Advent 3 Sermon

 

In the Name of Christ Jesus our Advent King +

    How do you know Who to look for? When looking for the coming Messiah, how do you know who He is? John – John knew. John knew the Messiah before he was even born – For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. This is John. John saw Christ and cried out Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! – words which we will echo here in a few moments. This is John, who when Jesus comes to him to be baptized boldly proclaims, I need to be baptized by you, and do You come to me? This is who John is – of those born of women none is greater than he. This is John, Christ’s own messenger. But now, John is in prison, never to get out again. John is on his way to the chopping block, literally. Was this the way it was supposed to go? I mean, we are talking about John, the forerunner of the Messiah. If there’s anyone that God should get out of nasty messes like this, you'd think it would be John. And yet, there he is. A dark prison cell. Time slowly passing until an ax-man with a silver platter will come. This isn’t what I thought the time of the Messiah was supposed to look like – this isn’t the powerful Christian life I envisioned. Locust and wild honey – sure. Camel hair and wild clothing – sure. Mighty preaching – sure. But isolation in a prison, a preacher left with no one to preach to, and just looming despair and death. Is this really what this was all about?

    So John calls for his disciples, and he sets them on a task. Now, when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are you to the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Did I mess up? Was I wrong, was I mistaken? Right now everything is broken and has gone to pot; where’s the time where everything is fixed?

    Jesus has a fantastic answer which He gives. Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” A wonderful answer. John baptized, John preached – Jesus does everything better. Jesus heals – washes way even leprosy. Jesus preaches even to the poor – the lowest people are gladdened by the news they hear. This is a wonderful thing – and it shows that Jesus is the right One. See the signs that He is doing – He is indeed the Lamb of God, the One that we are to follow. John’s disciples learn that they themselves are to follow this Jesus and no other. Yes, He is the One who was promised; He is the Messiah.

    Now, go and tell John. Jesus remembers John, even in the midst of his suffering and trials and tribulations. Is it dark in that prison John – remember that the blind receive their sight. Are you bound and unable to leave – those crippled and bound now walk. Is it dank and dirty – even the lepers are cleansed by me – those isolated by deafness hear – and yes John, even the dead are raised. Yes, death is coming for you, a wicked little dance will do you in John, but it will not be the end – the dead are raised. This is the good news that is preached to the poor – even to those rotting away in a prison cell. Go and tell John – tell John that he will be supported in his time of trial by Christ’s own Word. And so John, his disciples, everyone there is prepared for what is coming because they have been focused upon Christ, because Christ has shown Himself to them.

    So, what do we take and learn from this? First thing, right off – even for Christians, even for the best of us, life in this world will sometimes be scary and terrifying. This is what Satan wants to do – he wants us isolated and to make us see just how rotten and bad things are. Because, it’s true, things are rotten and bad. John’s story didn’t turn out like he probably hoped. How many hopes and dreams do we have that never happen or fall apart? And whenever that happens Satan will jump up and down and say, “look at this, look at these horrible things – is this what your life as a Christian amounts to?” And there are many ways that we in our sin will try poorly to deal with this. We can try denial, just pretend things aren’t bad, ignore the elephant in the room. We can just try to keep ourselves too busy to care, too drunk notice, we can close our selves off more and more to keep all that bad stuff away. But it doesn’t fix it. And then, Jesus speaks. And does Jesus do? He points us to Himself. Yes, this world is messed up, but look at Me. The blind are healed, the lame are made to walk. I have come to fix things – not just now, not just for a day, not to make sure that your tomorrow is joyous – no, I come to suffer and die and rise so that your forever is fixed, so that your life is eternal and will last past the moments of this day.

    This is how Christ prepares us today to face whatever we end up facing in our lives; this is how we are prepared this Advent season for the celebration of Christmas. We may not see so much the blind seeing or the lame walking, but there is one thing from that list that Jesus gives that we here in this room see and hear and experience. The poor have good news preached to them. Does that not continue on unto this very day – do we not gather here, together in this house as the poor in spirit, as poor, miserable sinners who have the Good News preached to us? Think on what we receive in preaching, in this service. Is there a time you are sent out those doors left to wonder whether God actually loves you – or rather is Christ continually proclaimed to you – is not the Cross of our Crucified Lord continually held before you – See what Jesus has done for you with His death and resurrection – you are forgiven. He is risen, and no matter what happens to you in your life, you will rise to new life because of Him. This is the good news given to poor, miserable sinners – this is your windfall, a windfall of mercy and grace. And does this not color our lives – does not the Lord’s forgiveness shape us and how we see the world? Thus we are prepared for the Lord’s Coming, be it the celebration of His first coming at Christmas or His second coming whenever that will be.

    But Jesus gives you even more than just preaching. When he was Baptizing, John said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Do you not realize that you have this – that you have the very Baptism that even John the Baptist looked longingly towards. Advent is the time of preparation for Christmas – and how are you prepared for Christ’s coming, how are to you keep your watch for Christmas? Think on what a gift you have received in Your Baptism. Not only were you washed clean of your sin, but you were joined to Christ – you were made part of His Body – Your Body became His temple. If this is true, if God’s Word on the wonders of Baptism are right – do you see what this means? You are baptized and joined to Christ – I would say that prepares you for Christ’s coming. Think on whom He has made you to be – you are now God’s own child – this is real and true. God prepares you by Baptism. As Luther puts it in the Large Catechism, “Thus it appears what a great, excellent thing Baptism is, which delivers us from the jaws of the devil and makes us God's own, suppresses and takes away sin, and then daily strengthens the new man, and is and remains ever efficacious until we pass from this estate of misery to eternal glory.” With this gift, you are prepared – remember it daily – this is why Luther recommends starting and ending each day with the Invocation and the sign of the Cross – the sign given to you as your own at your Baptism.

Again, we have another treasure for our preparation in the Lord’s own Supper. Think on what the Lord does – He gives us His own Body and Blood – and with it forgiveness, salvation, and life. Do you wish to be prepared, do you wish your watch for Christ to be right – then make use of the Supper! Hear again the Large Catechism, “On this account [the Supper] is indeed called a food of souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are first born anew; but (as we said before) there still remains, besides, the old vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and there are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes also stumble. Therefore [the Supper] is given for a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger.” Everything you need, everything that is required for your life in Christ is given to you here; you receive from Him all that you need. Just as John and his disciples were pointed to Christ, we are pointed to Christ, indeed, we receive Him so that we are strengthened.

Cling to Christ, dear friends – trust in Him and His strength – receive the gifts He gives you. In this way, dear friends, you will be kept strong and prepared what whatever befalls you in this life – and you will be able to welcome Christ with gladness come the last day. You are not left alone, you are not forsaken, and even in the midst of your sorrows, Christ is with you, for you are Baptized, you are fed on His own Body and Blood. In this world, Satan will show you sin and terror and troubles – but there is a greater truth, a more wondrous truth. Christ Jesus came, was born, suffered, died, and was buried, and He rose again – and He did all this for you, for your salvation. You belong to Christ, and He will defend you ever more – even until He comes again on the Last Day. Come Quickly, Lord Jesus. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Advent Midweek 2 - 2nd Article

 

Advent Midweek 2 – The Second Article

In the Name of Christ Jesus our Advent King +

    So last midweek in the Gospel lesson we had the rich young ruler who didn't want to give up his stuff. In response, the ever cheerful Peter says, “Oh, look at what we've given up to follow you, Jesus!” And here we see the patience of Jesus, the wisdom, the love – because Jesus doesn't lay into Peter here for his pride or bragging – that's what Peter is doing here. If you tell someone to do something, and they fail, and then I pop up with a “well, I've done all that already” - I'm being a brown-nosing braggart. But Jesus doesn't rebuke Peter directly. Instead, Jesus teaches. Jesus teaches us what precisely He is doing by becoming incarnate and living and preaching. Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come.

    Now on the one hand, this is simply speaking to the church. We are called to follow Christ, even when our families and friends don't like this – and we gain the church. I have far more brothers in Christ than I do human brothers. But there's a weight, an impact to what Jesus is saying that slides on by the disciples, and it can slide on by us. Who for us men and for our salvation – left His Home in heaven, left the right hand of the Father, and was made Man. What you have here is Jesus describing what He Himself is doing, what the point of His coming was and is. Jesus leaves heaven and comes to earth to win salvation for the Kingdom of God, to fill it with many brothers and sisters, including you and me, both for now and for the life of the world to come.

    This is the beauty, the wonder of the fact that Jesus is both True God, begotten of the Father from all eternity, and True Man, born of the Virgin Mary. When Christ comes at Christmas, He gives things up. He sets aside His power, His glory... and He takes on weakness and frailty and hardship. Hear how Philippians 2, the text we hear read on Palm Sunday, puts it - “though He was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men.” This passage has one of my favorite little Greek-isms in it that's so hard to put simply into English – He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He didn't hold on to the fact that He was God; He didn't go around like some spoiled brat saying, “Don't you know who My Father is” - He doesn't call upon His identity, His privileged His status – although He is God – in the shape and form and reality of being God (again, more Greek-isms) – Jesus lets that all be ignored. He doesn't cling to it – because for Jesus as He comes to earth all His own power and mighty and glory isn't important. You are. You are more important to Jesus than His own respect and power and praise and heaven itself.

Jesus left all that behind, and He made Himself nothing – He emptied Himself of all His power and glory, and was born just like we are. Jesus doesn't just appear as a fully formed adult – He comes as one of us. He is an infant, too weak to lift His head. He comes, and He has to learn how to walk. He comes, and He has to grow. The stained glass there doesn't show it, but boy Jesus in the temple probably had acne and I wouldn't be surprised if His voice cracked a few times when He was talking to the Rabbis. And all this is to gain you salvation, to rescue you from the powers of sin and death. Jesus is True God, but He becomes True Man... and for a time, Jesus sets all the rights, powers, and privileges of being God aside – because His focus is on saving you.

    And how does that happen? Note what Jesus does in the Gospel lesson. There's been all this talk about giving things away and following Jesus, and leave family but gain the kingdom, and Jesus pulls the 12 aside. Whenever Jesus pulls the 12 disciples aside, He's going to explain something to them, to spell things out more clearly. I'm really diving into how Salvation will be accomplished – and He says, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.” As we say in the Catechism, Jesus purchases and redeems us not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. There's a very practical reason why to be the Savior Jesus can't hold on to His divine power. He has to suffer to save you. He has to take up the weight, the burden, the punishment for sin – your sin – and that means all the events of Holy Week, the shame trial, the beatings, the mockery, the Cross.

    And of course the disciples don't get it yet – they are still a bit full of themselves, how great they are because they're following Jesus – and they've been doing it longer than so many of all you Johnny-come-latelys and they've been in the club longer and so on and so forth. But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. While Jesus doesn't grasp, doesn't hold on to His power – the disciples don't grasp the idea of His suffering; they are still clinging on to their own dreams of earthly power and pomp – the very things Jesus tosses away to save them. Of course they couldn't understand – they hadn't seen it yet – they hadn't see the Cross yet. It made no sense to them, not until after Easter.

    Everything Jesus does in the Gospels, He does to save you, to redeem you, to rescue you. Everything He does drives Him, pushes Him towards the Cross, where your sin will be paid for, where the power of Sin and Death over you will be shattered. And He dies. And on the third day, He rises – as He and Moses and the Prophets had said He would. And after the resurrection, there's something different about Jesus. Oh, He is indeed still really and truly Man – you can touch Him, He eats some fish with the disciples in John 21. But after Easter, all that divine power and majesty that He had to abandon for the sake of salvation – He doesn't have to ignore that any more. After the resurrection, we see Jesus in His fully True God and True Man glory and majesty. A door is locked in the upper room on Easter night – doesn't stop Jesus. He had just been with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and now He wants to be in the Upper Room – so He can and will. Doesn't have to walk, He just goes now – because He's God, and there's no need, no need for your salvation, for Him to not use His power. And for 40 days after Easter He comes and goes and shows Himself to people and teaches and prepares the disciples, and then of His own accord He ascends to Heaven. He's prepared and is preparing a place for you there, but even in the meantime, He will be with you always – literally coming to you in His Body and Blood in the Supper because Jesus is True God and True Man and He can do that if He wants to thank you very much.

    But there is a shift that comes with the Ascension, that is revealed even more fully come Pentecost. The Church as we know it comes about. Whereas the saints of the Old Testament looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, and whereas the disciples followed Christ wherever He went, now in the days of the Church the disciples and apostles would be scattered around the globe, and wherever they went the Holy Spirit would cause the Church to grow – but that is really for next week when we consider the Third Article of the Creed. But for tonight, let it suffice that we remember what it is we are preparing to celebrate this Christmas – that Christ Jesus our Lord would step aside from heaven and its glory to win you forgiveness and life, so that you would be able to enjoy heaven with Him. This is His love for you. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Advent 2 Sermon

 

Advent 2 – Luke 21:25-36 – December 9^th and 10^th, 2023

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

    There is a spiritual battle that is taking place, that takes place all around us constantly. While it's not common to speak of the Devil – seems too old fashioned or medieval, Satan is prowling around seeking your downfall. But even when I say that, there's still a tendency to not get the full picture. We think of Satan's temptations mainly as temptations to do bad, wicked, mean things – what's the image, the little devil on your shoulder saying, “Do it, do it!” That's part of it, but the Serpent is more crafty than any other creature in Creation. There's a larger game that is being played; a wider war is being leveled against you. Satan's chief goal isn't to get you to do bad things; we're all by nature sinful, we're going to do bad things anyway. Rather this; Satan's goal is to get you to forget about Jesus and the redemption He has won for you – and so the warfare that Satan engages in is this: by whatever means necessary, by hook or by crook, by fear or worry or anger or lust or greed or whatever, Satan tries to get you to ignore Christ and Him crucified. In our Gospel lesson we see Satan's attacks, the devil's use of fear or foreboding or busyness as tools used to distract you away from Jesus. The counter to this that Jesus teaches you is this: Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Listen.

    There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations because of the roaring of the sea and waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heaven will be shaken. It never fails – whenever this text comes up, I can look at the news, and I can find more people telling me of impending disasters and troubles in the world. Last Sunday morning, CNN had an article about how coastal cities will be flooded in 100 years (because people apparently can't move), and then Monday morning I saw an article with someone lamenting extra cool zones in the sun, what's going on? And we've got an election coming up, so let's not even talk about the anger and the opinions painted as facts thrown out there - and then I just stopped looking at the news because it's the same thing, all the time. Look at what's happening – you need to be afraid! And so often it's the same fear mongers who were shouting the exact same things years ago – only the dates of destruction and doom are shifted. And as annoyed as I get at all this, it's easy to forget or ignore that there is a spiritual aspect to this. What does all this fear and anger do? It changes the way we look, the way we love, the way we care – or more to the point the way we stop loving or stop caring for people. And it shifts our focus to wild plans of what we need to do – if we just win this election or if we just stop eating so much tasty, yummy beef the world will be fixed. Now, O Christian, do you see the Spiritual shift there? We just had Thanksgiving a few weeks ago – see what God gives, see what our great Creator provides! And yet, we slide past Thanksgiving and suddenly everything in the world hinges on me – on what I do, what I support, how I change the world as though I'm the one actually in charge of things rather than God. Do you see what that move does to us Spiritually?

       Over and against the fears, the panics, the god-absent man focused plans to fix everything, Jesus says something else. No, no, no – it's not about how you fix things. In fact, one of these days, these dire predictions and warnings will come true. The world, someday, will end. Dun dun duuuunnnnn. And when that day comes, it doesn't matter what choices I've made or what I've started eating – it's going to end. It might end for everyone as the Last Day, or it might just be my own personal end as my own death approaches. And you know what Jesus says to that? And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. All these things that people tell you will be the “end” - the dire and terrible thing... well, they are an end, but there's more. Jesus Christ, who once came humble and lowly as an infant, will come again. There is more to come even after these dire things – and you will see Him. You will see Jesus. Doesn't matter how the story of your life or this world turns out – you will see Jesus. Let's say you die – well, that's the end but not the end, because Jesus will raise you from the dead and you will see His second coming. Let's say it's the sweet meteor of doom that somes and smacks into the planet like a horrific celestial game of billards – well, that's an end, but you will also see Jesus, and He will come and He won't be bothered by any of this in the slightest because He's told you already this earth will be destroyed and He's going to make you a new one. And we could come up with countless other disaster scenarios to our hearts' content – but they all will and must resolve into what Jesus has promised – that He will come again, and His Kingdom will have no end.

Therefore, since this is the reality – that Jesus will come again - Jesus tells you, O Christian, to do something the world would never expect. Now, when these things begin to take place – when the worst of the worst predictions actually start happening – straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Don't cower in fear. Don't let Satan terrorize you with fear. Let's say the worst thing happens – so what – it just means you're closer to seeing Jesus return. Straighten up, raise your head, chin up and grin, because Satan can do his worst but it can't do a thing to Jesus, and Jesus always comes to redeem you. He came to win you salvation there on the Cross, and He's going to come again so that you see that salvation eternally – and there's not a thing Satan can do to stop Jesus.

    So since Satan can't stop Jesus, the only trick he has left is to get you to try to forget Jesus. To pull your eyes off of Jesus. And Jesus tells you not to fall for that bait and switch, for that sleight of hand. Don't let Satan distract you – remember, Jesus has told you what things mean. Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Satan tries, Satan tries to distract and terrify us, to make us forget that Jesus is our God and Savior. Nope – Jesus wins. And Jesus points this out to us because it will be hard for us to remember that Jesus wins. Fear and trouble will drive us. We don't recognize the kingdom of God like we ought. Jesus speaks this parable during Holy Week – and when Jesus goes to the Cross, what happens? Well, there were signs and distresses, sun blotted out and hours of darkness, the world shaken... and Christ winning redemption. And yet, on that Good Friday, so few saw or understood. Wicked crowds jeered thinking they had won political victories; other people cowered in fear of the day, disciples hid, Mary and John looked on in sorrow and heart break. Yet what was Good Friday? The soldier got it in part – truly this was the Son of God. But more than that – look, here is the promised redemption - Straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. The tree of the Cross has a most wondrous leaf on it – Christ Jesus the life of the world! Redemption is near. Yet it was only later that the disciples saw and understood, only after the resurrection. Then they were ready to understand.

    As Christians we learn to see all things through the Cross. We learn to see things through Easter. We learn to know that Christ will come again, as we confess every week in the Creed. And this is all driving and teaching us, in whatever situation we find ourselves, to straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. This is the reality, this is the truth – this is what Christ Jesus has won already. And all Satan can do is distract you. But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. Oh, the Devil is crafty. If simple fear won't distract you from Jesus, maybe dissipation will – maybe you will be spread so thin by so many things to do – because that's what dissipation is; fog dissipates when it spreads on out and goes away – maybe Satan can stretch you with so much busyness that you just don't think you have time for Jesus, for His Word. Or maybe a bit of drunkenness, party hard, enjoy life to the so called fullest – too much so called fun to pay attention to Jesus. Or maybe just the cares of this life, the humdrum every day slog. Whether they are opportunities or joys or sorrows or boredom, Satan will try to use them all to distract you from Jesus. Nope. In all those situations, when any of those things come around – But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. Don't get bogged down by this – pray for strength, pray to be ready for Jesus to return. But Pastor – what if I see my weakness, but what if I fail? Well, you will be weak and you will fail. Oh well - straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Yeah, you are weak, but He is strong, and yes, He loves you – remember the song? Yeah, you fail – that's why you need to be redeemed – good thing that you know that your redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives.  

    Jesus is coming, and He is coming to rescue you. The rescue has been done already with His birth, His death, His resurrection. Satan might try to terrify and distract you, but it doesn't change the fact that Jesus has already won – we're just waiting to see it. Therefore, this week, whatever you see - straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Advent Midweek 1

 

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

    Last week I had a really cute moment in Preschool Chapel. One of the kids said, “Christmas is Jesus' birthday, so why do we get presents?” And I gave an answer – God gave Jesus to us as a gift, so we give gifts to each other. But this is really a profound truth, and it's going to be what we focus on today while we ponder the 1^st Article of the Creed. God, your Heavenly Father, is first and foremost a Giver.

    Now, most of the time, when we discuss the first article of the Creed, we look at it from the angle of Creation – and understandably so. “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.” However, for the past 175 years or so since Charles Darwin printed his book, discussions on creation have been... warped a bit. Now, if I say “creation” - we all think “the past”. We all think way back when, in the beginning. And that's fine, that's part of what we are confessing in the Creed, but it's not the fullness of it. Consider how the explanation begins: I believe that God has made me and all creatures. This isn't just a past tense, way back when thing – God's creation is a here and now thing. He has made me; even right now God creates, He still takes care of me. When we say that God is the Creator, we need to remember that He is our Creator – that right now, God the Father is our Maker – that we live, we exist simply and solely because He wills it. The discussion over creation isn't merely a debate ofver history – but the move that the world has been trying to make is to push God out of the present and bury Him firmly in the past. The academics of the 19^th Century were fine having a God who wound up all of creation and let 'er rip a long time ago but then stayed firmly and squarely hands off. But that's not what the Scriptures teach – our Old Testament lesson says, “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name.” Do you hear the past creation but also the present activity of God, the present, on-going care and sustaining of Creation that is ascribed to God. Without God actively willing it, without God actively preserving and continuing His creation, we don't exist.

    That's more than we think of today when we hear the world creation. And we as Christians do need to learn to hear the word more fully, to remember the fullness of God's creative work, how God is intimately involved with all of His creation, from the smallest particle to the most distant galaxy. God has made, God knows, and God still preserves it all. Creation is the giant symphony that God not only conducts but plays.

    To aid in this fuller, Scriptural, understanding of God being The Creator, it is useful to remember that first and foremost God is a giver. And this isn't something that Pastor Brown just whipped out out of no where. Luther's explanation to the first article of the Creed is a litany of all that God gives. He gives me my body and soul – He also gives me clothing and shoes – He richly and daily provides me with all that I need. Do you hear the repetition, the focus on giving? How all the things God provides get echoed in the 4^th Petition on “Give us this day our daily bread”? Your God is first and foremost a Giver.

    So, what precisely does God give? He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. The first and most basic thing to remember is that God has given you – you. God has given you your life, your existence, and this is a precious gift. Your body is a gift to you from God. God in His wisdom and wonder, made you you – and that's a fantastic thing. But we don't think it is today. In fact, the world tells us to hate everything about our bodies. A lot of this is couched in advertising – you're not fill in the blank enough, so buy our product, talk to your doctor about our pill, and then you'll be so much better. Maybe she's born with it as a gift from God, but come on, we all know that maybe it's maybelline? Do you get the disdain, the just go tinker with your body, modify it, change it? And it's getting more and more drastic and dire – and all of it forgets that God has given you your body – given you a wondrous body that He wants you to have. God, in His wisdom, did not choose to have me be 6 feet tall; I don't need to get leg extension surgery, which is actually becoming a thing. The world disdains the body – but your body is a great gift to you. In fact, the Father sends Jesus to go to the Cross and die and rise so that you too will be raised and so that you will get to have your body as it was meant to be for all eternity.

    And God gives you more. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all that I have. God gives you countless blessings. He has put you here on this planet, surrounded you by neighbors who all work together to see that you are provided with all that you need for life. And it's wonderful. And yet, how often the world twists and disdains this gift. How often do we have greed and covetousness unleashed, where we no longer are happy with what we have, with what God gives, and we are told instead to want and desire and lust after more and more? And it makes us miserable, because it teaches us to disdain God's gifts. And how many people look at the world itself wrongly? The world is a gift to you from God, for your care, for your benefit; oh no no no, if you eat too many hamburgers you're going to kill the planet. Do you see how that approach disdains God's gift? Yes, we manage things, but the earth is a gift to us to care for and use for our neighbor's good; it's not our mother, it doesn't get to steal God's creative thunder. And yet, you listen and there are people calling for so many sacrifices to appease an angry earth... all of this is a direct attack on the idea that God the Father is our Creator and that He is a Giver.

    No – God gives. He gives you good things. Indeed, “He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.” Over and against all the sin that we have unleashed in God's creation – the sin that makes the whole of creation [groan] together in the pains of child birth as Paul describes it in Romans – God still defends. He still provides and still protects us. This is His wondrous love. And why? Not because of any merit or worthiness is me – God doesn't owe me any of this – but He does it only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy. Or in other words, God is the Creator because He's a giver. Because He is good and He loves to give. Because He delights in giving good things. So if you don't understand that God gives, that God delights in giving – you don't get God. That whole “God loves a cheerful giver” thing is because fundamentally God IS the cheerful giver, who gladly and lovingly blesses all creation and works His creatures to be blessings to each other.

    And this is the tragedy we heard in Luke. [Jesus] said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when [the ruler] heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. See and understand how much God has given you, how freely and joyously the Father provides for you. But don't worship the gift, don't serve the gift – worship God the Giver and give freely as He does. God's a giver – He's going to give you more. And this is one of the temptations Satan will tempt you with – Satan will try either to make you hate the gift – I don't like my body, I hate this worthless food, our house isn't big enough, so on and so forth, or as the ruler in the text, Satan will tempt you to turn the gifts into an idol, where you have to hold on to them, where you cannot share them, where you cannot give them... and thus the image and likeness of God the Giver gets shattered and broken in us again.

    No, remember my friends that God is and always remains a Giver. We see this in all creation – your life and your time is a gift from God to you. And to see that you get to keep your life and to live for all eternity, the Father gives His most precious gift – He sends His Son, Christ Jesus to rescue and redeem you from sin. And that will be our particular focus next week as we look at the second article of the Creed... and of course our focus on Christmas, and really pretty much every weekend. Of course it is, because God the Father is a giver, and we can always ponder His blessings to us of both Body and Soul. Thanks be to God for His generous love towards us. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

Advent 1

 

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Advent King +

    Advent is the season where we focus on Christ Jesus' first coming – where we prepare for Christmas and the celebrations of God becoming Man to save us – who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And we begin Advent by looking at Palm Sunday, at the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. It's a popular event in Jesus' life – it's easy to find paintings and pictures, in a few month's we will have palms and processions, and we like the praise, the triumph. Pastors and hymn writers love pointing out Christ's humility – in lowly pomp ride on to die. But for today, with this sermon, we will focus on what St. Paul sets up in the epistle today: Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. When you see Jesus come down from heaven, when you see Jesus in any Gospel lesson, indeed, when you see Him ride into Jerusalem, what you are actually seeing is Jesus fulfilling the law by loving His neighbor, Jesus loving you.

    Before we consider Jesus' love, how He fulfills the law for you, we need to discuss what the Scriptures mean by “love”. To love in the Scriptures doesn't mean to have a strong emotional attachment to something, nor is it describing how you feel about someone. To love someone is to serve them, to act for their benefit. To give of yourself so that they benefit. To decide how to act with the impact upon them in mind. And that is what Christ Jesus does – constantly and continually – He shows love. He acts for His neighbor's benefit, for their good; He acts for you, for your good. This whole season of Advent, of Christmas – it only happens for your good, for your benefit. Jesus didn't need to become man for His own good; it wasn't as though He was there in heaven and said, “You know what – I think I'd really like to be an infant and soil some diapers, won't that be fun?” In Philippians Paul notes that Jesus, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Or in other words, Jesus gave up power and glory and instead came to serve and suffer for your good. That is what love looks like.

    And I will assert that everything Jesus does, everything you see Him doing in the Gospel is in fact love for His neighbor and fulfilling the law. “Oh really, Pastor – even calling people morons last week?” Yep. If I'm getting ready to do something that is grade A stupid and my wife pulls me aside and says, “Dear, please, don't be an idiot” it's one of the most loving things she can do. I mean, is it loving to just let someone plow on into something dangerous and harmful without saying something? No. So my friends, every thing you see Jesus do, any Gospel lesson we will come across this church year, is replete with Jesus showing love – but not love as we tend to think of it. Love as God defines love , love that fulfills the law and serves the neighbor.

    So ponder Jesus there on that Donkey as He rides into Jerusalem – what do you see? What is actually going on? Well, one of the things Matthew points out is that what you see is the fulfilling of Scripture. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” Or we could even consider what our Old Testament Lesson said – 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. Throughout the Old Testament, God had in His Word given us images and pictures of what the Messiah would do, things He would do – that way we would recognize Him. Because when God comes to save, when God comes to rescue and redeem you – it doesn't exactly go according to worldly, sinful expectations. We would think of a savior or a hero being bold and brash – not humble. We think of the hero killing the bad guy – not going to the Cross and His own death. And so the Old Testament continually gave us things to look for – don't look for some studly hero on a nice Arabian charger sweeping in like Lawrence of Arabia – He's going to be humble, coming on a donkey. He's not going to be focused on glory, but seeing justice and righteousness executed.

    Because this really drives the point home of what Jesus is doing. Jesus is never self-serving. Jesus is never blowing His own horn. He doesn't need a hype man or a PR agent setting up press conferences to increase His polling numbers. Jesus' focus is on loving, on fulfilling the law for you – and not just “for you” in the sense of “for your benefit” but rather “for you” in the sense of in your place. You see, God had created man to be righteous, to tend the garden, to love one another. And we fail, we have fallen, we sin. There is a drastic lack of righteousness and justice in the world. And the lousy, dire consequences of this spill out now before us – but there are also eternal consequences to this. If left to our own devices this sin would mean eternal separation from God and ever increasing suffering with selfishness and blame spiraling ever more and more grotesque. Jesus comes to execute justice and righteousness – to actually, actively love His neighbor. And thus, finally, once again the Father can look at a man, look at a human being – God become Man Jesus – and say that He is well pleased. And we will get many examples of Jesus actively loving, actively caring for people over the course of this year.

    But there is another side to fulfilling righteousness, of executing justice. And that's punishment. There's always two ways a law can play out – you can obey the speed limit and just drive along happily, or the cop can pull you over, give you a ticket, and you pay the fine. Both of these paths fulfill the law – the later one is just more dangerous and expensive. Jesus actively obeys the Law, does what is right, actively loves His neighbor. However, there is still the question of what is to be done with those who have broken the law. And it's not set up to be good. The wages of sin is death. There are consequences to be had. Humanity is broken, and someone's got to buy it. And this is what we see Christ preparing to do in this text. We see Jesus entering Jerusalem not for fun, not for merriment, not even with the joy that these crowds are showing forth. Jesus comes to fulfill the punishment of the law in your place. The sinner must die – and so Jesus comes to take up your sin and die upon the Cross. That's why He's entering Jerusalem – but that's been the plan from the beginning – behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world... and He takes it away by dying. The Lamb gets sacrificed – again, taught all throughout the Old Testament. And this is what Jesus comes to do. The wood of the manger must lead to the wood of the cross. The Christmas tree with it's lights leads to the tree on Calvary where Christ, the Light of the world, hangs.

    And Palm Sunday, this triumphal entry, it captures all of this – the joy, the fulfillment of prophecy, but also the humility, the expectation of the Cross. And it's all for you, to see that you are saved, to see that you are rescued and redeemed from sin. And it's why we will echo the song of Palm Sunday in just a few moments in the Sanctus – Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD – Sing hosanna in the highest, sing Hosanna to the Lord; truly blest is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Christ comes to you to save you, even this day. He comes in His Word, He comes bodily in His Supper – indeed, every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper it is a celebration of Christmas – Christ Mass, that's where it gets its name. Christ became man, took on a body, to die and rise and give you life – and in this Supper He gives you His Body and blood to give you forgiveness, salvation, and life once again. And we sing His praises and He enters this place in His Supper – do you see the parallels?

    But its good to be us, to be people of the New Testament, post-Easter people. Because we also see clearly the resurrection of Jesus, that His Suffering is completed and yields to victory, to joy, to celebration. It's good to be the baptized, to be those washed in water and the word, to be those baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – which is how we start our service, how we come here – oh yes, truly blest are you, you baptized people, for you come here in the Name of the Lord, quite literally. Even the children who aren't yet prepared and trained for right reception of the Supper get a blessing at the rail – a remembrance and declaration of their baptismal gifts – we start the service with that blessing, and you all get one at the end in the benediction because as you go out this week you go as those truly blest in the name of the Lord.

    Behold the wondrous reality. God loves you. And though your own love will fall short and fail because of sin, God shows love for you. Christ Jesus comes down, and He fulfills all love, fulfills all the law, and He does this for you, taking away sin and death, and giving you forgiveness and life and strength. And this is what He always does – because He came down from heaven to win you salvation by going to Jerusalem and dying and rising for you. And this He has done, it is finished. In the Name of Christ Jesus our Advent King +

Last Sunday of the Church Year

 

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

    Imagine if you will that you are getting ready to go on the trip of a lifetime – one of those things you've always wanted to do. Let's say you and your best friend are going to travel to Egypt to see the Pyramids. And you've got a great trip planned – Cheryl Brutlag found you great hotels at fantastic rates, it's wonderful. Now, it's happening a bit later than you thought, because the trip was originally going to be back in the fall of 2020, and we all know what happened then, so there's a delay, and you've had to wait, but finally everything is set up and ready to go. And there you are, with your friend, in line at O'Hare, waiting to check on in, and you're talking with your friend about all the things you're going to do... and you pull out your passport, and your friend looks at you and says, “Why did you bring your passport?” “Because we need a passport to get on the plane, we are going to a different country. Didn't you bring yours?” “Eh, never bothered getting one.” “What do you mean, did it expire last year and you just forgot to renew it?” “Nah, never bothered to get one. I just figured I could borrow yours when we get up to the security check point.” What would your reaction to your friend be there? What would you call them – what term would describe what they are in the moment. I mean, it's not an accident, it's not I left my passport on the table or we slept through the alarm and left Kevin at home a la Home Alone... it's just rank disdain and a lack of seriousness or understanding reality. What would you call a person like that? Well, Jesus calls them morons.

    We have arrived at the end of the Church year, we get the parable of the wise and foolish virgins – literally “morons” in Greek, and it's such an odd day. There is a tendency to want to treat the end of the church year as such a solemn, serious day. It's dark, it's dire – maybe there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, and a barn burning sermon that peels the paint off the walls and scares us straight for the year to come. But we're Christians, and we're saved by Christ, we've been redeemed and forgiven, and we're looking forward to heaven and eternal life and the joys of the resurrection. And the parable for today – it's not a dire set up, it's joyous – Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. You approach a wedding day with joy and excitement – there's going to be a fantastic reception. You don't approach it like it's the worst day in the history of the world – or if you do there's something catastrophically wrong. This is a good thing – and these 10 virgins all know it's a good thing – they want to meet the bridegroom, they want to head to the wedding party – they are looking forward to kicking up their heels and cutting a rug and having the time of their life. That's the setting. All these gals know something great is coming, and there ought not be a drop of direness or sorrow in this story at all.

    You do realize that Jesus has won? Though your sins are many and varied and they attack you in a variety of ways – Jesus has died and risen, and you are thoroughly forgiven. Nothing could be better. The world around you gets nuts and crazy – eh, Jesus is coming and He will fix it. Your body falls apart – eh, don't worry, Jesus is going to raise you from the dead and your new body won't fall apart, won't get wrinkly, your ears and eyes will work – it's fabulous because of Jesus. That's the setting, that's the set up for this parable, that's where we are going.

    And the only thing that gets is the way is utter, abject stupidity and buffoonery. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. Understand how foolish, how idiotic this is – how utterly bizarre and absurd this would sound to anyone hearing it. A lamp with no oil for one of these gals is as nonsensical as going to the airport having never gotten a passport – it would be like a groomsman not bringing his outfit but rather wearing Pjs to the wedding – it would be trying to go shopping for a thanksgiving dinner and buying a frozen turkey at 2:30 Thursday afternoon. It's actually really hard to think of anything that is just as utterly moronic as what these foolish virgins do.

    And all the gals fall asleep. A lot of hay gets made of that – it really heighten the absurd tragedy – there would have been time for them to have been prepared, to get things set up, but they waste it. And then the day is here, the moment arrives, the bridegroom not only soon will call us but has – Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” Loan me your passport. I forgot my suit pants, can I borrow yours. Hey Siri, how do you thaw and cook a 20 pound turkey in 30 minutes? We can't, you've simply got to go get your oil, you've got to get your act in gear... but it ends up being too late. They run out of time. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the doors were shut. And they miss it, simply because of their folly.

    Jesus speaks this parable in the temple during holy week, just before He is crucified. And the idea is simple – God's great plan of salvation is being enacted – in just hours Jesus will go to the Cross, the atonement will happen, it is finished, everything the Scriptures had been pointing to will be accomplished. It's all good, it's all in the bag. And you, O hearer – you who know the Word and promises of God, you who know of God's mercy and salvation... just don't be stupid. Don't be so stubbornly stupid and idiotic that you literally drag yourself away from Christ and His salvation, because you have to go through feats of extraordinary stupidity to get yourself out of the Kingdom, to miss this party. And yet, many of those hearing Jesus preach this parable did just that. They ignored and rejected Christ, they ignored reality, they choose something else as more important in the most stupid and silly of fashions, and they missed it.

    And this really is the warning, the reminder to you today, my dear friends. You know who Jesus is – you know that He is True God and True Man, come from heaven to win you salvation by His death and His resurrection. You know that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You know that there is forgiveness, you know that you are baptized and have new life in Jesus. Don't be moronic and ignore this, or forget this, or pretend that it doesn't matter. Because that would be dumb. And the sad, simple truth that we can want to ignore, is that we are surrounded by stupidity and calls for us to be stupid. How many stupid fights are there in the world that try to pull you in? Not to put too dour a point on it, but how many family gatherings this past week saw utterly loveless stupid fights break out over the silliest things? That anger, that rage – that's just Satan trying to get you to become a moron and ignore Christ and His forgiveness, to not see all things in view of Christ, to forget that these people are people for whom Christ died.

    Think of the world and what it trumpets as important, as vital, as just what you need to do. And think of how much of it is stupid. Think of how much the world will try to distract and delude you by fashion, by trends, by faction. By busy-ness and oh this current thing and current issue is just so important and I have to pay attention to it and serve it... and Christ and His Church and the forgiveness that you receive and the forgiveness that you give to others in Jesus' name is forgotten. That's the world trying to make you foolish, trying to turn you into an oil lamp with absolutely no oil, dried out, worn, and empty.

    Question time. What is the first commandment? (You shall have no other gods.) And what does this mean? (We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.) Do you see how Satan is trying to make you moronic – how the world tries to twist your fears and your angers and your rage against people and how things turn out so that you forget wonders of Christ Jesus and His forgiveness? Do you see how Satan sets up so many stupid loves in front of you, where you run after them and chase after them and utterly forget Christ's Word of forgiveness and life? We all know those temptations, we all face them over and over. That's what sin is. But you know the solution to sin, you know the counter – you know who Christ Jesus is, what He has done. You know He is coming and ready to take you to the life of the world to come, and that this will be a good thing, the greatest thing ever – literally better than anything in the world. Don't be a moron and act like you don't know this. Because faith can wither and die when it's cut off from the Word. Faith comes by hearing; don't let Satan's use of rage or lust separate you from the Word of God. Because Jesus is coming, and it's good for you, and you need to be ready for that – and Jesus makes you ready by His Word, by His forgiveness.

    Christ is coming. He will come again. And if He tarries and we get to carry on as normal, we're going to going to start a new church year, and we'll spend time hearing again God's plan of salvation, how Jesus first came, born in Bethleham, God with us, God here to save us. And we will see Him take on the powers of sin and death and Satan, and show Himself to be True God and our Savior, and we'll see His Lenten journey to the Cross and we'll see Him rise again on Easter. And all of it, to make sure you are ready, that you remember and know, in the face of all the idiotic sin in the world, that Christ Jesus is your Savior, and His eternal feast is coming. And it's going to be fantastic – enjoy it in Christ Jesus. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

Thanksgiving Day Sermon

 

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

    God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. How will you receive the blessings that God gives you? In some ways, this is the central question of our time, of the world today – even though the world out there would never phrase the question this way. How do you receive what you have, what God has given to you? How do we handle our stuff, our things that we have in this world, even our bodies? Think for a moment on all the fights and wrangling that goes on in the world. Pretty much every political fight is a fight over “everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body.” There are economic and ideological debates about how wealth is generated or who is oppressing who and how advantage gets taken and who owes what money to this person and I have a right to free health care and a pony and it's my body, I can do what I want and on and on and on. And there's no joy, no contentment anywhere, even though we're as wealthy as any society in history and global poverty rates are dropping. Instead there's anger, fighting, blame, and aspersions, and all of it swirling around what Jesus simply sums up as daily bread.

    So ponder this. Over and against all the endless blather in the world, whenever you pray the Lord's Prayer, not just this Thanksgiving Day but every day, you are reminded, you are grounded, you are centered in a most wondrous truth. God gives you daily the things you need; you receive them from God as a gift, and thus are able to receive them with thankfulness, joy, and delight. The first part of this is that God gives, that God provides. In the face of sin and wickedness, God provides. God oversees the world, oversees society so that in spite of sin and corruption and fights people are pretty well provided for. With all the complaining about injustice or what have you... people pretty well get what they need. Even with problems like Homelessness in the US – the issue seems to be more that the homeless are making cities unsafe and dirty, not that people are starving to death everywhere. God provides, even in the midst of radically destructive approaches to life, even in the midst of conflicts and war. Evil people unleash the worst sorts of evil – and yet God continues to provide daily bread, to give good things.

    The Lepers are an example of this in our Gospel lesson. They are banished from society – they can't work, they can't produce, they can't even really beg because they have to be isolated and alone... yet they were provided for even before Jesus shows up to heal them. This is a wondrously gracious thing – something that folks then and even we today would simply over look. God provides – we have to work really hard at wickedness and stupidity to break apart God's providence. And we as individuals and societies will try our hardest to break down this daily bread, and sometimes for a bit it goes lacking, but God still keeps providing, keeps giving... even to all evil people.

    Do you see how this is a different approach from the resentful arguments over scarcity or from the greedy arguments about possession and what's mine? Instead of seeing a lack, instead of seeing a scramble, there is simply massive, wondrous abundance, given by God in spite of our sinfulness. God is good. And God gives you good earthly blessings... even if you aren't aware of them, even if you presume upon them.

    Most of the time daily bread is given is ways that we grow so accustomed to that we don't even think about the wonder of them. Think of all the work, all the coordination that had to go on for that turkey in the oven to be in your oven. The farming, the transportation of supplies to the farmer, of the bird to the plant, from the plant to the store, the store to your house – all the things required for you to have an oven and electricity or gas for that oven to work, for you to have access to resources to pay for these things. It's all an astounding symphony of care that God oversees and keeps moving along, even as sinful people mess things up. Daily bread is given wondrously indeed, even often without anyone's thanks or praise.

    But as the Gospel lesson points out, even if that daily bread is given in an abnormal way, in a miraculous way – still the awareness of it, still thanks and praise is lacking. Then Jesus answered, “Were not 10 cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 10 received a miracle; only one returned to praise. And before we shake our heads at that too much – it's the same thing today. Here we have a national holiday – schools and banks are closed – go and give thanks to God! Do we think 10 percent of the US population is at church today? Is 10 percent of our congregation at church today? Or to put a finer point on it – across our land will there be more people attending a service today or people shopping tonight (not that there's anything wrong with shopping per se)? The world, and even we ourselves so often forget and overlook God's astounding generosity and care in giving us daily bread.

    So, what is the point of all this? Well, remember – God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. God is good, and He blesses people. He blesses you. But point of these blessings aren't the blessings themselves. Daily bread is here today and gone tomorrow to be replaced by tomorrow's daily bread, and so on and so forth. But rather this – there's something more profound going on. God provides for you so that you would see and understand what He has done for you, so that you would thank and praise, so that you would grow in faith. And [Jesus] said to the [Samaritan], “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” Go and enjoy your blessings, but go in faith. Go as one who sees Jesus, sees His blessings not only of Body but also of soul – of the care now and the eternal care that is forgiveness and life. Because then you will be well. Whatever happens, whatever comes down the pike, whatever troubles, whatever successes, whatever the reaction and terrors of the world may be – by faith you will be well, because you will see that Jesus still cares for you and in Him it is all good. By faith, you can enjoy whatever comes. Or as Paul puts in Philippians: Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Or in other words – Paul goes along thankfully, for by faith it all is well. And that peace, that joy, that confidence – oh, the world lacks it. And the powers of sin and Satan and evil in the world, they will try to rob you of it. But look and see – your Lord provides you your daily bread. He forgives you your trespasses. He leads you away from temptation and back to His House where by His Word He delivers you from Evil and promises to do so eternally. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. God's done it all for you, and you get to see that, to understand that, and to be confident in Him. What a fantastic gift. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

2nd to Last Sunday of the Church Year

 

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

    Ah, we continue our November sweep through topics that are weighty and heavy and can sound really scary. Last week we had “The End of the World” and this week we get “Judgment Day”. Oh, there's a term that still gets bandied about in society to ratchet up the tension and nerves. There's apprehension and fear... and in our text in Matthew Jesus describes Judgment Day... except there's not a lot of tension or drama in the text. There's no peels of thunder described, no keeping anyone in suspense. There's confusion, and there's some surprise – but it reminds you, O Baptized child of God, that for you, Judgment Day is a good thing. Let's just dive on into the text.

    When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Now, this is why we call this judgment day – this is date of royal decision making. The scene parallels what we have even today in a court room. Everyone rises, the judge enters in... and when the judge sits down, that's when things will get down to business. And who is before the heavenly court here in Matthew – Before Him will be gathered all the nations. Everyone is there – the whole throng of humanity that has ever existed, from all times and from all places. But then something happens that we might not have expected. See, we think of a judgment, a court case, and we expect there to be a trial. That's the image the world has, right? That God or St. Peter's going to go over all the things you've done, then look you over, and then you get a thumbs up or a thumbs down? Nope. Not what Jesus says. Not at all. Listen.

    [And] He will separate people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on His left. No trial. No examination. No lawyers making anyone sweat on the witness stand. Just – oh, you're one of My sheep. You're my baptized, redeemed brother or sister – over here on My right please. Oh, I know you, you've been in My house plenty of times, over here please. No trial, no drama, no surprise witnesses. Just Jesus the Good Shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. As easy peasy as the 23^rd Psalm – the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want – He makes me lie down on these green pastures right over here at His right.

    And then, in fact, it's the opposite of a trial. It's a gift giving session – Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Here you go. Great things for you – an everlasting and eternal kingdom is yours. And you simply inherit it – you receive it as a gift. No probate court ever ran so smoothly with so rich an inheritance! Do you see how smoothly this is running? This is all the stuff that we know we're going to get because Christ Jesus is our Savior and He has won us salvation. This is what Jesus' Cross wins for you – simple as pie.

    But here's where the confusion sets in, and here's where people, even Christians, can get tripped up. In addition to just giving the gift of eternal life – Jesus starts heaping on praise. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me. Jesus just starts gushing. There's not a trial, not a harsh cross examination – instead, the King starts praising the sheep to high heaven – quite literally. And the response from the sheep, as is appropriate, is confusion: Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You? What are you talking about Jesus? You're praising me for a bunch of stuff and I don't have a clue. Then we get the famous phrase: And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

    Alright – there's a lot to talk about here. We're going to talk about Good Works. Good works are things that you do that God delights in, rejoices in, is utterly pleased with. And Good works confuse us. See, if we hear the phrase “good work” we tend to think that they are bonus works, extra credit, things that we do that get us more stuff. We think in terms of exchange, in terms of reward – except that's not the point. We can hear that “For” in the text - “for I was hungry and you gave Me drink” and think that our works CAUSE God to bless us or give us the kingdom – that we're suppose to earn it somehow. Nope, that's not the image here. That “for” isn't a “because”. It's not “you're getting the kingdom because you did x, y, and z. No, it's an exclamation and an explanation of what God's blessings and what His Kingdom looks like.

    Consider – you are blessed by God. You're part of His Kingdom, His rule. God's reign of love and mercy rules in your life. You are forgiven and a forgiver – and you've got that now even in the face of sin and death – God's love and mercy has spilled over into your life and through you in countless ways... and you're just going to get that more and more for all eternity but then untarnished by sin. It's fantastic now, and it's going to be even more fantastic. You've shown the love of God and His mercy to countless people in ways that you hadn't even noticed because that's how simply and wondrously God's love and His kingdom came through you, O forgiven child of God. And now, for eternity – you get that in full splendor and power. That's what Jesus is saying. And this confuses us – because we still live in the world, surrounded by sin, hounded by temptation, struggling against our own flesh. We don't notice, we don't understand the fullness of what God does for us and through us even now – we don't understand the joy and delight God has in us right now even over the smallest and simplest things. And that might be for the best, actually, because in my own sinfulness I'd get a massively big head if I heard or understood God's praise. But this is the reality. You are a baptized, forgiven child of God. God is well pleased with you. He looks at you and delights in you. Prouder of you than the proudest parent. You are accounted and made righteous in Christ – God doesn't see your sin when He looks at you – that's on the Cross. All He sees when He sees you is His child who does simple and awesome things that He rejoices in. It's fantastic. No tension, no drama, just heavenly joy.

    Do you see? Good works aren't something that get you closer to God. Good works aren't even something I need to stand up here and wag a finger at you to get to do more of them. No – you're forgiven, so you'll do good. God's love will work in you and through you in ways that you won't even notice. And I don't need to give you the ideas; you've got the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and He'll move you and urge you to wondrous things that I'd never even think of. You and I, we simply struggle against sin, beat down our own sinfulness that would try to get in the way of who we are in Christ. We receive forgiveness and are thus strengthened in faith towards God and in love towards our neighbor – and God is tickled pink with this. In fact, when you love your neighbor, even in the most simplest, mundane ways, you are in fact showing love to Christ Jesus Himself. You always serve God by and through serving your neighbor – and you actually do this all the time in ways you don't even notice or are aware of. How cool is that!

    So, not very terrifying or scary, is it? Then why all the falderol around judgment day? Well, Jesus does continue – Then He will say to those on His left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. You goats, you folks who want to live outside of Christ, outside of forgiveness and mercy – well, have it your way. You want to be grade A jerks, so go hang out with the grade A jerks forever in hell. Again, note – this isn't really a trial. Jesus isn't trying to discover anything – He is simply saying what is. You've rejected My love, you rejected My mercy – there's a place for you as that's how you want to be. And then there's protestations – Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty”... yaddy yaddy ya, excuse excuse excuse. And He will answer them saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” And there you go. There are those for whom judgment day will be a terror, a bad day. The goats, those who live right now apart from Christ Jesus and His Word of forgiveness. And the thing is, apart from God's love and mercy, they're already stuck in a world of hurt and pain and anger and disdain – and they might not even notice. They might not care what gets dumped on the “little people”, not understanding who they are or the impact of sin. And come the day of judgment, that's where they're stuck. Fast bound in Satan's kingdom now – stuck with him for eternity. God grant that many of these goats hear the Gospel and be brought to faith – God grant that their hearts be turned and they become sheep! But some won't, and that's just how it is. And that's simply what Jesus points out here, without much drama or fuss. That's just the way it is.

    So then, what to make of all this. Well, there will be a judgment day – although it's not really a trial or an examination of whether we've done so much good or so much bad. The end will come, and Jesus will openly declare what He's said to you over and over in His Church. That you are forgiven on account of Christ, that you are His beloved child, that you are forgiven, that you are welcomed to the feast for all eternity, and it's all good. I mean, in many ways this service is practice and preparation for “judgment day”. Judgment Day will be no more scary than hearing the Absolution. It will be less scary than hearing a sermon, because I might preach a lousy one but Jesus certainly isn't going to. It's all good for you, for you are in Christ. May God bring more people to His house and kingdom before the Last Day! In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

3rd Last Sunday

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

    The end. Sounds dark and dire, doesn't it? Sounds like something we should be afraid of, right? That's the image we have in society – there are all those “end of the world” disaster movies. We even have the phrase, “It's not the end of the world” - which means, “it's not so bad.” The idea is that the end of the world will be a bad thing. Except, that's not at all what Christ Jesus teaches us. The end of the world is marked by Christ Jesus returning, giving you everlasting life, and taking you to the new world, the life of the world to come. This is why we confess every week in the Nicene Creed, “I look forward to the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.” We look forward to it; we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” before we eat. Thy Kingdom come – and deliver us from evil. The problem that we face as Christians isn't the idea that the world will end... the problem is that it's just taking so stinking long.

    And He said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go out or follow them. Did you hear what Jesus warns the disciples of – what Jesus warns us of? Jesus’ warning isn’t you that you better watch out because the scary end times are coming – oooOOOOooo. No. The warning is it’s going to take too long – and you will have the days where you sit and think, “I am tired Lord, I’m fed up with all the sin and wickedness and vice I see, I’m tired of my hurts and agonies and sufferings and I miss my loved ones and I want to go home.” And Jesus warns the disciples that they are going to have days like this – and He won’t have come yet.

    Isn’t this so completely the opposite of how we in America tend to think of the end times? We in America have been taught and trained to fear the end times. In many ways we are no better off than the monks in Luther’s day, terrified that God might actually come back. The end is nothing to fear. What is hard, what is difficult is living as a Christian in a sinful world. This world, with all its vaunted pleasures, can indeed be nice sometimes – but it can be mean and nasty and rough and painful the rest of the time. And Christ doesn’t pretend that it isn’t this way. God doesn’t play pretend with you – He is always honest. And yes, this life is rough – and you do have the days where you think, “Lord, just come back already”. You will, because as a Christian you will see the world for what it is. You'll see sin pop out, you'll see Satan and wickedness at work messing with things, you'll see death breaking things down and destroying things – and it will wear on you.

    And when you are hitting those points of struggle, when things seem long and weary – what do you do? You wait on the Lord – you don’t go running off after every fly-by-night scam artist with the latest and greatest heresy or false teaching designed to give you everything your heart desires right now. You don’t go running after the cult in Jonestown or Waco, you don’t buy into what the quacks are shouting. You simply pray “Thy Kingdom come,” and wait for Jesus. Why? Because when Christ delivers you, it’s going to be obvious that He is here to deliver you. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day. When Christ comes back – it won’t be hidden, there won’t be a little secret coming where Jesus sort of sneaks around and talks to a few people to give them the secret decoder ring. No, when Christ comes again – He will come again and it will be right then and there. It's going to be simple and open – and you're right here where you need to be; in the church, hearing His Word, celebrating the Supper – for as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. If you're worried, don't worry – you're right where you need to be.

    And now we will get to some verses that I think can cause some consternation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They will be eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot – they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all – so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. We hear this, and man, it sounds bad. The end times will be like the flood – who wants that! The end times will be like Sodom and Gamorrah – I don’t ever want to see that, I don’t want God to wipe me away in a flood or smite me with fire and brimstone. We hear the punishments, we get panicky and nervous and scared.

    But let’s take a moment and listen to what Jesus says. Jesus doesn’t say it will be like the flood, He says it will be like in the days of Noah. So what happened to Noah? He was surrounded by a wicked, evil world, so wicked God couldn’t stand it. And what does God do for Noah – alright, here you go Noah, I will rescue you, I will save you. You will be preserved and these fools who do you such harm won’t even know what hit them, even though you warn them. Come into the ark, you and your family, and you will be saved. That doesn’t sound so bad – being saved, being rescued from evil. What is Christ saying here? I’m going to do for you, o Disciple, what I did for Noah – and that’s a good thing, that’s a comfort.

    Again, Jesus doesn’t say that the end times will be like Sodom – He says that they will be like it was in the days of Lot. So what happened to Lot? He was stuck in Sodom. He was stuck in a horrible place, people wanting to break down the doors of his house and abuse his guests, where there’s a real chance that his daughters will be brutalized. And so, what does God do? Alright Lot, it’s time to go, it’s time to get you out of there, let’s get you to someplace better. God rescues Lot from a wicked place. And even though Lot tries to warn the folks, tries to get them to repent – they never see it coming. What is Christ saying? I’m going to do for you, o Disciple, what I did for Lot – and I will rescue you. Be patient, endure wickedness, and know that I will deliver you. Don’t you see? The end times are not a curse. They aren’t something to scare you. Jesus is not the boogey-man or the monster in the closet; we shouldn’t be scared of His coming. Rather this – when Christ comes again He will do so to rescue you, to take you from this vale of tears unto the joys of heaven – and that’s not a bad thing.

    And yet, we are nervous about it. So was Lot. He dragged his feet in leaving Sodom – the angels had to pretty much drag him out of there. But what Christ is saying, what Christ is teaching us is this. Don’t fret, don’t worry about the end of times – indeed, don’t even worry about your own death – because I am your God, and I will deliver you, for I am with you always.

    That is Christ’s promise. Listen to the beginning of the Gospel lesson. Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, He answered them, ‘The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Do you hear what Christ is saying? The Pharisees ask Christ – so just when is the Kingdom going to come, when are we going to get the good stuff? And Jesus says, “Quit looking for signs, the Kingdom of God is here in your midst, I am here, what more are you looking for?” This, dear friends, establishes for us how we as Christians approach all things. This shows why we can be bold and confident even as life grows long and we become weary and things in the world just keep getting worse. While we wait for Christ’s second coming, we remember that we aren’t waiting alone. Christ is already here in our midst. What is the Psalm that we all know – Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death – which is precisely the kinds of fears and trials this text talks about – yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil – and why? For Thou art with me.

    This is what Christ proclaims to you. Fear nothing, for Christ is with you – and Christ is bigger than anything that you might face in your life. Christ is with you now – for you are Baptized, you were joined to Him by water and the Word. Christ is with you now – He continues to speak His comfort to You through His Word. Christ is with you now – He comes to you in His holy Supper. Christ is always with you – and what does this mean? It means you will be rescued from every evil, every danger that this world can throw at you and you shall obtain the eternal life that Christ has won for you with His death upon the cross and His resurrection.

    That’s how we approach the end times as Christians. Not with fear, not with trepidation. We approach all these things remembering that we are God’s own children, that we are united to Christ. As we await the end times – we are simply waiting for God to show to everyone, to show to the entire world what we already know, what we already have. That He is our God who saves us, who protects us, who guides us, and who ultimately delivers us from wickedness unto His eternal life. So dear friends – fear not any talk of the end – for you know what happens, and it ends well for you. Christ Jesus is your Lord, and He lives, and He has won the victory for you – let not death, let not talk of the end appall you any longer. Be confident in Christ Jesus your Lord. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit + Amen.