This Explosion Changes Everything; Nothing Will Ever Be The Same

Text: Romans 3:19-28

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

It was like a large rock thrown into a pond causing waves to crash ashore.  No, it was actually much more violent. It was more like a large explosion that occurred in the midst of buildings, resulting in shrapnel being scattered, walls tumbling down, and windows shattering. 

What am I talking about? 

I am talking about the sixteenth-century Reformation.  Yes, I am talking about the great Reformation that happened in the 1500s when Martin Luther and the Reformers came into sharp conflict with the Roman Catholic Church of that time.

It all started October 31^st of 1517 when the Ninety-five Theses hit the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  We can still hear the echo of the hammer today, as the nail was forced into the door hanging ninety-five concerns about church abuses.  Like a wild fire these Ninety-five Theses were distributed to all of Germany within two weeks and all of Europe within two months.  Long story short, the Ninety-five Theses ignited what can only be described as an earth-shaking event, an explosion if you will. Booklets were published and exchanged, theological debate occurred in the market place, death threats were eventually made; people were finally burned at the stake, and so forth. 

Now, looking back upon the Reformation, it is fairly easy to witness the effects of this great explosion.  We can see the ecclesiastical practices that resulted from the Reformation, we can see the current Lutheran Denominations that are a result of the Reformation, and we can see all the confessional documents, books, and sermons that resulted from the Reformation.  In other words, we are able to witness the crater that resulted from the Reformation explosion.  We are able to see the burned-out embers from the Reformation explosion and the all Reformation shell fragments scattered here and there.  We are able to see the waves in the water and continually feel these waves in the present; waves that were created about five-hundred years ago when the Reformation rock was thrown into the water.[1] 

With all of that said, we have yet to examine what actually caused this explosion and what caused these waves. 

So what caused the explosion?  What rock was thrown into the pond? 

The Gospel, that is (to say), the teaching of justification by grace through faith is what exploded; it is what was hurled into the pond.  When Martin Luther “raised questions of the Gospel [towards those in church authority], he was given no such answer.  The government of the church felt itself bothered by some unheard of little Augustinian monk from the remote cow pasture of Wittenberg, and it told him to be quiet.  Luther pleaded for discussion of the Gospel.  He was met with the naked demand to recant and to submit to the pope.  [Keep in mind that] the Ninety-five Theses were no Declaration of Independence but a request for discussion and debate.  When Luther recognized that the pope pulled one way and the Gospel the other, the Reformation began…”[2]  Otherwise stated, “The Reformation may be described as cleaning out the human factors that had been intruded into the church and her message.”[3]

Indeed, there was an explosion in the church some five-hundred years ago as God’s Word revealed the precious, powerful, potent, saving message of Justification by grace through faith.

With all of that said, what good does this historic explosion do for us here and now?

Sure, we live in the aftermath of this great explosion and reap some of the benefits of much that was accomplished during the Reformation.  However, the church and our nature have a way of cleaning up the rubble, patching the shattered walls, and fixing that which is broken in order to move away from the explosion and returning back to a man-centered message that intrudes the very Gospel.

Frankly, my friends, the very message of the Gospel, that exploded and detonated the church some five-hundred years ago, is an explosion that needs to happen in our midst, right here and right now.  It needs to happen again.  Yes, the explosion needs to happen every year and every week in the church.  You see, “The church must be in a state of continuous reformation … a continuous return to the Word of God.  [The reason why?]  Our old sinful nature continuously tempts us to leave the Word of God behind.  If we do not continuously reform … if we do not continuously study God’s Word, then we will slowly, but surely drift away from the truth.  We will drift away until we are no longer free.”[4]

Therefore, blessed Saints, we do not merely study the great explosion of the Reformation once a year on Reformation Sunday, but as a church of the Lutheran Reformation we undergo this Reformation explosion and experience continual reformation each and every Sunday.  Why is this so; how is this possible?  It is this way because at the heart of the Reformation was the Word of God; the Word that invaded an Augustinian Monk and the Word of God that invaded the church. Furthermore, this very Word of God is the ‘same’ Word of God that continually comes to me and to you in this church. Otherwise stated, the rock is thrown into our lives and the explosion is recaptured each and every time that we read the Word of God, hear the Word of God, and receive the Lord’s Sacraments. 

For example, consider the text that we read from Paul’s Epistle to the church in Rome.  Consider the tremendous and powerful ramifications that this text has upon you and me.  You who have ears hear what the Word says.  Brace yourself for the explosion!

Romans 3:20 says, “No human being will be justified [that is (to say), made right] in God’s sight by deeds prescribed by the Law.”  Otherwise stated, our relationship to God’s Holy, Perfect, and Divine Law is incapable of yielding righteousness and wholeness.  Because of sin, this wretched sinful condition that you and I have inherited from birth, our relationship to the Holiness of God is less than spectacular—it is damning.

 “Deeds, words, thoughts, relationships—they are all wrong for all humankind.  No one (only [Jesus]!) has wisdom.  No one (only [Jesus]) has his will in a perfect orientation to God’s will.  No one (only [Jesus]) is in the image of God and reflects from his face the glory of God.  …all humanity as a unit has gone sour, been subjected to futility, lost the glory because of having turned away from that trusting face to face relationship with the Lord.”[5] 

Dear friends, your relationship to the Law only leads to one result, the knowledge of sin and mouths shut; it leads to the knowledge that you and I are damned, guilty, and condemned sinners.  Even when we naively try to inflate our abilities in order to meet the demands of the Law, the Law is quick on our heels to reveal our self-deceiving pride and denial of reality.  Even when we arrogantly attempt to commandeer God’s Law in order to lessen its weight so that we can supposedly make it a bit easier fulfill, God’s Law nevertheless cannot and will not be manipulated to our own fancy for it is not our Law but God’s Law. 

The Law tears down everything that you and I believe will yield brownie points, kudos, or favor before God.  It removes us from our spiritual endeavors, our moral projects, and mystical escapades by detonating and blowing up everything, thus putting us flat on our backs. 

The Law is spoken, mouths shut; we die.

There is another Word for you to hear, a word that emerges from the rubble.  This Word is apart from the Law; it is a Word that makes the righteousness of God known, it states, “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified [that is (to say), made right] by grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”[6]

Did you hear that?  While the explosion of the Law was certainly a TNT blast, this Gospel news is an Atomic Bomb!  Listen again, you, who have sinned, are justified by grace as a gift!  Yes, outside of your relationship to the Law, outside of your abilities in the here and now, there is a Savior who is from heaven, the Son of God, who brings a gift from God and has the power to create anew. 

Because of Christ living, bleeding, dying, and rising in your stead, you have been transferred from condemnation, damnation, and guilt under the Law to freedom and forgiveness under the Gospel.  In other words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ applied to you in the Word and Sacraments transfers you from life under sin and the Law into a life of light, forgiveness, freedom, hope, and glory. 

This has been the plan of God all along, “to give to fallen mankind a right relationship to himself by grace through faith in the reconciling work of the Saviour’s death on the cross.”[7]  Christ came for sinners; Christ died for sinners and considers it all worthwhile.  

Do you see how this detonates life as we know it?  Does this not change and reform everything?  

It certainly does. 

-No more working or climbing to acquire righteousness; rather we receive righteousness by grace through faith as a sheer gift.  

-No more seeking assurance on the basis of our works in relationship to the Law, but rather receiving assurance in Christ and His relationship to you. 

-No more looking within ourselves for certainty, for certainty does not lie within you but lies outside of you in Christ’s Word and Sacraments. 

-No more fear of death for “death is safe for those who trust in Christ,”[8] because Christ tasted death for you. 

-No more worrying about what other people think, no more worrying about what we think, and no more worrying about what God thinks, “because God has said He isn’t going to think about our sin and rebellion anymore.  All he thinks now is Jesus bloodied, Jesus dead, Jesus risen.  And God's Jesus-thinking is now ALL your life.”[9]  

Do you see the rock tossed in the water?  Do you feel the blast from the detonation?  Jesus fulfilled the Law; sin was punished on Jesus; salvation was accomplished perfectly; you are baptized into Christ name; you are absolved by the Word of God; you are admitted to a heavenly feast.  It is finished—for you. 

This changes everything; nothing will ever be the same.

Cur plunk; splash.  Bam; shatter.  Christ Jesus has been crucified and resurrected for you.  You are justified by grace through faith as a sheer gift. 

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] The illustration of the Reformation being like an explosion and all of us witnessing the remains of the explosion is an illustration used by Karl Barth in his Commentary on Romans.

[2] Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 304-304.

[3] Ibid.

[4] James T. Batchelor, “Reformation (Observed) (26 October 2014) http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3916 (26 October 2014).

[5] Jonathan Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly: An Interpretation of Romans Second, slightly revised, reformatted edition (St. Catharines, Ontario: 2012), 163.

[6] Romans 3:21-24.

[7] Jonathan Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly: An Interpretation of Romans Second, slightly revised, reformatted edition, 179.

[8] Quote from Pr. Donavon Riley on Twitter.

[9] Donavon Riley,  There Is Now No Condemnation for Those Who Are Being Christ-Jesused (Webster, MN: Sermon at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2014).

There You Have Oil For Your Lamps...

The following is posted with family permission.  May the Lord give to the family of Rosella Huether Mekvold and to all who mourn, comfort in their grief and a sure confidence in the Lord's loving care.

Text: Matthew 25:1-13

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

We really do not know the day or the hour, that is, we do not know the time of our death. Furthermore, we do not know the day or the hour of Jesus’ second coming.  Like a six o’clock television weatherman, we can make guesses and predictions, but that is about the best that we can do when it comes to predicting the end of it all.

One thing is for sure though, there will be an end.  We will walk into the dark valley of death; we will meet the Lord face to face.  There will be an end to what we know in the here and now.

Therefore, there isn’t really a debate of whether or not there will be an end of it all, but the question of concern for each and every one of us to consider this afternoon, is this, “Am I ready?”

This is the key point of the Gospel reading from today.  Today’s Gospel reading is about a Groom coming for his Bride.  As the Groom comes for his Bride the question is brought up if the Bridesmaids (i.e., virgins) would be ready?  Ready for what; ready for the great celebration of marriage.  You see, according to ancient tradition the Groom would come for the Bride and the bridesmaids were to be ready with their torches and lamps so that they could light up the way to the great marriage festival.  Otherwise stated, the story that we read today brings up the question of whether or not the bridesmaids were ready.  Did they all have enough oil in their lamps; lamps that were intended to burn at midnight and light the way to the festivities?  Would these bridesmaids be ready to go to the marriage celebration?

It seems that the key feature in our Gospel reading is this idea of having enough oil.  If the bridesmaids had enough oil in their lamps, they were able to ignite their lamps and light up the way to the great festivities; however, the gals that did not have enough oil in their lamps, remained in darkness and were excluded from the great festival. 

With that said, I must ask each and every one of you, do you have enough oil for your lamp, so that your lamp of faith might be able to make it through the darkness of night to the great marriage celebration?  Keep in mind that a lamp certainly lives from the oil that is put into it, thus do you have enough oil stocked up to light up your faith through darkness to the great celebration, that is, the kingdom of heaven?

As we think of dear Rose, who is here before us, did and does she have enough oil to light the lamp of faith?  Did she and does she have enough oil in the flask to light the lamp of faith unto everlasting life?  Will the Groom find her waiting with a lamp burning?

There is no doubt about it that these questions surely bring about unsettledness in each and every one of us, as it should.  This Gospel story that Jesus shares with us is intended to most certainly rattle our cages a bit and to sober us up.  This Gospel reading is intended to make us ask, “Is my lamp burning bright enough?  Is my faith strong enough?  Will my light burn lively enough in this life and will it burn as I enter the dark valley of death?  Do I have enough oil?  If not, how do I get more oil?”

Considering this Gospel story today, at this funeral, certainly does cause us to ask sobering questions about ourselves and even dear Rose.

Consider for a moment the implications of this story.  If the lamp lives from the oil that is put into it, all our questions and anxieties may be resolved if we can just figure out how to obtain and secure for ourselves enough oil.   Yes, that makes perfect sense.  If we have enough oil, we can keep the lamp full and keep it burning brightly and thus we will not have to worry about missing out on the great marriage festival when the Groom comes for us, that is, when Jesus comes again. 

But this brings about a whole new set of problems.  What on earth does the oil represent and how do we obtain this oil? 

Dear friends, this oil represents the Lord’s Word of grace and the forgiveness of sins.  For the Lord’s Word of grace and the forgiveness of sin is what creates and kindles faith in each and every one of us.  Faith burns brightly when the Word of grace and the forgiveness of sins are poured out upon us and into us.  It is what we truly need to be spiritually alive. 

Thus, if this Word of grace and the forgiveness of sins is what is truly needed for the lamp of faith to burn brightly; if the Word of grace and the forgiveness of sins is what is truly needed to light the way to the marriage feast, how can one be sure that they have the oil, let alone have enough?  How can one be sure that they have enough grace and forgiveness?

I suppose one could attempt to do all sorts of moral and upright ethical actions hoping that these good works could be exchanged for oil.  Maybe one’s good works could be used to barter for oil.  However, how many good works are needed and what quality of good works are needed to obtain oil?  Can there ever be assurance that one has conjured up enough good works to obtain enough oil?

I suppose one could plummet to the depths of their soul and attempt to somehow pray and meditate in a pious fashion so as to supernaturally tap into a reservoir of oil.  However, how many prayers and what kind of mystical experiences would one have to conjure up so as to obtain enough oil?

I suppose one could attempt to intellectual and analytically regulate the lamp; maybe one could create an energy efficient lamp by monitoring the amount of light that burns while rationing what oil is within one’s possessions.  However, this again puts all the pressure on mankind to manage the oil and the lamp. It puts mankind’s eternal destiny in his hands.

What is our answer and solution to this situation? 

I believe that our answer and solution is found right before us in Rose, yes Rose, one of the bridesmaids.  You see Rose, like the bridesmaids in our Gospel reading, had flasks oil.  Indeed, our Gospel reading states that the wise bridesmaids had flasks or we could say jars of oil.  Yes, they had jars of oil. The same is true for Rose. 

But how did Rose come about these jars of oil? 

Rose’s jars of oil were not obtained as a result of her receiving more oil because her lamp flickered more brightly than yours.  Rose’s jars of oil were not a result of her being able to obtain oil through secret mystical experiences.  These jars of oil were not a result of her being able to intellectually ration and monitor the flame and oil.  No, my friends, Rose did not earn or obtain these jars of oil—this grace, mercy, and forgiveness—by anything that she did.

But you may say, “How on earth did she receive so much oil?”

Dear friends, Rose received this oil the same way that you receive this oil.  She received this gracious-merciful-loving-forgiveness of sins as gift. 

As you look at Rose’s coffin, it is covered by a pall, a white garment.  This white garment reminds you and me that she as a sinner who was baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  At her baptism, the Lord flooded her with grace, mercy, and forgiveness.  All as pure gift.  At her baptism, the Lord wrapped her in a robe of righteousness, His righteousness.  At her baptism He lavished oil upon her by joining Himself to her.    

Rose also received oil as the Lord God proclaimed His precious, powerful, and mighty Word into her ear canals, into her ear drums, to the brain and to her heart; words that kindled and created faith.  “Rose, dear Rose, you are my beloved.  I have died for you; I have redeemed you, and made you my own.  My cross is proof of my grace for you and my resurrection is proof of your future resurrection.”

Rose also received this oil, this forgiveness and grace this past week as the body and blood of Christ was placed upon her tongue, poured into her mouth—digested and received.  “Take and eat; take and drink Rose, this is my body and blood given for you for the remission of all of your sins.”

Dear friends, the focus is not on the brightness of the flame that you or Rose kindles by your own strength, but rather it is the oil that is delivered to you from our gracious and merciful Lord, oil that burns brightly!

Like Rose, you who have been baptized, have received and continue to receive oil.  Your baptism remains, the Lord’s name is upon you, and He has joined Himself to you.  You are forgiven.  You are washed.  You are filled.  Oil is upon you and upon your hearts as gift. 

Like Rose, you who have ears hear the Word of God.  God’s mercy, grace, forgiveness—this oil—is totally undeserved.  When you and I were still lost in our sins and an enemy of God, He sent His Son to save you and me.  “Although [we] have not treated His Word as [we] should, His love for you is true and unwavering. This sweet love sacrificed all, as God took human flesh with all its pain and tribulation.  He bore your sins up to Calvary, and suffered the worst agony possible — so great was His love.  He sealed His love by turning death into life for you on Easter.”[1]

The pure Word of grace is before you now and delivers the benefits of the cross to you.  “The Word has driven you to faith, and keeps you in repentance.  The Word has filled you with the Spirit, and given you an eternal inheritance.  The Word has set your life in order, by canceling all your debts and making every moment of your life right in God's eyes.”[2]

“All this is the effect of the Mighty Blood of Atonement that Christ has shed for you.  The perfect love of God for you is His Son, dying for your sins.  That crucified and bleeding love, [this oil] is what makes you ready for the Judgment.”[3]

Dear friends, “You should have been rejected by God.  His holy Word should have been removed from each stubborn and rebellious heart that lacked true reverence.  But He has not done that.  He accomplished your full salvation in the work of His Son, and delivered [this grace, this forgiveness, and this oil] to you freely through His Spirit.  He did not wait for [you to ignite this flame on the lamp first, but came to you first.]  He came to you and freely gave you what you could not accomplish,”[4] He came to not only give you oil but to light your lamp of faith.  And what makes this so profound is that He considered it all worthwhile.

My friends, look upon Jesus and His gifts to you.  There you have oil for your lamps; oil that is for you as gift.  It is yours; it is Rose’s.  Thus, you are ready for the great festival as Rose is.  Resting and waiting for the Groom to come, resting with jars upon jars of oil.  Resting knowing that the great festival is for you as it surely is for Rose as well.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Andrew Eckert. “Why be unprepared?” (23 November 2008) http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=1108 (21 October 2014).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

We Kneel At The Altar And Wave A Flag, For We Are Citizens Of Two Kingdoms

Text: Matthew 22:15-22

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Several years ago when I was in a former church as an Associate Pastor, I came into the sanctuary one Saturday evening and saw two women knelling down by the altar.  They were not praying, but were up to something else. I said to them, “Good evening ladies, what are you up to?”  They jumped up, turned a little red, and then proceeded to tell me that they were making adjustments to the flags located by the altar.  It turns out that the Senior Pastor of the church was a little concerned with how close the American flag was to the altar.  Well, long story short, the Senior Pastor didn’t want to offend anyone so he had asked these two ladies to move the flag one to two inches each week when they came every Saturday night to set up for the Sunday Morning Service.  These two ladies giggled as they shared this with me and showed me that they had made it about 40 inches over the last 6 months.  You could actually see the marks on the carpet where it used to be and see how far they had moved the flag.

Even though this is a funny story to think about, it does bring forth the question of why the Senior Pastor wanted to move the American flag away from the altar.  Why the concern?  Later that week, I came to find out that the Senior Pastor was concerned that the American flag was overshadowing the altar.  From the right side of the sanctuary seating it was actually blocking the people’s sight of the communion elements that were placed on the altar, because it was so close.  Furthermore, he wanted the congregation to understand that the church and the state are a part of different realms, the right and the left kingdom, with different functions that ultimately serve God.

Using this example and fun story, if we can think about the altar as representing the church or the kingdom of heaven, and the flag as representing the state or the secular-governing sphere, the question that arises for us to consider today is this: Do we cling to the altar or the flag?  Where is a Christian’s allegiance: the church or the state?  Is it good, right, and salutary to give money and allegiance to the state when we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven?

What say you?  Which one will it be, the altar or the flag? 

This either-or choice was a very similar choice that Jesus faced some two thousand years ago as the Herodians and the Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus.  Let me be a little more specific.  In today’s Gospel reading we read that the religious leaders approached Jesus and asked Him, “Tell us, then, what you think.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”  In other words, this question was attempting to put Jesus between a rock and a hard place.  If Jesus would have said, “Yes, it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, to the Roman Empire!”, then Jesus would have been aligned with the Roman Empire, an empire that most people despised during that day and age.  If Jesus would’ve said, “No, it is not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, to the Roman Empire!”, the religious leaders would have then conveniently reported Jesus to the Roman Empire as one who was attempting to promote insurrectionist ideas against Rome, which would have gotten Jesus arrested.

My friends as we contemplate this question raised from today’s Gospel reading, we need to realize that the religious leaders were posing an either-or logical fallacy.  In other words, they were attempting to pit both of these realms against each other and trying to make Jesus choose one or the other. 

We too face an either-or logical fallacy when we pit the altar and the flag against each other, as I presented to you in the beginning of this sermon. 

Jesus though, understands something that the religious leaders did not understand.  He understands that both the realm of the state and the realm of the church are from God; they are both instituted by the Lord.  Simply put, the flag and the altar belong to the Lord and are under the Lord’s authority. 

Since both the altar and the flag are under the Lord’s authority and instituted by Him, that means that the altar and the flag are not adversaries, but serve each other.  One protects, one grants forgiveness, for the mutual benefit of humankind.  “Both are ordained, established and blessed by God, that all might come to know Jesus Christ and return home to their true heavenly Eden.”[1] 

Consider this for a moment.  The Lord has obviously instituted the church, where the Gospel is proclaimed and the Sacraments are rightly administered.  The church is not a manmade invention, but something that is put together by God.  The church is where the Word of God and the Sacraments are present and where people are gathered for that purpose.  We also see that God has instituted governing authorities, authorities that rule with the sword against injustice to keep good order.  The state operates on the basis of the Law.  It does not offer salvation, but is to be respected according to the Fourth Commandment, for when it runs smoothly it upholds God’s will and keeps society from sinful anarchy.  Indeed, the church rules by proclaiming the message of forgiveness of sin and the state rules by the power of the sword, that is, force.  The state curbs society and keeps order while the church proclaims the Holy Gospel.  Both are instituted by the Lord and both are under God’s authority—for our good.  They are gifts to you and to me, to bind and to loose. 

Therefore, when Jesus said, “’render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,’ he was telling us that Caesar and all government is God's instrument at work in the physical world.”[2]  He was also telling us that the church and state are not against each other because they are both under the Lord’s control and authority. 

So, practically speaking, what does this means for each and every one of us?  It means that each of us have two birth certificates.  We have a birth certificate that was issued at our birth showing that we were born in a particular state at a particular time in a particular county.  The birth certificate testifies that you are a citizen of the United States of America.  We also have another certificate, and that is a baptismal certificate.  Our baptismal certificate is a testimony that we are a citizen of God’s Kingdom.  At your baptism, Christ claimed you as His own; the Lord delivered you from the dominion of sin, death, and the devil; He rescued you from a citizenship of demise and made you a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, because you were physically born of a woman and spiritually born again by the baptismal font, because you have these two certificates—these two births—you are citizens of two kingdoms, two realms, at the same time. 

As a citizen of God’s Kingdom of grace and truth, you have a heavenly citizenship.  As citizens of heaven your beginning, end, life, movement, identity, and so forth is in Christ and the His Resurrection.  As citizens of heaven the Lord continually bestows on you the gifts of salvation; washing, feeding, and declaring you forgiven of sin. 

As citizens of the state, you are called to walk in the laws of our land and to be citizens of a community and country; as you pay your taxes, vote, do community service, work on the local school board, go to precinct meetings, follow speed limits, follow state laws, and possibly take up arms to support and defend your nation. 

This means that as Christians you and I have one foot in the state and one foot in the church.

Therefore, you and I do not have to choose between two realms, two citizenships, as if they are diametrically opposed.  The reason being, both are instituted by God and both are derived by God’s authority—for our good.  They are gifts to us from a good and gracious Lord. 

Like the church, the state is God’s servant.  Whereas the church dispenses the Word and Sacrament, the state dispenses the sword upon wrongdoers so that we might have order in our society.  The state keeps order while the church proclaims the Holy Gospel.  Therefore, we “render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God’s”[3] and consider this all gift!

But what of the times where the flag overshadows the altar or even when the altar replaces the flag?  What happens when church becomes the state and the state tries to become the church? 

Tragically, these two realms can be confused at times or blurred, which bring forth a whole host of problems. 

For example, the church is the church and it is not a mere political action group working within the state.  Thus, we should not confuse the ministry of the Word and Sacraments with the political realm of the state.  Listen carefully, we do not need: Christian judges, Christian policemen, Christian congressmen, Christian voters, and so forth.  Rather we need judges who are Christians, policemen who are Christian, congressmen who are Christian, voters who are Christian, and so forth.  The church is all about the Word and Sacraments, which means that the church is not the state, yet the church speaks into the state on basis of God’s authoritative Word. 

Conversely, upholding the teaching of ‘separation of church and state’ means not that the church is kept out of the state, but that the state needs to be kept out of the church.  History has shown us that when the state gets too close to the church that the church is typically the one that suffers. 

The church does not rule by the sword but by the Word and Sacraments.  The state does not rule by the Word and Sacraments but by the sword.

Thus, as Christians we give unto Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s.  This means that we engage within the realm of the state underneath our vocations as American citizens.   As citizens who are blood-bought and baptized Christians, we are called to work in our culture to uphold and promote that which is right, good, and salutary according to God’s Word, if only in a small way.  As citizens who are Christians, we are continually formed by the Word of God in the church so that we might advocate for what is correct and noble and helpful and true in the state.

Through our vocations as citizens of the state, we go as informed and redeemed Christians to speak into the culture.  We don’t vote merely as uninformed citizens, but rather we vote as citizens who have been bought, purchased, forgiven, and informed by the Lord.  Our conscience is bound to the Word of God, a conscience that is exercised in our daily lives within the church ‘and’ the state. 

But what of the times when the state violates the Word of God?  As American citizens—yes you baptized saints—you work diligently and faithfully to correct the problems of the state through running for office, demonstrating, and debating.  In other words, when the state enforces laws upon us as citizens that purposely cause us to violate conscious and violate the Word of God, with all tactfulness we obey God rather than man and thus oppose the state.[4]  “The bottom line is our loyalty to God is always first.  The Apostle says as much in the Book of Acts.  When the governing authority overstepped its God given role, when the Apostle's were forbidden to preach and teach in the name of Christ, they responded, ‘we must obey God rather than men.’ [5]

Simply stated, in our baptisms, the holiness of God invades us, which means that it invades both the realm of the church and the state.  This means that you baptized saints, with all of your failures, live and walk within the realm of the state as forgiven pilgrims; pilgrims who travel alongside people still operating as if this world were the only world.  You walk with the power of God’s Word and Sacraments that give a whole new outlook on life in the church and in the state. 

As we go to the polls in the upcoming weeks, we do not go as individuals belonging to only one sphere, but we go to the voter’s booth with both of our feet in two kingdoms; we go as citizens of two cities, two realms.  We go and cast our vote knowing that this is a good thing to do as citizens of the state and we vote being informed by our heavenly citizenship. 

In the end, the altar and the flag, the state and the church, are two different realms that we live in, both must be sharply distinguished and yet they do not contradict for they both find their origin, operation, and essence in the Lord.  They work harmoniously side by side for they are servants of the Lord almighty.   

Altogether, God is at work in your lives through the governing authorities to keep order—for you.  God is also at work in your lives through the church giving His Word and Sacraments—for you.  Therefore, as Christians you “may indeed wave the flag and not only sing but pray [before the altar], ‘God bless America.”[6]

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

  

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[1] Joshua Reimche. A Scriptural and Confessional Summary Of the Lutheran Understanding of the Two Kingdoms (2013 North Dakota District LC-MS, Fall Pastors’ Conference), 3.

[2] James T. Batchelor, “Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Sermon” http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=2430 (17 October 2014).

[3] See Matthew 22:21.

[4] See Acts 5:29.

[5] Alan Taylor. “Our Feet in Two Kingdoms.” http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=2432 (17 October 2014).

[6] Gene Edward Veith. “Called to Be Citizens: America is caught up in feelings of patriotism and national unity.  Is it really OK to “wave the flag”?”  http://pastormattrichard.webs.com/CalledtobeCitizens5.pdf (17 October 2014)

Fragrant Sacrifices And Offerings Through Death And Resurrection

Text:  Ephesians 5:1-9 and Romans 12:1-2

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our Epistle lesson from today says that you and I are to be imitators of God.  It states that we are to walk in love and to walk as children of the light.  Furthermore, Paul in his letter to Romans states that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, for this is our spiritual worship.  In other words, as Christians we are to be fragrant ‘sacrifices and offerings’ in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

There is a problem with all of this though, for “we understand that none of our labor is acceptable to God.  We understand that none of our carnal, fleshly work is acceptable in the Lord’s sight.  All our works are as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6) although some men may be very pleased and impressed with our achievements.  None of our carnal works rise to the Lord Jesus as fragrant offerings or are acceptable to our Father in heaven as pleasing sacrifices.  Our God sees all our work as filthy rages, not one worthy of meriting any attention from Him.”[1]  Our works are too polluted, too muddy, and too muted.   

The reason why this is the way that it is, is due to the reality of our fallen condition.  Otherwise stated, we have this terrible stain of sin upon us that corrupts our thoughts, words, and deeds.  We are knocked off center.  We are twisted from the fall into sin.  This impacts all aspects of our life, which means that all of our works, no matter how pure and noble, are blemished.  These good works are more often than not, done with selfish reason or impure motives.  They are not done out of the context of truly fearing, trusting, and loving God.  They are not done out of the context of purely loving our neighbor, but are done to serve the unholy trinity of ‘me, myself, and I.’ 

So because of this terrible stain of sin, does this mean that none of the sacrifices and offerings of mankind reach the Lord as acceptable and well-pleasing to Him?  For example, were not all the Old Testament sacrifices a sweet-smelling and well-pleasing to the Lord?  Yes, the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings were, but not for the reasons we might think.  You see, the sacrifices of the Old Testament were pleasing to God not because of the intrinsic value of the sacrifice or because of the worth of the work done in the sacrifices.  Rather, they were well-pleasing because these ‘sacrifices and offerings’ were foreshadowed and encircled the one true sacrifice to come, Jesus Christ’s  death, burial, and resurrection.  Otherwise stated, none of our works derived by our own doings or out of our own name reach God as sweet-smelling sacrifices and offerings.  This was the case in the Old Testament times and is the case today.[2]

Simply put, it is this way because the “’world of God’ and the ‘world of man’ have been separated (Gen. 3:22)”[3] due to sin.  A great chasm was created due to sin.  Thus, there is no possible way to properly devote and present something to the Lord from the world of man.  Our sacrifices and offerings cannot cross the great divide.  Even if our works and doings could cross into the world of God, there is no passport for our sacrifices into the realm of God, for they are tainted and stained.  Works, sacrifices, and offerings that are tarnished by sin will not and cannot be admitted before the Lord as fragrant offerings.

“The only way to devote and give something to God has been to remove it from man’s world: to kill it and/or, in some cases, to burn it.”[4]  This means that for us to present ourselves before the Lord and to walk in the light and to be children of the light and to offer up sacrifices to the Lord, we must be put to death.  There must be an end to us and our ways. 

But how on earth are we to be put to death?

Blessed Saints, you are put to death in your baptisms.  Through baptism you are joined to Christ and the fruits of His death.  Yes, your baptism joins you to Christ, putting your old Adam to death and bringing about a new man. Surely, your sin puts you in the grave, but your baptism joins you to Jesus’ grave, a grave of death, resurrection, and new life. 

This baptism matters for it is the means by which you are daily joined to Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection; a death, burial, and resurrection which are a wonderful fragrant offering and a gracious sacrifice on your behalf.  Yes, Jesus is “the perfect fragrant sacrifice and offering, the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world in whose book the names of all who live and die and rise by faith in Christ Jesus have been written (Revelation 13:8).  And not only are [your] names written in the book of the Lamb and in the heart of the Father, but [your] works of faith, good works prepared beforehand in which [you] walk, rise to the throne of our Father as fragrant sacrifices and offerings.”[5] 

Baptized Saints, you walk in the light and are imitators of God because the Holy One has invaded this world—invaded you—and drowned you in the waters of baptism, bringing forth a new creation.  Yes, you are purified in baptism and live in repentance, daily being forgiven and standing before God as a living, holy, well-pleasing sacrifice to Him.[6]  The re-creating sanctifying Spirit of God has come to you making you alive.  Daily holiness invades you by the Word and Sacraments, with the power of God—power that affects your posture and attitudes.  Daily you are cleansed being returned to the waters of your baptism.  Daily your works and doings are cleansed as well for Christ sake.  Thus, be confident that God accepts Jesus Christ as an acceptable offering in your stead. 

Because of Jesus this means that as “water-baptized, blood-covered, Holy Spirit-filled, consecrated, and anointed”[7] saints, your lives and jobs and vocations and works and doings and thoughts and words are fragrant sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. 

Even though you continually see yourself as a sinner, and even thought the old Adam clings to you until the day you die, and even though in the eyes of the law and the world you are considered a sinner, do not forget the reality that you are at the same time completely a saint in the eyes of God on account of Christ.  The good news of the Gospel is that you are completely and totally righteous in the eyes of the Lord. 

Because Jesus is an acceptable sacrifice and offering—for you, every act proceeding from faith, every work that has been prepared in advance for you to walk in, and every word spoken in faith is made holy because of Jesus and rises up to the Father as a sweet-smelling savor and sacrificial offering. 

So dear Baptized Saints, walk in love, be imitators of God, present yourselves as living sacrifices, and serve your neighbor, for you have died and been buried and resurrected in Jesus through baptism.  This is not of your own doing, but it is the Holy Spirit through the Gospel working to create in you a life of worship.  Rest in the one who is for you, knowing that through the Word and Sacraments He has declared you righteous for Christ’s sake and made all your movement and life in Him a fragrant offering in the nostrils of our loving God and Father.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Fragrant Offerings and Sacrifices: 2014 LWML Sunday Sermon. https://www.lwml.org/events/lwml-Sunday (11 October 2014).

[2] Martin Luther. Third Sunday in Lent Sermon by Dr. Martin Luther.

[3] Jonathan F. Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly: An Interpretation of Romans Second Edition (Published in Canada: 2012), 515.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Fragrant Offerings and Sacrifices: 2014 LWML Sunday Sermon. 

[6] Jonathan F. Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly: An Interpretation of Romans Second Edition, 517.

[7] Fragrant Offerings and Sacrifices: 2014 LWML Sunday Sermon. 

Broken Missionaries

Sermon by: Rev. David Warner

Text: Matthew 21:33-46 

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our Father, and Our Lord Jesus Christ.   

It is a distinct pleasure for my wife Shelee and I to be with you here this morning, receiving God’s gifts in Word and Sacrament, and also telling you a little about our journey to Spain, where I have been called to serve as a Church Planter.  The day to day content of this first part of my missionary call is raising prayer and financial support, by going around, preaching and presenting to Lutherans in America, in order to find the people God will raise up to partner with the Lutherans in Spain.  So, as I stand before you this morning, I have to ask a question of your pastor.  Rev. Dr. Richard, “What kind of Mission texts are these?”  The LORD’s lovely vineyard yields wild grapes, so God is going to remove the protective hedge and allow the vineyard to be destroyed?  God seeks justice, but behold, bloodshed; God looks for righteousness, but behold, an outcry?  I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish?  And finally, from the mouth of our Lord, “the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”?  Where’s the happiness, the Word of the Lord growing, rejoicing in the Lord always, the sweetness and light passages?  Where’s the bold commission text, the fearless servants bravely venturing to the end of the earth?  Come on, Pastor Matt, this is what you give me to work with?  

I’m kidding.  The readings are not your pastor’s fault.  Indeed, they are not anyone’s fault.  Taking what the lectionary, the reading system of the Church year, gives us to read is good for us.  For pastors to pick their own readings is a dangerous thing, because we all have the parts of the Bible we like, and the parts we like to avoid.  But we need to hear the full council of God, not just our favorite passages, or our pastor’s favorites.  Using the assigned lectionary readings is a good thing. 

And, despite the harshness they contain, today’s readings are excellent texts for understanding God’s Mission, and our role within His Mission.  Because there is a necessary harshness, a brokenness even, to being involved in the Mission of God.  

What comes to mind when you hear the word Mission?  Maybe you think first of helping people?  Certainly Jesus helped people.  We are in the middle of a series of readings all set during Holy Week, the days leading up to His Cross.   Jesus does a number of things which heighten the anger of the religious elite, including riding into Jerusalem like a king, accepting the praises of children, and telling very pointed parables against the scribes and priests, as He does today.  But back at the beginning of chapter 21, you’ll also notice Jesus was healing the lame and blind.  Helping people in need has always gone hand in hand with God’s Mission. 

In fact my new boss, Rev. Ted Krey, Area Director for Latin American and Spanish Missions, and also a missionary pastor in the Dominican Republic, wants every Church within his mission area to also have a Mercy House.  In the Dominican the Mercy House is a home for developmentally disabled youth.  In other places it might be a school for the poor, or an orphanage.  In Spain we are going to be looking for the opportunity to pursue life ministries, as my wife Shelee has years of experience serving women in crisis pregnancies.  This is how it should be.  Christ in his earthly ministry was always caring for the sick and hurting, so Christians share His concern for helping people in their earthly needs. 

But helping people with their earthly hurts and needs is not the heart of mission.  Jesus healed many sick and lame and blind, but these healings did not save their souls.  So also, while Christian mission is  rightly accompanied by human, earthly care, and while serving our neighbors is an important way we earn opportunities to tell them about Jesus, God’s Mission finally requires something different.  In fact, true Christian Mission requires harshness.  Scandal even.  An offense.  God’s Mission is centered on a rock that either breaks you, or pulverizes you, a stone of stumbling and offense, of scandal.  Certainly harsh.    

In fact, as strange as it seems, Jesus is doing mission work as he verbally attacks the elders and scribes and priests.  This is the harsh part of mission work, the preaching of the law, in this case the declaration of the truth that these religious leaders were in truth working against God’s mission.  Despite their outwardly religious  appearance, the Pharisees, Elders and Chief Priests of the Jews all rejected God’s way of salvation.  They were fine with a certain amount of helping the neighbor, and very happy to go about appearing pious and law-abiding, making a show of setting a good example.  And they thought they were very much a part of God’s mission in doing these things.  But no, says Jesus, they are wicked tenants, who have abused God’s vineyard, abused their positions of authority in His Church, and rejected the central point of God’s Mission of Salvation – the offense of the Cross.  When prophets speaking God’s truth came to Israel, calling them away from their sin, again and again, the people of Israel, leaders and people, rejected the message and abused the messengers.  Being a prophet to God’s people was never an easy calling.  And as in all things, Jesus is the greatest prophet, God’s final Word to His people, and the world.  So the Jewish religious leaders reject Him most of all.        

Jesus is the rejected stone of Psalm 118 which becomes the chief cornerstone.  Jesus is the stone of stumbling, the rock of offense, of scandal.  In Jesus God fully reveals the central mystery of His plan of salvation.  And this mystery is one we sinners quite naturally reject.  Yes, it’s not just the chief priests and elders.  We all like to sidestep, ignore or outright reject the scandal that is Jesus, because it is unpopular with the world, or maybe because of what it says about us.  The fact that saving sinners like you and me required the unjust execution of the sinless Son of God is crushing news to our spiritual egos.  But it is the truth, a truth without which we cannot be ready for the Gospel.    

And so we see Jesus is the rock.  He will either break you, or He will pulverize you.  Jesus said, “the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."  This is His warning to the chief priests, scribes, elders, to anyone who is proudly confident that by their own contributions and efforts and goodness they are earning their place in the kingdom of God.  If you persist in your self-righteous, stubborn resistance to the cornerstone, you will be crushed. 

The alternative to being crushed doesn’t sound much better.  The alternative is to be broken, but then restored.  That is, everyone of us must be broken on the rock that is Christ, in order to be restored and brought into the kingdom.  For we are all sinners, naturally opposed to God and His Way.  To complete His Mission of Salvation, God must break us from our love of sin.  Consider Peter, broken by his threefold denial, as the rooster crowed, broken by his inability to follow Jesus to the Cross as he had sworn.  Or consider Paul, an enemy and persecutor of the Church, broken by the light, the blinding appearance of Christ to him on the road to Damascus, asking him Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?  Consider Martin Luther, torturing himself in a monk’s cell, trying to earn the favor of God, until the Word of God broke through, revealing that God gives righteousness as a free gift, received by faith, for Jesus’ sake. 

As for all these famous Christians, so also for you, and for me.  We must be broken out of our complacency, or out of our pride and self-assurance.  We must be broken from our habit of loving earthly pleasures more than God and His Word.  We must be broken of our love of sin.  We all must be broken by the Law, both at conversion, and also throughout our earthly lives, broken so that with His Good News, with His Gospel of forgiveness and mercy, Jesus can restore you to wholeness, and present you to His Father, whole and blameless and beloved. 

Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church, which is a building made of living stones, sinners who have been broken, but are now restored, made new, and joined to Jesus.  And as in all things, Jesus leads the way.  For He has already given Himself into brokenness, in our place.  Jesus is One man who had nothing to be broken for, the One with no sin for which to suffer.  But out of love for His Father, and love for us sinners, Jesus chose to be broken, even crushed, by all our sin, the sin which requires our death and punishment.  Jesus, the sinless one, the Son of the Master of the Vineyard, Jesus, Almighty God become a man, was crushed, becoming the sinner in your place, body broken and blood shed on His Cross, in order to restore you, with free and full forgiveness.  You are forgiven, all your sins are washed away, by the blood of Jesus.   

This is the Mission of God, restoring broken humanity through the once broken but now resurrected body of the Son, Jesus Christ.  The Cornerstone is now set.  Jesus Christ, the head of His body the Church, now rules over heaven and earth. By His Spirit He now empowers His mission, which takes the Lord’s marvelous doing out into the world, proclaiming peace between God and sinners.  And, when God has brought us through the harsh things, then there is great joy.  Being caught up and involved in God’s Mission is wonderful, amazing, the best thing in the world.  It is also the one thing in this world that lasts forever, the gift of righteousness and eternal salvation delivered to a sinner, today, by the power of God’s Word. 

This is the message that God has called Pastor Richard here to preach to you.  This is also the message that I have been called to preach in Spain, a land that very desperately needs to hear this truth.  For in Spain, the way of the Chief Priests and Scribes and Elders, the way of human pride and human accomplishment, the way of human works required to complete salvation, this false way is, sadly, the way the Christian faith has been presented for centuries. 

Spaniards through their history have been taught a very works righteous misunderstanding of Christianity.  They are very much in need of the pure Gospel, and, since 2000, the Lutheran Church of Argentina, with LCMS support, has begun proclaiming it.  The Lutheran Mission in Spain is small, and spread out.  But Lutheran Mission is there, and the people are hungry for more Good News.  My particular task in Spain will be to come alongside the first Spanish Lutheran pastor, Juan Carlos Garcia, who serves a small congregation in Seville.  I am very much looking forward to working with him to reach out with the Gospel in Seville, and then see God grow His Church. 

But first, my work is finding partners, Lutherans in America who want to partner with the Lutherans in Spain, and see the Gospel spread there.  God will raise up the partners He has in mind, prayer partners, and financial partners.   My wife and I are very thankful for the commitment you have already made to this work as a congregation.  As we rejoice in our shared restoration, I ask you to ask God how much more He might want you involved. 

Are you feeling a desire to be more involved in God’s Mission?  Being involved is pretty straightforward. 

Step 1, be fed, be filled.  As you are doing today, hear the Word, receive God’s Absolution, take, eat, and drink, for the forgiveness of all your sins.  Be filled with the Gospel, for this is how God prepares His people to be of service in His Gospel Mission.  When you are filled to overflowing with the Good News of God’s love in Christ, His Spirit then moves you to be a part of giving the gift to others.  Step 1, be filled, and keep on doing step 1.  The more you are filled with the Gospel, the more you will be ready to be involved in God’s Mission.  

Step 2, attend to your own congregation’s mission first.  Zion/St. John Lutheran Church is God’s mission in this place, for God is always working through congregations, pastors and people together.  Step 2, attend to home first.

Step 3, look beyond.  Ask God how you can best be connected to efforts to proclaim His Law and Gospel to a world so much in need of God’s Truth and Love, revealed in Christ.  By your invitation for Shelee and I to join you today, and by the prayers and commitments you have already offered, you are already doing step 3.  I will go to Spain as your missionary, and that is an honor.  What more might God want to do through you for Spain? 

 As we move forward together in service within God’s Mission, first, last and always, rejoice in the righteousness of Christ that God has given you, rejoice that Christ has made you His own.  Marvel at the Stone the builders rejected, who has become your Cornerstone.  And the Peace of God, that passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.