Holy Thursday Sermon, 2019

Holy Thursday, 2019

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed... well, that night is here. From sundown on Thursday, it is full bore, full throttle for Jesus – on to the Passion and Good Friday. No sleep, no rest for Him tonight. And on that night, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, the great feast of deliverance of the Old Testament. It was the religious highlight of the year. The Ten Commandments in Scripture are introduced with “I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” And that deliverance, that Exodus really kicked into high gear with the Passover – when the first born of Egypt died, but those of Israel were saved, covered by the blood of the paschal lamb.

And it is Maundy Thursday now. And Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with His disciples, but there is something bigger going on. The Exodus, the first Passover – that was just a temporary reprieve. All those who ate that first Passover and lived, well, they died. Death passed them over, but only for a time. That old Passover lamb and that old blood was good for just a bit – now, it was a great bit, and a wonderful thing, but it was still just temporary, just for that day.

And there, in the upper room, with those disciples that Jesus serves, the ones who so often didn't understand what He was doing, Jesus establishes a new meal, a new supper. Not a meal that only works once but then is just replayed out as part of a yearly party. No, Jesus does something new and much more profound with His meal. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, all the world, in all times and places and days and ages, and so He establishes a new meal that is effective and true and wondrous in all times and places, even this day and unto the end of all the ages. Christ Jesus gives us His Supper.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My Body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them saying: “Drink of it all of you: this cup is the new testament in My Blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” In the Supper, Jesus gives you Himself. It is His true Body and His true Blood under bread and wine, given to us Christians to eat and drink. It is Jesus' Body, which is Crucified for you, so that you do not bear up the punishment of sin. He took that sin up from you. It is His blood which is shed to forgive you your sin, to remove it from you and cleanse you from it. Your sin is gone, and in its place you are given Christ Jesus Himself – you are given forgiveness and life and salvation.

For understand this, in this Supper Christ Jesus Himself is present. This is not just a symbolic thing, it is not just a thinking about the past sort of thing like the Passover meal was. No, Jesus does something different. The Passover was a memorial – a monument dedicated to something of the past. The Supper is “remembrance” – and this is where we get tripped up by the English language. We think first and foremost of “remembrance” as a looking back. That's not the point – this is a present and repeated giving of Christ here. The way I like to explain it is like this – when I was a kid my mom would say, “Eric, did you remember to take out the trash?” She wasn't asking if I could remember two months earlier about that one time when I had taken the trash out – no, Eric, right now, this moment, is the trash taken out? The same idea applies to the Supper. This do, in remembrance of Me – this do and Christ Jesus gives Himself to us and is bodily with us right now, as often as we eat this meal. That is what it is for – Jesus being with us.

And that is why we treat this meal with respect. That is why we follow His Word and Institution. No doritos and coca-cola, no cheese slices and grape juice. No, we receive what He gives to us as He wishes to give it – and we recognize that Jesus is here in a wondrous way, giving us a great gift. This is why St. Paul warns us “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the LORD in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the LORD.” And worthiness here is not a matter of how good you are or how hard you've prayed – fasting and other bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training – But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” That's the point, that we recognize that Jesus is here in this Supper to do something wondrous – to give us forgiveness. And we don't mess around with it. We don't undercut Jesus' Word. This is Jesus here to forgive us, and we are to believe this, for “anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” Now, Paul maybe talking about physical illness or death – but he's primarily speaking to faith. If you mess around with the Supper, if you treat it like a play thing and worthless, if you take your eyes off of Jesus, that damages your faith, and even can kill it. How else does faith die other than people ignoring and disdaining Christ and His Word?

But St. Paul says this not to scare you, not to keep you away from this altar – for Christ has said, “take, eat; take, drink” - this Supper is for you. It is a powerful gift – but because it is powerful we need to treat it with the respect it deserves. A car is a powerful gift – but if you mess around while driving it is a most dangerous gift. And you don't get in the car with a driver who is flippant and careless either. Modern medicine is a powerful gift – but if abused things become horrorific, so you don't abuse medicine nor do you go to a doctor who writes out prescriptions carelessly. Likewise, we pay attention to our Lord's Word, and we don't mess around with the Supper, and we don't join in when other places mess around with it, when they teach that it is just a symbol and does nothing, or when they teach that it's a sacrifice that their priests offer to God. No, the Supper is Christ's Body and Blood given by Christ for you for the forgiveness of sin– and so we only receive the Supper when and where that truth, where His Word, is clearly and faithfully proclaimed. That's why we don't just commune anywhere willy-nilly, nor do I let just anyone who claims to be a preacher preach here or celebrate the Supper. We treat the Supper with the respect and care that it is due, because we dare not abuse this gift. Doesn't mean that we are dour or mopey with it – that too misses the point. We don't make the supper the supper by our own preparations. It is the Lord's Supper – He does it.

So we listen to Christ and know what it is for. This is Jesus giving Himself not to the smug and self-righteous, not to the folks who know better than Him, but to sinners in need of His forgiveness. And that we are. We are sinful folk. We have many sins and trials and temptations. And when you see that, when you know your lack, then Christ Jesus calls you here to His altar. When you see your need for Christ and His strength, then you are ready to receive this promise for your good. And Christ Jesus is faithful, and whenever we celebrate His Supper, He is present for you, to forgive you, to strengthen you, to give you faith in Him and also to fill you with love, His love, for your neighbor.

And having established this meal on the night He was betrayed, having prepared the Church to receive His gifts until He comes again, Jesus seals the deal. He goes to the Garden and is arrested, and is accused, and suffers, and dies. And the Testament in His Blood, His Will and Testament, goes into effect. He dies, so that you have forgiveness, life, and salvation – and He comes to you again and again so that you receive this, rejoice in it, delight in it, even until we enter the never-ending feast of the life of the world to come. This is what Jesus does for you. In the Name Christ the Crucified +

Good Friday Sermon

Good Friday, 2019

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

They were afraid. They were afraid. Over and over, throughout the Passion of our Lord, we hear that people are afraid. When Jesus said to them, “I AM” they drew back and fell to the ground. The big, tough Jewish boys who were sent by the priests to round up the Troublemaker, they were afraid. And Peter, standing in the courtyard, he was afraid. Pilate was afraid – the priests complain that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, and we hear, “When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.” And Pilate was afraid of no longer being a “friend of Caesar” - Caesar's friends who stopped being his friend – well they ended up dead. And if we want to be honest about it, even the chief priests were afraid – afraid that Jesus was going to stir up a rebellion that would get Jerusalem destroyed. It's an understandable fear, because historically Jerusalem does get destroyed in a rebellion not even 40 years later.

They were afraid. That has been the way of the world since the fall. We often speak of sin unleashing death upon the world – and that is most certainly true – and we see what sort of death sin unleashes, humiliating and horrific death. But even before we get on to the reality of death, there is the anticipation of death. There is fear. That's the first thing Adam says after the fall - I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. I was afraid. I had sinned, and I know that the wages of sin is death, and there You are, LORD, walking in the garden, and surely that means that I am going to die.

And that fear dominates human history. Whether its the normal every day fears and worries we face, or the overblown fears that are mainly just in our heads, or whether it is the false bravado and bluster done to try to prove that we aren't really afraid – “don't you call me chicken” – fear is there. And fear drives us most cruelly. What is the reflex – fight or flight? That's what human history has been, that is what so often our own lives are. Stupid, senseless fights and lonely, desperate flights. And our fear is so strong that we fear even good things. We fight those who love us, we run away from people who care. Fear dominates human history – and all of it can be boiled down, drawn back to the simple, first fear. God is here, and I, a sinner, deserve to die.

And there is the LORD God, standing in another garden – not in the cool of the day, but in the chill of the night. He had been there with His friends praying, but they couldn't stay awake with Him. And then this Passion drama of fear unfolds and plays out. Of course it does – Adam was afraid when the LORD entered the garden, so of course when the LORD Jesus is in this garden fears are going to be all stirred up. Surely we have to do something, surely we have to stop this Jesus before there's massive death and rebellion unleashed!

And there stands Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, sent to take away the sin of the world. The One Who knew no sin Who became sin for us. And did you note that throughout this swirling whirl of fear, Jesus is the only one in the entire passion account who isn't afraid? He's sorrowful – that's how Matthew describes Jesus' prayers as we heard this past weekend. Jesus knows that what is coming is going to be utterly wretched... but there He is, God Almighty, who had formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life. And there He walks amongst His creation, He walks with His friends, those whom He created to be His friends, and there's just a massive wall of fear. Sin separates man and God... the fear that flows forth from sin separates everyone from everyone else.

And so Jesus goes forth calmly and determinedly to destroy sin, to undo this pall of fear cast upon us. The fearful soldiers come to arrest Him – and without fear Jesus takes care of the disciples – gets them out of there. Jesus even calmly helps the soldiers – stay on task, folks, arrest Me. Oh, let Me heal that ear. Calmly, without fear.

Then, the sham trial. If anyone should be fearful, you'd expect Jesus to be. No, it's Peter in the courtyard who is freaking out – but Jesus, calm, utterly calm, even when they slap Him and mock Him. Even taking Him to Pilate, even when Pilate calls out authority – Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You? Why aren't you afraid, Jesus – why isn't your fight or flight kicking in? I've already beaten You and flogged You, why are you just standing there? Because, Pilate, you have that authority from above. I Myself gave it to you, so that you would help to protect people, especially in the midst of this sinful world full of fear. But no sinful man can do the job right, so I must put an end to fear and death, and you are going to use that authority I gave you to see it done, Pilate.

And then, and thus, to the Cross. The horrors there. The fear, the primal fear. Adam hid from the LORD in the garden because of sin; because of sin the LORD Jesus is dragged out of the garden and stripped of his garments (now gambled away), and hung on a tree, naked and exposed and brutalized. And even there, sin doesn't master Him. Even there fear doesn't dominate Him.

Jesus remains calm. John, take care of mom. I thirst – to fulfill the Scriptures, I am going to calmly point to everything in the prophets that pointed to Me. And from the cross, His own body battered, Jesus looks upon all that fear and sin and death, and He says, “It is finished.”

And Jesus dies.

What does this mean? St. Paul writes – For the love of Christ controls us. He writes – We regard no one according to the flesh. No, we no longer see simply through the eyes of fear – If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself. With His death, Jesus puts an end to sin and death. He undoes the root cause of your fear. John in his first epistle writes - There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. John is talking about this moment, the death of Christ Jesus. That word “perfect” is the same word as “finished”. Jesus, with His love that has no fear, says, “It is finished, it is perfect” and He does this to cast out your fear. He takes up punishment, all the punishment possible, to cast out your fear. To bring you into love again, His love.

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, saw this, proclaimed it in the months just before Jesus was born. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And there, on the cross – it happened. It is and has been and is forever finished – your salvation is accomplished. You are saved and redeemed and rescued and forgiven. And Christ Jesus comes to you today, to make sure that you know this, that you have the knowledge of the forgiveness of your sins to strengthen you in the face of the sins and fears that you face. The Spirit which He gave up, He gave to you, He gives to you again and again in the preaching of His Word. The water which poured from His side is the same water that washes you clean in Holy Baptism. The Blood – yes, that is the blood that He gives to you in His Supper. Because of Christ, you are forgiven. This is reality, this is truth. And, as we shall see on the third day, because of Christ, you shall rise. +

Lent 5

Lent 5 – April 6^th and 7^th, 2019 – John 8:42-59

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason that you do not hear them is that you are not of God. And thus Christ Jesus throws down the gauntlet before the scribes and the pharisees. All of Chapter 8 in John is describing discussions Jesus has in Jerusalem, discussions where He proclaims the truth about sin and mercy, and people don't like it. So Jesus calls a spade a spade. You don't listen to God's Word because you are not of God, because you don't trust God, because you hate God.

These proud people try to fight back against Jesus. The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” That sounds a bit too formal for us – here is what they are saying. “I knew it! I knew it! This guy's a (insert racial slur of your choice) and possessed! He's crazy!” That's why we aren't listening to you Jesus, you are trash and nuts – we will dehumanize You and belittle you as an excuse to ignore You. Ponder that for a moment. The Pharisees use language designed to treat Jesus as less than human, when He is in fact both True God and True man, the best human being who ever lived. But do you hear how far gone these people criticizing Jesus are? They are completely caught and wrapped up in trying to fight off Jesus and His Word in anyway possible.

And I could go over the argument blow by blow – but let's cut to the chase. Why? Why are these people so adamant that they must tear down Jesus? It's all a matter of trust. Remember from two weeks ago – When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted. The armor in which he trusted. There were many things that the Jewish people of Christ's day trusted in. The Pharisees trusted in their piety – and Jesus pokes holes in that. The Scribes trusted in their knowledge – and Jesus pokes holes in that. The Saducees trusted in how sophisticated they were, the Priests in the glory of the Temple – and over and over Jesus pokes holes in that. But there was one thing, one fall back that all the Jewish people trusted in. You'll hear it in a moment.

Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My Word, he will never see death.” What a great promise from Jesus. Anyone who clings to His Word, who hears and listens to Jesus will not see death! You aren't going to see death or the grave – you die and today you are with Me in Paradise – that's what Jesus is here to do! Fantastic! And yet – what is the response to this wondrous promise? “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste death.' Are You greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do You make Yourself out to be?” Did you hear it? Where do they flee to, what's the thing they they all have in common? Abraham. Their heritage. When push comes to shove, and when their standing, their reputation is at stake, what is their fall back position? Abraham. Abraham is our father. Abraham is awesome, so we win because he's our father. My dad can beat up your dad. (If there's anything more stupid to say to the Son of God than “my dad can beat up Your Dad” I can't think of it right now.) That was their pride, that was what they trusted in. They turned their lineage, they turned Abraham into an idol. And how dare You assert, Jesus, that You are greater than Abraham. How dare You say that You are greater than our idol.

And they missed the point. They missed the point completely. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad. Abraham wasn't focused on how great he was. He knew how weak he was. Abraham looked towards the LORD, looked towards the coming of the Messiah to rescue him, to rescue his son Isaac. Of course Abraham saw the day of Christ – Abraham heard it when the LORD Jesus said, “don't kill Isaac – I'll provide a substitute.” Abraham saw it when he looked up and there was a ram caught in the thicket – a placeholder until the LORD Himself would become Man and be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and puts an end to all sacrifices and destroys death and redeems us all. Jesus is the One who saved Abraham, who saved Isaac – if Abraham didn't hear the word of God telling him to stop, Isaac would have died and none of you blowhards would have been born! It's not about how great Abraham is, or how great any sinful human being is, it is about how great and rich God is to save through the Messiah, and that's what you've forgotten.

Bah, you've seen Abraham? Of course, because I AM. I AM the LORD. Abraham is my friend, and I blessed Him greatly. And at that, they determine to kill Him. How dare Jesus say that He is God, that He is better than their chosen idol. They have to kill Him – it's either Jesus or their idol, one has to go – and so Jesus has to go.

This lesson, my friends, was not written so we would be able to look at those people then and say, “Oh, how silly they are.” No, it was written to warn us, to silence our complaints, to keep us from ignoring the Word as they did. So, I will ask the question – when push comes to shove, when you are attacked or belittled, when you get called on something – how do you respond? If someone launches a devastating attack upon you in an argument, what's your go-to defense? There's a ton of possibilities – pshaw, don't they know how hard I work? I do more than them. I've been a member here longer than them. I've been a Lutheran all my life. My kids are better than theirs, I mean have you seen how lousy they turned out? Don't they see how successful I am – who are they to talk? On and on the list could go. So think about it, when someone pokes you about something that you've done wrong, and you know it, you know that they're on point, that they've hit a sore spot, how do you hit back? How do you belittle them and elevate yourself?

Because you know what that response is? That's your armor in which your sinful flesh trusts. That's your idol.

We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things – but when push comes to shove what do you want to trust? What card do you play? What is the trump that you think will carry the day? That's your idol. And really, if you think about the fights and arguments we get into, they really are just a battle of our idols against each other. My idol is this, so I bang her over the head with it, and her idol is that, and so she whacks me with that – back and forth, smashing our idols into each other.

And the saddest part – a lot of times our idols aren't bad. We idolize our good works – well, your works are a gift to you from God. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. They are a gift from God, yet we turn them into an idol. I've been a Christian all my life – well, that's a gift from God, yet we turn that into an idol. My family, my possessions, all those things – again, gifts from God. These are first article gifts – the things listed off in the meaning of the first article of the Creed – He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. All gifts from God... and instead of simply receiving them as gifts, we weaponize them and use them to bash our neighbor.

But the real danger is when we want to use them against God. When we want to use these gifts as an excuse to ignore God and His Word. When we trust in these gifts instead of the One who gave them. The most dangerous idol isn't something that is bad – if something is outright evil and wicked it will come back to bite you. Eventually, hopefully with those you'll hit bottom. But the worst idol, the most dangerous one is the best thing about ourselves, the richest and most wonderful blessings given to us by God that we then turn against Him. It was a fantastic blessing to be a Jew, to be a child of Abraham – yet they turned that against Jesus and used it as an excuse to ignore Him. Likewise, Satan will tempt you to use to best gifts you have received from God as an excuse to ignore God, to pretend that you don't really need a Savior. After all – don't you see all the nice things I do, and I've been a good member here for a while, and see all my stuff and my success.

Sorry folks. Those blessings don't say a thing about you. You are and remain a sinful, selfish human being. And the wages of sin is death. And you can't get out of it. He who dies with the most toys... still dies. But this is where God Almighty, in His wondrous mercy acts. Those temporal blessings – those really are about Him – He chooses to give them to you without any merit or worth in you, simply because He delights in giving. But more than just temporal blessings – the Father sends the Son to the cross, so that father Abraham would not see his son Isaac die. Jesus goes to the cross because sin means there must be death, your sin means there must be death, no matter how much we want to pretend that this isn't the case it is – and so Jesus says, “I will go to the cross, and I will die – and all who keep hearing My Words will hear Christ the Crucified proclaimed – and they will have life.” You, you have and you will have life in Christ – because by His Word and Spirit He takes away the armor you trust in and fixes your eyes upon Himself. You are of God, His own child, Baptized, called, enlightened, redeemed, and sanctified. And in Christ, you live, and you receive every blessing of both body and soul, now and forever.

And the time is come. Next week – Palm Sunday – the triumphal entry, and then the Passion of our LORD, the true triumph over our sin, over Satan, over death itself. And all of this is done for your good, to be a blessing to you, a blessing greater than all the other wonderful blessings God freely gives. And why? Because Jesus loves you, and He loves forgiving you. And He always will. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Lent 4

Lent 4 – March 30^th and 31^st, 2019 – John 6:1-15

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

The fourth week of Lent is known sometimes known as “Refreshment Sunday”. It’s a week where we ease up a bit on the intensity of our self-examination and penance in Lent – where we take a slight breather. If we wanted to be really prim and proper, and if we actually had them – we’d have the pink, the rose colored altar cloths on the altar, just like the 3^rd week of Advent. It is the final rest stop, the final breather before Lent takes us through its intense push towards Golgotha, towards Good Friday. This is a relaxing, refreshing day. And so, our Gospel text is the feeding of the 5000. It’s a familiar text, a great text, a refreshing text. So, let us look at the text, and see what we learn about how God refreshes us.

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius. And a large crowd was following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. So that is the setting. People following Christ, people wishing to hear His Word, listening to Him, all gathered. They’ve been there all day. They are tired. They are worn out. They are hungry. Imagine yourself there. If I go over 15 minutes on the sermon, how many of your eyelids get heavy? Now imagine a sermon that lasted all day. By the end of our hour here, how many of you are sore from sitting in the pew? Now imagine 12 hours walking after Jesus, or at best sitting on the ground looking up hill. We can imagine how sore and tired those people must have been.

But we also see and understand how tired we ourselves are. It is hard to be a Christian, isn’t it? It is tiring work. All around us we see people taking the easy way, the wide path that leads to hell. We see people backbite and stab each other – but we strive to show respect as instructed in the 4^th Commandment. We see everyone else simply look out for themselves, but we strive to support our neighbor in his bodily needs, as instructed in the 5^th Commandment. We see people jump from person to person in pursuit of pleasure, but we strive to be faithful, to show love to our spouses even when that can be quite difficult, as instructed in the 6^th Commandment. We see people get ahead by hook or by crook – but we strive to do things honestly, as instructed in the 7^th Commandment. We see people attack and speak cruelly of others, but we strive to defend them, speak well of them, put the best construction on everything, as instructed in the 8^th Commandment. And all this we do – while trying not to covet, while trying not to look over the fence and see what our neighbor has and think, “Boy, they’ve got it so good.” Dear friends, I would suggest that our lives as Christians are more wearying than simply sitting, more painful than the hunger after a day without food. The Christian life is hard – God sets a high standard for us and we strive to do His Will – we strive – it is hard work, hard and tiring work.

Lifting up His eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, Jesus said to Phillip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Phillip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a boy here who has five barely loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” We strive to do God’s will – and it’s hard, and oftentimes we stumble. Look at poor Phillip. Jesus lays out the Commandments to him – ah – how are we to care for these people’s bodies and lives, Phillip? And Phillip draws a complete blank. Um, I don’t know Jesus, I hadn’t really thought about it. Phillip falls flat on his face. And Andrew, well, he’s a little bit better. Uh, here’s what we have Jesus – but it won’t do any good. Do you hear the despair, the resignation in Andrew’s voice? Well, it can’t get done. The life of a disciple was hard, and Phillip and Andrew, with this task before them, fail.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? How often at the end of the day, when thinking back on something from the day, do you look at it and think, “I messed that up royally. I completely blew it”? One of the most amusing things in the catechism is what Luther writes after the evening prayer – “Then go to sleep at once and in good cheer.” I find that hard to do quite often. The folly, the wickedness I have done this day gnaws at me, and the burdens of the morrow hang in front of me. It’s hard, seeing your sin. It’s hard when you've got to do something and afterwards you realize you handled it completely poorly. Often times we don’t handle the challenges in our life the right way. We stay silent when we should speak up and defend our neighbor – or we speak up and gossip when we should stay silent. We work and work when we should be paying attention to the Word – or we see our neighbor, the stranger in need, and we sit back and lift nary a finger. We look with disdain upon the blessings we have and look with lust at what our neighbor has. And then we kick ourselves. I knew better than that! We see our lives for what they so often are – chances to do good where we do wickedness instead – chances to show the love of God where we simply show our own hate and indifference. Sometimes, we even despair, like Andrew here. Oh well, what good it is – no matter what I do I will mess up. We are beaten and broken down quite often.

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about 5000 in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barely loaves, left by those who had eaten. It’s not a problem for Jesus. Phillip – he doesn’t know what to do. Andrew – eh, what good are these few loaves, these two fish? It’s not a problem for Jesus. He takes care of things. He sees that people need to be fed – and so He feeds them. He sees that Phillip and Andrew cannot, so He does it for them and through them. It’s not a problem for Jesus.

This is what we are to remember in our lives as well. It’s not a problem for Jesus. Do you see your own sin – does it weigh heavily upon you? It’s not a problem for Jesus. He stretches His arms out upon the Cross and says, “Let me take that for you.” Your sin isn’t your own any more – Christ Jesus has taken it from you. The burden of it – He has taken it. Yes, your sin is great. It’s horrible and wicked. There are probably things you are still kicking yourself for from long ago. Christ died for that sin, and He has taken it from you. It’s not a problem for Jesus. And when Satan and your flesh stir up guilt, flee to Jesus for refuge, confess your sin, for your Lord is faithful and just, and will cleanse you from all, all your unrighteousness – even the big, dark, scary skeleton in the closet ones. That is why He calls you to His house, week after week – to give you forgiveness – so that you know that the flaws and follies of the past week are done away with – put to death upon the Cross. So that you receive His forgiveness and the confidence in His love that comes from forgiveness.

It’s not a problem for Jesus. This is what we are to remember when we think about the things that will come – the challenges that we will face, the seemingly insurmountable difficulties that will come. It’s not a problem for Jesus. He has claimed you in the waters of Baptism, He has joined Himself to you, you are His now. Do you see and understand what this means? You’ve sung it since you were little. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The Holy Spirit has made you His dwelling place – do you see what that means? Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. It’s not a problem for God. He knows our lack, better than we do, in fact – and He is the one who provides us strength. Consider what God gives to us in the Supper. This meal isn’t just symbolic play time – it’s not just us sitting back wistfully and thinking about good old Jesus. Christ supports and sustains us in this life – He strengthens our weak, tired bodies with His own Holy Body and precious Blood. In this sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given. We are forgiven. We are given life – life for today, life for tomorrow – Christ’s own strength to thrive. All these things in our life that cause us consternation – they aren’t problems for Jesus.

Jesus looked upon the 5000 with compassion and fed them. Likewise, Christ looks upon you with compassion, and He takes up your burden and gives you His forgiveness. “Hence all fear and sadness! For the Lord of gladness, Jesus enters in. . . . Thou art still my purest pleasure, Jesus, priceless treasure.” In the Name of Christ the Crucified + Amen

Lent 3

Lent 3 – March 23^rd and 24^th, 2019 – Luke 11:14-28

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

In the season of Lent, we see Jesus tackle problem after problem. The first week in Lent, Jesus took on Satan in the desert and toppled his temptations. Last week, Jesus took on sinful and arrogant pride that would have us look down upon others. And today Jesus tackles another major problem – the problem of self-justification. And self-justification is a bigger issue than we normally think, it's a more pernicious problem than we normally give it credit for. As an example – just for a moment, think back on this past week and an argument or disagreement that stands out in your mind – and imagine you're going to tell someone how things played out, how things happened. Got the rough shape of your story? Alright – is that a story of how you messed up, or is it a story of how someone else messed up and did you wrong and its not your fault? I'd wager that for most of us it's one where “there I was, just minding my own business when so-and-so suddenly went and did blah blah blah.” We like to spin the story so that the fault, the blame, rests upon someone else – or even if we have our bit of wrong doing, the real heel or villain of the piece is them. In fact, if we do end up going a bit too far, well, it's because they made me do it. Think for a moment of all the ways you've spun the stories so that your fault is minimized and it's really the other person's fault, it's really what they did, not you. That is self-justification, and as we are sinners my friends, there is always an ever present temptation and desire to self-justify. And when self-justification is left unchecked and unfought and uncalled out, it leads to rank stupidity.

Listen. Now [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven. Here we have two examples of utterly stupid self-justification. You have people who want to reject Jesus, to ignore Him – and this is not mere foolishness. My friend Thomas, who I do my podcast with, mentioned last week that he had read the first 11 chapters of Matthew out loud while he was on a trip – and he was dumbfounded at just how blunt and heavy the Law of God is – how the standard is beyond us. Jesus' ministry isn't all just healings and miracles; it is often blunt teaching on the law. And these complainers are hearing that, and they need a reason to ignore Jesus, they need to justify themselves apart from and without Jesus – they need a reason to spin it where He's the villain and they are the righteous hero. And they find the flimsiest excuses, they grasp at the weakest of straws. Oh – this Guy casts out demons, um, He's probably in league with demons. Oh, um, we need a sign from heaven, something in the sky – down here in front of us with a demon just isn't enough. These are all excuses tossed out to keep themselves the hero and cast Jesus as the bad guy.

But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them.... Note first – Jesus knows what they are thinking. He knows that this isn't an actual logical bit of confusion on their part, or a simple misplaced expectation – Jesus knows self-justification when He hears it. So He calls them on it – Every Kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan is also divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. Boy, seems like Satan's been really powerful and effective for someone whose kingdom is as poorly run as you are asserting. That sounds kind of dumb. But it gets worse – And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. Oh, yeah, that's right – people all over Judea are casting out demons in My name (this sort of annoys the disciples a bit, because the disciples want to be the heroes of this story) – if I'm wicked I guess that means your son is wicked too. You wanna try running that one by him, hmm? But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. You can't admit that this is divine, because then you'd have to admit that this is the Kingdom of God – but you don't want to be justified and rescued, you want to self-justify your dislike of Me and what I say – and you know you can't.

No, you want to know and understand what Jesus is doing in His healings, in His preaching – When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, He takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Satan thought He was pretty tough. Well, I'm bigger than Satan, and I have come kicking down the doors of his house and am beating the tar out of his demons and I'm rescuing My people. Oh, and by the by - you in your sin think you are pretty tough too, pretty righteous. Well, I have come preaching the Law of God in its full sternness, showing you your sin, taking away that armor of self-righteousness that you trusted in – and I'm actually doing it to rescue you. Be rescued, because Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. You can be rescued – or you can be the problem. You don't get to be the hero of this story. You can be My friend and sidekick whom I have rescued, but you don't get to be the hero, because I know your sin, and you're in a world of hurt.

My friends in Christ Jesus, be on guard against the sin of self-justification, because it is subtle and it worms its way in and it will grow and grow and taint everything. There is nothing more dangerous to your faith than self-justification. Think about it – is Satan going to tempt you successfully to rob a bank. Probably not today – and if you are actually tempted to knock off the bank – don't. That's a far, far hill. But can Satan tempt you, even successfully, to start thinking of yourself as the innocent victim, to start seeing more and more how it is all their fault? That's one's easy... the thing is, it grows and grows, and the more and the more villainous you see them, the less and less you love them – you remember that whole love your neighbor thing – in fact, love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you? But when the seed of self-justification grows and grows – there's just anger and disdain. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of the person is worse than the first. Do you see how that works, how that story plays out? I used to be really bad, but then I got my act together, started going to Church. I am so much better now than I used to be. But I tell you what, Bob over there, oh, he is terrible. Why, just this past week, do you know what he did – why I never thought that someone could do that.... and the last state of the person is worse than the first.

This the the temptation that Satan will lay upon you – to make you stop seeing your sin, to try to sweetly and quietly put sin as a thing of the past. Satan will make you think that you are a good person, that you are just fine. I know we in the LCMS will often rail against the liberal churches that go on and on about accepting all sorts of sexual sin – but do we not do the same thing with ourselves all... the... time? Do we not do the same thing every time we tell the story where they are wrong and I'm just here as innocent as a dove? If we say we have no sin – we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Jesus will not let your self-righteous and your self-justifying lies stand. Jesus will not let it be about how great you are. As He said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” Oh, but can it be about how great Your mom is at least, Jesus? No. Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and – don't mishear that Word keep. “Keep” does not mean “do”. This isn't you're blessed if and only if you do all the things the bible says and see how I'm such a good person and better than Bob over there – and that leads you to being a hell bound unrepentant sinner yourself. “Keep” means to cling to, to protect, to keep on hearing it over and over, even when it says things about you that your sinful flesh doesn't like.

Because that's what the law of God will do. It will show you your sin. Over and over again. And there's never going to be a day in your life when you'll come to service here and you won't have sin to confess – that is just the simple reality of it. You will always, always need Jesus. And what Satan is trying to do with all of his temptations towards self-justification is to tell you that you really don't need Jesus, that you can make perfectly valid excuses to ignore His word and not hear it.

But Jesus brings the Word to you again. The Holy Spirit brings to your mind the Word again. You are His Baptized child, and Jesus came to be your Redeemer. He came to justify you – you don't justify yourself, Jesus justifies you – that is what He did with His death and resurrection. And He doesn't meekly let Satan have you. He doesn't meekly let your sinful flesh have you. No, Jesus will show you your sin – that's part of what we need here in this place, to see our sin. But Jesus does not stop there – isn't that how our terrible self-justifying stories go? I spin it so that Bob is a jerk and I leave it there and feel smug and good about myself? Not what Jesus does. Jesus shows you your sin, and then He forgives you. He rescues you from that sin. He frees you from it. He declares that you are not defined by your sin or your pretend lack of sin but rather defined by the fact that He has suffered and died for you. Your life is not about, centered, or defined by you – it's defined by the blood of Christ Jesus shed for you and for the remission of all your sins. That's the old term – remission - and I like it. It's not just that Jesus forgives you, it's that He keeps driving down your sin – whatever that sin is. Whether it's something big and obvious to everyone, or whether it's that subtle self-justification – Jesus gives you His Supper to forgive that sin and drive it down into the ground. He washes you in Baptism to drown that sin, so that a new man might emerge.

Forgiveness is not a gentle thing, my friends. It's simple and easy – the Word, maybe attached to water or to bread and wine – but it is not gentle. It declares war on your sinful flesh, and the Son of God fully armed and dangerous declares war on your sin to rescue you from it. And He does so in His Word. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Lent 2

Lent 2 – March 16^th and 17^th, 2019 – Mathew 15, Especially verses 21-28

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Many pastors, maybe even most, take our Gospel text as an opportunity to preach upon the topic of prayer. And this is certainly something that is quite fine and reasonable – the Canaanite woman is certainly a fine example of steadfast faith flowing forth in constant and persistent prayer – and I most certainly hope that you would be constant and persistent in your prayer too. And the point will be made that she keeps on praying even when things seem against her and you should be like her and this is how you should behave. That never quite sat well with me for a simple reason. What else is she going to do? This isn't a situation of “I want you to remember to pray before every meal, just like this woman did.” A demon is messing with her daughter; of course she's going to be persistent in prayer. So it's not struck me as odd that she prays. What is odd in this text is how Jesus treats her.

Consider – we have very few texts where Jesus comes off as rude. He might be blunt – Woe to you Pharisees! He might be angry in the face of wickedness – flipping over the money changer's tables. But when is Jesus rude? When does He turn someone the cold shoulder? That doesn't seem like a very Jesus-y thing to do, now does it? I'd argue that a bit of context would help. The very first verse of our text is Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus has just left – He has withdrawn. That word “withdraw” is the same word in Greek used for leaving a battle field. Jesus has just been in the middle of a fight in the beginning of Matthew 15. Jesus had been perfectly happy teaching and preaching up north by the Sea of Galilee, when we hear in Matthew 15:1-2 - “Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.'” Oh, and here come the respectable busybodies, trying to make everything just so. Think about this – Jesus had just fed the 5000, and walked on water, and was healing the sick – oh, oh, oh – wait a second. Did everyone wash their hands first? And a big conversation about what actually defiles a person ensues – verse 11: “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Your man made niceties and traditions don't do a thing to fix or prevent sin – they just give you a reason to bad mouth people stupidly and show yourselves to be wicked.

So that is what Jesus withdraws from. He is so sick of “good Jewish folk” that He goes up to Tyre and Sidon to just hang out among the gentiles a bit and get a break. And Jesus gets up there, and there's this woman. Matthew calls her a Canaanite woman – Luke calls her Syrio-Phoenician as that's how the Gentiles would understand her race, but Matthew uses the word “Canaanite”. Okay – who were the Canaanites? They were the pagan, wicked folks who dwelt in the promised land before Joshua started clearing them out. And the children of Israel balked at doing that, and so there were some still there, and they were wicked and evil, and if your son married a Canaanite woman he was going to get into all sorts of stupidity and you had centuries of false worship that lead to Israel and Judah being destroyed by foreign armies – and there she is, right there. A Canaanite woman. The example of what gets a good Jewish boy into trouble. And do you know what the tradition of the elders said you should do, what the Pharisees and Scribes in Jerusalem would be proud of? Behold a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, 'Have mercy on me, O LORD, son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.' But He did not answer her a word. Jesus there follows the Jewish custom to a T. You didn't speak to, you didn't even acknowledge that a foreign woman existed. She might lead you into sin, she would defile you if you dealt with her.

So, disciples – is this what Jesus is supposed to be? Is this how you want the Messiah to act? You got all bashful and ashamed when the Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem came... is this how you want Jesus to act? Because frankly, what the woman says is amazing. She calls Jesus the Son of David – you know, David, Jewish king who conquered all that region. She calls Jesus LORD – she's using Divine, Messianic language – but, oh no, we mustn't talk to her, what would the people in Jerusalem say?

I'm guessing that this went on for a while, because we hear, And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, 'Send her away, for she is crying out after us.' Um, Jesus, do something. Did you note – none of the disciples want to address her – they are the ones who really have the hangup. They don't know what to do. It's interesting, that “send her away” can either mean get rid of her or it can mean free, forgive her. It's “cut her loose” - whether it's loose from this demon or just loose from us either way. This is awkward Jesus, do something with her. And then Jesus hams it up – He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Oh no, I'm supposed to only be here for the good little boys and girls – right? Isn't that what the Pharisees you are so worried about impressing want? I guess my hands are tied.

Do you see what Jesus is doing? He is hoisting the disciples on their own prideful petard. It's the parent looking at the teen and going, “Oh, no no no, this is how you wanted things, right?” But the woman doesn't care about any of that. She gets bold. But she came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, help me.” Hear that knelt rightly – she got down in the posture of prayer, of worship – she worshiped Him – that's how the old King James translated it. And Jesus keeps playing up to the disciples: And He answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” Alright, disciples – are you back clapping and high fiving yet? I'm acting like some sort of haughty religious frat boy who thinks we “lawful” Jews are too cool for everyone else – isn't that what you wanted? Because this isn't said directly to the gal – it's just a response tossed back to the boys.

And there is the woman, still worshiping. Remember how temptation works – did God really say? Disagree with God. You know better. Get angry and huffy when things don't go your way. I don't deserve this. How dare you. But there's the woman, still worshiping, and instead of saying no, instead of yelling or getting angry, what does she say? “Yes, LORD.” Yes – You're right. This isn't a matter of me having a right to demand anything of You, this isn't a matter of my will must be done. You're the master and I'm the dog – I'm not going to fight you on that – that's utterly accurate. But You are the master, and I know something about You, I have heard what Your Word proclaims about You - “Yes, LORD, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” It's fine that I'm a little dog – in fact, it is good, right, and salutary that I am a little dog, because I'm Your little dog, and You take care of Your little dogs – You make sure there are crumbs and scraps enough to satisfy the desires of all living creatures. She doesn't defend her worth, her value at all. She doesn't talk about what she's done – she simply points to Christ Jesus and who He actually is.

And then, and only then, finally, Jesus speaks to her. Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. Yep. You nailed it. You get it better than all those scribes and pharisees, you get it better than the disciples. You weren't focused upon yourself, your dignity, your importance – you kept your eyes on Jesus. And Jesus heals the daughter – of course He does, because that's who He is. He just kicked the tar out of Satan last week – a piddly little demon ain't going to be no problem. No, my friends, the demon's not the problem in the text. We are.

When you look at Jesus, who do you see? What do you want to see? Do you want the Jesus proclaimed in the Scriptures, or is there some other Jesus you want? The Scribes and the Pharisees wanted a prim and proper Jesus who would tell everyone how great they were and their customs were. Frankly, that's still what we can be tempted to want – a Good Housekeeping Jesus that makes things just so. Or maybe a Jesus who respects how great we are here and how much we've done for Him – who lauds and praises us for all our hard work – maybe One who will even give us an award with with plaque on it. OoooOOOooo. Or if you look around Christendom, you'll see all sorts of the things. The Jesus who will give me money, the Jesus who will validate and affirm every stupid and/or wicked idea I have. The Jesus who just happens to agree with every single political opinion I have. A pastor I know wrote a book entitled: “Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up: 12 False Christs” - it goes all over various fake Jesuses that we are tempted to seek after.

But no. You know who Jesus is? He is the kind and loving Lord who still takes care of you even when you are a miserable and mangy dog. He is the LORD who redeems you, even when you have nothing to give to Him, no good works to lever or manipulate Him with. Especially then, actually. Do you know who Jesus is – While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Your relationship to Jesus, it's not defined by what you can do. It's not defined by where you come from or who your parents were. It's not a matter of all the ways that we are so used to acquiring power and privilege in this world, no buying your way into a heavenly scholarship here. And your sinful flesh will fight against this – which is why you were washed in the waters of Holy Baptism. It's why this baptism means that daily your Old Adam is to be drowned with contrition and repentance. Because your sinful flesh will always want to make things be about, hinge upon, rest upon you. But it doesn't. It rests upon Christ Jesus and who He is. And do you know who Jesus is? He is the LORD who not only defeats Satan, but He is the LORD who fights down your sinful flesh, and calls forth a new man to daily arise. He is the LORD who feeds you not with mere crumbs from His table, but with His own Body and Blood so that you are freed, loosed, released from your sinful pride and ego and freed and strengthened in faith towards God and love toward your neighbor – even the neighbors the hoity toity and prim and proper would turn their noses up at. That's who Jesus is, and that is who you are in Christ. A lowly dog, yet well fed and well cared for. A sinner, yet forgiven. Dying, yet living in Christ and awaiting the resurrection. All because of Jesus. Come, let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the real Jesus – the Jesus who is the author and perfector of our faith. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Lent 1 Sermon

Lent 1 – March 9^th and 10^th, 2019 – Genesis 3 and Matthew 4:1-11

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

“... and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And there it is. There's the clincher – the final twist of Satan's temptation in the Garden. When you eat the fruit and strike off on your own, you'll get to do what you want, you will get to say what is right and what is wrong, you will know – you will experience to the fullest – good and evil. And Adam and Eve ate, and ever since then, sinful man has been foolishly telling God how to do His job. Think of the endless amount of complaining we do about God. Think about how often our friends come sauntering up to us, “How come God would let this happen”. Think about how often we ourselves complain and think that we ourselves would know better than God. And thus we knew, we experienced evil – thinking we know better than God. That's what evil is, and all the misfortune that spins out in the world since stems from and flows from man thinking he knows better than God. And Garden falls apart, and life turns into death, and the ground begins to bring up thorns and thistles, and pain increases. This isn't the punishment of a mean or capricious God – it's just how our sin broke things. That's just how evil works, and we choose evil.

Yet even as God spells out in blunt terms how things are broken, even as we are tempted to grouse at Him and blame Him, the LORD makes a promise. The LORD looks at Satan who had messed with His good creation, and the LORD says to Satan, “I will put emnity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” I'm coming for you Satan. I'm coming for you, and I am going to fix this mess that you've tempted Adam and Eve into. I'm coming for you and for death and this little wicked kingdom you've ruined for yourself. And yes, it will hurt Me, but I will crush you, and I will win.

And many, many years later, the LORD God stepped forth into the wilderness. You realize that this is who Jesus is, right? The same LORD God who would walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day, who dressed down Satan after the fall, who promised salvation – that same LORD became Man, and He took upon Himself all the junk and dreck that the fall had unleashed on His creation – His beautiful garden that was good now turned into desert and wilderness where there's nothing but thorns and thistles. And why does Jesus go there? Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. To be tempted by Satan. To do battle with the Devil. To succeed where Adam and Eve failed.

And so Satan comes on up, and he says, “If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Hear the temptation rightly. Satan doesn't doubt that Jesus is who He is. The demons all recognize Jesus all the time. Satan knows Jesus is God – that “if” isn't doubt. Jesus, you are God – why would you do something as stupid as fast for forty days? Why, you can just whip up bread on a whim. Why suffer – don't be so stupid God. So why is Jesus fasting – why is He suffering? But He answered, “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” Do you remember the Garden, Satan – where I spoke and things were – I called forth trees and there were trees and I gave them to Adam and Eve and they ate? They ate because My Word gave them food – but then they listened to you and ignored My Word, and they would be given to hunger and driven by their appetites. They would work and sweat for their bread. And so, I will suffer with them. I will share in their suffering – but even more than that, I will be the Man who lives by the Word of God. I will not serve My Belly. That's not who God is – the LORD God is not ever self serving. So no, I will not serve Myself – I will obey the will of the Father and grind you under my heel, Satan.

Do you see, my friends? To be sinful is to be selfish. It is to do what seems immediately good in your best interest regardless of the cost, regardless of what God says. And that is how we are tempted even to this day – to do what we want when we want, regardless of what God says and regardless of how it impacts our neighbor. And there in the wilderness, Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, resists that temptation.

So Satan tries again. Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command His angels concerning You,' and 'On their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike your foot against a stone.'” Well, fine Jesus – but You're God. What good is a scrawny God suffering out in the desert? Tell you what – here's what a “god” should be like – tossing around power and might. Picture it – right here in the middle of the services while everyone is here, You jump, the angels show up, every one sees it, everyone knows that You are God and awesome. Why not, since you are the Son of God after all?

Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, 'You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.'” Did you think that was the point of Divine protection – so man can go and do any crackpot stupid idea and then grouse at God about how there shouldn't be any consequences? Really? You think it's good to play chicken with God? Is that what you think God is – some Andrenaline Junkie who needs to go skydiving with an angelic parachute? That has nothing to do with loving God. That has nothing to do with the Word. That has nothing to do with serving the neighbor. That's utterly selfish and dumb. Why would I call something that dumb “good”?

Again, my friends – Jesus resists. It's not about acquiring human glory. It's not about fame. It's not about our ideas of what a god should be like or how god should be treated. We don't get to make those decisions – that's up to God. He speaks and we are to listen. And we aren't to use His Word as a cover for our own stupidity or wickedness. But that is something that we have excelled at since the fall – how much wickedness and stupidity goes on in the name of God? But right there Jesus resists that temptation.

One final card left to play in Satan's hand – the one that always would win for him. Again, the devil took Him up to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these I will give You, if You will fall down and worship me.” Did you note the shift? No longer is there a “if you are the Son of God” - now it's just time for Satan to cut a deal. You want sinful man, you want this world – fine – you can have them. Just let me be in charge big J. Worship me. And the thing to realize, dear friends: this is a serious offer from Satan. Sin had made us Satan's property – his to do with as he pleased. Here you go Jesus – you can have your humankind without suffering, without fasting in a desert, without any heads getting crush or heels getting bruised. I'll let you be the king of this dying world – just let me be it's god.

Did you hear it, from Satan? He wants to be god. He wants to be worshiped. And you know what – our sin means we want to be god, we want to be worshiped, we want our word to be law. Sin drives us down that same path as Satan – that path that cries out, “I'll give you anything and everything, just let my will be done.” Oh, think of all the stupid bargains and trades that sinful man will make, that you yourself have made. Just to get that something that you thought you would want, and you get it and it's empty and not all it's cracked up to be. That's sin spilling forth.

And Jesus says, “No.” Jesus chooses the cross. Jesus chooses to suffer and die – Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.'” The Word of God is fulfilled. It happens. And Jesus will make sure that it does. Because here's something you may have missed or not noticed in what Jesus says. Man shall not live by bread alone. You shall not put the LORD your God to the test. You shall worship the LORD your God. We hear those phrases as commands – these are what I am supposed to do so I better get cracking and do it otherwise God will be angry.

Too late. “Oh, I better do it” – that ship's already sailed. We've already confessed our sin, our fault. You and I, we've lived ignoring God's word, and we put Him to the test, and we fear and love and trust in other things above Him all the time. That's what sin is. But you know what? Jesus is God, and His Word is how it is. And what did He say? Man shall not live by bread alone. Shall not. That's future tense – the day is coming when man is not going to live by bread alone – the day is coming when they will no longer fight for scraps but I will take away their sin and they will see Me and know that they live by My Word. I will fix things, I will make a new heavens and a new earth and it will be good again. And do you know what it will be like for you, dear Christian, in the life of the world to come? You shall not put the LORD your God to the test. You will never end up wanting to do something stupid or push the boundaries, because you will know that all that He gives you is good. And you know what else? You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only shall you serve. The day will come, when you will rise to new life, and you'll no longer serve your belly or your whims or your fears or your passions, but you will simply and only serve God, and once again, as it was in the beginning, it will be good.

Because that's what Jesus is going to do. Because that's why God becomes Man. Jesus comes to wreck havoc and destruction upon Satan and Sin and Death – He strides on into the middle of sin and death and rips it apart from the inside, obliterates it, with His own death upon the cross and His resurrection. And why? Because He's God. And He promised. Because He loves you and there's no way He's going to let Satan have you. He has crushed Satan's head for you, and because of this, because of His love for you, you shall live by His Word free from sin and all evil. Because that's who God actually is. God is not some thing of our own devising and desiring – rather, He is the Creator who is determined to do good to you and for you. And there He stands – having defeated Satan and His temptations for you. And there He will go, fighting down demons and sin and even death for you. And He does this now in you – for you are His baptized child, for you receive His own Body and Blood to strengthen and forgive you. And He shall do this for you forever, you shall see it in full in the resurrection – and that is His promise to you. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Ash Wednesday Sermon

Ash Wednesday – March 6^th, 2019 – Jonah 3

In the Name of Christ the Crucified +

Jonah is a terrible prophet. He is the worst prophet in the bible – might be part of the reason why I love him. In Jonah chapter 1, God tells Jonah to go preach to Nineveh, to warn them of their impending doom. And Nineveh was a wicked, brutal place, the enemy of the Kingdom of Israel – the country that would eventually wreck and ruin Israel in 722 BC. God tells Jonah to go east to Nineveh, and Jonah hops a boat going west towards Tarshish. That is a lousy prophet.

And we know the next part of the story. A mighty storm comes up while Jonah sleeps in the boat, and all the sailors are terrified, and Jonah admits that he is running from God... and finally they toss Jonah overboard and the sea calms, and they worship the LORD. But that's not the end for Jonah. God appoints a giant fish – and Jonah spends three days in the belly of the giant fish express which swims him up close to Nineveh and spits him out onto the shore. And in those three days, confronted with a watery grave and saved by the stinking belly of a fish, Jonah reconsiders his opposition to God. He will go and preach.

Our Old Testament lesson tonight starts off with his preaching. “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” That's it. Okay, I'm sure he repeated himself and expanded upon it, but that was the gist of his preaching. In 40 days, you are going to get it. You suckers are going to pay. You've been lousy jerks, and your uppance will come! Think how harsh and terrifying that preaching would sound. And the thing of it is, that's what Jonah wants. Chapter 4 of Jonah has Jonah sitting outside the city waiting for God to destroy it, wanting God to smite. This preacher wants Nineveh dead. He wants them gone. And there he goes, walking through Nineveh, proclaiming its doom.

The King of Nineveh knows a proper warning when he hears one. And the king of Nineveh knows that if God wanted to punish his city, well, they'd have it coming. Nineveh was known for being brutal – earlier this year I found a history channel show from when they actually showed history, and it was about ancient armies, and the first army they showed, the emblem of despicable power and wickedness was Nineveh. Brutal, evil stuff. The king knows they've been terrible, the people know that they've been terrible. So the King calls upon them to put on ashes and sackcloth, to fast. Everyone. Why? “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

Who knows. These are some of the saddest words in the entirety of the bible. They are words of doubt and desperation and fear. Imagine this – imagine this weekend we go through confession, and having said Amen, I stand up, turn around, look at you, and go – eh, who knows? The people of Nineveh knew wickedness, but they had no knowledge, no understanding of a merciful God. Of course they didn't – they themselves certainly weren't merciful, so the best that they could hope for was the best that Nineveh's victims could hope for – maybe the bloodlust will be sated before they get here – maybe the army will turn and get bored and go home. Maybe if we look miserable enough we won't be worth destroying.

Do you see? Jonah hadn't taught them of who God is. He hadn't proclaimed the steadfast mercies of God, how God is faithful. Jonah did not proclaim that the Messiah would come, the descendant of Abraham in Whom all nations would be blessed. To use the Lutheran term, Jonah preached not a drop of Gospel – it was nothing but law. And the people of Nineveh were left with no specific or concrete hope – and when God does spare them, they never hear why.

Who knows. What a horrible thing. The point of the Scriptures, the point of preaching today is so that we are focused upon the sure and solid promises of God to us! We know, because God has said so. That is who knows. And this year, in our Lenten services, we are going to look at some of the promises of the Messiah that God proclaimed through Isaiah – things where God let us know through His prophets what exactly He would be doing for us.

You know, my dear friends, how the story goes. You know that happens at the end of these forty days. Christ Jesus Himself goes to the cross and wins salvation and forgiveness and life for you. Your repentance is not one of doubt, the ashes are not ashes of ignorance – we do not repent in ignorance nor do we confess in fearful desperation. God is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, because He Himself wins salvation, He Himself goes to the cross. We do not heap piles of ashes upon ourselves hoping to get His pity – this little dusting of ash is a reminder for us, not for God. It reminds us that repentance leads and goes to and is completed and finished by Christ upon the Cross. Yes, dust you are, and to dust you shall return. But because Christ Jesus goes to the cross, dust you will not stay. The same LORD who in the beginning took dust from the ground and breathed into it the breath of life has purged away your sin, and His life shall undo your death. Your dust is forever changed by the Cross. Because Jesus lives, so shall you – and you shall rise to new and everlasting life, righteous and holy with Him, as He is.

And this is not a “who knows” sort of thing. It is the promise of God, accomplished for you by Christ Jesus. It is sure and certain and true, long after the ashes are washed off our foreheads. In the Name of Christ the Crucified +