Advent: Time To Slow Down

Text: Matthew 21:1-9

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

In case you haven’t noticed, here at Zion, we can be a stick in the mud. Indeed, I’ve been told that we Lutherans can come across as dull and unadventurous. If we aren’t dull and unadventurous, we can be characterized as being too old-fashioned and too serious. While this critique may not be true in all cases and may be unfairly applied, I do believe that when it comes to this time of the year that it just may be true. 

What am I talking about, though?  I am talking about today being the first Sunday of Advent.  Yes, Advent, not Christmas.  Instead of decking the halls and spreading holiday cheer, here at Zion will be entering into the Season of Advent.  In other words, while everyone else around us will start singing Christmas carols and celebrating the ever increasing joys of the Christmas Season, we will follow in the footsteps of the ancient church and observe the Season of Advent.  To be sure, instead of increasing in ecstatic Christmas cheer, we will take another path and follow in the footsteps of the Saints that came before us and walk through the Season of Advent, as they did. 

Considering this, please keep in mind that we are not observing the Season of Advent to be a Christmas Scrooge and we are certainly not trying to be the Grinch who Stole Christmas, and we are not trying to be counter-cultural.  No, it is none of these things! The real reason for us entering into the Season of Advent is that we want to slow things down. That is to say; as the culture around us goes into holiday frenzy and as marketers and businesses ramp up advertising to create a holiday buzz in the air – a buzz that will try to scoop everyone up in euphoric emotions – we, though, are doing the exact opposite.  We are putting the brakes on everything saying, “Not so fast!”  Instead of jumping on the hectic Christmas bandwagon four weeks too soon with the rest of the world, we will instead slow down and go through the Season of Advent first, with patience and pause.  We will go through the Season of Advent so that we can have time to think about the things that tend to be uncomfortable – things that we do not want to think about.  Things like our own sin and pride, and our own meanness and unbelief.  Things like our own dying and our hell-bent stubbornness.  Indeed, we are planning on slowing down – starting today – to contemplate our lives, our sin, reality, and God’s Word. We will take pause so that we might be gifted repentance and be prepared for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that await us at the end of Advent.  We slow down, so that we do not get swooped away and rushed through the essence of what Christmas is.    

Considering all of this, we may secretly protest Advent in our hearts saying to ourselves,

“But why should we be driven to gloom and despair when everyone around us is plunging right into the joy of the angels, the marvel of the shepherds, as well as, Frosty, Santa, and Candy Canes?” 

Dear friends, we must keep in mind that the world sees no need for Advent because the world sees no need for repentance. That is right; the world sees no need for repentance, and it sees no reason to prepare for Christmas because it does not understand Christmas.  Tragically, the world only cares about Christmas parties, bright tinsel, the glimmer of decorations, and getting as many treasures under the tree as possible. The world does not understand the real meaning of Christmas for it is blinded in unbelief; therefore, Advent is of no use to the world. 

You though are not of the world, but of Christ, for you are baptized into His death and life.  And as one of God’s baptized you know that repentance must come before faith, that confession must come before absolution, that John the Baptist must come before Christ, that Mt. Sinai must come before Mt. Calvary, that Law must come before Gospel, and that Advent must come before Christmas.  In other words, since Advent means ‘coming’ you know that we are in a season where we are being prepared for something that is coming – that being the message of Christmas which is yet to come.  We know that Advent is a time for the Holy Spirit through the Word to work past the bright blinking lights, the holiday buzz, and the shopping thrills, in order to stir up hunger and thirst in our hearts, so that we can anticipate, hope, and long for the Lord Jesus Christ who comes from heaven to earth to save us from our sins.

So today, for our First Sunday of Advent, we consider the story of Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey.  Now, it seems odd to hear this Palm Sunday lesson on the first day of Advent, but as we consider this story a bit more closely, it all begins to make sense. 

Consider this a moment, why was Jesus riding on a donkey?  Where was He traveling to?  The obvious answer is that he was riding into Jerusalem.  But why was He going to Jerusalem?  The answer, He was going towards Calvary’s Cross.  Yes, Jesus was riding on a donkey ‘towards’ His death on the cross; He was riding on a donkey towards an encounter with the sin of the world.  He was traveling towards the cross to battle and conquer nothing less than sin, death, and hell itself.  He was riding to be the sacrifice for all time and all people.  Therefore, as we contemplate this Gospel lesson on this First Sunday of Advent, we realize that the whole intent and purpose of Jesus riding into Jerusalem and coming to humanity in that manger, some 2,000 years ago, was to draw near a cross to forgive sinners. In other words, our Gospel reading shows us that the Lord of the universe was not content to leave us helpless and alone in our sins, but rather set out to pursue us. 

Do you see what is going on here? 

As Advent slows us down to contemplate the reality of our sin, we simultaneously hear, in our Gospel reading, the reality that Jesus traveled towards the cross to conquer that very sin. 

What this means is this, as we slow down and are driven to repentance of our sins in thought, word, and deed, we are actually prepared to receive the goodness of the Savior who came at Christmas.  Otherwise stated, through the Season of Advent and our Gospel reading from today, we are granted a greater clarity and soberness to understand, appreciate, and relish in the reason why Jesus was born some two thousand years ago… He was born to set you and me free!  He was born to come and deal with the very sin that is brought to light during this Advent Season! He was born to die for sinners such as me and you. 

Dear friends, “The Christmas Gospel is a message for sinners. And only those who acknowledge their sins can understand the true meaning of Christmas.” Only hearts that are gifted repentance can receive the fullness of the joy that comes in the message of Christmas - a joy far brighter than tinsel and considerably more satisfying than endless rounds of parties and assuredly sweeter than the sweetest of candy canes. 

Truly, Advent causes us to be aware of our sin and to wait and anticipate the Gospel – to long for the Lord who comes with forgiveness, life, and salvation. This waiting though does not happen by us pacing back and forth or twiddling our thumbs in boredom. This waiting does not happen when we are by ourselves, secluded in our houses.  No, you and I anticipate, wait, and hope for the Lord by coming to this church to pray together, sing together, and receive from the Lord.  We come here and journey towards Christmas together to hear once again about the one who came to sinful mankind, to rescue and deliver us from our choices for death.  We come to this church and wait for the Lord to come to us in His Word and Sacraments.  We come to this church together to wait for that great last day when the Lord will return to take us home forever and ever.

The world’s Christmas has already begun.  The sales are on.  The decorations are up. The parties have started. The Black Friday fights at Walmart have already occurred.  The Christmas race has begun.  And yet in the Church, we wisely slow down.  We take each day of Advent with patience; peacefully waiting for the Day of Christmas to draw upon us, where we will hear the grand news that the Son of God came to live, die, and rise for our justification. 

We go slowly through Advent, Baptized Saints, beholding and knowing that Jesus came to us in that manger, came to us at the cross, and will come to us again at the end of time.  We journey through Advent considering that the same King who was born in the manger and went to the cross is the same King who comes to us in our baptisms and the same King who comes to us in, with, and under the bread and wine. 

Advent it not some stick in the mud and it is not some old-fashioned unadventurous tradition, but a beautiful gift that prepares us for Christmas. It prepares us to confess the words, “Hosanna!”  That is, “Save us now, Jesus! Save us from our bondage to the sinful nature! Save us and be our Righteousness.  To You alone with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all the glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages!”

May the Lord bless our Advent Season here at Zion, as we travel patiently and slowly towards the Season of Christmas – together – in repentance and faith.

In the name of Jesus: Amen. 

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The End Of The World And I Feel Fine

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and Matthew 25:1-13

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

It seems like everybody wants a time machine, some contraption that allows a person to go forward or backward throughout time. The reason why? Everybody is fascinated with the future.  Everybody wants to know what their future will entail, what their fate will be. 

So, we make Hollywood science fiction movies about time sleds, time displacement spheres, phone booths, and DeLorean cars that mysteriously take Hollywood actors throughout time into different eras.  And as we watch these movies, we dream what it would be like to flip a switch and go forward five years or 10 years or even 50 years into the future.  What will things be like in the future?  What will we be like in the future?  Will we be better or worse than we are right now?  Will things be better or worse than they are right now in our state?  How will the economy or country be?    

As soon as we realize that we cannot create a time machine and that time travel is just impossible, we resort to the next best thing; we try to forecast our future.  Some people will foolishly summon demons through tarot cards, fortune tellers, and Ouija boards to know the future.  Others will try to know their future through silly fortune cookies or trivial horoscopes.  Some will look to financial future markets to predict the future economy.  And others will look to genetic predisposition tests to determine which possible future diseases they may have to battle someday. 

While people may have some success in predicting, forecasting, or guessing what the immediate future holds for them, we must be honest this morning that none of us – yes, none of us – know the day or the hour of the last great Day of Judgment.  I am not talking about our unpredictable death, but I am referring to the last day of history – the day that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to judge all individuals. 

It is true that none of us can know when we will breathe our last breath and it is especially true that none of us can know when the last day will come.  Make no mistake about it; this last day is coming – it is always coming. 

It is most certainly true, the great judgment, the end of history, the end of the world is unknown to us at this time.  It is the only unfulfilled item in the Apostle’s Creed.  Even though there will be signs showing that the end of time is near, nobody though knows the day or the hour.  In fact, right before the great and powerful Day of Judgment, the pagan world will be talking about peace and security.    Like in the days of Noah, unbelievers will be saying, “peace and security.”  They will be trying to convince themselves that all is well when there is really no peace and safety at all.  And then, like a thief in the night, the Last Day will come upon the whole world with suddenness.  Indeed, when the world least expects it, the last Day of Judgment will spring upon the world – surprising the world that is living in false peace and false security.  It is almost like everyone is in the dark and the last Day of Judgement will come and flip the lights on surprising and blinding the entire world! 

Now, this may cause us to be a little alarmed today.  It may cause us to wish that we had a time machine to look forward into the future to ascertain when the Day of Judgment will happen so that we will not be surprised or caught off guard.  In other words, today, our feathers may be a bit ruffled, and we may feel a bit of discomfort in thinking about the end of the world – the great Day of Judgment.  However, dear Baptized Saints, you are not in darkness.  You do not belong to the night.  You are not a pagan.  But rather, because of Christ Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for you, you are children of the light – you are children of the day.  What this means is that you do not need a time machine.  You do not need to try and forecast the future.  You do not need to seek to estimate through calendars and guesses when the last day will be.  Oh, no!  The reason why?  You already know – as God’s children – what the future entails.  

Now, it is true that we do not know about all the future events which are before us.  We do not know about the future of our jobs.  We do not know about the future of the economy.  We do not know about the future of our country or our world.  We do not know about the future of our health, and we do not know about the timing of our death.  These things have been hidden from our view.  Even though we do not know about all of these future events in our lives, that does not mean that we are in the dark; it is not to say that we are naïve or fools.  Oh, no, as Christians we are not like the world in how we understand the future, for we do know the future – the ultimate future.  We know that Christ Jesus will come again, even though we do not know the exact time. 

Dear Baptized Saints, we know that the one who was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven will indeed come back and judge the living and the dead on the last day of history – Judgment Day.  We are not in darkness concerning the future.  We are not unprepared for the end of history.  We know all of this because God’s Word has promised this.  We hear from the Word of God that the Lord Himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet will descend from heaven, and those who are dead in Christ and those of us alive in Christ will be raised up into the clouds to meet the Lord.  Yes, we joyfully recognize the last Judgment Day for what it is.  We know that the end of history is where every tear will be wiped away.  We know it is a time where there will be no more death or no more mourning or crying or pain. 

Baptized Saints, you and I will not be caught off guard at the great last day.  Certainly not!  The last day will not be like a thief coming to surprise us and stealing everything away from us, for we are not unaware, we are not asleep.  In fact, it is quite the opposite! We believe, teach, and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to judge the living and the dead – we confess this every single Sunday and are aware of this right here and right now.

Dear friends, you belong to Jesus.  You are a child of the light.   We are not like the world that is asleep and spiritually lethargic and ignorant about the end of the world.  In fact, it is quite the opposite. 

When hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, famines, floods, and individual death strikes, the world quickly cleans up the rubble, bandages the wounds, mourns swiftly, and then says, “Peace and security, all is well!” 

You Baptized Saints are not like this.  You are sober.  You are not in the darkness. You understand and know about the great Day of Judgment.  Therefore, when hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, famines, floods, and individual death strikes, we can see these events and say, “Come Lord Jesus Come!” and then work to bandage wounds, clean the rubble, and love those who mourn, knowing in a sure and certain hope that the Lord God has not appointed us to wrath in the last day, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Dear friends, do you realize what this means?  It means that we do not fear the end of the world.  We do not fear the Day of Judgment!  How can we fear the end, for Jesus has been judged for our sin already on the cross!  Yes, judgment of our sin has already occurred on Christ.  Therefore, you who are in Christ will not and cannot be judged at that great last day.  You have not been appointed for wrath and judgment, but salvation.

All of this is why we can be of sober mind in thinking about the Day of Judgment – the end of history.  We shall not fear it.  We shall not deny it.  We shall not be negligent about it.  No, we are attentive and aware and awake about the reality that the last Day of Judgment is coming.  We draw closer to it with each breath that we take and we draw close to it not in fear but with confidence; confidence that whatever our future holds that we shall live together with the Lord forever and ever. 

No need for a time machine; no need to forecast; no need to fear, for we know very well that the Day of the Lord is coming and we anticipate this day with hope and joy.  We expect it while encouraging one another in the sure and certain hope of the Lord’s salvation, which is most certainly for you and for me – salvation that is forever and ever.   

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

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The Lord Won't Let Go Of You

Text: Matthew 5:1-12

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Over the last four weeks, here at Zion we have most definitely felt the sting of death.  Yes, the sting of death has taken four dear saints from our parish: Harold, Lydia, Vince, and Clarice. 

This morning we remember these four blessed saints, along with others who have passed away in our church family this last year.  Today also is a time for us to remember all other loved ones who passed away into the arms of Jesus.  We remember our Christian brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, aunts, and so forth.

Considering this, this morning you will hear the names of those who passed away in the prayers of the church.  Some of these people, you will not know much about them.  For others, you will hear their names and know them intimately as their life was intertwined with your life. 

Furthermore, with the names of those who passed away, there may be happiness or pain or both.  Their name may bring forth a wonderful memory, a memory that you have not considered in a long time, whereas, that same name may bring forth the pain of grief and loss. 

Whether we experience pain or happiness or regret or anger, we must be honest before the Lord though.  Yes, we must have courage to be honest this morning in this church and on All Saint’s Day.  Nothing else will do before the Lord.  Otherwise stated, we need to be careful to avoid the clichés of death, those sayings that are nothing more than false façades that attempt to lessen the sting of death.  We need to avoid euphemisms, which are soft and tame words that are used in the place of strong and blunt words about death.  Clichés and euphemisms such as:

“We’re not having a funeral, we’re having a celebration; God needed another angel; God wants to make you stronger through this; God never gives you more than you can handle; everything happens for a reason; they didn’t die, but simply passed on; he was a really good man.”   

Yes, we must avoid these foolish clichés and euphemisms, for they do not change the facts about death, but often confuse things and make things worse.  Sure they might bring comfort to a person experiencing grief and they might help a person feel better about granting comfort to a mourning friend, but the fact of death remains a fact no matter how much we try and cover it up and lesson its bite.  Therefore, death needs to be recognized; we should not skirt around the issue of death.

You see, it is hard to strip away the clichés and it is hard to strip away the euphemisms, for death is dark and the grave is deep and cold.  We want the clichés and we want the pious sayings for they attempt to lessen the sting of death.  Bluntly stated, without the clichés, death has a way of stripping life of its meaning and purpose leaving us saying, “What is the point of going on living when the one most precious in all the world has died?”

Even though starring into the dark abyss of death is difficult and takes great courage, we need to.  Yes, it is healthy and important to face death head on, to come face to face with it and consider its claim of finality.

Once we look into the coffin, once we stare down the dark grave, and once we sign the death certificate, we can then say that we have faced death fully… or have we. 

Dear friends, you and I have not faced death fully unless we have faced the death on Mt. Calvary. 

At Mt. Calvary, Jesus Christ experienced ultimate death where He was forsaken by God the Father.  He died between two criminals.  He was not guilty of any sin, but cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” as He suffered condemnation, hell, and wrath for our sin that was laid upon Him.  This is the ultimate death, the forsakenness of God.  All death of God’s children leads to this ultimate death of the Son of God.  To look upon Mt. Calvary and the blood stained cross is to face death fully.    

As we consider this ultimate death on this All Saint’s Day, we mustn’t nearly stop with Jesus’ words of, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” but we must push through these words to hear different words.  These words come forth from the dying Savior as He cried out boldly, “It is finished!”  In other words, as we consider Christ-crucified we not only hear about Christ bearing our sin upon Himself as if it was His own, but we also hear that He is not the enemy of God, but doing the saving will of God.  And as we gaze upon this ultimate death of finality, we hear that Jesus goes through death and rises from the grave.  This once bloodied, tormented, slaughtered Lamb of God is now the risen one who sits on the “throne of God and of the Lamb.” 

It gets better.  The name of this crucified and resurrected Savior – the name of Christ - was placed upon you and upon the Saints of this church that died.  His name was put upon you with the water of Baptism.  Yes, the cross of the Lamb who was slain was marked upon your head and upon your heart: marking you as one of the redeemed.  This means that this Christ will not let go of you, me, and the departed Saints of this church.  He will not let you let go of God. 

This morning, we read the names of the departed, trusting in that forgiveness won on Mt. Calvary by the Lamb who was slain, Jesus Christ.  It is He who is our judge.  It is He who answered for our sins on the cross.  What Christ did is given to you as your own possession.  His death is for you, His life is for you, and so you are forgiven and righteous with His righteousness.  It is all yours from Jesus, the Lamb of God.    

Looking into the ultimate death of Jesus Christ and knowing that our earthly deaths are not the final say, also allows us to be free from the gripping fear of death.  Today, in this protective Ark – God’s holy church – you are free to mourn with a mourning that is free of clichés and euphemisms.  You can be truthful about death, you are free to weep the tears that Jesus shares with you as you hear His words, “Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.” 

Dear Baptized Saints and you who mourn the loss of dear loved ones, take comfort for Jesus does not just talk about comfort; He has accomplished comfort for you and me at Mt. Calvary.  In other words, as we mourn the loss of our loved ones today, we know that the hands that hold us are the hands that were pierced on Mt. Calvary.  Furthermore, these hands hold us in our mother’s womb, they hold us through life, they hold us on our death bed, and they hold us through the valley of the shadow of death into eternity. 

When grief and pain strip us of everything, when the loss of the loved one seems to pull us into a pit emptying our hands of everything, do not fear for the Lord places into our empty hands His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.  Blessed are you who are given to by God. 

Despite the pain, complexity, grief, and struggle of death and dying, you are never outside the Lord’s protective hands. Despite the lies, deceptions, and partial truths of the world, the Lord has never lied to you. And He has never failed to do what He has promised.  You can count on Him. 

Listen today: you currently possess eternal life, right now in time.  Although you cannot see glory now, you and I walk by faith knowing and confessing that when Jesus appears again that we shall be like Him: bodily resurrected ‘with’ the departed Saints of this church.  He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Therefore, this All Saint’s Day, we not only mourn in freedom, but we rejoice and are glad in the midst of our loss, for through Christ the sting of death has been overcome by victory.  Through this victory we anticipate the bodily resurrection and the day when we all shall see the Lamb of God face to face, in all glory, majesty, and honor, without sin, without the devil, and without death.

Indeed, on “the Last Day, God will raise all the dead and transform the decaying dust of our flesh into a new, immortal body.  God will destroy this present, sinful earth and replace it with a new heaven and earth.  There, all who believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins will live with Him and enjoy His presence forever.”[1] 

This promise is for you, for me, and for our departed Saints. 

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

Note: Large portions of this sermon are indebted to Norman Nagel’s ‘All Saint’s Day Sermon’ from Matthew 5:1-12 at Valparaiso University (November 1, 1981).

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[1] James Batchelor, “All Saint’s Day,” LCMS Sermons http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=4343 (Accessed October 31, 2015).

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The Reformation Explosion

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 our Lutheran Denomination that is 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 all the 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.  Otherwise stated, 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]  Simply stated dear friends, “The Reformation may be described as cleaning out the human factors that had 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 at Zion Lutheran Church?  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 though, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we must stop and confess that the church and our sinful 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.  We have a way of undoing the Reformation. 

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 – in this blessed 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 Roman Catholic Church, as well as all of Europe. Furthermore, this very Word of God is the ‘same’ Word of God that continually comes to me and to you in this Zion Lutheran 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 from this morning’s Epistle Lesson.  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 your sin and mine too - 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 downright 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 and God’s Holiness 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 place, you have been transferred from condemnation, damnation, and guilt under the Law to freedom and forgiveness under the Gospel.  You are forgiven of your sins!  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.  It is all for you!

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.  He is your Savior! 

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.  It is yours! 

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.  You are baptized!

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. Given and shed for you!

No more fear of death for “death is safe for those who trust in Christ,”[8] because Christ tasted death for you.  Do not fear, you belong to Christ!

No more worrying about what other people think, no more worrying about what we think about ourselves, 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).

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