God's Design for Life--Life with a Name

Our 2016 Lent Evening Prayer catechetical series--"God's Design for Life"--continues with "Life with a Name," a sermon on the Second Commandment.

Tonight we continue looking at God’s Design for Life. Last week we heard how God’s design for life begins with perfect fear, love and trust in Him. God wants us to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things—perfectly, absolutely, 100%. The is the bedrock foundation of God’s design for all of life—trust in the heart, trusting Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The First Commandment is about the foundation of the heart. Now we move to the lips and the mouth—the Second Commandment. How does your mouth show what’s in your heart? How do your lips confess the trust of your heart? God’s design for life is that we properly and reverently use the name He has given us.

How does your mouth show what’s in your heart? How do your lips confess the trust of your heart? In Romans 10(:9-10), St. Paul says: “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” See how heart and lips are tied together? What you trust in your heart comes out in what you say with your mouth. And what you say with your mouth reveals what you trust in your heart.

God’s design for life tells us what not to do and what to do. What does God tell us not to do in this Second Commandment? He says, “Do not misuse the Name which I give to you. Do not take My Name in vain. Do not us My Name in empty or frivolous ways. Do not use My Name to support or cover up lies.” In fact, God takes this commandment so seriously that He adds a threat to it: “…for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Ex. 20:7). When you curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie or deceive by God’s Name, you are using God’s Name in an empty or frivolous way. You are not guiltless!

And just how might you do this? How might your mouth show the emptiness of your heart? Let’s ponder two ways. First, you might use God’s name to cover up and gloss over your sin and wrongdoing. It’s bad enough that each of us likes to cover up our wrongdoing. We are just like Adam and Eve—we sin, then we cover up with skimpy, little fig leaves called excuses. Then we play hide and seek among the trees when God comes looking for us. But we make our wrongdoing even worse when we use God’s Name as the fig leaves. “Well, God doesn’t mind.” Oh yeah? Who says? We often use God’s Name to cover up our wrongdoing when we say something like this: “Well, I know God forgives me.” Oh yeah? When did He tell you He forgives you for that particular wrongdoing? Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with trusting God’s forgiveness. The problem comes when we use God’s Name and God’s forgiveness to cover up and hide our wrongdoing. How often we say, “God forgives me,” not of repentance, but only to cover up our sin. Don’t admit the sin; just cover it up. Don’t confess the sin—say, to your pastor or a fellow Christian—just gloss over it and try to forget about it. But that’s like concocting a home remedy for cancer and then saying that your doctor prescribed it for you. It’s just not the truth.

Here’s a second way that your mouth might show the emptiness of your heart: when you use your mouth to speak about God in empty or frivolous ways. How might you talk to God or about Him in empty ways? How might you sing in frivolous ways? Several years ago I came across a most unusual song. It was called “Milk.” Part of it read: “Milk, milk, milk / Drink the milk, milk, milk / Read the Word, Word, Word / And grow strong / Shoo-be-do-bop, shoo-be-do-bop.” Sure, it might not sound like false teaching. It might even seem a bit fun for some. But how does it enable you to use your mouth to glorify God? It doesn’t—not much; there’s no substance to it. This song even went on to call God “Mr. Milkman.” Hardly reverent! There are so many better things to put in our mouths and hearts. That’s just one absurd example to show the point. What we say or sing with our mouths does matter. Many songs may be old favorites, or they may be new and catchy. But when you look at the message, they put us creatures in the spotlight and leave God out in the cold. They talk more about us and our emotions that shift like sand, but not so much about God and His rock-solid deeds of salvation. What matters, in the end, is how we use our mouths to glorify God and not ourselves—“for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain”

But the promise is greater than the threat. Where God’s Law has just cut you with the scalpel, the Gospel brings healing. Not only does God tell us what not to do with His name, but He also tells us what to do. And this is a wonderful, gracious, and merciful invitation. God gives you His Name for you to use. God wants you to call upon Him in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. That’s His grace. Your Lord invites you: “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Ps. 50:15). This is how to use God’s Name reverently and properly. Listen to what God is saying to you: “Here is My Name. I want you to have it and use it well. Call upon Me, because I want to deliver you and help you.” You see, when you are in trouble—whether it’s doubt, despair, sickness, terrorist attacks, war, or even persecution—God promises to deliver you. And when He delivers you, He does so for His honor and glory.

This is marvelous help and comfort! It cures and heals your double-sided, empty-heart syndrome. First, God gives you His Name so that you may freely admit that you are a sinner. You don’t need to cover up your sin. Sin is your true trouble. And when you call upon God for rescue from sin, He always delivers you from your trouble of sin. No, God does not do this because you called to Him. He does it because of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That’s why God sent His only Son to the cross. Jesus Himself bore and honored God’s Name for you. Jesus was cursed to remove the curse from you. Jesus Himself called upon His Father to deliver you from eternal trouble: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34). Because of Jesus, God does forgive you and help you.

The gift of God’s Name also cures and heals you from talking about God in empty and frivolous ways. God gives you His very own, life-giving Word. Why settle for pablum songs on milk when you can have God’s mighty Psalms and hymns that teach you what God has done and still does for you in Jesus? In the Church’s liturgy God graciously teaches you how to call upon Him. After all, the Church’s liturgy is simply God’s Word in song and prayer. You know these strong words: “O Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will declare your praise.” Or these: “O come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” Or how about these mighty words: “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.” Now, this is keeping the Second Commandment! You see, we don’t need to live under the tyranny of pop-creativity or the latest fads or even the “shoo-be-do-bops.” God is so gracious that He gives us the very words that glorify Him and honor His name. In this way God tenderly invites you to pray, praise, and give thanks.

God’s design for life is life with His Name. So, we can urge and encourage each other to honor God’s Name and to keep it constantly on our lips. True honor to God and His name is that we use our mouths to call upon Him. After all, our mouths declare and confess our trust in our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Homily for Lent 2 - Reminiscere

When the Lord Tests Your Faith
Matthew 15:21-28 

Listen here. 

Faith is often tested through trials and ordeals. That’s what the Canaanite woman discovered. This believing little lady comes to the Lord Jesus. She calls upon Him. She laments her need—a heartfelt plea disguised as a mere statement of fact: “My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Sounds dire! Her need is great. By faith she is asking for help. But she doesn’t get it, not right away at least. First, her faith undergoes a testing and trial. Yes, the Lord does test your faith!

Our Lord Jesus Christ still deals with His people—with us—the same way today. He does test and exercise our faith, at different times and in different ways for each of us. The words of 1 Peter 1(:6-7) ring, oh, so true: “Now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Just as gold is tested and purified by fire, so also faith is tested and purified through various trials and ordeals.

“But, Pastor, isn’t faith a spiritual light? Didn’t Jesus say, ‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’ (Matt. 5:16)?” Yes, He did indeed. And yet a torch also burns more brightly when a wind blows on it. In the same way, faith shines much brighter if a bitter north wind blows various trials on it.

Let’s try another picture. When we receive God’s Word of forgiveness, life, and salvation in the farm land of our ears and hearts, God wants that Word to produce a crop of faith. But an unplowed field does not produce a good harvest. So our Lord cultivates His believers by means of cross and trial so that the seed of His Word may produce the fruit of faith, along with other fruits of the Spirit.

In our Gospel reading today, we see what happens when the Lord tests your faith. We see four tests, and we see how all four of these tests drive us again and again to our merciful Lord.

The first test is external tribulation. This is the easy one to see. This believing little lady was carrying a heavy burden: her daughter was severely demon-possessed. The devil directly assaulted the young girl, and both mother and daughter suffered. Yes, when God sends tribulations upon His people, even loved ones endure a severe cross.

But it all happens so that faith, patience, and hope can be tested and strengthened. Our Epistle reading says so. “We rejoice in our sufferings”—not because of them, but “in” them—”knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.” God sends tribulations so that our faith may shine forth through perseverance and patience.

And notice what the little lady did—she’s our role model here. She went straight to Jesus. She begged Him for help. Let’s receive our times of trial and ordeals as times to drive us to Jesus in fervent prayer. You see, in the midst of our trials and ordeals we come to realize our poverty, our need, and our unworthiness. So, let’s turn to our perfect, overflowing Fountain of mercy and every blessing. There we’ll find plenty of help in time of need.

This believing little lady shows us how to craft our prayers. She prayed with true trust. She had no doubt that the Lord Jesus could help her. She simply lifted up her hands without anger or quarreling within herself (1 Tim. 2:8). Not only that, but as she prays she grounds herself on two rock-solid attributes of Christ—His omnipotence and His mercy. Yes, she trusted that He is true God, almighty Lord, and able to overcome the devil. And, yes, she trusted that as true Man, Son of David, He  has pity and shows mercy. She sought His mercy. And she did so with humble heart. She did not pray from any sense of worthiness in herself. So, let’s trust our Lord without doubt. Let’s ground our prayers on the rock-solid foundation of His omnipotence. Let’s plead only for His mercy, and with no sense of our worthiness or deserving anything from Him. As Psalm 27(:8) says, “You have said, ‘Seek My face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, LORD, do I seek.”

Then comes the second test: God is silent and postpones His help. Jesus gives no answer, no help right away. Job received the same kind of silence and postponing of help. He said, “I cry to You for help and You do not answer me; I stand, and You only look at me” (30:20). David endured the same thing. He cried out: “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Ps. 13:1). And David cried out more than once. Here’s another one: “O God, do not keep silence; do not hold Your peace or be still, O God!” (Ps. 83:1). And then there was Jeremiah’s lament: “Though I call and cry for help, He shuts out my prayer” (Lam. 3:8).

Job, David, and Jeremiah experienced it. So did this believing little lady from Canaan. Let’s learn from her. She did not give up. No, she held on with prayer. Let’s not receive God’s silence as refusal to help. Rather, let’s regard it as time to exercise faith. Remember, what Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7)? Let’s run those words through the filter of faith. Let’s hear those words as Jesus inviting us: “If you have a need, pray. If you don’t receive help right away, then keep seeking. If help and deliverance still don’t come, then keep knocking. Help is on its way. “For still the [prophecy] awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Hab. 2:3).

Here’s the third test of faith: when we fall into thinking, “I don’t belong to Christ; He couldn’t possibly love me; His promises don’t apply to me.” Yes, it is what Jesus told the believing little lady: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” She was certainly a lost sheep, just not of the house of Israel. And, yes, Jesus did come to be “servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness” (Rom. 15:8); He is the Prophet greater than Moses, promised and sent primarily to the Israelites.

But don’t let such doubting, anxious thoughts invade and infect your hearts and minds when you are weighed down by trials and ordeals! The little Gentile lady from Canaan didn’t. She did not allow such thinking to drive her away from Jesus. No, she kept chasing after Him. She kept crying out after Him. She kept pleading and praying, “Lord, help me.” And it’s a good thing too. You see, this same Jesus, the Suffering Servant, the Prophet like Moses, the Christ headed for a Cross, also said things like this: “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked man turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11). And remember this promise, not just for Israelites, but also for you little Gentile children: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). And He even inspired St. Paul to proclaim His heartfelt will for all people: He “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4).

So trust His promises more than the troubled thoughts or fleeting feelings that well up inside you. You see, His promises are divine, and they never fail. Let’s cling to the Word made flesh and to His universal promise like a baby clings to its mother. Then we can calmly say, with St. David, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Ps. 131:2)

And here’s the fourth and final test of faith: anxiety about unworthiness. Jesus tells the little lady, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the [little puppy] dogs.” Sure sounds like Jesus calls the lady a dog! And unworthy of any help! And so such thoughts creep into our hearts and minds.

But listen to the little lady’s faith-filled come back: “Yes, Lord, yet even the [little puppy] dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Yes, she was unworthy. She freely and openly admitted it. But that was no reason to let her trust fall way! Same goes for us. Yes, we are unworthy. Yes, “we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.” What do you expect from poor, miserable sinners, from dogs such as us? And why else do you think this Jesus ends up on a Cross, bearing your burdens, shouldering your sins, bleeding out to fill you with His life? But once again, let this believing little lady be your role model. Respond to your Lord as she did: “Yes, Lord, I am a poor little puppy dog. But I still desire only the crumbs of Your grace. Yes, Lord, I am a sinner—in thought, word, and deed. But I come crawling to You in repentance. Yes, Lord, I am absolutely unworthy of any help. But Your faithful promise is [so] precious that I believe it … and still cling to You.”

What happens when the Lord Himself tests your faith? You get to be like this little believing woman. You get to hear the Lord Himself say, “Great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And you get to be healed. … Oh, and by the way, you also get to come to His Table to receive more crumbs of His grace and mercy and help. Amen.

God's Design for Life--Life with Trust

In 2016, we're using our Lent Evening Prayer services for catechesis. Focusing on the theme "God's Design for Life," we're looking at the Ten Commandments, reciting the appropriate portions of Luther's Small Catechism and then giving catechetical sermons, in the pattern of Luther's Large Catechism.

This first installment focuses on the First Commandment.

God says, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3).

Before you begin construction on a new house, you must have a design, a set of blue prints. The blue prints show how the designer, the architect, wants the building to look and function. Before you begin sewing on a new dress, you need a pattern for the dress. The pattern shows how the designer wants the pieces of material to be cut and stitched together. During these Lent Evening Prayer services, we’ll look at God’s Design for Life. What kind of blue prints or pattern does God, the Designer of all life, provide? We can see His design in the Ten Commandments.

Tonight we look at the bedrock foundation of God’s design for life: Life with Trust. We just read through the First Commandment and its Catechism meaning, and we reviewed the Close of the Commandments and its meaning. When God designs life, He begins with fear, love, and trust in Him. Life built without this foundation will never stand for long.

Should you really fear God? You better believe it! He’s bigger than you are. He can strike you down with hardly a flick of His little finger. Can you love and trust God? You better believe it! He is the only One who can help you in time of need. God’s design for life is centered on fearing, loving, and trusting Him and nothing or no-one else. But that’s precisely the problem, isn’t it? When you fear, love and trust God alone, you are keeping this commandment. But when you fear, love or trust anything else—anything, anyone, and in any way—more than God, you are breaking and trampling this precious commandment.

Whatever you fear and trust, that is your god. Adam and Eve were created with proper fear, love, and trust. Before they fell into sin, they feared, loved, and trusted in God first and foremost. He provided only good things and always good things for them. He was their true and only refuge, their true and only devotion. But then along came the tempter. He succeeded in diverting Adam’s and Eve’s eyes from God and His promises. No longer did Adam and Eve fear God. They looked down on Him. No longer did Adam and Eve love God. They actually despised Him, thinking that He had been holding out on them.  No longer did Adam and Eve trust God. They doubted Him. Instead, they feared Satan. Instead, they trusted the forbidden fruit. Instead, they loved themselves. So they fell from the palm of God’s hand. And we’ve been falling ever since.

What do you fear, love, and trust? That’s always the key question. What is your false god? You see, idolatry is not merely a matter of statues and shrines. As Luther said in his Large Catechism: “[Idolatry] happens not merely by erecting an image and worshiping it, but rather it happens in the heart. For the heart stands gaping at something else. It seeks help and consolation from creatures, saints, or devils. It neither cares for God, nor looks to Him for anything better than to believe that He is willing to help. The heart does not believe that whatever good it experiences comes from God” (LC I:21). That’s idolatry—breaking the First Commandment. And that’s what is in your heart and mine.

What do you fear, love, and trust? It could be almost anything—anything except God, that is. Ponder these examples. Perhaps you fear, love, and trust money and possessions above all things. If you have money or certain possessions, you think you need nothing else. You may get secure and fearless because you trust and boast in what you own. Or there’s the other side of the coin. When you don’t have money or certain possessions, you are full of doubts and despair. You fret. You worry. You complain as you try to get the money and possessions. Whatever you fear, love, and trust, that is truly your god.

How about this second example: pleasure. This is quite prevalent in our American culture. Pleasure is the chief false god of our age. Everything is geared toward our emotions, making us feel good, and having fun. You and I trust things only if they immediately make us feel good. If you have to work at something or wait for some reward or delay gratification, you throw it out. You and I also fear any adverse or negative experiences. If it’s uncomfortable, we just can’t have it. We value pleasure so highly that some people will do just about anything to prevent other people from getting upset. Or, when you do become upset, you want other people to change what they’re doing or saying to please you. Can you say “safe zones”? Whatever you fear, love, and trust, that is truly your god.

A third example, just as in Luther’s day, would be religious works. This is when your heart fears, loves, and trusts in your own religious service or activities more than it fears, loves, and trusts in God Himself. In his Large Catechism, Luther decried the practice of honoring St. Apollonia if anyone had a toothache. He also targeted the practice of making a vow to St. Sebastian or St. Rochio if someone dreaded the bubonic plague. As Luther said, “Everyone chose his own saint, worshiped him, and called to him for help in distress” (LC I:11). How might we fear, love, and trust in our own religious works today? Some people look to angels to help them, rather than the Triune God whom the angels themselves serve. Some believe more in “the power of prayer” more than they do in the power of God Himself. Sometimes we even get the notion that, somehow, we are doing God the favor of being in His house, and He is blessed to have us, rather than the other way around. Whatever you fear, love, and trust, that is truly your god.

God has harsh words for everyone who does not fear, love, and trust Him above all things, completely, absolutely, 100%. “He says, ‘I the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me….” (Ex. 20:5-6). Yes, we should fear His wrath. God does threaten to punish everyone who breaks this First Commandment. And that includes each and every person here tonight. You see, you and I do have our doubts, our fears, our worries. No matter how big or how small, these things get in the way of perfect fear, love, and trust in God. We simply cannot do it. Not perfectly, anyway.

Now, God does give a glorious and precious promise. He also says that He shows “love to a thousand generations of those who love [Him] and keep [His] commandments.” God does promise grace and every blessing to all who keep His commandments—His design for life. But who can do that? Who can keep God’s design for life? Only one Person. Only Jesus, the Savior.

Adam and Eve fell to temptation and fell into sin. Jesus replayed the scene with Satan. He was tempted by the same deceiver who tripped up Adam and Eve. But Jesus did not fall to Satan’s evil wiles. He did not sin. Instead, our Lord Jesus did fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

The Jews of Jesus’ day had a saying. They said, “If one Jew keeps the whole law for one day, the kingdom of God will come.” Well, one Jew did keep the whole Law, and with perfect fear, love, and trust. He kept it not just for one day, but for His whole life. He kept it not just for Himself, but for all of us too. And what happened? They crucified Him for it! But do you know what? The kingdom of God did come, and it’s still coming. God kept and still keeps His promise. God gives you grace and every blessing because of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

You see, Jesus knows that you cannot keep this First Commandment. That’s why He kept it and still keeps it for you. That’s why He endured God’s wrath for you, in your place. That’s why He gives you His perfect fear, love, and trust in God. Yes, we should fear, love and trust in God above all things. And when God looks at you through Christ, that’s exactly what He sees—a person who fears, loves, and trust in Him above all things. And that is your trust. Because of Jesus, God is your God and gives you every blessing and every protection in time of need.

What do you fear, love, and trust? The God who designed you to fear, love and trust. The God who knows that you are quite incapable of fearing and trusting Him, yet He still wants to be your God. The God who gives you His Son, crucified and risen, to be your shield against wrath, to be your grace and every blessing. That is God’s design for life, a new life with trust. Amen.

"The Lord’s Laborer for the Lord’s Harvest"

The following is my sermon delivered on 25 October 2015 at the ordination service of James Thomas, a son of Hope Ev. Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO, and now ordained and installed to serve as Associate Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Bridgeton, MO. The text is the selected Gospel reading for the service, Matthew 9:35-38.

Contrary to popular opinion—that’s all of us gathered here this afternoon—today is not about soon-to-be Pastor James Thomas. Oh, yes, it’s sheer joy when the Lord of the Church takes a man—by the scruff of the neck—plants the seeds of theological training in him at seminary, and then—again by the scruff of the neck—places him into this holy office. Oh, yes, it’s great joy when the Lord of the Church answers the prayers of His faithful congregation and places a fellow sinner in her midst to proclaim and live out the joys of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus. But still, this day is not about James. Not primarily.

Today is about Jesus, the Lord of the Church. You see, the Lord Jesus Himself absolutely loves to go through cities and villages, teaching the Truth, proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing diseases and afflictions. The Lord Jesus absolutely loves to send out men to do exactly what He Himself does. He told His Twelve Apostles, “Proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (Matt. 10:7-8). Later, He also sent out 72 other men, saying, “Heal the sick…and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you” (Lk. 10:9). He even gave them this promise: “The one who hears you hears Me” (Lk. 10:16). Today is all about Jesus—and by extension His laborer and His harvest. You see, Jesus still absolutely loves to go through all the world—including here in Bridgeton—and proclaim the kingdom, and heal our diseases and afflictions. And He does it through the men, the laborers, whom He sends out.

Dear saints at Beautiful Savior, you have prayed to the Lord of the harvest for a laborer. And look at whom He has sent you! :-) I hate to break it to you, but he’s no spiritual Superman. He’s no church version of Captain America. No pastor is. He brings no magic elixir for fixing whatever ails you, either as individuals or as a congregation. He carries no silver bullets for filling pews or increasing giving. No, he’s very much like Isaiah, when the Lord called him. There was Isaiah, taking in the glorious vision of the Lord on His throne and the angels flying around, singing heaven’s song of “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts” (Is. 6:3). And what did Isaiah confess? “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Is. 6:5).

Brothers and sisters in Christ, whom are you getting here today? You’re getting a fellow sinner—a “man of unclean lips.” You’re getting a man who has the same kinds of faults and foibles, sins and stumblings, trials and temptations, as you. But you are also getting a man who has been redeemed, forgiven, covered and strengthened by the blood of Jesus. You are getting a man who has been washed clean in his Baptism. You are getting a man who must confess his sins and live only by the word of Jesus’ Absolution. You are getting a man whose faith is shored up and strengthened by the Body and Blood of Jesus in His Supper. And so, dear saints, your task—given by Jesus Himself here today—is to receive and love and listen to this man, this laborer of the Lord, in your midst.

And James, take a good look at where the Lord is placing you as He places you into His Office. :-) I hate to break it to you, but these are not perfect Christians; this is not a perfect congregation. There are no perfect congregations and there are no perfect Christians, this side of eternal life. Remember Isaiah’s words: “I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” There may be times when some—a few or many or an individual here and there—may “not endure sound teaching.” There may be times when some—a few or many or an individual now and then—may give in to their “itching ears” and want to “accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

But, James, they are still people of the Lord Jesus—still covered and forgiven by His blood, still baptized by Him, still absolved by Him, still fed and nourished on His Body and Blood. And so St. Paul’s words to young Pastor Timothy are perfect words for you too: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 2:2). Your task, James—given by Jesus Himself, here today—is to receive them, love them, and give them Jesus in all of your preaching and teaching and visiting. Your task is to pray for them and with them. Your task is to shepherd them with the only tools that Jesus has given—His Word and His Sacraments.

It’s what our risen Lord Jesus also sent Peter to do. Remember how Peter had denied Jesus three times before Jesus went to the Cross. After Jesus had risen, He both absolved Peter and gave him a new mission in life, spoken three times: “Feed My lambs…Tend My sheep…Feed My sheep” (Jn. 21:15-17). Your task—given by Jesus Himself, right here, right now, today—is “to know nothing among [this flock] except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). 

Today really is all about Jesus, the Lord of the harvest. As He said, “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Saints of our Beautiful Savior, you have prayed. And the Lord has  graciously answered! Here’s another laborer—this one, just for you. Also pay attention to the Lord’s language. This man is the Lord’s laborer, and he works in the Lord’s harvest.

The Lord’s laborer does the Lord’s work. The pastor does not run a business that happens to have the word “church” on the sign out front. No, he does what the Lord wants Him to do: he teaches the Truth, proclaims the Gospel of the kingdom, and gives the healing of Jesus for diseases and afflictions of body and soul. That’s the compassion that Jesus had for the crowds. It’s the same compassion that the pastor—the Lord’s laborer—has for his flock. You see, James, when you labor the way the Lord gives you to labor, HE is actually the one doing the work through you.

The Lord’s laborer works for the Lord’s harvest. Did you notice how Jesus calls it “his harvest”? It’s not the pastor’s harvest. It’s not the Christian’s harvest. It’s not even the Church’s harvest. The harvest belongs to the Lord. Remember how St. Paul said it: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6-7). And the Lord Jesus gives the harvest.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer expressed this Biblical teaching quite well when he preached of Christ building His Church:

It is not we who build. [Christ] builds the church. No man builds the church but Christ alone. Whoever is minded to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it; for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it. We must confess—He builds. We must proclaim—He builds. We must pray to Him—that He may build

We do not know His plan. We cannot see whether He is building or pulling down. It may be that the times which by human standards are times of collapse are for Him the great times of construction. It may be that the times which from a human point of view are great times for the church are times when it is pulled down.

It is a great comfort which Christ gives to His Church: you confess, preach, bear witness to Me and I alone will build where it pleases Me. Do not meddle in what is My province. Do what is given to you to do well and you have done enough. But do it well. Pay no heed to views and opinions. Don’t ask for judgments. Don’t always be calculating what will happen. Don’t always be on the lookout for another refuge! Church, stay a church! But church, confess, confess, confess! Christ alone is your Lord; from His grace alone can you live as you are. Christ builds. (No Rusty Swords, 216-17)

So, saints of our Beautiful Savior, you have prayed, the Lord has answered, and you now have a new laborer. James, the Lord has put you here to labor for His end-time harvest, doing the very things that He Himself did and still does. Amid all the joys of this day, amid all the celebrating and rejoicing and giving thanks, still remember this: Today is really all about Jesus—showing His compassion, shepherding His flock, and working His own harvest. Amen.

Homily for Trinity 4

"Suffering Forgiveness"
Genesis 50:15-21

Listen here.

The Trinity season is all about growing in the Christian faith and life. That’s what the color green tells us. We are in the time of life and growth.

Also, the Christian faith entails a radical change in life. After all, your God has saved you from sin, death, and hell through your Lord Jesus Christ. So what could be more radical than blessing those who persecute you? What could be more radical than loving your enemies? What could be more radical than forgiving those who wrong you?

Today’s Old Testament reading gives us a true, historical example of this radical, new Christian life. In this story of Joseph forgiving his brothers we have a story of suffering forgiveness. And it really is amazing how God gives us exactly what we need to hear, especially after Friday’s Supreme Court ruling—or we should say, “fiat”—on same-sex marriage.

Joseph, this great man of God, practiced suffering forgiveness. After he had suffered ill-will from his ill-mannered brothers, he practiced forgiveness. After suffering in slavery, false accusation, and prison, he practiced forgiveness. Let’s fill in the story.

Joseph was only 17 years old when his brothers sold him into slavery. They were jealous that he was daddy’s favorite. They especially despised him when he dreamed about how the whole family would bow down to him. Once in slavery, he lived in Potiphar’s house, because he was the head slave. But then he suffered misfortune again. Potiphar’s wife tried getting Joseph into bed with her. When he nobly resisted temptation, she cried sexual harassment. So off to prison for Joseph. After a few years there, 30-year old Joseph was summoned to interpret Pharaoh’s disturbing dreams. God would send 7 years of bounty followed by 7 years of famine. And, by God’s grace and favor, Pharaoh appointed Joseph to prepare for the famine. Joseph suffered slavery, false accusation, and prison. But later he was exalted to the second highest office in all Egypt.

Then, when Joseph was about 39, his brothers came to Egypt to buy food to take back home—famine relief for God’s people. After a lengthy charade, Joseph saw evidence that his brothers were repentant over selling their younger brother into slavery 22 years earlier. Then Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and forgave them. Soon after, father Jacob relocated to Egypt to live under the providing hand of Joseph. Then, 17 years later, Jacob died. And then comes our reading.

“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.’” After 39 years, their sin of selling Joseph and counting him dead was still tormenting them. Even 17 years after Joseph explicitly forgave them—pronounced absolution to them—after 17 years of living with Joseph’s great kindness and love, they still wrestled with their guilt and shame.

And the same is true for us. Our sins plague us—often weeks, months, even years after the fact. Even after we receive absolution for our specific sins, the consequences and constant reminders may very well plague us. There is no peace, no rest, no quiet conscience for sinners except through faith alone—faith that looks to God’s words of mercy and forgiveness.

“So they sent a message to Joseph saying, ‘Your father gave this command before he died, “Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’” We don’t have any record of Jacob giving such instructions—maybe he did; maybe he didn’t. But it does seem that the brothers wanted to force Joseph’s hand to pardon them. The brothers don’t doubt that God forgives them. But they do question if their brother, Joseph, forgives them.

That’s sin for you. That’s your sin for you. We like to rely on God’s Law, even for Gospel pardon. We don’t doubt God’s forgiveness for us. But we certainly don’t trust each other’s forgiveness. Like Joseph’s brothers, we look with jaded eyes upon the pardon and acts of kindness from brothers and sisters in Christ. And our mistrust leads to trying to dictate, or legislate, each other’s actions.

At the same time, Joseph’s guilt-ridden brothers give us a great Biblical truth. Our servanthood to God also means servanthood to each other. To love God means to love the people He puts in our lives. To serve Him means to serve them, especially by forgiving them.

“Joseph wept when they spoke to him.” Surely, he thought, 17 years of showing them his pardon would speak for itself. But even in forgiving his brothers, Joseph suffered. He suffered forgiveness. He forgave them. Period. No questions asked. No forcing them to make promises never to hurt him again. Joseph could very well have been hurt again by his brothers. That didn’t matter. He forgave them anyway. He suffered forgiveness. That is, he let forgiveness happen. He let forgiveness, not self-protection, reign supreme. And now, 17 years after he had first absolved them, he had the privilege of absolving them again.

So why did he weep? Simply because he knew his brothers did not trust his forgiveness. What was the solution? Did he chew them out for not trusting him? No. He forgave them again. Joseph is a good example for us. It really doesn’t matter how much someone offends you or hurts you. You have the God-given privilege of forgiving over and over and over—seventy times seven, as Jesus said.

Joseph preached a wonderfully comforting sermon to his brothers…and to us. “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear.” See how the forgiving flows freely from Joseph to his brothers. Was Joseph in the place of God? When it came to revenge, no. It is God’s place to avenge, to repay, for wrongs done. Ah, but when it came to forgiveness, yes, Joseph was in the place of God. He practiced and lived out the forgiveness that God had first given him. Joseph overcame his brothers’ evil with the good of forgiveness. So it is for us.

St. Paul said it this way: “bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col. 3:13). Jesus said it this way: “Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:37-38). Sure people may hurt you. They may hurt you frequently or repeatedly. They may step on your feelings, your ideas, your plans. They may do it intentionally or by accident. But one thing always stays the same. The Christian life is lived in suffering forgiveness—that is, in letting forgiveness, and nothing else, rule the day.

Here’s another way Joseph is a good picture, or role model, for us. Just as Joseph endured his exile in slavery and prison, we too are more and more living in exile in this foreign land. With Friday’s Supreme Court ruling and fiat, we must realize that we Christians are the exiles. We may even end up in prison for holding firm to God’s Truth.

But before we get too worked up about same-sex marriage, let’s remember that heterosexuals have also been doing a pretty good job of destroying marriage themselves. The Supreme Court has only affirmed the inevitable. What should the Church do in response to this Supreme Court fiat? What her Lord always calls her to do: repent. Just because something becomes legal in all 50 states, that does not make it right or godly. But we can repent, just as Joseph did in his exile.

Repent of your own sexual sins, whether they be heterosexual or homosexual, whether they be adultery, fornication, pornography, self-pleasure, or just that so-called “innocent look.” Repent of taking such sins so lightly, for being afraid to confront them in yourself or in people around you.

And just in case you’re wondering how that whole “Judge not, and you will not be judged” thing fits in: Jesus is not advocating for a “live and let live” approach to life in general or to such sins as plague us today. Listen to how Dr. Jeff Gibbs explains this same saying in Matthew’s Gospel:

“Jesus takes in hand an important matter, namely, the danger that a disciple with an arrogant spirit, who is blind to his own personal faults and failings, may pass judgment on a fellow disciple or even reject him. Jesus is not forbidding all judgments with regard to our brothers and sisters, but a hypocritical kind of judging. Moreover, his disciples certainly are to proclaim God’s Word of Law and Gospel to all people, and God’s Law rightfully accuses and judges sinners. Christians must proclaim God’s Word if they are to be ‘salt’ and ‘light’ int he world.

“Here, however, Jesus is speaking primarily to relationships between fellow Christians, as shown by his repeated use of the term ‘brother’. That Jesus has in mind an attitude in which a person is blind to his own shortcomings and failings is made clear by the picture of a beam stuck in one’s eye.” (Matthew 1:1-11:1, 369)

Joseph is more than a good picture for us. He is an even better picture of Jesus. Joseph’s life is very much like Jesus’ life. Joseph descended in suffering, slavery, humiliation, and shame. Our Lord Jesus descended to us. He emptied Himself and took on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even the shameful death on the cross. Who sold Him into this slavery and humiliation? We did; we poor sinners. But just like Joseph before Him, Jesus was also exalted to reign supreme. He sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. And we bow before Him in the famine called our sin, our hard hearts, our unwillingness to forgive each other. And what does our Lord Jesus do? He forgives you. He says, “Don’t be afraid, I AM in the place of God; I AM your God. I came to save many lives. And yours is among them.” And Jesus, your Brother, tells you what Joseph told his brothers: “So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Certainly good news for troubled consciences! Jesus suffers forgiveness for you. Jesus lets forgiveness rule the day, every day, for  you.

So now, what will you do with that forgiveness, that absolution, you have just heard? First, you may trust it. You may stake all your hopes and dreams on it. Second, you may use that forgiveness to forgive one another. You see, only when Jesus stops forgiving you may you stop forgiving your neighbor. And, by the way, Jesus will never stop forgiving you! In fact, He orders His Church so that we may daily receive His forgiveness of sins through the Word and Sacraments. He arranges a wonderful delivery system of the Gospel proclaimed, Holy Baptism splashed upon you, Holy Absolution spoken into your ears, and Holy Supper placed into your mouth. He does all of this to comfort you and speak kindly to you.

So when you find yourself not forgiving your brother or sister in Christ, you may confess that sin. Christ promises to forgive. That way, you, along with Joseph and Jesus, are free to suffer forgiveness, to let forgiveness rule the day. Amen.

"Through Persecution Christendom Grows"

In light of today's unconstitutional, tyrannical fiat by the U.S. Supreme Court, and in preparation for the onslaught yet to come:

From St. Peter: "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." (1 Peter 4:12-13)

From St. John: "Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you." (1 John 3:13)

From Jesus Himself: "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 14:18-19)

From Martin Luther: "To this day it happens that when tyrants rage against the Gospel, they do no more than blow into the ashes. Then the fire becomes greater, and the ashes fly into their eyes. This is the success which their tyranny is to meet. When they shed innocent blood, this blood of the Christians is to act as a fertilizer on the field, making it rich and productive. For through persecution Christendom grows; conversely, Christians become lazy and lax when conditions are peaceful and quiet" (What Luther Says, #3307).

Homily for Trinity 3

"Jesus Sinners Doth Receive"
Luke 15:1-10

Listen here.

Our Lord Jesus receives sinners. He welcomes them. He embraces them. He does not turn them away when they cry to Him. He does not ignore their prayer or turn a deaf ear to their plea. Our Lord receives sinners. And our Lord eats with them. He feeds on their bread of sorrows. He drinks down their cup of suffering. And He consumes their grapes of wrath. In other words, Jesus does not shy away from meeting us where we are. He does not shrink from coming into the filth and fallout of our natural desires. He does not refuse to take into Himself the very thing that kills us.

As one hymn sings:

Thou cam-est to our hall of death,
O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air,
To drink for us the deep despair
That strangled our reluctant breath.
How beautiful the feet that trod
The road to bring good news from God!
How beautiful the feet that ran
To bring the great good news to man! (LSB 834:3)

Because of this—because our Lord Jesus receives sinners and eats with them, because He embraces them when they come and goes to them when they wander and stray—because of this, our Lord is scorned, despised, rejected, mocked, jeered and finally crucified. What kind of God—what kind of man—does not demand something, some better life or some assurance of payback, before helping or taking in an unsavory character? What kind of God—what kind of man—does not first insist that you shape up before He gives you a penny or comes to your aid? And what kind of God—what kind of man—does not first lecture you and try to fix you before He lifts a finger to shoulder your burden and pay your debt?

So our Lord is scorned and despised. Not by those who cry to Him in time of need, but by those who religiously try to defend God, by those who want others to see their religion, by those who want to impress Jesus by their tears and their hard work for the church. Those who say they’re on Jesus’ side and simply want to make Him into their own kind of Jesus. And they grumble when Jesus stands before you and proclaims His Gospel of peace. They complain when He opens His table to sinners. They murmur when He declares forgiveness even for those you don’t think deserve it.

So beware! You may think that the lost sheep and the lost coin are someone else—the people you pity, the person you refuse to acknowledge, the woman you don’t want to be bothered with, the man you don’t like much. But actually, as our Lord tells His parables, the lost are not just the sinners Jesus receives and eats with. The lost are also those who stray from Jesus by their grumbling, by their hatred for their brother or sister in Christ, by their refusal to love and forgive as they have been loved and forgiven, by their unwillingness to embrace “sinners” just as Jesus has embraced them.

Jesus tells the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin not simply to let the Pharisees have it, not simply to proclaim His own mission for sinners, not simply to remind His disciples and us of His purpose. He also tells the parable to draw and entice, to welcome and invite, to gather and sit down with and eat with YOU and ME.

Or do you think that you are one of those just persons who needs no repentance? Remember, it's the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven—those who now rest from their labors and await the resurrection on the Last Day—those are the just ones who need no repentance. They are the ninety-nine sheep that are left behind. They are the nine coins that are safely tucked away. They can no longer be lost, because Jesus has wiped away their tears forever.

No, we—each and every one of us—are the ones still who need repentance.

We are still as in a dungeon living,
Still oppressed with sorrow and misgiving;
Our undertakings
Are but toils and troubles and heartbreakings.
(LSB 679:2)

So according to Jesus’ parable, you and I are the sheep that goes astray. We have turned, everyone of us, to his own way, doing as we please, trusting in ourselves and despising others—living as if we deserved God’s mercy and as if His grace had no effect. But Shepherd Jesus comes searching for us and finds us. And you and I are also the coin that the Holy Spirit seeks out. He lights the lamp of His Word and overturns everything to find us and gather us back at the table where our Lord receives and eats with sinners.

Do you see the grace of our Lord Jesus? Do you understand the constant searching of the Holy Spirit? Do you take to heart the all-embracing love of the Father?

Our God does not teach us sinners by scolding and screaming so that He can get us to live right. Instead, He teaches in order to shower us with His mercy, to give us His Righteousness and Love, to speak into our hearts and minds His grace that forgives us, and to supply us with His true and abundant Life.

Jesus does this by receiving sinners and eating with them. And so our loving Lord Jesus comes in our flesh. He willingly drinks from and swallows down and drains our cup of sin and death. He does whatever it takes to seek us out, to shoulder our burdens, to carry our griefs, to endure our sorrows. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. So this Jesus is our Jesus. He comes in our flesh. He becomes our sin. He is tempted in every respect as we are. He gets what we deserve. And He is sacrificed to appease God for who we are and what we do.

That’s how our Lord Jesus is the tender and gentle shepherd. He carries us back to Himself. He demands nothing in return. He does not make us first prove our faith. He does not require us to do even the smallest part of the sacrifice. He only draws us to Himself. He gives us the confidence and courage to trust Him and what He gives. He encourages us to give thanks with all we are and with all we have.

He does all of this so that He might welcome and receive us back to Himself. He does all of this so that we might return to Him in true repentance—a repentance that does not seek any other self-gratification, a repentance that does not demand others to live as we think. Rather, as the sheep rescued by the shepherd and as the coin found by the woman, we get to live in true repentance, in true faith. That repentance and faith is completely satisfied with whatever our Lord gives. We get to live in true repentance and faith that feeds on and lives from Jesus’ boundless goodness and mercy. We get to live in true repentance  and faith that lives for others just as our Lord has lived for us.

May God grant us this true repentance and faith—the repentance and faith which leads the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to rejoice. You see,

We deserve but grief and shame,
Yet His words, rich grace revealing,
Pardon, peace and life proclaim;
Here our ills have perfect healing.
Firmly in these words believe:
Jesus sinners doth receive. (LSB 609:2)

Amen.

Homily for Trinity 2

"The Master's Invitation"
Luke 14:15-24

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The master of the feast made doubly sure that the guests all received their “invites.” He issued two “invites” to each one. The first “invite” simply said, “You’re invited!” The second “invite” came on the day of the great supper itself. The master sent a special messenger to announce that the dinner is now served: “Come, for everything is now ready.”

All of this teaches us the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “Come!” The Gospel is not a command; it’s an offer. It’s not a demand; it’s a gift. It’s not a royal fiat; it’s an invitation. It’s the Master’s invitation to share in the unbelievable joy of the Kingdom of God.

“Come!” God is expecting you. He wants you to join in His feast. He is ready for the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame. He is ready for those who spend their lives in the highways and byways of life. He invites everyone: “Come, for everything is now ready.”

Just as a shepherd seeks for his lost sheep; just as a woman gets down on her hands and knees to look for her lost coin; and, yes, just as a father eagerly waits for his lost son to return home and looks down the road for him—in the same way God is always seeking, calling, inviting us back into loving, joyous relationship with Him.

God cries out: “Come, for everything is now ready.” Come, you who seek meaning for life. Come, you who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Come, you who falter under the burden and shame of your original sin, your actual sins, and even death itself. Come, you who are anxious and fearful. Come, you who mourn.

“Come you all; enter into the joy of your Lord. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet.  The calf is a fatted one; let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness. Let none grieve over their poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let none weep over their sins, for pardon has shone forth from the grave; let none fear death, for the death of the Savior has set us free.”  (John Chrysostom - Easter homily)

You see, Christianity is not first and foremost a religion that says, “Do this and don’t do that.” Yes, we do receive God’s Law, especially in His Ten Commandments. And, yes, based on those Ten Commandments, we know that we sin in thought, word and deed. But that’s not what makes Christianity Christianity.

Instead, Christianity is first and foremost a faith that says, “Come!” The great “magnetism” of Jesus Christ comes not in His “Thou shalts” and “Thou shalt nots,” but in His invitation: “Come to Me.” Come, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Come, be filled with the life and energy of God’s presence. And when we do come to Him, we will surely do certain things and live a certain way—not merely because we “should” do those things or "should" live that way, but because we delight in living with our loving Father and Savior. We delight in living and doing as the expression of our love for the One who laid down His life for us. We delight in living and doing with the One—Jesus—who gave His life on a cross to give us life.

In the 4th century, Pastor John Chrysostom commented on the Master’s invitation, “Come to Me all you who labor.” He said these precious words: “His invitation is one of kindness, His goodness is beyond description. ‘Come to me, all’ – not only rulers but also their subjects; not only the rich, but also the poor; not only the free, but also the slaves; not only men, but also women; not only the youth, but also the old; not only those of sound body, but also the maimed. All of you, He says, come!  For such are the Master’s gifts. He knows no distinction of slave and free, nor of rich and poor, but all such inequality is cast aside.  ‘Come,’ He says, ‘all you who labor and are burdened!’ And see whom He calls! Those who have spent their strength in breaking the law, those who are burdened with their sins, those who can no longer lift up their heads, those who are filled with shame, those who can no longer speak out. Why does He call them? Not to demand an accounting, nor to hold court. But why? To relieve them of their pain, to take away their heavy burdens.”

Now when Jesus says, “Come!” He does not stand on the top rung of a long, high ladder in heaven to signal us to start climbing. After all, He Himself has climbed down that ladder to stand alongside us. He has come to us. “Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man.” “She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger.” He came and was born in a stable. He came and died on the cross. He came and rose victorious from the grave. He came to prepare the banquet of life and salvation for us. And now – today – Jesus sends His servants to extend His invitation: “Come, for everything is now ready.” There is nothing that you can or need to add to this feast. He has prepared it all. “It is finished!” He cried from the cross. He has prepared the feast of salvation for you. The only thing He asks of you is that you let Him serve it to you, and that you enjoy and delight in it.

But sadly and tragically, the invitation is not always accepted. This gracious invitation is too often rejected. “I have bought a field…. Please have me excused…. I have bought five yoke of oxen…. Please have me excused…. I have married a wife…. I cannot come.” And so flew the excuses. It was and is the response of so many of His own people. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive Him.” Is this not the same response today? Tragically, and sadly, we end up accepting the wrong invitations in life. We miss the banquet, the abundant life of Christ, and we settle for the lesser lunches and the fleeting feasts. And Jesus still laments, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”

“Come, for everything is now ready.” “But I am not worthy to come,” you might object. “My clothes are not suitable. I wouldn’t know how to act in the Master’s palace. Besides, I’m just too busy and have too many other things to do.”

None of this makes any difference. The invitation goes out to all: to those who are on the back streets, to those who live in dirty, little houses, as well as to those who live in fine homes. Come! The good news is that you don’t have to be perfect to come. Come as you are—come with all of your sins and sorrows and shame; come with all of your weaknesses and failures; come with all of your problems and anxieties. Come to the only One who can forgive you and heal you. Come to the One who on His cross opened wide His arms to welcome you. “Come, for everything is now ready.”

And coming to Jesus is not a one time thing. Let no one say: “Oh, I did that years ago.” Coming to Jesus is a way of life. It begins with Baptism. It involves living out our Baptism in daily repentance and sorrow for sin, and in turning from that sin to God. We come to Him and find Him right where He has promised to be for us. We come to Him in the Divine Service. “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.” We come to Him in reading our Bibles. As Jesus says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” We come to Him in regular and faithful Communion. As Jesus says, “Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” Yes, He who came down from heaven to meet us on our level, and to die in our place on a cross, still comes to meet us on our level.

No, He does not stand at the top of the ladder and call us to climb home. Instead, He stands at the bottom, lifts us up on His strong shoulders, and carries us up the ladder Himself. When we lay aside the excuses and dare to accept the invitation, then we truly know the wonder of the glorious banquet hall. Then we know the goodness of the food of life. Then we know the joy of amazing fellowship with God Himself. Yes, dare to accept it daily—today, tomorrow, the next day and all the days of your life. Live in the promise that our Lord will one day speak the greatest invitation of all: “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Amen.

Homily for Trinity 1

"Rich Man or Lazarus?"
Luke 16:19-31

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Wouldn’t you like to be the rich man—receive and enjoy your good things in your lifetime? Certainly none of us would want to be like Lazarus’ in this life, would we—poor, covered with sores, eating only scraps, dogs licking our sores? But then consider how each one ended up. Certainly, no one would choose to be in the rich man’s shoes in the next life, “being in torment” and “in anguish” for eternity. No, it would be much better to be in Lazarus’ eternal shoes—carried to Abraham’s side and comforted forever.

Or what about this? How would you write the epitaph for these men after they died? Based on Jesus’ story, here’s what we could write for the rich man: “He liked nice clothes and good food.” Talk about shallow! And here’s the epitaph we could write for Lazarus: “Oh, how he suffered!” Certainly not shallow, but also nothing glorious, or noble, or memorable.

So, which of these two men before us today would you rather be—rich man or Lazarus? And, no, you can’t cheat by picking and choosing. You can’t choose the rich man’s earthly life now and Lazarus’ eternal life then. That’s not an option. Sorry, can’t eat our cake and then have it too! Which of these men would you rather be? To answer that, you might want to remember that Jesus’ story is not about the evils of wealth and riches, nor is it about some odd but noble virtue of intentionally putting yourself under the wheels of life and saying, “Please, run over me!” No, Jesus’ story before us today draws our attention to faith in Him, the eternal Son of God.

Nils Jakob Laache was a Lutheran bishop at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. In his Book of Family Prayer Bishop Laache wrote a great little devotion for today’s Gospel reading. Here’s what he said about the rich man:

“‘It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Mat 19:23). Not that the rich man is condemned because he is rich, but rich people are so severely tempted to worldliness and unbelief. The rich man in our Gospel was unfortunate because he was unbelieving, worldly, and self-righteous. His life is summed up in few, but very significant words: ‘He was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.” Then we hear that “in his lifetime he received his good things,” that he did not acknowledge God’s Word as necessary for salvation and did not understand that faith is the way to life. If you strive for earthly things and think that salvation inevitably belongs to you and all decent people, then you are the rich man’s partner, whether you have much or little in the world” (398-99, emphasis his).

Now, that hits close to home, doesn’t it? If you strive for earthly things—things such as the nice clothing and the best food, things such as the esteem and popularity in the eyes of others, things such as the latest goodies from cell phones to home entertainment—if you strive for these things, yes, you are the rich man’s partner.

In fact, let’s be honest and say that we all are the rich man’s partner. We may not be “clothed in purple and fine linen,” but we do have our pretty nice wardrobes. We cannot imagine wearing the same set of clothes day after day. Not only would the aroma get, well, a bit ripe, but we just don’t want to be seen wearing the same thing every day. After all, that would be boring. And what about that habit so many of us have of organizing our garments into “winter clothes” and “summer clothes,” if not one set for each of the four seasons. Yes, we have received our good things in life.

And let’s be honest. We do feast sumptuously every day. No, we may not dine on the richest of fare, but most of us really do not suffer from lack of food. Just think of how easy it is to get food. If the cupboard does become bare, we can easily go through the drive-thru at McDonald’s or Burger King or take something to go from Bread Co. or some other place of our choosing. As one friend’s mom would say, “We don’t wait until we’re hungry to eat; we eat so that we won’t be hungry.” Yes, we have received our good things in life.

For rich man and for us, the problem is not in the clothing and food. The problem comes in where we place our trust, where we look for good, for comfort, and for blessing. My, how we look to the “good things” we can receive in this life! But that did not help the rich man in eternity, nor will it help us.

The poor man, Lazarus, gives us a different picture. And let’s remember that Lazarus does not attain heavenly life because he was down and out. No, Lazarus shows us the necessity and virtue of faith. Here’s what Bishop Laache said about Lazarus:

“Poverty and sickness press hard, and no one is saved merely because he suffers here on earth. But these things can help us to hear God’s Word and turn our hearts away from the world. Lazarus was not saved as a reward for his suffering, but he inherited life, because he believed in the Lord. We learn this from the name ‘Lazarus’ which means one who trusts in God, and, besides, we hear that he is at home in the bosom of Abraham—Abraham, ‘the father of believers’—and that he did not seek his goods in earthly life. You are no ‘Lazarus’ and are not saved—even though you suffer ever so much on earth—unless you believe from the heart, suffer as a Christian, and have your treasure in heaven. But if you do this, your suffering is blessed and your tears are sown for a rich harvest” (399, emphasis his).

It’s no accident that Lazarus ends up side by side with Abraham. After all, Abraham is the “father of the faithful.” In fact, today’s Old Testament story about Abraham believing and being counted righteous is the first time that faith is explicitly mentioned in the Bible. Abraham trusted his Savior to deliver him and give him an heir. Lazarus trusted his Savior to deliver him from poverty and sores, and give him an heavenly inheritance.

That’s what our Lord calls us to do here today: trust Him above all things; trust Him for deliverance from whatever we may suffer, even if that deliverance comes only in eternity. You see, our Lord Jesus Christ is the true Lazarus. He is the one who did not set his hopes on worldly gain and wealth, but rather had no place to lay His head. He is the one who was left outside the gate of the world’s niceties. He was also taken outside the gate of His own holy city to be nailed to a tree. And on that cross He did not have dogs licking His sores, but He did have people wagging their tongues against Him.

But this Jesus, whom our sins of greed and coveting crucified, is also the One whom we hear in Moses and the Prophets. He is the One who does rise from the dead to tell us there is a better way than trusting nice clothes and good food. He is the One who gives us life now, in the midst of our sufferings and poverty. He is the one who brings us to Abraham’s side where we may be comforted both now and forever. As St. Paul said: “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

So as we trust our Savior God who loves us enough to rescue us from trusting our good things in this life, we also learn to love our neighbor—every Lazarus whom God puts outside our gate. As St. John tells us today in the Epistle reading: “We love because He first loved us.” Instead of using our good things in life solely for ourselves, we get to use the good things given by God to help and serve the people around us.

So, which of the two men in Jesus’ story would you rather be? Perhaps Proverbs 8(:10-11) can help with that. Wisdom, personified in the Son of God, says: “Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.” You see, our Wisdom, our Lazarus, our Savior, comes to us today in His Body and Blood. Let’s take, eat, and drink, for here is the true sumptuous feast. Here we learn to trust our Savior and love our neighbor. Here we learn to be like Lazarus and rejoice in our Savior’s deliverance. Amen.

Homily for Holy Trinity

"Trinity in Unity for Us"
John 3:1-17

Listen here. 

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

Perhaps you remember that song from a few years back, “God Is Watching Us.” Many thought it was a nice Christian song. After all, it mentioned God. But there was a major problem. It sang about God watching us “from a distance.” It ranked right up there with the old “watch-maker God” image—that God made the world, wound it up like a watch to run by itself, and then went somewhere else in the universe. How can we be close to a distant deity? How can we be attached to a detached god? We cannot. And we certainly cannot have our sins washed clean by a god who won’t get his own hands dirty with us. And we certainly won’t be made a community with him, if he won’t associate with us.

There’s a lot of mystery in the one, true, Triune God. On the one hand, Scripture says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Dt. 6:4). And, on the other hand, God also identifies Himself as three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—when He sends His apostles out to make disciples by baptizing and teaching (Mt. 28:19). Then get ready for how we will confess Him in the Athanasian Creed: “we worship One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.” So far this might seem rather philosophical, even distant and detached.

So, what does it mean that we confess the Triune God? Do we want to be saved from sin, death, and the evil one? Then hold on to “the catholic faith.” And what faith is that? “that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity.” No, He’s not a distant deity. Our Triune God comes close to us. He attaches Himself to us. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit come to us in very real and personal ways. He dirties His almighty hands to cleanse us from our sinful weakness. Trinity in Unity for us.

Too often we like to compartmentalize God. We put Him in various boxes. There’s the Sunday morning box. Sunday morning is the time for God, we think, but the rest of Sunday and the other days of the week are ours to do with as we please. We think and act as if our ever-present God were rather absent and detached from our everyday lives.

Then there are the “Trinitarian boxes”—one box for each Person of the Trinity. As we learn in Catechism class, the Father created us, the Son redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit makes us holy. True enough! But then we box the divine Persons in. “Pastor, we’re supposed to pray to the Father, right?” “Right.” “And in Jesus’ name, right?” “Right.” Is it wrong, then, to pray to the Holy Spirit?” Not at all. Let’s remember that when we pray to one we pray to all, and when we pray to all we also pray to each one.

And here’s another thing to watch for. In some modern, “creative” worship services, God is almost divided into three gods. The invocation might be changed to go something like this: “In the name of the Father who created us; in the name of the Son who redeemed us; and in the name of the Holy Spirit who makes us holy.” At first we might think, “Wow, some nice variety.” However, if we take the words at all seriously, we end up having not only three Persons, but also three names. Three names can open the door to thinking of three different gods. The Biblical wording, though, still works best: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” One name, one God, and yet still three Persons. True God. True worship. Trinity in Unity for us.

You see, everyone has a god. The real question is: Is it the true God? Politicians, businessmen, and radio talk show hosts often give a lot of “god talk.” Pop music might even sing of “god.” Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses even speak of “god” and “gods.” But which god? Everyone has some kind of a god. It could be money, or power, or fame, or learning, or even the spirits found in a bottle. It might even be the ever-present “get-along-with-everybody-and-don’t-make-anyone-upset” god that wants to downplay the teaching of Scripture and the Church. As Martin Luther said in his Large Catechism: “A god means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in all distress…. Whatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god” (LC I:2-3).

Today, Trinity Sunday, is about the true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—making Himself known to us. Our God has a passion to make Himself known to us and for us. Jesus tells us about God loving the world and sending His Son, and He also speaks of being born again by the Spirit.

God makes Himself known to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Three Persons. And yet He always works for a unified purpose: to love us and have us as His very own people. Because of His great love, He created us. After we fell into sin, and even in the midst of our daily sinful thoughts, words and deeds, He loves us to redeem us and bring us back to Himself. And in the Christian faith and life He works all things to keep us as His own precious people. As Scripture says, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will” (Eph. 1:4-5).

Now if that isn’t great Good News, I don’t know what is! Just think of it. All of your joys and sorrows now take on a new light. Whatever happens to you—good or bad, joyous or grievous—the true, Triune God is always working to keep you as His own. Take, for example the recent storms and flooding in Texas. Such disasters show the raw power of God’s creation, a creation that only He can control, a power that rightly humbles us. And yet Jesus the Son of God shed His blood to redeem everyone affected by storms, tornados and floods. And the Holy Spirit constantly works to make known the saving deeds of Jesus and bring true comfort to the devastated regions.

And best of all, the holy Trinity and blessed Unity worked most gloriously at the cross and empty tomb. God makes Himself known to us by rescuing us from our sin and death. God’s good creation took a rotten turn. We masterpieces said to our Maker: “We don’t want You anymore; we’ll be our own gods.” We still say that as we box God in, as we keep Him at a distance, as we try to detach ourselves from Him. It’s no wonder that when we endure sufferings, we think God has abandoned us or left us. The truth is, we’ve left Him.

So the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all three together in Unity—work to bring us back to Himself. The Father shows His love for us by sending the Son to sacrifice Himself on the bloody cross for us. When Jesus the Son died for us, God died for us. The riches of God and His grace are in the blood shed for us for the forgiveness of sins, the very blood we receive today in the Supper. So the Son bowed His head and gave up the ghost. But then the Holy Spirit breathed life back into Him on the third day. Now He breathes new life into us. Three Persons of the Godhead work to rescue us from sin and death. That’s the new life we have when we are “born of water and the Spirit” (Jn. 3:5).

It’s also the new life of community in the Church. Just as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are a unified community, He joins us together in a community of loving and serving each other. We live in that community here at Hope as we hear God’s Word, receive His Sacrament, and care for one another, always learning in humility to count others more significant than ourselves (see Phil. 2:3). We also live in that community as we say farewell and Godspeed to brothers and sisters whom God has placed here these past several years—the Palmer family. Even as they must leave us, we still remain in the same family, the same community, of Jesus’ Church. Yes, we need each other, just as we need the Trinity in Unity. When our Triune God lovingly rescues us from sin and death, He also binds us together in His community called the Church.

God’s singular plan of making us, saving us, and keeping us holy comes from the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul says: “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” and “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:1, 5). Even today the Spirit delivers that peace with the Father in the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus. So, our lifelong prayer, indeed our way of life, echoes the hymn: “My Maker, hold me in Your hand; O Christ, forgiven let me stand; Blest Comforter, do not depart; With faith and love enrich my heart” (LSB 876:4). Amen.