"In Christ, We Suffer ... and Endure" (2 Timothy 2:1-13)

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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:

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul wrote to Timothy: “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3).

 

As I preached last week, it would be so easy to just feel sorry for yourself while chained in a damp room. It would be so easy to begin the blame game or just complain about circumstances. But St. Paul does not do that. Instead, he is strengthened through his suffering in Christ. He encourages Timothy to share in his suffering in Christ.

 

Contrary to popular belief, the Christian life is marked by suffering. Christians endure misfortune and persecution. Christians endure all kinds of trials. Christians must endure the evil from the devil, the fallen world, and our own sinful flesh.

 

Christians suffer because suffering is the pattern of the life of Jesus Christ. So, if your life is in Christ, you must share the same pattern. If the world hated Christ, so naturally, the world hates His followers – Christians. 

 

St. Paul suffered mightily for the Gospel. He wasn’t just ridiculed by society. Paul wasn’t just called insulting names; he was imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel. And Paul believed this current imprisonment would likely end with his death. This is why he is writing to Timothy. He is writing to Timothy to give him courage in the faith for when he would face suffering.

 

Timothy would face suffering. He would be imprisoned as recorded in Hebrews 13:23. Later Timothy would be stoned to death in Ephesus for preaching the Gospel in opposition to the pagan false god Diana.

 

As a follower of Christ, we should not expect anything less than suffering for the sake of Christ. Just weeks ago, Jesus evangelized us in Luke 14 saying, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. … Anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

 

Jesus evangelized us by saying if you want to follow Him, then you must first count the cost. One of those costs is bearing your own cross, which means we must be ready to die for the sake of the truth. We must all be prepared to be a martyr for Christ in a fallen world that murdered its Maker and its Redeemer.

 

The prophets and apostles faced opposition from a world that wants nothing to do with God, so the fallen world killed them. We join them in this train.

 

You see, Christian suffering is our vocation. Suffering is our calling. Paul’s and Timothy’s sufferings were specifically because of their callings as apostle and pastor. But they didn’t suffer for themselves, for their own sake. No, Paul and Timothy suffered for the sake of the gospel. They endured everything for the sake of the elect – the Christians of all time, you, as well as your relatives of the past and your relatives of the future.

 

So, today, Paul writes to Timothy and to you and me of what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Christ. A Christian isn’t to have mixed allegiances. A Christian is to have a whole-hearted and single-minded faith in Jesus Christ.

 

So, Paul writes of three illustrations to encourage Timothy as well as us here today.

 

The first illustration is that of a soldier. And to be more precise, a combat soldier. A good soldier serves his commanding officer with a singleness of purpose. A good soldier doesn’t question his commanding officer. A good soldier follows orders. A good soldier makes it his intent to please his commanding officer.

 

As a good soldier, he cannot have divided loyalties. Paul writes, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4). So, whether under an officer in the military or a boss in the office, we in the Lord’s service accept suffering by trusting that Jesus will not forsake us. Jesus is our commanding officer and so we are to be 100 percent loyal to Him by renouncing all our self-interests.

 

The second illustration is that of a competing athlete. Paul writes, “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). As it is in the Olympics, amateur or professional sports, the athlete must compete by the rules. Doctrine matters. The rules of the Christian faith is doctrine as it is bound in the Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments. 

As Christians, we cannot change the rules. We cannot change doctrine. God’s Word says: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).

 

So, we can’t change the rules and say that salvation is through works. We can’t change the rules and say that all people are saved no matter what you believe. We can’t change the rules and say that same-sex and polyamorous marriage is not a sin. We can’t change the rules by saying evil is good. We can’t change the rules just so that we would be praised by the fallen world. You see, God’s Word does not change even if we change it, for we are all ultimately judged by Him.

 

Likewise, “an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). And what is this crown that Paul writes? It is the crown of everlasting life, the imperishable wreath (1 Corinthians 9:25). So, any pastor, teacher or layperson who fails to compete lawfully cannot receive the crown, the crown of everlasting life. Paul’s point is this: any Christian who fails faithfully to hand down those things “you have heard from me” (2 Timothy 2:2), the apostolic teaching, is disqualified from receiving the crown of everlasting life.

 

The third illustration is that of a hardworking farmer. Here, Paul is not telling us what we are to do, but rather the blessings we can expect from our hard and difficult work. St. Paul writes, “It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops” (2 Timothy 2:6). Here, Paul is giving additional assurance to Timothy in his faithful preaching and teaching, since it is not in vain for the one who toils is bound to receive his reward.

 

So, what is the reward? What is the share of the crops? Well, our fruits are always spiritual. For it is our work to sow the seed of God’s Word. For me, I receive spiritual fruits from faithful preaching. You and I grow in the one true Christian faith through preaching. As I prepare sermons, my faith is strengthened. I receive comfort and joy through Christ. In fact, the sermons I prepare for you, I first preach to myself.

 

The Holy Spirit grows spiritual fruits for you, too. He does this through inwardly digesting His Word through preaching, Bible Study and your devotional life. And when you confess your faith publicly – the sure hope you have in Christ, you may face suffering, but you will also reap God’s blessing.

Paul concludes his illustrations with these words: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). Here, Paul is calling on us to ponder, to reflect on what he has written. For when we do reflect on God’s Word, the Lord gives us proper understanding through the Holy Spirit. This “understanding” is the reward of being drenched in God’s Word by holding it sacred as we gladly hear and learn it (Luther’s Explanation to the Third Commandment).

So, always remember that suffering is our lot in Christ. And being chained as a criminal, Paul sees this as a blessed identification with Jesus. Afterall, Jesus was bound and led away to His execution to be nailed to a cross.

 

Paul calls on Timothy, as well as you and me, to remember what Jesus went through. To the world, Jesus looked pitiful; Jesus looked disgraced. The world saw a man chained, beaten, crucified, dead, and buried. The world wanted that to be the end.

 

But it wasn’t the end. Jesus rose from the dead! The Word of God is not bound! We preach Christ crucified and risen for sinners! God’s Word is not chained! His preaching continues through sound preaching!

 

Because Christ is raised from the dead, we are filled with hope! Yes, we will suffer for the sake of Christ. Suffering is our lot; our vocation; our calling. But just as the chains of death could not keep Jesus in the tomb, we, too, will be raised from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection. 

 

So, we endure! We endure through Jesus. We endure through repentance and faith. We endure this cycle of repentance and faith. When you sin – when you aren’t loyal to your commanding officer Jesus and when we think you can change the rules – repent, turn to Jesus and receive His forgiveness that He won for you upon the cross! For this saying is true: “If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful – for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13).

 

Jesus endured everything for you and me. He faced every trial. He faced every evil. Through His innocent suffering and death, Jesus forgave all sins. Through repentance and faith in Him, your sins are forgiven through His blood and merit. He endured so that we can endure. And He gives us the tools for endurance: His Means of Grace, Word and Sacrament. So, let us endure through Him, as we share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, who always remains faithful to you and me! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"From Fear to Courage" (2 Timothy 1:1-14)

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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 Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to write to Timothy the following: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5).

 

While in prison for proclaiming the one true Christian faith, St. Paul had much time to think. He had much time to pray. It would be so easy to feel sorry for yourself while chained in a damp room. It would be so easy to begin the blame game or just complain about circumstances. But St. Paul does not do that. Instead, he thanks God.

 

St. Paul remembers his forefathers who brought him up as he would grow up into becoming a Pharisee and later through Christ’s intervention, an apostle of Christ. Paul went from a persecutor of Christ into a courageous witness and missionary of Christ. 

 

Paul remembers Timothy’s tears. He remembers that day when he parted from Timothy. Could Timothy had known that Rome had a bounty on Paul, his father of the faith? We don’t know. But we do know that final time brought tears upon Timothy. And any separation does bring sorrow.

 

As Paul thinks of Timothy, he is reminded of Timothy’s family. He tells of the faith that first dwelt in Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Paul speaks of their sincere faith. He says that same faith also dwells in Timothy.

 

You see, the Holy Spirit had worked a sincere faith in their hearts, one that showed itself also in the way Eunice and Lois instructed Timothy in the Old Testament when he was still a child. Through the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of his mother and grandmother, we can see how the godly examples of faithful parents and grandparents can bring eternal blessings to children and children’s children.

 

But did you notice what’s not mentioned by Paul? It is kind of striking. Paul never mentions Timothy’s father or grandfather. And when men are not mentioned in the Scriptures, it is usually for the better. 

You see, if Timothy was to know the Scriptures, he wasn’t going to get that from his father. For Acts 16:1 tells us that his father was a Greek, a heathen, an unbeliever. Timothy grew up in a home with divided loyalties, much like so many homes today.

 

And when the head of the household will not lead the home, who ends up doing it? The mother. This is the case for Timothy. This is the case for so many households today.

 

But the good news is that Timothy was taught the faith from his mother, who learned it from her mother. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in his mother and indwelling in him, Timothy learned the sound words of Christian doctrine. Timothy became a disciple of Christ. Timothy received the laying on of hands. He was ordained to the holy calling of pastor.

 

But something happened to Timothy after he became a pastor. He changed. He became timid. 

 

Something happens to us as we grow older. At some point in our lives, we all develop the virtue of hesitancy. Now, certainly the faith given to us through the Holy Spirit is still there, but that faith does not flow so smoothly through the mouth. We become timid. We hesitate to speak of the hope we have in Christ with others. We shut our mouths at family gatherings. We shut our mouths among our friends. We learned the virtue of hesitating. We have learned how to keep our mouths quiet. 

 

Now, certainly a major part of why we hesitate and become timid is the hostile world around us. We desire to live in this hostile world, so we hesitate to speak of the good news we have in Christ with our friends, our family, our neighbor. We don’t want to cause a scene, so we keep our mouths quiet.

 

One person who did not keep his mouth quiet speaking of the sure and certain hope he had in Jesus Christ was Charlie Kirk. He spoke in some of the most un-Christian places: college campuses. He conversed with people who disagreed with him. He would have those who disagreed with him come to the front of the line to argue their opinions. Sometimes Charlie changed their mind. Other times he did not. Sometimes Charlie would change his own mind. But each conversation was rooted in God’s Word and for that Charlie was hated by many. He was called a bigot. He was called a Nazi, a fascist. He was called a white supremacist. He was called a homophobe, a transphobe. But for those who called Charlie names, did they truly know why? I tend to doubt they even knew why. They just heard it said by someone else and believed the lie.

In John 15, Jesus said to His disciples: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” … But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated Me without a cause’” (John 15:18-20a, 25).

 

Charlie was hated by many because he was faithful to God’s Word as he spoke on college campuses. And for being faithful to his Lord and Savior, he was assassinated last month. May we have the same courage of Charlie Kirk.

 

This is exactly what St. Paul was saying to Timothy. With a clear and gentle rebuke, St. Paul wrote to Timothy that God has not given Christians a spirit of fear.

 

Maybe Timothy was fearful because he went from an innocent and naïve faith and has now encountered a world that has killed its Maker. We all know of Christians who have walked away from the faith. We all know Christians who have chosen to leave Bible-centered churches to churches that are praised by the fallen world.

 

Timothy has learned to keep his mouth shut. He has learned to be ashamed of the testimony of God’s Word. And so have we.

 

We, too, have been confronted by a world that has rejected its Maker. We have all heard those false teachers in the world – on television and social media, in our places of learning. We know how persuasive those false teachers have been. We have all seen brothers and sisters depart from the one true faith. Despite our prolonged and gut-wrenching efforts to draw them back, we have watched them walk away. And we know faithful Christians suffer. We have learned how to keep our mouths shut. We have learned how to keep our mouths quiet. We have learned to conceal the deep love and the utter dependance we have on Jesus. We have learned how to conceal that hope when we chat with our friends and neighbors. 

 

We all need St. Paul’s encouragement that he gave to this young pastor named Timothy. Did you notice how he encourages Timothy? He encourages him by summoning the little boy he once was. He says, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, … dwells in you” (2 Timothy 1:5).

The Holy Spirit dwells in Timothy. The Spirit of the One who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light dwells in Timothy.

 

And He dwells in you, too. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, how could anyone of us be ashamed of Jesus? Afterall, He “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

 

In other words, Jesus has “redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.” (Second Article)

 

We received God’s grace not because of anything you and I have done, but by what God has done for us. We cannot even take responsibility for coming to faith. Eunice and Lois and your parents and grandparents certainly played a role, but it was the Holy Spirit who brought them and you to faith. For “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” (Third Article)

 

This is how God does it. This is God’s way. You have faith “because of His own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9). Yours and my faith is all because of God’s grace from beginning to end. And He keeps us strong in faith through His Means of Grace as “He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth” through the preaching of His Word and the receiving of His Sacraments. 

 

So, “follow the pattern of the sound words” that you have been taught “in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). Pay close attention to what God has said and done in Christ. Guard the good deposit. Read the Word, Hear the Word, live His Word. For there is nothing more important than God’s Word. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t be timid. But be courageous. Be childlike in the faith and look for opportunities to share with your loved ones, your neighbors, of the faith you have. For the One who destroyed death has also “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"A Warning to All: The Rich Man and Lazarus" (Luke 16:19-31)

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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 poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” (Luke 16:22-23).

 

Most people think very little about their own death. After all, most people will live life to an old age. But then, there are some who try to deny they will ever die, which means they likely live with no accounting of how they live. Afterall, why not live by the motto: you only live once. So, just do it. Take the risk. Enjoy life. Whatever that may be. Enjoy life on the couch. Enjoy life on the links.

 

Today’s Gospel text pictures our mortality. We cannot deny death. God’s Word says, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). You and I are going to die. That is, unless Christ returns first. Life is short as our days and months and years fly by. 

 

So, to keep us prepared for the future, Jesus teaches us the story about a rich man and Lazarus. Jesus teaches us about the real places of heaven and hell.

 

Until the day of your death, or the day of Christ’s return, everyone receives their daily bread from God – Christians and heathens alike. The Lord gives us everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body for all people, as well as everything that has to do with the support and needs of our soul for us Christians. The Lord certainly blesses us daily!

 

In today’s text, Jesus tells of two men whom the Lord has blessed.

 

Now, Jesus tells us this story because of the Pharisees, who as St. Luke tells “we're lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). These Pharisees ridiculed Jesus after He told them the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son, and the dishonest manager. Jesus concluded those parables saying, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13).

Like the rich man in today’s story, these Pharisees loved themselves. But Jesus teaches us that the love of money and selfishness can lead a person to hell, whereas proper love and trust in God will lead to eternal life.

 

Now, is today’s story told by Jesus a parable, a simple story, or was it a real event? I raise this question because there are no other parables where Jesus actually names a person. And what’s also different is that the rich man is a person without a name. While the poor man has a name: Lazarus, which means “God has helped.”

 

Now, there is something that we do know about this story Jesus told. He told this story to warn the Pharisees and also you and me. He told this story to warn everyone: believer and unbeliever alike. He warns us against greed and loveless ease.

 

Jesus calls us to help and support our neighbor for any physical need. Jesus warns us to beware of the love of money – when money becomes your idol, which might turn us away from our neighbor and even from our God. And above all, Jesus’ story today teaches us to look to our God in the midst of life’s trouble, to listen to His Scriptures and their promises, and to set our hearts on the joy and comfort of His coming kingdom. So, what can we say about the two men in today’s story? 

 

Well, there was a rich man. Jesus tells us that he “was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day” (Luke 16:19). This man lived in luxury. He spent his money on what made him feel good and look good. He thought only of himself.

 

Then, there was another man named Lazarus. Jesus tells us that he “was covered with sores” and he “desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table” (Luke 16:20, 21). Lazarus was a beggar. Lazarus was sick and crippled, and he was a pitiful sight. The rich man had more money than he could ever spend. He lived sumptuously. The poor man Lazarus only yearned for table scraps. He lived in misery.

 

Jesus also tells us that there was no act of kindness that came from this rich man toward this poor beggar. This rich man may have been monetarily rich, but he was certainly “not rich toward God”(Luke 12:21). He does not make himself clean by giving to the poor (Luke 11:41). He won’t even give the needly his leftovers that just spoil and rot. And oddly enough, it appears that this rich man did not even use his worldly wealth to gain friends, so that when he died, he would be welcomed into the eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9). This rich man appears to have only been focused upon himself. He was hoarding up earthly treasure and clothing and food.

Now the wages of sin, which is death, will come for the worldly rich and the worldly poor alike. Death comes for all people, because all people are caught in the web of sin.

 

But when death comes for Lazarus and this rich man, they experience a great reversal of fortune. Jesus pronounced blessed “who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied” (Luke 6:21) and on the other hand, He said, “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry” (Luke 6:25). This beatitude and curse that Jesus speaks about are vividly illustrated by the situation in which Lazarus and this rich man find themselves in the afterlife.

 

Lazarus, the poor man, finds himself at the banquet table of salvation, reclining next to Father Abraham. While the rich man is desiring what Lazarus now has. He calls out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame” (Luke 16:24).

 

The thoughts of this rich man then turn to his five brothers who still live on earth. He wants to warn them to repent of their life, so they would not face his fate in hell “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). To this, Abraham says, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29). But this rich man still does not believe. He wants more than God’s inerrant Word, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. He wants his brothers scared into repentance and faith. He calls on Abraham to send Lazarus back to life, but Abraham says, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

 

In other words, Abraham is saying, even if Lazarus did return, they will not change their ways. No miracle will change them. If the Word of God cannot convince them, neither will a resurrection from the dead.

 

Jesus tells this story as a warning to the Pharisees. And this story is also a warning to us. For we, too, are tempted to love the good things of this life, like wealth and honor. Of course, it is not certainly wrong to ask God for daily bread, but we are to ask with gratitude. Afterall, Jesus calls us to receive the blessings that God provides to us in this life. For all these good things, God be thanked and God be praised.

 

But God has nowhere promised anyone bounty or uninterrupted ease in this life. He has not promised anyone honor and recognition in this life. So, sometimes, His people are covered with sores and sickness. Sometimes His people face heartache. Sometimes His people face disappointment. 

Sometimes, His people face tragedies that bring life to a screeching halt. Sometimes, God’s people must endure bad things. Sometimes, God’s people must live as beggars.

 

Now, God has promised us something. He has promised us lasting bounty and lasting joy that is given to us through Jesus Christ. This is the testimony of Moses and the Prophets to whom Abraham points the rich man. For us, today, we not only have Moses and the Prophets, but we also have the Gospels and Epistles. The entirety of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation convey the promises of God and God does not lie (Titus 1:2).

 

So, whoever turns aside from these divine promises in Christ to set his heart instead on earthly pleasures and riches is certainly a fool.

 

But whether, we are rich or we are poor, each of us will die and each of us will stand in the judgement as a beggar before God. The good news is that in Jesus Christ, we see that God makes beggars rich. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul writes, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus set aside all of His unimaginable wealth as the Son of God lowered Himself to take on our human flesh. He was born in our flesh and then took on the form of a beggar. He said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58).

 

Jesus hung naked on the cross. Men cast lots for His clothing. He was covered in wounds, but not even the dogs licked His sores. He was mocked by scoffers. They laughed at His misery. He was rejected by all. But He did this all for us. He did this to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He suffered, died, rose and ascended for you.

 

Certainly, none of us are worthy to ask for or even inherit anything before God, not even the rich man, not even Lazarus, not you, and not me. But there is one who is worthy. “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” (Revelation 5:12) 

 

Jesus alone is worthy, and He shares this inheritance with all poor sinful beggars who look up to Him in faith. So, when you lack and worry, when you fear and weep, look up, turn your eyes to heaven. All that is Christ’s is yours. He has purchased for you the everlasting kingdom with His holy and precious blood. So, keep praying and keep waiting. For in Christ, you are as rich as Lazarus. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Faithful and Shrewd" (Luke 16:1-15)

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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:

Jesus said: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13).

 

Today, the one holy Christian and apostolic Church rejoices to celebrate the Festival of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. 

 

As you may recall, St. Matthew was originally a tax collector by trade, so today’s parable seems appropriate. As a tax collector, Matthew would have been viewed by the Jewish populace as a traitor and a sell-out to the Romans. So, the calling of Matthew by Jesus was certainly a bold move. One day, the Lord saw Matthew sitting at the tax booth and He simply said to him, “Follow Me”(Matthew 9:9). The man who had devoted himself to acquiring money at the expense of his own people just got up and walked away from his table. He walked away from his money. He walked away from his old life. Matthew, a sinner, was called by Jesus, and became righteous through His shed blood. Matthew is a perfect example of Jesus’ words, “You cannot serve God and money.”

 

Some weeks ago, my Grandma Shaw asked me about today’s parable, the Parable of the Dishonest Manager. She asked me about how the master could commend, or better yet, praise this dishonest manager for all that he had done. So, I’d like to get into this parable and what exactly Jesus teaching us.

 

Firstly, I would like to admit, this parable can leave us scratching our heads in confusion. This parable is puzzling. But always keep in mind these words of God: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). There is something to these words of God.

 

So, Jesus tells us the Parable of the Dishonest Manager. This parable is framed by the interaction between the master and his manager, with the master calling his manager to render a concluding account of his management and then at the end commending him for his prudence. 

 

In between all of this, the manager wrestles with the problem that he has been fired, is out of work, has no place to stay, and has no hope of future employment. He has hit rock bottom. He dismisses physical labor or begging, because he is incapable of either. But in the midst of this despair, he has come up with a solution to his problem. His solution is shrewd and effective: he will change his master’s accounts so that both he and the master will be commended by the community. So, he summons his master’s debtors one by one and lowers what they owe the master. 

 

“He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty,’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty” (Luke 16:5b-7). He cancels about 18 months wages with each account. But did you notice that he has them change the amount? It happens in their handwriting, not his. This is an important detail, and the reason is this: the next thing the manager will do is take all these changed accounts back to the master. And when the master reads of his accounts, he will realize two things: first, these debts have been lowered, and second, the debtors know about it, since it’s in theirhandwriting. If it had been in the fired manager’s handwriting, he would have changed them all back and there would have been no harm, and nobody would have known. But the thing is, his debtors know.

 

It is this manager’s shrewdness that leads to both the praise of his master and of Jesus Himself. 

 

But all the while, this manager was not the manager. He had been fired by his master. Nothing he did was legally binding, since he was no longer authorized to conduct any business in the name of his master. But the thing is, nobody else knew. They all assumed nothing had changed. They all assumed that this manager was the master’s manager.

 

If this were a secular story, the interpretation of this parable would be self-evident. Faced with a crisis, the manager is clever though dishonest in solving his problems. The apparent dilemma is that this is a parable of Jesus in which He seems to be commending dishonesty to his followers. 

What are we to make of this? Are we to lie, cheat, and steal our way to prosperity? Is Jesus calling His disciples to make up get rich quick schemes? Afterall, it is Jesus who is the assumed master in this parable, who says, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness” (Luke 16:8). What are we to make of this? This is often where most people get caught up. This is where most people get stuck.

 

But this is a false dilemma. This is only a dilemma if you continue dwelling on the manager and his dishonesty.

 

Now, if one considers this parable from the master’s perspective, then the focus of this parable is not on the dishonesty of the manager, but on the mercy of the master. This assumes that the master is an honorable man, which seems to be the pattern of the households in Jesus’ parables. The rich master’s mercy to the manager who squandered his estate is parallel to the father’s mercy to the prodigal son who squandered the father’s inheritance. So, the purpose of this parable is actually to reveal the master’s mercy.

 

You see, when the master discovers what the fired manager had done, he is in a bind with two possible options. First, he can reverse the manager’s decisions to properly adjust the accounts. But in doing so, he will receive anger and wrath from his renters and force them to reassess whether he is a “generous and merciful” master. Second, if he lets the adjustments stand, he has further secured the goodwill of his renters. What would be the better option? He chooses the second, which is the obvious choice, so that he would be consistent with his own character. In doing so, the master must commend, and praise, his fired manager for shrewdly managing his personal crisis since the manager trusted the character of his master and staked everything on the master’s mercy. And the manager was not disappointed.

 

It was this fact. Not the cheating. Not the embezzling. It was the fact that the manager trusted his master’s mercy. It was this that Jesus encourages us to imitate in this manager. You see, the manager, though fired, trusted the character of his master and he staked everything on his master’s mercy.

 

So, Jesus is not calling us steal from our boss. He isn’t calling us to play creative accounting games when you pay your taxes. He isn’t calling us to spend more than you make. But He is calling us to know who you serve. Jesus says, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13).

 

When Jesus poses these two stark alternatives, He is giving us wonderful advice. Advice that we must listen to and follow. We can’t have it both ways. No person can serve two lords. In this example, Jesus puts money versus God. Now, money itself is not evil. Money is a means to purchase needed goods and services. But money can become a false god, a false idol. And when money becomes the priority over the one true God, then one has a classic case of mismanagement. When money and possessions become the priority, it is often called “mammon.”

 

Now, “mammon” is not evil in itself, but it becomes evil when it becomes the object of one’s service, or when one worships mammon instead of God.

 

For this dishonest manager, he knew what to do. He knew to trust his master. He had faith in His master. Yes, what he did was shrewd. He was a crook. He was a scoundrel. But for what he had done knowing His master, his master commended him. He praised him. 

 

When his life was falling apart, this dishonest manager knew where to turn. He turned to his master. So, when you don’t know what to do when your world appears to be falling in around you, turn to your Master. And your Master is not cruel and hard, but is rather unusually generous. And when you have been faithful in your use of His money or have been less than faithful by squandering it, or wasting it, or been greedy with it, your Master is still good to you. Your Master continues to love you and sees you through. We are all saved through the generosity of your Master.

 

And your Master is Jesus Christ, who loves and forgives sinners, just like you and me. He gives you more than just earthly wealth and goods. You and I have been bought with a price and not with perishable things, like silver or gold, but with His holy precious blood shed for you and me on the cross to save sinners. He saved us so that you and I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom.

 

So, when you are stuck and don’t know where to turn, if you are too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg, don’t defend yourself and try to get out of your mess on your own. Instead, trust in your Master. Have faith in your Master. Like St. Matthew, respond to His calling. Repent. Plead for forgiveness. Receive His absolution in His Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament. For your Master loves you! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Awakened in Christ" (Mark 10:14; Psalm 139)

Dear Christian friends, especially you, the grieving parents: Bryana and Corey; grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Before us this day are shattered hopes and dreams. While all deaths are difficult, there is something really unfair about the death of a child. It’s like planting a flower garden, imagining the glory that will come later in the summer. Then, just as tender shoots begin to appear, the rabbits and other rodents chew them up. It’s like watching for months as a new house takes shape only to have a fire destroy it just as you are able to move in. All the hopes and dreams with a baby registry. Then suddenly, you are preparing for a funeral. Melissa and I have been there. The hope and then the shock. We grieve with you. 

 

Today empty arms now hunger for hugs that will have to wait until the grand reunion in heaven. 

 

Amanda Jean Elaine. How we all wish we could have held her longer. How we wish we could have heard her giggle of delight. How we all wish we could have known her longer and seen her grow up.

 

But our gracious God knew her. And He still knows her. Amanda Jean’s frame was not hidden from our Lord when she was being made in secret, intricately woven in the deep darkness of her mother’s womb. The eyes of our living Lord saw Amanda Jean’s unformed substance, the days formed for her, few though they may have been on this side of heaven.

 

So, we gather here today with hearts aching, minds numbed, eyes filled with tears … and yet, you should still be hopeful in the midst of loss. You should be daring to rejoice in the midst of sorrow.

 

We rejoice in our tears because of the gift of Holy Baptism that God gave to Amanda Jean. Today, Jesus meets us in our grief head on and reminds us that in Holy Baptism, we are immersed in His death, His burial, and His resurrection (Romans 6:3-11).

 

But even in the joy of knowing Amanda Jean’s salvation through her baptism into Christ, we still mourn and grieve. We mourn and grieve because every human being has inherited that dreadful disease known as the original sin of Adam and Eve. Were it not for sin, there would not be death. Death is the consequence of the Fall into sin. So, we long for that day when Christ comes again to finally put an end to death.

 

Until that day, we mourn, but mourning is a good and godly work. Remember, Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. Jesus wept, because He loved His friend, so weeping and mourning the death of Amanda Jean or any of our loved ones is, indeed, a good and godly work.

 

But in Christ Jesus and in His Church, we have the ultimate medicine that brings true healing to our broken hearts, genuine ointment for our numbness, and the ultimate wiping away of our tears. What is it? It’s called the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Yes, we grieve, but our grieving is mixed with hope. And this hope isn’t a wish. This hope is sure and certain. So, our tears are mixed with faith. Our sadness is mixed with joy, because one day in the future “we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed … [as] this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:51b-52, 53b).

 

Jesus loves all the little children. He says, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Jesus has given little Amanda Jean the kingdom. The same goes for you.

 

And how did we earn the kingdom of God? By God’s grace. It is because the very Son of God came down from heaven. He took upon Himself our flesh and became man. Just try to imagine that. God became man for Amanda Jean. God became man for you, too. He came to take upon Himself yours and my sins. He suffered, bled and died. But He did not remain dead and buried. He rose! He rose three days later. Through His perfect life and atoning death, Jesus brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel – life and immortality for all of us, including little Amanda Jean.

 

And just like you and me, Amanda Jean did nothing to deserve this gift. She received life and immortality. She did nothing to deserve it, but she received it. She received it from her Creator who knew her even in her mother’s womb. Today, she receives life from her Savior to carry her into eternity.

 

All we can do is receive. We are all on the receiving end of God’s life-giving ways no matter how many hours, days, weeks, months, or years we are given. We receive everything from our Father’s hands, through His Son and the Holy Spirit. This new life is given through Holy Baptism. And He keeps us in the one true faith through His Means of Grace, His Word and His Sacraments. 

 

Each week at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, we hear God’s healing words of absolution. Each week, He literally puts forgiveness, life, and salvation in our mouths with the living Body and Blood of Jesus every time we receive His Supper. God gives and we receive.

 

Meanwhile tears will continue to flow, there will still be heartache and numbness, but we can actually find comfort and rejoice in the midst of sorrow. God knows you and He knows what you are going through. Bryana and Corey, you are still Amanda Jean’s parents. You have been Amanda’s parents since she was conceived and made in secret.

 

The Psalmist writes: “How precious are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with You” (Psalm 139:17-18).

 

Today, little Amanda Jean is awake as she is in the very presence of her Savior, Jesus Christ, the very Lamb of God. And one day, by God’s grace, you will see her again with all the saints and angels in heaven.

 

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +