Funeral Sermon: Saved by Grace (Ephesians 2:4-10; John 14:1-6)

 

Marilyn, Phyllis and Lester, family and friends of Evelyn:

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

[By Grace]

“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

In the days before Evelyn’s passing, I sang some hymns to Evelyn with the family. One of those hymns was “By Grace I’m Saved.” Each stanza of this hymn begins with the phrase “By grace” and for each stanza, Evelyn replied “By grace, I’m saved. By grace, I’m saved.”

Evelyn was strong in her faith. On my many visits with her, I would tell her of the happenings in the world with respect to the Scripture I shared with her. One time, I remember saying that there are some people who do not believe that Jesus is the only way to God the Father. She would respond back, “How could anyone not believe in Jesus?” That is a great question. How could anyone not believe in Jesus?

Her faith was strong. She firmly believed that she is saved by grace through faith in Christ alone.

[The Way]

Well, Jesus wasn’t always as easy to understand as He is today. Today, we each have access to the inerrant Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as inspired by the Holy Spirit. Through God’s Word, we know that everyone who follows Christ as Lord and Savior has been saved by grace through faith in Him.

In our gospel lesson, Jesus tells His disciples then and His disciples now, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me” (John 14:1).

Here, Jesus is reminding us that whatever the situation in our life, whatever the season in our life – “a time to be born, and a time to die” or “a time to weep, and time to laugh” or “a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3) – let not our hearts be troubled. Instead, send your troubles to God. For Jesus is truly the Son of God. Jesus hears every one of our prayers and He answers every one of our prayers. It may not be want we want at the time, but God’s will is always done.

Jesus then tells us that He has prepared a dwelling place for everyone who believes in Him. He says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3).

Here, Jesus teaches us that these many rooms are not temporary housing – like hotel rooms – but these are permanent residences with the Father in heaven. Here, Christ is preparing a new promised land for His Church.

Jesus concludes saying to His disciples, “And you know the way to where I am going” (John 14:4).

I’m sure all the disciples looked at each other in wonder. Instead of Peter, who normally speaks, Thomas speaks, asking His Lord, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5)

I’m sure Thomas wasn’t alone with his question. You see, the disciples didn’t always understand what Jesus was saying.

Today, many non-believers in Christ continually ask this question: “How do I get to heaven? What do I have to do to be saved?”

Here, Jesus gives us the answer! “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Jesus is Himself the way to God the Father, not a way to God the Father. He not only shows us the way – by revealing it – but He is the Way.

Jesus is Himself the truth. We can depend on Jesus.

Jesus is Himself the life. He created life and He is the source of eternal life for all mankind.

Apart from Jesus, there is no other way to salvation. Salvation can be found in no other way. It is only through Christ alone that we are saved. This is what Evelyn believed. This is the faith that Evelyn is now living in heaven. She has received her dwelling place with God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ.

[God’s Steadfast Love]

We, too, can receive the same gift! Evelyn received her gift of salvation, not by her own doing, but by grace though faith in Christ alone.

It was on April 26, 1925 when God adopted Evelyn to be His own child through the waters of Holy Baptism. It was then that the Holy Spirit gave Evelyn the ability to believe in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Then on April 2, 1939, she publicly confessed to God that she would never forsake the one true Christian faith.

No one is able to be justified before God by their own strengths, merits, or works, but we are justified freely – by grace – on account of Christ alone, through faith alone. Everyone in Christ has been received into this grace and their sins are forgiven on account of Christ alone, who made satisfaction for our sins through His sacrificial death and His glorious resurrection.

Jesus Christ died for all people, not just for a chosen few. For Jesus said: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

God the Father sent His one and only Son Jesus the Christ to destroy the powers of sin, death, and Satan upon all who trust in Christ alone. He accomplished this feat through His death upon the cross and His resurrection from the grave, so that whoever trusts in Him would receive forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation.

We did nothing to earn this grace. It is only by God’s steadfast love for us that we receive this grace!

[His Workmanship]

So, for everyone in Christ, what do we do while we live in this grace? Do we sin all the more? By no means! Instead, we do good works, not for God, but for our neighbor. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Again, this is what Evelyn did. She taught her daughters – Marilyn and Phyllis – the way they should go. In fact, this is what Evelyn called her greatest accomplishment in her life. Evelyn also lived out her Christian faith in service to her community and to service to her church. Again, she did this not because she had to, but that she had the opportunity to do it. It is all through Christ’s doing that we are saved.

[Wrapped in Christ’s Righteousness]

Today, Evelyn is in the Church Triumphant with all the saints in heaven. She is wrapped in the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all her sin. She hungers no more, neither thirsts anymore; the sun does not strike her, nor any scorching heat (Revelation 7:16). She and all the saints are before the throne of God. She and all the saints are in the midst of the Lamb who is their Shepherd.

But, she and the saints – along with us here – wait for Christ’s return to earth. On that day, there will no longer be any division between heaven and earth. There will no longer be division between body and soul. For on that day, Christ will make all things new. He will create a new heaven and a new earth! So, in this new heaven and new earth, there will be no more sin, no more sorrow, and no more death. Everything will be created anew and all by the grace of God. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

Sermon for Pentecost 19: "Steadfast Perseverance in the Faith" (Luke 18:1-8)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

[The Widow and the Judge]

 

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8b)

 

In our gospel lesson, Jesus tells His disciples a parable about two people who couldn’t be any more different from each other. Jesus tells about a persistent widow and an unrighteous judge.

 

Jesus said: “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming” (Luke 18:2-5).

 

As I said, these two couldn’t have been any more different from each other. The judge feared nothing. He doesn’t fear God. He doesn’t even fear his fellow man. This judge operates outside the normal social patterns of his day. He does not observe the Torah and he does not observe the social customs of his people. He issues judgements purely from his personal opinion.

 

Now, the widow, on the other hand, fears God. But, she is also unusual. Normally, a widow would go into obscurity. But not her! She instead constantly pesters this judge and to the point that he gives in to her demands.

 

Keep in mind that this judge literally holds all the cards. And, this widow is literally helpless. She has no husband and in Jewish society, she would be likely forgotten. She has no companion to advocate for her. Yet, her persistence wins the day.

 

Through this widow’s persistence, she has won over this unrighteous judge.

[The Twist]

 

Then Jesus gives us an unexpected twist. He says, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?” (Luke 18:6-7)

 

In a shocking move, Jesus is comparing the unrighteous judge to God the Father. What? Really? Is Jesus saying that the Father is unrighteous? No, by no means!

 

You see, the judge finally gives vindication because he is harassed. God the Father, however, will eventually give vindication because He has promised salvation to the elect, who cry out to Him day and night.

 

So, who is the principal character of this parable? Is it the judge or the widow? It’s actually neither of them. This parable is all about the fundamental characteristic of God the Father: His compassion and mercy for sinners.

 

The underlying reality is the Good News that God is merciful and long-suffering and He will deliver His elect in Christ.

 

[Pray: Do Not Lose Heart]

 

But, we should also remember what Luke was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write to introduce this parable: “And [Jesus] told [His disciples] a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

 

The other point of this parable is to not lose heart if we believe that Christ’s return is taking too long. Instead, we are to continue steadfastly in prayer. You see, persistence in prayer is to be the Church’s posture until Christ returns in glory.

 

Now, what does persistence in prayer mean? Does it mean that we have to pray continuously, that is, uninterrupted and without ceasing? No. But, we are to pray continually, that is, regularly and with perseverance from the moment of Jesus’ bodily ascension into heaven to His second coming.

 

As we pray, we are not to become discouraged or give up if our petitions are not answered immediately. We are to be as persistent as the widow was to the unrighteous judge, because when we pray to God the Father, He is far greater than the unrighteous judge. For God the Father is always true to Himself and to His Word. He always will answer our prayers speedily.

[Will Christ find Faith on Earth?]

 

But, what about how Jesus ends His parable? He says: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8b)

 

What is Jesus asking us? Well, He is asking: “Will there be a faithful community awaiting at the coming of the Son of Man?”

 

His question alerts us to the urgency of listening carefully to His catechesis so that we would be found in the praying, believing community, with people like the persistent widow.

 

So, how are we to be ready? This is answered by the Apostle Paul in his second epistle to Timothy.

 

Paul writes to Timothy: “As for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writing, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 3:14-15).

 

Here, Paul is encouraging Timothy and all followers of Christ that the purpose of Scripture is to point us to Christ, to admonish and repent, to encourage godliness, to strengthen our faith and to assure us of our salvation.

 

For if we would turn to another teaching that is not found in Scripture, our faith would be threatened, likewise, our assurance of salvation would be threatened.

 

Now, what other teaching could there be? Well, Paul reminds us that “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (1 Timothy 3:16), but he also warns us that the “time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching” (2 Timothy 4:3).

The time will come when people will not endure sound teaching. Indeed that time has come. Timothy dealt with it. We are dealing with it today. False doctrine is what threatens the faith the most. False doctrine threatens our salvation.

 

You see, as fallen human beings, we look for teachers to suit our own passions.

 

I have often heard of people who church hop in order to find a church they like the most. Now, there is good and bad to church hopping. The good is that I hope the one hopping is searching for a church that preaches and teaches correct doctrine. The bad is that, often, the person church hopping is really searching for a church that scratches their own itching ears.

 

Often church hoppers will search for teachers to “suit their own passions.” They may search for a church that agrees with their opinions, such as politically or socially. They may like the idea of the social gospel or the prosperity gospel, which neither preach Christ crucified and risen, but instead preach about feeling good about themselves apart from Christ. They may search for a church that follows the world, rather than following Christ.

 

By looking around enough and going from teacher to teacher, they will find a great number of teachers who say what they want to hear. Their ears “itch” to hear what flatters their egos.

 

You see, our ears “itch” to hear anything but God’s revealed truth. Every cult and every denomination, every new and misinterpretation of Scripture, will find receptive ears in a world that has grown weary of the true gospel, and of sound doctrine.

 

Martin Luther wrote of this itching ear phenomenon saying:

“The world wants to be deceived. If you want to catch many robins and other birds, place an owl on the trap or lime rod, and you will meet with success. So when the devil wants to catch Christians, he must set up a monk’s cowl or, as Christ calls it in Matthew 6:16, a sour, hypocritical face. Then we marvel far more at these owls than at the true suffering, blood, wounds, death, and resurrection that we see and hear in Christ, our Lord, who suffered for our sin.

 

“For we always have something new. Christ’s death and resurrection, faith and love, are now old and common, wherefore they mean nothing anymore; but we must have new things to tickle our ears, as St. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:3. And since our ears itch so much that we can no longer endure the ancient, real truth, it serves us right, that we load upon ourselves, great heaps of new doctrines.”[1]

 

Our sinful nature likes to hear new things that catch our attention. This is likely why social media is so popular. It’s always new. But what we really need to hear is what Christ alone has accomplished for us.

[We Persevere in Christ]

 

So, the point of Jesus asking: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” is this – all Christians are to steadfastly persevere in the Faith.

 

We persevere knowing that God has promised to be with us. We persevere knowing that God always listens to our prayers. We persevere knowing that we have been redeemed by Jesus Christ. Jesus has purchased us through His sacrificial death upon the cross as He atoned for our sins. He defeated the powers of sin, death and Satan for us! We are sure of His victory, because He physically rose from the grave on that Easter morning.

 

God is faithful, even when we are lacking in faith. God promises to remember us even when the world will not endure His sound teaching. And, God keeps His promises!

 

As we endure worldly persecutions of doubt and terror, God is here to aid us through His Means of Grace.

 

Through hearing and inwardly digesting His Word, we are strengthened knowing that by grace we have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Through hearing and inwardly digesting His Word, we are made competent and equipped for every good work.

 

Through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, we are strengthened knowing that God will never leave us, nor forsake us since we are baptized into Christ. Now, we may wander off into myths, but God will never turn His back on us. So, when we repent and follow Jesus, God the Father sees us as He sees His Son – righteous.

 

Also, when we receive Christ’s very Body and His very Blood at this altar, we are forgiven and our weak faith is strengthened. You see, it is God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who gives us the power to endure. God gives us the power to persevere.

 

So, let us be persistent as we rise to arms in our prayer life, because God is listening. And, let us be persistent as our Lord keeps us steadfast in what we have learned through His Word, so that when the Son of Man comes He will find faith at His coming! Amen.

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

---

[1] Martin Luther, What Luther Says (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959), 410-411.

Sermon for Trinity 16: "Funeral Interrupted" (Luke 7:11-17)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

[Intro]

 

Our gospel lesson this morning begins with two processions. One procession is following the Lord of Life, while the other procession is following a dead man.

 

The first procession has much optimism as the disciples and the crowd just witnessed another miraculous healing by the Lord of Life in Capernaum. The second procession, however, has much pessimism as there is much grief and worry.

 

Along the way, these two processions met outside the gate of the city of Nain. Here, life meets death.

 

[The Processions]

 

As the two processions meet, the Lord of Life is met with His final enemy – death. Jesus also knows that the dead man being lifted to the cemetery was the only son of his mother. More than that, the mother is also a widow.

 

Now that her son – her only child – has died, she is alone. This widow has lost her security within Israelite society. She will soon be literally alone. As was custom at the time, everyone would likely ignore her as soon as her son was buried. Jesus knows this fate and He does not ignore her.

 

As soon as Jesus saw the man’s mother, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep” (Luke 7:13).

 

Now, do not be mistaken, Jesus is not rebuking her from weeping. For, He Himself has also been filled with compassion. His gut has also been moved. Instead, Jesus is telling this woman that she does not have to continue to weep.

 

And, just like that, the woman stopped weeping.

 

Could this have been a miracle of its own? Jesus spoke and immediately, she stopped weeping. Maybe she had heard about Jesus and His previous signs and miracles. Or, maybe she had never heard of Jesus.

 

Then Jesus touched the open coffin and those who carried the dead man stood still. Everyone was watching. Then Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, arise” (Luke 7:14b). Immediately, the young man sat up and began to speak and Jesus gave the man to his mother.

 

Everyone was then filled with fear: those who followed Jesus and those who followed the funeral. What had just happened?! No one had ever seen with their own eyes a resurrection! They have only heard about resurrections from the prophets of old. Everyone was terrified and filled with awe. They are scared and amazed. Then the crowd began to speak, saying: “A great prophet has risen up among us” and “God has visited His people” (Luke 7:16b).

 

[Unique Resurrection at Nain]

 

What had just happened? No one had ever seen such an event. And, the stories of resurrections never happened this way.

 

In our Old Testament lesson this morning from 1 Kings 17, the prophet Elijah raised to life a boy who had died. This is eerily similar to what happened in Nain – a widow loses her son – but there is one considerable difference.

 

Elijah raised the boy to life by stretching himself three times over the boy and crying out to the Lord: “‘O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.’ Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived” (1 Kings 17:21b-22).

 

Did you catch the difference? Elijah prayed to God to bring back the widow’s son. Jesus, however, brought the widow’s son back from the dead by His own Word. Jesus simply commanded the young man to get up and he got up.

 

This is another reason why the crowd was filled with fear. The crowd knew that something was special about this resurrection.

 

But, what did the crowd believe about Jesus? Was Jesus just a great prophet? Was Jesus just a teacher? Was Jesus a miracle worker? Was Jesus the promised Messiah?

 

The crowds appear to only affirm Jesus as a great teacher and miracle worker. The crowd spoke: “A great prophet has risen up among us!” “God has visited His people!” (Luke 7:16)

 

Is that all? What is the crowd saying? Are they just saying Jesus is just a great man of God? It appears to be so. But, there is more here. They said “A great prophet has risen up among us.” They may not have realized it then, but what they said would come true. Jesus rose from the dead – physically.

 

And, “God has visited His people.” The crowd meant that God cared for His people, but in fact God had literally visited His people. Jesus is Emanuel, God with us – the Second Person of the Trinity who came down from heaven to save His people. This crowd didn’t realize how truly it spoke.

 

In this miracle at Nain, there was no mention of anyone’s faith. One day prior, Jesus healed a centurion’s servant because of the centurion’s faith. Here, Jesus shows that His healings ultimately were not dependent on the faith of the person being healed, but on His own power and might. By His Word alone, the sick are healed and the dead are raised.

 

The young man could not save himself from death. Only Jesus has to power to save us from death.

 

[Processions Going in Opposite Directions]

 

The two processions meet outside of Nain, but now each procession is going in opposite directions. The processions are trading places.

 

From this point on, Jesus is now focusing upon His upcoming death, so He would die so we don’t have to die eternally. This is what God the Father sent Him to do. He came to destroy the power of death and to destroy the power of His other foes: sin and Satan. He came to show compassion. As Martin Luther writes in his hymn “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice”:

“God said to His belovèd Son:
    “It’s time to have compassion.
Then go, bright jewel of My crown,
    And bring to all salvation.
From sin and sorrow set them free;
Slay bitter death for them that they
    May live with You forever.”  (LSB 556, stanza 5)

 

With the raising of the widow’s son, we receive a glimpse of what is to come. The Creator has come to re-create His fallen creatures.

 

At the cross, Jesus gave us a new beginning. As God the Father’s only-begotten Son, Jesus took upon Himself our sins as He suffered and died in order to bring eternal life to everyone who believes in Him.

 

And, like the young man at Nain, Jesus rose from the dead. Three days after He was beaten, had nails pounded into His bones and died, He walked and talked. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, He has reversed our destination from eternal death to eternal life.

 

Christ continues to show His compassion upon us as we receive His very Body and His very Blood within the bread and wine at this altar. He forgives our sins and strengthens our weak faith as we receive His Sacrament.

 

Likewise, God the Father shows compassion upon us when we repent and confess our sins to Him. For everyone in Christ, God the Father only sees the righteousness of His Son as He forgives our sins. Our sins vanish.

 

[By Grace through Faith, We will Rise]

 

On that day at Nain, death and life met face to face at the gate of the city. Jesus did the unexpected. He touches the coffin and speaks His creative words of life: “Young man, I say to you, arise.” We, too, by grace through faith in Christ alone will rise to everlasting life with our body and soul when Christ returns in glory. Amen.

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

Today's sermon was preached at St. John's Lutheran Church in Plato, MN.