Pentecost 7 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Powerful Words”

Text: Mark 6:14-29 (Amos 7:7-15; Ephesians 1:3-14)

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

Words are powerful. Words can inspire and they can terrify. They can bring peace or incite violence. They can imprison or set free. They hurt but they can also heal. 

Words are powerful. Think of what is happening in our world today. Supreme Court decisions, changing the course of our country, are being based on the meaning of single words. Those striving for social change also know that if you can change words you can change minds. So change the meaning of the word “pregnancy” and all of a sudden a pill which causes an abortion becomes a pill that simply “prevents pregnancy.” Don’t call people in a marriage husband and wife anymore, but spouse and spouse, ensconcing in public discourse that marriage has nothing to do with gender. And, of course, seek to silence those who would speak in opposition . . . because words are powerful.

Words are powerful. Words can arouse such anger in us that we physically and violently strike back. And even as children we know the power of words. Little ones learn early that calling out “mama” in the middle of the night brings a comforting hug. Saying “please” means you have to do what I asked because I said please! And you know which children say “Stick and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?” The ones hurt by those names.

Words are powerful. I tell those I instruct in the catechism: you know what you never hear? People cursing in the name of false gods. You never hear “O Buddha!” or “O Allah” when someone is surprised or hits their thumb with a hammer. It’s only Jesus’ name, because the devil doesn’t care about those other names - it’s Jesus’ name that he wants to cheapen and take the power away from. 

Words are powerful. In the Holy Gospel today, words are what got John beheaded. And what an appropriate reading for what we see happening in our day and age. It used to be that beheading was one of those weird, exotic things that we heard about only when we read about John the Baptist, or Paul, who was also martyred by beheading. But today it has made a comeback with the savages in the Middle East. And here too, words are powerful. Curse Jesus and confess Allah and Mohammed and your life will be spared. But refuse . . .

That wasn’t the issue in the Holy Gospel, though. There the words that mattered were John’s preaching against sin, and Herod’s rash promise. And we can relate to both. For how many of us haven’t spoken words and made promises that we wish we could take back? Sometimes we just break our promises or walk back our words, but sometimes, like Herod, we’re so afraid of our honor or reputation that peer pressure makes us do what we really don’t want to do. Our words get us in trouble.

But the word of God’s Law, too, causes conflicts and struggles within us, just as with Herod. For look at Herod. He knows of his sin with Herodias, but won’t change his way. He doesn’t like what John has to say but wants to hear him. He imprisons John yet protects him. Odd . . . yet a story we know all too well. We, too, know of things that are wrong in our lives and yet keep on doing them. We too don’t like our sin pointed out, when the sermon preaches against you and your sin and not just the sins of others, the really bad people; but we keep coming back and listening. 

Herod was a mess. No denying that. But so are we. We heard from the prophet Amos today of God’s plumb line. A plumb line is a string with a weight on the end that was used to determine if a wall was straight or not. And a wall not built straight will soon fall into ruin. Amos held up the plumb line of God’s Word against Israel and Judah and found them crooked and wanting. John held up the plumb line of God’s Word against Herod and found him crooked and wanting. So too for you and me. Your thoughts, words, deeds, and desires that are crooked and sinful, that do not line up with God’s Word, are going to make you crumble and fall into the dust of death. 

So as sinful men and women, boys and girls, we have four options when we, like Herod, hear God’s Word. We can ignore it, deny it, change it, or listen to it. 

Many will ignore it, or try to. On one level its easy to do, just don’t come to church or open the Scriptures. But the Word of God written on your heart, your conscience, is not so easy to ignore. And while some may be successful for a while, what happens when your conscience springs to life, those skeletons come out of your closet, and the sin you thought you so easily dealt with is not so easily tamed? What then?

Others will deny it, saying that the Scriptures aren’t the Word of God but the word of man, or that what they say isn’t relevant for our world today. It’s got problems and contradictions, is old fashioned, out of date, behind the times, superstitious, a relic from a world and worldview we’ve thankfully moved past. But denial has its problems too. When archaeology and history confirm what it says, and again when our conscience does too. And then what happens when death rears its ugly head and we’re in need of answers?

And then there are those who change it - at least, the parts that are objectionable. Keep some, change some, deny some, translate it so that its more in step with our thinking today. But the problem here is: what to keep, what to change, what to deny? There may be as many different answers to those questions as there are people in the world.

So that leaves us with one other option: listen to it. If Herod had done so, not only would John have kept his head, but Herod would then have heard this: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). For that is the message John proclaimed above all others. His fiery and powerful preaching of God’s Word of Law was so that he could point people to God’s Word in Jesus as the answer. 

And so Herod would have known - had he listened to John - that Jesus was not John the Baptist raised from the dead, but the very Son of God, come to raise both Himself and us from the dead. That He is the very Son of God who has come to take our sin, death, and condemnation upon Himself, to save us from all we do that gets us into trouble. From our hasty words that trap us, from the sins which hurt us, from our conscience that haunts us, and from the death that seeks to swallow us up. There is an answer to all that, and it’s to listen to the Word - the Word of God made flesh. Not to ignore Him, deny Him, or try to change Him, but to listen to Him. For His words are powerful, too. 

And you heard that powerful word today, when He said: I forgive you all your sins. You heard it when either a few years ago or a long time ago He said to you: I baptize you. You are mine. And you will hear it again in just a few moments, when He says: This is My Body, This is My Blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. And those words are true. Just as true - and powerful! - as when Jesus spoke to the deaf and they could hear, when He spoke to the paralyzed and they could walk, and when He even spoke the dead back to life again. Those words are just as true as when Jesus told the thief hanging on the cross next to Him: Today, you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).

Powerful words. Words filled with the power of God’s Spirit. Words that convict and promise. Words that condemn and save. Words that show us our sin, but also show us our Saviour. And so words of life. Words that give life. 

Those words are what enabled John to continue to preach to Herod even when Herod caged him up, and then silenced him in death. John knew that death was not the end. Herod kind of knew it too - for he thought that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead! But that’s all Herod knew, or suspected. What he didn’t know was how that life could be his. He sought life in the things of this world, but that only got him conflicted and confused and in trouble. John, on the other hand, knew what Herod did not - that life is found only in Jesus. And so free or in prison, John’s message was the same. And with or without his head, John’s life was the same. For his life was in his Saviour’s hands, not Herod’s. And that gave him confidence to the end. 

You too. Whatever the cage you feel yourself in - the cage of a guilty conscience, the cage of sins past or present, the cage of a world gone mad, the cage of fear and death - whatever it is for you, you have a Word more powerful than all that. A word that sets free, that forgives, that releases. A Word of God, which Paul said this way: In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us . . .  In him we have obtained an inheritance . . .  In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.

So with those words, those powerful words, what cage can hold you? Answer: none. Jesus is the key to the Kingdom of heaven, the key that has set you free, the key that has promised - and delivered for you! - life forever. 

So ignore, deny, or change this Word? No way! Thanks be to God that we get to hear it every day. And hearing believe. And believing receive.

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

Pentecost 6 Midweek Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Depart: No. Mercy: Yes!”

Text: Luke 5:1-11 (1 Peter 3:8-15)

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Peter got it exactly right. When faced with the raw, almighty power of God, He melted. In our liturgy during the summer months, we say it this way, quoting the Psalms: If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand (Ps 130:3-4 NIV)? The answer: no one. From Adam hiding after his sin (Gen 3:8), to Moses at the burning bush afraid to look at God (Ex 3:6), to Isaiah saying “Woe is me!” after seeing God in a vision (Isaiah 6:5), to Peter, this is the reality for us sinners. Think of the last time you saw a really severe thunderstorm. (You don’t have to think long because we’ve had quite a few of them this summer.) When they’re in the distance, they’re not too frightening. The rumbles are low and the flashes at a distance. But when they’re right on top of you, with blinding flashes and deafening cracks, who isn’t awestruck and a bit on edge in the presence of such raw power? That, and a hundred times worse, is the terror Peter felt and the terror we should feel as sinners being in the presence of the raw, almighty power of God.

But, you say, many today have no fear of God. Many today thumb their noses at God and care little of God. Many today even make demands of God and accuse God of doing wrong and being mean and unjust. And that is true. Because God’s raw, almighty power is still rumbling and flashing in the distance. When it is upon us, when the Last Day comes, those who are bold now won’t be so bold then. Then they will be like Adam, Moses, Isaiah, and Peter; but then it will be too late. When, as Peter wrote in his letter in the first reading, the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

But now is not that time. Jesus does not depart from Peter and does not tell Peter depart. Instead He says, Do not be afraid. God is not here to destroy but to save. God is here on a mission of mercy. Make no mistake about it - it is the same almighty God who created the world and everything in it, whose raw, almighty power is terrifying. But now He is robed in mercy. Now He is robed in human flesh. Now He is here to use that power for us, not against us. So as with Adam, Moses, and Isaiah, God comforts His frightened child; swaddles and comforts him with His Word. Do not be afraid. And as always, just as His Word stills storms and makes fish jump into nets, so His Word does what it says and calms Peter’s troubled heart. 

So while Peter was right, He was also wrong. For while yes, the words we sinners utter should be Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord! the words Jesus invites us now to utter and that we should utter are: Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. And merciful He is. That’s why He was born and took on human flesh. That’s why He was in the boat that day with Peter and the others. That’s why He then tells Peter that He is going to use him to catch men now, proclaiming this message of God’s mercy. And most of all, that’s why He ascended the cross and died. Jesus used His almighty power as God not to destroy us, but to save us. To save us from what really is threatening and trying to destroy us - namely, our sin, death, and the devil. 

But, you say, many today have no fear of these things. Many today revel in their sins, look to death as an answer, and mock the devil. And that too is true. The long, corrupting effect of sin has made us too dumb to even fear what we should. But when the frightening storm of evil rear its ugly head, when sin does rise up and punch us in the gut, when death comes upon us suddenly or in a long, drawn out struggle, when we see things like Isis and its raw evil, what then?

Do not be afraid. That word of Jesus is still our refuge. Do not be afraid of death, Jesus says, for I have defeated it in my resurrection. Do not be afraid of evil or the devil, for I have kicked down the gates of hell - they have no power over you. Do not be afraid of your sin, for I have atoned for your sins - all of them; every last one of them - on the cross, and I forgive you. Do not be afraid, for you are my child. I baptized you and feed you and am with you. And you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). The stronger One has fought for us and won.

And that is the reason for the hope that is in us. Again in his letter, Peter said to always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Here’s what that verse doesn’t mean: that you have to have all the answers to all the questions anyone will ever ask you about God! Who does? And that’s not where our hope lies, in our knowledge and knowing all the answers. No, our hope is in Jesus. Our hope lies in His mercy and forgiveness. Our hope is in the fact that God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son to be in the boat with us, to go to the cross for us, and to have mercy upon us. And that we can speak. Some will hear and some won’t, but that’s not up to us. We speak Jesus and let the Spirit do the rest. And He will. For God is merciful. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s why He’s here. That’s why we’re here. That is our hope.

And when Peter had been thus mercied, Luke tells us that when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. You may not have been called to do the same now. Maybe now you’ve been mercied to follow Jesus as you take care of your family, or be a blessing in your work, to pray for those in need, or be generous with your time. Jesus calls us to those things too. 

But the day is coming when you will leave everything and follow Him - when you will leave the things of this world behind and follow Him to Paradise; when He calls you from the grave and takes you home. Do not be afraid of that day either, child of God. For in Jesus, what is true for Him is true for you. And what is true for Him - and so for us in Him - we sang in the Psalm earlier:

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

    or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Ps 16:9-11).

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

Pentecost 6 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Crossing the Line”

Text: Mark 6:1-13 (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)

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

It was supposed to be a day that left everyone feeling good. Hugs and kisses from family. Handshakes and pats on the back from friends and former co-workers. Even admiration from those who perhaps hadn’t known Him so well before, but had now heard of all that He had been doing. He was a well-respected teacher. He was doing mighty works. Word had gotten around, and they were proud – one of their own, doing great things. And so on that Sabbath the synagogue was probably unusually crowded, packed, in fact. The whole town coming out, to listen to Jesus preach.  . . .   

But Jesus didn’t say what they expected Him to say. They were astonished, and not in a good way, at what He said. They began to say to one another, “Who does this guy think He is? Where did He get these things? Why is He speaking like this?” And so the day that began with such anticipation and promise, ended with the people mad, disappointed, and offended.

So what did Jesus say? What did He say that was so offensive? We’re not told here, but Mark tells us earlier what Jesus’ message was as He went about preaching. He said: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel. Repent, because they are sinners. They’ve done what is wrong and not done what is good and right. They’ve spoken hurtfully, and their thoughts and desires have been soiled with sin. So repent, and believe that the One spoken of by the prophets of the Old Testament, the One who would do the works of God, the One who would save them from those sins, is here. And not just “here” in a general sense, but here - sitting before them and speaking to them now. The kingdom of God is at hand for the King is at hand. Repent of yourselves and believe in Me, Jesus said.

And they were offended. 

Now, were they offended at who He claimed to be? That this man they knew as the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon claimed to be something more? Maybe. But they could have dismissed that and dismissed Him as a lunatic. But at least He would be their lunatic, especially if He did some of those mighty works for them. But what really stuck in their craw, what really offended them about Jesus, was not what He claimed about Himself, but what He claimed about them. Calling them sinners. Calling them to repentance. He could have talked about Himself all He wanted, but once He started talking about them, and accusing them - that’s offensive; that’s crossing the line!

And that’s generally the way it is today, isn’t it? Jesus, and the church, and religion are all okay with most folks. They may think we’re goofy, even crazy. And we can have a church and we can meet all we want and people won’t much care. In fact, they may even like some of the things the church does for the community in feeding and clothing the poor and other service projects. And some folks may even come and join a church for that. As long as we leave their lives alone. As long as we don’t cross the line. As long as we don’t speak against what they believe or like or think, and the latest thing society says is good and right and normal. But do that . . . and things start to get a little nasty . . .

But it’s not just “them.” It’s you too. And if Jesus were here today, He’d offend you too. ‘Cause He wouldn’t let you get away with your sins. He wouldn’t let you hear the Word of God here and then leave like nothing ever happened. He’d confront you about why your Bible isn’t cracked all week, or if you did crack it, why you can’t remember what you read 5 minutes later. He’d confront you about why you’re too ashamed of Him to speak about Him to your friends and neighbors. He’d ask why you haven’t lifted a finger to reach out to those folks who haven’t been in church for a while. Or why you do the least, not the most, you can do. He’d condemn you for the grudges you hold and your lack of forgiveness. He’d confront you with how uncaring and hurtful your words and actions are, especially to your family members. He’d ask why you continue to do what you know is wrong and then act like it doesn’t even matter. He’d ask why you continue to be more concerned about your own name and reputation than His. And that’s just for starters. Then He’d get specific . . . and name all your false gods . . . all those things you fear, love, and trust more than Him.

Because the truth is: Jesus isn’t the offensive one, you are. We’ve just become nose-blind to our own stench, and heart-hard to our own sin. And it’s we who’ve crossed the line: from God to satan, from holiness to sin, from life to death, from heaven to hell. 

Which is what makes Jesus so amazing. Every other religion or belief in this world will deny the line, move the live, or demand that you cross back over that line yourself. But Jesus is the only God to cross that line to carry us back Himself. Think of the worst, foulest smelling place you can imagine on this earth, and what Jesus did in coming to us is infinitely greater than that . . . when God became man. But cross over He did. To take all your offense, all your stench, all your sin, all your death, all your hell, upon Himself. ‘Cause when He did that, He took you upon Himself, that in His dying and rising, you might too. You were going to die anyway, but you had no chance for life. Zero. Nada. Nil. Zilch. Bupkus. So Jesus came to take you back to life. To take you back from sin and death to life. A new life, in Him, in His cross, in His forgiveness.

And so He washes you clean and robes you in with His righteousness. We call it baptism. And then He continues to wash the grime of your daily life of sin off your feet. We call that absolution. And then He feeds you with the bread of life. We call that His Body and Blood, His Supper, His communion. It’s all a foretaste of the other side of the line, which we had before satan convinced us that the grass was greener on the other side and we jumped not into a pasture but a cesspool. 

So as Jesus said: repent. Stop denying the line, moving the line, or trying to cross back over that line yourself. You can’t. Only Jesus can. So repent in your weakness and be strong in Him. That’s what St. Paul said: For when I am weak, then I am strong. Now we don’t like being weak, that’s why we don’t like telling those we’ve hurt or offended we’re sorry and ask for forgiveness. But you are never so strong than when you do; than when you give up on yourself and your pride and your strength, and rely on Jesus.

And that’s why we pray for this in the Lord’s Prayer. That was the focus in our Vacation Bible School this past week - the Lord’s Prayer and what it means. And so Jesus taught us to pray: Thy Kingdom come. What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also. How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our Heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.  . . .  Or in other words, God’s Kingdom comes when God crosses the line and come to us. The Kingdom of God is at hand in the Son sent by the Father, and the Spirit who binds us to the Son. Thy Kingdom come. Come to us here, we pray, because we cannot come to you. 

And come His Kingdom does. What happened in that synagogue in Nazareth that day is what takes place here every Sunday, wherever we speak the Word of God to each other, and whenever we forgive one another. The Kingdom of God comes to us in His Word of life.

And that’s why this weekend, while our nation is celebrating Independence Day, we’ll watch our fireworks and sing patriotic songs, but not in here. The Kingdom in here is different. We give thanks for our nation, yes, and all the blessings God has so graciously bestowed upon it. But God doesn’t care about nations. Those are divisions we have made. He uses nations and works and blesses through them, but the only anthem that is sung in heaven isn’t a national one, but a heavenly one. And we’ll sing that one again here today, that greater one, as the Kingdom of God crosses the line and comes to us. Holy, holy, holy, we’ll sing with the angels. For we are now, and will be in the end, not one nation under God, but one people in Christ Jesus, in His Kingdom. So sing it loud, even if our nation and world don’t want to hear that anthem, and proclaim that the Holy One is here. Here with His gifts of forgiveness and life. Here for you and me and all people, until we go home, in Him. Until He crosses us over, to a joyous homecoming in heaven. 

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

Pentecost 5 Sermon

We were privileged to have one of our seminarians George Fields proclaim the Word of God to us this week before he leaves for his vicarage in Jackson, MS. AUDIO of sermon.

Pentecost 4 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Always Someplace to Go”

Text: Mark 4:35-41 (Job 38:1-11; 2 Cor 6:1-13)

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

When you’re on a boat out in the middle of the sea, there’s no place to go if something goes wrong. Think of all the cruise ship horror stories that have been in the news the past couple of years. When there’s a fire on board, there’s no place to go to get away from it. If the engines die or there’s a power failure, you can’t just call the repairman. When sickness starts to spread and overtake the ship, there’s no place to avoid it. All around you is just water, maybe for as far as the eye can see, dividing you from land, separating you from others, and threatening to swallow you up.

On land, it’s different. There’s usually someplace you can go if something goes wrong. If a tornado threatens, the folks in tornado alley have shelters they can take refuge in and be protected. If a hurricane nears the coast, or flooding threatens, you can evacuate inland and get away from the worst of it. Or if there’s fire or power problems, there are people you can call for help and who are ready to come quickly. But when you’re out on the water, there’s no place to go. When you’re out on the water and all you can see is water on all four sides, then what?

Well then you are exactly where Jesus wants you. That when you have no place to go, you go to Him.

And so we heard in the Holy Gospel today of the disciples in a boat, out on the Sea of Galilee. Some of them, at least, were experienced fishermen; experienced on being out on the water and how to handle it. But the storm that arose that day was a doozy! Even more than they could handle. We’re not told everything that happened and the exact sequence of things, but undoubtedly they tried their best to handle the situation, doing what they had always done when storms arose, and what they knew needed to be done. But still they found themselves in danger, against a storm - or maybe it was a superstorm, like what devastated New Jersey and New York a couple years ago. And it was too much for them. There was nothing they could do and they had no place to go.

So finally they go to Jesus. Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? they ask. It’s a plea for help disguised under an accusation. And so it’s a plea for help without having to humble themselves or admit their weakness.‘Cause we don’t like to humble ourselves or admit we need help or cannot do something. That’s why if you ask a child to help you move something, they will always try to carry the biggest thing. Or why men (usually men) in pre-GPS days would rather drive around lost for half an hour before stopping and asking directions. It’s a pride thing; a self-sufficieny thing; an “I can do it” thing. Which in worldly matters, maybe yes, maybe no. But in spiritual matters, a definite no. And in spiritual matters, a deadly thing.

And so a spiritual stubbornness in us that needs to be killed. So that we have no place to go but to Jesus. 

And you don’t have to be on a boat - God did it to Job. Job truly had no place to go. All his possessions got wiped out. All his children were killed. His wife turned against him, and his friends were no help. For they got together with Job and their attitude was: Okay, let’s figure this out. Let’s get a handle on it, get our minds around it, and fix it. But they couldn’t. Every attempt failed. I’ve been there. You?

So finally the disciples go to Jesus, who is the anti-disciple. They are in a tizzy, He is sleeping. They are worried, He is calm. So they wake Him up, and you can just imagine the scene . . . Jesus looks at them, shakes His head a little, and calls to the wind and the sea: Okay, that’s enough. Thank you. Be still. And then He asks those disciples: Have you still no faith?

Oh, they had faith, they did - just in the wrong place. They had faith in themselves. They needed to learn there’s a better place to put your faith. The only place, really. A better One to rely on instead of yourself. The only One, really. The One who even the wind and sea obey. The storm humbled them, and Jesus strengthened them. 

For the very reason Jesus was in the boat with them was that He cared that we were perishing. His very presence was the answer to their question, Don’t you care? But I don’t mean the fact that He was in the boat instead of somewhere on shore - I mean the fact that the very Son of God had become flesh and was dwelling with us, living with us, in our sin and weakness and stubbornness and sinfulness; in our peril and danger. His presence in our world proved that He cared, and that He would do everything necessary to save us who are perishing . . . even be swallowed up for us, by death.

Don’t you care that we are perishing? What a question! Jesus does nothing but care. His teaching, His miracles, His compassion, and His rebuking, His discipline, and the troubles and crosses He sends - all are because He cares. To kill our pride so that we repent. To humble us so He may lift us up. To expose how foolish our pride and our ideas of self-sufficiency so that we rely on Him. That when we have no place to go (and when it is God who maybe puts us there), we know we always have someplace to go - to Him. For He is the One who is able to help, who wants to help, who will help, and has come to help. For who is this? the disciples asked. The very Son of God, in human flesh, to save you.

For it’s easy to go cruising through this life (yes, pun intended!) when the waters are calm and the livin’ is easy. It’s when trouble hits that faith is revealed . . . and who your faith is in. And that’s true for you as an individual Christian, or when we’re all together in the boat, as the Church. So when the troubles come, when the storms hit, and they show your weakness or that you’ve been going along really with faith in yourself, thanks be to God! That we turn to Him now and rely on Him now. 

Or as St. Paul put it: Folks, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. And so we humble ourselves now and repent of our sin now, and receive His forgiveness and life now. We remember our baptism now, and know that those waters aren’t meant to make us good swimmers, but to kill the old sinner in us and give us a new life. We hear the Word of God proclaimed now, calling us to faith in Him and not in ourselves. And we feed now on the food our Lord gives us, His answer for all time to the question: Don’t you care that we are perishing? He replies: This is My Body, This is My Blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins - that’s how much I care. Give and shed for your wrong faith, for your pride, for your vain self-sufficiency. This is My Body, This is My Blood, given and shed for you because I do care. So, now, depart in peace.

Peace. The same Word spoken to the wind and the sea, now spoken to you and your heart. Whatever troubles you, whatever is frightening you, whatever is threatening you, whatever is haunting you, whatever worries you, your past, your present, or your future . . . peace. You have the One who is greater than all. Or perhaps better to say, He has you. He has you in His hands, in His eye, in His heart. 

Is sin the problem? Jesus died for your sin on the cross. It has been paid for, atoned for. You are forgiven. Peace.

Is death the problem? Jesus died your death and then broke it’s power in His resurrection. It cannot hold you anymore. When you die your life will continue, new, in Jesus. You will rise with Him. Peace.

Or is life the problem? ‘Cause no matter how hard you try, you just can’t do it? You keep falling into the same traps and temptations? You keep messing up and failing and kicking yourself? Peace. 

It’s not up to you. Jesus has done it. All that is necessary for you and your salvation. And He’s in the boat with you. Though ascended into heaven, He has not left, but is here, as He promised. And He sent His Spirit, as He promised. And He is coming again, as He promised. Because He does care. Always. And He’s not stopping. Ever.

Sometimes it takes a storm to teach us that again, and to expose us again. If so, how fortunate we are to have a God who sends us not just nice weather, but those storms that we need. And who even more, is with us Himself in them. To see us through. To give us peace. To save. That we never have no place to go, but at all times and in all places go to Him who came to us and is working all things for your good.

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

Pentecost 3 Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Seeds of the Kingdom”

Text: Mark 4:26-34; 2 Cor. 5:1-10; Ezekiel 17:22-24

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

I don’t think it a stretch to say that every one of us here today knows someone who does not believe that we wish would believe. A friend, a neighbor, a family member . . .  We want them to know their Saviour. We want them to know how much Jesus loves them and that He died for them. We want them to know and have the assurance with us, as St. Paul said today, that if [or more probably when] the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. We want them to be part of the family of faith, part of the Church, with us. 

And it’s frustrating and sad when they’re not. If it were up to us, they would be. At least, that’s how we imagine it. We’d tell them about Jesus, they would rejoice in this message, and believe - right then and there, on the spot. Maybe sometimes that happens; but more often not. More often our words about Jesus and the Church are met with indifference, ridicule, hostility, or that we have some sort of mental defect for believing such a preposterous tale. That has been the opinion of some about Christians from the days of the twelve all the way down our day today. So maybe it is more accurate to say that if it were up to us, no one would believe! Or at least, far fewer. 

But the good news we heard today is that it is not up to us. The Church is God’s and only He makes it grow. Only He can. Which is to say that it is a miracle. The Church is the creation of God, the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not scientific, not something we can control. That may be frustrating at times, but it is better. For what God does is always better than what we do. And His ways always better than ours. 

Now that’s not an obvious statement to make, for as has been reported much in the news recently, and as it’s not hard to see, the Church seems to have been in decline for a while. There are less people in the pews every Sunday, less identifying themselves as Christians, and less believing and living by God’s Word. It seems as if God and His ways aren’t working . . . or aren’t working very well anymore.

But Jesus tells us today how it is. That the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.

Think about that for a moment. How seeds grow. When I plant seeds, sometimes they grow and sometimes not. Sometimes they take a long time to come up and sometimes they come up fast. And sometimes in my zeal to help things along I actually mess everything up and kill the very seeds and plants I was trying to make grow. Truth is, they don’t need my help. Like the 50,000 little maple trees growing all over my yard this year because for some reason there was a bumper crop of those little helicopters descending from the trees this year! I didn’t plant them; in fact, I couldn’t stop them! Or to use Jesus’ words, I just slept and rose, night and day, and the seeds did the rest.

And so the Church scatters seed. The Church - and when I say the Church I mean pastors and people, in the church building and outside of here - the Church proclaims the Word of God. Ideally like all those little helicopters coming down, all over the place. And then we live by faith and not by sight. That just as God causes seeds to grow in nature, so He will cause the seed of His Word to grow in the hearts of those who hear. That you and I are here today are proof that He does. You’re not here because you got it all figured out, that you broke the code, that you somehow worked faith up in your heart - no. You’re here because the seed of God’s Word was planted in your heart and it grew through the power and work of the Holy Spirit. For some maybe it was quick, for others maybe it took a long time. We don’t know what is happening under the ground when seeds are planted; or how the Word is working in hearts that we cannot see. But we trust that it is, for Jesus said that it is. And that He is producing a harvest. A harvest that in the end, we just may be surprised by.

The other thing we cannot judge by is the size of the seed. That’s the second parable Jesus told today - that the kingdom of God . . . is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. 

Big seeds do not always produce big plants and little seeds do not always produce little plants. And so maybe it looks like the word that the pastor speaks, the sermons and such, are big seeds, impressive seeds, that would grow the biggest plants and produce the most fruit. And maybe the Word that you speak seems little and unimpressive. But don’t judge by that. You just might be surprised at what God is able to do, what God is able to grow, through the little seeds that you sow, through the Word that you speak, to friends and family and neighbors. Maybe you can’t see it right now; maybe all the growth right now is underground. But the Word of God is working; the Spirit of God is working; the kingdom of God is growing. 

My parents didn’t think they were doing anything special in our family, but God grew two pastors from the Word that they planted. I remember a few years ago speaking with a now sainted man who was struggling with some theology and whether he could join our congregation. I spent many hours with him, but it was one of you who spoke to him and through whom God worked the growth. As we heard from the prophet Ezekiel: I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

Maybe it’s not as fast as we want, maybe not the way we want, but the Word of God is working; the Spirit of God is working; the kingdom of God is growing. The Church scatters the seed, proclaims the Word, but the growth and the harvest belong to the Lord.

And His methods are not the same as ours. We may not even agree with them. Consider what He said through Ezekiel: I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. That’s probably the exact opposite of what we would do. Yet God knows what is necessary to grow His kingdom. When we’re high and full of ourselves, He might bring us low; and then the low and weak and meek grow high and strong. And maybe He’ll dry us up to give us life; to kill whatever in us is hindering the growth of His Word. That we have strong, deep roots not here in this world and life, but in Him and His life. To grow up in Him to eternal life.

And God is doing it. Through all times and ages, movements and philosophies and the attacks of false religions, though satan never rests, the Word of God is working; the Spirit of God is working; the kingdom of God is growing. 

For, in fact, God has done it. He planted a seed even smaller than a mustard seed - the seed that caused His Son to become man in the womb of Mary. Nobody but a handful of people even noticed - or cared. Then His birth in Bethlehem - just another boy born into the world among how many that day? He grew up - we don’t even know much about that; no one took much notice and so didn’t write anything down. And then even when He was crucified -just one of thousands executed by the Romans that brutal way. But unlike every other one in this way: that was no mere man on that one cross, but God’s Son. And He was not crucified for His own wrongs, but for yours. And He was not crucified against His will, but He laid down His life there for you, in your place. And then He was planted into the ground . . . and then the Word of God made flesh was raised by the Spirit of God and the kingdom of God grew. A plant so large that it has filled the earth. Believers, Christians, on every continent find rest in Him. And so the dry, dead tree of the cross God has made the lush green tree - the tree of life for all the world. 

You’ll hear that truth spoken in our liturgy in just a few moments - just before we receive the fruits of His cross, His tree of life, the Body and Blood of Jesus that hung there, and then sprung from the ground. He spoke it, and He has done it. 

For God always does what He speaks. His Spirit works through the Word that is proclaimed and scattered throughout the world. Those baptized by water and His Word really are made His sons and daughters - even if they reject that gift later and walk away from their Father and their Church family. His Word of absolution really does give the forgiveness it proclaims. And that’s really His Body and Blood that His Word makes so on the altar, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins, to feed you the life that you need. The Word of God is working; the Spirit of God is working; the kingdom of God is growing.

And so those friends, neighbors, family members . . . be patient. Don’t doubt, and don’t worry. Keep sowing the seed, speaking the Word. That Word. About Jesus. About what He has done. The cross. For you. For all. For them. Not because we’re good, but because we’re not. Not to make you good, but to you His child. Not to put you to work, but to give you rest, in His tree, in His kingdom. And maybe one day you’ll wake up and see a whole lot of little trees growing all over your yard! 

And know that His Word is working in you too. Growing repentance, growing faith, growing His children. The Word of God is working; the Spirit of God is working. And rejoice that He is - not as you see, but as He has promised. 

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

Pentecost 2 Midweek Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Mercy, Not Sacrifice”

Text: Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13

Go and learn what this means . . .

Jesus saying that to the Pharisees was like waving a red cape in front of an angry bull. Go and learn! That’s exactly what the Pharisees had done and committed their lives to. Learning. Learning the Word of God and Law of God and doing it better than most. Go and learn. That was a pretty insulting thing for Jesus to say and made their blood boil.

Especially because of where He said it! Reclining at table, eating and drinking and celebrating with tax collectors and various other kinds of sinners. Go and learn, the Pharisees probably thought, is what He should be saying to those people who either didn’t know the Word and Law of God, or they knew it and weren’t doing it. And in fact, go and learn is what Jesus Himself should be doing, they probably thought, too. You go and learn, Jesus, how unclean those people are. You go and learn, Jesus, that yucking it up with them is no place for a respectable Jew to be. You go and learn, Jesus, what it means to be a “man of God” Jesus!

But Jesus was doing this, He said, because those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. And to that the Pharisees would have heartily agreed. Yes, those people are sick - sick with sin, and yes, they do need a physician to heal them of that sickness. So tell them to go to the Temple where the physicians are. Tell them to go make the sacrifices. Tell them Jesus, these raging bulls snorted, to get up, shape up, and clean up, and stop their carousing.

But here’s the thing the Pharisees didn’t realize: the Physician was making a house call. The Pharisees wanted those tax collectors and sinners to go to God in the Temple; but God had come to them in His Temple of flesh and bone. The Physician was going into the homes of all people to give them the medicine they needed: the mercy and forgiveness of God. He went to the tax booth where Matthew was sitting. He was in that house filled with tax collectors and sinners. He went into Samaria to meet the people there. He went to Tyre and Sidon, He went to Jews and Gentiles, He even went into Pharisees houses - because He wanted to give all people the mercy and forgiveness of God. 

And when He did, and wherever He did, there was great joy and rejoicing. The same joy you feel when the pain you’ve been suffering with for a long time is suddenly gone. When your fever breaks and you feel better. At such times, you’re like a new person. And that’s what Matthew and his friends were: new people. Like they had been born again . . . which, in fact, they had. Through the forgiveness of the Great Physician, who had come to them and mercied them.

This is what the Pharisees needed to learn, and perhaps what their great learning had actually made them blind to. That God is a God of mercy. And so Jesus quotes from the Old Testament prophet Hosea: Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. Sacrifice was necessary, but never what God really wanted. He wanted mercy. To be a God of mercy and for His people to be a people of mercy with His mercy. 

For when it came to sacrifice, all those sacrifices weren’t really what it was all about. All those sacrifices were simply faith-pointers to the real sacrifice that not man, but God was going to do. That Jesus had come to do. He came to take care of the sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood on the cross, so that we could be all about mercy. Or as Paul told the Romans: He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. 

Now when the Pharisees saw that mercy in action, they didn’t like it. They wanted the tax collectors and sinners to earn their place because that’s what they thought they had done. Sometimes we make that mistake too, thinking some people more worthy, more deserving of God’s mercy than others because of what they have done. But that’s not the way it is. Mercy is never deserved, only given. Mercy comes from the heart of the giver. And with Jesus’ great mercy, we see the heart of God for us. That He would lay down His life for us. For us who may not be tax collectors, but who certainly are sinners. But like Matthew and his friends, Jesus has mercied us, made us new, and gave us a new life. That receiving such mercy we might give that same mercy to others.

Go and learn what this means . . .

It’s not an easy lesson to learn! To learn to see ourselves as sinners. To realize that we deserve nothing from God. To confess that all that we have is an undeserved gift from Him and that we are totally dependent upon Him. That rubs us the wrong way. We want there to be something, anything in us that sets us apart from others, that would make God sit up and take notice of us. But if there is, in Abraham, in Paul, in Matthew, or in us, it is only this: that we are more needy than others. More lowly, more desperate, more sinful. And then to learn this good news too: that God regards the lowly, has compassion on the desperate, and dwells with sinners. Coming to the likes of us in mercy, to die for us and then raise us with Himself to a new and everlasting life.

But once that lesson starts to sink in - and I say starts because our sinful nature keeps trying to get us to think the other way! - then we become like Matthew and his friends. Joyful! Joyful in the forgiveness, mercy, and life we have so graciously received. And then givers of that same mercy and joy to others. 

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