Pentecost 12 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“For the Life of the World”

Text: Matthew 16:13-20 (Romans 11:33-12:8)

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

What’s in a name?

Well, apparently, a lot these days. If you have the wrong name. School districts, counties, and states are willing to spend millions of dollars to change the names of schools, buildings, roads, and holidays which bear a name now deemed unworthy of such an honor. Those names were good, apparently, at one point. But no longer. And so they must go. Along with statues and anything else associated with them.

Perhaps some of that is good. Perhaps some is overdone. You could argue whether the expenditure of such money is good stewardship, or if that money could be better spent elsewhere and in other ways. But it does point out the reality that your good name today may not be a good name tomorrow. 

Which is a good warning for those who are trying to make a name for themselves in this world and life. A name that might make them famous now and then live on after they die. To be their legacy. Well, be careful. Your memory may not be what you think. Sometimes the bad is forgotten and the good lives on. But sometimes, too, it is the other way around.

Who do you say that I am?

Jesus asks that question today. But His concern is different than what’s going on today. For it is not for Himself that Jesus is concerned that His name live on, but for you. For there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). So this confession is not just so that Jesus’ name will live on after He dies, but so that YOU will live after YOU die. So there’s a lot riding on His name.

And Simon replies on behalf of all: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

Now, three weeks ago, we heard the story of when Jesus fed over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. A pretty great miracle. Two weeks ago, we heard of Jesus and Simon walking on the water, on the Sea of Galilee. Again, pretty great stuff. And last week, Jesus answered the prayer of a Canaanite mother and freed her daughter from demon oppression. Powerful stuff. But this today, these words of Simon today, are a greater miracle than those. For here is not a weak heart made strong, or an empty heart filled, or a struggling heart strengthened, but a stoney, hard-as-granite heart, a heart born rebellious and against God, turned into a confessing and believing heart. A miracle that happens here, too. In you. 

And this is a greater miracle also because its result is greater. Jesus showers blessings and miracles on all in this world and life - He continues to feed, and care, and protect, and give life. But this miracle of confessing Jesus is not just for this life, for a while, but for a life that will not end. A life that will last forever. 

So Simon’s confession here isn’t something he came up with on his own, after weighing the evidence, after careful study and reasoning - it was a miracle; the work of God in him. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! Jesus says. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, - especially his own flesh and blood! - but my Father who is in heaven. Perhaps Jesus is referring to the voice of the Father that spoke from heaven at Jesus’ baptism: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Or maybe the Father working through His Word and Spirit in Simon’s heart. But however it was given, this confession was given to Simon, as it was given to you. 

And everything rests on this confession; on Jesus’ name. How surprised Simon must have been at Jesus’ next words - not the ones commending him (for he really didn’t do anything!), but expressing how powerful this name of Jesus is! That on this confession (not on miracles!) will the church be built, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So what’s in a name? A lot! When it’s Jesus’ name!

Which is why it is so concerning when the name of Jesus is taken away today, or stripped of its power. When it is said that Jesus is not the only name that saves. When churches that used to be named after our Lord or those who confessed Him are now given trendy names instead, like The Journey. Or when His name is more often used in shock and pain than in confession. I often point this out to my catechumens - that you never hear the names of other gods used this way. No one ever hits their thumb with a hammer and then cries out “Oh Buddha!” or “Oh Allah!” Only Jesus Christ. Why is that? It’s the only name satan cares about. The only name that saves. And so the only name he wants to rob of it’s special character and power.

A similar problem is when the name of Jesus is kept, but His Son of God-ness is taken away. Like in these iconoclastic days, when you can have Jesus as long as He is the right kind of Jesus - as long as He is depicted as the right color, or nationality, or He teaches what I want Him to teach, or agrees with my way of thinking, or isn’t too exclusive. And this is not just a problem for “them, out there,” you know, the unbelievers. How easy it is for us, too, to ignore those parts of Scripture we don’t like. To hold onto our sins, to continue in them and not confess them and stop them. To make Jesus into how WE want Him to be. Satan is the master of a million tricks and will use them all on you. Count on it.

So that you’re here today, confessing with Simon today, really is a miracle. Not something that you can take credit for, but the work of God in you, too. Jesus building His Church.

Which He does through the Office of the Keys. That’s what Jesus said to Simon, playing with Simon’s new name, Peter. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And then Jesus tells him how: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

So Simon the Peter, along with the others who confess Jesus the Christ, will, by this petering, by this confessing, bind and loose. And just as their petering, the confessing of the apostles, was not something they did, but a miracle, the work of God in them, so too will be the petering, the confessing, of others be not because of them, but the work of God through His Word which the apostles will speak. As they speak the Law of God, binding and uncovering and exposing sin and unbelief. And as they speak the Gospel, as they speak Jesus, loosing and forgiving that sin. The disease is diagnosed, the medicine is applied, and peters, confessors, are created.

Which is what happened to you. To you the Christ was petered, confessed, and now from you the Christ is petered, confessed. Or maybe we could say re-peted! You speak what was spoken to you. Give what has been given to you. And as Jesus has been spoken to you, poured out on you, and fed to you, He has worked in your heart, that you believe and confess His name. And with that name, not even the gates of hell hold any fear for you. For with that name, your name is written in the book of life.

Now at the end of the reading today, Jesus tells the twelve not to tell anyone that He is the Christ. Not yet, anyway. They haven’t yet been sent to do so. And Jesus is still on His way to the cross. For it is there that He needs to be seen as the Christ - not in His miracles. Not in the Feeding of the 5,000, not in walking on the water, not in expelling demons, nor in any other miracle - but on the cross. Miracles are great, but they cannot save. Only the one on the cross can do that. Only the one who dies and rises can do that. Only the one who says “Father, forgive them” can do that. And so Jesus will. He will be the Christ, there. And we are peters when we see and confess Him there. And then we have a name that will live forever, for we have His name, given to us.

And that name we then peter, confess, not only with our lips, but with our lives. Living sacrifices, is how Paul put it. Not just speaking, but living, our confession. Living in forgiveness by forgiving others. Living as if we really believe that death cannot end our life. Living in the confidence that the gates of hell hold no power over us. Living in the knowledge that the name we bear is greater than anything this world can give us. And living in the freedom that all that brings. That come what may, while you and your name may be nothing in the eyes of the world, you are precious in the sight of God. 

And that’s all in the name you bear and confess.

So what’s in a name? Well, everything! When that name is Jesus. 

So as you petered Him in the Creed, and as you peter Him in your lives, so now peter Him as you come to His table. For as the apostle Paul told us, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). His death for you. His death for the world. That His Name live on for the life of the world.

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

Pentecost 11 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Lord! Save! (And He Does!) - Part 2”

Text: Matthew 15:21-28

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

Lord, save! That was the cry of Peter last week. And that is really the cry of the Canaanite woman we hear about this week as well, though she does not use those exact words. But that’s what she’s asking. Lord, save! My daughter. Who is severely oppressed by a demon.

Two weeks, two cries, the same cry, really. But a difference, too. Last week, the one who cried out had a little faith where we could have expected a great faith. And this week, the one who cries out has a great faith where we could have expected a little faith. How often things get topsy-turvy when Jesus is around. He hangs out with sinners, not religious leaders. He praises those who repent, not those who think they’re good. And it is a disciple - and one of His inner circle! - who has a little faith, while a Canaanite woman has great faith. 

If you ever think you have Jesus all figured out . . . better think again.

So, I was thinking . . . what if this woman and her daughter had been in the boat with the disciples last week? Last week, Peter jumped out. This week, it’s more like the daughter had gotten thrown out of the boat, or was pushed by the unseen hand, the unseen spirit, that was oppressing her. In either case, her mother cries out as Peter did: Lord, save! My daughter is sinking!

The first response is, well, no response. Nothing. Nada. Jesus may not have even looked at her. 

That’s frustrating, right? Not to be heard. It’s the cause of so much unrest in our country today. People feel they are not being heard. And so they are rising up in anger. Making their voice be heard in rioting and rebellion. We won’t be ignored. And this woman could have done the same. Hey! Don’t ignore me! You a chauvinist or something? I have a right to be heard! 

Uh, no. No you don’t. Not before God. In a country with a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, maybe so. But before God we have no such right. We forfeited that when we decided sin was the way we wanted to live. That without God and His Word was the way we wanted to live. A choice you and I continue to make today when we sin. So if God hears you, it’s not because you have a right to be heard. It’s because of His grace and mercy.

Which this woman knows. In that culture, at that time, as a woman and a Gentile among Jews, she was probably used to being ignored. So she’s not offended or indignant. But she also doesn’t give up . . .

Lord, save! My daughter is sinking!

She gets a response this time. But not from Jesus - from His disciples. Lord, send her away, for she is crying out after us. That always sounded to me like the disciples just wanted to be rid of her. But Luther didn’t interpret it that way, and Jesus’ answer doesn’t make sense if that is the case. For in response to the disciples, Jesus says: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Like, I would help, but . . . 

So Luther interpreted this as the disciples interceding for her. For often times, when Jesus would send someone away, it was because He granted their request. So here, it would seem, are the disciples trying to help. For Jesus said, after all, ask, and it will be given to you. And, wherever two or three are gathered in my name . . . 

Ah yes, those promises are true enough, Jesus seems to be saying. But only for Israel, not for her. 

But still she doesn’t give up. She is like a child. For children are persistent. They keep asking until they get what they want. Please? No. Please? No. Please? No. Please? No. Please? And what parent hasn’t heard why? why? why? why? why? It’s when children begin to get older, and when we become adults, that we change. We figure out ways to manipulate, to get around, to undermine, to bargain, to rationalize, to argue. And we do that with God sometimes, don’t we? But this woman’s like a child. She doesn’t do any of that. She just cries out again: Lord, save! My daughter is sinking!

And isn’t that what Jesus tells us to do? To be like little children . . .

But then, Jesus says, It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. That is an offensive remark for many. How could Jesus say such a thing! But again, the Canaanite woman is not offended. In fact, she agrees. She could have objected, stomped her foot in outrage, and said: Hey! Canaanite lives matter! But she doesn’t. Instead she says yes. And, if I may say, happily so! For yes, she’ll be a dog - she’ll be a dog if she can be HIS dog. She did not belong to Israel. Yes, True. Indeed. You are right, she says. I’ll be a dog. Your dog. So I can have the crumbs. Because a crumb from Jesus is worth more than all the feasting of the world. Whatever she gets will be completely undeserved. All grace. And she’ll gladly take that.

For that’s the way of it with faith. 

Faith doesn’t make demands of God. When we do, that’s not faith talking, but something else in us . . .

Faith doesn’t think it has rights. When we think we do, that God owes us something, that’s not faith talking . . .

Faith doesn’t get indignant or offended with God, as if He were somehow belittling us. If we think He is, that we’re not getting the recognition or the rewards we deserve, that’s not faith talking . . .

That is the way and the language and the thinking of the world. We have rights. We have dignity. We deserve certain things and certain treatment. And we hear that so much, we’re so bombarded with that message . . . and maybe that’s true when it comes to the world. But not with God. To think that way with God is to think that life is something that is ours, that we have, in and of ourselves, and then we add can God to it . . . if we want; if and when we think He can somehow add to it and make it better. But if He gets in the way, or doesn’t do according to what we think . . . well, then God’s in the wrong.

But that’s topsy-turvy thinking. There isn’t your life and then God. There isn’t your life and then you can invite God into it . . . or not. There isn’t a life that belongs to you apart from God. There’s God and then your life. He’s the reality. He’s the source. He’s the sustainer. For those who realize it and acknowledge it, and for those who do not. All that you are, all that you have, all that you can hope for, is from Him.

So it takes a Canaanite woman, this very unlikely place of great faith, to be our teacher. To teach us of faith and the language of faith. That faith isn’t proud, but humble. That faith doesn’t make demands, that faith doesn’t insist on its rights, that faith doesn’t accuse God - faith simply says: yes, Lord.

Yes, Lord, I am a dog. Yes, Lord, I am a sinner. Yes, Lord, I deserve nothing.

But faith doesn’t stop there. Not a child-like faith. Faith keeps going. Not demanding on the basis of who we are, but asking and insisting on the basis of who God is, and what He has told us in His Word.

That yes, Lord, I am a dog, a sinner, and deserve nothing. But yes, Lord, You came for people like me. You came to have mercy. You came to save. Because of who You are. Because You are love. Because You give. Because You desire all to live in You. So I’m askin’! Just for the crumbs, which I don’t even deserve. But a crumb from you is worth more than everything in the world, all the recognition of the world, all the riches in the world. Just a crumb of mercy . . . Lord, save!

And then it is Jesus’ turn to say yes. And to give much more than crumbs. Because Jesus gives Himself. All of Himself, for you. For when you come to the altar to receive His Body and Blood, what is this but a crumb compared to the food we feast on each and every day? And yet here is food that is worth more than all that. Far more. For receiving a crumb, you receive all of Jesus, the Bread of Life. Here you receive His life, His death, His cross, His forgiveness, His resurrection, His salvation, His kingdom, His Sonship. All that He is and has done for you is here for you . . . in these crumbs that are far more than crumbs.

Now, are you worthy to receive such a gift? No. And yes. No, if you base your worth in you - who you are and what you have done. But yes if you come as an undeserving sinner-dog who says Lord, have mercy. Lord, save! For then great is your faith, that says yes to our Lord and His Word and His promises.

Sometimes, though, our problem isn’t what God gives or how God gives but when God gives. Last week, with Peter, Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed Peter after the first peep out of his mouth. But today, Jesus doesn’t. He waits. He treats Peter and this woman differently. Why? Jesus’ chauvinism rearing its ugly head, again? No. But because they are different. Jesus doesn’t deal with everyone the same. We sometimes think He should, that what He does for one He should do for all; that He should be equal and fair. But once again, that’s not faith talking . . .

Because love doesn’t treat everyone the same. Love regards each person and their needs uniquely. Parents love all their children the same but do not treat them the same. Because they’re different. They have different needs, respond in different ways. And parents know that. Children think that’s not fair, just as we sometimes think God’s not being fair. But parents know - God knows - that’s love. 

And faith responds: yes, Lord. Faith that is confident in Jesus and His love. His love shown by His coming for us. His love shown by His dying for us.

And then such faith, receiving from Jesus, enlivened by Jesus, fed by Jesus, confident in Jesus, does the same for others. What we have passively received we actively give. Love, mercy, forgiveness. To the dogs and those who treat us as dogs. To the sinners and those who sin against us. To the undeserving - not just those who can repay us. For that is the way of it with Jesus, who lives in you and you in Him. 

O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.

This woman wasn’t great, she was nothing. We know nothing about her before this; we know nothing about her after this. But we know this: her Jesus is great. And that’s what makes faith great - not it’s strength, but the strength of the one it’s in. When you are weak, He is strong. And when He is strong, your faith is great. And it will be done for you as you desire. Not what your old, sinful, worldly, greedy, selfish heart desires, but what your new, clean, baptized heart desires: Jesus. And He will be given to you: His life. And hope. And confidence. Which is a right-side-up life, in a topsy-turvy world. 

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

Pentecost 10 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Lord! Save! (And He Does!)”

Text: Matthew 14:22-33

(Job 38:4-18; Romans 10:5-17)

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

Lord, save me!

That is the cry of faith. Little faith, big faith, all faith. Faith that looks to the Lord for all that is needed. In good times, bad times, all times. 

And it is exactly what the Lord has come to do. These are exactly the right words to exactly the right man. The God man. The God in the flesh man. 

If your faith isn’t crying that out, the Lord will seek to make it so. First, by coming to you. And second, giving you a reason to cry out to Him. That your faith be in the right place. In Him, and no where and no one, else.

Is that mean? To afflict you that you will cry out to Him? No. It is saving. And so it is most loving. Though it may not seem so at the time. Though it surely didn’t seem so to Peter, who was deeply afraid, terrified, as he was sinking like a stone. But the fear is not from God. The fear is from us and our sin which distrusts God. The situation may be from God, but not to cause fear, but faith. That He might work good. That we rely on Him. That we trust in Him. 

Did the disciples need this? Apparently so. Just before this, Jesus fed the 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish. When He asked, the disciples hadn’t turned to Him in faith - they said to send the crowds away because we don’t have enough. Jesus didn’t have enough. Really?

So now a faith building exercise. Orchestrated by Jesus. He purposefully sends the disciples out by themselves while He stays behind. It was tough going, but they were doing alright. They had made significant progress. They were a long way from land, Matthew tells us. They probably would have made it to the other side. But Jesus doesn’t wait for them to do so, He causes trouble for them - He walks out to them on the water. It wasn’t just because He missed the boat! He frightens His disciples - so they will call to Him in faith. Lord, save!

Is that mean? To afflict them so? No. It is to teach. To strengthen. To expose their weakness and demonstrate His strength.

Perhaps all this Covid stuff has done the same for us. Exposed our weakness. We who thought we were so strong. We who can put a man on the moon. We can solve any problem. And then a tiny little germ comes along and proves us weak. Throws the world into a tizzy. Shuts down the economy. We were doing fine. Making headway against all the storms of this world and life. And then we weren’t. And did we cry out Lord, save?! Or did we cry out, why God? If it’s you, God, why did this happen? Maybe both.

Truth is, you think you are able, strong, wise. You prove it by how you live your life and how you try to accomplish so much apart from God. Even in the church. By how often you rely on your own wisdom and strength, rather than in prayer and the Word. When you think God really should be doing this or that, solving this problem or that, giving us this or that, instead of what He is doing. 

Until your weakness is exposed. Until the Lord disrupts things. The disciples may have been able to get to the other side of the lake, but Jesus wants more for them than just that. And for you. 

So Jesus frightens His disciples. Walks to them on the water. That He may speak His Word to them. When they saw Him, they were troubled. He says, Take heart. They thought it was a ghost. He says: It is I, not a ghost. They were frightened. He says, stop being afraid. He does nothing but speak. But that is enough. 

Or it should be. 

But apparently not for Peter. Lord, IF it is you . . . Someone else had spoken similar words before, to challenge Jesus. In the wilderness. IF you are the Son of God (Matthew 4) . . . show it! Command these stones to become bread. Throw yourself off the Temple. Jesus refused satan. But He does not refuse His child. For He was there to defeat satan, but to save His child Peter. So He speaks again. Another word: COME! One word only. But that is enough. For it is a word that is at the same time both command AND promise. Promise that Peter would be able to do so. Or maybe better, that He could enable Peter to do so.

And God’s Word does what it says. For God’s Word always does what it says. Until it doesn’t . . . ?

For Peter begins to sink. All is lost, right?

No. It is for Peter to no longer say, Lord, IF it is you, but Lord, save! You are the one who commanded me! You are the one who gave me your Word! Lord! Save!

If he hadn’t sunk, what would have been the result of his stroll upon the water? Would Peter have been puffed up in himself? Proud of himself? Maybe. We’ll never know. But we know how it is with us. How easily we tend to pride in ourselves and what we are able to do. Think ourselves strong and able. We need our weakness exposed. 

It doesn’t say exactly what brought Peter to his realization of the storm, what caused this change in him, but if Jesus orchestrated this whole thing, sending His disciples out alone, walking to them on the water, then its not a stretch to think that this was part of it, too. In a previous incident, Jesus calmed the wind and waves with just His Word. Maybe He whipped them up a bit here; caused a little extra wind and waves for Peter’s sake - for they’re nothing to Jesus. Remember, Peter?

Well, no. He doesn’t. He is sinking! Like a rock. How appropriate. That’s what his name means, after all! The name Jesus gave him! Now, he has only one thing on his mind . . . 

Lord, save me!

Is that mean? To afflict Peter so? No. Luther liked to preach that this is God acting as a true father. Like a father holding his child in his arms and then suddenly letting go. The child cries out: Dad! And the father immediately grabs her; doesn’t let her fall. He wouldn’t do that. It’s like a game, Luther says, to strengthen her in the little things, that her faith be strengthened for the big things.

So Peter begins to sink. Lord! Save! And immediately, Matthew tells us, immediately, He does. Jesus grabs Peter. Doesn’t let him sink. He wouldn’t do that. It is but a light, momentary affliction, that our faith be in the right place - in Him, not in ourselves. And that our faith be strengthened. That we know, as Paul said to us today, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And it wasn’t just Peter. Think through the Scriptures, how often God does this. What about Abraham? Sacrifice your son, your only son, Isaac! Was God letting him and His promise go? No. He wouldn’t do that. God grabs Him. What about Joseph in Egypt? Had God let him sink, let him die in prison? No. God grabs him. What about the three young men in the fiery furnace? Them, too, God grabs. Reaches out His hand to save.

But then, later, Peter would see something different . . . that saving hand weak, unable to grab him . . . for it had a nail through it. And was attached to a cross. That hand that had marvelously and miraculously multiplied the loaves and fish to feed so many. That hand that had created all things (as we heard in the reading from Job). That hand that touched and healed lepers, that touched and blessed so many, young and old . . . now limp and lifeless and dead. Peter begins to sink again. All is lost, right?

No! Peter will see that hand again reach out to him, to grab him again, to save him. That hand - no longer limp, lifeless, and dead - will stretch itself out and allow his astonished fingers to be put into it. Because that hand has come to save, and save it will. Save us from our doubts, our fears, our sins, our death. For it is the hand of the one who sits at the Father’s right hand, is His right-hand man, and ascended back to that same place. Not to be gone, but to powerfully continue to reach out to us. Saving. Pulling us out of our cesspools of doubt and death. When by His Word our weakness is exposed. When by His Word He enables us to cry out, Lord! Save!

Which we are again about to do! Did you realize that? You do so here every Sunday in fact. When you confess your sins, you are really crying out Lord save! And He speaks, as He did to those disciples: Take heart, it is I, stop being afraid of your sins. I forgive them. All of them. They can condemn you no more. And with that we are reminded, too, of our Baptism, when our Lord’s hand reached out to us and grabbed us, saved us, through water and His Word.

And when we sing Lord have mercy, we are really crying out Lord save! Have mercy on us, for if you didn’t, we would be lost. And He does. For again, He speaks to us His Word, His Gospel, grabbing us with His promises to provide all that we need.

But most of all, we do so when we sing Hosanna! The Hebrew word for Lord save! And as He did with Peter, Jesus stretches out His hand. And He grabs you with His Words . . . Take eat, this is My body. Take drink, this is My blood, for you. For you, my child. For your life. To strengthen you. To save. 

And faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith that says Amen! Which is the great Word of faith and worship. Amen. Truth. Your Word is truth. And the disciples - little faith, big faith, faith in the right place faith - worshiped Him - the God man, the God in the flesh man, the Son of God made man - right there in the boat. And so do we. Here, in this boat, the Church.

So all the trials you’re going through in your life, your weakness exposed, what the Lord sends in love that you cry out Lord! Save! . . . all are strengthening you for the biggest trial of all, when you’re sinking into death. And the devil, the world, and your sinful nature will deceive you and mislead you, as they always do. But the Word of the Lord will not. So you will cry out Lord! Save! and He will. He promised. He’s not going to let you go. It’s why He came. And then you will worship Him - like the disciples, with the disciples! - and with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. 

For, you see, the Lord doesn’t just want you to get to the other end of this life. Many do that. Get through this life. And rather successfully. But Jesus wants more for you than just that. He wants you. Forever. And so He comes. For you. 

So now, in this world and life, with its troubles and trials and struggles, with His Word, with such assurance, with such great and precious promises, with such a Saviour for you, maybe you can jump out in faith - not to walk on water, but for what He has called you to do: to love one another, as He has loved you (John 13:34). And if . . . when! . . . you begin to fail, you begin to sink, you know what to say. And He knows what to do.

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

Pentecost 7 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Is God Good?”

Text: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; Romans 8:18-27

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

If God is good and all powerful, why is the evil in the world?

That is a question asked by many, and asked down through the ages. And for some, the existence of evil is all the proof they need to know that God does not exist. That He is a myth. Wishful thinking. A delusion for weak people. Or if He does exist, that He’s not worth the time, for He must be either not good to let evil go on, or not very powerful if evil remains. So that’s that.

Except . . . Jesus gives another answer today to consider. Not that He owes us any answers! But Jesus is telling us today that there is evil in the world because God is both good and merciful.

That’s the meaning of the Parable of the Weeds of the Field that Jesus tells us today. Last week, a man went out to sow his seed, and he sowed it lavishly and abundantly. Good seed, for good plants, to produce a good harvest. But, turns out, he wasn’t the only one sowing seed. Another man came, after him, under the cover of night, in the darkness, and sowed bad seed. Seed intended to produce nothing - only to hurt and harm what the good sower sowed. This one sowed evil.

So, after the seeds sprouted and grew, the servants noticed all was not right. At first they thought the good sower had sowed bad seed - or at least, a mixture of good and bad. But no, the good sower does only good. Nothing wrong with his seed. An enemy did this. To undermine good. To hurt and to harm. There was no other purpose than that. Just evil. Pure evil.

Well, there’s an easy way to take care of that! Let us get rid of all those weeds, the servants said! Pull ‘em up! We’ll take care of that problem quickly and easily. We’re ready - just give the word . . .

Now, before going on, a word here about this quickness and eagerness. It’s not always good. The saying: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread is not without merit. Sophomores are “wise fools” who after just a year of learning think they know more than they really do. New pastors are often eager to go in and “fix” their congregations. But sometimes quickness and over-eagerness can cause great harm. And with regard to theology, a man named G.K. Chesterton once said that heterodoxy is always in a hurry, gotta do it now! But orthodoxy is patient, and awaits God’s time. So the servants are eager, but that’s not the best course of action here . . .

Their master, the good sower, knows more than they. So no, he says. Leave them. Don’t rush in. Why? For the sake of the good plants. To be good and merciful to them, lest while ripping out the weeds, the good get harmed in the process. The time will come, but it is not yet.

Now, that’s easy to understand when it comes to plants! But perhaps not so much when it comes to us. Because it sure does seem like this world would be a much better place if we could just get rid of them . . . those evil ones . . . you know who I mean. 

But maybe we’re being sophomores, “wise fools,” with such thinking. Maybe we don’t know as much as we think. We sang in the Introit today, Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth. We need to be taught. The ways of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God. That we may walk in it. That if He says it is good and merciful and better for the evil to remain, then as much as we might not understand it, it is - good and merciful and better. Teach me, O Lord. To understand that. To think like you. 

And while we’ll never fully get there, thinking the thoughts of God, in this world and life, with our bodies, minds, and hearts infected and affected and dragged down by sin, teach us He does, with His Word. And in Holy Baptism, too, where your Father in heaven has given you His Spirit that you may not only be His child, but that you also have the mind of Christ, that you begin to think like Christ, and grow in Him.

For the truth is that our life in this world is intertwined not just with believers and Christians, but with those who are not Christian, those who are not believers, and those who perhaps even work evil. So if all those not of good seed were to go, how would you be hurt? You don’t even know all the ways, since God is able to use the just and the unjust, believers and unbelievers, for His good. In every vocation in this world and life, there are those of good and bad seed, and yet in fulfilling their vocation, God is using them for good for you. Farmers, police, firefighters, shop keepers, soldiers, government workers, and more. How do they benefit you? So if they were all pulled now . . .

Now, there are difficulties that come with that, to be sure. Struggles in our world between right and wrong, between those who follow God’s Word and truth and those who do not. Evil isn’t idle. There will be conflict and pain and heartache. Pontius Pilate was part of a government that provided peace in the world, yet also crucified Jesus. 

And this, too: it is not always so easy to tell the difference between the weeds and the wheat, and judging too quickly could cause great harm.

For think about Paul - he looked like a weed for a long time, persecuting Christians and sending them to prison. Would you have pulled Paul?

Or what about Judas? He looked like a good plant for three years. He was one of the twelve! He preached and taught, helped to hand out food to the 5,000. Would you have left him?

Or what about you? Take a look at youself, your past, your worst moments. When you hurt someone, when you held a grudge and refused to forgive, when you did what you knew was wrong, when you weren’t living as a Christian. What if “the weed police” pulled you right then and there! But they didn’t. God didn’t allow it. Because God is good and merciful. To you!

Because the truth is, we’ve been plopped down in the middle of a long story, a long history, and we just don’t know the whole story. We know the here and now, and maybe a bit of history, but there’s a lot we don’t know, and we certainly don’t know the future. So how do we judge? How do we decide?

So, a little story I once read: A sculptor was once asked how he managed to take a block of stone and create beautiful pieces of art - something I certainly could never do! He said: Well, I don’t. I just cut off all that doesn’t belong, that isn’t part of the finished piece. He sees what cannot be seen by others. 

That’s how it is with God. We may want to rush in and start hacking away at the stone, start pulling the weeds, start doing what we think - but all we’re going to end up with is a mess. We just don’t know. We just can’t see as God sees. 

So our Father in heaven says, be patient. Live with the weeds for a while, because you can’t really tell the weeds and wheat apart anyway. The time will come for the harvest, and then the separation will take place, then you’ll see. But not before then. Now is the time of patience and mercy, and yes, struggle. But in the midst of the struggle, a promise - from God through the apostle Paul: the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Right now, Paul says, are the labor pains. It’s tough. It’s probably good that none of us remember that struggle of being born! But your delivery is coming. Your new life is coming. A new world, a new creation is coming, that you cannot even begin to imagine! So be patient right now, but in hope, in faith in God, and so also in love toward your neighbor.

And with this, we learn of God’s plan. That God doesn’t conquer evil by destroying evildoers. He destroys evil with forgiveness. Conquering evil by destroying evildoers is like pulling weeds without getting the roots - they’re just going to grow back again. But forgiveness goes down to the roots, and not only conquers evil, but even has the power to change bad seed into good seed, and weeds into wheat. And again, we see and learn of God’s goodness and mercy.

The goodness and mercy of a God who doesn’t just sit up in heaven as an observer to what is happening in our world but unable to do anything about it, nor as a judgmental God who just sits up in heaven zapping evildoers and squashing evil under an all-powerful fist. He is a God who in goodness and mercy came down into the midst of our evil world, to be swallowed up by evil, that He might swallow it up with the might of His atonement. With the might of His death and resurrection. With the might of His forgiveness. And He did. And He is. That’s the only reason why you’re here. The blood of Jesus, shed on the cross and poured into the ground for you, to forgive your sin and evil - all of it! Past, present, and future - and make you a good plant. His plant. 

And the blood of Jesus that continues to nourish you each day, through His Word, through His forgiveness, and through His Body and Blood that you receive here at this altar. There is no question that you and I, based on the merits, deserve to be pulled. But a good and merciful God said no. Wait. Be patient. Let them grow. Let me feed them, care for them, nurture them. And so you are who you are. Because God is merciful.

But He is merciful to all, and so now bids us to wait and be patient. The harvest is coming, but there is still time. And God, in His goodness and mercy, is working. In you, for you, through you. He gives you His Spirit who help us, Paul says. Who helps us wait and pray. Who helps us see as our Father in heaven sees. Who helps us to love and forgive as Jesus does. And to be merciful. To all. For we simply do not know what the whole story is, all that God is doing. So we do according to His Word, in faith, in hope, and in love. And trusting that He knows what we do not. And that in the end, all will be right and just.

Because God is merciful. That there is evil in the world proves that, not that He is weak or does not exist. And so we come to His Table, this Table set before us is the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23), to receive Him. And we may groan with creation for a while, under struggles and burdens and cares, and maybe things are going to get really tough. That’s okay. God is merciful. To you and to all. Lord, help us hear that and learn that. Help us see that. Help us believe that. That Your faith and hope, Your love and forgiveness, be not just in our hearts, but on our lips, and in our deeds. And help us rejoice in You even now, even in the midst of the struggle, even surrounded by evil, knowing that we will also rejoice with You in Your kingdom.

For it really is true, what we just sang - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. . . . And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, though these all be gone, the vict’ry has been won, the Kingdom our remaineth (LSB #656). The kingdom of our good and powerful and merciful God.

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

Pentecost 6 Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“A Lavish (Foolish?) Sower”

Text: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23;

Isaiah 55:10-13; Romans 8:12-17

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

The neighbor behind our house has nice flower gardens, full of color. We were envious. Because at our house, we plant flowers like that and the deer come and eat them - usually the night right after we plant them! So we asked her how she did it. How she kept the deer from eating her flowers like they eat ours. She said she didn’t - she just planted more than they could eat!

It’s kind of the same with our tomato plants. We not only try to plant flowers, but vegetables, too. We can keep the deer away from them with a fence, but not the squirrels and chipmunks. So invariably, every year, just as the tomatoes are turning red and ripe and ready for picking, one of those little varmints comes and picks them, takes one or two bites, and then leaves the rest on the ground. Maybe they think they’re sharing, or it’s their way of thanking us . . . or mocking us. So now, instead of planting tomato plants that produce fewer but bigger tomatoes, we plant the ones the produce more but smaller fruit - so there is enough for the critters and us.

The parable we heard today is kind of like those stories. The man in the parable sows enough seed to get a harvest - because he knows that not all his seed is going to produce. He knows the critters are going to get some, the weeds are going to choke some, and the sun is going to sorch some. But there will also be some that grows and produces for him. So he is not stingy with his seed. He sows abundantly, generously - perhaps foolishly so - in order to get a harvest. 

It’s a simple story, really. But as often with parables, sometimes the point is still missed. Jesus Himself calls it the Parable of the Sower. That is, a parable to teach us something about the Sower. But some call it the Parable of the Soils - putting the emphasis not on the sower or on his seed, but on the soil, and therefore giving the impression that the point of the parable is to make better soil so that the seed will grow. Others think the point is better sowing of the seed - that we should be more targeted, more selective, more careful. Don’t waste seed.

But both of those interpretations of this parable put the onus on us - for you to improve the soil of your heart, or for the church to improve the techniques she uses to sow the Word in the world. Both have the same focus: How can I improve myself, or how can we get others ready, to hear the Word and grow?

Now, certainly, there is a kernal of truth in those things. For example, we can get a good night’s sleep before church so we are ready to hear the Word of God. We can set aside time and turn off our cell phones and other distractions at home to read the Word and pray. And we should do those things. There will also be times when our friends, family, and neighbors are ready to hear the Word and times when they might be more resistant. All of that’s true . . . but not the point of this parable. Because you will never do enough - can never do enough - to make the Word of God grow. There are too many things out of your control. Too many enemies of the Word.

Like the first enemy Jesus mentions - the birds that come and snatch away the seed that fell on the hard path. That’s the evil one. Always ready to swoop in and take advantage of those hard places in our hearts. Those places where maybe worldly opinion and thinking has hardened us to the truth of God’s Word. Worldly opinion regarding morality, what is really right and wrong; or science, whether all that the Scriptures say is true or not; or who is saved and how, if Jesus really is the one and only way. Or maybe where sin has hardened our hearts, making us resistant to repent and ask forgiveness for ourselves, and resistant in our willingness to forgive others. Resistant to those sins we really don’t want to stop, but hard and stubborn toward others in those same sins. Resistant to change our minds, our attitudes, our actions. Hard places in your hearts - you got ‘em. What are they, where are they, how big are they, for you?

Then there’s the second enemy Jesus mentions - the sun which scorches the seeds that quickly pop up in the rocky ground. No roots leave the new and tender plants susceptible to the intensity of the sun - as you are to the intensity of tribulation or persecution. When your joy in God’s Word and truth is slammed by opposition in the world, and either you agree with them and go along with them - or at least shut up and don’t say anything against them! - or you pay the price. You will lose a boyfriend or girlfriend, a promotion at work, maybe even a job. You’ll be mocked, won’t be invited to certain events. Say the words, bend the knee, toe the party line, or face the world’s graffiti of shame on you and their rage against you. Yes, there are places in your hearts where your faith is on rocky ground - you got ‘em. What are they, where are they, how big are they, for you?

And then there are the seeds that fall victim to the third enemy, the thorns, the choking weeds of the world. The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches, Jesus calls them. What are the cares and concerns filling your hearts and choking out the Word of God planted there? The wonderful promises of God that get swallowed up by . . . what? Health concerns, family problems, job worries, Covid fear, uncertainty about the future, anxiety about your kids. And your riches, too - and not just money. But whatever you’re wealthy in, or want to be wealthy in, and it’s taking over your life as you serve it and go after it, and the Word of God is suffocated in those weeds. You got ‘em, weeds, in your hearts. Maybe many, and many different kinds. What are they, how many are they for you?

So if the point of this parable was for you to make sure the soil of your heart was good and ready to grow God’s Word and produce an abundant harvest . . . really? You’re going to do that? You’re going to be able to keep the evil one away and soften up the hard places in your hearts? You’re going to be able to remove all the rocks and rocky places from your hearts and withstand all the heat of the world? You’re going to pull all the weeds out of your hearts, and not let cares and concerns and worries and anxieties have any place there? Really? 

Truth is, the human heart, by nature, by birth, because of sin, is a terribly hostile place for the Word of God. 

And yet . . . some of that seed does grow and produce a harvest. Because the sower is abundant and generous with His seed - perhaps foolishly so - and so despite all the junk that is in your heart and life, and keeps coming into your heart and life, it grows. Miraculously, it would be accurate to say. Maybe we’re spoiled, maybe we’re just used to it, but when that Word of God is sown, and we respond: Thanks be to God! - we should mean that! Thanks be to God that He does not just sow a little of His Word, but a lot. And keeps doing so. That some of it will grow in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives.

And then as His Word grows in us, it can change our hearts. The Word can do what we are unable to do. The key to getting a nice thick lawn, I am told, is not to kill the weeds but to strengthen and thicken the good grass. Then the good chokes out the bad. And the key to sun and drought resistance is not shade, but good and deep roots. And so as the Word of God grows in you, your faith is strengthened and deepened, and the critters and the weeds and the sun . . . they’re not going away, but their job becomes much harder, and the fruits increase in your life. Thanks be to God!

And even one seed of God’s Word is able to do this. God is extremely rich and generous with His Word, but it only takes one seed to start growing . . . one seed planted in the heart . . . one seed planted in the world . . . one seed planted in . . . Bethlehem. As soon as that seed was planted, as soon as that seed was born, as soon as that seed grew and stepped out into the world, the critters, sun, and weeds came, trying to snatch it away, trying to burn it up, trying to choke it out. No sooner had Jesus heard the words from heaven in His baptism, You are my beloved Son, that satan was there in the wilderness trying to snatch that Word away: Yeah, right! If you are the Son of God . . .  No sooner had Jesus begun to preach the Word that the heat was turned up against Him by the Pharisees and Jewish authorities. They tried to choke Him with accusations of sin and mocking taunts while hanging on the cross. And when Jesus bowed His head and died, it looked as if they were successful in stamping out that seed God sowed in this world. And then it was planted in the ground in a hard, dry, place of solid rock where no seed could ever grow . . . 

Except it did! It grew. And it hasn’t stopped growing. The Word is poured, the Word is read, the Word is spoken, the Word is fed, the Word is thrown out into the world, into you, falling into all sorts of hearts and all kinds of soils. And growing. Isaiah said it in his prophecy that we heard today: The Word of God shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. That is, the Word of God made flesh will succeed - He will accomplish the salvation of the world on the cross. He will not be defeated. He will atone for your sins and the sin of the world. He will win the forgiveness of your sins. He will defeat death and the grave - life will come from the dead. He will do it. 

But so, too, will the Word that God sends now - the Word that proclaims and gives the Word made flesh. It, too, will grow and succeed. It will produce joy and peace. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle. Good plants. And the harvest will not only be in your life, but will be you yourself. That you will be among the harvest on the Last Day and brought into the kingdom. 

This is the Parable of the Sower; about Him. So if this parable doesn’t make you say Thanks be to God! you’re not hearing it right. This is a joyous Word, this parable, of God’s abundant and lavish love in the generous and abundant sowing of His seed. His seed and Word to work in our hearts, to soften the hard and stony places, to pull the weeds of sin, and to deepen the roots of faith. His Spirit, working through that Word, doing what we are unable to do. His Spirit working in us, so that as Paul said to us today, we can cry “Abba! Father!” as children of God. Rejoicing in the Baptism and the Word that was poured on us there which made us His children. Rejoicing in being able to come to our Father in repentance with the promise not of punishment or chastisement, but to hear His Word of forgiveness and have that Word again sown in our hearts. And rejoicing in the family dinner, to receive the Body and Blood, the forgiveness and life, of the Word of God made flesh. Miracle upon miracle upon miracle. Word upon Word upon Word. For you, for you, for you. 

A sower sows His seed, lavishly, abundantly, generously - but, it turns out, not foolishly. For it does exactly what He sows it for - it grows children of God. And maybe His Word you will speak to others as well. All it takes is one seed to fall into that good soil . . . 

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