Bless the Lord, He restores the weary soul.

Sermon for Trinity 7, July 26, 2020

Grace to you, and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Jeremiah 31:23-25  ²³This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says.  When I bring them back from captivity, they will once again say in the land of Judah and in its cities: “The Lord bless you, you righteous dwelling place, you holy mountain.”  ²⁴Judah and all its cities will live there together, the farmers and those who follow their flocks.  ²⁵I will satisfy the thirsty, and I will give rest to everyone who is weary. (EHV)

Bless the Lord, He restores the weary soul.

Dear Christian friends,

            Life looked pretty bleak in Judah during Jeremiah’s time.  Yet, in some ways it was much like today, where almost everything making news is bad news.  Whether it be threatening neighbors, or a virus sweeping the globe, forced unemployment, increasing prices for basic items, civil unrest, or powerful storms and natural disasters, the news that makes the news is almost always bad.

There is one major difference, however, between Jeremiah and our own time.  Jeremiah wasn’t a reporter, newscaster, or gossip.  Rather, he was God’s messenger warning the people of Judah about the disasters that were coming because of their refusal to turn away from sin and unbelief.  Day after day for decades, Jeremiah went out to unfaithful people calling them to repent of their refusal to trust in God alone.  Like many today, though, Jeremiah didn’t gain in popularity for proclaiming God’s word.  Instead, he was hated, slandered, and abused by those who rejected God’s discipline.

Jeremiah was saddened by the fact that his own people refused to hear God’s warnings.  When God had first called Jeremiah to prophesy His warnings, good King Josiah had been on the throne, and Josiah tried to restore worship of the true God, but he got himself killed in a battle against Egypt when he too tried to take political matters into his own hands, instead of trusting God’s care. 

The kings that followed Josiah wanted nothing to do with God, or Jeremiah’s preaching.  He was just a thorn in the flesh to them.  The end result was that this chosen nation was conquered, ransacked, and the brightest and best of the people were hauled off into captivity.  No longer a nation, the land of Judah had become a place for Egypt and Babylon to fight over, and to fight on.

We might expect that Jeremiah had despaired of his grim task, yet he never strayed from the work God gave him.  Perhaps it was because along with all the bad news that he had to proclaim, Jeremiah was also given good news to announce to those who trusted the Lord.  Our sermon text comes from the middle of some of that Good News.  Thus, with these promises, Jeremiah urges us to Bless the Lord, He restores the weary soul.

In his vision, Jeremiah received comfort from the good news that the people of Judah would be brought back from their captivity.  God was promising that at some point He would free them from their captors and restore His people to their homeland.  Jerusalem would again be inhabited by God’s chosen people.  Once again the cities and hills of Judah would be places of joy and prosperity.  The people would farm the ground and lead their flocks to pasture, and God would bless their lives again.  In fact, God would bless them so well that the people would be moved to declare with thanksgiving, “The LORD bless you, you righteous dwelling place, you holy mountain.”  God made a solemn promise saying, “I will satisfy the thirsty, and I will give rest to everyone who is weary.”

Still, in our skeptical age, some might scoff, complaining, “This is all well and good, but what does it mean to me if Judah was restored to its homeland?  Why should I care if the Judeans say, ‘Bless the Lord, He restores the weary soul?’”

The reason we should care is that God’s promise is for us, as well.  I want to read for you the sentence that follows our sermon text.   Jeremiah reported, “Just after this I woke up and looked around.  My sleep had been pleasant for me.”  The promise in Jeremiah’s dream made his entire sleep unusually sweet.  Do you think just the fact that someday a few of his fellow Israelites would be set free to return to Judah would give Jeremiah so much comfort?  I doubt that.  Instead, Jeremiah realized that the Lord’s promise has another, greater fulfillment.

It is true that the promises were initially fulfilled as a remnant of Judeans returned from Babylon to resettle their homeland, but that merely foreshadows the fulfillment found in Christ Jesus.  Here, as in so many ways, our Lord was using Israel as a picture of the fate of all mankind.  Because of sin and unbelief, the entire human race was in bondage and condemnation.  The entire world needed rescue.  The wicked suffer condemnation, but faithful generations will be restored to the Promised Land.  Thus, as long as we sojourn through this troubled world, God’s people long to return to the Promised Land that is God’s Kingdom, and it really isn’t that narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.  But first, let’s see how God restores our weary souls.

My friends, the sad fact of our world is that we all were sinners, and we all were under banishment from God’s Kingdom.  That banishment was for eternity.  It is the sentence of eternal death in hell that hung over all our heads since Adam sinned.  We had no power or ability to reverse that and no power or ability to return to the enjoyment of the home God had promised to all.  Yet, Bless the Lord, He restores the weary soul.

As Jeremiah slept, God promised, “I will satisfy the thirsty, and I will give rest to everyone who is weary.”  When God makes a promise, it is as good as done, because nothing and no one can stop God from carrying out His plan in the proper time.  Thus, we read in the letter to the Galatians, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)  Then, because of God’s plan, the sorrowful soul, agonizing over the burden and condemnation of sin, listens as our Lord Jesus invites, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) 

God “will give rest to everyone who is weary.”  Jesus gave His life to restore us to life.  We all had the need, and Jesus died for us all, even for those who reject Him.  Isaiah declared, “We all have gone astray like sheep.  Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.” (53:6)  The Apostle Paul explained this by saying,  “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Christ restored our weary souls to the Father with His perfect life and innocent death.  Those who believe in Jesus no longer face the captivity of hell.  No longer are we bound in the clutches of that cruel slave-master known as Satan.  God has set us free through His Son, Jesus. 

I’m sure that sometimes all the bad news in our world makes you wonder when God will fully carry out this promise, but I promise you, the promise has already been completed.  We already have been restored to God’s Kingdom.  No, we don’t yet enjoy heaven for it is God’s plan that we sojourn here until the Lord calls us to glory.  But understand this, we already have eternal life.  When we were brought to faith in Jesus, our old sinful nature was put to death, “Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4)

If you want to see the promise of restoration, look to the name that was given to the land of promise: “you righteous dwelling place, you holy mountain.”  Literally, Jeremiah heard, “dwelling place of righteousness.”  God is speaking of our eternal home, His new heaven and new earth—the place where God Himself dwells with His people—the place God will make our eternal dwelling place. 

God’s Kingdom isn’t some dusty corner of this present world, but rather, a new home where justice is complete and holiness the only way of life.  Not only does God promise to restore us, but He promises that we will be satisfied to overflowing.  In His promise we are reminded of the words of King David, “You set a table for me in the presence of my foes.  You drench my head with oil.  My cup is overflowing.” (Psalm 23:5)  In His mercy, God promises to satisfy us above and beyond whatever we might desire.  Sometimes, in our world of unending covetousness, hatred, sorrow, and pain, we may struggle to believe this, but in Christ, God gives the true satisfaction that is never ending.

My friends, no matter what trials and pains the world might throw against us, our sleep, like Jeremiah’s, can be sweet.  Even the sleep of death is but a quiet rest until we arise in glory.  Like Jeremiah we have God’s promise that He has taken care of everything we need to enter His heaven in peace, and He will continue to take care of everything on earth for the benefit of our eternal life. 

The world wants us to fret and worry about politics, Covid-19, violent mobs, global warming, and this problem, and that trouble—most of which are caused by sinful people.  Yet, as Christians, we don’t have to let the troubles of this world take away our joy or our hope, for God has already restored our souls, forgiving our sins and making us holy through faith in Christ Jesus, and He is ready to take us home to a place far more glorious and perfect than could ever be accomplished, or comprehended, in the present earth.  So, be assured of all that God has done for you in Jesus, then Bless the Lord, for through Word and Sacrament, He restores your weary soul.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life. Amen.

Enter heaven by Christ’s righteousness.

Sermon for Trinity 6, July 19, 2020

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

(EHV) Matthew 5:20–26  ²⁰“Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  ²¹“You have heard that it was said to people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.’  ²²But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will have to answer to the Sanhedrin.  But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of hell fire.  ²³“So if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar and go.  First be reconciled to your brother.  Then come and offer your gift.  ²⁵“If someone accuses you, reach an agreement with him quickly, while you are with him on the way.  Otherwise your accuser may bring you to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.  ²⁶Amen I tell you: You will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

Enter heaven by Christ’s righteousness.

Dear brothers and sisters of the Righteous Son,

            How good is good enough?  Is it good enough to be eighty percent right in our interactions with our fellow man?  Eighty percent will give you an average grade in school, but is that good enough in God’s eyes.  If you cook a meal, will you be happy if two thirds of your family like it and eat it with gladness?  One more than fifty percent of the vote will win most elections, but is being good 51 percent of the time enough for parents to be happy with their children?  More to the point, does fifty-one percent of the vote mean anything on the day when the only vote that counts is the judgment of the holy Son of God?  How good is good enough?  That is the one of the questions Jesus answers in this chapter of Matthew’s gospel.  His answer teaches us that we can only Enter heaven by Christ’s righteousness.

Jesus said, “Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  When you read through this sermon Jesus was preaching, you can almost feel the incredulous gasp that went through the crowd when Jesus spoke these words.  In the eyes of the Jewish crowds, the Pharisees and experts in the law were “the best of the best of the best, with honors, sir.” (with apologies to Will Smith in the film, Men in Black).  When Jesus told the people surrounding Him that to enter heaven you have to be better than those who had reputations of being stellar at keeping the law, most of the people had to wonder, who could ever live up to that? 

Now, it is common in our day for most people to have a high opinion of themselves and their own works.  Yet, we likely don’t rise any higher than the Pharisees.  They staked their reputations and their hope of salvation on keeping God’s law.  They were so meticulous in this that they made up numerous extra regulations and rules just to make sure they were keeping God happy—much like our law codes keep expanding because people simply don’t live up to God’s laws. 

Yet, God was not happy with the Pharisees, and on our own merits, He will never be happy with us, because our righteousness never measures up to the holiness our Creator demands.  Jesus ended this chapter by reminding God’s people to “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  That is the standard God uses to judge—not okay—not close enough—not almost perfect—only perfect will do, and that requirement should put us all on our knees pleading for mercy.

The rest of this text helps explain the kind of perfection God requires.  Most people wishfully assume that being pretty good should be enough.  Even many murderer’s mothers have tried to explain away the crimes by telling the judge about how good her son was to her.  However, Jesus clearly teaches that God expects everyone to be perfect not just in avoiding evil deeds, but perfect in our thoughts, words, and desires as well.  Hating a brother is murder in God’s eyes.  Belittling a neighbor makes one just as guilty and just as worthy of capital punishment.

That last statement might shock us, even as it hints at the gracious love of God.  Every person on earth has earned death because of sin, whether willful and inadvertent.  The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  At the same time, the fact that we are allowed to live on this earth, for a time, is testimony that God seeks to be merciful.  Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness.  Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)  That’s why Jesus told His followers to seek reconciliation with those they have hurt.

Some people might react to this sermon by asking what does it mean for us now?  They may be unwilling to worry about entering heaven, someday, because life here on earth seems so bad now.  Certainly, Jesus’ instruction is useful for a peaceful life in the here and now, and we should reconcile with those we have hurt.  We should restore whatever we may have stolen, damaged, or destroyed.  However, we usually find that some hurts are too big for us to repair.  Fences can’t always be mended.  We can’t make the dead live again.  Destroyed reputations may be hard to rebuild because we just can’t always know who is holding on to the false information.  Like thistle seeds blowing in the wind, our mistakes and misdeeds may travel far.

Likewise, because God cares for all people, every time we have hurt someone, or caused any harm or offense, we have also offended the Lord.  Whenever we do not love others as we love ourselves, or even if we do not rightly take care of our own welfare, we are offending our Creator.  Therefore, even as it is wise to reconcile with the people around us who we may have hurt or offended, and not to put our future in the hands of a judge who may not care about us, we all need to be reconciled with God before He makes the final declaration of our guilt or innocence, because at the end of this life, every person will face the holy, divine Judge.  Then, how good will be good enough? 

Into this pit of despair came a Friend who was ready to do whatever was necessary to save us from an eternal prison of torture, pain, and exile from God’s love.  God’s own Son entered this world by taking on human flesh to live in perfect harmony with His heavenly Father’s will in our place.  The Man, Christ Jesus, obeyed every command God had laid down for His people.  Jesus obeyed every law the lawful authorities had placed over the land.  Jesus humbled Himself before God and people.  There was not one moment in Jesus’ earthly life when the Father in heaven could not say, “This is my Son, whom I love.  I am well pleased with him.” (Matthew 3:17)  Then finally, in perfect harmony with God’s will, Jesus went willingly before the judgment of sinful men to lay down His holy life to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world, yours and mine included.

Jesus told the people, “If someone accuses you, reach an agreement with him quickly, while you are with him on the way.  Otherwise your accuser may bring you to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.  Amen I tell you: You will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”  On another occasion, Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)  The point is that we must be reconciled with God before our lives end and the judgment is pronounced.

Our epistle reading, today, speaks about baptism and reconciliation with God.  Our sermon theme says, Enter heaven by Christ’s righteousness.  What I am trying to tell you in my disjointed way is that we all need Jesus’ holiness put on us before we face Him on Judgment Day or our own personal judgment day of death.  In the here and now, we need the love of God to cover us so that our misdeeds won’t keep us away from God forever.  That really is the message of the Bible—that we all are sinners who deserve nothing but God’s wrath and punishment, but in love for us, God sent His Son to be our salvation. 

Furthermore, God leaves nothing to chance.  Jesus lived the perfectly holy life God demands before we may stand in His presence, and God the Father credits that perfect life to us in exchange for Jesus carrying our sins to the cross.  “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)  St. Paul tells us also, “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  And, as we heard from St. Paul in our epistle reading, “All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death…We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.  For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.” (Romans 6:3-5)  Thus, we Enter heaven by Christ’s righteousness. 

Dear friends, God shows the world His love, today, through the message of the Bible, through the washing and word of Baptism, through the proclamation of forgiveness of sins for Jesus’ sake, and through the supper by which He richly restores to us the forgiveness of sins won for us on the cross by the offering of Jesus’ precious body and blood. 

In a way, it’s all pretty simple: being judged on our own merits sends us to hell forever, but by grace, God gives us the righteousness of the Son who gave His all so that we might live forever.  Heed Jesus’ call to repentance.  Trust in the sacrifice He made for you.  Rejoice at His resurrection from the grave to life everlasting and Enter heaven by Christ’s righteousness.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Do not be afraid, you who are blessed.

Sermon for Trinity 5, July 12, 2020

Grace and peace to you, from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1 Peter 3:8-15a  ⁸ Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another.  Show sympathy, brotherly love, compassion, and humility.  ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  Instead, speak a blessing, because you were called for the purpose of inheriting a blessing.  ¹⁰ Indeed: Let the one who wants to love life and to see good days keep his tongue from evil and his lips from saying anything deceitful.  ¹¹ Let him turn from evil and do what is good.  Let him seek peace and pursue it.  ¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their requests.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.  ¹³ Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?  ¹⁴ But even if you should happen to suffer because of righteousness, you are blessed.  Do not be afraid of what they fear, and do not be troubled.  ¹⁵ But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts. (EHV)

Do not be afraid, you who are blessed.

Dear redeemed bought by the blood of Christ,

            Many people in our times question the relevance of the Bible.  They question whether after so many years, how could it still speak to our needs?  Peter’s letter, especially, has a tendency to grate at the modern listener because Peter speaks so much about submitting to authority and loving those under ours.  However, we must remember who Peter is writing for, and to whom he is writing, and take to heart the message of this text: Do not be afraid, you who are blessed.

Peter was writing to people who were falsely suspected of being traitors to their rulers, a menace to their neighbors, unwilling to compromise, and worthy of death for their radical ideas of a Savior and God who made no allowance for the gods of the nations yet demanded obedience to laws that were inconvenient to the masses.  Commands to love your wife, not to kill your children, to have only one wife, and worship only the God who they said had died and rose again.  Heretics to the Roman authorities.  Equally heretical to the Jews.

So, is Peter relevant to our times?  How does our situation compare to that of those early Christians?  To be honest, we are still much better off here in the United States.  Those early Christians could be hauled before a judge at a moment’s notice and condemned to death for refusing to worship the idols of the nation.  They could be betrayed by neighbors taking financial advantage of the situation, and many an early Christian died without a fair trial after enduring much torture.

We haven’t had to face anything like the harrowing reality of the Christians living in the 60s a.d. under Emperor Nero and others like him.  Yet, today, you Christians are highly likely to be under suspicion merely for the color of your skin, no matter what color you might be.  You are also likely to be mocked for holding to the Bible as the true Word of God.  You will be hated by some for demanding allegiance to the teachings of the Bible.  The thought police of today’s cancel culture can make your life a living trial.  Give the wrong response to the wrong person and you become a pariah to the politically correct.  Don’t give enough respect to the insane ideas of the most radical and you could lose your job, or your business could be torched or boycotted.  You could lose friends simply for saying something out of step with the surrounding culture.  Freedom of speech is permitted only to those who agree with the crowds, and many are demanding that you must pay for crimes you didn’t commit, and make reparations to descendants of people who suffered indignities hundreds of years before you were born.  So, tell me how Peter’s letter isn’t relative to the faithful of our times.

When you break it down, Peter’s letter is really expressing how we should live in times Jesus told us would happen.  The world will hate us because it hates God.  The world will turn against any who follow Jesus because the world is still under the heavy influence of the devil and the sinful flesh.  The answer is not to submit to the world’s ugly demands, but to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind, and your neighbor as Jesus loved us.

After telling his readers to submit to authority, and to one another, as to the Lord, Peter wrote, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another.  Show sympathy, brotherly love, compassion, and humility.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  Instead, speak a blessing, because you were called for the purpose of inheriting a blessing.”  How radical and offensive these ideas are to the modern man!  Live in harmony?  Isn’t it more productive to protest, slander, hate, and destroy? 

Not when the goal is eternal life.

The world around us is filled with suspicion of those who look different, with ideas of revenge for every hurt, and retribution for every offense whether real or imagined.  Where do you suppose those ideas come from?  They can only come from the devil and the sinful nature in the unregenerated person.

However, who does Peter write for?  He writes for the Lord Jesus.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter writes for the God who wants all people to be saved, because He gave His Son into death for the sins of the world.  Likewise, Peter writes to the Christian Church telling us to live for Jesus who said, “In this world you are going to have trouble.  But be courageous!  I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) 

Because God wants to save sinners, and because He reaches out to those who do not yet know Him through ordinary believers like you and me and all the saints who have gone before us, He wants the world to see a difference between us and the unbelievers who serve the devil whether they know it or not.  Therefore, we are to live with the same compassions Jesus showed us.  We are to be in harmony with God’s Word and with our fellow believers, and we are to strive for this always.  Even to those who would abuse or hurt us, we are to show respect and kindness, even when it hurts.  And why?  Peter wrote, “Speak a blessing, because you were called for the purpose of inheriting a blessing.” 

Why should we turn the cheek when the world abuses us?  Because God called us out of sin and darkness into His marvelous light.  He reached out to the unworthy and made us His own dear children who have every true and certain promise of life everlasting in heaven.  Why should we be kind to those who don’t care about us, or even truly hate us?  Because through us, God may save some.

The Holy Spirit had Peter write, “Indeed: Let the one who wants to love life and to see good days keep his tongue from evil and his lips from saying anything deceitful.  Let him turn from evil and do what is good.  Let him seek peace and pursue it.”  Jesus never promised that life in this troubled world would be easy for His people.  The Lord knew what we would face because He already faced all of it and worse.  The Lord also knew that if we treat those around us with respect and kindness, life would be better for us here on earth, and His Father will reward us in heaven. 

Along with these instructions, there is a promise and a warning: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their requests.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”  No matter what the world might think, God is on our side.  The Lord is always paying attention to His people.  That doesn’t mean we will never suffer, but truly, He has our ultimate good in mind, but for those who reject Him, God reserves judgment, and there will be no escape.  Sometimes, it looks like the wicked win here on earth, but not in God’s court.  God’s judgments are always just and always correct.  Those who reject His Son have rejected the Father also.  His kindness will not help those who refuse it.

Even in a world of trouble, and surrounded by God’s enemies, those who walk with Jesus will most often have a relatively peaceful journey through life.  Peter said, “Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?”  The evidence bears this out.  If you live your life as a faithful Christian, walking with the Lord in purity and truth and submitting to the authorities He places over you, you are highly likely to be happier, to live longer, and to have little trouble with the law of the land.  God gives government for the good of His people and by and large, He makes sure it helps us. 

But even if governments, or the people in them, should become wicked and attack God’s children, Do not be afraid, you who are blessed.  Our text says, “But even if you should happen to suffer because of righteousness, you are blessed.  Do not be afraid of what they fear, and do not be troubled.  But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts.”  Jesus once told His followers, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)  Christians may well suffer for their faith.  Radical unbelievers sometimes go to great lengths to hurt or kill those who offend them with the truth of God.  But why be afraid of them?  Their end is hell, but our future is life everlasting.  Theirs is a dismal future no matter how powerful they might seem on earth.  But in the end, in company with the Lord Jesus, faithful Christians will judge the wicked.

Twice Peter tells us “You are blessed.”  It’s not the suffering that blesses us, yet the Holy Spirit had James write, “Consider it complete joy, my brothers, whenever you fall into various kinds of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces patient endurance.  And let patient endurance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

Our Lord Jesus promises, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, for that very reason the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

Dear Christian friends, we are blessed because Jesus chose us out of this world.  With His holy life and innocent death, He purchased our futures and made us acceptable to our Creator.  Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, and with His resurrection from the grave, He announced to the world that salvation is ours.  Then, Jesus and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to bring us the Good News of what Christ has done.  Therefore, no matter the skin color, station in life, wealth or poverty, Christians are blessed with forgiveness, blessed with adoption into God’s family, and blessed with eternal life in His heavenly mansions.

By the power of His Word, the Lord picked us up out of the muck and mire of humanity, washed away the filth of our sin, gave us rebirth into a life that will not end, claimed us as His own dear children, and promises us that nothing can take away His love nor our future home in heaven.  And, no matter what trials and struggles we might have to endure as we journey through this rotten world, Jesus promises that we are not alone, for He is with us every step of the way.  The righteous cry out, “O Lord, holy and true, how long until you judge and exact justice for our blood from those who live on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10)  By faith we were given the righteousness of Christ Jesus.  By faith, we rest in His loving care.  The day is coming when the martyrs’ deaths will be avenged. 

My friends, have no fear, God sees every evil that is done against you.  Acknowledging that life can be a trial, Peter wrote, “But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts.”  Put your hope in Jesus and He will save you.  Cling to Him with everything you’ve got, because through faith in Jesus, you have forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.  Through your faith, you have the key to heaven, and you can share it with any and all around you.  Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12) 

Do not be afraid, you who are blessed.  Amen.

Now, may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with you all.  Amen.

Live in the righteousness of the Restorer.

Sermon for Trinity 4, July 5, 2020

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Isaiah 58:6-12  ⁶ On the contrary, isn’t this the kind of fast that I would choose: to loosen the chains of wickedness, to tear apart the ropes of a yoke, to release the oppressed so they go free, and to tear every yoke to pieces?  ⁷ Isn’t a true fast that you share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless and afflicted into a house?  Yes, when you see a naked person, you are to cover him, and do not hide yourself from your own flesh and blood.  ⁸ Then your light will break forth like dawn, and your healing will spring up quickly.  Your righteousness will go out ahead of you, and the Glory of the Lord will follow you.  ⁹ Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.  You will cry out, and he will say, “Here I am!”  If you remove the bar of the yoke from among you, and if you stop finger-pointing and speaking wickedly, ¹⁰ if you offer your life for the hungry, and if you satisfy the desires of the afflicted, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your darkest gloom will shine like the noonday sun.  ¹¹ Then the Lord will lead you continually.  He will satisfy your desire in arid places, and he will strengthen your bones.  Then you will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters will not fail.  ¹² Then your ancient ruins will be rebuilt, and you will restore the foundations from past generations.  Then you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets to live on. (EHV)

Live in the righteousness of the Restorer.

Dear fellow redeemed of the Lord,

            I want to take thirty seconds, this morning, for each of us to consider the question, “How big is God compared to me?”

I know that sounds like a strange request, but with our sermon text, we step into the middle of a reply the Lord is making to the complaining people of Israel.  Israel had some huge spiritual problems and they didn’t recognize their faults.  This text is part of the Lord’s answer to their complaints and judgment of Him.  Likewise, God’s reply teaches us to Live in the righteousness of the Restorer.

Israel’s biggest problem was, of course, idolatry.  Yet, they thought they were worshipping the true God.  The trouble was they thought they were worthy to strike bargains with the Lord.  That’s why I asked you to consider how big you are compared to God.  When we recognize that God created this world and everything in it, that He still provides everything needed for body and life, for both the faithful and the wicked people, and that as our Creator He has the right to judge and the right to rule, we start to look pretty insignificant in comparison.  In his psalm, David marveled, “Whenever I look up at your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place—what is man that you remember him, the son of man that you pay attention to him!” (Psalm 8:3-4)

Sadly, since the fall into sin, many people mistakenly presume that we can make a deal with God.  We assume that if we worship properly, make some sacrifice, obey the law, pray loudly enough, often enough, or fervently enough, then God simply has to bend to our will.  Whenever anyone falls into this temptation, they are succumbing to the devil’s urging to worship the idol of quid pro quo.  It is imagining that if we do something that we think God would like, then He should obey our whims. 

This idolatry is a popular temptation in our world, today, although it takes a variety of forms.  The modern preacher of the so-called prosperity gospel is a sorcerer for this idol.  Yet, there are many other ways we can be caught in this temptation.  Like Israel, when sorrows come our way, we can be tempted to question God’s hearing, or His heart.  In our hearts, we might sometimes wonder whether God cares enough to stop the troubles of this world, or whether it really pays for us to listen to His word and obey His laws.  It can even be a temptation to imagine that God owes us more than the wicked simply because we believe in His Son.  That is the temptation the good son in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son stumbled into when he was angry that the father welcomed back the wayward brother.

The truth is, dear friends, we don’t earn rewards from the Lord.  We never could.  Rather, we owe God our allegiance, honor, obedience, and trust regardless of whatever He chooses to give us.  Understanding that, we consider these words in Isaiah: “isn’t this the kind of fast that I would choose: to loosen the chains of wickedness, to tear apart the ropes of a yoke, to release the oppressed so they go free, and to tear every yoke to pieces?  Isn’t a true fast that you share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless and afflicted into a house?”

The point God is making is that pious ceremonies won’t cover our sins.  What God desires is that we truly do love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and our neighbor as God has loved us.  This text speaks of what is truly the reversal of sin in the world.  That is what God desires for His people.  However, this too remains true, because of sin that afflicts us all, we could never measure up to the implication God makes here.  Israel failed at this—badly—but so do we.  Even when we live our faith we fail.  But one of us did not fail.

As I read through this section of Isaiah, it is like reading a description of what Jesus came into this world to do.  This is a prophecy of the spiritual work of the Messiah.  If we want to be judged before God based on our own works, we will stand there naked and ashamed.  However, God’s only begotten Son took on human flesh and didn’t hide from the challenge.

By faith in Christ Jesus, the next passage refers to us.  “Then your light will break forth like dawn, and your healing will spring up quickly.  Your righteousness will go out ahead of you, and the Glory of the Lord will follow you.  Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.  You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am!’”  Martin Luther prayed, “Lord Jesus, You are my righteousness, I am your sin.  You took on you what was mine; yet set on me what was yours.  You became what you were not, that I might become what I was not.”  Jesus took our sin so that through faith in Him His holiness now covers us.  Therefore, we Live in the righteousness of the Restorer.

It is the brightness of Christ’s holiness that breaks over us and empowers sanctified living in us.  God’s glory comes because He provides not only our daily bread but also the answer to our sin and wickedness.  Jesus took all the sins of the world, and the banishment from His Father’s presence our sins deserved, so that we could be united with God again in harmony and peace.  It is then through believers that God serves the world.  He hears and answers our prayers.  In fact, this world is allowed to continue for the benefit of God’s people, and so that more can be added to God’s flock.

Isaiah wrote, “If you remove the bar of the yoke from among you, and if you stop finger-pointing and speaking wickedly, if you offer your life for the hungry, and if you satisfy the desires of the afflicted, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your darkest gloom will shine like the noonday sun.”  This is God’s command for His people, but who among men could answer the call?  Only Jesus.  Therefore, our Savior promises us, “I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Of course, believing in Jesus and coming to worship Him doesn’t excuse us of our responsibilities to our neighbor.  We dare not assume that because we go to church, we can live any way our sinful hearts may desire.  If we truly are children of God by faith, then we should live like that.  Isaiah wrote, “Then the Lord will lead you continually.  He will satisfy your desire in arid places, and he will strengthen your bones.  Then you will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters will not fail.  Then your ancient ruins will be rebuilt, and you will restore the foundations from past generations.  Then you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets to live on.” 

It is Christ living in us that empowers our service.  Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Vine; you are the branches.  The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)  All of this is living the second command, to love our neighbors as ourselves.  As we love as Christ loved us, we will forgive sins as God forgave us.  As God remembers our needs, so we pay attention to the needs of those around us.  Can we fix everything on our own?  No, you know that we cannot.  However, we can use what blessings God gives us to share His love with others.  We can especially share the Good News of all Jesus did to set us free from slavery to sin and death. 

Today, slavery is much in the news, again, because sin still troubles our world.  Many assume that because there is still prejudice, people are still enslaved by the system.  Yet, the system isn’t really the problem.  Lack of trust in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior and a lack of love for others are the issues.  Natural man loves only himself.  Though a sinner worthy only of death, natural man blames others, even God, for every trouble he faces.  Natural man doesn’t concern himself with the needs of those around him.  Faithful Christians, on the other hand, have long reached out with love to the less fortunate, to the downtrodden and weak.  Still, the credit for anything good we might do belongs solely to the One who loved us first.  St. John wrote, “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

Though we know it is only by God living in us that we do anything good, remember how Jesus described Judgment Day for His followers: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food to eat.  I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.  I was a stranger and you welcomed me.  I was lacking clothes and you clothed me.  I was sick and you took care of me.  I was in prison and you visited me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36)

This is the worship that God desires from His people, that we honor Him by loving our neighbors, no matter who they are or what they might need.  This is also why the apostle, James, wrote, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but has no works?  Such “faith” cannot save him, can it?  If a brother or sister needs clothes and lacks daily food and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but does not give them what their body needs, what good is it?  So also, such “faith,” if it is alone and has no works, is dead.  But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’  Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:14-18)

Dear Christian friends, this is what Jesus did for you.  He loved you when you were unworthy.  He picked you up when you were filthy and naked in sin.  The Lord washed you clean by the water and blood that flowed from His side on the cross.  Then He dressed you for eternity in His righteousness. 

Regularly, through Word and Sacrament, Christ feeds you with the living bread of the Good News of all He has done to rescue you from captivity to evil and to give you life everlasting.  By His life, death, and resurrection from the grave, Jesus has restored you to the everlasting city of heaven.  He has restored the walls that defend you from the devil’s accusations and attacks.  He repaired our brokenness and restored our holiness.  This is God’s promise to you.  Believing it, Live in the righteousness of the Restorer.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.