Jesus has compassion for His people.

 

Sermon for Trinity 7, July 31, 2022

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Mark 8:1–9  In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ²“I feel compassion for the crowd because they have already stayed with me three days and do not have anything to eat.  ³If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way.  Some of them have come from a long distance.”  ⁴His disciples replied, “Where can anyone get enough bread to feed these people here in this deserted place?”  ⁵He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”  “Seven,” they said.  ⁶He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground.  Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks, and broke them.  He gave the pieces to his disciples to distribute to the crowd, and they did so.  ⁷They also had a few small fish.  He blessed them and said that these should be distributed as well.  ⁸The people ate and were satisfied.  They picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.  ⁹About four thousand men were there.  Then he sent them away. (EHV)

Jesus has compassion for His people.

Dear friends in Christ,

One quite popular objection to believing in the God of the Bible is that there is so much trouble, sorrow, pain, and hunger in the world.  The refrain goes something like, “Well, if there is a God, why does He allow all these horrible troubles?”  Or, “If God is love, why doesn’t He cure these problems?”  Of course, one must expect these questions from the boldly defiant.  Yet, how often do even solid Christians wonder if God is really paying attention?

The assumption of those who question God’s providence is that they are somehow worthy to command His special care.  They prefer to judge the Creator rather than to live under His abundant kindness and mercy.  Yet, the fact that God provides for both believer and unbeliever, alike, should confirm that He is the God of love.

The truth of the matter, though, is that no one actually deserves to be blessed by God.  The Bible teaches that every human being is born spiritually dead—separated from God by sin and unbelief.  Being born from sinful parents, we enter this world as enemies of God and sinners against Him—sinners who deserved nothing but death.  However, God hasn’t turned against us.  Rather, He provides for all people, friend and foe alike, according to His divine good will.  This miraculous feeding of the four thousand shows us that Jesus has compassion for His people.

Now, people sometimes assume that being Christians we should have an especially easy road.  Yet, God never promised that we wouldn’t get hungry, or have trouble, pain, or sorrow in this world.  In fact, He pretty much guaranteed that by bringing us to faith in His Son, we would not only we have to endure all the ills that every part of this groaning world suffers because of sin, but the world itself turns against us because of its hatred for God and His Son, Jesus.  At the same time, we are never alone because Jesus is always with His people, and in this miracle, Jesus displays His faithfulness to His promise, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

The vast multitude that surrounded Jesus that long ago day were demonstrating what Jesus was talking about.  Nothing is said in our text about anyone asking Jesus for food.  They didn’t come to Him begging for bread.  Rather, they gathered around Jesus for His teaching, for His miraculous healing, and for His gentle kindness.  Jesus said, “I feel compassion for the crowd because they have already stayed with me three days and do not have anything to eat.  If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way.  Some of them have come from a long distance.”  Notice who was concerned for the wellbeing of those people, many of them Gentiles.  Even before they let hunger worry them, Jesus had in mind the solution for their needs.

Now understand, Jesus also put His disciples to a bit of a test when He said this, and they reacted like we so often do: His disciples answered Him, "Where can anyone get enough bread to feed these people here in this deserted place?"  Does it seem to you that they just threw up their hands in despair?  Can you imagine the disciples wondering how they, who had left jobs and businesses behind to follow Jesus, were supposed to find food for thousands of people so far out in the middle of a wasteland?

Perhaps, I’m being too harsh on the disciples.  Jesus doesn’t rebuke them so maybe they really were trusting that Jesus alone could provide.  That would be putting the best construction on the situation.  But what about us?  Do we always trust, without question, that Jesus will take care of us? 

How many of us can honestly say that we have never worried, even once, about anything?  I think the honest answer is none of us.  Instead, how many of us have wondered whether God really will provide for this little congregation?  How many of us have wondered whether God has heard our agony and prayers?  I think that’s why the Holy Spirit had Mark and Matthew record this miracle for us, to confirm for us that Jesus has compassion for His people.

Jesus asked His disciples, “‘How many loaves do you have?’  ‘Seven,’ they said.  He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground.  Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks, and broke them.  He gave the pieces to his disciples to distribute to the crowd, and they did so. ⁷They also had a few small fish.  He blessed them and said that these should be distributed as well.  The people ate and were satisfied.  They picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.  About four thousand men were there.”

I wonder if any of us could divide seven pancakes into four thousand pieces.  That’s about how big those bread cakes, typically, were, about like a pancake.  No way could you or I spread out this amount of food so that everyone would get even a crumb.  Then, try dividing a few small fish among so many people.  Sure, most of us could set a place at the dinner table for another guest or two, but if any man would bring home to dinner twenty guests, unannounced, for his wife to feed, I can assure you there would be trouble in that house.  Thus, we know without a doubt that this was a miracle. 

The Bible says that those four thousand people, who had been sitting at Jesus’ feet for three days in the wilderness without much sustenance, ate until they were satisfied.  All of these followers of Jesus had their hunger eased.  Their journey home became possible because Jesus had compassion on them, so much so that there remained seven large baskets of leftovers.

“He sent them away.”  This is certainly a legitimate translation of the Greek word here.  But more often, it is translated, “released,” or “set free.”  The people had been with Him for three days, listening to His preaching of the Gospel, and now Jesus released them.  Released is a wonderful word to choose here, because by His teaching, Jesus set those people free—releasing them from the bondage of sin and death, and He has done the same for you and me.

When you and I were brought to faith in Jesus, we were set free.  We were set free from any worry in this world, because Jesus has promised that His Father knows our needs and will provide for them. (Matthew 6:31-34)  Jesus even set us free from worrying about what this world might do to cause us trouble, even if it should go so far as killing us, because Jesus has conquered sin and death on our behalf.  In fact, Jesus tells us, “In this world you are going to have trouble.  But be courageous!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Even more important than setting us free from worry, however, is that Jesus has set us free from sin and condemnation.  That is the greatest way that Jesus has compassion for His people.  While He certainly never forgets our earthly needs, He entered our world to demonstrate the full extent of His compassion by becoming our Savior.  At the beginning of this sermon, we recognized that we entered this world already dead in trespasses and sin, deserving nothing but to be separated from God eternally.  That deserved separation could only be eliminated by the love of God in His Son, Jesus.

It is brilliantly obvious that Jesus has compassion for His people, because He left His throne in heaven to take on human flesh so that He could live in this tormenting world, and live here without any sin, living perfect righteousness and trust in His Father for you and me.  By willingly enduring the hunger and homelessness, and all the pain and sorrow we experience every day, Jesus made it possible that we can live for eternity with Him in heaven.  Most important, Jesus has compassion for His people by taking all our sins upon His innocent shoulders and carrying those sins to hell through the punishment and death He suffered on Calvary.  There on the cross, Jesus endured all of God’s just anger and the punishment that we deserved for our sins, simply because “God so loved the world.” (John 3:16)

Still today, Jesus has compassion for His people.  Two thousand years after He suffered and died for the human race, Jesus continues to send out His Holy Spirit through His Word and Sacraments, so that sinners like you and me can be made alive through faith in Him. 

Two thousand years after He fed four thousand people with a handful of food, Jesus continues to rescue sinners through the gracious washing of Baptism in which He raises to new life those born dead in sin.  He continues to feed us with His precious body and blood, so that we can have full confidence that our sins are forgiven, and we are right with His Father in heaven. 

Two thousand years after Jesus sent those people away from gathering at His feet in worship to return to their homes, He sends out His disciples in this wilderness world carrying the life-giving food of His saving Word to other people so that they, too, can be set free from sin and death.

Dear friends, the next time you pick up a piece of bread, remember that Jesus provided that bread for you out of His infinite compassion and grace, but especially remember, that out of His unlimited kindness, He has made you alive through faith, so that when our bodies are called out of this broken, dying world, we will live for all eternity in His heavenly home where there will never be any hunger, sorrow, pain, persecution, or death. 

Now, having a home in heaven assured to you through faith in Christ Jesus, be equally confident in God’s abiding care for you here on earth, for it is written: “If God is for us, who can be against us?  Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him?” (Romans 8:31-32)  Therefore, no matter what trouble, doubt, hunger, or grief might enter your walk through this difficult, sin-damaged world, remember that Jesus’ love for you never wavers.  No matter where you live, whether rich or poor, through sickness and in health, in good times and sorrow, Jesus will be with you to carry you to the better place of your eternal home.  Especially remember that on a cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem, in the simple water of Baptism, in His body and blood in the bread and wine of His holy Supper, or anywhere His Gospel is preached, Jesus has compassion for His people.  Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore.  Amen. 

Die to sin as you live in Christ.

Sermon for Trinity 6, July 24, 2022

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.  Amen.

Romans 6:3–11  ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  ⁴We 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.  ⁵For 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.  ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin.  ⁷For the person who has died has been declared free from sin.  ⁸And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  ⁹We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again.  Death no longer has control over him.  ¹⁰For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.  ¹¹In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (EHV)

Die to sin as you live in Christ.

Dear friends brought to life,

            The Bible speaks of death in several ways, but all of them involve a separation.  We enter this world in spiritual death which is separation from God because of the sin we inherit from our parents and our own selfish desires.  Then, of course, we are aware of physical death which is the separation of the soul from the body.  This one too is inevitable because of sin and causes no end of grief in our world.  Finally, there is eternal death which is everlasting separation of the sinner from God in the torments of hell.  We certainly want to avoid that death at all cost.

Now, most people are rather uncomfortable speaking about death, at least certain deaths.  There is no reason for me to get too deep into the insanity of the modern world when it comes to the idea of death, but it is a reality that everyone of sound mind and health deeply desires to avoid death personally.  Modern medicine spends billions upon billions of dollars helping people forestall death.  Even the deaths of animals grieves many people excessively.  There is, however, a death that I want you to pursue based on Paul’s writing in this text, for he urges us to Die to sin as you live in Christ.

Paul had just explained the immense riches of God’s grace that covers every sin, but lest some imagine that we can sin freely, he writes, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”  Forgiveness, faith, salvation, and eternal life come to us primarily through the gift of baptism.  In baptism, we are connected to Christ Jesus’ death, and it is His death that covered and paid for all the sins of the world.  The reason Jesus’ death could pay the full redemption price for the sin of the world is because He is the holy Son of God who, while perfectly without sin Himself, made our sins His own as He sacrificed Himself in our place so that we could truly live as God’s sanctified children who Die to sin as you live in Christ.

Paul explained, “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.”  Why do you suppose the practice of burying the dead came into common usage?  Primarily, I think, to cover the stench of death and the decay that follows.  For millennia, people have buried the dead bodies of people and animals, alike, so that the living wouldn’t have to endure the stink.  Likewise, being buried with Christ covers the stench of our sins which God could never allow in Paradise.  In Baptism, the sweet-smelling sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God washes away our stink. 

Now, our walk in new, God-pleasing life will finally be complete only when we walk with Jesus in heaven.  Yet, if we truly are now connected with the holy Christ through baptism, could we still wallow in our former sinful ways?  Those of you who do laundry, could you imagine my wife taking my white dress shirts out of the wash, bright and clean, and using them to wipe out the cat’s litter box?  Would anyone here ever take his or her most expensive garment and throw it into a hog lot to give the pigs something to play with?  Isn’t that the same type of shameful behavior we would display if we should return to sinful ways after being brought to faith in Christ Jesus?  “May it never be!” (Romans 6:2 NAS)

Now, the really good news: “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.”  God did not unite us with His beloved Son so that we would be abandoned to the grave and eventual destruction.  No, just as Jesus was raised in glorified triumph by his heavenly Father to dwell in heaven everlasting, so God had the purpose in mind of saving you into His heavenly home, for the day is coming when we and all believers in Jesus will be raised from wherever our bodies might sleep to rise through the clouds in perfect holiness to dwell in the eternal glory of heaven.  United with Jesus means a permanent connection with the Holy One of God.

More good news: “We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin.  For the person who has died has been declared free from sin.”  Even in our own courtrooms, when the perpetrator is deceased, no charges are brought against him even if all evidence would prove his guilt.  How much greater for us, then, that in God’s courtroom, we have been declared free of sin because of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  With His death on the cross, Jesus paid our full debt to God for our rebellious ways.  Christ’s death substituted for ours so that all the traitors who rebelled against God’s love are now reconciled with God in the heavenly kingdom.

Now, we know that our old sinful flesh is a terribly strong tempter in our journey through life.  In so many situations, we experience a strong pull to return to the sinful ways in which we were born—just like a dog returning to its vomit.  Still, at the cross, the power of our old flesh was broken.  The chains of sin that held us in Satan’s control were shattered when Jesus died without even once falling prey to the devil’s lies or mankind’s natural flesh.  In Christ, we have been justified, that is, believers have been declared righteous before God.  Thereafter, looking at all people though the intervening sacrifice of Christ, His own dear Son, God declares, “I will be merciful in regard to their unrighteousness, and I will not remember their sins any longer.” (Hebrews 8:12)

The Holy Spirit brought us more good news through Paul’s hand: “And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again.  Death no longer has control over him.  For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.”  Jesus has risen from the dead victorious over Satan, sin, and the grave.  As our risen and ascended Savior, Jesus lives in glory everlasting at His Father’s side in heaven, there to rule all things in heaven and earth for our everlasting good.

What this really means for us is that connected with Jesus by faith, we too have the upper hand in the devil’s war against God and mankind.  Satan can no longer threaten us with accusations of guilt.  His temptations also ring hollow, for God has withheld nothing good from us, even sacrificing His own beloved Son so that we are cleansed of all guilt and justified in God’s eternal courtroom. 

My friends, death entered this world because of sin.  Because sin has been conquered, death’s hold over those who walk with Jesus has also been destroyed.  St. John wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “My children, I write these things to you so that you will not sin.  If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate before the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

St. Paul wrote likewise, “Death no longer has control over [Jesus].  For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”  Earlier in this sermon, I made what may have sounded like a strange statement to you, for I said that there is a death I want you to pursue based on Paul’s writing in this text.  I certainly don’t want you to pursue physical, spiritual, or especially eternal death.  But remembering that death is a separation, the Holy Spirit urges all believers to separate themselves from sin.  He exhorts us to Die to sin as you live in Christ.

Naturally, you might be asking how we can die to sin.  We strive for this separation by avoiding sin in everything we do.  We live to love God and neighbor with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.  We strive to avoid those temptations that we know lead us to sin.  At the same time, the honest believer knows we always fall short of the holiness God requires to enter His kingdom—that is, we always fall short on our own merit.  That is why we have a Savior.  That is why God connected you with your Savior in the cleansing flood of Baptism.  Your sanctification came as you were justified by faith.  Unlike justification which unites us with God in peace, sanctification is an ongoing process through which the Holy Spirit is working to keep you in repentance and faith, so that you remain connected with Jesus, and consequently, at peace with God unto life everlasting.

Therefore, we die to sin as we strive to obey God’s commands, as we love our neighbors as Christ loved us, but especially, we die to sin as we live in Jesus’ loving care.  You are here today hearing again what Jesus has done for you so that you stand righteous and holy before the Creator and Judge of the world.  As you partake of Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus is testifying with His physical presence, in all your senses, that He died for you, that through His sacrifice, He has separated you from eternal death and the devil’s accusations.

Now, many people will tell you that you must repent to be saved.  Rightly understood this is true.  However, repentance isn’t just saying you are sorry for the sins you have committed.  Repentance is a continual turning away from sin to trusting in Jesus who took all your sins away and made you righteous before God.  “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31)  It is through faith in Jesus Christ that you Die to sin as you live in Christ.  Amen.

Now may the God of peace—who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, in connection with his blood, which established the eternal testament—may he equip you with every good thing to do his will, as he works in us what is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ.  To him be glory forever and ever.  Amen. 

Take refuge in the Lord who comes for you.

 

Sermon for Trinity 5, July 17, 2022

Grace and peace be multiplied to you from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in abundant mercy has given us a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Jeremiah 16:14-21  ¹⁴Nevertheless, listen to this.  The days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt.”  ¹⁵But they will say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out from the land in the north and from all the lands to which he exiled them.”  For I will restore them to the homeland I gave to their fathers.  ¹⁶Look, I am sending for many fishermen, declares the Lord, and they will catch them.  After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, on every high hill, and in the crevices of the rocks.  ¹⁷My eyes are watching everything they do.  It is not hidden from me, nor is their guilt hidden from my eyes.  ¹⁸But first I will pay them double for their guilt and their sin, because they defiled my land with the carcasses of their disgusting idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.  ¹⁹The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.  Nations will come to you from the ends of the earth and say, “Our forefathers possessed only false gods, worthless idols, and there was nothing good in them.  ²⁰Can a man make gods for himself?  Yes, but they are not gods!”  ²¹Therefore I will certainly teach them.  This time I will teach them my power and my strength, and then they will know that my name is the Lord. (EHV)

Take refuge in the Lord who comes for you.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            In the days before Noah, the world became so wicked and so godless that God determined to destroy everything.  Only God’s faithfulness to His promise of a Savior caused the Lord to spare Noah and his family, as well as the other living things needed to repopulate the earth.  By the time Jeremiah lived, God’s people had likewise fully abandoned the God of their patriarchs.  Instead, the people were enticed by the idolatry of surrounding peoples, and refusing to heed God’s warnings, they listened instead to false prophets who contradicted what God had clearly spoken, hoping that the peace and prosperity the lying liars were proclaiming would somehow overcome God’s warning.

Hundreds of years later, St. Paul wrote to the Galatian congregation, “Do not be deceived.  God is not mocked.  To be sure, whatever a man sows, he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)  In our day, too, it has become more and more common for the average person to ignore what God has clearly spoken.  St. Paul forewarned about times such as this when he wrote, “There will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.  They will also turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)  Lest we also suffer judgment and eternal condemnation for following Satan’s lies, Take refuge in the Lord who comes for you.

Whether we speak about Israel, or any other people on earth, God’s Word is always relevant, and always applies.  No one can be saved without trust in God’s unchanging message, for by His Word the Lord produces saving faith in people who could never earn or deserve it.  Furthermore, as we study God’s word, we soon become aware that what is so comforting to those of us who believe can actually be terribly frightening to those who follow other gods.  This explains why faithful Christians are often unwelcome in today’s public sphere.  It is just as Jesus warned, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.  Whoever rejects you rejects me.  And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)

In our sermon text, God promises sure rescue for a remnant of those people He had sentenced to exile for their rebelliousness.  God would return them to the promised land He had given to their forefathers.  Then, finally recognizing God’s grace, the deliverance of their forefathers from slavery in Egypt would fade from their consciousness as they rejoiced for their own rescue instead.

There is much for us to see in this text: we see that God neglects nothing but He sees and knows everything; we learn that judgment and punishment are certain for those who refuse to honor Him.  Most important, we see God’s mercy applied to sinners who don’t deserve it, and we see His determination to save those He calls to faith.

The Lord assured Jeremiah, “My eyes are watching everything they do.  It is not hidden from me, nor is their guilt hidden from my eyes.”  Jeremiah had the unenviable task of preaching God’s Word to a nation of people that wanted nothing to do with it.  They rejected and abused Jeremiah just as they had rejected and abused God’s love.  The multitudes before the flood lived in open rebellion against the Creator of all things, and for their wickedness, judgment fell upon the whole world.  Many times throughout their history, Jacob’s descendants lived in wickedness so extreme that the book of judges ends with the troubling thought, “In those days there was no king in Israel, and every man did whatever was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) 

Today, we too live in times in which vast swaths of society want nothing to do with God’s Word.  Everyone seems to be guided by personal feelings and selfish desires, many claiming wickedness is good and good is evil.  How much is this cesspool world also permeating our thoughts and actions?  How often do we assume that what worldly people do is also good for us?  Have we become so accustomed to evil that we barely notice it in our own hearts?  I pray that we never sink into this mire.  

Even though the modern world rejects the idea of a just and righteous God, we know that Judgment Day is coming.  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)

Remember, however, that while the application of God’s Word brings terror to the unbeliever, it even more so gives comfort to believers.  For Jeremiah and other faithful ones, God’s all-seeing, all-knowing presence comforts us with the sure confidence that He is always taking care of us and always knows and provides exactly what we need for each moment in time.  We have every confidence of enjoying eternal peace with God because Jesus promises, “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36) 

The Lord of heaven and earth declared, “I will restore them to the homeland I gave to their fathers.”  Just as the Lord restored the fortunes of a remnant of the Israelites after their exile, so God will bring those who believe in His Son into the paradise of heaven.  Like those restored after decades of exile, none of us deserve God’s mercy.  Yet, God is ever merciful and after His law has done its work of bringing us to repentance, the Good News of His love for us in Jesus brings us the faith in Jesus that justifies us and prepares us to enter God’s high heaven.

At the same time, we are assured that those who abuse us will get their just reward.  As the writer to the Hebrews says, “For we know the one who said: ‘Vengeance is mine.  I will repay.’  And again: The Lord will judge his people.  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31) 

God certainly will not be stopped in carrying out His plans.  For the unbeliever, that brings terror and there will be no place to hide.  The Lord spoke to Jeremiah, “Look, I am sending for many fishermen, declares the Lord, and they will catch them.  After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, on every high hill, and in the crevices of the rocks.”  While many in Israel may have assumed they could escape God’s wrath through earthly alliances, simple cunning, or armed might, God would root out every person He intended to send into exile.  There would be no escape.

Likewise, in our times, many assume that God is a mythic idea of our ancient, uneducated past, but there is nothing in heaven or on earth further from the truth.  Those who are now so defiant will, at the moment of Jesus’ return in glorious judgment, fulfill God’s prophecy: “Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’” (Luke 23:30)  But instead of escaping God’s wrath, they will hear Jesus’ righteous declaration, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41)

Now, there are many sects that want to use God’s Word to terrify and control people.  Yet, the purpose of the Word is to bring us together with God in peace and harmony.  Jesus said, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)  Therefore, the same words, which terrify those who would hide from God, give us comfort and hope.  When Jesus called His disciples and sent them out on their mission of rescue, He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)  In God’s rescue mission throughout the last two thousand years, He has been sending out fishermen casting the net of His Gospel, and no matter the storms of life, the Gospel continues to gather people like you and me who once were lost but have now been found by the grace of our God.

Take refuge in the Lord who comes for you.  God’s Son, Jesus, came into this world to reconcile you with His Father in heaven.  In that long ago day on a hill outside of Jerusalem, where Jesus’ enemies conspired to do away with their rival, “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)  By His holy life, Jesus provided the righteousness you need to stand before the Creator in peace and joy.  Christ’s righteousness was put on you in the waters of Baptism by which your sins were washed away and you were cleansed completely. 

Dear friends, all around the world, today, we again see mockers and liars who refuse to believe in the one true God.  The circumstance of God’s people in the world is not so much different than it has ever been.  The devil has always been on the prowl looking for souls to steal.  His followers do his dirty work with their lies and manipulations, whether they realize it or not. 

However, Jesus remains our sure and certain hope.  Peter once answered Jesus, “‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you that…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overpower it.’” (Matthew 16:16-18) 

Jesus gave His life on a cross to reconcile us with God, and after three days in the tomb, He rose to live forever as a sure sign that Jesus is the Christ, and we too will be raised to live in glory with Him.  Cling to Jesus with the same confidence of His servant Jeremiah who could boldly say, “The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”  The Savior who rescued you from darkness and death is coming again in glory to judge both the living and the dead.  He is coming to take you home to heaven as reconciled, forgiven children of the Living God.  Keep looking up in confident hope for Jesus’ return.  Take refuge in the Lord who comes for you.  Amen.

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

God’s children wait in eager expectation.

 

Sermon for Trinity 4, July 10, 2022

To all those loved by God…called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Romans 8:18–23  ¹⁸For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.  ¹⁹In fact, creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed.  ²⁰For creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope ²¹that even creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption, in order to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.  ²²For we know that all of creation is groaning with birth pains right up to the present time.  ²³And not only creation, but also we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (EHV)

God’s children wait in eager expectation.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            Consider the stories of two boys.  The first is about ten years old from a middle-class family.  His favorite meal of the year is thanksgiving dinner at his grandmother’s house, and today is the day.  He is so excited about eating that great meal that he skipped breakfast in order to be extra hungry.  As the family attends church that morning, his stomach begins to growl, and he is even more eager for the feast.  However, when they get to his grandmother’s house, she announces that they will have to wait because the turkey isn’t quite done.  A short while later, a call comes that part of the family is delayed because of car trouble, and now the great dinner is postponed a little longer.  You can imagine that hungry boy squirming as he observes all those marvelous goodies, while he is compelled to wait before they partake!

The second boy has a completely different story.  He is about 6 years old and living in an orphanage in a third-world country.  Since his parents died, he has never had a lap to sit on, a loving hug, and seldom more than barely enough food to survive.  He has no toys, has never seen a television or computer, and until recently he had no hope.  But then comes the news—a wealthy family from a far away distant land has adopted him, and as soon as they come to take him home, he will enjoy every blessing one could ever imagine, but oh the anxiety as he waits to see the mysteries of his new rescuing parents.

In a way, our story is a combination of these two.  We too are eagerly awaiting our adoption as sons of God.  Yet, while we remain on earth, we don’t fully experience what that all entails, and while we wait, there will be some hunger pangs, some dark days and difficult trials.  Still, in the grand scale of eternity, our suffering while here on earth lasts but a blink of an eye compared to the eternal life that is already ours.  Therefore, St. Paul reminds us, God’s children wait in eager expectation.

As Paul wrote this letter to his fellow believers in Rome, no one was under the delusion that being a Christian was easy.  Paul had certainly endured numerous afflictions that had delayed his coming to that congregation, and the Christians in Rome were already undergoing trials and persecution for following Jesus.  Still, it is sometimes easy for anyone to wonder why life doesn’t get easier when our God is the Creator and Redeemer of all things.  You and I might be tempted to ask why we still suffer?

First, Paul answers, “I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”  By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he asks us to remember what is to come.  Don’t just look at the present because everything connected with earth will soon pass away.  This life, and the world that seems so essential to us today, is ours only for a very short time.  Even the ancients who lived seven, eight, or nine hundred years experienced only a blip in time compared to eternity.  So, in contrast to that ten your old boy agonizing about his dinner being delayed, God’s children wait in eager expectation, because we are assured that what is coming is so marvelous that any pain or trial we endure, now, will fade to a distant memory very soon.

Furthermore, we need to acknowledge that Christians are not the only ones who suffer.  Yes, Jesus foretold that we would suffer many things for following Him, and we often endure greater hardships than the idol-worshipping world.  Yet, Paul writes, “In fact, creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed.  For creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that even creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption, in order to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” 

Though that is often hard for us to remember as we observe the heathen enjoying success and worldly pleasures, the whole world is under the curse of sin.  No matter what religion a person might follow, life will have its trials, hardships, and eventual death.  Even the material world suffers on account of sin. 

Understand, though, before the fall into sin, nothing was subject to death.  Mountains didn’t erode.  Storms didn’t wreak havoc and floods didn’t wash away towns, homes, and roads.  It is very possible that no animal was subject to predators preying on its young and weak.  But, because Adam and Eve abandoned God to follow the devil’s deceits, every part of this planet is made to suffer hardship and decay.  Even modern science, that gets so much wrong in its pursuit of proving God doesn’t exist, acknowledges that everything steadily decays.  But why is everything “subjected to futility?”

The Bible tells us it is because God didn’t want anyone to think this world is paradise.  Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden to protect them from the possibility of eating from the Tree of Life which would have caused them to be stuck forever in this dismal, dying world.  At the same time, God allows this world to exist in all its corrupt and dying decay, so that sinners like you and me will be seeking an answer to our pain and by God’s grace be brought into His love in Jesus.  Thereafter, having been brought to faith by the Holy Spirit, God’s children wait in eager expectation. and

Likewise, even the stones, hills, forests, plants, animals, birds, and bugs long to be set free from the destruction mankind’s sin has caused.  The creation exists because God wanted to bless humans with a wonderful home, but sin brought corruption and decay.  The personification of these nonhuman things tells us that God is serious about turning mankind away from rebellion into freedom.

Now, so much of our world doesn’t understand true freedom.  Very often, people assume freedom means we can do whatever we please with no consequences.  Basically, our sinful nature makes us desire to take God’s place of authority.  This is the wicked gift we received from the devil’s temptation.  As Adam and Eve abandoned their trust in God to trust the devil’s lies, so their children do the same.  However, through faith in Jesus, God has provided true freedom.  Freedom from death.  Freedom from slavery to sin.  Freedom from the eternal punishment set aside for the devil and his wicked demon hoard.

Paul testified, “For we know that all of creation is groaning with birth pains right up to the present time.”  There is nothing more completely unhappy than someone who is rebelling against God’s righteous ways.  The evidence in the news tells us that the wicked are never satisfied.  Tyrants always want more power, more real estate, more control over everyone around them.  Those who flaunt their deviancy show bitter hatred to anyone who disagrees.  They are incensed by anyone who would seek to steer them to something better.  But still, there is hope.

The truth is none of us came to faith in Jesus by our own choosing.  In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “Formerly, we all lived among them in the passions of our sinful flesh, as we carried out the desires of the sinful flesh and its thoughts.  Like all the others, we were by nature objects of God’s wrath.” (Ephesians 2:3)  Until the Good News of what Jesus has done for us worked faith in our hearts, we were destined to suffer forever for our guilt.  Yet, God didn’t leave us hopeless. 

You see, God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11)  God allows all the tragic suffering in this world for one purpose, so that when He offers rescue, we will receive it through faith.  When the reality of hopelessness finally readies us for God’s love, He is there to give us what we need, which is Jesus.  Paul wrote, “Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As long as we reside in this world, we will have trouble.  Jesus acknowledged this while He promises victory.  He said, “I have told you these things, so that you may have peace in me.  In this world you are going to have trouble.  But be courageous!  I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  It is easy to become discouraged when the world attacks or the vagaries of life throw sorrow and pain in our path.  Yet, victory is ours because Jesus lived and died in our place.  Jesus faced the worst this world could do as the devil tempted Him in every way he could scheme up, yet our Savior overcame it all, and having suffered death for our guilt, Jesus rose from the grave triumphant over every evil, so that we could stand with Him in victorious joy forever in heaven. 

In this letter, Paul admits that “we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”  The Holy Spirit doesn’t deny that our lives in this world will have hardships and pain.  Rather, He points us to the joys that lie ahead of us.  We have the firstfruits of the Spirit.  You might ask, “What are those?” 

The answer includes everything we receive through the Spirit’s work.  We have the Good News of all Jesus has done to free us from the devil’s chains.  We have faith in Jesus that gives us eternal life, reconciliation, and peace with God Almighty.  We have forgiveness with the holiness Jesus lived credited to our accounts.  Through faith in Jesus, we have the surety of standing before Him on Judgment Day and hearing Him declare, “Well done, good and faithful servant!  You were faithful with a few things.  I will put you in charge of many things.  Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21)

Dear friends, like that little orphan boy in our earlier story, you and I may struggle to imagine all the good things that will be coming our way because of Jesus.  However, the Bible shows us many amazing pictures of what lies ahead.  We can’t always understand what it will be like, but Jesus assures us of that future saying, “Look!  God’s dwelling is with people.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)  For these promises and for the glory we cannot yet fully comprehend, God’s children wait in eager expectation.  Amen.

After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you.  To him be the glory and the power forever and ever.  Amen.

The Father’s love compels His mercy.

 

Sermon for Trinity 3, July 3, 2022

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Luke 15:11-24  ¹¹Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons.  ¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’  So he divided his property between them.  ¹³Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all that he had and traveled to a distant country.  There he wasted his wealth with reckless living.  ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need.  ¹⁵He went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.  ¹⁶He would have liked to fill his stomach with the carob pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.  ¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and I am dying from hunger!  ¹⁸I will get up, go to my father, and tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.  ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants.”’  ²⁰“He got up and went to his father.  While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion.  He ran, hugged his son, and kissed him.  ²¹The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  ²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring out the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let us eat and celebrate, ²⁴because this son of mine was dead and is alive again.  He was lost and is found.’  Then they began to celebrate. (EHV)

The Father’s love compels His mercy.

Dear children of the Heavenly Father,

            Imagine feeling worthless.  Sometimes we don’t have to imagine very hard.  A student flunks a test badly and must face his parents to answer why.  Bullies torment a young person leaving that one to wonder why he or she is so despised.  A young man breaks the heart of his girlfriend, or vice versa, and the abandoned one feels worthless in love.  A marriage breaks up and both sides walk away wondering why someone they loved doesn’t love them anymore?  You get fired from your job and you can’t find anyone to hire you, and you wonder what makes you disposable.  You make a mistake or are in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you languish in a jail cell.  You pour your savings, blood, sweat, and tears into planting a crop, and twenty minutes of a hailstorm in July wipes it all out.  More than a few of us have felt worthless in the troubles of this world.

All of these things, and all the other troubles we might have to endure are rooted in sin—your sin, my sin, the sin we inherit by birth, and the sins that corrupt our whole world.  Any and every sin separates us from God.  That really is what this parable addresses, that by natural birth, and by the selfish sins we ourselves commit, we had removed ourselves from the heavenly Father who loves us better than any earthly father ever could.  Consequently, Jesus teaches us in this parable that The Father’s love compels His mercy.

Jesus was answering the leaders of Israel who wondered why He associated with sinners.  Those self-righteous men considered it offensive for any reputable person to be seen in the presence of the lower classes of society: those from poorer backgrounds, questionable decision making, unfortunate circumstances, or offensive careers like the tax collectors.  Jesus told this parable to emphasize the full extent of God’s love.

A young man demanded his share of his father’s possessions.  This alone was an offense in that society.  It showed that he was rebelling against his father, and against what he had been taught since his youth.  Still, the father granted the request.  It gives us a picture of God’s great love because God also gives His good gifts and providence even to those who rebel against Him.

As soon as the young man was able, he gathered his earthly possessions and abandoned his loving father to experience the sights, sounds, temptations, and distractions of the world.  Jesus tells us, that after walking away from his father, “he wasted his wealth with reckless living.”  What wealth do we waste walking apart from our heavenly Father?  The time He gives us to live in faith?  The wealth of blessings He is ready to pour out on us through faithfulness to His plan for our lives? 

Many a lost soul thought the temptations and pleasures of sin were more valuable than the treasure we have in heaven.  The fun soon runs out, however.  Just as the youngster was running out of money, a famine broke out in the land.  After going broke, he could no longer party all night.  The friends with whom he had recklessly wasted his money turned their backs on him when his wealth was used up.  Finally, without any other options, he hired himself to a local citizen to do whatever task might be assigned. 

You can understand his desperation by the labor he was forced to perform.  Pigs were unclean animals to the Jews.  The Jews were forbidden to have anything to do with the swine, but here the young man was shamefully reduced to feeding them, and he wasn’t even allowed to share in their meager food.  The young man had truly hit rock bottom.

Sometimes, that’s what it takes for us to see the emptiness of our lives and behaviors.  Ultimately, that emptiness comes to every sinner, but we pray that it comes before we get to Judgment Day, because at that point there is no time left for rescue.  Unfortunately, many who experience good things in life never get that hopeless feeling.  The scribes and Pharisees to whom Jesus was speaking thought God was satisfied with them because they had been richly blessed in material goods.  However, Jesus’ point was to show them God’s love for those who have been humbled.

If you remember the tax collector’s plea in the temple, “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” (Luke 18:13) you will recognize that same emotion in this young man’s plan after he came to his senses.  He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and I am dying from hunger!  I will get up, go to my father, and tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants.”’  The arrogance was gone.  The worldly pleasures he had so boldly chased after finally revealed themselves to be worthless, and truly, this is a picture of repentance.  When we reach the point of recognizing that of ourselves we are lost and will die in our sins without our Father’s help, then we are ready to return to God.

Now, for many of us, that moment came in baptism.  There, God reached out His loving hand and marked us as His own dearly loved children.  Yet, we also recognize that we have often turned away from His love because we want freedom to do things our way.  That’s one of the main reasons God invites us to come to church and confess our sins again and again.  The Holy Spirit worked in our hearts convincing us that we have sinned against heaven and against our true Father, while the gospel He brings shows us that The Father’s love compels His mercy.

You see, this parable really isn’t about the wayward son—it’s about the love of God.  All the while that son was wandering far from his father while shamelessly wasting the blessings his father had given him, his father watched and prayed for his return.  When it finally registered in the young man’s head to repent of his great error and sin and return to his father’s care, the father was already watching the horizon.  And when the sinner was still a far way off, his father was running to meet him. 

It pictures what God does for us.  You and I couldn’t go back home to our Father in heaven, so God came down to us in Jesus.  Jesus told the crowd, “While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion.  He ran, hugged his son, and kissed him.”  Like the father in this parable, our Father in heaven recognized that we needed His mercy, so He sent Jesus to atone for all our sins.  God sent His own begotten Son to be the atoning sacrifice for the whole world, so that every sin-debt we accumulated by our wretched living was paid in full on the cross.

The son truly repented and asked nothing of his father but that he might be a servant, but that wasn’t in the father’s plan.  He wanted his son back as his dearly loved member of the family.  The same is true for you and me.  God doesn’t demand a payment from us to forgive our sins.  He doesn’t enslave us with works we must do to return to His care.  In fact, there is nothing we can do to receive the love of our Father, and nothing left to do to reconcile us with Him because of Jesus. 

In the parable, “the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring out the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.”  Through faith given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit in the gospel of Word and Sacraments, our heavenly Father dresses us in the glorious robe of Jesus’ righteousness.  He covers us from head to toe with the glorious holiness of His Son, Jesus.  He even marks us as full members of His family and kingdom just like that ring symbolized in the parable. 

Again, the father spoke, “‘Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let us eat and celebrate, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again.  He was lost and is found.’  Then they began to celebrate.”  A few minutes earlier, Jesus told the crowd, “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)  The whole of heaven rejoices for every sinner who is brought to his senses and returns to the love of our heavenly Father.

God the Father doesn’t demand good works in order for us to be forgiven.  He doesn’t demand offerings as payment for setting us free from sin.  God doesn’t need either our works or our gifts, for He is the owner of all things in heaven and on earth.  What our heavenly Father desires is that we turn away from our love for worldly things and return to trusting Him for everything: for food, shelter, and clothing, certainly, but especially for forgiveness, mercy, and love.  Only then can we serve God and our neighbor in true faithfulness and love.

Dear friends, if you have ever felt worthless, know that your heavenly Father values you above every material thing in this world.  He loves you so much that He planned your salvation before time began, and so greatly that He was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son on a cross of shame and bitter death, so that the payment for your guilt and wandering would be complete.  You sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake and you are counted by the Father as His own beloved child now returned and welcome in His family.

At the same time, never worry that the sacrifice Jesus made was too much, for the Son didn’t stay dead.  No, God the Father in His infinite love also raised Jesus from the dead, “the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29)  Connected with Christ Jesus through faith and baptism, we are sealed into the resurrection to come at the end of the world so that we may celebrate with Him forever in heaven.

Tomorrow, we celebrate the Independence Day of our nation.  In Jesus Christ, God has set us free from everything that could have kept us from our heavenly home.  Therefore, when the trumpet sounds on Judgement Day, and you see Jesus returning in all His glory, stand up and be ready to meet your Father in heaven, for He is eagerly scanning the horizon ready to embrace you in His loving arms, because The Father’s love compels His mercy.  Amen.

Grace and peace be with you always, for the LORD is good.  His mercy endures forever.  His faithfulness continues through all generations.  Amen.