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKx_3x0Whxpm-wu-fEkzUowEYFGLJnR1UYoc9c6vTdIB8wRa1CSShluDiKoXpFZuT3S8v6ctHz1IqLAu0QcWmJjoafTnBNnSytm_xioMnJqGF7agPNyVEiyQYPZx61Haje_CdaWeFj6tP/w266-h400/Service30.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />Just over a century ago, mail carrier William Eickoff noticed that some homes in the developing Southampton area were receiving Lutheran periodicals and letters from Lutheran churches. A Lutheran himself, Eickoff became acquainted with those Lutheran families. Soon they discussed the possibility of starting a new Lutheran congregation—our congregation. With the help of the old Western District of the LCMS and students from Concordia Seminary, the new Lutheran mission opened and dedicated its portable chapel on October 8, 1916. The mission’s first name was “Southampton English Lutheran Church.” Four months later—February 22, 1917—the new congregation held its first Voters Assembly meeting. Led by their first pastor, Rev. Martin Engel, the new mission chose a new name. Three names were proposed: “Faith,” “Hope,” and “Good Shepherd.” The name “Hope” was chosen by an overwhelming majority—“Hope English Lutheran Church.”<br /><br />Perhaps our congregation’s founders were echoing Martin Luther when he said: “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope. No [farmer] would sow a grain of corn if he hoped not it would grow up and become seed…. [No] tradesman would set himself to work if he did not hope to reap benefit thereby.” We humans do seem to function best when we have hope—when we can see the purpose of our efforts, the end of a struggle, or some other light at the end of the tunnel.<br /><br />We see a more explicit reason for naming a congregation “Hope” from 79 years ago, when our forebears celebrated our 25th anniversary. “The story of Hope is not complete unless we realize that hundreds, perhaps thousands of those to whom Hope Church, through the preaching of the Gospel, gave the opportunity to live here in this evil world with real hope will someday by the grace of God in Christ Jesus be translated to the Home Above where hope will change to reality, where faith will be changed into seeing, where everlasting peace and contentment will dwell.” (25th Anniversary Book, p. 19)<br /><br />Why name a congregation “Hope”? To fix our eyes on the most meaningful purpose of our lives, to comfort us with the best and brightest light at the end of the tunnel. The Apostle Paul said, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Hope for more than getting through the day or to the weekend. Hope for more than merely surviving a pandemic or slogging through another election year. Truly, hope for a better existence, a better life, and a better creation than we’ve ever known. This is the light we see shining so brightly in our second reading from Revelation. <br /><br />Anytime we hear from or read Revelation, we must remember one crucial detail. This last book of the Bible is not a road map of the End Times, as so many teach it these days. Instead, Revelation is a book of comfort and hope. <br /><br />First century Christians were being persecuted—hunted down, locked down, and put down—by the Roman government. St. John had been exiled on the island of Patmos, just off the coast of modern-day Turkey—whisked away to waste away for confessing Christ. So God revealed His message of the victorious Lamb, Christ Jesus, to give comfort and hope to His embattled yet faithful people. The Revelation to St. John gives comfort to suffering Christians. It encourages them in their faithful witness. It does so by means of symbolic images and prophetic portraits of the victory that is already ours in God’s risen and living Lamb, our Lord Jesus. <br /><br />After the Lord told him to compose letters to seven churches and their pastors, St. John saw several visions of things happening on earth and in heaven. On earth the church lives under great distress. The heavenly visions give God’s view of all the goings on. Fast-forward to the end of the book. Babylon, the earthly enemy of God and His kingdom, is fallen. There’s great rejoicing in heaven as the victorious soldier—our Lord Jesus—comes riding triumphantly on a white horse to receive His bride, the Church. Satan, God’s spiritual enemy, is bound and defeated. Now John leads us to look beyond the end of the first world to the creation of “a new heaven and a new earth.” To what end? That we might have hope.<br /><br />This present heaven and earth were good as first created by God. But we know how Adam, Eve and all humanity have spoiled and ruined it with sin and death. Just read, mark, learn and inwardly digest your Bible stories. Just observe what happens around you in your home, in the workplace, in society. Just pay attention to times past and current events. This world is not a good place. It’s broken. People suffer. You and I suffer. And none of us can change it, no matter how hard we try. Let John’s vision of “a new heaven and a new earth” give you hope. This broken creation is not fit for you who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, for you who are sealed to be resurrected. John sees the broken creation passed away. <br /><br />He also sees that “the sea was no more.” Does that mean no water sports or no water to drink in the new creation? Probably not. After all, bodies of water were part of God’s original creation. “No more sea” is a biblical way of saying that everything that separates you from God will be gone, no longer a thing. All of the fear and terror evoked by “the sea” of this fallen world will be sent packing. <br /><br />Next John sees “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” That’s you; that’s me; that’s all of God’s faithful who are redeemed by Jesus. Because of Jesus’ ugly, bloody death, you and I and all the redeemed are made clean and beautiful. Now that’s something to look forward to!<br /><br />Then a voice rings out: “The dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.” God binds Himself to His people in an incarnational and sacramental way. Remember the Word becoming flesh and tabernacling among us. It’s what He does now in word, water, and meal. Now we receive Him by faith; then we will get to see Him dwelling with us face-to-face. <br /><br />Next John gives us a most curious way of describing this coming new heaven and new earth. It’s described in negative terms—what’s not there, what it’s not like. No tears, no death, no sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of these things that are now part and parcel of the fallen creation and our fallen existence will be no more. It’s as if we could never really comprehend life without tears, sorrows, pain, crying and death. That’s exactly the way it is. That’s why we need hope, the light at the end of the tunnel. We cannot even imagine what life would be like without disappointments and diseases, without chaos and corruption. But we do have our Lord’s promise, that we might have hope: all of that will be gone.<br /><br />Finally, as John views “a new heaven and a new earth,” he hears the voice of God the Father. It’s only the second time the Father has spoken in Revelation. The first was when He identified Himself as “the Alpha and the Omega…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). Now He gives a creative word. Just as He said in the beginning, “Let there be…,” and there was, now He will say, “Behold, I am making all things new.” All things will be made new and improved, of much better, far superior quality than we can even imagine. “All things” means earth, heaven, creatures great and small, and even you, me, and all believers. God will not throw out His creation as some sort of trash. Instead, He will recreate it, transform the old into the new. And that includes you, that you might have hope.<br /><br />How does John’s vision affect our faithful witness? We keep hearing how we live in “challenging times” and “unprecedented times.” You can hear the hopelessness in those words. It’s what happens when humans go it alone through this broken, fallen world, without God. And that’s why our victorious Lamb has put us here, in this place, at this time. That others around us may have hope. That those around us may be brought to life in Christ Jesus through His shed blood. What’s truly unprecedented is the new creation awaiting in Jesus. <br /><br />It was only two years after Hope English Lutheran Church was founded that the Spanish flu pandemic hit St. Louis. I can find no record of how those challenging months impacted our toddler-aged congregation. But we do know this: the people of Hope endured it, survived, and thrived. They went on to proclaim Christ crucified and risen for sinners. And because of their faithful witness, we too have hope. Now we get to look forward “to the Home Above where hope will change to reality, where faith will be changed into seeing, where everlasting peace and contentment will dwell.” Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-54033484487776186972020-09-28T10:51:00.003-05:002020-09-28T10:51:58.243-05:00Homily for St. Michael and All Angels (Observed) - 2020<p><b>"Seeing the Battle"</b></p><p>Luke 10:17-20</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhko6viuWEMGll7E6yIBCu1ByoNukbCerhvS7yv_TKOoqM7M3Cmgw5hoztb7sPMxu01E6Tphlh3r5rmyeXkZH4enwt75AnH0mOMbN9ScrycvWmPiDKHWwwCNF2_d8QeH6HKnP3Ejooclj-l/s1280/St.+Michael-Statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhko6viuWEMGll7E6yIBCu1ByoNukbCerhvS7yv_TKOoqM7M3Cmgw5hoztb7sPMxu01E6Tphlh3r5rmyeXkZH4enwt75AnH0mOMbN9ScrycvWmPiDKHWwwCNF2_d8QeH6HKnP3Ejooclj-l/w400-h225/St.+Michael-Statue.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Blurry vision is better than no vision at all.<br /><br />So I discovered this past Friday on my early morning bike ride. As I began my ride in the dark, I could see it was foggy. The further I rode, the soupier the fog became—like pea soup, as we say. The longer I rode, the more the moisture collected on my glasses, blocking my vision. When I stopped at the light at Holly Hills and Morganford, I removed my glasses and used my cycling jersey to wipe off the condensation. Well, that moved the water droplets around a bit. I had to stop again, after another mile and a half; then again after another mile. I even tried using my fingers as “windshield wipers” on my glasses as I rode. Finally, I decided simply to remove my glasses, put them in my jersey pocket, and ride the final five miles with blurry but better vision. It was much safer than riding with vision cut off by countless tiny water droplets and some finger smudges.<br /><br />In a way, the 72 disciples of Jesus had to learn this lesson too. Jesus had sent them out to “Heal the sick…and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (Lk. 10:9). He had enlisted them in the very same combat mission in which He was engaged. The difference between Jesus and His 72 sent out ones is this: He can clearly see the battle that’s raging. His fallen-but-redeemed human messengers? Not so much. <br /><br />You see, wherever Jesus goes, whatever He does, He goes marching into battle. Remember when Jesus entered this fallen world. King Herod tried to snuff out the life of Mary and Joseph’s Child. By God’s direction they fled to Egypt for a time. Remember about 30 years later after Jesus was baptized. He was “led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil” (Lk. 4:2). There He battled the arch enemy over some food, some physical protection, and a whole lot of earthly glory. <br /><br />When He returned to His hometown of Nazareth, He used His synagogue sermon to set out the agenda for His ministry. He would proclaim good news to the poor and liberty to the captives. The blind would receive their sight, and the oppressed would be set free. He would proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Lk. 4:16-19). At first His hearers marveled at His gracious words. But then He confronted them with their own pride and unbelief. So they drove Him out of the town and tried to throw Him off the cliff. But He passed through the riotous crowd and walked away. <br /><br />Then came the teachings and healings. Every word He spoke and every person He healed was a frontal assault on the ruler of this world. He spoke of God’s gracious reign entering—that is, invading—this world so darkened by suspicion, hatred, discontent, violence, and death. He spoke of the God who loves and forgives His fallen people, even though those same fallen people are prone to ignore Him. To those who do receive His message of divine grace, mercy, and forgiveness, He also spoke of not being judgmental but rather loving one’s neighbor in many and various ways. And the healings! Folks were liberated from various captivities: demon-possession, leprosy, paralysis, withered hands, sicknesses leading to death, even death itself. <br /><br />Wherever Jesus goes, whatever He does, He brings the age-old battle to the enemy—the great dragon, that ancient serpent. The 72 were sent out with the same battle plan: to heal the sick and proclaim the coming of God’s gracious kingdom in Christ. When they returned to Jesus, they took pride in what they had done. “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” They were giddy in their apparent victory and success. But their glasses were covered with the pea-soup fog of pride. <br /><br />Yes, Jesus did see Satan fall like lightning from heaven, both at the beginning of creation and every time His sent ones proclaimed His kingdom of mercy and forgiveness. Yes, Jesus had given them authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and even over all the power of the enemy. He even promised that nothing would hurt them. But they needed to remove their glasses fogged up with pride. “Don’t rejoice that some junior devils are subject to you when you proclaim Me,” Jesus says. “Instead, ‘rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’” <br /><br />It seems a bit counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Engage in the same war Jesus is engaged in, but do not focus on victories in the minor skirmishes? We do need to remove our glasses fogged up with the pea soup of pride. We do need to see with better clarity even if, to us, it’s still blurry. <br /><br />You see, we are at war. Not against nations or terrorists. Not a ground war, sea war, air war, nuclear war, or war against a microscopic virus. Not a war against flesh and blood. We are at war “against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). It’s cosmic, spiritual warfare. We can see it only with blurred vision, which is better than not seeing because of pride.<br /><br />In our Old Testament reading, we see the battle lines drawn. It’s the wise versus the wicked. It’s the kings of the earth lined up against the people of God. But they are not the only ones on the battlefield. There’s also Michael, the prince of God’s people. He and his forces confront and engage the antichrist. <br /><br />This picture comes into clearer focus in our reading from Revelation. Michael and his ranks of angels do battle against the dragon and his fallen angels. And they defeat the the dragon and his evil minions. The victory comes in a most unexpected, unanticipated way. “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11). Our Lord Jesus, who had seen Satan fall like lightning from heaven, finally conquered the old evil foe. He who was higher than the angels became a little Child, humble, trusting His heavenly Father, and obedient unto death. By dying on a cross and shedding His innocent blood He conquered the ancient serpent. That with His resurrection on the third day crushed the serpent’s head. That’s the victory we can clearly see.<br /><br />But the fighting is not over. Between that victory on Calvary and the Feast of Victory after the Last Day, the devil and his forces are still in the world doing their dirty work. Remember, “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Pet. 5:8). He and his forces will do whatever it takes to further their cause. They’ll use pandemics and responses to pandemics to turn people away from Jesus, prevent them from hearing His Word and receiving His Sacrament, and sow seeds of suspicion and division among people. They’ll use highly charged politics in an election year and violence in the streets to make fears and anxieties grow. <br /><br />This is why, in our Gospel reading, our Lord warns His disciples not to become pawns of the evil one. How might you and I become pawns of the dragon in his battle against our Lord and His Church? By succumbing to pride. By desiring greatness and acclaim. By forgetting we are the Lord’s “little ones” who can see only with the clarity of faith, even as we have the blurred vision of physical sight. <br /><br />As the Church engages in the struggle against Satan and his demonic forces, she does so with St. Michael and the holy angels at her side. In Holy Baptism, we become God’s “little children.” Our Father hears our prayers and sends His angels to guard us in all our ways. In Holy Absolution we hear our Father’s word of pardon for our offenses, including our offenses against weaker members of His family. In the Holy Supper we participate in the Feast of Victory and are fed with Life Himself as our living Bread from heaven. And in the liturgy we are brought into the very presence of our Lord Jesus and join the angels and archangels in their unending hymn of praise. <br /><br />Let this St. Michael and All Angels Day remove your lenses of pride and improve your vision. We may not be able to see the battle against the spiritual forces of evil nor the holy angels themselves. But your Lord, by His blood, has conquered the evil foe. Your Lord sends His angels to serve as your powerful protectors. Rejoice that your names are written heaven. Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-84223865106901608182020-09-21T09:44:00.004-05:002020-09-21T09:46:36.021-05:00Homily for Trinity 15<p><b>"Liberated from Anxious Worry"</b></p><p>Matthew 6:24-34</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-cmHYI3f3Nx0mRcTLMC9WuHUpCtrhwWYF7U180p-8GLCjSnHci_uqQJiE0QqjM8OCB0cT5OwnO4djiwetf2nrPjTKXUNwTkj5fY_gAj5hiM0IHdLXKsXyi5D87_Rw7cIfGDuW0PvkMUm/s700/Roadside+Wildflowers-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="700" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-cmHYI3f3Nx0mRcTLMC9WuHUpCtrhwWYF7U180p-8GLCjSnHci_uqQJiE0QqjM8OCB0cT5OwnO4djiwetf2nrPjTKXUNwTkj5fY_gAj5hiM0IHdLXKsXyi5D87_Rw7cIfGDuW0PvkMUm/w400-h200/Roadside+Wildflowers-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />A Swedish proverb says, “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” How true that is! This odd year called 2020 is conditioning us to make and live in lots of big shadows. Remember when the pandemic started and we endured the big shadow of toilet paper and paper towel shortages? I still have no idea what a run on paper goods rolled on cardboard tubes had to do with COVID, but there it was—that big shadow.<br /><br />One anonymous source tried to calculate just what makes people anxious. According to that source, <br />40% of the average person’s anxieties focus on things that never happen; <br />30% of a person’s anxieties focus on things of the past, things that cannot be changed; <br />12% of one’s anxieties are over criticisms, which are mostly untrue;<br />10% of a person’s anxieties are over health issues, and those health issues only get worse with stress; and<br />only 8% of the average person’s anxieties are about real problems. <br /><br />We fallen creatures seem to relish giving small things a big shadow. Or, how about this picture for your worries and anxieties: Worry is like a rocking chair. It may give you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.<br /><br />Our Lord knows this. He also knows how His disciples, both then and now, are so very prone to anxious worry. So He invites us to learn from the little birds and the tiny lily. He woos and invites us to be liberated from our anxious worry. <br /><br />First, Jesus gives us an “either/or” lesson for looking at the world. Just before our text, He said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6:21). Then with His first words in our Gospel, He says: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” You cannot divide your loyalties. You cannot simultaneously serve God and money. You cannot simultaneously serve God and anxious worry. There is only room in your heart for one lord and master. Will it be God, or will it be your anxious worry? As Luther said, “The confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol…. [W]hatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god” (LC I:2-3). <br /><br />Next, Jesus gives us His wonderfully simple object lessons of the little birds and the tiny lily. <br /><br />What can we learn from the little birds? One time Martin Luther was overwhelmed by the vast variety of birds in God’s creation. He pondered how much it might cost God to feed them all with so many different kinds of seeds and berries. Wouldn’t a few standard types of birds be more economical?, Luther wondered. There are robins, ravens, jackdaws, crows, canaries, cardinals, wrens, finches, and so many more. Yet God knows each and every one of them. And no petite hummingbird falls to the ground dead without God knowing it. They neither grow nor harvest their own crops, nor store their food in barns. “Yet,” Jesus says, “your heavenly Father feeds them.”<br /><br />So who among you, people of God—people more valuable than those little birds, people bought back with the blood of Christ—who among you can add a mere 18 inches to your long-distance marathon of life? After all, you live your lives under the Father’s care. You live your lives with the Son’s cross-won forgiveness. Why be anxious? Why worry about a new disease that we now know has a 99% survivability rate? Why worry about destructive riots and devastating wildfires? Oh, I know, many in the media and some of our leaders keep stoking the fires of fear and anxiety. But they cannot overrule your Father’s promises in Jesus. <br /><br />As Proverbs reminds you: “Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad” (12:25). That good word is your Father’s love through Christ crucified for anxious sinners. The psalmist also reminds you: “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Ps. 127:2). You may rest safe and secure in your Father’s care.<br /><br />What can we learn from the tiny lily? Now this is not the splendid, fragrant Easter lily, tall and proud. No, this is the tiny little flower you see growing in bunches in the grass along the roadside. This tiny lily grows as a creature of God. This miniature flower does not make itself grow, but God makes this lily grow. It is entirely dependent upon His goodness and provision. So it waits on God for its growth and strength. And it accepts God’s good design. It knows it is not a mighty oak tree. The tiny lily is not impatient. It has no hurry or fluster. It has a deep quiet and a strong peace. <br /><br />We might think also of Mary’s Baby—quiet, hidden in her womb for nine months, and growing as God provided. Then after He was born, He grew into a young boy, He would go to school, play, help around the house, and perhaps play with the tiny lilies, without a care in the world. Remember this when you get flustered, impatient, and overshadowed with anxious worry. Remember the tiny lily. Especially remember the lily of the valleys, your Lord Jesus, who came from Mary, the rose of Sharon (Songs 2:1).<br /><br />Not only is this tiny lily in Jesus’ object lesson a creature of God; it also lives solely to God. It has no anxious toil for security and safety in life. It does not spin or store up in banks or retirement funds. It does not worry about where to get clothing, food, drink, or toilet paper. It simply finds its fulfillment in living with the design and purpose given by God. Even its appearance and beauty is a gift from God. That’s what makes it more splendid and beautiful than Solomon in his luxurious glory.<br /><br />But notice what else Jesus says about the tiny lily: today it’s alive and tomorrow it’s thrown into the oven. The lily can die quietly and without complaint. In death as in life, the lily lives only by God’s design and only with God’s purpose.<br /><br />So too, the lily of the valleys, our Lord Jesus. He came into this sin-cursed world, this creation that groans under the weight of sin and death, to live God’s purpose of rescue and healing. He was crushed by the curse and thrown into the oven of crucifixion. He died without complaint, as He died for you and your salvation. And you know the rest of the story. He also rose again! His resurrection means your resurrection. His life restored means your life restored and creation restored for all eternity. <br /><br />When it’s your time to die, you may die quietly and without complaint. This is true whether you die from natural causes, from COVID, in the path of a riot, or a wildfire, or a hurricane, or from something else. No need to be anxious, because your Father cares for you.<br /><br />Jesus is drawing and wooing and inviting you to be free from all anxious worry over all of your needs. How can you do this? “Seek first the [reign] of God and His righteousness.” Receive His blessing and His calling that come only through Jesus. Keep seeking Jesus where He promises to be found. Keep seeking His gracious rule in the forgiveness of sins. You seek His reign when you seek His Gospel in the Scriptures and the Sacraments. You seek His reign with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Together you are joined to Jesus in your Baptism. Together you gather to hear His Word of life that makes anxiety dissipate. Together you receive His Body and Blood for forgiveness, life, and salvation. <br /><br />“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3). Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-7420182065250548672020-09-15T10:59:00.005-05:002020-09-15T10:59:29.401-05:00Homily for Trinity 14<p><b>"Lepers Cleansed"</b></p><p>Luke 17:11-19</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96A29GvufAs06EZAICheq4IBr6cVa6VtcIW9_fiD8YBZFbd0QulQOD7_JIly7fvqaM5pHRQH_pmAFTLM99diKWhkhMrk3G4WKNghA5f8-QYR0wPv6VRbUET0K7yWusC5TcGOr0-GH3gvN/s225/JesusHealsTenLepers7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96A29GvufAs06EZAICheq4IBr6cVa6VtcIW9_fiD8YBZFbd0QulQOD7_JIly7fvqaM5pHRQH_pmAFTLM99diKWhkhMrk3G4WKNghA5f8-QYR0wPv6VRbUET0K7yWusC5TcGOr0-GH3gvN/s0/JesusHealsTenLepers7.jpg" /></a></div><br />The ten lepers are us, and we are the ten lepers. They suffered from physical leprosy that ravaged their bodies. We and all people suffer from spiritual leprosy that ravages both body and soul. These ten lepers give us a picture of the human race infected with the leprosy of sin. <br /><br />When we hear the term “leprosy,” we usually think of Hansen’s disease—a bacterial infection that can affect nerves, skin, and eyes and then lead to a loss of feeling and even paralysis. In the Bible, leprosy certainly included that, but it probably also included illnesses such as eczema—a skin rash—and dermatitis—scaly, flaking skin and itchiness. <br /><br />Our sin is like leprosy in several respects:<br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Leprosy affects and destroys the whole body. Sin totally infects, affects and destroys our strength in both body and soul—nothing sound from head to toe. </li><li>Leprosy is a disease that spreads. So does sin, coming into the world through one man and spreading to us all. St. Paul calls it “the works of the flesh”—with all those nasty symptoms of “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger” and so on—all those symptoms that even present themselves in us. </li><li>Leprosy cannot be healed by man’s efforts. Today, treatments may prevent the disease from getting worse, but they cannot reverse the damage. And remember the story of Naaman. He sought healing from the King of Israel, but the King of Israel cried out, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive?” (2 Kgs. 5:7). Sin absolutely cannot be healed by human means—not by doctors, paramedics, or politicians. After all, those “desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.”</li><li>Leprosy is a viral disease that spreads to others who are healthy. Modern medicine may quibble with just how it spreads. Sin itself does spread its contamination. Consider the many ways our fallen world infects us all in thought, word and deed to think, speak and act in ways that go against God’s Word, ways that lead us to distrust God and be unloving to our neighbor—“rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.”</li><li>And leprosy, once it takes hold, eats its way more and more through the body. Likewise, sin. Because of this infection we all have, one sin leads to another, and that one easily to yet another. First, the desire; then the misdeed; then the excuse; then the cover-up; then the lie; and so on.</li></ul><p>If it weren’t for our leprosy of sin, we would not need police officers, laws, penalties or rulings of law courts. If it weren’t for our leprosy of sin, we would not have to endure racial tensions, injustices, pandemics or destructive rioting.<br /><br />In the Old Testament, God instructed His people on how to deal with lepers. Lepers had to separate themselves from everyone else because their diseases of infected, decaying, rotting flesh could infect others. When healthy people walked by, the lepers were supposed to warn them by crying out “Unclean!” When a person was infected with leprosy, he had to show himself to the priest. The priest would pronounce him unclean, and the person would have to quarantine in the leper colony outside the city. Social distancing, Bible-style! <br /><br />When a leper was healed of his leprosy, he would again show himself to the priest, the priest would offer the appropriate sacrifices, and then pronounce him “clean.” In Leviticus 14, cleansing of lepers happened, first, by killing a bird in an earthen vessel over fresh, living water. Next, a live bird, a piece of cedarwood, and a scarlet yarn were dipped in that water mixed with blood. Then the priest, using the live bird wet with blood and water, would “sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease” (Lev. 14:7). As God said, “Thus the priest shall make atonement for [the leper], and he shall be clean” (Lev. 14:20).<br /><br />So, let’s imitate the ten lepers as Jesus comes passing along between the Samaria and Galilee of our lives. Let’s lift up our voices and cry out: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And let’s listen to and heed Him when He bids us to show ourselves to the priest. No, not those priests at the Jerusalem temple, but Jesus, our great High Priest who has passed through the heavens (Heb. 2:14). “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 2:15). <br /><br />How can we be healed and saved from our spiritual leprosy? Only by finding our way to Jesus, the sole physician for the soul. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 2:16). “Offered was He for greatest and for least, / Himself the victim and Himself the priest” (LSB 637:1). Not only is Jesus both victim and priest for you, He is also the dead bird and the living bird for you. He is the One who cleanses you “by the washing of water with [His] word, so that He might present [you] to Himself in splendor” (Eph. 5:26-27), cleansed of your leprosy of sin.<br /><br />Actually, we don’t have to find our way to Him. He has found His way to us! Just as the ten lepers were cleansed before they found their way to the priests—not by their own reason or strength, nor by their decision or will—we are cleansed in the bath of our Baptism—not by our own reason, strength, decision or will. Our baptismal bath sprinkles us with the very blood and water that flowed from the side of Christ crucified. He is the One who was crucified outside the city. He is the One who comes by water and blood; not by the water only but by the water and the blood (1 Jn. 5:6). <br /><br />Now let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the one cleansed leper who returned to Jesus. Let’s take our cue from him on how to live all of life in our Baptism. I’m sure the other nine former lepers were generically thankful as civic courtesy and politeness would dictate. But they went on to live their lives apart from Jesus. The Samaritan, however, “turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks.” He did more than just give thanks. He gave praise to God. He returned to the Giver of the gift of cleansing. He was not merely content to enjoy the gift; he wanted to enjoy and be with the Giver.<br /><br />That’s living your baptismal life. Not just a generic thankfulness for a quick healing. Not just a slight nod and a mental note that something special happened a long time ago, but then getting back to “real life.” No, the baptismal life is about living all of life in Jesus, with Jesus, and in the presence of Jesus. Daily contrition and repentance. Drowning that Old Adam in you. Making him die with all sins and evil desires every day. And then—thank the Lord and sing His praise!—emerging and arising every day to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Your one-time baptismal cleansing becomes your daily hygiene routine—not a burdensome routine, but a joyful living in the blood and water that continually heals and cleanses.<br /><br />We all wrestle with sin every day. That leprous disease keeps flaring up even in us who are cleansed by Jesus’ blood and water. We will keep wrestling with our leprous sin until Jesus returns on the Last Day. It’s not a matter of Jesus’ healing not fully doing its job. It has! It’s a matter of living in faith, continually receiving His cleansing, and thus praising Him as did the Samaritan. <br /><br />Martin Luther confessed this in the face of those who deny that sin remains after Baptism. The fact that sin remains after Baptism undercuts every notion of perfectionism—that is, thinking you can be free of sin or attain a sin-free life this side of heaven. It also topples any notion of “once-saved-always-saved.” While the healing for that Samaritan and the other nine was instantaneous, Jesus chooses to heal us over the long-haul. The sin is forgiven, to be sure; Jesus’ healing, though, is ongoing. Here’s how Luther expressed it:<br /><br />“This life…is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed.” (“A Defense and Explanation of All Articles” [AE 32:24]).<br /><br />So we return to Jesus yet again, at His Table. “Draw near and take the body of the Lord, / And drink the holy blood for you outpoured” (LSB 637:1). We return to receive the healing He gives. We return to give praise to Him. <br /><br />“Let us praise the Word Incarnate,<br />Christ, who suffered in our place.<br />Jesus died and rose victorious<br />That we may know God by grace.<br />Let us sing for joy and gladness,<br />Seeing what our God has done;<br />Let us praise the true Redeemer,<br />Praise the One who makes us one” (LSB 849:3). <br /><br />Amen.<br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-11471355441837426082020-08-31T10:34:00.004-05:002020-08-31T10:34:59.993-05:00Homily for Trinity 12 - 2020<p><b>"Freed from Isolation"</b></p><p>Mark 7:31-37</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYgRAuw3ukcTG4ZU5G2ZSlerEajfLy0-D_kPG3q6uhXQ9M5crtQtY3O_2XTl3_lH23qjjtXXuwPV9tndQ-j9-Eihy6DRcpjBxnTNHQQs9g1-VSSmxiTMwZYcmRYWaVQhWAkZLnMcyUfNh/s200/Jesus+Heals+Deaf-Mute+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYgRAuw3ukcTG4ZU5G2ZSlerEajfLy0-D_kPG3q6uhXQ9M5crtQtY3O_2XTl3_lH23qjjtXXuwPV9tndQ-j9-Eihy6DRcpjBxnTNHQQs9g1-VSSmxiTMwZYcmRYWaVQhWAkZLnMcyUfNh/s0/Jesus+Heals+Deaf-Mute+Man.jpg" /></a></div><br />The deaf and mute man was cut off from everyone around him. Other people could talk, but the deaf man could not hear them. He could try to speak in his muffled, muted speech, but people around him could not understand a word he said. This poor man was isolated, alone in his own little world. Quite the lonely life. Until Jesus. When Jesus healed this man, He freed him from his life of lonely isolation. When Jesus restored this man’s hearing and speech, He also ushered him into a new and vibrant life of hearing and talking with God and other people. <br /><br />Just as our gracious Lord healed the deaf and mute man, He also heals us. What He did physically for the deaf man in Gentile territory, He does spiritually for us week in and week out. Not only does He open our ears to hear Him and His message of mercy, but He also rescues us from our isolation. Not only does He loose our tongues to sing His praises and confess Him to others, but He also ushers us into vibrant life with Him and with each other. <br /><br />The man’s deafness was certainly a result of Adam and Eve not listening to God in the Garden. His physical state of being tongue-tied was surely a result of Adam and Eve using their tongues to taste the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge—that one tree for which God said, “You shall not eat of it.” So when Jesus takes this man aside, puts His fingers into his ears, spits, and touches his tongue, our Lord reverses the age-old plague of sin and death. It’s a plague that closes our ears and shackles our tongues. It’s a plague that isolates us from God and from one another. <br /><br />Perhaps you’ve noticed this plague of isolation when you talk with other people. Think of times when you and a family member are just not communicating well. You’re both speaking English; your mouths and ears are functioning fine, giving and receiving sound waves. You can hear and understand each other’s sounds and syllables. But for some reason he or she is not hearing what you’re saying; you’re not getting what he or she is talking about. You’re isolated from each other.<br /><br />Such conversations lead to frustration and misunderstanding. Then, instead of listening to what the other person is actually saying, you’re planning your response to something just said, or you’re strategizing how to make your next point or “win” your case. Or, worse yet, as the other person is talking, your mind is off in a galaxy far, far away, wondering what’s for dinner. Your ears and tongue may be functioning just fine, but you’re still in isolation.<br /><br />Our isolation really shows up when we get upset with what other people say to us. A friend may say something as a matter of fact, but you take it as a put down or an insult. You might take it as an obstacle to some dream or hope that you have. Perhaps you invite your friends over to play cards. They respond, “Sorry, we can’t make it. We have a prior commitment.” In your isolation, you start wondering, “Am I not good enough?” or “What’s wrong with me?” It’s the isolation of our sin and death.<br /><br />This isolation especially separates us from God. When we get so wrapped up in our own little world of daily demands and hectic schedules, listening to God in His Word is far from our minds. We may talk a lot with loved ones, friends or colleagues, but talking with God in prayer? We tend to put that off, tell ourselves we don’t know how to pray, convince ourselves we’re not that good at it. Do you ever feel like your tongue is shackled when you pray? It’s our isolation of sin and death. <br /><br />It’s the isolation that Jesus comes to heal and wash away by His blood. As Jesus healed the deaf-mute man, He also heals you. As our merciful Lord had compassion on the man isolated in his deafness and silence, He also cares enough to rescue you from your sin and death. This same Son of God joined Himself to our human flesh and blood to restore it to God’s original design. This same Lord of mercy endured the isolation from His closest disciples as they fled from Him. This same Lord hung on a cross carrying the full weight of humanity’s sin all by Himself. This same Savior plunged into the deep, dark isolation of death in order to open the graves of Adam, Eve and all the dead so that His vibrant life might burst forth for all to enjoy. <br /><br />This same Jesus comes to you in your Baptism. He puts His fingers into your ears, spits, and touches your tongue even as the Spirit-filled waters cleanse you from sin and give you life. With your ears opened and your tongue loosed, you are brought into the Lord’s Church. Here you are no longer alone, no longer isolated. Here you get to enjoy the vibrant sounds of God’s Word and the joyous notes of praise sung by people around you. Here you learn how to live in harmony with others healed as you are.<br /><br />This same Jesus comes to you in Confession and Absolution—and not just the general Confession on Sunday mornings, but especially when you come to receive the Holy Absolution in private. Here you get to confess those specific sins of not listening to God or to your loved ones, friends, or co-workers. Here you get to confess your many ways of isolating yourself from God and your fellow Christians by your self-centered thoughts, words, or deeds. And when you confess, your pastor speaks our Lord’s healing words into your ears. Yes, your pastor is a sinner like you, but what matters is what your Lord does. In the words of Absolution, your Lord Jesus again puts His fingers into your ears to open them up. And when your ears are opened in the forgiveness of your particular sins, you get to enjoy the vibrant sounds of life with God and renewed life with people around you.<br /><br />And in the Eucharist, your Lord Jesus again touches your tongue so that it can speak and sing His praises and then build up your neighbor. Think of that as you come to the Lord’s Table this morning. With His very Body and Blood under the bread and wine your Lord looses your tongue from those unkind, bitter, even judgmental words you speak against someone near and dear to you. Unshackled from such sins, your tongue has new life to thank and praise God. Your tongue has new life to speak kindly to and graciously about people around you. Strengthened and fortified by Christ’s life-giving Body and Blood, you may use your tongue to declare the wonderful deeds of our Savior. As the hymn leads us to sing: <br /><blockquote>“Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing<br />My great Redeemer’s praise,<br />The glories of my God and King,<br />The triumphs of His grace!<br /><br />My gracious Master and my God,<br />Assist me to proclaim,<br />To spread through all the earth abroad,<br />The honors of Thy name” (LSB 528:1-2).</blockquote>The daily prayer liturgy of Matins begins with these words: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” That’s what our tongues were made for! “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:10). But we don’t do that in individual isolation. No, we get to speak, sing, and praise in the Lord’s Church even when we pray alone at home. The Matins liturgy also sings what our ears are made for: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.” When our Lord opens our ears and looses our tongues, we are rescued from our isolation. We are restored to life with Him; we are rejoined to the people around us. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Now we get to listen well to our loving Lord and to our neighbors. Now we get to speak God’s wonderful deeds and build one another up in love. Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-16929691268146470202020-08-24T09:23:00.001-05:002020-08-24T09:23:32.816-05:00Homily for Trinity 11 - 2020<p><b>"In Which Line Do You Stand?"</b></p><p>Luke 18:9-14</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7qYVR5JT2lXyf925JzkPYQjV21VThyphenhyphenLGvwqzxN0HVeQPzPmixc7gsqA8PJ90pYsS1IRcLEtOifhm81ZNDxvihNMJmg1iPCTf9aCgweYyzf7HUJYJu4tbVCbs-wKfZozOMUUYVb4qnnkG/s410/Pharisee+and+Tax+Collector-4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7qYVR5JT2lXyf925JzkPYQjV21VThyphenhyphenLGvwqzxN0HVeQPzPmixc7gsqA8PJ90pYsS1IRcLEtOifhm81ZNDxvihNMJmg1iPCTf9aCgweYyzf7HUJYJu4tbVCbs-wKfZozOMUUYVb4qnnkG/s0/Pharisee+and+Tax+Collector-4.jpg" /></a></div>“Get in line, now!” Remember your grade school teacher’s voice repeating that command, several times each school day? Much of our school days were about learning how to stand in line, wait in line, and practice proper “line etiquette.” Stand right behind the child in front of you, not to the side. Don’t squirm or fidget or push others. And certainly do not, ever, cut in line. That got you into trouble in the lunch line and when you went out to recess. No one likes a line-cutter. After all, that’s cheating. Instead, be good, stand and walk single file, wait your turn, and you’ll get where you’re going in due time.<br /><br />The reason we learn to stand in line during the school day is so that we can properly stand in line the rest of our lives. It’s a skill and an art form. All the more so these days, trying to stand on those social distancing stickers or mentally measuring the appropriate six feet. We do it at Schnucks when we get our groceries. Oh, and the scowls that come when that guy three people behind you cuts ahead of you when you weren’t looking! <br /><br />Then there’s the sense of shame that comes from standing in the wrong line, waisting your time and having to go to the end of the other line. Think of the DMV, when you go to renew your driver’s license. You walk in, grab your little paper ticket with the number on it, and wait. (At the DMV, sitting in chairs is just another form of standing in line.) Finally, your number is called, you go to the desk and the gal sitting there says, “Sorry, this is the line for plate renewals. You’ll have to go over there and take another number.” So you start all over again.<br /><br />Today’s Gospel shows two examples of getting in line. The Pharisee was a line-cutter, for sure. He strolled past everyone else and went to the front of the line. The Pharisee had priority. He deserved attention before anyone else. He pulled out his credentials and laid his papers on God’s desk. They were proof of his rights and claims. The Pharisee also knew to be polite. So he politely thanked God. It was only politeness, of course, because he was a self-made man. True thankfulness is the response to a gift. And accepting a gift means admitting you need and receive help from someone else. The Pharisee wasn’t going to admit that and weaken his case. He didn’t need any help. He trusted in himself. But it was still nice to be polite and thank God.<br /><br />As the Pharisee stood at God’s desk, he looked around at others in the office. “A pretty sorry bunch,” he thought to himself. There’s the man who can’t get customers into his electronics shop. He must be overcharging them, underserving them, or both. Then he sternly looked at the child who suddenly wailed…and even more sternly at the irritated mother who had just corrected her child. The Pharisee saw no one who was like himself. This made him feel comfortable and pleased. His chances were good.<br /><br />Most of us find it both necessary and gratifying to see someone as less than ourselves. We like our car more when we see that it’s better than someone else’s. When things go wrong in our lives, we console ourselves that others are worse off than we are. We crave being better than others around us. It may be in stronger muscles than the other guy or in a better singing voice than that gal. It may be in making a better salary or having better behaved children. <br /><br />The Pharisee had no problem finding people less than himself. So he listed his superiorities. He fasted twice a week while most ordinary folks fasted only once a week, if that. The Pharisees thought that their extra measure of fasting would make up for, even atone for, those other schlubs who obviously had more sins. And while the “hoi polloi” would busy themselves at the unclean marketplace, the Pharisees would fast with special services and prayers—for the sins of those at the market, of course.<br /><br />The Pharisees did the same with the tithe. God’s Law required a tenth of your produce or income. But those poor farmers and traders did not give the required tithe. So Pharisees upped their ante. Not only would they tithe on their income, but also on whatever they purchased. After all, that flour or sheep might just be untithed goods. <br /><br />So the Pharisees did have a lot to show for themselves. They did live clean, decent, useful lives. They did their best to fulfill God’s Law and be responsible for their neighbors.<br /><br />Now before we condemn those Pharisees, we should compare their exemplary lives with our own. How many of us are ready to give 10 percent twice to the Lord, first for our income, then second for every purchase we make? How many of us look down on the Pharisees for relying on their works? After all, we Lutherans know we’re saved only by grace through faith; it’s the gift of God, not a result of works. No, dear saints, we may not condemn that Pharisee. Instead, we must learn to recognize and condemn this Pharisee, the one each of us sees in the mirror. You see, each of us measures himself/herself over against other people and finds himself/herself bigger and better than they.<br /><br />This is not even the height of being a Pharisee. That comes when we take God’s Law and use it to glorify ourselves before God Himself. We think we are good, decent and moral people. We actually expect God to agree with our good opinion of ourselves. We conclude that we are self-made persons whom God Himself should admire and look up to. But such lofty evaluations of ourselves only block us from seeing God, from seeing ourselves alone in His presence.<br /><br />There was someone that day who did know that he stood alone in the presence of the personal, holy, living God. And he was afraid. He did not get in the line; he stayed outside the church. That line was for the good people who had tamed God. This man didn’t even think he knew how to pray. He did not know the proper phrases or gestures. He just blurted out the truth about himself. He was a sinner. He needed mercy. He cried to God.<br /><br />Realizing this comes not from comparing oneself with other people, but by standing in the presence of God. There every pretense and deception is stripped away. How does God judge each of us? He says, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2). We are not at all as God is. He is holy; we are sinners. No amount of comparing ourselves with others can change that.<br /><br />So the tax collector blurts out: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” He thinks other people may be all right; he does not judge them. He stands alone before God. It’s between him and God. And sinners have no rights before God. He gave God the right to condemn and reject him. He was a sinner and needed God. He cried to God for blood-bought mercy. Only by the mercy of God could he stand. And so he returned to his house having received mercy. He returned with God. The tax collector was in the right line after all. This line has a sign above it that says: “For Sinners Only.” <br /><br />Our Lord Jesus does not condemn the exemplary life of the Pharisee, nor does He commend the dishonest life of the tax collector. He simply points out how the Pharisee tries to negotiate and bargain with God, while the tax collector surrenders every right and claim. You see, mercy is possible only when you surrender yourself into God’s hands and God’s decision. <br /><br />The Pharisee could not and did not do that, but the tax collector did. And he, by God’s grace in Christ crucified and risen, went down to his house justified. He was given mercy by the bloody sacrifice of Jesus. He was forgiven. Now he was God’s free, joyful, and grateful man.<br /><br />So the question for you is this: in which line do you stand?<br /><br />“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-16088416152443892702020-08-17T10:48:00.003-05:002020-08-20T10:00:20.660-05:00Homily for Trinity 10 - 2020<p><b> "Peace in Both Realms"</b></p><p>Luke 19:41-47</p><p><a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-10-2020" target="_blank"><u><b><i>Listen here.</i></b></u></a> <br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkCtDT07ZOcGmKrdS_CC52Lrmt1igqdxWqgA17MfgsNFmfjpuhrz5BMJKGf9TBHcQi0FsTBCejk28LHzv7_7Uvc_e-Yr75fROyr-K7ZhvVdQra6RimX19QHPoIN-7hY4eyAQCmcHnjPhW/s875/Faith%2526Elections.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="875" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkCtDT07ZOcGmKrdS_CC52Lrmt1igqdxWqgA17MfgsNFmfjpuhrz5BMJKGf9TBHcQi0FsTBCejk28LHzv7_7Uvc_e-Yr75fROyr-K7ZhvVdQra6RimX19QHPoIN-7hY4eyAQCmcHnjPhW/w400-h194/Faith%2526Elections.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, it’s both a spiritual thing and an earthly, political thing. On the one hand—the right hand—our Lord wept that His own chosen people did not know “the things that make for peace.” They did not know the time of their “visitation” by the One who came to bring peace between God and sinners. On the other hand—the left hand—Jesus wept that the earthly Jerusalem would be destroyed by enemies who would surround it, build a siege mound to invade it, and tear it down to the ground. This would happen in AD 70 under the Roman emperor Vespasian. God’s ancient city of peace, including the temple of stone—where God would come to visit His people—would be razed to the ground. So Jesus wept. He wept over lack of peace in both realms.<br /><br />It’s most fitting to ponder the two kinds of government God has established among us humans. Luther said this about the first kind of government: “The one is spiritual; it has no sword, but it has the word, by means of which men are to become good and righteous, so that with this righteousness they may attain eternal life. He administers this righteousness through the word, which he has committed to the preachers.” We call this the “right-hand realm.” This is the Church. <br /><br />Then Luther wrote of “the left-hand realm”: “The other kind is worldly government, which works through the sword so that those who do not want to be good and righteous to eternal life may be forced to become good and righteous in the eyes of the world.” This is the earthly, political realm. Righteousness in this left-hand realm does not lead to eternal life; only righteousness by faith in Christ can do that. But God does give us the left-hand realm so that we may have peace among people and enjoy other temporal blessings. Luther concludes: “Thus God himself is the founder, lord, master, protector, and rewarder of both kinds of righteousness” (AE 46:99-100).<br /><br />Our God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—does indeed rule over all things. He “has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Ps. 103:19). He rules over all people and the entire world as the Creator. In this reign of power He seeks to maintain and sustain His creation. But our God also reigns in grace over His Christians, His Church. This is His gracious and saving rule. It leads us to look forward to the resurrection of the body and the restoration of His creation when Jesus returns on the Last Day. <br /><br />Until that day, though, we live, work, and play in the wild, hectic, messy intersection of God’s two realms—the earthly, political left-hand realm and the heavenly, spiritual right-hand realm. Now we might have a clue as to why 2020 has been so crazy! Not only are we dealing with the COVID pandemic, economic shut-down and reboot, destructive rioting and rising crime, but it also happens to be election season. What does that mean for life in the left-hand realm and in the right-hand realm? After all, we live in both realms at the same time.<br /><br />In 1831, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville made a nine-month visit to the young United States of America. He wanted to study American social practices, laws, and politics. His book Democracy in America is the record of his journeys and the journal of his reflections. Tocqueville called a presidential election “a moment of crisis.” He compared it to a river overflowing its banks, as in a flash flood. Tocqueville wrote: “As the election draws near, intrigues intensify, and agitation increases and spreads. The citizens divide into several camps, each behind its candidate. A fever grips the entire nation. The election becomes the daily grist of the public papers, the subject of private conversations, the aim of all activity, the object of all thought, the sole interest of the moment.” Yep, still true! Nothing new under the sun. Then, Tocqueville says, after the verdict of voting is rendered, the river “returns peacefully to its bed” and calm is restored (pp. 151-153).<br /><br />The question before us as God’s people in 2020, then, is this: how do we participate in this time of election-year “crisis”? How do we confess our Savior Jesus even as we weigh the issues and enter the voting booth? How do we vote “Christianly”? How do we keep in mind the things that make for peace in both realms?<br /><br />In our Gospel, Jesus wept because His people had forgotten their God and His Word. They neglected God’s design in all of life—the vertical dimension of fearing and loving Him above all things and the horizontal dimension of loving their neighbors as themselves. They had the appearance of godliness but denied its power (2 Tim. 3:5). Since they focused only on the outward, earthly, political realm, they did not know their peace—Jesus in the flesh—nor the time of their visitation—His coming to bring the peace of sins forgiven.<br /><br />In a similar fashion we too run the risk of not knowing the things that make for peace nor the time of our visitation from our Lord. We live in a culture that has forgotten God, where everyone turns to his own course and many hold fast to the deceit that humans rule and control the world. We breathe that same air and stew in those same juices. We set our hopes on vanquishing a new coronavirus, even though we still cannot cure the common cold. We believe the right policy will overcome oppression, crime and injustice, even though all wickedness comes from the fallen human heart within each of us. We look to political parties, candidates of choice, and campaign promises as the ultimate solutions to our problems rather than relying on the Savior who brings the only true peace in all things.<br /><br />As Jesus wept over Jerusalem, though, He was on His way to achieving that peace between fallen, fearful human beings and the God who rules all things. When He cleansed the temple and drove out the money-changers, He also liberated the sacrificial animals. They would be needed no longer. You see, He came to be the temple of God in the flesh. He came to be the once and for all sacrifice to bring peace—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, in both realms. He went to the cross outside the earthly Jerusalem to bring you into God’s gracious presence in the new Jerusalem, His Church. <br /><br />Your Lord Jesus still comes for you to know the time of your visitation. Once He came in blessing, all our sins redressing. Now He comes to keep bestowing His forgiveness and peace by means of water, word, and meal. These are His things that make for peace.<br /><br />And His peace leads you and I out into the earthly city. What do we do there? We bear witness to our Lord and the peace He brings. And if 2020 is any indication, the earthly city desperately needs some peace! You and I are called to take part in the political life of our nation. No, we do not seek to establish a specifically “Christian government” or enact a some uniquely “Christian agenda.” But we do seek to serve and love our fellow human beings. We take part in our nation’s civic life with the common sense that comes from God’s Truth.<br /><br />In our time, we Christians are called to rise above the usual bitter divides of red vs. blue, Republican vs. Democrat, right-wing vs. left-wing. God’s peace in Jesus frees us to engage and vote based on God’s Truth. What do I mean? Instead of looking at life in the civic realm through red- or blue-colored lenses, we look at it through the prescription glasses of God’s commandments. After all, God’s commandments give us clarity in seeing His design for all of life. And when we follow that design the best we can in the civic realm, life runs more smoothly, more peacefully in the civic realm.<br /><br />So we might want to ask questions such as:<br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Does the candidate, the ticket, or the political party support and defend God’s gift of physical life, from womb to tomb and every moment in between? </li><li>Does the candidate, the ticket, or the political party honor and promote God’s gift of marriage between one man and one woman? Do they safeguard the nuclear family?</li><li>Does the candidate, the ticket, or the political party seek to let people improve and protect their possessions and income?</li><li>Does the candidate, the ticket, or the political party strive for contentment over the baser urges of envy and jealousy?</li><li>And, most of all, will the candidate, the ticket, or the political party at least acknowledge God Himself? Will they be at least okay with the worship of God, the calling on His name, the hearing of His Word and how all of that shapes and influences people to live out their lives in the civic realm?</li></ul><p><br />Such are things that make for peace in the civic realm—God’s left-hand realm. Since you and I live at the receiving end of God’s peace in His right-hand realm—peace that comes only from Jesus once on the cross and Jesus now given in water, words and meal—we can live and labor for the peaceful benefit of those around us. Amen. </p><p> </p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-29042300674528385462020-08-10T11:08:00.002-05:002020-08-20T09:59:31.279-05:00Homily for Trinity 9 - 2020<p><b>"Free to Be Shrewd"</b> </p><p>Luke 16:1-13</p><p><a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-9-2020" target="_blank"><u><b><i>Listen here.</i></b></u></a> <br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFsG4DPcXNqHJ-6muFrkakJ_GGUMatTWxf9Oumu4p7RVymQY93OBvOLtmF11xse_hKSWssa0C5HKCoCPm-r4K4FCzVciuJtJ8C8KSVrQl8sRGRsvToNFWk5SdWLJyLVYFY6MuLUT5QvRP/s300/Dishonest+Steward.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFsG4DPcXNqHJ-6muFrkakJ_GGUMatTWxf9Oumu4p7RVymQY93OBvOLtmF11xse_hKSWssa0C5HKCoCPm-r4K4FCzVciuJtJ8C8KSVrQl8sRGRsvToNFWk5SdWLJyLVYFY6MuLUT5QvRP/s0/Dishonest+Steward.jpg" /></a></div>Put yourself in the shoes of the manager. For some time you’ve worked for this successful, very wealthy man. He has always been fair and honest—a good boss. He’s also a shrewd business man. He seeks out and acts on every good business opportunity he can. He’s one of those CEOs who wants to bless and benefit others. Because of this, the company has done quite well. Your boss also has many loyal clients. They rent property from him so they can plant, grow, and harvest their crops, usually olive oil or wheat. From their harvests they pay the rent to your boss—various agreed upon amounts of olive oil or wheat.<br /><br />Your job has always been to manage these business transactions. Make sure the rent comes in on time. Keep the ledger to show who owes how much and who has paid up or not. Inventory the olive oil and wheat that come in and how well they sell in the market. Your boss has entrusted you with a great responsibility. He has trusted you to keep everything running smoothly. As his “estate agent,” you’ve done well and made a good salary. The business owner and all of his clients all seem to respect the job you’ve done.<br /><br />Until now. Out of the blue, just this morning, your boss came to your workspace and said, “You’re fired. Please hand over the company’s accounting books, gather up your things, and be gone by the end of the day.” You were stunned. You did muster the courage to ask, “Why? What have I done?” The boss said, “I’ve heard word about you, how you’ve been dipping into the profits, taking olive oil and wheat for yourself. You’ve been squandering <i>my</i> possessions.” Then the boss left. <br /><br />Squandering? Then you remember that story Jesus told—the one about that willful, prodigal son demanding his inheritance while his dad was still alive and then going off to another country and squandering it on the party scene. What wretch that guy was!<br /><br />Now what will you do? You’re not in shape for strenuous manual labor. And rely on handouts? Never! One of the landowners must have seen something and said something. How could you be so careless? Yeah, not exactly the right thing to dip into the profits for yourself. But now, your family, how will you feed them? Remorse can wait. It won’t help you land on your feet. Now what? Time is short. This is an existential crisis.<br /><br />Then it hits you. You know your boss is honorable, truly a man of mercy. So you call in his debtors. You tell them to reduce their rent payments. They’ll think he gave the order and you’re simply implementing it. They’ll be happy and, hey, one of them may even give you a job. Perhaps you can land on your feet.<br /><br />What happens when the boss—this man of mercy—hears what you’ve done? He actually commends you! No anger, no dressing down. No, he does not approve of your dishonesty or your cheating. He did have every right to throw you in jail for your theft, but he didn’t. Instead, he compliments you on your shrewdness, your street smarts. <br /><br />There’s one major problem with this parable from our Lord’s lips. It’s not that Jesus commends the dishonest manager, as troublesome as that appears. The real problem is that it’s so true. You and I do not have to pretend to be the dishonest manager—put ourselves in his shoes; we ARE that dishonest manager. God Himself is the rich man—the One who owns everything under the sun. He is the wealthiest, fairest, most honest One. And He shows Himself merciful. You and I are but His managers, His “estate agents.” We can only work with what belongs to Him—His possessions. Even we belong only to Him, not to ourselves.<br /><br />We ARE that dishonest manager, and Jesus confronts us with that truth. We have wasted and do waste His possessions in thought, word, and deed. We routinely squander our heavenly Father’s possessions—both physical and spiritual—in selfishness and “ingrown eyeball-itis.” (That’s another term for “sin,” by the way.) It could be money and stuff. It could be Word and Sacrament. We squander it and deserve to have the management taken from us, forever. <br /><br />What do you do with such an existential crisis? What do you do when the wealthy, merciful God of the universe confronts you, gives you your pink slip, and says, “Out of my presence”? You can’t do anything. There’s no human escape from this crisis. The solution must come from outside yourself. <br /><br />Just as the manager in the parable did, you must trust the character of your Master—God—and stake everything on His mercy. He shows that mercy by sending His only-begotten Son to be the best and only honest manager. He comes, bringing all of the Father’s treasures, and He cancels your debt, your dishonesty, your doubts, your fears, all by going to a cross. His forgiveness for you is honored by His Father because of that death on a cross. <br /><br />Your Lord Jesus is also shrewd in dispensing that cross-won forgiveness for you in the anointing of your Baptism and in the wheat of His Supper. When you have, receive, and use your Lord’s Sacraments, you have an eternal home when this earthly home fails you. <br /><br />So it was the master’s mercy that freed the dishonest manager to be shrewd. Jesus highlights this with His parable punchline: “the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” When you stake everything on your Lord’s mercy, you are free to be shrewd—but shrewd with honesty—in all of life. After all, Jesus also said, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise—that’s shrewd (same Greek word)—as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16).<br /><br />Let’s pray for shrewdness, or wisdom, in all of our management of God’s possessions, everything from His money and stuff to His mysteries of the Gospel and the Sacraments to our dealings with one another. His mercy in Christ frees us from our mismanagement and dishonesties. Now we are free to manage and use all things for His glory, for the good of His Church, and to benefit our neighbors. <br /><br />On that note, let me encourage you in some shrewdness and then thank you for some shrewdness. First, the encouragement. I encourage you to view our time together in this place as both “political event” and “peaceful protest.” After all, this is the city of God in the midst of the city of fallen man. This place is God’s embassy in a foreign land, as are all Christian churches faithful to His Word and Sacraments. We are called to peacefully protest all the injustices and oppressions of our sinful flesh, this fallen world, and the devil himself. We must protest when leaders find ways to keep churches closed, punish them for opening, or otherwise muzzle the Gospel. We must protest when leaders prompt us to suspicion of one another, division from one another, and reporting one another, even over what we wear or don’t wear on our faces. Most of all, we must protest the old evil foe who stirs all of this up to distract us from the Lord’s mercy and our life together. After all, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil, especially in times of pandemic and pandemonium. <br /><br />Now the “Thank you.” Please receive a hearty “Thank you” for your shrewdness in stewardship these past few very trying months. During this time when so many people, families, businesses and even churches are struggling, you—all of you—by God’s grace, have made sure that Hope congregation is <i>not</i> struggling. In fact, we have been operating in the black and continue to do so. And all it took was a pandemic to bring out such shrewdness! So thank you for strongly supporting the preaching of the Gospel and the giving out of Jesus’ Sacraments. Thank you for taking care of your servants, both called and hired. And thank you for your shrewdness to use “unrighteous wealth” for our Lord’s eternal purposes. <br /><br />Our Lord’s mercy frees us to be shrewd for the sake of proclaiming Him. Amen.<p></p><p><br /></p>Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-56072568852131316832020-08-03T13:51:00.002-05:002020-08-03T13:51:46.018-05:00Homily for Trinity 8 - 2020<b>At Peace with Sin, or with God?</b><br />
Jeremiah 23:16-29; Acts 20:27-38; Matthew 7:15-23<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-8-2020" target="_blank"><u><b><i>Listen here.</i></b></u></a><br />
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Notice what God condemns through the Prophet Jeremiah: the notion that you can be at peace with God and at the same time be at peace with the sin in your life. In Jeremiah’s day false prophets were telling people, “It shall be well with you.” They were promising this to people who “despise the word of the LORD” and “to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart.” But you cannot eat your cake and have it too. You cannot cozy up to sin and cozy up to God. You cannot coddle the rebellions of your heart and yet maintain saving faith and a living relationship with the living God.<br /><br />Jeremiah gives the only antidote to this foolish dreaming of the prophets. Those prophets had infected the people with a spiritual lethargy. God wants to heal them by waking them up: “Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”<br /><br />Yes, God’s message to you today is a fire that purges and cleanses from sin. It’s a hammer that smashes and breaks your stone-cold, rock-hard human heart to pieces. Nothing can stand up to that Word when it is spoken faithfully. Sure, a person may rebel against it. He/she may say, “Go away God! I will live life my way.” But that does not make God’s Word any less effective. Its fire will still burn. Its heavy blow will still fall and break to pieces.<br /><br />So, do not imagine, even for a second, that you can live in peace with sin and with God at the same time. If anyone suggests such a thing, they are a false prophet. They are just like the prophets who lied to Israel. And Israel found out the hard way. They discovered that those preachers who said, “‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14), were only belly-servers and soul-deceivers.<br /><br />This is not just a problem for the Old Testament people of God. The same problem runs through the New Testament. In today’s Gospel our Lord says, as plainly as He can: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Then He tells you how to spot them: “You will recognize them by their fruits.” <br /><br />The fruit of a prophet is what results from believing his teaching. What happens if you take a false prophet at his word? What fruits bud and grow in your life? If you were to listen to the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day, and take to heart what they preached, you would think: “Hey, I can do whatever my little heart desires, after all, God will forgive me no matter what.” In other words, their teaching bore the fruit of leaving people unrepentant for their sins. It left their hearts in a state of rebellion against the Holy God of Israel. That’s how you can tell if you have a false prophet on your hands and in your ears.<br /><br />Jesus could not be clearer, or more blunt: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” He says it flat out. On the Last Day some will say to Him: “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?” To them He will give the sad and tragic reply: “‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”<br /><br />“Lawlessness,” Jesus says. “You thought you could serve sin, even rejoice in it, and still enjoy My presence? Don’t you understand that I came to destroy sin? Don’t you get it that I came to free you from sin’s shackles, not to strengthen their hold on you?” Remember, Jesus went to His Cross, bearing the full load of your sin, so that you could be forgiven and stand in the Father’s presence. He poured out His blood for you. He blotted out the handwriting that was against you. He became a curse for you in order to free you from the curse of sin. He did all of this to set you free from sin’s tyrannical clutches. Yes, He bought you as His own flock with His own blood, the very blood of God.<br /><br />In Acts 20 we hear Saint Paul speaking in concord with Jeremiah and our Lord Jesus. Paul warns the Ephesian elders—the pastors—to pay careful attention to themselves and to the flock that the Holy Spirit committed to their care. Paul forewarns them that, after he leaves, fierce wolves will come in among the flock. They will even arise from among their own number. They will speak twisted things to draw disciples to themselves, and thus away from the Good Shepherd. And what could be more twisted, and more certain to separate them from the Shepherd, than telling people: “God forgives you. Go ahead and continue in your rebellion”?<br /><br />Paul does what every good pastor must do: he commends them to God in prayer. He commends them to the message of God’s grace and mercy in Christ Jesus. After all, only Jesus is able to build them up and give them “the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” <br /><br />So, have you have been playing with sin, enjoying its hollow promises and fleeting pleasures? Have you been toying with it, serving it, living in rebellion against God and His ways of life? Have you been holding a grudge, slandering, committing sexual sin, being disobedient to the authorities that God has given you? Have you been a slave to food or drink? Have you been thinking that you can do whatever you want without a care for God or the people around you? Have you been thinking that you can live life on your terms, yet still cling to and enjoy the grace and forgiveness of God? If you’re vertical and breathing, you certainly fit in there somewhere. So I invite you to hear God’s Word of grace for you today. <br /><br />You cannot cling to both self-seeking sin and God-given forgiveness. In fact, your whole life as a Christian should be one of constantly fighting against the sins that you enjoy far too much. We call that repentance and faith. Your whole life should be marked by repentance—by a changed mind, a changed will, and changed loyalties—changed from fearing and loving earthly things to receiving the gifts of God. Remember how Luther teaches you to live in your Baptism. “What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” <br /><br />Here’s the comforting, healing Good News: Even though you seek to be at peace with your sin, God still wants you to be at peace with Him. God still cleanses you. God still nourishes you to enjoy His mercy, His grace, His presence instead of your sin. No matter how defiled, no matter how rebellious and sinful, no matter how deceived by false prophets, He calls you to Himself, the Crucified and Resurrected One. In the blood and water that once flowed from His pierced side and now flows through the sacred Font, He washes you from your sins and sets you free to live for Him. In the same body once nailed to a tree and the same blood once spilled from the Cross, He comes to you again today at His holy Table. He who puts an end to sin and conquers death feeds you with His forgiveness and life. He calls you to come to Him and let Him give you His forgiveness—to hear from the lips of your pastor the Absolution that sets you free from the chains of your sins and covers you with His perfect righteousness. He wants to unite you to Himself and pour out His good Spirit into you.<br /><br />So, beware of false prophets. Beware of anyone who suggests to you that you can stay safe and secure in your sin. Beware…and flee. Flee to Jesus, the True Prophet, who conquers the sin, who rescues you from its clutches, and who gives you life and strength to live with Him. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-80050720687308447082020-07-31T11:09:00.003-05:002020-08-03T13:52:26.186-05:00Homily for Trinity 7 - 2020<b>"Things Profitable for Us"</b><br />
Mark 8:1-9<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-7-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here. </i></u></b></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iaeLH3WN4nEk0h4pTfWMEIiBSyCCTYyPkgGWg9x21sEqDPHa5bduAtHwkbS7BDrBEXhKmdtpR7b_nfiS40y3kvUiB_JUMNsSzdYF8vmaL8tVqAp-XRNC7Sa5SjfdYyNWNHVxbb1oD3XJ/s1600/Jesus+Giving+Bread.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iaeLH3WN4nEk0h4pTfWMEIiBSyCCTYyPkgGWg9x21sEqDPHa5bduAtHwkbS7BDrBEXhKmdtpR7b_nfiS40y3kvUiB_JUMNsSzdYF8vmaL8tVqAp-XRNC7Sa5SjfdYyNWNHVxbb1oD3XJ/s320/Jesus+Giving+Bread.jpg" width="243" /></a>Can you believe that unbelieving question from the disciples? Jesus wants to feed the crowd, because, after all, they’ve been hanging out with Him for three whole days, listening to His teaching on the gracious rule and reign of God. But when Jesus expresses His compassion for the crowd, the disciples respond with faithless confusion: “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”<br />
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Now of all people, the disciples should have known better. Jesus had already fed 5,000 people from a mere five sandwich rolls and two small fish. Yet somehow the fears of the moment hid that from their hearts and minds.<br />
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In John’s Gospel, the disciples had two different worries at that earlier miraculous meal. First, they fretted over the mammoth need. Philip said: “The wages for 200 days of work—that’s just over $11,000 with our current minimum wage—would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little” (Jn. 6:7). Second, they fretted over the meager resources on hand. “Andrew...said to [Jesus], ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they among so many?’” (Jn. 6:9). Yet Jesus used those meager resources to meet the mammoth need. From the five small loaves and two small fish He made a feast that fed 5000 men plus women and children and had twelve good-sized baskets of fragments left over. <br />
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You’d think the disciples would remember that. But no! Now comes a second mammoth need with meager resources. And what do the disciples ask? “How can we possibly feed all of these 4,000 people?” Remember how Jesus started this discussion: “I have compassion on the crowd.” So He takes the seven loaves and the few small fish. He blesses them. He hands them to the disciples. They, in turn, distribute them to the crowd, and everyone is satisfied. And again they have leftovers—seven good-sized baskets full.<br />
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Come to think of it, you’d think that we would know better too. After all, we have both stories, and we hear them year after year. We heard the Feeding of the 5,000 back in Lent. Now today we hear the Feeding of the 4,000. It’s almost as if Jesus is quizzing us to see if we’ll catch on and trust Him to provide for us. But we keep worrying about how we’ll make ends meet. We keep wringing our hands over our mammoth needs and our meager resources. We keep wondering and fretting over how our Lord can possibly feed us and provide for us here in this desolate place called the world.<br />
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We continually worry and fret over things like nasty viruses, power-hungry politicians, mob violence and riots in our cities, the economy, and how best to enter our stores of choice. Is the stock market trending up—like a bull—or going down—like a bear? Will our 401(k)s and our IRAs have enough in them when it’s time to retire?<br />
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Then, in our anxiety, we seek to uncover what went wrong—what government policies or what business practices—and determine whom to blame—what politicians, what businesses? And with the next presidential election just around the corner, which candidate will fix everything for us? Let’s be honest, though. None of this can truly solve our faithless confusion. None of this can soothe our troubled souls or heal our anxious cares.<br />
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That’s why we need the words and actions of our Lord Jesus. What He said to His disciples He also says to us: “I have compassion on the crowd.” Words of great promise and comfort! Then He puts those words into action by feeding the mammoth crowd of 4,000 with the meager resources of seven loaves and a few small fish. Remember, this is the same Jesus who would also promise and show His great compassion by going to the cross, by suffering and dying to free us from fears and doubts, from sin and death. This is the same Jesus who would rise from the dead on the third day to proclaim and give us His life with God, both now and into eternity. That’s His greatest compassion!<br />
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So how does that help us when we fret and worry about the mammoth needs and the meager resources? Listen again to the words we prayed in today’s Collect. We began by addressing God, “whose never-failing providence orders all things both in heaven and earth….” We may look at our nation’s economy and our personal finances, at the pandemic and the pandemonium, and think things are out of control. But our gracious God truly orders all things both in heaven and earth. Yes, our Lord and Savior Jesus is in control of all things. He does know what we need and what we endure. He does give us what we need to live and survive. That also shows His great compassion.<br />
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Then we petitioned our God who provides: “we humbly implore You to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things that are profitable for us.” Yes, we may classify a worldwide pandemic, chaos in the streets, economic suffering, and racial tensions as “hurtful things.” But actually there are things more hurtful to us—things such as fear, anxiety, and worry; things such as our dependence on money and stuff for meaning in life; things such as trusting our elected leaders—fellow sinners—for safety and security above our Savior who loves us and gave Himself for us. <br />
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We ask God “to give us those things that are profitable for us.” He always has, He always does, and He always will. As people who trust the strong, cross-won, resurrection-given compassion of our Savior Jesus, we can receive and view most things in life as “profitable for us.” After all, times of trial, stress and upheaval may just lead us to rethink and revise our priorities. They may just cause us to realize that all the goodies of life are here today but gone tomorrow, passing away like the morning dew. They may just lead us to know more deeply that we must and can depend on our compassionate Savior to sustain us. <br />
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That’s exactly what He does, dear friends. If our Lord Jesus can feed a mammoth, hungry crowd from just a few loaves of bread and some fish, He can certainly take care of us in our daily needs. When we have Him, His life, His forgiveness, His salvation, everything else is but icing on the cake. When we have and hold dear His new life in Baptism, we see that the current uncertainties cannot take that new life away. When we have Him in His Body and Blood on the Altar, we are nourished and strengthened to persevere and endure whatever trials come our way. Without it, our faith only withers; but with it, our Lord strengthens and fortifies. In fact, when we cling to our compassionate Christ in His words and deeds, we realize that He is the chief thing that is most profitable for us. Our great, giver God has already answered our prayer. When He gives us His Son to feed us and satisfy us, He gives us exactly what we need. So, come to His Table, eat, drink and be satisfied!<br />
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Lutheran Service Book has a most fitting prayer “For the nation” (LSB, p. 313). The last line of the prayer sums it up well. There we pray: “When times are prosperous, may our hearts be thankful, and in troubled times do not let our trust in You fail.” Prosperous times and troubled times come and go. Needs might be mammoth and resources meager. However, our Lord Jesus has compassion, and we can trust Him to give those things that are profitable for us, even when they feel most hurtful. Not only does He open His hands and satisfy the desires of every living thing, but He also satisfies us with Himself, with His mercy, forgiveness and life with Him. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-82899262714294067092020-07-20T10:19:00.000-05:002020-07-20T10:19:51.596-05:00Homily for Trinity 6 - 2020<b>"God's Loving 'No' and 'Yes'"</b><br />
Exodus 20:1-17 & Matthew 5:17-26<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-6-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here.</i></u></b></a><br />
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It takes a loving adult to tell a child, “No.” Devoted parents know this. When the toddler starts to dart out into the street, dad will sternly but lovingly yell, “No!” or “Stop!” When the little one puts something dangerous in her mouth—something dirty, something sharp, something poisonous—mama will firmly but lovingly say, “No, no.” The same applies when the child grows into the teen years and tries to experiment with cigarettes, booze, drugs, sex outside of marriage, and other harmful things. A loving adult must say, “No,” because some activities and behaviors are harmful. And a loving adult always wants what’s best for the children. <br /><br />God is our loving adult, our Father, who must tell us, His human children, “No” to things that harm us. This He does in His Ten Commandments because He wants what’s best for us. God’s firm and loving “No” to things that harm us really is what’s best for us. <br /><br />To say it another way, God’s commandments—each of them individually and all of them together—are like the fence around the back yard. When the children play inside the fence, they are safe and protected. Life goes well. If there’s no fence, then the children can easily wander off, stroll into the busy street and be harmed. So the curbing commandments really are a blessing from our loving Father.<br /><br />Knowing God’s commandments brings another blessing. When we know them, heed them, live them, and put them to use, we have an anchor for all of life. We may just need and be able to use such a firm, solid anchor in our time of chaos, uncertainty, and upheaval. In the preface to his Large Catechism, Martin Luther said, “This much is certain: those who know the Ten Commandments perfectly know the entire Scriptures….” If you want to know and understand your God and His will for you and everyone around you, especially in unprecedented times, study, learn, and stay grounded in God’s commandments. <br /><br />Luther then added this about those who know the Commandments: “…in all affairs and circumstances [they] are able to counsel, help, comfort, judge, and make decisions in both spiritual and temporal matters.” (Luther, LC, Preface, 17; KW, 382). When you know God’s Ten Commandments, you are well equipped to discern what’s going on around you in this crazy, chaotic world. You are anchored to withstand the stormy seas of pandemic and pandemonium. You are made wise to resist the emotional hype and propaganda that intentionally cause so much fear and panic. You are placed on solid ground so that you may give aid to those who are aimless and adrift. <br /><br />Commandments 9 and 10 erect a protective fence around God’s gift of contentment. But notice how discontent and disgruntled so many people are these days, and that same discontent and unrest infect us, God’s children reborn in Baptism. We want what God has not given and we are annoyed when we don’t get it.<br /><br />Commandment 8 erects a protective fence around God’s gift of a good reputation for each and every person. But notice how speedily and how frequently reputations are smashed, trashed and cancelled, and with gleeful vehemence. Say, communicate or tweet the so-called wrong message, and let the shaming begin until the target slinks away.<br /><br />In Commandment 7 God builds a protective barrier around money and possessions. But instead of helping to improve and protect our neighbor’s possessions and income—including statues and store fronts—we witness looting, vandalizing, pillaging and taking what rightly belongs to others. <br /><br />Commandment 6 is God’s way of protecting the gift of marriage between one man and one woman and the family that comes from that union. Confusion about this and disregard for it in recent years have brought much angst and pain, in the Church as well as in the culture. <br /><br />The Fifth Commandment, which Jesus highlights in our Gospel reading, protects God’s gift of human physical life. In it God also “wants to remove the root and source by which the heart is embittered against our neighbor” (LC I:186). Think of the anger so evident in the rioting and attacks we now see on a daily basis. Think of the bitterness that leads to treating fellow human beings differently based on nothing but skin color, whichever direction it goes. Think of the suspicion and even vitriol that flows between those who want to wear masks and those who don’t. <br /><br />In the Fourth Commandment, our Father gives us parents and other authorities as gifts. Parenthood, of course, has the highest place, and other authorities flow from that high office. Yet we also know that sinners occupy these positions of authority. We want and need to honor them, serve and obey them, but it’s quite difficult due to their imperfections and failings, especially when their actions or inactions lead to and even foster the fear and chaos. <br /><br />Here’s why we need the first three Commandments. Without them the protective fence is rickety and wobbly at best. In our current time, it’s why the fence has collapsed altogether. When the bases, posts, and rails of the first three commandments are removed, it’s no wonder the pickets, or slats, of the other commandments cannot stand upright. <br /><br />We need to treasure and gladly hear God’s Word and receive His Sacraments. We need to call on His name in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. And, most of all, we need to fear, love and trust in Him above all things. It’s obvious the culture at large knows none of this. What about you? <br /><br />Do you fear COVID-19, the violent riots, or the downward spiral of our culture more than God? Do you trust science or a promised vaccine more than God? Do you love yourself more than your fellow human being? The answer, of course, is “Yes.” So it’s time to repent of our idolatry, our fears, and our misplaced trust for safety and security. Your righteousness should exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, but thanks to the mirror of God’s Law you know it does not. <br /><br />And so it’s also time to take comfort in God’s “Yes” spoken and achieved through His Son Jesus. He came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them in your place and for your benefit. He submitted Himself to governing authorities and laid down His own life for you. Even as His reputation was trashed, He was content to accomplish your forgiveness and salvation on the cross. And in His resurrection He gives you His new life—new life to consider yourself dead to sin, new life that is alive to God in Christ Jesus, new life that happily and joyfully lives within the fence of God’s care and keeping. In Jesus—and only in Jesus—your righteousness does exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.<br /><br />Since you have been buried with Jesus by baptism into death, your shortcomings and failings are washed away. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, you too may now walk in newness of life. You may fear, love and trust in Him above all things, including viruses, vaccines and violence. You may call upon Him in all trouble, pray and give thanks for His eternal care and keeping. You may gladly hear and learn His Word and receive His Body and Blood that truly sustain and comfort in all circumstances. <br /><br />In addition, you may truly love your neighbor, your fellow sinner, just as Jesus does. You may honor your authorities even as you evaluate and sometimes must critique their decrees. You may stand up for the life of every human being, regardless of age, skin color, or station in life. You may live chastely. You may protect possessions and income. You may safeguard reputations. You may live with contentment in all things. <br /><br />By doing so, you will quite naturally stand out in this world marred by chaos and insecurity. Those who wander aimlessly and who are lost in their fear will notice. Then you will have the grand opportunity to welcome them into God’s “backyard,” into the genuine safety, the only true safety, of His salvation and life with Him in His Church. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-40038862078561793322020-07-05T20:35:00.000-05:002020-07-05T20:52:53.734-05:00Homily for Trinity 4 - 2020<b>"Reflecting God's Mercy"</b><br />
Luke 6:36-42<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-4-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here.</i></u></b></a><br />
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Martin Chemnitz, “the second Martin,” once said: “Good works are like the sun: It’s nature is to give light; you don’t have to command it to do so.” It’s what Jesus does for you, and it’s how He calls you live and practice mercy with one another. It’s why Jesus says, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” It’s like the relationship of the sun and the moon. The sun is the source of light and abundantly radiates that light. The moon also gives light, but that light is not its own. The moon simply reflects the light it receives from the sun. God is the source of mercy and gives abundant mercy through His Son Jesus. His Christians also show mercy as they reflect the mercy that they receive from God Himself. “Jesus’ disciples are to be characterized by mercy and forgiveness and thus portray God’s character to the world.” (Just, 295)<br />
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The first thing Jesus says to you today is: “Imitate your heavenly Father.” Children love to imitate their parents. They dress up in Mom and Dad’s clothes. They carry around a purse like Mom’s or a tool like Dad’s. Remember this when you hear Jesus say, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” First, comes the Father’s mercy, then comes the Christian’s mercy as he/she imitates Papa in heaven. And in the Bible “mercy” is more than attitude or emotion. “Mercy” shows itself in concrete actions.<br />
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The Father shows His mercy in the concrete act of sending His own Son Jesus into this broken, fallen, messy, sick, chaotic world to rescue and redeem sinners such as us. Christians then, enlivened by the Holy Spirit through Gospel preaching, Baptism, Absolution, and Lord’s Supper, show mercy in many and various concrete actions of daily life.<br />
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But you and I like to pretend that we are something we’re not. We like to think that we are above other people. We choose to treat them in whatever way we want. That’s not being merciful! When you “have issues” with other people—in your family, at work, or in the Church—it’s usually because they are not saying or doing things that you prescribe or demand. This leads to the judging and condemning that Jesus warns against. When you judge or condemn, you’re not imitating God’s mercy; you’re trying to play God. <br />
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Yet God still shows mercy to people like us. He shows His mercy in the very concrete act of sending His Son Jesus to take on our human flesh and blood, live our life, die in our place on a bloody cross, rest in the tomb, and rise again on the third day. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God forgives you and gives you new life.<br />
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So you get to imitate your heavenly Father. You get to interact with people—especially fellow Christians—in their chaotic, messed up lives and in their viral infection of self-serving. You get to show mercy and forgiveness. St. Paul said, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1-2). St. John said, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 Jn. 4:11).<br />
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The second thing Jesus says to you today is: “What you dish out, you get back.” Jesus gives some practical examples: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” <br />
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Now this is probably one of the most misquoted and misunderstood verses in the Bible. We live in a time when tolerance is king; we are to judge absolutely nothing, no matter how raunchy, perverted, or misleading it gets. We are told to tolerate everything from killing babies in the womb to so-called “marriages” that cannot possibly bear children without outside help. To 21st century American ears and mouths “tolerate” has come to mean “approve of,” “bless,” even “kneel down and grovel.” We Christians are told that whenever we talk of Jesus as the only Savior from sin and the only way to life with God, we are being “intolerant” and “judgmental.” When we Christians stand for God’s ways of protecting life and marriage in the public square, we are told to hush up and “be tolerant.” When we reopen our churches to gather for hearing God’s Word, singing His praises, and receiving our Lord’s Body and Blood as we have for centuries, we are told that we are “killing grandma.”<br />
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But even Jesus warned against false teachers and their infectious teachings. And St. Paul warned against those who would give you another “gospel” that’s not focused on Christ alone for forgiveness and life. And St. John gave this judgment: “every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ is not from God” (1 Jn. 4:3). <br />
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What’s Jesus talking about? Well, He’s not talking about legitimate, moral decisions in a court of law. After all, He gives the governing and judicial authorities. Instead, Jesus is talking about those frequent, petty criticisms that happen any time sinners get together. She really made me mad with her negative comments. His attitude really offended me. And so on.<br />
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Jesus is not talking about judging doctrine and life. Jesus does want us to judge doctrine and confront sin. He wants us to make sure that His Church teaches His pure Word in all that it says. But He does not want us to make judgments or condemnations about doctrine and life without substantial evidence. Jesus says don’t judge or condemn based on your own personal standards, or based on the world’s standards, or based on a misunderstanding of God’s Word. Instead, let God’s judgments be yours. When God says something is wrong and sinful—say, murder, abortion, racism, adultery, homosexuality, theft, cheating, lying, gossip, slander, coveting, and discontent—then you may also say it’s wrong. When God says something is true, good, and beautiful—say, loving Him, serving your neighbor in need, defending the defenseless, treating all people as human regardless of skin color, protecting marriage, remaining pure before marriage, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, protecting reputations—then you may also make the same good judgment.<br />
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Instead of being characterized by judging and condemning, Jesus wants you, His forgiven children, to be known by forgiveness and giving. After all, Jesus let Himself be judged and condemned in your place, in order that you may be forgiven and be given His life.<br />
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So Jesus says, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” As you dish it out, it will come back to you. If you judge, condemn and criticize, then you can expect to be judged, condemned and criticized…perhaps by other people, but especially by God. When you forgive and give, though—when you love your neighbor—then God will continue to forgive and give. St. Paul said it well: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” <br />
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And the final thing Jesus says to you today: “Clear out your vision to help your neighbor.” Jesus tells a little parable. A friend of yours gets a speck of sawdust in his eye. But you have a 6 foot long 4x4 beam sticking out of yours. How can you say, “Here let me help you,” when you can’t even see your own problem? Jesus exaggerates to make a point: “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”<br />
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Translation: Yes, your neighbor has sins. But before you deal with your neighbor’s sins, confess your own. Once you rest in Jesus’ forgiveness for your humongous sins, then you can help your neighbor with his itty-bitty sins that may vex you. In order to show mercy, you need to receive Jesus’ mercy. And that’s what you get to do every Sunday in the Divine Service. You confess your sins—not your neighbor’s sins—and you receive Jesus’ forgiveness. You hear His Word and His works of mercy read and proclaimed. Jesus heals you by His words and works, and He removes the 4x4 beams from your eyes.<br />
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After you receive God’s mercy in Christ, you get to sing and pray for God’s mercy for each other, for the Church, and for the world. “Lord, have mercy.” “Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.” And today we hear the story of Joseph to illustrate what Jesus says. Joseph suffered greatly because of his brothers’ evil deeds. But he did not hold those sins against them. He chose not to play God. Instead, he imitated God—he reflected God’s mercy—by forgiving and showing mercy to his brothers. As Joseph said, “God meant it for good…that many people should be kept alive.”<br />
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Yes, there are times when you need to point out the sins of other people. Don’t do it to judge or condemn. Instead, do it to bring your relative or friend or fellow Christian into Christ’s mercy. After all, we don’t want our friends or family—especially our brothers and sisters in Christ—to live and die in their sin. We want them to rest and relax in Jesus’ cross-won, Gospel-given mercy. You can be merciful, because in Jesus your Father is merciful to you. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-9361633123343585132020-06-29T10:56:00.001-05:002020-07-05T20:54:05.682-05:00Homily for Trinity 3 - 2020<b>"Shepherd vs. Lion"</b><br />
Luke 15:1-10 & 1 Peter 5:6-11<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-3-2020" target="_blank"><u><i><b>Listen here.</b></i></u></a> <br />
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Before he became Israel’s greatest king, David was but a lowly shepherd. In fact, when God sent Samuel to Jesse to anoint one of his sons as the next king of Israel, to succeed Saul, they had to go find David as he was out tending his father’s sheep. Once anointed, David also entered the service of King Saul. And what service it would turn out to be! <br />
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Saul then led the army of Israel out to battle with the army of the Philistines. There they were confronted by the giant named Goliath, who taunted and struck fear into the soldiers of God’s army. “They were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Sam. 17:11). Along came David on a mission of mercy to deliver food to three of his older brothers on the front lines. As Israel’s mighty men cowered in fear, young David bravely stepped up to fight the Philistine giant. His brother Eliab angrily questioned David’s motives for being there. King Saul questioned David about how he, a smaller youth, could fight the huge, battled-tested Goliath. David answered: “Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Sam. 17:36). The humble shepherd had come to battle the roaring lion, and you know how that story went. Youthful David, trusting in and calling upon his God, conquered mighty Goliath with a sling and a stone.<br />
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The stage is now set for what we hear today. In our Gospel reading we hear of a shepherd; in our Epistle, we hear of a roaring lion. We heard of and celebrated this Shepherd back in the Easter season. He’s the Good Shepherd who lays down His life and takes it up again for His sheep. Back in the Easter season we were but new-born babes, reveling in that blessed time of childhood as we celebrated our Lord’s resurrection. Now that Pentecost and the Holy Spirit have come, we are declared of age. We are called to grow up and live with courage in this wild, woolly fallen world. <br />
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During the weeks of Easter, we focused on our Good Shepherd. Now, in the “green season,” this time of living and growing in God’s grace and care, we are confronted with our very real needs of life. A disturber of the peace rears its ugly head. That enemy is the sin that dwells within, spurred on by the adversary who prowls around like a roaring lion. So Jesus—Son of David, the greater David, our Good Shepherd—reminds us what He comes to do, what is most important, what is most comforting, what gives us both solace and strength. <br />
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The Shepherd has one hundred sheep. One of them goes astray. He leaves the ninety-nine to find the one. “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” The sheep does not rescue itself. The sheep is too scared to find its own way back to the Shepherd or the fold. The Shepherd does all the heavy-lifting. The Shepherd finds you who are lost in your doubts, your fears, your misplaced loyalties—your sin. Then He puts you on His shoulders and rejoices. It’s a beautiful picture of what happens every Divine Service, from Invocation to Benediction, with hearing His Word and receiving His Body and Blood in between. <br />
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And to show that this is no mere “me-and-Jesus” time, to show that each of us absolutely needs the gifts of Jesus in the Body of Christ—both the Word and the Sacrament—our Shepherd brings us home to the flock and calls for rejoicing together. “When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’” Not “alone-together,” but “together-together.” Not rugged individualism, but community rejoicing.<br />
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Now the truly joyous message is Jesus’ punchline after each of His two parables before us: “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” How do we live and grow in the grace and care of our Shepherd? By repentance. How do we conduct ourselves in the face of pandemic in the world, propaganda in the media, and pandemonium in the streets? With repentance. We repent of our doubts, of our fears, of our penchant to rely on human-defined notions of safety and security, of health and healing, over our Shepherd Himself. As Luther reminded us, the whole life of the Christian is one of repentance—one of living in sorrow for our sin and the ways we stray, one of relying on the Shepherd Himself to pick us up in mercy, place us on His shoulders and bring us home to His font, pulpit, and altar. <br />
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You see, we do have an adversary prowling around—the devil himself. And he constantly seeks to devour you and your brothers and sisters in Christ. He always seeks to divide and scatter the Lord’s flock. He will use anything and everything to maximize your anxiety and minimize your trust in Jesus—viruses old and new; pandemonium in the streets; ineffective, weak-kneed leaders; media bent on stirring up fear and panic; and toxic, vitriolic debates on social media. The list could go on. Yes, we renounced him and all his ways in our Baptism, but he still prowls around, and too often we allow ourselves to be deceived. Too often we allow him and what’s happening in the world to divert our eyes and our ears from our Shepherd.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa26Ilp2iCOtCk1Z2-CAAEA19MOrTKPb-7UvmTe4zzblfxNHDilwsK35FkxO3jaAIeLVSX2JLPPlidrMH9u6Fyl47oCG3-9_LVgrYkk49AqRd0P65Tchy_0fr9cX3ScurMeMkZQpRoGqv/s1600/Shepherd+Carries+Lamb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa26Ilp2iCOtCk1Z2-CAAEA19MOrTKPb-7UvmTe4zzblfxNHDilwsK35FkxO3jaAIeLVSX2JLPPlidrMH9u6Fyl47oCG3-9_LVgrYkk49AqRd0P65Tchy_0fr9cX3ScurMeMkZQpRoGqv/s320/Shepherd+Carries+Lamb.jpg" width="320" /></a>It’s why Peter calls us to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand—another way of saying live in repentance. It’s why Peter reminds us of Psalm 55: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you” (v. 22a). You may cast your anxieties—each and every one of them—on your Good Shepherd because He cares for you. He has laid down His life for you. He has conquered the lion, that old evil foe, for you. He has given you His resurrection life in your Baptism. He continues to sustain you through His Word put in your ears and His Body and Blood placed on your tongue. <br />
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And what about Jesus’ second parable? Just as the Shepherd searched for and found His lost sheep, a woman searched for and found her lost coin. Let’s take this woman as the Church, our mother in the faith. What is the Church’s task in this broken, fallen, chaotic world? She also searches and seeks after what is lost. She—that’s you, me, and all Christians—is called to find sinful people and bring them home to life with the Shepherd and in His flock. She kindles and carries the light who is Christ Jesus—the light that shines, warms and gives life through font, pulpit and altar.<br />
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What are we, the Church, to search for? The lost coin of the human soul fallen and defaced through sin. The analogy of the soul as a coin is marvelous. A coin bears the stamp of an image, usually an honored leader. Think of the image of George Washington on a quarter or Abraham Lincoln on a penny. What is the image stamped on your soul and the soul of your fellow human being? The image of God, of course, King of kings and Lord of lords. The problem is, ever since the Garden of Eden, that image has been defaced and erased, wrecked and ruined by sin. We can see it in ourselves. We can really see it in all the chaos of the world, especially in recent days and weeks. Humans acting and behaving less than human in matters of race; in rioting, looting and killing; and in efforts to critique, control, even condemn those who speak or or even think different points of view. The image of God in the soul has been defaced and demolished.<br />
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You and I and all in our Lord’s Church have a unique, precious, and life-restoring calling. Our Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Through His Word and Sacraments He restores and re-etches His image on us. We are called to shine the light that is Christ into the dark, chaotic, fearful world and search for souls darkened by sin. Just as we are being transformed into the image of Christ through Baptism, Word, and Supper, we are privileged to seek out other lost souls and bring them home to our Savior, so that they too may bear the image of the Man of heaven.<br />
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So our Shepherd has overcome the roaring lion that leads you and your fellow human beings to live in fear. He picks us up and carries us home. He does not remove His sheep from His shoulders, and He seeks to carry every lost one home to eternal life with Him. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-37634331110246951942020-06-24T10:46:00.000-05:002020-06-29T10:47:34.529-05:00Homily for Trinity 2 - 2020<i>The following homily was skillfully crafted and excellently delivered by Rev. Ahren Reiter (my favorite son-in-law!), the first homily he delivered after his ordination. Thank you, Ahren, for your permission to post it here.</i><br />
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<b>"The Call Issues Forth"</b><br />
Proverbs 9:1-10; Ephesians 2:13-23; Luke 14:15-24<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/trinity-2-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here.</i></u></b></a><br />
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<b>One - Wisdom</b><br />Wisdom builds her house with care<br />Seven pillars strong, of stone<br />There she works to make a feast<br />Choicest meat and finest wine<br />“Come,” she bids from street and square<br />Sending forth her maidens fair<br />From Wisdom it’s spoken, the call issues forth<br /><br />Up and down the paths they roam<br />Calling out from high, from low<br />“Turn aside and leave your ways<br />Lest you bring yourself to harm<br />Rush not headlong into danger”<br />Wisdom and her host implore<br />From rooftop, from mountain, the call issues forth<br /><br />“Blessèd is the man who listens<br />Watching daily at my door<br />Finding me is finding life<br />Failing to results in death<br />Seek you favor from the Lord?<br />Hearken, then, unto my words”<br />To mankind, invited, the call issues forth<br /><br />“Drink my proverbs, sweetest draughts<br />Tantalizing to the tongue<br />Eat my food, all which comprises<br />Words to satisfy the soul<br />Finest meat, my teachings rival<br />Pleasure lies in tasting, chewing.”<br />Wisdom’s feast is prepared; the call issues forth.<br /><br />Notice, now, whom she addresses<br />“Let the simple come in here”<br />Not the proud, the mighty ones<br />Does she beckon to come near.<br />“Leave your simple ways and live<br />Walk in ways of understanding.”<br />To mankind, the simple, the call issues forth.<br /><br />Wisdom starts with fearing God<br />Knowledge of the Holy One<br />Heed rebuke, don’t chide a mocker<br />Lest he hate you for your words<br />But wise men grow wiser still<br />When correction comes their way<br />To the humble in heart, the call issues forth<br /><br />And what about you, Christian, what about you?<br /><br />Do you scorn when words correct you?<br />Are you wise in your own eyes?<br />Have you courted grave disaster<br />Cherishing your wounded pride?<br />Are you quick to speak, not listen,<br />Gossip rolling off your tongue?<br />Then to you, dear sinner, the call issues forth.<br /><br /><b>Two - The Master</b><br />Likewise does the master call<br />Many to his banquet hall<br />Sends his servants far and wide<br />To proclaim the time has come<br />“Everything is ready now”<br />Hear the blessèd, summoned ones<br />To them, the invited, the call issues forth.<br /><br />But as we know life impedes<br />We are busy people, we<br />One has real estate to see<br />Purchase prices are agreed<br />“Till the land and sow the seed<br />I’ve a family to feed.”<br />To unfertile soil, the call issues forth.<br /><br />Yet another needs to try<br />Yokes of oxen numb’ring five<br />Thus he counters with a sigh<br />“They won’t work unless I drive”<br />“Please excuse me!” his reply<br />Stopping short the servant’s cry.<br />To stubborn-hearted beasts, the call issues forth.<br /><br />Still one more says “I am married!<br />Just today to home I’ve carried<br />My new wife and we are wearied<br />I can’t come, for I am worried<br />Won’t my life become too harried?”<br />Thus the servant’s words are parried<br />To the heedless lovers, the call issues forth<br /><br />And the servant now returning<br />Bears the awful news to home<br />Meets his master and reporting<br />Says “No invitations, none,<br />Found a home in any heart.<br />All have given up their part.”<br />To the unwilling guests, the call issues forth<br /><br />And what about you, Christian, what about you?<br /><br />Fire flashes in his eyes<br />As the master bellows out<br />“Go into the streets and alleys<br />Find the crippled, blind, and lame.<br />Invitations for the poor<br />These my banquet shall enjoy.”<br />To those dead to the world, the call issues forth<br /><br />And what about you, Christian, what about you?<br /><br />Do you find yourself drawn near<br />Crowding to the banquet hall?<br />Awkwardly you come to knock<br />See the door in disbelief?<br />How could such as I be brought<br />Wounded as I am within?<br />To us who’ve nothing left, the call issues forth<br /><br /><b>Three - Christ</b><br />Stuck are we, outside the door<br />Only righteousness goes in<br />Never could we hope to enter<br />Never taste the food within<br />Who will help us in our weakness?<br />Who will cleanse our hearts of sin?<br />“Lord, have mercy!” we cry. The call issues forth<br /><br />We dare not cry for justice<br />But rather beg for peace<br />Should God give what we deserve<br />Hell were ours to keep<br />Not a seat at Wisdom’s place<br />Nor the feast the master makes<br />“Kyrie eleison!” The call issues forth<br /><br />Notice how the master acts<br />Notice now, what Wisdom does<br />Turn your eyes to fix on Jesus<br />God incarnate, from above<br />How does he take up our cause?<br />How does he “identify”?<br />“Behold the Lamb of God!” the call issues forth<br /><br />Jesus comes, takes up our cause<br />Jesus comes to set us free<br />Not renouncing “privilege”<br />Divine, imagined, otherwise<br />But in emptying himself<br />Taking up the flesh of man<br />“Today, a savior’s born,” the call issues forth<br /><br />True God, he is, and true man<br />The champion at our side<br />The righteous one intercedes<br />The very Son comes to die!<br />He takes our place, he wins peace<br />He takes the curse; he steps in<br />“Why have you forsaken?” the cry issues forth<br /><br />For He, Himself, is our peace<br />Safe within His arms we rest<br />Wrath of God shall not destroy us<br />Justice falls on Jesus’ head<br />Penalty that all men owe<br />Rests on one, that heavy blow<br />“It is finished,” He cries. The call issues forth.<br /><br />Jesus crushes in his flesh<br />All things which divide our race<br />Making from the two men one<br />(He) Lifts the humble, breaks our pride<br />Now no longer Jew and Greek<br />Neither are we black and white<br />To one new man, not two, the call issues forth<br /><br /><b>Four - Church</b><br />What does it take to make peace?<br />Where does justice find a home?<br />In a world where violence reigns<br />At a time when peoples groan?<br />Who can break down hostile walls?<br />Whence will come true unity?<br />Only from Christ’s body, the call issues forth<br /><br />Christ himself as cornerstone<br />Of a building, new and great<br />Crafts His body, yes, the Church<br />By His Spirit calls us forth<br />Living stones th’apostles heed<br />One foundation with (the) prophets<br />Wisdom has built her house; the call issues forth<br /><br />Inward then, we venture now<br />Once excluded, yet no more.<br />Strangers of the covenants<br />Now are children of the Lord.<br />Newborn in His promises,<br />Foreigners receive new life<br />“Join me in my banquet,” the call issues forth<br /><br />So we leave our simple ways<br />In repentance new each day<br />Come to sit at Wisdom’s door<br />Where we learn to fear the Lord<br />Hearken as she speaks anew<br />From the altar to the pew<br />The Word of God speaks up; the call issues forth<br /><br />Here we taste the Word of God<br />First with ear, and then with tongue<br />Drink its sweet, refreshing flavor<br />Chew upon it, fill our souls<br />Taste and see, the Lord is Good!<br />Smell forgiveness on your breath<br />His body to our mouths, the call issues forth<br /><br />Justified, we rise, forgiven<br />Thankfulness our hearts doth fill<br />Glorious in jubilation<br />Souls at rest and conscience still<br />All renewed to serve the master<br />And once more our voices raise<br />In our hymns and praises, the call issues forth<br /><br />Joining with the host of heav’n<br />Here we touch eternity<br />Sing our songs while exalting<br />God, the Lord, the Trinity<br />Praise the Father, Praise the Son<br />Praise the Spirit, three in one<br />Our voices to heaven, the call issues forth<br /><br /><b>Five - World</b><br />Strengthened, then, we venture out<br />Our vocations taking up<br />Fathers, mothers, wives and husbands<br />Parents, children, and the like<br />Yet, slaves or masters, none can be<br />More than Christ, who sets us free<br />“Take my yoke upon you,” the call issues forth<br /><br />All disciples, new and old <br />Follow in his footsteps now<br />We are called to greater things<br />Than our own desires bring<br />“In this world will suff’ring be.<br />It hates you for loving me.”<br />“Take up your cross, follow,” the call issues forth<br /><br />Jesus’ way indeed is harder<br />None could take it, none would wish<br />Its involvement more demanding<br />Than “renouncing privilege”<br />Being like the master means<br />Emptying ourselves of all<br />“Learn from Jesus to die,” the call issues forth<br /><br />Wisdom’s call, the master’s call,<br />The call of Christ, they bid us<br />To die to sin, to world, to self<br />Of things that would divide us.<br />For in His body Christ makes one<br />Sad Adam’s scattered race<br />He wrecks our inward-focused lives<br />Then dons our neighbor’s face<br />And Christ has overcome the world<br />Its power now is broken<br />Our sin, our pride, and Satan,<br />Have heard their death knell spoken<br />And death itself defeated<br />With all its rage and spite<br />Shies away its ugly head,<br />Destroyed by Jesus’ might.<br /><br />Even wars and rumors of<br />Despot rulers in power<br />Sickness, disease, loss of love,<br />Famine, economic ruin<br />Naught can snatch us from His hand<br />Who upholds the world at will<br />Unconquered e’en by death, the call issues forth<br /><br />Join together, then, one body<br />Grasping hands through time, through space<br />Listen to the words of Wisdom<br />Understand the prophets’ strains<br />Shout it at the master’s feast<br />“Alleluia, Christ is ris’n!”<br />As throughout eternity, the call issues forth<br /><br />Now may the peace of our God<br />Passing all understanding<br />Guard your hearts and minds in faith<br />Holding tight to Jesus Christ<br />Till that day of his return<br />When he brings us to our home<br />When the final trumpet, the call issues forth.<br />Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-53041364007510844312020-06-22T15:19:00.000-05:002020-06-22T15:19:47.888-05:00Homily for Ordination of Rev. Ahren Reiter<i>On Sunday, June 14, 2020, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Rock Springs, Wyoming, it was my great privilege to preach for the ordination of my "favorite (yes, only) son-in-law," Ahren Reiter. It was also a high honor to serve as officiant for the rite of ordination and thus be authorized to ordain him. </i><b><br /></b><br />
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<b>"Only Christ's Words"</b><br />
2 Timothy 4:1-5 <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiWEEMpzmnEodNU3aUvK_kX9GZy4uhZy93I38-BR38NxPWqmkE6uZCnQvXC39PLLAJPt_M_sdQQaT3molfpTdTJbBPnzbASCp3STCw2z81NrJz_cDi29CVIy43yYDFBNZ4f1h0O3Khz6R/s1600/Holy+Ministry.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="191" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiWEEMpzmnEodNU3aUvK_kX9GZy4uhZy93I38-BR38NxPWqmkE6uZCnQvXC39PLLAJPt_M_sdQQaT3molfpTdTJbBPnzbASCp3STCw2z81NrJz_cDi29CVIy43yYDFBNZ4f1h0O3Khz6R/s400/Holy+Ministry.png" width="289" /></a>Dear saints at Trinity in Rock Springs, it’s a great honor to be here with you this day. I bring you greetings from your brothers and sisters in Christ at Hope Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri. Pastor Martin, thank you for your welcome to proclaim from your pulpit this afternoon. President Hill, it’s good to see you again and proclaim God’s Word once again in Wyoming. And Ahren, thank you for the honor of proclaiming our Lord Jesus at your ordination. For those who don’t know the connection here, Ahren is my favorite son-in-law. <br /><br />Saints at Trinity, you have a high and distinct honor this afternoon. Not only is Ahren a son of your congregation—baptized and confirmed at this altar—but now you get to speak for the whole Church and to the whole Church. First, by your ministry of the Gospel and Sacraments, Ahren was given new birth into Christ and joined to Him in His death and resurrection. Then you taught him the Christian faith and confirmed his confession of Jesus. You have also supported him through his seminary studies. When we are done here today, you will testify to and for the whole Church that Ahren has been set apart and put under orders to serve the Lord in the Office of the Holy Ministry. It’s a high honor, even as he moves on to serve the saints in Lawton, Oklahoma.<br /><br />Now you can tell, Ahren has learned a lot of great things at the seminary—even what Scripture readings to choose for an ordination. The readings we’ve heard point out the what of the pastoral office—what a pastor is called to do. Isaiah 40 reminds us of the “herald of good news” who proclaims the Lord God as the true Shepherd who gathers and leads His flock. Always remember that, Ahren. It’s His flock, not yours. You are but the herald, the ambassador, the mouth-piece. You may speak only what He bids you to speak. <br /><br />In Psalm 119 we prayed the perfect prayer of a pastor: “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes.” Yes, Ahren, the seminary has taught you a lot! But that’s only the beginning. After all, the word “seminary” means “seed-bed.” The seeds have been planted, but the learning and growing must continue the rest of your life—the Lord helping you through the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. <br /><br />Romans 10 speaks of preachers who are sent…and their beautiful feet. I’m not sure how beautiful a runner’s feet can really be, but Ahren you are being sent to speak Christ’s words—and only Christ’s words—so that those who hear the Word of Christ may receive the gift of faith. <br /><br />And in Luke 24, our Lord Jesus gives the beating heart of the pastor’s work: Himself—that is, Jesus, not the pastor. What’s the Bible all about? Jesus. What’s the Church all about? Proclaiming the Christ who suffered, died on a cross and on the third day rose again from the dead. To what end? “That repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations.” Ahren, the “nation”—or place—your Lord wants you to do that is called Lawton. All of this is what you are called to do.<br /><br />But that’s not all that Ahren has learned at the seminary. Evidently, he also learned to make his love of Greek rub off onto his 15 month old daughter! Dada can say, “Peripatei,” and Elinor knows to walk. He can say, “Stethi,” and she’ll stand still. When he commands, “Kraxon,” he might just hear an “Aaaah!” (Though she needs to work on that shout a bit. ;-) And when he says, “Siga,” she knows to be silent.<br /><br />I know, you who are not pastor types are wondering, “Um, what about simple English?” I assure you, that is the first language. (But, Ahren, I get it. Just ask your wife about the Greek New Testament I gave her. ;-)<br /><br />It’s one thing to know the what of the pastoral office; it’s something else—and something equally essential—to know the how of the pastoral office. How will you, Ahren, herald God’s good news? How will you proclaim Christ crucified and risen so that repentance for the forgiveness of is lived and loved? St. Paul helps us pastor types when he writes to young Pastor Timothy. Listen to 2 Timothy 4:1-5…in simple English for all of us:<br />
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<b>I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.</b></blockquote>
Now, for you pastor types, and especially for you Ahren, our “Dada” in the faith, St. Paul, does give us some Greek commands for how to serve as pastors. <br /><br />κήρυξον (keryxon)—Preach, as in “preach the Word,” or be the messenger. Not of your hopes, dreams, opinions, political philosophies, economic theories, etc. You are called to herald and announce what God gives you to speak—His life-giving, sin-forgiving good news in Christ. “Preach you the Word and plant it home, to men who like or like it not.”<br /><br />ἐπίστηθι (epistethi)—Much as Elinor stands still at the word στηθι (stethi), you are to stand still and stand ready at all times—“in season and out of season,” as Paul says—when times are good and opportune and when they are not so opportune, even when they are vexing or troubling. It’s sort of like the harpooner on the whale boat. Others may be strenuously rowing and manning the boat, but the harpooner has to be ready at all times to do his thing, throw the harpoon. Thus he must focus and be prepared.<br /><br />Now for the “fun” ones: ἔλεγξον (elengxon)—reprove, and ἐπιτίμησον (epitimeson)—command or rebuke. Now no one likes a bossy pastor, but sometimes the pastor must be firm. Sometimes he has to cross-examine a sinner to reveal what or whom that sinner is trusting other than the true Savior God. Sometimes he has to imitate the doctor and poke right where the pain is most intense. That way Jesus can bring the healing of His blood-bought forgiveness. That’s reproving—cross-examining or questioning. The rebuking word—ἐπιτίμησον—is most curious. At its root it means “lay a value upon” or “show honor to.” How is rebuking related to showing honor or value? That person, that group, that congregation you may have to rebuke and correct are most valuable to our Lord Jesus. After all, He shed His blood for them; they have been bought with a price. <br /><br />Next “Dada” Paul says, παρακάλεσον (parakaleson). When you hear that, you get to do all sorts of good things. You get to beg, urge, and exhort; you get to speak words of encouragement—not just any words, but Jesus’ words, of course; you get to console, comfort and cheer up; even invite and summon. This is why your study of God’s Word and the true confession of the faith must never end. It’s only “through the encouragement of the Scriptures” that “we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). You search the Scriptures, and you teach your people to search the Scriptures, because those Scriptures do bear witness about Jesus and thus give eternal life (cf. John 5:39). <br /><br />Now, you need to know, Ahren, that this will not be easy. Like a toddler learning to peripatei, it’s all we pastor types can do just to totter and wobble along, shaky and unsteady. We may even stumble and do a face-plant or two into the dirt. As Paul reminds us, people don’t always like sound teaching. Their ears itch for messages more pleasing to their fallen nature. That itch and that fallen nature also dwell in you. So I pray that you ever and always live at the receiving end of our Lord’s cross-won forgiveness for you. The Messiah and message you are privileged to proclaim is also for you. After all, we pastor types are not at all sufficient in ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God through His Son and in His Spirit. As our Lord told Paul, He also tells you: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).<br /><br />And so “Dada” Paul puts just a few more Greek commands before you. As for you, νῆφε (nephe)—be sober-minded and self-controlled—in everything. It’s Jesus’ Church and Jesus’ ministry; He takes care of you and the people you serve. κακοπάθησον (kakopatheson)—suffer the “caca”; that is, endure the crosses even as your Lord endured His cross for you and your flock. ἔργον ποίησον (ergon poieson)—do the work you are given to do, the work of “evangelist,” the work of God’s speaker of Good News. And finally, πληροφόρησον plerophoreson)—carry out fully this service which you are undertaking today and when you are installed in Lawton. This is the how of the office you about to undertake.<br /><br />Dr. Norman Nagel once wrote, “Clergy are worth only what they have been put into the office for: not their own words, but Christ’s” (Lutheran Theological Journal, 30; Dec. 1996). Ahren, this is the office and the life-long work which you enter today. It’s both a high calling and a sacrificial labor of love as you use your mouth to speak only Christ’s words and works. Amen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: Rev. James Martin (Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Rock Springs, WY), Rev. John Hill (President, Wyoming District, LCMS), Rev. Ahren Reiter, Rev. Jonathan Lange (Pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Evanston, WY), Rev. Randy Asburry (Pastor, Hope Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO)</td></tr>
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Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-37231139673348956822020-06-07T13:00:00.000-05:002020-06-29T10:13:37.431-05:00Homily for The Holy Trinity - 2020<b>"Mystery of Life"</b><br />
Isaiah 6:1-7; Romans 11:33-36; John 3:1-17<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/the-holy-trinity-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here. </i></u></b></a><br />
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Today we celebrate a mystery. It’s a mystery we can never comprehend, never understand, never wrap our minds around. It’s no mere philosophical idea, notion, or concept. This mystery is a doctrine—a life-bestowing, life-sustaining teaching. This mystery is truth itself. We can only believe it, trust it and rely on it. And as we do that, our lives actually take on more meaning and make more sense. The more you ponder the Holy Trinity, the better you know yourself, other people, and the world around you. Your whole life—the life of every Christian—begins and ends with the Holy Trinity.<br />
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Let’s begin with Isaiah in our first reading. About 740 years before Christ, powerful King Uzziah died. Uzziah, also called Azariah, had reigned 52 years in Judah, and “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kgs. 15:3). He was not a perfect king, but he was a good king. Just imagine the uncertainty when he died. Who would become the next king? Would he be a good king or not? So the Triune God gave Isaiah a vision of Himself sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, wearing a royal robe. His honor guard of six-winged seraphim were flanking Him and singing His praises: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Three holies for three Persons of the one Godhead. <br />
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What did God want Isaiah to take away into his everyday life of serving as prophet? Two things. First, even though King Uzziah had died, Father, Son and Holy Spirit still sat on the highest throne. Human rulers come and go, but God always reigns. Isaiah’s second takeaway was that he was a sinner among a race sinners. “Woe is me!” he cried, “For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” Seeing the true God and being in His presence will do that to you every time. Even as he was being called and ordained to serve as God’s spokesman, Isaiah learned to live on the receiving end of God’s purging and forgiving. Don’t we all—every human being, regardless of age, genealogy or skin color.<br />
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Next let’s go to St. Paul as he writes to Christians in Rome. He has taught that the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:18). God’s wrath and judgment for all sin of all shapes, sizes and colors is completely justified. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Rom. 3:10-11), Paul proclaims. Yet, God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is merciful. Even though “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” by His deep wisdom and unsearchable ways all “are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23-24). This peace with God gets applied to you and me in our Baptism into Christ. We see that happening yet again today with little Caroline Grace. Now we get to be slaves to God, not ourselves. Now we have life in the Holy Spirit. Now nothing can separate us from the Trinity’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now we see that God Himself—the truest community of Persons living together in pure love—overcomes the divides between peoples. In Paul’s day, it was the divide between Jew and Gentile. In our day, well, we desperately need the Triune God, don’t we?<br />
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For all this St. Paul leads us in singing a doxology, a hymn of praise, to the Holy Trinity. His riches, wisdom and knowledge in rescuing us from sin and death are so deep. His ways and judgments of recreating us and making us His children are beyond our puny mental powers. Who can teach Him a thing or two or sit in judgment of Him? Who can ever repay Him for His undeserved mercy and goodness? “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” Three prepositions—from, through, and to—echo three Persons of the Trinity. They also tell us that God—our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier—is the source, the means, and the goal of everything in life. <br />
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Now we come to Nicodemus and his late night meeting with Jesus. And we can relate with his confusion. How does all of this work? How can this Man—Jesus—also be God? What does He mean by “born again” or “born from above”? How can life have meaning in this fallen, broken, sick, chaotic world? <br />
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Jesus teaches Nicodemus by pointing him to the Holy Trinity. Life with God the Father comes only by being born again. That new birth happens, not by re-entering a womb, but by being washed “of water and the [Holy] Spirit.” Thank you, Caroline Grace, for being our latest reminder and role model in this! And where does God the Son fit into this gift of life with God in His kingdom? “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” <br />
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All of this is the mystery we ponder—the mystery of life, the grace we acknowledge, and the true faith we confess. Your whole life and my whole life—indeed the whole life of every Christian—begins and ends with the Holy Trinity. And God wants it to be so with every human being. The Father is not more God than the Son, and the Son is not more God than the Holy Spirit. Neither is any one of them less God than the other two. “Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit” (Athanasian Creed). <br />
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All three Persons in one divine Being wants only one thing: you, me, every Christian—indeed every human being—in loving, living relationship with Him and one another, both now and into eternity. That relationship takes place by the purging of sin in repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ shed blood. Remember that you are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Remember that you are absolved in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And when you are placed into the ground, it will be God the Father, who created your body; God the Son, who by His blood redeemed your body; and God the Holy Spirit, who by Holy Baptism sanctified your body to be His temple, who will keep you until the Day of Resurrection.<br />
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This glorious, gracious mystery helps us make sense of—and even bring hope to—what we now endure. Just as we’ve been confronted with a coronavirus, now we are assaulted by a revolting, senseless killing and by violent, chaotic riots, looting and more killing. Obviously, all of the anger and killing go against God’s Fifth Commandment. We humans should protect life, not snuff it out. Yes, all lives matter. That’s not a political statement; it’s God’s truth. And all of the looting and damaging of property, of course, goes against God’s Seventh Commandment. We humans should protect our neighbor’s possessions, not just destroy, snatch and grab them as ours. <br />
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Perhaps the greatest hope and help the Trinity gives at this time is on the matter of “racism”—this highly charged issue that keeps dogging our society and us who live in it. Yes, racism of any shape, size or color is wrong and sinful. Here’s where the Trinity’s truth gives help and hope. <br />
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Did you know there are not many different races based on skin color? Yes, there are different people groups—what the Bible calls “peoples and tribes and languages and nations” (Rev. 11:9). Yes, there are differences in appearances—skin colors and eye shapes—to be sure. Do you want to know how different you are from someone who looks different than you in skin color or eye shape? According to one surgeon in Manhattan, the percentage of your genes that determines your appearance—and your neighbor’s appearance—is about 0.01%. [<a href="https://answersingenesis.org/racism/are-there-really-different-races/" target="_blank">See here.</a>] All of our talk and strife about “race” and “racism” is over 0.01% of our genetic code given by God. He’s the One who determines, in His deep wisdom, what each of us looks like. Do you know that means? It means that in the other 99.99% of our genetic code, you and I are the same as anyone and everyone with different skin colors or eye shapes or other outward traits.<br />
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It means there is only one race—the human race. After all, we all descend from one man, Adam, and his wife Eve. “[God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26). Just as God is three Persons in one Godhead and one God in three Persons, so also various people groups are one human race and one human race in various people groups.<br />
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The greatest news and the greatest hope of all is this: “God [thus] loved the world—every individual human being and every people group of the one human race—that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This Jesus—the Son of God and descendant of Adam—has come to bring peace, reconciliation, and healing by His death on a cross and His glorious resurrection. It’s the work of the Holy Trinity. It’s the mystery of life for you and for everyone so unsettled and upset at this time. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-65644234402803204762020-06-01T10:21:00.000-05:002020-06-03T10:22:38.872-05:00Homily for the Day of Pentecost - 2020<b>"Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled"</b><br />
John 14:23-31<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/day-of-pentecost" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here.</i></u></b></a><br />
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Let’s be honest with ourselves and with each other. Five full months into the year 2020, fear has come to be our friend; panic has become our companion. I’m not referring only to the current pandemic. It’s just the most recent proof positive. Since hindsight is 20/20, let’s quickly look back over the past 20 years. <br /><br />Who remembers good old “Y2K”? The fear was that as the year 1999 turned into the year 2000, at the very stroke of midnight, all manner of chaos would erupt. Why? Many feared—and the media hyped the fear—that time-keeping and computing devices around the world would not be able to turn all four digits from 1999 to 2000. Yet, here we are—20 years later, still alive and kicking.<br /><br />Who can forget September 11, 2001? We who lived through it remember where we were and the fear we felt that day terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 innocent Americans. We were under attack on our own soil! People rushed to stock up on groceries for their cupboards and put gas in their cars. The stock market took a nosedive. We would be going to war. We were very afraid for a time! <br /><br />Soon after that, there was that little white powder scare. Remember Anthrax? Envelopes containing a contagious white powder thought to be a biological weapon were sent to certain government leaders. Soon after that we all were fearful of what might arrive in our own mail boxes. Could that letter or bill be deadly? And then the plastic and the duct tape. Government leaders spoke often of how easily weaponized pathogens can spread through the air. So we were advised to seal up our windows with that plastic and duct tape. <br /><br />In 2007-08, we endured the “Great Recession.” Fears abounded over the subprime mortgage crisis, the falling stock market, bailouts of banks and companies “too big to fail,” and what would happen to our own retirement investments. <br /><br />The SARS epidemic sparked fears in 2002-2004. The MERS epidemic struck around 2012-2015. In 2014 we in St. Louis endured—and feared—the mess in Ferguson. We can certainly relate to what’s happened in Minneapolis, and we’re even joining in—fearful of injustice and fearful of needless destruction at the same time. <br /><br />As a society and as individuals living in this society—even as blood-bought sinners redeemed by Jesus who live in this society—fear has become our familiar friend and panic our constant companion. The media either thrives on our fears or stirs our fears or—most likely—both. What does it do to us mentally, emotionally and spiritually when we keep hearing, over and over again, at least every commercial break, phrases such as “uncertain times,” “unprecedented times,” or “new normal”? <br /><br />And I had to chuckle when I came across a couple of headlines this past week. No, these were not in the Babylon Bee or some other satire site; they’re from actual news sites. One headline said: “Half of Americans fear [Notice that?] they won’t get their pre-coronavirus body back, survey shows.” Evidently, with gyms closed, it’s not so easy to burn off all of the junk food, alcohol, and other carbohydrates we’re turning to these days. The other headline said: “Monkeys attack lab worker, steal COVID-19 samples as 2020 continues to use critters to try to kill us all.” Evidently, the lockdowns in India have emboldened the monkeys to take charge in Planet of the Apes style. <br /><br />Fear has become our familiar friend. But he’s not a healthy friend. It’s a rather toxic relationship. It might even be something like Stockholm syndrome. That’s when a captive develops emotional and psychological bonds with and for their captor. The victim may even defend the captor. <br /><br />But if we keep fear as our friend, we’re also likely to welcome pride as another close buddy. It’s what happened at the Tower of Babel. We usually focus on their pride of making a name for themselves. But what laid the foundation for that pride? What sparked the fire of that pride? Look behind the pride, and you can see fear calling the shots. They were afraid they would be nobodies, irrelevant, even forgotten. Our friendship with fear leads us to rely on ourselves to fix our fearful circumstances.<br /><br />What does all of this have to do with Pentecost Day and the coming of the Holy Spirit? Did you hear what your Lord Jesus said as He promised to send the Helper, the Holy Spirit? Did His words get into your ears, your mind and your heart, or has fear plugged your ears and numbed your heart and mind? Listen again. After all, it’s your Lord Jesus talking—no camera, no microphone, no viral tweet or video. But His words have endured the test of time. His words bring solace to troubled souls. What did He say? “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” <br /><br />When your Lord tells you, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” He’s saying, “Don’t let all those other things disturb you, upset you, terrify you, or frighten you.” This verb for “be troubled” gives the picture of a body of water being stirred up. The sediment and dirt at the bottom gunk up the water and take away its clarity. And when Jesus says, “…neither let them be afraid,” He’s using a unique word for “be afraid.” We could also render it: “Neither let your hearts be cowardly or timid.” <br /><br />You see, Jesus can say these things because He has lived life in your flesh and walked in your shoes in this fallen world. He knows the multitudes of things that bring fear, from plagues to terrorist attacks to riots to aggressive monkeys. And He has suffered, bled, and died to overcome the fears, to conquer the cowardice, and to clear up the water of your heart and soul. His resurrection proves that death itself has been trampled down. So what are all those other things that stir us up or make us tremble inside? They cannot take away Jesus’ victory over sin and death; they cannot take away Jesus’ peace. <br /><br />It was the night before He would go to the cross when Jesus told His fearful disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” His cross and resurrection would bring them peace. They also bring you peace, as long as you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith. He is your true friend who loves you and has laid down His life for you. When you make fear your friend, you will only be abused over and over again. But Jesus is your true Friend who gives healing and peace—peace with God, peace with one another, and peace within when the world rages.<br /><br />And your best Friend, Jesus, gives you another Helper: the Spirit of truth. This Third Person of the Trinity who appeared in tongues of fire and enabled Gospel preaching on the first Pentecost comes to dwell with you and be in you. He comes to teach you the things of Jesus, not the things of fear. He comes to comfort and sustain and give courage. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11). He is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might” (Is. 11:2). <br /><br />Just as He rested on Jesus, coming down on Him in His Baptism, so He rests on you through your Baptism into Christ. Just as He sustained and nourished Jesus in the wilderness, so He sustains and nourishes you in the wilderness of this fallen, sick, riotous world—especially as you hear the words of Jesus and feast on His Body and Blood.<br /><br />Let the Holy Spirit remind you of something Jesus said. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Then couple that with something Jesus says throughout His written word: “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). Saved not only from pandemics and riots and other frightful things; but saved from fear itself. After all, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), and “this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-60061763269161290202020-05-26T13:33:00.001-05:002020-05-27T12:38:48.671-05:00Homily for Easter 7 (Exaudi) - 2020<b>"The Spirit, Your Comforter"</b><br />
John 15:26-16:4<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/easter-7-exaudi-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here.</i></u></b></a> <br />
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Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tAlQpeqpYiBORuSd_fCMFjivKc2k7RFZnRTR0GV3bTtiKpC_Z_RvQ66WAAAsM-pRoOacvFnyJYZaKmzWiqA1ISvUHhQphVFGIVEkemr5pRuOGL7lqnaiikI5EsiWp5RPIpDzK7UszClT/s1600/Holy+Spirit-LightCross.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tAlQpeqpYiBORuSd_fCMFjivKc2k7RFZnRTR0GV3bTtiKpC_Z_RvQ66WAAAsM-pRoOacvFnyJYZaKmzWiqA1ISvUHhQphVFGIVEkemr5pRuOGL7lqnaiikI5EsiWp5RPIpDzK7UszClT/s1600/Holy+Spirit-LightCross.jpg" /></a>We come to the end of the “week of Sundays.” It’s now the seventh week of celebrating the joys of Christ’s victory over the grave, over every deadly thing that separates us from our God who loves us. We’ve been enjoying the life that He gives as He restores us to life with God. But now we need comfort, just as the disciples did.<br />
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Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading come from the night before He would die. He told His disciples that He must leave them. He said that where He was about to go, they could not follow. Jesus leave them? What were they supposed to do? How would they carry on without Him? Since we celebrated Jesus’ Ascension on Thursday, we might be tempted to think and feel that Jesus has left us too. But Jesus promised: “When the Helper/Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” Just as Jesus comforted His disciples with the promised Holy Spirit, He also comforts you by sending His Spirit.<br />
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My, how we need comfort these days! Not just “some comfort”—A LOT of comfort! Reports of Christians being persecuted in far off lands continue to confront us—and rightly so. After all, our brothers and sisters in Christ are teaching us to remain faithful even in the midst of suffering. In our own land, we Christians are seen more and more as the problem to be remedied and the enemy to be vanquished. And certain governors are going out of their way to make sure churches stay closed at this time. The hour is coming, and is now here, when many think ostracizing and marginalizing Christians is actually offering service to God. Well, not to the true God, but it is offering service—praise and worship—to false gods such as immediate gratification, self-chosen pleasures, and raw power grabs. As Jesus warns: “they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”<br />
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Jesus does not tell us these things to frighten us or to lead us to anxious hand-wringing. No, Jesus says “all these things to keep you from falling away.” After all, He said, if they hated Him, they’ll hate His Christians. If they persecuted Him, they’ll also persecute His Christians. If they executed Him, they’ll also execute His Christians. And, no, I don’t mention these things to frighten you or lead you to anxious hand-wringing either. This is all about how our Lord would comfort us. Peter said it well as he echoed our Lord: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet. 4:12-14). It’s all about how our Lord comforts us with His Spirit—“the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.” <br />
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When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He was preparing them for that little “in-between time”—that time when He would leave them to go the cross. But He would return to them in the resurrection on the third day. And then He would leave them again—for “a little while”—when He would ascend to God’s right hand. And with those first twelve disciples, we’re still in that “in-between time” after our Lord ascended and before He comes again. The difference is, we have the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. His cross and His shed blood forgive all our doubts and apprehensions. His victory over the grave gives us confidence and hope and comfort.<br />
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That comfort comes not in the form of a cozy, warm blanket that you put on your bed. It does not feel like a comfy chair in which you relax to watch TV. It does not taste like “comfort food,” whether chocolate or something called “Southern Comfort.” No, the comfort that Jesus gives is very mighty and very fortifying. “When the [Comforter] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” <br />
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Our word “comfort” comes from two Latin words. When spliced together those two Latin words literally mean “strengthen together” or “fortify together.” Instead of cozy warm blankets or soothing chocolates that melt in your mouth, think body builder’s muscle. Or, better yet, think of a towering castle wall, as in “a mighty fortress.” Our Lord’s “comfort” comes through His Comforter, the Holy Spirit. <br />
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How does the Spirit of Truth, the divine Comforter—the divine Fortifier—strengthen you together as Jesus’ disciples? He bears witness about Jesus. He teaches you all things that Jesus has said and brings to your remembrance all that He has done for you. He gives you the peace of sins forgiven that the world cannot give (John 14:26-27). He convicts you and the world of sin. He convinces you that Jesus has come from the Father, has won your salvation, and has returned to the Father. And He convinces you that the ruler of this world—the old evil foe himself—has been judged and awaits his sentence (John 16:8-11). That’s what strengthens, fortifies, and gives comfort. <br />
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The Holy Spirit helps and comforts you by fortifying you, by nourishing you, by transforming you, and by renewing your strength. In your Baptism, you have received new life by being joined to Christ in His death and resurrection. You have been reborn, born anew into life with God. In your Baptism, your Lord says to you: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you” (Ezek. 36:25).<br />
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But you cannot live that new life without constant care or sustenance. Just as no infant can rely upon himself/herself to survive, no child of God can rely upon himself/herself. The Holy Spirit comes to give you the love, nurture and food of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but He also protects you from things you may not know or understand. Not only do you need protection from the obvious problems in life, but you also need protection from the spiritual assaults that you cannot see coming. So the Holy Spirit feeds and nourishes you, protects and defends you as God’s holy and dearly loved children. He gives you a new heart. He puts a new spirit within you. He removes your heart of stone, and He gives you a heart of flesh—flesh that lives with God and from His Word.<br />
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The Holy Spirit feeds and protects you in ways that you cannot see but can only believe. When the Holy Spirit feeds you on Holy Communion, you cannot see that you are actually receiving Christ’s life-giving Body and Blood. But you believe His words, and so you receive the nourishment and immortality that the Spirit gives there. When the Holy Spirit protects you with the word of forgiveness, you cannot see Jesus speaking that word to you. Yet you believe that the pastor’s forgiveness is Christ’s forgiveness, and thus you receive the Spirit’s defense and protection given there.<br />
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Our Lord Jesus says, “the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” This testifying does not take place in a courtroom, nor in a congressional hearing, nor in a baseball stadium or a movie theater. It takes place right here, in the Church, right here where the Gospel and Sacraments are delivered to you. This is what makes being in church in-person essential for every Christian. Here you have the Spirit’s comforting, strengthening, fortifying testimony. No, He does not necessarily give you a warm fuzzy in your bosom. But He does testify that you have received and still receive the life of your Lord Jesus. He does testify that Jesus’ life shapes you and renews you in the life that you have from birth. And by this testimony, the Spirit feeds and fortifies the Lord’s life in you so that you may continue to grow and mature until the day when your renewal is complete. <br />
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Just as Jesus comforted His disciples with the promised Holy Spirit, He also comforts you by sending His Spirit. With the Holy Spirit not only working for you, but also working in you, you can be bold and say with sure and certain confidence: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1). Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-43733252156025296942020-05-22T11:18:00.001-05:002020-05-27T12:37:25.655-05:00Homily for Ascension Day - 2020<b>"Ascended for Our Healing"</b><br />
Luke 24:44-53<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/ascension-of-our-lord-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here.</i></u></b></a><br />
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How good, Lord, to be here! How good to see you here too! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-uPl8I0XXvitrNYE-CYOsSkkeQT0I_W1q3IJjSJT1Fh4EwbSpyoiX1bDMgQeufhvMKczRzIgT9derw-q6XGzQrScpxcOci5BXOaChl22wu8YBQIaoyJ3rNLH6JYtYfHgWQ34ul1KSxhw/s1600/Ascension+of+Jesus-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="710" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-uPl8I0XXvitrNYE-CYOsSkkeQT0I_W1q3IJjSJT1Fh4EwbSpyoiX1bDMgQeufhvMKczRzIgT9derw-q6XGzQrScpxcOci5BXOaChl22wu8YBQIaoyJ3rNLH6JYtYfHgWQ34ul1KSxhw/s320/Ascension+of+Jesus-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>What a sacred season this has been! The last time most of us were together here was the middle of Lent. We were still building up to the dramatic climax of Holy Week. Then along came Coronavirus and COVID-19. Our governing and medical authorities advised us to stay home, stay apart, not gather, wash hands and so forth. Out of love for our vulnerable neighbors, and with godly submission to our governing authorities, we willingly did so. Then the authorities chose to force the issue by declaring states of emergency and ordering us to be locked down. Thankfully, we could still proclaim God’s Word by other media. But still, it wasn’t as it should be. <br />
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So as a gathered congregation we missed the rising tensions between Jesus and the religious authorities of His day. We missed His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We missed receiving His Body and Blood on the night when He was betrayed. We missed His bloody battle on the cross and His cosmic victory over death and devil. We missed holding vigil and joyfully ringing in His glorious resurrection. And we’ve missed gathering together these past weeks to revel in His resurrection. <br />
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It’s almost like sitting down to watch a favorite movie—for the 100th time. You know the story and you love the story. You’re enjoying the story. Then the drowsiness creeps in and you doze off just before the climactic, most important part. As you snooze, the story moves along. Then suddenly you wake up. The music is triumphant. Peace is restored. All is well once again. Yes, you missed the best, climactic part of the story, but you know the story well enough and the denouement—the final resolution—still brings great joy. <br />
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This is where we are now—the denouement, the final resolution. “See, the Lord ascends in triumph; / Conqu’ring King in royal state, / Riding on the clouds, His chariot, / To His heav’nly palace gate” (LSB 491:1). <br />
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Our Lord’s ascension really does put everything else in perspective. Before He was lifted up and hidden by the cloud, Jesus put all things in perspective for His eleven disciples. Everything written about Him in Moses’ Law, in the Prophets and in the Psalms—in all of the Old Testament Scriptures—must be fulfilled. Everything we read and hear from Genesis through Malachi points us to Jesus. The creation shows us God’s eternal will and plan—perfect life with Him. We humans fell into sin, brought death into the world, and spoiled God’s creation. But God promised to set things right. He chose a people through Abraham. He rescued His people from slavery and led them into the Promised Land. He even elevated a king named David to point us to our true, eternal King. The prophets proclaimed repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The psalms sang of Christ and His works of salvation. Through it all, our God was working to return His human creatures to His perfect Eden.<br />
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And He still is. Moses’ Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, and especially the New Testament still point us to Christ Jesus, our true King. “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.” As St. Paul proclaimed, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). This is what makes Jesus our King of kings, our Lord of lords, and our highest authority above all authorities. After all, now that Jesus has ascended, He is far above all rule and authority and dominion. All things are put under His feet and He rules all things for the good of His Church.<br />
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This puts all things in perspective. Even pandemics. Even lock downs. Even the fears and uncertainties of our time. When Jesus ascended, He gave His apostles and His Church a singular mission: “that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.” How has your ascended Lord led you in repentance for the forgiveness of sins these past few weeks? <br />
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What or whom have you feared, loved or trusted above God Himself? That tiny microscopic virus with the crowned spikes has been causing a lot of fear. Even the omnipresent pictures on TV and the Internet look frightful. Pictures and news stories of those infected and badly suffering are most unsettling. Now simple handshakes, coughs and sneezes set off the fear response. We’re practically in fight-or-flight mode whenever we encounter another human being outside our own home. We have been trusting the authorities to keep us safe and the media to keep us well-informed, despite the ever-changing and often-conflicting information. We fallen human beings have been trusting ourselves to overcome both the pandemic and the now shattered economy. <br />
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As I’ve said before, times like this are God’s way of tapping us on the shoulder, getting our attention, turning us toward Him and saying, “Hey, I’m still here. I’m still in charge. And I still want you to fear, love and trust Me above all things.” For this, we can actually appreciate this pandemic and all its fallout. Some speak of their new found appreciation for family time during the lock down. Some speak of cooking meals rather than dining out. Others find other blessings. These can be good things. The greater “blessing” of a time like this, though, is being drawn back to our true King and Lord. God always seeks to dislodge us from our misplaced fear, love and trust. If only we got as worked up about our infection of sin as we have about COVID-19! At least most people recover from COVID-19—one source says about 85% recover, other sources say up to 98%. But none of us can recover from our disease of sin and being separated from God.<br />
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Our ascended Savior is our loving Lord who says, “There is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal” (Dt. 32:39). And heal He does. He, the Son of God, took on our frail human nature. Though He Himself had no sin, He was made sin “so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Our Lord’s death on a Friday and resurrection on the third day is the only perfect healing medicine for all time. “With His wounds we are healed” (Is. 53:5). It’s the only medicine for what truly infects each and every human being of every time and place. <br />
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So when Jesus ascended to the Father’s right hand, He showed that all is fulfilled and completed, all is well between us and God, even in this broken world. With our Lord ascended in triumph and crowned in glory, we need not fear, love or trust anyone or anything else for our ultimate health and well-being. One commentator explained the significance of this day this way: “Christ’s ascension confers divine honors upon us” (Parsch, III:164). Neither pandemic nor social, cultural disruption can change that.<br />
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In a very short time we will break our Eucharistic fast. As we rejoice in being together once again, let’s rejoice even more in what brings us together—our ascended Lord who now comes to us in His very Body and Blood. It’s much more than a community meal. It’s the genuine “medicine of immortality.” And pay close attention to the Proper Preface—the prayer—leading up to our Lord’s sacred Meal. What was the purpose of our Lord’s life, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension? What is the fruit and benefit of His Holy Supper? “That He might make us partakers of His divine life.” <br />
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When you, by His grace and His working, partake of His divine life, you have forgiveness for your fears. You have life in this world of death. You have rescue and healing from the sin that infects. <br />
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What a great day to do what the disciples did. As Jesus “parted from them and was carried up into heaven,” they worshiped Him with great joy. And they were continually in the temple blessing God. What a great day to return to this place of worship and joy. Blessed by our ascended Lord, we bless Him in return. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867177699028333340.post-14857152941273268732020-05-19T10:47:00.000-05:002020-05-27T20:47:23.255-05:00Homily for Easter 6 (Rogate) - 2020<b>Ask, and You Will Receive</b><br />
John 16:23-33<br />
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<a href="https://www.hopelutheranstl.org/posts/sermons/easter-6-rogate-2020" target="_blank"><b><u><i>Listen here.</i></u></b></a> <br />
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Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLh6QqoCnbvoSjaxZwYTdKIXbv3IGTUUAgccZl-_RxKslHXLoz8e8KMKLHt7ODSTy_oO7TuW3sYe_35FOJu06mvWhuKAhU1grZVBKDnUwg4DBtlMCYE101LCWc8Eq0MEzmBrEdiHbhxCN8/s1600/Prayer-Blocks.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="600" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLh6QqoCnbvoSjaxZwYTdKIXbv3IGTUUAgccZl-_RxKslHXLoz8e8KMKLHt7ODSTy_oO7TuW3sYe_35FOJu06mvWhuKAhU1grZVBKDnUwg4DBtlMCYE101LCWc8Eq0MEzmBrEdiHbhxCN8/s320/Prayer-Blocks.jpg" width="320" /></a>“Next to preaching the Word, the greatest devotion Christians can render to God is to pray” (Luther, HP 2:104). That’s Martin Luther, preaching on “Pray! Sunday” in 1534. It’s both our duty and our privilege to pray to the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord who made heaven and earth, the Lord who restores heaven and earth by His dying and rising, the Lord who even now governs all things in heaven and earth for our good. This is the same Lord of heaven and earth who graciously invites you and all His followers: “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”<br />
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And if there were ever a perfect time to focus on prayer, it’s right now. I don’t say that simply because of this current pandemic of sickness, fear and death. That’s certainly good motivation for prayer, to be sure. No, this is the perfect time to focus on prayer because, now that we are forced to stay home, we actually have time for prayer. How often haven’t each of us heard and even said, “I just don’t have time to pray”? Well, our Lord has graciously taken away that excuse. So, turn off Netflix, sign out of YouTube and Facebook, and put time—or times—for prayer on your wide open daily schedule. And then keep those appointments with God, both now and even after you get to go back to work. Luther also offered this ground-level starting point for prayer: “At least pray in the morning when you arise from sleep, at table, and as you finish eating, and again in the evening when you go to bed, saying, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,’ and so on” (HP 2:106).<br />
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You see, your Lord Jesus gives you a most winsome invitation to prayer. “If you love Me,” Jesus says, “you can be certain that My Father also loves you.” “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.” Not only that, but the Father loves you so much that He will certainly hear your prayer. It’s the natural fruit of Jesus’ death and resurrection—that you may pray just as He prays. <br />
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God’s Word also reminds us that it’s our duty, even our responsibility, as Christians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). If you cannot do so aloud, you can at least do so silently. Every moment our hearts should be expressing the desire that God’s name be hallowed, His kingdom come, and His will be done; also that He would grant all we need for the support and needs of the body, for our forgiveness, for our protection in temptation and for our deliverance from evil. <br />
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But with the silent prayer of the heart, do not neglect your oral, spoken prayers. Now, you do not need to be brilliantly eloquent or a smooth craftsman of words. Often the simple words and short sentences are the best prayers. Your Father hears and understands all of them. Besides, the point is not to be a perfect “pray-er,” but always to call upon your Lord in the day of trouble—that is, every day—that He may deliver you and you may glorify Him (Ps. 50:15). When you have faith in Christ, you are perfectly prepared to open your mouth as a genuine priest. You may joyfully petition Him for things important and needful for yourself and other Christians. <br />
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So it’s most helpful to have something in mind for which to pray. How do you know what is important and needful? Just remember, we live in this “valley of sorrow” where there is no lack of sin and trouble. Also remember Peter’s warning: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). He will do anything and everything to divert you from clinging to God and calling upon God. And if you really cannot come up with any need for which to pray, simply turn to the Lord’s Prayer. In seven short petitions, your Lord who loves you brings your true needs to mind and even puts words into your mouth.<br />
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In the first petition—Hallowed be Thy name—we pray for the sweet Gospel and for all faithful pastors, that His Word may be taught truly and purely and that we may lead holy lives according to it. We also pray against all heresy, false teaching and non-Christian religions, that we may be protected from them. <br />
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In the second petition—Thy kingdom come—we pray that, by the Holy Spirit, God’s kingdom of grace may come to us and be established among us. We also pray that our Lord would thwart and bring to naught all that death and the devil foist upon us.<br />
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In the third petition—Thy will be done—we pray our Lord to break and hinder every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world and our sinful nature, and also to strengthen us and keep us firm in His good and gracious will. <br />
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In the fourth petition—Give us this day our daily bread—we pray for a laundry list of things! “Everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body.” One of those things is good government—praying “for kings and all who are in high positions.” And in light of this pandemic and its fall out, boy, do our leaders need our prayers! Fallible human beings making decisions that affect so many other fallible human beings. Some make good decisions and serve well; others show themselves to be quite power-hungry. Also, if you listen to them carefully, no longer are they saying, “In God we trust”; now they’re telling us, “In science we trust.” (Now, true science is not bad at all, but it cannot replace God.) We need to pray for them, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” in the freedom of the Gospel.<br />
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In the fifth petition—Forgive us our trespasses—we pray that our Lord would be gracious to us, turn away His wrath, which we truly deserve, and deal with us purely by His grace in Jesus. We also pray Him to make us forgiving toward our neighbor and gladly do good to them. Boy, is that needed right now as so many neighbors are so worked up with anxiety and fear.<br />
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In the sixth petition—Lead us not into temptation—we ask our Lord to come rushing to our aid when we face temptation and trial, guarding and keeping us from the prowling adversary. In this fallen world we may have tribulation, but in our Lord Jesus we have peace. We can take heart because He has overcome the adversary and the world along with everything they try to throw at us.<br />
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And in the seventh petition—Deliver us from evil—we wrap it all up with a beautiful bow. We pray for that blessed and glorious time when our Lord, by His grace, will deliver us from all that ails us in this valley of sorrow with its viruses, anxieties, and injustices. Then we will behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Then we will dwell with God and He with us. Then He will wipe away our every tear and death shall be no more. <br />
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So we have plenty of needs to lead us to pray without ceasing. And we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus. What does this mean? First, we must confess that we are poor, miserable sinners. We deserve nothing, yet He graciously bestows everything. Second, we pray with His invitation and authorization. “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name,” Jesus promises, “He will give it to you.” It sounds like a blank check with Jesus’ signature, written in blood, on the bottom line. And it is. But not for every silly thing you may want, rather for every beneficial thing Jesus promises. As C. S. Lewis once quipped: “If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?” (Letters to Malcolm, ch. 5, para. 16). <br />
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When we pray, we are doing what God through Moses told the Israelites to do in the wilderness. As they wandered in the wilderness, they became victims of their own fears and anxieties. They complained about their circumstances. So God sent the fiery serpents to bring them back to repentance and humility. And the cure for them is the same cure for us. They were asked to look upon a bronze serpent on a pole. We get to look at a Savior crucified on a cross and risen from the grave. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14-15). <br />
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There’s your real motivation to pray. You may ask your Lord, and you will receive, and your joy will be full. After all, He has overcome the world to show you and give you the Father’s love. Amen.<br />
<br />Randy Asburryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01545983197990430420noreply@blogger.com0