St. Michael and All Angels (observed) - 2018

Audio Below

Text:

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today comes from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  There is a war going on.  And I don’t mean the one between ISIS and Christianity, or in Darfur, or Afghanistan or Iraq, not even in Korea any more, or any other countries of our world.  There is war in heaven, between Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back.  War in heaven between that ancient serpent and accuser Satan and his fallen angels versus God and his angels.  And dear friends the battle is one that is close to home, for we are involved.  Its not a battle of weapons, as we are used to, but instead a battle between God’s Word and promises against the Word and lies of Satan. 

We’re involved.  We’ve been involved since almost the very beginning, when in the Garden that dragon Satan came to Adam and Eve and spoke a word contrary to that of God.  “Did God really say?  You will surely not die!  Trust in yourself, not in some hokey guy with a white beard who walks on clouds and requires you to get up early on Sundays.  Be your own master!”  And so Adam and Eve abandoned the Word of God for a lie, and entered battle on the side of the dragon.  Humanity fell into sin. 

And death was the result.  From Adam to Moses and even to today, death has ruled in this world, for that is the consequence of going against God.  We hear the words again and again in scripture.  Adam lived 930 years, and he died.  Seth lived 912 years and he died.  So and so lived so many years and then they died.  So much death, so much destruction, brother murdering brother, Father murdering son.  Even, up until this very day.

Yes, even today, for you too are a sinner.  You succumb to Satan’s false words all the time, don’t you?  I know we are embarrassed to admit it, but its true, we are also casualties of this war.  We ignore God’s Word and what it teaches, instead listening to the lies of demons.  You ask yourself the doubt creating question of Satan – Did God really say?  Did God really say that adultery and divorce are sin?  Did God really say that it is wrong to love your money, your bank account, your retirement plans more than God?  Did God really say wives should submit to their husbands, or that husbands should sacrifice for their wife?  Did God really say that we should honor our fathers and mother, even when they get old, or can we just send them off to nursing homes to be forgotten and die?  Did God say that you are to love your neighbor, or should we continue gossiping, complaining, and hating them? 

Satan goes on – you’ll surely not die – you’ll need your money to take care of you, to pay for your health insurance and hospital care.  You’ll surely not die, you’ll need to care for yourself most.  You’ll surely not die, because that wouldn’t be fair – for some are old some are young.  You’ll surely not die, and even if you did, love wins, God will surely agree with your politics.  And all of this summed up in Satan’s last and greatest lie, “You’ll be like God, master of your own destiny, lord of your own life.” 

This is the battle going on all around you, and the battle lines run right down your own heart.  Your soul hangs in the balance.  Satan wishes you to fall, to die, to suffer, to curse God, and to be like him, damned forever.  Because the truth is as God said it, Man did die, God did say, and humanity is not God, no matter how hard they try. 

But did you hear God’s Word in the second reading?  Satan “was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”  God’s Word beats the devil’s.  Satan loses.  He’s the biggest loser ever.  And all of his lies are lies told by the biggest loser that ever was. 

And we know the battle where Satan lost.  It happened with Jesus – when the uncreated Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.  That Word, Jesus Christ, lived perfectly, and was hated by Satan, who sought to put him to death, once for all upon the cross.  Jesus set his eyes on Jerusalem, to die for all sin, even yours.  The blood of the Word was poured out.  The Word cried out “It is finished.”  Sin was destroyed – killed on a hill called Golgotha on a Friday we call good.  And to prove that victory was won, for you, for me, for all, the Word made flesh rose from the dead to live and reign for all eternity in God’s eternal kingdom. 

The Revelation of John says it this way, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. ¹¹ And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. ¹² Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!”

When Jesus died on that cross, Satan lost.  When Jesus died on the cross, Satan was cast out of heaven, like lightning, he had lost the war, even as battles continued to rage.  And now God’s Word comes to you, to declare the victory of Christ.  It comes to you in humble means – victorious though it is.  It comes through pastors, who speak God’s Word of blood bought forgiveness for believing the lies of Satan.  It comes with absolution, mercy, grace, and peace.  IT comes in hymns and liturgy.  The Word of God puts his own body and blood into your mouths with communion, “Take and eat, take and drink for forgiveness of sins."  The Word of God puts his blood over you, to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified in baptismal waters.  Not just plain water, but the word of God in the water does these marvelous things for you. 

God’s Word is victorious, and because of that, you too are victorious.  Satan’s Word is shown for what it really is – lies of a loser. 

And so repent, dear Christians, of believing the lies of the biggest loser ever over God’s Word.  Read, mark, inwardly digest God’s Word.  Uphold the truth.  Sing it boldly, with angels, arch angels and all the company of heaven.  Confess it outwardly, lauding and magnifying God’s glorious name, and ever more praising him.  For there, and only there, will you discover the way, the truth and eternal life. 

Afterall, Satan has been thrown down from heaven, like lightening.  Now you are no longer subject to Satan, but instead he is subject to the word you hear and the word we preach – the Word of Christ.  The Word of forgiveness.  Now you have a promise from God, not that you will surely die for sin, but rather blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. 

           Today, we remember St. Michael, and all the angels, all the messengers who proclaim this word of promise in Christ’s name.  Those who boldly proclaim the truth that all sinners who trust in Christ, are forgiven by the Blood and Word of Jesus, you included.  And because of that gift in Jesus, you will one day awake to everlasting life, and shine like the sky above in the grace, mercy and peace of our crucified and risen savior, Jesus.  IN the name of Jesus.  Amen.   

St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist - 2018

Matthew 9:9-13 - As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰ And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”¹² But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Saint Matthew, St. Matthew THE APOSTLE, St. Matthew the apostle and EVANGELIST.  A little overwhelming, isn’t it, to consider such a holy nice guy in a church service.  But St. Matthew didn’t begin as a Saint, he didn’t begin as holy.  He started out as just regular Matthew, a sinner.  And so it is, that even though this evening we are celebrating St. Matthew the Apostle, as Christians we keep our eyes focused not on a man but on Jesus, who made the sinner into a saint.  We focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  And so tonight, as we celebrate St. Matthew the apostle, we cannot do so without understand how it is really Jesus that we remember today, Jesus who turned a lowly sinful tax collector named Matthew, into a blessed saint of God. 

To begin with, we must understand that Jesus came for sinners, not for those who are righteous.  That means Jesus didn’t come for those who think they have no need of a savior.  He didn’t come for those who don’t understand that they have done wrong against God’s Word, God’s Commands, or God’s promises.  If you want Jesus to be for you, you must first be a sinner. 

Yes, you must be a sinner first and foremost.  St. Matthew understood this.  That’s why in the Gospel that he wrote, he didn’t hesitate to point out the fact that he was once a dreaded tax-collector, who collected funds for the foreign occupying army of Rome.  He didn’t hesitate in our Gospel lesson for today to point out that his friends were other tax-collectors and sinners.  And if he was talking about himself, he had no problem saying that he was a poor miserable sinner in what he had done and what he had left undone. 

Compare that with yourself, dear Christian.  What would your claim about yourself?  Will you be a sinner?  So many people in our world today will not claim the title sinner for themselves.  Sure, they’d freely admit that they live together, that they cheat on their taxes, that they curse, swear, and use satanic arts.  They’ll even petition to have a statue of Satan placed in front of the Arkansas capital building.  They’ll happily gossip about their neighbors or coworkers, and our economy thrives upon coveting what others have, but you haven’t gone into debt to buy for yourselves yet.  Even the so called, “little things” like driving 2 miles an hour over the speed limit in violation of the 4^th commandment, we freely admit.  But we’re afraid to admit these things are sin!

But God’s Word is clear!  Dear friends, these are damning and deadly sins!  Any way we ignore God’s Word can kill us – forever!  Fear not those who can kill the body, fear the one who can kill the soul forever in hell!  These things are sin! 

But if someone were to point out these things and call it sin, suddenly we’re offended.  Suddenly we’re angry – who are you to judge me!  I’m not a sinner!  I’m not worse than others, and especially not you!  I was born this way, it’s only illegal if I get caught!  Sin!?  The only sin of any consequence in our modern American society is calling something else wrong or a sin.  But all the sins that truly kill and injure, those we ignore!

And as for admitting for ourselves – yes us here in church and listening on the radio – as for admitting that we ourselves are sinners, we could never do it.  Its too harsh, to difficult.  People have even stopped attending church because the pastor said they were a sinner from the pulpit. 

But in our Gospel lesson, Matthew speaks the truth about himself.  He wrote it down in the Gospel, the Holy Bible that he was a sinner and a tax collector.  Because he understood who Jesus was – the one who called him out of sin and into holiness.  He wants your eyes to be fixed on the important person – Jesus.  The one who forgave his sin by blood suffering and death – even death on a cross.  He understood that Christ has purchased him from all sin, death and the power of the devil, but dying a gruesome death on an old rugged cross. 

That’s why Matthew today writes the words of our Gospel lesson.  There he was, living his own sinful life.  Living and letting live, when Christ called “follow me,” and led him out of sin and into forgiveness.  Jesus knew his sin!  Jesus knew his guilt!  And Matthew, by allowing himself to be a sinner, he also let Christ be his savior.  By being a sinner, he received the free gift of God’s grace.  He spoke the truth about himself.  He calls himself a tax collector, a sinner, so that Jesus can call himself his savior, and lead him out of sin. 

Dear friend, will you do the same?  Will allow yourself to be a sinner, so that Christ can save you from that sin?  Will you stop self-justifying?  Will you stop ignoring your sin?  Will you stop calling your guilt good?  If you say you have no sin, you deceive yourself, if you say you have no sin you make God a liar.  Jesus came for sinners.  Just as the sick need a doctor, you, a sinner, need a savior.  Repent!  Be a sinner.  Be guilty.  Realize the truth.  You have done wrong.  The things you’re are doing now are wrong.  They go against God’s Word, and they need forgiveness.  Repent. 

And know this – Jesus is your savior.  Just as he called Matthew, the sinner, to be his disciple, he also calls you.  “Follow me.”  Receive forgiveness, for all your sin.  Be a sinner – yes, but be a sinner who has been purchased from all sin, from death and the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with the holy precious blood, innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.  In that, the cross, the blood, the death of Jesus, sinners, like you and me, are forgiven.  In Christ, the medicine of life is distributed.  In the lamb of God, Jesus, the sin of the world, of you, is taken away.  Your sin was washed away in baptism, you eat the food of forgiveness from the altar.  You are a forgiven sinner. 

And being a forgiven sinner, you follow Jesus, as Matthew did.  Yes, Matthew, being called by his savior, left his tax collectors booth behind, he left his sinful life behind.  That doesn’t mean he never sinned again – what it means is that he always brought his sin to the cross.  He found his identity in the salvation given freely by Jesus, not his former sin.  He always confessed the truth – I’m a sinner forgiven by God’s grace.  It didn’t mean he doubled down on his sin, it meant he lived a life in the freedom of Christ apart from the sin to which he once was bound.  A slave freed from slavery does not willing return to their former life.  A person doesn’t take a bath only to climb back in the mud.  Jesus set Matthew free from sin.

And the same for you.  Like Matthew, you are a sinner, and at the same time, like Matthew, you are a saint in Christ, called out of your former ways, into the way of holiness.  Jesus has come for you, to forgive you sin, to call you to a life of faith, and to lead you into eternal freedom.  To give you a place amongst all the saints, both living and departed.  He’s called you to a life of holiness, not of corruption.  He’s made you well, by his blood, by his grace, by his mercy, and by his death and resurrection.  So that you might be his own, and live under him in his kingdom, in holiness, righteousness and blessedness. 

Jesus said, “For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Which means he came for Matthew, a sinner, and made him a saint by shedding his blood, setting him free to live apart from sin.

Jesus said, “For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Which means he came for you, also a sinner, and made you a saint by his blood.  Thanks be to God.

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.   

Trinity 16 - 2018 - Jesus Ruins Funerals

Listen to this episode of my podcast, With Intrepid Heart - GSLC:

Trinity 16 - Jesus Ruins Funerals

Trinity 14 - Sermon Text

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. Our text today comes from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “Your faith has made you well.” 

Dear friends in Christ.  Today’s Gospel is first and foremost a Gospel about faith, after all, Jesus tells the Samaritan leper “your faith has saved you.” (seswken) Yes, the word there doesn’t only mean “Made you well,” it also means the leper is saved by his faith. 

Before we get into the meat of the Gospel lesson, we need to understand what “faith” is.  Faith is described for the Christian in the first commandment – you should fear, love and trust in God above all things.  Faith is having complete trust or confidence in something.  And Faith always has an object, meaning a person always has faith in something.  A Husker football fan has faith, that when they buy tickets to a Husker game, there will be a husker game.  A man runs a marathon with the faith that he will finish it.  We put money in the bank with the faith that someday we will be able to take our money back out of the bank.  We marry a spouse with the faith that they will be with us until death do they part.  Faith always has an object, something it trusts in, and faith is complete trust in that thing.  And that is the main point of our Gospel today. 

In our Gospel lesson, we see 10 men with leprosy.  As a result of their disease, they had painful sores all over their bodies, so that they no longer had faith in their bodies, which slowly were being consumed by disease.  They had no faith in their families or villages, for leprosy required them to live apart, and even to shout out, “Unclean, unclean” when the approached someone.  They had no faith in money, for no one would hire them to earn a wage, and even if they were hired, they couldn’t accomplish much work on account of their disease. 

But they’d heard about Jesus.  We aren’t sure how, but they had heard that this wandering preacher had healed people.  In Luke chapter 6, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand.  In chapter 5 he healed a paralytic.  In Luke 7, Jesus raised a widow’s son from the dead.  In chapter 8, Jesus cast out a demon, healed a woman from a flow of blood, and raised Jairus’s daughter.  And in chapter 5 of Luke’s gospel, Jesus had even healed a leper!  A Leper!  Such amazing miracles!  And maybe, just maybe, Jesus could do the same for these lepers.  Maybe he could heal them as well.  So, they went to find him, and standing from a far, their faith made a request of Jesus, “Jesus, master, Have mercy on us!” 

They had faith that Jesus would heal them of their leprosy.  They had faith that he could make them well, just as he had all the others.  But that’s as far as their faith goes, they call Jesus master, after all, but not “Lord” or “God”.  Their faith goes far enough to believe Jesus was a good doctor, or a worker of healing miracles, but no further.  So, their faith requests mercy from Jesus. 

And what’s Jesus’ response?  He sends them to the priests.  It may sound like a minor thing, but in fact, Jesus was sending them back to the scriptures.  Moses, in the book of Leviticus, spends 2 whole chapters (13-14) of Leviticus explaining what those with Leprosy are supposed to do to deal with their disease according to God’s Word, and chief among those things is to show themselves to the priests, who are to examine their illness and determine if they are well.  Those words of Jesus, “Show yourselves to the priests” summarizes the basics of those two whole chapters.  In fact, earlier, in chapter 5, Jesus essentially said the same thing to the other leper he cleansed.  So, when Lepers come to Jesus, he sends them back to the scriptures, to God’s Word. 

The Lepers thus begin their trip down to Jerusalem – the same place Jesus was travelling.  And on the way there, they were cleansed of leprosy!  The sores vanished.  The pus dried up.  The feeling returned to their fingers.  They were returned to health!  Their faith that Jesus could heal them was found to be true!  The leprosy was gone.  They are well. 

And it is at this time, that the difference of faith is shown between the 10 lepers.  For you see, 9 of them only see Jesus as a miracle worker who has healed them.  9 saw Jesus only as “master over disease”, and so they continue down to Jerusalem, to make the sacrifices necessary, to be declared clean by the priests, to continue to their original homes and families.  But one, one of the 10, his faith is different.  He’s seen Jesus, he’s heard his word, he’s been referred to the scriptures, and he has a different faith in Jesus.  A faith that believes he is the messiah spoken of by Moses, that he is the savior of the world.  A faith that sees Jesus not just as master of disease but as Lord God.  He has a faith that believes, “If Jesus can heal this worldly disease, he can surely also grant me forgiveness of sins and eternal life.” 

And its important that you notice what his faith does – it drives him back to Jesus to worship.  It drives him back to Jesus to give thanks.  True Christian faith always points back to Jesus.  Saving Christian faith returns people to worship. 

So, this last one returns to Jesus, giving thanks to God.  Who is God?  Jesus is God.  This one Samaritan leper falls upon his face at the feet of Jesus?  Why?  Because that is a sign of worship, something reserved only for God.  This Samaritan Leper believes that Jesus is the almighty God in human flesh, who has come to save the world from sin, death and the devil.  And its this faith that has saved him. 

Dear friends, what is your faith in?  What do you believe about Jesus?  How do you describe your faith in him?  What’s your confession of faith?  So many in our world today have an incomplete faith in Jesus.  “Jesus wants you to have your best life now” is how Joel Osteen describes his faith in Jesus. What does that say about eternity and forgiveness of sins?  Or some TV preaches declare Jesus wants to heal your illness, so long as you send them $20 in the mail, but don’t speak about how he is God, or how gives eternal life.  Or so many so-called Christians today believe that Jesus wants there to be social justice in this world – no hungry, no repressed minority groups, and no inequity!  But while they talk about all that, they forget that Jesus is the almighty God who forgives sin, they mention nothing about forgiveness of sin.  Jesus is just their master of a given cause, not their God and Lord.

But not you.  You know who Jesus is.  He’s your saving God.  He’s the one who loves you so much that suffering death upon a cross was not too steep a price to pay to forgive you your sins and to grant you eternal life.  He’s the one who has washed away your sins in the waters of Holy Baptism, taking away the leprosy of sin and instead clothing you with the robe of Christ’s righteousness.  He’s the one who feeds you with his very own body – crucified and alive forever, and his own blood – which flowed from his pierced side, all of it, for the forgiveness of sins.  He’s the one who creates true faith in you by the power of his Holy Word.  For where his Holy Word is preached and taught in its truth and purity. 

And that faith drives you back to Jesus again and again.  That faith brings you here to this church, to hear the word, to receive the supper, to remember your baptism with absolution.  Your faith drives you to Jesus. 

You see, faith always has an object, and the object of our faith is Jesus, crucified and risen to take away the sin of the world.  Jesus is your God.  He does the Father’s will by going to the cross, and he does this for you.  He sends the Holy Spirit.  He cares for us in this world, and he promises to give us eternal life, and to forgive all our sins.  You are a Christian, and the object of your faith is Jesus Christ the Lord God, who forgives you all sin and grants you eternal life.  And faith, faith in Jesus alone, this faith now saves you. 

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.