Homily for Trinity 10 - 2020

 "Peace in Both Realms"

Luke 19:41-47

Listen here.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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).

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So we might want to ask questions such as:

• 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?
• 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?
• Does the candidate, the ticket, or the political party seek to let people improve and protect their possessions and income?
• Does the candidate, the ticket, or the political party strive for contentment over the baser urges of envy and jealousy?
• 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?

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. 

 

Homily for Trinity 9 - 2020

"Free to Be Shrewd" 

Luke 16:1-13

Listen here.

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.

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.

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 my possessions.” Then the boss left.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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 not 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.

Our Lord’s mercy frees us to be shrewd for the sake of proclaiming Him. Amen.

Homily for Trinity 6 - 2020

"God's Loving 'No' and 'Yes'"
Exodus 20:1-17 & Matthew 5:17-26

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Homily for Trinity 3 - 2020

"Shepherd vs. Lion"
Luke 15:1-10 & 1 Peter 5:6-11

Listen here.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Homily for Epiphany 4 (2019)

"The Lord of Nature"
Matthew 8:23-37

This little story gives a powerful message. Jesus calms the storm and reveals Himself as the Lord of nature. Jesus steps into a boat with His disciples. They set sail across the Sea of Galilee. All of a sudden, a furious storm hits and this little fishing boat gets tossed about and covered by the waves. On the bowl-shaped Sea of Galilee storms like this happen all the time. You would think the disciples—many of them fishermen—would have been able to handle it. But not this storm! They panic. They despair. Nature is their enemy. They realize they are powerless against it. They cry out to the Lord Jesus: “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

And where is Jesus during this storm? He’s in the boat. But He’s sleeping! A Lord who sleeps? God closing His eyes and being unconscious? Yes. Remember, Jesus is both God and Man—as God, all-powerful; as Man, able to become tired and need rest. Yet He is still the Lord of nature, the Creator of His creation. So, all-powerful Lord Jesus wakes up from His slumber and calms the storm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Many sermons allegorize this story as if it were a parable. Such sermons refer to the boat as the Church. In the boat—the Church—we see Jesus and His followers, His disciples. The Church gets tossed around on the stormy sea of this world. And this is most certainly true. Today the unbelieving world is constantly trying to tell the Church how to worship, how to live, and what to believe and confess. Think of politicians and celebrities demanding the Church get with the times and support culture’s anti-life and pro-sexual revolution agenda. And you can see the waves flooding the boat—the Church—as Christians give in to worldly demands, worldly lifestyles, and worldly views. Yet it’s most certainly true that Jesus in His Church is the One Person who can calm the storms of these trials and temptations.

But let’s take this account as it actually is—a narrative of an actual, historical event. Let’s take a good look at Jesus as the Lord of nature. Let’s ask what the disciples asked: “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

For a couple of centuries, we have been living with a split head. Our minds and our way of viewing the world have been divided between two, seemingly opposite things. On the one hand, there’s God. He created the world. He sustains and preserves the world. And He guides how everything works in the world. On the other hand, there’s nature. How trees grow; how the weather works; how puppies and guppies grow up; how rivers flow; how planets orbit the sun; and so on. And for about 200 years, we’ve been taught and trained to compartmentalize these two things. Keep God in His box of faith and the soul; and keep nature in its box of things that can be observed in a laboratory.

This split head over God vs. nature has led us to one of Satan’s biggest lies: evolution. Evolution is the view—actually, the belief—that all things come about only by natural methods. Evolution teaches the belief—not the science—that all things come about purely by random chance and gradual changes over millions of years. God is left out of the picture. That’s what Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, wanted. He wanted natural explanations for life. He wanted to keep God out of the picture.

Now, we Christians have been riding in the boat, suffering this storm, this onslaught of unbelief in the world of nature. And some Christians have even been going along with the storm and welcoming the waves into the boat. The Bible says that God created the heavens, the earth and everything in them in six, 24-hour periods called “days.” Evolutionists say that the universe began suddenly with a big bang and has gradually evolved over billions of years. Some well-intentioned Christians have tried to mix the two teachings. Maybe, they say, the “six days” are really long periods of time. Maybe, they say, God did indeed create the world, but He chose to use evolution.

But that does not make much sense. Why would God say “days” when, as it is claimed, He actually took millions of years? Is God a liar, or at least not quite honest with us? Why would an all-powerful, caring God leave His precious world to random chance development? Why would He promote the life of people, plants, and animals by mutations and death?

But also consider this. Nature itself gives ample witness that there’s some intelligence behind it. We’ve all likely seen Mt. Rushmore, either in pictures or by visiting the monument. You see the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Now when you see those faces of famous men carved into a mountain, how many of you think: “Wow, look how the erosion by water and wind carved out that sculpture over millions of years”? Not likely. You know that there is some kind of intelligence behind that great monument.

The same is true of nature. You can tell there’s some kind of intelligence, design and purpose behind it. You plant a seed in the ground. You water it and fertilize it. And up comes a little shoot. The shoot turns into a beautiful stem with leaves and a flower on top. Or look in a powerful microscope and see living cells. All kinds of things are going on in the cell to make it duplicate itself and function for the good the body. Take out one of those microscopic parts of the cell, and it won’t work. Or think of your circulatory system—your breathing and your pulse. In just the minutes you’ve been sitting here listening, you’ve been breathing and your blood has been pumping, and you haven’t even thought about it. Tinker with anything in the system, and your breathing or your pulse doesn’t work so well.

What does all this have to do with Jesus calming a storm? The wind and the waves listen to Jesus and do what He says. So does the plant; so does the living cell; so do your heart and your lungs; so does all of nature. And this is for your benefit.

Our problem is that we get scared. We get scared because we don’t trust the Lord of nature. We convince ourselves that He’s off sleeping somewhere. And so we worry and we despair at the storms of nature, especially when a tornado or a polar vortex comes rushing in. And when we give in to the false teaching of evolution, we are robbing Jesus of His rightful place as Lord of nature. We are showing that we don’t trust Jesus—we are little faith people.

You see, when Jesus is Lord of nature, He is also Savior for sinners. When He forgives sinners, He is also restoring His nature and creation. He created all things good, but we humans ruined and messed up God’s creation. So God sent His Son to restore creation and nature, as well as you and me. When Jesus comes to reveal Himself, He comes to restore God’s good creation. After all, when He forgives you all your sins, He is restoring creation in you and for you.

St. Paul says it this way: “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” Nature suffers from human sin too! But also remember this: “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God…the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

So, when Jesus calms the storm, let’s marvel at His Godhood, at His power over nature. But let’s also be strengthened in faith toward Him. For this Lord of nature not only calms storms, He dies on a cross for sinners—for you and for me. That’s His greatest work for you and for nature around you. And never forget how Jesus even gives you His forgiveness by using elements of nature—water, bread, and wine.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!…
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (Ps. 107:1, 8). Amen.

Homily for Easter 7 (Exaudi) - 2017

"Enabled to Bear Witness"
Ezekiel 36:22-28; 1 Peter 4:7-14; John 15:26-16:4

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

I suppose this should come as no surprise in our insane and unhinged world. Two young white women from Portland, Oregon—Kali and Liz—took a road trip to Puerto Nuevo, Mexico. While they were there, they became fascinated with the delicious homemade white tortillas made by the women in many of the little restaurants around town. They wanted to learn how to make their own. They learned about the ingredients and the process of moving and rolling the dough, much like pizza crust is made. They did not learn too much about the technique, but they did peek into several kitchen windows and noticed how easy the Mexican ladies made it look.

Kali and Liz returned to their Portland home and decided to make and sell those same delicious white tortillas with breakfast burritos. They sold them from their food cart called “Kooks Burritos.” Then they did an interview with a local magazine. Then all heck broke loose, outrage erupted, and social media went berserk. Kali and Liz were accused of stealing recipes and something called “cultural appropriation.” Evidently white food preparers are not allowed to make or sell food that originates from so-called “people of color.” After only a few months, “Kooks Burritos” deleted everything from their social media pages and closed for good.

This incident may not speak to anything specifically biblical or religious, but it does show the cultural insanity in which we live. And that insanity does break loose and spew its outrage at Christians doing their thing in the public square. Think of the florists, bakers, and photographers who have been sued, fined, and run out of business simply for treasuring and upholding their Christian faith and life while they conduct their businesses. Yes, there’s the one T-shirt printer in Kentucky who recently received some vindication. But that’s hardly a trend. Nor is it something to place our hopes in. As the psalmist says, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (Ps. 146:3). Today those “princes” include presidents, governors, legislators, judges and justices, and even favorable public opinion.

That’s why we need our Lord’s words for us today. Here we are in the “in between time”—the time between Jesus’ Ascension (this past Thursday) and the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (next Sunday); also the time between Jesus being among us visibly in His physical body and the Day when He will return physically and visibly. And while we live in this “in between time,” we live with the same uneasiness that fell upon the disciples. As Jesus said, “The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” That hour is here and most likely will only get more intense. Those who are after you and me offer willing sacrifice to their “gods” of sexual freedom and political correctness. But as Peter exhorts us: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange where happening to you.”

You see, our gracious God and Savior knows exactly what He’s doing. He has created you and me, given us body and soul, eyes, ears, and all our members, our reason and all our senses, and still takes care of them. He has put us here for such a time as this. He has promised to defend us against all danger and guard and protect us from all evil. He has sent His Son—true God and true Man—to be our Lord, to redeem us and win us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. We even get to be His own and live under Him in His eternal kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. He has sent His Holy Spirit to call us by the Gospel, enlighten us with His gifts, sanctify and keep us in the true faith. And on the Last Day he will raise you, me, and all the dead, and give eternal life to us and all believers in Christ.

Now, with such lofty, majestic, true, and comforting promises, what are we doing quaking in our shoes? What are we doing fretting with hearts aflutter over how the world may and does treat us Christians? Gone are the “I-like-Ike” days when God and country walked down the street hand-in-hand. Now it’s time for God’s redeemed people—us—to figure out how to live out our first allegiance to our Lord Jesus Himself. This weekend we certainly remember and thank God for those men and women who have made the “ultimate sacrifice” by dying in battle for our national freedoms. But there’s one sacrifice that’s truly the ultimate—that’s Jesus Himself on the cross. His sacrifice secures our freedom before God, our freedom from sin and death, our freedom to live with our true King for all eternity.

With that sacrifice in mind, we need not fear death. We need not fear whatever suffering comes our way. We need not cling to the love of ease or the love of wanting to be liked. After all, “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). No, with Jesus’ sacrifice firmly grasped in heart, mind, and life, we can scorn the disapproval of the world. We can rejoice in the approval of God Himself. We can bravely and boldly bear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus.

And how do we do that? Listen to Jesus: “When the Helper 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. And you also will bear witness.” The Spirit enables us to bear witness to Christ even in the face of rejection and persecution. Listen again to St. Peter: “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.”

You see, our Lord has fulfilled the promise He gave through the prophet Ezekiel. By Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, and by the coming and working of the Holy Spirit, He has given you a new heart of flesh—a genuine heart transplant. He has put His new Spirit—the Holy Spirit—within you. He leads you in walking in His ways and following His decrees. You already dwell in His eternal land. You are already His people, and He is your God. We might even say that God has humanized us. And all of this by sprinkling clean water on you. All of this by cleansing you from all your uncleannesses in your Baptism.

I still remember one vivid story I heard on a podcast a few years back. They interviewed a Christian from Palestine, where Christians are routinely scorned, hunted, hunted down and killed for their faith. This Palestinian Christian made a bold statement bearing witness to the love of God in Christ. He appealed to the audience not to hate those who persecute and kill Christians. Then he said, “We don’t hate them; we love them; we pray for them.” That’s the Holy Spirit at work through God’s Word.

It’s how Peter exhorts us to live: “Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”

You and I have received the greatest gifts—Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faith, and joy. So as we live and serve in this insane and unhinged world, we get to live and serve by the strength that God supplies in the heavenly food of Jesus’ Body and Blood right here on the altar. Thus will we teach transgressors the ways of God. Thus will sinners return to Him. Thus does He restore to us the joy of His salvation and uphold us with His willing spirit. Amen.

My Open Break-Up Letter to Target

Dear Target,

In case you haven’t noticed, I have not stopped by for one of our formerly frequent and regular shopping dates in quite a while now. Since I want to be responsible and mature, I want to let you know why. Believe me, it’s not me; it’s ALL YOU!

Your two-timing dalliances with radical left-wing causes have revealed the real you. It is painfully obvious that you want to flirt with the popular, cause celeb, agenda du jour crowd rather than simply, faithfully commit to a steady relationship of selling merchandise that many people want.

First, there was the ad featuring gay dads and the same-sex wedding registry, when you cozied up to a mere 3.8% of the U.S. population. Suddenly and inexplicably the other 96.2% of us who (used to) frequent your stores for simple shopping needs were branded as “haters”?

Then, there was the whole phasing out of “gender-based signage” thing. Somehow, far beyond reason and common sense, we are supposed to ignore the objective, biological reality that the whole human race is nicely and evenly comprised of both males and females? While blue for boys and pink for girls may certainly be an arbitrary social construct, and a recent one at that, boys and girls of all ages do generally have different interests, tastes, and even needs regarding clothing, linens, and hygiene products. And they want to find those products with ease and efficiency. Does that natural diversity suddenly mean nothing to you?

The final nail in the coffin of our former relationship came when you decided to woo the very tiny “transgender” population. (Is it a whopping 0.3% of the population, or a mere 0.03%?). You actually said, “[W]e welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. ...Everyone deserves to feel like they belong.”

If “everyone deserves to feel like they belong,” what about the innocent, unsuspecting grandmothers, mothers, wives, single ladies, teen juniors, and little girls who will now be easy prey for sexual predators merely posing as “transgenders”? Your indiscretion now exposes them to harm and tells them that their own privacy needs no longer “belong.”

So, madam Target, you and I must part ways. I can easily find the toiletries, greeting cards, and other merchandise I want at more faithful places, such as CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, not to mention locally-owned businesses. I have urged and will continue to urge people I know—especially the women in my life—to take their shopping elsewhere, where they can truly “belong” and be safe.

Yes, I have signed the pledge to boycott you for your most recent dalliance with the “party crowd,” and I will keep urging others to do the same. I wonder, is your flirtation with only 1 out of 2,400 people in the U.S. actually worth the loss of millions of shoppers and billions of dollars?

Formerly yours and good riddance!

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).

Same-Sex Behaviors & Desires: God Speaks to Both

This article also appears in my congregation's newsletter, The Hope Lutheran (June-July 2015) and is cross-posted at Brothers of John the Steadfast (www.steadfastlutherans.org).

Matters of same-sex behaviors and desires have become commonplace in our sexually super-charged and pleasure-obsessed culture. Pop-culture doles out regular helpings of such behaviors and desires in both dramatic and comedic settings, and the U.S.  Supreme Court will soon issue a landmark ruling on what is being called “the right” to same-sex “marriage.”

From God’s Word, we Christians know that these behaviors and desires go against God’s good design and will for us and for all human beings. However, even as we look to God’s Word for help and guidance, some pose this question: When the Bible calls homosexuality (same-sex behavior and desires) sinful, does that apply to both the behaviors and the desires, or just to the behaviors?

We do well to look to the Scriptures—what God says—in order to discuss these matters and provide a faithful witness to the forgiving love of God in Christ Jesus. Yes, God speaks to both same-sex behaviors and same-sex desires.

What is “sin”?

Before we can know what God says about the “sin” of same-sex behaviors and desires, we need to know what He says about “sin” in general.

Augsburg Confession, Article II faithfully and succinctly explains Scripture’s teaching on “Original Sin”:

Our churches teach that since the fall of Adam, all who are naturally born are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with the inclination to sin, called concupiscence. Concupiscence is a disease and original vice that is truly sin. It damns and brings eternal death on those who are not born anew through Baptism and the Holy Spirit (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, Second Edition, 2006, p. 31-32).

All human beings are born with “sin,” that is, without true fear and trust in God and with the inclination to believe, desire, and behave in ways that go against God’s good will.

What is “concupiscence,” you ask? Coming from Latin, com- + cupere, it means “to ardently desire.” The Apology of the Augsburg Confession refers to Augustine’s use of the term to define original sin as “wicked desire” (Ap. II, 24; Concordia, p. 78). The Apology then explains:

“Since diseased nature cannot fear and love God and believe God, it seeks and loves carnal things…. Concupiscence is not only a corruption of physical qualities, but also, in the higher powers, a vicious turning to fleshly things” (Ap. II, 24-25, Concordia, p. 78-79).

To call someone or something “sinful” is simply to acknowledge two things: 1) the absence of fearing, loving, and trusting in the God who made us and loves us, and 2) the presence of a disease that ardently desires to fill the void (“God-shaped hole”?) by pursuing and loving carnal things.

Same-sex behavior is, clearly, sinful.

Now let’s apply this Biblical understanding of “sin” to matters of same-sex behavior.

God’s original, pre-sin design gave us “man” (human beings) created “in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). From the beginning, God’s purpose for the male and the female in this relationship is for them to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God’s good will and design gives us male and female in order 1) to reflect and show forth His image and 2) to procreate.

God further clarifies His design for male and female in Genesis 2. The first man, Adam, is the only human being, but “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). So God creates the woman (Genesis 2:21-22) and institutes the estate of marriage: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:24).

After the fall into sin (Genesis 3), anything—any desire, any behavior—that strays from God’s original design is labeled “sin” and “sinful.” In matters of physical sexuality and intimacy, this includes, but is not limited to, same-sex behaviors. Even natural law and common-sense reason can determine that same-sex unions cannot procreate.

According to what God says in His Word, same-sex behaviors clearly go against His good will for all human beings. Relevant Old Testament passages include:

• Genesis 19, where men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that his male visitors be brought out “that [they] may know them” (19:5; see Genesis 4:1 for “know” referring to the sex act). Lot even urged these concupiscent men not to act “so wickedly” (19:7), and Sodom was ultimately destroyed by God Himself;
• Leviticus 18:22, which says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”;
• Leviticus 20:13, which says, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”

The New Testament is no less bold in calling such behavior “sinful,” that is, against God’s good will.

• Romans 1:18-27 – St. Paul identifies various sins that show how all human beings are fallen in “original sin” (concupiscence). Among these sins, he says, “women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another” (1:26-27).
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – St. Paul lists “men who practice homosexuality” among other sinners with their sinful behaviors who “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (6:9). (The original Greek actually specifies both the receiver and the giver of the male-on-male sex act!)
• 1 Timothy 1:8-10 – St. Paul proclaims that God’s law is good, if used lawfully, in order to expose sinful behavior (1:8). Among other sinners, he again mentions “men who practice homosexuality” (1:10).

From these well-known passages, same-sex behavior is clearly “sinful,” that is, it strays from trusting and loving God and His design for male and female. It also strays from His good design for sexual relations as the activity in which a husband and a wife express their union and mutual companionship, find delight in one another, and carry out God’s purpose of the procreation of children (see Lutheran Service Book, p. 275).

But what about same-sex desires?

While it can be helpful to distinguish between same-sex behaviors and same-sex desires, such a distinction does not make the desires any “less sinful.” Nor does it mean that same-sex desires are any “more sinful” (more serious, more damning, etc.) than other sinful desires.

If we look for a handy-dandy Scriptural proof-text that says, “Same-sex desire is sinful” (or “an abomination” or…), we will come up empty-handed. However, from what God does say in His Word, we can discern that same-sex desires do fall into the category of “sinful,” as do other desires, such as desires of adultery, greed, revenge, etc.

Not only can, and should, every human being confess, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5), but also every individual must admit that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:10-11). Every human being—along with all of his or her desires—is infected with concupiscence, that “vicious turning to fleshly things” to find meaning and fulfillment in life.

The New Testament is replete with references to the sinful desires—a.k.a. “passions”—that war against our life with God. Here is a small sampling:

• Romans 1:26 – “God gave them up to dishonorable passions” (in the context of women and men exchanging natural relations for same-sex relations).
• Romans 6:12 – “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”
• Galatians 5:24 – “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
• Ephesians 2:3 – “…among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind….”
• 2 Timothy 2:22 – “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
• Titus 2:12 – “…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age….”
• 1 Peter 1:14 – “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance….”
• 1 Peter 2:11 – “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”

Having certain “passions” (desires) does not mean that they are innocent or innocuous.

Our Lord Jesus illustrates this when He refers to adulterous desires and thoughts: “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

The most incisive comment from Jesus comes when He identifies with precision the true source of our sinful behaviors. They actually come from within, from our sinful desires: “What comes out of mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:18-20).

Does God have anything else to say?

Having said all of that, what else does God say? Same-sex desires and behaviors are indeed sinful, as are many other desires and behaviors (such as alcoholism, cheating, theft, adultery, slander, gossip, etc.). However, God has a better, more life-giving, more comforting word to speak to all of us: He forgives us and restores us through His Son Jesus Christ.

Pastor Tom Eckstein expresses it well as he addresses those who wrestle with same-sex desires and behaviors:

If you are a person who bears the burden of homosexuality, you need to understand that when God uses Holy Scripture to show that your homosexual desire and behavior is sin, He does this because He LOVES you! God exposes your sin so that you can trust in Jesus, your Lord and Savior, through whom you are completely forgiven and holy in God’s sight—even as you continue to struggle with homosexual desires and behavior! In fact, once we are set free by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are then able to see God’s sexual laws as gifts from a loving Father (Bearing Their Burden: Speaking the Truth in Love to People Burdened by Homosexuality, p. 39, emphasis original).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ applies to all sinners, whatever their sinful desires and behaviors. By His resurrection, we get to live a new life. In our Baptism, we are called daily to drown the Old Adam “with all sins and evil desires” and daily to “arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever” (Small Catechism, Holy Baptism).

Listen to my "Family Shield" interview with Dr. Beverly Yahnke on giving Gospel healing to those who struggle with same-sex attraction.

Brit Hume: In Defense of Life

On January 22, 2014, Brit Hume, political analyst at Fox News, had some pointed and poignant things to say in defense of life. And he did it on the 41st anniversary of the despicable, evil Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion--the killing of innocent, unborn babies--in the U.S.

Some are calling Hume's commentary a "rant." Seriously? Let's call it what it truly is: an honest, incisive, and welcome defense of life.

Here's what Brit Hume said:

"The Mission of the Church in an Age of Zombies"

Pastor Gregory Alms (Redeemer Lutheran Church, Catawba, North Carolina) has written a very helpful essay on the mission of the Church in our age. He calls it "an age of zombies."

Here's a snippet to whet your appetite:

The images that are used to speak about the church and the mission of the church are important. It is vital that the words and practices used to describe that mission match the actual situation. In a time of when Christianity is shrinking in the West and is under serious attack, popular arts provide a framework and a language for the mission challenge. Understanding that phenomena such as zombies, vampires, and fear of epidemics reveal in society an intuitive knowledge of deep-seated evil and the reality of demonic forces can help the church re-orient its missional stance. Mission in an age of zombies uses prayer seriously as a real outreach tool; so the church must remember the nature of prayer as an outgrowth of salvation through faith alone. We have no resources to combat Satan other than to ask our Father in heaven to deliver us. Such mission thinking also takes the reality of evil seriously and seeks both to protect the truth from error and contamination while also seeking to bring the lost into the church. The church can be seen as a place of safety in the midst of spiritual plagues and a sort of “monastic” fortress where the gospel is both protected and proclaimed.

How does Pastor Alms reach this conclusion? Read the whole thing!

You can access the entire article at http://media.ctsfw.edu/. Search for Concordia Theological Quarterly, volume 77, number 1, year 2013. Click on "Theologcial Observer 77:1-2," and download the PDF file.

The Making of a Christian

According to TheBlaze.com, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson "says he became a Christian after Jesus appeared to him in a dream." This story may certainly capture the attention, but does it tell the Scriptural truth?

Apparently, Wilson discusses his Christian faith in a new video called "The Making of a Champion." The Blaze summarizes Wilson's story: "...the NFL player says his pinnacle moment came when he was 14 years old and Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream and told him to learn more about the faith."

Wilson is quoted: "I had a dream one night I was at ... football camp ... my parents were supposed to pick me up on Sunday to go to church," he said. "I had a dream that my dad passed away and that Jesus came into the room and he was just knocking on my door saying, 'Hey you need to find out more about me.'"

The Blaze then says, "While Wilson's parents regularly took him to church, it was this dream that truly moved him to change his ways."

I do not disparage Wilson's Christian faith in any way - not at all! In fact, I rejoice that he is a Christian and is eager to bear witness to his Savior. However, the making of a Christian does not occur via dreams.

First, the reporting by The Blaze must be critiqued. The headline on The Blaze leads one to presume that Wilson had not been a Christian before the dream. However, the story reveals that Wilson had attended church - and presumably heard the Word of God, at least to some degree - prior to the dream. Why assume that he was not a Christian prior to the dream, even though he apparently had been a practicing Christian with his family?

In addition, "becoming a Christian" is quite a different thing from "learning more about" Jesus. As The Blaze reports, Wilson's dream of Jesus simply told him, "Hey you need to find out more about me." Everyone who already calls himself/herself a Christian needs - indeed, wants - to learn more about the Christian faith and more about Jesus Himself. That's normal for all who have already become Christians.

Second, the making of a Christian happens, not via dreams, but only by means of the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God. According to Romans 10:17, faith in Christ comes, not by dreams, but by the Word of God: "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

The Lutheran Confessions explain and testify to this Scriptural truth quite clearly.

• "God the Holy Spirit ... does not bring about conversion without means. For this purpose He uses the preaching and hearing of God's Word" (Formula of Concord, Epitome, III, 4).

• "Through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given. He works faith, when and where it pleases God, in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake" (Augsburg Confession, V, 2-3).

• "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord,or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith" (Small Catechism, Creed, The Third Article).

Let's rejoice that Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is a Christian who proudly confesses his Savior. But let's also keep it straight on what makes a Christian: not dreams that make headlines, but the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God proclaimed and given out in the Sacraments.

"Lutheran" Way to Beat Debt?

Some people lament that Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is "not Lutheran." Well, duh! Dave's not a Lutheran and never claims to be.

But that raises a different question: Is there a specifically "Lutheran" way for beating debt, building wealth, and learning to give?

Or could Dave's (and grandma's) ways of avoiding debt, growing wealth, and giving generously be just good ol' First Article wisdom--which itself *is* very Lutheran?

Besides, how much Lutheran theology does one need in order to beat debt, build wealth, and give lots of it away?

President Harrison on "Free to Be Faithful"

Check out: "Religious Liberty: Free to Be Faithful"

"His Time" Audio Archives

Check out the audio archives from today's "His Time" on Worldwide KFUO:

1. A brief interview on Financial Peace University, and

2. An interview with Rev. Greg Seltz, Lutheran Hour Speaker, on "The Intersection of Church and State."

President Harrison on "Open Letter on Religious Freedom"

FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION: Putting Beliefs into Practice

FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION:
Putting Beliefs into Practice

An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans

Dear Friends,

Religious institutions are established because of religious beliefs and convictions. Such institutions include not only churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship, but also schools and colleges, shelters and community kitchens, adoption agencies and hospitals, organizations that provide care and services during natural disasters, and countless other organizations that exist to put specific religious beliefs into practice. Many such organizations have provided services and care to both members and non-members of their religious communities since before the Revolutionary War, saving and improving the lives of countless American citizens.

As religious leaders from a variety of perspectives and communities, we are compelled to make known our protest against the incursion of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) into the realm of religious liberty. HHS has mandated that religious institutions, with only a narrow religious exception, must provide access to certain contraceptive benefits, even if the covered medications or procedures are contradictory to their beliefs. We who oppose the application of this mandate to religious institutions include not only the leaders of religious groups morally opposed to contraception, but also leaders of other religious groups that do not share that particular moral conviction.

That we share an opposition to the mandate to religious institutions while disagreeing about specific moral teachings is a crucial fact. Religious freedom is the principle on which we stand. Because of differing understandings of moral and religious authority, people of good will can and often do come to different conclusions about moral questions. Yet, even we who hold differing convictions on specific moral issues are united in the conviction that no religious institution should be penalized for refusing to go against its beliefs. The issue is the First Amendment, not specific moral teachings or specific products or services.

The HHS mandate implicitly acknowledged that an incursion into religion is involved in the mandate. However, the narrowness of the proposed exemption is revealing for it applies only to religious organizations that serve or support their own members. In so doing, the government is establishing favored and disfavored religious organizations: a privatized religious organization that serves only itself is exempted from regulation, while one that believes it should also serve the public beyond its membership is denied a religious exemption. The so-called accommodation and the subsequent Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) do little or nothing to alleviate the problem.

No government should tell religious organizations either what to believe or how to put their beliefs into practice. We indeed hold this to be an unalienable, constitutional right. If freedom of religion is a constitutional value to be protected, then institutions developed by religious groups to implement their core beliefs in education, in care for the sick or suffering, and in other tasks must also be protected. Only by doing so can the free exercise of religion have any meaning. The HHS mandate prevents this free exercise. For the well-being of our country, we oppose the application of the contraceptive mandate to religious institutions and plead for its retraction.

Sincerley yours,

Leith Anderson
President
National Association of Evangelicals

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison
President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, l.s.p.
Provincial Superior, Baltimore Province
Little Sisters of the Poor

Gary M. Benedict
President
The Christian and Missionary Alliance U.S.

Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr.
Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bishop, Fellowship of International Churches

The Rev. John A. Moldstad
President
Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Bishop John F. Bradosky
North American Lutheran Church

The Very Rev. Dr. John A. Jillions
Chancellor
Orthodox Church in America

Deaconess Cheryl D. Naumann
President
Concordia Deaconess Conference
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

The Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson
Archbishop of St. Louis

The Most Blessed Jonah
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All American and Canada
Orthodox Church in America

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez
President
NHCLC
Hispanic Evangelical Association

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
President
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Imam Faizul R. Khan
Founder and Leader
Islamic Society of Washington Area

Sister Joseph Marie Ruessmann,
R.S.M., J.D., J.C.D., M.B.A.
Generalate Secretary
Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan

Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, S.V.
Superior General of the Sisters of Life

The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky
Director of External Affairs
and Interchurch Relations
Orthodox Church in America

The Rev. Mark Schroeder
President
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Sister Barbara Anne Gooding,
R.S.M.
Director, Department of Religion
Saint Francis Health System

The Most Rev. William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore
Chairman
USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty

L. Roy Taylor
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in America

Sister Margaret Regina Halloran,
l.s.p.
Provincial Superior, Brooklyn Province
Little Sisters of the Poor

Sister Maria Christine Lynch, l.s.p.
Provincial Superior, Chicago Province
Little Sisters of the Poor

Sister Constance Carolyn Veit, l.s.p.
Communications Director
Little Sisters of the Poor

Dr. George O. Wood
General Superintendent
The General Council of the Assemblies of God