God’s mercy is not for sale.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 21, October 13, 2024

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God His Father—to Him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.

2 Kings 5:14-27  ¹⁴So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said.  Then his flesh was restored like the flesh of a small child, and he was clean.  ¹⁵Then he and his whole escort went back to the man of God.  He stood in front of Elisha and said, “To be sure, now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.  Now accept a gift from your servant.”  ¹⁶But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives, in whose presence I stand, I will not take anything.”  Even though Na’aman urged him to accept something, he refused.  ¹⁷Then Na’aman said, “If you do not want anything, please give me, your servant, as much dirt as two donkeys can carry, for your servant will never again burn incense or sacrifice to other gods, but only to the Lord.  ¹⁸But may the Lord forgive your servant this one thing: When my master goes into the house of Rimmon to bow down there and he supports himself on my arm, then I too have to bow down in the house of Rimmon.  When I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant this one thing.”  ¹⁹Then Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”  When Na’aman had gone some distance from him, ²⁰Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “My master was too easy on this Aramean, Na’aman, when he did not accept anything that he brought.  As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”  ²¹So Gehazi chased after Na’aman.  When Na’aman saw him running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him.  He said, “Is everything all right?”  ²²Then Gehazi said, “Yes, everything is all right.  My master sent me to say, ‘Look, just now two young men from the hill country of Ephraim, from the sons of the prophets, have come to me.  Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.”  ²³Na’aman said, “Certainly!  Take two talents!”  He urged Gehazi and tied up the two talents of silver in two bags with the two sets of clothing.  Then Na’aman gave them to his two servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi.  ⁴When he came to the hill, he took the gifts from them.  Then he hid them in the house and sent the men back, so they left.  ²⁵Then he went in and attended his master.  Elisha said to him, “Where were you, Gehazi?”  Gehazi said, “Your servant didn’t go anywhere.”  ²⁶Then Elisha said to him, “Didn’t my heart go along when the man got down from his chariot to meet you?  Is this the time to take silver, or to accept clothes or olive groves or vineyards or sheep or cattle or male and female servants?  ²⁷Na’aman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.”  Then Gehazi went out from his presence, leprous like snow. (EHV)

God’s mercy is not for sale.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            What does it cost to attend your church?  Surprisingly, that is a real question I have been asked.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though, because our experience in life teaches us that nothing is truly free.  Someone always has to pay no matter what the claim.  Freebies offered at stores are only free because the cost is buried in other goods being sold.  Government handouts always have to be paid for by other taxpayers. 

All this has convinced the natural man that he must pay even when coming to believe in God’s free grace.  Not realizing how great God’s free providence has been for us, it is assumed that we will always have to pay for anything that helps us.  Therefore, we have to learn that God’s mercy is not for sale.

Na’aman had taken a chance on a servant girl’s promise that the prophet, Elisha, would be able to heal his leprosy.  It was truly his last hope for a cure.  Yet, when Elisha told that powerful soldier to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River, the man was offended.  It seemed far too simple, too unlikely for the muddy waters of the Jordan to cure anything, but of course, the power wasn’t in the water, but in God’s promise to heal Na’aman through faith in the promise.

Na’aman almost returned to his home in a huff, uncured, but other servants intervened and convinced him to take a chance on God.  It changed Na’aman’s life in every way.  “Then his flesh was restored like the flesh of a small child, and he was clean.”  This was a hardened soldier, a man among men.  His skin had undoubtedly bore the scars of war and training, plus the leprosy had begun to eat away at the skin turning it sickly white with disease.  Yet, at the promise of God given through Elisha, he returned to Elisha with the radiant skin of youth.

More than Na’aman’s skin was healed though.  While previously, the man worshipped a multitude of gods, none on which could help him, now, Na’aman believed in the One true God, the God of Israel, Abraham, and Isaac, the God we also believe and serve.

As an experienced man of the world, Na’aman was now so grateful, that he was ready and willing to pay handsomely for his cure.  The prophet, however, understood that Na’aman, and those he would touch and teach back in his heathen country, needed to know that God’s mercy is not for sale.

At other times, Elisha had readily received gifts from fellow believers, but Elisha knew that Na’aman still needed to learn how freely God gives His mercy.  Therefore, Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives, in whose presence I stand, I will not take anything.”  Even though Na’aman urged him to accept something, he refused.  Now, you and I understand that the Church carries out its mission of bringing the Gospel to the world through the offerings made by the members of the body.  We give these offerings in grateful thanksgiving for all that God does for us. 

At the same time, we are convinced through the Word of God that nothing we do could ever pay for what Jesus has done for us.  Nothing we could ever offer would equal the value of the forgiveness and salvation won for us on the cross by the shedding of Jesus’ precious blood for the sins of the world.  St. Peter was moved by the Holy Spirit to write, “You know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, not with things that pass away, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

In other words, God’s mercy is freely given, but a price was paid, for it was purchased for us by the most expensive exchange ever made when “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)  The holy, innocent Son of God, who had no sin at all of His own, laid down His life to pay for all the sins of the world, and because of Jesus’ holy substitution, you and I and all who believe in Jesus as our Savior are counted pure and righteous in God’s eyes for Jesus’ sake.

Na’aman’s assumption was an honest mistake, and in gratitude for this miracle that saved his life and his soul, Na’aman was determined to remain a faithful follower of the One True God.  He also knew his position in life would make this a challenge.  Na’aman was his king’s right-hand man, so to speak.  He realized that to continue in that service, he would be required to enter a heathen temple, and even help his master bow down before an idol as he faithfully carried out his vocation.  Thus, he asked for forgiveness for that appearance of idol worship forced upon him.  Then Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”  This shows us that God judges what is in the heart, regardless of what appearances might be, so we can continue to serve God faithfully, even when sometimes we are forced to do things that might be problematic.  Obviously, this can only be taken so far.  We are always to serve God rather than men, but there are times, such as with Na’aman, where we will seek forgiveness for the gray areas of life.

Now, the real problem of living a faithful life soon became apparent in the servant, Gehazi.  By outward appearances, Gehazi was a faithful servant of God as he served God’s prophet, Elisha.  Yet, inwardly, we see in him a frothing cauldron of sin—greed, envy, deception, and dishonesty—all combined to bring that servant to destruction.  We might assume this foreshadows how Judas would be led into damnation through greed.

Gehazi imagined that Na’aman should have paid a price for his cure.  That servant decided that since Elisha permitted him to leave with his wealth intact, it certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone if Gehazi helped himself to some ill-gotten profit.  Greed clouded his judgment.  The servant forgot the greater lesson that God’s mercy is not for sale.  Therefore, Gehazi ran after Na’aman, lied to deceive the man into sharing his wealth, and further continued his deceptions hoping that Elisha wouldn’t notice what he had done.  When God’s prophet called Gehazi to account for his sin, Gehazi continued in his lies and received due judgment for his wickedness.

Now, to the world, this might seem a little crazy.  Why would Elisha care whether this foreigner was deprived of some of his riches so that a poor servant could finally have some prosperity?  Isn’t that the way our world seems to be going?  We hear so many promises from politicians trying to buy votes who say that the rich must pay their fair share so that the poor can become equal.  But, the ways of the world are not the ways of our God.  While we might fanaticize about having equity in life, in reality, it never really works in a world troubled by sin.  Likewise, if we had to pay for our place in God’s kingdom, no one would ever gain entrance.  We would all be too poor, too dirty, too diseased with sin to come into His presence.  We would be forever condemned.

Thank God, God’s mercy is not for sale.  Though not one person in the history of the world deserved God’s patience and merciful kindness, God sent His Son into the world to live holiness for us, to walk in our flesh as one of us, and finally, to bear our sins as Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, was led to the slaughter on the altar of the cross at Golgotha.  There, Jesus shed His holy, precious blood so that our guilt would be washed away as perfectly as Na’aman’s leprosy was healed in the Jordan’s waters.  While the world might consider Jesus’ death a shameful thing, it is for us life and hope everlasting.

Forgiveness bringing salvation is the most expensive gift ever purchased, yet it is given to us freely without money or cost, so that we are made right with God and perfectly clean in His sight.  What do we charge to come and hear that Good New’s?  Not one penny.  Yes, God accepts our offerings and uses them to spread His Good News in our world, but He doesn’t need our gifts, nor does He accept them if we imagine that we might be paying for forgiveness. 

Instead, with loving kindness for those of us who could never purchase our freedom from the devil’s control, God grants us life and hope and peace in His kingdom of grace.  Forgiveness and salvation come to us completely free through the hearing of the Gospel, by the gift of the Holy Spirit in the gentle washing and Word of Baptism, and again in the body and blood of our Savior and Redeemer, freely given to us to eat and to drink in the bread and wine of our Lord’s holy Supper.

Rejoice, dear friends, and be glad, God’s mercy is not for sale.  Rather, His merciful kindness is now given to you for your everlasting good in the gracious gift of God’s love through faith in His Son.  Amen.

Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.

God loves His children.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 20, October 6, 2024

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

Mark 10:2-16  ²Some Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  ³He replied, “What did Moses command you?”  ⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”  ⁵But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of your hard hearts.  ⁶But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.  ⁷For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  ⁹Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  ¹⁰In the house his disciples asked him about this again.  ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  ¹²If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  ¹³Some people began bringing little children to Jesus so that he would touch them.  But the disciples rebuked them.  ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.  He said, “Let the little children come to me!  Do not hinder them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  ¹⁵Amen I tell you: Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  ¹⁶And he took the little children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (EHV)

God loves His children.

Dearly beloved of the Father,

            I sometimes wish that I could be as good a teacher as Jesus, but mostly, I wish I would be as good a student as Jesus would have me be.  The Pharisees came to trap Jesus with a question about divorce.  I would have been tempted to reject them with a simple no, but Jesus deftly stepped around their trap and spoke directly to the heart of their condition; they didn’t love like they should. 

It was similar with the disciples of our text.  People were bringing little children to Jesus, yet the disciples thought those children weren’t important enough to bother their Teacher, so they tried to stop those caring parents.  I would find it hard to hold my temper with such self-centered gatekeepers, but though Jesus was angered, He didn’t punish anyone.  Rather, He taught them that His love is for all people.  What you and I should learn is that no matter the age, God loves His children.

Some Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"  Because there were already several conflicting opinions among the Rabbis concerning this question, the Pharisees thought they could trap Jesus regardless of how he answered.  If He said, “Yes,” they would accuse Him of violating the Law, or if He said “No,” they could accuse Him of denying what Moses allowed.  One group held that divorce was permissible if a woman displeased her husband, perhaps with something mildly risqué such as going out in public without a veil covering her face.  Their main opposition, on the other hand, contended that a wife could be sent away for the slightest offense, or for none at all.  Both opinions were wrong.  Jesus sidestepped their trap by showing that their main problem was their failure to love. 

Jesus replied, “What did Moses command you?”  They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”  But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of your hard hearts.  But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Divorce was never part of God’s plan, but as part of the civil law of Israel, Moses had allowed divorce when one of the partners was guilty of indecency.  Moses meant infidelity.  However, this statement of the Mosaic Law had been twisted by the teachers to permit men to disown their wives, for almost any reason, without repercussion. 

Jesus recognized that it was their lack of love that drove divorce.  In His answer, He returned them to the very beginning of time when God instituted marriage, explaining that God intended every marriage to be between one man and one woman, bound together physically, emotionally, willingly, and faithfully until death should part them.  When a man marries a woman, God joins the two into one unit.  Therefore, no one should separate them except God alone.  However, as Jesus points out, the hardness of hearts gets in the way.  Since sin entered the world, self-centeredness so very often controls our actions.  Instead of being united for the mutual good, our corrupted nature leads us to focus primarily on ourselves.

Thus, the same marriage troubles that afflicted their world trouble us still today.  Many act as if married but refuse the commitment of marriage.  We allow “No fault” divorce as if that is even possible.  The attitude seems to be that we marry only for as long as my partner pleases me.  At the same time, those of us who have never been divorced shouldn’t feel smug either.  Many of us have had some thoughts of divorcing a spouse.  We have, perhaps, thought of what it might be like to marry someone else.  At the very least, there have been days when selfishness made loving our partner seem extremely difficult.  So, we all must confess our guilt before the Lord.

Jesus further instructed His disciples, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  This may sound harsh to our modern, permissive ears.  However, because God loves His children of every age, He wants our marriages filled with blessings, with mutual love and respect; where each person is perfectly committed to the partner in a union that is mutually beneficial and a blessing every day; where outside relationships always take second place, and divorce has no place at all.

Now, one of the main reasons God instituted marriage was to bring children into the world and give them a beneficial place to grow.  Just as He loves grownups, God loves His children.  Mark recorded this incident:

Some people began bringing little children to Jesus so that he would touch them.  But the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.  He said, “Let the little children come to me!  Do not hinder them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Amen I tell you: Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And he took the little children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

This is really what God’s love is all about.  In His perfect knowledge, God knew man would sin and would need a Savior.  Consequently, God intended marriage to be a picture of the relationship between the Savior and His Bride, the Church.  Jesus tells us that no one comes to the Father except through Him.  Therefore, God wants us to enjoy good, solid marriages so that they picture the great blessings that He gives us as the Bride of Christ. 

As part of that picture, in addition to wanting each of us truly to love our spouse, Jesus tells us to bring the children to Him, because that is the only way anyone is forgiven and saved from eternal punishment.  Christ’s kingdom and redemption are for all people—there is no age restriction.

The disciples were guilty of the same failings as some modern teachers in that they didn’t want Jesus bothered by these little ones.  However, no one is saved without the gift of faith that comes only by the work of God.  Our decisions don’t save us.  Intellectual learning isn’t our ticket to heaven.  Only God-given faith, which He can give at any age, brings with it the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us all on the cross.

Like the disciples that long ago day, you and I are sinners.  We all have failed to love as we should.  We have even often hindered our children, perhaps by our own frailties and neglect of God’s Word, maybe by putting too much emphasis on the things of this world, perhaps by simple neglect to teach as we rise up and when we lie down, as we sit at home and while we walk down the road—as Moses taught.  We each have been guilty of hindering the children instead of leading them daily to Jesus.

Yet, like those little ones in our text, it is given to us to know Jesus by faith.  God drew us into His loving arms as His Holy Spirit brought us to believe in Jesus.  As Jesus picked up those little children and blessed them, they met Jesus face to face, and thereafter, they knew Him as Lord and Savior.  Those infants weren’t caught up in the adult schemes that ultimately led Jesus to His cross at Golgotha.  They met Jesus as Lord, and that was enough.

That really is our story too.  When you were sprinkled with the water and Word of Baptism, Jesus was there, holding you as a dear child for whom He died, and He blessed you there with faith in Him.  As you hear God’s Word preached to you Sunday after Sunday, Jesus is here holding you in His strong arms, assuring you again and again that in your repentance you are forgiven for all your sins were nailed with Him to the cross.

For all the times you have sinned against God with your wicked thoughts of divorce, lust for another, apathy toward your spouse, or neglect of the children’s spiritual needs, Jesus continued loving you all as His one and only bride, the Church.  By bringing us to recognize our guilt and repent of our sin, He loves us with an everlasting love that doesn’t change.  Jesus lived that perfect love as our substitute while here on earth, and He loved us perfectly as He gave up His life on the cross to pay for our selfishness or lack of true love.

Dear friends, Old Testament Israel behaved many times like an adulterous wife, yet time after time in forgiveness, God took her back as His bride.  Today, He invites all people to enjoy His great love, and those who believe in Jesus are counted righteous as the Son’s dear bride.  Through the faith Christ gives in Word and Sacrament, we will be His beloved forever.

God loves His children.  He loves you so much that He wants your marriages to be a thing of blessing all the days you both shall live.  More than that, God wants to bless you with eternal face to face time with Jesus.  Because of the selfless love Jesus showed to His Church while He lived here on earth and the sacrifice He made on your behalf, He will continue to hold you in His loving arms and carry you home to His eternal heaven.  There, our neglect and self-centeredness will be put away, finally a thing of the past, and we will be loved by our Groom forever.  No more will we fail to love.  No more will anything trouble our relationships, for we all will put on immortality and peace.  In heaven, we will love as God has loved us, and we will rejoice in His saving love forevermore.  Amen.

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

Victory is yours by the blood of the Lamb.

 

Sermon for St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, 2024

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come.  Amen.

Revelation 12:7-12  ⁷There was also a war in heaven.  Michael and his angels fought with the dragon.  The dragon fought back along with his angels, ⁸but he was not strong enough.  There was no longer a place for them in heaven.  ⁹The great dragon was thrown down—the ancient serpent, the one called the Devil and Satan, the one who leads the whole inhabited earth astray—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.  ¹⁰I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.  ¹¹They conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.  They did not love their lives in the face of death.  ¹²For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and those who dwell in them.  Woe to the earth and the sea, for the Devil has gone down to you.  He is full of rage, because he knows that his time is short. (EHV)

Victory is yours by the blood of the Lamb.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            For at least the last decade, bullying among adolescents has seemed to be a growing problem around the country.  That really shouldn’t surprise us, though, because the human race has been tormented by a bully almost from the very beginning of time.  With his lies and insinuations, that bully is the cause of every death in this world just as Jesus testified against His adversary, “He was a murderer from the beginning and did not remain standing in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” (John 8:44)  In this text from Revelation chapter 12, Jesus gives us a picture of His fight with that bully, Satan, and this picture shows that Victory is yours by the blood of the Lamb.

The apostle, John, watched a series of visions concerning the work of salvation.  As you well know, the record of those visions comes to us in the book of Revelation.  It is an apocalypse, a revealing of truth in a series of extraordinary pictures.  Here, John reports: “There was also a war in heaven.  Michael and his angels fought with the dragon.  The dragon fought back along with his angels, but he was not strong enough.  There was no longer a place for them in heaven.  The great dragon was thrown down—the ancient serpent, the one called the Devil and Satan, the one who leads the whole inhabited earth astray—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”  Opinions of whom this Michael is have varied, even among orthodox theologians.  Some claim that this is Christ, the Son of God, the one called “The Angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament.  Others claim that Michael is the archangel, or chief angel, among God’s heavenly helpers.  For our purposes, either explanation is fine, but I tend to believe that this is a picture of Christ, our Savior, for He alone could defeat the bully of the ages.

Perhaps it strikes you as odd that I label the Devil a bully, but he has been tormenting mankind since he asked Adam and Eve, "Has God really said…?” (Genesis 3:1)  Throughout history, Satan has lied to everyone he meets; he has tricked the weak and tempted every human to rebel against our Creator; he is our avowed enemy, and every time he managed to tempt someone to sin, he would run to God to accuse the perpetrator of that sin.  So, now you know the meanings of his names: liar, slanderer, accuser, enemy, and adversary.

From the time Adam and Eve fell into sin, you and I and all the rest of humanity were the weaklings in the battle.  On our own, we could do little to stand up against this spiritual bully, but you are loved by your Creator, and He would not leave you defenseless.  God gave His word of promise to use in defense against the bully, and at the perfect time, He sent His Son to defeat that cowardly tormenter once and for all.  John’s vision shows us that Victory is yours by the blood of the Lamb.

The name, Michael, comes from the Hebrew question, “Who is like God?”  The answer is the Son of God incarnate.  The second person of the Trinity took on human flesh to fight for you and me.  Now, Satan hoped to win control of creation without this fight.  He seems to have thought that if he controlled man, God would be destroyed.  However, God would not give in without a fight.  Jesus entered this war with Satan in the arena Satan had ruled.  Satan was used to winning by deception, lies, and accusations.  Jesus entered the field and fought with truth, humility, and holy obedience. 

Rather than deny God’s authority, Jesus lived under it in perfect obedience.  That had to enrage the devil.  No matter how he tempted Jesus, Satan couldn’t move Christ from the path of righteousness.  Eventually, Jesus humbled Himself to the very end as He took our rightful suffering and death on the cross.  Oh, Satan tried to wreck that plan, too.  The devil had Peter try to persuade Jesus not to undergo that torture, but Jesus replied to His disciple, “Get behind me, Satan!  You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men. (Mark 8:33) 

As Jesus took our punishment, the devil obviously did his best to get the Man, Jesus, to crumble.  The blows of Jesus’ enemies were as wicked and punishing as any Roman soldier could dish out.  The mocking was cruel, the accusations totally false, the physical torture nonsurvivable.  Yet, because He is both true God as well as true Man, victory was certain for our Lord Jesus.

Late that long ago Friday afternoon, when a Roman spear pierced Jesus’ side, the devil may have celebrated his assumed triumph for God’s Son was dead.  Jesus’ body was taken off the cross and carried to a tomb to be buried in humility, not even properly anointed.  There was no time for a funeral or any of the normal grieving rituals.  Those mourning Jesus’ sacrifice were hiding in fear.  However, none of that really mattered to the Lord, for He had no intention of staying dead.  And oh how the devil was shamed as Jesus rose from the grave and marched triumphantly into Satan’s prison to announce His victory over sin, death, and the devil.  This Good News for you and me means that Victory is ours by the blood of the Lamb.

Today, we celebrate St. Michael and all the holy angels.  You maybe wonder why.  First, understand that we do not worship the created angels.  However, we do give thanks and praise to God for all that He accomplishes for us through them.  Second, during His earthly life, Jesus was tormented by the same deceiving taunts that trap you and me.  However, in His thirty-some years of continual battle against our ancient enemy, Jesus too was strengthened and encouraged by those holy messengers from His Father.  Only Jesus could fight our war with the deceiver, but His Father made sure that Jesus was not alone until that very last day when on the cross, He suffered our rightful separation from His Father. 

Those angels who uplifted Jesus’ spirits have likewise served to help us in so many ways.  First of all, they often delivered God’s messages to the prophets and main characters of God’s salvation plan and protected them against the forces of evil.  Still today, the angels defend God’s children on a daily, even minute by minute, basis.  Do we always know they are there?  Likely, we rarely if ever observe them, yet the Lord promises, “If you make the Most High your shelter, evil will not overtake you.  Disaster will not come near your tent.  Because he will give a command to his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:9-11) 

In St. John’s vision, “The great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”  Though the serpent had been cursed already in the Garden of Eden, he retained the ability to accuse us of all kinds of wickedness.  In fact, that may have been his only pleasure.  First, Satan tempts people into sin in any number of ways, and then he reverses course and accuses them of sin against God.  Sometimes, as in the case of Job, Satan would even falsely accuse a victim and challenge God to keep His faithful people.  All of that ended when Jesus rose victorious from the grave, for Jesus’ victory is complete. 

Never again can Satan accuse anyone before the Lord.  Jesus took away all the guilt of every sin and paid the full penalty for the sins of the world.  Never again can the devil enter God’s courts to accuse.  The apostle, John, “heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.’”  God’s holy angels, and all those saints who have already gained the victory, sing praises to the Savior and celebrate His eternal triumph over that conniving bully devil who causes so much grief.

Those heavenly voices praise the victory given to you and me through faith in Jesus, saying: "They conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.  They did not love their lives in the face of death.  For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and those who dwell in them!”  The angels and saints in heaven rejoice over every sinner who repents.  They rejoice for all of us who are granted the victory through faith.  They celebrate that the blood of the Lamb has covered your sins, washed you clean, and made you presentable to the Father in heaven.  The testimony of the apostles, who told the world of Jesus and His total victory over the devil, made you and me believers.  Because of Jesus’ life and death, Victory is ours by the blood of the Lamb.

Still, the story hasn’t ended.  This world continues on until all who will believe have been brought safely home in the kingdom of heaven; meanwhile, danger lurks in every corner of earth.  The heavenly choir cried out, “Woe to the earth and the sea, for the Devil has gone down to you.  He is full of rage, because he knows that his time is short."  Christ’s victory is accomplished, but as long as this world is allowed to continue, Satan will spin his web of lies, slanders, accusations, and temptations.  Understand that this deceitful angel wanted to rule over God and all things.  Satan arrogantly decided to challenge the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth, but in that revolt against God, the devil was totally defeated, sentenced to eternal torment, cast out of any position of power or glory, and embarrassed in his own home court. 

A wounded animal, or a conquered foe, is often a very dangerous beast.  Therefore, we must be continually on guard, because “Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)  The devil is hungry for souls.  He can’t defeat God and His Son; that battle is over and won.  So, Satan is on the prowl night and day, with his fraternity of evil following his lead, looking for souls to steal away from God’s care, doing everything he can to keep those who have been forgiven from enjoying God’s grace in heaven.  “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea!”  Terrible trouble and sorrow is the fate of those who walk apart from the Savior.  The heavenly choir warned that Satan will spend the few days he has left trying to steal away anyone and everyone from the Savior who loves you all with an everlasting love.

Do you still wonder why we celebrate God’s helpers and messengers?  Because God is still using them to keep us safe in His protective care.  How many times we receive heavenly intervention, here on earth, only God and the angels truly know.  You should take confidence in this, though; Elisha told his terrified servant, "Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." (2 Kings 6:16)  With their city surrounded by thousands upon thousands of enemy soldiers, Elisha prayed that the servant’s eyes would be opened, and he saw that the surrounding hills were covered with vast hosts of angels protecting them. 

For sure, the devil has a lot of helpers: both, his fallen angels and those lost souls who follow him here on earth.  However, God has many more angels, and much greater power, so we are not defenseless against Satan’s assaults—God Himself is on our side, sending His holy angels to guard and keep us, and appointing His earthly messengers with the power of the Gospel to build up your faith by Word and Sacrament, keeping you ever on guard and defended against the wicked bully and his tools. 

Dear friends, as we celebrate, today, don’t let anyone confuse you.  We thank God for His helpers, but we don’t worship or pray to any created angels.  The holy ones themselves would not allow that.  However, we do worship the Son of God and Man who won the victory on our behalf.  We worship and praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for all they have done to rescue us from our sorrowful condition of sin.  In our worship and praise, we remember again the victory of Easter morning.  We remember again how Jesus won us to salvation at our Baptisms, whereby He washed away our every sin and marked us as God’s own dear children.  There, we were united with Jesus’ death, and His resurrection, so that the eternal victory is ours.  We thank and praise our heavenly Father for His love, for His abiding care, and for the service of those messengers He sends to help and protect us.  Rejoice, dear friends, your place in God’s kingdom is assured—because the Victory is yours by the blood of the Lamb.  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. 

Praise God for His mercy.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 18, September 22, 2024

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

Numbers 12:1-15  Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman).  ²They said, “Has the Lord really spoken only through Moses?  Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”  The Lord heard this.  ³(Now the man Moses was very humble, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)  ⁴Right then the Lord spoke suddenly to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the Tent of Meeting!”  The three of them came out.  ⁵The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance to the tent.  He called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.  ⁶He said, “Now listen to my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known to him in a vision.  In a dream I will speak with him.  ⁷Not so, however, with my servant Moses.  He is faithful in my whole household.  ⁸With him I speak face-to-face, clearly, and not in riddles.  He sees the form of the Lord.  Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”  ⁹The Lord’s anger burned against them, and he left.  ¹⁰The cloud went up from above the tent, and immediately Miriam was leprous, as white as snow.  Aaron turned to Miriam and saw that she was leprous.  ¹¹Aaron said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold this sin against us.  We have acted foolishly.  We have sinned.  ¹²Please do not let her be like a stillborn infant that comes out of its mother’s womb with its flesh half-eaten away.”  ¹³Moses cried out to the Lord, “God, please heal her, please!”  ¹⁴The Lord said to Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, would she not be disgraced for seven days?  Have her confined outside of the camp for seven days, and after that she can be brought back in.”  ¹⁵Miriam was confined outside of the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out until Miriam was brought back in. (EHV)

Praise God for His mercy.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            The events in this text could probably be described as a teachable moment.  Certainly, for Miriam and Aaron, and for the whole house of Israel, this should have served to teach them God’s ways.  For you and me, as well, God’s reaction to this seemingly minor rebellion testifies to us how seriously God takes our disobedience and sin, but this scene also demonstrates His mercy to the repentant sinner.  Therefore, we say, Praise God for His mercy.

At first glance, this dispute might seem rather minor.  A prominent woman is upset with her younger brother.  The problem here, however, is that Miriam’s complaint is completely invalid, and her sin involves several layers of rebellion against God.  Whenever we study the Ten Commandments in our confirmation classes, it quickly becomes clear that our actions often violate more than one command.  Such is the case with Miriam.

Miriam, the prophetess who had led the Israelite women in praising God after their rescue from the Egyptian army, became guilty of prejudice (or irrational judgment) against Moses’ wife.  She was jealous of Moses’ rank, envious of his authority, slanderous of his good name, and rebellious against what Moses taught at the Lord’s command.  Likewise, her brother, Aaron, became complicit in her sin by listening to her without correcting the accusations.

As I said, this text must serve as a teaching moment for us.  It would be easy for us to look down on Miriam for her weakness.  Some might prejudicially judge her and condemn all women as similarly weak, but that is not the intention here.  We might, however, criticize Aaron for his lack of leadership, for he was granted the role of High Priest in Israel.  By God’s choice, Aaron was placed in that leadership position in which he was to teach and intercede for God’s people.  Obviously, he fell down on the job just as he had earlier when the people demanded an idol to worship.

Yet, this text would serve us poorly if we only judged others based on Miriam and Aaron’s weaknesses.  God’s law was given primarily as a mirror to show us our sins, and since this incident is clearly picturing God’s response to rebellion, we would best use it to examine ourselves.

Therefore, we each need to look deeply into our own rebellions against the authorities placed over us.  How often, in our youth, did we rebel against our parents, teachers, or others who were put in authority over us?  How often do we still today desire to shave the rules a little bit in our favor?  How often do we treat those in authority with disrespect, slander, anger, or false accusations?

As we look into our personal mirrors, how often do we find ourselves prejudiced against other people simply because of their genealogy, skin color, accent, of family background?  It wasn’t very long ago that for a Norwegian to marry a German, Italian, or Swede might have caused anxiety in the family.  What lack of faith do we still show simply because someone is different than ourselves?

More importantly than any other fault, how often do we find ourselves questioning what is written in the Bible because it doesn’t fit our personal preference?  There are many people who claim to be Christians, yet they want to bend what the Scriptures say.  Have the difficulties presented by close communion caused you to question what Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians?  Maybe more personally, does the role of men and women presented in the Scriptures cause us irritation simply because our modern feelings seek something supposedly more equal?  Have any of us ever complained about a pastor, not because he taught false doctrine, but because we simply didn’t like the way he said something, or perhaps because we thought he should be better at something?

Don’t worry, dear friends, I am not up here challenging you because of anything I have seen in you personally.  Rather, I am primarily examining myself.  How often I have fallen short of perfection in these matters is deeply troubling to my confessional faith.  If we are honest, these faults, like every sin, are common to every person on earth.  Even the most pious person falls short of perfection.

Having said that we all fall short doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.  When Miriam and Aaron complained against Moses, it wasn’t Moses who called them to task; it was God Himself who heard their evil rebellion and God Himself who brought them before His judgement.  Again, this teachable moment shows us that we can’t hide any of our guilt from God.  We might perhaps keep our wickedness hidden from our loved ones or even those who offend us.  They might not hear our muttering, complaining, and conspiracies.  Our government officials, pastors, and teachers won’t catch all our faults.  But there is no hiding from God and His all-knowing, all-seeing, all hearing perfection.  Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and Miriam and Aaron here, God always knows our guilt before He accuses.

On the other side of the coin, though, here we see how God has provided someone to intercede for us.  In Miriam and Aaron’s case, it was Moses, the same Moses they wanted to judge, who in humble faith, after the Lord laid severe consequences on her for her rebellion, pleaded with God to heal Miriam.  This same Moses, who God called the humblest man on earth, didn’t react angrily to Miriam’s haughty challenge, nor did he turn away gloating at her punishment. 

We should now also recognize that Aaron returned to the role God had planned for him as priest for Israel.  The chief role of the priest was to intercede for the people.  When Aaron saw the plague God put on Miriam for her rebellion, he immediately repented of his own sin as co-conspirator and pleaded for mercy for Miriam as well.  Likewise, gentle Moses never sought punishment for his accusers, but rather, he immediately pleaded with God for mercy for their sister.

Now, before we get to the conclusion, we should note that there are often consequences for our sins.  Some want to ask why God allows bad things to happen to people, but bad things happen because of sin.  Sometimes, it is others who suffer for the sins committed, and then our judicial system tries to rebalance the guilt.  By that I mean that if a person pulls the trigger, drives drunk, or does other foolish things that hurt or kill people, the victim certainly suffers the consequences.  Yet, the jails are here so that the guilty will also suffer a consequence for his faults.

Therefore, we need to understand that God doesn’t let sin go unpunished.  No, He doesn’t always inflict immediate punishment on the guilty, for if He did, none of us would live.  Just as Peter was moved to write by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness.  Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)  God made it clear throughout His Word that sin’s reward is death.  Yet, God has shown unlimited patience and mercy toward us in two ways.  First, He doesn’t punish us as we deserve.  Second, and most importantly, God gave a Savior to intercede for us, but even before that, to bear the punishment we all deserved, so that we could be forgiven and restored to peace with God.  Thus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostle John testified, “For out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17)

Therefore, when Moses was sent by God to rescue Egypt from their slavers, he was also put in the position of bringing the law that showed their need, and ours, for a Savior.  Consequently, in His love for us, God didn’t leave us condemned but instead, He sent His Son to bear the eternal consequence for the sins of us all.  Jesus dealt with the devil hoard that both tempted and accused us.  Jesus bore the burden of death that the rebellions and accusations we throw around deserve.

Then, just as Moses interceded for his sister, Miriam, and God restored her, so Jesus intercedes for those who by faith in Him have been made His brothers and sisters.  For you and me and all those who trust in Christ, Jesus is interceding with His Father in heaven, so that we are counted holy and worthy to be restored into the fellowship of the kingdom of God.

Dear friends, Miriam and Aaron were taught a harsh lesson for their foolish attack on Moses.  The price they paid was a scolding and a temporary banishment for Miriam.  You might say, they got off easy, but we all got off easy when it comes to sin against our God and Savior, because we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God publicly displayed as the atonement seat through faith in his blood.” (Romans 3:23-25)  Justified freely means that God has forgiven all our sins for Jesus’ sake.  There is nothing we must do to reconcile ourselves with God for He accomplished that completely through the life and sacrifice of His Son.  Praise God for His mercy.  Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.