The Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity - October 3, 2010

The Church Season of Trinity
The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 3, 2010)

“A Realistic Perspective”

Readings:    
    Psalm 34:8-22
    Deuteronomy 10:12-21
    1 Corinthians 1:1-9
    Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon Form    Deductive

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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 Old Testament Lesson from Deuteronomy the 10th chapter, especially the following verse(s):

Deuteronomy 10:12-21 (ESV)

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

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

People often try to make a deal with God when times are hard, when circumstances are frightening, or when the challenge before us is too big for us to face with confidence.  It’s just too much so we try to make a deal with God, "Oh God, if only you let me succeed, if only you help me, if only I pass this test, if only . . ., then I will be or do, whatever it takes, and I will make this bargain with you, if only."  We’re not alone, even the mighty Martin Luther groveled on his knees to St Anne if she would get him out of a lightening storm.

But, such bargaining is based on a false perspective on God. For this type of reasoning assumes that we have to bribe God for Him to be good to us or to care about us. God does not have to be bribed or coerced into doing anything that is not a realistic perspective.

So what does the Bible say about our relationship to God, and His relationship to us? It says, first of all, that God expects you to be His people. “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you. but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD's commandments and His statutes..” Those words were first written to the children of Israel, people He had chosen to be His own and He rescued them from bondage in Egypt. 

And today those same words are for you to hear today.  For God has placed you in a rich and profoundly blessed land. He has rescued you from sin and death. He quite reasonably sets before you the command to be His children. After all He bought you. And He expects you to be delighted to be His children because He has rescued you and richly blessed you. So, He commands your love. But wait, we ask, “What does the LORD our God require from us?”  You are to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him. And why?  Because Jesus said, “If love me, you will keep my commandments.”

And God doesn't make these statements to demand our love. No, He has another reason for commanding our love. The foundation for His love for you is the grace which He pours out on you, choosing you to be His own.

 

God said to the people of Israel that even though He is God of all, and has created all things, none-the-less, He has chosen them to be His people, and set particular affection upon them, rescued them and loved them. For all of that, He expected them to love Him, and willingly, even eagerly, even dare I say joyfully to serve Him by keeping the covenant and doing the things that would mark them as His holy people.

But, God could have written the same words to us today and in fact they are for us as well. God doesn't need us or anything we can bring to Him. He created all things and everyone and everything belongs to Him. 

He has revealed to us that His love for us in Jesus Christ is to be returned by our showing compassion and mercy to others. You cannot do anything for God that He needs. You cannot kiss Him or cuddle Him. You cannot give Him what He lacks, for God lacks nothing. So, He would have you pour out your love for Him on others, even those who are the most difficult to love. Serve your neighbor and the stranger among you and in so doing you show love to God and serve Him in the only way He will accept. 

Now, God knows that this is not easy or natural. He hears what we say and think, like, "take care of Number One first;" or, "There is no such thing as a free lunch.”  But given the grace God has given to us in Jesus Christ, why wouldn’t we want to live and bask in Christian joy?  If you live as God’s enemy — as one who does not know Him or love Him — He will deal with you that person as well. For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. 

God is not partial, He gave His Son Jesus Christ to the whole world. He gave His Son to the wicked and the selfish and the unbelieving all go to hell. And that is not referring to three different groups - the wicked are the selfish and they are the unbelieving. They all face His wrath because He has loved them, and purchased them, and yet they continue to pretend He does not exist, or that He does not matter. They live as if there were no God, and they blaspheme His name with every self-serving statement, with every time they mention Him without faith, with every time they refuse to believe His love or to embrace His grace. 

And we cannot buy our way out of this world nor into heaven. Salvation is a free gift. You must receive it as His gift — or do without. And just saying, "I’m a Lutheran," or "I went to church now and then," or "I know all about Jesus," isn't the way of receiving the gift.  For Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

God’s will is for you to live in His love, and in consideration of Gods love for you, you are likewise called to treat others with Christian love, and mercy for those who are in need, or undesirable, or even your enemies. He wants you to consider how love and thanksgiving can shape your desire to give back to God by being a blessing to those whom God places around you for you to serve in His stead. This is life in the grace of God from a realistic perspective. 

And for your blessing, strength, and help, God has given us this Sacrament of Christ's body and blood, given and shed on the cross for your redemption, that by it we may be equipped to live as His children here and now - and there in eternity. This is one of those great and awesome things He has done in your sight. So come, eat and drink and be refreshed, and then walk as His people without fear and without doubt, showing forth His glory in Jesus Christ! That is life lived from a realistic perspective. 

It is life lived remembering that everything we are and everything we have and everything we hope for is from God. Our hope in life and in death is in Him. We are nothing special, except that God has loved us and chosen us to know Him and His love for us through Jesus Christ. So we live for Him just as we live from Him. And we live confident in Him, knowing that we don't have to bargain with God for His love - it is ours already in Jesus Christ and that is a realistic perspective. 

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