He Comes To You Again With New Grace

Text: Matthew 21:1-9

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Approximately two-thousand years ago Christ came, just as it was promised from the days of old.  Since that time, Christ has continually come.  He has come to the Saints of the past and He has come to you this past church year as well.  He has come to literally billions of people, resulting in some receiving and others rejecting Him. 

Today though, as we begin a new church year at Zion Lutheran Church, we must ask ourselves this, “Are we certain on our first Sunday of Advent that Christ will continue to come to us?  In other words, could there be a chance that He is tired of coming to Zion Lutheran Church, for He has been coming here for the last 107 years?  Will He make it 108?  Could this last church year have been his last year; does He have enough endurance and determination to come yet again?  Is He worn-out because us?” 

No, this is impossible!  Dear friends, the Lord never tires of coming to us; He never tires of coming to you.  The reason why we know this?  Today’s Gospel reading shows that Christ’s coming to Jerusalem on a donkey is nothing else but a picture of His determined coming to mankind. 

Therefore, we can conclude that the Lord will come to us again this next year.  He will come to us because He has promised never to leave nor forsake us.  He will come to us, just like He came into Jerusalem.  He will come to us in the Word and Sacraments. 

All this said though, is it really that comforting to know that Jesus will come again this new church year?  In other words, Jesus is the holy, righteous, and perfect Son of God and we are sinners.  He is righteous; we are guilt.  He is holy; we are unclean.  He is perfect; we are flawed.  He is faithful; we are unfaithful. 

What am I getting at? 

Take a moment and consider all the failures of your marriages, parenting, jobs, and life this past year.  Consider all the failures of Zion Lutheran Church this past year, all the times of our unfaithfulness and sin.  Consider our inconsistent attendance, our sometimes cheap tithes and offerings, our grumbling, our gossip, and so forth.  I don’t say this to be mean, but simply state this because it is the reality.  Therefore, do we really want the Lord to come to us again in this new church year, especially since He is all-knowing?  

It seems to me, with all of our let downs, failures, sin, and unfaithfulness this last year as individuals and as a church, that we should ‘not’ want the Lord to come to us, but rather to stay away.  Due to our sin in thought, word, and deed, we should not want Jesus to come again to us this next year.  We should not want Him to bring us wrath and judgment that we deserve.  Who wants wrath for Christmas?  Not me!  Who wants judgment for Advent?  Not you!  You see, if He comes, He comes knowing all.  There is no escape, no hiding, no faking, no pretending; the Lord knows all and sees all.  Therefore, if He comes for us this next year, there is no escape and this means that we are going to have a miserable new church year. 

As we take a step back and consider our Gospel reading from this morning though, we must take note who this Jesus is; we must consider who will come to you and me in the new church year.  In other words, as we ponder today’s Gospel reading, need we fear Jesus coming to you and me in this next church year?  We do not.  Dear brothers and sisters, we should not fear.  You see, our Gospel reading from this morning tells us of Jesus, who is noble, worthy, almighty, all-knowing, yet also humble and gracious.  That is to say, Jesus did not come as a holy judge in our Gospel reading, armed with the dread of virtuous verdicts, but as a king, a gentle king, a king of grace and mercy. 

Can any truth be more comforting than this one on this Sunday of the new church year?  Jesus, who is all-knowing; “knows all the sins that we have ever committed, even those we have already forgotten; He knows all the sins that we will commit in the future; He knows exactly the condition of our heart.  He knows it better than we ourselves do; He knows our whole great sinful corruption.  Yet He does not want to know this as our Judge, [He does not want to know these things in order] . . . to punish our sins, but [rather] as our meek King of grace, [He wants to know our sins for He is the one] who comes to forgive them, blot them out, and hurl them into the depths of the sea.”[1]   

Indeed, the Lord knows all, which means that “He also knows all the trouble in which we are; all the worries that oppress us; all the unheard sighs that arise within us; [all of our fists of anger that are shook in defiance]; all the unseen tears we shed; all the wants of body and soul; all our scheming enemies who seek after our souls.  He knows . . . all the dangers, distresses, and afflictions . . . which we are going [towards].  And though He knows that all our trouble and dangers are caused first by our sins, He does not know all this in order to punish us through them as our enemy, to let us be overwhelmed by them without giving comfort or help.  He knows all this as our King of grace; He wants to come in order to fill our temporal and spiritual wants, to hear our prayers and sighs, to dry our tears, to turn aside dangers, to protect us against our enemies, to turn all evil to our good, and finally, to free us from all evil by a blessed death.”[2]

So, dear friends, take comfort, lift up your heads, for the Lord comes to us today and will come to us this next church year.  He will come to us as we begin 2016.  Do not be anxious, Christ comes as the great, wise, strong, mighty, yet humble King. 

But how exactly do we know that Christ has come to us and will continue to come to us in this next church year?  To put this in another way, to whom does He want to come and how does He promise to come? 

In our Gospel reading, Jesus came into Jerusalem; He came for all who were in that city.  Today, Jesus comes for His Church, which is where the Word and Sacraments are preached and administered.  And who makes up the church?  The church is that vast sea of sinners:   males, females, children, elderly, rebels, self-righteous narcissists, Democrats, Republicans, greedy executives, church goers, thieves, teachers, plumbers, farmers, adulterers, IRS agents, white collar workers, blue collar workers, uncompassionate jerks, truth compromisers, engineers, manufacturers, North Americans, Africans, Europeans, and Asians… all who are fully aware that Jesus came for sinners such as themselves.  Yes, Jesus comes for His church, no matter how wretched the church may be.  He comes for the church, those who have been caught up in foul choices and failed dreams.  

The point being: you find Christ’s church wherever there are sinners gathered around the Word and Sacraments; you find Christ coming wherever there are sinners gathered around the Word and Sacraments.   

And who is invited to the church?  Everybody is invited.  No matter who a person is and no matter their history and no matter how hopeless they may think things are, the call of the church and the call of the Lord is to be among those who hear Christ’s Word and receive His Sacraments.  Thus, the joyful news for you and for me and for our neighbor is that Jesus comes to Zion Lutheran Church in this new church year because the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments will continue from this pulpit and this altar.  This applies to you and to me and to our neighbors near and far.  Jesus comes through the Word and Sacraments into our ears, into our minds, into our hearts, and into our mouths.

“Today begins a new Church Year, in which Jesus your king comes to you again with new grace.  Oh, [receive] in new faith and new [eager] love!  Your aging [and tired] heart will then be new and young, filled through and through with spiritual spring air.”[3]

It is a new church year, cast off the garments of your sin, failures, and attempted self-righteousness; Christ tramples them underfoot and gives you the true garment of His righteousness.

“Behold the gates of the new Church Year are open.  Jesus our king has in this hour already come to us in His Word.  He is here!”[4]  He has also promised to come to you this next year as well, with grace and mercy and forgiveness and life. 

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Note: The outline and verbage of this sermon is highly indebted to C.F.W. Walther's Advent Sermon based off of Matthew 21:1-9.

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[1] C.F.W. Walther, Walther’s Works, Gospel Sermons: Volume 1, trans. Donald E. Heck (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 6.

[2] Ibid. 

[3] Ibid, 8.

[4] Ibid, 9.

Wolves Among Us

Text: Jude 1:20-25

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Be cautious of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are these false preachers are out to rip you off some way or other, or they will manipulate you for their own personal gain.

Be alert for fake pastors who seem to be followers of Jesus – who walk the walk and talk the talk – but underneath the white alb and collared black clergy shirt are perverters of grace and enemies of righteousness. 

Be watchful for false prophets, who come to you in shepherd’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Yes, be aware! 

Why should you and I be aware?  Because Jesus calls us to be aware!  He does this in the Gospel of Matthew.  Furthermore, we are also told to be aware from Jude, the one who wrote the epistle that we read this morning.  Sadly, by the time Jude wrote his letter to the church – the Epistle reading from today - Jesus’ sad prophecy from Matthew’s Gospel had come true.  Otherwise stated, Jude’s epistle was written to show that wolves, disguised as sheep and shepherds, had already infiltrated the church.  Jude, in his epistle, was attempting to show that certain crooked people had crept quietly into the church, undetected. 

These certain people came in with stealth; they came under the radar; they came in covertly; and with them they brought perversion.  Not sexual perversion, but the tactics of perversion; the ability to twist, slant, change, and manipulate the Lord’s Word and the Christian Faith. Because of this, Jude was distressed and outraged, and rightfully so!  Though Jude did not hunger for controversy, he was forced into it by his concern for the Christian Faith. 

It is beginning to make sense now why Jude wrote his Epistle, this letter.  He wrote it not to be an intolerant-unloving-hater, but he wrote it to warn his fellow Christians that there were wolves in sheep and shepherd’s clothing in their midst.  He wrote it to stir up the church to watchfulness!  He wrote it to expose and enact God’s judgment upon the false teachers and lying prophets.  Simply stated, he was calling the church to alertness and driving them to repentance, faith, prayer, and service in light of the fact that false prophets had infiltrated them. 

Let it be clear today, the problem that Jude was addressing was not outside the church in some distant land of violence and bloodshed, but the problem was within the walls of the church; it was most likely with some pious sounding people who were doing religious things in the name of goodness.  You see, “The church of all ages will be assaulted by Satan on two fronts.  One assault will come from outside, from unbelievers who will use physical means to hurt the church: ridicule, legal harassment, confiscation of property, persecution, imprisonment, torture, even death.  The second form of assault is [actually] worse, though: infiltration from within.  Satan gets his agents inside congregations, in positions of leadership if possible, who work gradually to replace God’s saving truth with lies from hell.”[1]

Today, things are no different.  We live in a similar time.  The evil one will attack from outside the walls, but as previously stated, the greater threat comes from within the walls of the church, it comes from wolves leading churches and standing in the churches’ pulpits.  Yes, wolves come into the church, but do so wearing shepherd’s clothing.   

These wolves in shepherd’s clothing have this fault of always teaching something different and new.  Their wicked spirit is not rooted in solid doctrine and causes them to look for something hip, relevant, and better.  They do this because their conscience is not captive to the Word of God, but based off their natural and physical instincts.  Their god is their belly which is guided by the spirit of the age – that is the blowing winds culture - and not the Word of God. 

American churches though have not had a good record of responding to and discerning false teachers and lying prophets over the years. That is to say, American churches are unfortunately not properly equipped and catechized to discern the wolves in the church.  As a result, churches in America will ask the wolf if he is a wolf and the wolf will howl 'no,' and churches will respond, ‘Good enough for me.’[2]  Then they will follow the wolf into his lair because they are sluggish and bored with solid doctrine. 

What makes this even more troublesome in our contemporary culture is that some parishioners, churches, synods, districts, and denominations have not only come to tolerate wolves in the pulpit and leadership, but actually promote and train wolves.  They will even teach them how to covertly dress like shepherds and act like shepherds, in order to deceive the sheep.  That is to say, they “promote pastors and professors who deny the historical truthfulness of the Bible, teach evolution, . . . [support same-sex marriage] and abortion, [diminish the severity of sin, elevate mankind’s ability,] deny the existence of hell and a last judgement, [make grace into a license to sin, pervert the Biblical definition of love,] and accept the legitimacy of all world religions as though equal to Christianity.  Jude calls these people scoffers, divisive, worldly, and without the Spirit of God.”[3]  They are most certainly not shepherds and not sheep, but are wolves clothed in a façade; clothed and disguised as servants of God, but in reality agents of evil.

Tragically, when considering the teachings from Jude’s epistle, it is rather obvious that wolves in shepherd’s clothing actually abound in our day and age.  We are not immune as the church in the twenty-first-century. 

Considering the blunt, direct, sobering, and truthful message that we’ve heard from the Epistle of Jude this morning and its application to our contemporary culture, we may find ourselves asking, ‘What is our plan of response?’ In other words, after being confronted with Jude’s jarring message, a message for the church to wake up, where should we go from here?  How shall we respond to Jude’s message?  What must we do?  How shall we endure in the weeks and months to come as we live in the midst of a culture that persecutes shepherds and exalts wolves?

Keep in mind that in the Epistle of Jude there is no complex strategy.  There is no line of attack.  There is no master-minded think tank plan. But rather, Jude calls out these wolves.  He rebukes and condemns them.  He reveals their evil work.  He drags them out of their covert tactics, he pulls them out from the shadows, and he pulls off their disguise in order to show the evil that they embrace and teach.  He does the same for us, as we consider his teaching in our current culture. 

And in case we are becoming a bit self-righteous at this point, the exposing of these wolves in shepherd’s clothing actually reveals sin with us here today as well.  You see, Jude demonstrates and shows us that we are easily led astray by false doctrine.  We really are.  We are prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love.  We are easily distracted by flashy and sexy doctrine, which is nothing more than a seductive lie.  In other words, you and I may not be a wolf in shepherd’s clothing, but boy, aren’t we easily led astray by the false ideology of wolves?    Furthermore, if we are not led astray by false wolves, Jude reveals something else to us as well.  He shows us that we tolerate wolves.  Yes, in order to keep peace and harmony, we actually tolerate wolves in shepherd’s clothing. To put this in another way, we can never compromise the Gospel, which is the foundation of our salvation, yet we do compromise it when we allow wolves and their false doctrines to remain covertly in shepherd’s clothing. 

Dear friends, we must repent.  Repent of believing the lies of the wolves in shepherd’s clothing, repent for tolerating wolves in shepherd’s clothing, repent for the apathy of not caring about the sound truth of the Gospel, and repent for turning a blind eye to false doctrine present within the walls of the church.  Yes, we must be repented, for we have sinned, sin that is like a stain that has smeared or oozed onto our robe of righteousness, which we have from Christ. 

. . .

You whose garment is stained by the bloody bites of the wolf, you whose garment is stained due to rolling around in the filth of false doctrine, you whose garment is stained due to the corruption and destruction of your own sinful heart, do not leave, but remain.  Stay in the church, hang your body and mind and soul upon the Word of God.  You must be captive to the Word of God.  There is no other way.

Yes, do not run, do not leave, do not fail to meet together often as some are in the habit of doing, and do not fall into deception, for you have full salvation in Christ already, salvation that has been delivered and will be continually delivered to you in the Word and Sacraments. 

Realize this today, the Lord has chosen to give you spiritual strength for spiritual warfare through the Word and Sacraments – today and tomorrow and for the weeks and months to come.  The Lord has snatched you out of the fire and keeps you in His love and mercy and truth today, so that you might be warned and kept from the deception of the evil one.  He is able to guard you despite the stealthy-pathetic-lies of the wolves, as you wait for Him to take you home. 

Do not fear for Christ’s blood has made you white again with His forgiveness.  Your sins are covered, by Christ so that the Father does not see the stain.  You are forgiven for Christ’s sake.

You, who have ears, hear this:  “United with Christ in your Baptism, you have already passed through judgment and are living an eternal life.”[4]  You belong to Jesus, who is truth, and not to the evil one of lies.

You, who have ears, hear this: Jesus’ Word is for you; receive it; it is yours!   The Word of God is the only source of your faith and practice.  “Satan’s lies and bribes will shrivel up under the bright light of the Bible’s truth.”[5]  Wolves in shepherd’s clothing are brought to nothing; they will not prevail, for the Word of God exposes them and shames them.  They will wither like the grass, but the Word of God remains forever. 

You, who have ears, hear: The Sacrament is for you as well. Take and eat; take and drink.  “Despair and fear fade away when you and your Savior are united through the blood of the covenant.”[6]

Indeed, the Lord keeps you in the faith when you are assaulted from outside and from within the church.  Because of Christ, your salvation is not based on your own reason or strength or might, but is wholly the Father’s work in Christ.  Therefore, when you are exhausted and struggle from the attacks outside and inside the church, you have an exalted, changeless, and majestic Lord who is for you. 

Do not fear, for you are kept in Christ’s grace and mercy until He comes to deliver you from all evil and bring you to everlasting life. He, who is faithful, will not forsake you in this life or the next.   

No power of hell and no scheme of man, can ever pluck you from His hand.

Till He returns or calls you home—

you will stand, for He is able to keep you from stumbling.

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore.  Amen.

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[1] Mark A. Jeske, People’s Bible Commentary: General Epistles (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 324. 

[2] Paraphrase of a Twitter quote from Pr. Jordan Hall of First Baptist Church in Sidney, MT.

[3] Mark A. Jeske, People’s Bible Commentary: General Epistles, 339-340.

[4] The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 2189.

[5] Mark A. Jeske, People’s Bible Commentary: General Epistles, 341.

[6] Ibid. 

Jesus Bridges That Gap

Text: Luke 17:11-19 (Thanksgiving Matins Sermon for Zion Lutheran Church)

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

During this time of year millions of people are making trips to gather together with family and friends. This great gathering of people is to celebrate thankfulness.  Yes, with Thanksgiving we gather together with the intent and purpose to express gratitude.  More specifically, we express appreciation for our health, our material blessings, our good fortune, our families, and so forth. 

Keep in mind though that most of the things that we are grateful for, are a result of a combination of things.  Things like: good family genetics, a little bit of luck, hard work, being in the right place at the right time, and the blessings of other people.  Therefore, it could be technically stated that we express this gratitude with a tip of the hat to the luck of the draw, as well as a tip of the hat to ourselves.  Otherwise stated, each and every Thanksgiving we honor the feeling and character of ‘gratitude;’ with a very superficial understanding of gratitude.  Indeed, our gratitude—to a certain extent—is not totally dependent on the gifts that we receive, but relies heavily upon our luck, our work, and our doings. 

Now, I am certainly not attempting to sabotage your Thanksgiving holiday.  I am surely not attempting to be the 

Grinch who stole Thanksgiving.  No, my friends, what I am merely attempting to do is to show you that as baptized-forgiven-blood-bought-saints you have so much more to be thankful for.  As people in Christ you have something to be thankful for, something that is given to you as pure gift, something that brings ultimate gratitude. 

While it would be easy to exhort you now to be more thankful or to simply urge you to express more gratitude as a Christian, I am afraid that merely telling you to be grateful without showing you what you have to be grateful for is futile at best.  To state this in a different way consider our Gospel reading.

In our Gospel reading we are faced with a contagious and hereditary disease.  We see a disease that is easily transmitted and can be conveyed to the third and fourth generations of a family.  It was a disease that produced sores on the skin; it impacted a person’s joints.  It has been said,

“Life still lingers amid the desolation of this disease.  The joints, hands, and feet lose their power; and the body collapses or falls together in a form hideous and awful-ness.”

What am I talking about?  I am talking about the disease of leprosy.  I am talking about leprosy that existed during the first century, a disease that there was no curable treatment for.  

Not only did leprosy dramatically impact individuals, but it had sociological implications as well.  By Law, lepers were not able to come near people who were healthy.  The Laws separated them into camps outside the cities.  In fact lepers would be beaten if they came into cities like Jerusalem.  Indeed, lepers were cut off from society.  They could not associate with people and had to yell out the word “UNCLEAN,” so as to warn others that they were passing by.  Many perceived that these lepers were sick due to some mistake that they had made; they were viewed as cursed by God.

But what does leprosy have to do with Thanksgiving and what does it have to do with the idea of gratitude and thankfulness?  Are we to be thankful that we don’t have leprosy?  Well, yes, but there is more to consider in our text.

In our Gospel reading we encounter lepers being healed by Jesus.  After the healing, one of the lepers returns to Jesus with a thankful response.  In story we have a simple and plain picture of the Christian life.  Permit me to explain.

Tragically lepers were ostracized from society and family as they stood at a distance, while rotting away in utter and complete hopelessness.  Leprosy made the individuals stand afar off.  Their defilement distanced them from everyone and everything.  Yet, in our Gospel reading there is one that bridges that gap.  Yes, we even see in the Gospel of Matthew chapter eight that when Jesus encountered another leper that he reached out His hand and touched the man. 

Now, did you hear that?

Jesus reached out and touched a leper; He bridges that gap. He acknowledges the lepers who stand afar off.  He, who is perfectly clean, perfectly righteous, and perfectly holy, reaches out and touches the man with leprosy saying, “Be Clean!”  In our Gospel text for today, He cleanses lepers, as well. 

Consider how Jesus crosses the great leper divide.  In the New Testament Christ touches and interacts with sinners, tax collectors, lepers, and the dead, while often times becoming ceremonially unclean Himself from touching those who were sick or dead.

Otherwise stated, the Lord Jesus Christ gives everything freely to these lepers and does not take nor seeks anything for it.  Furthermore, the lepers receive Christ’s work freely and pay nothing for it. 

Dear friends, like the lepers, mankind is set far off from God because of sin.  We too are unworthy and unable to do anything about our predicament of sin.  We have inherited it, it is contagious, it spreads to our children, and it wreaks havoc on our relationships, and leads to destruction.  We cannot cure our sin problem.  We cannot cleanse our body and souls.  We cannot prevent the rotting.  Thus, mankind hides in the shadows or attempts to cover sin with spiritual cosmetics.

The Lord Jesus Christ though bridges this gap.  He reached out and not only touched sin, but bore it upon Himself at the cross.  Like a person who becomes unclean due to touching a leper, Jesus, for our sake, was made to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ponder for a moment the great event of Mount Calvary.  While on the cross, our mighty Lord took the leprosy of sin upon Himself.  More specifically,

“When he took the sins of the whole world upon himself, Christ was no longer an innocent person. He was a sinner burdened with the sins of a Paul who was a blasphemer; burdened with the sins of a Peter who denied Christ; burdened with the sins of a David who committed adultery and murder, and gave the heathen occasion to laugh at the Lord. In short, Christ was charged with the sins of all men, that he should pay for them with his own blood. The curse struck him. The Law found him among sinners. He was not only in the company of sinners. He had gone so far as to invest himself with the flesh and blood of sinners. So the Law judged and hanged him for a sinner.”[1] 

Yes, Christ Jesus not only reached out and touched leprosy; He ultimately took the sin-leprosy of the entire world upon Himself, while hanging on the cross, thus making Himself ostracized for a time.  Due to sin, the Father distanced Himself from Jesus as Christ bore hideous sin and while this sin collapsed in on Him.  Indeed, “the Father compelled by His own holiness, distanced Himself from His Son—a distancing more commonly called damnation.”[2] 

In due course, this leprosy of sin crushed Jesus.

What does this mean though? 

Whenever you feel remorse for your sin or see sores of sin-leprosy, look to Christ on the cross.  Yes, the faith that has been given to you by the Holy Spirit through the Word goes to meet Jesus, “for it knows itself in the reality of truth to be unworthy of [the Lord’s] goodness, and has nothing on which to depend, except [the Lord’s] highly renowned and loudly praised goodness.”[3]  Faith cries out, “Lord Jesus, Master, have mercy on me!” 

And what meets this cry of faith? 

Pure grace and mercy are there, for Christ Jesus not only reached out and touched leapers but went into the domain of sinners; died; and through this death devoured sin so that the God the Father will never stand afar from you again.  Faith receives the Word of God that cleanses you.

The leper’s word of ‘unclean’ is met with the Lord’s Word ‘clean.’

Now, this is all good news. However, we have yet to talk about gratitude and thankfulness.  Ah, but wait?  Have we not been talking about thankfulness and gratitude?  Yes we have.

Thankfulness and gratitude are rooted and dependent on something outside of you and me, they are dependent on what has been given or bestowed upon you and me.  And what has been given and bestowed?  You have been given Christ; the Savior who is for you.  Truly, Jesus healed the leper; He reached out and touched lepers; He reached out and touched sinners.  Today, we hear that Jesus does the same—for you!  You are not at a distance.  The Word declares you clean.  Jesus bridged the gap for you.  All of this is done for you. 

Baptized Saints, you have a better reason to give thanks than any other group of people.  You have Christ, which means you have forgiveness, life, and salvation. 

You have eternal life.  You have peace with God.  “We Christians have all this, not because of any special merit or worthiness on our part, but because of the Father’s grace for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ.  We have this because Jesus finished the journey to Jerusalem and to the cross.”[4]

This blessed Thanksgiving Day, “Enjoy all the riches of God.  Enjoy both the earthly riches and the heavenly treasure.  They are all gifts from our dear Father in Heaven who loves us and sent His Son to save us.  We have good reason to give thanks … not just tomorrow … but every day.  In fact, we look forward to giving thanks for eternity.”

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

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[1] Martin Luther, Galatians Commentary.

[2] Francis Rossow, Gospel Handles: Finding New Connections in Biblical Texts (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2001), 241.

[3] Martin Luther, Complete Sermons of Martin Luther: Volume 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1905), 67.

[4] James T. Batchelor, “Thanksgiving Eve Sermon” http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3944  (11 November 2014).

Follow The Trail Of Blood

Text:  Mark 13:1-13  

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

"As soon as My Word is proclaimed, men will divide into two camps: some will receive it with joy, others will be offended [and angered] by it and will begin to hate and persecute those who receive."[1]

These are the words from an old Lutheran theologian talking about the reality that the church cannot be built up in peace, for it is located within the domain of the devil, who is the prince of the world.  Even though the church is a safe ark of comfort in the raging winds and waves of this world, she is also at war. 

Make no mistake about it my friends, the church is at battle and it is not hard to track down the church, all you have to do is follow the trail of blood.[2]  Indeed, we hear it from Jesus when He says that the church, that is you and me and our brothers and sisters who confess Christ around the world, will experience suffering, persecution, and death.  From the church drips the blood of the martyrs. 

But what possible reason could there be for such bloodshed and suffering and pain, especially for the church?  To answer this we must consider that in this world the church never has had peace and never will—peace as the world understands it.  But rather, the church is marked by suffering from the world and the evil one; the church leaves a trail of blood wherever she goes.    

More specifically, this suffering from the world is due to the fact that when the Word of God is properly taught, proclaimed, and confessed, there will be tension.  Sure the Word of God will feed the hungry in spirit and it will comfort those who mourn over sin, that is to say, it will be graciously received by some; however, the Word of God will also cause the self-righteous and the proud to get angry.  And we know what angry people do; they lash out and inflict wounds; and from those wounds the church bleeds.

To witness the brutality of this anger, consider the Biblical story of Cain and Abel in the Old Testament.  There in Genesis chapter four we see Abel murdered and lying in his own blood.  He was murdered by his angry brother Cain, because Cain’s hatred for Abel was due to his hatred for God refusing to accept his works-righteousness.

Anger, hatred, and persecution towards the church were not only prevalent in the Bible, but they were also prevalent throughout the history of the church.  And yes, that same anger, hatred, and persecution are with us today in the here and now.  Indeed, the spirit of Cain lives on, as people rise up against the church, when the church proclaims the Law and Gospel.  The spirit of Cain has never liked Law and Gospel and never will, thus the reason for the attacks.  Because of the Law and Gospel, we as Christians will be handed over to councils, beaten, and will stand before governors and kings.  The Word of God has that invading quality that the world simply resists and fights against, which means that we as truth bearers will receive the brunt of the blowback. 

This persecution is not merely a coffee company not choosing to celebrate Christmas on its paper coffee cups, but rather, this persecution is being hauled before judges low or high; it is accusations, denunciation, arrest, lawsuits, fines, imprisonment, verdicts of guilty, and execution of these verdicts, resulting often times in death. 

In the midst of the persecution though, there will be a way out of the pain, suffering, and tension.  Yes, many will come in the name of Christ and will tell our itching ears what they crave to hear. The church will be told,

It doesn’t have to go on like this.  There can be peace.  No more blood needs to be shed.  Oh, things could be grand if only the church learned how to compromise.  If only the church could focus on what unites rather than what divides, things would be wonderful.  If you sweeten your speech, keep your opinions to yourself, and embrace tolerance and love there would be no conflict, division, or shed blood. 

“If these lies were true [and if the church followed these suggestions], then the world would smile and sheathe its sword, the demons would retract their claws, and the haunting crimson road would come to an end.  But then, so would the Church.”[3] 

Dear friends, if we wish to be a faithful church of Christ we cannot possibly become such without striving and fighting against the lies, deceit, and ideologies of the world - lies, deceit, and ideologies in the market place and in our very homes.  This means that faithfulness comes at a cost; it is impossible to escape affliction if we wish to be faithful servants of the Lord. 

Listen now, “it is always easier to rest inside the devil’s crumbling fortress than to trudge on alone in a dark and friendless world.  It is always easier to hold hands with unbelievers inside those walls than risk public defamation by declaring the Gospel from without.  It is always easier to file away the [Word of God] until a more politically [correct] time; to bite your tongue so long as no one else speaks up.”[4]  It is easier to simply get along and smile, than speak the truth in love.  It is easier; but it is not right. 

Furthermore, this is not who you are and it is not who we are as a church.  Zion Lutheran is not a church of ease, but a church that has Christ and His Word as our cornerstone.  Woe to anyone in this church –including your pastor - that would seek ease and comfort above faithfulness to the Lord’s Word.   

Practically stated, we do not seek out tension, nor do we manufacture conflicts and fights in the church and community, but rather we strive for peace, harmony, and unity, but hold to truth at all costs.  We rejoice when harmony, warmth and tranquility fill the church and overflow to our neighbors, but not at the expense of disregarding and eliminating Jesus and His Word.  For we know that apart from Jesus we do not have eternal peace.  

I do realize that this may sound ‘doom and gloom’ for you this morning.  It also may sound like Pastor is exaggerating things a bit; however, I must humbly assert that this is our present reality.  This is what life is like as a Christian, in a world that does not know the Word of God or a world that has the spirit of Cain and persecutes the church. 

That stated, motives for coming to church today may vary.  Many of you come to church to be encouraged, others come for the social aspect, others come to get some pointers for better living, and others come for the coffee and snacks.  While all these things are good, we must acknowledge that today’s Gospel reading is a healthy dose of reality for you and for me.  It is a reality not only on the East and West Coasts of America, but a present reality here in North Dakota. 

What this means is that as your pastor I cannot and will not give us some fluffy and un-true and compromising version of Christianity.  On the basis of today’s Gospel reading from Mark,”I cannot stand before you and tell you that life on earth will be easy and rewarding and a huge success if you just have ‘a little more faith.’  That is a lie.  That is not the truth spoken in love.”[5]  But rather, we as a church must believe, teach, and confess today that the church is to be found where there is the sound and faithful Word of God and where there will most likely be contempt, poverty, shame, and a trail of blood. 

This may insight fear in you and me.  We may attempt to mop up the trail of blood and cover its stain with potpourri.  However, do not be afraid.  Do not be afraid when you are handed over to the ideological lions of our day.  Do not be afraid when you are put into a position to confess the truth of God’s Word.  Do not be afraid when the labels of ‘bigot, intolerant, judgmental, yada, yada, yada,” are flung your way.  Do not be afraid of rolled eyes or sighs of discontentment.  Do not be afraid of bleeding.  Do not be afraid of a bleeding and suffering church.   The reason why?  Even though the faithful confessions of God’s people have brought about a trail of blood from the church in the past and present, we do not look at this trail of blood in fear, for there is another trail of blood that flows from Mount Calvary.  Yes, there is a trail of blood that flows from Mount Calvary, flowing from the death of the Son of God.  As we follow this trail of blood, we are led to Mount Calvary to behold the crucified Savior.  This trail of blood from Mount Calvary is blood that covers you.  You, who have ears, hear!  You are washed.  You are forgiven.  You are justified.  You are sanctified.  All of this by the one who bled for the lives of the world and the lives of the church – you!

O little flock, do not fear.  We do not travel alone in this life.  In the midst of the persecution, suffering, and death, the Lord has always been faithful. In the midst of wars, illness, sorrow, persecution, guilt, and shame, the Lord continues to come to you as He has promised.  The blood of Mount Calvary flows to you this morning in the cup of blessing from this Altar. 

Though weak and frail and frightened you may be, it matters not, for it is not you who fight but the Lord who fights for you.

“You are not alone.  You have your Lord.  He comes to speak words of warning and comfort to you.  He comes to feed your body and soul with His Body and Blood so that you will be strengthened for the times and trials to come; so that you will have joy and peace that surpasses all understanding while you wait and even while you suffer.  For He is not simply your Lord in the future, when all sorrows shall cease, but He is also your loving and gracious and almighty Lord right now, even in the midst of sorrow, [persecution, and strife].”[6]

Glory in fame, numbers, power, and reputation matter not.  What matters is the trail of blood from Mt. Calvary that holds us, the bleeding Church.  What matters is that Christ holds us now and to the end when He will someday say to us, “Well done!  You were faithful; you did not look for ease and comfort; you kept what was entrusted to you.” 

 

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

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[1] C.F.W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law And Gospel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1928), 265-267.

[2] Chad L. Bird, Christ Alone: Meditations and Sermons (Copyright 2014 Chad Bird), 112.

[3] Ibid, 112.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Jason Zirbel, “Life in the Midst of Labor Pains,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=4357 (accessed November 11, 2015)

[6] Ibid.

The Show Is Over

Text: Mark 12:38-44 

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

The word hypocrite comes from an ancient Greek word that means, “play-acting.”  It was a word that was used of stage actors, those who performed on stage in front of others. 

Now, as you already know, stage actors are one way in real life, but on stage are completely different.  That is how it goes with hypocrites as well: acting in front of others, while being a different person in real life. 

In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus has some pretty harsh words for hypocrites.  He actually reserves His hardest condemnation for them because hypocrites should know better.  That is to say, in order to be a hypocrite, you need to know how to play the part.  To be a hypocrite involves knowing how to fool others so that one can successfully cover up the real person with polished and respectful acting.  This means that no one becomes a hypocrite by accident, but is something done deliberately. 

The sad reality is that hypocrisy demands that a person lives two lives.  For example: a life in the church and a life at work; or a life at work and a life at home; or a life on social media and a life offline.  Basically hypocrisy happens when there is a double life: one before the public eye and another in private. 

Now, if the two lives of a hypocrite are left unchecked, hypocrites can wear down their consciences to nothing and the dividing line between acting and real life can erode away to nothing. 

“As a chameleon changes colors with the seasons, so the Christian who wants to be well thought of by everyone [by playing the part of a hypocrite], attunes and adapts to each new personality and situation.  Without a stable and enduring self-image, a woman may offer radically different aspects of herself to different men; she may be pious with her pastor and seductive with the office manager.  Depending upon company and circumstances, a man may be either a sweet-talking servant of God or a foulmouthed, bottom-pinching boor.”[1] 

There is no doubt about it that the world is full of hypocrites.  More specifically and a bit closer to home, “As Christians, individuals and whole congregations, we are often accused of hypocrisy, of failing to live up to what we believe.  It’s painful, to be accused of hypocrisy [as Christians], to be accused of not walking the walk, of being a sham.  It’s painful, especially because it’s too often true.  The people in the pews and the man behind the pulpit are all in some respect hypocrites, every last man, woman, and child”[2]

This ongoing battle with hypocrisy leads all of us to fluctuating between our real self and the person we pretend to be.  If not careful, we can become deluded and develop a sense of security from our hypocritical self; the part of us that is putting on a good show, or at least trying to put on a good show.  Our halo can get too tight, as our carefully disguised pious and polished attitudes of superiority come forth and take center stage. 

When our hypocritical acting becomes front and center, something else tragically happens.  What happens is that in public life and in front of others, we appear respectful, good, and true, while underneath the play-acting - the façade - wickedness runs rampant.  These tactics conceal sin, destroy reality, hurt others, and damn us while we are attempting to say, “Everything will be alright!”    

This is exactly what Jesus condemns in our Gospel Reading from this morning.  The religious leaders were responsible to teach the people but they “used their knowledge of the legal system to obtain the property of widows.  They used their positions of trust and authority to prey on the   helpless.  Their status and prestige were false fronts for predatory behavior behind the scenes.  They lived their whole life for themselves and no one else.”[3]  They were crooked crooks who liked to walk around with their long robs and to be greeted and adored in the market place, while they were rotting with evil underneath their stage-acting.

In our Gospel reading we also read that Jesus, apparently exhausted by his own frustrated passion, sits down across from the treasury and looks at the scene over which He has just pronounced judgment. He sees many rich people putting in large sums, but his eye fastens only on a poor widow who puts in two copper coins. It is possible that this woman was one of the victims of the hypocrites that Jesus condemned.  Regardless though, Jesus calls his disciples and says to them,

Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  For they contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. 

In contrast to the hypocrites, Jesus focuses on this one woman and her actions.  The woman placing two cooper coins into the treasury – giving all that she had – stands in stark contrast to the religious leaders, thus her actions condemn the religious leaders and all of us here today.  

You see, “the poor widow who cast two small copper coins into the temple treasury may have just as well cast two large stone tablets onto our heads.  Given the choice between her nonverbal sermon and a tongue-lashing from Moses’ [Ten Commandments], I’m not sure which I’d choose.  Neither one of them leaves me unscathed, nor you either.  The effect is the same.  Both brand the word guilty on the skin that thinly veils our self-seeking, self-preserving, attention-loving hearts.”[4]

Indeed, the poor woman who gave everything she had exposes my hypocrisy and yours too.  Her actions condemn those who stand idly by and do not assist her and her actions.  Furthermore, her actions are not hypocritical; it isn’t like she is parading around with flashy show and only giving a small portion.  No, she offers her whole life at that offering box and we stand in awe, condemned.  In other words, her actions do not really urge us to give more, but reveals to us that the best of our works are not worth two pennies. 

Thinking about today’s Gospel story, we learn that we like to act like the polished religious leaders, obtaining respect and adoration from others, but we do not like actually doing what the widow did.  The Lord gives us everything – everything that we have is a gift – and we abuse these gifts and talents putting them to use for our shameful gain, while trying to play the part of a good ol’ Christian and an upright citizen of Gwinner.  As they say, we have the cake and we eat it too. 

May God through His word today expose each of our hypocritical tactics, for we are all hypocrites.  “We can be considered hypocrites because we are sinners.  We say one thing and do another.  We say we want to love our enemies, but we fail to do so.  We say we want to follow the Ten Commandments, but our thoughts, words and deeds fall short.  We are called by Christ to love our neighbors, but we struggle with anger, evil thoughts, and jealousy.”[5]

And so, the Lord is constantly trying to remove our masks, to rip us off of the stage of performance, and to destroy this hypocritical self that we create for ourselves. 

Hypocrisy - whether we know it or not - is actually prison and we have grown accustom to prison.  Regardless, hypocrisy needs to be destroyed and crucified. 

All of this is frightful to us, because we struggle being honest with ourselves.  We struggle confessing that we are poor miserable sinners, and actually meaning it.  However, this is exactly what the Lord does to us when we are confronted by the Law and when we come to the Divine Service.  My friends, do you realize that when you come through the doors of this Church, the first thing that happens is that we confess our sins before God and man?  Through our confession and absolution, we are admitting our hypocrisy, and the hypocrisy is being crucified.     

With that said and as it was previously stated, it is terrifying to be stripped of hypocrisy, for we are laid bare in our nothingness before God.  However, do not fear.  For when we accept ownership of our powerlessness and helplessness, when we realize that we are poor widows with nothing in our hands, when we realize that our halos are tilted, something beautiful happens.  What happens?  Freedom!

To be stripped of all our stage-acting and to stand broken and in need of grace is a beautiful transparency.  To be honest that we are poor miserable sinners and to not pretend to be anything else, is truly a gift.  It is a gift for the Gospel proclaims to us that we are forgiven, baptized, claimed, loved, redeemed, and captured people unto the Lord!  Dear friends, hear this! The Lord does not despise a broken heart.  He does not recoil in horror of our broken spirit.  He did not come to die for the hypocritical you, the stage-performing you, but He came to die for the real you, the you underneath the mask of hypocrisy.    

Being in Christ - your good, the bad, and the ugly – means that you are free.  Free from peer pressure, free from people-pleasing, and free from the bondage of human respect. 

“The tyranny of public opinion can manipulate our lives.  What will the neighbors think?  What will my friends think?  The expectations of others can exert a subtle but controlling pressure on our behavior.”[6]  However, this is not so of you, for you are baptized into Christ!

Blessed Baptized Saints, you are in Christ.  What you are is who you are in the sight of the Lord.  Nothing else matters. 

And who is Christ?  Christ is like that widow who offered her whole life at that offering box.  He is the Holly One who offered His whole life on the cross – for you.  He is the one who never played the role of the hypocrite, but died for hypocrites and considered it well-worthwhile. Like the widow who gave all her wealth, the Savior gave all of His life, for you. 

Baptized Saints, you need not pretend.  You need not cover yourself with stage-acting for the Savior did much more than merely act.  He died to forgive you and clothe you. 

You are hidden in Christ. Who you are is what you are in your Baptism.  And what you are given in your baptism is forgiveness, life, and salvation. 

You are baptized in the name of Christ who entered the center stage of earth to bleed, die, and resurrect – all for you!    

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

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[1] Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up and Burnt Out  (Multnomah Books, 2005), page unknown.

[2] David Warner, “They’re All A Bunch of Hypocrites,” www.pastormattrichard.com/2011/12/theyre-all-bunch-of-hypocrites.html (Accessed 7 November 2015).

[3] James Batchelor, “Sermon for Third-Last Sunday in the Church Year,” http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=434 (Accessed 6 November 2015).

[4] Chad Bird, Christ Alone: Meditations and Sermons (Chad Bird, Copyright 2014), 110.

[5] David Warner, “They’re All A Bunch of Hypocrites.”

[6] Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel. Page unknown.