The First Sunday in Lent - Invocabit - February 26, 2012

The Church Season of Lent
Invocabit
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (February 26, 2012)

Readings:
  Psalm 118:1-13
  Gen. 3:1-21
  2 Cor. 6:1-10
  Matt 4:1-11

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 4th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses.

Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV)

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

 For the next few weeks and especially today in the Gospel of the Temptation of Christ, the Holy Spirit puts Jesus on display as He willingly and obediently kept God’s Holy law, as Jesus fought against the devil’s temptations and He conquered where every man before him and every man after him has failed. Since Adam, the first man, fell into temptation and plunged our race into sin, God sent his Son to be a Second Adam. The first Adam fell. But The Second Adam Stood the Test.

 Jesus, like Adam, didn’t go looking for temptation. Adam was placed in a beautiful, lush garden and was forced by God to fast only in that he wasn’t permitted to eat from the one tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Second Adam was sent out into the desert and forced to fast from all food for forty days and forty nights.  Then the tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

And there we find that most common temptation of the devil who tries to convince man that he has nothing, that God has given him nothing, that patiently waiting for God to help you in your time of need is a waste of time. That’s what the devil did with Adam and Eve, as he said:  “Did God really say you couldn’t eat any fruit from any tree in this Garden? A faulty try at a hidden agenda., of course, it wasn’t true, but the truth matters very little to the devil, if he can get you to question God’s goodness with his lie. If you’re a child of God, you shouldn’t have any need to suffer want, hunger, loneliness, or discomfort. But you do! So forget God, forget all of his gifts and blessings and benefits. Then you tend to meet your own needs first, and then, if there’s time left over, then worry about God’s Word. After all, man lives on bread. After all you can’t eat the Word of God!

Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

You and I might not think that jumping off a building would tempt many people, but it’s amazing how often we fall for it. Not by literally jumping off of buildings, but by arrogantly assuming that you can go out and do just about anything you want, act any way you want, commit any sin you want, and God – His angels – will be there to catch you when you fall. You don’t need to watch or pray, you don’t need to hear God’s Word all that much, and you can do without his Sacrament. You know the Bible well enough already, don’t you and you do remember that passage about commanding His angels concerning you, wasn’t that about you too?

The devil doesn’t need to rip God’s Word away from you completely. He’s more than satisfied if he can just get you to focus on part of God’s Word, if he can get you to be satisfied with having a general idea about what God says. What the devil usually does is to get people to believe that God is so loving and kind – he’s not serious about all those threats of punishment for sinners. God won’t speak to you harshly when you despise authority and despise His Word.

So go ahead and throw yourself down, Jesus. God won’t let you fall. You’re His Son, after all. You deserve his love and his help. Jump! You won’t surely die.” Oh, wait a minute, that’s just what the devil said to Adam and Eve, isn’t it? Eat the fruit! You won’t surely die! God has promised to prosper you and bless you, right? He wouldn’t put you to death for eating a piece of fruit, would He?

But, Jesus, the Second Adam, stood the test. Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Jesus wouldn’t let the devil twist God’s word in Psalm 91. Yes, God does promise His angels’ help “to guard you in all your ways,” not to guard you as you create new paths for yourself that God has not ordained, like throwing yourself down from the top of the temple. The devil wanted Jesus to remember the promises of God while forgetting the warnings of God and the rest of the Word of God. In the same way he wanted Adam and Eve to remember all the blessings God promised them while forgetting the warning of God and the rest of the Word of God. He tempted them to throw themselves down, step off the ledge, eat the fruit, and test the limits of God’s love. Where Adam fell, the Second Adam stood the test. The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

What is it that you want, Jesus? Power? Wealth? Comfort? Ease? Pleasure? Property? Good health, peace, self-control? Fine! Take it all! Whatever it is that you want that God is withholding from you, look to me! I will fill your need. Don’t think of me as an idol. Just think of me as an alternate source of blessings.

What is it you want, Adam and Eve? What is it that this world has that you want? That piece of fruit? To be like God? To know good and evil? God hasn’t given it, but I’ll tell you how you can get it. What do you want, you sons and daughters of Adam? Health? Happiness? A certain standard of living? A comfortable retirement? Peace in the church at all costs? Friends? More time in front of the TV? To be left alone so you don’t have to worry about anyone except for yourself? What do you want that God hasn’t given you? What idol can I hold before your eyes and then fool you by not calling it an idol, so that you bow down to it without even realizing that you’ve turned away from God?

Where Adam fell, the Second Adam stood the test. 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” To worship the Lord God only is to look to him alone for all good things, to trust not in princes, not in man, not in yourself; to honor his Word above the word of anyone else and above the imaginations of your own heart, too. To worship the Lord God and serve Him only is to give thanks to God in times of hunger and in times of abundance, and to serve your neighbor, too, at all times, with no thought given to yourself. It is to fear, love and trust in God above all things and to love your neighbor as yourself.

This is God’s command for us all, but all of us have failed. Jesus did not just come to suffer and die for you. He came to live for you, too, and to fight your battles for you against sin and against temptation and against the devil himself. His victory over temptation has earned for you the forgiveness of all of your sins. His victory over temptation now gives you also the strength to say “no” to sin and “yes” to righteousness, to gladly suffer all things for the sake of your Father in heaven and for the sake of your brother and sisters, too, because that same living Christ lives in and for you. His body and blood dwell in you. And his Word – the same Word that exorcised the devil in the desert – that Word is very near you, and will be just as an effective a weapon against the devil for you as it was for Christ.

 “…Jesus was led by the Spirit into the Desert to be tempted by the devil.” And Jesus did not fall to temptation He conquered it, and on the cross He conquered death.  And Jesus’ victory over death is given to you in your Baptism.  He refreshes and renews your faith and forgiveness in the Holy Supper of our Lord.   And you could ask, did God say that He would do all these things?  Yes, in Christ all regarding your salvation has been said and done, when He said this IS for you.  Amen.

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The Funeral of Easton Ryan Sonntag - February 17, 2012

 Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (February 17, 2012)

The Funeral of Easton Ryan Sonntag

Readings:
    Psalm 8
    Romans 8:18-30
    Mark 10:13-16

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Friends and family of Easton, especially Bridgett and Ryan, David and Trudy, Dale and Diana, aunts, uncles, cousins, great-grandparents, great-great grandparents, family, and friends.  Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Easton Ryan Sonntag was born to loving parents and a loving family on August 31, 2011, and he was baptized into the body of Christ on December 11, 2011.  Easton was a beautiful child of God and with his smile and charm, he touched the heart of everyone who met him.  Easton was carried into loving arms of His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on February 13, 2012.  Blessed are they who die in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

The text for today is from the Gospel lesson of St. Mark,

13 And the disciples were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And [Jesus] took [the children] in His arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

    In the life of a Christian there are many special times.  One of the most important is the day of their baptism, because Jesus Christ Himself told us that we are to go and baptize, and we are reminded that baptism works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declares.  Easton was a baptized child of God, conceived in love, born and nurtured into a family of loving caring parents, Bridgett and Ryan, and he will always be surrounded by loving family members, and many, many others.  Just look around this  church and see how much the love of this one child, Easton Sonntag has touched so many lives.

    On this day as we gather in remembrance of Easton and in His Savior Jesus Christ, we struggle through tear filled eyes to find any joy in this unforeseen and unexpected day.  Today, to say the least, is troublesome.  We are torn by grief, for a time, from any joyful remembrance of days past.  We are torn in conflict with the knowledge of a joyful reunion in God's heavenly Kingdom. It’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, where our faith is placed firmly between “Why God?” and “Thank God!”  And the news that I have for you today, is that neither I, nor you, can by our own efforts pull ourselves from that place.  But the immeasurable love of Jesus Christ will pull us through this struggle.  We struggle now with sorrow set against our hope and joy as God's children. Here in this time our faith is challenged to the very edge by this nightmare of reality.  Yet we acknowledge in faith that Easton no longer has struggles or battles ahead of him.  We know in faith that Easton is the held close to the bosom of His Lord, smiling in the joy of God's love for Him and with hope and now confirmed in eternal reality.

    But how could Easton possibly be more happy wrapped in the Love of Jesus Christ, than he was when he was surrounded by each and everyone one of you in this room? How could he be more joyful than when you held him and he laughed and smiled?  How could that precious child, be given more joy than in his parent’s arms, as the three of them said to each other, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”? 

    How can we not feel offended? How can we not have feelings of being irate, incensed, vexed, beyond annoyed, that such a child could be gone from our midst.  How can we not feel angry?  We are indignant.


    Jesus has compassion for you.  Jesus knows the feeling of anger, being incensed, vexed, annoyed, and irate.  Those feelings of Jesus are only recorded once in the scriptures, when Jesus was indignant with His disciples for hindering the little children to come to Him.  "Jesus loves the little children."

    And in response to Christ's love, we say back to Him what is most true and sure.  In our daily prayers when we eat we say, "Come Lord Jesus be our Guest, and let thy gifts to us be blest."  In our evening prayers with our children we say, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep." As we gather as the body of Christ in Worship, Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  It has been said that when we sing we pray twice what we believe, "We are weak, but He is strong, Yes, Jesus loves me."  We pray in love and trust that Jesus Christ according to His will and His promise will care for us as His will, will be done.

    But in fact, that perfect world of God does not seem so perfect today.  How is it that "in the beginning" the perfect world created by God's handiwork where man and woman were created in God's image, could today appear so bleak? How is it that we have come from, "God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good." (Gen 1:31) to a world challenged by weakness, disappointment, and death?  It would seem that the good old days of this world did not last so long, for those days ended as Adam and Eve sinned and were sent out of that bliss to live and die in a fallen world.  It is in that world in which we live and die by the sin of Adam and by the sin which we commit.

    It is into that world of sin that you, and I, and Easton were born.  We all have hopes and dreams, mixed with challenges and circumstances beyond our control.  Yet, God is still love, and He "restoreth our souls."  For into to this fallen world a child is born, and that child is the new Adam, Jesus Christ who conquers sin, death, the devil, and all his evil ways.  It is in Jesus Christ in whom we place our fears, our despair, and our sin.  And it is Jesus Christ who forgives our sins and in whom we place our trust, and our hope of a certain future with Him. 

    It is the pure love of God who sent His firstborn, His only begotten Son into this world for you, for me, and for Easton.  It is Jesus Christ who was born into this world and who was held helpless in His mother's arms.  It is Jesus Christ who grew in wisdom and stature and who in love turned His face toward Jerusalem.  It is Jesus Christ who gave His body and blood, shed upon the cross in immeasurable anguish, pain, and suffering.  It Jesus Christ who stated, "forgive them Lord for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Actions do indeed speak louder than words.  Though these word were never spoken from the cross, by the action of placing Himself on the cross, with the love of His father, seeing love of His mother, and knowing He would make right all that was wrong in this world, in the company of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the three of them say to you, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

    On this day do not look for answers to the why's, what ifs, or how could this happen?  Rather hear of the immense love of God for Easton and for you.  A love so immense that God would send His Son Jesus Christ to give Easton the promise of eternal life.  Hear of the immense love of Jesus Christ that He would bear His arms on the cross for us and now those same arms bear Easton for eternity.  Hear of the Holy Spirit who "Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."(Rom. 8:26) 

    The love of God in Christ Jesus gives you, Bridgett and Ryan, the promise of a joyful reunion with your beloved son Easton. And that promise is for all who would believe in Jesus Christ.  Jesus loves His child, Easton, Jesus loves His little children, and He takes them all in His arms and he blesses them with eternal life.  Blessed are they who die in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.  Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

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Funeral for Easton Ryan Sonntag - Friday, February 17, 2012

In loving memory of Easton Ryan Sonntag, infant son of Ryan and Bridgett Sonntag who was born on August 31, 2011, baptized into Christ on December 11, 2011 and who left this world to be with his Savior Jesus Christ on Monday February 13, 2012. Visitation will be from 5-8:00p.m. at Ware Smith Woolever Funeral Home 1200 West Wheeler Street, Midland, MI. There will also be a viewing from 10-11:00 a.m. on Friday February 17 at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1501 N. Saginaw Road, Midland MI, 989-832-3667. The funeral service will be at the church at 11:00 a.m., following there will be a procession to the Midland Cemetery for graveside committal. At 1:00 the family invites you to the church for lunch. Blessed are they who die in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

Sexagesima - February 12, 2012

The Church Season of Epiphany,
Sexagesima,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (February 11, 2012)

Readings:   
     Psalm 85   
     Is. 55:10-13
     2 Cor. 11:19 – 12:9       
     Luke 8:4-15

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 8th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verses.

Luke 8:4-15 (ESV)

4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, [Jesus] said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

    This parable seems like a game of numbers or statistics.  The cup is half full of us here today want to be the good soil.  But if that is our desire, we have a 25% chance or one in four chance, the odds are against us.  But, maybe it’s like a competition and if we can move ourselves ahead of 75 others by effort we can be amongst the good seed.   And if you’re a cup is half empty type of person then you could say that the God of Christians is a pretty poor God, because for every 100 seeds He sows, only 25 bear fruit.  Where does that leave us?  So what kind of soil are you?  Are you lucky, are you a hard worker, or are you a cynic?

    Unfortunately, this parable is often framed only in the choices I just gave.  And the mistake of those choices is, that in each and every one of them, lucky, hard worker, or cynic, gives you the power to not only to be the soil, but to determine which type of soil you want to be. 

    So let us start with the Word who is Jesus Christ, and His Word for you, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”(v. 8)

    In order to save us through faith in Christ, God has given us His Holy Word. We should read and hear it and inwardly digest it. But especially Jesus blesses the hearing in the hearts of His people. That is why the Lord gave to His Church the mandate to preach the gospel to every creature, when He said; “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”(Mk 16:15-16)  And St. Paul tells us, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.”(Rom 10:17)  Notice that neither of these two scriptures talk about your feelings or your efforts, but what God does for you.  But not everyone who hears the Word will be saved. They do not properly hear the Word of the Lord. Today's Gospel shows us how the Word finds a variety of receptions from the hearers, and at the same time is a serious invitation to all who hear it not frivolously, but properly.

    So what does it mean to hear the Word properly?  It means to hear it with devotion, with the desire for salvation, from an altruistic perspective, without prejudice or out of mere habit. We hear the Word properly when we know that it is Christ who wins our salvation, not our actions.  We hear the Word properly when we do not read into to the Holy Scriptures, our preconceived agendas. We hear the Word of God properly when we do not allow our worldly perspective to cause us to believe some parts of the Bible and not others.  We hear the Word properly when we say, Lord, Thy will be done.

    But you know that the Word of God is not always heard in the proper way.  It was that way for the vast majority of listeners at the time of Christ and is still the case for many even today. The good seed is the Word sown on the path, but it is trampled by our bad wishes, unpredictable whims and bad will.  Our society proudly tramples upon the path of God, and the bird brains who pretend to be the spokesmen of the world eat our faith alive and spit us out.

The good seed is Word of God sown on the rock, but there are those who will not listen, who will not receive the moisture, the water, the flood of salvation in baptism, and they wither until there is no life of faith left in them. 

The good seed is the Word of God sown amongst the thorns.  But the the cares and riches and pleasures of this life choke the Word out.  The Word is choked out of our lives when we fail to hear the Word of God preached.  The Word of God is choked out when we choke out the pieces of scriptures we don’t like and call them fairy tales, impossibilities, or just a person speaking to a generation which doesn’t relate to our world.  The Word is choked when we fail to remember that Christ said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, it is these who bear witness of me.”(John 5:39)  All the scriptures speak of Christ, yet the thorns of this world say, “I don’t know or care what the Bible says, I believe.”

    And so what of the the Good seed of the Word of God which is sown amongst these people hearing but never understanding, and seeing and never perceiving?  Usually they are angry, because they believed but didn’t immediately fall into eternal bliss, or the cares, riches, or lack of riches, pain, illness or pleasures of this life conquered their hearts. 

And because we don’t accept that God’s Word is right and we are could be wrong we must seek someone else to blame.  And the blame on all our lost dreams of a perfect world form out of our futile hearing of the Word, but it still must be someone else's fault it must be God's fault.   But it isn’t God, who wills that all be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth, and isn’t it God who offers His grace to all hearers of the Word? And the blame doesn’t fall on the Word either, remember the Word is the good seed and Word never returns to Him void.

Hear again the the invitation of our Lord: "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!" We are not above the Word of God He is above us, yet it is He who through His Word brings us to Himself.  So how should we hear the Word of God?

    Hearing the Word of God properly means it is heard in simplicity and humility, with desire of salvation, to stir and preserve it in the heart, to apply Law and Gospel to ourselves, to neither allow ourselves to turn away from it when we are in tribulation nor to let the pleasures of this life distract us from it and to abide by the Word at all times.

    Whoever properly hears the Word of God, the Seed of the Word, will rise up in their hearts, put down deeper and deeper roots, so that they are put in a better state to overcome all sorts of trouble in the world, to overcome worry, to not be distracted by the riches or pleasures of this life; they will continue to grow in faith, in knowledge, and bear fruit in patience.  Doesn’t sound much like the world we live in does it? That perfect world without worry, where boats, houses, and cabins, planes, cars, and things are made secondary to our desire to study and hear God’s Word preached, or in Bible study and then our desire to help others.

    Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,”(v. 8) and He also said,  “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28)  And what of them?  They gain eternal life and the Word is to them is, “the fragrance of life to life.”(2 Cor. 2:16)

    Numbers and statistics do not matter in this parable nor do our efforts matter with regard to our salvation.  God is a poor farmer in the eyes of us, but in fact He is a generous sower of the seed which is the Word of God.  For the Word offers salvation and the forgiveness of sins to everyone in the world.  And that salvation and forgiveness is conveyed to you in your baptism, it is conveyed to you in the Holy Supper of our Lord in the bread and wine, the body and blood of our Lord, for you.

    Our Lord blesses us and this is not because of our merit, our work, or our preparation, but it is God's free gift and present to you.  God in Christ Jesus makes your heart into good soil, the Word works and keeps faith, and it even provides so that we desire to bear good fruit. God does all these things through His Word.

    Salvation is not a dumb luck, a statistical game of chance, or a work harder to do better competition.  The Word of God, Jesus Christ was placed on a cross and planted into the earth.  Jesus Christ is the Word, and the seed is the Word of God, and the fruit of that risen seed wins for you the promise of the fruit of eternal life. Amen.

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Septuagesima - February 5, 2012

The Church Season of Epiphany,
Septuagesmia,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (February 4, 2012)

Readings:
  Psalm 95:1-9
  Exodus 17:1-7
  1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5
  Matthew 20:1-16

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 20th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses.

Matthew 20:1-16 (ESV)
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Over and over we have been told that the Christian faith is all about grace.  But, what is grace? If someone approached you and asked you to define grace, could you do it? Christians talk about grace in practically everything they say and do, but not all Christians agree on what grace is according to Holy Scripture. Grace to you could be what you say before your meals, and you should say grace before every meal, and that would be one definition.  Grace could be the extra few days you receive before your bills are really due.  And if you know that definition, then you have learned, or may have have been taught how to play a worldly game of financial roulette, but it not the grace of which Christians proclaim.

Grace is God’s attitude in Jesus Christ revealed through the preached Word and the Sacraments to create and sustain faith in order that sinners may be forgiven and justified by faith. That’s an easy definition for you to learn by heart and make a part of your life. Contrary to popular belief by certain Christians, grace is not something poured into a Christian in order to help him or to help prop God up in the work of salvation. That robs Jesus Christ of His glory in His Passion.  Let me give you two simple equations…Jesus plus anything is equal to nothing.  Jesus plus nothing is equal to everything.  As you know this means grace is free, faith is free and when we try to add human acts to grace and faith, then we put ourselves in the place of saying Christ’s work just wasn’t enough.

Also contrary to popular belief by certain Christians is the notion that grace just happens out of the clear blue sky. God does not “zap” people willy nilly with grace as they go about their daily lives. Grace is not a feeling that God gives you through “happy vibes” floating down from heaven. No, God’s grace is tied to stuff.  God has promised to reach out to you through the preached Word, Baptismal Water & Word, Communion bread and wine, Body and Blood, and the Word of Absolution pronounced individually or corporately. These are the means of grace and are how God delivers His grace to you.

Another way to define grace for someone who doesn’t know grace is to read with them Jesus’ parable in Matthew chapter 20. The master of the vineyard doesn’t have two equations, but he does ask two questions to one of the grumblers at the end of Christ’s parable. To the grumbler the master says; Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? The lesson is that grace is the exclusive property of God. Grace is God’s attitude toward sinners through Jesus Christ. So what the landowner is really saying to the grumbling worker is; "What gives you the right to grumble about God’s blessings?" The Heavenly Father has given you everything you need to support your body and your life. What could be more?  God gives you His forgiveness for your of sins and eternal life in His Son Jesus Christ. Yet you whine about not getting enough grace or getting less grace.

Grace delivers forgiveness of sins won by Jesus Christ when He became sin for you in order that you might receive eternal life. We gripe and groan about God’s relationship toward others and toward ourselves. It’s not fair that so-and-so was a Christian for less time than I was, but they receive the same reward as I receive. If this is how you receive God’s grace, then you must not be a big fan of deathbed conversion accounts. Whether one is a Christian for the last five minutes of their lives with agonizing gasps of breath or for many decades of happily living in this world, all those called by God to work in His Vineyard receive the same wage. That wage is grace.

The second question the landowner asks the grumbler is; "Do you begrudge my generosity?" In a time when equality among people seems to be the most treasured virtue of all, you are caught begrudging a generous, loving God who does not consign us to eternal hell.

So where does that leave you and I, no work to be done, Christ has done it all, now what?  Yes Jesus Christ has accomplished all that there is to accomplish with regard to your salvation, this is most certainly true.  It’s free. It’s for you. That is grace. God's wrath is turned toward His Son not you. God looks at His you His children with joy. Adam’s fall into sin is cancelled in Christ’s atoning blood.

What a wonderful Savior we have! And that’s the message of mission. The message of mission is the message of grace. This message of grace is spread when and where God wills. This doesn’t mean God rolls the dice and decides to whom He will or will not be gracious. It is not given to you or I to worry about such matters. What matters most is that God is gracious in Jesus Christ. What matters most is that He desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of Truth. That our Father in heaven desires this to be so, is grace.

Grace is the air that you breathe in Christ. Grace is the water that you drink in Christ. Consider the pictures Saint Paul paints in the Epistle. "I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ." That is abundance of grace freely given to you which answers that question I asked moment ago. What do I do? 

You have been given much, in fact everything with regard to you salvation. And because you have been given much and you rejoice in what you are given and every other Christian is given, you gladly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  In every word you speak, in every action you take, in every minute of your life, by the grace of God you have received, have the desire to proclaim Jesus Christ to all who are around you.  The Holy Spirit works when and where He pleases to make disciples, therefore we joyfully speak of what we have been given in Jesus Christ.

Today is the beginning of pre-lent.  Our services begin to shed away the joyous proclamations and to turn to a more somber mode.  And as we arrive in Lent and proceed through that church season our minds are turned inward toward our sin and the great price that Jesus Christ paid for us.  

By His grace you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. This is not of your own doing, as Saint Paul tells the Church in Ephesus and to us too. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. As God's workmanship, your eye no longer begrudges God’s generosity. He gives His grace to you and all His children when and where He wills. He gives His grace to you in order that you might be His own and live under Him in His Vineyard and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. The Christian faith is all about grace. Where would you be without it?  By grace you have been saved and that, is an eternal gift. 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
+SDG+

Lent & the "Gesima" Season - Rev. Todd Pepperkorn

Lent & the “Gesima” Season  (As referenced by Rev. Todd Pepperkorn)

The Liturgical preparation for Easter takes place through 3 periods or steps: The first is the “-gesimas”. These three Sundays before Lent constitute catechesis in the Grace of God in which that grace is examined from three perspectives:

Septuagesima (meaning “about 70 days”)—Grace is undeserved.

The Collect for this Sunday implores God to graciously hear us, who are justly punished for our sin, so that we may be delivered by God’s goodness. The goodness of God is emphasized in the parable (Matt 20:1-16), where all the laborers receive the reward because of the goodness of the landowner. So we too, receive the reward of eternal life, because God is good, and Another has borne the heat and burden of the day for us that we might have it.

Sexagesima (meaning “about 60 days”)—Grace is passively received.

In the Collect, we pray to the God who sees that we put not our trust in anything we do, but mercifully defends us by His power. In the parable of the sower, the seed of God’s Word is passively received in good and noble hearts.

Quinquagesima (meaning “about 50 days”)—Grace is not easily understood.

In the Gospel, Jesus predicts His passion and the disciples “understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.” (Luke 18:34).

The three “Gesima” Sundays begin the Lenten Preparation for Easter. They take on the character of Lent, but mildly. The color becomes violet, the color of Lent. The “Alleluias” are dropped. Pictures and Crosses remain unveiled. Flowers may adorn the chancel. In the Gesimas, this provides a gradual progression of liturgical removals as we approach Passiontide.

Ash Wednesday

The second step or stage of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. This second stage ends when the week of Laetare (the 4th Sunday in Lent) is completed. In addition to the omissions and changes that began in the “Gesimas,” flowers no longer normally adorn the chancel, and the crucifix and crosses are veiled. During these four Sundays, the focus is on temptation and faith, and the Christian’s struggle:

On Invocavit Sunday the Lord is tested in the Wilderness.

On Reminiscere Sunday, the faith of the Canaanite woman is tested.

On Oculi Sunday, the people tempt our Lord to show them a sign from heaven.

Laetare Sunday is “refreshment” Sunday.

Judica - Passion Sunday

The final stage is Passiontide, which begins with Judica Sunday (Passion Sunday, the 5th Sunday in Lent), and extends through Holy Week and the Triduum (“three holy days”—which includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday). Now the focus is expressly on our Lord’s passion. The liturgy is spoken on Judica Sunday to emphasize the intense passion which our Lord endured. This intensity builds until we finally arrive at the empty tomb.