“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our sermon today comes from the Gospel lesson read a few moments ago from the first chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John. Dear friends in Christ, today we celebrate Saint Bartholomew, one of Jesus’ disciples, a man we know very little about. And I think that is alright, because our focus on a saint’s day should not be on the saint himself, but instead on who that saint pointed to through his words and actions- Christ. Before we begin, I think I should clear up something that might cause a bit of confusion. This is Saint Bartholomew’s day, but in our text, we don’t seem to encounter anyone named Bartholomew. There’s Philip, Nathanael, and Jesus, but no one else. You see, some biblical scholars (and apparently the folks who put together our lectionary) believe that the man named Nathanael in John is the same person called Bartholomew in the other Gospels and in Acts. You can ask me for the specific reasons later, but at least we can all agree that for the purposes of this sermon, Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person. If so, then this is Bartholomew’s shining moment, his only recorded words in the New Testament. John the Baptist has only two days ago pointed to Christ as the one he was preparing for, and then on the next day, Jesus called Andrew and Simon Peter. In our text, the fourth day of John’s Gospel, Jesus called Philip.
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘follow me.’ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’” The amazing thing about Philip is that he does not stop to worship Jesus, he does not ask any questions, but he runs away. Now, I doubt that Jesus said ‘follow me’ and Philip turned tail immediately, but the important thing to note is that his first act as a disciple of Jesus was to find someone else to bring to Christ. I’m sure there are some of you in here who can relate, especially those of you who became a Christian later in life. The enthusiasm of your conversion though the power of the Holy Spirit sent you out to tell others, to bring them to the blessed waters of Baptism, to bring them into contact with Christ’s life-changing Word. For those of us, like me, who have been life-long Christians, we can often struggle to find that same enthusiasm, and even the enthusiasm of a new Christian fades away. Philip’s example is one that speaks directly to us- we go from this place where Jesus comes to us, out into the world, and what we speak are not our words, but instead they are the words of the Scriptures. Even when we are met with skepticism and rejection, when the Nathanael’s of the world scoff at us, we can simply say with Philip “come and see.” Come and see where Christ comes to people in His Word, in water, in His Body and Blood.
This sounds great, but Nathanael’s question should give us pause, even if it did not seem to slow down Philip one bit. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” If we stop to think about it, this is a ‘good’ question. The Greek word used here for ‘good’ has a strong practical, pragmatic meaning. It means that a person or thing has met a certain standard, and could easily be translated as ‘useful.’ Is Jesus useful? If you go to Barnes and Noble and search the ‘spirituality’ shelf, or even go to a Christian bookstore, you will find plenty of writers who think that He is. Jesus has been portrayed as a ‘good, useful’ teacher throughout history, and today is no exception. He has been claimed by almost every type of group on the face of the planet, from politics (did you know Jesus was a communist?), to food (did you know Jesus was a vegetarian?), to social issues (did you know Jesus was a homosexual?). Jesus has been found quite ‘useful’ by many people throughout history, but is this the Jesus of the Scriptures?
In the Gospels, when Jesus is called ‘good’ (with that specific Greek word) by someone, He almost always deflects attention to His Father. God the Father is good and useful, but Jesus does not look at Himself in the same way. Why? Because Jesus did not become man to be useful or ‘good.’ In fact, His coming had quite the opposite effect. In our text, we read how Saint Bartholomew came to faith. He would later die for that faith, in a gruesome, terrible way. Following Christ, for Saint Bartholomew and many others, was not ‘useful’ or ‘good,’ but instead it led to death. Following Jesus is anti-practical, anti-pragmatic, and it usually means a harder life under the cross. Christians in America don’t have to think about martyrdom very often, but even in a country where we have religious freedom, Jesus isn’t very practical. Following Christ does not gain us money, it does not solve all of our problems, it does not bring us an earthly life of bliss. Following Christ is tough, and it often means hardship, as we struggle to live our faith in a world that rejects it. I suspect this may be a reason we are reluctant to follow Philip’s example. We can only offer to the world around us a Jesus who often makes life harder. In fact, that is what tempts us to fall away. Why stand by Jesus when He only brings trouble?
So Nathanael is right. Nothing ‘good’ comes from Nazareth. Jesus is not practical, He is not useful, He is not pragmatic. He is in fact quite the opposite. Associating with Him means a cross, it means hardship, it may even mean death. God the Father is the good one- He created and sustains all of creation, bringing fruit from the earth and rain from the heavens. God is good, but Christ is something else entirely. What is He? If we look at the rest of our text, we will find our answer.
Nathanael’s skepticism melts away very easily. All Jesus has to do is demonstrate His divine knowledge and all-seeing eye, and Nathanael is hooked. “Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’” St. Bartholomew then confesses boldly: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” When you are reading the Gospels, one of the most important things to pay attention to is the names given to Jesus. This name, “the Son of God,” is very important. This is the foundation of our faith, that a man born in first century Palestine named Jesus of Nazareth, is true God. He is not simply a man, but He is God, and as God, He has taken human flesh, and He has taken it on to save.
And how will He do this? Nathanael’s second name for Jesus seems to give us the answer: “You are the King of Israel!” A king? Now this is truly ‘useful’ and ‘good.’ A messianic king will surely throw off the yoke of the Roman rulers and establish a kingdom on earth that will last forever. Two thousand years from his birth, Christians in upstate New York will live in luxury and security because they belong to this kingdom, the most powerful kingdom on earth! Nathanael is wrong! Something good did come out of Nazareth! And so many would think- and many still think this today. But the next time that Jesus would be called the ‘King of Israel’ or the ‘King of the Jews,’ He would be hanging on a Roman cross, giving up His life, shedding His blood for our sins. Jesus truly was a king, but He was not a practical, pragmatic, ‘good,’ or useful king. He was a king who could only establish His kingdom through His death. This death at the hands of sinful men, at the hands of those He came to save, would wash away the sins of the entire world, and establish a heavenly kingdom. When He rose from the grave triumphant on the third day, His kingdom was established and your sins were forgiven- especially your sins of not following Philip’s example and bringing His message to others. Christ was not ‘good’ or ‘useful’- He was a Savior, and as our Savior He endured the shame of the cross for you!
Nathanael’s bold confession causes Jesus to caution this enthusiastic new disciple: “Because I said to you ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’” This was not exactly Christ’s greatest miracle, and Nathanael’s response is a little too enthusiastic. Jesus does not want Nathanael to be carried in the wind by every desert preacher who makes a prediction or two. Jesus wants Nathanael to follow Him because He is true God and true man, and He is the one who will reconcile God and man. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This third name of Christ, the Son of Man, is only used by Jesus Himself, and it is used to designate His state of humiliation, as He walked this earth as a man, taking on all of our sin and the punishment we deserved and taking it to the cross. But after the cross came the resurrection, and after Easter Sunday Christ was enthroned on high, and his prophecy to Nathanael, to Saint Bartholomew, was fulfilled. In Genesis, Jacob has a dream where He sees a ladder to heaven, with the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. God speaks to him and says, “In you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Christ is this promised offspring, and through His death and resurrection, all families on earth truly are blessed! Christ has replaced Jacob’s ladder as the link between heaven and earth, as the only means by which we can attain heaven. Christ is not ‘good’ or ‘useful’ in this life, but despite all the difficulties we may face, He will bring you to eternal life in heaven through His shed blood.
This blood has washed away all of your sins, as Christ has come to you in your sinful condition as the Son of God, as the King of Israel, and as the Son of Man. This forgiveness sends you back into the world to speak of Christ and the great things He has done for you. You cannot offer a God who promises an easy life, but you can speak of a Savior who has gone to the cross for all people and has delivered you from sin and death, you can invite those around you to ‘come and see,’ to come and see our Savior and our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. May this message sustain you and send you back into this sinful world carrying the light of Christ, Amen.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Proper 14 of Series A (Matthew 14:22-33)
“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our sermon this morning comes from the Gospel lesson read just a few moments ago from Matthew chapter fourteen. Dear friends in Christ- Whew! The disciples had one long day! It may seem even longer to us, considering that we began it with the disciples in the sermon last week. We heard then from Pastor Werly how Jesus went to find a quiet place for reflection and prayer, for communion with His (and our) Heavenly Father, and instead found 25,000 hungry Yankee fans waiting for Him. Well, now He has finished feeding that multitude, the miracle is over, and it is time to go home. More importantly, it is time for Jesus to do what He came to do originally- pray. So the disciples are sent out to sea while Christ communes with the Father. But during this eventful day, even the night holds no peace. I don’t know about you, but one of the most frightening things I have experienced is to be out in the open during a storm. No shelter, no protection, you see it coming and there is nothing you can do. This is especially frightening when you are on the water, where the very surface you are traveling on is deadly. So we can easily imagine what the disciples felt like as things became dangerous: “The boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, and the wind was against them.”
Matthew does not tell us if the disciples cried out for help, but I think we can safely assume that they were hoping and praying for deliverance. Death was staring them in the face, and they needed help, they needed rescue, they needed safety. And so, off in the distance, Jesus comes to them. “And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.” Jesus came to them in their distress, He came to save, to comfort, as He has done so many times in your life. The fact that Jesus walked on water to come to His disciples is not nearly as important as that fact that HE CAME TO THEM. Their fear drove Him to them.
But the disciples retained their fear, they did not recognize their Lord, Savior and Teacher coming toward them. Matthew tells us: “But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear.” In the terror of that night, everything was a phantom, another agent of death. The disciples let loose a cry, a cry of fear, a cry of doubt, a cry of worry.
Their cry did not go unanswered. Immediately, at that very moment, in the midst of their fear and distress, Jesus answered their cry. Paul tells us in our Epistle lesson that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And so they cried out, and Jesus called to them, “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.” Jesus spoke these words, words of comfort, words of courage, words of absolution. He did not calm the waves, but He simply spoke, and His Words held power to do what they said. First He said ‘take heart,’ encouraging them to stand resolute in the face of danger. Next came a statement of identity, ‘it is I.’ This English translation does not capture the significance of the words Jesus spoke. Jesus literally said, “Take heart, I AM.” Jesus is here invoking the Divine Name of God, saying that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the only True God, Yahweh Himself, the great ‘I AM,’ is here, and He is here to save. This man, born of a virgin in a stable is true God, and He brings salvation with Him. Because of who Jesus is as true God and true man, the Messiah sent from God, He can now say to the disciples, ‘Do not be afraid.’ These are the words of absolution, of true comfort. Their fear has been extinguished by the words of Christ. But do not think that just because Jesus was standing on water while He spoke these words that it is any different for you. You had reason to fear, you stood under the condemnation of God for your sin, but Christ came to you in your distress. He did not stand on water, but He used water to bring you into His kingdom through Holy Baptism. When the pastor said “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Jesus said to you, “Take heart; I AM. Do not be afraid.” God placed His name on you in your baptism, the same name that Jesus spoke to the disciples, the only name in which salvation comes to us. When Pastor Werly says “As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Jesus said to you, “Take heart; I AM. Do not be afraid.” In these words, by these means, Christ comes to us, and He comes bringing salvation.
But for Peter, the words of Christ were not enough. This wonderful, blessed absolution from Jesus, spoken in the midst of the storm, did not satisfy Him. And so He calls out to Jesus “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” It is easy for us to sit here and laugh at the foolishness of Peter, who has once again stuck his foot in his mouth. But if Peter seems to make a habit of doing just that, it is only because he is a representative of all the disciples and of us all. We too have trouble believing the absolution; we struggle to trust Christ’s words. We seek confirmation, sometimes looking within ourselves for some sign that God really does love us, and sometimes looking to God, like Peter, demanding a miracle. Words and water, or even bread and wine, do not seem to carry the importance we would expect. Christ can’t simply just talk to us, place some water on us, or give us a meal for our salvation. There must be something that we can do, we must need to come to Christ, if only partway. This is part of the air we breathe in our culture today, especially our Christian culture. Words are not simply enough, we need miracles, we need to come to Christ, it can’t be so easy that He would only come to us. And so we step out of the boat with Peter, in search of a miracle, driven by the desire to come to Christ.
And like Peter, we might find that walking to Jesus seems quite easy. Matthew tells us, “So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” Peter asked for a miracle, and he received it, He wanted to come to Jesus, and it seemed to be working out. There is something so distinctly American, so distinctly human about us walking to Christ. Even if we are only walking on the water through a miracle, we can still be proud that we are the ones who stepped out of the boat and made the effort to come to Christ. But then, the storms of life continue to be around us, and suddenly things don’t seem so rosy. We go through a tough time at work or at home, or we lose a loved one, and we realize that walking to Christ is a lonely road. “But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” We will always sink when we are walking to Christ. For despite how much we talk about Christ as we walk, when we doubt His words of absolution we have rejected His coming to us and are attempting to walk to Him by ourselves.
But Christ, in His loving mercy, does not let us sink. We cry out for salvation once again, yearning to hear His words of Absolution, we cry out with Peter, “Lord, save me!” And Christ does save us, as He saved Peter. Our fears drive Christ to us. “Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” Peter did not only doubt when he saw the wind and the waves, he doubted more importantly when he doubted Christ’s words of absolution, His coming to them, and instead struck out on his own. But Christ’s love for us compels Him to rescue us again and again, each time that we strike out on our own.
It was this love that brought us salvation in the first place. When Peter cried out “Lord, save me!” he wanted deliverance from the wind and the waves. But Christ did not come to this earth to simply calm storms. He came to rescue us all from drowning, from the fear of death and punishment that surrounded us, the terror caused by our fall into sin. He took away our fear and the punishment we deserved by taking it upon Himself, and taking it to the cross, where His shed blood washed away all of our sins. It is only through that sacrifice and the victorious resurrection on the third day that Jesus’ words “Take heart, I AM. Do not be afraid” have any significance. Without Good Friday and Easter, Pastor spoke empty words to you this morning in the absolution, and your Baptism simply made you wet. But with the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross and His victory over the grave on the third day, those words have meaning, they have power, they do what they say. They forgive your sins, they restore the broken relationship between God and man, they bring you salvation. And because He went to the cross for you, you can trust those words. You do not need to come to Christ, because He came to you in the midst of your distress, He calmed your fears, He forgave you through simple Words, water, bread and wine. As Saint Paul teaches in our Epistle lesson: “But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);” (Rom 10:6-8) The storms of life continue to rage, but through these means by which Christ comes to us we have the assurance that He has defeated the only storm that really matters in the end, that of sin and death.
And what is our response to this gift, this salvation conveyed to us in Word and Sacrament? As the disciples, we are moved to confession and worship. “And those in the boat worshipped Him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” We confess what Christ as done for us to those around us, and we join all other believers to continue to receive these gifts, here in this place and every day. God’s Word sustains us and gives us the strength to face life’s storms. May the Lord use His Word and His Sacraments to strengthen and preserve you in the true faith, today and every day, Amen.
Matthew does not tell us if the disciples cried out for help, but I think we can safely assume that they were hoping and praying for deliverance. Death was staring them in the face, and they needed help, they needed rescue, they needed safety. And so, off in the distance, Jesus comes to them. “And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.” Jesus came to them in their distress, He came to save, to comfort, as He has done so many times in your life. The fact that Jesus walked on water to come to His disciples is not nearly as important as that fact that HE CAME TO THEM. Their fear drove Him to them.
But the disciples retained their fear, they did not recognize their Lord, Savior and Teacher coming toward them. Matthew tells us: “But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear.” In the terror of that night, everything was a phantom, another agent of death. The disciples let loose a cry, a cry of fear, a cry of doubt, a cry of worry.
Their cry did not go unanswered. Immediately, at that very moment, in the midst of their fear and distress, Jesus answered their cry. Paul tells us in our Epistle lesson that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And so they cried out, and Jesus called to them, “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.” Jesus spoke these words, words of comfort, words of courage, words of absolution. He did not calm the waves, but He simply spoke, and His Words held power to do what they said. First He said ‘take heart,’ encouraging them to stand resolute in the face of danger. Next came a statement of identity, ‘it is I.’ This English translation does not capture the significance of the words Jesus spoke. Jesus literally said, “Take heart, I AM.” Jesus is here invoking the Divine Name of God, saying that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the only True God, Yahweh Himself, the great ‘I AM,’ is here, and He is here to save. This man, born of a virgin in a stable is true God, and He brings salvation with Him. Because of who Jesus is as true God and true man, the Messiah sent from God, He can now say to the disciples, ‘Do not be afraid.’ These are the words of absolution, of true comfort. Their fear has been extinguished by the words of Christ. But do not think that just because Jesus was standing on water while He spoke these words that it is any different for you. You had reason to fear, you stood under the condemnation of God for your sin, but Christ came to you in your distress. He did not stand on water, but He used water to bring you into His kingdom through Holy Baptism. When the pastor said “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Jesus said to you, “Take heart; I AM. Do not be afraid.” God placed His name on you in your baptism, the same name that Jesus spoke to the disciples, the only name in which salvation comes to us. When Pastor Werly says “As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Jesus said to you, “Take heart; I AM. Do not be afraid.” In these words, by these means, Christ comes to us, and He comes bringing salvation.
But for Peter, the words of Christ were not enough. This wonderful, blessed absolution from Jesus, spoken in the midst of the storm, did not satisfy Him. And so He calls out to Jesus “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” It is easy for us to sit here and laugh at the foolishness of Peter, who has once again stuck his foot in his mouth. But if Peter seems to make a habit of doing just that, it is only because he is a representative of all the disciples and of us all. We too have trouble believing the absolution; we struggle to trust Christ’s words. We seek confirmation, sometimes looking within ourselves for some sign that God really does love us, and sometimes looking to God, like Peter, demanding a miracle. Words and water, or even bread and wine, do not seem to carry the importance we would expect. Christ can’t simply just talk to us, place some water on us, or give us a meal for our salvation. There must be something that we can do, we must need to come to Christ, if only partway. This is part of the air we breathe in our culture today, especially our Christian culture. Words are not simply enough, we need miracles, we need to come to Christ, it can’t be so easy that He would only come to us. And so we step out of the boat with Peter, in search of a miracle, driven by the desire to come to Christ.
And like Peter, we might find that walking to Jesus seems quite easy. Matthew tells us, “So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” Peter asked for a miracle, and he received it, He wanted to come to Jesus, and it seemed to be working out. There is something so distinctly American, so distinctly human about us walking to Christ. Even if we are only walking on the water through a miracle, we can still be proud that we are the ones who stepped out of the boat and made the effort to come to Christ. But then, the storms of life continue to be around us, and suddenly things don’t seem so rosy. We go through a tough time at work or at home, or we lose a loved one, and we realize that walking to Christ is a lonely road. “But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” We will always sink when we are walking to Christ. For despite how much we talk about Christ as we walk, when we doubt His words of absolution we have rejected His coming to us and are attempting to walk to Him by ourselves.
But Christ, in His loving mercy, does not let us sink. We cry out for salvation once again, yearning to hear His words of Absolution, we cry out with Peter, “Lord, save me!” And Christ does save us, as He saved Peter. Our fears drive Christ to us. “Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” Peter did not only doubt when he saw the wind and the waves, he doubted more importantly when he doubted Christ’s words of absolution, His coming to them, and instead struck out on his own. But Christ’s love for us compels Him to rescue us again and again, each time that we strike out on our own.
It was this love that brought us salvation in the first place. When Peter cried out “Lord, save me!” he wanted deliverance from the wind and the waves. But Christ did not come to this earth to simply calm storms. He came to rescue us all from drowning, from the fear of death and punishment that surrounded us, the terror caused by our fall into sin. He took away our fear and the punishment we deserved by taking it upon Himself, and taking it to the cross, where His shed blood washed away all of our sins. It is only through that sacrifice and the victorious resurrection on the third day that Jesus’ words “Take heart, I AM. Do not be afraid” have any significance. Without Good Friday and Easter, Pastor spoke empty words to you this morning in the absolution, and your Baptism simply made you wet. But with the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross and His victory over the grave on the third day, those words have meaning, they have power, they do what they say. They forgive your sins, they restore the broken relationship between God and man, they bring you salvation. And because He went to the cross for you, you can trust those words. You do not need to come to Christ, because He came to you in the midst of your distress, He calmed your fears, He forgave you through simple Words, water, bread and wine. As Saint Paul teaches in our Epistle lesson: “But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);” (Rom 10:6-8) The storms of life continue to rage, but through these means by which Christ comes to us we have the assurance that He has defeated the only storm that really matters in the end, that of sin and death.
And what is our response to this gift, this salvation conveyed to us in Word and Sacrament? As the disciples, we are moved to confession and worship. “And those in the boat worshipped Him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” We confess what Christ as done for us to those around us, and we join all other believers to continue to receive these gifts, here in this place and every day. God’s Word sustains us and gives us the strength to face life’s storms. May the Lord use His Word and His Sacraments to strengthen and preserve you in the true faith, today and every day, Amen.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Proper 8 of Series A (Matthew 10:34-42)
“Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our sermon this morning comes from the Gospel lesson read a few moments ago from Matthew chapter ten. Dear friends in Christ, one of the most wonderful advantages of having three Scripture texts assigned to each Sunday is that we see these texts in different ways. Think back to the Old Testament lesson for this morning. In it, we see an encounter between Jeremiah and a false prophet named Hananiah. Just before this account, Jeremiah has proclaimed to rebellious Judah that Babylon will sweep down to conquer them. If they submit quietly to God’s instrument of punishment, they will be allowed to live in peace on their land. Hananiah, however, brings a different message. He preaches that God will “break the yoke of the king of Babylon” and defeat him. Judah only has to resist and God will save them. Our Old Testament text shows us the tense confrontation between two prophets who claim to speak for God, one true and one false. Jeremiah boldly says: “The prophets who preceeded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has sent the prophet.” What a great text! After hearing that, we have a pretty good idea what is coming in the Gospel lesson- Jesus will proclaim peace.
But we are taken aback when we hear these words of Jesus “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” What? Jeremiah promised that the prophet who preached peace was truly sent by the Lord. Does this mean that Jesus is a false prophet? To answer this question, we need to look at some grammar. No groans- especially if you happen to be one of my brothers. Jesus is here using a figure of speech, saying something that we do not expect and in fact is ridiculous to get our attention. Of course Jesus has come to bring peace- He said so just earlier in this chapter. He speaks in this way to shatter our illusions of what this peace means and to draw our attention to what He wants to focus on- the conflict. Theologians have noticed statements of this type throughout Scripture, and we should understand Jesus as saying “Do not think that I only have come to bring peace on the earth. I have not come only to bring peace, but even more, a sword.” Jesus is telling us that while He does bring eternal peace, the peace that comes when God and man are reconciled, this peace does not create a blissful utopia here on earth. Instead, the peace He brings creates conflict.
Most of us (I won’t say all) don’t like conflict. We would much rather have people live in peace with one another. But this is not the situation that Jesus describes. His message of peace, His reconciliation of sinful man with a holy God, will “set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” This is not simply the squabbles that every family has, but a fundamental conflict over Christ. Some will believe in Him as mankind’s Savior, while others will violently reject Him. Families, joined together in the union of flesh and blood, will be torn apart. And not only that, but they will be torn apart and turned against one another. “A person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”
We would like to avoid this conflict, we do not want to see our families torn apart, our relationships destroyed, but the Christian cannot stand on the sidelines. The issue at stake is eternal life, and therefore we cannot compromise. Jesus knows that Satan uses our relationships in this world to tear us away from our Savior, and so He warns us, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” These are tough words for any daughter or son, mother or father. In addition, we interact with those opposed to Christ each and every day, even if our entire household belongs to Christ. We are called to love our friends and family, but we are called to love Christ more and to give up everything before deserting Him. Your love for your family and friends causes you to reach out with the Gospel, to shine the light of Christ in their dark world, and by His grace, many may be saved by your example. Yet your love cannot extend to the point of denying the Gospel, of denying Christ. Jesus states that those who do this are “not worthy of me,” that is, they are weighed and found wanting. Christ declares judgment on them. Anyone who follows those they love in denying Christ are found not worthy of Christ, and those not worthy of Christ can find only eternal punishment. The way of the Gospel, the way of ultimate peace, leads you through the midst of conflict, conflict with those whom you love the most.
But this conflict only touches those who follow Christ because it touched Him first. In verse thirty-eight, Jesus says: “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” This is the first mention of this instrument of torture and execution in Matthew’s Gospel, and it appears here for a reason. Jesus would be the one to take up His cross and follow the Father’s will, He would be the one whose enemies came from His own household, the sinful humanity that He came to save. He came in human flesh to walk among us as our brother, and his brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers nailed Him to that cross. Jesus says in verse thirty-nine: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Jesus lost His life on the cross for your sake, for the sake of the Father’s loving will, and because He laid down His life on that Good Friday, He found it in the resurrection on Easter Sunday. And because Jesus did that for you, you also find life, but only after you lose it. The last time I was home, it was for my Grandfather’s funeral. Grandpa now has found life, eternal life in Christ, but only after passing through death. But his most important death was nearly eighty years ago, when Christ put the old Adam in him to death through the waters of Holy Baptism. You also lost your life for the sake of Christ through these blessed waters, but because you were buried with Christ in Baptism you will find life, eternal life, the life that Christ won through His triumph over death.
But we would not know this, we would have no way to be put to death and made alive through Baptism if there was no one to proclaim this message, no one to Baptize. Our text this morning is the end of Jesus’ speech to the twelve disciples as He sends them off to do just that. He says: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Throughout the centuries Christ has appointed men to proclaim this message. They bear the name of Christ through their baptism, as we all bear His name through our Baptisms. It is this saving Name that they proclaim, not any words of their own. These men often are persecuted by the world, that is why Jesus calls them ‘little ones,’ but they and we have the promise that He is with them. By receiving these messengers, we receive Christ Himself, because He has promised to work through their preaching and baptizing. Receiving them means to agree with the message they bring, to enter into conflict with those who reject Christ. Receiving them also means we receive a reward, the reward of eternal life with Christ in heaven. This word ‘reward’ gives us visions of earning what we deserve through our own effort, but our collect for today sets us straight. We prayed earlier in the service: “Almighty God, by the working of Your Holy Spirit, grant that we may gladly hear Your Word proclaimed among us and follow its directing.” It is only by the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us that we receive Christ’s messengers and the message they bring, and it is only through Him that we receive this reward. We do not deserve this reward, and in fact it is nothing that we do that earns it. Instead it is a gift given by Christ in the Gospel, proclaimed by those whom He has appointed.
And this gift only comes to us in the midst of conflict. Jesus is very clear with us in this text today. Any idea that we might have that the Christian life is easy, or that the Church is only a place of peace, or that Christians live only a life of peace, have all been shattered. The Church, that includes you and me, stand on the front lines of the conflict stirred up by Christ’s saving work in the world. Because you cling to His Name and His cross, sufferings and conflict will come to you, even from those you hold dearest. Christ has brought peace, peace between God and man, eternal peace in heaven, but on this earth, Satan still rages, and he seeks to tear you away from Christ, sometimes using those whom you love the most. You can only resist Him through Christ’s Word and His presence, and the Sacraments that sustain you and send you back into the conflict.
So Jeremiah was right after all. Centuries after he made his prophecy, the Prince of Peace did come to this world, He did reconcile God and sinful humanity with His death and resurrection, He did proclaim peace. But wherever peace is proclaimed by Christ, there Satan is also at work in those who reject this peace, and so we hope for that final peace when our last hour comes. May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preserve you in your faith in Him until that hour, and may He bring to you ultimate peace with Him in the resurrection of the dead, Amen.
But we are taken aback when we hear these words of Jesus “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” What? Jeremiah promised that the prophet who preached peace was truly sent by the Lord. Does this mean that Jesus is a false prophet? To answer this question, we need to look at some grammar. No groans- especially if you happen to be one of my brothers. Jesus is here using a figure of speech, saying something that we do not expect and in fact is ridiculous to get our attention. Of course Jesus has come to bring peace- He said so just earlier in this chapter. He speaks in this way to shatter our illusions of what this peace means and to draw our attention to what He wants to focus on- the conflict. Theologians have noticed statements of this type throughout Scripture, and we should understand Jesus as saying “Do not think that I only have come to bring peace on the earth. I have not come only to bring peace, but even more, a sword.” Jesus is telling us that while He does bring eternal peace, the peace that comes when God and man are reconciled, this peace does not create a blissful utopia here on earth. Instead, the peace He brings creates conflict.
Most of us (I won’t say all) don’t like conflict. We would much rather have people live in peace with one another. But this is not the situation that Jesus describes. His message of peace, His reconciliation of sinful man with a holy God, will “set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” This is not simply the squabbles that every family has, but a fundamental conflict over Christ. Some will believe in Him as mankind’s Savior, while others will violently reject Him. Families, joined together in the union of flesh and blood, will be torn apart. And not only that, but they will be torn apart and turned against one another. “A person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”
We would like to avoid this conflict, we do not want to see our families torn apart, our relationships destroyed, but the Christian cannot stand on the sidelines. The issue at stake is eternal life, and therefore we cannot compromise. Jesus knows that Satan uses our relationships in this world to tear us away from our Savior, and so He warns us, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” These are tough words for any daughter or son, mother or father. In addition, we interact with those opposed to Christ each and every day, even if our entire household belongs to Christ. We are called to love our friends and family, but we are called to love Christ more and to give up everything before deserting Him. Your love for your family and friends causes you to reach out with the Gospel, to shine the light of Christ in their dark world, and by His grace, many may be saved by your example. Yet your love cannot extend to the point of denying the Gospel, of denying Christ. Jesus states that those who do this are “not worthy of me,” that is, they are weighed and found wanting. Christ declares judgment on them. Anyone who follows those they love in denying Christ are found not worthy of Christ, and those not worthy of Christ can find only eternal punishment. The way of the Gospel, the way of ultimate peace, leads you through the midst of conflict, conflict with those whom you love the most.
But this conflict only touches those who follow Christ because it touched Him first. In verse thirty-eight, Jesus says: “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” This is the first mention of this instrument of torture and execution in Matthew’s Gospel, and it appears here for a reason. Jesus would be the one to take up His cross and follow the Father’s will, He would be the one whose enemies came from His own household, the sinful humanity that He came to save. He came in human flesh to walk among us as our brother, and his brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers nailed Him to that cross. Jesus says in verse thirty-nine: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Jesus lost His life on the cross for your sake, for the sake of the Father’s loving will, and because He laid down His life on that Good Friday, He found it in the resurrection on Easter Sunday. And because Jesus did that for you, you also find life, but only after you lose it. The last time I was home, it was for my Grandfather’s funeral. Grandpa now has found life, eternal life in Christ, but only after passing through death. But his most important death was nearly eighty years ago, when Christ put the old Adam in him to death through the waters of Holy Baptism. You also lost your life for the sake of Christ through these blessed waters, but because you were buried with Christ in Baptism you will find life, eternal life, the life that Christ won through His triumph over death.
But we would not know this, we would have no way to be put to death and made alive through Baptism if there was no one to proclaim this message, no one to Baptize. Our text this morning is the end of Jesus’ speech to the twelve disciples as He sends them off to do just that. He says: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Throughout the centuries Christ has appointed men to proclaim this message. They bear the name of Christ through their baptism, as we all bear His name through our Baptisms. It is this saving Name that they proclaim, not any words of their own. These men often are persecuted by the world, that is why Jesus calls them ‘little ones,’ but they and we have the promise that He is with them. By receiving these messengers, we receive Christ Himself, because He has promised to work through their preaching and baptizing. Receiving them means to agree with the message they bring, to enter into conflict with those who reject Christ. Receiving them also means we receive a reward, the reward of eternal life with Christ in heaven. This word ‘reward’ gives us visions of earning what we deserve through our own effort, but our collect for today sets us straight. We prayed earlier in the service: “Almighty God, by the working of Your Holy Spirit, grant that we may gladly hear Your Word proclaimed among us and follow its directing.” It is only by the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us that we receive Christ’s messengers and the message they bring, and it is only through Him that we receive this reward. We do not deserve this reward, and in fact it is nothing that we do that earns it. Instead it is a gift given by Christ in the Gospel, proclaimed by those whom He has appointed.
And this gift only comes to us in the midst of conflict. Jesus is very clear with us in this text today. Any idea that we might have that the Christian life is easy, or that the Church is only a place of peace, or that Christians live only a life of peace, have all been shattered. The Church, that includes you and me, stand on the front lines of the conflict stirred up by Christ’s saving work in the world. Because you cling to His Name and His cross, sufferings and conflict will come to you, even from those you hold dearest. Christ has brought peace, peace between God and man, eternal peace in heaven, but on this earth, Satan still rages, and he seeks to tear you away from Christ, sometimes using those whom you love the most. You can only resist Him through Christ’s Word and His presence, and the Sacraments that sustain you and send you back into the conflict.
So Jeremiah was right after all. Centuries after he made his prophecy, the Prince of Peace did come to this world, He did reconcile God and sinful humanity with His death and resurrection, He did proclaim peace. But wherever peace is proclaimed by Christ, there Satan is also at work in those who reject this peace, and so we hope for that final peace when our last hour comes. May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preserve you in your faith in Him until that hour, and may He bring to you ultimate peace with Him in the resurrection of the dead, Amen.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Easter 6 of Series A (Psalm 146)
Halleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Halleluiah! So we shout forth in this joyous season of Easter, when we confidently and triumphantly declare before all of creation that our Lord did not remain in the tomb, but is arisen, He has conquered over death, He will bring us to be with Him in eternal glory. Dear friends in Christ, the text for our sermon this morning comes from the Psalm of the Day, Psalm 146: “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!”
We began this sermon with the word ‘halleluiah.’ Have you ever wondered where this particular term comes from? Well, we have it before us in the sermon text for today. ‘Praise the Lord’ in the Hebrew is two words that together are pronounced ‘halleluiah.’ It’s pretty simple, really. We give thanks to God for raising Christ from the grave, for promising to call us forth some day, and so we say ‘halleluiah,’ ‘praise the Lord.’ But yet here we are setting ourselves apart from the world. Whenever we say ‘halleluiah,’ we are saying that God deserves our ultimate praise, and no one else. This is a radical separation, because our world tells us that there are many places where we can place our praise and trust. Especially in the midst of a presidential campaign, the temptation is to say ‘praise Obama’ or ‘praise Hillary’ or ‘praise Ross Perot!’
And it does not even have to be a presidential candidate. We put our trust in many other people around us, hoping that they can give us what we need. We may not use the word, be we are often looking for ‘salvation.’ In some sense or another, we want them to deliver us. High gas prices, a slumping economy, threat of war and terrorism, we think that human beings are the answer. Every time you vote, you place your confidence in a person; one whom you think can make things better. It is so easy to place all our hope on a son of man, to put our trust in anyone but God. The first commandment is easily transgressed- we idolize other people because we look up to them, we depend on them, they are our ‘salvation.’ But the psalmist stops us dead in our tracks- he rebukes us, he tells the entire world that such trust, such ‘salvation’ is ultimately hopeless. “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no salvation.”
This salvation is hopeless, because the people in whom we place our trust are as afflicted by sin as we are. The people in whom we put our trust, in whom we seek salvation from whatever might afflict us, all manage to let us down in some way or another. And even if they do in some way fulfill our trust, if they manage to make our lives a bit better, if they improve our world, they can do nothing about our primary problem- we die. The same Satan, who is at work in our world, leading sons of men astray, leads us to put our trust in those sons of men. We might find temporary deliverance from a son of man- but even there Satan is working, trying to get you to place your trust in the things and people of this world. You see, our world, and if you are honest, you yourself, do not ask the right question. We seek salvation from the worries of this world but we cannot vote away death, we cannot elect someone who can destroy this enemy. You can brag about all the medical accomplishments you wish, but the simple fact is that you will still die. The Psalmist puts it like this: “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.” Putting your ultimate trust in a son of man can only take you to where he is also headed- the grave. You need salvation from death, and this salvation no son of man can give you.
In the midst of this the psalmist tells us of the creator, the God in which all are blessed who find Him as their helper. This God created “heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” There is only one problem. Since Adam and Eve fell into sin, no person is able to find God as his helper, in fact every son of man is born into the domain of Satan, totally opposed to God. By the psalmist’s definition, no one is blessed, because no one can have God as His helper. This holy and pure God cannot be the helper of anyone tainted by sin. In fact, His divine wrath over man’s transgression doomed all children of Adam and Eve, every son and daughter of man, to hell.
But because God is love, He sought to satisfy His divine wrath over our sin, He had to act. The psalmist writes that God “guards faithfulness forever.” He made a promise that He would satisfy His own justice, His own wrath over sin, and even though the psalmist could not see it with his own eyes, God remained faithful to that promise.
The little words in Scripture are important. Sometimes one letter can make all the difference. The word ‘the’ is English is three letters, but in Hebrew it is only one. This one letter declares God’s plan. Salvation for this corrupted world could not come through a son of man, but it does come through the Son of Man. This is the self-designation of a man named Jesus, a man who was not simply a man, but God With Us, God in the flesh. He called Himself the Son of Man to demonstrate His humiliation, that He was walking the earth as one of us, though He was no ordinary man. As He says in our Gospel lesson for today, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” The Son of Man was obedient to the Father’s will, humbling Himself to death, even death on a cross.
This final act of humiliation, when Jesus Christ, Son of God and the Son of Man died, restored what had gone wrong with God’s original creation and granted us salvation by satisfying God’s wrath. This act was the culmination of a life of restoring fallen creation. The Son of Man in His humiliation worked the works of God, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel lesson: “The Father who dwells in me does His works.” The psalmist saw this work from afar and declared it, that God working through Christ would be the one “who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” Surely God did these things in the Old Testament, but even more surely He has done them through Christ, and He has done them in your life. Jesus called Himself the Son of Man as He fed the hungry (four thousand and five thousand at a time!), healed the blind, lifted up those bowed down by sin, and raised the dead of widows.
Jesus has in His death and resurrection set you free from the bondage of Satan, Jesus feeds your spiritual hunger through His Body and Blood, Jesus healed your spiritual blindness through His Word, Jesus will raise up on the Last Day all who have died in the faith, Jesus preserves you in that true faith as you sojourn on this earth, Jesus brought to ruin the way of the wicked one. The path of death is replaced by Jesus who is the Way: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In the middle of the psalmist’s list, we find the reason for it all: “The Lord loves the righteous.” God loves those whom He has declared righteous through the death of His Son. You are now right with God because of Christ, now you truly are blessed, and what the psalmist says he says to you: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” We may have to depend on sons of men for things in this world, but only with the knowledge that our ultimate trust can only be founded on Christ, the Son of Man.
On Easter morning, Jesus shed the title of ‘the Son of Man.’ No other New Testament writer uses it of our Lord, and we do not use it of Him even today. Christ is now enthroned in glory, and He will bring us to be with Him in glory when we die. Death is not our end- it has been defeated- our destiny is now life, life in heaven, life with God forever. Faced with this reality, we can only say with the psalmist: “The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!”
And yet today, we still remain in this world. We still vote, we still depend on police and firefighters, but knowing that ultimate salvation has only come through Christ. And we pray. The Church is a praying Church. And what better to pray than the psalms, God’s prayer book given to us? But we do not only pray, we echo the psalmist by praising and giving thanks to God for His deliverance in Christ, the salvation that came through the Son of Man. As Peter says in our Epistle lesson, “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Our identity through Baptism is that we declare the praises of God, the God who delivered us through the Son of Man, and that is what we will do forever. Amen. Halleluiah, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Halleluiah!
We began this sermon with the word ‘halleluiah.’ Have you ever wondered where this particular term comes from? Well, we have it before us in the sermon text for today. ‘Praise the Lord’ in the Hebrew is two words that together are pronounced ‘halleluiah.’ It’s pretty simple, really. We give thanks to God for raising Christ from the grave, for promising to call us forth some day, and so we say ‘halleluiah,’ ‘praise the Lord.’ But yet here we are setting ourselves apart from the world. Whenever we say ‘halleluiah,’ we are saying that God deserves our ultimate praise, and no one else. This is a radical separation, because our world tells us that there are many places where we can place our praise and trust. Especially in the midst of a presidential campaign, the temptation is to say ‘praise Obama’ or ‘praise Hillary’ or ‘praise Ross Perot!’
And it does not even have to be a presidential candidate. We put our trust in many other people around us, hoping that they can give us what we need. We may not use the word, be we are often looking for ‘salvation.’ In some sense or another, we want them to deliver us. High gas prices, a slumping economy, threat of war and terrorism, we think that human beings are the answer. Every time you vote, you place your confidence in a person; one whom you think can make things better. It is so easy to place all our hope on a son of man, to put our trust in anyone but God. The first commandment is easily transgressed- we idolize other people because we look up to them, we depend on them, they are our ‘salvation.’ But the psalmist stops us dead in our tracks- he rebukes us, he tells the entire world that such trust, such ‘salvation’ is ultimately hopeless. “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no salvation.”
This salvation is hopeless, because the people in whom we place our trust are as afflicted by sin as we are. The people in whom we put our trust, in whom we seek salvation from whatever might afflict us, all manage to let us down in some way or another. And even if they do in some way fulfill our trust, if they manage to make our lives a bit better, if they improve our world, they can do nothing about our primary problem- we die. The same Satan, who is at work in our world, leading sons of men astray, leads us to put our trust in those sons of men. We might find temporary deliverance from a son of man- but even there Satan is working, trying to get you to place your trust in the things and people of this world. You see, our world, and if you are honest, you yourself, do not ask the right question. We seek salvation from the worries of this world but we cannot vote away death, we cannot elect someone who can destroy this enemy. You can brag about all the medical accomplishments you wish, but the simple fact is that you will still die. The Psalmist puts it like this: “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.” Putting your ultimate trust in a son of man can only take you to where he is also headed- the grave. You need salvation from death, and this salvation no son of man can give you.
In the midst of this the psalmist tells us of the creator, the God in which all are blessed who find Him as their helper. This God created “heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” There is only one problem. Since Adam and Eve fell into sin, no person is able to find God as his helper, in fact every son of man is born into the domain of Satan, totally opposed to God. By the psalmist’s definition, no one is blessed, because no one can have God as His helper. This holy and pure God cannot be the helper of anyone tainted by sin. In fact, His divine wrath over man’s transgression doomed all children of Adam and Eve, every son and daughter of man, to hell.
But because God is love, He sought to satisfy His divine wrath over our sin, He had to act. The psalmist writes that God “guards faithfulness forever.” He made a promise that He would satisfy His own justice, His own wrath over sin, and even though the psalmist could not see it with his own eyes, God remained faithful to that promise.
The little words in Scripture are important. Sometimes one letter can make all the difference. The word ‘the’ is English is three letters, but in Hebrew it is only one. This one letter declares God’s plan. Salvation for this corrupted world could not come through a son of man, but it does come through the Son of Man. This is the self-designation of a man named Jesus, a man who was not simply a man, but God With Us, God in the flesh. He called Himself the Son of Man to demonstrate His humiliation, that He was walking the earth as one of us, though He was no ordinary man. As He says in our Gospel lesson for today, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” The Son of Man was obedient to the Father’s will, humbling Himself to death, even death on a cross.
This final act of humiliation, when Jesus Christ, Son of God and the Son of Man died, restored what had gone wrong with God’s original creation and granted us salvation by satisfying God’s wrath. This act was the culmination of a life of restoring fallen creation. The Son of Man in His humiliation worked the works of God, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel lesson: “The Father who dwells in me does His works.” The psalmist saw this work from afar and declared it, that God working through Christ would be the one “who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” Surely God did these things in the Old Testament, but even more surely He has done them through Christ, and He has done them in your life. Jesus called Himself the Son of Man as He fed the hungry (four thousand and five thousand at a time!), healed the blind, lifted up those bowed down by sin, and raised the dead of widows.
Jesus has in His death and resurrection set you free from the bondage of Satan, Jesus feeds your spiritual hunger through His Body and Blood, Jesus healed your spiritual blindness through His Word, Jesus will raise up on the Last Day all who have died in the faith, Jesus preserves you in that true faith as you sojourn on this earth, Jesus brought to ruin the way of the wicked one. The path of death is replaced by Jesus who is the Way: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In the middle of the psalmist’s list, we find the reason for it all: “The Lord loves the righteous.” God loves those whom He has declared righteous through the death of His Son. You are now right with God because of Christ, now you truly are blessed, and what the psalmist says he says to you: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” We may have to depend on sons of men for things in this world, but only with the knowledge that our ultimate trust can only be founded on Christ, the Son of Man.
On Easter morning, Jesus shed the title of ‘the Son of Man.’ No other New Testament writer uses it of our Lord, and we do not use it of Him even today. Christ is now enthroned in glory, and He will bring us to be with Him in glory when we die. Death is not our end- it has been defeated- our destiny is now life, life in heaven, life with God forever. Faced with this reality, we can only say with the psalmist: “The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!”
And yet today, we still remain in this world. We still vote, we still depend on police and firefighters, but knowing that ultimate salvation has only come through Christ. And we pray. The Church is a praying Church. And what better to pray than the psalms, God’s prayer book given to us? But we do not only pray, we echo the psalmist by praising and giving thanks to God for His deliverance in Christ, the salvation that came through the Son of Man. As Peter says in our Epistle lesson, “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Our identity through Baptism is that we declare the praises of God, the God who delivered us through the Son of Man, and that is what we will do forever. Amen. Halleluiah, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Halleluiah!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Pretoria
1) A busy streetcorner with a familiar sight... 2) The Union Building (capital buildings for South Africa) 3) Downtown Pretoria 4) The neighborhood around the seminary
Things aren't so different down there...
Yes, we did travel 9,000 miles to see pivots and tractor dealerships...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Churches in South Africa: 1) A German congregation in Zulu-Natal (a town called Luneberg) 2)The church at the boy's school in Themba, where we went to church the first Sunday 3) St. Paul's Lutheran Church- the German congregation down the street from the seminary 4) All that remains of a mission station (I thought the sheep were very appropriate) 5) The remains of another mission station. At the last two churches, the mission has continued, only because of various factors the original buildings are in poor or non-existant shape.
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