"Ashes and Repentance" (Matthew 6:16-18)

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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: “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you”(Matthew 6:16-18).

 

Our Gospel lesson for tonight is the traditional Ash Wednesday reading about alms – or increased giving, fasting and prayer. Tonight’s lesson is a good one as Jesus warns us not to make a show of our piety “as the hypocrites do.”

 

But one can wonder, what is the meaning behind those ashes on our foreheads? Could those ashes on our foreheads be “practicing [our] righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them”? (Matthew 6:1). 

 

And later Jesus says in our reading, “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face” (Matthew 6:17).

 

So, what are we doing with these ashes on our foreheads? 

 

Well, there is a difference between private piety and public piety. Christians do not observe Ash Wednesday individually, but corporately with the public Ash Wednesday Divine Service. So, when we are here in this public space with ashes marked on our foreheads, this practice is much bigger than just someone’s individual piety.

 

Likewise, when Jesus says, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so they may be seen by others. … But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:5, 6).

 

Now, keep this in mind, here Jesus is talking about individual prayer, not corporate, liturgical prayer. So, it would be certainly weird if I would just step away from the chancel and go into the sacristy during the Prayer of the Church so that nobody could hear my prayers.

 

Certainly, I can pray individually for my flock – for which I do, but this would be rather weird during the corporate Divine Service. 

 

The same goes with ashes. If I put ashes only upon myself that would be weird. But if we all put on ashes, this would be a congregational activity.

 

But do the ashes mean that we are all fasting? That answer is no. The ashes are a mark of death upon us. It shows that we are all a dying people. And they are in the shape of the cross, because although we are dying, we are still redeemed in Christ, the crucified. So, those ashes on our foreheads are no different from wearing a crucifix or cross necklace in public. Or, wearing a shirt that proclaims that you are a Christian.

 

For us on this Ash Wednesday, those ashes are not declaring to people that we are bragging, like the hypocrites that Jesus is referring. Again, those ashes are really a mark of death upon you, but again, those ashes are in the shape of the cross to show that you are redeemed and that you have life despite of sin and death.

 

Those ashes in the shape of the cross upon your forehead represent your only hope: your only hope as one redeemed by Christ, the crucified.

 

As we begin Lent, we are conditioned to set aside this season for self-examination and assessment. We use this season to focus upon repentance. 

 

But all too often, our repentance is seldom pure. Our intentions may be sincere, but our piety is seldom pure. At some level, we usually repent with the idea in mind that we may receive some reward. 

 

For in at least a part of us, in our repentance, we are not really sorry that we sinned. But we still repent because we fear the consequences before a just and righteous God. For so much of the time, we are like the boy who is caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. He is sorry. But he isn’t sorry for stealing the cookie. He’s only sorry that he got caught.

 

This is the life of a sinner. The truth is that sin is double-mindedness, distorted devotion, and self-concern. And we can’t change that. We can’t overcome who we are by ourselves. We are self-centered, self-serving people. Even our repentance is tinged with concern for our own advantage.

 

We cannot save ourselves.

 

But here we are with those ashes on our foreheads in the form of Christ’s cross. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Those ashes are the mark of death. But they are so much more than that. They also represent our only hope. By faith in Christ, God the Father will not judge you as you deserve, but He sees you as His beloved child, one who has been redeemed by Christ, the crucified, who by His blood has won forgiveness, life and salvation for you.

 

Now that we have God’s grace, I will challenge you with something. Instead of giving up something, if you do that, why not add something beneficial during this Lenten season? Why not study the catechism? And you are in luck this Lenten season as for our upcoming midweeks, we will consider the Table of Duties from Luther’s Small Catechism. Or you could set aside time for prayer, Bible study, devotion, or singing hymns. And we do this not to earn any favor from God, but to grow in the one true Christian faith.

 

Our only hope is in Jesus, whose cross is marked on our foreheads. May our deeds reflect Christ’s mercy and His glory. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Who Do You Trust?" (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

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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:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man. … Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:5a, 7a).

 

The Lord through the Prophet Jeremiah shows us a real problem. And this problem lies in the heart of humanity. This real problem is trust. Who do you trust? And he contrasts trust in two ways: the way of unbelief and the way of faith.

 

So, who do you trust? Who are you really trusting in? Yourself? Your fellow man? Who is really shaping your thinking and your behavior?

 

When you face anxiety about your life, whether it is about finances, health and safety, where do you turn? Where do you go to get through the anxieties in your life?

 

All too often, we turn inward, to ourselves, with the unshakeable confidence that there is nothing I am unable to do, that there is no problem that I cannot solve. Whether it be a personal dilemma or a worldwide dilemma, you may think that you can solve whatever problem all by yourself, or with the help of fellow man.

 

But there are only two ways: either trusting in human abilities or trusting in the Lord. And the difference is stark. The difference results in either a blessing or a curse.

 

The Lord said through Jeremiah, “You are cursed if you do not trust in Me, if you only trust in human strength and wisdom. But you are blessed when you trust in Me and commit your life to Me.”

 

You see, the one who trusts in himself is “like a shrub in the desert” (Jeremiah 17:6a) with no water who dwells “in an uninhabited salt land” (Jeremiah 17:6d). 

 

Certainly, there will be no prospering in a parched land. The shrub will eventually wither and die.

 

In contrast, the one who trusts in the Lord, and commits his life to the Lord, is “like a tree planted by water” that prospers, that bears fruit, and grows because it has deep roots in the life-giving waters. One who trusts in the Lord doesn’t worry and is never afraid if there is a drought, since it can weather anything because it has a never-failing stream of life to support it through good times and bad.

 

Again, who do you trust? Do you trust in yourself? Many who trust in themselves may say, “I’m smart enough; I’m good enough. People love me. I’ve got enough money. I’ve got my network of friends. I will do just fine!” 

 

We so often trust in money, pleasure, power, and relationships. We seek control of our own choices. We seek control of our own lives. But what is forgotten here? What is left out?

 

If these are the things a person trusts in, God says, “Cursed are you, since they will all fail you. These things will not last forever.”

 

So, where is God in your life? Is He your last option among many other options? What does Jesus say about that? He says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33a). God should never be your last resort, your last option. He should always be first!

 

So, the Lord says, “Cursed are you!” Not only will man fail you, but by trusting in man, you have turned from the Lord. Turning from the Lord means that you are despising and neglecting the Lord.

 

In Martin Luther’s explanation of the First Commandment “You shall have no other gods,” he says, “Whatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god.” Luther is saying that there is no middle ground between clinging to the Creator and clinging to the creature. So, directing our fear, love, and trust to something or someone other than the Creator defines our original sin.

 

We are all certainly tempted to trust in our wealth, our strength, or our skill to provide for our earthly needs instead of trusting our heavenly Father. So often we are inclined to pray, “My will be done,”instead of trusting that God’s will is aways best.

 

We fall into this trap of trusting man when we neglect prayer and neglect God’s Word and Sacrament. And we wonder why we end up exhausted, discouraged, bitter and cynical as our efforts fail. So, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man” (Jeremiah 17:5a).

 

But the Lord through Jeremiah also tells of a contrast. He says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7a), for only the Lord God is able to prosper and protect you. He is the only One who will give you full life now and forever. So, not only will all others disappoint you and fail you, but your turning to others is really a turning from the Lord.

 

Instead of being a shrub in the desert, those who trust in the Lord are “like a tree planted by water” (Jeremiah 17:8a). Trusting in the Lord is like being planted along an ever-flowing river of water, like a palm tree planted next to the Nile River. So, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t rain. For there is always water available for nourishment. But just go a short distance from the Nile River and what do you find? You find no vegetation, because it is just dry wilderness.

 

So, where would you rather be planted? In the dry wilderness where you may grow for a time, but eventually wither and die? Or would you rather be planted along the ever-flowing river? Where would you rather be planted?

 

In other words, in whom do you trust? Now, you may be thinking, “Of course, I trust in the Lord!” But how often do you really think, “Well, I can figure it out all by myself, but if all else fails, then I’ll fall back on the Lord.”

 

Would you like to be anyone’s second, third, or fourth choice? How do you think that attitude reflects on your trust in the Lord?

 

You see, God rightly curses those who trust in themselves, and He is right in doing so. We deserve what we get by not trusting in the Lord above all things. We all deserve to be parched, to wither and die, because we do not trust in God, who always promises rest and life.

 

If we are all honest with ourselves, we have all failed to trust in the Lord and have failed to seek Him first. But there is One who has done all things well, who trusted in the Lord with all His heart, soul and mind. This is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He trusted His heavenly Father with all His life. And in the temptations he faced in the wilderness, Jesus trusted the Word of the Lord to take care of Him and His life. 

Jesus, who knew no sin, would take upon Himself our sin as He was nailed to a tree in the shape of a cross. There, Jesus suffered as He was parched and thirsty. There, Jesus would die for yours and my sin of not trusting in God fully.

 

So, repent of your sin of not trusting in the Lord and trusting in yourself. And believe the good news that your sins of mistrust and lack of trust, and trust in yourself is forgiven and paid for on the cross by Jesus.

 

Upon that cross, Jesus took all our dirty sins of thought, word, and deed, and replaced them with His blessings. He gave us a great exchange! He poured out His life that we may have life in Him, from His body and blood. Then He rose from the dead for our justification, so that we, who cling to Him, would be raised when He returns in His glory! He rose so that the power of sin would be destroyed forever. So that we can proclaim this good news of forgiveness of sins and live our lives as forgiven sinners in Christ. Since Christ has forgiven us, we in turn forgive one another.

 

It is no accident that Scripture so often compares one who trusts in the Lord to a tree. Jesus was nailed to a tree. And upon that tree, His body and blood became the stream of life. For in hearing His Word and receiving His Sacraments, when the heat of this life comes, your leaves will remain green, and you will not cease to bear fruit.

 

Jesus is the source of life, the source of our growth and the source of our produce. Jesus is the nourishment that keeps our faith alive.

 

So, who do you trust? Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Friendship with the World" (James 3:13-4:10)

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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:

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

 

What a fine way to begin a sermon! Do I have your attention? Today, we conclude our Epistle series on James as he – as inspired by the Holy Spirit – continues addressing our conduct in the church.

 

Today’s epistle text can be seen multiple ways. It can be seen as proverbs with its various gems, reminiscent of Solomon’s Book of Proverbs, or it can be understood as stern law preaching. Either way, the Holy Spirit inspires James to guide his readers in what it truly means to be Christians in a profoundly un-Christian world. Today, James calls on us to live in this world, but not be of this world.

 

The expression “You adulterous people!” likely caught your attention and likely for the wrong reason. Is James indicating that these people he is writing to are breaking the Sixth Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery”? Are his original hearers not living sexually pure and decent lives? Well, what is the context?

 

No! James is not accusing them of having adulterous sexual relationships. But he is still accusing them of adultery. But instead of sexual adultery, he is accusing them of spiritual adultery, that is, giving love and attention first to something other than the one true God. 

 

You see, for God, He pictures Israel as His bride and He as Israel’s husband. For God, for Israel to disobey Him is like breaking the marriage vow. It means that all sin is against love. It means that our relationship with God is not like that distant relationship of a king and a subject or a master and a slave or a boss and an employee, but our relationship with God is like the intimate relationship of husband and wife. It means that when we sin, we break God’s heart, just as the heart of one partner in marriage may be broken by the desertion of the other.

 

Jesus says in Matthew 6: “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). We can use the world or be used by it. We can live in the world by loving God and serving our neighbor. Or we can be used by the world as it controls and dictates our life and in doing so, we become an enemy of God.

 

The triune God speaks of Himself as a jealous God. He says:

§  “You shall have no other gods before Me” … “for I the Lord your God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:3, 5). 

§  “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).

 

In the Old Testament times, God often lamented the way faithless Israel despised His love and chased after the Canaanite gods Baal and Asherah. Now, James’ readers were probably no longer tempted by Baal worship, but Satan still arranged that there would be plenty of new idols to take Baal’s place. So, just as the Old Testament prophets accused Israel of infidelity, James indicts the church of the “New Israel” as unfaithful to the Lord who redeemed her to be His bride.

 

In the Old Testament, God redeemed Israel through the exodus to be His wife, and although her promiscuity would lead to the exile as a kind of divorce, God would marry her anew. The Prophet Isaiah expresses this marriage relationship: “For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you” (Isaiah 54:6-7). Jeremiah the prophet also told of the Lord’s remembrance of their exodus nuptials: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown” (Jeremiah 2:2). Every Old Testament prophet considered Israel’s rebellion against God to be adultery.

 

Then we come to the New Testament era as Christ, the Bridegroom, purified His Church to be His virgin bride as He suffered and died for His bride. Christ cleansed His bride, the Church, through the washing of water with the Word. And this wedding will take place upon His return.

 

Although the Church is betrothed to Christ, our status as a pure virgin is in danger through the seduction of the serpent known as Satan and the seduction of the fallen world. Satan tempts us to disregard God’s Word. And as evil as Satan is, James is more concerned with the fallen world, which also is under Satan’s control. 

Again: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

 

Now, this friendship with the world doesn’t mean that Christians cannot be friends with unbelievers. What “friendship with the world” really means is conforming to the fallen world. It means having misplaced trust.

 

Martin Luther speaks of the human heart as an “idol factory” that is ready to trust the newest god on the block. That newest idol could be money and possessions, so you feel secure. It could be your children or grandchildren. It could be your cat or dog. It could be sports. It could be an athlete, politician, or celebrity figure. Now, all those things are not evil in themselves, but how often do those things become an idol – a false god? An idol becomes an idol when those things become more important than God Himself.

 

Another way of looking at “friendship with the world” is living your life for the Facebook likes and shared posts. Or you live your life following the winds and ways of this fallen world. “Friendship with the world” is a life devoted to wealth and selfish ambition that has no room for God. “Worldliness” has no love for your neighbor. “Worldliness” is wisdom that is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (James 3:15). 

 

The fallen world and its prince Satan are at war to wound and kill Christ’s bride, the Church. The fallen world wants mass casualties. The fallen world desires that the Church prostitute herself to the world through acts of false doctrine, including redefining marriage, redefining humanity, and saying all roads lead to heaven.

 

Satan and his fallen world are coming after us and our sinful nature often just eats it up. There is a war going on inside us. So, what are we to do? James gives us seven healthy, humble attitudes to replace the poisonous, sinful attitudes of selfishness and pride:

§  First, “submit yourselves therefore to God” by fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things. We do that by acknowledging Him as first in your life and subordinating your will to His.

§  Second, “resist the devil.” Armed with God’s Word, you are stronger than Satan and he will flee from you.

§  Third, “draw near to God.” Through the miracle of God’s grace, a repentant sinner is neverturned away. 

§  Fourth, “cleanse your hands.” Faith in Christ gives Christians clean hands.

§  Fifth, “purify your hearts” by being single-mindedly devoted to God as our faith influences our day-to-day life.

§  Sixth, “be wretched and mourn and weep.” Repentance affects the whole person, so grieving, mourning and wailing are appropriate for people who have previously found joy in sinning.

§  Seventh, “humble yourselves before the Lord.” There can be no spiritual health and soundness in a person until he acknowledges sinful failures and asks God for mercy instead of demanding wages.

 

But no matter what, God refuses to lose us to this war going on within us. He refuses to lose you! Remember, our God is a jealous God. But He’s not like a jealous boyfriend or girlfriend, who may be someone to get away from. God is not abusive. He is not controlling. But He is jealous. But for Him, to be jealous is to say that He wants you all to Himself, and He wants no one else to have you – no false god or false idol, no false doctrine, no false hope, or even the devil himself to have you.

 

Jealousy, in most cases, means that the jealous person does harm to another, because keeping you is all for my benefit. But God’s jealousy is a protective jealousy. A guardian jealousy. An exclusive on loving you with a perfect love, with no exception to treating you kindly. And that’s for your benefit. This is why James, talking about God’s merciful and holy jealousy, puts it in terms of grace: “But He gives more grace … God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We, humbled by our sins, are seen by our God who wants us only for Himself, and He, without hesitation, gives us more grace, so as to strengthen the relationship.

 

Our evil foes – Satan, the fallen world, and our own sinful nature – will certainly continue to accuse us before God, but God’s jealousy for us triumphs. Christ’s forgiveness is crucial. Each day our forgiving Lord calls us to go to those against whom we’ve sinned and to seek to be reconciled, and the devil’s chaos gives way to God’s order. Forgiveness is God’s wonderful way of neutralizing the devil’s accusatory protests against us and having him flee from you and me. 

 

Our jealous God is greater than any sin you have committed. Jesus is proof of that! His cross is His payment for your well-deserved punishment. His empty tomb is your guarantee of eternal life. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 11: "A Different Kind of Bread" (John 6:22-35)

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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 them: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26).

 

Jesus’ popularity greatly increased following the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. From just five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus fed 5,000 men, plus the women and children. Everyone’s hunger was satisfied, even with 12 baskets left over.

 

However, there is something to be said about the phrase: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Jesus, indeed, gave these 5,000 men their fill of the loaves, but now there is a problem: they want more! The crowd didn’t understand the sign. But they were not alone. As we heard last week in Mark 6: even Christ’s disciples “did not understand about the loaves” (Mark 6:52).

 

Everyone appears to be confused. The crowds want to crown Jesus as their “Bread King.” Jesus’ disciples have witnessed and been a part of signs and miracles, and they still don’t get it.

 

Today, on this 11^th Sunday after Pentecost, the crowds are seeking Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t seem all that impressed at His popularity, since He knows their real motive in following Him – to be their “Bread King,” so Jesus speaks sharply as He informs them and us that He has come to give man a different kind of food, a food that endures to eternal life.

 

Humanity likes stuff. Our fallen nature believes that by having material goods – perishable goods, we would be satisfied. But are we ever satisfied with perishable goods? Would a new smart phone satisfy your wants? Would an 80-inch television satisfy your desires? Would that perfect steak fill your stomach forever?

 

Each year the latest smart phone is released. Is it that much different from the previous phone? No! But so many people believe they need that latest phone. Although your current tv set is fine, that latest 4K Ultra high-definition television with surround sound is so appetizing. And we all certainly need to eat, but even that juiciest steak will only satisfy our stomachs for a matter of hours.

 

You see, these things that don’t last can only satisfy a need and many a want for only a brief time as they always wear off, wear out, go out of style, get lost, get stale, break, or fail to maintain our satisfaction. Sometimes, we are like the rich fool who only focused on his possessions as he built large barns to store all his grain and goods. But God said to this rich fool, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20).

 

So we can’t take any perishable goods with us when we die. Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul? No! St. Paul writes, “We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Timothy 6:7). And Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return” (Job 1:21a).

 

As much as we desire to be filled by worldly possessions and perishable foods to fill our bellies, we must never forget that the triune God has already satisfied us will all of our bodily wants as He has stocked man’s pantry and cellar with abundance to His joy and His delight, since He is the Provider. He is the Giver.

 

As the Provider and Giver, the triune God gives us all things, He gave us all things to produce food and drink, but we must work and cultivate to have that food to nourish us.

 

But even as the Giver of all temporal gifts, those gifts are only temporary. They only last for a time. They will perish.

 

So, Jesus says, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27). This is as if Jesus said: “I will supply you with a different kind of food. Why do you want morsels and trifles from Me? Why don’t you want a different sort of food? A food that never perishes. A bread that endures to eternity. A bread that will not let you die, but preserve you for everlasting life.”

 

So, this crowd asks Jesus, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?” (John 6:30)

 

They had all just witnessed the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. Their stomachs were filled. And even that miracle did not satisfy them. “But what have you done for me lately, Jesus? You know, our fathers ate manna in the wilderness!”

 

That multiplication of the loaves appears to be a sign of the same type as the manna in the wilderness. However, there is a difference. Moses gave the manna for 40 years. Jesus gave bread to 5,000. Moses supplied manna to an entire nation. Jesus gave them ordinary bread, bread such as they ate every day. Moses gave them “bread from heaven to eat” (John 6:31).

 

Jesus had, indeed, done something wonderful in multiplying bread, but could this Jesus, also produce manna? 

 

To that question, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32).

 

That manna was not Moses’ gift to the people; it was God’s gift to the people. That manna came from God. But that manna, though a gift from God, was not from heaven, but was an earthly, material type of bread. That manna, if left over till the morning would breed worms and stink (Exodus 16:20). Manna eventually perished.

 

This “true bread from heaven” given by God the Father is not a bread that someone can just pick up and eat. No. It is a different kind of bread. This bread is none other than Jesus Himself. He Himself is the food, the sustenance that nourishes spiritual life. It is only from this Bread that humanity really obtains life.

 

Jesus is the Gift. He is the true bread come from heaven for us to eat. He is the One that we ought to be grasping, clinging to, grabbing, collecting, and claiming as much as we possibly can of.

 

We must have Him. We must believe in Him. We must trust in Him. We must cling to Him. We must have as much of Jesus as we can. We must say, “Give us yourself always, Jesus!” 

  

So, let us look to the things that last forever, knowing that Jesus provides all the things of this world that we really need. He supplies our earthly needs. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26).

 

Since Jesus gives us all our earthly needs, then we should be of the things that never perish. We ought to labor for the food that endures forever. This means nothing more than clinging to Jesus, hearing His Word, reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting Him, so that we may embrace and ever hold fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life. We cling to Jesus, since He is the Bread from heaven that has secured eternal life for you. He secured eternal life by laying down His life on the cross for you. Through His crucifixion and death, He has graciously given us all things (Romans 8:32): forgiveness, life, and salvation!

 

Today, Jesus, this different kind of bread, comes to you. He comes to you so that you may have Him in abundance in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament. He calls on you to eat Him and drink Him under the bread and the wine. He calls you to not work for the food that perishes, but to work for the food that endures to eternal life. 

 

So, let us hold fast to Christ, this different kind of bread, who is the One thing needful now and forever, the One thing that lasts. Faith in Jesus is how you are sustained, so trust in Him and cling to Him as He comes to you in His Word and His Sacraments and you will be filled. Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Lent Midweek 5: "Prayer: Our Greatest Weapon - Part 2"

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:

Last week, we heard the first three petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. 

§  First, God’s Name is holy in itself, but we pray that it may be hallowed in us and in the whole world and that the Word and the honor of God may be kept holy against blasphemers of His Name. This is done when His Name and His honor is in our teaching and life.

§  Second, His kingdom comes when His Word increases and is powerful among us. We have His kingdom through His Word and Sacraments now and when His kingdom comes when we die, or Christ returns first.

§  Third, that all those be restrained who oppose His Name and the kingdom of God, for the will of God is that “everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40).

 

Each of these petitions, or requests, also serve us as our weapons against Satan’s spiritual warfare. Tonight, we will conclude our look at the Lord’s Prayer with the fourth through the seventh petitions.

 

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Now, what is meant by daily bread? Well, consider a breadbasket, which contains the necessities of our body and of the temporal life. So, “daily bread” is everything that we need to survive. It’s literal bread from the baker’s oven. It’s drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, temporal peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors. “Daily bread” is not an accidental thing. “Daily bread” is the gift of God. 

 

Now, this “daily bread” God gives to even the wicked and the godless. But nevertheless, we know and acknowledge that every “daily bread” comes from God.

 

So, in this petition, we pray against everything that hinders daily bread. This petition is against tempest, war, and those who loot and steal that which belongs to their neighbor. But nonetheless, the Lord wants us to pray in order that we acknowledge daily bread as His gift.

Now, on to the next request: “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

 

No one does as he or she should do. But at the same time, we get stuck in the mire of being proud and think that we are thoroughly holy.

 

So, all of us must say, “Forgive us our trespasses.” We must pray to God to give us a conscience unafraid, which is assured that your sins are forgiven. This petition serves those who are conscious of their sins. For one who falsely thinks that they are righteous by their own doing are only liars. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

 

In this petition, may everyone acknowledge the need for which you feel. We must all admit and confess that we do not do enough for our neighbor. Therefore, we must daily pray for forgiveness of sins.

 

God promises the forgiveness of sins, but we must also forgive our neighbor. To this, Luther writes, “If you have someone whom you do not forgive, you pray in vain. Therefore let each one look to his neighbor, if he has been offended by him, and forgive him from the heart; then he will be certain that his sin too has been forgiven … if you forgive, you too will be forgiven.”

 

The life of the Christian is a life of repentance and forgiveness, and thus we pray to God our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

 

Now we can pray, “And lead us not into temptation,” which means “not into evil enticement.” What exactly is temptation? Temptation is sin that cling to us. There are three temptations: the flesh, the fallen world, and the devil.

 

First, let’s look at the temptation that is of the flesh. Our flesh says, “Pornography isn’t hurting anyone. Go ahead and click that link.” Or, “If you’re not feeling loved by your spouse, go ahead and find love elsewhere.” Or, if you are a salesman, “I know the product is only worth this much, but I’m going to charge double, because what the customers don’t know won’t hurt them.” 

 

The flesh seeks to satisfy its lust in glutting, guzzling, and loafing.

 

Second is the temptation of the fallen world, which tempts us with envy, hatred, and pride. Say your neighbor irritates you to anger when you are making a bargain and all of a sudden you become impatient, the fallen world comes upon you and up you go – you blow your top. 

 

Or you could want to conform to this fallen world. These are the worldly temptations. You live your life for the Facebook likes. You live your life following the winds and ways of this fallen world to eventually find yourself believing that a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man and a child can become a cat. Yet, five minutes ago, you thought that to be crazy, but now you are one with the world, so you are fine with wrong being right. To this we ought to pray: “O Lord, bring it to pass that the flesh and the world shall not seduce me!”

 

Third is the temptation by the devil. He tempts us by causing us to disregard God’s Word. “Sunday is fun day. It’s been a tiring week; I have to sleep in on Sunday, because I was out late on Saturday, so I just can’t get to church Sunday morning – or even Monday evening.” Or, even if you do come to church to hear the sermon, you don’t take it in, you have no delight, no love, no reverence for the Word of God.

 

St. Peter reminds us, our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). But rarely does he make a frontal attack that we can prepare for as we defend ourselves. Instead, temptation most commonly sneaks up and attacks from behind. Temptation ambushes us in ways that we never see coming.

 

Consider this: You are new to the area. You find a new doctor, new dentist, new friends, and a new church. You attend church a few weeks, then you miss a few weeks. You attend one week, then miss five weeks. Before you know it, you are no longer attending the Divine Service at all. God has become distant and drifted off the radar screen. In other words, a Christian doesn’t just wake up one morning and decide to renounce the faith. Instead, you drift away without ever realizing it. Temptation most commonly sneaks up and attacks from behind. In this petition, we pray to be preserved from this.

 

Satan attacks us with unbelief and indifference. But we have the promise that God will deliver us from these temptations of the flesh, the fallen world, and the devil. Our whole life is nothing but temptation by these three. Therefore, we must pray: “Dear Father, let not our flesh seduce us, let not the world deceive us, and let not the devil cast us down.” 

And so we conclude the Lord’s Prayer saying: “But deliver us from evil.” What is this evil that we pray against? We are praying against the evil one, the devil, Satan himself. So, we can sum it up this way: “Deliver us from the wicked devil, who hinders our prayers. O Lord, deliver us!”

 

Satan is evil himself, but the “evil” in this petition is everything on earth that is evil, such as sickness, poverty, death – whatever evil there is in this fallen dominion of Satan, of which there is very much here on earth.

 

In short, O Lord, deliver us from the devil.

 

Then as we conclude the Lord’s Prayer, God’s name will be hallowed, His kingdom come, and His will be done, and we are delivered from all things.

 

We pray these words of the Lord’s Prayer so that God tramples the devil under foot. We pray these words for there is a great need for daily bread. 

 

In these seven petitions are found all our anxieties, all our needs, and all our perils, which we ought to bring to God. These are great petitions, but God, who wills to do great things is greater. Therefore, let us learn to pray well since God wants us to do this. Through prayer, we experience the power of God, through which He is able to give us great things, to make us good, to keep the Word, to give us a holy life, to give us a weapon against Satan. In our prayers, we enlist the aid, the support, and the power of our heavenly Father. Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +