Sermon for Lent 1 Midweek Vespers

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Jesu Juva

“Icons of Repentance: The Tax Collector - No Excuses”

Text: Luke 18:9-14; Genesis 3:1-13; 1 John 1:5-10; Psalm 32

 

In the Name of (+) Jesus. Amen.

Icons of repentance. That’s the theme of our midweek meditations this years. Icons. Images. Pictures. But not static ones, living ones. Pictures that we can see ourselves in, and that we see in us. And repentance. A change of mind. A change of heart. A change of life. That we have the mind and heart and life of Christ and humble ourselves, that we be exalted in due time. Not exalting ourselves, but being exalted by God. That is our goal this Lenten season.

So we’ll start with the tax collector. He is our first icon of repentance. Or maybe better to say, our role model. His prayer is short and to the point. He is standing far off for he feels far off. He’s neither fish nor fowl. He’s not Roman, but he cooperates with them. And while he’s Jewish, he’s rejected by them. A man without a country, perhaps we could say. So he comes to the Temple, the place of sacrifice, the place of mercy, seeking mercy. No excuses, just a hurting, agonized plea: God, be merciful to me, a sinner!

But that’s not actually what he said. I’m not sure why our English versions translate it that way, but what he actually says is much more definite. God, be merciful to me, the sinner! He’s not just a sinner - he’s the sinner the other man in the Temple that day was talking about. The Pharisee.

So what the Pharisee said he said loudly and proudly. For the Pharisee was standing by himself and the tax collector was standing far off, yet he heard him. He heard the accusation, he heard the disdain, and he knew he was right. The Pharisee wasn’t like him. He fasted twice a week. He tithed. And he was thanking God for the good life he had. The tax collector knew he didn’t deserve to be there. The Pharisee obviously did. Mercy is what the tax collector needed. Just a crumb.

Which is why he had come to the Temple. It was the place of sacrifice, the place of mercy. You can thank God in prayer anywhere, but for mercy you go to the Temple. It’s a bit like going to the doctor when you’re sick. But take note, then, of what the Pharisee did. What he did was like going to the doctor to tell him how well you are! That he wasn’t like everyone else in the waiting room, sick and in need! He exercised everyday and ate healthy food and was feeling really good. Thanks for your time, doc! To do that is to misunderstand who a doctor is and what he is for. To do what the Pharisee did is to misunderstand what the Temple is and what it is for. 

But the tax collector knew. And we can tell this because in asking God for mercy, he doesn’t use the normal word for mercy that we so often read in the Bible. The mercy that anyone can give. He uses a far more specific word - the word that is used for the mercy seat on the ark. So what he is asking for here is far more than just a kindness kind of mercy. He is saying: God, be the mercy seat for me! Be the atoning sacrifice for me, the sinner. Be my Saviour. 

So here is Jesus in this story. For Jesus is the mercy seat, the place of mercy, and the atoning sacrifice for us. The blood that must be shed for the forgiveness of sins is His blood, and He becomes the sinner on the cross. The sinner of all sinners. For He bears the sins of all, that He might have mercy on all. That all who call to Him for forgiveness, receive forgiveness. 

Which leads us, then, to this truth: no excuses repentance receives no excuses forgiveness. 

So why would you temper, or lessen, your repentance with excuses or explanations? There’s really only one answer, one reason: hope. To hope that somehow it will make a difference. This is what Adam and Eve did in the Garden. Adam blamed God and blamed the woman God had given him. It wasn’t all his fault. And the woman blamed the serpent God had made and put in the Garden. It wasn’t all her fault. They were grasping for hope with their dying breaths.

You see, excuses are the voice of hopelessness. Caught red-handed, excuses are our only way out. There’s an explanation. An if, an and, or a but. I had no choice. It’s not all my fault. Excuses are grasping and gasping for hope. 

Which is why Christians don’t do excuses. Because we have hope. Because we have the words and promises of God that give us hope. A confident hope. A sure and certain hope. Like the Word we heard tonight from John: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That promise sets us free to repent without excuse. To come to the flesh and blood Temple that is Jesus and say: Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. It is my fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault. No excuses. No extenuating circumstances. Be the mercy seat, the atoning sacrifice for my sin. Wash me clean with the blood you shed on the cross for me. And He does. 

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

And you go to your house justified as well. For no excuses repentance receives no excuses forgiveness. Forgiveness with no conditions or strings attached. Just mercy, from your mercy seat - your merciful Saviour.

Which we need, for as we sang in the psalm tonight, when we keep silent, when we do not repent, when we keep sin in and try to deal with it ourselves; when we say we have no sin, or not too much sin, or not as much sin as the next guy, it eats us up. We waste away. To do so is not harmless. It is corrosive to body and soul, to life and faith. 

So David goes on: I acknowledged my sin to you . . . and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. You cleansed me, O Lord, and set me free. 

And then he says: Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. And this is not just a generic trust in the Lord, but trust that my sin has been atoned for by Jesus. And not just my sin in general, though certainly that is true. But THIS sin, THIS guilt, THIS shame that I repent of and lay before the mercy seat of God. We say: Yes, I am the sinner. And then Jesus says: No! I AM the sinner. I took your sin, your guilt, your shame. It is no longer on you. It’s mine. And you? I forgive you all your sins. Go, you are free. And you go down to your house justified. Mercy accomplished.

And so our first icon of repentance: the tax collector. No excuses repentance. It’s really the only kind there is. 

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

Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent

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Jesu Juva

“Return to Love”

Text: Matthew 4:1-11; Genesis 3:1-21; Romans 5:12-19

 

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

If you want to catch the big fish, use a big, juicy worm.

I’m sure the devil would have found Jesus on his own. In fact, I’m sure he already had. I’m sure he’d been tempting Jesus all along, all His life, as he tempts us and all people all our lives. No one is exempt. 

But once Jesus is baptized, and the voice from heaven sounded This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17), the Spirit, as we heard, leads Jesus out into the wilderness to dangle the biggest, juiciest worm of all before the devil’s hungry eyes - the very Son of God Himself! And the devil starts salivating, and circling . . .

Jesus Himself said, I am a worm and not a man (Psalm 22:6). Now, He meant it in a different way, that He was treated by His people more like a worm than a man. But the devil would certainly like to devour Him like a worm! This would be the biggest, juiciest victory of all! To bring down the very Son of God! So the wilderness temptations that we hear about today begin . . . Jesus all alone . . . Jesus tired and hungry . . . Jesus vulnerable . . . the devil must be pleased . . .

Perhaps this is the first takeaway for us here, when it comes to temptation: when and where is the devil going to pounce? Certainly, temptations will come at all times and in all places, like Jesus was surely tempted before this. But especially we should expect them when we’re at our most vulnerable. Maybe when you’re at a low point in your life when the devil can offer you an easy way out. Maybe when things are going well for you and you let your guard down. Maybe when you feel alone, scared, tired. The when and where, specifically, might be different for you than for me, but we all have those times and places. When the devil is going to start circling and licking his chops. Know when and where those times are for you. Don’t set yourself up for trouble! This was certainly one of those times for Jesus. But for Him, it was on purpose. He was set up, sent out, and dangled for you.

And so the temptations come. We’re told about three of them here, but surely there were more over the course of those forty days. For as Luke tells us, when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time (Luke 4:13). So I think likely there were more, but these three are particularly included for us here, to teach us. These three, after Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and when He was perhaps at His weakest and most vulnerable.

The first temptation is for Jesus to do what is reasonable, what makes sense, is completely understandable. You’re hungry, you’re the Son of God, make yourself some food! Why wouldn’t you? It’s okay. What’s wrong with food?

What are those kinds of temptations for you? You can disobey your parents! It’s completely understandable. They don’t get it. They don’t understand you. They’re old fashioned. They’re rules are dumb. It’s okay. You’re a teenager! You’re supposed to rebel. Or, don’t put yourself out for that person! They wouldn’t do it for you. They’re not going to appreciate it. You’re going to lose out, and for what? It’s not worth it. It’s completely understandable if you just mind your own business, go on your way. It’s okay. Someone else will do it. Or, how ‘bout this? God said what? No! That was for then. It’s different now. We know better now. Be reasonable. That’s unreasonable! You’re not hurting anyone. It’s reasonable, makes sense, completely understandable . . . It’s okay. Except it’s not . . .

The second temptation is for Jesus to be practical. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do! You’re the Son of God, so jump off the top of the Temple here, and it’s gonna be great! The angels will come, the people will see, and you’ll be famous. They’ll acclaim you Messiah. You’ll be even greater than David and Solomon! It’s gonna work out perfect, Jesus. Be practical.

What are those temptations for you? The practical ones. The everyone-else-is-doing-it ones. The a-man-or-woman’s-gotta-do-what-a-man-or-woman’s-gotta-do ones. Fudging on your taxes isn’t really stealing. You need your “me time.” I need this more than they do. If I don’t, then what’s gonna happen? And God will protect me; He’ll forgive me. Life is hard enough - you gotta be practical! And frankly, what God’s asks isn’t always practical. So . . . you know . . .

And then that third temptation . . . that one seems a little hard to understand, doesn’t it? For why in the world would Jesus worship the devil? But if you know that worship is about receiving, receiving gifts from God and looking to Him for what you need, then this one makes a little more sense. It is to do what is necessary. Because clearly your Father isn’t giving you what you need, Jesus. You’ve been out here forty days and forty nights, all alone and without food. And where’s He been? But I’m here. I’m here for you. I’ll provide for you. Just ask. Just look to me. I’ll take care of it for you. I’ll take care of you.

These are First Commandments temptations. The people or things you fear more than God, the people or things love more than God, the people or things you trust more than God. The people or things you look to to give you what you need. To give you security, love, or good. The sins you do because you’re afraid. The sins you do because you love them. The sins you do because you trust what you think or what the world says more than what God says. The sins you do to save yourself, to save face, to save your life or what you want your life to be. You worship these things when you look to them and turn to them to give you what you need. That’s what the devil wanted Jesus to do.

Be reasonable. Be practical. It’s necessary. It’s how the devil tempted Eve in the Garden, Jesus in the wilderness, and you today. And Adam and Eve crumbled, and we crumble, but Jesus didn’t. Because against our own thinking and what makes sense to us and what we think works and the wisdom of the world stands the truth of God’s Word. The eternal, unbreakable words and promises of God. Only His Word creates life, gives life, sustains life, and saves life. So Jesus clings to the Word for His life. And - and more importantly, and especially - for your life. 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.

So Jesus doesn’t do what is reasonable, what is practical, what is necessary. You know what He does instead? He does what is loving. He lays down His life for you. He fights the devil for you and wins the battle you can’t. He becomes the big, juicy worm on the hook of the cross that the devil can’t resist. But just as unlikely, as we read in the Book of Revelation, that a Lamb battles a dragon and the Lamb wins, so here a worm battles the fish and the worm wins! Sinless, He dies, but His death atones for your sins win! And then His resurrection breaks open your grave - win! And His life takes you away from the devil - win! The devil wants you, but he can’t have you. For you belong to Jesus. 

So you don’t have to do what the devil tries to convince you is reasonable, practical, and necessary, to save yourself, to save face, or to save your life - as I said Wednesday night, Jesus already did that for you. He already saved you. Now you get to live in His love and with His love for others. To live God-centered, Christ-filled, and Spirit-led lives. Strong in His Word and oriented in love toward others. Even when you’re in the wilderness. Even when you’re weak and vulnerable. Even when others are taking advantage of you. Even when you feel like a worm and not a man or woman. Because you are a baptized child of God, with whom He is well pleased, and wherever you are, and however you are, Jesus has been there and is there with you. And while He didn’t turn stones into bread for Himself, He does turn bread and wine into His Body and Blood for you. And just as He didn’t jump down from the Temple, He wouldn’t jump down from the cross either. Because He loved YOU more than His own life. Because He knew His Father would provide. In life and in death. 

And so it is for you who are in Christ as well. For as the Apostle Paul said, the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. It abounds for you! And so as the angels came and ministered to Jesus in the wilderness, so also He sends His angels to minister to you in the wilderness of this world. Jesus fights for you and dies for you and saves you and feeds you and sends these high, heavenly beings to serve you. Which is pretty amazing. 

But it is who God is. And so in the Garden, after His children sinned, spurning His Tree of Life and choosing what they thought was their own, He cursed the serpent and He cursed the ground but He did NOT curse His children. Yes, there would be consequences for their sin, severe ones. But He did not curse them, He promised to save them. He promised them a new Tree of Life. A new Tree and a new fruit. And in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4), He sent His Son. To do that. To be that. For them. For you. And for all people. 

The devil wants you to forget all that, or doubt it. But this season of Lent calls us back to faith and back to the fight. To renew us in the Word of God, and instead of doing what we think is reasonable, practical, and necessary, we do instead, like Jesus, what is loving. That we love the Lord our God with all our mind and with all our heart and with all our strength, and love our neighbor as ourself. And when we fall and fail and crumble - and we do, and will! - to turn NOT to ourselves and our strength, to the devil and his deception, or to the world and its slick ways, but to the one who didn’t crumble, fail, or fall. To return to the Lord our God, for He is gracious and merciful . . . and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13). To come here to our new Tree of Life and eat of its fruit. For only in Him is our life and the victory we need. 

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

The Congregation at Prayer

For the Week of Lent 1 (February 23-28, 2026)

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

Speak the Apostles’ Creed. 

Verse: Romans 4:7 – “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”

Hymn of the Week:  Lutheran Service Book #571 “God Loved the World So That He Gave”

Hymns for Sunday: 435, 422, 571, 617, 563, 729, 718

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

Monday: Psalm 121

To where do you look for help? To yourself? Others? Courts? Laws? Why? From where does our true help come?

Tuesday: Acts 1:15-26

Commemoration of St. Matthias, Apostle. What were the requirements for being an apostle? Why? Who chose the apostles? Why is this important? How did God also choose you?

Wednesday: Luke 18:9-14

How were the Pharisee and the tax collector different? How were they alike? What did each want and not want? What about you?

Thursday: Genesis 12:1–9

How was Abram living by faith? What was given to him? What was not yet given to him? How is this true also for us?

Friday: Romans 4:1–8, 13–17

What is the difference between wages and gifts? What wages do we deserve from God? What gifts does He give us instead?

Saturday: John 3:1-17

Why did Nicodemus go to Jesus at night? How else was he “in the dark?” How did Jesus enlighten him? Why did Nicodemus have a hard time understanding? Why do we?

The Catechism - The Ten Commandments: The Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Collect for the Week: O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, 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 Investment Committee.

+ the Lutheran Church-Hong Kong Synod, for God’s wisdom, blessing, guidance, and provision.

+ God’s blessing, guidance, and wisdom for our District president, Waldemar Vinovskis.

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

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.