Sermon for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“Gifts from a Loving, Trusting Father”

Text: Matthew 25:14-30

 

(Many of the thoughts and phrases in this sermon adapted from Normal Nagel in Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel, (c) 2004 CPH, p. 251-55.)

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

Trusting is risky. It is much safer and shrewder to trust no one. Then you can’t be disappointed when you are let down or betrayed. Don’t open yourself up to heartache and hurt. But to close yourself off in such a way is not good. And to live in such fear and paranoia is, in fact, not living at all - but is, I would say, the very opposite: dying. So once bitten, twice shy, is not the way of it with a living God. 

So as we heard in the Holy Gospel today, God shares with us, and trusts. And He began by sharing His life with us, entrusting to us His creation. The perfect world He created He gives to His man and woman, for them to have dominion over it, to care for it as He does. He trusts them. And, well, you know how that turned out. But even then, God does not take this dominion away from them. It would not be as it once was. Sin has its consequences. But they still had His creation, and He still loved them, though some would call that foolish, indeed.

But then there’s more. In sharing His life with us, God also shared His creating with us, with a man who begets and a woman who conceives. They become a father and a mother, and we become a son or a daughter. The marvelous miracle of life. Except when men who father aren’t fathers at all, but abandon or turn against their children. Or women who sacrifice their children to career, freedom, or fear. But still this gift remains to us, of children and family. Though why God would entrust this to us still, only He knows. Trusting is risky.

But though we make a mess of things, all is not doom and gloom. Most parents love their children and try to raise them well. But as any parent will tell you, this is more art than science! Every child is different, and wonderfully so. How utterly boring it would be if we were all the same. And so parents do not treat their children who are not the same, all the same. That would be abuse, not love. To each is given according to their ability, their temperament, their maturity and growth. To some five, to some two, to some one. So they may grow. So they may learn. Perhaps there will be a mess. Trusting is risky. But there is also joy, and the possibility of great joy, when parents see their children using what has been given, and growing and abounding.

And so, as we heard, have we received from our heavenly Father. Gifts. Not all the same, nor in the same measure. For we are not all the same. So to some five, to some two, to some one. All we are and have from Him. He entrusts us with gifts and talents and abilities to use and enjoy, and to show Him what we’ve made of them. Not because He is demanding a certain return on His investment. God’s gifts are not a business transaction; He doesn’t need profits! They are given in love. To give joy to the receiver and joy to the Giver. Our heavenly Father pours out, and then pours out more.

But what happens? Instead of joy, why do God’s gifts, at times, breed discontent and grumbling in us? Why, if I receive five, am I pleased and proud, yet if I receive one I have gotten a raw deal? Why am I jealous of God’s bounty to others, or quick to find fault? I deserve more. God isn’t fair. He is a hard man. Then God is no longer Giver, but withholder. That’s the lie satan sold to Eve in the Garden, and the lie he’s been peddling ever since. His gifts are not good enough. Take what’s yours! Take what you need. Rebellious children, we are, by no fault of God. That’s what happens when we measure the Giver by the gifts, and not the gifts by the Giver. Then there is turning away from God, then turning against God, until finally the weeping and gnashing of teeth that we do now, is the weeping and gnashing of teeth we will do for eternity.

But that is not what God wants. So still He gives. In the beginning, in response to His children’s rebellion, what did He do? In response to their belief that He was withholding from them, that His gifts not good enough, what did He do? He gave them even more. He gave them the promise of a gift greater than they could imagine: not five, not two, but His one and only Son to save them from their rebellion, to save them from their unbelief, to save them from their turning away, to die for us on the tree of the cross. He would not stop loving them. And He will not stop loving you. Why? Only He knows. Such love is beyond our understanding. 

But this gift, too, was received by many not with joy, but with disappointment. Not what we had in mind. Not the gift we’re looking for. They wanted salvation from Rome, not sin. What is it for you? Earthly riches, not heavenly riches! An earthly kingdom, not a heavenly one! Career, not family. Ease, not work Glory now, not later. Five, not two or one! God’s not doing it right! Not giving me what I want! But when you look at what you have not, there is no joy in what you have been given. God, then, is a hard man. A withholder, not a giver. Not to be trusted. Or loved. 

But with that, it is not God who is hard, it is our hearts. He has given us the gift we need above all others. And this gift for all of us the same. For in this we are all the same. As Paul said: There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:22-23a). And so the gift of life - for all! - He gives in His Son. Resurrection from the dead. The forgiveness of our sins . . . and rebellion, and dissatisfaction, and accusations. A bloody and dead man on a cross may not look like much of a gift from much of a God, but a God who would do this for us - when that should be us! - that’s a gift of far greater value than we can know. 

And so it is also with the gifts we are given here. Can’t you do better than this, God? Better than a splash of water, some words, and a bit of bread and wine? Not much of a gift from not much of a God. We can get more and better somewhere else - anywhere else! But don’t judge the Giver from the gifts - judge the gifts from the Giver. That here is the life, the forgiveness, the water, the blood, that flows from the cross. That you have a new life and live a new life. A Christ life. Not that you will be Christ, or Jesus, a Saviour. God doesn’t want that. God doesn’t want a whole lot of Jesuses. He has one of those, and one is enough. What He wants is one of you. That’s why He made you. That’s why He redeemed you. That’s why He gives to you. That’s why He entrusts to you. 

Whether you receive five or two or one is not a measure of your worth. What you are worth is the life of the Father’s Son! That already gives you infinite value and worth. 

Our world today says we’re all the same, and even more than that, we’re interchangeable. It doesn’t matter who you are, a man or a woman, who you marry, or what you do. But that is a loveless world, an abusive world, a sinful world. Because we’re not all the same, and that’s good. And our heavenly Father doesn’t treat us all the same, and that’s good. He loves us as He made us, uniquely and different. So for some five, for some two, for some one, that we may grow and live in joy and peace. Children of a Father who loves us enough to not treat us all the same.

That’s what God has up His divine sleeve here, that we simply be who He created us to be. We don’t have to be anything more to please Him or delight Him. So whether you are a doctor or a laborer, a child or an adult, a man or a woman, delight in that and in the gifts your Father gives. Gifts that He won’t stop giving. To some more, to some less, but all uniquely right. For again, as the apostle Paul said, He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32)? 

Graciously . . . and trustingly. For still the gifts He gives we may abuse and misuse. And we do. Sexuality, marriage, possessions, power, life. We think them ours to do with as we will, not as He will. We think for our good, but how often this turns out not for good at all. For this we need to repent, but not just repent, but receive the gift of forgiveness. Which is to turn to our Father and Saviour, and in confessing, trust Him! Which is not risky at all! For, as always, He will not deal with us in wrath, but in love. And, as always, He will not withhold from us, but give us even more. That instead of there being weeping in sorrow we will cry tears of joy, and instead of teeth that gnash we will have teeth that feast. That feast now on the Body and Blood of our Saviour, and that will feast eternally when our Saviour comes again, to take us home. 

For that is what our heavenly Father wants. That is why He gives, and trusts. It’s not about whether you receive five or two or one, or return five or two or one, but that you have His joy now and enter into His joy forever. That you know Him as the good and perfect Giver, your good and perfect Father, who loves you unlike any other. 

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

Sermon for the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“Jesus “Top of Mind””

Text: Matthew 25:1-13; Amos 5:18-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

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

Maybe you’ve had something like this happen to you: You finish eating your dinner and have some leftovers. So you pack them up and put them in your fridge, intending to eat them in a few days, or the next week. But you forget. They get pushed to the back, behind some other, newer, stuff, and by the time you remember them, it’s too late. What could once nourish your body and taste good doing it, is now a mushy, moldy, nose-assaulting mess.

Or how about this: You get a text or an email and you want or need to respond, but you’re right in the middle of something else. So, you think, I’ll reply later. But soon, out of sight becomes out of mind, and when you do see it again . . . argh! The time to reply has passed you by. It’s too late.

Or, one more: Sometimes it’s not our memory that is the problem, but time. You want to do something, you need to do something, but you just don’t have the time right now. Work, school, family responsibilities, outside pressures - so many people and things wanting, demanding, your time. And that thing you wanted or needed to do, goes undone. 

If I haven’t described you with any of those examples, first of all, I’m surprised! And second of all, I’m sure you could provide your own story, of a time something went undone, and by the time you got to it, it was too late.

This is what the parable Jesus tells us today would have us consider. And think about. And look at our own lives. Because with Jesus’ return and the coming kingdom of heaven, there is going to be a time when it is too late. And you don’t want to be on the wrong side of the door when time is up and the door is closed.

Sadly, some will be. Who were foolish. Those whose concern for their spiritual life got pushed to the back of the fridge, because there were just so many other things, newer things in life that got put in front. Those who wanted to repent, wanted to pray, wanted to respond to God’s gracious gifts and promises, but later never came; they never quite got around to it. And those who just didn’t have the time. Too much work, too much school, too much family, too many other responsibilities. And then, suddenly, it will be too late. 

What’s really sad is that these people - foolish virgins Jesus calls them - knew their Lord. These aren’t wicked tenants. These aren’t prodigal sons. These aren’t those who turn their nose up at their Lord. These are folks who know the bride, who would be honored guests and members of the bridal party, but they miss it. By the time they get to getting ready, it is too late. 

Do you think there are some today for whom this will be true? Some for whom it will be too late? Maybe not five out of ten - maybe not that many; but maybe more. If it were not going to be like that, there would be no need for this parable. But here it is. A warning for you and me. And not just for the end of time, when Jesus returns, but when it is end of time for you. When that drunk driver crosses the center line and is hurtling directly at you. Or when that crazed shooter is not in some other city, school, or crowd, but where you are. Or when a stroke overwhelms your brain, or a heart attack stops your heart. Or a Russia or an Iran decides to use that nuke. And it will be too late.

Not pleasant thoughts, I know! Maybe thoughts we’d rather shove to the back of our minds, or think about later. But that is not the way of the wise virgins. For wise virgins, Jesus is “top of mind,” as they say these days. Which doesn’t mean you have to be in church all the time and don’t get to do anything else! That’s not good and not what Jesus wants either. You have people to take care of and your vocations to fulfill as your loving service to others. And you should do those things. It’s when those things shove Jesus to the back of the fridge, or to the fringe of your time, or even off the radar . . . that’s foolish. But oh so easy . . .

So what does it mean to have Jesus “top of mind?” Well, for one, that when you see things happen in our world - wars or tragedies or disasters - Jesus “top of mind” makes those opportunities to pray for others, repent of ourselves, and thank the Lord for His mercy and love for you. That rather than stunned silence or shocked dismay, we use those times to confess the Lord who is able to deliver us from evil. Or, Jesus “top of mind” means each week, each day, includes first and foremost, Him. Time with Jesus, receiving His gifts, is not optional or shoved to the back or if I have time or can stay awake, but the first thing that goes on the calendar. So that if today is the day, I am ready. 

It’s hard though, isn’t it? Our sinful nature likes being foolish. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again today, I think one of satan’s most effective tools these days is not getting us to turn away from Jesus, but simply being too busy for Him. That little by little - not all at once - but little by little, He get less and less time in your life, He get pushed farther and farther back, until He is hard to find at all. 

If I haven’t described you with any of this . . . well, no, I know I have. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:22b-23). Pastors, people, all of us. 

So for all of us, here’s the good news: you are always “top of mind” for Jesus. Everything He’s doing is for you, that you be at the wedding feast. And if He is delayed or long in coming, it is to give us time to clean out our spiritual fridges, to cut the mold off our faith, and be ready. He wants everyone at the feast. No one left out. No one on the wrong side of the door when it is shut, only satan and his army of demons. That the Day of the Lord not be a day like Amos described, a day of darkness, fear, and trembling, but a day of joy.

So to that end, Jesus came and joined us on the wrong side of the door. When all people had sinned and the door to Eden was shut - forever! - it was a day of darkness, not light. A day of great sadness. The day the serpent bit, and when the bridegroom came, instead of joy and feasting, Adam and Eve fled and hid. And when the day was over, they found themselves on the wrong side of the door. 

But God promised that one day the door would be opened again. God’s people lived by faith in that promise, and then when Jesus came, He joined His Bride on the wrong side of the door. He came into the darkness of sin. He came into a world of fear and sadness. And He died in the darkness and with the poison of our sin. All of it. On the cross. Not fleeing from His Father, but forsaken by Him. But this led not to the door be forever closed, but open again. That by His blood on the door, the blood of the Lamb, the blood of the Bridegroom, the blood of the only-begotten Son of God, that door that was once shut be opened again. His blood the key.

The key that not only opens that door, but unlocks the door of your mind. Your mind shut tight by sin and fear, your mind captive to the things of this world and life, that too often shoves Jesus to the back, so that He is not “top of mind.” His blood of forgiveness changes that too. His blood in Baptism giving you a new heart and a new mind and a new spirit. His blood proclaimed here to restore Him to “top of mind” for you. His blood that in the Absolution takes away the stuff that has buried Him in the tomb of our sinful hearts. And His blood that that we drink in remembrance of Him - a remembering that is not only mental, but drives our lives and how we live them. Without these, our fridges are too full, our “to do” lists too long, and our time too short - we’ll be off somewhere else when the bridegroom comes and the door is open. But with these, Jesus is coming already to you now, so when that day comes, you will be ready, and enter the joy of the heavenly feast which will have no end. 

The Thessalonian Christians were worried about that day. Some were worried that they missed that day, that Jesus had already come. Others were worried that for those who died before Jesus’ return, the door was shut. Paul reassures them. Jesus had not yet come, and the grave was no barrier to Him! He had risen from the dead, and could and would raise those who had died. The Bridegroom will come and call the living and the dead to the feast! Therefore, he says, encourage one another with these words. Encourage one another. Help one another keep Jesus “top of mind.” And don’t be too proud to accept their help and encouragement. You need it, too. 

And with Jesus “top of mind,” that not only enables you to be ready when He comes again and the door is open, it helps you deal and cope with things in your life now. That the things of this world and life not overwhelm and overcrowd and push Jesus to the back, but everything stay in the proper place. That though you have sadness, you not despair. That though there be troubles, you not fear. And that neither the sins of your past nor the uncertainty of the future drag you down, but that you look to the future with joy, waiting for the bridegroom with confidence. Knowing His love, and knowing that He is coming for you.

Yes, there’s a lot of foolishness in our world today - foolish thinking, foolish living, foolish beliefs, foolish people. And it does not lead to a good place. So watch, Jesus says. Watch Him. Keep your eyes of faith focused on Him. Then you will be wise in a foolish world. You will have forgiveness in a world of sin. You will have life in a world of death. And you will be ready. And enter with your Bridegroom back into Paradise.

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

Sermon for the Feast of All Saints

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Jesu Juva

“Fearless Saints in Christ”

Text: Revelation 7:2-17; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

 

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

A scared world needs a fearless church.

I came across that quote this week and thought it a perfect theme for All Saints Day this year. Both because All Saints Day is about the confidence we have in Christ Jesus to be a fearless church. And because our world and so many people today are scared. And maybe like never before.

Scared of war breaking out in the Middle East, or of that war becoming a global conflict, even another World War. Scared for our children and the world they are growing up in - a hyper-sexualized world, a world that seems more polarized than ever. Scared by AI, what it might mean for our world, or that it will take away my job. Scared to go out at night, scared to ride the subway. Scared of what other people think of me, scared of disease, scared that if I open that email my computer will get infected. Scared that saying the wrong thing will get me labeled a bigot or a hater. Scared to be with other people, yet scared to be alone. Scared to love, scared to live, but also scared to die. Scared to let people know who I really am, and let them into my life. Or, to use some of the things we heard in the Holy Gospel this morning, scared to be meek, or merciful, or poor in spirit, because people like that get taken advantage of. Scared to be righteous, because they are persecuted.

Is it any wonder there’s so much mental illness in our world with all that going on? So many on edge? So many confused. So many nervous wrecks. So many who don’t know what to do or where to turn. So many ready to just give up.

A scared world needs a fearless church.

All Saints Day reminds us that whatever happens in this world and in your life, you are safe and secure. You are not alone. You have a heavenly Father who holds you in His hands and close to His heart. A heavenly Father who knows the past, the present, and the future - nothing is a surprise to Him. A heavenly Father who keeps His promises and will not let you down. A heavenly Father who has a glorious future prepared for those who love Him, who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, His Son, and put their faith in Him. A heavenly Father who would direct our eyes and our hearts to Him - to Him who loves us; to Him whose perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

For we have a heavenly Father who knows each and every one of His own. The exact number of those who have been sealed by God with the sign of the cross on their foreheads. The 12,000 from each tribe indicates this. It is a symbolic number - 12 being the number of completeness, or fullness, and 1,000 indicating magnitude. The meaning being that our heavenly Father knows the exact number of His saints on earth - no one forgotten, no one left behind, no one lost in the crowd. And that includes you. You may not be known or noticed by anyone else; but you are never out of the sight of your heavenly Father, who loves you and cares for you.

But the church is made up not only of the saints on earth but the saints in heaven, and here, too, what confidence we have! For after his vision of the saints on earth, John then sees the saints in heaven - the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. I guess that’s both good news and bad news. The bad news: there is great tribulation here on earth! But the good news is: it did not overcome them! They came out of it, were rescued from it. And this is a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These in white robes, robes washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the Lamb poured upon them in Holy Baptism and Holy Absolution and given them in the Holy Supper. No rage or spite of satan could separate them from the love of their heavenly Father in Christ Jesus. And that’s your future - provided by, promised by, and secured by, your brother and Saviour Jesus.

Yes, as John told the saints in his Epistle, see - literally see! - what John saw in his vision. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. Children, who will be with Him. Children, with a place at His side. Children, with a home forever. That’s who you are! And that vision, your future. Even though it may not seem so now. Even if you don’t look special, even if you’ve got more problems and struggles than most. John says, what we will be has not yet appeared. For now, children of God are hidden, and sometimes under a LOT of garbage in this world! But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. When Jesus comes again, we shall join that great multitude, all the saints who have gone before us. Even though, for now, it’s true what we sang: We feebly struggle, they in glory shine (LSB #677 v. 4). 

But even now, that’s you. That’s who you are. You might be a mess! But you are blessed. You are a dearly loved child of God. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. Not because you’ve earned it or deserve it, but because Jesus did, and gives it to you. 

And so blessed, that enables you to be what Jesus described in the Beatitudes we heard this morning. For when Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the reviled and persecuted, those things reveal our blessedness. We can be those things, do those things, not in order to be blessed, but because we already are. When you already have the blessedness of Jesus, His forgiveness and life and the promise of His kingdom, you can live this way. You can live like Him. For what can this world give you that you do not already have in Jesus? So you can be Poor in spirit, not prideful and boastful. Mourning the sin in you and in the world and the death it brings. Meek, humble, self-forgetful. Hungering and thirsting not for the things this world holds up as truth and treasure, but for what really is: righteousness. Merciful, not demanding. Pure in heart, not lustful or licentious, permissive or promiscuous. Peacemakers, forgivers, not grudge holders or dividers. And reviled and persecuted for proclaiming the truth and sticking to it. 

These things don’t bring blessedness, but reveal it. They reveal a life in you that is different. That is fearless! That gives what cannot be taken away because it has been given you by Jesus. And then on top of that, Jesus promises you even more. The more you give, the more your receive. Even joy in the midst of a world of great tribulation and filled with fear.

A scared world needs a fearless church.

And notice there, an important word: a fearless church. The church being those united in Christ, in the Body of Christ. All of us together. That’s important, and why satan keeps trying to divide us. Because he knows that apart, separate, isolated, alone, we make bad decisions, fear often gets the better of us. We forget what we know, or should know. We doubt, we wander, we get tempted and seduced. We don’t be who we are; we don’t live as the blessed. We fall and mess up and get lost. You know it. It’s happened to you. 

But here we come together. Here we are united in Christ. Here we see what is bigger than us, and that I am not alone. That my struggles and problems are not unique to me. Here are folks who have come out of those same great tribulations. Here are folks who have sinned and been forgiven with the forgiveness I need! Here are folks who know me and love me anyway. Here in Christ is the love I need, given me not only by Christ in His Word and Sacraments, but in these people He has given me to love me. On my own, maybe I am filled with fear. But here, I am part of a fearless church. A church that knows the truth of God’s Word and the confidence that comes with that firm foundation. 

So if you find yourself fearful instead of fearless, don’t beat yourself up - come and receive the perfect love that casts out fear. Hear those words that recall your baptism into Christ and all the promises given you there. Hear those words which forgive you all your sins - so there is nothing to separate you from the love of Christ. Hear those words which speak of Christ triumphant over sin, death, devil, hell, and all the powers of this world. And hear those words which give you that same triumphant Body and Blood in the Supper, to feed you and strengthen you. Hear and receive this perfect love that casts out fear, and leave this place firm and confident. And fearless! For you have Christ. And He has you.

A scared world needs a fearless church.

That, it seems to me, is what All Saints Day is all about. Not only that we’re saints, though we are. Not only that we have a glorious future promised us, though we do. But that we are saints with this glorious future to be a fearless church in a scared world. To show them a better way. To show them and give them the love they need. To bless them with the blessing we have received. That all be saints, 

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,

Through gates of pearl stream[ing] in, a countless host,

Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia! Alleluia! (LSB #677 v. 8)

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