The Fifth Sunday after Trinity - July 24, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Fifth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (July 24, 2011)

Readings: 
        Psalm 16
        1 Kings 18:11-21
        1 Cor 1:18-25
        Luke 5:1-11

+INI+

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 5th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verse:

Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he [Jesus] said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

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

There are tremendous advantages to living in this time in history.  We enjoy comforts that were unknown to the world, or even unimagined, just a few decades ago.  We do not live in the world our parents grew up in.  We have not experienced the world they knew, and we do not have the tools to live in their world.  So we sometimes struggle to understand the world that is on the horizon before us.  We live in a world of technology and electronics and all sorts of creature comforts.

But just for a moment imagine a world without cell-phones, without computers, without television, without electric, without gas.  I know, I know some of you are saying, "I can do that.  I don't have a computer, and I don't use those modern contraptions all that much anyhow."  Now imagine that your car doesn't work because the computers in it are disabled - and almost everything in a modern car is computer controlled - even the brakes and the transmission.  Imagine life without air conditioning or central heat.  Imagine having no refrigeration at all, and having to go back to ice boxes and to do without quickly perishable foods we are so accustomed to today.  I know some of you lived like that as children, but we are not children any longer, and we have grown accustomed to our luxuries.  Many of our neighbors have never seen a non-technological world, and they would panic, if they were to be confronted with such a life, and it may be coming soon.

The world that lived before those advances is the world in which the Scriptures were written and in which they were read for centuries.  That world would seem totally unnatural to us, and yet it must inform our understanding of what people were saying when they wrote in the past, because they had no way of imagining the world as we live in it today.  Even in that world, the Christian faith was not a natural thing.  In our text, Peter describes how a Christian should live and conduct himself or herself.  He describes a pattern of behavior that is simply not natural for sinful man. 

What Peter describes sounds wonderful, "let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead."  Wouldn't that be nice?  But where have we ever seen this sort of thing? Harmonious?  We get along pretty well, but if the group is much larger than our congregation, divisions and contentions seem to arise quickly, and over the most insignificant things, at times.  We can do sympathetic and brotherly things most of the time, but even at that, when someone pushes us too far or for too long, we become impatient and unsympathetic in a hurry.  Even kindhearted seems do-able, but I know that some people are more kindhearted around me, than they are with some other people.  So, these are qualities we can show now and again, and here and there, but to be consistently and always so is something we have trouble with.

The truth is, these qualities are to be the consistent qualities of the child of God.  And then we would be humble in spirit.  But, humility is just not natural for most of us.  Sin finds its strength in our desire to put ourselves first.  We want to succeed.  We want to be comfortable.  We like to be right.  Then Peter says, "not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead" and now we know that we are in trouble.  It is one thing to be nice to those who are nice to us, but when they get up in our face, we want to shut them down.  We have been taught not to take "stuff" from others.  Getting them back, returning the 'favor', and zinging them in return is more our style.  Do unto others before they do unto you.  But blessing them when they are rude and crude to us?  That is just not natural - nor is it easy to do.  It is not easy to do it once or twice, but to do it consistently?  That's totally unnatural.

We are called by the Word of God to live up to a standard that is beyond us.  It means telling yourself that the proverbs of your youth were wrong.  You do not put number one first.  That is the natural way, the way that appeals to our sinful nature.  But rather we are to put someone else first - pretty much everyone else!  This is a kind of living and set of behaviors that is totally unnatural for us.  It must find its power in Christ, not in you.  It is given to you.  Even then, it requires exercising what God gives you - humility, love, and faith.  That is probably why humility of spirit was named first.

If you had the text right in front of you, you would notice that the next verses are all in capital letters, which means that Peter is quoting or paraphrasing the Old Testament: "LET HIM WHO MEANS TO LOVE LIFE AND SEE GOOD DAYS REFRAIN HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING GUILE.  AND LET HIM TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; LET HIM SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.  FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE UPON THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL."  Peter quotes that because it is in the only Bible he has, and it shows us that these ideas, these rules for living as the children of God, are not new with the New Testament.  It is the way it has always been.  Being the faithful child of God is always counter-intuitive and contrary to our nature and not natural to our responses.  That is because sin is our nature and quite natural to us, even as believers.

And, although it is totally unnatural to us as sinners, this unnatural behavior is natural to our nature in Christ.  It is part of our nature because it is His nature.  He lived for us, and not for Himself.  He died for us, because He did not deserve death by Himself.  He paid the penalty of the wrath of God against us, and rescued and redeemed us from sin and all that we have deserved.  Peter refers to that when he writes, "for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing."  The blessing we inherit is forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.  He is also indicating that these ways of conducting ourselves are not optional, or just suggestions.  They are the conduct of the Children of God.  They are not laws in the sense that you must do them or you will miss the mark and not get to go to heaven.  They are law - for they tell you what you are to do and how you are to be - but they are descriptive of those who actually are the children of God.  If you blow these off and do your own thing, you simply demonstrate that you are not the child of God, and you are not going to inherit that blessing.

He who means to love life and see good days - the child of God - refrains from speaking evil or guile, which means any sort of dishonesty.  He turns deliberately away from evil and does good and seeks peace.  He does it because he knows that such is the way of beloved of God, and it carries the promise that the Lord is attentive to their prayers, as well.  Those who cannot bring themselves to do these things, or who choose to do evil - in an on-going way - put themselves at odds with God and reject His mercy and His grace.

Peter asks the question, “And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?” Doing good is usually not a problem.  Everybody appreciates being treated well and honestly.  This should make this conduct a no-brainer.  But the truth is that it is so totally unnatural to sinful man that it does draw the ire and hatred of some, simply because they hate what is holy.  There is even a common proverb about that, "No good deed goes unpunished."  It is not Biblical, but it is true enough.  Holiness draws the fire of the servants of the Old Evil Foe.  Peter knows that and God inspires him to write about that truth too.  But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.  Peter quotes the Old Testament again, and he reminds us that it has always been so.  Faithfulness to God is never the majority opinion.  But we, like the people of old, are to trust God and not fear them.  Now hear the words of Jesus Christ, Matthew 10, "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 

That speaks to self-control, self-sacrifice and the love of others.  And of course this sort of self-control and self-possession again is totally unnatural.  But it is not unnatural for our God, for He has given us His Son Jesus Christ, who knew self-sacrifice and who knows love for others because He not only lived it He died for it too.  And this gift of God, is given to you through the Word and Sacrament.  Like every gift from God, He gives it to us to take it out and use it.  It doesn't overwhelm you and force you to behave - at least not usually, but God gives you the power to do so, and teaches you in His Word and guides you by the Spirit.  It is in your hands to do it, as the faithful, chosen, children of God in Christ Jesus.  If you try and fail, we rejoice that we have a Savior!  He forgives you and props you up again and invites you to do it right this next time.  None of us does this perfectly, but we can grow in this difficult thing too by simply practicing being the holy children of God that you have been called and created anew to be in Christ Jesus. And in Christ Jesus you are given the promise of an unnatural life and death, for in this life you die in your baptism so that you may live eternally.  Thanks be to God for that gift of His Son Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity - July 17, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (July 17, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 138
    Genesis 50:15:21
    Romans 12:14-21
    Luke 6:36-42

+INI+

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 6th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verse:

Luke 6:36-42 (NIV)

36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

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

And to begin this sermon, on the great reversal of God, in believing that Word of God, you have received every good thing.  You have received all the benefits that Christ won for you on the cross.  You have forgiveness.  You have life.  You have salvation.  The devil is bound can no longer accuse you.  You, like Lazarus, are rich.  You, like Lazarus, will live with your Savior forever.  So far the Word of God. 

So, the beginning is reversed in the end, the blessed sinner is in heaven.  The unrepentant sinner is in Hell.  Christ who is perfect takes your sin and reverses you so that you are given eternal riches. So today the sermon is preached backwards, listen and you will hear what I mean.

But you are not like the rich man, and you are not like the Pharisees.  You have heard Moses and the Prophets, and they are sufficient for you.  You have not seen in person the miraculous signs that  abounded in the first century.  You have not personally seen Jesus cast out demons and raise the dead.  You only know of these things through the Word of God that you have heard and read and believed.  You have Moses, the Prophets, and the Apostles. You have the Living Word of God, for you which is greater than your sins and gives you eternal life.

When Abraham, in heaven, heard the rich man’s first request, the rich man shows a glimmer of compassion.  But even then, it is not compassion for Lazarus, the man he ignored for years.  The rich man had compassion for his family.  Send that beggar Lazarus to warn my brother’s about what is to happen to them.  Not much real compassion there.

We are all in the same situation as the rich man and Lazarus.  We receive every good gift in Christ only listening to the Word of God.  But in addition to this we have the evidence that Jesus did rise from the dead, and that evidence is overwhelming.  But even knowing the at our Lord’s tomb is empty is not enough if we are unwilling to listen to the Word of God.  If we do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, we are like the Pharisees, like the rich man, of whom Jesus was teaching.

The rich man was different.  Though Christ shed His blood for him, the rich man wants nothing to do with that poor itinerant preacher from Galilee.  The rich man is satisfied with what he can get for himself. But actually the rich man has nothing in this life.  Oh he has good clothes and good food, and everything that a man could possibly want, but when he dies he loses all this because he did not have the treasure beyond imagination.  And that treasure is the Good News proclaiming salvation in God’s Word.   So the rich man was really not so rich indeed.

Lazarus had listened to God’s Word.  In that hearing of the Word God the Holy Spirit created faith in his heart which held onto the Old Testament promises.  Because of this Lazarus had the riches of heaven, both in this life and the life to come, Lazarus was rich beyond measure.

True riches both in this life and the next have only one source.  They come from the cross of Christ.  It is there that God suffered for all that we deserve to suffer and has died our death.  It is there on the cross that our sins have been forgiven, death has been destroyed, and the devil has been robbed of his power.

In fact the richest man in the parable is Lazarus.  Lazarus is the second man in the parable, He sits at the doorstep of a man as rich as Bill Gates.  But appearances are deceiving.  The one who is weak is really strong, the one who appears strong, is shown to be weak.  The rich man has many servants who are actually fed better than the beggar.  The rich man has food, lodging, and actually had listened and Moses and the Prophets, but he had not heard what they said, for him.  He remained selfish, stingy, and ungrateful he had it all but he had nothing, he is poor in many ways.  He does not see any reason to be connected to the church, he thinks he has enough success on his own.

Our Gospel lesson this morning presents us with a story that as repeated itself in various ways ever since our Lord first told it.  Not all of the details are always the same, but all the basic elements are usually there in Christ’s teaching.  In this parable, there are two men, one rich in the world, one rich in the gifts of God.  You were born poor just like Lazarus.  In your baptism you were made rich.  Though the trials and travails of this world make you look poor by human standards, you are made infinitely rich by the God-man  Jesus Christ.  It is the great reversal, Christ has taken your sin, and offered His life, His death, and His resurrection, so that you are given the riches of eternal life.  Amen.

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

The Third Sunday after Trinity - July 10, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Third Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (July 10, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 103 verses 1 - 13
    Micah 7:18-20
    1 Peter 5:6-11
    Luke 15:1-10

+INI+

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 15th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verses:

Luke 15:1-10 (NIV)

1 Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

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

A problem with parables is that our sinful flesh loves to interpret them in a law-oriented way.  Meaning we read a parable and think, "What does this parable tell me I need to do?" So the parables are used to lay guilt trips on those other people who are not doing enough.  All the while, our sinful flesh pats itself on the back for a job well done because we think we have been obedient.

The parable of the lost sheep has been abused to lay guilt trips on people by telling them that they need to go out and find more lost sheep.  And if you are not, then you do not have a heart for the lost. This is not the purpose of either of these two parables, or of the parable of the prodigal son that follows our text.  The real purpose is to show how wrong the Pharisees and Scribes were to grumble and complain that Jesus was receiving sinners and eating with them.  What Jesus said was, there is much rejoicing over every sinner who repents.

He does not say, There is much rejoicing over every believer who goes out and finds lost sheep.  It is not that bringing lost sinners to repentance is a bad thing.  That is simply not the point of the parable.  Christ gives neither instruction nor command to find lost sheep. Nor is Jesus here trying to kindle a fiery desire in people to win lost sinners.  The Pharisees were already very diligent at trying to win over converts.  Jesus described them as traveling land and sea to win just one person.  The problem is, they were not winning their converts to true repentance, but to their own self-righteous religion.

Meanwhile, the tax collectors and sinners were eagerly drawing near Jesus to hear Him.  They were not there to hear Him chat with them.  No, He was doing what He always did: He taught the Word.  The Word, both Law and Gospel, was driving their hearts to repentance.  So these tax collectors and sinners were the lost sheep and lost coin in the parables.  It was them that Jesus was receiving.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, rejected the Word, as they had just rejected the Baptism of John.  Because they thought that they needed no repentance.  They thought they had done no wrong, or had never sinned.  Of course, there is no man, woman, or child who does not need repentance, and the Pharisees should have known that from Scripture.  But they refused to listen to Christ, and they refused to repent.

But in the face of that our Lord graciously taught any Pharisees who would listen, Jesus sowed the Word generously.  He was seeking even the Pharisees and Scribes, because they were lost sheep as well. Who else are lost sheep?  Every one who needs to repent, that is, all who need to be found by the Shepherd.  Everyone needs to repent, even if they already believe.  We must keep repenting our whole life long.  As soon as we decide that we do not need repentance, we become Pharisees who reject the Word. Lost sheep include any people who do not have faith.  This can be someone who once had faith but fell away.  It can be someone who has not yet heard the Gospel.  It can be a little infant at the beginning of life, or an old man at the end of it.

Christ desires that all repent, that is, that they have sorrow for sin as well as faith in Him for salvation.  But no one can repent except by the gift of God.  Lost sheep and coins cannot find themselves, just as dead sinners cannot conjure faith from their will.  It takes the powerful Word of Christ to bring the lost to repentance. So the one who finds the lost is Jesus, every single time.  You may happen to be the one through whom He works this miracle, but Jesus is the one who receives sinners.  You and I do not have that power.  The Word on our lips has the power because it is the Word of Christ who seeks the lost.

Yet we should remember that we are lost sheep.  Our sinful nature is no less lost than it ever was.  Although Christ found you, you are still a wandering sheep.  Although He has cleansed you from every sin, yet your crooked heart still tries to stray.  We must repent.  Once we have begun repenting, we do not cease until there is no sin left to repent of, which can only happen at the Resurrection of all flesh.

So remember this: Christ Jesus seeks the lost.  He receives sinners, which is the same as seeking the lost.  For He has accepted you on the basis of His own righteousness and suffering and death. He went looking for you on a hill full of darkness and bitter death.  He searched through a thorny land, and even allowed thorns to pierce Him.  He climbed down into the dark valley of the shadow of death to carry you out into the light again.  He crushed the head of the awful wolf that was going to devour you.  He lifted you onto His shoulders, and not only you, but also the heavy weight of your sins.  He took the burden of your guilt on the cross and paid for it with His Blood.

Then He swept you clean from all your sins by washing you with water that was holy and pure.  He lit the lamp of His Word to shed His light upon you.  For He also sent His Spirit to give life to your dead soul by His spoken Word.  Jesus found you and has claimed you again as His own. This is Christ, the Great Finder of the Lost, who receives sinners and eats with them.  He is not ashamed to share His fellowship with you.  You are not too sinful for Him, since He has covered your sins with His Blood.  He is with you at every earthly meal, and also desires you to share the heavenly meal at this Altar.  No one deserves this meal.  Yet He offers it to wretched sinners.

He will also share His eternal banquet in the New Heaven and New Earth.  He will meet you there and speak to you face to face, in all His glory.  But there you will no longer be a sinner, since you will be cleansed once and for all by the Spirit of God.  There God the Father will also reveal His face to you.  For it was not only the angels who rejoiced over your repentance, but even the eternal God of the universe overflowed with joy over you, the lost sinner He has found through His Son.  Amen.

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

The Second Sunday after Trinity - July 3, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity
The Second Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (July 3, 2011)

Readings:  
        Psalm 34 verses 12 - 22
        Proverbs 9:1-10
        1 John 3:13-18
        Luke 14:15-24

+INI+

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 16th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verse:

Luke 14:15-24 (NIV)

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

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

Christ our Lord gives some samples of why people miss the banquet of the Father's grace. One man says, "I cannot come to the banquet.  I just bought some land - now I have to go inspect the land."  What kind of a person would buy some land, sight unseen, without checking it out to make sure he is not purchasing some swampland or a garbage dump?  But the land was not really the reason - this was simply a silly excuse to avoid the king's banquet. Another man says, "I just bought ten oxen.  Now I have to go see them."  Another silly excuse.  Would you buy ten cows before you even know what they look like?  They might be dried-up bags of bones with one hoof in the grave.  You might as well say, "I just bought a car.  Now I have to go test drive it."

We all have silly excuses to avoid church.  "I don't like the pews."  "Someone hurt my feelings."  "You stand up and sit down too much."  "There are sinners and hypocrites here."  "I'm doing fine in my life without it."  "It's the one day I get to sleep in." “It doesn’t make me eel good.”  What do they have to do with receiving the all-gracious Word of the Father?  Christ Himself has offered to serve us the wedding banquet.  Would we rather sleep through it?  Would we rather miss it over some discomfort we feel that has nothing to do with the grace of God?

But that's what our sinful flesh wants to do.  It wants to magnify and inflate some reason until it's the most important thing in the world, when in reality it is only a silly excuse.  There is only one thing that is the most important thing in the world, and it is here in this House.

But the last excuse Jesus tells us of is the most devastating because it is the most reasonable.  A man says, "I am on my honeymoon.  I cannot come to the banquet."  Now, marriage is a great and holy union created by the Almighty God.  Jesus strongly upheld marriage.  It seems that surely a honeymoon is more important than attending a banquet.

Earthly unions of family and friendship are legitimate and real and important.  But the Great Marriage Feast should be more important than everything else.Now, let me be very clear.  I'm not talking about temporary and brief absences from worship.  For example, if a family member is in the hospital and you miss worship to be with them, no one would condemn you.  But when we find ourselves kept from God's banquet over and over, or when family members draw us to another church that does not teach the pure Gospel, then there is a real problem. Jesus said, "He who loves father or mother or son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."  Here is Christ, serving us in this place.  He must never be less important than family or friends.

Yet it is so difficult when family members and friends are drawing us away.  It is so heart-wrenching when feelings of love and loyalty pull us away from the Divine Service.  The reason it is so hard is that our hearts are not set upon the things of God as they should be.  In the end, even family is only an excuse to take us away from Christ and His banquet.

Consider what is here - the banquet of the King of the universe!  The food is eternal life received in Christ.  The drink is forgiveness from all our sins in His Blood.  How silly our excuses are compared to attending the Great Banquet of all banquets!  The bright Light of lights in this place outshines every earthly reason that might draw us away.  For this place is everything.  Here is life.  Apart from the Church of God, there is only death.

Yet so many use silly excuses to stay away.  Why?  Why stay away from the greatest treasure in heaven and earth over silly excuses? But that is the whole point of Jesus in the parable.  The excuses are silly because they are not the real reason.  There is only one real reason found among us, deep in our heart of hearts: We are self-righteous Pharisees.  We don’t feel that we need this place and this Word.  We feel like we are okay by ourselves.  So we can take the Lord’s Supper or leave it.  We do not want to be bothered with the banquet because we might have to admit that we actually need something.  We think that we are just fine.

But, in the parable, the King is enraged by mankind's self-righteous rejection of His Banquet.  After all, He has given His only-begotten Son into death for us!  Why would we treat Him as less important than our silly, petty excuses?

So the King sends out His messengers to the poor, the maimed, the sick, and the blind.  He invites the homeless people who sleep in the hedges and the ditches beside the road.  These are the people who will enter His Banquet of eternal life.  They are not strong.  Instead, they are broken down and despairing.  They know that they are not righteous.  They know that they are horrible sinners. If you want to be the strong people who stand on their own two feet and need nothing, then you will be the Pharisees who reject the Banquet.  But the lowly and the weak and the sick who cannot come to Christ by their own power are the ones who enter into eternal glory.

We are the spiritually crippled, yet you are the ones who come to the Marriage Feast.  You are homeless and outcast.  Yet God has called you to be His honored guests.  Those who think themselves strong (but really are weak) - will never taste His Supper.  Those who find excuses to reject Christ will not enter His presence.

But you will, because you are the chosen of God, the lowly who are lifted up into the highest place of all. So God is the Host who acts like a crazy man by inviting the homeless and the cripples to His marriage!  Who would do that?  What kind of lunatic would actually invite strangers who live in the streets, and cripples out of the hospital wards, who have to be carried on stretchers or led by the hand because they are blind?  We do not invite such people to our weddings.

But thanks be to God that He does not act as we do.  Instead, you who are sick, who were strangers to Christ because of your sins, have become the honored guests who sit at the right hand of the King in His glory. He has accomplished all this upon the Cross.  He has made all men equal to Himself by dying on Calvary.  He has absorbed all the spiritual sickness of man.  Then He poured out to you His glory and holiness and divine life and health.  He has made you one with Him, the Son of God, to enjoy His Great Feast without end.

The Feast was completed upon Calvary with His last breath.  He said, "It is finished!" The Wedding Banquet of the Lamb has been finished and completed.  Indeed, it has already begun in every house of God where the Gospel is preached purely and the sacraments administered rightly.  The Royal Banquet is already here.

And although it was our stupid, silly excuses that put Christ upon the Cross, yet it was also the Cross that erased your excuses.  In His Word, He has given you His invitation to the Royal Banquet.  More than that, He actually carried you into the Banqueting Hall since you were too crippled by sin to accept the invitation or come to Him.  Yet He lifted you up with His Spirit and brought you in, because He desired that you, His beloved, should share all good things that He has won for you.  He has given you who were spiritually homeless an eternal home that no one can take away.

Today we eat and drink the foretaste of the Eternal Wedding Banquet.  The Body and Blood of Christ is spiritual food that belongs to the New Age to come.  We sip at sinless glory in this cup that holds His Blood.  We taste unending life and health in these wafers which are His Body.  These are the immortal food placed upon our mortal lips. The Banquet is ready.  Blessed are those who are called to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
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The First Sunday after Trinity - June 26, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity

The First Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (June 26, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 33:12-33
    Genesis 15:1-6
    1 John 4:16-21
    Luke 16:19-31

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

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 1st John the 4th chapter.

1 John 4:19-21

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

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

Jesus said, "Whoever loves God must also love his brother."  And by the word "brother," John does not only mean our literal brothers.  Our brother is anyone to whom we can show love through our vocations, especially those brethren in the faith. Towards these people, we Christians should excel at love.  We are not to be absorbed by ourselves and our own desires, but rather concerned for the well-being and needs of those around us.  We are to love selflessly and willingly.

So how are we doing?  Have we been loving?  Perhaps our first response is, "Yes, we are doing pretty good.  Maybe not perfect, but not bad." A poor response says, "I love a lot!  Look how loving I am!" Such pride does not sit well with love.  Instead, love enjoys praising the qualities of others, while covering itself up. Yet there is an impulse inside us to think of ourselves as very loving.  We elevate our love in our own eyes.  But that is to love ourselves, not our brother.

We are also tempted to think that love is merely an emotion in the heart.  When people examine themselves to see if they love, they are feeling for a feeling, to see if they get a warm emotion when they think about warm emotions. We Christians should not be satisfied with such a shallow kind of love.  We should not only try to cultivate a loving feeling towards others.  Much more than that, we should strive to be loving in thought, word, and deed. Far from being only a matter of subjective emotions, love is measurable and objective.  God gave us a guide to test our love, called the Commandments.

Some people think that the Ten Commandments are not much of a standard, and they want some bigger and better way to show love.  But the Commandments are more than enough.  If anyone masters them, then they are already in Paradise with the Lord. The summary of the Commandments is love.  Love God, and love your neighbor.  If you kept all the Commandments, then you would have perfect love, if that were possible.

So here are the things we ought to do, and those we should not be doing. We should not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. Have we obeyed our parents, even when they are not looking, and even when we think they are wrong?  Do we gladly obey the laws of the land? We also should not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need. Do we harbor anger in our hearts against people, or use hateful words toward them?  Do we support abortion, in either direct or indirect ways? We also should lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other. Are we pure in our thoughts and desires?  Do we treat attractive people as if they were objects?  Do we view marriage as a gift of God, and treat our spouse honorably?

We also should not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. When a financial transaction nets us more than we should receive, we pocket the extra and think we have it coming to us, even though we are upset if we are shortchanged. We also should not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

We all know that gossips are destructive.  But when we do it, we think that we are only passing on information. I could go on and on.  Let this suffice for now.  If anyone thinks they have mastered even these parts, then they are simply not paying attention.We want to say, "Sure, I sin now and then, but at least my heart is in the right place!" Brothers and sisters, to sin means to not have your heart in the right place.  Every sin is a failure to love.  Our hearts, far from being places of beauty and light and warmth as we imagine, are instead full of darkness and sin.

If we try to stand before God on the basis of our love as so many people try to do, then we will fail.  We could never do enough to satisfy the demands of love.  There is always more to do.  We can never love enough, no matter how hard we try. Yet we Christians stand before God as we will stand on the Day of Judgment, with confidence and certainty, because we do not stand upon our love, but upon the love of God.

The only absolutely pure love in the universe is God's love, for He is love.  You can rely on that love.  Trust in it, believe upon it, bet your eternal soul upon the love of God.  That love will never fail you. We can know this for certain because we see that love on the Cross.  We do not have to imagine or speculate on what God's secret attitude in His heart is towards us.  No, this is the love of God, that Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world, gave Himself into suffering and death for you.  This He did, not when you were loving and good, but when you were a loveless sinner.

That [point to Cross] is love.  Love is the Son of God bleeding His precious life-blood for sinners who did not deserve Him.  Love is Christ rejected by the Father.  Love is all that Christ did, even though no one will ever be able to pay Him back even a thousandth of what He has freely given. Love is the wounds of Christ.  Love is His crown of thorns.  Love is the nails hammered into innocent flesh.  Love is made complete in the cry of Jesus, "It is finished!" At that moment, His love for mankind was perfect and complete.  That is the love He shed upon you, to buy you back with His Blood.

Now we stand ready for the Judgment.  Indeed, we are already judged and found innocent, because we are declared innocent by the Great Judge.  All our lives are seen by God as one continuous action of love, because our lives are seen through the Cross, and through the love of Christ. Therefore, having been loved this much, shall we not be stirred in our hearts to live loving lives?  Since Christ worked mightily with His every breath to love us, shall we not strive to love Him and our neighbor?  There is no fear in our love, because we are already saved by the love of God.  We are free to love generously and recklessly.

So the Lord creates love in us.  He makes us love one another.  He guides us to make no mention of how worthy someone is of our love, since God loved us when we were His enemies.  He leads us to count no cost in our love, for we could never suffer a loss even a millionth of what Christ suffered on our behalf.  So He labors unceasingly to cleanse our love from the impurity of our sins by putting to death the old Adam in us, until that great Day when the Holy Spirit shall complete our purification by raising us in sinless bodies, and we shall love with a true and flawless heart. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

AMEN
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Holy Trinity Sunday - June 19, 2011

The Church Season of Easter
Holy Trinity Sunday – Father’s Day
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (June 19, 2011)
One Year Series

Readings:  
        Isaiah 6:1-7
        Romans 11:33-36
        John 3:1-17

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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 3rd chapter of St. John, especially the following verses.

John 3: 14-17
14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

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

Today is Father’s Day, how appropriate for it is also to be Trinity Sunday.  This is the last great celebration of the church year before we enter what is known as “common time”  It is true, we all have father’s some better than others, some really wonderful, some not so hot, but we all had a father whether he was who we wanted him to be or if we even knew him at all.

For my part, I had a great Dad, I miss him.  He was a great man, he was not perfect, but in my eyes he was great.  And though he was short, yes even shorter than me, He was an athlete, a runner a 10.1 in the hundred yard dash in high school, a golden gloves boxer, a walk-on for college football and basketball at the University of Cincinnati, a Phd and school superintendent for over 40 years.  He taught me to play ball, to play tennis, ping pong, chess, and he gave me a love of wanting to win.  My dad was so competitive that he never let us win at anything, if you won, you won because you beat him.  I was the only child to beat him at chess and ping-pong and when I won those games he promptly throttled me every time we ever played after that.  He stood by me when I succeeded in life, he stood by me when I failed. My father gave me many gifts, some good some bad, but the true gift my father gave me was when this brilliant man could no longer remember his name, where he was, nor why he was there.

And when I saw my dad lose his greatest attribute, his memory, his mind, his ability to love my mother…I was mad at God, very, very mad.  Why would God take away my dad’s mind?  I struggled during his so-called declining years, but my Father in Heaven was to teach me through my father on earth, one more very important lesson.

For what got me over the "hump" of my personal struggle with my Dad's condition verses God's ultimate wisdom was this...  It so happened that my mom was being baptized at the age of 81, my sister and niece 3 generations same day, was that which happened on that day.  My dad did not know where he was nor why, but when the time in the service came for the Lord's prayer, he quietly folded his hands and spoke that prayer word for word.  It was a revelation for me, he was not suffering, it was I.  In my world his intellect by which he made his living was gone.  But God provided mercy to me through my father by showing me that faith remains when all else fails.  How blind was I not to see that faith had already made my dad well.  How blind was I to see that my God, my Father in heaven, was showing me mercy through my father here on earth.  The mercy giver, became the mercy receiver.  God turned my world upside down, mercy from the unexpected, mercy from the weak, and even more than that ultimate mercy from a man on a cross.

"What mercy God showed to our race,
A plan of rescue by His grace:
In sending One from woman's seed, The One to fill our greatest need-
For on a tree uplifted high His only Son for sin would die,
Would drink the cup of scorn and dread To crush the ancient serpent's head!"
"The Tree of Life, #561, The Lutheran Service Book verse 3"

     About a month ago in Joplin, Missouri, it was a normal Saturday, except that seniors had just had their graduation commencement at high school. People were shopping or relaxing. Then the biggest tornado in over 50 years in the U.S. hit. Where there was once order, there was now chaos. 200 mph winds flattened houses, stores, school, and offices. Cars were whisked away. A tractor trailer was wrapped around a tree. 154 people died. Many more survived, but lost all their possessions. I'm sure there's a lot of people who said, if there is a God, why does he allow this to happen?

God is a god of order, not chaos. When he created the universe and our world, he moved things from chaos into order. In the creation, God said, “26Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

In the beginning the earth was without form and void. God separated the waters into earth and heavens. There was darkness, and God created light. Each of the six days God brought order, to the plants, to the birds and fish, to the kinds of animals on the land. God made people, and gave them authority over the animals.

When he was finished, he looked at everything, and it was very good. He made everything, but he ordered it as he wanted. There weren't any tornadoes, or hurricanes, earthquakes or devastation. We don't see Adam and Eve living in fear of being eaten by lions or dinosaurs. There's no death, no disease, suffering, or fear, for these are the things of chaos, not of order.

God created us to live in relationship with him. He made us able to have relationships with each other. He made us to rule over the animal world and use natural resources. All of this is order.

For over 5000 years we have accepted the idea that God is a God of Order. No one believed that the world was created broken and chaotic. But in the past 150 years a new idea of God has appeared. Instead of order, the theory of evolution preaches a God of chaos. Evolution is an idea. It says that mutations over millions of years explains the origin of all the complexity of life.

Have you ever experienced a mutation? I know some of you have. We usually call it cancer. When cells mutate, it is not a pleasant experience. It almost always causes suffering, disease, and death. Yet evolutionists say that given enough time, mutations are the reason for the order we see in the world around us.

Some people say that God used evolution to create the world we see over millions of years. Why then did God look at the world and say it is good, when for millions of years it has suffered disease and death? If God used evolution to create, then he is the author of death. When something like the great tornado of Joplin happens, or when a man looses his mental ability, it shows us that the world is no longer the way God created it. Sin, disobedience to God's order, caused disorder in the created world. Chaos has broken through, and chaos brings suffering and death.

Perhaps you've experienced the effects of chaos in your life. Sin brings disorder between us and God, between us as individuals, and disorder into our personal lives. We grow angry, discontented, and selfish. We live in conflict with God, and with each other. We lose sight of God's order and settle for chaos.

God revealed himself in the Holy Trinity by acting to restore our lives and creation, so that once again they are very good. You can see the Holy Trinity working in the Creation account. "Let us make man in our image." The Spirit moving across the face of the waters. The Gospel of John says of Jesus that "All things were made through Him[Jesus]."

The nature of the Holy Trinity was fully revealed when the Father sent the Son into the world to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  Jesus, through suffering and death, restored the image of God to us. By His resurrection he began the new creation where God's good order is restored and the chaos of sin is removed. 

    Whether your earthly father is here or in heaven, whether you have good memories or bad of that man, know that you have a loving Father in heaven.  One who gave His only Son for you, and you of that love through the Word by the work of the Holy Spirit.

And so rejoice that you are a new creation. You have a new birth and renewal by baptism. "Make disciples of all nations, baptizing in Name of Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

There will continue to be chaos in the world. storms, fires, and calamities, wars and bloodshed. There will be earthly father’s who love, and those who make dreadly mistakes.  But also know that when the Jesus comes again, we will experience an ordered creation again when Christ raises us from death and restores creation.

I hope you can see that the Lord made the world a very good place. It was ordered according to God's will. The fall and sin brought chaos into our lives and all creation. But God acted in Jesus to restore order. When Jesus became one of us, He revealed the Holy Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, when He saved us. Through that Triune Name and water God has made us His children right now in Baptism. While we live in a world of disorder we also look forward to the Last Day and to the resurrection.  And while it would be heavenly to play another game of chess or ping pong with my Father, or to meet and enjoy any of those people whom I love who have proceeded me in the faith, the joyous reality is that we will all be too busy worshipping our Lord and Father as we live and serve our Father who is in heaven, with the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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The Day of Pentecost - June 12, 2011

The Church Season of Pentecost
The Day of Pentecost, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (June 12, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 143
    Genesis 1:1-9
    Acts 2:1-21
    John 14:23-31

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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’s message will be from the Gospel lesson, from St. John the 14th chapter, especially the following verses:

John 14:23-31 (ESV)

23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

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

“This is the history of the day. The festival we call Pentecost originated thus: When God led the children of Israel out of Egypt, he had them to celebrate the Easter festival the same night, and commanded them to celebrate it annually, as a memorial of their exodus out of Egypt. Counting from that day, they journeyed in the desert for fifty days, to Mount Sinai, where the Law was given to them by God, through Moses. Hence they celebrated the festival we call Pentecost. For the little word "Pentecost" meansthe fiftieth day. It is to this festival that Luke has reference. When the fifty days after Easter were past and the disciples had celebrated the event of God's having given the people the Law on Mount Sinai, then the Holy Spirit came and gave them a different law. We celebrate the festival, not because of the old, but because of the new event, because of the sending of the Holy Spirit. Therefore we must offer a little explanation and show the difference between our Pentecost and the Pentecost [of the Old Testament].”(Luther – House Postils)

The Israelites walked for 50 days after the Day of the Passover.  And at the end of those 50 days they found themselves at the foot of Mt. Sinai. There the Israelites received the Law from God, they named it the “Festival of Weeks” and later that was given the name Pentecost or “Fiftieth” day after the Passover.  And that’s not all, it was to be a yearly celebration.  How strange to our  modern ears to think of a yearly party or national holiday set aside to celebrate the extremely stringent rules that God sent to Moses for those people to live by.  Walking 50 days to get new laws to tell you how to live.  Just reminds how lucky you are to be a Christian and a Lutheran as you are reminded in the Small Catechism, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”(SC)  It surely is a good thing each and everyone of you still has that catechism verse memorized.

The Holy Spirit often seems like the shy member of the Trinity because He does not point to Himself.  His role is to point us to Christ.  In this way, the Holy Spirit establishes and strengthens faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins.  Because the Holy Spirit constantly points us to Jesus, He often seems to fade into the background.

Never the less, on this day, the Holy Spirit lets us know that He is around.  There is the sound of a great wind and the appearance of tongues of fire.  The image of the tongue not only gives us a feeling for the general appearance of these little flames, but it also is symbolic of the organ that will be most affected by this outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this day.  The Apostles will be able to explain the salvation story of Jesus Christ in languages they had never spoken before.  Therefore, on this day, we take some time to consider the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

First of all, the Holy Spirit is not some sort of impersonal force.  For example: The Bible speaks of grieving the Holy Spirit [Ephesians 4:30], and the consequences of lying to the Holy Spirit [Acts 5:3-5].  The Bible regularly portrays the Holy Spirit as a personal being and not as an impersonal force.  The Holy Spirit is a person just like the Father and the Son.

Although we normally talk about creation by speaking about God the Father, the Holy Spirit participated in the creation along with the Son, says so right there in the first chapter of Genesis.  He is a member of the Triune God and fully equal to the Father and the Son in the glory and majesty of the eternal God.  He is not a junior partner in the Trinity.

One of the other misconceptions that some people have about the Holy Spirit is that He didn't really do a whole lot until the day of Pentecost.  In the account that follows today's reading, the Holy Spirit used Peter's sermon to bring the crowd to a state of repentance.  The account in Acts describes the crowd's repentance this way: [Acts 2:37] When they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Basically, their sin absolutely terrified them.

Peter then supplied the forgiveness in Jesus' name. [Acts 2:38] He said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The account goes on to tell us that the Holy Spirit added about three thousand souls to the church that day.  With these signs, the Holy Spirit certified the Apostles as the men chosen by Christ Himself to begin the process of proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins to the nations of the world.

So we see the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is the role of the Holy Spirit to work faith in the heart.  This faith is not just a feeling of peace, but it is trust in Jesus Christ.  Faith is the means by which we hold onto the gifts that Jesus Christ earned for us - the gift of righteousness that Jesus earned with His holy, sinless life - the gift of forgiveness that He earned for us with His holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death - the gift of certainty in the promises of God that Jesus demonstrated with His resurrection from the dead - the gift of eternal life with Him that Jesus promised when He said He would return to take us to Himself.  All these gifts and more belong to us only because the Holy Spirit has worked the miracle of faith in us.

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit certified the words of the Apostles as the true teachings of Jesus Christ.  With that certification we can know for certain that the Holy Spirit inspired their words so that all of the scriptures are the inspired and revealed Word of God which is completely true and free from error.  We can trust the words of the Apostles, not because they were such great people, but because the Holy Spirit supervised them as they wrote.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, the prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New Testament provide us with the message of God.  The first part of the message is the Law and it is terrifying, for from the Law we learn of our helpless sinful status before God and the eternal punishment that we deserve because of that sin.  The second part of the message is the ultimate comfort, for it tells us that God did not leave us to suffer but sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die in our place so that whoever believes in Him will not be condemned, but will have life eternal.  This is the message that the Holy Spirit certifies with the wondrous signs of Pentecost.  Amen

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
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