Sermon for Lent 3: "Repent, or Perish" (Luke 13:1-9)

 

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:

[Warning of Ezekiel]

I hate to break it to you, but today’s Christians are no different than the First Century Jews, or really even the Fifth Century B.C. Israelites.

We, like the Jews before us, cry out: “The way of the Lord is not just!” (Ezekiel 33:17)

Why can’t I do what I want?! I’m not hurting anybody!

So, instead of reading God’s Word as it is – God’s Word for us. Many times, Jews then and Christians today wish to “improve” on God’s Word, by making it “more friendly” to outsiders.

But, how does God respond to this?

“As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11a).

As Christians, we are to turn back from our evil, sinful ways and warn other Christians against evil. If we don’t warn others against evil, we will be counted among the evil, even if we believe we are living a godly life.

Recently, our brothers and sisters in Christ of the worldwide United Methodist Church met for a special conference in St. Louis. This conference was all about interpreting God’s Word.

One faction spoke with the vigor of Ezekiel to remain faithful and penitent to the church’s teachings. This faction, which was primarily African, proposed the “Traditional Plan,” which kept with the church’s teachings on sin.

The other faction cried out like the unrighteous Jews of Ezekiel’s time: “The way of the Lord is not just!” This faction, which was primarily American, proposed the “One Church Plan,” which aimed to redefine sin and especially say that all sexual lifestyles are pleasing to God.

The vote at this special conference went in favor of the “Traditional Plan,” however the “One Church Plan” crowd said they would vigorously continue defying God’s teachings on sin and sexuality – this is two-thirds of the delegates of the United Methodist Church in the United States, including the bishop that represents the Minnesota Conference.

Sadly, the divisions within the United Methodist Church could easily happen within our own church body – the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. We are sinners, too, and many times we want to live our lives our way, rather than God’s way.

The Lord tells us all: “I will judge each of you according to his ways” (Ezekiel 33:20b), but also know that if the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live. (Ezekiel 33:19)

[Call to Repentance]

Today is the Third Sunday in Lent. We are making our way throughout our Lenten journey. Throughout this journey, we are reminded that none of us are perfect on our own. We are all lost and condemned sinners. We need to repent of our sin. We all need a savior so we can be forgiven.

In our gospel lesson this morning, our Lord and Savior Jesus teaches us that each and every one of us needs to repent, or else we will perish.

And true repentance isn’t being sorry for just getting caught doing the wrong thing, such as getting caught lying or getting caught cheating.

Today, Jesus is teaching us about judgement and forgiveness for the penitent.

So, what spurred Jesus to teach about judgment and forgiveness this morning?

Well, there were some Galileans who believed that some other Galileans must have really sinned badly against God, because Pilate sent his troops into the temple area to murder them as they brought their lambs for the Passover Seder.

What happened was the blood of the people was mixed with the blood of their lambs, which is to never happen. This violated all holiness codes.

These Galileans thought this tragedy happened to those people as a divine punishment for specific sins.

So Jesus responds to their concern saying: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2-3).

These Galileans who questioned Jesus likely hoped to get some strong rebuke against Pilate and Rome, but instead Jesus gives them just the opposite to what they were looking for.

You see, Jesus sees this tragedy in a religious context and speaks not of the sin of Pilate, but of the sin of the Jews.

But, what did these Jews do to deserve this massacre?! They were just bringing their sacrifices to the temple!

Where is the all-loving Jesus that we often hear about in our culture? He isn’t here. In fact, Jesus loves by teaching us the truth. And sometimes, the truth hurts.

Jesus teaches us that these Galileans were no more sinners than any other Galilean, but that every one of them must repent for they all have sinned against God in thought, word and deed.

The same goes with us. We call out the speck in our neighbor’s eye, but ignore the log in our own eye. We all have sinned. We are all heading down the wrong road apart from God.

Our only way of survival is to repent and believe that the kingdom of God has come in Jesus.

[Tower in Siloam]

If the Galileans still didn’t get it. Jesus brings up another recent tragedy.

These Galileans suffered a tragedy caused by a human event by the command of Pilate. But, Jesus brings up the 18 who died in a tragedy of a natural cause.

Jesus said: “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4-5).

The tower collapse in Siloam evidently lacks political or religious overtones, but Jesus describes it as a sign just like the deaths at the temple.

Jesus is not saying that “they must have deserved it,” but rather, “We all deserved the same.” Because of our unbelief, we all deserve destruction and death.

For the Triune God: sin is sin. There is no ranking of the worst sins to not-so-bad sins.

Jesus speaks twice in our text, “I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5).

Through His repetition, He means that repentance is of the first importance as a follower of Christ.

[The Fig Tree]

The One true God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, but there will come to a point when the unrighteous will perish.

Jesus tells us this parable of a fig tree planted in the vineyard as an illustration of this.

A man said to the vinedresser, “Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?” (Luke 13:7).

The vinedresser responded saying, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down” (Luke 13:8-9).

Here Jesus is reminding us that God is patient with His people, but only for a little while longer.

So, there will come a time when God will cut down the unrighteous, impenitent tree from the vineyard.

With this in mind, we may ask ourselves this question: Am I bearing fruit?

Think of it this way: a plant must receive enough water and sunlight or else it will surely die. Like plants, we must receive nourishment for our faith, or else our faith will shrivel up and die. So, how does our faith bear fruit?

Our faith can only bear fruit when it is fertilized through hearing God’s Word and receiving God’s Sacraments. And, the only place this always happens is right here in the Divine Service where we receive forgiveness and strength for our weak faith through hearing God’s Word, receiving absolution and receiving the Lord’s Supper. Here is where God nourishes our faith and then our faith sprouts fruit.

From God’s nourishment, we grow in the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

This parable shows God’s patience for all of us as God gives us the opportunity to repent from our evil ways, and thus be forgiven through Christ.

The focus of this parable is on whether there will be fruit before the removal of that tree.

For those who remain fruitless will face the judgment when Christ returns. They will be cut down. They will perish.

But, for those who receive God’s nourishment in Word and Sacrament, they become the fruit of the tree! They will receive eternal joy! They will receive the kingdom of God!

[Jesus Provides a Way Out from Perishing in Sin]

Jesus is calling us to live our lives in repentance. We will step into sin from time to time, because of our fallen nature, but we are to repent of that sin and follow Jesus.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

This way of escape is only through Jesus the Christ. Without Christ, we are trapped in the bondage of sin, death, hell and Satan. But in Christ, we receive forgiveness, life and salvation.

You see, God the Father has given us a way out from our tree being cut down and thrown into the fire and that way is through His only begotten Son, Jesus.

Jesus provides us a way out through Him fulfilling the Law. Jesus provides a way out through His suffering and death. Jesus provides a way out through His resurrection and ascension.

By grace through faith in Jesus, and remaining true to God’s unchanging and loving Word, we are forgiven. We are righteous. We are children of God.

But, when we turn from God’s unchanging and loving Word, we are turning from salvation and toward damnation. However, God gives us time to repent, but how much time?

Thanks be to God that when we repent and follow Jesus as Lord. We will never perish! We live! We are immediately seen as righteous! All that we did against God prior is erased! It’s gone! We are seen as God the Father sees Jesus: perfect in every way.

And in case there are any doubts: Again, God forgives our sins and strengthens our weak faith at each Divine Service. He does this through holy absolution, hearing the Word of God and receiving the Lord’s Supper. Here is where God puts fertilizer on our faith as we grow as fruit in the one true Christian faith! 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

Sermon for Lent 1: "Championship Fight" (Luke 4:1-13)

 

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]

Ding! Ding! Ding!

In this corner, weighting in at 126 pounds and wearing red trunks we have the Featherweight Champion of the World, Satan!

In the other corner, weighing in at 215 pounds and wearing gold trunks we have the Heavyweight Champion of the World, Jesus!

The winner of this bout is who creation is to trust and worship.

Now, let us have a fair fight.

Does this sound fair? The Featherweight Champion versus the Heavyweight Champion?

Well, what if I told you that it was the Featherweight Champion who challenged the Heavyweight Champion to this fight?

You see, this Featherweight Champion believes he has a legitimate chance on defeating the Heavyweight Champion. Will this be a fair fight? Well, you know Satan has something up his sleeve, so to speak. Could it be brass knuckles? Could it be a low blow? He is prepared to win at any cost. In fact, the only way he could win is only by deceiving the rules. He can only cheat.

[Round One: Seduction]

Immediately after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove and the voice of God the Father proclaimed about Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22), at this moment Satan challenged the Son of God, Jesus, to a fight. This fight was over who has the power. This fight was over salvation or damnation. This fight is between Satan, the Great Deceiver, and Jesus, the Redeemer of the World.

For forty days in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted by Satan. Jesus took blow after blow from Satan. Jesus took lie after lie from Satan.

As true man, Jesus became hungry. After all, he had not eaten for 40 days. Who wouldn’t be hungry?

So, Satan attempts to seduce Jesus with round one of the championship fight.

“If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3).

As true man, Jesus must eat bread. He must eat something or else he would surely die.

But Jesus responds to Satan: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’” (Luke 4:4).

In the case of Adam, the first man, he ate of the forbidden fruit when seduced by Satan. But, as for Jesus, the Second Adam, He did not succumb to the seduction.

Jesus lives by the Word of God. He is the man, the Son of God incarnate, who is the Word of God. Jesus is the bread of life from heaven who came to feed the people of Himself.

This first temptation of Satan aims to seduce Jesus into being content to repeat the miracle of manna in the wilderness, instead of offering up Himself as the Bread of Life.

Satan loses round one, but on to round two.

[Round Two: True Worship]

Then Satan took Jesus and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Satan said to Jesus, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke 4:6-7).

To anyone else, this sounds like a great offer. But, this is coming from Satan.

Satan is promising Jesus that “authority” and “glory” will be His if the Son of God would only worship Satan. The problem is that Satan’s promises are hollow. Adam and Eve found that Satan cannot deliver on what he promises. The only “authority” Satan has is over a fallen world, estranged from God. To worship Satan would mean to lose the authority and glory of being a child of God.

Satan desires to be worshiped, even though he has no authority.

So Jesus responds, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve’” (Luke 4:8).

You see, “authority” and “glory” of man is to worship and serve the true God. To worship any other false god would be usurping God’s own authority and glory, and thereby losing all authority and glory.

Jesus picks up on the theme of worship and proclaims that true worship is to worship the Lord God. You see, true worship is not conditional. God freely gives out His grace and is then worshiped.

So, Satan loses round two, but on to round three.

[Round Three: Prove it!]

Then Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’” (Luke 4:9-11).

Now, having twice been bested by Scripture, Satan now appeals to it. He now has the audacity to teach the Son of God from Scripture. However, this is a cheap and deceitful imitation. Here Satan quotes from Psalm 91, but leaves out the phrase “in all Your ways.”

You see, Satan knows Scripture. He knows it so well that he can misuse and misapply Scripture to make it sound like God’s Word, even to the most devout Christian. Satan has never stopped doing this through centuries of false teachers who have led Christians away from salvation in Christ alone.

Again, Jesus bests Satan in round three when He says, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Luke 4:12).

Unlike Adam before Him, Jesus has not wavered with Satan’s temptations. Unlike Adam, Jesus responded to each temptation perfectly. Jesus won this bout for us – for you and for me.

[Our Christian Life]

Once Satan realized that he was getting nowhere with these temptations against the Son of God, he departed until an opportune time.

You see, Satan seeks opportunities to tempt us into following him, rather than the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Martin Luther writes of this in his Large Catechism.

“Such is life that one stands today and falls tomorrow,” Luther wrote. “Therefore, even though at present we are upright and stand before God with a good conscience, we must ask once again that He will not allow us to fall and collapse under attacks and temptations.”[1]

As Christians, we face temptations every second of our day. We face temptations from the flesh, from the world, and of course, from Satan.

Our flesh lures us into unchastity, laziness, gluttony, drunkenness, greed, sexual sins, deceit and deception.

The world drives us to anger and impatience. We long for luxury, honor, fame and power.

Then comes Satan, who baits and badgers us on all sides. Satan’s purpose is for us to scorn and despise both the Word of God and the Works of God and to tear us away from faith, hope, and love, and draw us into unbelief and false security. Satan wants us to deny God and to see sin as good.

Every Christian is attacked by our flesh, the world, and Satan. As long as we live in this sinful world, we are attacked, hunted and harassed on all sides, we are constrained to cry out and pray every hour that God may not allow us to become faint and weary and to fall back into sin, shame and unbelief.

Because of Jesus alone, God gives Christians power and strength to resist these attacks, even though the attack is not removed or ended. For no one can escape temptations and seductions as long as we live in the flesh and have Satan prowling around us.

We will suffer these attacks, but realize that we are not alone.

To experience attacks is quite different than consenting to the attack. Some people may have more frequent and severe attacks than others.

§  Some people are attacked chiefly by the flesh: We want what we want now.

§  Some people are attacked chiefly by the world: We want to be honored.

§  Some people are attacked chiefly by Satan: Did God really say?

Or, it could be a mix of attacks.

But, no one can be harmed by merely experiencing an attack. We are only harmed if we consent to these attacks and then give free rein to our flesh, the world and to Satan.

So, Christians must be armed with God’s Word and expect every day to be under continuous attack. We are to live our lives knowing that Satan’s flaming darts are flying right toward us, but it is by grace through faith in Jesus that He is fending them off.

If we attempt to help ourselves by our own thoughts and resources outside of Christ, we only make the matter worse and give Satan a wider opening.

Remember, Satan has a serpent’s head, so if he finds an opening into which he can slither, his whole body will follow. It is only Jesus who can resist Satan’s power and drive him back.

[If Jesus Lost?]

So, what if Jesus lost this championship fight?

If Jesus succumbed to any of Satan’s temptations, we would have been lost in our sins. This would have reversed the order of the kingdom, placing glory before suffering.

[Jesus Won for Us!]

However, Jesus showed that suffering must precede glory.

Satan departed after round three of this championship fight, but he promised to return at an opportune time.

Satan returned again when he deceived Judas Iscariot into turning Jesus over to the Jewish authorities on that Maundy Thursday. Here again, Jesus was faced with the temptation to abandon His vocation as Christ, the Son of God.

Instead, Jesus remained true to His Word even when He forgoes the protection of the Father and angelic armies as He was beaten, whipped, spit upon and pierced with nails through His bones upon the wooden cross.

Jesus was not rescued from the cross, but died a shameful death on that Good Friday. At that moment, Satan believed he had won the championship fight.

But, God works all things to His purpose. Three days later, Jesus gave a knock-out blow to the powers of our flesh, the world, and Satan when He rose from the dead three days later, as He said He would.

Through His resurrection from the dead, Jesus has proclaimed victory for all time to all who believe and trust in Him as Savior and Lord! Through our baptism into Christ, we receive Christ’s victory – forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation! We are renewed in Christ’s victory each time our sins are forgiven in Word and Sacrament!

Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Through Jesus, “the valiant One,” we have conquered the fight! Satan “can harm us none, He’s judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him.” “Our victory has been won; The Kingdom ours remaineth.” This is most certainly true. Amen.

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

 

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

---

[1] The Book of Concord (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 453.

Sermon for Epiphany 7: "Love Your Enemies" (Luke 6:27-38)

 

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]

“Can’t we all just get along?”

“Can’t we all just coexist?”

          “It’s all a matter of opinion anyway.”

How many of you have heard statements like those?

Yes, it is good to get along when it comes to matters of no real importance. Yes, it may be good to coexist when the issue at hand isn’t life or death. Yes, we all have our opinions.

But, when is it good to compromise when matters are of the most importance? When is it good to coexist when the issue is a matter of life or death?

[Love Your Enemies]

Last week, Jesus spoke to us the Beatitudes and Woes, or the blessings and curses. Today, Jesus continues His sermon as He speaks to us about loving our enemies and about judging others. Throughout our text this morning, beginning with the Beatitudes and Woes last week, Jesus is teaching us the goodness of the third use of the Law: our guide.

Today’s Gospel lesson is not to be read out of context, but is to be read as Christ continuing right where He left off.

Last week, Jesus said everyone who trusts in Him as Lord is given immense blessings in the life to come, but those who trust in man, they receive the curse of eternal death once they die.

Jesus also said that Christians will face hate and persecution by the sinful world, but in the end everyone who trusts in Jesus rejoices, because our reward is great in heaven. So, that is the context leading up to today’s Gospel lesson.

Jesus continues today saying, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).

So, as a follower of Christ, we are to love our enemies.

Now, what kind of teaching is this?

When someone wrongs you, don’t you just want to take out revenge on that person?

This is our natural instinct. We want to return the favor to our enemy.

And, do not be mistaken, each person here this morning at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Glencoe has an enemy.

You may think you could not possibly have an enemy. After all, you don’t do anything that could offend another person.

But, because of my faith and trust in Jesus as my savior, I know that I have enemies. Within my own extended family, I have family who look down upon me since I left the ELCA for the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod for the truth of God’s Word.

When I grew up in the ELCA, I was told that the Missouri Synod Lutherans were weird. I never understood why, but that is what I was told. I was told that those LCMS people were weird.

It turns out that the reason why the LCMS was so weird is because the LCMS trusts that God’s Word is true. And now, I’m a Missouri Synod pastor, an under-shepherd of Christ.

We all do have enemies. You may have family, like me, who dislike you because of your faith in Jesus. You may have coworkers or classmates who believe you are stupid and ignorant for trusting in Jesus.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus had countless enemies. He had enemies precisely because of what He spoke in last week’s Gospel lesson and this week’s Gospel lesson. Everything Jesus spoke caused more enemies to appear.

You see, our sinful flesh doesn’t like God teaching us right from wrong. Our sinful flesh likes being in control. Our sinful flesh wants to be its own god. Our sinful flesh wants to get back at our enemies.

But Jesus says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).

Today’s cultural definition of love is to let everyone do what they want without any consequence. This is not what Jesus is teaching.

Jesus is not endorsing or accepting any evil. Jesus is not telling His followers to compromise with God’s Truth. Jesus is not saying that we should look with favor to things that are contrary to His saving Word.

Instead, Christians are to love our enemies by doing good to them and making our enemy aware in the kindest way that they have transgressed from God’s Word.

And, do not be mistaken, all oppositions of the world are God’s enemies. This includes sin, death, Satan, wickedness and perpetrators.

[The World Calls Christians the Enemy]

Now, how does the sinful culture respond to Jesus and His followers? The world calls Jesus and Christians the enemy.

The sinful world says:

·        “How can you be loving if you say homosexuality is a sin?”

·        “How can you be loving if you say abortion is a sin?”

·        “How can you be loving if you say gender-change surgery is a sin?”

·        “How can you be loving if you say only those who trust in Jesus are saved and all others are damned?”

·        “How can you be loving if you won’t let me believe anything I want about God?”

·        “How can you be loving if you won’t let me do what I want?”

This is the world we live in. This is the context Jesus was speaking our Gospel text. Here, Jesus is describing how Christians should act when we are hated and persecuted.

This is our foreseeable consequence of being a baptized believer in Christ. The world hates us, because the world hated Jesus. We are hated and persecuted “on account of the Son of Man” (Luke 6:22).

But, like our Lord Jesus, we do not react in violence, but we trust that God will act. We trust that God will defend us from all our adversaries.

So, we are to do good to those who hate us. We are to bless those who curse us. We are to pray for those who abuse us.

If this wasn’t enough, Jesus continues. “To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either” (Luke 6:29).

So when we are physically abused and assaulted for our faith in Jesus, we are to take the punishment. When our enemy strikes one cheek, we are to offer the other cheek. When our enemy steals from us, we are to give them all we have.

This is what Jesus calls love.

The hope is that our enemy’s conscience would realize the evil they had done and repent and follow Jesus.

As Christians, we are to love everyone. We are to love those who love us and love those who hate us. We love all people, because Jesus loves all people and desires all people to be saved.

§  We love by sharing the Good News of Christ in how we live our daily lives.

§  We love by being content with what we have.

§  We love when enemies ask us about why we are the way we are.

§  We love when we respond to the enemy saying, “I love you, because Jesus loves you.”

[Judging Others]

Jesus does not end His sermon there, but continues. He says, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:37-38).

You may remember Pope Francis saying: “Who am I to judge?” when it came to sexual sins.

Is Jesus teaching us not to judge? Is Jesus telling us not to condemn?

Well, yes and no.

Jesus is teaching all Christians to not judge and condemn using their own reason. We are not to judge and condemn using our opinions.

At the same time, Jesus is teaching all Christians to never compromise with God’s Truth. So, when God says something is pleasing, it is pleasing. And when God says a particular act is a sin, it is a sin.

For when we compromise with God’s Word, this is not loving. This is not loving your enemies. This is not blessing those who curse you. This is not praying for those who abuse you.

Yes, Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, but He never urged them to remain in their sinful ways, but to repent of their sin and thus be forgiven.

You see, the Triune God does not change and thus as Christians we are not to change His Word as to better fit with today’s sinful culture.

[God is Merciful]

So, as Christians, why do we love our enemies? Do we do this because Jesus said so? Yes, but there is more than that.

You see, Jesus wasn’t just some ordinary teacher. If He was, then His words would have been forgotten centuries ago.

Jesus is far from ordinary. Jesus is the incarnate Son of God. Jesus is God in the flesh.

Jesus tells us, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

You see, while we were yet still enemies of God, God the Father sent His one and only begotten Son into our world and took on our flesh and our sins upon Himself, so that through His atoning death and glorious resurrection, all who believe and trust in Jesus are given life, forgiveness and salvation.

Jesus came to put all His enemies under His feet. He came to destroy the last enemy of God: death. (1 Corinthians 15:25-26)

So, through Christ’s death and resurrection, all who believe and trust in Jesus are given forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation.

Everyone in Christ is no longer God’s enemy, but is His precious child.

So, in Christ, we love our enemies because there is something greater coming up in the future – the resurrection of the body. Since Christ has been raised from the dead, all who trust in Him will be raised when Christ comes again on the Last Day.

As Paul writes in our Epistle reading, “So it is with the resurrection of the dead, what is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42).

As followers of Christ, we love our enemies, because we have a merciful God who has forgiven us through Christ and He has given us an imperishable salvation, which is guaranteed for us, by grace through faith in Jesus, our Lord. 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

Sermon for Epiphany 6: "Blessings and Curses" (Luke 6:17-26)

 

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]

Who here doesn’t like being puffed up? All of us love it when people speak well of ourselves. This makes us feel good. This makes us feel great.

But, when a person speaks ill of you, how do you feel? Do you still feel puffed up? No. We feel in the dumps. We feel depressed.

We oftentimes listen to what our fellow man says about us – for better or for worse.

For everyone on Facebook, when you see the thumbs up to your post, who doesn’t feel joyous?

But, when you see the angry face along with negative comments attacking you – who doesn’t feel depressed?

In our Old Testament and Gospel readings this morning, the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – reminds us on who we should trust in – and it’s not our fellow man.

If we place our trust in man, we turn into a shrub in the desert that withers and dies, as Jeremiah says (Jeremiah 17:5-6). But, if we place our trust in the Lord, we will never wither, but remain luscious and alive. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

[Our Daily Bread]

As 21^st century Americans, we hear that and we likely agree that it is better to trust God, rather than man. But, we often forget that. Pastors even forget that from time to time.

We like to put our trust in fellow man. As Americans, we like to think about personal responsibility. We go to work or school and we receive payment for what we have done, either with money or a grade. We think we earned this or earned that. How many of us forget to give thanks to God for His daily bread given to us – with our food, lodging, transportation?

Instead, we thank and praise ourselves. Now, everyone receives the temporal blessings of daily bread. It doesn’t matter if you place your trust in God, in government, or in yourself. Everyone receives daily bread.

But, not everyone receives eternal blessings. For non-believers, their blessings end with their death. For believers, their blessings continue to eternity.

[The Christian Life]

This is what Jesus is talking about with His disciples and the great multitude of people from Judea and Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon. He is telling the crowd of what is to come, rather than the present.

As we all know, being a Christian – a follower of Christ – is not easy. We are not guaranteed an easy life now. There is no promised prosperity as a disciple of Christ. We are not going to become millionaires by just posting a picture of a million dollars on the wall and praying for it. We are not promised the “best life now.” These are not promises of Jesus.

But, Jesus does promise that all followers of Him will be excluded, reviled, spurned as evil, on account of Jesus.

This is Satan fighting back at Jesus. You see, Satan knows how to use the English language into making good into evil and evil look good. We often forget that it is Satan who is the prince of this temporal world. This is why the world hated Jesus. This is why the world hates Christians.

A few weeks ago, I attended the MCCL March for Life in St. Paul. This was a great event. Everyone was smiling. People were praying. We all came for a common good – to preserve life from conception to natural death.

Following the rally, I turned on WCCO-TV and I knew what they were going to say about the pro-life rally. After all, I used to be a journalist. I know the Associated Press Style Book from cover to cover.

Instead of saying “thousands attended a pro-life rally”, they said “thousands attended an anti-abortion rally.” I knew that this was going to be said, for they are using the AP Style, but we are having a battle over words: good is bad and bad is good.

The entire news media has put a negative spin on pro-life. They say that anyone at the March for Life is extreme in their views. But, what is so extreme about life? What is so extreme about children? What is so extreme about the elderly? They find abortion – the murder of innocent, healthy babies – as normal. They find physician-assisted suicide – the murder of adults by doctors – as normal. According to God, this is far from normal.

Sadly, the report on New York legalizing abortion to just prior to birth is already yesterday’s news. The same goes for Virginia proposing abortion to even after birth, so the mother can choose with her doctor if she wants the child to live or die. All yesterday’s news.

Besides life issues, there is a battle brewing on our Christian faith in general.

It seems that every other month, there is a hearing in Washington, D.C. about approving another federal judge. For the past few years, more and more politicians have placed religious tests upon approving or disapproving a judge. So, our Christian faith and our morals based on Jesus’ teachings are under attack by the same people who swore an oath to defend our right of worship.

This is what Jesus warns His followers. We will be hated on account of following Jesus.

But this is the temporal world; we have eternity to look forward to.

[Sermon on the Plain: The Beatitudes]

So, Jesus tells us: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you…on account of the Son of Man! For behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets” (Luke 6:20b-23).

• ·        As Christians in the temporal world, we are poor now, but later we will be blessed.
• ·        As Christians in the temporal world, we will be hungry, but later we will be satisfied.
• ·        As Christians in the temporal world, we will weep, but later we will laugh.
• ·        As Christians in the temporal world, we will be hated for following Jesus, but later our reward will be great in heaven.

You see, our blessings are eternal, not temporal. We rejoice in tribulation, because through Jesus our faith is not in vain. And, when trouble comes, the faithful in Christ survive.

These beatitudes that Jesus describes are the Gospel gifts that every believer receives. The beatitudes function like a Gospel invitation, in which the blessings of the Gospel are held out as enticements to bring or keep the hearer in God’s kingdom.

The beatitudes promise a future joy, but its effect is a present comfort, because of the certainty of the promise of Christ.

[Christological]

The most important feature of the beatitudes is that they are Christological. You see, all of God’s blessings are found in Christ, and Christ is the source of every blessing.

Each beatitude does not suggest principles or guidelines on which to live, but instead shows us what has already been given to us through Christ. When we believe and trust in Christ, the life of Christ becomes the life of the Christian, and by grace the blessings of Christ become the inheritance of the Christian. In that way, the beatitudes come to describe each and every person in Christ.

Now, the blessings are not rewards for a Christian’s supposed accomplishments, but rather are consequences of election in Christ. They are rewards that properly belong to Christ for His accomplishments in His perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection.

All of God’s blessings are in Christ, and every believer receives all these blessings by virtue of being in Christ. There is no degree of blessedness for all who believe and trust in Jesus alone are blessed.

As I have already noted, being a believer in Christ gives us no guarantee of success in the temporal world. But, the Christian is guaranteed immense blessings in the world to come.

[Woes]

As for the unbeliever, they may enjoy temporal blessings now, but they have no positives in their future after death.

Here Jesus speaks of the woes, or curses upon the unbelievers:

“Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” (Luke 6:24-26).

The future is not bright for the unbeliever and scoffer. Instead of receiving blessings, they receive eternal death apart from God. They will be poor, they will be hungry, they will mourn and weep, they will be all alone.

[Blessing or Curse?]

Our Triune God desires everyone to be saved, but some people want to go about life on their own. They want to go about life trusting in man, rather than God. This only leads to a desert wilderness.

But, for those who trust in the Lord, we are blessed.

We are reminded of how blessed we are when we remember of Baptism. We are reminded of how blessed we are when we hear the Word of God and that Word rightly preached. We are reminded of how blessed we are when we are forgiven of our sins at the beginning of each Divine Service. We are reminded of how blessed we are when we receive Christ’s very body and His very blood, which forgives our sins and strengthens our weak faith.

God gives us a freedom of the will. We can choose to trust in man apart from God and receive curses. But for everyone who remains in the Lord, we receive blessings from Christ, who is the source of every blessing. By His grace through faith, we receive what we do not deserve: eternal life, forgiveness of sins and salvation. And, we know that the Triune God never breaks His promises. 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