Sermon for the Festival of the Reformation

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Jesu Juva

“The Freedom of a Christian”

Text: John 8:31-36 (Romans 3:19-28; Psalm 46)

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

Three years ago, 2017, the world celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. It was a big deal. As I said, the world celebrated it, not just the church. Even the non-religious and those who don’t really appreciate Luther’s theology found in the Reformation the seeds of much of what they think is good and valuable in the world today; making our society what it is - from the division of church and state, to individual choice, to education, and lots more. Luther was hailed as the hero of modernity, of the common man against the machine. Not really what Luther was going for . . . but Luther is one of those people who wrote so much, against so many, and in so many ways, that he is claimed by almost everyone for their cause and interpreted in all kinds of ways.

That was three years ago. This year, not much going on, as far as I’ve heard. The 503rd anniversary of the Reformation just doesn’t have the same ring to it! 

But I would argue that this year, 2020, the 500th anniversary of the year 1520, is far more important than 2017. For while 1517 and the 95 Theses get all the press for getting the Reformation started, they really weren’t that theologically important. What came later was. And what came later was 1520, the year Luther wrote his “three great treatises”: The Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and the one that I want to focus on today, The Freedom of a Christian. These three writings advanced the theology of the Reformation and Scriptural teaching much more than the 95 Theses. 

But today, I want to focus on that third writing, The Freedom of a Christian, not because of Luther! But because of the Holy Gospel that you just heard. The Holy Gospel in which Jesus talks about the freedom of a Christian. The Holy Gospel in which Jesus said: If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. And, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

But what is this freedom that we have in Christ? What does it look like?

Some would like that freedom to be a freedom from all restraint. A radical individuality which means that you can do whatever you want, live however you want, believe whatever you want, say whatever you want, and no one can tell you otherwise. Because you’re free. 

There are two problems with that. First, Jesus said that if you abide in my word, then you are free. And then this: everyone who commits sin is a slave - to sin. So if in your freedom, in your individuality, you are going against the Word of God and sinning, you are, in fact, not free at all, but a slave - to sin. A slave to those sinful urges in you that you are pushing you; that you are serving and satisfying and obeying. Yet sadly, that is how many people today see their freedom: they are free to sin. Even Christians sometimes think this, because, after all, Jesus will forgive me. So I don’t have to worry about how much I sin. 

Now, it shouldn’t take much time or convincing for you to realize that’s not what Jesus meant at all. That’s a very small grain of truth in a great big bag of error! And it’s damaging - to yourself and others. And it has (to use a phrase from the apostle Paul) caused many to shipwreck their faith.

So Luther put it this way; the proper way to look at the Christian life:

A Christian is the freest lord of all, subject to none.

And yet at the same time,

A Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

Those two statements sound like they contradict each other, but they don’t. They’re both true. And they’re both important and important to keep together. For the first without the second leads to license and the thinking that I can do whatever I want, even sin. But the second without the first leads to legalism and the thinking that my salvation depends on what I do. And we see both of those things in our world and in some churches today. But put together, and kept together, they perfectly describe what Jesus was talking about in the Holy Gospel, and how we live our lives as Christians.

For in Christ, abiding in Him and His Word, you are free. Free from the guilt of your sin. Free from having to earn your place in the kingdom of God. Free from the condemnation and punishment and hell that your sins deserve. Free from having to justify yourself. Free from the accusations of the evil one. Free from the fear of death. For all your sin and guilt were put on Him on the cross. He wanted it! And so also He took the condemnation, punishment, and hell your sins deserved. He atoned for your sin, died in your place, and then broke the bonds of the grave and set you free. He did it all, and so you are free. Justified. A child of God in Him. There is nothing for you to do for this. Nothing you can do. It is, as we heard Paul say today, a gift. From Him to you. From His cross, through the word and water of Baptism, to you. A new you with a new life. The Son has set you free, and you are free indeed! 100%. Subject to none. You will live and reign with Him forever. As Jesus said from the cross: It is finished (John 19:30).

But what now? Sin as much as you want? Indulge your every urge and desire? Of course not. The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of sin. To do that, as Jesus said, is returning to your slavery to sin. It is you being controlled and driven by your old, sinful man and not being the new man, the born again person, that you are, that Christ has made you. 

Rather, Christ has set you free to not be that way anymore; to not be a slave of sin. To be free not to serve your radical, individual self, but to serve your neighbor. In love. As Christ did. As Christ loved you. For the Son of God didn’t have to come down from heaven, take your sins and the sins of the world upon Himself, and die with them. But He did. In love. He was free from the Law but freely made Himself subject to the Law. He had no sin but took your sin. He was rich but made Himself poor. All for you. The God who is free to do anything, and who can do anything, did that! For you! To set you free.

Which really is mind-blowing. For why would God do that for Luther? He was nothing but sin! Why would He do that for you? You’re no prize! Why would He do that for me? Who continues to fall short and fail in so many ways? Why for the Pharisees who kept opposing Him, for the disciples who were so frustratingly slow to understand, for those who put Him on the cross? Because that’s what love does. The God who is love.

And that love has been given to you, forgiving your sins, making you a child of God, giving you the promise of everlasting life. And as that love lives in you, it lives not according to your old, sinful man, but like Christ - giving itself in service to others. Loved ones, family, friends, neighbors, and enemies alike. For the Jesus who did all for you, now says to you: Love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34-35).

And you can, because you are FREE in Christ. If you had to do something to save yourself, you couldn’t serve your neighbor - you’d have to worry about you. But if you don’t have to worry about you, you are FREE to worry about your neighbor and her needs. You are FREE to serve him, forgive him, help her, love her. Putting their needs above your own, as Jesus did for you.

Not that it’s easy! No one ever said it would be. Faith isn’t easy. But it is good. For to live like this is to live the life for which you were created. The life God meant for you. It‘s satan who doesn’t want you to live that life, but to live for yourself, convincing you that that’s the way to happiness and fulfillment. Whatever you think is right, is right. Whatever you think is good, is good. Whatever you think is best, is best. For Christ set you free, didn’t He? Didn’t He? So enjoy your freedom!

But as many find out, what the devil calls freedom is really slavery. Which shouldn’t surprise us. The devil is a liar. And He lies when he tells you that living like Jesus says is really slavery! You have to do this, you have to do that, you don’t get to do what you want to do, God is a “no fun” God. You don’t get to do what everyone else is doing. You have to obey your parents. That’s no good! . . . But maybe it is good. Maybe what we want isn’t good. Maybe my urges and desires are self-destructive and so to follow them . . . And so satan drives people to despair and hopelessness. And then people dive into more sin, looking for something good. Or they give up. They withdraw from everyone, or even commit suicide. 

And you’ve fallen for satan’s lies, as have I. We’ve lived as slaves and not in the freedom Christ won for us and has for us. But we do not despair or lose hope. We come here, and are set free again. The chains of sin snapped off of us with the Absolution, the joy of our freedom proclaimed in the Gospel, and as we are fed with Jesus Himself, the Bread of Life, to raise us and strengthen us to live in His freedom. Real freedom. The freedom to be the child of God you are.

And with that freedom then comes this too: peace and joy. Peace knowing that your present and your future are secure in Jesus, and so you really have nothing to worry about or fear. And joy that your life has more meaning than just serving yourself and trying to get as much as you can. That’s pretty empty and gets really old really fast. There must be more to life than that, many hope. And there is. When you’re a child of God. When you know the freedom of a Christian. 

So if you’re lacking peace and joy in your life, maybe you’ve been focused too inward, too individually. And when you look there, you won’t find what you’re looking for. Instead, look out. Outside yourself. To God in faith, and to your neighbor in love. And you’ll know that joy that Jesus Himself knew, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Now, cross and joy are two things that normally don’t go together! But they do for Jesus. Who was not looking inward, but outward. Who looked to His Father in faith, and toward you in love. And He was filled with joy, even was faced with the cross. And even on the cross, was able to die in peace.

Sound good? Sound like what you’re looking for? Under the crosses you bear? In this year 2020 which so many folks can’t wait to be over and wish they could delete from history? Maybe we’re thinking about it all wrong. Maybe our lack of peace and joy is from our slavery to sin and our own wishes and desires.

So instead, refocus. Focus inward, your sight is all of out whack and you won’t see properly. But focus outward, and your vision might just be 20/20. To see clearly the love of God for you in Jesus and His cross, to see clearly the victory that is yours in His resurrection, to see clearly all the gifts of God that are yours in Christ Jesus, and then to see clearly that joy that is not in what you get but in what you give. How God is using you to love and provide for others.  You, as a child of God, living in the image of your Father.

That’s how we can have peace and joy even (as we sang in the Psalm earlier) though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though waters roar and foam and mountains tremble, and even in the face of the desolations God has brought upon the earth - like Covid-19. That is so awful and this year is so awful that nothing good will come out of it, right? . . . That’s what they said about the cross, too. 

No, even in the face of all this, Christians are free to live in faith and love, in peace and joy, and proclaim: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress! And as Luther wrote, a mighty one at that. 

Luther wrote about that freedom 500 years ago, and people have needed to hear about that freedom every year since; and maybe this year more than most. But Jesus proclaimed it some 1,500 years before that, and it was God’s plan for you even before the creation of the world! That you live in faith and love, peace and joy, as His dearly loved child. For you have been set free by the Son of God. And if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!

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

Sermon for the Commemoration of Saint Luke, Evangelist

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Jesu Juva

“Physician, Evangelist, Saint”

Text: Luke 10:1-9 (2 Timothy 4:5-18)

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

Saint Luke. We’re commemorating him today. Saint Luke the Evangelist. If Luke was one of the 72 sent out by Jesus that we heard about today, then he was an evangelist twice over - first by mouth and second by pen. 

Saint Luke. The beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). Physician of the body who became a physician of the soul. Or, if you like, he became a physician of the body of Christ. For that is the way of it with Jesus, after all. Peter and some of the other disciples went from being fishers of fish to fishers of men. So He also transforms Luke. Taking the gifts and talents and vocations He has given and not discarding them, but enlarging them. For I don’t think Luke ever stopped being a physician. Perhaps the reason he stuck by Paul so much was for this very reason - to treat Paul bodily. For Paul had no shortage of afflictions - from his famous thorn in the flesh, to 5 times receiving 39 lashes from the Jews, 3 times beaten with rods, stoned, 3 times shipwrecked, caught in riots, imprisoned - with chains and stocks and without, and often, he says, near death (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). If anyone ever needed a physician at their side, it was the apostle Paul. And it seems God gave him one, in Saint Luke.

Saint Luke. A man of the Word. Penning not only the Gospel that bears his name, but the continuation of his Gospel, the book of Acts.

Saint Luke. A man of the Word made flesh. For Saint Luke, as a physician of the body, knew the human body and cared for it. And it is the bodily that especially comes out in his Gospel. It is Luke who gives us what is one of the most well-known accounts in the Scriptures - the account of Jesus’ birth, His bodily birth in Bethlehem. But he is also the one who records for us such bodily teachings as the Parables of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the rich man and Lazarus, and the Pharisee and the tax collector. And it is Saint Luke who records for us two of Jesus’ most comforting words from the cross, while He hung there in His body, dying: Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34) and Today, you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).

Saint Luke. Perhaps those dying words of Jesus were so precious to him because as a physician he knew - maybe more keenly than most, maybe more frustratingly than most - that there was one thing that he, as a physician, could not heal, fix, overpower, or overcome: death. However long this world has been here, however long there has been a practice of medicine, this has been the constant. Medicine can extend life, delay death, make it more palatable, and fight it off, but in the end, death always wins. You know the old saying: there’s only two sure things in this world, death and taxes. Well, there hasn’t always been taxes, but ever since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, there has always been death. And as a physician, Luke would have hated death. Death is the enemy.

So Saint Luke found a kindred spirit in Jesus. For Jesus hates death, too. Luke is the one who records for us that Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain back to life again (Luke 7:11-17) and then did the same when the daughter of Jairus died before Jesus could get there to heal her (Luke 8:40-56). And within that story is the story of why Jesus couldn’t get there in time - because He stopped to heal a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years (vs. 43-48). And about this woman, Luke includes this rather revealing line: and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.

Saint Luke knew the limitations of a physician. But here in Jesus was the one who knew no such limit, no such boundary. Here was the one who could do what Luke could not: conquer death. 

So when Jesus sends out the 72, notice: what is there for the body? Nothing. Jesus sends them out with no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals. Nothing to carry extra supplies or tend to their bodily needs. In this way they are like lambs in the midst of wolves - with no bodily defense. But lambs need no bodily defense when they are under the care of the Good Shepherd. So what they carry with them is the Word. The Word that carries Jesus and His gifts. So with that Word they speak and give Jesus and His peace. With that Word they give Jesus and His healing. And with that Word the kingdom of God comes near. Heal the sick and say to them, Jesus says. That’s Saint Luke in a nutshell. Healing and speaking. Physician and Evangelist. Physician of body and soul.

But these 72 not only carry with them this Word, this Word carries them. For the gifts are for them, too. The Word sustains them and gives them strength and hope. For this Word is the Word of the Word made flesh. The Word that carries the Jesus who carries them in His arms as His lambs. 

So they can go with no moneybag, no knapsack, and no sandals. Those words shock us and probably shocked them at first, too. But by this they learned of the one who can meet every need of ours - body and soul. And just as He used Saint Luke to provide for the needs of others, so He used others to provide for their needs, the needs of the 72. They would give them food and drink and lodging and all that was needed. And later, when Jesus would ask His disciples if they lacked anything went He sent them out, the answer was no, nothing (Luke 22:35).

So it is with us as well. Covid-19 has shaken up our world and brought death to the fore. For how many lambs has the Covid-wolf devoured? Doctors and scientists are working frantically to find a cure and a vaccine, and they probably will. They’ll defeat Covid, but they won’t defeat death. It will continue its relentless attack against us in one form or another. Another pandemic will come, another natural disaster, another terrorist attack. Diseases that have been around for a long time will continue to ravage our bodies, and if you’re looking for job security, look no further than funerals and cemeteries. And while it has become fashionable these days to call funerals “memorials” or “celebrations of life,” they’re still funerals. It’s still death. And its still the enemy (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:26).

And Saint Luke, the beloved physician, knew this - that doctors cannot defeat death. What He learned is that evangelists and pastors CAN! Because they bring, they give, they apply the medicine of immortality: the Word. Because they bring, they give, they apply Jesus, the Word made flesh - the one who came to do what we could never do: defeat death. Because death, you see, isn’t primarily a body-problem - it’s a soul-problem. It’s caused by sin. So if you want to deal with death, if you want to conquer death, you must deal with and conquer sin. Otherwise, you’re just putting make-up on a corpse to make it look nice, and flowers on a grave. But the reality is still there.

But in Jesus, Luke came to know the one who could defeat death! Really and truly. And who did. That’s why those words Jesus spoke from the cross and that Luke records for us are so important. Father, forgive them and Today, you will be with me in Paradise are words that give life to the dying! Words that give life even after death has claimed our bodies. For a physician, that was the end. But not for an Evangelist! For those who are carried by Jesus are carried through death to life again. For Saint Luke came to understand that conquering death doesn’t mean staving off death and not dying - it meant passing through death to life again. Like the widow’s son. Like Jairus’ daughter. Like Jesus Himself.

That’s why for Jesus, healing and forgiving always go together (Luke 5:23). Forgiveness is the medicine we really and truly need. And so Jesus takes our sin, puts it on Himself, in Himself, infects himself, covers Himself, every nook and cranny - He becomes sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and pays the price for all that sin: death. Our death. All death. To become the antidote for sin. The resurrection and the life. And His resurrection showed that, proved it. That death had been defeated because sin had been defeated. Our sin had been atoned for.

So while doctors today are using the blood of people who have caught and recovered from Covid-19 to cure those who are still getting it - Jesus did that long before now! For His blood is the cure for our sin. His blood poured upon us in the water and Word of Holy Baptism to wash away our sins and give us new life. His blood spoken upon us by the Word of Holy Absolution and in the Word of the Holy Gospel to heal us and restore us. And His blood fed to us in the bread, wine, and Word of His Holy Supper, and we eat and drink His forgiveness and life, and receive that life that not even death can end.

And notice: healing and Word together. Never apart from the Word - the Word of the Word made flesh; the Word that carries and gives us the Word made flesh. The Word Jesus sent those 72 out with. The Word Saint Luke recorded in His Gospel. And the Word still spoken here, to you, by the Great Physician. Like Luke, using my mouth, but it’s His Strong Word (LSB #578) that gives His life, His work, His gifts, His healing, His forgiveness. That gives Him.

Once Saint Luke learned that, was baptized into that, everything changed for Him. He was still a physician, but now also an Evangelist. And when he wrote his Gospel, it was so that - as he says in the introduction - that Theophilus (and us) may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught (Luke 1:3-4). That you have certainty about Jesus. That you be certain about His life, and yours. And then that you be like the disciples at the end of his Gospel, when after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, they were filled with great joy and were continually blessing God (Luke 24:50-53). Because they couldn’t help it. Because Luke couldn’t help it. Because you can’t help it. For you have been healed and given life by the Great Physician. Your sins are forgiven and you have the promise of a life that will never end. What else is there to do but rejoice? And continually bless the God who has come in the flesh and given such great gifts to men.

Like Luke. Who we’re commemorating today. Physician and Evangelist in this life, but a saint in Christ Jesus forever. 

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

Pentecost 19 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“A Feast Now and Forever”

Text: Matthew 22:1-14 (Isaiah 25:6-9; Philippians 4:4-13)

Introit: Isaiah 61:10

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

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son . . .

When you hear words such as that, about the kingdom of heaven, your thoughts perhaps immediately go to the future. To the second coming of Christ. To the not here and now, but some time far, far away.

Like, when you pray the Lord’s Prayer. One of the petitions you pray there is Thy kingdom come. And most people, I think, tend to believe that is only talking about heaven; that we are only praying for Jesus to come again and take us to heaven. 

But that would be a mistake.

Because what we need to realize and remember is that the kingdom of heaven is not just a future hope or dream - the kingdom of heaven is already here and now; the kingdom of heaven has its start on earth. For wherever the King is, there is His Kingdom; there He is ruling for the good of His people.

Now, the kingdom of heaven is, of course, not the same as this world and life, but it is here in this world and life. It is a kingdom hidden within the kingdoms of this world. It is, as one theologian put it, the resistance against the corruption and falsehood of this world and her kingdoms. An outpost, an embassy, an oasis of the eternal already in the midst of this world. But it is different, in many ways. For the kingdoms of the world are ruled by the Law; this kingdom is ruled by the Gospel. The kingdoms of this world are passing away; this kingdom will go on for eternity.

So in the Lord’s Prayer, yes, we are praying for Jesus to come again and take us to heaven. Absolutely. But we are also praying that He would keep us in and expand His kingdom on earth - which is the Church. Here, where God rules by the Gospel. Here, where God gives His gifts - gifts that give the eternal: forgiveness of sins, renewal by the Holy Spirit, and victory over sin, death, and the devil. Here, where the eternal is breaking into the here and now. Here, where the angels, archangels, and all the company are with us - words we are used to hearing, but dare not take for granted - and we join their song of praise, Holy, holy, holy.

Now if all of that is true, then if the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, that feast is already here. And, of course, it is. That is the reason you come here each week - to come to the feast and feast on the gifts of the King. The King has called you and you feast on His forgiveness, His Word, and His Body and Blood. Great gifts, to be sure, though maybe they don’t look like much. Though maybe, in the opinion of some, there are better gifts in other kingdoms. So don’t waste your time . . . Find your happiness in the things of this world. Fill yourself with the feasts of those other kingdoms you live in, their delights. 

There were some in the parable who thought that way. They either ignored the invitation of the King, or were hostile to Him and His servants. It doesn’t turn out good for them . . .

So why? Why not come? Well, perhaps we could compare this to people who get invited to the White House - people who have accomplished something great or sports teams that win championships, but they say no; they do not want to go. Why not? Because they do not like the president or the things He says or does, so they are too busy, or too this or too that.

So it is with God, our King. There are people who do not like Him, His Word, His ways. Who think He should be running things differently. Who think what God says is right is really wrong, and what He says is wrong is really right. So they do not come. But as the parable says, it’s not going to turn out good for them in the end . . .

Because the King is the king whether you like Him or agree with Him or not. Now on earth, with kings and presidents and worldly rulers, sometimes you get good ones and sometimes not so good ones. Sometimes even evil ones. You can disagree with how they rule and what they do. But to reject or ignore the King of heaven and earth because you don’t like what He says, or you think what He does is wrong, or that you could run things better then He, or that you are too busy or have more important things to do, that is something quite different . . .

And it wasn’t just the people who refused to come who did this - but also the man who came and had no wedding garment, the clothing of the wedding. The clothing we sang of in the Introit: for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness. To come to the feast without the wedding garment is therefore to come not with the robe of righteousness that God has for you in Christ, but with your own robe, your own righteousness. Notice, that doesn’t turn out good either . . .

And here is perhaps especially where you and I need to pay attention. For we’re here, right? You’ve come to church today. You’ve heeded the invitation of the King. You’re not like those who stay away, reject, and refuse to come. That’s good . . . but don’t hurt yourself patting yourself on the back too hard! For here’s the warning for those who do come: where’s your wedding garment?

Now the man in the parable was speechless. He had nothing to say. Was it because of fear? Or pride? We’re not told. But you cannot come here and be speechless. Because in this kingdom of heaven here on earth, to be speechless is to be without the wedding garment. 

Here’s why: there are three main things we speak as we gather here each week. First, we speak of our sins and sinfulness. We confess, as we did this morning: we are by nature sinful and unclean; we have sinned in thought, word, and deed. Lord, have mercy. But if we are speechless - either from our mouths, or if we just mouth the words but we do not believe them - then were are confessing the opposite: I am good, I am righteous, I need no mercy. And then we are without the wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness and forgiveness.

The second thing we speak, we confess, is our King in the Creed. Who He is and what He has done for us. Our baptismal faith. But if we are speechless - again, either from our mouths, or if we just mouth the words but we do not believe them - then we are confessing the opposite: who I am and all that I do. And again, we are without the wedding garment that comes only by grace through faith in Christ.

And then the third thing we speak here is praise - we confess our King’s goodness and mercy and life which He has for us here. But if we are speechless, from our mouth or from our hearts, then it is our own praise we seek, putting me on the pedestal or on the throne, wearing our own goodness and righteousness and not Christ’s. And it will not turn out good for us . . .

So we speak. All these things. But even more importantly, God speaks. To us. His Absolution, His forgiveness, His life. And in the speaking is the giving - from Him by grace, to us through faith. Faith in the Word spoken to us and in the one who speaks them. Words that wash. Words that feed. Words that clothe us with the wedding garments. 

And thus clothed, we have a place here. Not because we are good and righteous, but because He makes us so. So if you are worried or anxious, whether you are clothed or not - don’t look at yourself or what you do. You’ll find no comfort there! Your penitence will never be enough or good enough. You’ll see your sins and shortcomings. Instead, look at the one who invited you here to receive his gifts; your Bridegroom. Look at His cross. See His love there for you. See your sins on Him because He wanted them. And hear Him. The word of forgiveness He speaks not to those better than most, but for those who put Him there on the cross. And now spoken to you, too. To you who are not better than most, from Him who is better - and greater - than all.

That’s a pretty good feast, it seems to me. Despite what some may think. And yet there is another still to come . . . that we cannot even begin to imagine.

Something like I experienced after the first wedding I ever did. In my church in New York. Laurie and I were invited to the reception and we walked into a room filled with food. There were tables in the middle, tables on the sides, filled with food better than this up-til-recently bachelor and poor seminarian had ever seen. There was also wine and whatever drinks you could want. Laurie and I marveled. We took our plates and were enjoying this buffet quite a lot . . . We thought this was a great reception! And then two doors at the far end of the room opened and we were told the seating for the feast would begin. Wait, what? We couldn’t believe it. This, it turns out, was just a taste of what was to come . . .

As it is in the kingdom of heaven. Right now the kingdom is coming, the kingdom of grace, and there are wonderful riches of grace here for us. A feast in its own right, and we marvel and rejoice in it. But as the prophet Isaiah said, there is another feast still to come. More and better than you can imagine. This is just a taste. You can’t imagine what it will be like when the doors finally are opened to you . . . Not just when you die, but as Isaiah said, when death is swallowed up forever. And It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

But that joy, that life, as the apostle Paul said, begins already now. For the kingdom of heaven is already here and now. For the King is here and His gifts are here and for you now. Which is what we just spoke - in song, in the final stanza of the hymn right before this sermon:

Gone the bliss of Eden’s garden, Gone the age of sacrifice;

We don’t live in those times anymore . . .

Ours the time of grace and favor, Ours the call to paradise!

That is, the invitations have gone out and are still going out, to come and receive the grace and favor of the King and His feast.

Ever, Lord, impress upon us: Only You can cover sin -

So Take our worthless, self-made garments; 

Clothe our shame and cleanse within. (LSB #572 v. 6)

Clothe our shame. Clothe us with Your righteousness and cleanse us with Your forgiveness. That is what we need, and what He has promised to provide.The wedding garment we receive now, and wear forever.

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

Jim Cassell Memorial Meditation

No funeral or memorial service, but I was given a few minutes to speak at the memorial gathering, so this is what I said:

Jesu Juva

“A Building that Lasts Forever”

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:19-23; Matthew 28:1-10

The reason we can celebrate Jim’s life is because of Jesus’ death. And resurrection. Otherwise, as Saint Paul said, there is only this life. And if we have hope only for this life, how sad is that. 

But as those women who went to the tomb that sad Sunday morning found out, there is hope after the grave. They went expecting a full grave and a dead body. What they saw was an empty grave and a living Jesus. It was a stunning reversal. The big, strong soldiers who had crucified Jesus were now terrified and scared stiff, while the man whose weak, whipped, bloody, and lifeless body had been laid in the tomb was the strong one now.

And He is our strength today. For our strength lies not in good memories of the past, but in our hope for the future. Hope which is more than wishful thinking, but a confident hope that because Jesus’ tomb was empty, so will our graves be as well. And that just as death was not the end for Jesus, neither will it be our end. That again, as Saint Paul said, as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. And to a life that will have no end.

That’s the life God created us for. Death was not part of God’s good creation. It was never meant to be. The world God created was meant to bear fruit and grow, not be a place for graves to hold the dead. 

So the truth is that no matter how long you live, your life is too short for the life God wants for you. We were fortunate to have Jim as long as we did. His heart attack a few years ago almost took him then. When he woke up in the hospital again, it was like a little Easter morning.

But Jesus’ death and resurrection hasn’t just provided us with little Easters, hope for this life only, but with a big one. A lasting one. One that will not end. When not just the grave, but death itself will be destroyed. That is the kingdom Jesus has come to build, and which He is building through His Word and Spirit even now. A kingdom without end.

Which Jim could appreciate, because as all of you know, Jim was a builder, too. And a good one. But no matter how good a builder he was, what we build doesn’t last. Buildings that are strong today, decay and fall tomorrow. But that’s true of anything we try to build. Just look at what is happening in our world today - people who just a generation ago were honored for their accomplishments are today being torn down and regarded as evil. 

But the kingdom Jesus builds does last. Forever. Perhaps that’s hard to imagine, or believe. Those sad women who went to the tomb that Sunday morning couldn’t imagine it. They expected more of the same. But what they got . . . was joy and victory and the beginning of a whole new life. 

That’s the life Jesus has for you. That is the midst of sadness, we rejoice in His victory. In the midst of uncertainty, we hold fast to His promises. And in the midst of death, we look to Him for life. For risen from the dead, He has life for you. Life that is found no where else.

So today we remember Jim’s life. It’s good to do so. But also today, and every day, remember Jesus’ life. The life He lived for you. The life He laid down on the cross for you. The life raised from the dead for you. The life He wants so very much to give to you.  

Pentecost 18 Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“The Grapes of Wrath?”

Text: Matthew 21:33-46; Philippians 3:4b-14; Isaiah 5:1-7

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

The master of the house, the man who planted the vineyard in today’s parable is not God. I mean, he is, but he isn’t. For the man in the parable is the poster child for what a fool looks like, and the very definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And God is neither insane nor a fool.

And yet what the man did is what God did. For God did send His servants, the prophets, to His people time and time again. To call them to repentance. To seek the fruits of repentance - lives of mercy and justice, of faith and love. What you would expect from children of a merciful, just, faithful, and loving God. What you would expect from those who got to live and work in the wonderful vineyard, the beautiful Promised Land, that God had given them and planted them in.

Now sometimes - sometimes - the people listened and repented. But most of the time they did not. But this didn’t surprise God. In fact, very often, when He sent His prophets, He told them before they went that the people were not going to listen and would, in fact, lash out against them - verbally and physically. And that’s exactly what happened - throughout the Old Testament and in the parable. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel met with stiff resistance and were beaten, stoned, and killed.

And then God sent His Son. And while the man in the parable thought that perhaps things would be different with his son, and vengeance for killing him is how the world works . . . here’s how God is not, is different, than the man in the parable - God knew the result would be the same. God knew that sending His Son would mean His death. And that’s the very reason He sent Him! To be rejected by men, but by whose very rejection - by whose death! - He would be the cornerstone on which God would build His Church.

That is the surprising turn in this parable. The killing of the servants, the killing of the son, isn’t really. Murder is the first sin we’re told about after the fall of Adam and Eve. Hatred, greed, selfishness, rivalry, revenge . . . all is par for the course for sinful man. But look what God is doing, Jesus says! Look at what the Scriptures say! He would send His Son to die at the hands of sinful men. That in His dying be your salvation.

Now, some would say God really is a fool and insane for doing that! In fact, all the other religions of the world say that! That God would never do what Christians claim and send His Son to die - if He even has a son at all! Salvation is by you not being like that. By you changing. By you giving God what He demands. And if you don’t . . . then yes, you wretches deserve a wretched death.

And if God ran things like the world runs things, that would be right. But if God is not like us - which thankfully is true! - then maybe He doesn’t do things as we do them. Maybe our way is the foolish and insane way. Maybe sending His Son to die is exactly who God is and His plan from the very beginning, when He didn’t demand that Adam and Eve shape up and do better, but instead promised them a Saviour. That there might be hope for them. And hope for us. 

Hope like what the apostle Paul received. For he was one of those wicked tenants. He wasn’t around when the prophets were sent, but he was one of the ones who rejected the Son of God. He was persecuting and arresting followers of Jesus until Jesus came to HIM - and in that moment, when the voice of Jesus and the blinding light of His glory threw the man then named Saul off his high horse and cast him to the ground - in that moment Saul was - as Jesus said - crushed by the very stone he had rejected. Just as the death of the Son was for the life of the world, so too the old, wretched Saul had to be slain so that a new man named Paul could arise. Which happened three days later when he was baptized (Acts 9).

And now you. Maybe you’re a lot like Saul. Not that you’re persecuting and arresting Christians! (At least, I hope not!) But like Saul, most of you were born into a good family. A Christian family. Like Saul, you were educated in the church; you were catechized and confirmed. Like Saul, you are active in the church and doing all those things you think you’re supposed to be doing. Like Saul, most people would look at you and they would say: There goes a good Christian! And maybe you even believe it. Saul did. He thought he was doing everything right. 

But he needed to be crushed. And so do you. So do I. For (to put it in the words of Isaiah, one of those prophets God sent): why does God see so many wild grapes in your life? Good grapes you can eat and make good wine. But wild grapes only use up space and good ground and are good for nothing. Like some of the words you say. Like many of the thoughts you think. Like actions you do that hurt others, or how you fail to help with your inaction. Like when you use the life God has given you all and only for yourself, not helping others but coveting - and then trying to get! - what others have for yourself. And maybe you do all those things and even look good and wise in the eyes of others. But God knows. And so He asks you, through His prophet today, When I looked for [you] to yield [good] grapes, why did [you] yield wild grapes? It’s a rhetorical question. He knows why. He asks to get you to look at yourself and your life . . . and crush you.

But those God crushes He does to raise! For that’s what God wants. For nothing else than His Son to be the cornerstone of your life. That you live a new life. A life that grows from and in Jesus. 

For that stone is going to crush everyone. Did you catch that? Jesus said that the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. Those are the only two alternatives! The question, then, is when? Will you be broken and crushed now in the day of salvation? Now in this time of repentance and forgiveness? Now when the water of Christ is here to wash you and raise you, the Word of Christ is here to absolve you when you fall, and the Body and Blood of Christ is here to feed you and strengthen you? Or when it is too late for all of that? When all there is left is judgment?

That’s the road Saul was on until the Lord crushed him. Tough mercy! But mercy nonetheless. And then he had nothing but praise for God. Some would say he lost an awfully lot in this world and life - his place, his prestige, his honor. But as Paul said, that? That was all rubbish! Compared to Christ. His righteousness, honor, prestige, what he thought he was achieving, was garbage! Sure, it looked good at the time. But now? It stinks! Compared to the righteousness of Christ and all that Christ has given him. 

And the world? The world thought Paul a fool and insane for the change in his life! They didn’t see this change as good at all - in fact, it was a giant step down. And Paul paid dearly for it - he went from hunter to hunted; from persecutor to persecuted; from throwing others in prison to being thrown into prison himself. Bad career decision Paul! the world said. But Paul knew better. He now had a life that meant far more than the life he had before. And a life that would last longer, too. Like, forever.

And that is the life the master of the house, the owner of the vineyard, your heavenly Father, has for you, too. The world may think you foolish and insane for how you live and what you believe. But you know, like Paul came to know, that the master of the house, the owner of the vineyard, your heavenly Father, sent His Son for you, to die for you. And a God who would do that for you? Well that makes all the difference in the world. 

So while the world looks at us like we have less life as Christians, we know it’s not so - we have far more life than before. The world says: take the vineyard now! Do what you want, live like you want, now! Don’t listen to that stodgy old master! He just wants to take from you. Keep it. You’ve earned it. What’s true and good and right is what’s true and good and right for you. You be the master of your life! And maybe that looks good and feels good . . . for a while. But as Paul learned, the way of the world, what it thinks is good, what it lives for . . . it’s all garbage. Rubbish. And it’s a life that won’t last, but ends in death. 

Far better is life in Christ. For that is a life that not even death can end. The Chief Priests and Pharisees who heard Jesus’ parables perceived that He was speaking about them. And He was. But not because He was against them. He was for them, too. They needed to be crushed so they could be raised, just as we do. And Jesus wanted to. He hung on the cross for them, with their sin, too. He was God’s gift for them, too.

And when you realize this . . . that unlike the world’s gods, that the true God is not sitting up in heaven and demanding that we shape up and improve and give Him what He wants, but instead came to die for us and give us a new life . . . then you know the psalmist is right: This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes! 

And if the true God isn’t so bad . . .  and isn’t a fool or insane after all . . . then maybe the life He gives isn’t either. Maybe it’s all those things the world keeps chasing after and trying and saying is normal and right and good . . . Maybe it’s all those things that are foolish and insane . . . And then . . . with this new life and new way of thinking, with such a good and gracious and marvelous God . . . maybe there will be a few less wild grapes and a few more good grapes in your life. Ya think?

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