Live for the Helper who will not leave you.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 16, September 28, 2025

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

Hebrews 13:1-6  Continue to show brotherly love.  ²Do not fail to show love to strangers, for by doing this some have welcomed angels without realizing it.  ³Remember those in prison, as if you were fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated, as if you yourselves were also suffering bodily.  ⁴Marriage is to be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed is to be kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.  ⁵Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.  For God has said: “I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.”  ⁶So then we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid.  What will man do to me?” (EHV)

Live for the Helper who will not leave you.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            The writer to the Hebrews closes this section of his letter with the question: “What will man do to me?”  Considering all the persecution of Christians in our world and all the violence that surrounds us, that might seem like a flippant, perhaps even arrogant question.  Time and again we see how the world treats believers.  We are often mocked, sometimes hated, and always questioned for believing as we do, so why should we consider this not to be a problem?

The people to whom this letter was written faced likely far greater danger than we do.  They had grown up following the Jewish faith as taught by the scribes and Pharisees, which was heavily law oriented, but that wasn’t their only problem.  Having abandoned the legal harassments of the Pharisees, they were also facing increasing attack from the pagan government of Rome.  Thus, these new Christians were under constant pressure, and occasional attacks, from Jewish teachers, many family members, and increasingly the Roman authorities.  Indeed, being a Christian in that pagan world had become physically dangerous, so the letter was written to encourage believers not to abandon their trust in Jesus as their Savior (and with it their hope of salvation and eternal life), but to Live for the Helper who will not leave you.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the writer says, “Continue to show brotherly love.  Do not fail to show love to strangers, for by doing this some have welcomed angels without realizing it.”  We can understand the obligation to show love to our fellow believers, but what so often happens in this world of trouble?  The more we hear about persecution and fellow Christians abandoning their faith under pressure from the enemies, the more we tend to fall into fear.  Will that neighbor betray us to the authorities who want to prosecute or kill us?  Will he mock us as fools for holding to so-called, “old-fashioned beliefs”?  When the world treats the Bible as a book of fairy tales, how much does that affect our willingness to display our faith in Jesus?  The answer often seems to be that we have gone mostly silent.  Many have even pulled away from helping others simply because they are afraid.  How often do we fear that some depraved individual will aim his weapon at us?

In his letter to the Roman congregation, St. Paul had written, “Don’t you 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)  The point is, we have been united with Jesus through the faith we were granted in baptism.  There, God claimed us as His own dear children, and through the faith the Holy Spirit worked in us, God counts us as holy and righteous for Jesus’ sake.  For that reason, why should we fear what the world will do to our bodies?  Yet, because of sin in the world, and sin in us, we naturally fear death.  It seems to offer nothing good for us, and indeed, death is the consequence for sin. 

However, have we not believed what Isaiah wrote to comfort those who walk with the Lord?  Isaiah assured us, “The righteous one perishes, but no one takes it to heart.  Men of mercy are being taken away, but no one understands that the righteous one is being spared from evil.” (Isaiah 57:1)  As much as we would want to avoid death, in reality, God allows death to continue in our world so that He may use it to take us into the joy and peace of heaven.  Many a martyr for the Christian faith has been carried through the experience of death confident that because Jesus lives, so too shall we live. 

Again, St, Paul assures us, “Indeed, if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord.  So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  For this reason he died, rose, and lived, to be Lord of both the dead and the living.” (Romans 14:8-9)  After Jesus gave up His life to save us, but just before He ascended to His Father’s side in heaven, He likewise assured His disciples, “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)  The writer to the Hebrews was fully confident of Jesus’ promise while encouraging that we Live for the Helper who will not leave you.

We are also encouraged not to be discouraged by the ways of the world.  When fellow believers are imprisoned or mistreated because of Jesus, we must stand with them.  They need our encouragement and help, but furthermore, we needn’t be worried about the consequences of showing our faith in Jesus.  Instead, just as we would want the help and encouragement of fellow believers in times of trouble, we do great service to the Lord as we provide that help to others.  Remember the commendation Jesus foretold concerning Judgment Day for His followers:

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me. … I was in prison and you visited me.  Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when … did we see you a stranger and welcome you …?  When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  The King will answer them, ‘Amen I tell you: Just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’” (Matthew 25:35-40)

Now, we might live in a modern world, but the ways of the world really haven’t changed all that much.  When this letter was written, marriages were often dissolved without a second thought, prostitution was rampant even extolled in the pagan ceremonies, and in the words of a modern-day movie character, “Greed is good.”  We can accurately say that nothing has changed.  One cannot look around without seeing on full display everything the writer warned against.  In fact, much of the immorality mentioned here is celebrated in our times as something positive.  Social media and various celebrities cloud our minds with promotion of such evil. 

Yet, we would be mistaken if we assume these temptations only trouble the unbeliever.  We too can and are tempted in more ways than we might even realize.  How many of us have worried about having enough money for retirement?  How many have glanced at another person as a possible replacement for a spouse?  How many times have we been reluctant to be generous in charitable giving as if we could ever be shortchanged by the greatest giver of all, our Father in heaven?  How many of us have compared ourselves to the ultra-rich and judged them more greedy and self-serving than ourselves?  No doubt, we must admit that we are not without sin in these things.

For that reason, it is imperative that we Live for the Helper who will not leave you.  Our God in heaven has connected us with His holy Son, Jesus Christ, by faith.  It is Jesus’ perfect righteousness that covers us and makes us acceptable to God.  Jesus is the one and only who lived without sin.  Jesus is the one who came down to earth to pay the penalty for our guilt.  And Jesus connects Himself to us through the bond of peace declared to us in baptism and through believing His Gospel.

Jesus also is the reason we can be confident in the face of the dangers surrounding us.  God’s Son has authority over heaven and earth, and He exercises that authority for the good of those who believe in Him.  That is why Paul could affirm the writer to the Hebrews words by saying, “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)  We have a divine Helper, One who lived, died, and rose again so that we would live and never die—One who will never abandon us to the whims and terrors of the enemy.  Though the devil may threaten and accuse us through those he has deceived, Jesus has already won the battle that gives us eternal life.

For all these reasons, we can stand confidently in the face of suffering, hardship, rejection, and yes, even persecution or death, “For God has said: ‘I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.’  So then we say with confidence: ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid.’”  Again and again, the Holy Spirit has reminded us that because Jesus lives, we too will live and never die.  Again and again in holy Scripture, the Spirit tells us that God is ever on the side of those who believe in Jesus and therefore, we can react with this writer and with St. Paul believing with full trust:

What will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  Just as it is written: “For your sake we are being put to death all day long.  We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

Dear friends, no matter what trouble might appear before us in this world, no matter what threat might overtake you, do not be afraid, your Savior has opened the gates of heaven for you.  Hold confidently to His promises for they never change.  The reluctant prophet, Balaam, declared, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he changes his mind.  Does he say something, and then not carry it out?  Does he speak, and then not bring it about?” (Numbers 23:19)  With those rhetorical questions, the Holy Spirit is confirming for all time that you can believe everything the Bible says, for it is God’s trustworthy Word.  Then with joy and boldness of heart go forth in the world with Jesus, your Defender and Friend; Live for the Helper who will not leave you.  Amen.

Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Trust God for contentment with His gifts.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 15, September 21, 2025

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  All who do his precepts have good understanding.  Amen.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20  ¹⁰Anyone who loves money is never satisfied with money, and anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.  This too is vanishing vapor.  ¹¹When goods increase, so do those who eat them.  What profit, then, does the owner get, except to see these things with his eyes?  ¹²The worker’s sleep is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but a rich person’s abundant possessions allow him no sleep.  ¹³I have seen a sickening evil under the sun—wealth hoarded by its owner to his own harm, ¹⁴or wealth that is lost in a bad investment.  Or a man fathers a son, but he has nothing left in his hand to give him.  ¹⁵As he came out from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came.  From his hard work he can pick up nothing that he can carry away in his hand.  ¹⁶This too is a sickening evil: Just as he came, so he will go.  So what does he gain, he who works for the wind?  ¹⁷Besides this, during all his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.  ¹⁸So then, here is what I have seen to be good: It is beautiful to eat, to drink, and to look for good in all a person’s hard work which he has done under the sun, during the few days of his life that God has given him, for that is his reward.  ¹⁹Likewise, for everyone to whom God has given wealth and riches, if God has also given him ability to eat from it, to enjoy his reward, and to rejoice in the results of his hard work—this is a gift of God, ²⁰for the man seldom reflects on the days of his life, since God keeps him busy with the joy in his heart. (EHV)

Trust God for contentment with His gifts.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            How much is enough?  Solomon’s words for us this morning encourage us to ponder how we value the things and riches of this world.  In our times, many people fret over the vast riches of the billionaires.  Yet, we must conclude that much of the fretting is really little more than covetousness.  But, going back to Solomon’s point, he wrote this advice for his readers to spare them from the idolatry of wealth.  The wisest man ever to live writes here to encourage the people God calls into His kingdom to Trust God for contentment with His gifts.

Solomon had greater wealth at his disposal than likely any other person ever.  As a young man, Solomon inherited his kingdom from his father, King David.  David had left him a Kingdom of Israel at the height of its power with great wealth already in hand.  Then, as Solomon became known for the great wisdom God had given him, all the surrounding kingdoms submitted to his authority as they sought his wisdom and protection.  They brought immense tribute into the kingdom of Israel, so much so that it is recorded in 1 Kings that because gold was so plentiful, silver was considered of little value, likely not worth more than gravel for the streets. (1 Kings 10:21)

Solomon also gained peace with the surrounding kingdoms through the foolishness of multiple, forbidden marriages.  He united with seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines in an attempt at maintaining peace with nations, cities, and peoples who had long opposed Israel.  Consequently, to the eyes of the world, Solomon seemed to have everything any man could ever desire: power, peace, riches, finery like no other, and all the beautiful women he might ever desire.  However, all those illicit relationships took Solomon further away from the Lord and eventually led to the destruction of his kingdom.

Most scholars speculate that Solomon wrote this book as an old man looking back at his life.  The book seems to be the musings of someone mourning the nearing of the end of his life, not because he would no longer have possession of all that stuff, but he had come to realize how little value it actually contained.  Solomon had possessed goods and riches far beyond what he could ever use, but in the grave, he would have no more than the poorest pauper.  That really is his warning.

We might look at our lives and see the vicious circle we often find ourselves in.  The small farmer struggles to make a living, so he adds land in the hope of making more money.  Yet, that brings the need for bigger machinery which often leads to the need for more land to pay for the machinery.  Before too long, he also finds that he needs more help, which brings more cost to the operation.

The same thing happens with yields and high prices.  When yields are good, more bins are needed.  When prices are high, what can we expect?  Land costs rise.  The costs of inputs soon escalate as suppliers take a greater share of the pie.  Taxes increase and as we are seeing currently, pretty soon, times are just as hard or harder than when my grandfather farmed a mere hundred acres or so with his little tractor and tiny equipment. 

Does that mean the people of my grandparents’ day were happier?  I’m not convinced, because life in this world always seems this way no matter what business, occupation, or people involved.  No matter what we treasure, we all want just a little more.  Low level workers plead for higher wages.  When their wages do go up, so do the prices of the goods they need to buy to live.  When lower-level workers get a raise, those above them on the pay scale expect that they too should receive a comparable increase, and therefore, the price of goods rise, sometimes exponentially.  Our economies are structured with the expectation of a certain amount of inflation.  Too much increase and discontent rises, but without some inflation people feel underpaid.  How is anyone to balance such things wisely?

This is the dilemma Solomon addresses.  He looked at life and recognized that people generally are chasing a myth.  No one can have everything he wants in this world.  And, when we do have much, we are immediately beset by those who want to have a part of it.  So, we all end up like a hamster running in a wheel, trying to get ahead, but really never going anywhere.

Sure, we can do things that look like we are gaining on others.  The wealthy pile up savings, but then they have to invest that money or it doesn’t grow, and we all want our money to grow.  The poor person looks at the wealthy and says he should pay more, but at the end of the day, we all go into the grave empty-handed.  Solomon lamented, “This too is a sickening evil: Just as he came, so he will go.”  Elsewhere, Solomon lamented that even a wise man must leave his vast wealth to someone who might squander it foolishly. 

On the other hand, when faced with the loss of all he possessed, Job declared, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  May the name of the Lord be blessed.” (Job 1:21)  In his own way, Solomon is teaching us to live with that same faith, that in all things we Trust God for contentment with His gifts.

So what does this all mean for you and me.  First, we all must admit, in other words confess, the guilt of our dissatisfaction with something in this life, whether that be our pay, our savings account, the work we have to do, our health, our spouse, or children, our neighbors, or government, or anything else.  Whenever we are not content with what God has given us, we are sinning against the very God who provides everything we need for this life, and for the next.  Martin Luther explained very well how we should live each day when he wrote:

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still preserves them; that He richly and daily provides me with food and clothing, home and family, property and goods, and all that I need to support this body and life; that He protects me from all danger, guards and keeps me from all evil; and all this purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I am duty bound to thank and praise, to serve and obey Him.  This is most certainly true. (Explanation of the 1^st Article)

Now, to be fair, Solomon isn’t telling us, in this text, not to save money for the future.  He isn’t telling us to be bad businessmen.  He certainly isn’t telling us not to work or do a good job.  Instead, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon is teaching us to enjoy God’s blessings while He gives them, to be faithful stewards of the blessings God gives, to be content with whatever God gives us, while at the same time not putting our hopes and dreams for the future in the stuff of this life, but also to recognize that being satisfied with what is sent our way is also a gift of God granted to us by faith.  No one knows what the future holds in the short term, but in the long range, we all will leave this life with no material goods.  What we will have, or it is God’s desire that we have, is the faith in Jesus that will give us everlasting life in the glories of heaven as we Trust God for contentment with His gifts.

As I said, we all must confess our sins and shortcomings in this area.  Yet, confession alone would not be sufficient to save us.  That’s why God’s Son, Jesus, entered this world to be our contentment and why the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts to know Jesus and believe in His love for us.  You see, Jesus didn’t sit silently by in our discontentment.  Instead, the Prince of Heaven, owner and authority of all that is, left His throne at His Father’s side to be born, not in a palace but in a lowly manger.  To live as a Man, not with riches and the finer things in life, but to walk this earth as a pauper with no place to call His own, and not even a bed of His own in which to lay His head to rest.

Though the Man Jesus possessed no earthly goods, thousands came to Him for healing, restoration, and even ate out of His hand a bountiful feast from five loaves of bread and three small fish.  Yet, all His time on earth, Jesus lived for you and me without complaint about His neighbors, or the authorities that demanded taxes, without worry about where He might next find a meal even while fasting forty days and nights in the wilderness.  Because He was living for us, so that we can be counted righteous and holy before God, Jesus lived perfectly content with the job His Father in heaven gave Him, which was to live in poverty for us, to suffer the humiliation of false accusations in a mock trial, and to take the beatings, abuse, and death that our idolatrous discontentment had earned.

Late in his life as St Paul sat in a prison cell waiting to be executed for preaching the Good News about Jesus, he wrote, “I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself.” (Philippians 4:11)  Paul had experienced the highs and lows of life in this world, but what changed his outlook was the faith the Holy Spirit had worked in him so that he believed God is taking care of everything for us and whatever we might have to face or endure or suffer, right along with the good things and joys that truly do come to us in this life—all are gifts from God, given to us to further His plan for us and our neighbors.  Just as St. James wrote in his epistle: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James. 1:17 NIVO)

Furthermore, with the Holy Spirit working the faith in us to believe in Jesus as our Savior, we can have confidence in this, that Jesus will never abandon us to the troubles and trials the devil brings our way, because it is Jesus’ plan to take us home to be with Him eternally in heaven.  There, we will never again have any suffering, pain, despair, or dissatisfaction, because “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)

Dear friends, this is our sure and certain hope, that our God will provide all things for us exactly as He deems we need.  Sometimes, that will include the sorrows and pains of this world.  Always, it includes His love and the ability to see His goodness in every part of our lives, so that we wholeheartedly believe Solomon’s God-given observation: “So then, here is what I have seen to be good: It is beautiful to eat, to drink, and to look for good in all a person’s hard work which he has done under the sun, during the few days of his life that God has given him, for that is his reward.”  Trust God for contentment with His gifts.  Amen.

May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, both soul and body, be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.  Amen.

Repent, for you are precious to the Lord.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 14, September 14, 2025

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

Luke 15:1-10  All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him.  ²But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  ³He told them this parable: ⁴“Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost until he finds it?  ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶and goes home.  Then he calls together his friends and his neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’  ⁷I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.  ⁸Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  ⁹And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the lost coin.’  ¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (EHV)

Repent, for you are precious to the Lord.

Dear beloved and redeemed in Christ,

            This past week, we were reminded again of how little value our supposedly civilized society places on human life.  A young woman, without any provocation, was stabbed to death on a train, and no one made any move to help her.  A few days later, in the midst of a gathering of three thousand people, a young father was shot and killed by an even younger man who decided he didn’t like what his victim had to say.  Much of our nation was horrified, but within hours, or in some cases even minutes, vile remarks came spewing out from a variety of people—especially from some who thought this murder was an appropriate response to whatever grievances they hold.

One would suppose that such tragic events would bring much change among us, but it is likely to recede from the public mind in very little time, because we have steeled ourselves against the deaths of our fellow man.  The same day the young father was murdered, a student in Colorado decided to shoot classmates and then himself.  The week before, there were two school shootings right here in Minnesota in which two students were killed immediately and many were injured.  Most of us might not even have heard of the first shooting if the second had not been so egregious. 

But preserving life doesn’t mean much to many people anymore.  No one even bothers to count the number of babies killed each week through abortion.  Wars rage here, there, and everywhere.  The Geneva Academy reports that there are currently more than one hundred fourteen non-international armed conflicts raging across the world.  Most likely, we haven’t even heard about many of them, but the truth in each case is that some people have decided that others must die because of disagreements, or lust for power or property, or the color of skin, tribal background, or religion.  This list of armed conflicts doesn’t even include the great number of murders and killings that take place during criminal activities or family confrontations.  And it doesn’t include the hatred in our hearts.

As we look around our world, both here at home and abroad, we might find ourselves aghast at the level of hatred and animosity displayed.  We find it very easy to judge others for the evil in their hearts and the wickedness of their actions.  We better be careful, however, because the Lord sees into our hearts and thoughts as well.  How many of us don’t immediately demand retribution for such outrageous crimes?  How often does retribution really mean revenge in our thoughts, and sometimes for much less cruelty and sin?  How often don’t we view those who have differing opinions about political things as though they are the enemy instead of fellow citizens of the United States of America?

If we honestly peer into our own nature, we soon find that God was not deceived when “The Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and plans they formed in their hearts were only evil every day.” (Genesis 6:5)  Isaiah wrote, “We all have gone astray like sheep.  Each of us has turned to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6)  Having raised sheep years ago, I observed that sheep can often put their nose down to graze and wander from one bite to the next without any thought to the reality that they are wandering further and further away from home and away from their shepherd’s care.  We might say that this accurately describes the scribes and Pharisees Jesus met in our sermon text.  The caution for us is that we should avoid the same trap.

Luke reported, “All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him.  But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”  We might ask ourselves, how often have we wandered so far from our Savior’s love that we don’t consider someone in our neighborhood of being worthy of our time to share the Good News of all Jesus has done for us?  How often have we failed to be kind and forgiving with others?  Those experts in the law thought themselves so much better at obeying law that God must surely be pleased with them.  If we be honest with ourselves, again, how often don’t we feel a little that way?

Jesus told a parable to explain why He was associating with the dregs of society:

Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.  Then he calls together his friends and his neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ 

Dear friends, this is what Jesus did for you and me.  Jesus left behind His flock in heaven to walk in this wilderness world to rescue us from the darkness of our hearts.  Jesus came down from heaven to live as a Man who had no hatred in His heart and held no animosity to any who were evil.  Jesus entered our world so that He who is holy could live holiness and righteousness for those of us who had none of that on our own.  Therefore, Repent, for you are precious to the Lord.

A fuller quote of the Isaiah passage I shared a few moments ago reveals the extent of what Jesus did for us.  The prophet wrote,

Surely he was taking up our weaknesses, and he was carrying our sufferings.  We thought it was because of God that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted, but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced.  He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved.  The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  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. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Jesus surely lived perfect holiness on our behalf, but He also bore the punishment that the law demands for every sin and for every sinner.  For all the times we have wandered from God’s love, for all the times our hearts were filled with Satan’s black temptations, for all the times our thoughts were clouded with hatred, selfishness, greed, or lust, Jesus paid.  Jesus paid for you and me with the whip marks bleeding from His back.  He paid with the nail holes in His hands and feet.  He paid as the Father turned His face away from Jesus, His own beloved Son, who hung bleeding, suffering, and dying on the cross.  Yes, Jesus paid it all for you and me. 

Jesus told those gathered around Him, “I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.”  Remember the sheep left alone in Jesus’ parable while the shepherd searched for the lost one?  We might compare those sheep to the believers who are already safely in heaven for believing in the promised Messiah.  The only people who do not need to repent of sin are those who have already been cleansed and received into glory through their faith in God’s Son.  Therefore, they, along with the angel hosts and the Triune God Himself rejoice for every person on earth who hears the Gospel and believes it.  Whenever another child is welcomed into God’s kingdom of grace through Baptism and the parents continue to teach that child about Jesus and His love, there is rejoicing in God’s kingdom, and I would say that applies both here in our midst and in the heavenly realm.

Now, there are people who might not like to be called sheep.  They might consider it embarrassing to be compared to an animal that has the reputation of being not too smart and if you check the markets in our world, not worth all that much.  However, remember that to the Shepherd, the sheep in His flock are His wealth and treasure.  That’s why Jesus continued with a second parable.  Describing the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the lost coin.’”  Those ten coins were the full total of her accumulated wealth.  How many of us wouldn’t turn over the contents of our houses to find a tenth of our savings?

This shows the value our God places on you and me.  To the world, and even in our own eyes, we might not seem worth all that much.  In fact, the truly repentant person realizes he has nothing good to offer in exchange for his soul.  King David was ready to carry out capital punishment on the sinner when the prophet, Nathan, confronted him, and David could only plead, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Samuel 12:13)  In that moment, David understood that like the tax collector in the temple, he could only beg, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)  It is in this thought that we must Repent, for you are precious to the Lord.

We must repent means that we must turn away from our sinful ways and plead for God’s mercy.  To repent means that we turn away from trusting in any imagined goodness on our part and trust in Christ’s holiness to cover us and protect us from God’s rightful wrath for our wickedness.

At the same time, we must repent, not imagining that our repentance earns forgiveness, but we repent because of the great love God has shown us.  We could never make ourselves treasure for God.  Yet, God valued you enough to send His Son to live and die on your behalf.  The Lord considered you so precious that He was willing to bear the punishment and death our sins deserved.

Therefore, when the Bible compares you to a sheep in the Good Shepherd’s flock, rejoice along with your repentance, because your Good Shepherd placed saving your life above preserving His own.  Recognizing the love Jesus displayed for you as He gave His life willingly and unselfishly in your place on the cross, turn away from the wickedness that infects your heart.  Turn away from imagined self-righteousness and through Baptism, confession, and the hearing of the Gospel turn to Jesus alone for forgiveness, righteousness, and the sure comfort of knowing that in the repentance the Holy Spirit has worked in your heart, you are precious to the Lord.  Amen.

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

Paul intercedes for a slave as Christ intercedes for us.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 13, September 7, 2025

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

Philemon 1:7-21  ⁷For I have received great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.  ⁸For that reason, even though I have plenty of boldness in Christ to order you to do what is proper, ⁹I am appealing to you instead, on the basis of love, just as I, Paul, am an old man and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  ¹⁰I am appealing to you on behalf of my child Onesimus.  I became his father while I was in chains.  ¹¹There was a time when he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.  ¹²I have sent him (who is my very heart) back to you.  Welcome him.  ¹³I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might serve me in your place while I am in chains for the gospel.  ¹⁴But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your kindness would not be the result of compulsion, but of willingness.  ¹⁵Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while: so that you would have him back forever, ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave, as a dear brother.  He certainly is dear to me, but he is even more of a dear brother to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.  ¹⁷So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.  ¹⁸And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me.  ¹⁹I, Paul, have written this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.  ²⁰Yes, brother, I am asking for a favor from you in the Lord.  Refresh my heart in Christ.  ²¹Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. (EHV)

Paul intercedes for a slave as Christ intercedes for us.

Dear redeemed in Christ,

            St. Paul wrote this letter from prison in Rome.  It was an important letter, especially for Onesimus, because Onesimus was a runaway slave.  Today, we might consider that a positive—the man had escaped his master’s control—three cheers for the little guy, right?  Perhaps, though, we should consider what his situation really was.  A slave in the Roman empire was purchased with the understanding that the owner would reap the benefit of his labor for a certain number of years, or as long as the slave might be useful, depending on the circumstance that put the slave in that position. 

Comparing this to our own time, we could imagine a man going under contract to fulfill a certain amount of work but paid in advance and expected to perform those duties, with the owner providing room and board, until the contracted work was fully completed.  It would be highly frustrating for us if that worker took the money and disappeared.  Further complicating the matter for Onesimus, Roman law gave the owner pretty much carte blanche to do with a rebellious servant as he willed.  Thus, depending on the frustration or anger Philemon felt for the desertion, his slave could have been in grave danger now that Paul was sending Onesimus back to Philemon.

This letter gives us a number of useful examples of how we should conduct our affairs in this world, but the main benefit for us is that Paul intercedes for a slave as Christ intercedes for us.

This letter is a fine example of gentle persuasion.  It exemplifies how we might soothe an angered party by emphasizing the good things that person has shown on our behalf.  Paul praises Philemon’s diligent and generous work for the church in Colossae, and his kindness for fellow believers, saying, “I have received great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.” 

When we are trying to accomplish something with an aggrieved party, we would do well to emulate such pleasant language and recognition of positive actions.  In doing so, however, we should primarily remember how kind and generous God has been to us.  No matter what situation we find ourselves in, God has delivered great things for us even in the worst of times.

Now, because Paul’s work had benefited Philemon in becoming a believer in Jesus and therefore receiving the benefits of Christian faith, namely forgiveness of sin and life everlasting, Paul could have boldly commanded the man to receive Onesimus with generosity and the same forgiveness. 

But, let me ask you, “How well do you like commands to do something for someone who has hurt you?”  Yeah, most of the time, that is a bitter pill to swallow, isn’t it?  Thus, Paul writes in a way that is smooth but not smarmy.  He wants to encourage Christ-like behavior rather than force a certain action.  So, Paul wrote, “For that reason, even though I have plenty of boldness in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I am appealing to you instead, on the basis of love, just as I, Paul, am an old man and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  I am appealing to you on behalf of my child Onesimus.”

In reality, Paul was asking Philemon to do for Onesimus what Jesus has done for us all.  With the fall into sin, you might say the whole human race ran away from God and became fugitives who owed their very lives to the Creator who made them and deserved their willing service.  Because He is our Creator, God had full right to expect our willing obedience, and then to judge and condemn all mankind for stealing our service away from God and failing to honor Him as we should.  Still, how many times, and in how many ways aren’t we guilty of running away from our willing service in God’s kingdom?

We see another similarity to the Roman world in that being fugitives, the world views our lives as cheap and lacking value.  Thus, vengeance is often carried out without remorse or even a trial.  The slightest offence can lead to death.  We see this most graphically when just being inconvenient to the parent causes the death of many babies, all conceived under sin and therefore slaves caught in the tragic tale of human life where many don’t value the lives of those created to serve, love, and be loved. 

Legally, Philemon could have severely punished Onesimus when Paul sent him back to his owner.  Even killing the slave would have brought no repercussions for Philemon.  Obviously, Paul didn’t want that to happen, because Onesimus had become very dear to Paul.  Paul loved the slave as a brother because they both shared the same Savior, Jesus Christ, and Onesimus proved to be a willing helper.  It could even be that Onesimus came to Rome because he had heard about Paul through the message of the Church in Colossae.  Paul holds out the possibility that God allowed the slave to reach Paul so that Onesimus’ faith could be firmly established and Paul might be helped by his willing service in that new faith.

Paul then used a play on the slave’s name to argue for mercy.  Onesimus’ name means “useful,’ so there is a good chance that he was valuable to his master, Philemon, just as he had been to Paul, so Paul pleaded,

Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while: so that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave, as a dear brother.  He certainly is dear to me, but he is even more of a dear brother to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.  So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

Onesimus would be returning to his owner, repentant of abandoning his duties.  Having become a believer in Jesus, he now desired to do what was right, and Paul also wanted nothing to stand in the way of his relationship with Philemon, so he requests that Philemon welcome his slave back, just as the Father has so graciously welcomed us back into His kingdom of grace.

Then, Paul says something that reminds us so much of our dear Savior.  He pleads, “And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me.  I, Paul, have written this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.”  Because of our waywardness and sin, we owed God a debt we could never hope to pay.  Even the cost of our lives would be no good to God.  “Therefore, 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)

Amazingly, Jesus showed greater love than even Paul did here, for Jesus laid down His life to buy our freedom from slavery and death.  Furthermore, Jesus continually pleads with the Father in heaven on our behalf.  That is likely why the Holy Spirit has preserved this little, personal letter in the words of Scripture, because not only is it a great example of helping and pleading for our fellow believers to bring reconciliation among those who have hurt and been hurt, but it brings us a shining reflection of the love and kindness Jesus shows to us at His Father’s side.

Though like Onesimus, we have run away from our God by sin, and we often try to hide from His all-knowing eyes, God has, instead of raining down punishment and death upon us, offered His Son in our place and then accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world as sufficient payment to remove all debt so that there is nothing left for us to repay. 

From before Adam and Eve sinned, God already planned our salvation.  And from before we were born, God moved the events of the world so that His Son would take on human flesh and make the great sacrifice that would reconcile us with God forever.  Now, in our times, God has moved events so that we live in a place where we could hear His Gospel and by the power of the Word and the miraculous rebirth of Baptism, He enlivened our hearts to believe in His love and kindness so that we might become brothers of Jesus who enjoy the same peace and life everlasting that has been His forever.

Paul concluded his request for Onesimus by writing, “Yes, brother, I am asking for a favor from you in the Lord.  Refresh my heart in Christ.  Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.”  What does this mean for you and me?  Again, we have a picture of Christ Jesus.  The Father in heaven has put all things under Jesus’ feet and given Him authority over heaven and earth, and what does Jesus tell us?  “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.” (John 16:23-24)  Jesus also tells us not to worry about anything we might need in this life, but rather, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)  Furthermore, the Holy Spirit expanded on these promises by having Paul write, “We do not know what we should pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that are not expressed in words.” (Romans 8:26)

Dear friends, we have nothing to fear as we return to God in daily repentance or even when He calls us out of this life to face the Judge of all, for just as Paul interceded for Onesimus so Christ intercedes for us now and forever.  With Jesus pleading for us, our Father in heaven is ready, willing, and able to welcome us into His presence, for as He promised through Ezekiel, in Jesus He has forgiven our sins and remembers them no more.  Our sin debt has been paid in full.  Through Christ’s intercession, peace with God is ours forever.  Amen.

The Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.