Homily for Easter 6 (Rogate) - 2020

Ask, and You Will Receive
John 16:23-33

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

“Next to preaching the Word, the greatest devotion Christians can render to God is to pray” (Luther, HP 2:104). That’s Martin Luther, preaching on “Pray! Sunday” in 1534. It’s both our duty and our privilege to pray to the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord who made heaven and earth, the Lord who restores heaven and earth by His dying and rising, the Lord who even now governs all things in heaven and earth for our good. This is the same Lord of heaven and earth who graciously invites you and all His followers: “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

And if there were ever a perfect time to focus on prayer, it’s right now. I don’t say that simply because of this current pandemic of sickness, fear and death. That’s  certainly good motivation for prayer, to be sure. No, this is the perfect time to focus on prayer because, now that we are forced to stay home, we actually have time for prayer. How often haven’t each of us heard and even said, “I just don’t have time to pray”? Well, our Lord has graciously taken away that excuse. So, turn off Netflix, sign out of YouTube and Facebook, and put time—or times—for prayer on your wide open daily schedule. And then keep those appointments with God, both now and even after you get to go back to work. Luther also offered this ground-level starting point for prayer: “At least pray in the morning when you arise from sleep, at table, and as you finish eating, and again in the evening when you go to bed, saying, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,’ and so on” (HP 2:106).

You see, your Lord Jesus gives you a most winsome invitation to prayer. “If you love Me,” Jesus says, “you can be certain that My Father also loves you.” “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.” Not only that, but the Father loves you so much that He will certainly hear your prayer. It’s the natural fruit of Jesus’ death and resurrection—that you may pray just as He prays.

God’s Word also reminds us that it’s our duty, even our responsibility, as Christians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). If you cannot do so aloud, you can at least do so silently. Every moment our hearts should be expressing the desire that God’s name be hallowed, His kingdom come, and His will be done; also that He would grant all we need for the support and needs of the body, for our forgiveness, for our protection in temptation and for our deliverance from evil.

But with the silent prayer of the heart, do not neglect your oral, spoken prayers. Now, you do not need to be brilliantly eloquent or a smooth craftsman of words. Often the simple words and short sentences are the best prayers. Your Father hears and understands all of them. Besides, the point is not to be a perfect “pray-er,” but always to call upon your Lord in the day of trouble—that is, every day—that He may deliver you and you may glorify Him (Ps. 50:15). When you have faith in Christ, you are perfectly prepared to open your mouth as a genuine priest. You may joyfully petition Him for things important and needful for yourself and other Christians.

So it’s most helpful to have something in mind for which to pray. How do you know what is important and needful? Just remember, we live in this “valley of sorrow” where there is no lack of sin and trouble. Also remember Peter’s warning: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). He will do anything and everything to divert you from clinging to God and calling upon God. And if you really cannot come up with any need for which to pray, simply turn to the Lord’s Prayer. In seven short petitions, your Lord who loves you brings your true needs to mind and even puts words into your mouth.

In the first petition—Hallowed be Thy name—we pray for the sweet Gospel and for all faithful pastors, that His Word may be taught truly and purely and that we may lead holy lives according to it. We also pray against all heresy, false teaching and non-Christian religions, that we may be protected from them.

In the second petition—Thy kingdom come—we pray that, by the Holy Spirit, God’s kingdom of grace may come to us and be established among us. We also pray that our Lord would thwart and bring to naught all that death and the devil foist upon us.

In the third petition—Thy will be done—we pray our Lord to break and hinder every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world and our sinful nature, and also to strengthen us and keep us firm in His good and gracious will.

In the fourth petition—Give us this day our daily bread—we pray for a laundry list of things! “Everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body.” One of those things is good government—praying “for kings and all who are in high positions.” And in light of this pandemic and its fall out, boy, do our leaders need our prayers! Fallible human beings making decisions that affect so many other fallible human beings. Some make good decisions and serve well; others show themselves to be quite power-hungry. Also, if you listen to them carefully, no longer are they saying, “In God we trust”; now they’re telling us, “In science we trust.” (Now, true science is not bad at all, but it cannot replace God.) We need to pray for them, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” in the freedom of the Gospel.

In the fifth petition—Forgive us our trespasses—we pray that our Lord would be gracious to us, turn away His wrath, which we truly deserve, and deal with us purely by His grace in Jesus. We also pray Him to make us forgiving toward our neighbor and gladly do good to them. Boy, is that needed right now as so many neighbors are so worked up with anxiety and fear.

In the sixth petition—Lead us not into temptation—we ask our Lord to come rushing to our aid when we face temptation and trial, guarding and keeping us from the prowling adversary. In this fallen world we may have tribulation, but in our Lord Jesus we have peace. We can take heart because He has overcome the adversary and the world along with everything they try to throw at us.

And in the seventh petition—Deliver us from evil—we wrap it all up with a beautiful bow. We pray for that blessed and glorious time when our Lord, by His grace, will deliver us from all that ails us in this valley of sorrow with its viruses, anxieties, and injustices. Then we will behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Then we will dwell with God and He with us. Then He will wipe away our every tear and death shall be no more.

So we have plenty of needs to lead us to pray without ceasing. And we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus. What does this mean? First, we must confess that we are poor, miserable sinners. We deserve nothing, yet He graciously bestows everything. Second, we pray with His invitation and authorization. “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name,” Jesus promises, “He will give it to you.” It sounds like a blank check with Jesus’ signature, written in blood, on the bottom line. And it is. But not for every silly thing you may want, rather for every beneficial thing Jesus promises. As C. S. Lewis once quipped: “If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?” (Letters to Malcolm, ch. 5, para. 16).

When we pray, we are doing what God through Moses told the Israelites to do in the wilderness. As they wandered in the wilderness, they became victims of their own fears and anxieties. They complained about their circumstances. So God sent the fiery serpents to bring them back to repentance and humility. And the cure for them is the same cure for us. They were asked to look upon a bronze serpent on a pole. We get to look at a Savior crucified on a cross and risen from the grave. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14-15).

There’s your real motivation to pray. You may ask your Lord, and you will receive, and your joy will be full. After all, He has overcome the world to show you and give you the Father’s love. Amen.

Homily for Lent 2-Reminiscere (2020)

"When God Ignores You"
Matthew 15:21-28

Listen here.

What do you do when God ignores you?

Last week, Satan was the enemy with his temptations. This week, Jesus Himself seems to be the enemy.

There’s a fictional story about a man who lived out in the country. On his property was a huge rock sticking out of the ground—about ten feet tall and twenty feet around. God came to this man in a dream and said, “Go out every day and push as hard as you can on that rock.” The man, always glad to know and do God’s will, did as the Lord said. Every day he went out and pushed on that rock with all of his might. After pushing on that rock for a couple of weeks the man prayed, “Lord, I don’t understand why You want me to do this, but I’ll keep pushing.” Another couple of weeks goes by. He keeps pushing on that rock with all his might. Now the man is getting frustrated. Finally, he prays with exasperation: “Lord! I can’t budge this rock! It’s just too big, too heavy, and sunk too deep in the ground! I can’t do this anymore! Why?”

What was God’s purpose for this fictional man? What was Jesus’ purpose for giving the silent treatment to the Canaanite woman, or for wrestling with Jacob? What is God’s purpose when He seems to ignore you?

God has a history of “ignoring” even His faithful people. Consider Abraham. When he was about 75 years old, God called him and promised that he would become a great nation. Just one problem: Abraham had no children and his wife Sarah was barren. Years later Abraham wanted to make the servant of Eliezer his heir. Then he tried having a child by Sarah’s servant Hagar. Each time, God ignored Abraham’s efforts and said, “No! Not that way.” Then, when Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90, they finally had a son: Isaac. Then, of all things, a few years later, God told Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. And so Abraham learned that God builds the nation in His own way and provides the Lamb!

Or consider Jacob. He wrestled with a Man through the night. That Man dislocated Jacob’s hip, and Jacob pinned Him to the ground until he was blessed by Him. And Jacob received a new name: “He Who Wrestles with God.”

Or consider Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son. He was sold into slavery in Egypt at just 17 years old, then was unjustly accused of “sexual harassment” and wrongfully imprisoned. Sure seemed God was ignoring his plight. Then, several years later, Joseph was elevated to Pharaoh’s service after interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams about the long famine, but still in Egypt. All of this so that God would deliver His people centuries later.

Or consider David. Saul was Israel’s king, but God decided to anoint David as the next king. So jealous Saul set out to take David out, literally hunting him down to kill him. David expressed his angst in Psalm 13: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Sounds like words we might cry when God is ignoring us. Yet David learned to rely on God and His deliverance even while being ignored.

And what of our Lord Jesus? Did God ignore Him? Absolutely! In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed about His coming torture and death: “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Mt. 26:42). The Father answered with silence that spoke volumes: “Yes, My Son, You must bear it!” And hanging on the cross, Jesus prayed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46). Was God the Father ignoring His only-begotten Son? Yes, but ponder the wonderful deliverance that came by it!

So what do you do when God ignores you? You follow the lead of the Canaanite woman. She gladly receives the crumbs that fall from the Master’s Table. And so do we.

The God who ignores is also the Lord who loves. When we see Jesus acting the way He does with the Canaanite woman, either He’s being mean and cruel, or He has a greater purpose for treating the woman as He does. Is He trying to lead her to realize that she is not an Israelite and therefore has no claim on Him? Is He giving her opportunity to put her faith on display as an example for all of us? Is He endeavoring to strengthen her faith in Him? How about, “Yes, all of the above!”

You see, faith in Christ receives His gifts as a little dog receives scraps from the master’s table. The Canaanite woman was doggedly determined. Silent treatment from Jesus? No problem. Rudeness from His disciples? Just side-step it. Oh, He says He didn’t come for my kind? I’m not giving up! And now He’s comparing me to a little dog who shouldn’t receive the children’s bread? “Yes, Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” This needy, pious woman looked beyond the harsh circumstances of the moment to the boundless mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

What does “God ignoring you” look like for you? Prayers unanswered? Difficult circumstances that won’t go away? Whatever it is, the challenge is to keep calling on the Son of David and keep begging for His mercy even though life is rough. One Bible commentator said it this way: “Faith believes Jesus is good even when reason is not so sure” (Bruner, 552). Luther’s comment is even better: “You say, the woman responds, that I am a dog. Let it be, I will gladly be a dog; now give me the consideration that you give a dog. Thus she catches Christ with his own words, and he is happy to be caught” (HP 1:325).

And how does your crucified and risen Savior give you the consideration that He would a dog? Look to His “table scraps.” A small amount of water combined with His Word washes away all your sins, makes you His dear child, and gives eternal life even now. A few small words—“I forgive you all your sins”—spoken into your ears are “just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.” And a bit of bread and small sip of wine—carrying Jesus’ very Body and Blood themselves—is your medicine of immortality and source of Divine nourishment. Jesus is not ignoring you, even when it seems He is. No, you have His full attention and His full mercy won on the cross and delivered by means of His Word and Sacraments.

And with those “table scraps” of Jesus’ mercy, faith in Him receives all things—including the bitter crumbs of life—from our Lord’s loving hands. Is it the personal trials? Is it the news of this new virus or a recent tornado? Keep catching Christ in His own words! Keep receiving His “table scraps.”

St. Paul says it well in Romans 5(:1-5): “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” You have access by faith into His grace, dear saints. You may rejoice in the hope of God’s glory, even when He seems to ignore you, your needs, and your prayers. Then St. Paul adds this: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.” How can that be? “Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

So when God (seemingly) ignores you, remember that He loves to be wrestled in faith and caught in His own words to forgive and heal.

Let’s return to that man frustrated at pushing the huge rock with no visible results. “Lord! I can’t budge this rock! It’s just too big, too heavy, and sunk too deep in the ground! Why?” God might just respond with this: “Who said I wanted you to move the rock? My goal was to make you stronger.”

What do you do when God seems to ignore you? He may have a purpose different from what you assume. That would be to lead you to repentance and strengthen your faith in Christ. After all, He is your ultimate healing through His cross-won forgiveness and resurrection life. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18). Amen.

Homily for Lent 1 Evening Prayer (2019)

"A God Who Prays"
Hebrews 7:20-28; John 17

With complete credit and much appreciation to Rev. Jeff Hemmer and Concordia Publishing House's "Behold the Man!" Lenten series, and with slight revisions for my proclamation.

It must have been quite a sight—Aaron, the new high priest, in his vestments. I wonder if the Israelites protested at the elaborate details and the exorbitant expense of making vestments for Aaron. Did they have to scuttle the plans until the voters could approve of the design and the expense? Did they put it out for bids to see if someone had a stash of pure gold or blue dye so that they might come in under budget, and then put the rest in an CD with LCEF? “I don’t know why one priest needs to be dressed in something way more elaborate and costly than anything we ourselves wear. Does Aaron think he’s better than we are?” “When my grandkids became priests in Egypt, they had to save up all their own money to purchase vestments; no congregation was buying those for them!” “I don’t see why we have to use all this gold; tin would look almost as nice and for a tenth of the price!”

However, when God commanded the vestments Aaron would wear as he was consecrated high priest, His orders were strangely particular. First the ephod, made of gold, with two gold shoulder pieces, each with an engraved onyx stone with six names of the sons of Israel on it, joined together with blue and scarlet yarns and fine linen. Second the breastpiece, matching the ephod, of gold, with blue and scarlet yarns and fine linens, with twelve different stones set in gold settings, and two gold rings to attach it to the ephod. Then, the robe, all blue, with blue, purple and scarlet pomegranates on the hem, interspersed with golden bells. Next, the engraved gold plate attached with a blue cord to the front of Aaron’s turban. Finally, a cloak, the turban, and a sash of fine needlework. All these Aaron is to wear so that when he presides as high priest, he does not die. (see Exodus 28:6–39). Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be Israelite high priests!

It’s hard to discern the spiritual meaning of such apparel. Clothing is unavoidably physical. And yet, despite the beauty of those vestments, no matter how real the priesthood of Aaron, his sons, and the Levites, they were merely shadows of something more real, of a more permanent priesthood, of a High Priest who serves eternally. Aaron’s vestments, like a pastor’s vestments, are a sign of the beauty of the office he occupies—an office that does not truly belong to him. He merely stands in between God and His people. The vestments do not signify Aaron or the pastor; they signify Christ. The office is beautiful because of Christ, no matter the ugliness or lack of good taste of the men in the office.

Aaron is no longer the one to intercede between God and men. Nor am I. But behold the man! There is One who intercedes, One who is a Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek, the priestly King of righteousness. Behold the man who is also God—He intercedes for men before God. Behold God who has become man and who, as man, intercedes for us men.

Who wants an intercessor, a priest, a go-between, though? A go-between implies you are insufficient for the task of getting yourself to God. An intercessor implies that you cannot climb the ladder of heaven to plead your own case. Jesus taking on human flesh to be an eternal Priest between men and God implies that you, on your own, are not good enough. You need someone else to take up your case. Behold the man!

Because, if you’re honest with yourself, you are not good enough. Who seeks for God as he should? Whose thoughts are undistracted in prayer? Whose hatred for—okay, call it annoyance with—his brother does not interfere with his prayer? Who loves God perfectly enough to be able to approach Him in prayer? Who keeps the Sabbath perfectly, hears the Word of God gladly and regularly? Who uses the name of God correctly, never letting an “Oh, my God” slip when things don’t go according to plan? And who calls upon that name regularly? Who? No one. Well, at least not you. You are a sorry excuse for your own priest. So behold the man!

Jesus is the perfect High Priest. Sinful mankind cannot approach a holy God. We need someone to take our place, someone to plead our case. Behold the man! Jesus has taken your flesh. He will take up your cause before His heavenly Father. Behold the man! In Jesus, God has a voice that He can raise before the Father. He has hands He can fold in prayer. He has a head He can bow correctly and reverently. Behold the man who prays perfectly. Behold the High Priest whose office, whose role, is to pray for you. Behold the man who prays for you without ceasing.

Jesus has hands to raise in prayer. He has eyes so that He can lift them up. He has lips that can shape sounds and syllables. He has vocal cords that can craft words His Father will hear. He is man so that He can intercede for men. And for what does He pray? For His disciples. For His Church. For you. Because sinners cannot approach a holy God, Jesus intercedes. Because rebellious man’s petitions will fall on deaf ears, the only obedient Son of God has taken flesh in order to pray for you, to give voice to your prayers, to pray for you.

Since you cannot keep yourself from sin, from idolatry, from rebellion, Jesus prays that the Father would keep you: that He would keep you in His name put upon you in the waters of Holy Baptism; that He would keep you from the evil one, as we ask in the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus, as perfect God and man in one person prays for you. Behold the man who prays for you constantly before His heavenly Father.

So, in Jesus, who prays for you without end, you are no longer rebels against your heavenly Father. You are no longer sinful aliens. You are no longer unable to bend the Father’s ear with your petitions. You are in Jesus, and Jesus prays perfectly. And your prayers are perfect, not because you pray regularly or correctly or even that well, but because you are in Jesus. Because Jesus lifts up His hands perfectly in prayer, so do you. Because Jesus lifts up His eyes perfectly in prayer, so do you. Because Jesus’ voice is perfectly attuned for prayer, so is yours. Because Jesus is the man who intercedes for the rest of mankind, you have hope. You have a Lord who prays for you. You have a man who redeems men. You have the God who became man for you. You have a Savior. You have the man on the cross. Behold the man, the Priest who bids you to pray and who prays for you without ceasing. Amen.

Homily for Lent 5 Evening Prayer

"Battle Cry of Faith--The Lord's Prayer"
Small Catechism, The Lord's Prayer
(sixth in a catechetical series)

When a father has to travel for his work, it’s quite common that he will bring home gifts for his children. It might be a pin from a town or country. It could be a toy or stuffed animal, or even some special chocolate or candy. Over time the children come to expect such gifts from daddy. When daddy comes home from a trip and enters the door, the children come running to him, hug him, welcome him home, and then ask, “What did you bring us?” I know it’s happened in my home; perhaps it’s happened in your home.

It’s not so bad that children ask, “What did you bring us?”, is it? It’s not purely out of selfishness or entitlement, I think. You see, we fathers actually teach our children to expect something when we bring gifts home from our trips. They learn that this is what dad does. And dad does this because he loves his children.

That’s how it is with our heavenly Father. It’s what our spiritual father, Martin Luther, has pointed out out in the Catechism, especially in the Creed. God has withheld nothing from us. He has given us Himself and His entire creation. He then gave us His only-begotten Son. Then He gave us His Holy Spirit and the age to come. So no wonder He exhorts us to run to Him and ask for His blessings “with all boldness and confidence” as “dear children ask their dear father.” God has tenderly invited us to do so!

What does it mean to pray? Quite simply, to pray is to ask. This is the heart and core of prayer. Now this may sound a bit odd to our ears. In fact, it may sound like “gimme, gimme, gimme.” And isn’t that rather self-centered and selfish? Well, in our human relationships, it can certainly reveal a sense of entitlement. “We deserve it! We ought to have it!” But when it comes to our relationship with God, it actually reveals something of our standing before God. We never don’t need everything from God; we are never independent from Him.

We’ve seen this in previous weeks. Everything we are and have comes from God Himself. As St. Paul asked, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). You and I did not deserve to be born. We did not earn or merit it. We did not deserve this life. God did not owe it to us. Instead, we receive all of life as a gift. We, you and I, exist solely as gifts of God. And so our life and our lives are completely dependent upon God. We live from the gifts of God. That’s what it means to be creatures and not the Creator. You and I will never not need food and drink, family and friends, good weather, health for our bodies. And so God tenderly invites us to ask, and to receive all these gifts, and many more, with thanksgiving.

But at the same time, we are fallen creatures, sinful creatures. You and I stand before God always needing to be cleansed from sin, constantly restored to God’s favor and grace. It may seem anything but natural to go before God and ask for forgiveness and a new lease on life. Some may call that the height of chutzpah. And yet, right here, right at this point, is where God approaches us and tenderly invites us to call Him “Father.” He does this so that He might not frighten us or chase us off. Instead, He extends His hand so that we may take it. And because of Jesus, we have been adopted as His children. Because of the Holy Spirit of His Son who comes into our hearts, we can cry out, “Abba, Father.” As long as we live in this current age, there’s not a moment when we do not need to ask for God’s forgiveness and favor. And we are bold to do so because of Jesus Christ.

So what does Jesus give us in the prayer that He has taught us? Seven petitions. Seven requests. Our Lord wants us to open our arms wide—much like a child on Halloween opening a pillowcase wide to receive as much candy as possible.

Yet prayer is no easy task…at least not in this life. And that’s not just because we may have our doubts or questions. It’s because when we pray, we actually place ourselves on the front line in the battle between God and Satan. You see, the moment the Spirit enters our hearts and kindles faith in God, at that very moment we then turn to God crying, “Abba, Father.” At that moment, we also turn our back on Satan. And Satan considers that a declaration of war. Nothing infuriates him more than to have someone liberated from his prison and returned home as a child and heir of God. So Satan, with every fiber of his being, sets out to deprive us of faith, to destroy our faith, and to turn us against our Lord who has created and redeemed us. So it’s in prayer that we especially encounter the struggles of faith. After all, the struggle of the Christian faith does not happen before faith. The struggle begins with the birth of faith!

C. S. Lewis captured this beautifully in his book The Screwtape Letters. In this book, an apprentice devil named Wormwood seeks the advice of his uncle Screwtape, a senior devil and tempter. Wormwood has been assigned the task of overseeing a young man who is not a Christian. Wormwood’s task is to make sure the man does not become a Christian. As long as the man is not a Christian, Wormwood’s job is pretty easy. But one day, the man meets a young Christian woman. Their relationship develops, and the young man becomes intrigued by Christianity. Now Wormwood has to kick it into high gear and find ways to prevent the man from becoming Christian. When the man does become a Christian, Wormwood’s challenge is to bring him back into the clutches of “Our Father Below,” who is Satan. So senior devil Screwtape has to write some letters to Wormwood and advise him in this battle, especially on how to destroy the man’s faith once it is kindled.

So it is with us. In each of the seven petitions, we pray above all for the most precious gift that God can give us—the gift of faith. The gift of faith is the very relationship God wants us to have with Him. So we pray against unbelief. We pray against all of Satan’s attempts to undermine our faith and to tear us from the gifts of God and His love. Satan knows his time is short. So he pulls out all the stops. He holds nothing back. He begins by trying to undermine the name and Word of God. He continues undermining faith in that Word. He even seeks to keep us from receiving our daily bread, the necessities of daily life, in peace and with thanksgiving.

As Peter reminds us, our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). But rarely does he make a frontal attack that we can prepare for as we defend ourselves. Instead, temptation most commonly sneaks up and attacks us from behind. To say it another way, temptation ambushes us in ways that we never see coming.

Consider this analogy. Sometimes a husband and wife decide to divorce because their love has simply gone cold. They never intended it to happen. They never wanted it to happen. Instead, it happened without them even realizing it. They got married and things were great. But then life got busy, they pursued their careers, they raised their children, they found less and less time for each other, and they eventually found themselves little more than roommates. They didn’t just wake up one day and decide to stop loving each other. No, it happened without them realizing that it was happening.

That’s often how it happens with Christians who fall away from Christ. They never intend it to happen. They never want it to happen. It just happens. Perhaps they move to a new city for a new job. They find a new doctor, a new dentist, new stores, new friends, and a new church. They attend church a few weeks, then miss a few weeks. They attend one week, then miss five weeks. Before they realize, they are no longer attending at all. God has become distant and drifted off their radar screen. In other words, a Christian doesn’t just wake up one morning and decide to renounce the faith. Instead, they drift away without realizing it. Preserve us from this, dear heavenly Father! This is why St. Paul exhorts us, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).

Through this Lenten season, though, we’ve seen that we do not stand alone in this battle. We do have Someone who goes into the battle ahead of us and fights for us:

“But for us fights the valiant One,
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this?
Jesus Christ it is,
Of Sabaoth Lord,
And there’s none other God;
He holds the field forever” (LSB 656:2).

He is the One we follow through Lent and soon to Good Friday and Easter. He is the One who fights for us. So His victory is our victory. He has given us His Word that we tightly hold onto. And no one can snatch us out of His hands. He is the same One who has given us the privilege to run to our heavenly Father, the same One who created and rules over every galaxy, every star, every planet, and every living creature. This is why Martin Luther can describe our prayer life as our greatest weapon in the fight against Satan. After all, in our prayers, we enlist the aid, the support, and the power of our heavenly Father. Amen.

Sacred Meditations: Learning to Pray via Podcast

Our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, that is, actually to engage in praying (see Matthew 6:7-13; 7:7-8; Luke 11:1-13). Jesus reminded us of the importance of prayer when He quoted Isaiah 56:7—“my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples”—as He cleansed the temple of its entrepreneurial distractions. He even told the Parable of the Persistent Widow “to the effect that [we] ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

However, Jesus’ exhortations for us Christians actually to engage in praying—along with St. Paul’s “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)—are too often met with laments of “I’m too busy” or “I just don’t know how to pray.” That goes for pastors as well as laypeople.

For such disregard of our Lord’s Second Commandment—to call upon His name in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks—and for not trusting His promises to hear and answer us, we do need to repent. We also need to learn to pray…by actually praying.

Enter a new resource for learning to pray by actually praying: Sacred Meditations - sacredmeditations.org. Utilizing the First Article blessings of modern technology in podcasting and social media, Sacred Meditations is “a short-form podcast (short-cast) for finding peace by meditating on Jesus Christ.”

At Sacred Meditations, you can listen to prayers throughout the Church Year, find prayers to fit various occasions, ponder your deep need for life with the God who loves you, and meditate on the work of His Son Jesus the Christ who bled, died, and rose again to restore you to life–and peace–with God.

What is Sacred Meditations all about?

In our technology-driven Information Age, we have easy access to endless information, news, talk, commentary, and debate about many and various topics, even religious and theological ones. This stirs us up as we wend our way through the many voices and conflicting views, especially when listening to and discussing the hot-button issues of the day.

Sacred Meditations seeks to be different. Here you may find peace by meditating on the person and work of Jesus Christ for you. Here you may find peace by pondering the life that He gives and works in you.

To help you do this, we draw from the the prayers of the Church and classic devotional works of Lutheran piety–works of Johann Gerhard, Johann Arndt, and Johann Starck. Let the devotional insights of these great Christian voices give you the solace you can’t find anywhere else.

We also combine these devotional oases with soothing music to please the ear and calm the soul.

Why listen to yet another podcast?

Sacred Meditations is no ordinary podcast. It will not take 30 minutes or an hour out of your day. In just 60 seconds (1 minute) you can listen to and pray a prayer of the Church or a prayer for a specific need. Other prayers and meditations run no more than 3 minutes.

We don’t just talk about prayer–we actually pray. We don’t merely talk about Jesus or other matters of faith–we draw you into the joys and the life that God gives you through Jesus Christ crucified and risen for you.

Consider Sacred Meditations your easy access to calm in the frantic busyness of your day!

How can you listen? Visit the Sacred Meditations website and come back often. Subscribe to Sacred Meditations via iTunes. Follow Sacred Meditations on Facebook and Twitter. Here’s the pertinent info.:

    •    Website: http://sacredmeditations.org/
    •    On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sacred-meditations/id1121860303
    •    On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sacredmeditations/
    •    On Twitter: https://twitter.com/SacMeditations

Feel free to download and keep these prayers and meditations for future use and for our Lord’s peace whenever you need it. Search for prayers and meditations as you need them and want them.

Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Homily for Easter 6 - Rogate

"The Privilege of Prayer"
John 16:23-33
(With thanks to Dr. Norman Nagel, whose 1957 sermon on this text has here been "creatively appropriated" and reworked a bit.)

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

It was just a matter of hours before Jesus would leave His disciples. Soon they would not see Him. What sadness and despair they felt, especially after the crucifixion. They had given up their businesses to follow Him. Their lives revolved around Him. Where Jesus went, they followed. But when Jesus was gone, it seemed the bottom had fallen out of their lives. We also know that feeling. We get close to people around us. Our lives get intertwined. When one leaves, we feel the emptiness, the sadness.

Jesus knows this feeling too. He is human, just like you and I. And He knew just how little the disciples could rely on their own strength. So during those forty days between Easter and Ascension, Jesus prepared them for His departure. Before Calvary the disciples had leaned heavily on Him. Like a parent carrying a child, He had carried them. But now He wanted them to stand upright and go into all the world. Now He wanted them to be brave and proclaim the crucified and risen Savior. Soon His visible presence would be withdrawn.  And yet He still promised, “I am with you.” They would have to graduate from the wobbly steps of a toddler to the steady walking of a grown-up. He wanted them to walk by faith, not by sight.

Jesus’ knew the disciples’ weaknesses, and so He promised to send them His comfort—the Comforter called the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit the disciples would be comforted and strengthened. Though they could no longer see or touch Jesus, they would have a deeper, more intimate contact with God. They would have the privilege of prayer. Sure, they had prayed before, but now prayer would become their mighty, strengthening contact with God. Before, they had prayed with sight, but now they would pray with faith alone. Jesus gives this same privilege to all His followers who walk not by sight, but by faith. That includes us.

Many people ridicule prayer. They wonder how you, a tiny speck in the vast universe, can change the laws of the universe. How can you possibly expect to change the course of the world or interrupt the flow of world events? Others scoff and say, “If there is a God, what makes you think He’ll pay any attention to you?” And sometimes, in the face of such scorn, we Christians get weak-kneed and back down. In our little faith, we qualify and weaken the Lord’s promise to hear us and answer us. We do not realize that we do not have, because we do not ask (James 4:2).

We end up standing all alone in our puny weakness. In us, there’s no hope. And if there’s no God in heaven, then there’s no Father, and then we certainly cannot pray. But our Gospel reading speaks not only of God; it also speaks of the Father. And that makes all the difference in the world—all the difference between life and death.

We can pray, because God has come to be our Father. We can pray, because Jesus has taken our sins and our weaknesses on Himself and wiped them out by His victorious death and resurrection. By Jesus’ victory over the world and over our sin and death, we stand before God—forgiven, cleansed, made whole, made His children in Christ. Only when we are bound to Christ can we come before our dear Father as His dear children. He sees us in Christ, wearing the garment of Jesus’ righteousness. That’s why we pray in the name of Jesus. All of our prayer must be in Christ, that is, with faith in Him.

Prayer can only come from faith in Jesus. You cannot have God as your Father without having and trusting Jesus and His saving, atoning work. Those without Jesus do not and cannot call on God as their Father, because those without Jesus are not His children by faith. But those who are with Jesus—that is, Jesus is with them—can and do call on their Father. And calling on our Father, through the Son and in the Spirit, means admitting that we have nothing to offer. “Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling” (LSB 761:3). We come as beggars before God; we have no right to ask anything. “We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment” (Small Catechism, Fifth Petition).

The tax collector in the temple is our perfect example for humble, selfless prayer. He could not even lift up his eyes, but instead beat his breast and prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk. 18:13). His empty heart had plenty of room for God. The Pharisee, on the other hand, had no room for God. He had no lack. He had his life in order and on the right track. His prayer was for God to admire him. But the tax collector—he’s the one who “went down to his house justified” (Lk. 18:14). So Jesus declares. And so Jesus declares to you in the Absolution that you hear from the pastor’s mouth, forgiving your sins in Jesus’ name.

So praying “in Jesus’ name” means praying in the spirit and manner of Jesus—with His voice, we might say. Just as He creates faith in us by His Word and Spirit, our Lord also gives guidance and example for prayer by His Word and Spirit. With the disciples we learn to ask, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk. 11:1), and He gives us the words and the way to pray. As He draws us closer to Himself, our prayers take on more of His way of praying—more of His voice. Praying “in Jesus’ name” means being drawn more and more into His purpose for our life—His saving purpose, that is. We pray for those things that benefit us and are “in sync” with His forgiveness, life, and salvation. Whatever might harm us or draw us away from our Savior: that’s not praying in Jesus’ name.

Do we always know what is good, right and salutary for our salvation and life with God in Christ? Of course not. We do admit that “Father knows best” when it comes to Him answering our prayers. And none of us would ever claim to be wiser than God, I’m sure. And yet, when we pray, we often do speak to God as though we know better than He does. We get impatient. We wonder if He even hears us. We grumble when God does not snap to attention and carry out our feeble orders and wishes. And we object, tossing Jesus’ words back in His face: “Come on, Lord, didn’t you say “whatever you ask of the Father…, He will give you”?

Yes, Jesus did say, “Whatever you ask.” But He also said, “in My name.” And, no, that’s not a “loophole” or a “legal fine print” for God. You see, God loves us too much to give us everything we want. We know that it’s a poor parent who gives his/her children everything they want. God does draw a boundary around the things that He promises to give us when He answers our prayers. That boundary is His love. Because the Father loves us in Christ, He restricts His own promise to those things that are for our good, those things that draw us close to our Savior. So praying “in Jesus’ name” means bringing our wishes, our requests, more and more in line with our Father’s wishes. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we learn to pray, “Not as I will, but as You will” (Mt. 26:39).

Does this mean that we should not ask for particular things? Not at all. We should not be ashamed to bring any and every need, any and every desire, to our Father. He is pleased when His children call upon Him as dear children ask their dear father—even if it’s about new shoes or the tomato plant in the garden. But let’s always pray with this confession: “Lord, You know all too well how foolish I can be, and how I can ask for things that may harm me. This seems good to me and for my neighbor, but I leave it all up to you.” “Not as I will, but as You will” Instead of asking, “Lord, give me more money,” we really do better to ask, “Lord, teach me to serve You with everything You have given me.” It always helps to remember that in the perfect prayer that Jesus taught us, only one petition covers all of our earthly needs. The other six petitions cover our greater needs—those needs of being drawn closer to our Savior and basking in His forgiving love.

Just as our Lord prepared His disciples to walk, not by sight, but by faith, He also prepares us as He gives us the privilege of prayer. In this act of worship called “prayer,” we open ourselves up to God because He has made us His children. We are guided by His Word. We are attentive to His love and His will. First, He loves us in Christ Jesus, and then we reply back to Him, returning our love, our adoration, our praise, our loyalty, and our very lives. We breathe in His Word, His love, His salvation, and we breathe out as we “call upon [Him] in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks” (Small Catechism, Second Commandment). Amen.

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 Easter 6 - Rogate

"Praying in Jesus' Name"
John 16:23-33

Listen here.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”? From childhood we have learned that when we add those little words to the end of a prayer, that makes it a “Christian prayer.” Perhaps you add that little phrase to all of your prayers. But how do we keep that little phrase—“in Jesus’ name”—from becoming merely a talisman or a magic formula to get what we want when we pray? When Jesus bids us to pray in His name, He invites us to draw on and depend on the boundless treasure of His rich mercy.

Today we observe Rogate—“Pray! Sunday.” For the third week in a row we’ve heard from Jesus as He tried to comfort and console His disciples. On the night when He was betrayed, He promised them that He was going back to the Father. That journey would lead Jesus to death on the cross, to rest in the tomb, and then back to life on the third day. But His work of saving us sinners did not stop there. He would ascend to God’s right hand, and, as He promised, He would send the Holy Spirit. Two weeks ago these promises led us to rejoice. Last week they led us to sing. Today, these promises from Jesus lead us to pray.

Jesus says, “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it you.” Then He says, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Here’s the first thing that Jesus means by praying in His name: Jesus invites and commands you to pray. So how’s your prayer life? Are you praying? When do you pray—when you get up in the morning, when you go to bed at night, when you eat meals? How often do you pray? Do you pray silently, orally, or both? Do you pray only when the inspiration to pray strikes you, or do you set aside regular times for prayer? Do you pray together as a family, or do you just assume everyone in the family is praying? Parents, do you teach your children how to pray by praying with them and for them? Children, do you pay attention when your parents pray and teach you to pray? Do you pray only when times get tough, or do you pray regularly, day in and day out, no matter what the circumstances of life?

You see, prayer is as natural to a Christian as breathing is to your lungs. First, your lungs inhale, then your lungs exhale. First, you receive air in, and then you breathe air out. That’s the way prayer works too. First, you receive and hear God’s Word, and then you breathe out in your prayers. First, you breathe in the sweet, fresh air of Jesus’ cross-won love and forgiveness for you, and then you breathe out in “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” to Him and out of love for people around you. So, praying in Jesus’ name means actually doing what He invites and commands you to do.

And if there is ever a time when we Christians need to pray, and pray always, now is the time. Governing leaders seem intent on squashing our religious liberties and keep trampling on our consciences informed by Christ and His Word. Tawdry messages of “eat, drink, and be merry” in media and culture hold more sway than God’s life-giving Good News. God’s institutions of marriage and family are falling on very hard times. Respect for human life keeps diminishing before our very eyes. Property and possessions of others are seen as “fair game” for those who feel discontent and decide simply to take. Reputations are routinely slashed and burned, especially in the anti-social behavior that infects social media. To borrow words from the prophet Isaiah, we live in a time when so many want to “call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Is. 5:20).

Yes, we Christians need to pray! As St. Paul urged young Pastor Timothy, he also urges us “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Praying in Jesus’ name means actually doing what Jesus invites and commands us to do.

Here’s the second thing that praying in Jesus’ name means. Jesus says, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” Praying “in Jesus’ name” means much more than just adding a few little words to the end of our prayers! It’s no mere magic formula to get the goodies from God, as if He were merely a cosmic vending machine. Instead, it means that we have a new identity: we are children of the heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ is our “big Brother.” “For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Heb. 2:11).

With this new identity—as Christians, as children of God—we have access to the Father. And God only hears the prayers of His children, that is, His Christians. The Mormon, the Muslim, or even the false-Christian can pray, and their prayers may even be “beautiful” in words and thoughts, but God won’t hear them. Why not? Because they are not His dear children; they do not love and trust His Son who died and rose again to save them. But to us who do love and trust Jesus the Son of God for forgiveness, life, and salvation, God gives us a precious and comforting promise: “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Many people view praying to God something like being a young child going to sit on Santa’s lap at the shopping mall. “What do you want for Christmas, Susie? What do you want, Johnny?” shopping mall Santa asks. And out comes the list. But there’s no relationship there. Shopping mall Santa does not know one Susie or one Johnny from another. But when there’s an identity and a relationship there—parent and child, father and son, mother and daughter—then things are different. Little Johnny or Susie can sit on Mommy or Daddy’s lap and talk and make requests…and be heard…and be answered.

In the same way, praying in Jesus’ name means that each of us has a new identity—and a relationship with God. Each of us is God’s son or daughter because of Jesus and His death and resurrection. Our Baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection gives us a new identity. We belong to Him now, because “[we] have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer [we] who live, but Christ who lives in [us]. And the life [we] now live in the flesh [we] live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [us] and gave Himself for [us]” (Gal. 2:20).

And here’s the third thing that praying “in Jesus’ name” means. Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” You can pray in Jesus’ name because He has overcome the world in His dying and rising, because He gives you peace in His broken body and shed blood.

Praying in Jesus’ name is like this: Imagine a treasure chest full of precious, priceless gifts. That treasure chest is Jesus. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we may draw out of that treasure chest anything that Jesus Himself has put in it. Did He put FORGIVENESS of all our sins in that chest? Then, yes, we may draw it out and treasure it. And when we ask for forgiveness, Jesus always answers when we hear the Gospel proclaimed and receive His Sacraments given out. Did Jesus put FAITH in that chest? Yes, His perfect faith in His Father. And He now gives that perfect faith to us so that we will be strengthened in faith. Did He put a new house or a new car or an easy life in that treasure chest? Not necessarily. But He does put in that chest DAILY BREAD—everything we need to support this body and life. So, when we ask not just for what we want, but rather for what we need, our Lord Jesus graciously gives it to us.

Praying “in Jesus’ name” means so much more than just adding a few little words to the end of our prayers. It means that we actually pray as Jesus invites and commands us to pray. It means that we pray with a new identity as God’s dear children through our Baptism. And it means that we can draw out of the treasure chest called Jesus any and all of the gifts that He has put in. When we pray in Jesus’ name, it means that God hears us because of His own Son. No, our prayers are not perfect, but when God hears them through His Son Jesus, He delights in them. And because of Jesus crucified and risen, our heavenly Father will always answer our prayers “that [our] joy may be full.” Amen.

One Sinner Repents!

Jesus said:
"I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7).

"I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10).

In case you've learned via the secular media about latest controversy brewing in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS)--over reactions to an interfaith service held after the tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut--you really should read the statements put out by the LCMS itself.

You can find Pastor Rob Morris' letter here,
President Matthew Harrison's first letter here, and
"Pastoral Letters on the Newtown Tragedy" here (includes "A Statement of Unity," "Pastoral Letter and Apology from President Harrison," and "Pastoral Letter from District President Tim Yeadon").

When things such as this happen, the secular, mainstream media just cannot appreciate, let alone accurately report, the issues of doctrine and soul-care that are involved. Matters such as this need to be dealt with in the church, not in the mainstream, secular media, and certainly not in social media, where vile vindictiveness and disinformation rule the day in the "Comments" sections.

And in case you are at all interested in how Christians go about settling problems and "putting out fires," let's learn from one of the best. The key is repentance. Here's President Matthew Harrison's video on the Newtown matter:


Prayer for the Synod:
Almighty God, merciful Father, keep and preserve our whole Synod, its teachers and officers, true to Your Word. Cause the work of our Synod to grow and flourish. Guard and protect all members of our Synod against the danger of sinful ambitions, the love of dissension, and the spirit of indifference in doctrine and practice. Preserve us from all heresy and false belief. Bless and defend the seminaries, colleges, and universities of our Synod. Give us faithful pastors and teachers of Your Word. Accompany all missionaries on their perilous ways, and help them to perform their work faithfully. Gather the elect from every nation into Your holy Christian Church, and bring them at last into Your Church triumphant; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for brother pastors and all fellow servants in the Church:
O Lord, to Your grace and mercy I commend all my fellow pastors and every brother and sister who hold office in Your Church. Remove any discord and dissension from among us. Give me a brotherly heart toward all in true humility, and help me to bear with compassion the burdens of others. Grant that we may act as true brothers and sisters in all circumstances; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Prayers from Pastoral Care Companion, pp. xxviii, xxvii, respectively)

Delightful Hearing

Thank you, Pr. Weedon, for the kudos on KFUO's "Morning Show," and especially for your insight into today's reading from Luke 10!

I do have to wonder if it wasn't the hearing of this text that largely sparked the insight. After all, when we read the text on a page, we do tend to break things up, by sentence or verse or paragraph or according to editorial headings. But when we actually hear the text read aloud, the mind - with the aid of the Holy Spirit, of course (cf. John 16:13) - seems to make these insightful connections. St. Paul said it well: "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17).

And that's what makes it so delightful to put the Church's prayer life out on the airwaves to be heard.

Here's Pr. Weedon's post in full:

One of the delightful things...

...about the morning commute into St. Louis is that at 7 a.m. each morning, KFUO (850 AM) returns to the airwaves, and I get to pray Matins with my dear friend, Pastor Randy Asburry.  This morning as he read the NT reading in Treasury (from Luke 10), I heard something I'd always missed before.  You see, one of the dangers of using a lectionary is that stories take on a life of their own and you forget that they nestle right next to OTHER stories.  So I certainly know very well the pericopes dealing with the Good Samaritan, and Jesus' visit to the home of Martha and Mary.  But I plum forgot that thy literally are next-door neighbors!

So, think of it:  the Good Samaritan story ends with Jesus wringing from the lawyer the very word that is at the heart of Torah:  mercy.  And he tells him:  "Go and do likewise."  Go, show mercy.  Go, have compassion.  Go, be of service and use to another.

And THEN, we see Martha being all good Samaritanish, serving and working in the kitchen, fixing a meal for our Lord and his followers.  And yet when she dares to criticize Mary and urge the Lord to tell her to get busy with the serving, Jesus stops her dead in her tracks.  The result of Martha's busyness was that she was fretting and worked up about lots of stuff.  Mary, on the other hand, has chosen the better part, the better portion, the chief goodie.  Jesus refuses to let anyone take it from her.

The life of action or the contemplative life?  Well, our Lord desires for us both.  But he's utterly clear which MUST have the priority.  His Word and the hearing of His Word and its preaching.  That's the best, and we must never allow anyone to deprive us of it with urging to be busy.  For we can ONLY "go and do likewise" when we have first sat at the Feet of the Good Samaritan and let Him through His Word spoken and sacramentally enacted bind up our wounds, anoint us, and heal us.

Anywho, kudos to KFUO for allowing us to kick off each day with the joys of hearing the Word together, singing God's praises together, and asking His blessing upon the new day He has seen fit to give us.  "O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare Your praise!"

President Harrion on Prayer & Lent

Homily for 9/11/11

On this 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, we at Hope Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO, observed a "Day of Supplication and Prayer," beginning the Divine Service with the Litany and then using the propers from Lutheran Service Book. With plenty of civil remembrances striking the national pride themes, we thought it best to do what God's people are always called to do: turn to Him in prayer and make supplication for His mercy.

The homily focused on the question that stills vexes us as a nation, and especially those most intimately involved in the aftermath ten years ago: "WHY?" While we may not always be able to answer the "Why?" question, at least not satisfactorily for some, we can certainly look to the Father who does still call us sinners to return to Him because of the suffering, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

To listen to today's homily, "WHY?" on this occasion of a Day of Supplication and Prayer, click on this link and download the audio file.

Homily for Sixth Sunday of Easter

As we continue celebrating our Lord's Resurrection, we also live out His gift of our resurrection life in this fallen world. On the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Rogate, we consider the praying Church and how we, God's redeemed people, exercise our faith via prayer. As I point out in this day's homily, based on the Epistle reading, 1 Timothy 2:1-6, prayer really is "Faith at Work." Thus St. Paul exhorts us to pray "for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life."
 
Click this link to download the audio file and listen to "Faith at Work."

Prayer for Those in Japan!

In light of today's earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the resulting and massive devastation, we commend all affected to our gracious God:

Lord, have mercy!
Christ, have mercy!
Lord, have mercy!

Almighty God, merciful Father, a very present help in time of trouble, again we are brought to realize that Your thoughts are not our thoughts, Your ways are not our ways.  In Your wisdom You have permitted the disastrous earthquake and tsunami to be visited upon Japan and surrounding nations.  We implore You, let not the hearts of Your people despair, but sustain and comfort them.  Heal the injured, console the bereaved and afflicted, protect the innocent and helpless, and deliver any who are still in danger, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

PrayNow

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Concordia Publishing House has put out a great app called "PrayNow." Just call it the wealth of Treasury of Daily Prayer meets the ease and usability of iPhone. For a mere $8.99 you can have a great resource for your prayer life with you at all times. Check it out here.

A Great Morning Hymn

Sometimes the loftiest thoughts and prayers can be expressed in the simplest of terms. Such is the case with this morning prayer hymn by Zhao Zichen (1888-1970) and translated by Stephen P. Starke. And with this hymn the oriental tune, Le P'ing, really makes it stick in your mind, sometimes for days to come.

"Greet the Rising Sun" (LSB 871)

Greet the rising sun,
Shining with bright force,
Like an athlete strong,
Set to run the course;
Birds soar high above,
Wildflow'rs bloom below;
With the day's new light,
Glad to work I go.

Father, hear my prayer,
Keep me safe today;
Sanctify my thoughts,
All I do and say:
As I teach the young
And esteem the old,
May Your bounteous grace
By my life be told.

Lord, I will today
On Your love rely;
Let no evil thought
Cloud the clear blue sky.
Joyful and content
With life's simpler things,
Knowing all I need
From Your kindness springs.

Conclusion to the Lord's Prayer

Yesterday I had the privilege of joining Pastors Keith Ellerbrock and Dick Bolland on the Issues, Etc. Pastor's Roundtable to discuss the Conclusion to the Lord's Prayer. You can listen here.

O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our king and our lord, the anointed for the nations and their / Savior:*
Come and save us, O / Lord our God.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)." (Matthew 1:21-23)

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

The great mystery we celebrate on Christmas is that Jesus is truly “God with us.” Our King and Savior became just like us, taking on our humanity. He identified Himself with us and carried our curse and punishment of sin and death. He also restores us to His image, healing our fallen humanity and giving us new life with the one, true, saving, loving God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When He went to the cross to shed His very real blood, which He had received when He was conceived and born of the Virgin Mary, He won forgiveness for our sins and showed us God's unfathomable love. Hanging on the cross, rising from the grave, and ascending to God's right hand, our Lord Jesus showed us that He is "God is with us." He still shows us that He is "God with us" in our Baptism, in the words of Holy Absolution, and in His Holy Supper. Forgiveness from His words of Scripture and preaching instructs and enlightens us. Salvation from His holy Supper comforts and strengthens us. God is with us. Christ has come and still comes to save, forgive, and give us life with Him for all eternity.

Have a blessed and merry Christmas!

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel! (LSB 537:1)

O King of the Nations

O King of the nations, the ruler they long for, the cornerstone uniting all / people:*
Come and save us all, whom you formed / out of clay.

"Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you." (Jeremiah 10:7)

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." (Isaiah 9:6-7)

"Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek." (John 19:19-20)

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:13-14)

Christ came not only for one kind or race of people; He came to live, suffer, die, and rise again for all peoples. Christ is King of all peoples and unites all people. Adam's fall into sin brought not only separation from God but also sad divisions and painful conflicts between people--between husbands and wives, between parents and children, between various nations and ethnic groups, even between fellow Christians, etc. Every division and conflict, whether between individuals, nations or other groups of people, is a result of our sin and death as well as a manifestation of the havoc that sin and death still wreak upon us. However, Christ Jesus has come to heal the divisions and restore our human unity. No longer are we enemies with our neighbor. Rather, we are freed in Christ's cross-won forgiveness and resurrection life to serve our neighbor, because Christ died for him/her also. The King who made a cross His throne draws all people to Himself. With the mind of Christ, we pray "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11).

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel! (LSB 537:7)

O Key of David

O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no one can close, you close and no one can / open:*
Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the sha- / dow of death.

"And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." (Isaiah 22:22)

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.'" (Revelation 3:7)

[Jesus said,] "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)

For a person locked in a prison cell or bound in handcuffs, a key is the most welcome sight. That key opens and frees from the bondage and captivity. Since Adam and Eve's fall into sin, we all have been imprisoned by sin and death, even handcuffed by our own sinful desires and actions. Try as we might, we cannot free ourselves from the prison of sin and death, and our sinful thoughts, words and deeds continually bind and chafe. The key--the only key--to set us free from the darkness of sin and the shadow of death is Jesus Christ, the Son of God made flesh. In His Incarnation, Nativity, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension He unlocks our chains of death, opens the prison door of our sin, and frees us to live with Him and His Father and His Holy Spirit for all eternity. And that freedom begins now. It's what we long for through Advent and what we celebrate at Christmas. In fact, our incarnate, crucified and risen Key of David gives His keys of forgiveness and mercy through the ministry of His Church. When our pastor pronounces and proclaims the forgiveness and life of Christ, the Lord Himself opens to us the way of life and closes the prison door on death itself. He unlocks His cross-won forgiveness for us and cuffs the condemnation of the Law. So we pray for Christ to rescue and liberate us from the darkness of our sin and death and all of the misery that it brings. In Jesus Christ the door to life with God is open.

Oh, come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel! (LSB 537:5)