Thanksgiving Eve, 11-26-08

The Church Season of Trinity
Thanksgiving Eve, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 26, 2008)

“THE GOOD LAND”

Readings:
Psalm 67
Deut 8:1-10
Phil. 4:6-20 (or 1 Tim 2:1-4)
Luke 17:11-19

Sermon Form Deductive

+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 Old Testament Lesson from the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy, especially the following verses:

Deuteronomy 8:1-10 (NIV)

1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

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

For Moses and the Israelites it was a long trek from Egypt back to the promised land. They had been gone for over 400 plus 40 years and now they stood waiting to cross into the promised land. God had said to them, “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers.”(v.1) Yet with this advice, some did not make it into the promised land, they died along the way. Some were not allowed to go into that land because they did not follow the Lord’s commands. And all of these weary travelers at some point or another grumbled as they went along and they were ultimately humbled by God. They all had been on quite a journey guided by God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who spoke to their leaders Moses and Aaron, who in turn shared God’s wisdom with His people. For some of these travelers ahead of them stood the promised land, “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;”(v. 8) God was indeed bringing them into,

THE GOOD LAND

This land filled with all these good things to eat, sounds a lot like tomorrow for most of us eh? Yet sometimes a meal is more than a meal, more than a chance to pacify your palate or stuff your stomach. Sometimes the meal takes on a life of its own. Some meals are special, Thanksgiving is one of those times. And you may not even like turkey or dressing, but I’ll bet most of you have eaten it, or at least cooked it, for more Thanksgivings than you care to remember. Eating is often about far more than eating.

Long before the Israelites reached “the good land,” in fact on their last night in Egypt and during their final hours of slavery, the Israelites partook of a meal that was far more than a meal. No serving was there just to pretty up the plate, no sprig of parsley on the edge, or pretty umbrella in the drink. Not a thing in that meal was chosen because of nutritional content or even because it happened to have a good flavor. In fact, one part of it was chosen because it tasted very bad! Bitter herbs the Israelites were to eat, yes, bitter herbs, for the taskmasters had embittered their lives with the daily grind of servitude. As cows chew their cud, so the soon-to-be-freed slaves were to chew these herbs, year after year, as an edible token of the bad taste left in their mouths from all those acidic years in bondage.

But this main course proclaimed a message that extended well beyond that night, a tradition which would reach well beyond one single night to the many Passover celebrations to come. Indeed, the whole meal – bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and roasted lamb – this entire meal was an edible prophecy. For, as the preachers of old uttered prophecies of the coming Messiah, so this meal also was a foretelling that they could sink their teeth into. It promised that what “now” the Israelites were eating was but a foretaste, an appetizer, that was to whet their appetite for a meal that was “not yet.” And this “not yet” meal would be one that would surpass their supper in Egypt both in wonder and excellence.

This surpassing meal is definitely more than a meal, and it’s more than about eating. It is a table where the things of earth are lifted up to the things of heaven and the things of heaven are brought down to the things of this earth. Here God comes down into the Egypt of our captivity, not to kill his enemies, but to place into our mouths His own body and blood given into death to save His enemies, to save the likes of us.

It may seem a bit plain-Jane, maybe even austere, but this food of the new and better Passover, is given to us in simple bread and wine. Nothing there to razzle-dazzle the palate, no turkey drumsticks, sweet potatoes, or apple pie. Nothing to make this world’s connoisseurs salivate. But so it was in olden times as well, when Israelites ate unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and roasted lamb. Nothing there to raise the eyebrows of Egypt’s Martha Stewart, or Rachel Ray, no pilgrims and no native American Indians either. But the Father did not send His Son into the world to impress the world but to save the world through Him. And the means He uses to save you are wrapped in the disguise of utter simplicity.

God’s eternal meal is not prepared by human hands, no need of plans days ahead of time, no cloth napkins or china plates. Just simple words are all that is needed to make this meal, they are Christ’s words, “Take, eat, this simple bread is My body.” And Christ’s body brings to you that heavenly “land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing”(v.9)

Take, drink, this simple wine is His blood. It is the life-blood of the Lamb who gave His life for you. He no longer slakes your thirst with, “streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills”(v.7) Now He refreshes your faith with streams of blood flowing from His side into the cup of redemption which you shall take and drink.

And tomorrow? Well it will be just like today for we will awaken into a world of turmoil, with stock markets in a tizzy, governments in transition, companies facing decisions that will affect the livelihood of multitudes of our population. Yet tomorrow we will pause for a few hours to stop doing what we normally do. We will stop and share a meal celebrating the fact that we are giving thanks for all that we still have, and giving thanks to God for all that He still gives us. And while the definition of what we still have may be better or worse in the coming days, or months, or years, there is one thing that is for certain. God will lead the faithful from this earthly land to His heavenly kingdom that flows with milk and honey. So, tomorrow, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”(v.10) And pause to give thanks to God again for giving you His Son Jesus Christ. For through Jesus Christ you will be brought into God’s heavenly kingdom, and that, indeed is a very a good land. Amen.

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The Last Sunday of the Church Year - 11/23/08

The Church Season of Trinity
The Last Sunday in the Church Year, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 23, 2008)

“Keep Watch”

Readings:
Psalm 149
Isaiah 65:17:25
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Form Deductive

+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 25th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses:

Matthew 25:1-13

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

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

In the Gospel lesson Jesus tells a parable of ten virgins, five of which are foolish and five are wise. Actually, our English translation is too kind. The word which we read as foolish is but one definition, other definitions may include dull-witted, absurd, having a physical or mental deficiency, or the downright inability to judge rightly. Or as one biblical dictionary put it, these unwise virgins would always be, “fools. This is their unalterable destiny. They are excluded from the company of the wise, and, if this is civic society, they are a-social people against whom society must be on guard and whom it must drive out”(TDNT 4:836B) Anyway you look at it, in today’s society this would not be a good way to start a public speech, it would be deemed politically incorrect, how dare Jesus tell a story about those who are trying to do the best with what they are given. Yet Jesus was spot on, He told this story for a reason and lest we too soon forget, this parable is about 10 people preparing for a wedding feast. Even if they did not have the same mental or physical ability, they all started out this parable the same. All ten had lamps and all ten went out to meet the bridegroom. But even though they started out the same they soon departed company because some did not have the wherewithal to endure to the end and ultimately they could not..

KEEP WATCH

This parable is taken from a sermon by Jesus and it is about the end of the world. This teaching is a small portion of two chapters wherein Jesus tells us of the signs of His second coming. (24:4–31) He first uses the illustration of the fig tree (32–35), then He tells us that the last days will be like those at the time of Noah (37–44), then He relates the parable of the talents (25:14–30), and He ends His discussion with picture of judgment day, when all people will be separated as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats (31–46).

In the middle of these lessons about the end of the world, Jesus speaks the words of our text. This is parable is based on the Jewish marriage customs of Jesus’ day. There was first a religious ceremony of betrothal in which the couple were legally bound together as man and wife. Weeks or months later, the bridegroom went to the house of the bride in order to bring her to his home. Then as the bridegroom would approach, the bride’s attendants, the virgins, went out to meet the groom and escort him to the bride. They took their lamps to light the way and to provide festive lights for the happy occasion.

In this case there were ten who would have been the bride’s attendants, who left to meet the bridegroom. It is easy to see why five of these attendants were called foolish: they didn’t take any extra fuel along with them for their lamps. The other five were wise in taking additional oil with them. But the bigger point here is that they all started out the same, they all looked the same and by all outward appearances they were the same. But they and the conclusion of this parable reveals that they were not the same. And so the true meaning of the parable is revealed. For like the ten virgins, all church members also look pretty much the same. They all seem to profess to be Christians and look forward to Christ’s return. But even the non-believers in this world know that not all church members are true Christians. And that is what Jesus was pointing out when he said that five of these virgins were foolish.

There are people who are in the church who are Christians, there are people in the church who are not Christians. Some people act like they are Christians and yet they are not. We would point at them and call them hypocrites smiling with there faces but stabbing another in the back with their eyes, or condemning another with their thoughts.

Yet the Lord is not just referring to hypocrites here, some of the hypocrites are the ones doing the most pointing. There are some who do expect the Lord’s return. But, the foolish are those who think they are prepared for the Lord, but really they are not. Perhaps some of them are like those in the parable of the sower and the seed, who believe for a while but in time of temptation fall away. Perhaps some of them are the lukewarm Christians who attend church only out of habit. Among the foolish are those who neglect their Bible reading, those who neglect their attendance at worship, and those who don’t make diligent use of the means of grace, meaning their reception of the Lord’s Supper. To put it bluntly their supply of faith is not maintained and replenished by the means of grace, God’s Word and His Sacrament.

So when the bridegroom Jesus Christ returns unexpectedly they will come up short. We’ve all probably heard once or twice how people try to covey their faith onto others. And by this I don’t mean sharing faith with others, I mean saying that your faith saves another. Like this, Old Joe wasn’t much of a churchgoer, but you know his wife and kids were very faithful, and his parents too, so maybe Joe wasn’t such a bad guy since everybody around him was very faithful. That would be like going to school and saying to a teacher, “You know I don’t do my homework, I don’t study, I don’t prepare for class, and don’t do well on my tests, but everybody in my family is pretty smart and gets good grades so you can give me good grades too.” No that wouldn’t fly, you can’t borrow from what someone else has done, you stand on your own merit, but that certainly does not impede our attempts to lean on the work of others.

Just like the wise virgins who could not share their oil. Each and every person must believe for themselves. A wife cannot give her faith to her husband, nor can a parent give their faith to their children. But, a parent can, as it says in Proverbs, “train a child in they way he should go, and when he’s old he will not turn from it.”(Pvb 22:6) So, if we are going to help others, we must help them now, before the Bridegroom Jesus Christ comes. Because when He does come each will need to stand before Him based upon only their own faith, and not the faith of others. The bridegroom will know you only by your own faith.

When you are known by God, you belong to Him and He gives you everything that is His. And to be known by God is a great comfort. He has said, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by Name; you are mine” (Isa 43:1). Contrast those loving words with the terror of the Law which God says to the foolish virgins, “I don’t know you.” The inattentiveness and distraction of the five foolish virgins do not merely lead to embarrassment, but it leads to a terrible and eternal doom. The doors of heaven are shut to them. They were not admitted to the marriage feast of the Lamb. The Lord does not consider their outward religious profession. The Lord says he doesn’t know them, and they are closed out of heaven forever. If we have no other claim than that we lived like Christians, if the outer shell of Christianity is not filled by true faith in Jesus Christ, we will be excluded from the wedding banquet, the door will be shut and will not be opened.

So what do we have to do to make sure that we have enough oil of faith for today, and enough oil of faith to await for Christ’s to return? Your faith is strengthened by the hearing the Word of God as you read God’s Word in the Bible or as you hear it proclaimed here each week. Your faith is renewed and refreshed as you receive the Holy Supper of our Lord. In the Sacrament of Holy Communion Christ’s true body and true blood gives you the forgiveness of sins. And as Luther states in the Small Catechism about this supper of our Lord, “that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”(SC)

Those who despise all these free gifts of God, who look like they are prepared but really are not, will one day stand before a heavenly door that is closed and just as in the parable the reply will come, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’(v.12) But for those who are worthy and have been prepared by receiving God’s gifts, those who have not despised all that He freely gives will find a different reception. For Christ is the one who will keep watch for He said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”(John 14:6) And His way was the way of the Cross, His cross of death is your door to heaven. So only through Christ is anyone worthy and well prepared, and He is the bridegroom who will arrive and usher you through that heavenly door which will be shut long after you have been seated for an eternal banquet feast. Amen.

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The Twenty-sixth Sunday After Trinity - 11-16-08

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 16, 2008)

“SENTENCED TO LIFE”

Readings:
Psalm 50:1-15
Daniel 7:9-14
2 Peter 3:3-14
Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon Form Deductive

+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 25th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses:

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

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

Over the years we all have probably watched on T.V. or read in the paper about various court trials. Depending on the seriousness of the case the trial may be stretched out over days, weeks, months, or even years. Sometimes the accused are found guilty and sometimes they’re found not guilty. Sometimes there is a hung jury and the case must be re-tired and if that should happen the whole long drawn out process begins again. Usually we see one person tried only one at a time, sometimes people are tried before a judge, sometimes before a jury. And, should the trial end in a manner which either may be flawed or otherwise legally improper, then an appeal to a higher court may be heard. That is they way it works here in this world, here in our country. But in our lesson today, a very different trial is described, and this one is quite different, for when the gavel falls in this judgment only some will be,

SENTENCED TO LIFE
(I – Christ comes again in glory)

While we may or may not make the connection, we do ponder this coming judgment by Christ. We do because every week we gather together in worship to return thanks for all that God has done for us. And as we return thanks, we confess together the words of the Creeds, wherein we acknowledge that a great judgment will one day occur. In fact, we say at the end of the second article of the Nicene Creed, “And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”

To judge both the living and the dead. Remember, Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(v. 31,32) If you think about those verses from scripture it represents a very great multitude of people. It includes every single heavenly angel. This gathering for judgment includes every single human being whether living or dead. All of these will be gathered before Christ. And as was noted before, among us sinful mortals, here in this world, the determination of justice and judgment involves a trial, which is sometimes lengthy, laborious and does not always come to and end with any degree of certainty. But the omniscient God-man, Jesus Christ needs no attorneys. Christ needs no jury, nor will His judgment be arbitrary, nor can it be appealed. When He comes to judge both the living and the dead, Christ who is seated at the right hand of God the Father will separate the sheep from the goats, meaning the righteous from the unrighteous. But unlike the courts in this world, both the unjust and the just receive an eternal judgment. Unlike the courts of this world which may separate evil doers for terms counted in years or maybe even a life sentence of separation, the judgment of Christ is quite different. For the judgment in everlasting life will separate the sheep from the goats, and this separation will be forever and for all time. The Sheep and goats of which Jesus speaks represent the redeemed and the damned. Christ will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

So the obvious questions are; ‘How do we know on which side of Christ we will land?’ Will we be on the left or the right? Will we be a sheep or a goat? And finally, the next question which really reflects our human nature is the one where we ask slyly, “What can I do to improve my odds of coming out on the right side of this coming judgment?”

Well that is the same question that was on the mind of those who Jesus mentioned in our text. And the answer? Jesus said that the righteous ones were the ones who gave Him something to eat, the ones who gave Him something to drink, the ones who knew Him only as a stranger and yet they still invited Him in.

Our natural response is to think that those kind of answers might have helped the people way back when, who were standing around Jesus but they don’t seem to help me right here and right now. Jesus is not here right now, is He? How in the world will I ever get a chance to do any of those things for Christ?

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”(v. 40) So what He is saying then is, if I help enough people, if I am kind to enough people, if I’m kind to strangers, if I feed the hungry, if I give money to the poor....then, then I will be on the right side of Christ, won’t I?

We hear His words yet we still do not understand. For we take those very words of Christ and turn them into Law, we make them something that we must do, and that is not what He said, nor is it what He meant. We are still trying to win the judgment of our case before God by appealing to our good nature, to our good work, or by trying to find the best loophole in this whole discussion.

But what Jesus was really saying is that all these things; the feeding, the generous giving, the comfort to strangers, all that was evidence already offered in our case. Because truth be told we could never feed enough people, we could never give enough money, we could never entertain enough strangers to influence the judge in this case. So then that means that we must be lost, there is no hope, there is no way out, we can’t do anything or if there were something to do we can’t do enough. It would seem that this case would be all too easily closed and that we can do no other than to be convicted.

And that is the right answer. We are convicted by our sin. We are convicted by the evil that we do. We are convicted by the way we treat others, we are convicted by the way we fail to treat others., we have not even loved our neighbors with our whole heart, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

Repent. For if it were up to us we would remain the way in which we have been born and we would remain in the way that we live our lives, and that is sinful.

(II – Christ’s death sentences believers to eternal life)

But fear not, for the case against us was not closed until Christ Himself made it so. For there is one who would still represent us before God Himself. One day we will indeed be all gathered together for the final judgment, both sheep and goat, righteous and unrighteous. And those who believe and have been baptized will saved, but that is not a work from us, but rather it is the work of Christ. For it is He who went to the cross naked so that we may be clothed with the robe of righteousness. It is Christ who feeds the least in His kingdom with His true body and His true blood so that we may be forgiven. It is Christ who came from heaven to earth so that we may leave earth to be with Him in heaven. And from all that Christ has done for us we are called to do good to others, but it does not merit our salvation, rather the good that we do for others reflects the light of faith which Christ first freely placed in us.

In the eternal court in which Christ will be the presiding judge, all who stand before Him will indeed receive a sentence. For all those who did not believe in Christ, He has said, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment,”(v. 46) for that is what they deserve. But before we puff out our chest in self righteousness, that sentence of eternal punishment is what we deserve too. But because Christ died for you, because He has placed His Name upon you in your baptism, because He has given you forgiveness of sins by His body and blood...Because of Christ’s righteousness, one day He will look at you, and He will see all that we have done and He will judge us all. And on that day the gavel will fall and we will get everything we did not earn or deserve. For we will be found, not guilty for the sake of Jesus Christ, and for all who believe, both the living and the dead they will all be given the sentence of eternal life and will join Him “whose kingdom will have no end.” Amen.

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The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity - One Year Series, 11-09-08

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 9, 2008)

“AHEAD OF TIME”

Readings:
Psalm 14
Job 14:1-6
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 24:15-28

Sermon Form Deductive

+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 24th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verse:

Matthew 24:15-28

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. [Jesus said] 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

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

“AHEAD OF TIME”

When one hears a Gospel lesson which includes the words abomination, desolation, prophecy of Daniel, fleeing to the mountains, taking flight, shortened days, and false Christs, we are often inclined to begin to tune our ears out, and to let our minds begin to wander. Too many words, with too many meanings, too many thoughts, that meant something way back in Jesus’ time, but we don’t see how they relate to us. We can relate to the shortened days but we don’t think we’ve ever seen in Midland, Michigan any pregnant women fleeing for the mountains. As was often said after Jesus spoke to the apostle’s, or the crowds, or the unbelievers who surrounded Him, “This is a hard reading” Our minds don’t like to engage a text like this so early in the morning, it just seems to be so very complicated, what does it all mean? While it may appear to be a complicated text, Jesus speaks with a common and very understandable theme. He is warning those people who are around Him and He is warning those people who are to come of the events and consequence of this world...and this advance warning Jesus gives

AHEAD OF TIME
(I – Jesus gives warning in this time)

Like the prophets of old, Jesus was not only predicting and warning of what would happen in the near future, He was also predicting and warning what would happen to all of everyone’s future, meaning the future of all time. The near future which Jesus spoke of here would be the oncoming fall of Jerusalem. This event in time, would happen about 30 years after Jesus’ death during the time of the Passover in the year 70 A.D. when about 1,000,000 Jews gathered in Jerusalem. In about five months the entire city of Jerusalem was totally overcome and destroyed. And while these people were overwhelmed by outside forces, they also destroyed themselves. There were differing factions and parties in the city who hated each other and were jealous of each other and did not trust each other at all. So really the Jews were their own worst enemies. Jerusalem was attacked and with great effort and at great expense, the Romans conquered wall after wall. They burned the Temple to the ground. 900,000 Jews were killed, starved, or sold as slaves, only about 100,000 survived. They became so desperate to find food, they were so hungry they ate everything they could find, even the excrement of the animals, some were later found dead with hay in their mouths.

And so it was for that the most beautiful city of the east, it was destroyed just as our Lord Jesus Christ had repeatedly foretold it ahead of time. Jesus wept over the city because of its unbelief and the continued rejection of God, His Son and the Covenant. And later after Christ’s death the destruction of Jerusalem was to be one of the severest of judgments of God upon man.

In our time we are being subjected to the ongoing attacks by satan Himself. satan uses us against each other to increase deceit and to build hatred against those who are around us. Just like the Jews in Jesus’ time we build more and more gates, fences, and walls around not cities, but our beliefs and our ideals. The world is constantly under attack from the one who would slyly overcome and overwhelm us. We are under siege with the bad news of the disasters that could harm us like earthquakes and hurricanes, financial roller coasters, or even the distress of our sickness, aging, or our failing health. We may not be eating the excrement of animals but we certainly have be inundated with the excrement of the sinful sights and sounds which seem to be increasingly dominating our televisions and internet too. Wall by wall satan tears down our thoughts of Christ and builds our hunger for the things of this world. satan ultimately has always sought to destroy the temple of God and a short time after Christ the physical temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. After the beginning of human time Adam and Eve sinned against God, and so in our time we live and breath in Adams sin and our own sin. God warned Adam in His time, the prophets warned the Israelites in their time and Jesus' warned the people in His time and for all time to repent for there will be an end of human time.

(II – Jesus gives comfort beyond all time)

The world before this time has seen great calamities, as in the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the drowning of Pharaoh's men, even a former destruction of Jerusalem, but none of these can be compared with the terrific tribulation which Jerusalem underwent, it was a time which Jesus predicted would come. But even greater still is the ongoing prediction that our timeless God gave to all of mankind. For throughout the scriptures God predicts that there would be a time when sin and evil would be overcome. God gave that promise to Adam and Eve, and they and all the prophets looked forward to the time when the Messiah would come. And just as God said, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to us. Yet Jesus was ahead of and before all time, we know that He was, “with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”(Jn 1:2-3) Jesus came into this world and warned His people of what would happen to those who would not believe. Then He proclaimed the salvation the He would win for us. He warned of the fall of Jerusalem and He warned us that when He came again there would be a separation of the wicked from the righteous. Jesus knew ahead of time how this separating would occur too. He knew that He would go to the Cross to win the forgiveness of sins for all the world. He knew ahead of time that there would be false prophets appearing, that there would be great signs and that the people of God would face great tribulations and temptations in this world. Yet He also knew and said that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”(Mk 16:16) Jesus knew that whosoever would eat of His true body and drink of His true blood would receive the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus is timeless. And so it is comforting to know that ahead of all our recorded human time, Jesus knew you, as the scriptures states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; “(Jer 1:5) And Jesus knows you, for in your baptism you have been incorporated into His body, the body of Christ. But just as comforting or maybe even more so, Jesus knows that He will comfort you for all time. Because Christ knows that He has won for you the battle over life and death and so Jesus knows and offers you the comfort of the knowledge that the eternal is ahead of you. And so, what is ahead of us in time is His timeless peace. Amen.

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The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series - All Saint's Day (Observed) - 11/02/08

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
All Saints Day (Observed)
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (November 2, 2008)

“BLESSED ARE YOU”

Readings:
Psalm 149
Revelation 7:2-17
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Form Deductive

+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. Matthew, especially the following verse:

Matthew 5:1-12

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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

In the sermon of the mount Jesus mentions the word blessed nine times. One gets the idea that in this repetition Jesus was trying to say something to be remembered. And indeed the words have been remembered as Jesus giving one of His most important and most beloved sermons to a group of His apostles, who were surrounded by a large crowd. The crowd that heard Him that day certainly had a differing world view than the people who hear those words today. Those sermon words we call the Beatitudes have, to a large degree, been transformed from Gospel into Law. Some have even recently called these the BE ATTITUDES, meaning these words are really a least of the things that we need to do to get to heaven. Nothing could be farther from the truth for He made up quite a list that can not be completed by human works and then He told them:

BLESSED ARE YOU
(I. You are blessed by the work of Jesus)

Today’s Gospel reading may seem to be a difficult one, especially for anyone wanting a neatly packaged reading, beginning with the Law and ending with the Gospel. Because as we follow this day with Jesus, we hear the great Sermon on the Mount; containing the “Beatitudes.” Now the word Beatitude really has nothing to do with attitude, rather the word Beatitude is defined as a state of utmost bliss, of complete happiness. In this sermon, Jesus speaks of the state of complete happiness in terms of blessings. But some of the blessings come with challenges. How can this be? Could it be that Jesus mixed up blessings with a message of the Law?

Jesus ended by saying; “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (v. 12) What? I’m supposed to be poor, mournful, persecuted, and insulted and then rejoice? Now this really is confusing. What was a person supposed to do after they heard those words? Certainly they were not supposed to give up everything they had, and are we to give up everything too?

Can you imagine what it would be like to give up everything you have? I mean really give it all away, everything. In this world where possessions are everything, can you imagine what it would be like to have nothing? To be a beggar? Do we have to give up our new cars? Our new jobs? Our DVD players, and our cable T.V.? How about our retirement pension, our land, property, house, our family, all that we have? Is that what we have to do to follow Jesus? You know, we give some money to charities, but do we have to give it all away? Is that what it takes to be blessed?

No, we must not confuse what we do for those around us, with what has been done for us. What Christ did for us at the cross, He did out of compassion to make right what has gone wrong with our sinful world and our lives. What we do for our fellow man, in our daily lives flow out of the blessings from Christ.

(II. Rejoice, Jesus is the blessing for us all.)

Okay, but what about those other blessings. You know we think we can handle some of them. In fact, most of the time we’re rather meek and very merciful. On most Sunday’s we’re pure in heart, and we’re always trying to be a peacemakers. Isn’t that what Jesus meant? Well, sort of….

As an example, recall from the Old Testament Joseph who was tricked, trapped, and sold into slavery by his brothers, years later when his brothers came to him for food Joseph was somewhat merciful, somewhat meek, somewhat of a peacemaker, somewhat pure in heart in fact he was part of every one of those things Jesus listed. But with all his ups and downs in his life Joseph did have faith in God.

And because Joseph had faith, as Luther said, “[Joseph] has life in death, and he lives when he is dead. He is full of confidence when he is conducted to the grave, for he trusts in God and His promises.” That is quite a profound statement if you let it sink in for a moment....”He has life in death, and he lives when he is dead.” Joseph knows that because he has faith no matter what happens in this life, he will die, and he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that when he dies he will most certainly live.

Luther spoke of the faith of Joseph and of the New Testament Apostle St. Paul that they, “should be set before the church for the sake of the examples of the very saintly men who have held a light before us with their completely steadfast faith, which we, too, should learn to follow and imitate in order that we may glory by saying: “I have been baptized. I have been absolved. In this faith I die. No matter what trials and cares confront me from now on, I will certainly not be shaken; for He who said: ‘He who believes and is baptized will be saved’ (Mark 16:16) and ‘Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’ (Matt. 16:19) and ‘This is My body. This is My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins’ (cf. Matt. 26:26, 28)—He cannot deceive or lie. This is certainly true.”(AELW 8:193-194)

Yet we look at ourselves in the mirror and say that there is no way I could do what Joseph did, or what St. Paul did, or what any of the Patriarchs, Church Fathers and Martyrs did either. I don’t want to be blessed if it means I have to be all those things that Jesus said, you know blessed are the poor, meek, hungry, thirsty, pure, peacemaker, persecuted, insulted, and hated. And I don’t want to be throw into a well like Joseph, and I don’t want to be beaten and put in prison like Paul either, so it doesn’t look like I can be blessed and if that’s what I have to do then I’m no saint.

That is the point, We can never completely do any these things, we can only make a feeble attempt. We admit it and we confess it when we come together in worship and speak these words; “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) But there is one who can and has done all these things, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus, died for our sins, we are blessed and made righteous before God. By the death of Christ we are made sinless! Because Jesus became man and suffered for us, we are healed because of His blessings. He was poor, for us, “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”(Mt. 8:20) Jesus was mournful for us, His friend Lazarus died and “He wept.” (Jn 11:35) Not only did Jesus weep for His friend later at Gethsemane He wept for all the sin of this world. Yet He did not turn back from what was to be, instead He said; “My Father if this can not pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.” (Mt. 26:42) Jesus fasted for forty days and when Satan tried to tempt Him in His hunger, Jesus replied, “Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”(Mt 4:4) His hunger proved that the Lord our God is beyond temptation. Jesus was persecuted for us, in fact He was, “pierced for our transgressions…crushed for our iniquities…like a lamb led to slaughter.”(Is 53:) Jesus was insulted, for us, He was whipped, beaten, and nailed to a cross. When Jesus spoke the words; “It is finished.” (Jn 19:30), in that very moment, He became the meek one in His persecution, and merciful one because He was pure in heart.

We travel through this life on a worldly road sometimes feeling persecuted by all the insults and evil that we meet in our daily lives, and we know all the sin that we commit. We know that we do not lead saintly lives, yet on this day we recall everyone who is a saint and that includes you and it includes everyone who has died before us in the faith. For Jesus said, “Blessed are you.” On this All Saint’s Day we join together here in this place, here in this world. But one day, because you have been blessed by all that Christ has done for you, you will join with All Saints both past and present, for a future of everlasting time with Jesus Christ and I’m sure you will “rejoice and be glad.”

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

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The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series Reformation Sunday(Observed) - 10/26/08

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Reformation Sunday(Observed)
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 26, 2008)

“IMAGE IS EVERYTHING”

Readings:

Proverbs 8:11-22
Psalm 111
Philippians 3:17-21
Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon Form Deductive

+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 22nd chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses:


Matthew 22:15-21 (NIV)

15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him (Jesus) in His words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and He (Jesus) asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

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

The Pharisees, who were the keepers of the law were still hanging around and they just didn’t get it. The Pharisees who were the specks of leaven in the crowd were trying to ruin the whole crowd. Oh, they had listened to all the parables, all the words, and all the teachings of this man called Christ. But, they didn’t hear or understand the words of the parables, nor did they care to try to understand. All they knew is that this man who stood before them, this man Christ was trouble and he had to go. They’d probably gone into back rooms and gathered together in secret to form the plot to fabricate the perfect trap. And they had the problem all thought through. They had it all figured out. They had read the law, both law of their church and the law of their government. Up until now they’d been standing in public, but they were scheming in the background. But, now...now the time was right. It was time to come out into the open. So they surfaced from behind the scenes and from behind their closed doors. And they were so sure of themselves that when they did choose to speak in public it was with a certain smugness. It was as if they were saying, “if you pay no attention to who people are, that means you believe:”

“THE RIGHT IMAGE MEANS NOTHING!”

They’d probably rehearsed the question and knew that there was a good way to ask, a way in which there could be only two answers. Just like the old, old trick, “Heads I win, tails you lose.” So they continued, “Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”(v. 17) The point was, they needed a question for which either of the two answers would lead to the same conclusion. But, Jesus turned the trap around and asked them, “Whose portrait, (whose image) is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then He (Jesus) said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”(v. 20, 21) This was not the answer, this group expected.

As we today also celebrate the 491st anniversary of the Protestant Reformation we know that many years after this crowd slyly posed questions to Jesus Christ, a man named Martin Luther would later stand before a similar crowd who was puffed up by their smugness. A group led by the all powerful King Charles Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire who, along with his powerful political machine, expected Luther to melt in the face of their powerful questions. Martin Luther was shown copies of his writings and he was asked if the books were his, and whether he stood by their contents. The contents of these writings pointed not to the greatness of Martin Luther, but rather they all point to the unimaginable overflowing grace of God. That man is not justified by what he does, and that nothing that man can do can earn him salvation, for Luther had read and understood the scriptures which state, “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”(Eph 2:8-9) So, Martin Luther confirmed that he was the author of those writings but asked for a recess for a day to gather his thoughts. When Luther returned before these mighty politicians the next day Luther stated, "Unless I shall be convinced by the testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear reason ... I neither can nor will make any retraction, since it is neither safe nor honorable to act against conscience." He also famously is said to have added: "Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen." ("Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.").

Luther was just a man who in the face of extreme political pressure stopped and took a day to think about the question and when he answered he did not worry about his personal image, he stood by the Word of God. The Word of God, Jesus Christ was faced with a question under extreme political pressure and His immediate answer showed that He was and always will be image of God. Christ and Luther were faced with evil men who tried to construct their our own images of what is right and what is wrong.

Today we can still look to God and see that He provides the right image which clarifies how God works in the kingdoms of this world. Our labor together is prompted from God’s love, not from the love of ourselves or our possessions. We also understand that while God uses the kingdoms of this world to provide a structure for our earthly lives, the leaders and kingdoms of this world do not give us our salvation for our eternal lives.

The right image of God does give us our eternal salvation. The right image of God, is one that we are well familiar with, and it is the image of God’s Son Jesus Christ. The right image is the realization that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, who came from heaven to earth to make right all that man has made wrong. The right image is Jesus Christ, bloodied, beaten, and nailed to a cross, bearing all our sins, and thereby making us appear spotless and without sin before God our Father. The right image is the Holy Spirit descending upon Christ in His baptism, and the Holy Spirit descending upon us in our baptism, which is, “not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word.”(SC)

In our Gospel lesson the Pharisees and the Herodians laid a trap for Jesus, which had only two answers known to these evil men. Jesus stood before them and revealed to them that their plans were transparent. Their trickery and deceit revealed the false images of their false gods defined by earthly power and authority. Jesus calmly pointed to the image on the coin which they handed to Him and told them to, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.” And not only did He say the words, He did what He said. Jesus the man submitted to the ruling of Caiaphas the high priest, and He submitted to Pontius Pilate, and Herod too. But more importantly Jesus the Christ submitted to God by stating, “Not my will be done, but yours,” and in so doing Jesus rendered unto God that which is God for He gave unto God....Himself.

So, is it true that image is everything? It is true. It is true that one day we will all stand before Christ. And by His authority alone, He restores image of all who would believe and be baptized. Jesus gives us the image of God. Jesus gave to God that which is God’s, and because He alone has restored your image, He will receive you unto God because He has restored your eternal image to that which God created. Amen.

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

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The Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity - 10/19/08

The Church Season of Trinity

The Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series

Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 19, 2008)

“Forgiveness of sins”

Readings:

Psalm 116:12-19

Micah 6:6-8

Philippians 1:3-11

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon Form Deductive

+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 18^th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verse:

Matthew 18:21-35

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. ²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. ²⁶ “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. ²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. ²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. ³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. ³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

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

In our Gospel lesson today Peter asked Jesus, "How often should I forgive my brother who sins against me?" And the answer Jesus' gives really says this, "There should be no limit to your forgiveness." There should be no limit to your forgiveness. That is a hard one, because we do not want to offer limitless forgiveness for those who have done us wrong in some way. We’d rather store up those memories of wrongful words and actions so that we can pull them out for use in a future argument, in a future meeting, and all the better if we can pull out those memories when the other guy isn’t looking or listening. Forgive 70 x 7 times, get real Jesus, how can I forgive someone who said all those bad things about me? How can I forgive all those bad things they did to me and my family?

This last week I heard a pastor tell a story about forgiveness from someone he had wronged in his high school days. He admitted he was part of group that picked on another student at their high school because this person was physically and mentally challenged. Then many year passed, the young bully, went to college, then to Seminary, then out to serve a church as a newly ordained and installed pastor. Yet as he grew in years he never forgot how he had mistreated this other student. But it seemed that there was no going back, no way to find this person and apologize. He confessed to another pastor what he had done and he received God’s forgiveness. And as he had dutifully learned, and you have too, from the Catechism we believe that, “when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.”(SC) He knew those words by heart, he knew that God’s forgiveness out forgives anything that we can do, yet he still felt convicted that he could not apologize to that person. Well as it often turns out, we find that God does have a sense of humor, for this young man, after more than a few years, was called to be the Senior Pastor at a very large church. During the call process he went to visit that church, with his chest puffed out, and his ego over-inflated, and he arrived as scheduled to meet a few people from the church. But he had hardly gotten out of his car and started walking up to the church when he saw that there was a person there in front of the church. And as he approached from a distance he got an eerie feeling, because he recognized from the way this man moved due to his handicap, that this was the man whom he and others had bullied so many years before. And at that moment he questioned whether or not he had been forgiven by God, because he had never apologized to that man in person. That man was now the janitor of this huge church, and he was dutifully cleaning the entrance. But when that handicapped janitor saw that man coming toward him he had only one reaction. And, quite frankly it was not the reaction that you might think he would have toward a person who had disparaged him so much, so many years before. He turned and laid down his cleaning tools, he opened his arms and gave that pastor a heartwarming hug, and said, “Pastor I am so glad you are here.” He had long ago not only forgiven the man who would indeed be his pastor, he allowed himself to forget the past too.

In this world the saying, “forgive and forget” is often overused and even more seldom meant. We can sometimes muster the strength to forgive someone, but seldom are we able to totally forget what happened.

When King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan pointed out David sin. David repented and was forgiven as he exclaimed: "Have mercy upon me, Oh God!"(Ps. 51:1) And after St. Paul called himself the chief of sinners he said, "for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.”(1 Tim. 1:16) Until the end of the world St. Paul will serve as a model for all sinners who cannot save themselves by their own works but on whom Christ Jesus has had mercy.

We do very often say, “I'll forgive but I won't forget." That is very, very dangerous. Because that will eventually cause us to either wonder or ask ourselves, “When God forgives us for Jesus' sake, does He forget?” Does God forget? Well, always remember that Gods forgiveness is complete and has no memory of past transgressions. For you will recall in Jeremiah that God says: "I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more." (Jer. 31:34) And in the Psalms David prays: "Do not remember the sins of my youth." (Ps. 25:7) When God forgives, He always forgets. Even though you may have confessed your sins and remember what you have done, no matter what they are, God forgives you and the He forgets.

The Triune God is a God of mercy. Over and over we hear in the Old Testament, "Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good because His mercy endures forever."(Ps. 118:1) Our God is a merciful and He has given us Jesus Christ. And Christ’s mercy is endless, it overcomes any and all of our sins. In Adam all have sinned and everyone falls short of the glory of God.

As sinful humans, there is always the danger of being merciless toward our neighbor. If and when we refuse to forgive our neighbors one of two things happen...Either we will become offensive to our fellow-Christians as our Gospel lesson reminds us or we bring the just judgment of God down upon ourselves. When we refuse to forgive our neighbors, all our debts come back again and we become liable.

We all have many sins to confess. Whether it be a person that we wronged so many years ago or whether it is the times we refused to forgive our neighbor. We are as Christians compelled by God’s grace to repent and pray, “Lord, have mercy on us!” And we do receive God’s forgiveness as we pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” And God’s forgiveness was not too much for Him to bear for, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”(1 Peter 2:24)

Christ bore our sins with Him on the cross, and there He not only forgives you all your sins, but He also forgets your sin too. And one day when you leave this world you will have no worry of things you have done in the past, for God has forgiven you. And He in His forgiveness will welcome you into His kingdom for 7 x 70 years, and that, in biblical terms is a blessed eternity. Amen.

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

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