"He Loves Us To The End" (John 13:1-17, 31b-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:

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come 
to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

 

Jesus utterly loved His apostles. Jesus utterly loves you. He loves His whole creation.

 

Tonight is Maundy Thursday, or also called, Holy Thursday. The word “maundy” is derived from the Latin word mandatum, which means command. For it was on this night that Jesus gave the command to His disciples saying, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

 

“God is love” (1 John 4:16). John 3:16-17 sum up God’s love for us: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

 

It was out of God’s love that caused Him to create the world in the first place. And His love endures forever. Jesus is the embodiment of this love. He is love in human flesh.

 

But we are the opposite of what God intended us to be. Instead of truly loving God and loving our neighbor, we are curved in on ourselves. We love ourselves. We would rather be served by others than to serve. We daily sin against the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods,” since we want to be God. We grasp equality with God as Adam and Eve did. We follow right in line with the original sin. We all want to be almighty God. This is supreme idolatry.

 

We so often fail at love. But what are we best at? We are best at being selfish. We are best at putting ourselves as the center of the universe and that everyone else should love and serve you. We use people. We manipulate people for our own benefit. A holy and just God would have every reason to give us what we truly deserve: eternal death apart from God. May we repent of our selfishness.

Because of our sinful condition, we cannot change ourselves into holy and righteous people. All we can do is possibly turn us poor, miserable sinners into sinners. Maybe, we could sin less, but we will continue to sin. And all sin separates us from God. It’s our sin that pulls us away from God’s love, while God is reaching out to us in His love. Our sinful nature wants nothing to do with God and His unconditional forgiveness.

 

For us to change, we must die and be born again as new people, with new minds, new thinking, and a new disposition. Clearly, we cannot do that. We can’t kill ourselves and make ourselves alive as holy people.

 

But God is love and as a loving God, He “desires all people to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4a). So, how does God show this love so that people would be saved?

 

We see this love in the Son of God who came down from heaven to serve, give everything, even Himself. He was born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin and placed in a feeder’s trough. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”(Matthew 8:20). Jesus was willing to leave everything behind and empty Himself of all the glory of heaven and the treasures of the entire universe to live among us and one of us.

 

What man covets; God laid aside. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

 

We all try to serve. We attempt to lose ourselves in service to our fellow man, but ultimately, self-righteousness and a self-serving attitude win the day.

 

But Jesus loves us to the end. On that first Maundy Thursday, Jesus used that occasion to demonstrate His complete, unwavering love for them and for us, a love He bore to the very end. The Passover dinner was underway, and this would be His last. On this night, He would institute the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins and to strengthen our weak faith. On this night, He knew that He would be betrayed. Yet, Jesus was still in control. Heaven’s plan was coming together. It was now up to the Son of God to see it through.

 

So, Jesus, gives His disciples an old commandment, to which He renews. He speaks the words of Leviticus 19: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), to which He had previously renewed elsewhere in the Gospels. But Jesus uses this occasion to not just speak of this commandment, but to show this commandment in action.

 

So, Jesus rose from dinner and served His disciples as a slave would serve his master and his master’s guests. He washes their feet.

 

Now, is Jesus instituting a new sacrament? No. For He says, “I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). What Jesus is doing serves as an object lesson, a pattern of humility for Christians to follow, that still applies to us. You see, a true leader, a true friend, a true neighbor, is one who serves others. This act of washing His disciples’ feet tells us that a follower of Jesus will act in humble service as Jesus did.

 

This new commandment is not being spoken about, but shown. And by showing His love in action, He is giving this commandment a fresh and new quality. So, Jesus’ command was to love one another as He had loved them by lowing Himself to a servant. And from that night on, Jesus’ disciples were to practice that love in the light of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

 

This love is called “agape.” This love sacrifices for others. Jesus is the embodiment of this love. He gives and He gives, and He gives. He gives of Himself tonight in His very body and blood under bread and wine to forgive your sins.

 

Later that night, Jesus would “give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28) as He would “give for the life of the world [His] flesh” (John 6:51). 

 

As Jesus hung on the cross one day later, He took upon Himself all our wickedness, all our iniquity, all our brokenness, all our pain. He reconciled you and me back to God the Father. He changed us. He took all our selfishness upon Himself. He made a way to reconciliation. He made peace by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20).

 

God loved you so much that He died for you. And God did not remain dead. He rose, so that you would also rise. In Christ alone, you are a new creation. In Christ alone, you are born again. This is what happened at your Baptism. It was through the water and Word that the Holy Spirit gave you a new mind with new thinking and a new disposition. 

Now, through Christ’s love, you are able to look outside yourself. You are now able to serve your neighbor in agape love – sacrificial love. You don’t ask for anything in return. You just serve out of love. You serve in loving service to God.

 

God’s heart is one of eternal love, of sacrificial love. He loved you even before you loved Him. For “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

God loves us to the end. He loves by serving. Serving is what defines the one true God. He serves us sinners with His forgiveness in Word and Sacrament. He serves us life and salvation. May we all repent of our selfishness and receive Christ’s love through the forgiveness of sins. And may He continually empower us to “be imitators of God, as beloved Children” walking in love as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2) by giving and serving our neighbor in sacrificial love. 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 Christmas Eve: "No Room in the Inn" (Luke 2:1-20)

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:

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:4-7).

 

When we think of Christmas, it’s easy to think of miracles. Angels make special appearances to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and to shepherds in a field.

 

Then there are miracles that don’t appear to be miracles. From what seems to be a typical government ordeal turns out to be arranged by God Himself. Remember, Mary and Joseph did not live in Bethlehem; they lived some 80 miles away in Nazareth. But they had to return to their ancestorial hometown to be registered for the census. And it was the Prophet Micah who prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

 

Of course, the greatest miracle of miracles is how God became man: Emmanuel, God with us! This Child was born of a virgin. This Child born is none other than the eternal God.

 

And no event in human history has been so celebrated in word and song than that of the birth of Jesus Christ! As the world celebrates “Happy Holidays,” we know what holiday is being celebrated. Yes, Hanukkah and Kwanza are among these days, but Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday and Kwanza is a made-up American day. The real holiday is Christmas, for which we remember the birth of the Savior from our sins.

 

But as it was then on this night in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago, there was no fanfare. The Savior had been born and there was no parade. There was no festival. There was no room. A census was being taken, so there was a great influx of people into Bethlehem, and Bethlehem was not exactly a large town. It was a small town with no surplus of lodging available to visitors. 

So, it would not be surprising that Mary and Joseph had difficulty in getting a room for they were not alone in losing out in supply and demand.

 

What is truly astonishing is that the Almighty God would choose such circumstances for the birth of the Messiah. The Savior of the world is to be born, the One who came to take upon Himself the guilt and sin of the entire world, the One who came to conquer death and open the gates of heaven to all who would cling to Him. How could there be no room?

 

This Child is the Creator of heaven and earth. He created all things. He is the One who gives breath to all, food to all who eat. How can this Child be born in a manger, a feeding trough, as His crib? This is just wrong that God would be received by His own creation in such a way. How can there be no room for Him?

 

There is no room in Bethlehem for the Creator of the world and true King of Israel. But what happened in Bethlehem on the night of His birth would become the theme for His earthly life. When the Magi would later arrive with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and worshipped Him, Mary and Joseph found a place for their small family in a house in Bethlehem. But shortly after the Magi left, the wrath of Herod the Great made it clear again that there was no room in Bethlehem for this holy Child. So, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to protect their Son from Herod’s murdering soldiers. Again, there was no room for Jesus in Bethlehem.

 

After some time in Egypt, the Holy Family returned to Nazareth, where Jesus would grow up. Now that Jesus is in Nazareth, there must be room for Him there! One Sabbath at the Nazareth synagogue, Jesus was given the scroll of Isaiah. But when He proclaimed to the people of Nazareth the precious news of the Gospel, when He said that the promised Savior had come “to bring good news to the poor” (Isaiah 61:1), what did they do? They rejected Him. They rose up and drove Him out of Nazareth and tried to throw Him off a cliff. So, there was no room for Jesus in Nazareth.

 

From here, Jesus went north to Capernaum. While living there, He crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes. There, Jesus cast out demons from two possessed men and sent them into a herd of pigs. When the demons were cast into the herd of pigs, they all rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. When the people heard about this, they came to Jesus and begged Him to leave (Matthew 8:28-34). So, there was no room for Jesus among the Gedarenes.

 

Later, on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria. He sent messengers ahead to find a place to stay, but the people of Samaria made it clear that they didn’t want Jesus there. Jesus 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). So, there was no room for Jesus in Samaria.

 

Next, we come to Palm Sunday. The crowds came out to meet Jesus. Men, women, and children sang the praises of “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9). They were welcoming Jesus as their King! But by the end of the week, the crowds were shouting something quite different, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (John 19:6). Now they were crying out to Pontius Pilate against Jesus. And rather than see Jesus let go, they demanded the freedom of Barabbas, who was a murderer, a robber, and an insurrectionist. There was no room for Jesus in Jerusalem.

 

Now, Pilate wanted to let Jesus go as he insisted that he had found no guilt in Jesus. But to show the sheer strength of the Roman Empire, Pilate, despite finding no guilt, would still whip Jesus. And in order to keep his position safe, Pilate released Barabbas and Jesus would be crucified. No room for Jesus on earth.

 

As Jesus is nailed to a cross, He is wracked by pain, thirst, and insults. Then it goes from horrible to worse. Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46). God the Father pours out His righteous anger on Jesus, the One who has come to bear the sin and the guilt of the world. Jesus would face the punishment for all the sins of every man, woman, and child who would ever live. God the Father punishes Jesus, who knew no sin, for the sins of all the world. Jesus dies for you and me on that cross. He is abandoned by God the Father.

 

There is no room for Jesus. It all began in Bethlehem, and it continued all the way through His earthly life until He died on the cross. Why? Why did it have to be this way? 

 

This was the only way. This was the only way that you and me could be saved from the power of sin, death, hell, and Satan. Christ took our place in what should have been our death, because of our sin. Christ was obedient, even to the point of death. Christ was obedient, honest, and truthful where we are not. He took upon Himself our sin and suffered for it. He was rejected and despised so that our Father in heaven could look at you and say, “You are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.”

Because there was no room for Jesus in Bethlehem, in Nazareth, in Samaria, in Jerusalem, there is now room for you. There is always room in the Church for you. No matter your past, no matter how you have failed, there is room here for you. No matter how long you have strayed from Jesus, no matter how greatly you have sinned against God, there is room for you here. And there will always be room here. For this place is the hospital for sinners that is doctored by the Great Physician Jesus, who not only died, but rose from the dead, and lives and reigns to this day. It is He who gives us His medicine of immortality in His Means of Grace: His Word and Sacrament.

 

So, how sad it is when not all humanity is open to Jesus. How tragic it is that so many say that they have no room for Jesus in their lives.

 

Even in the celebration of His birth, Jesus is crowded out to make room for reindeer, snowmen, and Christmas songs that have nothing to do with Jesus, whose birth we celebrate this evening. More and more there is no room for Jesus in our lives.

 

May it never be so with us! May we be willing to lose every secular and cultural attachment to this holiday if only we keep the baby Jesus. Let them take our trees, let them take our presents, let them take our snowmen as long as we can keep Christ, the Lord, born to the virgin Mary in Bethlehem to be the Savior of the world.

 

So, may there always be room in our hearts for this Christ Child who brings salvation and life to all who cling to Him. May the Holy Spirit so work in us that we always belong to Christ. Let us join the angelic choirs to praise Him not just this evening, but at every Divine Service and every day of our life, for He freely gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation and all by grace through faith in Him! 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 +

Sermon for Pentecost 13: "The Most-Important Riddle" (Matthew 16:13-20)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Why does Jesus speak so much in riddles? Have you ever thought that? I have. And of course, that’s why I am asking.

 

To the scribes, Jesus asked, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” (Mark 3:23). To the chief priests and the elders, Jesus asked, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:25). And Jesus spoke many more riddles.

 

But today, Jesus asks His disciples the most-important riddle: “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13).

 

Christ’s disciples respond, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). 

 

John the Baptist sounds like a good answer. He was a man of the people. He may have appeared rugged, and he had some odd eating habits, but he was a strong man of faith. He had the courage to call sinners to repentance.

 

Elijah appears like a good answer, too. In the first century, there was major speculation that Elijah would return. Since he was taken up into heaven alive in the fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:1-14), he could very well return.

 

Then comes an odd addition: Jeremiah. Well, maybe not too odd. Jeremiah, like John the Baptist and Elijah were prophets, but Jeremiah didn’t have the so-called “cult of personality” that John and Elijah owned. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah called on the religious leaders to repent. Jeremiah said that Jerusalem and the temple would soon be destroyed because of the peoples’ unrepentant sin.

 

But similarities are there between John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Despite their differences, they each spoke what God called them to speak. They each suffered for speaking the very Word of God. John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah sound like good answers. But none of those answers are correct.

 

So, there appears to be some confusion on this “Son of Man.” Who is this “Son of Man”? What does it mean to be the “Son of Man”? Riddle me this: “Who is the Son of Man”?

 

Then Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Ahh, now we are getting somewhere!

 

Then Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

 

Here, Jesus has asked the most-important question – or really questions – that His disciples would ever answer. First, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is.” Then, “Who do you say that I am?”

 

You see, Jesus wants to be known. And He wants to be known by this mysterious title “Son of Man.”

 

Jesus uses this title “Son of Man” a sum of 82 times. It’s a favorite of Jesus. It’s the favorite of Jesus. And so much ink has been spilled through history on trying to figure out what “Son of Man” actually means.

 

Well, instead of trying to figure out this riddle on our own, why don’t we actually find out if Jesus answers this riddle? And guess what, Jesus actually explains the meaning of the Son of Man.

 

As Jesus asks the question, the answer is soon revealed. In fact, I already gave it away. Did you catch it? First, of course, Jesus rejects the false definitions: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But He does give the correct definition. Did you catch it? Did you notice it? The “Son of Man” is “the Son of the living God.”

 

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17).

 

Peter’s reason did not reveal this fact to him. It was God the Father who revealed this fact to Peter.

 

The disciples have not always understood. Now, they had their moments of understanding, but somehow, they would always come back to doubts and misunderstandings on who Jesus truly is. 

The disciples were in awe of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 men, plus the women and the children. Soon, they thought Jesus was a ghost walking upon the sea. They cried in fear! But when they realized the ghost was Jesus, they said of Jesus, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). Then, they had a terrible moment as they urged Jesus to send away the Canaanite woman. They are an example of our roller coaster of faith. Some days, you may have faith that could seemingly move mountains, but then the next day, that faith couldn’t even move over an ant hill. So, we have our good days and our bad days. But through it all, we have faith. Ultimately, it’s not about our feelings. Our feelings are flighty. But what never changes is God’s love for you and me. We are faithful because He is always faithful.

 

Our reason and strength will fail us. So, when you are weak, He is strong. When you cry out for help, He answers you and rescues you. He answered the need for hunger by feeding the crowds with just five loaves and two fish. He rescued Peter who in doubt jumped out of the boat to see if the man walking on the sea was Jesus. He rescued the Canaanite woman and healed her daughter from demon possession.

 

Today, Jesus desires to be known on who He truly is. He may be a prophet, but He is more than just a prophet. He may be a miracle worker, but He is more than just a miracle worker. Jesus is the Son of Man.

 

So, Jesus didn’t just want His disciples to know the answer to “Who is the Son of Man” and “Who am I”? He wanted them to know Him. Jesus would not go on from that riddle until He received the answer. 

 

Back in seminary, I was involved in a group called “Apple of His Eye.” The whole idea of this group was to ask this simple and yet profound question to people, “What do you think about Jesus?” I, along with the others, passed out leaflets about Jesus one summer. We walked down the Delmar Loop, which is a business district north of Washington University and Concordia Seminary, which is a hot-spot for college-aged people. Sometimes we were ignored, but other times, we had great conversations on who Jesus is. On one other occasion, we even walked about the St. Louis Pride Festival. There, we received so many conflicting ideas on who Jesus is: an unconditional lover, a judge, a prophet, a great guy, a figment of man’s imagination.

 

So, like Jesus’ riddle to His disciples, there are still so many questions on who Jesus truly is. What do you think about Jesus? This is the same question that Jesus asks of us. What do you think of Him?

 

The question about who is the Son of Man was a mystery for centuries before Jesus. One of the most famous Old Testament accounts of this mysterious Son of Man was revealed to the prophet Daniel by the Holy Spirit: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

 

This Son of Man is One who is before time. This Son of Man is One who has been given dominion over all peoples, nations, and languages. This Son of Man is One who has everlasting dominion. This Son of Man is One whose reign lasts forever and not even the gates of hell shall prevail against it.

 

Who is the Son of Man? The Son of Man is none other than Jesus who is the miraculous Offspring of the human race in whom the Son of God became man. The Son of Man is like us. He has our flesh. He is fully and truly human. He is like you and me, except without sin. The Son of Man is poor as He has no place “to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20). The Son of Man eats and drinks (Matthew 11:19). The Son of Man is reviled, suffers, and dies (Matthew 17:12, 22-23; 20:18-19). The Son of Man bodily rises from the dead. These all prove that the Son of Man is the Son of God, who has come in our flesh in order to save sinners, like you and me, from eternal death. The Son of Man came to justify us as righteous in God’s sight.

 

This same Son of Man sees the thoughts of our heart, forgives sins, is the Lord of the Sabbath, sits at the right hand of God the Father as the ruler of the universe, and He promises to return in divine glory to judge the living and the dead on the Last Day.

 

The mystery is clear. God wants to be known. He wants to be known to you and by you. Today, He comes to us in the mystery of forgiveness spoken through a sinful pastor, He comes to us through the mystery of His Word proclaimed, He comes to us in the mystery of the Lord’s Supper. He comes to us with the purpose on making Himself known as the Son of Man, who is the Redeemer from the powers of sin, death, and the devil. Again, this is the most-important riddle: who is the Son of Man? He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

O You of Little Faith, Why do you Doubt?

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26).

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown in to the oven, will he not much clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25, 30).

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

Over and over again, Jesus rebuked His holy apostles saying, “O you of little faith.” We are not much different from Christ’s holy apostles. We doubt. We doubt that God will provide. We worry about money and finances, especially during times of Inflation. Often, our worries are inward focused – on ourselves – instead of where they ought to be as outwardly focused on God.  

We often find ourselves playing the role of the rich fool, who would rather store up his goods, so we can say, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 20:19). After all, that is the American way, right? We store up goods, instead of giving back what rightfully belongs to God.

But what always happens, despite our doubting? God always provides for our needs. God is always faithful, even when we are “of little faith.”

Each Sunday, we confess our faith using the Creed (from Credo meaning, “I believe”). We confess, “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible” at each communion Divine Service (First Article of the Nicene Creed) or, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth” at each non-communion Divine Service (First Article of the Apostles’ Creed). But what exactly are we confessing?

Martin Luther noticed that during his time, many parishioners were just going through the motions and never gave much thought on what they were actually confessing. In his Large Catechism, Luther wrote[1]:

“Here much could be said if we were to describe how few people believe this article. We pass over it; we hear it and recite it, but we neither see nor think about what the words command us to do. For if we believed it with our whole heart, we would also act accordingly, and not swagger about and boast and brag as if we had life, riches, power, honor, and such things of ourselves, as if we ourselves were to be feared and served. This is the way the wretched, perverse world acts, drowned in its blindness, misusing all the blessings and gifts of God solely for its own pride, greed, pleasure, and enjoyment, and never turning to God to thank Him or acknowledge Him as Lord or Creator.

“Therefore, if we believed it, this article should humble and terrify all of us. For we sin daily with our eyes, ears, hands, body and soul, money and property, and with all that we have, especially those who even fight against the Word of God. Yet Christians have this advantage, that they acknowledge that they owe it to God to serve and obey Him for all these things”

So, what are all these things? What exactly are we confessing in the First Article of the Creed?

Well, we confess that God is the giver of all things. He always provides. We only receive. We don’t earn anything by our own merit. God is the giver of all wealth. God is the giver because He is the Creator of heaven and earth.

Luther again writes in his Large Catechism[2]:

“What is meant by these words or what do you mean when you say, ‘I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator,’ etc.? Answer: I hold and believe that I am God’s creature, that is, that He has given me and constantly sustains my body, soul, and life, my members great and small, all my senses, my reason and understanding, and the like; my food and drink, clothing, nourishment, spouse and children, servants, house and farm, etc. Besides, He makes all creation help provide the benefits and necessities of life – sun, moon, and stars in the heavens; day and night; air, fire, water, the earth and all that it yields and brings forth; birds, fish, animals, grain, and all sorts of produce. Moreover, He gives all physical and temporal blessings – good government, peace, security. Thus we learn from this article that none of us has life – or anything else that has been mentioned here or can be mentioned – from ourselves, nor can we by ourselves preserve any of them, however small and unimportant. All this is comprehended in the word ‘Creator.’”

In the First Article of the Creed, we confess that God provides. God always provides! Great is His faithfulness to us! He provides our temporal needs (food, clothing, shelter, and the like) to all people, believer and unbeliever alike, and He provides our eternal needs (forgiveness of sins, which begets eternal life and salvation) to all who trust in Jesus Christ alone!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
   his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
   “therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3:22-24).

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

---

[1] Kolb, Robert and Wengert, Timothy. The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 432-433.

[2] Ibid.

Sermon for Pentecost 4: "Calming the Storms" (Mark 4:35-41)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

As a ship is nearing a coast, or just entering a harbor, oftentimes a maritime pilot is ready if that ship’s captain is in need of assistance. Although ship captains have a lot of sea experience, they don’t always know the local hazards just off a coast or in a harbor when a sudden storm emerges.

In the event of a sudden storm, a maritime pilot comes on board via a small boat or is lowered from a helicopter and takes over the ship with the captain’s permission. What makes these pilots so skilled is that they know the immense details of the local waterways, such as the depth, the currents, the hazards, as well as the expertise in handling ships of all types and sizes.

They know what to do to get the ship to safe harbor when the weather suddenly changes.

Today on this Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus and His disciples find themselves aboard a boat during a great windstorm with waves breaking into the boat as it begins to fill with water. But by His powerful Word, Jesus calms not just the storm brought on by the sea, but also the storm in the disciples’ hearts.

[God Rested]

“On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side’ (of the Sea of Galilee). And leaving the crowd (as He continued to teach), (the disciples) took Him with them in the boat” (Mark 4:35).

Now, this day was a long day for Jesus. Jesus was exhausted. Earlier in the day, He healed a leper, He healed a centurion’s servant, He healed Peter’s mother-in-law, He cured demon-possessed people, and He healed many from various diseases and illnesses (Matthew 8:1-22).  Although Jesus is fully God, He is still fully human, and He needed His rest.

This tired condition is what caused Jesus to say: “Let us go across to the other side (of the sea)” (Mark 4:35). In time, Jesus began to rest and He soon fell asleep on a cushion.

Now, Jesus was familiar to rest. You see, even before He took upon Himself our human flesh, He rested. He rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3) after He – with the Father and the Holy Spirit – had created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them: the waters, the dry land, the plants, the stars, the angels, the water creatures, the land creatures (Genesis 1:1-31).

In fact, in our Old Testament reading, this is what the triune God spoke to Job about. You see, when Job was experiencing his personal storm – his doubts – as he questioned the Creator of the heavens and the earth, God comforted him and said to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Who laid its cornerstone? Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment? Who prescribed limits for it and said, ‘Thus far you come, and no farther’?” (Job 38:1-11)

Like Job, we fail to understand the known and unknown, the seen and unseen, but God is always there to comfort us in our good times and bad times as we turn to His Word as revealed in the Scriptures and in the Sacrament.

[The Storm]

For the disciples, this boat trip upon the Sea of Galilee was about to go from calm to stormy.

Suddenly, “a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling” (Mark 4:37).

Now, storms are entirely in keeping with the topography. Since the Sea of Galilee is about 700 feet below sea level and lies between high hills, so sudden squalls would often come roaring through and would churn up waves to a height like those in much larger bodies of water. But some may wonder, could there be something more going on here? After all, Jesus is resting from a long day of healings. So, this might indicate that the storm and the raging seas constitute an attack by spiritual forces opposed to God. We don’t know this for a fact, but it may cause us to wonder: is there something more going on here?

As the storm was raging, Jesus was fast asleep. So, in this hour of danger the disciples woke Him saying, “Save us, Lord!” (Matthew 8:25b) “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38c)

Some questions may arise: Weren’t some of these disciples expert fishermen who must have gone through similar furious storms on the lake? And: wasn’t Jesus inexperienced in handling a boat? Why, then, did they come to Jesus?

Though their faith was not perfect, they did reveal faith in this hour. They do seem to think that Jesus is special and that He can help. Although at this time, they do not fully understand who He is, what He is truly like, and what He is all about, but they turn to Jesus and rely on His power to help.

Immediately, Jesus arose from His cushion and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). Just as it was in this morning’s Introit from Psalm 107, as those men were crying to the Lord, Jesus delivered them by calming the storm and the waves. As was declared by the Psalmist and as He spoke to Job, it is only God who is able to control nature, including the wind and the sea. It is the Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, who has the power to command the wind and calm the waves.

You see, God’s spoken Word is performative, that is, when God speaks, things happen. Just as it was in the beginning, when God spoke, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), there was light. It was through the power of His voice that God created the heavens and the earth. And, when Christ said, “Follow Me” to His future apostles, they never thought about it, they each immediately dropped everything and followed Him. So, when God speaks, things happen.

Now, some people these days have the idea that they have the power to control the wind and the sea. They say, “If we only change this or that” in our lives, the climate would improve. The thing is, only God has this power. By saying they have power to control the future of climate, they are really claiming God’s authority. Now, we should care for our environment, as God said to our first parents, “Subdue (the earth), and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28), but we only have the authority to preserve the earth. We don’t have the authority to save the earth. We don’t have the authority to control the weather. Only God has this power. This is why the disciples asked, “Who is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:41)

After Jesus calmed the sea, He spoke to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40) Now, they had enough faith to wake up Jesus, but their faith was far from perfect. Yes, they woke Him up, but they do not have a faith that rests confidently in Jesus. You see, the disciples still worry very much about their welfare as they said, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38), even though their Lord is present with them.

Now, what if Jesus did not wake up? Or, what if Jesus had not been in the boat with them when the windstorm arrived? Would the disciples have had a right to be terrified? Remember, Jesus had taught them – as He teaches us the same – “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). So, no matter what, Jesus teaches us that by grace through faith in Him alone, we always stand in the Father’s constant, loving care, so that we have no need to fear or to worry.

Yet, we do fear and worry. We worry as Job worried. We worry as the disciples worried. We worry about the unknown. We worry about the unseen. It seems like we are catechized and trained to worry. Causing worry is big business for some. Turn on the evening news. Read the headlines in today’s newspaper. We are catechized each and every day to worry.

But even if the disciples had drowned in that stormy water, they still would have had no cause to fear. So even in the hour of death, God the Father would not forsake them. So, with that promise comes the assurance that there is no cause for fear since we have eternal life. In Christ, we all have this same promise and assurance!

[The Calm]

As the sinful world around us tosses us all around, God the Father comes to us to brings us back to safety. This is what He accomplished for us by sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to bear our sins and be our Savior as He willingly suffered and died for our sins upon the cross. He did this to save us from the power of sin, eternal death, and Satan. He did this so we would receive – by grace through faith in Christ alone – forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation!

This is the meaning of Christ calming the storm. He calmed to storm to establish Himself as the ruler of the wind and sea. He is truly the only divine Savior, who has unlimited grace and power to save lost sinners.

By Jesus calming the storm that day may have another meaning. We may think of the church as a boat, the disciples as believers as they are navigating the sea of life, the wind and the waves as the storms of life, the pleas of the disciples as the prayers of believers for help, and Jesus as the Lord of both the church and the world. The meaning being that the Lord of the Church, though seemingly to be asleep and uncaring about what His people are enduring, will arise in due time to bring them salvation.

This is what happens here in the Divine Service! He comes to us to calm our hearts as He speaks to us His sure and certain Word and gives us forgiveness and strength for our weak faith through His Means of Grace – in Word and Sacrament.

Christ speaks to us today with the same power He spoke creation into being. He speaks to us today with the same power He calmed the stormy sea. He speaks to us today saying, “Your sins are forgiven.” He speaks to us today saying, “Take, eat. This is My body, which is given for you. Take, drink. This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” This is Christ speaking. He is speaking to us as He calms our personal storms.

It has been said that Jesus calmed two storms that day: the one in the disciples’ hearts and the other raging in nature. Jesus reproved the winds and the waves saying, “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4:39b) Here we see Jesus exercising the same power with which He created the world and the same power with which He also saved the world. Amen.

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

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want

"The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want" (LSB 710) is a rendition of Psalm 23.

The inverted word order and awkward turns of phrase are deliberately an attempt to keep the hymn as close to the Biblical text as possible, while allowing the English translation to rhyme.

As King David considered himself a lamb in the tender care of his Shepherd, so we also take our place among the flock in stanza one. Also, the Sacramental character of the text becomes possible as we here see the meadows of the mountain heights of Israel rolling with plush paddock, and the Lord, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), leading us to the superior grazing land He provides, where He causes His flock to lie down to feed and be restored (Ezekiel 34:11-15).

In stanza two, the tension of paradise lost because of our fall into sin (Genesis 2:8-17) is present, but it is joyfully eclipsed by the absolution, re-creation, and restoration earned by the sacrifice of the Shepherd (2 Corinthians 5:21) and given in such sacramental feeding. This feeding is a divine right for those who bear the holy name. The sheep are righteous, marked as holy by the placing of His name.

Stanza three tells of the peace of God into the context of this world's suffering.

Stanza four treats the abundance of God's gifts given to those He now calls friends (John 15:15) as they recline at His table (Matthew 8:11) and partake of the feast rejected by and now forbidden to unbelievers, the enemies of God (Matthew 8:12). And with the banquet comes the anointing of oil, the oil of gladness and superabundance, of eternal salvation overflowing in our chalice because the Shepherd suffered the cup in our place. The benefits of this "cup" are now being made available to the believer in the prime grazing land of the Lord's Supper.

Stanza five puts the finishing touches on the beautiful portrait presenting the Lord's faithfulness throughout our earthly journey (Psalm 25:6), with His purpose (1 Timothy 2:4) that we would be gathered before His throne for all eternity!

1 The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

2 My soul He doth restore again
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for His own name’s sake.

3 Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For Thou art with me, and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

4 My table Thou hast furnishèd
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.

5 Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be.

Text: Public domain