Sermon for Pentecost 14: "The Heart of Man" (Mark 7:14-23)

 

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: Follow Your Heart]

Follow your heart. Oftentimes when people ask questions when looking for advice, the response is “follow your heart.” You may hear:

• "You can’t live a lie. You have to follow your heart.”
• “Follow your heart. You must walk your own path.”
• “You’ll never find peace of mind unless you listen to your heart.”“Your own heart never lies.”
• “Trust your inner voice, your heart knows what is good for you.”
• “There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
• “Always follow your heart! When your heart feels at peace, rest assured, you are on the right track.”

But is trusting your heart the best advice? Are we to always follow our hearts? Are we to always trust our feelings?

Thanks be to God, we have the gift of logic and reason. But our logic and reason is often flawed, due to our sinful nature.

Today on this 14^th Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus gives us the correct answer.

So, would Jesus tell us to follow our hearts? Let’s hear His answer, God’s answer: He says, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).

Ouch! This is a pretty ugly list. This is what occurs when a person follows their heart. According to Jesus, following your heart is the worst advice a person could give to another, since it is all about trusting your emotions. Instead, we are to be disciplined by the Word of God.

Naturally, our heart is opposed to God. Our heart leads us to do what we want, rather than what we ought to do, as God commands and teaches. Our heart’s condition only leads us to condemnation, that is, eternal death apart from God.

[What Defiles a Person?]

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is defining what the word “defile” actually means. For the Pharisees, they believed “defile” meant ceremonially unclean. The Pharisees were focused on the external, the public display of ritual washing, rather than on a decent lifestyle. Jesus turned this definition upside down and corrected this error. Jesus said “defile” means “to make not holy, not set apart.”

As the Pharisees were more concerned with outward appearances, Jesus said it’s not ultimately about that. This defilement has a source, and its source is the heart.

So, the real defilement is not just outward things – the words and deeds. The real issue is the source of these words and deeds. These actions – the words and deeds – are sinful and hideous because they come from an evil, ugly source – the heart, the source of your thoughts.

As the Pharisees were looking for only outward actions, Jesus ups the ante. For the Pharisees, this assessment of the Law is radical, unsettling, and offensive to any pious Jew.

So, Jesus rattles off a list that nobody wants to hear – the Jews then, and us today. Who would not feel guilty? Everyone on earth is included in this list of vices.

The first nine of the 12 vices deal essentially with the Second Table of the Ten Commandments, with sins against our neighbor: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, and envy. The final three deal with the First Table of the Law, with sins against God – essentially making oneself “god” and the focus of attention: slander, pride, and foolishness.

Our sinful nature certainly does not like this list of vices. Our sinful nature would like to run away from this list of vices and do just what we want. Our sinful nature says: “Follow your heart.”

Through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, the Apostle Paul writes that those who do these such things “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10). We have all certainly thought, spoke of, and done many of the vices on Jesus’ list. So, are we doomed? No! God does not say that such people are ejected from the kingdom of God immediately. But God does say that those who continue in these sins are in grave danger of exclusion from God’s gracious reign and rule, because those who do such things will not inherit God’s kingdom, in the end.

This is even a struggle within the wider Christian Church on earth. This is what makes this list of vices even more difficult. Why do some denominations and churches say these vices do not matter? Why do some denominations encourage many of these vices? This often causes so much conflict and doubt – and frankly church hopping. Again, this all goes back to our heart. With the “follow your heart” mentality, many of us choose a church based on personal feelings rather than on God’s truth.

[The Clean Heart]

In our Old Testament lesson, God commanded Moses to teach the Israelites and said: “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).

God’s commandments must be kept unaltered and untouched. Nothing must be added or removed. So, we should only lean solely on the Word of God, neither adding or subtracting anything. This still applies today – even if our sinful hearts do not like it. Moses said: “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

To this, Luther taught: “Watch yourself, therefore, as often as the Word of God is understood, so often it must be repeated. Scripture has two modes: the one, of teaching, by which we are wearied; the other, of exhorting, by which we are buoyed up. These two the Scriptures have everywhere.”[1]

So, how do we follow God’s commandments? We are only able to follow God’s commandments when we trust that only God is the source of all that is just, right, and good. Apart from God, our hearts are the source of only evil.

Today’s Introit gives us a big clue. After Nathan confronted King David with his sin, David recognized how thoroughly corrupt he was. He was corrupt because he followed his heart which led to adultery with Bathsheba. Even as he was thoroughly corrupt due to his sin, David trusted in His Lord for forgiveness. He wrote these familiar words:

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

(Psalm 51:7, 10-12; antiphon: v. 2)

Although David was corrupt due to his heart, he believed that only God could create a clean heart. We, too, can have a clean heart, but we cannot produce this clean heart by ourselves.

In order for us to receive clean hearts, God the Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus to take upon Himself our filthy hearts as He was declared guilty of all the sin and evil in this world. So, “for our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This, Christ accomplished for us through His suffering and death upon the cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead, so that we – by faith in Him – would become clean.

Although His death and resurrection is where we become clean, God’s grace is always flowing over, so He gives us so many other means by which He cleans our hearts.

You see, at each Divine Service, God purifies our dirty hearts through His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament.

Ultimately, “[Christ] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Through our Baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection, we were given Christ’s robe of righteousness that covers all of our sins. And when we do sin – in thought, word, and deed against God – recall your Baptism, confess your sin, and trust in Him for your forgiveness.

He also purifies us through His Word as Jesus proclaims to us: “Already you are clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). Even in today’s Gospel text, which is full of Law, Jesus is making us clean. He is making us clean through His very voice of warning. You see, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Even in this Word of warning, God is showing His steadfast love.

We are also purified through Christ’s very Body and Blood in and under the bread and wine, which forgives our sins and strengthens our faith.

Remember, when the Lord washes us, we are clean, we are as white as snow. With the Lord, no dirt of sin remains.

Through repentance and faith in God, Christ alone has taken all of our sins upon Himself and replaces it with Himself dwelling in us. By grace through faith in Christ alone, we are clean!

With our New and Clean Heart, we follow His commandments as we are disciplined by the Word of God. And when we fail, we repent and receive God’s forgiveness. With our Clean Heart, we are set apart as holy people as we live in the world, but not of the world. With the Clean Heart, outsiders may want to know who and what the true God is all about, since we love one another, including those who do not yet know Christ. With the Clean Heart, we love in ways that the world does not do. This is living out the Clean Heart.

Today, Jesus certainly nails us with our sin. He certainly sees right through us. But He also creates in us Clean Hearts and all by grace through faith in Him alone!

6    By grace! On this I’ll rest when dying;
    In Jesus’ promise I rejoice;
For though I know my heart’s condition,
    I also know my Savior’s voice.
My heart is glad, all grief has flown
Since I am saved by grace alone. (By Grace I’m Saved, LSB 566, stanza 6)

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, Luther’s Works, Volume 9: Lectures on Deuteronomy (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1960), 57.

Funeral Sermon: "Possessing the Promise of Everlasting Life" (John 11:17-27)

 

Cherrie, Carrie, Melanie, family and friends of Marlin:

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

[Intro]

Why? Over the past few weeks many of us have asked this question and have prayed to the Triune God asking this question. I have even asked and prayed this very question. We all ask God “why”, believing that He will provide us an answer to satisfy our question.

But often, we do not get the answer we want. Sometimes, God appears to be silent. But if we are patient and remain in His Word, all our questions will one day be answered.

So, don’t give up on asking God questions. Questions and prayer are a way we mourn our loss, communicate our frustration, and express our thoughts.

Our questions are important to the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we find in God’s written Word many examples of people asking God questions. The Psalms of David are a prime example. David wrote many Psalms when he was facing brokenness, doubt, and fear. In those Psalms, he asked some painful and detailed questions. Sometimes, David received an answer from God. Other times, he only heard silence. But even when David’s questions were not answered, his faith in God was stronger than his need to know the answer.

Even though we may have many questions, we do have certainty this morning. David said in today’s Psalm: “I call upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words” (Psalm 17:6) and concluded saying: “As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (Psalm 17:15). Like David, Marlin, too, is completely satisfied as he has been declared righteous – and all due to Marlin’s faith and trust in Jesus Christ. By faith in Christ alone, Marlin has passed from death to life. Today, Marlin has joined the Church Triumphant in heaven with all the faithful.

[The Love of Others]

Throughout his earthly life, Marlin could be described as stubborn at times. He was the kind of guy who would never complain. Instead, he would move the conversation so he wouldn’t be the focus.

Back in April, I visited him at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital. He just learned that he would need his pinky toe removed, due to an infection. As I entered the room, I asked him what brought him into the hospital. He replied saying: “I’m doing just fine. I’ve got nothing to complain about. How is your daughter?”

This conversation included him talking about his grandkids: Connor – who he called ‘His Little Man’ – and Chloe. He certainly adored Connor and Chloe.

Eventually, we rounded back to why he was in the hospital, but he would rather talk about what was happening in my life – with the birth of my daughter – and what was happening in Connor and Chloe’s life. He loved being a grandfather.

Marlin certainly loved his family. He loved his wife, daughters, and grandchildren. He loved all the time he had with them playing the card game Sheepshead, shaking dice, listening to Polka music, and knocking down those pins at the bowling alley.

As much as we would all like to hear all about Marlin’s life, I bet he would want us to focus on why we are truly here today. We are here to celebrate Christ’s victory over death that we all receive by faith in Christ alone. Because of this fact, the most important thing to him was being a positive role model and passing on the Christian faith to his daughters Carrie and Melanie. His Christian faith was – and is – important to him. This is what kept him positive throughout all his life. This is what gave him hope for the future!

Even though we know Marlin is in the loving arms of the Good Shepherd. For us, on this side of heaven, we are separated from Marlin. Like any form of separation, grief is natural. So, don’t be ashamed to grieve. But unlike those who do not know Christ, Christians do know Christ. So, when we grieve, we grieve in the sure and certain hope that because Christ lives, all who die in Christ also live. We know that “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

So, be encouraged! For Jesus never leaves us or forsakes us. He is our Shepherd who keeps us in eternal life!

[Christ Gives Us Certain Encouragement]

In our Gospel lesson, Martha, like us, needed encouragement.

Her brother Lazarus had been dead for four days. So, Jesus came to console Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). You see, Martha believed that Jesus could have performed a miracle, but by now she believed it was too late.

But Jesus assures Martha that all who trust in Him, though they die physically, will live forever.

Death is the consequence of sin. God’s Word teaches us that “just as sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12) and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). So, death eventually takes everyone. No human being can overcome death.

Now, Martha would have known this. But she still believed that Jesus could have done something to prevent it.

Jesus then said to Martha, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23). To which Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24). You see, she believed in the resurrection, but what Jesus said next is what she did not expect. He said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though He die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

Martha had only a small part of the resurrection truth. Jesus gave her the whole truth. Although the wages of sin is death, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

The whole truth is that Jesus is the embodiment of resurrection and life. Apart from Jesus, there is no resurrection and no life. But by faith in Jesus, resurrection and life are present.

For everyone who dies in Christ, they lie down to sleep in death. This death is but a portal to “the resurrection,” the victory and triumph over death. Now, the “he shall live” does not mean merely: he shall come to life in the far distant last day. No, Marlin, and all who died in Christ, are living from the moment of death. For us, on this side of heaven, we see Marlin asleep in the Lord. But in heaven, Marlin has received the crown of victory over death.

Today, Marlin is wearing the very robe of righteousness that he received at his baptism that was made white in the blood of the Lamb – through Christ’s atoning suffering and death for all who trust in Him. In Christ’s care, he is no longer suffering. He hungers no more, neither thirsts anymore. He is completely satisfied (Revelation 7:9-17). He, along with his fellow saints, awaits Christ’s coming on the Last Day.

For us here today, Jesus poses us this question: “Do you believe this?” Do you believe that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life? Marlin certainly did. Marlin certainly does.

It certainly is one thing to hear about this, to reason and to argue about this. But it is quite another to believe, to embrace, and to trust it. To believe is to receive, to hold, to enjoy the reality and the power of it, with all that lies in it of joy, comfort, peace, and certain hope.

Jesus assures us: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

So, comfort one another in the sure and certain hope that even in the face of death, everyone in Christ possesses this sure promise of their own resurrection to everlasting life! 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

Marlin Grack's Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/marlin-h-grack/

What is the Sacrament of the Altar?

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Like the Sacrament of Baptism, the greatest importance, according to Martin Luther, of the Sacrament of the Altar is God’s Word and command. Luther wrote in his Large Catechism: “It [the Sacrament of the Altar] was not dreamed up or invented by some mere human being but was instituted by Christ without anyone’s counsel or deliberation.”

Last month, I discussed the importance of the Creed – the statements of what we believe and confess as Christians. This month, we will look at what Martin Luther says about the Sacrament of the Altar, otherwise known as the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist, from his Large Catechism.

So, what is the Sacrament of the Altar? Luther writes, “It is the true Body and Blood of the Lord Christ, in and under the bread and wine, which we Christians are commanded by Christ’s Word to eat and drink. And just as we said of Baptism that it is not mere water, so we say here, too, that the Sacrament is bread and wine, but not mere bread and wine such as served at the table. Rather, it is bread and wine set within God’s Word and bound to it. It is the Word, I say, that makes this a Sacrament and distinguishes it from ordinary bread and wine, so that it is called and truly Christ’s Body and Blood.”

How can bread and wine be Christ’s Body and Blood? “Christ’s lips speak and say, so it is; He cannot lie or deceive.”

What is the power and benefit to the Lord’s Supper? “We go to the Sacrament because there we receive a great treasure, through and in which we obtain the forgiveness of sins. … This is the very gift He has provided for me against my sins, death, and all evils. Therefore, it is appropriately called food for the soul, for it nourishes and strengthens the new creature. For in the first instance, we are born anew through Baptism. However, our human flesh and blood, as I have said, have not lost their old skin. There are so many hindrances and attacks of the devil and the world that we often grow weary and faint and at times even stumble. Therefore, the Lord’s Supper is given as a daily food and sustenance so that our faith may be refreshed and strengthened and that it may not succumb in the struggle but become stronger and stronger. For the new life should be one that continually develops and progresses. … So, when our heart feels too sorely pressed, this comfort of the Lord’s Supper is given to bring us new strength and refreshment.”

How can a Christian receive this Sacrament worthily? “Fasting, prayer, and the like may have their place as an external preparation so that one’s body may behave properly and reverently toward the Body and Blood of Christ. Christians should prepare themselves to receive this blessed Sacrament frequently. True Christians who cherish and honor the Sacrament should of their own accord urge and constrain themselves to go. For we know and feel how the devil always sets himself against this and every other Christian activity, hounding and driving people from it as much as they can.”

“However, those who are impudent and unruly ought to be told to stay away, for they are not ready to receive the forgiveness of sins because they do not desire it and do not want to be righteous. But those who earnestly desire grace and comfort should compel themselves to go and allow no one to deter them, saying, ‘I would really like to be worthy, but I come not on account of any worthiness of mine, but on account of your Word, because you have commanded it and I want to be your disciple, regardless of my worthiness.’

“The only ones who are unworthy are those who no not feel their burdens nor admit to being sinners.”

What is confessed in this Sacrament? “Let all heads of a household remember that it is their duty, by God’s injunction and command, to teach their children or have them taught the things they ought to know. Because they have been Baptized and received into the people of Christ, they should also enjoy this fellowship of the Sacrament so that they may serve us and be useful. For they must all help us to believe, to love, to pray, and to fight against the devil.”

In the Lord’s Supper, we confess that we, by faith, are receiving the true Body and Blood of Christ in and under the bread and the wine for the forgiveness of our sins, which begets eternal life, salvation, and strength for our weak faith. We also confess that this Supper is a testimony to our unity of faith and doctrine. God’s Law in the Ten Commandments teaches us what we ought to do. God’s Gospel teaches us what God has already done for us. Through God’s Law and Gospel, we come to the Lord’s Table knowing that we are sinners in need of restoration. This is what we receive in the Lord’s Supper. By faith in Jesus, we receive the medicine of immortality through His very Body and Blood. By faith in Christ alone, we are given eternal life!

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

One in Christ

 

At one time, all people had no hope and were without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). All people – due to sin – were enemies of God (Romans 5:10). Unfortunately, many people today still have no hope and are still enemies of God. These are the people who deny Jesus as “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). But for those in Christ — those who believe, trust, and follow Jesus — they are no longer enemies of God, but are one in Christ Jesus. “For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

 

Although we have peace with God the Father by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, the evil foes — Satan, the world, and our own sinful nature — lead us to seek division, rather than unification with our neighbors. Instead of focusing upon our oneness in Christ, our evil foes lead us to focus upon the racial, ethnic, national, or pigmented identity of human beings. When Christians fall into our evil foes’ trap, we are to recall that our identity is that of a baptized child of God. In doing so, we repent of our sin and seek the forgiveness that Christ alone won for us upon the cross.

 

For “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28) and “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1).

 

In other words, Christians do not reduce fellow human beings to their specific cultural, racial, sexual, or national identity, but upon their redeemed identity in Christ as a precious and beloved Child of God — one who has been justified and sanctified by the shed blood of Christ and His Holy Spirit.

 

As followers of Christ, we believe, teach, and confess that our identity and character is found in our baptism. Our baptismal identity as child and heir of God unites us to Christ and provides a spiritual way of life, which is also an ethical way of life. So, when the Christian is led to sin, we are called to repentance and prayer. Whatever the sinful thought, behavior and vice, the sinner pleads for mercy and forgiveness and that sinner receives forgiveness. As baptized believers, we are delivered from the hands of Satan by Christ’s cross, as our Lord Jesus through baptism equips Christians to live with a divine identity, with moral integrity, and with the eternal destiny of a heavenly kingdom.

 

The only remedy for all sin, hurt, injustice, and oppression is the hope and healing that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of the Church who breaks down dividing walls of hostility (Ephesians 2:14), reconciles the distressed (Ephesians 2:16), forgives sin (Colossians 1:14), removes shame (Romans 10:11), and gives holy identity and moral character (Ephesians 2:19).

 

In Christ alone, humanity is no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow citizens with the saints and are members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).

Sermon for Pentecost 11: "Feed on the Bread of Life" (John 6:35-51)

 

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]

Jesus said to them: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

To the hearers that day, they must have thought: “This makes no sense at all! This guy must be a fool!”

It is very likely that when the Jews first heard Jesus say, “I am the bread of life,” they must have just stared at Jesus and envisioned their storehouses filled with food. “Surely this Man is possessed!” they thought, “He claims to have the ability to provide sufficient nourishment – food and drink – to sustain life forever! Come on! Who is He kidding?!”

This is also the reaction by many who claim to be worldly-wise today. When they hear Christ say, “I am the bread of life,” the worldly-wise would likely say, “You don’t say! Aren’t you special?!”

This is certainly a strange manner of speech to say to someone to eat of a person who stands before him and says, “I am the bread of life.”

Christ’s Bread of Life discourse was certainly offensive to many. Christ’s speech offended the Jews back then. Christ’s speech continues to offend many today.

On this 11^th Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus comes to us today and says, “I am the bread of life, depend on Me alone, for I give eternal life.”

[Reason]

For the hearers that day, they must have thought Jesus was crazy. This Jesus, the son of Joseph, claiming to be bread come down from heaven. Really?! Well, if we were in that crowd that day, we may have had the same thoughts. This guy has gone off his rocker!

As crazy as Jesus may sound, He is actually teaching them and us to silence the voice of reason and just believe.

Instead of trusting reason, we must look and grab onto nothing, but the Word spoken by Christ. For Christian doctrine certainly sounds ridiculous and nonsensical to reason. To the judgment of reason, Christian doctrine appears so far from the truth that it is impossible to believe it. Reason never comes to grasp with the truth that God is God and I am not. Reason leads us to go astray thinking, “This doesn’t make any sense to me, so I won’t believe it.” Thus, the Jews that day found it impossible to accommodate themselves to these words of Christ.

Through reason, the Jews are offended. They murmur and grumble. Using pure reason, they find it impossible for Christ to feed the whole world with His body.

As the Reformation was spreading across Europe, many people thought that they had the right ideas in reforming the Christian Church. For Martin Luther who sparked the Reformation, his reformation was based in getting back to the Scripture alone. The Lutheran Reformation was a conservative reformation as Luther and his allies wanted to get back to the basics of the Christian faith as found in the Scriptures: we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone.

But not everyone felt the same way. Other reformers popped up here and there and many had other ideas for where the Reformation should go. One of those men was Ulrich Zwingli. Although Zwingli was formerly a Roman priest – like Luther – he wanted a reformation that was not entirely based in Scripture. He wanted a reformation that used man’s reason. Zwingli certainly appealed to Scripture, but he used his own reason in applying it to the Christian life.

Just as the Jews grumbled at Jesus saying, “I am the bread of life,” Zwingli, too, would grumble the same. At a time when these two reformations could have become one, Luther and Zwingli would not budge. Luther held to Scripture. Zwingli held to reason.

To settle this dispute and possibly unite the two reformations, a meeting was attempted with Luther and Zwingli known as the Marburg Colloquy in October of 1529. The two found agreement on every theological point, except for one. They could not find agreement on the Lord’s Supper.

The disagreement was over a single word: “is”. What is the meaning of “is”? The fight was over these words of Christ: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you” and “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

Luther argued that “is” means “is.” Zwingli argued that “is” means “represents” or “signifies.”

Zwingli said, “For if the ‘is’ is to be taken literally, then we must eat the body of Christ with its flesh, bones, veins, nerves, marrow and other members which I will forbear to mention.”[1] To which Luther would respond saying, “Every time I hope they will produce Scripture, they pronounce their own dreams. [Zwingli] says, if one teaches that the physical or bodily eating of Christ’s body forgives sin, that is contrary to faith. I testify on my part that I regard Zwingli as un-Christian, with all his teaching, for he holds and teaches no part of the Christian faith rightly.”[2]

Zwingli was too focused on human reason to the point that he could not believe Christ’s very words.

For Luther, the Lord’s Supper was a doctrine he would never waver. Since Christ said it, he believed it. That was that. No more thinking. Christ said it, and that was good enough for Luther.

Luther would go on to write in his Large Catechism: We shall learn the [Sacrament of the Altar] and its greatest importance, namely, that the chief thing is God’s Word and command. It was not dreamed up or invented by some mere human being but was instituted by Christ without anyone’s counsel or deliberation. This Sacrament of the Altar is not a mere memorial meal, it is the true body and blood of the Lord Christ, in and under the bread and wine, which Christians are commanded by Christ’s word to eat and drink.

For if the Lord’s Supper is only a memorial meal, then there is no benefit to this meal. It is only temporal food that perishes. Not eternal food that endures forever. There is no Means of Grace, thus there is no forgiveness of sins given in eating and drinking. There is no faith being strengthened. If there is no Means of Grace in the Lord’s Supper, what’s the point? This was Luther’s argument!

[Faith]

Again, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

If a physician or pharmacist were to tell you: “I can give you a medicine that will save you from death. And with this medicine, you will no longer live in fear of death, since you would be immune from death.” Would you take this medicine? This is what Jesus is offering to you and me!

So, what is this medicine and how do I take it? This medicine is in fact – faith. Jesus – the Bread of Life – is the preservative against eternal death. To come to Christ means the same as to believe in Christ. This is what it means to have the Bread of Life and to eat it. For to eat – to come to Christ – and to believe in Christ are all one and the same thing.

Christ says to us, “To eat Me means to come to Me and believe in Me.” We all come to Christ in no other way. We only come to Christ by means of faith in Him. All we have to do is just believe in Him, and then we have eaten Him and come to Him.

So, if you do not want to die and be condemned, come to Christ, believe in Him, cling to Him, and eat Him. When we think this way, this old prayer makes more sense: “Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

We, too, must say to Christ, “Give us this bread always” (John 6:34) to which He will reply, “Yes, with all My heart I will give it: for that is why I came from heaven. Believe only Me. Let Me be your food. Do not pin your hope on another food. Beware of that. For I am the bread, not any other man on earth. No one except Me will help you. And if you cling to Me, no devil will do you any harm; for here is the bread which will not let you go hungry.”

So, are you always clinging to Christ? For many of us, we are being fed moldy bread. We seem to trust false idols more than Jesus. Many of us trust the “so-called experts” on the evening and cable news more than we trust Jesus. Yes, we should be informed, but not to the point that we end up living in fear for ourselves and live in fear of our neighbor.

For many people, unholy fear has become their false religion. Instead of having your mind molded by the news and culture, open up your Bible, thumb through those pages, and read God’s Word, which is always relevant and newsworthy – after all our salvation through Christ’s body and blood is always newsworthy! And, come to the Divine Service weekly, because this is the place where we always receive the Bread of Life!

The Jewish hearers back then used human reason to the point that they believed they were entitled to not depend upon Jesus as their Bread of Life. They believed that they did not have to believe in Christ for salvation. They believed they were entitled to free lunches and handouts without faith, as they received at the feeding of the 5,000. Today, not much has changed.

Apart from Christ we are indeed helpless. We can’t save ourselves. We need a savior. Thus, Christ took upon Himself our flesh as He came down from heaven to be the Bread of Life that we may eat and never die.

For those who do not hold onto Christ’s flesh and blood by faith, they are lost, they are doomed. So, believe in Christ’s flesh and blood! Christ is the very Bread of Life. So, eat Him, that is, trust in Him. For when we “eat of this bread, [we] will live forever” (John 6:51).

This bread – Christ’s flesh – gave life to the world when He suffered and died for our sins. It is only through His death, that we have life! By faith in Him, we receive the fruits of His death upon the cross: forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation!

Although Christ’s words today refer primarily to His coming sacrificial death, within these words we anticipate the blessings of the Sacrament of our Lord’s Body and Blood.

With that being the case, Jesus must have knowingly formed His following words, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. … I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:35, 51). He said those words in such a way that they would correspond to what He would later say at the Last Supper: “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” And: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:19-20).

Our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared the foretaste of the feast to come at the Lord’s Table to which He invites us to receive the medicine of immortality – His very Body and Blood under the bread and wine – as the antidote to eternal death, so we live forever in Jesus Christ!

So, trust in Jesus, depend on Him, for He alone is the Bread of Life who feeds us with His own flesh, so that we will live forever! 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] Zwingli and Bullinger (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1953), 199.

[2] Luther’s Works, Volume 37: Word and Sacrament III (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1961), 189, 191, 231.

Funeral Sermon: "The Shepherd's Grace Runneth Over" (Psalm 23)

 

Cliff and Bruce, family and friends of Mabel:

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

[Intro]

Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and my own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15)

Mabel knew her Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd knew her. Throughout her earthly life, Jesus – the Good Shepherd – provided for Mabel. Today, this same Good Shepherd is still providing all of Mabel’s needs.

The Good Shepherd was always right beside her on her good days and on her not-so-good days all the while as she lived in Minnesota, California, and back again in Minnesota.

Mabel can always be remembered by her personality. She certainly had a great sense of humor. When I first really got to know her while at rehab at Harmony River in 2019, I witnessed her whit. She was certainly a people person. Her positive attitude tended to rub off on the people she met.

As a farm girl to a city girl to a small-town girl, her attitude on life never changed. She enjoyed meeting people, playing cards with her friends, and shopping. She was certainly a people-person.

She will always be remembered as a good example to her children and grandchildren. She will always be remembered for her positive outlook on life.

For us here this morning, we see the power of sin – which is death (Romans 6:23a) – right before us. By grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, our sister Mabel is not experiencing the power of eternal death, since she put her faith and trust in the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. Today, she is experiencing the free gift of eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23b). So, her death is only but a portal by which we enter heaven with Christ with His rod and staff leading us.

Even so, we are separated from Mabel. And with any separation, we grieve. So, don’t be ashamed of grieving. But, know this, although we grieve the loss of our loved ones, Christians do not grieve as others do who have no hope. We have the encouragement that we are always with the Lord in this life and in our future heavenly life as God informed us in today’s Epistle from 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18.

This morning, we hear about God’s encouraging Word as our Good Shepherd.

[The Lord Leads]

Mabel lived her earthly life with the attitude that the glass was always half full. Today, her glass is runneth over as she is in the presence of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her fellow saints – like her husband Melvin, and others in the Church Triumphant – as well as the angels. Today, through her death as a believer in Christ, sin has no more power over her. She has a clear mind, and she has no more pain, no more hunger, and no more thirst. She is completely satisfied as she is in the presence of the Good Shepherd.

For us here this morning, we can only imagine what Mabel is witnessing and receiving from her Lord. But let us not forget, our Lord is caring for us now just as He is caring for Mabel in heaven. God teaches us this fact in Psalm 23.

“The Lord is my shepherd;
          I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
          He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
          He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3).

In the first three verses of Psalm 23, we hear how the Good Shepherd leads us. The Good Shepherd cares for all the needs of His flock. In doing so, He cares for every human need: physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Under the care of the Good Shepherd, we shall not want. Now this doesn’t mean that we will never have any desires. Certainly, we still have wants. But, in Christ, all of our needs are met. The Good Shepherd supplies the basics through His daily bread: food, drink, and protection.

Each day of our life – and in the life to come – God provides for us abundantly. He leads us to “lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2a). Now, these green pastures are His Means of Grace – Word and Sacrament. In these “green pastures,” we are fed and strengthened, preserved from error, comforted in all temptations, protected against the devil’s power, and saved from all need. Even in her last days here on earth, Mabel was fed and strengthened by God, just as God continues to do for her and all the saints in heaven.

The Good Shepherd also “restores our soul” (Psalm 23:3a). Christ teaches us saying, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). We are Christ’s sheep, because He has made us His own. You see, Christ restores our soul through His bloody sacrifice and death for His sheep – you and me. Through Christ’s death, we are restored in the eyes of God the Father and all by faith in His Son.

The Good Shepherd also leads us in “paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). This path of righteousness is “the right path.” You see, Jesus will never lead us to a place of slaughter. He leads us to eternal life and salvation. Along the way, He leads us along safe paths to heaven through His Word. He leads us to heaven, for the Good Shepherd is the only Way (John 14:6) to travel the righteous path.

[The Lord is Present]

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
          Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

Even in the most frightening situation in our life, the Good Shepherd is present. So, we can always be confident of God’s guiding presence. Valleys on the way to the high pastureland often have the best grass, but valleys can also be places of hidden danger for the sheep. Even so, as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” the Good Shepherd is with us. He is always present with us. The Good Shepherd never sends His sheep into places He will not go. He is always with us in our lives today and in the life to come!

The Lord first made His presence known to Mabel through the waters of Holy Baptism. When she heard these words spoken over her: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” she was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all of her sin. It was at that moment that the Holy Spirit gave Mabel – and you and me – the ability to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

St. Paul teaches us that at our Baptism, we were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. Since, Christ was raised from the dead, we too, by faith, will be united with Him in a resurrection like His (Romans 6:3-5).

Although the Good Shepherd was always present with her – and us – it is at our Baptism that He announces His presence to us.

[The Lord Provides Forever]

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
          Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
          and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:5-6).

These verses tell how the Good Shepherd always provides for His sheep.

He prepares a table before us. This shows how the Good Shepherd is hospitable to His sheep. The Good Shepherd not only gives us our daily bread – all the needs of our body, such as food, clothing and shelter – but He gives us the gift of His very Body and very Blood in the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins and to strengthen our weak faith.

The “cup runneth over” is the grace that we have received by faith in Jesus Christ.

You might say that Mabel’s optimism began at her baptism, for which it did. As the optimist, she would say that the cup is always half full. But in Christ, her cup was always more than half full. As a child of the heavenly Father her cup was always “runneth over.”

For although we sin much in thought, word and deed, God’s grace is the cup that is always runneth over. For while we were once dead in our sin, Jesus took upon Himself the death we deserve upon the cross, so that we would be made righteous by grace through faith in Him. So, when we repent and confess our sins to God, our sins are wiped away. We are forgiven.

The Good Shepherd gives all who believe in Him this goodness and mercy all their lives.

[Dwelling in the House of the Lord Forever]

For everyone who dies in Christ, they experience the ending of Psalm 23: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6b).

As soon as those who know the Good Shepherd enter heaven, they are no longer sinners, but only saints. For Mabel and her fellow saints, they “hunger no more, neither thirst anymore” (Revelation 7:16a), since they are in the presence of the Good Shepherd. While in heaven, the Good Shepherd continues to provide.

6    And so through all the length of days
    Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
    Within Thy house forever!        

                                      (The King of Love My Shepherd Is, LSB 709, stanza 6)

Text: Public domain

May we follow Mabel’s example of faith in the Good Shepherd and receive the free gift of His grace that is always runneth over, just as she received throughout her earthly life and into her heavenly life – and with her and her fellow saints – joyfully await Christ’s coming on the Last Day! 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

Mabel Abraham's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/mabel-myrtle-abraham/