Funeral Sermon: "The Shepherd's Grace Runneth Over" (Psalm 23)

 

Cliff and Bruce, family and friends of Mabel:

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

[Intro]

Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and my own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15)

Mabel knew her Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd knew her. Throughout her earthly life, Jesus – the Good Shepherd – provided for Mabel. Today, this same Good Shepherd is still providing all of Mabel’s needs.

The Good Shepherd was always right beside her on her good days and on her not-so-good days all the while as she lived in Minnesota, California, and back again in Minnesota.

Mabel can always be remembered by her personality. She certainly had a great sense of humor. When I first really got to know her while at rehab at Harmony River in 2019, I witnessed her whit. She was certainly a people person. Her positive attitude tended to rub off on the people she met.

As a farm girl to a city girl to a small-town girl, her attitude on life never changed. She enjoyed meeting people, playing cards with her friends, and shopping. She was certainly a people-person.

She will always be remembered as a good example to her children and grandchildren. She will always be remembered for her positive outlook on life.

For us here this morning, we see the power of sin – which is death (Romans 6:23a) – right before us. By grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, our sister Mabel is not experiencing the power of eternal death, since she put her faith and trust in the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. Today, she is experiencing the free gift of eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23b). So, her death is only but a portal by which we enter heaven with Christ with His rod and staff leading us.

Even so, we are separated from Mabel. And with any separation, we grieve. So, don’t be ashamed of grieving. But, know this, although we grieve the loss of our loved ones, Christians do not grieve as others do who have no hope. We have the encouragement that we are always with the Lord in this life and in our future heavenly life as God informed us in today’s Epistle from 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18.

This morning, we hear about God’s encouraging Word as our Good Shepherd.

[The Lord Leads]

Mabel lived her earthly life with the attitude that the glass was always half full. Today, her glass is runneth over as she is in the presence of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her fellow saints – like her husband Melvin, and others in the Church Triumphant – as well as the angels. Today, through her death as a believer in Christ, sin has no more power over her. She has a clear mind, and she has no more pain, no more hunger, and no more thirst. She is completely satisfied as she is in the presence of the Good Shepherd.

For us here this morning, we can only imagine what Mabel is witnessing and receiving from her Lord. But let us not forget, our Lord is caring for us now just as He is caring for Mabel in heaven. God teaches us this fact in Psalm 23.

“The Lord is my shepherd;
          I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
          He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
          He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3).

In the first three verses of Psalm 23, we hear how the Good Shepherd leads us. The Good Shepherd cares for all the needs of His flock. In doing so, He cares for every human need: physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Under the care of the Good Shepherd, we shall not want. Now this doesn’t mean that we will never have any desires. Certainly, we still have wants. But, in Christ, all of our needs are met. The Good Shepherd supplies the basics through His daily bread: food, drink, and protection.

Each day of our life – and in the life to come – God provides for us abundantly. He leads us to “lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2a). Now, these green pastures are His Means of Grace – Word and Sacrament. In these “green pastures,” we are fed and strengthened, preserved from error, comforted in all temptations, protected against the devil’s power, and saved from all need. Even in her last days here on earth, Mabel was fed and strengthened by God, just as God continues to do for her and all the saints in heaven.

The Good Shepherd also “restores our soul” (Psalm 23:3a). Christ teaches us saying, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). We are Christ’s sheep, because He has made us His own. You see, Christ restores our soul through His bloody sacrifice and death for His sheep – you and me. Through Christ’s death, we are restored in the eyes of God the Father and all by faith in His Son.

The Good Shepherd also leads us in “paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). This path of righteousness is “the right path.” You see, Jesus will never lead us to a place of slaughter. He leads us to eternal life and salvation. Along the way, He leads us along safe paths to heaven through His Word. He leads us to heaven, for the Good Shepherd is the only Way (John 14:6) to travel the righteous path.

[The Lord is Present]

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
          Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

Even in the most frightening situation in our life, the Good Shepherd is present. So, we can always be confident of God’s guiding presence. Valleys on the way to the high pastureland often have the best grass, but valleys can also be places of hidden danger for the sheep. Even so, as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” the Good Shepherd is with us. He is always present with us. The Good Shepherd never sends His sheep into places He will not go. He is always with us in our lives today and in the life to come!

The Lord first made His presence known to Mabel through the waters of Holy Baptism. When she heard these words spoken over her: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” she was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all of her sin. It was at that moment that the Holy Spirit gave Mabel – and you and me – the ability to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

St. Paul teaches us that at our Baptism, we were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. Since, Christ was raised from the dead, we too, by faith, will be united with Him in a resurrection like His (Romans 6:3-5).

Although the Good Shepherd was always present with her – and us – it is at our Baptism that He announces His presence to us.

[The Lord Provides Forever]

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
          Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
          and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:5-6).

These verses tell how the Good Shepherd always provides for His sheep.

He prepares a table before us. This shows how the Good Shepherd is hospitable to His sheep. The Good Shepherd not only gives us our daily bread – all the needs of our body, such as food, clothing and shelter – but He gives us the gift of His very Body and very Blood in the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins and to strengthen our weak faith.

The “cup runneth over” is the grace that we have received by faith in Jesus Christ.

You might say that Mabel’s optimism began at her baptism, for which it did. As the optimist, she would say that the cup is always half full. But in Christ, her cup was always more than half full. As a child of the heavenly Father her cup was always “runneth over.”

For although we sin much in thought, word and deed, God’s grace is the cup that is always runneth over. For while we were once dead in our sin, Jesus took upon Himself the death we deserve upon the cross, so that we would be made righteous by grace through faith in Him. So, when we repent and confess our sins to God, our sins are wiped away. We are forgiven.

The Good Shepherd gives all who believe in Him this goodness and mercy all their lives.

[Dwelling in the House of the Lord Forever]

For everyone who dies in Christ, they experience the ending of Psalm 23: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6b).

As soon as those who know the Good Shepherd enter heaven, they are no longer sinners, but only saints. For Mabel and her fellow saints, they “hunger no more, neither thirst anymore” (Revelation 7:16a), since they are in the presence of the Good Shepherd. While in heaven, the Good Shepherd continues to provide.

6    And so through all the length of days
    Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
    Within Thy house forever!        

                                      (The King of Love My Shepherd Is, LSB 709, stanza 6)

Text: Public domain

May we follow Mabel’s example of faith in the Good Shepherd and receive the free gift of His grace that is always runneth over, just as she received throughout her earthly life and into her heavenly life – and with her and her fellow saints – joyfully await Christ’s coming on the Last Day! 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

Mabel Abraham's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/mabel-myrtle-abraham/

Why Do We Confess the Creeds?

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

In everything, Christians are to adorn and teach the doctrine of God our Savior (Titus 2:1-10; 2 Timothy 3-4). This is what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to Timothy and Titus, as well as to you and me. In everything, we are to adorn the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

Some decades ago, the seemingly innocent phrase “No Creed but the Bible” became popular among many Christians, especially among Baptists and Pentecostals. But they were not the only ones with this idea. This phrase seems innocent since Christians are to revere God’s Written Word, after all, this is where God speaks to us. But there is some irony here, “No Creed but the Bible” is in fact a creed, since a creed is a statement that expresses what people believe and teach.

Shortly after Christ bodily ascended into heaven (from whence He came and will one day return from), false teaching arose. Many of these false teachings were taught against immediately by Christ’s apostles Paul, Peter, and John in their epistles, since they were taught by Christ who is Himself the Truth (John 14:6). One of the earliest Creeds was in fact written by Paul: “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). As the Apostles all eventually died, their teachings did not die. It was due to the Holy Spirit’s work that the apostolic teaching has survived all these centuries even as this one holy Christian and apostolic Church had to combat false teaching after false teaching. Now, most of these false teachings dealt with the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. In order to confess the truth and avoid errors, the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed were written to defend the truth of what the Bible teaches about the triune God. Every word from each of the creeds is taken directly from Scripture.

Each Creed was written to protect the Christian Church – and each individual Christian – from false doctrine, since only sound doctrine has the power to save.

Even better yet – with possibly the exception of the Athanasian Creed – each Creed was written in a way that they would be easily memorized. This is certainly a comfort to remember God’s saving work through the Creeds. So, when we have a question about the Christian faith, we can always remember what we have been taught in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

In Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms, the Creed immediately follows the Ten Commandments. This is all on purpose. The Ten Commandments are written on the hearts of all people by virtue of their creation. They reveal our sin and prepare us to receive the gifts of salvation confessed in the Creed. Luther teaches in the Large Catechism that “the Commandments teach what we ought to do. But the Creed tells what God does for us and gives to us.”

In each Creed, we recite a summary of all of God’s work in creation and human history as taught in the Bible.

Ultimately, we need the Creeds. Although we can believe in a god through what we see and touch in nature, we cannot fully know the one true God by nature alone. Nature cannot reveal God’s identity and His name. The Creed and its source – God’s inerrant Scriptures – however, gives us as Paul Harvey famously used to say: “the rest of the story.” The Creeds teach us to know God more fully and about how all of humanity was saved and how God continually provides for His people through Word and Sacrament in the one holy Christian and apostolic Church:

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

Sermon for Pentecost 9: "Do Not Be Afraid!" (Genesis 9:8-17 & Mark 6:45-56)

 

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]

Eight people are left on earth. Noah and his family had witnessed the extinction of a world of men and beasts. They – along with two of every kind of creature – had been saved. They were surrounded by the evidence of the destruction worked by God in His righteous wrath against sin. Noah and his family were frightened. They were wondering: “What’s next?” What doom was on the horizon?

We also have the Twelve apostles. They, too, were terrified! As they were struggling against the currents upon the Sea of Galilee, they see what looks to be a specter or ghost or could it be the Leviathan? They all believed a watery grave awaited them.

These twenty people – the eight on the ark and the 12 on the boat – all were full of fear and trembling.

On this Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, God’s voice comes to calm all fear as He says, “I establish my covenant with you. Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid!” (Genesis 9:9, Mark 6:50)

[God’s Covenant]

Only eight people are left on the earth. They had seen the perils of water, but now they have seen God’s delivery from water. They had seen God’s righteous wrath against sin. Now, it is God Himself who makes the most solemn and binding promise that He can make to man.

God spoke: “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:9-11).

This divine covenant is not anything that we can pledge. This is a pledge to us from God. This covenant is bound to God Himself to carry out. And this covenant was not made only to Noah and his sons, but this covenant includes every one of their descendants: you and me!

God did not stop there, He gave Noah, his family, you and me an additional proof and guarantee that He would execute His covenant with Himself. God spoke saying, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations. I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. … When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between [Me] and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:12-13, 16).

As Noah and his family were in need of assurance, God gave them this assurance: He would never again cause the extinction of the world through a world-wide flood.

We can only imagine what Noah and his family were thinking. Certainly, they were in awe of the words of God and of His covenant promise as He spoke: “Whenever the rainbow appears in the sky, I will remember my covenant between Me and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:16).

Now, why would God need a way to remember His covenant promise? How could God forget? Of course, God never forgets His promises. This is God saying that the terms of His covenant between Himself and us would always be before Him.

But, unlike the triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – we are prone to forget. Today, how many in society, when they see a rainbow in the sky recall God’s covenant promise to Noah and us? Many may think of the Great Flood, but it is likely that most will not recall God’s covenant promise that He made to you and me.

In recent times, the sinful culture has pronounced a new meaning to the rainbow. It is no longer about God’s covenant with us. It is now a pronouncement that there is no need to lead a chaste and decent life with what we say and do. The culture pronounces that those who live contrary to God’s intention of marriage are in fact “born this way.” Now, I used to argue against the phrase “born this way,” but now I understand it. I actually agree with it. Yes, we are all born “this way,” we – you, me, and every person upon this earth – are born as enemies of God (Romans 5:10), due to sin, which every human being inherited from our first parents: Adam and Eve.

But while we were God’s enemy, He sent His Son to reconcile us to Himself – and all by grace through faith in His Son. Now, this doesn’t mean that we continue to live in our sin. Instead, we repent and confess our sins to God and receive His forgiveness.

You see, sin at its core, separates us from God. Sin separates us from His everlasting covenant with you and me.

The Sixth Commandment “You shall not commit adultery” does not apply to only husbands and wives. This commandment applies to all human beings, whether married or not, or cohabitating, and to all kinds of sexual desire and activity. God says that we are to fear and love Him by refraining from lustful desire or activity of any kind, whether heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or otherwise. We are to live sexually pure lives in modesty and in self-control. And our identity is not in our sexual preference, whether that be gay, straight, or otherwise.

Remember, our identity is in our Baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection (for which we have witnessed again here this morning, as God adopted Aiden). Through our Baptism into Christ, we are God’s children and thus, heirs of heaven. Since our identity is in Christ, we trust in God’s grace knowing that it is sufficient for us, and we look to Christ daily for forgiveness, strength, and contentment.

So, let God’s rainbow in the sky help us remember that He has kept His covenant promise these many centuries. There has been no world-wide flood. He has kept His promise, and He keeps every promise. Even the promise of the Savior.

[Terror Upon the Sea]

As God calmed the fears of Noah, the Twelve disciples thought they were about to be succumbed to a watery grave. Now, unlike when Jesus calmed the storm previously in Mark 4(:35-41), the disciples this time had no danger of drowning. The Sea of Galilee this night was just being unfavorable. You see, the sea is not the problem. What terrifies them is seeing Jesus and not understanding who He is.

After the disciples had struggled for hours upon the sea, Jesus makes His way to them – as He walked upon the sea.

It is likely the disciples yearned for Jesus as they fought the sea currents, but when Jesus finally arrives, every disciple comes to fear and trembling. “It is a ghost!”

You would think that when Jesus finally comes that the disciples would become calm. This is the same Jesus who displayed His divine mastery to the disciples over wind and wave just recently. It appears that they forgot.

Instead as Jesus comes closer to them, they all cry out, “It is a ghost!”

You see, the disciples believed that Jesus was a ghost, or worse! This is what is terrifying them. It is not a matter of the sea. There are no crashing waves. There is no storm. It is only Jesus. The Twelve believed that a watery grave was their fate.

In their fear, Jesus speaks to them, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). Here, Jesus speaks His covenant name: I am. This is the same name that God spoke to Moses. This is the same name God spoke to Noah and his family. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” This is the incarnate God speaking to His disciples and to us saying, “Wherever you are, you are never away from My care. If I am with you, you have nothing to fear.”

Now, who or what are your ghosts? What do you fear? Are we trusting in something or someone that is not helpful for you? If we are trusting in anything other than the one true God, then we should be very afraid. But when Jesus is there – when we call upon Him for security – we have nothing to be afraid of at all. So, when “It is I” – the “I” being Jesus, the “I am” – then we have nothing to fear.

[Little Faith]

After witnessing the feeding of the 5,000, and so many other signs and miracles performed by Jesus right in front of their very eyes, the disciples should have understood so much more than they did. They should not have been so “utterly astounded” (Mark 6:51) at witnessing Jesus walk upon the sea. They should have comprehended that the One who had multiplied the loaves of bread, calmed the sea, healed the sick, and raised the dead, could really walk on the water.

Just as it was when Jesus calmed the storm, as we heard just weeks ago, the disciples still do not understand who Jesus is. Like the crowds – who “ate and were satisfied” (Mark 6:42) when Christ fed the 5,000 – His disciples couldn’t see what was right before their very eyes. Some thought He was just a prophet, some thought He was a bread king, others thought He was just a great teacher. Who is Jesus? As Jesus earlier spoke to them after calming the sea saying, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40), we hear today that the disciples’ hearts were hardened. Now, this has nothing to do with rejecting God’s truth. Rather, this “hardening” is the spiritual condition of the disciples, which is the “littleness of faith.” Indeed, they have some faith – a little faith – but this faith needs to grow into understanding who Jesus truly is: God in the flesh.

We, too, often have little faith. We – like the disciples – often don’t see what is right in front of us. We often turn to fear. We begin to trust in people or things that promise relief and safety, but in reality, they only promise what they could never fulfil. Even in our little faith, God the Father doesn’t give up on us. Despite our little faith, He sent Jesus to be our Savior from sin, eternal death, and hell.

So, turn to the one true God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who always fulfills His promises and says: “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

God comes to us today to serve us as He did Noah and the disciples. He serves us through His Word and Sacraments. He comes to us today to take upon Himself our fears and increase our faith.

Unlike the triune God who never forgets His covenant promise, He comes to us today to remind us that the powers of sin, death, and Satan are defeated through the power of Jesus’ atoning death upon the Cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead! This we need to hear repeatedly, because unlike God, we are prone to forget. We are prone to forget how God so loves us so much that He took it upon Himself to save us from sin's power, which is eternal death. He comes to us today speaking this promise of forgiveness of sins, which guarantees eternal life and salvation. He comes to us today reminding us all that we have nothing to fear, since we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!

In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus pledges Himself to you and me as He says He will never leave us or forsake us. All we have to do is trust in Him. Through the very Words of Christ, “This is My body” and “This is My blood,” Jesus speaks to us another special covenant promise: that in this Sacrament, Christ’s saving death is proclaimed, and the fruits of His atonement are distributed for the forgiveness of our sins. “For as often as [we] eat this bread and drink the cup, [we] proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Unlike the sick at Gennesaret – who undoubtedly heard about the miracle healing of the woman with the 12 years of the flow of blood (Mark 5:25-34) – we don’t get to touch only a fringe of Christ’s garment for our healing. Instead, Jesus invites us to touch Him and taste Him as He takes our sins away through our eating and drinking of His body and blood under the bread and wine.

Although God never forgets His covenant promise, there is something that God does forget. You see, when we repent of our sins – all that we have done against God in our thoughts, words, or deeds – He immediately forgets that sin. God the Father immediately sees us as He sees His Son as perfectly righteous. It is by faith in Christ alone that our sin and fear are taken away! In response to this grace, we “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

Yes, God’s steadfast love endures forever and so does His covenant, so “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid!” (Mark 6:50) 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

Funeral Sermon: "Trusting the Certain Hope in Christ" (Romans 15:1-7, 13)

 

Don, Pam, Jodi, and Sue, family and friends of Darlene:

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

[Intro]

3    Lord, let at last Thine angels come,
To Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home,
    That I may die unfearing;
And in its narrow chamber keep
My body safe in peaceful sleep
    Until Thy reappearing.
And then from death awaken me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
    O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
    My Savior and my fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.

                               (Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart, LSB 708 stanza 3)

Text: Public domain

Back on August 20^th, I sang those words from Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart (LSB 708) to Darlene upon hearing that she was going to have brain surgery due to brain cancer. As she was preparing for surgery, she knew that she may not survive. She kept on telling me that she was ready for whenever Christ would call her home. She was ready to die unfearing.

She made it through surgery, but her surgeons could not get all of the cancer. Thanks be to God that He granted her these many months. Despite this news she received after her surgery, she kept on living as she no longer feared death, since she truly believed that her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed the power of eternal death. She knew this. She believed this. She is living this truth of her faith today.

You see, despite what many of us may do – by worrying about tomorrow – she knew that her Lord would never leave her, nor forsake her (Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5). She trusted in her Lord’s deliverance. She trusted that her ailment would be healed. Today, we see the wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23a), but – by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone she has received the free gift of eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23b) – this death is but a portal by which we enter heaven with Christ and His rod and staff leading us.

Since death is a form of separation, it is also a farewell, so to speak. If I remember right, Darlene never liked farewells. So, don’t be ashamed to grieve. But, know this, although we grieve the loss of our loved ones, Christians do not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

The Word of God declares, “that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not proceed those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).

This morning, you will be hearing more about this sure and certain hope in Christ!

[Joys and Desires]

Throughout her earthly life, Darlene left some life lessons to pass on to her family. Two of these life lessons are: Number One – Stay close to family and to the teachings of the faith. Number Two – Don’t let the negative world events change you into someone else, but always contribute to humanity in a positive way. This is Darlene in a nutshell. She always remained positive, and her positivity and friendliness has certainly rubbed off on so many people throughout her earthly life.

Her greatest joy was meeting and marrying Don and being blessed by God to raise her three daughters: Pam, Jodi, and Sue, and being blessed by God to become a grandmother to seven grandchildren.

Her greatest desire was that everyone would know the love of Christ – that she knew and trusted – but at the same time, she was careful not be too pushy as she shared Christ’s love with her family, friends, and neighbors.

The love of Christ that she received – by faith – was always sufficient in keeping her going every day of her life. As Darlene neared death, she knew where she was going, due to her faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who is in fact, “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6a).

Darlene lived her life in hope. But for many people, “hope” leaves room for doubt. We might say, “I hope to make it on time” or “I hope the rain will not spoil my plans.” Yes, this use of hope leaves room for doubt and uncertainty.

But for Darlene, there was no doubt. There is no uncertainty. This is what the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write in our reading from Romans 15. So, Paul’s meaning for “hope” is this: a sure and certain confidence. Today, Darlene is living out this hope as a saint in the Church Triumphant in heaven.

[Patience and Hope]

In Romans 15, the Apostle Paul groups together patience and hope. Paul informs us that we have patience and hope through the Scriptures, since God’s Written Word is the instrument through which God Himself, who is the actual source of “patient endurance” and “encouragement” works in order to give us “hope.”

Now, why would Paul group patience and hope together? Well, hope is not something we can see or touch. Therefore, patience is necessary. So that we may not weaken as we are patient in hope, Paul adds the word “encouragement.” We always need encouragement, and this encouragement is always found in the Word made flesh: Jesus Christ.

Paul continues writing: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus” (Romans 15:5).

Here, Paul is saying this: We do not have patience and consolation of our own doing, we actually receive patience and consolation from Christ alone.

In Christ alone, we receive patience and consolation to continue living our daily lives. Through Christ, we are able to look past differences, so we can live in harmony. “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:4-6a).

So, through Christ, we live in accord as we follow His example of humility. So, we do not look only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross is the power source. You see, Christ’s love for us enables us to love all people. This is a gift of God through the Holy Spirit that enables us to imitate Christ more and more.

Paul concludes by writing, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

The Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is the source and goal of the Christian hope. So, whoever trusts in the one true God lives alone by hope.

Therefore, the expression “the God of hope” actually means “the God of those who have hope”; for He is not the God of those who fear and despair. He is rather their Enemy and Judge. In short, God is “the God of hope” because He is the Giver of hope.

God the Father gave us this sure and certain hope through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, “not to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17). It was through Christ taking upon Himself our human flesh that our hope of salvation occurred through His atoning suffering and death upon the cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead. He died the death that we all deserve, due to our sin. It is only through Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection that we received this hope of forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation! All we have to do is believe and trust in Jesus Christ alone, since we have been saved truly by God’s grace. For wherever there is hope, there God is worshiped.

Today, at this very moment, Darlene is where hope is found. She, along with her fellow saints, is in the presence of hope revealed in heaven.

On November 10, 1940, this same God of hope marked Darlene as His child through the waters of Holy Baptism. As the Triune name of God was spoken over her, she was baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection and received the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all of her sins. This very robe is what she is wearing today as she has passed from the great tribulation – the life we live now, brought on by sin, which leads to pain, sorrow, and persecution – to the Church Triumphant, where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more hunger, and no more thirst.

Darlene is now before the throne of God and He is sheltering her with His presence. She is no longer suffering the effects of sin, since sin’s power has been destroyed. She is now completely satisfied. She and her fellow saints are doing what she loved to do here on earth: sing. She – with her fellow saints – is making a joyful noise to the LORD with song! (Psalm 100; Revelation 7:10-12)

May we follow Darlene’s example in trusting the certain hope that is found only in Jesus Christ, so that we too, may die unfearing in peaceful sleep until Christ’s reappearing:

When from death He awakens me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
    O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
    My Savior and my fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.

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

Darlene Dammann's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/darlene-e-dammann/

Sermon for Pentecost 5: "Only Believe" (Mark 5:21-43)

 

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]

• All medical help had failed. The child was sinking away in death.
• All medical help had failed. “If I could only touch His garments, I will be made well.”

In a moment of desperation, could the rumors be true? Could this Jesus heal my daughter from death? Could this Jesus heal me of my flow of blood?

These were the questions of the people we meet in today’s Gospel text. Are the rumors true? In a moment of desperation, a father and another woman seek Jesus to find out. On this Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, we meet two people who have come to faith in Jesus through trials and tribulations.

[At the Point of Desperation]

“When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about Him, and He was beside the sea” (Mark 5:21). Immediately, one of the rulers of the local synagogue, Jairus by name, sought Jesus and fell at His feet and began pleading, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live” (Mark 5:23). Jesus then began to follow Jairus to his home.

Jairus was at the point of desperation. You see, although he was among the leaders of the local synagogue, which would be similar to our Board of Deacons. He was a Pharisee, but he was not completely opposed to Jesus, like most other Pharisees. In a time of desperation, he was willing to do anything. He was putting his complete trust in that this man Jesus – that he has heard much about – could heal his daughter from certain death.

But Jesus and Jairus were not alone. Jesus and Jairus were joined by hundreds – if not thousands – of people, as the inconsiderate crowd kept pressing against Jesus and Jairus on all sides. This immense crowd wanted to see if Jesus could indeed heal this young girl from death. As the crowd encircled Jesus and Jairus, a speedbump arrived.

Among the hundreds, if not thousands, pressing against Jesus, He stops His march to Jairus’ home. Immediately, Jesus says, “Who touched my garments?” (Mark 5:30) His disciples then reacted as we would, saying: “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” (Mark 5:31)

Jesus looks around the crowd as He knew exactly where to look without causing this woman any shame.

In a moment of desperation, this woman believed that if she only touched a piece of Jesus’ garment, she would be healed of her flow of blood. But she wanted to be unnoticed. She thought that Jesus would never notice her. Now, her motivation was not to steal a healing, but to keep her ailment hidden. You see, according to Levitical Law as stated in Leviticus 15:25-33, due to her menstrual impurity, she was considered ritually unclean. In this state, she wasn’t even allowed to be in this crowd. In order to keep the people of Israel clean, she was to be separated from the people, due to her uncleanness. This is why she wanted to remain anonymous.

But the odd thing happens, Jesus says, “Who touched my garments?” (Mark 5:30) As many people touched His garments that day, no one else received a healing, except this one woman. The reason is that the others had no desire or purpose in touching Him, but this woman came purposely and touched Him with her faith. To that touch, Jesus responded by letting His Divine power go out to heal her.

As Jesus was on His way to the bed of a young girl, He stopped everything. You see, Jesus wants to be bothered. He wants us to call to Him at all times and at all places. Even when we think Jesus is too busy for us, He is never too busy. He drops everything to comfort each and every one of us. He hears all of our prayers. Now, He may not answer each prayer the way we want, but we know that each prayer is answered with a “Yes,” or a “No,” or a “Not yet.”

Here, Jesus stopped everything as He wished that this miracle would be revealed to the crowd. This woman had attempted to touch Jesus secretly. But Jesus does not want her ever to feel that she had done anything improper in securing her healing. She had nothing to be ashamed of or to hide, since her flow of blood was miraculously healed, and all by faith in Jesus.

Jesus then says to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5:34). Here, Jesus speaks no word of blame, but only words to cheer and to lift her spirits up. By calling her “daughter,” she is no longer ostracized in the eyes of her Lord.

As Jesus was still speaking to her, there came some from Jairus’ house who said to Jairus, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (Mark 5:35)

Jairus had started for Jesus too late. Death outran him and won the race. Now, what about this speedbump? Could this delay have made much difference? From the text, it appears that this delay took only mere minutes.

Jairus was heartbroken. His faith had been shattered. He likely thought, since his child was dead, Jesus could do nothing. Jesus was only a last resort. He believed that Jesus could restore his daughter, but only if He could only reach her before she had died. Now, it seems to have been all to no use. Jairus and the family never thought for a moment that Jesus could restore his daughter back to life after she had died.

As all of this was swimming through Jairus’ mind, Jesus says to him, “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

Before Jairus is able to say a word, Jesus takes command of the situation. Jesus attends to Jairus first. Jesus does the same for us.

You see, Jesus knew that he had come to faith in His power while his daughter was still alive although she was near death. Now, this news would devastate that faith that Jairus had. Jesus proceeds to keep his faith alive as He pays no attention to what was being said by Jairus’ messengers.

“Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

Jesus is the compassionate Savior who is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15) under sin and death. When Jesus says, “Do not fear, only believe,” to the suffering and the bereaved, He is not speaking an empty promise. Jesus not only has the desire, but also the power to “save completely” (Hebrews 7:25) those who call to Him in prayer. This truth was demonstrated by the act of power that followed.

Tucked away in this miraculous healing – from death to life – Jesus reveals to us something about our resurrection. He says: “The child is not dead, but sleeping” (Mark 5:39). You see, when Christ returns on the Last Day, with the sound of the trumpet of God, we will all awake as if we were only sleeping. But unlike Jairus’ daughter, we will awake with our resurrected and immortal body. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

[Jesus Comes Today with the Healing Medicine in Word and Sacrament]

Until that glorious day, for us sinful human beings, we often think that we can save ourselves. This is what our evil foes – Satan, the world, and our own sinful nature – want us to believe. Through our evil foes, we think that we have the power to fix our own ailments, whatever they may be: physical or mental. But it is only God who has the power to heal and save. Oftentimes, we fail to remember this fact. And, oftentimes, we fail to look past today and focus on the eternal.

C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity wrote: “Most of us find it very difficult to want ‘Heaven’ at all – except in so far as ‘Heaven’ means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained, since our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world.”[1]

Yes, the triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – by His will heals many and various temporal ailments. He is still performing miracles today as He works through doctors, nurses, and therapists. We may forget sometimes that God is still working miracles here in the church. You see, each baptism is a miracle as that child is taken from Satan’s kingdom and into God’s eternal heavenly kingdom. Now, each baptized child of God can still fall away, but through repentance and faith in Christ, that son or daughter who once fell away is brought back and without any spot or blemish.

God’s miracles do not end there! Each and every Divine Service, we all receive God’s healing medicine as we hear His Word as revealed in Scripture and partake of Christ’s very Body and Blood under the bread and the wine that forgives our sins, which in turn strengthens our faith and gives us eternal life and salvation.

But do we continue in sin so that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1) No, we repent, that is, turn away from of our sins and receive the healing medicine that Christ can only give! For if we receive the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner by not confessing our sins and confessing our faith, we “will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). A guilty manner would be abusing the Sacrament by making it an occasion for sin and thus this person eats and drinks judgment upon himself or herself. God’s Word teaches us that “we are [to be] disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32).

Luther put it this way in his Large Catechism, “When we come to Sacrament of the Altar, we must ask these three questions: “What is it? What are its benefits? And Who is to receive it? And all these points are established through the words by which Christ has instituted this Sacrament. Everyone who desires to be a Christian and go to this Sacrament should know them. For it is not our intention to let people come to the Sacrament and administer it to them if they do not know what they seek or why they come” (LC V 1-2).

Here in the Divine Service, we hear the same voice of Jesus as He said to Jairus’ daughter, “‘Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise’” (Mark 5:41).

As the world may scoff and ridicule Jesus like those people who were weeping and wailing loudly laughed at Jesus for Him saying about the little girl, “The child is not dead but sleeping” (Mark 5:39), He comes to us with the same power to heal us from our sin and worry.

Just as Jesus said, “Little girl, arise,” immediately she stood up and began walking. Life, health, and full strength returned to this lifeless body, and no trace of the disease that caused her death remained. With just a word, Jesus robbed death of its prey. With a word, He put life where death had been.

Through the very Word of Christ, He gives us this same healing medicine through His Word and Sacrament that He accomplished for us through His suffering, death, and bodily resurrection, so that by grace through faith in Him, we would be saved from the power of sin, eternal death, and Satan.

All we have to do is believe. Believing can be tough when life is going well. But, believing often becomes much easier when life is going rough. For anyone who has taken ill for any reason, we soon realize that we can’t do what we normally could do. Many times, we become helpless. We realize that we can’t accomplish what we would normally find easy.

Thanks be to God that when times get rough, we can always depend on You. “For by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Christ comes to us today with healing – just as He did for this woman and Jairus’ daughter. All we have to do is believe and trust in Christ alone. For in Him:

• We have found consolation
• Comfort in tribulation
• Balm to heal the troubled soul
• We have Jesus who is our shield from every terror
• Christ cleanses us from sin and error
• And He makes my wounded spirit whole.

So, “Do not fear, only believe.” 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] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), 135.

The Christian Response to Critical Race Theory

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

As the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to say, our identity is in Christ: “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), and “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28). In other words, Christians do not speak of fellow human beings based on their specific cultural, racial, sexual, or national identity, but upon their redeemed identity in Christ as a precious and beloved Child of God – one who has been justified and sanctified by the shed blood of Christ and His Holy Spirit. So, historic Biblical Christianity does not create theology and ethics based on the racial, ethnic, national, or pigmented identity of human beings.

In the last year or so, words and phrases like “equity,” “woke,” “antiracist,” “social justice,” “systemic racism,” “white privilege,” and “Critical Race Theory” have become a part of the mainstream. As Lutheran Christians, we may ask, “What does this mean?” Before I get too far, I would like to remind us all that all injustice and oppression can be traced back to Satan, the world, and our own sinful nature and that all humankind is depraved as a result of the fall into sin. However, it is true that human depravity explains the existence of racist oppression and injustice, it by no means excuses it. Rather, Christ has given His Church the commission to proclaim both repentance and remission of sins in His name. So, it is our duty to call each and every sinner to confess all sins of thought, word, and deed and find full and free remission in Jesus Christ for the sake of His bitter suffering, death, and bodily resurrection. Therein, this new life in Christ will also bring a change in behavior and care for our neighbor.

Recently, Rev. Dr. Lucas Woodford, the district president of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, published a paper titled What Does This Mean? Responding to Social Justice & Critical Race Theory. In this well-developed paper, Woodford goes into the details on how Lutheran Christians are to respond when confronted with social justice and the Critical Race Theory.

In Chapter 2 of his paper, Woodford lays out definitions of what those many words or phrases above actually mean. First off, Social Justice and Critical Race Theory have become dogmas. This means that these ideas have become a doctrine, like that as proclaimed by the Church. So, for people who adhere to Social Justice and Critical Race Theory, they believe they are correct in their understanding and so they find it difficult to be swayed to believing otherwise. These ideas have become their religion.

So, what is it that they believe? According to Woodford:

Antiracist: A person must be an “antiracist.” Now, an antiracist is different than being “not racist.” According to their dogma, one can never be neutral. They must either be a racist or actively working against racism.

Equity: The equality of outcome is the demand that regardless of individual effort the outcome must be the same for all. The historical definition of equality which means an equal opportunity to achieve success is considered undesirable.

Woke: The perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. To be “woke” is to awaken from the sleep of ignorance or from outdated beliefs into the enlightenment of new cultural awareness about social and racial justice. According to Woodford, “woke” finds its roots in the Marxist Revolution. The Marxist Revolution needed the images of Christ to be removed, speech codes enforced against pastors, and icons of Biblical truth destroyed in order to clear the path toward socialism and communism. The social justice movement carries similar Marxian themes as it seeks to remake the whole of culture. To do this, new words must be added to our vocabulary and old definitions must be altered or reinvented and then repeatedly mainstreamed into social consciousness to modify thought and behavior.

Social Justice: The idea that true justice must be equality of outcome, rather than only equality of opportunity, upon all of society.

Systemic Racism: The belief that social structures have assumptions that systemically oppress minorities. This has nothing to do with the historical definition of racism, which is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance and should be distinguished based on the alleged superiority of one race over another. (As God teaches through His written Word in the Scriptures, racism is a sin and must be treated as the sin that it is. Those who have committed racist acts or carry a racially prejudiced mindset need to repent and rest on the full forgiveness of Jesus Christ.)

White Privilege: The belief that white people are born with an unearned advantage based upon the color of skin (their whiteness).

Critical Race Theory: The theory that holds that race is a social construct that was created to maintain white privilege and white supremacy. This theory is rooted in “critical theory,” which was originated by German philosopher Karl Marx and was formally presented in the pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto. Critical Theory is about the struggle between the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (poor workers). Critical Race Theory expresses the desire to fundamentally alter the control of power in favor of the morals that they assert are essential. The goal is to deconstruct and upend power structures in favor of who they believe are the oppressed.

Critical Race Theory and Social Justice ideologies seek to reduce character to collectivist identities using their own definitions that constantly change. Christianity, on the other hand, does not change: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). In Christ, through repentance, there is forgiveness for every sin. However, according to Social Justice and Critical Race Theory, there is never any possibility for forgiveness.

As followers of Christ, we believe, teach, and confess that our identity and character is found in our baptism. Our baptismal identity as child and heir of God unites us to Christ and provides a spiritual way of life, which is also an ethical way of life. So, when the Christian is led to sin, we are called to repentance and prayer. Whatever the sinful thought, behavior, and vice, the sinner pleads for mercy and forgiveness and that sinner receives forgiveness. As baptized believers, we are delivered from the hands of Satan by Christ’s cross, as our Lord Jesus through baptism equips Christians to live with a divine identity, with moral integrity, and with the eternal destiny of a heavenly kingdom.

The only remedy for all sin, hurt, injustice, and oppression is the hope and healing that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of the Church who breaks down dividing walls of hostility, reconciles the distressed, forgives sin, removes shame, and gives holy identity and moral character. There is only one body and one Spirit, just as we were called to the one hope that belongs to us all by God’s grace: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:5-6).

For even more on responding to social justice and Critical Race Theory, I strongly recommend reading District President Woodford’s paper, which can be found here: https://www.doxology.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dox_2021_woodford_crt_final2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR00Yyc9sRgV-wSA19tiDMApGIbAX1GRSiZ0wLOgIXS-2Og-mcLijDfpIsw

Woodford also discussed his paper on Issues, Etc. (a Lutheran radio talk show): https://issuesetc.org/2021/06/11/1622-christianity-critical-theory-and-the-social-justice-movement-dr-lucas-woodford-6-11-21/

In Christ,
Pastor Adelsen