"God's Obedient Son" (Luke 2:40-52)

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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 to [Mary and Joseph], ‘Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?’” (Luke 2:49).

 

If you are like me, when you heard today’s Gospel text, you may have thought about the 1990 movie “Home Alone.” In that movie, Peter and Kate McCallister accidently left their son Kevin at home as they traveled with their extended family to Florida for Christmas break. But, while in a hurry one morning to get out the door in order to get to O’Hare on time, they forgot to check upstairs for their son Kevin. It was only later, while flying the friendly skies that Kevin’s mother realizes that her son was missing. Frantically, Kevin’s parents – and especially his mom – immediately begin looking for ways to get back home to find their lost son.

 

In a similar fashion, Mary and Joseph search frantically for their lost Son. Except, their Son was not lost. For Jesus remained at the temple in Jerusalem for a purpose. 

 

“Now [Christ’s] parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom” (Luke 2:41-42).

 

If you thought driving to the airport was stressful, the trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem was a grueling one of about 80 miles, which lasted three to four days. Thankfully, Mary, Joseph, and young Jesus did not travel alone, but with a large company of people in a caravan. And this caravan served multi-purposes. First, it offered an opportunity for fellowship among family and local townsfolk. Second, any large group provided for protection from the threat of highway robbers.

 

And when the Holy Family arrived in Jerusalem, they would have found the city teeming with hundreds of thousands of fellow pilgrims, who would have been trying to find lodging and a place to celebrate the Passover meal, along with purchasing their sacrificial animals. The Holy Family would have witnessed a city filled with the noise of hundreds of thousands of sheep, which the priests would have been busy butchering. Beggars would have been in full force. Roman soldiers would have been on patrol, jostlying the crowds and trying to keep some semblance of order. 

Joseph, too, would have taken their family’s lamb to be sacrificed, and one can only guess what was going through his mind. The scene in Jerusalem would have been frantic. 

 

And although the Holy Family traveled to Jerusalem every year for the Passover festival – to celebrate the redemption of the people of Israel from Egypt, this year would mark something different. Luke tells us that Jesus was 12 years old. Being a boy at 12 or 13 years of age was especially significant, for this would be when Jesus would be considered a man at His Bar Mitzvah ceremony. At the Bar Mitzvah, Jesus would now be under the full obligation of the Law.

 

“And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for Him among their relatives and acquaintances” (Luke 2:43-44).

 

At first, being in a large caravan, Mary and Joseph never suspected that Jesus was not among the group. But when they stopped at nightfall, they noticed that Jesus was nowhere to be found. Like the McCallister parents in search for Kevin, Mary and Joseph began their search. They searched everywhere! Until as it often is, they found Jesus at the last place they looked, the place that should have been obvious from the start: the temple in Jerusalem.

 

And when Mary and Joseph located Jesus at the temple courts, they were astonished at what they witnessed. Jesus wasn’t battling home invaders. Jesus was not playing with the boys. Instead, He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. There was twelve-year-old Jesus, sitting cross-legged on the floor sitting among the rabbis. “And all who heard [Jesus] were amazed at His understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:47).

 

Jesus, who is fully and completely God, was being filled with human wisdom. He was not only asking questions, but He was listening to their answers. And Jesus’ questions displayed the depth of His understanding of Scripture truth. And His answers to the teachers’ questions likewise revealed how far advanced Jesus was in His grasp of divine truth. Now, Jesus wasn’t a child prodigy. He wasn’t a “Doogie Howser.” This was the divine wisdom which was imparted to His human nature. Jesus through these conversations was receiving more confirmation on why He took upon human flesh.

You see, God demands perfect obedience to the Law. And all of the descendants of Adam share in Adam’s disobedience to the Word of God. Our sinful nature that we inherited from Adam manifests itself in our daily lives and in our daily vocations: Instead of using God’s name to pray and give thanks, sinful man is more inclined to use God’s name to curse and lie. Instead of holding God’s Word sacred and gladly hearing and learning it, sinful man would rather grumble and complain if the sermon or Divine Service goes too long, or if I would preach a truth of God that sinful man does not want to hear. Instead of speaking well of our neighbor, sinful man would rather tell lies about our neighbor.

 

All the descendants of Adam share in Adam’s condemnation and judgment. And what was Adam’s condemnation and judgment? It’s death. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). And “For as in Adam all die” (1 Corinthians 15:22a). All we can do is beg God for mercy as we confess our sins to Him.

 

But Jesus is the perfectly obedient Son of God.

 

On that day in the temple, as Jesus was listening to the teachers and asking them questions, He knew His mission. He, along with the thousands in attendance at the Passover festival were there to remember God’s grace as the angel of death killed all the firstborn of the Egyptians, but “passed over” the firstborn of the Israelites, because of the blood of a lamb on their lintels and door posts.

 

And now, God the Father has shown even more grace and mercy in giving us His Son, His only-begotten Son, who is God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, … who for us men and for our salvation has come down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. 

 

The Word became flesh, our own flesh, by taking the form of a servant, so that He could keep the Law of God in the place of sinful man. The Son of God obeyed His Father’s will for us!

 

Now, what Jesus did that day in the temple was not an act of rebellion against His parents. For Jesus remained perfectly obedient to His parents as demonstrated on their return to Nazareth. But there could be more here. Luke tells us that Mary “treasured up all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51b). What could this be?

 

 

This event could have served as a further reminder that Jesus was not just an ordinary son, but the Son of God. For the last time Luke used that phrase, Mary was reminded what the shepherds said concerning her Child from the angel that her very Son is the Christ, the One who has come to save His people from their sins.

 

Jesus would remain obedient to His parents just as the Fourth Commandment requires. And Jesus would identify Himself fully and completely with sinners. Finally, Jesus, as the always obedient Son, would suffer an agonizing death as He would drink the cup of His Father’s wrath for us as He would be crucified to bring atonement for yours and my sins.

 

Jesus, who at twelve years old upheld His Bar Mitzvah as He perfectly kept the Law for us.

 

So, through Christ’s obedience, by repentance and faith in Him, our disobedience is forgiven through His blood and merit. For “in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). By faith in Christ alone, we now stand before God the Father as righteous and obedient children, covered by the robe of Christ’s perfect righteousness and obedience.

 

Through our adoption through Christ in Holy Baptism, we now put off the old man, the old sinful Adam, with His disobedience and have now put on Christ. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, we follow Christ’s example of humility before God and our neighbor as we keep His Word and obey His commandments.

 

Instead of fearing, loving, and trusting in other things, we begin in faith to fear, love and trust in God above all things. We learn to trust Him as our only hope and refuge. We resist the temptation to use God’s name to lie and deceive and instead call upon His name in every trouble as we pray, praise, and give thanks. We begin to hold God’s Word sacred as we gladly hear and learn it. And we resist the sinful urge tell lies and instead defend and speak well of our neighbor.

 

We do all of this out of love for God, and not out of fear of punishment or condemnation, but joyfully and gladly because of Christ’s perfect obedience that has been credited to us. In Christ alone, we are counted as righteous and obedient before God through our faith in His obedient Son. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The Greatest Gift" (Hebrews 1:1-6)

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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:

Merry Christmas!

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

 

Long ago and at many times, God spoke to His people. He spoke to His people in a partial nature through the prophets.

 

We can think of Moses and the burning bush when an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame out of the midst of the bush.

 

We can point to visions and dreams like Joseph and Daniel. We can point to the calling of Samuel.

 

“But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:2a). The word “but” has a tendency to wipe out what came before it. We say things like, “I’d like to do what you’re asking, but…”

 

However, the “but” here is not set against the sureness of God’s speaking in the Old Testament times, but it is set against its partialness and the variety of its ways: law, history, poetry, prophecy. What the Old Testament believers received from God was only partial and the message of the prophets was incomplete. More was to come, but this more to come did not cancel out what had been divinely recorded but only completes it.

 

Those prophets of old were certainly inspired by God to write and proclaim God’s Word. Through those prophets, God was speaking. Those prophets spoke God’s Word as they clung to God’s Word for their hope of salvation – for they as we, shared in that first sin and needed a Savior. We need a savior from our sin of unbelief and selfish ambition. For “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Every word in Holy Scripture is God’s Word, not just words of sinful man. The Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to write them down for us, so that we can always cling to them.

But now – “in these last days” – Jesus has the Last Word, a word that redeems us from sin and death. Today, God is no longer speaking partially through His prophets. Today, He is now speaking fully through Jesus Christ.

 

So, now that we have the Son of God, God has no more to say, since the Redeemer to whom the Old Testament pointed is the ultimate Word and the perfect revelation of God. Today, we have the Final Word of God, which is revealed in His Word, the Bible.

 

Now, some may say today: “If only if I could hear the very Word of God like Moses and Elijah and Isaiah!” Yes, that would have been awesome to hear, but what we have is so much better! They only received snippets, pieces and parts of the various ways God revealed Himself. Today, “in these last days” – God speaks to us through His Son!

 

So, what God spoke through the prophets from Moses to Malachi, we have complete through our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

And Jesus is not just a prophet of prophets. Jesus is God. This Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary is the Creator of the world. This Jesus existed before time existed. This Jesus spoke the world into existence.

 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Here, we have a reference to God the Father. “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Here, we have a reference to the Holy Spirit. But where is Jesus? Then God said, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:3-4). Jesus is the One who spoke.

 

St. John affirms this in our Christmas Gospel this morning: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him” (John 1:1-3a). 

 

Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, the whole array of God’s divine attributes radiates forth in Jesus. Radiance is an inner brightness that shines out like the sun in the sky with its streaming light. To see that light is to see the sun; to see Jesus is to see the God of glory.

 

Jesus is “the exact imprint of [God’s] nature” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, Jesus is an exact image of the invisible God made visible in Jesus. Jesus exactly represents God the Father. So, to know Jesus is to know God’s nature and God’s glory. For as Jesus said, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) and “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30).

 

Not only was Jesus active in Creation, but He “upholds the universe by the Word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). You see, we exist today because of Jesus. He keeps everything going. The sun rises each day because of Jesus. “[Jesus] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

 

Jesus is “the purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3). Sin stains. Sin defiles. Sin damns. Only One could purify and that is God. And only once would God do this. At Calvary’s cross, the Creator and Sustainer became the Sin-bearer. God took upon Himself human flesh for that moment. He was born on this day with the purpose of being the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

 

Then, with the work of redemption done, Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). Today, Jesus is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21a). He has all power and all honor. The ascended Lord holds the scepter in His nail-scarred hands, ruling over all in heaven and on earth.

 

“For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’? Or again, ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’? (Hebrews 1:5). You see, no one has ever been saved by the name of an angel. But there is a name that saves. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12).

 

Jesus is superior to the angels, because He was “begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father” (Nicene Creed). Jesus is superior because from all eternity He is God’s Son, the Second Person of the Triune God, true God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is Emmanuel. He is fully God become fully man – for us.

 

But what about that second phrase: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? Those words were spoken originally about Solomon, but these words also have a deeper meaning. You see, they pointed ahead to David’s greater Son, the eternal One whose kingdom would have no end. It is not enough to call Jesus “Son,” but He also calls God “Father.” Never has there been such a divine sonship claimed for the angels.

 

“And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him” (Hebrews 1:6). On that Last Day, that great day of judgment, He will stand as “the firstborn,” first in rank and position, as all the angels bow down before Him in worship.

 

Today, “in these last days” God continues to speak to us by His Son through apostolic ministry and through His priesthood of all believers. Jesus sent out His apostles to speak His Word. Pastors are called and ordained to speak what Jesus says. You are called to speak the Christmas message to your friends, your family, your neighbor “for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Jesus has come to save you and me from the power of sin, death, and the devil. He has come to undertake the Great Exchange as He put on our human frame, and in return He gives us redemption, His glory, and His name. “For while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In Christ alone, we are reconciled to God through His death.

 

When God speaks in Holy Baptism, we receive His name and with it everything that belongs to Jesus, including His life that conquers death. When God speaks through pastors and yourselves who say what Jesus says, forgiving one another in His name, we are forgiven. When God speaks “this is My body; this is My blood,” the incarnate Christ’s body and blood are truly present in the Lord’s Supper. When you hear, “The peace of the Lord be with you always,” the Lord’s peace rests upon you. This is the same peace the angels proclaimed at His birth.

 

On this Christmas Day, we see the supremacy of Jesus. We see the radiance of His glory as the exact imprint of God. Through His coming, we have received the Greatest Gift – which is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For there is no greater gift than forgiveness, life and salvation! Merry Christmas! Amen!

 

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

"Our Divine Purpose" (Genesis 2:18-25)

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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:

“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (Genesis 2:18).

 

There are a lot of people these days who are lonely. Do you sometimes feel alone, isolated and disconnected from others?

 

In an era where humanity is “more connected” than ever with phones, mail and the internet, more and more people say that they are isolated, invisible and insignificant. Many people say, “I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,” and “If I disappear tomorrow, will anyone even notice?”

 

Loneliness is a problem. In fact, about one-in-two adults in America experience loneliness.[1] So, the odds are high that you are experiencing loneliness.

 

Again, “the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (Genesis 2:18).

 

All throughout the six days of creation, God calls everything good. God created light; God created the sky; God created land and plants and gathered waters into seas; God created the sun, moon, and stars to fill the heavens; God created birds to fill the skies and sea creatures to fill the seas; God created land animals and people to fill the land. Good, good, good, good, good, very good.

 

When all seems perfect, God says what you would think is the unexpected: It is not good. “It is not good that the man should be alone.”

 

But for Adam, he had no idea that he needed companionship. Adam had no idea that he was incomplete. So, according to God’s definite plan, God built woman from man.

 

Now, the creation of woman in Genesis 2 was not an afterthought on the part of God. Genesis 1 has already witnessed that humanity is male and female, both and together bearing the very image of God. Genesis 2 is just giving us the details of what happened on that sixth day of creation.

 

Now, it was never God’s intent to have Adam live alone. Recall, it was not Adam, but God who said: “It is not good that the man should be alone.” So, before Adam even realizes that he has no companion, God is having Adam discover the need for a mate.

 

But before God builds a helper for Adam, God gave Adam a task: to name all livestock, to name all the birds of the heavens, and to name every beast of the field. By his voice, Adam was able to compel the lions, tigers, bears, apes, hawks, eagles and every other animal to come to him to be named. As Adam chose the names of each animal, he came to realize that each other creature had a mate. Every other creature had a companion.

 

Now, don’t feel sorry for Adam. For at this time, he was innocent and righteous. So, he perfectly feared, loved, and trusted God for all his needs.

 

“But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:20b).

 

You see, God wanted Adam to discover for himself that no other creature was like him. The Lord was using the process of naming the other creatures as a teaching devise to bring Adam’s loneliness home to him. Every other living creature had a helper fit for them, but Adam had none.

 

And God is not content to leave Adam, and you and me, in loneliness.

 

Now, as Adam longed for a mate, “God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21-22).

 

From Adam’s own side, his own rib, his own being, his own flesh, God builds the stuff of which He builds the woman. Shared flesh and shared origin. God’s design of male and female.

Then Adam said: 

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23).

With joy and satisfaction, and with praise to God, Adam found Eve to be just the companion he needed to complete his happiness. God fulfilled Adam’s need for a companion. God provided Eve to be his helper and in doing so, God provided marriage for Adam’s loneliness.

 

Mankind needs belonging. We need someone to share our thoughts and desires. We need mutual help for our mutual work.

 

Now, not everyone will be married, but everyone does need a helper, a friend. We all need a shoulder to cry on. We all need someone we can trust to have your back when times get tough.

 

Today, God gives us His divine purpose. And His purpose is for us to be of help to one another. We are to help and support our neighbor in every physical need.

 

Today, the Church celebrates Lutheran Women in Mission, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML). We, as individual members of the Church are not meant to be alone. “For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body” (1 Corinthians 12:14-20).

 

So, just as Adam needed a helper, and we need helpers in mission, the Lord provides. The motto of the LWML is “Serve the Lord with gladness!” as it supports the Church’s mission domestically and internationally.

 

It takes all of us to support the Church’s mission to tell everyone that in the coming kingdom of Christ there will be no more loneliness.

 

Today, because of the Fall into sin, there is so much loneliness. Sin strains our marriages where even marriages can be lonely. And even while in a sea of people, it can be very lonely.

 

It is certainly not good for man to be alone. But just as God created Eve from Adam to provide an end to Adam’s loneliness, God, too, sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Crowds followed Jesus, but then they all departed. From the crowds to loneliness. Jesus was alone in Gethsemane. He was alone in Caiaphas’ house. He was alone before Herod. He was alone before Pontius Pilate. He was alone before the Roman soldiers. He was alone before the crowds that shook their heads and mocked Him, saying: “He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ of God, His Chosen One!” (Luke 23:35). While hanging upon a cross, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34). Even God the Father abandoned Him. Jesus was the loneliest Man in the world.

 

You see, your Savior knows what it is like to be lonely. Jesus knows your loneliness. But now He is risen from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of God the Father “in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all”(Ephesians 1:20-23).

 

Today, Jesus promises that He is with you always. He will not leave you as an orphan. Even in the shadow of death, He is with you, for His rod and His staff comfort you.

 

The coming kingdom of Christ will have no loneliness. Your loneliness will be swallowed up by togetherness as we will be in God’s presence forever. We will be reunited with those whom death has torn away.

 

In the meantime, God brings us together at this altar as He forgives our sins against Him and our neighbor, so that we can better fulfill our divine purpose in service to our neighbor. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

---

[1] https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

Sermon for Pentecost 15: "Be Strong in the Lord" (Ephesians 6:10-20)

AUDIO

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:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

 

My dear Wormwood,

Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves. Of course this has not always been so. We are really faced with a cruel dilemma. When the humans disbelieve in our existence we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism and we make no magicians. On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and skeptics. At least, not yet. I have great hopes that we shall learn in due time how to emotionalise and mythologise their science to such an extent that it is, in effect, a belief in us. …

 

I do not think you will have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark. The fact that ‘devils’ are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that (it is an old textbook method of confusing them) he therefore cannot believe in you.

Your affectionate uncle

Screwtape[1]

 

That letter was from Satan’s undersecretary to Wormwood, his incompetent demon nephew in C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.” Throughout each letter, Wormwood provides guidance and direction to his nephew with the goal of leading his patient to hell. Each letter shows how we are caught in the middle of spiritual warfare between God and Satan. The point of C.S. Lewis’ book is to make us aware of the scheming of the devil in our daily life. But how many people are actually aware of Satan’s spiritual warfare against humanity?

 

So many people, even many Christians, aren’t aware of Satan’s spiritual warfare, or they don’t even believe we are at war at all. Many don’t believe that there is a devil. And that may be his most deceitful scheme. You see, when someone doesn’t believe in Satan, or when we forget about him, we forget that we are at war.

When we do that, we get soft and flabby. We become more vulnerable to sin than we were already. We begin to rationalize our favorite sins, whatever they may be – “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness”(Mark 7:21-22). When we forget about this spiritual war, we can rationalize almost anything, because we think we’re hearing words of wisdom rather than whispers of the enemy.

 

But we all notice struggles, even if we don’t notice Satan. We do notice when our paychecks don’t go as far as they used to. We notice the conflicts among family and friends. Life is a struggle for each and every one of us. Hardship and heartache are part of the daily struggle that we all face in this fallen world. We are inclined to think that our problems only come from people. But that’s not the case. Yes, Satan uses them, but they are only his instruments. People are just pawns in Satan’s war.

 

We face an even greater struggle that isn’t against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil at work. As much as we may try to ignore it, there is, in fact, a great cosmic struggle between good and evil, between God and Satan, and we are right in the middle of it. St. Paul describes the struggle that Christians face with such evil as a wrestling match, akin to professional wrestling. But there’s a problem, the referee has been knocked out, so the match is now “anything goes.” The tables, ladders, chairs, kendo sticks, flaming darts, and low-blows are now in play. And this wrestling match is no longer inside the squared circle; it takes place 24/7 – every single day of your life. And your opponent, Satan, will do anything to take you down.

 

Day by day, we are battling forces that are so far beyond our ability to withstand, and we must take it seriously for these forces that we battle against are far worse than what we can see. And he does not sleep or rest for even one moment as he attempts with all trickery to hinder your faith so that he may catch you and put you under his control. Assisting Satan is the fallen world and your own flesh, which you carry around your neck and which always drags your back, so that you may become secure and careless and cease watching and contending.

 

We cannot begin to list and imagine what Satan’s cunning attacks will be, except for what we have personally experienced. He is the supreme master of a thousand arts, with various ideas and suggestions, which he substitutes God’s Word for his lies. You may not even notice his attacks as he knows how to deceive our minds through the propaganda of mass media. And unlike what you may see in television and movies, Satan will not appear to you as he truly looks, in all his hideous attire, saying: “I am Satan. Be on guard against me!”

Rather, Satan crawls around like a serpent, adorns himself most beautifully disguised as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), the father of lies (John 8:44).  He twists God’s Word to fit his needs as he attacks our faith, Baptism, the Sacrament of the Altar, and all the articles of the Creed, which none were given or instituted by flesh and blood or are part of this earthly governance, but which come from heaven and pertain to eternal life. So, how can we possibly stand against Satan and his spiritual forces of evil?

 

The only way we can stand against Satan is by knowing that we don’t have the strength within us to fight him. Left to ourselves, we are doomed. We cannot stand against Satan. Left to ourselves, we are easy prey for the devil’s snares of lies and lust. In our weakness, we easily stumble into his traps of selfishness and greed. Left to ourselves, we are not equipped to battle against the evil schemes of the devil: his deceit (John 8:44), his manipulative words (1 Cor. 2:4), and his flattery (1 Thess. 2:5) as he disguises his evil intent. Satan whispers in our ears manipulative words like “tolerance” and “women’s reproductive health,” which mean just the opposite.

 

So, what can we do? Nothing. We can do nothing. But there is Someone who can do something. This Somone is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus gives us strength so that we are able to stand against the devil. So, our strength to stand against Satan is not in our knowledge or effort, but only in Christ alone.

 

In our text, St. Paul acts like a good, true field captain who addresses his people as they are arranged in battle formation as he admonishes them to stand firm and defend themselves boldly and confidently. St. Paul points out that those who have been Baptized into Christ and cling to Him always are also soldiers, soldiers who are equipped with Christ’s weapons and armor.

 

As much as we may not like to hear this, our Christian life is not a life of leisure, nor a life of peace and security as we live in this fallen world. As long as you are in Christ, the spiritual forces of evil attack us without ceasing from all sides. So, we must not snore or become lazy and slothful, but always watch and remain equipped.

 

So, it is not enough to have the knowledge about Jesus. For even the demons believe in Him. But we must cling to Jesus as He comes to us in His Word and Sacraments, so that the devil does not tempt us into moral lapses by yielding on points of Christian doctrine or by reducing Christianity into an external thing, a mere shell. So, we need to be strong against the temptations of the evil one. But we cannot be strong by ourselves. We need help – God’s help.

It is only the strength that comes from Christ Jesus alone that enables you to stand against Satan.  In Christ alone, we are able to stand against the devil and his schemes. For we have put on the new man, Jesus Christ, in the waters of Holy Baptism. St. Paul, our field captain, calls on us to put on the full armor of God. Picture this armor in your minds. 

§  The belt of truth. Every soldier in every age needs to be convinced that the cause for which he’s fighting is true. Our cause is true. We stand against Satan and against the fallen world because God has opened our eyes to see Him as He truly is. Because Satan has blinded the world, it may ridicule us, abuse us, and call us foolish. But our cause will be vindicated.

§  The breastplate of righteousness. We know that our righteousness will never stand against Satan, but God has firmly fastened onto us the righteousness of Christ. By laying down His armor to die and rise from the grave for us, Jesus gives us absolute protection against Satan’s accusations. We have the assurance of forgiveness as we wear Christ’s own holiness.

§  The shoes of peace. Now that our sins are forgiven by Jesus’ death, we are at peace with God.

§  The shield of faith. Faith alone in Jesus saves.

§  The helmet of salvation. Salvation has been won for us through Jesus Christ!

§  The sword of the spirit. This is the Word of God. Unlike the other armor, the sword is offensive. When fighting at close quarters, God’s Holy Word is the best piece of all for warding off Satan’s thrusts, and to change hearts and minds.

 

Now, this armor is not seen but is spiritual. This is God’s armor that we are all given in Holy Baptism. Clothed in Christ and His strength, we are able to stand against the spiritual forces of evil. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit at work through the Word, we can be strong in the Lord. We may be afraid, be full of doubt and uncertainty in this “anything goes” wrestling match, but we are wearing Christ’s armor that He continuously strengthens through His Means of Grace, so that we remain upright against the devil and his demons as we are not misled by his lies. We stand because the One who is in you, Christ Jesus the crucified and risen Lord, is greater than the prince of this fallen world. 

 

Yes, we are in this wresting match of cosmic proportions, but that shouldn’t dismay us, for our help is cosmic also. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3) When you are weak, He makes you strong. So, be strong in the Lord as He has placed upon you His armor! Amen.

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

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[1] C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: Harper One, 1996), 31, 32.