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

AUDIO

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

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

 

My dear Wormwood,

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

 

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

Your affectionate uncle

Screwtape[1]

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

---

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

Sermon for Pentecost 14: "The Profound Mystery" (Ephesians 5:22-33)

LISTEN

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:

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the Church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. Now as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. … This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church” (Ephesians 5:22-25, 32).

 

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God to consider His Word. Today, God speaks to us about the profound mystery known as marriage.

 

Now, there are perhaps no set of verses in God’s inerrant Word on the topic of marriage as informative, illuminating and revealing as today’s Epistle text. Likewise, there is perhaps no other set of verses on the topic of marriage as dismissed and as countercultural to our times as today’s Epistle text. Just think about last week’s Gospel text where many said to Jesus: “‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this?’” (John 6:60-61) – “Do my words offend you?”

 

So, here we find ourselves to what many call a hard saying. A hard saying that we may not want to hear, but what we all need to hear, married and single, alike. So, with open ears and open hearts, let us all hear clearly and hold firmly to what the Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to teach us about this profound mystery known as marriage.

 

The first thing that we must consider is: what is marriage? Well, how should we answer that question? Maybe we should consider the source of marriage. And who is this source? The triune God: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Marriage was created by Him. It was not created by man. 

 

From the very beginning, God looked at all that He had created, “and God saw that it was good.”But there was one thing that was not good, at least not yet. The problem was the man was alone. So, the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). So, the Lord God created woman and brought her to the man. 

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31). 

 

God instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden before the Fall into sin (Genesis 2:18-25) as a means to preserve and prosper human life in His good creation. Here, in the Garden of Eden, marriage was created and instituted by God. God created marriage. He loves marriage. He is exceedingly pleased when one man and one woman pledge their love and faithfulness to each other.

 

So, God gave marriage for the mutual companionship, help, and support of the husband and wife, so that the husband and wife may find delight in one another, and for the procreation of children who are to be brought up in the fear and instruction of the Lord so that they may offer Him their praise.

 

Since God is the author and designer of marriage, it cannot be redefined by mankind. So, if anyone would attempt to redefine, amend, abbreviate, or adulterate marriage as God has given it has their focus on man’s wants and desires rather than on God’s will for marriage.

 

So, God is the author and designer of marriage. And despite what earthly princes and our sinful nature may decide, God says what marriage is and what marriage is not. 

§  Marriage is a lifelong union between one man and one woman. 

§  Marriage is not simply a functional agreement between parties – who may or may not love each other. Men and women do not have the authority to refashion marriage into any other shape or form.

 

As much as the triune God loves marriage, there is one, however, who does not love marriage. He does not rejoice in marriage. He is not pleased when a man and a woman declare their love and faithfulness to each other before God and the world. With his hatred toward marriage, he would tempt Eve to usurp Adam by going against God’s command. Then, her husband, Adam goes along with the temptation. They soon realize their shame and attempt to cover it up. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, get the blame, and rightfully so, but it was Satan who tempted them and ultimately turned them against each other.

 

You see, Satan hates marriage. And he will do anything he can to undermine marriage as an institution. He uses earthly princes and our sinful nature to undermine marriage through redefining it and disregarding it. But where God has spoken on an issue, we must remember that “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

For many today, our text is a “hard saying.” As much as we, who live in the 21^st century, may not like submission, submission was also countercultural back in Paul’s day. Instead of independence, the ideal is dependence. Servants and masters, children and parents, wives and husbands are in one way or another totally dependent on each other – and to be dependent is better than to be independent, even as it is better to be saved than to be responsible for saving yourself – and certainly fail! 

 

Submission isn’t demeaning. Submission is about God’s order. An employee may be smarter and more honorable than his boss, and yet he is ordered under him, remaining his employee. The same goes with wives and husbands. But the greater burden is on the one who is ordered higher by God. The boss is to provide financial gain to his employee. The husband is to love and care for his wife, even at the expense of his own life. You see, being subordinate isn’t about a ranking of qualities or accomplishments. It is rather about the nature of authority. It is a hierarchy, an ordering of offices, an ordering of our vocation. Jesus follows the will of God the Father, but that doesn’t make Him lower than God the Father, for He and the Father are equal and fully God.

 

Earthly marriage is similar. God instituted marriage this way so that it would be most harmonious and function with the greatest blessing. In His wisdom, He has delegated headship, or the leadership role, to the husband. Submission on the wife’s part is simply acknowledging that God-given role relationship. 

 

But as much as our text is about earthly marriage, it really isn’t. Recall again: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  … Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. … This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church” (Ephesians 5:22-25, 32). Our text is chiefly about Christ and His Bride, the Church. Recall that I said our text is for both married and single people alike. But we can only understand today’s Epistle if we understand how wives and husbands ought to live toward each other.

 

Just as a wife is to respect her husband, the husband is to sacrifice himself for his wife. This is great marital advice, but Paul says that he is referring to Christ and the Church. You see, God created earthly marriage as a way to better understand Him. Just as the wife submits to her husband, the Church – you and me – is to submit to Him. 

Unfortunately, we live after the Fall. So, there is much strife between wives and husbands, and even between the Church and Christ. To Eve, God said: “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16b). To Adam, God said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife … (and not Me) … cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17). 

So, marriages will be rocky from time to time, but God calls all married couples to remain together “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.” This can only be accomplished through love and sacrifice and through forgiveness and reconciliation by following Christ’s example.

 

Likewise, there is strife between the Church and Christ. We heard about this strife in our Old Testament and Gospel lessons. The Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13). So, just as Satan works to divide wives and husbands, he attempts to do the same with the Church and Christ. Satan leads our sinful hearts into believing that manmade rules, laws, and opinions seem more important than God’s Word. Satan desires the Church to only pay lip service to her Groom. But when you fall short in faithfulness to Christ, the Bridegroom, repent and ask Him for forgiveness.

 

As much as we continually fail in living up to our God-given marital vocations and in our role as being subordinate to Christ, Jesus says what we would never expect: “Behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder” (Isaiah 29:14). Despite our sin and unfaithfulness, Jesus continues to nourish and cherish us (Ephesians 5:29). 

 

He gave up His life to save us poor, miserable sinners, His Bride. He purchased the Church for Himself at the price of His lifeblood. He cleansed the Church by the washing with water through the Word. Through the Means of Grace, Word and Sacrament, He cleanses His bride, the Church, of her many transgressions, forgives her sin, quiets her conscience, gives her peace with God, and assures her of security in His protecting hand. But what He has already done is only a small foretaste of that day when He will present His Church as His Bride on the Last Day. On that day, His Bride will be free from stain or wrinkle. She will have no blemish but will be holy and blameless.

 

This is a profound mystery. The marriage between a husband and a wife is profound as the two become one flesh, but the real mystery is the one-way love of Christ. He redeemed weak and worthless sinners and gathered them together into a Church to be His holy Bride. He is her head; she is His body. So closely are the two – Christ and the Church – joined into one. Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 13: "Hard Teachings" (John 6:51-69)

LISTEN

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

Jesus said: “I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51).

 

Imagine yourself among this crowd in Capernaum. You have been a disciple of Jesus for some time and then, suddenly, the Man you have been following calls Himself bread and He calls on you to eat Him. What would be going through your mind? Would you be thinking: What a fool! This guy must have lost His mind! This Man is preposterous!

 

How could Jesus say such a thing? Now, for sure, this crowd had recently had their fill of the loaves. They had just eaten physical bread. But now Jesus is calling Himself bread! On top of that, Jesus is now saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him” (John 6:53-56). If the crowd was thinking Jesus was possibly crazy before, now most see Him as a nut! To most in the crowd, this teaching was too hard to accept. Jesus’ words make no sense to human reason. So, Jesus says, “Do you take offense at this?” (John 6:61) – “Do My Words offend you?”

 

By Jesus saying that His followers must feed on His flesh and drink His blood, He was teaching the importance of continuing to nurture faith in Him. He says this later in John 8: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”(John 8:31-32).

 

So, when faith is nourished by Jesus in His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments, the believer remains in Jesus and Jesus in the believer. So, in our faith, we are united with Christ. Now, this is something that we cannot explain. We just know it because Jesus said so. So, when a person eats of, that is, clings to Jesus, that person lives because of Jesus. 

Jesus is bread. He is the bread, come down from heaven, sent from the Father. Whoever eats the bread, that is, trusts in Jesus, has eternal life. And He will raise that person up at the Last Day. This is what Jesus is saying. But what is the crowd hearing?

 

For most in the crowd, they took offense at Jesus’ words. They grumbled at Jesus’ words. “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60).

 

For the worldly minded, they could not understand Jesus’ teaching. And this is not surprising, since they were depending on their flesh, trusting their own reasoning for understanding. They were looking for a “bread king” to give them more food to eat. They were not expecting Jesus to call Himself bread and that they must eat of Him to have eternal life. This teaching was just too hard for many of them to swallow, so many decided to just spit Jesus out and walk away and no longer walk with Him.

 

Jesus referring to Himself as the Bread of Life, the Living Bread come down from heaven, is just one of His many difficult teachings to swallow. Jesus never avoided hard teachings as to avoid upsetting His hearers. There are so many more Biblical teachings that upset people: from homosexuality, to abortion, to cohabitation, to divorce, to close (or closed) communion, to forgiveness, to suffering, and on and on.

 

As your pastor, it would be much easier if I avoided those difficult Biblical teachings, but if I avoid those hard teachings, I would not be doing my pastoral duty. Jesus calls upon all of His undershepherds to “preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience in teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). As Christians, as disciples of Christ, we should not be ashamed of Christ and His teachings. 

 

For many new Christians, they have gotten the wrong idea that the Christian life is an easy life. This false teaching is quite popular with televangelists who say things like: “Suddenly things will change. Suddenly, God will bring your hopes and dreams.” But Jesus never said that. In fact, Jesus warns us that we fill face trials and tribulations throughout our life, especially since we are in Christ. He says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

 

Forgiveness, too, is a hard teaching. St. Peter came up to Jesus and asked Him, “‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times’” (Matthew 18:21-22). Forgiveness can be a hard pill to swallow, but forgiveness is a continuous and essential part of being a follower of Christ.

Something as simple as worshiping together can be considered a hard teaching. I have heard it many times, “I can worship God in my own way. I don’t have to come to church.” Yes, it is possible to worship God in nature, but what is missing? Fellowshipping around the Means of Grace and community. We cannot face life’s challenges alone. We are meant to lean on each other, to build up each other, and encourage each other in the faith.

 

Another hard teaching is suffering. No one likes to suffer. It’s uncomfortable and painful. But God uses your sufferings to make you stronger in the faith. St. Paul writes, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

 

Now, quite possibly, one of the hardest teachings of all is close or closed communion. So, let’s dive into the deep end! You know it’s a hard teaching when it’s right there for all to see and read inside our service folders. Over the years, I have heard some say: “The LCMS acts like the Lord’s Table is an exclusive club!” “Holy Communion should only be between yourself and God.”

 

Today’s culture is all about individualism and autonomy, and the Lord’s Supper is no different. For many, the Sacrament of the Altar has become a matter of personal entitlement. But the issue of admission to the Lord’s Supper is not a matter of personal entitlement or of being a welcoming and affirming church. The issue is the nature of the Sacrament and the character of the church. The issue is if we take Christ seriously or not. 

 

As unloving as close, or closed, communion may sound to our sinful hearts, this is a loving practice. And practically every Christian church abided in this practice until the last century. God’s Word teaches that those who receive the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner eat and drink to their harm and not their blessing. Unworthy participation is not discerning our need for forgiveness in the Sacrament and the shared confession and faith of the Sacrament (Acts 2:44). 

 

So, we would be unloving to commune those who would receive the Lord’s Supper to their harm. Afterall, Jesus gives His Supper as a blessing, not a curse. So, abiding in Christ can cause pain among family and friends, but where we have differences, we pray for the day when those differences cease.

 

There are so many hard teachings. God’s Word says that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. So, for those who remain in their sins, by not seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with God and with one another, they will reap what they sewed as Jesus says, “They will be thrown into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:50).

 

For many people, these teachings are just too hard, too difficult, and to their sinful hearts, they sound so wrong, so they choose to just walk away from Jesus. 

 

On that day Jesus said He was the Living Bread come down from heaven, most walked away. But then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked them, “Do you want to go away as well?” Now, Jesus expected them to abide with Him, but He allowed them to answer for themselves whether they too would now leave. You see, Jesus does not coerce people to follow Him.

 

Simon Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Christ’s apostles could not imagine leaving Jesus. And the reason was simple: Jesus had the words that gave eternal life. The words of Jesus about the Bread of Life, His descending from heaven, His flesh and blood, conveyed the blessing He promised for them. The disciples believed and had eternal life from God. 

 

Yes, following Jesus is tough; abiding in His teachings is tough. But as Christians, we are to be like Peter and say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Yes, many of Christ’s teachings are not what our sinful nature would like to hear, but it’s what we need to hear, since He is the Living Bread come down from heaven who alone gives eternal life. So, where else can we go to receive eternal life? Where else can we go? Jesus alone is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life!

 

In many ways, this is the hardest teaching. For it is only Jesus who would suffer the wrath of God for us sinners. He suffered and died the punishment that we all deserve. He substituted Himself for you so that you may live forever! You are forgiven and may we always seek more forgiveness by abiding in Him as you grow closer to Him in His Means of Grace! For He who said it is trustworthy and true, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 12: "Imitators of God" (Ephesians 4:17-5:2)

LISTEN

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

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord … Be imitators of God” (Ephesians 4:17a, 5:1).

 

Humans are mimetic creatures. That is, we imitate one another. Starting from your own family, you may have noticed that we tend to imitate one another. Children imitate their parents’ speech patterns. They even imitate those words that their parents say they have never said. Children imitate the way their parents walk. Children imitate what their parents find most important. They imitate their parents’ choice in favorite sports team, favorite college, favorite foods, favorite color. Even into adulthood, children imitate their parents for better or for worse.

 

Wise Solomon speaks of children imitating their parents. He says in Proverbs 22: “Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

 

And as I’ve mentioned in a past sermon, country singer Rodney Atkins sings about this imitation in his song “Watching You.” He sang: 

“Well then my four-year-old said a four letter word

That started with ‘s’ and I was concerned

So I said, ‘Son, now where did you learn to talk like that?’

 

“He said, ‘I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool

I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you … so I’ve been watching you.”

 

For better or for worse, we mimic one another. So, as adults, we must pay attention to what we are teaching the younger generation. They are watching us. Later in that song, Rodney Atkins sang: 
         “[My son] crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees

He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands

And spoke to God like he was talking to a friend

And I said, ‘Son, now where’d you learn to pray like that?’

 

“He said, ‘I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool

I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you … so I’ve been watching you.’”

 

This imitation does not just correspond with parents. Just think about regional intricacies and accents. Why is it that it takes several goodbyes for a Midwestern goodbye? Why is it that people in Boston all sound alike? Or New York? What about that southern drawl?

 

Speaking of accents, it is often that other people hear things that we don’t hear. Often, we don’t hear our own accent. To us, we sound normal. Even when you may move to a new area, you will likely begin to talk like the people that you hear talk all around you. We eventually take on the accents of the people that we listen to.

 

As Christians, we certainly speak with a definite accent. St. Paul admits that. He says that as Christians, we imitate each other by doing honest work with our own hands. We help the poor and needy. We speak what is good, right, and salutary, which is for the building up of each other. We forgive one another. We give of our firstfruits to God in giving thanks for all He has given us – our daily bread: food, clothing, and shelter. And even more: our salvation by grace through faith in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Now, we may not notice this, and that may be good. Since it is typical that we think that’s just normal. But to the fallen world all around us, they notice it. They hear our particular accent. They notice that Christians have a particular accent.

 

So, as Christians, we are able to imitate one another. But how can we be imitators of God? 

 

How could anyone imitate God? That just seems absurd! Man cannot imitate God! How can we create life out of nothing? How can we equal Jesus’ saving deeds? 

 

Remember when our first parents were coerced by that serpent to have the desire to be like God? What happened to them? They saw that the tree in the midst of the garden was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, so Adam and Eve took of its fruit and ate (Genesis 3). As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God by seeing that the fruit that God told them not to eat as pleasing, they sinned, and humanity has dealt with those consequences ever since as our fallen nature wants nothing to do with the one true God. We lost the image of God. We lost the ability to imitate God. Or so we thought. So, how could we regain the ability to imitate God?

 

In our epistle, St. Paul gives us some pointers. First, he teaches us the opposite: how not to imitate God. Paul tells of the Gentiles. Now, he’s not just speaking of those people who are not Jews by blood. He is speaking of heathens – how the people of the fallen world live, who do not have the right faith. Paul says to not be like them in following the futility of their minds. He is speaking of minds, because it is the mind that is the source of all evil behavior. You see, we first think about the sin that we are going to do. So, in this way, Paul is warning the Ephesians and us today against falling back into our old ways that would lead us away from faith in Christ and back into pagan beliefs.

 

So, there is a danger in backsliding into sin. This is why we must imitate what is good and not imitate what is dangerous.

 

In our text, St. Paul writes, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. … Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear”(Ephesians 4:26, 29).

 

So, how can we be both angry and not sin? What is Paul talking about? Is he speaking about righteous anger, just as when God is angry with His sinful people, as if Paul were saying, “Be angry in such a way that you do not sin?” How could a person be angry and also not sin? Afterall, anger is violating the Fifth Commandment: You shall not murder. So, what is Paul talking about?

 

Martin Luther puts it this way: “Paul is taking into consideration the way of the world. Men are tempted and moved to anger. … But right here, says the apostle, you should beware and not sin; not give reign, nor yield to the impulse and promptings of wrath. … Beware of doing what your wrath would have you do.”

 

Putting everything in context, there is a heightened meaning to Paul’s words: Christians are to daily return to Baptism through repentance and forgiveness. You see, as soon as you were Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins, Satan put a target on your back. He will do anything to destroy you and me. He wants us angry. He wants us to follow the futility of our minds. He wants us to be confused over what is good. He wants our minds perverted. He wants disorder. He wants us “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:14).

Satan doesn’t want you here today. Satan doesn’t want you to be inundated in the language of forgiveness.

St. Paul speaks about the language of learning. Just as it is best to learn a foreign language through immersion, the Divine Service is an immersion experience. So, the Divine Service is a time for us to work on our language skills. And the consequence of this learning is the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Here in the Divine Service, the triune God comes to us through His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments, so that we can better know Him, so that we can have a proper relationship with Him. Here, we become disciples, which literally means, “the one who learns.”

 

Disciples of Christ are made by teaching and baptizing. To learn Christ is to become Christlike, particularly in bearing the cross. It involves a renunciation of the world. A renunciation of all that is evil and Satanic. We should have nothing to do with evil, and where we see evil, we are to renounce it. We are to “put away falsehood” (Ephesians 4:25) and have nothing to do with it. 

 

Just as Paul points the Ephesians back to catechesis, he does the same for us. You see, it is through catechesis, or teaching, that we come to know Christ and the Gospel, and to your Baptism, where you were placed into Christ and made Christlike. So, going back to my question: how can we become imitators of God? On our own we can’t, since we are poor, miserable, sinners, who desire nothing that God wills. But through the working of the Holy Spirit through Baptism and through right teaching in regular attendance in the Divine Service, we can! This is the place where we learn how to imitate God. Here, we learn how to speak in a way that builds up. Even when we speak hard truths, we speak it in a way that builds up. We speak in a way that gives grace, with a gracious accent. 

 

This is the place where we are being built up. This is the place where we hear and practice forgiveness at every Divine Service. This is the place where we learn how to imitate Christ. And imitation is doing. Our imitating actions are the result of our new life in Christ, as we learn about His love for you in that while we were still sinners, He died for you, so that you would have forgiveness, life, and salvation. And here, we are empowered to be like Him through His Word and Sacraments, knowing that our sins are forgiven thus we forgive one another, just as He has forgiven us. Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +