Sermon for Ash Wednesday

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“A Singular Life in Christ”

Text: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

 

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

God is the Author and Giver of life. He created all things in the beginning, and ever since. There is nothing that is that did not come from His hand. It is all gift from Him. All life is a gift from Him. 

And that life we live in two different ways. Perhaps you could even say two different arenas. In theology, we call them coram deo and coram hominibus - before God and before man. 

Now ideally, and the way God created us to be, they would be one and the same. No distinction, no difference. Our lives would be a singular whole. We would live the same before God and before man. 

But in reality, we must admit, we must confess, there is a difference. Sin has rent asunder what God had joined together. Created for a singular, unified life, sin has instead shredded us and destined us for death. 

And one of the results of that is that we now do things (as we heard Jesus warn against tonight) in order to be seen by men, and be praised by men. Sometimes those things we do are sinful, so that we fit in, so we’ll be one of the guys, or one of the gals. Sometimes they aren’t sinful, but we do those good things in sinful ways, for the wrong reasons, practicing our righteousness before men in order to be praised by them, so they will think well of me; think me good and holy and pious. 

So we wind up with this kind of double life: wanting to fit in with the world and all its works and all its ways and be praised by those in the world . . . AND wanting to follow the Lord and all His works and all His ways and seeking praise for that. And therefore often acting one way before those who are worldly and a different way before those in the church. And maybe even with this bizarre result: that what we boast of before men we wind up confessing before God, and what we do for God we apologize for to men. 

This is not good. Such spiritual schizophrenia is not good. No wonder the apostle Paul once cried out, after lamenting this very battle raging inside him: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (Romans 7:24)? 

And so I think we must ask ourselves this question: Why? Why do we do it? Why do we care so much? Why do I care so much what other people think of me? Perhaps even more than I worry about what God thinks of me! And I think the answer is this: because that’s where I find my life - my value, my worth, my self-esteem. From the world, and from my life in the world, and the people in the world. From their affirmation, praise, and admiration. I care, because I’m trying to not only save face - I’m trying to save my life.

But it doesn’t work. Not really. Because the attitudes and appetites of the world are constantly shifting. What’s in one day is out the next, and what’s praised one day is criticized the next. Perhaps it was this very thing that Jesus was thinking about when He said: whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it (Luke 9:24)? He knew that trying to save your life is a losing battle. A battle we will all, sooner or later, lose. That mark on your forehead tonight signifies that. Or just go to any cemetery and ask the people there. Dust you are, and to dust you will return.

So today, Ash Wednesday, we recognize this, we confess this, this sinful, mixed-up person I am. Looking for life, striving for life, a life that is full and meaningful, a life of value and purpose, a life that will not end . . . and getting it wrong. Sinning not only when I do - or fail to do - this or that, but far worse: making myself the lord and saviour of my own life. And in so doing, losing the life I’m trying so hard to save. 

But someone has already done that for you! That’s the good news for you tonight. You don’t have to save your life - Jesus already did. As we heard tonight, He took your sin; He became sin for you. On the cross, the Father laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6), so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. So that in Him, we be made right again. That in Him, we have life again. A whole, singular, righteous life, restored to be as we were created to be.

And that life you are looking for, striving for, is here for you, for the Author and Giver of Life is here, giving life. He raised you from spiritual death in Holy Baptism. He revives your struggling soul with His Absolution. He nourishes and strengthens you with His Body and Blood. It’s all here for you. So that you need not search and strive - just receive. You can stop the exhausting and impossible struggle to save your own life, and receive - by grace - that life you need and that will not end. A life in His love. Accepted by Him. It’s why Jesus came. It’s why Jesus comes. And it’s why He’s coming again.

As David once said (and he would know!): Blessèd is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1).

Blessed to live a blessed, singular life. For it’s hard living a double life, a divided life. Trying to please everyone. Showing one life to some people, another life to other people, and not only trying to keep it all straight, but trying to remember who we really are! And sadly, many forget. And wander from their heavenly Father. Living no longer as His children, but as children of the world. Maybe you’ve done that even a time or two.

So Ash Wednesday calls us back. Not just to repentance, but to life. To receive life. To remember who we are, and whose we are, where life comes from, and to receive the forgiveness and life we need and crave. Jesus doesn’t leave us in our ashes. He joined us in our ashes and death! He joined us in the world’s hatred and scorn. He joined us in the pit of death and the grave. And risen from the dead, He now lives to raise us, too. To save and forgive and feed.

And then with Jesus and His life in us, we can then practice our righteousness - as Jesus said tonight, our giving to the needy, our prayer, our fasting - for the right reason - not to be praised by men and find our life and value and worth there, but so that they will see our good deeds and praise - not me! - but our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). That they see Him and His life is us. The one who has life for all. And receive that life, too.

And in this way, live that singular life we were created to live. That whether we are in the church or in the world, we live the same. That whether men praise us or revile us, we live the same. We live as the dearly loved children of God we are. Always coram deo and coram hominibus - knowing that whether anyone else ever knows or sees what we do, our Father in heaven sees all. And He will bless. He will bless with His forgiveness and love, and a life that cannot end. The life we’ve been looking for.

So come now and receive that blessing and life, and go give that blessing to others, practicing your righteousness not for yourself, but in faith toward God and love toward your neighbor. Set free from the searching and striving. Set free from the tyranny of the world’s opinion. Set free from guilt and shame. Set free to live as the forgiven, righteous, singular child of God you are - once again! - in Jesus.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Listen to Him!”

Text: Matthew 17:1-9; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Exodus 24:8-18

 

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

The divine and human natures of Jesus are on full display today. 

The human body which the Son of God has made His own hikes up and down the mountain with Peter, James, and John. But at the top, it is the divine nature that shines. The appearance of Jesus changes before their eyes. He did not become something He was not before, it is that now His eternal glory is revealed. The glory of God usually hidden in His human flesh now shines brighter than the sun and is whiter than light. It was good for them to be there, Peter says. Indeed.

Things quickly get out of hand, though. Overwhelming. Suddenly, it’s not so good to be there! It’s one thing to witness something, it’s quite another to be involved. It’s one thing to see Jesus in His glory, talking with Moses and Elijah, it’s quite another when that glory begins talking to you! As long as the glory of God is a safe distance away, it’s okay. But when the bright cloud overshadows them, and Peter, James, and John hear the voice of God speaking to them, they are terrified. They fall on their faces. They cannot look anymore. 

Matthew doesn’t tell us how long they were there, flat on their faces, quaking in fear. It was probably a few seconds that felt like eternity. Until they feel a hand on their shoulder, and another voice - the one they know. The one that called them from their fishing business. The one they heard praying so often. The one that taught them, spoke the parables, healed so many, and forgave sins. That voice, that comforting voice, now saying to them, Rise, and have no fear. It’s time to go. And when they looked up, it was Jesus. Just Jesus. 

Were they disappointed? Disappointed that the glory was gone? Disappointed in themselves, their reaction, that they weren’t stronger and able to stand? That it was now just Jesus? Or were they relieved? Well, if they’re anything like us, probably all of the above. 

When they get to the bottom, back to civilization, things will quickly get back to normal. Crowds. Disputes. Healing. Opposition. And their fear would return. But this time, fear not from the glory of God, but from the fear of men. They would all run away when Jesus is arrested. Peter would deny even knowing this Jesus of Nazareth three times. Who? Bah. They locked themselves in a room after Jesus was crucified. The Roman soldiers are so strong. The crowd in Pilate’s courtyard so large and Peter so all alone. And if the Jewish leaders could get Jesus crucified, what would they now do to them? If only Jesus was still there . . . His hand on their shoulder . . . His voice . . . They didn’t need the glory, they just needed Jesus. Just Jesus. 

You, too. For if there’s one thing we share with the disciples, it’s fear. Their culture was different, their times were different, but our fear is the same. Fear of other people and what they can do to me. Fear that my sin will be found out and the shame I will feel. Fear of the future and what is happening in our world. Fear of being alone. Fear of being forgotten. Fear of failing. Fear of disappointing others. Fear from what I see happening to others and in others. Fear that I will lose what I love. Fear that I will lose the love of others. Fear for my health. Fear of death. 

As long as these things are far away and I don’t have to think about them, I’m good. Then it is good to be here, in this world and life. But when their dark cloud overshadows us, when they draw near, when my conscience accuses, then they make us terrified. They make us lose sleep. They make us do things we shouldn’t do, and wouldn’t ordinarily do, and don’t want to do, and yet do. Which brings even more guilt, more shame, more fear. It’s a deadly spiral. And the harder we try to set ourselves free, the stronger it gets and the faster it goes. 

If only Jesus was here . . . His hand on our shoulder . . . His voice . . . Then it would be okay . . .

So Jesus came to those frightened disciples behind locked doors on Easter evening and took away their fear; gave them peace. And Jesus comes here the same. 

Oh, but it’s not the same, Pastor! We can’t see Jesus here. We can’t touch Him. If only He was, in His glory, in His might . . . and we’d be on our faces, terrified. 

So the key is that voice . . . that voice that came from the bright cloud. That voice that brought fear, but also pointed the way out of it: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. Don’t listen to the voices of those who tell you what to do to be accepted by them, or what you have to do to please them. Don’t listen to the voice of the evil one who tells you that your sin is too great to be forgiven, or that you are too far gone. Don’t even listen to your own voice that beats yourself up for your failures and is constantly shaming you for your sin. Those are powerful voices, yes. Influential and myriad. Because they all want to be god. They all want to be in charge. They all want power over you.

But there’s only one voice we’re told to listen to: God’s only-begotten, beloved Son, with whom He is well pleased. For only His voice will not deceive you or mislead you. Only His voice is pure truth. Only His voice can take away your fear. Listen to Him.

That’s what Peter said in the Epistle we heard today. He said yes, we were eyewitnesses of His majesty - we were there! We saw the glory, the bright cloud, we heard the voice from heaven. But we have something more sure than all that, that we were told to listen to! The prophetic Word, Peter says. The Word of God. The Scriptures. For those aren’t just words talking about Jesus, they are Jesus talking to us. That is how we listen to Him today. I think we’ve lost that understanding. But we need to get it back. The understanding that while yes, the Scriptures were written by men, it is the Word of God. Not just the word about God - but the Word of God. That like Jesus, the Scriptures have both a divine and human nature: the very voice of God though written by men. 

So, Peter goes on to say, you will do well to pay attention [to them] as to a lamp shining in a dark place. A lamp, a light of truth and grace, of comfort and peace, shining in a very tumultuous, confusing, dark, and evil world. 

And when we listen to Him, to that voice, to the Scriptures, what do we hear? 

We hear that the sins we are afraid of, that frighten us, Jesus has atoned for. He took them, and you can’t have them back! I forgive you all your sins. They’re gone. And so is their guilt and shame. 

We hear that the death we are afraid of, that frightens us, Jesus has overcome death in His resurrection. The grave could not hold Him, and it will not be able to hold you either. On the Last Day He will say to you, rise! just as he did to the disciples on the mountain. They did, and so will you. But you, on that day, to a life that will not end, and to eat and drink with God - not on the top of Mt. Sinai, like Moses and his sons and the elders of Israel, but with all believers in Christ, in the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end.

We hear also that Jesus has defeated the evil one. He resisted his temptations, cast him out of those he possessed, and stripped him of his power. Yes, he’s still prowling around you, still hissing his lies into your ears. Don’t listen to him or his surrogates, no matter how impressive they look or sound. Their words don’t give you life, they only suck the life out of you.

And we hear Jesus say, I am with you always (Matthew 28:20). Neither time nor space can separate us from Jesus and His love. Or from His hand touching you in the water of Baptism, or His Body and Blood touching you in the bread and wine of the Supper. Baptism and the Supper aren’t just things the Church does, but that Jesus does in His Church. For you are His and He is yours.

And speaking of the Church, that is another thing that is both divine and human. We look at the Church and see weakness, sin, failure, conflict. Church officials caught in sin. Her human nature can be quite ugly! And yet she is the Bride of Christ, a holy Church, His divine institution, washed clean by His blood, and beautiful and radiant in His eyes. 

And thus baptized by Jesus, and fed by Him, and forgiven by Him, this then is also true - the voice of the Father for you: that YOU are His beloved son, with whom He is well pleased. And your perfect Father will never forsake His children.

That is the confidence we have as on Wednesday we enter the season of Lent, a season of repentance. Repentance and self-denial not to earn His grace and favor - you already have that in Jesus! No, we repent in order to hear His word of forgiveness. We deny our sinful urges in order to follow in His holy ways. And throughout this season we train ourselves to listen to Him. To grow in His Word and faith, and for His Word and faith to grow in us. That focused on Him and living in Him, our fear be taken away, replaced with His love and life.

That in this world of sin, confusion, doubt, shame, trouble, trial, sadness, tears, death, and fear . . . On our mountains of trouble, our valleys of despair, or our daily slog through life . . . In our families or at work or school . . . In the best of times and the worst of times . . .  No matter where you are or who you are . . . we lift up our eyes, and see Jesus only. And listen to Him. And live each day in, with, and under Him.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Congregation at Prayer

For the Week of Ash Wednesday (February 16-21, 2026)

Invocation: In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speak the Apostles’ Creed. 

Verse: Romans 5:19 – “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

Hymn of the Week:  Lutheran Service Book #656 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

Hymns for Sunday: 656, 422, 561, 620, 562, 424, 544

Readings for the Week: [The readings for Thursday-Saturday are the Scriptures for this coming Sunday.]

Monday: Joel 2:12-19

What is the Lord calling His people to do? How? Who was included? What confidence do we have to do this?

Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10

What does it mean to “receive the grace of God in vain?” Have you done this? How? Why? How can we avoid doing this?

Wednesday: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

What’s the difference between being righteous before others and righteous before God? Why do we care so much what others think of us? What really matters?

Thursday: Genesis 3:1-21

Once their eyes were opened, Adam and Eve could not unsee what they had done. So what do their Father do for them? What did they now need to see and hear? How do we need the same?

Friday: Romans 5:12-19

How was Jesus like Adam? How was Jesus unlike Adam? What do we inherit from Adam? What do we inherit from Jesus?

Saturday: Matthew 4:1-11

What were satan’s three temptations? How did Jesus answer them? Why did that work? How can we do the same?

The Catechism - The Ten Commandments: The Third Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

Collect for the Week: O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Prayers:  Please pray for . . .

+ yourself and for all in need (remembering especially those on our prayer list).

+ God’s blessing, wisdom, and guidance for our congregation’s Building Committee.

+ the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti, for God’s wisdom, blessing, guidance, and provision.

+ God’s blessing, guidance, and wisdom for our Synod president, Matthew Harrison.

Conclude with the Lord’s Prayer and Luther’s Morning or Evening Prayer from the Catechism.

Now joyfully go about your day (or to bed) in good cheer, child of God!

Collect for the Week © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.

Lutheran Service Book Hymn License: 110019268