​Advent 1 – Ad Te Levavi                                                                                                                  November 27, 2022
Jeremiah 23:5-8
 
The Coming of the King!
 
v.5     Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
 
          Dear friends in Christ, this past September we witnessed the coming of the new King of England—Charles III.  After reigning more than 70years as queen, Charles' mother—Queen Elizabeth II—died and went to her Lord and Savior Jesus.  Much has been said about how Charles III will conduct himself as the new King of England.  Of course, only time will tell.
          The prophet Jeremiah in our text also had much to say about various kings of Judah.  The Lord had scathing words of rebuke to those who were to shepherd and guide His people—but who shirked their duty—casting off the works of the Lord and using and abusing the people for their own greed and gain—and leading them to do the same.  So the Lord promises that the kingdom of Judah will ultimately suffer for their lack of faith—that they will be overtaken by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar—taken into exile—and there die outside the Promised Land. 
          Yet the Lord did not leave His people with a word of utter disaster and despair.  Indeed, for here in our text we read of the promised coming of a new king—a righteous king—a just king.  One who would shepherd and guide the people aright according the Word of God—one who would actually save His people—uniting the kingdoms of Judah and Israel—declaring them righteous in His sight—and returning them to the sheepfold of the Lord in the Promised Land.  This king would be for David a Righteous Branch—of the line and lineage of David (ancient Israel's greatest king), but would surpass David in every respect.
          Boy, don't we long for a king—or any ruler—like that?  Someone who will do right by the people they are pledged to govern.  One who will care for them.  One who will execute justice and truth according to God's Word.  One who will actually sacrifice for the people—giving them of Himself—rather than taking from the people, and offering them unjust and crooked laws that benefit the rulers.  One who will advocate for the needy and oppressed, and teach the people to do likewise.
          In the democratic processes of our country, we are blessed to be able to vote for those who govern us, but we have to be honest that even when the people we actually want to see elected are elected, the results still leave much to be desired.  For our rulers—even the very best ones—are still human beings—sinners—and so are fallen creatures—susceptible to all the temptations that plague each and every one of us.  This is why the Scriptures readily declare in abundance (Psalm 118:9), "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes."
          Not so, however, with the king described by the prophet Jeremiah.  Why?  Because this king is no ordinary king.  This king—the Righteous Branch for David—stems from God Almighty—IS God Almighty in the flesh—our Jesus—whom the people welcomed with great joy on Palm Sunday—hailing Him as their prophet king.  Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah—the King of Judah, Israel, and ALL creation.  He is the One who will truly be the Good Shepherd of His people—dealing with them in truth and justice—pouring out upon sinners His own blessed righteousness.  For, as Jesus says (John 10:11), "I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
          The Lord Jesus—the true King of the world—has come to lay down His life for us on the cross—dying the death we deserve for our sins—our unrighteousness.  He sheds His blood that we might be forgiven, cleansed, restored—brought back to the sheepfold of our God to dwell forevermore in safety and peace—fed and nourished by His strong right arm. 
          This King Jesus is not swayed my man's opinion.  He cannot be bribed.  He cannot be deceived.  He knows all and sees all.  He knows your darkest, deepest secrets—those things of which you are most ashamed.  He knows the sins that keep you up at night, guilt plaguing your dreams.  He knows them all—and He has died for them all—to set you free from your guilt and shame—to rejoice in His salvation—His righteousness.  That you might shout, "Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  For Hosanna is a prayer crying to God for help and salvation.  This is what Jesus brings!  This is what Jesus has accomplished!  His blood purifies us from all sin—washing away our unrighteousness—which is why He is called, "The Lord is our righteousness!"
          What a glorious confession, beloved!  What a wondrous truth!  That the Lord God Almighty has deigned to come in human flesh to save us—to be our righteousness!  That we may look to Him—trust in Him alone—as our refuge and strength.  Sure, we participate in the political processes of our nations, because it is good for us to do so.  It is a tremendous privilege and duty we have as citizens of our earthly nations.  But we never forget as Christians that our true citizenship lies in heaven with our true King—Jesus. 
          Indeed, we are not surprised when our fallen earthly rulers sometimes act and behave in ways that are contrary to the truth and justice of God.  We are saddened by it—as we are at any instance of sin—but we are not surprised.  Nor are we demoralized—thinking that all is lost because our earthly rulers act in unjust ways, taking advantage of the people they are to govern.  Instead, we lift up our eyes to our heavenly King—knowing that He will come again to Judge both the living and the dead, as we confess in the Creed.  Jesus is—and always will be—King of all.  As such, we have supreme confidence that in the end, all will be made right—all will come under His just and righteous reign and judgement.  And we need not fear His judgement for our sins, for we know that He has already paid for our sins with His own life's blood. 
          And so, beloved, we join in lifting up our souls to He who is our King of kings and Lord of lords!  Our goodly king who has served us with His perfect life, suffering death, and glorious resurrection.  Our King who will come again on the Last Day to set all things right—to make all things new—to usher in His new creation where there will be no sin, suffering, sorrowing, or dying of any kind.  Where truth and justice will reign forevermore—for our Lord Jesus is Truth and Justice incarnate—made flesh—and the Father has placed the entire universe as His footstool for Him to rule and govern.
          What have we to worry about if our earthly rulers cause us harm or distress?  Our hope is not in them—in some sort of utopia on this earth.  That is an impossibility—an absurdity in this fallen and broken world.  Rather, we trust in our heavenly King Jesus—our Good Shepherd—the Lord who is our righteousness.  In Him we will not be shaken.  In Him we shall forever dwell in the Promised Land of Paradise.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

​Trinity 22                                                                                                                                           November 13, 2022
Matthew 18:21-35
 
Forgiving the Unforgivable
 
v.32-33       Then his master summoned him and said to him, "You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?"
 
          Dear friends in Christ, hold on to your hats, because it's going to get real here, very quickly.  This text before us today cuts to the quick.  It teaches us in no uncertain terms what, and how, and how often, we, as Christians, are to forgive our neighbour who sins against us.  For with hard-hearted refusal to forgive a fellow sinner comes some of the harshest words our Lord ever spoke, "In anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt (which would never happen--this is hell--for all eternity).  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
          Ouch Jesus!  Couldn't you have given us something a little bit easier to do?  Something more manageable, like cut off our finger or something?  But to truly forgive our neighbour from our heart--for every sin--every time?  Now that's tough!
          But this is so very important for us Christians to deal with, isn't it?  After all, what is the Christian church all about?  Social programs and soup kitchens?  What about Bible study?  How about organ music during worship services?  No, of course not.  As important as some of these may be, at its heart and soul, the Christian church is, of course, about the Christ, Jesus--and the forgiveness He brings to the world through His suffering, death, and resurrection.
          As usual, we have someone to blame for this hard teaching of Jesus--St. Peter.  Yeah, that's right, him…again!  After hearing Jesus finish talking about how we are to deal with someone who has sinned against us--by going to them, privately and personally, and then bringing a couple of witnesses, before bringing it to the church--Peter can't just leave well enough alone!  No, he's always asking questions.  Ugh.  "So, Lord, when my brother sins against me, how often do I have to forgive him, up to seven times?"
          To be fair, Peter is asking a good question--an important question. We know that we daily sin much, not only against God, but against each other.  Therefore, we also ought to think about how often we are to forgive those who sin against us.  But Jesus' response to Peter's question is a killer.  "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times."  That's Jewish code-speak for an unlimited number of times--thanks a lot Peter!
          Seriously, however, Peter asks a good question, but he is expecting a much more reasonable answer--a limited answer to the amount of times one must forgive one's neighbour.  He wants a solid, concrete, easily-within-reach answer that we can wrap our brain and our hearts around.  But this is not the way Jesus operates.  He deals in holy truths--He gives an unbelievable answer--77 times!--an answer that is hard both on our brains and on our hearts--that makes no sense because it is so radical in its scope.  We are to forgive without limit--fully and freely.
          To drive His point home, Jesus then tells the parable of the unmerciful (unforgiving) servant.  A master had a servant who owed an enormous debt--like bigger than the Gross Domestic Product of most nations kind of debt--in our terms today 10 000 talents was akin to trillions of dollars!  This worthless servant crumbles before his master and begs him to have patience with him so that he might repay the debt.  Yeah, right, this master didn't just fall off the turnip truck!  There was no way that this man could ever hope to repay even the smallest portion of what was owed.  Yet, in seeing this man's plight, his desperation, hearing his pleas for mercy, the master is moved to have compassion and pity upon him (splangthnizomai).  Rather than just reducing the debt--making it more manageable--the master simply forgives it all!  Every last penny!  Forgiven.  He and his family are now free and clear!  It is unbelievable!  It is pure grace.
          But when this forgiven servant went out and encountered  a fellow servant who owed him a few hundred bucks, he demanded what was owed of him according to the law.  No one is surprised.  No one is aghast--yet, even though he began by choking him!  Now when this fellow servant speaks up and uses the exact same words that this forgiven servant had used to the master, the forgiven servant refused to have mercy and threw him into prison until the debt should be paid. 
          It is here where things go sideways.  Those witnessing this exchange are deeply distressed and run to the master to tell him what has happened.  The master calls the forgiven servant into his midst and declares him wicked for he did not show mercy, as he had been shown mercy.  He then is delivered to the jailers and Jesus warns us that the same will happen to us if we fail to forgive our brother from our heart.
          The point here is that our debt of sin before God, the Master of heaven, is massive--beyond calculation.  Yet God, in His compassion, has had mercy on us--and forgiven us the entire debt--free and clear--all because of Jesus and His shed blood on the cross.  Therefore, we, too ought to forgive our neighbour who has sinned against us (which in comparison to the sins we have committed against God, are relatively minor in comparison).  But therein lies the problem.  We don't see it that way.  And so this is far easier said than done.
          As we have been redeemed by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we are to forgive, without number--without limit--no matter what was done--no matter how many times it was done--fully and from the heart.  And yet, even though we are God's people--even though the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts--boy do we struggle with this!  Our frail flesh holds up the sins of others before us and our hearts harden and we desire to lay hands upon them and cause them to suffer for the hurts and the wrong that they have inflicted upon us or those whom we love!  "It's only just!" we cry to ourselves.  "It's only fair and what is right!"
          That may be true, but it is not mercy.  It is not grace.  And that is what we have received freely from the hand of our heavenly Father.  He did not deal with us according to justice (by which we would all end up in hell), but rather according to His undeserved favour and kindness.  Nonetheless, we look at the sins that have been committed against our neighbour--and we think to ourselves, "How can God expect us to forgive people who do wicked things to others?  That's unforgivable!" 
          Or, to make it even more real, what about those who have sinned against your family--your loved ones?  What about the man who assaulted your daughter?  Turned your son into a quadriplegic while drinking and driving?  What about the person who stole your car?  Beat up your sister?  "How can God expect us to forgive such a person?  That's unforgivable!"
          What about the sins committed against our person?  The gossip in the lunch room?  The spouse who cheated on you?  The friend who betrayed you?  The parent who abandoned you?  The person who abused you as a child?  "How can God expect me to forgive that person?  That's unforgivable!"
          And so you see, beloved, that by our very response to these situations and so many more, we prove ourselves to be the wicked servant of the parable.  We are the ones who refuse to forgive--who enjoy inflicting pain upon those who have hurt us so deeply and profoundly.  We fail to forgive because, ultimately, we fail to believe that we ourselves have been fully forgiven as God's Word tells us.  We don't believe the radical nature of God's grace and so imprison people in their sin against us, even as we believe we are imprisoned by our own sin.
          But this is not so!  You have been set free by the blood of Jesus.  Your sins have been fully and completely forgiven by Jesus' work on the cross to redeem you and all others--even those who have so hurt you by word and by deed.   Your sins are unforgivable--according to earthly standards.  But with God all things are possible.  And in Jesus Christ's shed blood you are forgiven and the debt is eliminated.  You have been forgiven because the Father has sent His Son, Jesus our brother--to forgive us from His spear pierced heart.  Not only did Jesus die for the sins you have committed against Him and your neighbour, but He has also suffered for the sins that your neighbour has carried out against you.  Jesus bled for them, too.
          Now, don't get me wrong.  I am not saying that there are not earthly, temporal consequences for sin--for example, the sin of infidelity can often lead to divorce and the breakup of a marriage; drunk driving causing bodily harm can lead to jail sentences, as can theft or any other number of sins/crimes.  But, this does NOT mean that we are not to forgive.  Though forgiveness be granted, there may yet be consequences this side of heaven.
          Yet we are to be mindful that from the heart of Jesus hanging on the cross flowed blood and water.  The water flows into the Baptismal font wherein each of you has been washed clean of all sins and bathed in the blood of Christ.  The blood trickling from His side has flowed into the chalice from which you drink on the Lord's day.  A cleansing tide that changes your hearts from hardened stone, to softened flesh, delighting in the mercy of God, and in extending that mercy to others, as hard as that is, at times.
          Chief of sinners though you are--Jesus Christ has died for you.  He has forgiven the unforgivable--through the unbelievable act of His sacrifice in your place on the cross.  Redeemed by His blood. Changed by His mercy.  You, too, may now in humility, learn to forgive, even as you have been forgiven--and live freely in His radical grace.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

​All Saints' Day (Observed)                                                                                                                  November 6, 2022
Revelation 7:(2-8) 9-17      
 
Seeing with Ears of Faith
 
v.4 & 9       And I heard the number of the sealed, 144 000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel…After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands…
 
          Dear friends in Christ, what a glorious text we have before us today from the revelation to St. John.  In this vision, a picture of the church triumphant--those faithful who have remained true to Jesus--who have finished the race--are sealed before the Lord God--given His mark upon their foreheads--in contrast to the enemies of Christ who bear the mark of the Beast.  John looks and sees an angel speaking to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, directing them not to harm anything until all the servants of God have been sealed upon their foreheads.  It is then that John hears the number of the sealed…144 000 from the 12 tribes of Israel.
          Beloved, much has been made by various groups about this number.  The Jehovah's Witnesses, in particular, believe this number to be the literal count of those faithful who will enter into the highest heaven.  And yet they overlook the very words of John himself.  John says he heard the number of the sealed.  I don't know about you, but I doubt that any of us could differentiate between 100 000 or a 138 000 or 75000, through hearing them alone.  We can certainly tell in crowded stadiums that there are a lot of people, but in no way can we tell with such specificity the particular amount of people gathered together. 
          Furthermore, after John recounts hearing 12 000 from each tribe, he goes on to say precisely what he saw.  "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands."  Beloved, this is the very same multitude that John just heard--this is the 144 000.  Now he sees and they are without number.  For they are the faithful of Christ, from every nation, every ethnic group, every tribe, every language, from the four corners of the earth, through all space and time.  These are the believers in Jesus who have received the reward for their faith and now reside in the presence of the Lamb of God Himself.  From Adam to Abraham to Elijah to Paul to me and you.  What joy!  What comfort!  What peace!
          These saints of God--these holy ones of the Lord--dressed in purest white, standing before the throne of Almighty God, shout to the Lord in a great voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"  A clear reference to the Holy God who has rescued His people through the shed blood of His only beloved Son, who acted as the sacrificial Lamb in order to save His people from their sins.  It is this God and no other--the only true God--who has deigned to take on human flesh and suffer and die upon the cross, who has the keys to salvation!  At this proclamation all the heavenly host fall down in holy adoration, prostrate before the throne, worshiping God, "Amen!  Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever.  Amen!" 
          Beloved, what an incredible picture of heaven given to us here.  The entire congregation of heaven--saints and angels--in humble worship of the living God who has earned salvation for His people by shedding His blood for them on the cross.  When asked who these white-robed ones may be, John defers to the one who asked him the question, and is instructed, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."  For you see, sinful people cannot get clean and pure from the deadly contamination of their sin in no other way than through the cleansing tide of Christ's own blood.  Now these pure and holy ones of God "are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
          What a picture!  What a blessed comfort to God's people in the here and now--the church militant--who hope and pray for the day when we, too, will be ushered into glory and join the throng of the church triumphant, about which we sing so forcefully today.
          This is our future hope, beloved.  This is our future reward.  And though there are many obstacles--though there be many hardships that we endure this side of heaven--yet the picture that St. John lays before us this day--IS our future reality--already guaranteed and assured--by the blood of Jesus outpoured on the cross. 
          Do you long for the comforting presence of your Saviour?  He shelters  you with His peace.  Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness, while facing the difficulties of life in this broken world?  Do you suffer grief and sorrow, pain and despair, the fear of death itself?  No longer.  For the Lamb is your Good Shepherd who ushers you to the springs of living water that flow from his spear-pierced side.  And by His grace and mercy--even the pain of death is removed--no more shall tears of sorrow cross your eyes and trickle down for your face--for you will be caught up in the perpetual joy and gladness of the God-made-flesh who has redeemed you and made you His own and brought you into His presence with life everlasting, your enemies completely defeated and crushed before you.  Death will be no more.  Neither will there be sin.  For all have been soundly conquered by the Lamb who died and rose again.
          Dear friends, this Lamb is the Lord Jesus--the crucified and risen One.  Though you begin life filthy and corrupted with sin--dying and faced with suffering and pain and sorrow.  Yet, you are herein urged to see with ears of faith.  To trust not in your eyes and senses that show you the horrible evil of the world around you, but rather to hearken to the Word of God that declares the triumphant victory that is yours through faith in Jesus Christ!
          Despair not at the news stories that portray more and more acts of evil and violence with terrorist bombings, or children stolen from their parents, or any number of evils in the world.  Do not be confounded by your own sinful flesh and the devil who points you to the darkness within your own heart and declares to you, "If this is who you are--you have no part in Christ or His heaven!"  This is not your end!  For you stand as one who has been bought with the precious blood of Jesus.  His atonement is yours.  His forgiveness is yours.  By faith, you belong to Him.  And this is not your own doing--it is the work of God--the work of your salvation. 
          As one of our current Lutheran hymn writers, Chad Bird, once wrote in a brief poem on Facebook, "Behold, you host arrayed in black, with rags of filth draped cross your backs.  Come stand beneath Christ's wounded side, Be bathed within the crimson tide.  For bleached with blood from veins divine Your robes, as snow, will brightly shine." 
          Indeed, see with ears of faith, listening to the Word of God, that you have received the mark of God in your Baptism, and are assured a place by His side in everlasting glory.  Thanks be to God in Chr

​Reformation Sunday                                                                                                                              October 30, 2022
Romans 3:19-28
 
God's Courtroom
 
v.19   Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
 
          Dear friends in Christ, for many years now one of the most popular genres of the movie and television industry has been that of the crime drama.  Such programs like "Law and Order" that depict a crime being committed, the suspect eventually apprehended by the police, which then leads to a trial in the courts.  Well such is the image that the apostle Paul is putting before us here in our text as he writes to the church at Rome concerning their (and our) situation before God Almighty.
          The Law of God—that is the moral imperatives or commands of God to us regarding our behaviour toward Him and our neighbor (i.e. the Ten Commandments)—speaks to all those who are under the law.  That's you and me.  As created beings, we are naturally under the Law of God—beholden to Him as our Creator.  This is true not just for the Christian, but for all human beings.  As Paul clearly demonstrates by saying, "all the world," and "all flesh."  Everyone who is in the world—everyone who has flesh and blood—is a creature of God—and therefore subject both to Him and His Law—whether we like it or not—whether we realize it or not.
          Now God's Law is perfect and good and right.  It teaches us how we are to love God and our neighbor properly: having no other gods, using His name rightly, respecting those in authority over us, not taking other peoples' belongings, looking after the well-being of our fellow man, honoring the husband and wife relationship in marriage, etc.  However, because of our sinful natures that we have inherited from Adam, we have broken God's Law, failing to love God and neighbor properly, which means that we are subject before His court for judgement.
          Now God's Law, though good, is unyielding.  That means there is no wiggle room available to us to try and talk our way out from under His judgement.  The Law speaks so that every mouth may be stopped up—blocked—closed—from trying to excuse or justify our sinful behavior. 
          Picture the scene: you stand in the Lord's courtroom, accused of gross sin against God and neighbor.  The list of the charges against you goes on and on and on—from the time you called your sibling a "poopy head" when you were two years old, to the lie you told your friend yesterday, to the anger buried deeply in your heart right now.  The Law of God speaks so clearly and eloquently—precise in its accusations—and there is nothing you can say against it that wouldn't be a lie.  You are guilty.  You are subject for your sins before God's court of justice.  The Law clearly reveals this and makes it well known—even when we would try to ignore it.
          That's a pretty bleak situation in which we find ourselves.  We have been caught dead to rights.  There is no acquittal for us to be found in the Law.  There are no extra good works that we could perform to wipe away our sin—to remove our guilt.  "For by works of the law no human being will be justified (declared righteous/not guilty) in His sight…"  You as the defendant in God's courtroom are accused of grievous sin—and the evidence is undeniable—you are guilty!
          In our television programs we enjoy watching, we LOVE this part of the show, right?  The wrong doer being held accountable—the person who has been arrested actually going before the judge and receiving a just punishment for their crime.  This is what makes the program worthwhile.  We can't stand it when someone we know is guilty gets off scot free.  However, we don’t quite feel the same way when we are the guilty party, do we?  In terms of our sin, we are desperate for release—desperate for freedom—but the Law offers no hope, no reprieve—only justice and judgement—which means everlasting death in hell for the guilty sinner.
          Such was what Martin Luther experienced as a young Christian man.  As a monk and later priest, he wrestled greatly with the clear Law of God that declared Him guilty of all sin.  He saw only God's wrath against him.  The church's teachings at the time told him that if he could only work a little harder, be a little better, then maybe, just maybe, he could eventually work off some of his guilt and sin.  But the harder he tried, the more the Law of God told him he failed.  He despaired of ever reaching heaven. 
          That is, until Luther read and studied St. Paul's letter to the Romans.  There he found Good News at last for himself and all sinners.  For though Paul is abundantly clear here that no human can be justified before God by their own works of the Law—that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"—"but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe…are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith." 
          Do you hear that, beloved?  There IS good news for the guilty sinner who stands accused in God's divine courtroom!  For there is a righteousness—and acquittal—that sinners may receive.  But it does not come from our works of the Law.  Rather, it is a righteousness—a divine declaration from the judgement seat of God the Father—that we are not guilty—that indeed we are as pure and innocent as the driven snow!  And this righteousness is found only through faith in Jesus Christ.
          For in our divine courtroom setting, we the accused do not stand alone before the Almighty Judge—the Father.  Rather, Jesus stands by us as our advocate—our defense attorney.  But rather than trying some sneaky legal jargon to find a loophole in which we can wriggle out of our sin—instead Jesus points out that He has gone to the cross to pay the debt of our sin with His own life's blood.  Indeed, the Father put Jesus forward as the "seed of the woman" who would come to undo the works of the devil—our accuser—to crush him and the effects of sin—by suffering our death for us.  Jesus has taken your place, beloved, under the just wrath of the Father for your sin.  He has paid your sentence in full—dying the death you deserve.  Drinking the full cup of wrath that you might be set free, declared righteous. 
          That's right.  Not only are we declared "Not Guilty," but we are found to be righteous—full of goodness.  For Jesus' perfect life that He lived, is also credited to you by your faith in Him.  For God must be just—sin must be paid for.  Jesus' blood has paid that debt.  The blood of Jesus has been poured out upon the mercy seat of God.  Jesus took all our sin upon Himself, and in its place, He gives us His righteousness—His purity—His forgiveness and life. 
          How then could we as Christians possibly boast before the throne of God—or even our fellow human beings?  Indeed, our bragging of our goodness is cut off—excluded.  Not by a law of works—for even our good deeds are as filthy rags before God as the prophet Isaiah declares.  Rather, our boasting is severed on account of the law of faith.  For we know and believe that we are justified before God not on account of our works of the Law, but rather only through believing in Jesus and what He has done for us.
          So this divine courtroom drama has a most unexpected plot twist at the end!  The guilty party is acquitted—at the last minute—despite all the evidence.  For their crime and punishment has been paid for by their own defense attorney—the Lord Jesus! 
          And this Good News leads us to have incredible comfort and joy all the days of our lives.  Our guilty consciences are assuaged by the fact that Jesus has died for us.  His blood has been accepted by the Father in full payment for all our sins.  There is nothing more we can do or add to what Christ has already done.  Now, we are free to love and serve God and neighbor as He would have us do, without the threat of our guilt and sin hanging over us.  What joy, beloved!  What comfort!  What peace!  "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus!  Amen.

​Trinity 19                                                                                                                                               October 23, 2022
Matthew 9:1-8
 
Take Heart, Your Sins are Forgiven?
 
v.2     And behold, some people brought to Him [Jesus] a paralytic, lying on a bed.  And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."
 
          Dear friends in Christ, this miracle of Jesus healing the paralytic in St. Matthew's Gospel is familiar to us.  It stresses the overall importance of the forgiveness of sins in the life of the Christian—that as we are sinners, our greatest need is one of forgiveness—a need which only Jesus can provide with His own suffering death on the cross—pouring out His life's blood in payment for our great sins.  We KNOW this to be true—for Scripture abundantly emphasizes this truth.  But there are times, beloved, oh there are times when this Good news just doesn't seem to comfort us as we know it ought.
          Such was no doubt the case for the paralytic and his friends in our text.  Jesus had recently come back from traveling around the countryside where He had calmed a great storm, and later gone on to heal a demoniac.  He has returned to His home town of Capernaum.  Some people, hearing of Jesus' return, seize upon this opportunity and bring to Jesus a friend of theirs who is paralyzed.  St. Matthew doesn't tell us much more, but both St. Mark and St. Luke record in their accounts of this event the fact that the men had to literally dig a hole through the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching and healing in order to let their paralyzed friend down so Jesus could heal him. 
          Knowing this then—the effort expended by these people to help their friend—their hopes and prayers for healing—can you imagine the let down they must have felt at Jesus' first words to the paralytic?  "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."  Be of good cheer—be courageous in the face of this great adversity—your sins are forgiven!  "But Jesus, we brought him to you to be healed—make him well—help him to walk!"  Forgiveness of sins is all fine and dandy, but that won't help him put food on the table—that won't help much in his everyday life…will it?
          If we are honest with ourselves, beloved, this is sometimes our reaction to the Word of Christ.  When we are facing challenges of health, mobility, finances, relationships, school, work, etc.—the declaration of Jesus that our sins are forgiven may ring hollow—it might not seem to give us much help—the help we think we need most—the help we are looking for.  We desire the cure for whatever ails us—the bigger bank account to provide us security for the future—more loving and fruitful relationships among our family and friends.  This, we think, is what we truly need!  And so we blaspheme God.
          We Christians don't often blaspheme God the same way that the Scribes did in our text—denying Jesus the power and authority to forgive sins.  For we do recognize and believe that Jesus is God—and that by His blood shed on the cross—He can and does forgive by the power of His Word.  However, we often begrudge Jesus this forgiveness—wanting more—wanting the comforts and pleasures of this life.  "Why can't we have forgiveness AND miraculous healing, Jesus?  After all, you did end up healing the paralytic eventually.  Why not me?"
          Beloved, sadly these feelings and thoughts are a natural part of our fallen nature.  For in our own sinfulness, we often think we must know better than Jesus what we need most.  "I'm sick—I need to be healed.  I'm poor—I need more money.  I'm lonely—I need more friends."  It is often difficult for us to take heart in the face of such trials in this life. 
          And yet, we are admonished, dear friends, by the Scriptures to take heed of Jesus' word—to trust in His love for us—to trust that as God He DOES actually know what is best for us—what we truly need above all else—and that IS the forgiveness of sins.  Forgiveness is our greatest good because sin is our greatest problem.  Jesus knows that—better than we do.  Our sin doesn’t just make us feel guilty or depressed or anxious—sin kills—eternally!  Therefore, Christ has come to free us from our sin—to give His life to us—to raise us from the dead and bring to us the sure and certain promise of a future life without end where there will be no pain or sorrow or suffering of any kind.  Where all our ills will be cured—where we will inherit the riches of the kingdom of heaven—where we will be surrounded by the love of fellow saints of God in perfect harmony—where we will be wrapped in the loving arms of our heavenly Father—resting secure in Him—all because of the forgiveness of our sins, which Jesus purchased with His own blood.  As Jesus declares in Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
          God, in His mercy, wants to encourage and comfort us all the days of our life.  Which is why He graciously and freely forgives our sins by His powerful Word of Holy Absolution, the washing of regeneration in Holy Baptism, and the eating and drinking of Christ's own body and blood in Holy Communion.  He knows our greatest need is the forgiveness of our sins—and so He provides sure and certain means whereby we may be assured of His mercy and forgiveness, despite what we experience in this valley of shadow and tears.
          So, beloved, we can and do take heart—take courage—at the forgiveness Jesus gives to each us.  For behind His admonition to us to take heart is the recognition that in our call to faith we have been liberated from our sins—set free from their deadly and damning consequences.  This Gospel of Jesus truly is Good News, which gives us joy and confidence.  For this blest assurance chases away our anxiety and distress and brings us into the goodness of God our heavenly Father.  For we know, beloved, we KNOW that as we have been forgiven by Christ, we are in the hands of the Victor over the cosmos. 
          Indeed, we are mindful of Jesus' words in John's Gospel to His disciples (16:33), "I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world."  Because we rest in the hands of our Savior, Jesus, who is Victor over the universe by virtue of His own death and resurrection, we have no fear whatever the world or Satan may throw our way.  We have all our comfort and peace from the victory of Christ. 
          Therefore, we do indeed, take heart—are courageous and of good cheer.  For we know that our Lord has conquered all our enemies—all that threaten us—all that harm us—and that ultimate victory is already ours.  Your sins, as serious and grievous as they are—have been fully forgiven—wiped away by the blood of Jesus.  Death, which is the result of your sin—is now but the gateway to life immortal in paradise at Jesus' side as He Himself has promised.  Even the devil—that old evil foe—has been undone—crushed by Jesus—for you.  So take heart, beloved, amidst all of life's troubles, your sins ARE forgiven, and you have been raised to glory at the side of Jesus.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

​LWML Sunday – Rev. Dr. Peterson                                                                                                     October 16, 2022
Romans 8:31-39
 
For Us and With Us
 
v.31b          If God is for us, who can be against us?
 
          Dear friends in Christ, there is something powerful and nearly sacred about holding someone else’s hand. Picture these scenarios in your mind: a new parent holding the tiny hand of their newborn son or daughter; a teacher holding the hand of a timid kindergarten student as they cross the parking lot; a brave teenager reaching out their hand to help someone who has fallen or been hurt in competition; a young but nervous couple holding hands for the first time on a date; an excited husband and wife standing before a pastor on their wedding day, hand in hand; an elderly but tired man holding the hand of his beloved wife of many decades; a family holding the hand of their loved one as he or she passes from this life to eternal life.
          Pastor Petersen shares a story:  A few years ago, my family was vacationing in Northern Michigan. We decided, along with many other people, to enjoy the sand dunes. We laughed as we ran down them, but then looked back up. It was a LONG way up. But there was only one way to get there – start climbing. At the time, one of our daughters was trying her best to climb the sand dunes, but she needed help. As her dad, I grabbed onto her hand, and together we made it to the top. It was important to not let go. It was important to maintain a good grip. It was important to stay together.
          Today is LWML Sunday. As you may be aware, “LWML” stands for “Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.” It is an auxiliary organization of our Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod (and Canada) and has members throughout North America. Truly, they are a missionary organization, sponsoring mission efforts reaching people around the world. They do that with their mites, small offerings that together help more people hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For decades, the LWML has given a strong witness to how God’s love holds each of us.
          Our text for this LWML Sunday is the epistle lesson chosen for today. I’d like us to consider the two questions raised by the apostle Paul in Romans 8:31: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Notice the main person, the subject. It is God. You’ll see this clearly in our text from Romans 8. Sometimes it is tempting to think that our success depends on our grip, our hold, or our heroism. It may be subtle, but it’s a slippery slope in our lives. Thoughts of self-dependence or “thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought” can open the door to believing we are the main people in God’s narrative. But the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, gives a different perspective. He makes it quite clear that God’s everlasting love holds us. When we are insufficient, He is all-sufficient.
Our outline for today’s sermon on this LWML Sunday is simple but significant:
          Because Jesus is for us and with us, we have no fear of condemnation.
          Because Jesus is for us and with us, we have no fear of separation.
          Because Jesus is for us and with us, we have certainty of victory.
Because Jesus is for us and with us, we have no fear of condemnation.
Paul writes: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).
          What things? Paul has just acknowledged that God has done everything for our salvation. Therefore, how should we respond? God IS for us. Since God is for us, how should we respond? Paul continues with these words:
“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:33-34)
          Why did Jesus die? To pay for our sins! Why was he raised? Because the Father accepted this payment; in other words, the check has cleared! It didn’t bounce and it was not found to have insufficient funds. He died so we might live.
And now, Jesus is interceding for us, fully engaged in the battle for us. I love the way that Corrie ten Boom said it: “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”
          Think about this personally, in your own life. Who of us in the past week has been perfect? On the other hand, how many of us have said things we would later regret? Or, have you spoken to a loved one in a tone you wish you could take back? In these past couple of years, have you been divisive in any way? Yes, me too. Yes, to all of the above. The law is convicting because the law shows us exactly where we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The pit is pretty deep…but God’s love is deeper still. His arm is long and able to rescue us; indeed, his stretched-out arms on the cross of Calvary DID rescue us. Those same arms were made alive again as Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus is for us and with us. Even though Satan wants to accuse and condemn you, the action of Jesus is evident – and the result is clear: we have no fear of condemnation.
          The important mission of LWML shares this life-saving and life-giving truth with the world. For many decades, through LWML, Gospel seeds have been sown. The Holy Spirit is at work!
That leads us to the next major point in our text:
Because Jesus is for us and with us, we have no fear of separation.
          In your mind picture again, hands joined together. God will not let go of your hand!
Paul continues in chapter 8: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)
          Notice what Paul does not say in this text. He does not say that life will be free of challenges and difficult circumstances. He does not say that distress or danger will not happen. In fact, he writes in great detail elsewhere (including 2 Corinthians) about his own experience in facing these challenges.
          We know this from our own experiences as well. Each of us could make a list of our own struggles of daily living. What would your list look like? What would you include? Who would you include? In many ways, you might feel like so much is stacked against you right now. But God declares you righteous (Romans 8:33) and loved in Jesus (Romans 8:39). Our assurance comes from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
          Our Lutheran Women in Mission have served many people for many years, whose lives seem out of control. But God is always in control, and by His Holy Spirit, has chosen to use them and all of us to serve others in love. God is love.
With no fear of condemnation or separation, we come to our third point:
Because Jesus is for us and with us, we have certainty of victory.
          That victory is made yours personally through the gift of baptism. St. Paul says in Romans 6:4: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Baptism equals victory: victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil. We are more than conquerors; we are super-victorious! One of my favorite hymns – and maybe one of yours – says this well:
“No strength of ours can match his might. We would be lost, rejected. But now a champion comes to fight, Whom God Himself elected. You ask who this may be? The Lord of hosts is He, Christ Jesus, mighty Lord, God’s only Son, adored. He holds the field victorious.” (LSB 657, st. 2)
          Our victory is not secure because of our hold on Christ, but by His hold on us. We are more than conquerors because He holds tightly to us. Therefore, we may live each day, including today, confidently trusting in Jesus. As a baptized child of God, remain in His Word. Be reminded of your identity as a victorious one in Christ. Rely on His grace. How have you been saved? By grace through faith. And respond to His call. Like Isaiah the prophet, may we enthusiastically say: “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8b).
          Lutheran Women in Mission, thank you for your hearts and hands that have shared the Gospel with many around the world. Thank you for responding to the call of Jesus.  And we thank God for your example and encouragement to each of us. May our God continue to hold us in His love, the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

​Trinity 13                                                                                                                                          September 11, 2022
Luke 10:23-37
 
Asking the Right Question
 
v.25 & 36   And behold,  a lawyer stood up to put Him [Jesus] to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"…[Jesus asked,] "Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among robbers?"
 
          Dear friends in Christ, as anyone in the social sciences can tell you, how you ask or frame a question greatly influences the answer that you will receive.  So it is rather telling when a lawyer--an expert in the Mosaic Law--approaches Jesus to test Him.  He asks a familiar question--one which is still asked by many today, in fact--"What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  What are the things that I need to do to get to heaven?  What is the list?  How many items do I need to check off before I can be sure that I've got my way in? (Different religions' answer: muslims, etc.)
          Now, in typical Rabbinic fashion, Jesus responds with a question of His own, "What is written in the Law?  How do you read it?"  To which the lawyer correctly responds with the summary of the whole Law of God; basically, "Love God and love your neighbour."  Do this and you will live, Jesus says.
          Of course, this makes the lawyer sweat a little bit--as it does each of us today as well.  For if the answer to the question, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" is "Love God and neighbour perfectly," then we are up the creek without a paddle, dear friends.  For who among us can honestly and truly say, in the light of God's holy and perfect Law, that we have faithfully, fully, freely, and perfectly loved God and our neighbour in thought, word, and deed our entire lives?  Try going one minute, let alone one hour or an entire day, without thinking ill of someone, without trusting in something other than God for your good.  It is a most impossible task for sinful human beings like you and me.
          Therefore, this clever lawyer seeks for the ever-present loophole in legal contracts.  If I am to love God and neighbour perfectly, which I cannot do, then I just need to change the parameters a little bit--make it a little bit more doable.  Jesus, just one more question, "Who is my neighbour?"  You see, if there are only a few people who are my neighbour then maybe, just maybe, I can love them properly enough to earn my way to heaven.  That's the ticket!
          To which Jesus responds with the beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan.  A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers who beat him and left him for dead.  A priest and a Levite happen to pass by, no doubt on their way to serve in the temple at Jerusalem.  So as not to become ritually unclean (and thereby unable to perform their duties of the Law), they leave the man who looks pretty well dead by the side of the road.  However, a Samaritan, an ancient enemy of the Jews, happened to come along and he took the man and bound up his wounds and delivered him to an inn and provided for his care, promising to return after two days and pay any more that was owed.  Jesus ends by asking this question, "Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?"  The lawyer, once again, correctly answers, "The one who showed him mercy." 
          You see beloved, the lawyer began by asking a very common and well-known question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  But it was the WRONG question.  That question gave him an answer with no hope--no possibility of ever attaining heaven.  For left to his own devices to love God and all people well, he knew it couldn’t be done.  Just as you and I can never hope to love in that capacity. 
          To get him back on track, Jesus, in love, tells the parable of the Good Samaritan and changes the question altogether, "Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?"  The one who showed him mercy.  You see, we are all that man attacked by the robbers.  The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh have had their way with us and left us dead before God.  For we are sinful from birth and can in no way do the works of the Law that God requires in order for us to earn our way into heaven. 
          Which is precisely why Jesus has come from the Father.  He is heaven sent by God to deliver you from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  Jesus has mercy upon you.  He proves Himself to be your neighbour by carrying your sin, your death, your despair into His own innocent flesh and carrying it to the cross of Calvary.  He binds up your wounds of sin with strips of His own flesh and gives you His blood to drink in the wine of the Sacrament so that you may be refreshed and restored by the forgiveness of all your sins that He won on the cross.
          You see, beloved, your goodness, your works, are not enough to save you.  The priest and the Levite (who represent God's good Law) cannot act to save you.  The Law can diagnose your problem.  "Oh look, there you are, a poor miserable sinner, dead and gone with no hope."  But the Law cannot help--it only condemns.  Whereas, the wondrous Gospel of Jesus is what truly saves.  For in the message of the Gospel you are given the mercy of God in Christ Jesus.  Not because you deserve it--you don't.  Not because you earned it—you didn't and you can't.  But rather because of His grace--His undeserved mercy and kindness--just like the Samaritan exhibited to the man in the parable. 
          You, dear friends, though despicable and dying sinners, failures at keeping God's Law of love to Him and to your neighbour, are, nonetheless, recipients of His grace.  You are the ones to whom He has showed mercy--you are the ones to whom He is a neighbour.  From the time of your Baptism into His holy name, the Lord God has showered you with His gifts, cleansed you of all your sin and carried you into the bosom of His blessed church where He might continually care for you and dispense His mercy to you and to all people. 
          God be praised, Jesus has paid the penalty for your sin and mine.  Jesus has suffered and died in your place on the cross and now gives His crucified and resurrected flesh to you to eat and to drink in faith.  That you might be ever assured of the forgiveness of all your sins.  For you do not earn your way into heaven by your works, rather you receive heaven as an inheritance by the mercy of God in Christ Jesus' death and resurrection.  For He who departed in death returned on the Third day--having paid all that was required--He took up His life again--to give it to you.
          You are now forgiven and redeemed people--blessed with the opportunity to show mercy to others--even as God in Christ has shown mercy to you.  This is what the redeemed of the Lord do.  We see a need and we respond in whatever way we can--whether it be to help flood victims in our own community or those caught in the horrors of protracted war in Ukraine--or, whether it simply be a shoulder to cry on for a friend in need or a chicken casserole delivered to a sick family member.  For Christians are people of faith, trusting in the mercy of God to love them, and so we respond by joyfully loving and serving our neighbour, who needs our good works.  As Dr. Luther once wrote, "Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith.  And so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly.  It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises, it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them."[1]
          Certainly, these works do not save, for even while we are doing them, we trust not in these acts of mercy that we do, but in the single act of mercy toward us by which we were saved--Jesus' suffering and death on our behalf.  Now that is a mercy worth trusting in.  His selfless love and compassion is the answer…to the right question.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.


[1] Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, Trans. J. Theodore Mueller (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954), xvii.

​Trinity 12 – Baptism of Harold (Harry) Harlen Swenson – St. Paul                                                  September 4, 2022
2 Corinthians 3:4-11
 
The Ministry of the Spirit
 
v.6     [God] has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit.  For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
 
          Dear friends in Christ, what joy we experience in our worship today, for we have been given to receive the ministry of the Spirit—the ministry of righteousness—that far exceeds in glory the former ministry of the letter—the ministry of condemnation.  At St. Paul we have been especially blessed to witness this ministry of the Spirit in action this morning as Harold Swenson received the gift of Holy Baptism—the washing of renewal of regeneration by the Holy Spirit—wherein he has been born again, and made a child of God, having been clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  As have all of you who have been baptized into Christ—who have heard His Word and believed it concerning His Son, Jesus.  The Spirit of the Lord is alive and at work within you—giving you the gift of repentance over your sin and faith in Jesus to forgive that sin with His shed blood.  What surpassing joy and peace!
          For the Word of God has two great teachings as St. Paul outlines in our text:  the ministry of the letter—the Law of Moses; and the ministry of righteousness—the ministry of the Spirit.  Both are necessary and important, but the latter comes with a far greater glory than the former.  Why?  Because the ministry of the Law serves a singular purpose, which will be brought to an end in Christ Jesus.  For the old covenant—that which was enacted on Mt. Sinai under the prophet Moses—was a ministry of the Letter of the Law of God.
          This ministry of God through Moses is important.  For by it we sinners are brought to sorrow and contrition over our sin.  That is, we recognize by the power of the Spirit working through the Word of God that we are sinners—that we have failed to keep God's Law perfectly as He demands.  God's holiness exposes our sinfulness.  Indeed, God serves us—ministers to us—by spiritually exposing the futility and destructiveness of human self-righteousness and pride, which brings about our condemnation.  For there is no sufficiency unto salvation from us, but rather our sufficiency is from God alone.
          Indeed, this is one reason why we rejoice in God's gift of Baptism—for all people—of all ages—even little babies like Harry.  For every human being is conceived and born in sin—rebellion against God—as the Scriptures clearly proclaim.  King David wrote in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."  Babies bring nothing to God in Baptism—cannot.  Indeed, they must be literally be carried to the waters of Baptism by another.  This illustrates for us both our complete insufficiency before God—and His complete sufficiency towards us.  For it is He who comes to save us—to bathe us in His blood—to shower us with forgiveness—to pour into us His life-giving Spirit.  What grace and mercy!
          So, as sinners condemned by the clear Word of God, we receive with joy and thanksgiving the ministry of the Spirit of God, which gives life.  Baptism washes away our sin by the blood of Jesus.  Not just for adults, but children too.  Hear what St. Peter preached to the Jews in Jerusalem at Pentecost upon learning that they had crucified the Lord of Life (Acts 2:37-39), "Now 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?'  And Peter 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.  For the promise is for you and your children and all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.'"
          So we see that it is the Lord, working through His Word and Sacraments (such as Baptism), that brings forgiveness of sins.  The Holy Spirit works through these means to call people to faith in Christ—drawing them near to the Father.  What joy we have in our hearts, beloved, knowing that this gift has been given to Harry, to you and to me, and to all our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world. 
          For we know that we are insufficient of ourselves to receive God's gift of life.  We know that our works are inadequate—they do not add up.  The Law of God teaches us this very clearly.  It shows in sharp relief our great sin by its light.  And we know that "the wages of sin is death."  So, this ministry of the death leads us to cry out to God for mercy—having cast off our pride in our accomplishments—having shaken off the notion that our righteousness is enough to earn God's favor—we now look to Jesus and His Spirit for mercy and life. 
          This is not to say that the ministry of condemnation did not have glory.  Indeed, it did, as it came from God.  St. Paul reminds us that Moses was required to put a veil over his face after speaking with God.  For Moses' face shone so brightly with just the reflected glory of God, having been in His presence when he received the Law of God on the tablets of stone at Mt. Sinai, that the people could not look at his face.  Yet herein Paul notes that the ministry of righteousness far exceeds the ministry of condemnation in glory.  For the ministry of condemnation has been surpassed by what has come afterward—the new covenant given to all people through faith in Jesus Christ. 
          This new ministry has even more glory for it is permanent.  For the ministry of condemnation will pass away—having fulfilled its purpose by bringing sinners to repentance—showing us the death that awaits us apart from Christ.  But the ministry of the Spirit—the ministry of righteousness through faith in Jesus—is a ministry of life that will have no end—is absolutely permanent—for it has been worked and accomplished by God Himself. 
          So that now, beloved, when we are burdened with our sin—when the devil tempts us to despair—when our flesh pushes us to abandon God's Word of truth—we can resist.  For we have the gift of the Spirit of life, beloved.  The Spirit of Christ that has been poured out upon us in our Baptism—the Spirit that preaches faith into our hearts each time we read and study God's Holy Word and hear it proclaimed into our ears. 
          The Holy Spirit plucks us out of the depths of our despair and points us to our Baptism—the holy act whereby God gave us the fullness of the righteousness of Jesus.  The perfect works of Christ—His perfect keeping of the Law of God—is yours!  The suffering death of Jesus on the cross—the death that is the wages of sin—Jesus died in your place—so now His death is also yours.  The resurrection of Jesus—His victory over sin, death, and the devil—is also now yours!  Which is why we can rejoice.  For our righteousness IS sufficient—because our sufficiency is from God.  We do not claim anything as coming from ourselves, but rather claim the righteousness of Jesus—His holy blood poured out for sinners like you and me on the cross is what grants us forgiveness for all our sins and eternal life and salvation.
          So, beloved, you need not worry come Judgement Day that you are not good enough for heaven—that you are insufficient.  For in Christ Jesus you are more than sufficient.  And the glory of His ministry of righteousness is permanent.  You will live in glory with the Holy Triune God unto all eternity.  Having been washed clean with His Baptism, and received His Holy Word of absolution—you are forgiven—you are saved—you have life and glory—you are sufficient.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.
 

​Trinity 11                                                                                                                                                August 28, 2022
Genesis 4:1-15
 
Worthy Worship
 
v.3-5 “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.  And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.  So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.”
 
          Dear friends in Christ, in our Lutheran circles, much has been said in years gone by regarding the so-called "worship wars," in which people of good will disagreed (sometimes quite vehemently) about what worship styles (particularly, "traditional" vs. "contemporary") were acceptable to practise in church.  While we are not going to be getting bogged down with the minutiae of such positions this morning, it is interesting to note in our text for this morning that it is true indeed that not ALL worship is acceptable to God.  And it is also sadly true that worship wars go back almost to the beginning of time itself, with deadly consequences.
          Picture the scene, Adam and Eve, created in perfection and living in paradise, chose rebellion against their loving God and Creator, and so were cast out of heaven, having lost the personal fellowship with God that was the hallmark of humanity's first days.  They were not, however, expelled with no gifts from the Lord.  He gave them each other in the gift of marriage.  He also gave them the Holy Word which went with them.  Particularly, His Word to them regarding the future Saviour, the promised seed of the woman from Genesis 3:15 who would "bruise the head of the serpent" even while His heel would be bruised.
          It is with this promise of God in mind wherein a sad turn takes place in our text for today.  For when Adam knew his wife, Eve, and she conceived, she clearly thought that this child, her son Cain, whose name means "gotten" or "possess" was the one promised from God who would restore their place with God once more.  Her faith in God's Word of promise is truly commendable.  She believed that in her son Cain was one who would conduct himself better than Adam and Eve.  How tragically mistaken she and Adam were.  
          Nor did these parents seem to have much regard for their second son, Abel, (probably Cain's twin).  He who was born second was not looked upon as favourably, being given the name "Vanity" or "Useless" in Hebrew.  Indeed, this is the word used by King Solomon in his epic tome of wisdom, the book of Ecclesiastes, in which he states, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."  After having Cain, how could Abel ever amount to anything much? There would be nothing for him to do. 
          Cain, then, prideful and arrogant due to his place in the family as the firstborn, fails to offer proper worship to God.  Not so much in the kind of offering he gave.  Indeed, both Cain and Abel offer to God an offering of thanks for the fruit that God had given, but Cain's heart was not in it.  He believed that merely offering the grain was enough—that it was fine to simply go through the motions—and that God would have regard for his offering because of who he is—on account of his being Cain.  And it is this pride that leads to his downfall.  Sin crouches at the door of his heart and overcomes him, leading to further sins of anger and murder and lies and deceit.  This man, upon whom so much was hoped, falls into even deeper ruin and despair than his parents before him.
          And so it seems to have gone ever since.  Generation after generation—waiting, hoping, praying—for the Messiah to come—disappointments all.  Noah—Moses—Joshua—David—Solomon—and so many more—all fail to bring to fruition this wonderful promise upon which the entire Christian faith is built. 
          So it is with you and me, dear friends.  Sin, ever crouching at our door like a home invader, comes barreling through and leads us down paths of destruction.  We may not physically murder our brother—our neighbour—like Cain did Abel—but we most certainly slaughter them in our hearts.  Our anger spikes in our thoughts, words, and deeds and we lash out at those around us—even our closest family members—causing heartache and ruin.  Our pride leads us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought.  Not only in regard to our neighbour, but also in regard to our God.
          We think that if we offer the Lord whatever we have left over—that it is enough if we simply show up (and then only if it isn't too inconvenient)—that our hearts need not be in this holy house.  Yet we cannot fool the Lord God.  He who created you—knit you together in the womb of your mother—knows everything about you.  He knows your prideful arrogance—He knows the hatred buried deep down—and yet He still loves you.  He calls you to repentance through His Word. 
          In love, God sent His only-begotten Son to offer up His blood in sacrifice for your sin and mine.  The blood of Jesus now cries out to the Father in heaven—not accusingly—but redemptively—mercifully—"Father!  Forgive them!  For my sake, have mercy upon them!  With this blood I pay their debt!  Receive them once more into your heavenly kingdom!"  And the Father, amazingly, even after all that we have done—all that we have said—all the evil we have thought—even though our sin nailed His innocent Son to the cross—our heavenly Father listens to His Son—and forgives.  He forgives you...He forgives me.  He forgives all, who like Abel, come to Him in faith, trusting in His mercy, even as the tax collector did in our Gospel reading.
          This is the point made by the author to the Hebrews.  He states, "By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.  And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks."  Abel's example of simple faith and trust in his merciful God, still speaks to us today.  We hear of the love of God for all people in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts, leading to acts of love and service to God and neighbour alike.  We offer up our hearts, lips, and hands to our God.  Singing His praises and giving back to Him a portion of what He has first given to us.  Not because we have to—or need to—in order to receive mercy—but rather in response to having ALREADY received mercy in Christ Jesus.
          Beloved, it is faith that is required to please God and to be acceptable in His sight.  Faith that is at the heart of all true worship of God.  Faith and nothing else.  Our accomplishments—our good deeds—even our love—all fall short of the perfection required.  Only One was able to offer up the most perfect and acceptable sacrifice—the Lord Jesus on the cross.  By God's grace, simply by believing in Him and His work for us—all that He has done is now credited to us!  Your best works, which apart from faith are as filthy rags, now, combined with faith, are made perfect in God's sight and glorious before all the heavenly host.  And it is this precious blood of Christ alone that will always wash away your sin and keep you in the Father's good graces.  For this blood—this Christ—never stops crying out for your benefit.  For in His bloody sacrifice is found not death, but life everlasting, for all those who believe.  And that, dear friends, is what Christian worship is all about.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

​Trinity 9                                                                                                                                                  August 14, 2022
Luke 16:1-9 (10-13)
 
Management 101
 
v.8     “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.”
 
          Beloved in Christ, I’ve never owned nor operated a business as some of you have.  I’m definitely not someone whom you would call business savvy—indeed, I hire someone to file my taxes for me because I just don’t understand how it all works.  Yet this parable Jesus tells His disciples strikes me as rather odd, especially from a business perspective. 
          The story goes that a lord discovers that his household manager—one who controlled and looked after all the business aspects for the lord—his very right-hand man as it were, is not doing a very good job.  In fact charges were laid that this manager was actually wasting the lord’s possessions.  What does the lord do?  Does he fire the dishonest manager?  Well, sort of, but not fully and completely—not yet.  He tells the manager that he may no longer be manager, but does he immediately remove the man from office, at least until such a time as an investigation can be launched into the manager’s accounting skills, so as not to make a bad situation worse?  No.  Rather, the lord asks for an account of the manager’s activity—and leaves him in charge—with no other supervision in place!
          Now that is odd enough.  But in looking at the next verses, we veritably shudder at the results of what appears to be the poor wisdom of the lord.  For what does the manager do?  Does he go and get the books and simply lay them before the feet of his master?  No, he starts messing with them.  In fact, he acts very quickly to undermine the master’s possessions once again by calling in the man’s debtors and having them reduce their bills by significant amounts. 
          Now, at this point what would we expect?  The fury of the lord against the manager?  Perhaps some official criminal charges to be laid, resulting in some hefty punishments and prison terms?  Well, that is what we would expect because that is what we would do, but we are astounded at the master’s response (as also Jesus’ disciples would have been as well—especially the businessmen of the group:  Peter, Andrew, James, and John who owned and operated their own fishing business, not to mention Matthew who was himself an expert in financial matters as a former tax collector).  No, indeed, rather the master actually commends the actions of the dishonest manager.  And what’s even more shocking is that Jesus apparently endorses his actions as well and seems to be advocating that we act in a similar way.
          That is one reason why this parable has always troubled me, as I’m sure it has many of you as well.  Yet, let’s look more closely at the text.  What does the manager actually do?  When he is told by his lord and master that he is going to be fired he quickly searches out his options.  Digging as a general labourer?  No, too old—can’t do that.  Begging?  That’s even worse—it’s downright degrading for a man of his important status to be reduced to that!—not to mention leaving one with very poor prospects.  So what then?  What can he do?  He finds that there is no answer to be found within himself—his own works—his own abilities and talents.  Rather, he must search for a solution outside of himself. 
          Instead of looking to the actions of the dishonest, though shrewd, manager—we must look to what he looked to for his hope and help in time of need.  Indeed, to make sense of this entire account there is only one way to look at this parable—through the mercy of the lord. 
          Sounds crazy right?  But just think about it for a minute.  The dishonest manager was commended for shrewdly going to his master’s debtors and having them reduce their debts.  This would be a dangerous thing to do at any time, but especially in first century Israel where a man could be killed, placed into slavery, or face other dire and severe punishments for such an act. 
          But look at how he acts.  He has the debtors act quickly to change their bills.  So that the debtors—people who no doubt rented land from the lord and paid back a tithe to him for it—wouldn’t realize that the dishonest manager was acting without the lord’s prior consent or knowledge.  They would think that the lord was the one ordering this generous change on their behalf.  Thereby raising up the status of the lord in the eyes of all.  Indeed, their readiness to re-write their bills indicates their belief that this generous act comes from the hand of their master, perhaps under the gentle persuasion of the wise steward, but certainly not the steward’s own desperation.  Their community is dependent upon the mercy of the generous lord and has come to expect this kind of mercy from him.
          When finally confronted with the truth, the lord would have two options:  either retract the altered bills, thereby causing unrest and anger toward him from his own beloved people, or, he could leave it alone—thereby receiving praise and honour from his debtors.  He goes with the second option, which was really no option at all—for he desires to further secure the goodwill of his renters, and this he does by remaining true to his own character, a character distinguished by love and mercy.
          It is then that the master commends the dishonest manager for acting shrewdly as he trusted in the mercy of his lord and staked everything on his compassion.  Which is exactly why Jesus commends us to act similarly as well, not only in regard to Christ, but in regard to our very possessions as well. 
          Possessions often tempt Christians to be distracted from the main focus of their salvation, diverting us from our true source of hope, and riches beyond measure.  Often, rather than putting our trust in our merciful Lord and Saviour, we look to our possessions, our own faculties and abilities to give us security and happiness in this world.  Look at how we often respond to pleas for mercy and help from our neighbours near and far—those who need our resources of time, talents, and treasures—we often horde these things for ourselves—not only depriving our neighbour—but even our Lord’s church of these much-needed things.
          Christ in this parable is here calling us to repentance.  Calling us to relinquish our control, our desire, our passion for our possessions—calling us to put our trust not in the things of this world, which are here today and gone tomorrow, which so quickly pass away, but rather to trust in our merciful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  He who has given us every good thing.  He who loves us without fail for all eternity—He who has taken our enormous debt of sin upon Himself and nailed it to the cross with His own flesh—pouring out His blood  to redeem us (buy us back) from the deadly consequences of our sin.  We are to trust that He will give us what we need for this life—and ever firmly believe that He has managed our account of sin so perfectly that it has been wiped out from the eyes of His Father forever.
          We can serve our neighbour freely with our good works and possessions of time, talent and treasure because our Lord has freed us for this very purpose.  In the person and work of His own beloved Son, we have been blessed with a very wise and shrewd steward of our souls.  Indeed, our account before our God was deep in the red.  No amount of work on our behalf could ever pay for that enormous debt of sin that hangs over every single human head, with the consequences of everlasting death and damnation as our just payment.  Yet, by His gracious working—Jesus poured out His own red blood on the cross to cancel our debt, thereby bringing us into the Lord’s good books—the book of Life—forever. 
Each week, every day, every hour, every minute that we feel the cumbersome weight of our sin upon our shoulders, slumping us in the debt of our sin—our Lord comes to us with the amazing promise of His own flesh and blood in meek bread and wine—to bring us out of debt again and again—to refresh us with His outpoured mercy—freely given for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Our loving Lord has managed our life with His death, freeing us to share all things with our neighbours.  He has been faithful in much—so that by His grace, through faith in Him, we might be debt free from sin and inherit the eternal riches of life and salvation.  Thanks be to God, in Christ Jesus.  Amen.